Everyone in the world knows that Qin Shi Huang "burned books to pit Confucianism," but do you know that burning books did not burn all the classics? The so-called pit of Confucianism actually did not really hurt Confucianism? Putting aside the conjecture of later generations, Qin Shi Huang's methods were not so brutal. So, what is the true face of book burning? Who is the target of Confucianism? Let us clear the fog of history one by one and see the facts as they are.
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period contended
Speaking of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, this was an important turning point in the development of Chinese civilization. The period from 770 to 476 BC was the Spring and Autumn Period, and from 475 BC to 221 BC, it was the Warring States Period. In the past few hundred years, the royal power of Zhou Tianzi has been declining, and the vassal states have risen one after another, starting a fierce competition for each other.
At that time, the Central Plains region could be described as full of smoke and bloody rain. The leaders of the vassal states such as the Duke of Qi Huan and the Duke of Wen of Jin all fought on the battlefield, fighting for greater territory and power. In such a volatile environment, countries have had to strengthen their national capabilities in order to protect themselves. As a result, groups of thinkers and theorists came into being, and they put forward all kinds of ideas and theories in an attempt to make suggestions for the country.
Confucian Confucius and Mencius, Taoist Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi, Legalist Shang Ying and Han Feizi, famous Xunzi, Yin and Yang family, Bing family, vertical and horizontal family, etc., all emerged in this period, forming an unprecedented situation of "a hundred schools of thought". Their doctrine had a profound impact on the development of Chinese civilization in later generations.
Among them, Confucius is the founder of Confucianism, he put forward the core concept of "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith", and advocated the people-oriented idea of "the people are noble and the monarch is light". Mencius further developed Confucianism, putting forward the proposition that "the people are precious, the community is secondary, and the monarch is light", pushing the people-oriented thought to the extreme.
Lao Tzu is the founder of Taoism, he expounded the philosophy of "Tao" in the "Tao Te Ching", put forward the ideas of "rule by inaction" and "the movement of the Tao against the Tao", which had a far-reaching impact on later generations. Zhuangzi developed Taoist thought to the extreme, advocating "being at ease" and "inner sage and outer king".
In contrast, Shang Ying and Han Feizi, representatives of Legalism, advocated "heavy rewards and punishments" and "rule of law", and put forward the core concept of "Legalism". Their doctrine made a significant contribution to the prosperity of the Qin state.
In addition, the famous Xunzi put forward the "theory of sexual evil", the Yin-Yang family discussed the law of Yin and Yang changes, the soldiers studied war strategies, and the Zongheng family focused on worldly power and strategy, etc., all showed brilliant ideological sparks in this period.
It is precisely in this atmosphere of contention that Chinese civilization has been able to shine brilliantly in the turbulent era. The doctrines of various schools and factions are like the icing on the cake and the stars, adding to the brilliance of Chinese culture. This fierce collision and confrontation of ideas promoted the development of ancient Chinese philosophy and left a valuable crystallization of wisdom for future generations.
Legalism arose in the Qin state
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Legalist thought was like a rising star, blooming with dazzling light on the hot land of Qin.
The rise of Legalism was due to the special national conditions of the Qin State at that time. As a small country in the northwest border, Qin has been located in a remote area since ancient times, with strong people and weak national strength. However, in the late Warring States period, the Qin State gradually rose, and finally unified the world, achieving an unprecedented situation of great unification, which is indispensable for the influence of Legalist thought.
In 359 BC, Shang Ying became the prime minister of Qin, creating a precedent for changing the law. Shang was well versed in current affairs, and he believed that if the Qin state wanted to be strong, it must completely reform the old feudal system. As a result, he vigorously implemented a series of reform measures in the Qin state.
First of all, Shang Ying abolished the hereditary system and implemented the jue system of "the noble and the lowly have ranks, and the brave have classes", breaking the old hierarchical barriers. As long as there is merit, you can get the corresponding title, which stimulates people's fighting spirit and drive.
Secondly, Shang Yang vigorously developed agricultural production, encouraged people to reclaim wasteland, and stipulated a strict field system, so that agricultural production made great progress.
Thirdly, Shang Ying also attached importance to the development of handicrafts and greatly promoted industry and commerce, which greatly improved the economic strength of the Qin State.
In addition to this, Shang Ying also implemented draconian laws and severely punished crimes. Although his approach was severe, it did effectively maintain social order and laid the foundation for the take-off of the Qin state.
The reform of Shang Yang fully embodies the core proposition of Legalist thought. Legalists advocate "heavy rewards and punishments" and "rule of law", and oppose the Confucian concept of "benevolent government". They believed that the rule of the state should rely on harsh laws, not on the "rule of virtue" as Confucianism suggests. Only in this way can we effectively safeguard social order and enhance national strength.
Shang Ying's changes made the Qin state stronger and stronger. By the time of Qin Shi Huang, the state of Qin had become the most powerful state of its time. Qin Shi Huang inherited the Legalist ideology, vigorously promoted the rule of law, and eventually unified the world, establishing a centralized feudal dynasty.
During the Qin Dynasty, Legalism reached supremacy. In order to consolidate the ruling ideology of Legalism, Qin Shi Huang had to resort to the extreme measure of "burning books and pit Confucianism" in an attempt to eradicate the influence of other ideas.
It can be said that without the guidance of Legalist thought, it would be difficult for the Qin State to become strong in a short period of time, let alone dominate the world. Legalism made an indelible contribution to the prosperity of the Qin Dynasty, and its influence continued to the Qin Dynasty and became the basis of the Qin Dynasty's national policy.
