Preface
Thousands of years later, Qin Shi Huang's glorious empire has long been a page in history, but the question of whether his descendants are still alive has been a mystery that induces reverie. In recent years, there have been some striking clues that the great emperor may not have left alone in the long river of history.
Among these 4 surnames, there is a shocking possibility hidden, perhaps the bloodline inheritance of the descendants of Qin Shi Huang. Let's unveil the mystery of history, trace the stories behind these surnames, and see if we can still find that bloodline inheritance that has been sealed for thousands of years, and bring the descendants of Qin Shi Huang back to our field of vision.
Emperor Qin, who ruled the world, was not at suffocation?
In 221 BCE, the reign of King Qin finally fulfilled the wish of his grandfather and father for generations, and became the first emperor in Chinese history by uniting the Six Kingdoms into a unified empire. The last anti-Qin forces in Shu had also been exterminated shortly before. After decades of conquest, the Qin army has become invincible step by step. However, the fall of a great empire is often instantaneous.
Seeing that the Qin Dynasty was becoming more and more prosperous, with many mansions and people living and working in peace and contentment, he did not know that three years later, this first-class empire would fall apart and finally perish under Xiang Yu's iron horseman. The Qin Dynasty, when the sun and moon were in the sky and the future was immeasurable, turned out to be a regrettable old thing in the long river of history.
The fall of China's most powerful empire shocked and saddened many people at that time and in later generations. However, what is even more embarrassing is that the descendants of the Qin royal family, which once swept the world, were almost wiped out in the troubled times. It is conceivable that the generals who had a deep blood grudge against the Qin family at the end of the Qin Dynasty were very likely to regard them as objects to vent their hatred.
So the question arises: Could Qin Shi Huang, who had achieved great success and is unparalleled in the world, be the last in the world? What kind of changes will his flesh-and-blood relatives undergo in their fate? What is the truth of the details of the earth-shattering reversal of the rise and fall of the Qin dynasty under this great wheel of history? We might as well explore this magnificent clan epic one by one.
The usurpation dispute, the first catastrophe of the Qin family
The eldest son was forced to commit suicide, and Qin II ascended the throne
That year, the spring flowers bloomed, the Qin king's capital Xianyang flowers were in full bloom, and the city was filled with tempting potpourri. However, this did not hide the shocking coup d'état that was brewing at the court. When Qin Shi Huang died on his way out on a sand dune in 210 B.C., the flame of power struggle was ignited.
According to the arrangement of Qin Shi Huang during his lifetime, the eldest son Fusu was supposed to ascend the throne. However, at this time, the eunuch Zhao Gao and the prime minister Li Simou had already decided, and they saw the opportunity to seize power, and quickly joined forces to support Qin Shi Huang's favorite youngest son Hu Hai to ascend the throne, which was for Qin II, and took himself as the auxiliary government of the country.
In order to consolidate his position, the new monarch brutally murdered 10 half-sisters. In 209 BC, under the house arrest of his mother Zhao Ji, he designed to force Fusu to commit suicide in the city of Weisu. He then buried the other 12 brothers alive because they were also eligible to inherit the throne. In this way, the legitimate bloodline of Qin Shi Huang was almost wiped out under a series of brutal actions by Hu Hai.
公子高改姓奉,侥幸逃脱
However, before Zhao Gao was killed in 207 BC, another son of Qin Shi Huang, Gongzi Gao, was still alive. After Hu Hai ascended the throne, Gongzi Gao realized that the danger was imminent, and took the initiative to ask Hu Hai for help, willing to go to the funeral of Qin Shi Huang, so as to be spared. Hu Hai proudly agreed.
Taking this opportunity, Gongzi Gao and his family changed their surname to "Feng", quickly escaped from the Xianyang court, and mingled among the common people. At this point, Gongzi Gao and his mother escaped for the time being and no longer appear in historical records. However, it is conceivable that Gongzi Gaoji may have lived with resentment towards Hu Hai, which laid a hidden danger for the chaos of the Qin Dynasty in the future.
