First, the main reason why Qin unified China.
Qin Dynasty was the first dynasty in Chinese history to move from feudal separatist regime to feudal unification, and Qin Shihuang was the "first emperor" of this dynasty. The main reason for how to treat the unification of Qin Dynasty is the fundamental question of what basis to put Qin Shihuang on.
This paper probes into the reasons for the unification of the Qin Dynasty from the aspects of politics, economy, culture, nationality and historical tradition. However, people's views on the main reasons for the reunification of the Qin Dynasty are quite different. Among various viewpoints, the most popular one is that Qin Shihuang's unification of China complied with the people's demands and wishes, in order to consolidate the feudal relations of production and promote the development of social productive forces. In this way, the image of Qin Shihuang suddenly became higher.
If people really have good wishes, will they get sweet fruits? Does the god of society have to give people what they want? Facts have proved that history is not like this. Strictly speaking, history does not advance according to people's wishes. In a class society, people's wishes are very different, just like the disparity in their material resources. Whose wishes should we obey? Even if people want to be unified, who will? The struggle for reunification alone will lead to a life-and-death struggle. To say the least, even if there were unified wishes and requirements at that time, it could only be spontaneous and decentralized. This spontaneous and scattered desire and demand cannot play a significant role in any major historical change unless it is concentrated in some form. As a matter of fact, so far, we have not found any practical actions of unity and unity of the people in a helpless position; On the contrary, in the historical records of the Warring States period, we can see the fact that the working people were tired of fighting, avoided fighting and fled fighting. Therefore, it is only a guess that Qin Shihuang's unification of China complied with the people's demands and wishes. It is even less convincing to say that Qin Shihuang's reunification is to consolidate feudal relations of production and promote the development of social productive forces. If this is true, it does not mean that the landlord class has consciously, planned and purposefully entered the free kingdom of making history! Obviously, this affectation of modernizing Qin Shihuang does not conform to historical facts at all.
What is the fundamental reason why Qin unified China? We believe that this can only be found in the economic movement of feudal mode of production.
In the era of slavery in the Western Zhou Dynasty, land ownership was associated with the enfeoffment system, which was characterized by multipolar possession by slave owners, while the Emperor of Zhou had the highest ownership in fact or in name. The so-called "all over the world, is it the land of kings?" It is the foundation of the loose unity of the Western Zhou Dynasty that the territory is not king. After entering the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhou Emperor declined, losing the qualification of the highest owner of land, and the princes and officials came to the front desk of history. At the same time, under the stimulation of the development of feudal relations of production, the vassals and Qing Dafu competed for land and population, as Zi Chu said: "The vassals are greedy for profits, do not avoid invading desires, and strive to make the best use of Shu Ren." [2] The competition is fierce, even to the point of "the city of the battlefield, one after another, how often" [3]. Zheng attacked Chen, and Chen told Zheng about it. Jin asked Zheng, "Why did you invade so little?" Zheng retorted: "In the past, the land of the son of heaven was thousands of miles (square), and the country of Qi (square) in the world naturally declined. Today's country is really big! If there is no invasion, how is it possible? " [4] Kim was speechless and got it right. The annexation of small countries by big countries is the most obvious result of this movement. According to historical records, Qi destroyed 35 small countries and some tribes [5], Chu destroyed more than 40 countries and some tribes [6], Jin destroyed more than 20 countries, conquered more than 40 countries [7], and Qin opened thousands of miles [8]. The vassal state is a separatist regime for the unification with the Zhou Emperor as the axis. It is also a kind of regional unification for the vassal state to destroy many small countries and expand its sphere of influence. In the early Spring and Autumn Period, there were more than 100 vassal states. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, due to the merger and seizure of power by the landlord class, seven big countries were formed, with a dozen small countries sandwiched between them. Within their jurisdiction, these vassals not only occupied a lot of land, but also had the highest control over all the land. The rulers distributed most of the land to farmers for farming through the land grant system; Some of them were awarded to relatives and heroes, forming a feudal multipolar ownership system. There are also some rewards for meritorious service and death of soldiers, which gradually become personal private property. Therefore, in the land management at that time, vassals (feudal countries) were in a pivotal position. Land and people are not only the source of monarch's finance, but also used for political activities and mobilizing subjects for their own use.
