How to evaluate Qin Shihuang's position in history?

Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, abolished the feudal system, implemented the county system, and took officials as teachers, thus China entered the era of electoral society, which promoted the development of history. Therefore, Qin Shihuang was the pioneer of China's advanced political system.

As a generation of emperors, Qin Shihuang appeared as a tyrant in people's minds. The incident of "burning books to bury Confucianism" became the main crime of criticizing Qin Shihuang's sins. Jing Ke, Gao Jianli and Zhang all assassinated Qin Shihuang, which was praised by literati in past dynasties. Even Song Zhengqi of Wen Tianxiang thinks that "righteousness" lies in "Zhang Liangzhu".

Personally, I think history should rehabilitate Qin Shihuang. The Qin dynasty was short-lived. Because it unified the six countries, wiped out the vested interests of the six countries, cruelly suppressed the vested interests of the six countries, and was slandered as tyranny by those who lost their vested interests at that time and those below Qin Dynasty. Qin Shihuang was also famous as a tyrant.

Laozi said: those who oppose it will move the Tao. Everything will be reactionary. Wang Chuanshan's Reading as a Mirror is very well said. Although Qin Shihuang was selfish in unifying the world and hoped that his descendants would dominate the world, he inadvertently became "selfless" and created China's advanced political system.

Zhou destroyed the merchants and implemented the direct transmission system, feudal system and hereditary system of officials. This system seems to be conducive to the stability of the Zhou Dynasty at that time. But in the long run, its disadvantages could not be overcome, which led to the collapse in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Direct transmission system, long transmission, no transmission of virtue, no transmission of ability, blood relationship determines everything, leading to uneven distribution of interests and intrigue. Feudalism, the feudal lords handed down from generation to generation, has various powers such as justice, administration, supervision and military affairs in their fiefs, controls everything, and can be unscrupulous and bossy. The Zhou dynasty did not interfere in the fiefs of feudal lords, nor did it have external forces to restrict them. The hereditary system of world officials means that official positions can be handed down directly and held from generation to generation. In this way, powerful people can be handed down from generation to generation, and ordinary people will never enter the bureaucratic system. However, a strong family can't guarantee that the eldest son is better than the first generation, the non-eldest son can't be stupid and incompetent than the eldest son, and the ordinary people can't be mediocre and outstanding from generation to generation.

In particular, it is pointed out that the "direct transmission system" and "official hereditary system" are similar to the "succession system" that appeared in modern times.

Under this system and order, vested interests monopolize everything and rich water does not flow out. As a result, the internal drama of killing the king and killing the long, abolishing the long and establishing the young is constantly staged. Bureaucrats can run amok within the scope of their duties, and they will always be their official positions anyway. The feudal lords in their own fiefs had all kinds of power to kill and seize, and they were not bound by the outside world. They brutally exploited the people in their fiefs, and the people were humble from generation to generation and unable to resist. At this point, people at that time were similar to the "black kiln workers" who appeared in recent years. Because ordinary people can't liberate themselves, they can't rely on blood relationship to liberate themselves, and they can't liberate themselves through normal legal channels, so they can only rely on chivalrous people to liberate themselves.

So this system is dark. Ordinary people can't see the dawn of hope at all. But Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, eliminated feudalism and hereditary system of officials, and liberated the people at that time.

After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, he abolished the feudal system, did not enfeoffment the royal family and heroes, and implemented the county system and the official appointment system. This is the progress of the political system. In the Han Dynasty and later dynasties, all fiefs were rebelled by vassals.

Officials run amok, and if officials are hereditary, the people cannot change the status quo; If it is an appointment system (election system), ordinary people can drive away these officials through various channels such as justice. Although the electoral system has various drawbacks, it is difficult to reproduce the situation and situation that the "black kiln owners" cannot change. This is of course the advancement of the political system and the progress of history.

Therefore, Qin Shihuang abolished the feudal system and the hereditary system of officials, and implemented the county system, creating an advanced political system in China, which was a milestone in the history of Chinese political system.

Recruit talents, unify the world.