The pertinence and limitations of book burning
In 213 BC, Qin Shi Huang, at the suggestion of Prime Minister Li Si, ordered the burning of folk classics throughout the country. This move caused a huge loss to ancient Chinese cultural knowledge, and was regarded by later generations as an atrocity of "burning books and pit Confucianism". However, when we delve deeper into the historical truth, we will find that Qin Shi Huang's book burning did not burn all the classics, but had a clear purpose and limitations.
Although book burning has dealt a heavy blow to ancient cultural knowledge, it has not completely wiped out Chinese civilization. According to historical records, Qin Shi Huang did not burn all the classics, but kept a backup.
At that time, Prime Minister Li Si wrote to Qin Shi Huang, suggesting that some important classics should be kept for future reference. Qin Shi Huang took this suggestion and ordered a number of precious texts to be preserved in the Xianyang Palace.
These classics mainly include some practical knowledge such as medicine, agriculture, history, and astronomy, which were used by the imperial court for future investigation. It can be seen that Qin Shi Huang did not want to completely erase cultural knowledge, but selectively burned some classics for political purposes.
In the process of burning books, Qin Shi Huang did not treat all the classics equally. On the contrary, his book-burning was targeted, mainly targeting Confucian classics.
At that time, the Qin Dynasty pursued Legalism as a national policy, while the Confucian doctrine of benevolence was in fundamental conflict with it. In order to consolidate the dominance of Legalism in the field of thought, Qin Shi Huang decided to burn Confucian classics, such as the Book of Songs and the Book of Shang, to prevent these works from affecting the legitimacy of Legalism's rule.
At the same time, however, some practical technical books, such as medicine, agriculture, and astronomical calculus, were not burned. These books have been spared because they play an important role in nation-building and people's livelihood.
It can be seen that Qin Shi Huang's book burning was not to completely erase cultural knowledge, but to selectively burn Confucian classics that conflicted with Legalism for political purposes.
Later depictions of Qin Shi Huang's book burning are often portrayed as a large-scale cultural catastrophe that lasted for a long time. But in reality, the time for this book-burning campaign was very limited.
According to historical records, Qin Shi Huang ordered the burning of books for only a short period of one month. Over the course of a month, the court ordered local officials to confiscate and burn the private collection.
Although one month is enough to cause a certain degree of cultural loss, it is by no means a "catastrophe" that completely obliterates Chinese civilization. After all, in the thousands of years before this, ancient Chinese culture had developed to a very high level, and it was by no means possible to wipe it out in a single month of book burning.
What's more, as mentioned earlier, Qin Shi Huang did not burn all the classics, but also kept some important books. Therefore, although book burning has had a certain impact on ancient culture, its impact is also limited and has not reached the point of "cultural catastrophe".
In general, Qin Shi Huang's book burning was not a blind burning of the world's classics, but had a clear purpose and limitations. He kept some of the classics, mainly the Confucian classics that conflicted with Legalism, and only lasted for a month. Although this was a cruel approach, it was understandable due to political considerations at the time. We should not simply equate it with "tyranny".
The truth about the Confucian
In addition to book burning, another widely criticized practice of Qin Shi Huang was "Confucianism". Later generations often juxtaposed "book burning" with "Confucianism" as ironclad evidence of Qin Shi Huang's tyranny. However, when we trace back to the source, we will find that the truth of "Confucianism" is not as simple as later generations thought.
The so-called "pit Confucianism" refers to the warlocks ordered by Qin Shi Huang to hunt down dozens of people. These executed warlocks were not real Confucian scholars, but some charlatans who were idle and cheated on numbers.
At that time, the Qin Dynasty pursued Legalism as a national policy and advocated the rule of law, believing that the actions of these warlocks undermined the country's law and order. As a result, Qin Shi Huang ordered the lawlessness to be severely punished and sentenced to death.
However, this practice was misinterpreted in later generations as "Confucianism", which was combined with book burning, and was regarded as evidence of Qin Shi Huang's tyranny. The reason for this is mainly due to the need of later generations of Confucian scholars to belittle Legalism and discredit Qin Shi Huang.
After the Qin Dynasty, Confucianism gradually became the mainstream, and Confucian scholars, in order to belittle Legalism and Qin Shi Huang, deliberately confused the true face of "Confucianism" and combined it with book burning, resulting in the misinformation of "Confucianism".
In fact, the real Confucianism was very different from the Legalist thinking of the Qin Dynasty, and there was no reason for Qin Shi Huang to kill Confucianism on a large scale. The so-called "pit Confucianism" is completely a fictional expression made up by later literati in order to describe the brutality of Qin Shi Huang.
Let's look at a vivid example. According to historical records, there was a warlock named Qiu Jia at that time, who once performed the trick of "moving mountains" in front of Qin Shi Huang. Seeing this, Qin Shi Huang was furious and thought that he was fooling the king, so he sentenced Qiu Jia to death.
This example fully shows that Qin Shi Huang did not cheat Confucianism, but some charlatans who cheated for a living. They were severely punished for their actions in violation of discipline, which was understandable in the context of the rule of law at the time.
On the other hand, Qin Shi Huang did not kill Confucianism, and Confucian scholars could still survive during the Qin Dynasty. It is recorded that there was a Confucian scholar named Sun Shuao at that time, who spoke out in front of Qin Shi Huang, but was not punished in any way.
These historical facts fully show that equating "Confucianism" with book burning is an unfair evaluation of Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang was only pitted by some charlatans who cheated for a living, not real Confucian scholars. These were also two completely different events from the book burning, and later generations confused the two out of the need to belittle Legalist thought and discredit Qin Shi Huang.
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In short, the so-called "pit Confucianism" is not a large-scale killing of Confucian students by Qin Shi Huang, but only the punishment of some warlocks who violated the law. We should not equate it with book burning, nor should we criticize Qin Shi Huang for it. The facts are far more complex than the descriptions of later generations, and we need to look at history objectively and fairly.