When it comes to Qin Shi Huang's reign, what is your first reaction, praise or criticism?
After more than 2,000 years, Qin Shi Huang's evaluation from top to bottom is divided. Those who praise him revere him as "the first emperor of the ages", while critics accuse him of being "tyrannical and unreasonable".
However, the long river of history is turbulent forward, and no one can shake its justice. From an objective point of view, it is the precipitation of time that makes history truly present.
When it comes to the origin of the word "emperor", many people know that the first emperor once praised himself as "the third emperor of virtue and the five emperors". It was precisely because he felt that no title was enough to sum up his greatness that the term "emperor" was coined. Knowledge expansion: The word "emperor", which was not invented by Yingzheng, has long existed in ancient times.
Some people don't know that after the first emperor created a magnificent chapter in the unification of the six kingdoms, he gave the land under his feet a more dazzling name. How shiny is the name? These two words are still used around the world today.
What is the sacredness of this name? Let's travel back in time and unravel this mystery!
Qin was orphaned, and Zhao grew up
In the spring Warring States Period, heroes from all walks of life competed for the Central Plains. Although the Shang Dynasty reform made the Qin state one of the great powers, the Qin people were still forced to send the prince as a hostage to survive. Yingzheng's father, Wang Yiren, is the most ordinary and inconspicuous of An Guojun's more than 20 princes. Therefore, when the overall situation required it, the Inhuman became a proton and was sent to the Zhao Kingdom. At that time, the Qin state had already been ambitious to dominate the world, and successive Qin kings were more inclined to win over the northern states than to invade directly. The states of Zhao and Qin were close at hand, and there were constant wars between the two countries. As the proton of Qin, Yiren has always been rejected by the people of Zhao and lived in embarrassment.
The Inhumans are determined to return home and reclaim everything they have lost. But when he realizes that he is in a deep predicament and has no power to recover, he begins to look for a way out.
At this time, Lü Buwei, a great merchant known for selling salt and iron, set foot in the Zhao Kingdom. When he learned of the alien's situation, he excitedly expressed his wisdom as if he had discovered a hidden treasure: "Strange goods can live! Odd goods can live! Lü Buwei instructed the servants to prepare generous gifts and go to meet the stranger. The alien had no money to spare, and he was given a huge amount of money, which soon made him fall into a coma.
Talking about why Yiren was so excited, Lü Buwei smiled mysteriously and replied: "Extraordinary things can be treasured at home." "As a true businessman, he never made a loss-making deal.
Hearing this, Yiren also knew that Lü Buwei did have a solution. He solemnly vowed: "If it is really as you wish, I will be very grateful." ”
Lu Buwei casually took out another 500 gold and gave it to Yiren. Yiren held these wealth and got to know the magnates of Zhao State everywhere. Although he didn't have many noble friends of the Zhao Kingdom, this did not hinder their friendship. At a banquet, Yiren fell in love with Zhao Ji who was dancing, so he signaled to Lu Buwei. Lü Buwei agreed and gave her to Yiren. Soon after, Zhao Ji became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy, the future Qin Shi Huang Yingzheng. Although Ying Zheng was born in the Qin State, he grew up in the Zhao State.
So, how did Yiren and Yingzheng father and son return from Zhao to Qin?
Lü Buwei helped the strangers return to Qin
In addition to holding grand banquets in Zhao and accompanying Yiren and envoys from various countries to communicate, Lü Buwei also actively deployed in Qin.
He spends a lot of money on precious gifts, but it is clear that these treasures do not win the favor of the nobles, let alone win the hearts and minds of the people. Therefore, Lü Buwei set his sights on Mrs. Huayang in the deep palace of King Qin.
Lady Huayang was loved among the many concubines of King Qin, but the lack of children under her knees made her feel uneasy. How do you get in touch with Mrs. Huayang, who lives in the harem?
