Before reading this article, please click "Follow", which is convenient for you to discuss and share, and can bring you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support!
In 221 BC, China ushered in the rise of the Qin Dynasty, marking the beginning of China's feudal dynasty era and the realization of "great unification" under the centralized political system.
Unification of the Qin Dynasty
The establishment of the Qin Dynasty had a profound impact on China's political culture and established the basic pattern of China's political system. As the ancients said: "A hundred generations have practiced Qin politics and law".
The word "great unification" was first found in a passage in the "Legend of the Ram in Spring and Autumn": "What is Wang Zhengyue?" Great unification also. ”
"Great" means sublime and noble, "one" represents origin, and "unification" represents creation. Therefore, "unification" means that the political society belongs from the bottom up to a transcendent ontology, so that this political society acquires a transcendent existence value, not just the centralized unification of the political scope centered on the supreme power.
After the unification of the Qin state, the concept of "great unification" was completely interpreted at the political level.
Second, the unification of the six states by Qin ended the chaotic situation of the division of princes and the struggle for hegemony during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and laid the foundation for the unification and development of China's multi-ethnic groups.
Map of the territory of the Qin Dynasty
Before the unification of the Qin Dynasty, China fell into a chaotic state of division and separation, and frequent wars seriously hindered the vigorous economic and cultural development of various regions, and also brought disasters to the people's production and life. However, the establishment of the Qin Dynasty provided favorable conditions for social and economic recovery and development, and for the stable life and mutual exchanges of the people of all ethnic groups.
The Qin Dynasty was the first dynasty in Chinese history to truly complete unification, opening up a new situation for the country. Although there have been occasional short-lived divisions in the more than two thousand years of Chinese feudal society, unification has always been the main theme of historical development. Qin Shi Huang adopted a series of measures to consolidate unity in the political, economic, cultural and ideological fields, which played a crucial role in consolidating the unity of the feudal country and promoting the prosperity and development of economy and culture.
So, how did the Qin Dynasty establish a unified state?
First, the reign of the King of Qin ended the division of princes and achieved the political unification of China.
In 238 BC, the Qin king Huanzheng removed the chancellor Lü Buwei and Changxin Hou Qiang, and began to rule personally. With the help of Li Si, Wei Yi and others, Ying Zheng formulated the strategy of "destroying the princes, becoming an emperor, and unifying the world". The specific measures were: skillfully enlisting Yan Qi's support, consolidating Wei Chu's stability, and completely eliminating Han Zhao; By interacting with distant places and attacking enemy countries one by one, the goal of unification is gradually achieved.
The image of Qin Shi Huang in film and television dramas
In the process of unification, the Qin state adopted the strategy of "not greedy for property, bribing the enemy's arrogant and powerful, and dismantling its strategy", dividing the enemy country from within, while inheriting the policy of distant relations and close attack of previous generations, and clarifying the specific strategic steps of first weak and then strong, and first near and then far. From the invasion of Korea in 230 BC to the destruction of the Qi state in 221 BC, after a period of 10 years, the Qin state conquered the six states of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi in order, ending more than 500 years of disputes between princes and establishing the Qin dynasty. Qin Shi Huang believed that his achievements surpassed those of the three emperors and five emperors before him, so he adopted the "emperor" of the three emperors and the "emperor" of the five emperors to form the title of "emperor", becoming the first monarch in Chinese history to use the title of "emperor", calling himself "first emperor".
Second, Shang Martingale promoted the reform of the law and established a new system suitable for social and economic development.
