The Qin State, which was so powerful in the Warring States Period, often acted "stupid"?

When reading "Historical Records" and "Qin Benji", it was very interesting to see the different responses of the people of Qin and the state of Jin in the face of disasters. After reading it carefully, I discovered that the Qin State at that time was really a bit naive and "stupid". I felt that it was often played on by the Jin State, a developed country at the time. However, the "silly" Qin State finally unified the six countries. , but the colorful Jin State was divided into three families and eventually perished.

In the past, when I carefully read French social psychologist Gustave Le Bon's social psychology work "The Crowd: A Study in the Psychology of the Masses" first published in 1895, I was still sighing. There is a lack of such works in China.

But when I look at Ban Gu’s general summary of human nature in various parts of the country at that time in "Hanshu" "Geographical Notes", I wonder, isn't this the prototype of "The Crowd" more than 2,000 years ago? ?

Perhaps this description seems a bit far-fetched to some people, but "The Crowd" is also a work based on the French nation and studies modern popular psychology. Le Bon elaborated on the characteristics of French groups and group psychology in the book from a modern point of view, and then pointed out that when an individual is an isolated individual, he will have his own distinctive individual characteristics, and once this person integrates into the group, he will All individuality will be overwhelmed by the group, and thoughts will be immediately replaced by group thoughts. Therefore, it can be concluded that when a group exists, individuals show characteristics such as emotionality, no objection, and low IQ;

Similar to this method, Ban Gu also analyzed the personalized characteristics of the group from the regional dimension A general summary is made, but it is rather rough and does not have the sense of detail required by modern research. But what else can we demand from the advanced nature of summarizing national character on a regional basis more than 2,000 years ago?

1. The different attitudes of Qin and Jin when facing disasters

Although the summary in the subtitle may seem a bit idealistic, the development of history shows that if people's hearts are not kind, the consequences will be endless. In our history and culture, marriage is described as the eternal knot of "the good of Qin and Jin", which is enough to illustrate the close relationship between Qin and Jin.

But reality is often cruel. Based on rough and unscientific statistics from "Historical Records", I found that there were more wars between Qin and Jin than peaceful coexistence, although the royal families of the two countries have always had the habit of marrying each other. . Moreover, because the Jin State is one of the developed and advanced countries in Shandong, it feels like it often plays the Qin State into its hands.

Qin Guo’s behavior has always been a bit "silly".

For example, in 648 BC, the Jin State encountered a severe drought, so they sent people to the Qin State to ask for food aid. Pi Bao, who was born in the Jin State, was very familiar with the Jin State and persuaded Duke Mu of Qin not only not to provide food, but also to take advantage of the famine in the Jin State and the instability of the people's hearts to send troops to attack the Jin State.

Duke Mu of Qin always felt that something was wrong, so he went to ask Gongsun Zhi again. Gongsun Zhi said: "There will be bad and good harvests from time to time, and we should provide assistance." Duke Mu of Qin still hesitated, and then When I asked Baili Xi, Baili Xi said, "Yiwu has offended you, what's the crime of his people?" So Duke Mu of Qin adopted the opinions of Baili Xi and Gongsun Zhi and provided food aid to Jin. The scene at that time was grand. According to the description in "Historical Records" and "Qin Benji": grain was transported to the Jin State by waterway by ship and by land by vehicle. It started from Yongdu and continued to Jiangcheng.

Just two years later, in 646 BC, the Qin State suffered a famine, so the Qin State asked the Jin State for food assistance. The king of Jin asked his ministers for their opinions on this matter. Minister Guo She said: "We can take advantage of the famine in Qin to attack it, and we will achieve great success." The king of Jin actually listened to his advice.

In 645 BC, Jin sent troops to attack Qin. Duke Mu of Qin, who did not expect such a result, had no choice but to send troops. Although Duke Mu of Qin went on the expedition himself, he asked Pi Bao to lead the army to fight. After Duke Mu of Qin fought hard, he captured the king of Jin and returned to Qin.

Duke Mu of Qin issued an order to the whole country in Yongdu: "Everyone must fast and stay alone, and I will sacrifice the king of Jin to God.

"When the Emperor of Zhou heard about this, he said, "Jin Jun is my surname" and interceded for Jin Jun. Yiwu's sister was the wife of Duke Mu of Qin. When she heard about this, she put on mourning clothes and went barefoot and said : "Not only can I not save my brother, I even have to let you order him to be killed. It is really humiliating to you. When Duke Mu of Qin saw this, he complained: "I captured the king of Jin and thought it was a great achievement. But now the emperor comes to intercede, and my wife is also worried about it." "So, he had no choice but to follow everyone's advice, make a covenant with the Lord of Jin, and promise to let him return to his country. He also gave him a better house to stay in, gave him seven cattle, sheep and pigs, and treated him with the courtesy of a prince. < /p>

In November, Duke Mu of Qin sent Jin Jun Yiwu back to his country; Yiwu donated the land of Hexi of Jin State and sent Prince Yu (yǔ, idiom) to Qin State to marry the daughter of his clan as a hostage. At this time, Qin's territory had expanded eastward to the Yellow River.

