Why are they called traitors? Origin

As for the word traitor, sometimes it is difficult to explain clearly.

From the literal meaning, "traitor" should refer to the scum of the Han nation, but if you think about it carefully, it seems that this is not necessarily the case. "Cihai" defines "Han traitor" as: It originally refers to the scum of the Han people; now it refers to the traitors of the Chinese nation. Therefore, the term "traitor" still has ancient and modern distinctions, as well as a patent (a patent belonging only to the Chinese).

It is probably impossible to verify when the word "traitor" originated, but it certainly did not appear before the Western Han Dynasty, because there was no "Han" at that time; even after the Han Dynasty and before the Northern Song Dynasty, the word "traitor" probably did not exist. Because among some national scum recorded in history, Qin Hui was collectively called "scum" before, and the word "traitor" only appeared after Qin Hui.

Not only is the meaning unclear, but the application is sometimes confusing. According to the definition, there are some people in history who should be classified as traitors, but no one calls them traitors; some people who have been calling traitors are actually somewhat excusable.

Take Fan Wencheng, for example. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to destroy Li and the Ming Dynasty, and his role cannot be underestimated; but he was undoubtedly a Han, right? And the Manchu Qing Dynasty at that time could not be considered a "Chinese nation." But did future generations call him a traitor? In addition to being disdainful of the integrity they displayed, such as Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou, future generations didn't even scold them.

At the same time, Wu Sangui was a traitor that everyone criticized. But looking at Wu Sangui's history as a traitor, some of them were really helpless. At that time, Ming Dynasty, Dashun Dynasty and Manchu Qing Dynasty were three pillars. In terms of military strength, Li had the most, with one million; Ming had the second, but it was not enough to protect himself; Man had the least, with one hundred thousand. Wu only had a mere 40,000 troops. If he wanted to gain a foothold and protect his country, the non-Lian Li would not be able to resist the Qing, and the non-Lian Qing would not be able to break through, and no single person would be able to do so. But no matter which choice he makes, he is subject to others, and it is not a compromise. Moreover, in terms of honor and integrity, surrendering to Qing means betraying the Ming Dynasty and being called a traitor; surrendering to Li means betraying the master and being called disloyal.

Wu Sangui also chose to be loyal to the emperor. After receiving the order, he rolled up his armor and went to the pass to stop the Qing Dynasty. However, Ming was forgotten by Li, and Chongzhen had hanged himself in Meishan. He wanted to protect Nanming Hongguang, but he was beyond his reach and had no way out. He chose to surrender to Li, but after the peasant army entered the city, they frantically arrested and tortured Ming Dynasty officials who were demoted, and plundered beautiful women in gold and silk. What's more, his father was tortured, his concubines were taken away, and his relatives were humiliated. He chose Chengren, but was persuaded by his generals, and Chengren was by no means an easy decision to make. For Taoists, Chengren could keep his reputation, but as a commander of the three armies, he had four men under his command. Ten thousand soldiers have become benevolent themselves, what will they do? This kind of irresponsibility is not the behavior of a man. Let me ask, what if someone else is in this situation? He has no choice but must choose, and no matter how he chooses, he will not be a good person anyway. This kind of embarrassment may never be experienced by those who are not in it.

What’s more complicated is that according to research by modern scholars, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty (originally with the intention of uniting with the Qing Dynasty) in order to exchange the Ming Dynasty’s Gyeonggi region that actually no longer existed for Qing troops to destroy the country. Shun, in order to achieve the rule of the north and the south in the Qing and Ming Dynasties. This is also because "class hatred" exceeds "national hatred", which is basically consistent with the position of the Hongguang regime of the Southern Ming Dynasty that "resisting foreigners" must first "pacify the internal situation".

Judging from the above historical conditions, Wu Sangui can be considered a "traitor" because of the "current situation". Compared with Fan Wencheng, Hong Chengchou, and Zu Dashou, he is actually a bit aggrieved.

But this grievance is not the reason, because at that time the Han nation was ravaged by foreigners, and it was ultimately because of his key role in surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. Wu Sangui should be classified as a traitor (and one of China's top ten scum).

Let’s take a look at Qin Hui, who has been scolded the hardest and longest by us and is synonymous with being a traitor. Even if hundreds or thousands of years pass, Qin Hui's traitor charges may not be washed away. But if you look deeper into Qin Hui's environment at that time, I'm afraid there are many reasons why he wants to appeal.