The evaluation of Shang Martin in the "History of Shang Jun Lie" is: "Tai Shi Gong: Shang Jun, his talent is also a mean person. ”
The image of Martingale in film and television dramas
During the Spring and Autumn period, the Qin state's socio-economic development lagged behind that of other countries. The tax reform resulting from private ownership of land was also much later than that of the Kanto countries. In order to meet the needs of social, political and economic changes, Shang Martingale proceeded from his thesis that "if the world is not governed together, the country is not lawful", he believes that the foundation of national governance lies in attaching importance to agriculture and war, and in order to make the country rich and strong, it is necessary to carry out legal propaganda and cultivate legal talents. Economically, the change of the law changed the old production relations, abolished the well-field system, and introduced the policy of reclamation of new fields. The "Warring States Policy" called it "breaking the desert and teaching the people to cultivate the war", which fundamentally destroyed the production relations of slavery and promoted the development of the feudal economy. Politically, the change of law attacked and dismantled the old system of blood patriarchy, made the feudal state mechanism more sound, and the construction of the centralized system began.
Militarily, the reward of military merit achieved the purpose of strengthening the army, greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the army, and created favorable conditions for the strategic development of the Qin state. Through the reform of Shang Martingale, the Qin state abolished the old system and created a new system adapted to social and economic development.
Army of the State of Qin
Finally, in order to consolidate the situation of great unification in terms of system, Qin Shi Huang adopted a series of institutional and cultural measures.
First of all: move the rich and collect weapons.
In order to prevent the power of the six countries from rising again, after Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, he was most worried about the nobles of the six countries plotting to restore. In order to avoid the recurrence of feudal separation, he moved 120,000 families of the rich and powerful families of the Six Kingdoms to the capital Xianyang, and some to Bashu, Nanyang, Sanchuan, and Zhaodi, leaving them from their homeland and weakening their social foundation; Or put it under the direct surveillance and control of the central power to prevent it from forming a rebel force. At the same time, he ordered the weapons of the world to be collected, transported to Xianyang for destruction, and cast into twelve thousand-stone bells and bronze figures. Through these means, the armed rebellion of the people and the rebellion of the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms were prevented.
Copper Man
Second, Qin Shi Huang implemented a series of uniform systems.
Before the unification of the six kingdoms, the princely states were separated, and the writing form was extremely chaotic. This poses a serious obstacle to the implementation of decrees and cultural exchanges. Therefore, after the unification of the six kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang regarded the unification of the script as a top priority, and entrusted Prime Minister Li Si, Zhongshufu Ling Zhao Gao, and imperial official Ling Hu Bujing and others to sort out the script. Li Si based on the Qin State script and referred to the Six Kingdoms script to formulate the small seal; Cheng Qiao sorted out the affiliated book according to the more simplified font popular among the people at that time. These two forms of writing have been promoted throughout the country. However, the small seal became the standard script of the Qin state, while the subordinate script became the script used on a daily basis.
In addition, due to the previous years of war, the various princely states built a large number of gates and fortresses in various places, and the roads were of different widths, which seriously hindered communication and made it difficult for centralized countries to control various places. After Qin Shi Huang unified China, he ordered the demolition of these passes and fortresses, and from the 27th year of Qin Shi Huang, three roads centered on Xianyang were built to keep the transportation network open. In addition, in order to defend against the Xiongnu, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Great Wall of Qin in the north, and demolished the Great Wall that was originally used for "mutual defense" between the princely states. The history books record: "The emperor was mighty, and the virtue was obtained by the princes, and the initial attainment of Taiping." The walls were demolished, the river was opened up, and obstacles were removed. ”
In terms of currency and weights and measures, Qin Shi Huang divided the currency into two types, upper and lower currency, which were used throughout the country. The listing currency is gold, measured in neodymium, and the Qin system stipulates that twenty taels are one neodymium; The lower currency is a copper coin with a round square hole, in units of half a tael. In addition, Qin Shi Huang also implemented the system of weights and measures formulated during the Shang Martingale Reform Law, and promoted the weights and measures as a standard instrument throughout the country. This greatly facilitates the exchange of goods and economic exchanges throughout the country and promotes the development of a unified country.
