Qin, whose fighting power was bursting during the Warring States Period, often showed "stupidity"?

Looking at the historical records of the Qin Dynasty, it is interesting to see the different reactions of Qin people and Jin countries to disasters. After a careful look, I found that Qin was really naive and ridiculous, and I felt that it was often played by the developed country at that time-Jin, but the "ridiculous" Qin finally unified the six countries, while the winding Jin was divided into three and finally dropped.

In the past, when I carefully read French social psychologist Gustave Le Bon's social psychology book Rage: A Study of Popular Psychology, which was first published in 1895, I was still lamenting the lack of such works in China.

But when we look at Ban Gu's summary of human nature all over the country at that time in Eight Records of Han Shu, we can't help asking, isn't this the embryonic form of the mob more than 2,000 years ago?

Perhaps it seems a bit far-fetched for some people to describe it this way, but Mob is also a book with the French nation as the background, which studies modern popular psychology. Le Pen expounded the characteristics of French groups and group psychology from the viewpoint of modern people, and then pointed out that when an individual is isolated, he will have his own distinctive personality characteristics, and once he is integrated into the group, all his personality will be submerged by this group, and his thoughts will be immediately replaced by group thoughts. Therefore, it is concluded that when the group exists, the individual shows the characteristics of emotion, no objection and low IQ.

Similar to this method, Ban Gu also summed up the individual characteristics of the group from the geographical dimension, but it was rough and did not have the sense of detail of modern research. However, what can we expect from summarizing the national character by region more than 2000 years ago?

1. Qin Jin's different attitudes towards disasters.

Although this summary seems a bit idealistic, historical development shows that people's hearts are bad and suffering is endless. In our history and culture, the description of marriage as "the goodness of Qin and Jin" is enough to illustrate the close relationship between Qin Jin.

But the reality is often cruel. According to rough and unscientific statistics in historical records, there are more wars between Qin Jin than peaceful coexistence, although the royal families of the two countries have always had the habit of intermarriage. And because metal is one of the developed and advanced countries in Shandong, I feel that I often play with Qin.

Qin's performance has always been a bit "silly".

For example, in 648 BC, when the state of Jin was hit by a drought, people were sent to the state of Qin to beg. Pipao was born in the state of Jin and is very familiar with the state of Jin. He persuaded Qin Miaogong not only not to give food, but also to send troops to attack the state of Jin, taking advantage of the famine and making people miserable.

Qin Miaohong always felt something was wrong, so he went to ask Gong again. Gong said: "Poor harvests and good harvests happen from time to time, and we should provide assistance." Qin Miaohong was still hesitating and asked thyme. Thyme said, "I have sinned against you. What are the sins of his people? " Therefore, Qin Miaogong adopted the opinions of Priscilla and Gong Sunzhi and gave food aid to the State of Jin. It was a grand scene. According to the descriptions in Historical Records and Qin Benji, grain was shipped to the State of Jin by sea and land, starting from Yongdu and reaching Jiangcheng.

Just two years later, in the first 646 years, there was a famine in the State of Qin, and the State of Qin requested food aid from the State of Jin. The monarch of Jin asked his ministers for advice on this matter. Minister Guo She said, "When there is a famine in Qin, we will attack Qin, and we will surely win a great victory." The monarch of Jin actually listened to his advice.

In 645 BC, Jin sent troops to attack Qin. Qin Miaogong didn't expect such a result, so he sent his troops. Although Qin Miaogong used personal expedition, he let Pipao lead the army into battle. After Qin Miaogong fought hard, he captured Jin Jun and returned to the State of Qin.

Qin Miaogong issued an order to the whole country in Yongdu: "Everyone fasted, leaving only one person, and I will sacrifice the golden army to God." When Zhou heard about this, he said, "Jin Jun is my surname" and pleaded for Jin Jun; Yiwu's sister is Qin Miaogong's wife. Hearing this, she put on mourning clothes and said barefoot, "I can't save my brother, so I have to let you order him to be killed." It's a disgrace to you. " When Qin Miaogong saw this, he complained, "I caught Jin Jun and thought it was a big deal. Now the son of heaven is in love, and my wife is worried about it." So, I had to listen to people's persuasion, make a covenant with 8 jin j, promise to let him go back to China, and give him seven cows, sheep and pigs, and treat him as a vassal.