Capital. As Han Fei said: "The husband is in the Chen family, and he has a high position, which is easy for the people to die." [9] "Husband Chen lived in the house, so the soldier died." [10] There is a similar record in Guanzi: "The fertile land is not a soldier, and the soldiers are weak in three years." [1 1] Land is not only a financial resource, but also an exchange of the strength of all subjects, so the governors regard land as a treasure. "The landlord loves it" [12]. Mencius also said: "Three treasures of princes: land, people and politics." [13] For the monarch, the responsibility as a minister is to "try your best to win glory for Wang Guangtu" [14]. Therefore, "Respecting the Lord, Emperor Guangdi and Qiang Bing" [15] are like a series of cycles. Wars in the Warring States period are like a flywheel, all of which revolve around the struggle for land and population. The strong will never give up until they devour the weak. At that time, the monarch and some thinkers and lobbyists kept talking about the issue of reunification. In their language, they are called overlord, overlord's occupation, emperor, world, emperor, world, world, vassal, world-swallowing, world-ruling. These different names reflect a problem: princes strive to be masters of the world. What is the purpose of the vassals fighting for the world? There can be no other purpose, except "make the best use of what the sky covers and what the earth contains" [16].
Qin Shihuang was no exception. The only difference is that he runs faster on the same track than anyone of his contemporaries. Dunwei said, "The emperor respects the world." [17] Other lobbyists at the end of the Warring States period also understood very well that Qin "will never give up until he destroys the soldiers of the world and serves the people of the sea" [18]. Even in the state of Qin, Liao Wei said bluntly: The king of Qin "wants to win the world, he must win the world first" [19]. After reunification, Qin Shihuang himself made it very clear that "within Liuhe, the land of the son of heaven" and "where people go, there is no minister" [20]. These words are completely consistent with others' analysis of him before the reunification.
The economic merger movement decided the unification, so did the monarchs in the Warring States. So why was Qin Shihuang able to complete reunification, but the dream of reunification of the kings of the six eastern countries was shattered? This still needs to find the reason from the internal economic operation of the Qin Dynasty. We believe that there are many factors that can unify the state of Qin, but it is the basis of all these factors to reward and punish in strict accordance with the military title. Since Shang Yang, Qin has been carrying out the rank system, bringing the whole country into the track of war. This multi-level system attracts everyone to exert their greatest energy. The key to the power of this system is that it is the basic form of the state's continuous redistribution of property and power, and the actual interests of titles at all levels are implemented in the distribution of land, taxes and corvees and the rise and fall of personal status. This is just like saying: "Qin people are also narrow-minded, making the people and the land cruel, robbing them, hiding them and rewarding them." (sanctions) to punish, so that the people of the world want to benefit their superiors, there is no reason to fight; If you use it, you will get it, and if you use it, you will benefit. Going to five stores is the best for a long time, and many places are positive, so the fourth generation won, which is not lucky, but also counted. "[2 1] This passage clearly tells us how the rulers of Qin used land, taxes and titles. Mobilize the combat effectiveness of its subjects, "so that the people of the world benefit from their superiors, and there is no dispute about land." "Using economic means to mobilize the power of the subjects, winning the battle made Qin gain greater benefits. This cycle is the basic reason for the unification of Qiang Qin and Qin Shihuang, and it is also the secret basis for the annexation of princes.
Since the feudal unification of the Qin Dynasty and the establishment of a centralized state were the products of the feudal economic movement, unified centralization was more conducive to the landlord class, especially to the monarch's plunder and oppression of farmers. Before the reunification of farmers, the stronger the feudal unification and centralization, the more conducive it was for the landlord class to slaughter those scattered individual farmers, which was the most essential general expression of feudal unification and centralization.
Judging from the history of our country, there are three historical conditions for the direct inheritance of the feudal unification: one is the unification formed through long-term feudal separatism and merger; Second, on the basis of the separation of state power, the unity formed by mutual merger; Third, the peasant uprising overthrew the feudal unity rebuilt by the landlord class after the former dynasty and dealt a heavy blow to the landlord class. This difference in historical background has a direct impact on the policies implemented by the rulers after reunification. The unification of Qin belongs to the first case. Generally speaking, this unification process has not weakened the influence of the landlord class, on the contrary, it has been realized on the basis of the competition and development of the landlord class. Therefore, after reunification, the oppression and exploitation of farmers by the landlord class tends to be more brutal and unscrupulous. After Qin's reunification, what Qin Shihuang did was the best explanation.
