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Why did Shang Yang ban father, son and brothers from living in the same house during his reform?
When Shang Yang presided over the reform in the Qin State, he promulgated the "Household Separation Order" twice. In the third year of Xiaogong (359 BC), Shang Yang promulgated the "Household Separation Order" for the first time, stipulating that :
"If a citizen has two or more males who are indistinguishable from each other, their gifts will be doubled."
If a household has more than 2 males and does not separate households, the tax will be doubled. In the twelfth year of Duke Xiao (350 BC), Shang Yang once again promulgated the "Household Separation Order", which stipulated: "It is forbidden for fathers, sons, and brothers to live in the same house."
Make it clear that it is illegal for fathers and sons to live together as brothers, and they will be severely punished, and their wives and children will be demoted as official slaves to be driven around. When the "Household Separation Order" was promulgated for the second time, Shang Yang officially promulgated the rule that "fathers, sons, and brothers are prohibited from living in the same house." Shang Yang re-promulgated this regulation because the first promulgated regulation did not achieve the expected results. Because there are loopholes, aristocratic families have the opportunity to take advantage of it. They just have to pay more taxes. You can continue to live according to your original lifestyle.
Therefore, because the first "Household Separation Order" had serious loopholes, the reform was not complete. Therefore, nine years later Shang Yang promulgated the "Household Separation Order" for the second time. This time the regulations are clear and straightforward, directly classifying the behavior of father, son, and brothers living in the same house as illegal and forcing family separation. Why did Shang Yang force the people of Qin to separate their families, and even made it illegal for fathers, sons and brothers to live in the same house?
First, snatching human resources
Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the society has been dominated by the extended family clan system, and the entire country is composed of clans with blood relationships. Everything in the clan is controlled by the clan leader, who has absolute power in the clan. It can be seen that the clan leader allocates people, distributes property, and is self-sufficient within the clan, forming a small society. Being divorced from normal society, the patriarch is the local emperor within the clan, and all orders, rewards and punishments come from him.
Without the consent of the clan leader, the imperial decree cannot be effectively implemented. Many big families hide their young labor force, only to contribute to their own clan, create wealth, and contribute to the prosperity of the family. In their view, national affairs are not as important as matters of their own clan, even if they are of great importance. As a result, the country finds that there is not enough work to build and protect the country, and the operation of the entire country will come to a standstill.
Therefore, the purpose of Shang Yang's two orders is very clear, which is to use these two orders to deprive the clan of control over the population and bring the population under the rule of the imperial court through household division. Let the hidden population be completely exposed to the sun and be directly recruited and managed by the imperial court.
Second, increase tax revenue
As we all know, the fundamental purpose of Shang Yang's reform was to enrich the country and strengthen the army. To enrich the country and strengthen the army, it needs to be supported by money and grain. At that time, the main source of taxation in the Qin State was to collect taxes from each household. It is not levied based on land area as we usually think.
Therefore, we can understand why Shang Yang re-improved the household division law and enforced it. Only when the number of households increases can the court's fiscal revenue be increased.
For example, once a family had three sons and three younger brothers. According to the laws promulgated by Shang Yang, there would be five more families in Qin, and the court could collect taxes from five more families. It can be seen that after the Qin State completely implemented this decree. Qin's increased fiscal revenue has definitely increased exponentially.
Third, increase grain production
Grain has been a country's strategic material since ancient times. The amount of grain stored by the court directly affects the stability of the entire country. Especially during the Warring States Period, when wars were fought for years, whether food was sufficient or not directly affected the direction of a war.
It was precisely because Shang Yang knew this that he enforced household division. Because the Qin State implemented a land grant system at that time, the land was owned by the state, and the land was granted by "households" in a unified manner by the court. Each household can be allocated one hundred acres of land. Therefore, after Shang Yang forced family separation, Qin's household registration increased and the area of ??cultivated land also increased. Grain production will also increase significantly. It provided Qin with sufficient strategic supplies.
Fourth, increase the supply of troops
Every time a war breaks out in the Qin State, one person from each household will join the army to fight in accordance with the system. Therefore, the number of household registrations is directly related to Qin's military strength and mobilization capabilities. Therefore, Shang Yang's household division decree enhanced Qin's military strength, because with the increase in household registration, Qin's military resources also became sufficient. Qin's military strength also became stronger.
Fifth, change customs
The ancient rulers not only had to govern the world, but also educate all the people. Establish a moral order and set a moral example. This will be more conducive to the emperor's rule over the world and the country will be more stable.
The Qin State gradually grew from a tribe in the Longxi Valley to continuously attacking and annexing the surrounding Rongdi tribes. At the same time, Qin also absorbed the cultural customs and living habits of Rong and Di. It is very different from the vassal states of the Central Plains. For example, in the family of Qin, it is:
"When the father dies, his wife will marry his stepmother; when a brother dies, he will marry his stepmother."
After the father dies, the son marries his stepmother, and after the brother dies, the son marries his stepmother. , the living brother marries his sister-in-law or younger sister-in-law. Such behavior, which has no distinction between elder and younger, and no shame between men and women, must be disgusted and disgraceful by the princes of the Central Plains. Qin will definitely not be accepted by other countries in the Central Plains.
The implementation of the household division law abolished the bad habit of Qin State: "men and women live in the same room, there is no distinction between men and women, and there is no shame between men and women." Completely abandon the customs of Rong and Di. Learn from and get closer to the vassal states of the Central Plains. Finally, he was accepted and recognized by the vassal states of the Central Plains. It laid a solid foundation for Qin to unify the world and lay a solid foundation for cultural customs.
Sixth, Stabilizing the Rule of the Qin State
The promulgation and implementation of the household division law fundamentally divided and disintegrated the power of the clans and stabilized the rule of the country.
With the implementation of the household division law, once households of the same clan and clan are divided, the relationship between them will inevitably become weaker as the blood relationship becomes thinner and there is no contact for a long time. We will no longer be united and shoulder the same responsibility as before. In this way, it will be more conducive to the effective management of the court and the promulgation and implementation of various laws. This made the foundation of Qin's rule more solid! Conclusion
Shang Yang implemented the "Household Separation Order" twice. The significance of enforcing the prohibition of fathers, sons and brothers living in the same house is to transform the formerly powerful and united clan into a small family model of two or three generations. This allowed the court's decrees to flow smoothly, eliminated the hidden dangers of the court, provided Qin with sufficient troops, and enhanced Qin's military strength. Food taxes were increased and the national treasury was enriched. It also changed customs and laid a solid foundation for Qin to make the country rich and powerful and move eastward to unify the world.
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