In November, Qin Migong sent Jin Wu back to China; Yiwu gave the land in Hexi of Jin State and sent Prince Yi to Qin State as a hostage. Qin married the daughter of the same clan to Zi Cong. At that time, the territory of Qin had extended eastward to the Yellow River Basin.

In fact, a closer look at Historical Records reveals that Qin did a lot of "stupid things" and thankless things. Of course, this is also to blame Qin. At that time, Qin was regarded as a "barbaric and uncivilized" backward country by the developed and advanced six countries in the East, no matter how hard they tried. Even if an alliance meeting is held, they are too lazy to let Qin join.

On another occasion, there was a "Battle of Hu Ling" in Qin Kanggong: Xiang Gong's younger brother, Yong, was born in the State of Qin and was also in the State of Qin at that time. Zhao Dun, the etiquette of the State of Jin, intended to make Xianggong's younger brother Duke of Jin, so he sent etiquette of the State of Jin to greet him. Can Qin Kanggong stop such a good thing? It is beneficial to the state of Qin, so the state of Qin sent an army to guard a place called, waiting for the state of Jin to take over. However, I didn't expect the army of the State of Jin to attack. Because Qin Jun was unprepared for the war, he was defeated and fled. He also ran back to Yongcheng with the defeated army. It turned out that the people of the State of Jin had broken their word, and Zhao Dun's plan may not have been unanimously agreed by the courtiers. They finally named Xiang Gong's son Jin Gong. Hu Ling was beaten for no reason. Qin Kanggong was furious!

It can be seen that the ideal of "the goodness of Qin and Jin" is actually just a beautiful "hometown wish", but in reality there is only the backbone of "Qin Jin is hard to use well". The historical trend has not spared any bad people in the end.

Why do Qin people have such personality characteristics? Looking at Ban Gu's analysis more than 2,000 years ago, maybe we can solve the puzzle?

2. A summary of Ban Gu's comments on "Qin Di" folklore.

In fact, Ban Gu made a brief comment on the local people's feelings and national character at that time according to the local customs described by Liu Xiang and yu zhang's subordinate Yingchuan Zhugan. So, what are the national character characteristics of people all over the Western Han Dynasty in history? Of course, this paper is mainly aimed at Qin people, focusing on information related to Qin land.

In Han Shu, Ban Gu explains the word "vulgar" in this way: all people believe in the nature of the five permanent members, but they are different in rigidity and softness, which is the air of soil and water, so they call it wind; Likes and dislikes, movements, life and death often follow your wishes, so it is called vulgarity. Confucius said, "It's not good to like changing customs." It is said that the holy king, in charge of human relations, will move his wood, but it will end easily, which is confusing to the world, and then Wang Jiaocheng also. Han inherited the last hundred kings. The land has changed and people have moved. When he became emperor, Liu Xiang talked about his land, and Prime Minister yu zhang made it the custom of Yingchuan and Zhugan, but he still kept it secret and made it up. Finally, it is based on the article.

If it is explained in modern Chinese, that is to say: everyone has the nature of abiding by the Five Permanent Principles (benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith), and people will show rigidity, urgency and abnormal sound, which is called "wind" because of the difference of soil, water and atmosphere; The choice of likes and dislikes, because of the lack of normality in daily behavior, will cater to the preferences of the monarch, so it is called "vulgar." Confucius said: "There is nothing more effective than rites and music to change the social atmosphere and folk customs." This means that Saint Wang Zhiguo, who has the overall control of human ethics, is bound to correct the essence of the people and get rid of their bad habits. If this can be done, different opinions in the world can be combined to achieve neutrality, and the enlightenment expected by the court will be successful. The Han dynasty inherited the tradition of a hundred kings. The territory has also changed, and people have moved around. When Liu Xiang proclaimed himself emperor, he briefly discussed the change of territory. Yu zhang, the prime minister, asked his subordinates Yingchuan and Zhu Gan to state the local customs, but failed to summarize them comprehensively. Therefore, I tried to discuss their unfinished summary. Put all comments at the end of this article.

In order to facilitate your interpretation, in addition to my translation, I also quoted the original text above. Under normal circumstances, I don't like to write like this, because it will affect the reading pleasure of netizens. However, I found that there are some problems in the translation of many ancient Chinese texts on the Internet. Many of them are like robots, and they are confused after reading them.