In fact, if you look carefully at "Historical Records", you will find that Qin's "silly" efforts were thankless. Of course, I can't blame Qin for this. No matter how hard it tried, Qin was regarded as a "barbarian and uncivilized" backward country by the six developed and advanced countries in the east. Even when the League Conference was held, Qin was not bothered to join.

Another time was the "Linghu War" that took place during the reign of Duke Kang of Qin: Duke Xianggang of Jin's younger brother, named Yong, was born in the state of Qin, and Zhao Dun, a powerful minister of the state of Jin, planned to establish a kingdom. Duke Xiang's younger brother was the Duke of Jin, so he sent Jin's capable ministers to greet him. How could Duke Kang of Qin stop this good thing? So Qin sent an army to escort him to a place called Linghu, waiting for Jin to pick him up. But what they didn't expect was an attack by the Jin army. Because the Qin army was not prepared for war, it was defeated and fled. It turned out that the Jin people rebelled. Dun's plan may not have been unanimously agreed by the courtiers, and they finally made Duke Xiang's son the Duke of Jin. Duke Kang of Qin was so angry when he was defeated for no reason in the Linghu War!

Look at Yongjie from this! The ideal of "Qin and Jin are good" is actually just a beautiful "hometown wish", and the reality is actually only the backbone of "Qin and Jin are difficult to use well". In the end, the historical trend did not let go of any bad people.

Why did the Qin people. Will there be such character traits? Maybe it can be solved by looking at Ban Gu’s analysis of more than 2,000 years ago.

2. An overview of Ban Gu’s comments on the folk customs of “Qin”

In the "Eight Chapters of Geography" in "Hanshu", Ban Gu briefly commented on the customs and national character of various places at that time based on the customs and folk conditions of various places stated by Liu Xiang and Prime Minister Zhang Yuling's subordinates Yingchuan and Zhu Gan. What were the national character characteristics of people in various places during the Western Han Dynasty? Of course, this article is mainly focused on the people of Qin, focusing on information about Qin.

Ban Gu explained this in the "Book of Han". The meaning of the word "custom" is: the common people correspond to the nature of the five constant elements, and their hardness, softness, urgency, and different sounds are related to the customs of water and soil, so it is called wind; the choice of likes and dislikes, movement and stillness are constant, and they follow the desires of the king, so they are called customs. Confucius said: “If you change customs and customs, there is no way to be good at music. "It is said that the sage king is at the top and is responsible for regulating human relations. He must remove the trees and change the ends. This will lead to the harmony of the world, and then the king's religion will be achieved. The Han Dynasty inherited the end of a hundred kings. The land changed and the people migrated. When he became emperor, Liu Xiang briefly talked about the geographical divisions, and the customs of the Yingchuan and Zhugan sections were not discussed yet, so the whole story is summarized in this article.

If we use modern terms. Interpretation in Chinese means: Everyone has the nature to abide by the five constant principles (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness), and people's personalities will show hardness, softness, urgency, and different voices. This is due to differences in water, soil and customs. , so it is called "wind"; the choice of likes and dislikes in daily behavior lacks normality and will cater to the king's preferences, so it is called "custom". Confucius said: "If you want to change the social atmosphere and change the people's culture. There is nothing more effective than ritual and music. "This means that when the Holy King governs the country and controls the ethics of the world, he must correct the nature of the people and remove their bad qualities. If he can do this, he can combine the different opinions of the world into one and achieve neutrality, which is what the court hopes. Enlightenment was successful. The Han Dynasty inherited the tradition of the Hundred Kings, and the territory of the country also changed, and the people moved around.

During the reign of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiangjian discussed the changes in the territory. Prime Minister Zhang Yu asked his subordinates Yingchuan and Zhu Gan to state the customs and conditions of various places in sections, but they were unable to comprehensively summarize them. Therefore, I will try to summarize their unfinished works. All comments will be explained at the end of this article.

In order to facilitate everyone's interpretation, in addition to my translation, the original text is also quoted above. Under normal circumstances, I don't like to write articles like this, because this will affect the reading pleasure of netizens. However, I found that many ancient Chinese translations on the Internet have problems. Many of them are like robot translations, and I am just confused after reading them.

