In 221 BC, the reign of King Huan Zhengfen of Qin finally fulfilled the long-cherished wish of several generations of rulers of the Qin state - to pacify the six kingdoms and unify the world.
After unification, the government implemented many new policies, such as the establishment of the emperor system, the system of three princes and nine secretaries; Implement the county system; Unified currency, writing, weights and measures, and more.
There is an interesting record in it: many things in the Qin Dynasty were measured in six, that is, "the number is based on six". According to the "History": "(During the period of Qin Shi Huang) the number was six as the rule, the talisman and the crown of the law were six inches, and the public opinion was six feet, six feet was a step, and six horses were obedient." ”
And the reasons for this are divided among historians. Some people think that this is related to Qin Shi Huang's advocation of water virtue, and others believe that it is related to the popular idea of days at that time. But both claims have certain flaws, and later studies have provided some new perspectives.
The end of the five virtues, Zhou De of the Qin Dynasty
What is Hydra? This starts with the beginning of the five virtues.
During the Warring States period, a school with Zou Yan as its founder sprang up because they advocated the doctrine of the five elements of yin and yang, so they were called yin-yang families.
Yin-Yang believes that the operation of the world is inseparable from the cyclical changes of the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and the change of regime is no exception.
The five elements correspond to five virtues in the course of history, each regime corresponds to one of the virtues, and the five virtues start again and again according to the law of mutual survival, corresponding to the change of dynasties in history, that is, the so-called "five virtues end theory".
To a certain extent, it explains the rise and fall of the regime, and also provides a theoretical and public opinion basis for the establishment of the new regime.
Therefore, when Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, he used this as a tool to publicize his legitimacy: "The first emperor pushed the five virtues to the end, thinking that Zhou De Huode, Qin Dynasty Zhou De, never invincible, Fang Jinshui De." ”
He believes that the Qin Dynasty is water virtue, the Zhou Dynasty is fire virtue, water overcomes fire, therefore, the Qin Dynasty is destined to replace the Zhou Dynasty as the master of the world. Based on this, the Qin Dynasty was catering to water virtue in many places, such as "At the beginning of the new year, the pilgrimage began in October." The clothes are all black."
That is, to change the beginning of the year to October at the beginning of winter, and winter belongs to water, so as to meet the requirements of water virtue; Even the Qin Dynasty's policy program was related to water virtue, and it is recorded that the Qin Dynasty "was fortitude and profound, everything depends on the law, and it was not benevolent and righteous, and then combined the five virtues." So the law is urgent, and the long one is not pardoned. ”
In other words, the harsh punishment and harsh laws of the Qin Dynasty also catered to the requirements of water virtue to a certain extent. In the theory of the five elements, the number corresponding to water virtue is "six". It is recorded in the "Lü Clan Spring and Autumn Meng Dongji", "The moon of Meng Dong... The number six". The number corresponding to the water virtue is six, so the uniform public opinion system obeys the number six, which can be explained.
But this statement has certain flaws. In fact, not only did the Qin Dynasty always believe in the Five Virtues, but the two Han Dynasties were also deeply influenced by this doctrine, and Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty even "promulgated the map to the world", pushing the study of yin and yang to the position of manifestation.
However, neither Emperor Wudi of Han, who appointed himself Tude, nor the Eastern Han Dynasty, who appointed himself as a fire virtue, did not change the original practice of using six units, such as six feet as a step, the Son of Heaven driving six, and other systems were still practiced until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
And in the Qin Dynasty, there are many places where six is not used, for example, in the "Sleeping Tiger Land Qin Jian", the records about coins are more in decimal system. The Golden Cloth stipulates that 1 cloth is equivalent to 11 dollars, and when buying clothes for slaves or servants, they pay 33, 44, 55, 77, and 110 taxes, all of which are multiples of 11.
Therefore, whether the "six as the rule" is related to water virtue is still debatable.
There are all kinds of heaven and earth, each with its own number
The idea of days was essentially born by ancient ancestors studying the laws of celestial phenomena in the process of agricultural production. In celestial phenomena, "three" and "twelve" are frequent numbers.
The three celestial bodies of the sun, moon and star are called "three stars", so the "Zuo Chuan" has the saying "the sky has three stars, and the earth has five elements", and later evolved the concept of "three people and three people in the way of heaven".
According to the celestial phenomena, there is December in the year, and Jupiter's revolution (that is, the first epoch) is twelve years, which is naturally revered as "twelve", and is revered as "the great number of heavens" in the "Zuo Chuan".
However, although twelve is "days", it is already more than ten, which is too large, and three is too small, so six between three and twelve stands out and becomes a common number for the ancients. In the "Zuo Chuan", there is "Ji Zhi is three, flat is six, and it is achieved in twelve, and the way of heaven is also." ".
Therefore, from this point of view, taking the sixth era can also be regarded as a manifestation of Qin Shi Huang's obedience to the way of heaven and his obedience to heaven.
The concept of Shang Liu has existed since ancient times
Other scholars have pointed out that the phenomenon of advocating the "six" was widespread before the Qin Dynasty, and Qin Shi Huang merely fixed the practice in the form of a state decree.
During the Spring and Autumn period, the Jin state had "Six Qings"; Zhou Tianzi's army was called the "Sixth Division"; The Rite of Zhou divides the official system into six officials; The education system of the Zhou Dynasty was divided into six arts; The Confucian classics also have the Six Classics, and so on.
Archaeological findings can also prove this: in the tombs of Shangcunling Yuguo Cemetery in Sanmenxia, Tanggong Road in Luoyang City, Chu Tomb in Huaiyang Ma'an Tomb, and Che Makeng in Wangcheng Square in Luoyang City, the phenomenon of having one cart and six horses was found to be regulated by burial; In addition, a brief record of "driving six" was also found in the tomb of Zeng Marquis Yi.
The earliest of these tombs was in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, and the later was also in the late Warring States period, which shows that this system was much earlier than Qin Shi Huang; Even in the sites of prehistoric culture, many relics and cultural relics related to "six" have been unearthed, which further proves that the source of honoring the six may be earlier than the Qin dynasty, and is not the original creation of Qin Shi Huang.
Qin Shi Huang's "six as the rule" not only conforms to the theory of the five virtues, but also caters to the idea of days, and it is also easy to promote in the implementation process because of the previous precedents.
It can be said that the six-year discipline should be a comprehensive and carefully considered initiative.
Although Qin Shi Huang's motives for the Six Ages have been debated by scholars in ancient and modern times, it is still difficult to reach a conclusive conclusion. However, it is undeniable that this measure has a positive effect on Qin Shi Huang's implementation of the new policy.
It not only demonstrated the rational legitimacy of the Qin Dynasty's unification of the world from a philosophical point of view, but also helped the Qin Dynasty to unify weights and measures and establish a unified state. Although Qin Shi Huang and the Qin Dynasty he single-handedly established have mixed reviews in history, Qin Shi Huang's efforts to unify are worthy of recognition by later generations.