The change made the Qin state rise from a small country that was almost destroyed to become the overlord of the Warring States period. Wei Ying's Shang Jun Reform Law not only carried out thorough reforms in political, economic, military and other aspects, but also pushed Legalist thought to the extreme, trying to reshape the customs and hearts of the Qin State with harsh decrees. The magnitude and depth of this change is unprecedented in ancient history. However, it was this change that laid the foundation for the short life of the Qin dynasty. So, where has this reform been successful? How did it lay the foundation for the decline and fall of the Qin Dynasty? Let's find out.
Before the change: the state of Qin, which ran out of ammunition and food
Since the Spring and Autumn period, the Qin State has been a small border country far from the Central Plains. The harsh geographical environment and sparse population made it difficult for the Qin state to develop in the process. By the time of the Warring States Period, the Qin State was even more in a state of collapse and lost many territories one after another.
In 361 B.C., Yingqu Liang succeeded to the throne as Qin Xiaogong, when the Qin State was already exhausted of ammunition and food, and the family was surrounded by four walls. According to normal development, a small country like Qin, which lacks resources, should soon be swallowed up by powerful countries and disappear from the long river of history.
Faced with this crisis, Qin Xiaogong was quite anxious. In order to seek the wise men and the able ministers and work out the way out, he issued the "Seeking Talents Order" that shocked the whole country when he ascended the throne. Ling Zhong wrote sincerely: "If there are guests and ministers who can make strange plans to strengthen Qin, I will respect the officials and share the land with them." This is undoubtedly Qin Xiaogong trying his best to find talents to save the crisis of the Qin State.
Soon after, fortunately for the country, the famous uncle of Zhao strongly recommended his disciple Wei Ying to the King of Wei. Uncle Gong said: "Although Gongsun Martingale is young, he has a genius. Hope that the king will hear the whole country. It's a pity that the king of Wei didn't listen, and his uncle could only persuade him to flee from Wei for the sake of Wei Ying's future.
As a result, Wei Ying fled to the neighboring state of Qin to the west. This move became the cornerstone of the prosperity of the Qin state, and also rewrote the fate of Wei Ying and the entire history of China.
The purpose of changing the law: to establish the country by law
In 356 BC, in the fifth year of Qin Xiaogong, after experiencing a series of debates, Qin Xiaogong finally decided to change the law, hired Wei Ying as the prime minister, and fully implemented the Shang Yang reform. This was the beginning of a political movement that has influenced China's thousands of years of history.
In the final analysis, the core purpose of the Shang Dynasty reform is to "rule the country by law". Under this premise, Wei Ying formulated a series of specific reform measures, involving many fields such as economy, military, politics, and social customs, with the aim of comprehensively transforming the Qin state through legal means.
First, on the economic front, the new law advocates "valuing agriculture and suppressing business" and establishes agriculture as the "main industry" of the state. Abolish the traditional well-field system, promote private land ownership, open up the sale of land, and reward attendance and punish laziness through taxation. These measures have undoubtedly greatly increased the enthusiasm for agricultural production.
Second, in terms of military construction, Wei Ying proposed the "20th rank military merit system". Regardless of whether the family is high or low, as long as there is a military merit, the corresponding title can be obtained, and the hereditary right of the clan will be cancelled, and everything will be rewarded according to military merit. This greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the soldiers to kill the enemy and serve the country, so that the Qin State had an elite army.
Third, in terms of political system, Wei Ying "abolished the division of feuds and set up counties and counties", established a centralized administrative management system, implemented strict hierarchical division and household registration management, and strengthened the central government's control over the localities. This laid the institutional foundation for the Qin Dynasty's high degree of centralization.
Fourth, in terms of social customs, Wei Ying also formulated strict norms of "do not see, do not listen, do not speak, and do not move", trying to completely transform the folk customs through the power of law.
All of these reform measures were based on the general goal of "ruling the country by law", and attempted to use the coercive force of the law to comprehensively transform the economic foundation, military strength, political system, and social customs of the Qin state, so as to lay the foundation for the realization of a rich country and a strong army, and to seize the heart of the world.
The effect of the change: the country is rich and the people are strong
After several years of hard work, the Shang Dynasty reform was finally fully rolled out in the Qin state, and soon showed gratifying results.
In terms of economic construction, the policy of "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business" implemented by the new law brought unprecedented prosperity to the agricultural production of the Qin State. The peasant class, which used to be seen as inferior, is now the object of attention and protection. Encouraged by favorable policies, a large number of people began to engage in agricultural production, and as a result, the grain production of the Qin state continued to rise, and the country's wealth accumulation became increasingly abundant.
In terms of military strength, after the implementation of the "20th rank knighthood" system, there is no distinction between the noble and the low, and as long as they have made meritorious deeds on the battlefield, they can obtain high-ranking official posts, and this has greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of young and middle-aged people throughout the country for military service. From rural areas to towns, countless promising young people have generously served the country by joining hands to kill the enemy and serve the country. Driven by this strong military atmosphere, the Qin army grew rapidly and was unstoppable.