Many books say so about Qin Hui being a traitor.

But in the final analysis, the evidence is not sufficient. Most people only infer from Qin Hui’s actions that he may be a traitor. But are Qin Hui’s actions really his fault? Others are not responsible. ?

The answer is no.

Wen Zhengming once wrote such a poem "Man Jiang Hong": "Don't you think that the Central Plains is frowning? Do you not hesitate to humiliate Hui and Qin? But now that Hui and Qin have returned, where does this body belong? I will never praise Nan through the ages. When I crossed the border, I was afraid that the Central Plains would be restored. What could I do if I was just laughing at a cypress tree?" From Wen Zhengming's words, we can see that Wen Zhengming's understanding of Qin's death placed more responsibility on Yue. Song Gaozong Zhao Gou. "How can a mere cypress laugh? You can do whatever he wants!" In fact, this is also true. Without Zhao Gou's connivance and consent, would Qin Hui have the guts to harm Yue and betray the national interests by kneeling to Jin Qu? Thinking about the "Gang of Four", we may also be able to understand who should really bear the responsibility for the "Cultural Revolution".

From the known information, we know that Qin Hui is a person who is very good at observing words and colors and guessing the psychology of others. He guessed that Zhao Gou was afraid that his throne would be uncertain after Hui and Qin returned; therefore, he was always on guard against the embarrassing situation of sending Hui and Qin back after Song Shengjin's defeat. And Qin Hui's worries were not unnecessary. More than 300 years later, Emperor Ming Jing welcomed back his brother Yingzong, but it was a fact that he killed a generation of national hero Yu Qian.

There is another layer of relationship. Qin Hui was the prime minister in the hands of Zhao Gou. If a new master was ushered in, not only would the old master no longer help him, but the new master might not necessarily use him again. Based on his personal interests, he would choose war or peace. The benefits speak for themselves.

This is Qin Hui's personal moral issue. However, because of his lack of morality, the entire nation was humiliated, and the long-term interests of the entire nation were exchanged for personal momentary honor and disgrace. The sin was too heavy and deep. Therefore, 50 years after his death, he was deprived of the title of "Miao Chou" and was regarded as a traitor in the Ming Dynasty. Even the printed characters we use every day are called "Song" characters instead of "Qin" characters.

Writing this, I remembered another word that is opposite to traitor - "national hero".

The "History Teaching Syllabus for Full-time Senior High Schools" (Trial Revised Edition) published the year before last stated that ethnic wars in the history of our country should be scientifically analyzed from the perspective of historical materialism. Such domestic ethnic wars should be treated scientifically. The war between them is "brothers fighting against each other and families fighting". Therefore, Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang and others can only be regarded as outstanding figures of the Chinese nation, but cannot be called "national heroes".

If this theory exists, then I think that not only can we not label Qin Hui, Wu Sangui and others as traitors, but we should also label them as heroes. Because Wu Sangui's switch to welcome the Qing Dynasty should be regarded as conforming to the trend of history; Qin Hui's traitorous pursuit of glory can also be regarded as loyalty to the emperor and for peace.

Isn’t this a big joke. But this joke has actually existed. Everyone thinks that we are confused!

I also saw an article commenting on Wang Jingwei some time ago. Of course, we really cannot look at the ancients through the eyes of today's people. Wang Jingwei's early revolution can only represent his past, but his insecurity in the later years is his real result; what's more, Wang's willingness to be a traitor was not forced by anyone or was as difficult as Wu Sangui's choice. Even Wang Jingwei himself knows this. Otherwise, why did he designate to be buried in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum before his death to show the world that he was still a follower of Sun Yat-sen? However, he was afraid that future generations would destroy his coffin and whip his body, so he used 5 tons of hard broken steel blocks mixed with concrete. What about the thick tomb shell that was poured inside? But despite this, more than a year later, his tomb was still blown up by Chiang Kai-shek. How many people in the small pavilion on the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum know that the soil here was once defiled by traitors?

It may be difficult to overturn the case of Wang Jingwei, Zhou Fohai and others. The reason is One is that the Japanese still do not belong to the "Chinese nation". As for the definition of Qin Hui and Wu Sangui as traitors, in addition to many historical twists and turns, the masters they "sold" at that time are now members of the "Chinese nation."

This may be the reason for the complexity of the word "traitor"!