Qin Shi Huang's monetary reform
Finally, Qin Shi Huang implemented the policy of "making Qian head from Shitian" (216 BC), which confirmed that private ownership of land was the basis for the rule of the landlord class. After Qin unified the Six Kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang issued a nationwide land registration decree, requiring all those who occupied land to report to the government the amount of land they occupied, and the government collected land rents on this basis. This policy meant that private land was protected by the feudal regime and officially recognized throughout the country. This played a positive role in promoting the development of private ownership of feudal land, but it also made it possible for the landlord class to legally exploit the peasants, and the peasants were increasingly exploited by land rent, taxes, and all kinds of conscription.
At the beginning of the unification of the Qin state, there was a debate about whether to make the sons kings. A group of officials, led by Prime Minister Wang Xuan, pleaded with Qin Shi Huang to make his sons kings in the newly occupied Yan, Qi, and Chu lands, believing that this would consolidate the rule of the Qin Dynasty. However, Li Si was adamantly opposed. He believed that the disputes between the princes during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were entirely the result of the Western Zhou system of division and sealing. Only by abolishing the system of segregation can the scourge be eliminated.
Qin Shi Huang accepted Li Si's opinion, believing that "establishing a feudal state" was "creating enemy soldiers", so he ordered the establishment of a county system throughout the country. According to the "Records of History", Qin Shi Huang divided the world into 36 counties, set up counties to manage more than 10,000 households, and set up county magistrates to manage counties with less than 10,000 households. Under the county order, there are Cheng and lieutenants, and the county lieutenant is responsible for the military and law and order of a county. Due to the characteristics of military autocracy of the Qin regime, the task of the county lieutenant was particularly heavy. All matters related to the military, public security, conscription, and management of soldiers were to be carried out by the county lieutenant, and the slightest mistake would be severely punished. Due to the heavy workload of county lieutenants, there may be two to four county lieutenants per county.
The book burning took place in 213 BC. According to the "History of Rulin", it is recorded: "In the Ji Shi of Qin, burning poetry books, pit sorcerers, and the six arts have been missing since then." Qin Shi Huang took the advice of Prime Minister Li Si and ordered the burning of the history books of the countries except the Qin Dynasty. In addition, except for medicine, fortune telling, and tree planting books, other poems and books that are not in the collection of the doctoral official must be handed over and burned within a time limit. Talking privately about poems and books is punishable by death, and those who adhere to ancient rather than modern ideas are exterminated. Private study is prohibited, and those who wish to learn the law can only be taught by officials. The following year, more than 460 Fang priests and Confucians who violated the ban were killed in Xianyang.
Book burning pit Confucianism
Book burning was a measure taken by Qin Shi Huang to control ideology and culture after unifying the Six Kingdoms. During the Warring States period, due to drastic changes in social relations, a hundred schools of thought competed in academia. By the end of the Qin Dynasty, the countries gradually became unified, and the ideology and culture also showed a trend of eclecticism and integration of various theories. After Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, he used the power of the feudal state to impose a policy of ideological and cultural unification to suppress ideas and speeches opposed to the centralized system.
In 206 BC, when Liu Bang entered Bashang (present-day Xi'andong, Shaanxi) in the eastern suburbs of Xianyang, the Qin prince was forced to ride on a white horse in a plain car, tie his neck with a belt, and surrender to Liu Bang with a seal, the Qin dynasty collapsed, Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, and the "short-lived" Qin dynasty only existed for 15 years. Although the Qin Dynasty existed for a short time, its influence on Chinese history was profound and long-standing. The Qin dynasty laid the foundation for China's feudal dynasty and became a model for later dynasties. At the same time, the centralized system, unified writing and weights and measures system of the Qin Dynasty also provided important references and references for later political systems and cultural development.
Qin Shi Huang
Overall, the rise and unification of the Qin Dynasty had an important impact on Chinese history. It not only marked the beginning of China's feudal dynasty, but also laid the foundation for China's political system, economic development and cultural exchanges. Although the Qin Dynasty had some limitations and drawbacks, its achievements and experience played a positive role in promoting later historical development.