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is a long and turbulent period in the history of China. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty existed in name only, and everyone with a little local rights became an independent individual, and the world was divided. They merged and attacked each other, known as "two emperors in a hundred miles, fighting day and night." It can be said that wars are frequent and people are in dire straits. Later, after a long period of struggle and merger, the Seven Heroes of the Warring States were gradually formed. The seven heroes of the Warring States were all ambitious and had the heart to annex the world. They are even more aggressive, attacking each other and fighting endlessly. Although everyone wants to expand territory, dominate the world and unify the world, different governance methods have caused great differences in the forms of strength and weakness among countries. Some of their kings were fatuous, conformist, listened to rumors and refused to be loyal, which made the country in chaos. In some countries, monarchs made great efforts to govern, appointed talents, eliminated malpractices, rewarded agricultural wars, and implemented the policy of enriching the people in Qiang Bing, and the countries gradually became rich. Although the seven countries stand side by side, some countries have declined because of political corruption, and some countries have become stronger and stronger because of political clarity. Qin belongs to an increasingly powerful country. Since Qin Xiaogong, the State of Qin has appointed Shang Yang, a great reformer, to carry out political reforms, to get rid of malpractices, to limit the influence of the old vested interests, to support the emerging landlord class, to develop farming and to strengthen the army. From then on, Qin gradually became stronger. By the time of Qin Shihuang, the comprehensive national strength of Qin State had developed rapidly.

Qin Shihuang was very clever and capable. He realized that without talents and a good system, it is impossible to run the country well. So he took the advice, vigorously recruited talents and selected talents in an eclectic manner. There used to be some conservative groups with vested interests in China. In order to keep their vested interests, prevent foreign advanced ideas and systems, and weaken their power, they try their best to prevent change. They took the case of Zheng Guo's South Korean spy as a fuse, slandered Qin Shihuang, and demanded the expulsion of all foreigners who defected to and worked for Qin State, saying that they were spies and endangered national security. The king of Qin immediately issued a "marching order" and Reese was also deported. To this end, as a foreigner, Reese attended the "Order of Departure", which analyzed the current situation in detail and talked about the importance of appointing foreign talents. The article wrote, "Taishan does not let the soil, so it can be big; Rivers and seas do not choose trickle, so they can be deep; The king is not only numerous, so he can understand his virtue. " Qin Shihuang was not fooled by the slanders of conservative forces. He felt that Li Si's petition was very reasonable, adopted Li Si's suggestion, revoked the "marching order", and opened the door for foreigners to contribute to Qin State. Is this what a tyrant can do? It can be said that he is eager for talents and has implemented a series of measures that are conducive to the development of talent gathering. He once saw an article written by Wu Zhu and other Han Feizi and admired it very much. He said, "I can't hate to see this man swimming with him." It is not difficult to see how strong his will is to choose and employ people. Inspired by his enlightened politics, a large number of people of insight moved closer to Qin, and Qin was full of talents for a while. Li Si, a statesman, Liao Wei, a strategist and Han Fei, a theorist, gathered in the State of Qin. Qin Shihuang can also be a corporal, so that everyone can make suggestions. As long as your statement is beneficial to the country, he will adopt it and do as you do. It can be seen that Qin Huang is not arbitrary, but brainstorming and adopting good suggestions to govern the country. He is also rude to those who hinder the development of the country. He resolutely eliminated the intertwined and powerful Lv Buwei and Laoai Group that hindered development, making the country stronger and stronger, and finally had the power to eliminate the six countries and unify the world. Let's look at other countries. They are corrupt from generation to generation, traitors are in power, they undermine loyalty, they muddle along in the dark, and they are filthy. The conservative forces of Chu killed Wuqi with random arrows, and the system of strong political reform came to an end. Later, they exiled Qu Yuan, who was loyal to the country, and left an everlasting elegy on the Miluo River. Zhao, a bad king, listened to rumors, abolished the relieving of Lian Po, the ever-victorious general, and appointed Zhao Kuo, an armchair strategist, which led to Changping's crushing defeat. Poor Qin Jun killed 400,000 soldiers and never recovered. Later, he listened to the grapevine and executed the famous Li Mu, destroying the Great Wall and the country. Instead of taking effective measures to enrich Qiang Bing, the monarch of the State of Yan pinned his fate on a Jing Ke, resulting in the tragic fate of "a strong man is gone forever" and becoming the laughing stock of people of insight. Just imagine, other countries are so stupid and corrupt, how can they compete with the Qin state, which uses talents and eliminates evil? Their demise is not surprising, but it is inevitable. At the critical moment, Qin Shihuang was also a candidate without doubt. Those generals who pacify the Six Kingdoms, such as Wang Jian and Wang Ben, can fulfill their duties and give full play to their military talents without being bound by traitors. As a result, heroes are invincible In 22 1 year BC, Qin Shihuang finally completed the great cause of national reunification.