Qin Shihuang's contribution to the reunification of China is outstanding, but it is untenable to think that Qin Shihuang's reunification represents the people's demands and promotes the development of social productive forces. We believe that the policies pursued by Qin Shihuang after reunification are the continuation and development of his policies in the process of striving for reunification in essence and mainstream. Let's take a look at how the facts after Qin's reunification refute the above views.
Secondly, the significance of Qin Shihuang's policies and measures is tested from the actual social effects.
After Qin Shihuang unified China, he implemented a series of policies and measures that complemented this unification or consolidated centralized rule. For example, in the twenty-sixth year of the first emperor, "the world is divided into thirty-six counties, and the county is guarded, guarded and supervised"; "Receiving soldiers from all over the world"; "Weigh a stone"; "Cars are on the same track" and "Books are in the same language"; "Migrating to the world will enrich 120,000 households in Xianyang". Twenty-seven years, "rule Chi Dao". Thirty-one years, "make Guizhou head self-sufficient." Thirty-four years, "burning books." Thirty-five years, "Pit Confucianism." At the same time, the northern expedition to Xiongnu, the construction of the Great Wall, the southern defense of Wuling, the five tours, etc. [22], prominent events filled the schedule of Qin Shihuang.
Quite a few historians praised Qin Shihuang's policies and measures almost unanimously in their works and lecture halls, believing that these policies and measures were conducive to economic, political and cultural development.
But historians are often asked why the majestic Qin Dynasty was so short. Where is the development of economy and culture? Since Qin Shihuang did so many things in line with historical development, why did a peasant uprising break out when he was alive, and a nationwide peasant uprising broke out less than a year after his death? How to explain this sudden change? What criteria do we use to measure and analyze Qin Shihuang's policies and activities?
We believe that when commenting on a policy, measure and the merits and demerits of its makers in history, we should mainly make a comprehensive investigation according to the historical practice at that time.
It should be said that some policies and measures adopted by Qin Shihuang are beneficial to economic and cultural development. However, what caused these policies and measures to fail to play a role and become a link to maintain the long-term stability of the Qin Dynasty, but were drowned in an angry voice? This shows that the implementation of a good policy is not isolated, and it must be guaranteed by corresponding measures and policies. If there are some opposite policies or actions, the two sides will not only offset each other, but the powerful side will inevitably overwhelm the other side. If the wrong policies and behaviors are allowed to spread indefinitely, even the best policies and measures will be bleak or even ineffective at all.
It stands to reason that car-to-car track, road maintenance, unified measurement and other measures should be conducive to economic and cultural exchanges, especially to the development of business. However, Qin Shihuang controlled the people's freedom of migration with strong centralization and strict team organization, and pursued a more severe policy of "destroying the border" than agricultural suppression of business, urging people to guard the border and suppress business, so that the equator was not a broad road leading to economic prosperity and cultural exchanges, but mainly became the main artery for Qin Shihuang to suck people's blood and sweat, dispatch troops, transport military supplies and escort prisoners.
"Fanshu", no matter how it is evaluated, is in line with the law of cultural development. But after all, writing is only a tool for communication, but the content of culture is much broader. Qin Shihuang carried out the policy of "taking officials as teachers", requiring people to study only law. This is not to develop culture, but to stifle it. Shu became a tool for Qin Shihuang to promote feudal cultural autocracy.
The policies of "starting from the fields" and "going to agriculture" and reclaiming wasteland by immigrants should have positive significance for further consolidating feudal private ownership and improving farmers' enthusiasm for production, but Qin Shihuang abused the people's power and ignored it, completely destroying the possibility of agricultural productivity development.
"Burning books" and "burning books to bury Confucianism" have been almost said to be an important measure of Qin Shihuang to restore the ancient style, oppose separatism, persist in reform and safeguard unity for more than ten years. The higher evaluation is that it is a political and ideological revolution with the nature of repeated reforms. Is that really the case? Let's look at the process and effect of things.