In terms of social security, although the strict laws and regulations formulated by Shang Ying were harsh, they did make the people abide by the law, and the Qin society was extremely stable and orderly. The household registration system of Shang Ying and the system of "ten households sitting together" made people afraid of violations of law and discipline, consciously abide by rules and regulations, and greatly reduced criminal behavior.
In terms of political system, Shang Ying established a centralized and unified county administrative system through the reform of "abolishing feudal divisions and establishing counties and counties", which strengthened the centralization of power and improved the efficiency of governance. Under this premise, the guidelines and policies promulgated by Qin Xiaogong can be implemented throughout the country without hindrance.
In general, after several years of reforms, the originally poor and weak Qin State underwent earth-shaking changes, and made great progress in various aspects such as economic strength, military strength, social order, and political system, which made the Qin State's national strength unprecedentedly high, and laid a solid foundation for the eventual unification of China.
The Qin people advocated the formation of a culture of force and violence
Although the Shang Dynasty changed the law and allowed the Qin state to grow from a small state on the verge of extinction to the most powerful military force of the time in a short period of time, it also invisibly shaped a brutal and aggressive cultural concept for the Qin people.
In the early days of the reform, in order to establish the basic national policy of "valuing agriculture and suppressing business", the Qin State specially promulgated a series of strict decrees, such as "do not see, hear, speak, and move", in an attempt to use the coercive force of the law to completely transform the folk customs. These decrees not only regulated people's daily behavior, but also influenced the values and outlook on life of the Qin people at a deeper level.
Under the long-term penetration of this high-pressure policy, the Qin people gradually developed an ideological tendency of obeying the law and respecting force. They believe only in power and force, advocate the supremacy of violence, and regard gentleness and frugality as low morality. This kind of atmosphere has done enough in the process of the Qin army's conquest everywhere.
The Qin army has been fighting abroad for a long time, and it has always been a praised virtue to be decisive in killing and brave in battle. They are accustomed to solving all problems by violent means, and they like to talk cruelly and practically, and they take peace and elegance for granted. According to historical records, the Qin army, regardless of age and age, slaughtered excessively when attacking cities and plundering land, and behaved violently and ruthlessly.
Not only that, in order to inspire the morale of the army and demonstrate its strength, the Qin State also vigorously advocated the "soldier" ideas that prevailed during the Warring States Period, such as "destroying the army", "tyrannical and ruthless", "rewarding and sparing no effort" and other strategies, and justified brutal acts into the art of nation-building. Under the influence of this trend of thought, brutality became the portrayal of the Qin army, and barbarism became the label of the Qin state.
This culture of force worship and violence reached its peak after the Qin unified the Six Kingdoms. After Qin Shi Huang succeeded to the throne, he not only inherited the tyrannical rule of Qin, but also carried it forward, and regarded himself as "burning books and pit Confucianism" and other atrocities all day long. It was this kind of cultural accumulation that originated from the reform of the law that laid the bane for the transience of the later Qin Dynasty.
The hidden danger of changing the law: endangering the fortunes of the future generations
Although the Shang Dynasty changed the law and catapulted the Qin state from a small state to the most powerful military power of the time in a short period of time, this change also laid the foundation for the later Qin dynasty.
First of all, although the "20th rank of the lord" system pursued by the Shang Dynasty reform law did greatly stimulate the combat enthusiasm of the soldiers at that time, with the passage of time, the assessment of the lord was a mere formality, and the children of the nobles could still grab high-ranking officials by virtue of the family lord, which seriously violated the original intention of the system.
Second, the Shang Dynasty advocated harsh and brutal methods of rule, relying too much on violence to subdue the people. While it did work at the time, it was not destined for long-term stability. Once the central authority of the Qin Dynasty was damaged, the people in various places would be scattered and unstable.
Moreover, the laws of the Qin Dynasty lacked humanistic care in the modern sense. Placing full hopes on the restraint of criminal law and violent suppression will inevitably lead to the distortion of human ethics and the collapse of morality in the long run. The Qin people regarded the government as a machine of violence rather than a model of morality, and people involuntarily became accustomed to settling all disputes by force.
Finally, although the Shang Dynasty reformed the law to consolidate the dominance of the Qin state in the short term, its drawbacks, such as cultural conflicts and ethnic discrimination, were more obvious after the Qin dynasty unified the world. This not only intensified the anti-Qin sentiment in various places after the unification, but also planted the seeds of civil strife and division in the later period of the Qin Dynasty.
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In general, although the Shang Dynasty Reform Law gave the Qin State a huge boost at that time, the various hidden dangers left behind by it also laid the root of the Qin Dynasty. If future generations really want long-term peace and stability, they must strive to avoid these drawbacks in the design of the system and blaze a broader new path.