After reunification, in order to maintain the long-term stability of the country, unify government decrees, enable people of all ethnic groups in the country to have normal exchanges and promote the unity of all ethnic groups, he made great efforts to carry out a series of reforms. He abolished the enfeoffment system, implemented the county system, and centralized the management of the country, which was unprecedented in unity, eliminating the disadvantages of the feudal system of Shang and Zhou dynasties, such as the separation of vassals, fragmentation and mutual criticism. He unified the written language, unified the currency, unified the specifications of cars, unified the measurement, and eliminated the obstacles of mutual communication between different regions, nationalities, languages and different appliances. It has created convenient conditions for communication, exchanges and mutual trade between ethnic groups and regions; He ruled the country according to law and established a set of judicial organs and laws and regulations. He ruled the country according to law and overcame the personal arbitrariness of local governors and bureaucrats. It can be said that Qin Shihuang's reform is unprecedented, which has made the ruling mode and system of the whole country take a step forward, which can't be measured by numbers. It has turned a new page in the history of human unity, unity and harmony in China, and made the historical facts of human progress in China undergo earth-shaking changes. Zhang Taiyan, a famous scholar in modern times, called it "an emperor through the ages", which is just right and not an exaggeration.

Who is guilty of burning books and burying Confucianism?

The reason why people who have been attacking Qin Shihuang did this is nothing more than burning books and burying Confucianism and practicing tyranny. Let's analyze it and see what it looks like.

After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, like all emerging regimes, he was hit by restoration forces and conservative forces. Survivors of the Six Kingdoms and those who don't like the reform of the country are rigid in thinking and always want to restore the old system. They are bent on restoring their destroyed country and their lost superior position. They write books, publicize everywhere, lobby and fan the flames, fearing that the world will not be chaotic, and there are also some charlatans who bully the city and harm others and disrupt social order. This has greatly damaged the stability of the country and the new regime. In order not to split the country again and fall into the hot water of melee, and also to unify the thoughts of the people of the original six countries, Qin Shihuang adopted Li Si's suggestion. In 2 13 BC, Li Si, the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, said that a hundred schools of thought "speak insincerely when they enter, talk loudly when they leave, praise the Lord in the name, take the differences as high, and lead others to slander." It is also suggested to burn harmful books and suppress those who endanger the country. So, in that year, we began to destroy all the hundreds of works except legalists, agricultural books and medical books. More than 460 Confucian scholars and alchemists, led by Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng, held high the banner of Confucius' "Rise and fall the country, carry forward the past and forge ahead into the future", and used witchcraft to defraud the people and take the lead in making troubles, seriously disrupting social order. This measure has played a very good role in stabilizing national stability and unity. To tell the truth, it is normal for a newly established regime to suppress hundreds of ringleaders who endanger the country, threaten national stability and attempt to subvert reunification, and the number is very small. Then why? Because Qin Shihuang killed Confucian scholars. In their view, Confucian scholars can't be killed. If hundreds of thousands of peasant uprisings are suppressed, that is nothing. Their lives are no different from those of ants. Killing tens of thousands of royalty is nothing. Confucian scholars cannot be killed, no matter what crimes they commit. Killing them is a tyrant. How ridiculous it is to look at these arguments with today's theory of governing the country according to law. It can also be said that Confucian scholars are literate people, and historical records are handed down by literati. Those literati were killed, and of course, later literati only had air conditioning on their backs, and they hated it. In order to protect themselves, of course, I want to embellish it, make it out of nothing, and curse the tyranny of Qin Shihuang. They also scolded the later emperors and told them not to repeat the mistakes of Qin Shihuang. Scholars can't be punished for their crimes, and they are reviled as Qin Shihuang. Qin Shihuang played a great positive role in unifying the thoughts of all ethnic groups in the country and enhancing national cohesion. It's much better than a hundred schools of thought contending and attacking each other, destroying people's hearts and making you sing and I come on stage, which is very harmful to national unity. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's thought of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" is also a unified way of thinking in the whole country. It is not much different from the legalists of Qin Shihuang who burned books to bury Confucianism, but the times are different and the books they admired are different. He worships Confucianism, and Qin Shihuang worships the law. It can be said that their practice is of progressive significance to safeguarding national unity. Qin Shihuang still chose to burn books, at least legalist books, agricultural books and medical books were not burned. Before burning books, he still considered the needs of the country. This is not to say that he doesn't want everything in writing, otherwise he will reform his writing. Even if all the other books are burned, I don't think so. You see, at present, books in the pre-Qin period basically still exist. Even after the establishment of the Han Dynasty, I haven't heard when the suicide note was searched out and republished. There is also a legend that when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked someone to recite the contents of the lost book and reprint it. Is this convincing? Memorize a few poems in two, and some people say that if there are many books, each one is written, such as the vast ocean, it is impossible to recite. Other than that, none of the other books exist. Is it necessary for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to oust a hundred schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone? It seems that it has been circulating that Qin Shihuang burned all the books, and there is not necessarily no problem in them. Many things that are circulated and recorded in historical books are not necessarily true.