In the thirty-fourth year of the first emperor, Qin Shihuang bought wine in Xianyang Palace, and seventy doctors came forward to celebrate his birthday. Zhou's courtiers paid tribute to him and said, "He is only a thousand miles away from Qin, relying on your majesty's wise gods to pacify the coastal areas and exile barbarians. The sun and the moon shone on him, and he took governors as counties. Everyone is happy, and there is no war. It has been passed down for generations, and he has never been as good as your majesty Wade since ancient times. " Qin Shihuang's face lit up. Unexpectedly, Dr. Chun Yuyue poured cold water on his head. He suggested appointing child heroes as a branch to prevent ministers from usurping power, and warned: "People who can survive without learning from the past are not heard." He also pointed out that Zhou "praised your majesty's faults, but he was not a loyal minister" [23] Qin Shihuang asked ministers to discuss Chun Yuyue's opinions. Subsequently, Li Si published a famous proposal of "burning books", which was immediately approved by Qin Shihuang and put into practice.
As far as Li Si advocates "the study of modern people" and opposes "the study of modern people", it is undoubtedly right. But looking at the whole incident, we will find that the starting point is right, but the foothold is absurd. Judging from the contents of burning books, it is obviously excessive to burn all non-Qin history books and Hundred Poems. The view that books are burned for reunification and a hundred schools of thought contend is inconsistent with historical facts. Legalists advocate unity, but Confucianists such as Mencius and Xun Qing do not? Although Chun Yuyue's advice is pedantic, his heart is still towards Qin Shihuang. "Unity" should not be "unified death", especially in ideology. Banning a hundred schools of thought and taking officials as teachers fundamentally stifled people's thoughts, blocked the way to discuss things and stifled the development of culture. The direct result of "burning books" was to push Qin Shihuang's totalitarianism to a higher peak. Burning books was the last years of Qin Shihuang's rule, when the social crisis was exposed. At such a moment, even from the interests of the ruling class in the Qin Dynasty, we should let the liegeman speak and seek countermeasures. But burning books completely blocked the path of speech. For rulers, without different opinions, there will be no comparison and choice, and they will lose their adaptability. The Qin dynasty had to imitate the extreme policies of Qin Shihuang in order to die faster. So "burning books" is by no means a good move on Qin Shihuang's political chessboard.
As for "burning books to bury Confucianism", many of our comrades think it is a continuation of "burning books to bury Confucianism" or suppressing counter-revolutionaries. In order to analyze this historical case, we might as well extract the word "causing trouble" and find out.
Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng said to each other, "At the beginning, the emperor was a human being, and his nature was just violence for his own use. He became a vassal and joined the world. He wanted to follow suit, thinking that he had never been close to himself since ancient times. Full-time warders, warders are lucky. Although there are seventy doctors, specialized personnel are used. The prime minister and ministers are the subjects of success and depend on their work. In music, punishment is fear, and people are afraid of sin and dare not be loyal. If you don't smell it in the world, you will be arrogant and coerced to get it. Qin fa, you can't lose both sides, or you will die if you don't take the exam. But there are 300 people waiting for the stars, all good people, afraid of taboos, afraid to say too much. Everything in the world, big or small, depends on the world. Seen from above, books are measured by weighing stones. They are presented day and night, and there is no rest without presentation. Greed for power, you can't ask for fairy medicine. " [24]
First of all, analyze whether "burying Confucianism" is a continuation of "burning books". Judging from the remarks made by Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng, it has nothing to do with the book burning incident. On the contrary, they are more important than burning books. Qin Shihuang once said, "I used to collect useless books in the world, so I will go there." I know many literary magicians, and I want to promote peace. [25] Then we talk about how to evaluate people who practice magic and so on. Things are so surly, and the favored local tyrant also criticized Qin Shihuang! Qin Shihuang flew into a rage and ordered the investigation. As a result, those dissatisfied Confucian scholars were concentrated and accused. Obviously, Confucian scholars were wronged by collective punishment [26].
Secondly, as far as the nature of the incident is concerned, it is absurd for alchemists such as Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng to ask for fairy medicine, but aren't they the place to vote for Qin Shihuang? If Qin Shihuang can repent and stop being superstitious, it would be reasonable to kill these places. However, he did not take this step. Excuse me, can a person with strong superstitious power be regarded as a revolutionary if he kills a person without superstitious power? And as far as its content is concerned, Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng's criticism of Qin Shihuang is basically to the point, and there is no exaggerated false abuse. On the other hand, Qin Shihuang engaged in a mysterious case of "cheating Confucianism" under the pretext of "slandering me and taking Jyuugo as immoral" [27]. From the perspective of social effect, if the new development of culture is brought after Confucianism, we can completely evaluate Qin Shihuang's rude behavior from another angle. Actually, it's not. Qin Shihuang went to extreme cultural autocracy in the name of repeating the past, and killed so many people in a rage. Can this be called a revolution?
