The Qin Dynasty was arguably a groundbreaking dynasty in Chinese history, and its founder, Qin Shi Huang, laid the foundation for China's politics for more than 2,000 years.
During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, there were many concubines in the palace, so there were many princes, such as the eldest son Fusu and the second son Hu Hai.
After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, it was strange that the descendants of Qin Shi Huang never showed up, so much so that for a long time, it was thought that his descendants were extinct.
Thousands of years later, the descendants of Qin Shi Huang have finally been found, and they have used four different surnames.
What exactly are these four surnames?Did you see your last name?
Fight for the throne at the end of the Qin Dynasty.
From the conquest of Korea in 230 BC to the conquest of Qi in 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang finally ended the disputes during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which lasted for more than 500 years, and achieved the first great unification in Chinese history.
An unprecedentedly vast empire appeared in the east of the world, and standing at the top of this empire was Qin Shi Huang, who was 39 years old at the time.
In his later career, Qin Shi Huang created a new era and social system throughout the country by implementing measures such as the same track for cars, the same text for books, the unification of currency, weights and measures, the construction of straight roads, and the construction of the Great Wall, leaving immortal achievements.
Qin Shi Huang was surrounded not only by his side with outstanding generals such as Li Si and Meng Tian, but also by traitorous eunuchs like Zhao Gao. Incidentally, Qin Shi Huang was accompanied by Zhao Gao and Li Si, as well as his youngest son Hu Hai, when he was on his eastern tour.
As a close confidant of Qin Shi Huang, Zhao Gao had a very thorough understanding of his physical condition.
As Qin Shi Huang's health weakened, he naturally realized that he might not live longer. In this case, the person who succeeds the throne will have a significant impact on Zhao Gao's fate.
Among Qin Shi Huang's sons, Fusu is undoubtedly the most valued eldest son.
Before Yingzheng was crowned emperor and became emperor, Fusu was born. His upbringing is almost the history of the founding of the Qin Empire, and he witnessed Qin Shi Huang eliminate the Six Kingdoms one by one, and finally establish a unified Qin Dynasty.
On the other hand, Fusu is also a person with a kind heart and lives and works in peace and contentment.
After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang vigorously built civil engineering projects, built the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Afang Palace and other buildings, and at the same time built the Great Wall and opened up the road, causing the people of the world to suffer unspeakable suffering.
At that time, Fusu wrote to Qin Shi Huang, hoping that he would take care of the suffering of the people, but he was relegated to the northern border and guarded the Great Wall with Meng Tian.
Later generations have different interpretations of Qin Shi Huang's actions, one of which is that Fusu's words and deeds were contrary to Qin Shi Huang, causing him to lose Qin Shi Huang's favor.
Qin Shi Huang hoped that Fusu would be able to go north to fight the Xiongnu in order to accumulate military merits, in line with the Qin Dynasty's tradition of attaching importance to military merits, and also to prepare for his future succession.
At that time, even if Fusu was demoted, he was still the most suitable heir among the ministers of the Qin Dynasty, and even in the eyes of Qin Shi Huang, except for Zhao Gao.
Zhao Gao held the position of the commander of the CRRC in the late Qin Shi Huang period, and was specifically responsible for controlling the eunuchs of Qin Shi Huang. In addition, Zhao Gao also served as the teacher of Gongzi Hu Hai at the same time.
The eighteenth son of Qin Shi Huang was Hu Hai, and he was born at a time when the Qin state was in the early stages of unifying the world;And by the time he came of age, the state of Qin had already evolved into the Qin dynasty.
In other words, what he experienced was not the turbulent and frightening era, but a peaceful and prosperous Qin Dynasty that could act recklessly.
Zhao Gao, as Hu Hai's mentor, naturally had to compete for the supreme position for Hu Hai. So, when Qin Shi Huang was dying, a conspiracy quietly unfolded.
According to historical records, Qin Shi Huang realized that he was not long in life, so he left an edict requesting that someone be sent to the northern border quickly to invite his son Fusu back to Xianyang to preside over the funeral ceremony.
Although the edict is not directly expressed, its intent is clear. After Fusu presided over the funeral, he naturally succeeded to the throne and became the new Emperor of Great Qin.
Unfortunately, this edict fell to Zhao Shoushou first.
Zhao Gao first found his son Hu Hai, revealed the contents of this edict to him, and bluntly said that he would make him emperor. At this time, the jade seal of the country is in the hands of Zhao, and only another edict needs to be written and stamped with the jade seal to take effect.
However, this is not perfect, and they also need the support of Prime Minister Liss so that they can have the support of another entourage.