What is Epang Palace?

Take, for example, the Epang Palace built by people who have been slandering Qin Shihuang in the past, which is extravagant and wasteful, exhausting the wealth of the world. In Historical Records written by Sima Qian, a great historian and writer who is very rigorous and pays attention to record, it is recorded that after Xiang Yu captured Xianyang, the capital of Qin State, he set fire to Epang Palace, and the fire lasted until March. A Fang Gong Fu written by Du Mu, a great writer in the Tang Dynasty, is even more famous. In it, he wrote: "The six kings are finished, the four seas are one, the mountains are right, and A Fang goes through customs." Overpressure exceeds 300 miles, isolated from the sun. ..... Honeycomb water vortex, I don't know how it will fall. What is a cloudless dragon lying on a long bridge? After the road is empty, don't blame Eric? High and low, I don't know the west and the east. ..... Within one day, the climate between palaces is uneven. ..... The stars are shining and the makeup mirror is lit; Lv Yun came forward and combed Xiao Huan; Nutrient flow is greasy, and fat water is abandoned; The smoke is foggy and the pepper orchids are also burning. The thunder shook and the palace car passed; "You see Du Mu description, how magnificent this Epang Palace is. Look: all the trees in Sichuan forest have been cut down, and the Epang Palace Hall has been built. It covers more than 300 miles, almost covering the sun. Five steps to the tall building and ten steps to the pavilion; I don't know. Tens of millions. Long bridges lie in the water like dragons, and the roads between pavilions are like rainbows in the air. The high and low pavilions are vague, which makes people unable to distinguish between east, west, north and south. I saw the stars twinkling (early in the morning). It turned out that the maid-in-waiting concubines opened the toilet mirror. Seeing the dark clouds disturbing, they combed their hair early in the morning; The Weihe River overflowed and a layer of greasy powder water (it turned out to be them) expanded; Light smoke fills the air, and the fragrance is filled with fog, which is the special fragrance of pepper and orchid they burned. Suddenly thunder resounded through the sky and the palace car passed by. These descriptions make people dare not imagine that there can be buildings of this scale in the world. Sima Qian and Du Mu basically maintained the scale of Epang Palace. According to them, Epang Palace stretches for hundreds of miles, with great momentum, scale and grandeur. Imagine how long it will take to build such a huge building and how much it will cost, not to mention in the Qin Dynasty, even now. Sure enough, after the recent archaeological excavation and drilling in Xianyang, the archaeologists, based on the facts and after careful analysis and research, came to the conclusion that the Epang Palace recorded in history did not exist at all, thus uncovering an eternal mystery. An iron-fisted historian like Sima Qian, who is respected by later generations, still has false words, not to mention other records and circulation, how can people believe it? Literati in our country have a common fault since ancient times, that is, exaggerating and saying nothing. In order to serve the ruling class, for our own self-interest and to safeguard our own opinions, we can also brag about what we rely on, some can not say, some can not say, black can not say, white can not say. In their works, there are thousands of people who are maliciously attacked and wronged. Sima Qian was limited by historical conditions. The Han Dynasty overthrew the ruling classes of the Qin and Han Dynasties. He will never say that the Qin regime is good. They want to show off their contribution to the Qin Dynasty and make the whole world appreciate and support them. This is also historical common sense. Winners are princes, losers are thieves. In fact, after Liu Bang invaded Xianyang, Xiao He only paid attention to the collection of Qin laws, which laid a solid foundation for the later formulation of Chinese laws. To put it bluntly, that is the Chinese system and the Chinese law. In the hands of the Qin dynasty, it was tyranny, and it was benevolent to use it. This is indeed an unstable record. Can Sima Qian still speak well of Qin at this time? A few words to defend Li Ling, he was castrated. No matter how bold he is, he dare not put in a good word for Qin who was destroyed by Korea. Sima Qian is so close to the Qin Dynasty that it is estimated that it is impossible not to know that Epang Palace does not exist. He only used fictional illusions to set off the glitz of the Qin dynasty, but it was not true anyway. It's nothing to say more. Du Mu will not examine the authenticity of Epang Palace, nor can he, just for his own article, which is more convincing. He protested to the current dynasty, explaining the harm of large-scale construction to the country. He does not hesitate to use exaggeration and parallelism to contrast the effectiveness of the article, and he does not hesitate to exaggerate. Epang Palace is like this, burning books and burying Confucianism. The scriptures are processed by people's hands, and it is hard to say whether they are true or false.