To sum up, some policies and measures taken by Qin Shihuang seem beyond reproach. However, it was offset by other policy measures and lost its due role, or the starting point was right, but the foothold went to the opposite side of the starting point. This is one aspect of the problem. On the other hand, the implementation of any policies and measures of great historical significance must have a foundation. This foundation is that under certain historical conditions, all social classes and strata, especially the working people who are directly engaged in the production of material materials, can at least lead a normal life. Engels said in his famous eulogy "Speech at Marx's Tomb": "People must eat, drink, live and wear before they can engage in politics, science, art, religion and so on; Therefore, the production of direct material means of subsistence, so that the economic development of a nation or an era reaches a certain stage, is based on composition. " [28] Without such a foundation, it is impossible to engage in any other activities. Qin Shihuang only ruthlessly destroyed such a foundation as a whole. His destruction came from two aspects:
First of all, Qin Shihuang was overjoyed. He surpassed the reality of the lack of materials and population in the post-war Qin Dynasty, and did not hesitate to use a lot of manpower and financial resources to carry out a series of huge projects. The ancient Great Wall, like a dragon and a snake, stretches across Wan Li and is magnificent. It shows the great strength and infinite wisdom of the working people in ancient China, and it is still admired by people today. But this is the evidence that Qin Shihuang, regardless of the reality that "the princes were destroyed at the beginning of Qin Dynasty, the heart of the world was uncertain, and the injured were not wronged", ignored the urgency of the people, did not care for the elderly, did not save orphans, and intended to "build the Great Wall Pavilion, dig ravines, and lead straight roads" to consolidate the people's strength [29]. "When the six kings are finished, the four seas are one, Shushan is positive, Afang is out ... so that the pillars of the negative building are more than the farmers of Nanmu; There are more rafters on the beam than working women on the plane; The phosphorus in onion is more than that in millet. The joints of ceramic tiles are uneven, more than the whole body silk; There are more vertical columns and cross sills than nine battlements; Dumb than the words of city people. " Du Mu's masterpiece A Fang Gong Fu in the Tang Dynasty naturally has artistic exaggeration. However, in order to repair the Epang Palace and the tomb of Mount Li, more than 700,000 people were imprisoned in the hidden palace, and Sima Qian was clearly written in the history books. The newly excavated Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, with its large scale and majestic momentum, fully proved the correctness of historical records and the rationality of Du Mu. In the twenty-eighth year of the first emperor, "for the world, the east is poor."
Yanqi in Wu Chu, Antarctica, above the rivers and lakes, enjoys a panoramic view of the seaside [30]. This road is fifty paces wide, with pine trees every three feet. It is open and generous. In ancient times, when traffic was very underdeveloped, it was an unprecedented traffic facility. However, how much manpower it takes! What's more, "every time the Qin dynasty broke the vassal, it remembered its palace, making Xianyang sit in the north, facing Wei in the south, from Gyeonggi to Wei in the east, and returning to the temple" [3 1], which cost a lot of manpower! There are still millions of people guarding the Five Ridges and attacking the Huns.
No matter what the nature of these projects and activities is, it is their sum that drowns people in the suffering of large-scale corvee and military service. Imagine that a dynasty that can't even maintain simple reproduction has no reason to continue to exist, no matter how to use the great significance of the first unified dynasty or some cause to justify it.
Secondly, Qin Shihuang was a rare tyrant. He is "resolute and resolute, relying on the law in everything, and heartless" [32]. The severity of punishment makes people have no room to bow their heads. Is it really a postscript? Then it's easy to blame. As soon as we came into contact with the historical materials of the Qin Dynasty, thousands of prisoners and sinners came into our eyes. Criminal refugees, hermits, leaders, prisoners and all kinds of "sinners" are everywhere, with an average of one criminal in 20 people [33]. "Clothes block the road, the city becomes the city" is by no means empty talk. The whole Qin dynasty was simply a big prison. Fan Yangling's "the father of the murderer, the son of the orphan, the broken foot and the head of the lame are countless" [34] is a typical example. The appearance of Fanyang Mausoleum is the inevitable result of Qin Shihuang's severe punishment.