Later, Zhao Gao and Hu Hai found Li Si, and they kept persuading Li Si, hoping that he could retain his position as prime minister, and take advantage of the contradictions between Fusu and him. Eventually, Lees agreed to the crazy conspiracy.
At the same time, they also wrote an edict to Fusu, the prince who was far away in the north, severely reprimanding him in the tone of Qin Shi Huang, and then directly ordering him to commit suicide.
After receiving the edict, Fusu did not hesitate to draw his sword and commit suicide, not suspecting anything.
After Hu Hai returned to Xianyang, he immediately ascended the throne as emperor and became Qin II. Fusu became his first brother under the butcher's knife. From then on, no one could stop him.
What is even more unexpected is that Hu Hai did not even spare his other brothers, and almost slaughtered all the descendants of Qin Shi Huang.
Almost all the sons of the First Emperor were brutalized**.
Hu Hai finally became the supreme ruler of the Great Qin Empire, Li Si remained the prime minister of Great Qin, and Zhao Gao also enjoyed endless glory and wealth, all in the way they had planned.
Even so, they can't rest assured that they are bold, because the fundamental problem still lies with Hu Hai.
Although he had Li Si by his side, he didn't trust him, but preferred to discuss with Zhao Gao. This not only contrasted him with Fusu, but also caused dissatisfaction among the ministers, who did not have as much political experience as Fusu.
Hu Hai was very afraid of this situation, and he feared that the other ministers and princes would unite to seize his throne. So, he hurriedly discussed countermeasures with Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao suggested that he directly let him kill some disobedient sons and ministers as a deterrent.
According to the Biography of Lislie, Qin Shi Huang had a total of twelve sons. However, with the research of experts, it is generally believed that Qin Shi Huang should have more than 30 children, of which the number of sons is at least more than 20.
Soon after, Zhao Gao summoned his six elder brothers in Du County, not far from Xianyang, and directly ordered them to be executed.
The execution of six of his own brothers at once was a cruel act, but it had good results, and then the ministers talked about it significantly.
Even so, Hu Hai was still not satisfied, and then he stretched out his clutches to the three of them, who had considerable prestige.
It is mentioned in the Records of the First Emperor that Hu Hai first put Jiang Lu and other three sons under house arrest, and then executed his three elder brothers on the grounds that "he should be executed for not fulfilling his ways".
After the death of Hu Hai and others, he was completely killed, and soon after he beheaded his twelve elder brothers in the downtown area of Xianyang. At this time, almost all the brothers who might threaten the throne were killed by him.
In theory, Hu Hai should feel at ease now, but in practice this is not the case. Despite the loss of his brother, Hu Hai still has a sister by his side.
In the Qin Dynasty, an era of martial arts, the princesses of Qin Shi Huang could not pose any threat to Hu Hai's throne.
Even so, Hu Hai still had no intention of letting them go. Soon after, he gathered ten of his sisters together and brutally murdered them again in Du County.
Less than a year after Qin Shi Huang's death, only Hu Hai was still alive among his own sons, and all his brothers and sisters died at the hands of Hu Hai, even Hu Hai, the descendant of these brothers and sisters.
Finally, Hu Hai ascended the throne and began to indulge in pleasures.
However, he did not possess the talent and foresight of Qin Shi Huang, so peasant uprisings broke out quickly, leading directly to the fall of the Qin Dynasty.
Prior to this, Hu Hai was killed by Zhao Gao, and none of Qin Shi Huang's sons survived in the end.
As soon as Xiang Yu arrived in Xianyang, he not only set fire to the entire Xianyang Palace, but also killed almost all the clan members surnamed Win, and the descendants and collateral bloodlines of Qin Shi Huang were also completely slaughtered.
For more than 2,000 years, no one came forward to claim to be a descendant of Qin Shi Huang, so it is natural to assume that Qin Shi Huang did not leave any descendants.
With the deepening of the study of that period of history, the descendants of Qin Shi Huang were gradually revealed.
Gao, the son of the Gao family, was blessed by misfortune.
It is not easy for the descendants of Qin Shi Huang to survive in such a chaotic situation, but there is one group of people who have succeeded in doing it, and this is the Gongzi Gao family, who has been blessed by misfortune.
Gongzi Gao, like Hu Hai, was the son of Qin Shi Huang, but he never got involved in court politics, had no interest in politics, and only wanted to live a rich and luxurious life. Among Qin Shi Huang's many sons, he is also a rather low-key one.
Gongzi Gao was married and married when Hu Hai ascended the throne, and the total population of his family was as high as 129, which was the largest number of children among all Gongzi.
