During the Warring States period, the more formal version is: from 475 BC to 221 BC. This period is also known as "a meeting of great changes in ancient and modern times", because of the disintegration of the well field system, the replacement of bronze by iron, and the continuous development of the overall productive forces of society, so the old system is disintegrating and new forms are brewing. Looking back at that period of history, we will find that people at that time did not feel that social development had progressed, nor did they appreciate the beauty of the new era, and in their eyes, the idealized Western Zhou liturgical music system was disintegrating, and the emergence of new things made people lose their hearts, just like Adam and Eve stole the forbidden fruit and then it was difficult to return to the former Garden of Eden. As Confucius's sixth grandson, Kong Bin, the great Confucian at the end of the Warring States period, said: There is no good doctor for death and illness, and now Qin has the heart to devour the world, and with righteousness, it will not be safe, and it will not be time to save the dead, and it will be prosperous! At that time, people of insight all regarded salvation as the highest ideal, hoping to save this world on the verge of collapse through their own ideas. Let's take a look at the historical details of that era.
desire
In 403 BC, King Weilie of Zhou, the son of the Zhou Dynasty, "initially appointed the Jin dynasty grand masters Wei Si, Zhao Yuan, and Han Qian as princes." This passage is recorded in the opening chapter of the Zizhi Tongjian. Sima Guang used this to discuss the importance of the state program and the law of etiquette, and the following examples of crimes in the Warring States period abounded, one of the typical cases was that the families of zhao, Wei, and Han divided up their main Jin state, and openly demanded that the Son of Heaven crown himself as a prince, but the Son of Heaven could not abide by his law, Sima Guang's evaluation was, "Therefore, the three Jins are listed among the princes, not the bad rites of the Three Jins, but the son of heaven is also bad." The "Three Branches of Jin" and "Tian Shi Daiqi" reflect the changes in people's hearts in that era. At the same time, it is also two key nodes in the transition from the Spring and Autumn Period to the history of the Warring States, and the huge curtain of the history of the Warring States is unveiled.
Characteristics of the Warring States one: the upper can not keep its respect.
In the Warring States period, the authority of the Zhou Dynasty Tianzi had been completely lost, and by the middle and late period of the Warring States period, the monarchs of various countries had openly called themselves "kings", and even the monarchs of qin and Qi had once been called "emperors", and in the hearts of these people, they had long been above the heavenly sons, the world had no order, and only the fist was the axiom.
As the supreme ruler of the world, the Son of Heaven himself could not adhere to his own bottom line, and also undermined the discipline system, which was a serious psychological gouge, not knowing that the meaning of his existence was only in this inherent name, and now this last name can also be arbitrarily transgressed, and the name of the Son of Heaven will come to an end.
In addition, the traditional old nobles have also fallen, and the Qi Jinggong of the State of Qi is a typical example, Shi Zai, Qi Jinggong is good at governing the palace, gathering dogs and horses, and enjoying luxury and generous punishment. Cloth, cloth, cloth, millet, and millet in the public offices were piled up and rotted, and insects were born; the people had no livelihood, starvation and death, and incessant labor, and they could not get relief in the face of disasters; many people were also cut off for violating the criminal law, and the tragic phenomenon of "the cities of the country, the lowly and the noble", and the minister of the State of Qi, Tian Qizi (Tian Beg), took the opportunity to buy the hearts of the people, so that the people's hearts were turned to the Tian family, and the influence of the Tian family expanded day by day.
According to the "Zuo Chuan Zhao Gong Three Years" record: the Jin dynasty's office declined day by day, the people's hearts were scattered, the people fled, and most of the original sons of the public office were "surrendered to soap"; while the Liuqing family became more and more powerful, controlling the military and political power of the Jin state, forming a situation of "the government is at home, the people have nothing to rely on, the monarch is not worried, and the people are not worried about it".
The second characteristic of the Warring States: the lower can not keep its points.
Typical such as the State of Jin, the State of Jin originally had six major families of strong subjects, that is, the Han, Zhao, Wei and Fan clans, Zhongxing clans, and Zhi clans in the later Warring States Seven Heroes, and by the early Warring States period, the Fan clan and the Zhongxing clan had all failed in the domestic struggle, leaving only Han, Zhao, and Wei plus the Zhi clan, collectively known as the Four Secretaries of the Jin Dynasty. In 456 BC, Siqing rushed out of jin and established the duke of Jin. The state politics of the Jin dynasty were controlled by the four families of Zhi, Zhao, Han, and Wei, and the monarch of the Jin state had now completely become the "puppet" of the four secretaries.
Look at the State of Qi, which was originally a fiefdom of Jiang Taigong, who set up a capital at Linzi (present-day Zibo, Shandong) and followed the "Qi Feng" to rule Qi. However, when it reached the Duke of Qi Jing, the status of the descendants of the Jiang clan was already in jeopardy, and according to the "History of the Taigong Family of Qi", the Duke of Qi Jing sent Yan Infant to the Jin Dynasty, and Yan Infant privately said to Shu Xiang: "The regime of the State of Qi will eventually return to the Tian clan." Although the Tian clan has no great merit, it can use official affairs to give private favors, and has kindness to the people and the support of the people. "After several generations of experience in which the Tian clan was initially escaped from the State of Qi by Chen Guo to settle in peace in the State of Qi, Tian Qi's pawn Tian Qi secretly joined forces with Bao Mu and other nobles to attack and kill the two original ruling nobles of the State of Qi, Huizi and Gao Zhaozi, and Li Yangsheng became the Duke of Qi Mourning, and then took control of the state of Qi, and in 391 BC, Tian He, a descendant of Tian Qi, moved the Duke of Qi Kang to the seashore, giving him only a border city as a food. Tian He established himself as The Prince of Qi, still having the name of the state "Qi", and was known as Tian Taigong in history. In 387 BC, Tian He asked Marquis Wenhou of Wei to intercede with Zhou Tianzi, and asked Zhou Tianzi to also recognize him as the monarch of the State of Qi. A year later, with the permission of Zhou Tianzi, Tian He officially became the princely monarch appointed by Zhou Tianzi.