The truth about the so-called tyranny and the construction of the Great Wall

Scholars make up stories to slander what they hate in their hearts and do whatever it takes. Take Meng Jiangnv crying at the Great Wall for example. They invented a woman named Meng Jiangnu, saying that she went through hardships to find a husband. After arriving at the Great Wall, her husband died of illness in the hard work of repairing the Great Wall, and even the bones could not be found. Meng Jiangnv longed for her husband, was heartbroken and wailed. Her sad voice made her cry. How sad, how sad, how shocking! Who can not be moved to tears? This story is as famous as the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Whenever people mention it, they don't swear and criticize Qin for being heartless. The story of Meng Jiangnv crying at the Great Wall has made great contributions in history and among the people, in order to publicize the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. Therefore, we can't believe all the historical records and literati's pens.

Let's talk about Qin's harsh laws and the so-called violence in building the Great Wall. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, he took a series of measures to safeguard unity, national stability and prevent unrest. He unified the criminal law of the whole country, formulated specific legal provisions, and stirred up a hornet's nest about this great change. Because, before the Qin Dynasty, there was no uniform legal provision, only the powerful enslaved the people. Their words are laws, and their actions are laws. For ordinary people, they have the final say in killing and chopping. If they don't deal with a word, their heads will fall. They killed people at random and never took criminal responsibility. Just as Confucius said, "Doctors should not be punished, and Shu Ren should not be punished." Suddenly, Qin Shihuang unified the national criminal law, and anyone who broke the law should be punished according to law. It is a big mistake for these powerful people who have been doing whatever they want and bullying. Why punish them? Has it ever happened? Those descendants of Confucian scholars who cling to Confucius' idea that "doctors can't be punished and Shu Ren can't be polite" cling to the idea that this is tyranny. In order to maintain national stability, Qin Shihuang also collected weapons and bows and arrows all over the country. After being destroyed, twelve bronze men were cast in Xianyang. That is to say, Jia Yi said in Qin Lun that "selling the front and smashing, casting twelve golden people". The measures taken by Qin Shihuang are of great significance for ensuring the stability of the country and preventing unrest. In particular, the unification of criminal law is a great leap forward of the times, and Chinese civilization has been ahead of the world for hundreds of years. Of course, the law at that time was based on safeguarding the interests of the landlord class, and it was impossible to ignore it and everyone was equal. However, there is no denying its positive significance at that time.