Returning to the topic, it can be seen that "changing customs" is to change the moral nature of the people. Our ancestors attached great importance to it more than 2,000 years ago. In Ban Gu's article, he did not divide administrative units into "Thirteen Regions" based on historical and traditional regions: Qin, Wei, Zhou, Han, Zhao, Yan, Qi, Lu, Song Di, Wei Di, Chu Di, Wu Di, Guangdong Di.

Before starting this topic, we must first understand that the historical division of the "Thirteen Prefectures" is different from the modern administrative divisions. We cannot use modern geographical and cultural thinking to understand history. Because I am worried that netizens will misunderstand me as creating regional discrimination, I will not explain in detail the corresponding modern places. I am mainly worried that I am not knowledgeable enough and will make a joke. However, "Qin Di" will be described in detail, because this article is just to write about "Qin Di".

According to the "Eight Chapters of Geography" in Ban Gu's "Book of Han": "The land of Qin is divided between Tianguan Dongjing and Yugui. Its boundary starts from the west of Hongnong Guguan, Jingzhao, Fu Feng, Feng Yi, Beidi, Shangjun, Xihe, Anding, Tianshui, Longxi, Ba, Shu, Guanghan, Jianwei, and Wudu in the south, Jincheng, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang in the west, and Zangke and Yue in the southwest. Both Xi and Yizhou belong to Yan."

From Ban Gu's division of Qin into the following four parts, we can see that the "Qin" in the Qin and Han Dynasties was very different from modern times. The ancient concept of Qin was far greater than the modern one. Due to differences in geography, folk customs, and traditional habits in each part of the "Qin Land", the habits of the residents are also extremely different.

Capital part: Since this place is the main component of the Qin State and the place where the Emperor of Zhou rose, Ban Gu believed that "the (ancient) Qin State spanned the two states of Yong and Liang during the "Gong of Yu". "Poetry·Feng" covers both Qin and Bin countries. In the past, Duke Liu was in Bin, the king moved to Qi, King Wen made ferment, and King Wu governed Hao. The people followed the legacy of the previous kings and were good at farming and doing their own business, so "Bin Shi" 》It is said that farmers and mulberry trees are very good for food and clothing. There are E and Du bamboo forests and Nanshan Tanzhe, which is known as Luhai. . ”

In other words, the residents here have inherited the legacy of the late kings, like farming, and can stick to their own business. They are an important base and foundation for supplying the country’s food and clothing. Ban Gu had a high opinion of the people in the old land of the Zhou Dynasty.

However, with the rise of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang adopted the painful lesson of moving the dignitaries of various countries to Guanzhong to facilitate control and avoid the collapse of the Qin Dynasty. When the wealthy heroes and influential local dignitaries from all over the world moved their families to the vicinity of Chang'an, they brought different customs and habits from different places, and at the same time, the customs in Qin also changed.

Ban Gu said this:

"When the Han Dynasty prospered, the capital was established in Chang'an, and all the fields were restored. The families of Chu Zhao, Qu, Jing and other meritorious officials were settled in Changling. Later generations moved to Chang'an. The houses of Li Erqian Shi, Gao Zi, rich people and heroes were all combined in Zhuling. The building was also built with strong branches and weak branches, so it was not the only Fengshan Garden. The customs are impure. The rich are good at being merchants, and the heroes are wanderers and adulterers. It is close to Nanshan Mountain and close to Xia Yang. It is easy to be thieves and thieves, and it often causes drama in the country. There are many casual eaters, and the people are poor. The nobles and nobles wear their carriages and clothes, and the common people imitate them. They are ashamed and irrelevant. Marrying is especially extravagant and leads to death. ”

According to Ban Gu's view, due to the immigration of rich and heroic people from various countries, the customs in Guanzhong became impure and therefore corrupted. He concluded: Hereditary families generally love courtesy; rich people are keen on making money; heroes collude with rangers. Moreover, it is particularly pointed out that Xia Yang, which is close to Zhongnan Mountain, has a dangerous geographical environment and is a place where bandits emerge from the barren mountains and rivers, which often brings disaster to the world.

Since various prefectures and states had many offices in Chang'an, there were many people who got rich without working or doing business. In addition, the imperial court in the capital paraded through the city in splendid clothes and carriages, and people followed the fashion trend and compared each other. Therefore, it was formed that people were ashamed of being unable to compare, and they were especially extravagant in weddings and funerals. This formed the custom of extremely extravagant funerals in Guanzhong.