In this way, the Qin dynasty under the rule of Qin Shihuang became a horrible world with swords and shadows and could be beheaded at any time. How can we talk about implementing policies and measures conducive to social, economic and cultural development?
The carnival of the court can't cover up the groans of millions of people struggling to die; The praise of Zhou and others can't cover up the anger of all beings! In the face of "men's hard work is not enough wages, and women's spinning performance is not enough." The poor, the lonely, the old and the weak can't help each other, and the dead look at each other "[35]," Ding Nan defeated Jia, Ding Nv turned to lose, and the dead looked at each other "[36], even if these policies and measures of Qin Shihuang were described by the color of roses, what could explain the problem?
When analyzing Qin Shihuang's policies and measures, we should also fully estimate the significance of the slogan "All the world suffers from Ku Jin" put forward by farmers at the end of Qin Dynasty.
What does "Bitter Ku Jin" mean? The Gang of Four and its imperial historians believed that during the reign of Qin Shihuang, "peace came first" and "wealth came first", and the common people seemed to live in heaven without suffering at all. The pain didn't appear until they arrived in Qin Ershi. This is obviously nonsense with ulterior motives.
Some well-meaning comrades also feel that Qin Shihuang has made great contributions to the reunification of China, and seem to feel a little reluctant to put the word "bitter" on Qin Shihuang's head; If we erase it from Qin Shihuang's account, we think it is a serious distortion of history, so we adopt a light and heavy brushwork to downplay the sufferings of farmers during Qin Shihuang's rule and emphasize the sufferings of Qin Ershi and Zhao Gao as much as possible. This kind of goodwill, of course, cannot accurately explain history.
Jia Yi said in "On Qin": "Chen She, the son of Weng Ying Suoshu, is an immigrant, but a refugee; Talents are not as good as Chinese people, not as good as the wealth of sages in Mo Zhai, Zhong Ni, Tao Zhu and Yi Dun; In the potential ranks and rising among the people, the scattered soldiers turned into hundreds of people attacking Qin. Cutting firewood for soldiers, uncovering poles for flags, the world gathered to respond, winning grain and following, and Shandong Haojun rose and died. " Aside from Jia Yi's prejudice, Chen She's reaction in various places can only be the result of the long-term accumulation of contradictions and the outbreak of "suffering for a long time".
Chen Sheng and Liu Bang put forward the slogan "The world suffers from Ku Jin", which helps us to understand Qin Shihuang's rule from the sum of class struggles and analyze the practical significance of Qin Shihuang's policies and measures more deeply.
When we analyze Qin Shihuang's policies and measures in this way, do we want to completely deny them? Of course not. We should evaluate history not only from the sum of history at that time, but also from the overall process of history. Although some actions of Qin Shihuang made some good policies and measures lose the opportunity to influence the society at that time, these good policies and measures still have a certain historical position in the long river of history. Because some activities of Qin Shihuang reflected the inevitability of historical objective process to a certain extent, the fruit of this big tree of historical inevitability will not disappear because of the demise of the Qin Dynasty. As long as this historical inevitability exists, some policies and measures of Qin Shihuang will influence future generations and inspire their minds. The centralized feudal state system established by Qin Shihuang reflected the interests of the landlord class, so although it was disrupted many times by the peasant uprising at the end of Qin Dynasty and later peasant uprising, once the feudal rulers gained political power, they always tried their best to restore and improve it. Books with the same language, cars with the same track and unified measurement are the tools of economic and cultural exchange and the requirements of economic and cultural development, so these measures are inherited and used by future generations as historical heritage. The Great Wall also played a defensive role in the national struggle in the future. Defending Wuling is an important historical link to promote the development of a unified multi-ethnic country. Of course, this influence and function is not a simple reproduction of the original form of Qin Shihuang's policies and measures, but plays a role as a historical factor under new historical conditions and on a new basis.
In short, the policies, measures and activities adopted by Qin Shihuang after the reunification of China, some conform to the law of historical development, while others violate the law of historical development. However, the latter is more powerful than the former, which destroyed the social foundation for implementing these correct policies and measures and caused such a terrible and severe situation, for which Qin Shihuang was responsible.
