In the eyes of the ancients, magic and ingenuity were just extravagant things that would make people indulge in fun, and should not exist. Therefore, these miracles and tricks have been suppressed and suppressed in ancient times.
Magic and ingenuity are not allowed to be allowed to be seen in the world
First, let's take a look at the attitude of the ancients towards magic and ingenuity? Ancient texts from the pre-Qin period contain the phrase "fornication, alien clothing, strange skills, and strange weapons to kill the public", which means that the government sentenced prisoners who made strange tricks and tricks to death when dealing with them.
From this sentence, it can also be found that the ancient tricks and tricks were actually an invention, and the first to make the tricks and tricks was the king of Shang, and it was written in the Book of Shang, "(The king of Shang) made miracles and tricks to please women."
From here, it seems that it can be seen why the ancients looked down on this strange and ingenious thing so much, because in their opinion, these inventions were only for the laughter of women, and they had no use for the development of society and the stability of rivers and mountains.
Therefore, when the ancients mentioned this word, they carried a derogatory attitude.
In addition, the Tang Dynasty scholar Kong Yingda, who is also the thirty-second grandson of Confucius, also has this explanation for the strange skill and obscenity, "Qiqi is a strange skill, and obscene is excessive skill." Therefore, those creations with special functions and exquisite craftsmanship are classified as strange and ingenious.
So, what kind of thing is a trick? For example, the Western Han straight plain gauze jacket unearthed from Mawangdui.
This gauze is as thin as a cicada wing, and it cannot cover the body after wearing it, so some experts believe that the mistress of this gauze is likely to have ordered someone to sew this dress in order to win her husband's favor.
After putting on the gauze dress, the beautiful figure of the woman can be faintly displayed in front of the husband's eyes. It took 13 years for experts to restore the same plain gauze jacket.
It can also be guessed that the ancient clothing bureau needed a lot of manpower and material resources to make this garment. However, the clothes produced cannot meet the needs of daily wear, so it is considered a "miracle trick".
Low practicality and lack of value
Even if the practicality of these strange tricks is not high, but after all, they are also an invention of the ancients, and they are also the embodiment of ancient manufacturing technology and wisdom, why did the ancients feel that these things did not need to exist?
This is actually due to the following three points, the first is that the level of science and technology in ancient times was not very developed, these miracles and tricks have no high practical value, and can only be used as a tool for the royal family or nobles.
For example, take the ancient tangram, which is a puzzle toy in ancient times. As the name suggests, a tangram is made up of seven boards that can be recombined to form 1,600 different patterns.
Although tangram puzzles are a puzzle game, in ancient times this toy was only for the rich to play, and ordinary people were busy with their livelihoods, which took time to puzzle.
Therefore, the ancients believed that inventing these tricks and tricks was actually a waste of social productivity.
Secondly, Ming Dynasty scholars once said that "full of warmth and lust", this strange skill and lust are the desires that can only arise on the basis of satisfying food and clothing. The fact is that in ancient times, ordinary people depended on the sky for food, and spent their entire lives rushing for their livelihoods and working in the fields.
If a country had enough food, the people would not have to worry about survival, so they would have the energy to create something else.
But if the state has not even grasped agricultural production, and the people have invented tricks and tricks, firstly, the ancient dynasty will have no source of agricultural taxation, and secondly, the people will not be able to eat.
After all, these ingenious gadgets alone cannot fill the stomach!
Agriculture, industry and commerce, low status
There is a third reason, which is related to the Confucianism proposed by Confucius. As we all know, since Emperor Wudi of Han "deposed hundreds of schools and respected Confucianism", Confucianism has become an official study of the government.
If you look at these miracles and tricks from the perspective of Confucianism, you will feel that these inventions and creations are a kind of plaything.
In addition, Confucianism also emphasizes that people should be motivated and idealistic and become useful to society, so most of the ancients immersed in Confucianism had the heart to enter the dynasty and become an official.
After all, only by becoming an official can you have a certain say in the dynasty and make suggestions to ancient kings. Once the advice is adopted by the king, there is an opportunity to make changes in society.
In addition, after the imperial examination appeared in ancient times, ordinary people had to study hard for decades if they wanted to enter the officialdom. Therefore, in the process of hard reading, there must be no mind and energy to spend on studying magic and tricks.
If people in society want to invent tricks and tricks instead of studying, then the imperial court will have no available talents, and the dynasty will not be able to develop and grow.
In addition, in ancient times, people's occupations were divided into high and low, that is, "farmers, industry and commerce", and this miracle belongs to "work", although the status of labor is higher than that of commerce, but labor is by no means the main productive force of society.
Once ancient kings revered magic and skill, they violated this social division of labor.
It can also be seen from this classification that "scholars", that is, readers, are the highest rank, so in ancient society, there was a saying that "everything is inferior, only reading is high". The inventors of these ingenious skills were considered by the ancients to be of low status and unworthy of respect.
Of course, there is also a factor that suppresses and suppresses the tricks and tricks because the rulers of ancient societies would promote a policy of ignorance, such as the Qing Dynasty's literal prison.
But the creation of this magic requires a rich imagination, and overactive thoughts increase the factor of social unrest, which is why it is feared by the rulers.
Because magic and tricks are not practical inventions, nor can they be conducive to the country's agricultural development, they also violate Confucian concepts, so they were suppressed for a long time in ancient times.