From Longxi to the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang in the west;

When talking about the folk customs of Tianshui, Longxi, Anding, Beidi and other six counties close to Rongdi, Ban Gu’s evaluation is as follows Because the place is located on the border, people like to "practice war preparations, improve their strength, and put hunting first." That is to say, they admire strength and usually focus on hunting. After the rise of the Han Dynasty, the children of good families in these six counties (their origins could not be the children of doctors, merchants, or workers) were mostly selected to serve as the escort troops of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty - the Yulin Army and the Qimen, mainly relying on their personal strength. As an official, there are many famous generals here, such as the Li Guang family, a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty. Ban Gu quoted Confucius' famous saying: "A gentleman who is brave but has no friendship (righteousness) will be in chaos; a villain who is brave but has no friendship (righteousness) will be a thief." To sum up the people of these six counties: Although the folk customs Simple, but not ashamed of being a bandit.

In the "Book of Han", Ban Gu included the four counties to the west of Wuwei County as "Qin Land". These places were originally the nomadic lands of King Kunxie and King Xiutu of the Xiongnu. During the reign of Emperor Wu, Huo Qubing made a surprise attack and captured them from the Huns. Four counties were initially set up to connect the Western Regions and block the Southern Qiang and Xiongnu. connect. Most of the residents here moved here from within the pass: some fled from the extreme poverty in Kanto, some committed revenge crimes, and some were punished for rebellion, and their families were moved here together. Due to the different sources of people here, the customs are very different. In addition, the Hexi Corridor has vast land and few people. The water and grass are suitable for feeding livestock. Therefore, the livestock in Liangzhou area is the largest in the world. Because the border fortresses were guarded and managed by officials with two thousand stones, the people often sold weapons and horses as their daily business; at banquets and etiquette gatherings between neighbors, everyone above and below could get along equally, and the relationship between the officials and the people was relatively harmonious.

Therefore, the custom here is that when the weather is good, the price of grain is very cheap, there are fewer thieves, the folk atmosphere is generally harmonious, and the officials and people in the mainland are very reasonable. The reason may be that the government decrees are lenient and the officials are not as rigid and harsh in enforcing the law as in the mainland.

From Bashu in the south to the military capital of Longnan today;

If according to the "Historical Records" Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi debated over the conquest of Shu, Sima Cuo, the guest Qing, won, and the Qin State conquered Bashu Taking it into his pocket, it can be seen that there is no problem in Ban Gu's division of "Qin Land" in this way.

According to the concept at the time, Bajun, Shujun, and Guanghanjun were originally Nanyi. They were governed by the counties after the Qin Dynasty annexed them. The land here is fertile, there are rivers to irrigate the fields, and there are mountains and forests. The abundance of bamboo, wood, vegetables, and fruits. To the south, Dian and Fen produced many child servants, while to the west, Qiong and Qian produced many horses and yaks.

The people eat rice and fish, and there is basically no worries like those in the north during the bad years. The folk customs are less worried and hard. Therefore, the folk customs show that it is easy to overindulge, and the petite body looks weak. Rather narrow-minded.

During the reigns of Emperor Jing and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Wen Weng served as the governor of Shu County. He taught the people to read and abide by laws, but he did not achieve the integrity and morality expected. Instead, the people liked to use articles to satirize and admonish authority and admire authority. power. Especially after Sima Xiangru left home and became a high-ranking official in the capital and the princes, he became famous for his articles and rhetoric, and he became an object of admiration and imitation by local residents. It became a local trend to get ahead through reading and learning. Later, people like Wang Bao, Yan Zun, and Yang Xiong ranked first in the world in terms of articles. These results show that Wen Weng advocated that local people learn to manage their families and took Sima Xiangru as a model for learning, which led to the emergence of literary talents here in large numbers.

The situation in Wudu County is more complicated, because the land is inhabited by Di and Qiang people, as well as Jianwei County, Pangke County, and Yuelun County, all of which are Yi ethnic groups outside the southwest. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, counties began to be set up to govern. Its folk customs are roughly the same as those in Ba and Shu counties. In addition, Wudu County is close to Tianshui County, so the folk customs are quite close. Therefore, Ban Gu has no further comments.

Ban Gu concluded at the end that the original land of Qin only accounted for one-third of the world at that time, and its population did not exceed three-tenths of the world, but its wealth accounted for more than one-third of the world. Six out of ten. It can be seen that the Qin State was able to unify the world not only because of its overwhelming combat power, but also because of its economic foundation.

Refer to Wu Qi’s analysis of the character of Qin’s people in the “Wu Zi’s Art of War” in the Seven Books of the Martial Arts: “The people of Qin have a strong character, a difficult terrain, strict government orders, clear rewards and punishments, and trustworthiness...” Ban Gu's overall evaluation of the "Qin Land" is summarized as follows: the folk customs are simple and naive, which seems to make sense.