In previous works, it was almost always said that the unification of Qin was conducive to economic and cultural development and met the requirements of the people. This view that unification is absolutely good is not in line with historical facts. In class society, unity is always associated with certain political content. Feudal unification may provide a relatively stable political environment for economic and cultural development than feudal wars, but feudal unification and centralization may also provide powerful tools for rulers to run amok and hinder economic and cultural development. Therefore, there is no direct and inevitable logical relationship between feudal unification and economic and cultural development. Compared with the Warring States Period, the unification of China by Qin Shihuang was a progress. However, after reunification, because Qin Shihuang was too unified, he forcibly carried out so many activities that violated the laws of historical development and exceeded the affordability of the people at that time, which stifled the development of social economy and culture and deprived farmers of their minimum living conditions. Therefore, unification should be analyzed in detail.
Third, from hero to loner.
The history of Qin Dynasty from victory to extinction is also the history of Qin Shihuang's transformation from hero to loner. This change of Qin Shihuang should be explained by the combination of historical objective reality changes and his own quality.
Qin Shihuang is a lucky son. When the fruit of Unity ripened, he came to the orchard. Here are some people's views on the situation at that time.
After the battle of Changping, he advised Qi to resist Qin, saying, "Qin Wei attacked Wei for Anyi, Zhao for Jinyang, and Chu for Jinyang. Force the king of the three kingdoms to death, and the land around him, take the land of Korea, and half the world. Today, Zhao Wei was robbed, Hua Xi, Wei Dongye was blocked, and Wei Henan was also lost, so Zhao Wei was also in danger. " [37]
A lobbyist said to the king of Korea: "Qin wants to be in harmony with the world, and the king is different from the ancient." Although this matter is like the matter of the son and father, it will still die; Although the line is like Boyi, you will die; Although you are stubborn, you will die. Good as it is, it's useless. You can't live, let yourself die. " [38]
After Li Si entered Qin, he also said in his first conversation with the king of Qin: "Today, princes serve Qin, such as counties. The husband is stronger than Qin, and the sage of Wang moves the stove, which is enough to destroy the princes, for the imperial industry, and for the unity of the world. " [39]
It can be seen from the above facts that the mast of the unified ship has been exposed to the horizon and has been in people's sight. However, the harsh reality caused by Qin's difficulties in the war against the six eastern countries still made the lobbyists who had the opposite attitude to the above argument have a heart-warming place. For example, in the tenth year of the King of Qin, when Wang Qi entered Qin, he was opposed by Dr. Jimo, who advocated that the three Jin Dynasties should unite with Chu. "In this way, Qi Wei can stand and Qin State can perish" [40]. Even on the eve of Qin's destruction of the six countries, Dunwei offered the opportunity to alienate the six countries to the king of Qin, saying, "There is nothing in the world, neither vertical nor horizontal." Horizontal success is the emperor of Qin and vertical success is the king of Chu. "[4 1] In fact, the six eastern countries are often defeated in major battles, which makes Qin always dare not treat it lightly. For example, thirty years after Wei Anli's accession to the throne, that is, one year before Zheng ascended the throne, Mowgli returned to Wei, led the troops to attack Qin, and was defeated in the river, and the general of Qin was defeated. In the sixth year of Qin's accession to the throne, Han, Zhao, Wei, Wei and Chu attacked Qin and took Shouling. Wang Zhaoqian moved for three years, that is, in the fourteenth year of Qin Wangzheng, Li Mu, the general of Zhao State, defeated Qin Jun in Feilei (now Gaocheng, Hebei Province); In the second year, Li Mu defeated Yu (now south of Lingshou County, Hebei Province). As for Qin Shihuang's war against Chu, it was even more difficult.
You see, the fruit is ripe, but it's hard to pick. It can be seen that Qin Shihuang must be conscientious and cautious if he wants to win the war. Otherwise, a little carelessness will lead to failure or even abandonment. The reality is such a contradiction. It is the emergence of this historical trend from time to time that has become the basis for shaping the heroes of Qin Shihuang.
It is often said that "the times make heroes". So what kind of situation can make a hero? Generally speaking, there should be two characteristics: pleasure trend and threat trend. Qin Shihuang is good at swimming in this kind of storm. He is good at adopting his "appropriateness" in a pleasant situation and resisting his "compulsion" in a threatening situation, showing the character of a hero.
First, he dared to make a strategic decision to destroy the six countries. At that time, Qin Shihuang