Back to the topic, it can be seen that "changing customs" is to change the moral essence of the people, and our ancestors attached great importance to it more than 2,000 years ago. In the article, Ban Gu is divided into "thirteen places" according to historical traditions rather than administrative units: Qin, Wei, Zhou, Han, Zhao, Yan, Qi, Lu, Song, Wei, Chu, Wu and Yue.

Before starting this topic, we must first make it clear that the division of "thirteen places" in history is different from that of modern administrative divisions. We can't understand history with modern geographical and cultural thinking. Because I am worried that netizens will misunderstand that I am creating geographical discrimination, I will not explain the corresponding modern places in detail, mainly because I am worried that I am not knowledgeable enough to make jokes. However, Qin Di will be more detailed, because this article is about Qin Di.

According to Ban Gu's "Eight Chapters of Hanshu Geography", "Qin land is divided into Tianguan Cave Sutra and Yu Ghost". It is bounded by Jingzhao, Fufeng, Fengyi, Beidi, Xihe, Anding, Tianshui and Longxi, with Ba, Shu, Guanghan, Qianwei and Wudu in the south, Jincheng, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang in the west and Zhang Ke and Yuexian in the southwest.

From Ban Gu's division of Qin land into the following four parts, it can be seen that Qin land in Qin and Han Dynasties is very different from modern times. The concept of Qin land in ancient times is far greater than that in modern times. Due to the differences in geography, folk customs and traditional habits, the living habits of residents in different parts of "Qin land" are also very different.

Shi Jing part: Because this place is the main part of Qin State and the place where the Emperor of Zhou rose, Ban Gu thinks that "the ancient Qin Dynasty spanned Gong Yuyong and Liang States, and its poetic style was Qin Jin. Yesterday Hou jifeng? , Gong Liu, Qian Wang, Qian Wang, Jia, etc., all have the legacy of the previous dynasty, good crops, and can do business, so "Hidden Poetry" says that farmers and mulberry are well fed and clothed. There are Hubei, Duzhulin and Nanshan Tanzhe Temple, which are called land and sea and are fertile soil for Kyushu. At the beginning of the emperor, Zheng Guo crossed the canal, diverted water for irrigation, and fertile fields were thousands of miles away. The people are rich. "

In other words, the residents here have inherited the legacy of the former king, like farming, and can stick to their jobs, which is an important base and foundation for providing food and clothing for the country. Ban Gu spoke highly of the people in the hometown of Zhou Dynasty.

However, with the rise of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang took the painful lesson of moving the dignitaries of other countries to Guanzhong to facilitate control and avoid the collapse of Qin State. When the wealthy heroes scattered around the world and local influential dignitaries moved to Chang 'an, they brought different customs and habits from all over the world, and also changed the customs and habits of Qin State.

Ban Gu said this:

"Han Xing, with its capital in Chang 'an, is full of fields. Heroes such as Qu and Jing all live in Changling. In the afterlife, 2,000 stone immigrants, senior rich people, lofty and noble (outstanding) people live in Zhu Ling. Beggars are strong and weak, and he is not the only one who serves the mountain garden. Therefore, the five parties are mixed (wrong) and vulgar. His family is good at etiquette, the rich are the profits of businessmen, and (Jie) is a ranger who commits adultery. It's near Nanshan and xia yang. Dangerous and frivolous, and easy to be a thief. It is often a world drama. Coupled with the intersection of counties and townships, there are many mobile foods. The people will come to the end, and the nobles will be arrogant in their cars and clothes. The public will show (imitate) the effect, feel ashamed, and scold you for being extravagant and dying too much. "

According to Ban Gu's point of view, the customs in Guanzhong began to be impure because of the immigration of rich heroes from other countries, so they were corrupted. He concluded: hereditary families generally have good manners; Rich people are keen on making money; The hero and the ranger are a group. In addition, it is pointed out that xia yang, near Zhong Nanshan, because of its dangerous geographical environment, is a place where mountain thieves enter the barren land, which often brings disasters to the world. Because Chang 'an has many offices in various counties and countries, there are many people who get something for nothing and do nothing. In addition, Beijingers also keep up with fashion trends and keep up with the joneses. Therefore, it is not shameful to compare with others, especially in weddings and funerals, thus forming an extremely luxurious funeral custom in Guanzhong area.