Gongzi Gao also felt a great crisis when Hu Hai began to massacre his brothers, so he secretly planned to escape, and since then he has lived in seclusion and lived a leisurely life. He thinks that it is better to lose his glory and wealth than to become a ghost under the sword.
Although the original plan went well, Childe Takashi began to think about his family. Although he can choose to leave, he must take into account that hundreds of members of this huge family will be subjected to Hu Hai's **.
After careful consideration, Childe Takashi made the decision to sacrifice himself to save his family.
He then went straight to Hu Hai and tearfully told him about his deep respect for his father, Qin Shi Huang. After the death of Qin Shi Huang, he also suffered from this and begged Hu Hai to allow him to be martyred for Qin Shi Huang.
Hearing this, Hu Hai was deeply saddened and immediately approved Gongzi Gao's request and gave him 100,000 yuan in money for a solemn funeral at the foot of Lishan Mountain. In order to show his tolerance, Gongzi Gao's family also survived.
Gongzi Gao's family, although they had been let go by Hu Hai, did not dare to stay in Xianyang, so they quickly moved and never heard from them again.
A great headache for historians is that these people have gone to **. Eventually, in an ancient book called "The Chronicle of Ancient Matters", experts found some clues.
After the Gongzi Gao family left Xianyang that year, they came directly to Lishan, which is the location of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang.
In order to avoid disturbing Qin Shi Huang, the Qin army moved the nearby residents out early, so few people came here in normal times.
Since then, the descendants of Gongzi Gao have chosen to live in seclusion in this out-of-this-world land, and they have not only survived Hu Hai's sword, but also escaped the turmoil of the great chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty.
The First Emperor is perhaps the origin of the four major surnames.
In order to ensure safety, some of the descendants of Childe Takashi directly changed their surnames.
They still quite identified with the identity of their Ying-style clan, so when they changed their surnames, they deliberately looked for some surnames with similar pronunciations, such as "Yin" and "Yin", to show that they did not forget the Ying-style bloodline.
Some people believe that they are descendants of the Qin State, and their ancestors left immortal deeds on the land of the Three Qins, so they took this land as their surname, and changed their surname to "Qin" from then on.
There are also those who choose to continue using their original surname, "Ying".
The surname Ying is one of the eight surnames in ancient times, which has a long history, and they cherish this bloodline inheritance, so it has continued to this day.
According to the research of historians, the descendants of Gongzi Gao lived in seclusion in Lishan for more than 100 years, until the world was completely pacified, and then dispersed to all parts of the country.
Although the surname "Ying" is still inherited today, it has little to do with the Qin Dynasty. At present, there are less than 10,000 people surnamed Ying in the country, mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and other places.
According to research, the origin of the surname Yin is relatively early, which can be traced back to the Han Dynasty at the earliest, which coincides with the time when the descendants of Gongzi Gao changed their surname to "Yin".
Today, Shaanxi Province is one of the main provinces where the silver surname is distributed, and there is still a silver village in Weinan County, which is likely to be the place where the descendants of Gongzi Gao lived.
The surname Yin is different from the surname Yin, it is a very old surname that dates back to the Shang Dynasty and even existed when the people changed their surnames after Gongzi Gao.
At present, there are not many people named Yin, mainly in Shaanxi Province.
However, according to research, this Yin surname has little to do with Qin Shi Huang, and the whereabouts of the real Gongzi Gao's descendants are unknown, and it is impossible to know whether the surname will be changed again in later generations.
The surname Qin, on the contrary, is a large surname, one of which is mainly derived from the change of surname of the royal family in the last years of the Qin Dynasty.
At that time, among those who changed their surnames to Qin, not only the descendants of Gongzi Gao, but also some other side branch royal families of Qin were involved. In this way, the descendants of Qin Shi Huang were mixed with all the people with the surname Qin, and their identities could no longer be verified.
All in all, it can be determined that the descendants of Qin Shi Huang are definitely alive at present, and it is very likely that they belong to one of the four surnames of Ying, Yin, Yin, and Qin.
China has the longest and most splendid history in the world today, and surnames have become a part of Chinese civilization, and have been passed down to this day along with China's culture of respecting ancestors and loving the virtuous.
Today, although there are no celebrities in the descendants of Qin Shi Huang, whenever this bloodline is traced, one can't help but recall that impassioned time.
The most important thing about revisiting history is to keep that time deep in your soul and pass it on to future generations.
Qin Shi Huang once dreamed that the Qin state would be able to enjoy the country forever, and although it eventually died dramatically at the hands of the second emperor, his bloodline has been passed down for thousands of years, fused with the blood of countless ordinary people, forming the prosperous Chinese era that is now prosperous.