At the time of its destruction, the second catastrophe of the Qin Dynasty
Zhao Gao was killed, and Ziying appeared
In the two years since Gongzi Gao's disappearance, the eunuch Zhao Gao, who had been stealing the throne for many years, was finally killed in a palace coup. The mysterious figure who killed Zhao Gao, "Qin III", is very likely to be the half-brother of Qin Shi Huang according to his surname and timing.
Ziying stood out in this chaotic coup and once controlled the power of the government. This shows that his mental means are extremely clever and can take advantage of the situation in a complex situation, which is a strong proof of the Qin family's courage and good fighting.
However, at this critical moment, the Qin Dynasty, which had already passed, was about to usher in the final collapse and annihilation.
Xiang Yu was slaughtered, and the Qin family was on the verge of extinction
In the winter of 207 BC, heavy snow fell. The banner of the Chu army has been raised at the head of Xianyang, the capital of Qin. The heavens were pitiful, and Liu Bang's Han army occupied Xianyang first, and promised to spare the Qin family. However, before he could catch his breath, the-for-tat Xiang Yu had already killed the city, and his 200,000 troops were trampled with iron hooves, and Liu Bang retreated without a fight.
Xiang Yu had previously suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dingtao, and his subordinates and henchmen were all buried alive by the Qin army. It can be said that he has a grudge in his heart, and he has already hated the Qin State deeply. At this time, it is just the right time to vent all your anger on the last deserter in the Qin Palace. So in the slaughter of the city, Xiang Yu showed no mercy, and it was very likely that all the remnants of the Qin family, including Ziying, would be exterminated.
After two sudden catastrophes, Qin Shi Huang's flesh and blood seemed to have completely disappeared from the world. Skynet is restored, who can be spared?
Incognito, the life and death of future generations are difficult to understand
However, in the cruel course of history, there will always be miraculous miracles. We have to consider that in the two catastrophes, there may still be a very small number of Qin bloodlines who survived by hiding their names incognito and turning hostilities into jade silks.
The chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the change of appearance were done by many powerful people at that time. Examining the past, it is not difficult to imagine that the old and young remnants of the Qin family will also follow the example of many powerful ministers and nobles of the Qin State at that time, change their surnames, mix with the people, and temporarily avoid the fierceness of the war.
They are likely traced back to older clan surnames, seeking refuge from distant relatives. Or simply randomly adopt some of the more common surnames of the time to avoid being chased and get a new life.
After the vicissitudes of life and the vicissitudes of life, the final fate of these descendants of the Qin family can no longer be verified. What we can be sure of is that perhaps just around us, behind a certain superficially ordinary Chinese surname, there is a magnificent and bizarre epic of the Qin Dynasty.
epilogue
History has always existed objectively and cannot be changed in our eyes. However, when we travel through the time tunnel to the chaotic era at the end of the Qin Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, when we witness the tragic fate experienced by the descendants of the Qin family, historical events suddenly become flesh and blood.
At that time, the power struggle in the court was unavoidable, and at that time, Xiang Yu's army was killed, and it was difficult to protect the innocent. "History" as we know it today is only an objective portrayal of the outcome of events, and the fragments that lie beneath the surface of history—countless flesh-and-blood individuals—are much more complex and cruel than what we read in textbooks.
So, history is not as cold as we think. In the inexplicable fatalism, in the specious records, there are also countless little-known life anecdotes and thrilling details. It's really hard for us to imagine what kind of desperate situation and psychological struggle those descendants of the Qin family who died unexpectedly back then.
After his death, Qin Shi Huang was scattered and no one paid his respects, and the Qin Empire, which today dominates China, collapsed and ceased to exist three years later. All kinds of facts remind us not to believe in the objectivity of history, because behind that, there are countless unfinished lives.