From Longxi to Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang in the west;

Speaking of the folk customs of Tianshui, Longxi, Anding and Beidi near Rongdi, Ban Gu's evaluation is that because these places are located in the border, people like to "practice combat readiness, improve their strength, and shoot first". In other words, it advocates strength and usually focuses on hunting. After the rise of the Han Dynasty, the children of good families (children of doctors, businessmen and skilled workers) in these six counties were mostly chosen as the guards of the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty-Lin Yujun and Qimen, who served as officials mainly on their own strength. There were also many celebrities here, such as the famous Li Guang family in the Western Han Dynasty. Ban Gu quoted Confucius' famous saying: "It is chaos for a gentleman to die with courage (nonsense), and it is theft for a villain to die with courage (nonsense)." To sum up, the people in these six counties are simple in folk customs, but they are not ashamed of being thieves.

In Han Shu, Ban Gu counted four counties west of Wuwei County as "Qin land". These places were once the nomadic places of evil Kun Wang and Xiongnu King Xiutu. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing made a surprise attack and won it from the Huns. At first, four counties were set up to connect the western regions and block the connection between Nanqiang and Xiongnu. Most of the residents here moved in from inside Shanhaiguan Pass: some came because of extreme poverty in Kanto, some because of revenge crimes, and some because of treason, and their families were moved here together. Due to different sources of personnel, great differences in customs, and the vast land and scarce personnel in Hexi Corridor, aquatic plants are suitable for raising livestock, so the livestock in Liangzhou area is the highest in the world. Because the frontier fortress is defended and governed by 2000 stone officials, the people mostly sell weapons and horses for their daily business; Neighborhood can get along equally, and the relationship between the government and the people is relatively harmonious.

Therefore, the custom here is that when the weather is good, the food price is very cheap, there are few thieves, and the civil atmosphere is generally harmonious, which is quite reasonable compared with the mainland officials and people. The reason may be that the government's laws and regulations are loose, and officials' law enforcement is not as rigid and strict as that in the mainland.

Bashu in the south until today's Wudu in Longnan;

According to the historical records, when Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi argued for the conquest of Shu, Sima Cuo, the Emperor of Keqing, won, and the State of Qin took Bashu into his pocket, we can see that it is no problem for Ban Gu to divide "Qin land" in this way.

According to the concept at that time, Ba County, Shu County and Guanghan County were originally Nanyi, and they began to rule after the annexation of the Qin Dynasty. The land here is fertile, with rivers irrigating fields, mountains, bamboos, vegetables and fruits. In the south, there are many Yunnan and burning servants, and in the west, there are many horses and yaks.

People live on rice and fish, and basically have no worries about the disaster years in the north, so the folk customs are less worried and hard. Therefore, folk customs are easy to overindulge, petite and look weak and narrow.

During the period of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty and Emperor Wu of Wu Dynasty, Wen Weng, as the county magistrate of Shu County, taught the people to study and obey the law, but he did not expect to be honest. On the contrary, people like to satirize and praise authority and power with articles. Especially after Sima Xiangru left his hometown and became a senior official and prince in the capital, he became famous for his articles and speeches, and he became the object of admiration and imitation by local residents. Learning to get ahead through reading has become a local fashion. Later, people ranked Bao and Yan Zunhe as the first in the world. These achievements show that Wen Weng advocated the local people to learn how to govern their families, and followed Sima Xiangru's example, which made the literati and talents here come forth in large numbers.

The situation in Wudu County is more complicated, because there are Miao and Qiang people living together on its land, as well as Qianwei County, Pangke County and Yue Lun County, all of which are Yi people outside the southwest. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to set up county governance. Its folk customs are roughly the same as those of Ba and Shu counties, and Wudu county is close to Tianshui county, so the folk customs are quite close. Therefore, Ban Gu has no further comments.

Finally, Ban Gu came to the conclusion that Qin's original land accounted for only one-third of the world at that time, its population did not exceed three-tenths of the world, but its wealth accounted for six-tenths of the world. It can be seen that Qin was able to unify the whole country in those days, not only because of its overwhelming fighting capacity, but also because of its economic foundation.

Referring to Woods' Art of War in Seven Books of Jason Wu, Wu Qi analyzed Qin's national character: "Qin's national character is tough, the terrain is dangerous, the decrees are strict, rewards and punishments are clear, and it is trustworthy ..." Ban Gu's overall evaluation of Qin Di is summarized as follows: the folk customs are simple and naive, which seems reasonable.