The story of the State of Qi and the State of Jin is only a typical example of historical records, and from then on we can also glimpse the characteristics of the political form at that time, the following usurpation situation has become the norm, so the social situation is turbulent, under the evolution of this situation, the old rules are completely invalid, and Chinese history has officially entered a new situation of "fighting for military merits in the sea" and "fighting for strong troops and enemies".
ideal
In the Warring States period, people increasingly lost themselves, from the Son of Heaven down to the common people, who were clever and profitable. Those in the upper positions often get by and get by, and they steal from each other. Those in the lower positions are often selfish and take pleasure in taking advantage of profits. There is no longer any moral consciousness in the world that constrains itself for the ideals of the western Zhou Dynasty. People have since fallen into loss, into pain, into the infinite pursuit of desire and cannot extricate themselves. In the face of such a social situation, idealists began to emerge. Strive to restore people's hearts and minds to improve the situation. The name of this group of idealists is: Confucians.
During the Warring States period, the most representative figure of Confucianism was Mencius, who once went to meet with King Hui of Wei. King Wei Hui said, "Old man! What advice is there in our country? Meng Ke said, "Why should the great king open his mouth to ask for profit?" Here I am, there is only benevolence. If the monarch repeats what is good for our country all the time, the doctor will say what is good for my family, and the people will chant what is good for me, up and down, all fighting for interests, and the country will be in danger. I have never heard of a virtuous man abandoning his parents, nor of a righteous man who disregards his king. ”
Mencius was a disciple of Zi Si, who was the grandson of Confucius. Mencius once asked Zi Si what comes first in the way of the herdsman. Zi Si said, "First profit." "For the benefit of the people. Mencius said, "The only thing a gentleman wants to teach the people is benevolence and righteousness, so why should he say profit?" Zi Si said, "The king's benevolence is to seek the welfare of the people." If the king is not kind, the people will not be able to do what they want; if the king is unjust, the people will also advocate fraud, which is the greatest disadvantage. The I Ching says, 'The sum of righteousness is also the sum of the benefits.' 'Righteousness is the cause, and profit is the effect.' He also said, 'Take advantage of the body, and honor virtue.' 'Lee can be used to settle down, to honor its virtue. These are the greatest benefits! ”
What Confucians said was a good medicine for the ills of the people at that time, and there was nothing wrong with the progress and development of society, but the human heart must guard against degeneration at all times, which is why Confucianism advocates "self-denial and retribution". It can be said that the Confucian proposition directly talks about the fundamentals of the human heart, and benevolence and righteousness are actually interests, but it was difficult for the monarchs at that time to deeply understand these truths.
Lobbyists were popular in the Warring States period, and some people said: "Aren't Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi big husbands?" As soon as they became angry, all the princes of the world were afraid; as soon as they settled down, the swordsmen and soldiers of the world stopped. Mencius said, "What a great husband they are!" A gentleman establishes the right position of the world, walks the right way of the world, and if he has the will, the people of the world will be happy; if he is not willing, he will be alone, rich and noble cannot be adulterous, and he cannot be mighty, this is the big husband!
All of the above lobbying celebrities have made some deeds in the Warring States, why is it not a big husband in the eyes of Confucianism? Because these people only seek their own glory in the chaotic world, and do not care about the people of the world, Mencius used this to warn the world that although the deeds of these figures are wonderful, they are not worth learning, not worthy of worship, and in contrast to the current era, Mencius's words are particularly deafening.
Zi Si once recommended talents for the Wei monarch, and Wei Hou said, "I know that it can be used." However, the change also tastes as an official, endowed to the people and eats two chickens, so Fu uses it. Zi Si Yue: "The officials of the saints, the wood of the craftsmen, take their strengths and discard their weaknesses." Therefore, there are several feet of decay in the embrace, and the good work is not abandoned. Now that the monarch is in the world of the Warring States, he chooses the minions and the generals who abandon the dry city with two eggs, which must not be heard of by neighboring countries. ”
It is often said that Confucianism is pedantic and does not know how to change, so this story is moved out to prove the true spirit of Confucianism. It can be said that pre-Qin Confucianism has never been conformist, rules and means can be adapted at will, the so-called restoration of Zhou Li, the essence of which is to restore people's hearts.
summary
In the era of the Warring States, countries have carried out changes in the law, the famous ones are the Qin State Shang Martingale Transformation Law, the South Korean Shen Bu Harm Reform, the Zhao State's Hufu Riding Shooting, and most of these reform stories are displayed in a positive image in later generations. However, these political reforms in the Warring States period were all aimed at strengthening military aggression and dominating the world. The original intention of these so-called reform measures was not to create a disciplined and ceremonial law for the stability of the world, but to strengthen the army of the monarchs of various countries in order to dominate. It is true that some of these reforms will benefit the people, but in essence they are still only a by-product of satisfying the selfish desires of the rulers.
With the development of society and the improvement of productive forces, the political system naturally needs to keep pace with the times and continuously improve, which is the natural rule. It should be pointed out that a good political system should initially be formulated as a starting point for the achievement of people's security, social stability, and everything moving towards an orderly bright future. Therefore, the ultimate confucian ideal of realizing the world of datong still seems dazzling and illuminated through the ages.
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--- references: "Zizhi Tongjian", "The Era of Great Change of a Hundred Schools of Thought: Warring States" and so on.
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