Lü Buwei visited Mrs. Huayang's brother Yangquanjun with gifts, but because of the low value of the businessman, Yangquanjun disdained him. Lü Buwei could not give up, so he could only adopt a roundabout strategy. He incarnated as a jeweler, squatting on the road that Yangquanjun must pass to return home, shouting loudly, and finally attracted attention.
When Yangquanjun wanted to buy jewelry, Lü Buwei threw out an astonishing remark: "Adults will soon suffer disasters, but they can still not give up treasures." This angered Yang Quanjun, but then Lü Buwei pointed out that Mrs. Huayang's current favor depends entirely on her brother Qin Xiaowen's favor for An Guojun, but if Mrs. Huayang has no children, they may lose power when the beauty is twilight. Hearing this, Yang Quanjun was anxious to seek advice and find a good plan.
Lü Buwei first praised Madame Huayang's beauty, and then suggested that she find a good choice among the sons of the late crown prince and adopt them as her adopted sons. After hearing this, Yang Quanjun expressed confusion: "All princes have biological mothers, who wants to recognize Mrs. Huayang as their mother?" Lu Buwei knew that Yang Quanjun was tempted, so he recommended Yiren as the best candidate.
Shortly thereafter, the Qin army attacked Zhao, Lü Buwei fled with strangers, and Yingzheng's mother and son were stranded in Zhao. In order to get close to Mrs. Huayang, Lü Buwei ordered Yiren to pay homage in Chu clothes, and Mrs. Huayang was very pleased and immediately accepted Yiren as her adopted son. Zhao Ji, as a noble woman of Zhao State, took Ying Zheng back to her mother's house for refuge, until Yiren ascended the throne as king, and Ying Zheng and her mother were able to return to Qin.
Unification of the Six Nations, Top Gun
After Ying Yiren succeeded to the throne, he fulfilled his promise and appointed Lü Bu as Xiangbang. However, Inhuman reigned for a short time, dying after only three years. Yingzheng, who was only 13 years old at the time, became the new monarch. Due to his young age, Ying Zheng was unable to handle government affairs independently, and the power of the court fell into the hands of Zhao Ji and Lü Buwei.
Far from being decadent, Yingzheng made every effort to strengthen its own power. Finally, in 237 BC, he succeeded in deposing Lü Buwei and exiled him to Bashu. After gaining real power, Ying Zheng immediately devoted himself to a new cause - the unification of the six countries. Like the previous Qin kings, he had the same dreams.
However, Ying Zheng was ingenious, and Qin was already quite strong at this time. Therefore, Qin already had the strength and opportunity to unify the six countries in the hands of Yingzheng. In 230 BC, the Qin State launched an attack on Korea, and with its fierce army, it easily captured the Korean monarch and successfully annexed Korean territory.
After taking South Korea, in just two years, Ying Zheng waved his army again, and Zhao Guo became his target. Zhao was also unable to withstand the onslaught of the Qin army, and was soon defeated and included in the territory of Qin. After taking the state of Zhao, Yingzheng was dissatisfied with this, so he quickly attacked the state of Yan.
Why did you choose Yan Guo as the target? The reason lies in the distance as well as the ready-made reasons. The prince of Zhao fled with hundreds of soldiers to Daidi, close to the Yan State, and planned to join forces with the Yan State against the Qin army. However, this counterattack not only failed to save the fate of Zhao, but also fell to Qin along with Yan.
After destroying the Yan state, the Qin army rested for several months and began to attack the Wei state. Although the Wei state was relatively strong, its geographical location was not good, and the Wei state was forced to surrender after only three months after being flooded. After conquering the Wei State, it was the Chu State, and after the Chu State was pacified, Qi was not worried.
Ying Zheng was in power for only ten years, and the dispute situation in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period came to an end. After a few hundred years, a unified regime has once again appeared on the land before our eyes.
Now, all the lands belong to one country, and the whole territory should have a new name.
The word Huaxia has been inherited for thousands of years, and it originates from the unique name of Qin Shi Huang.
This emperor adopted a compound nomenclature, selecting a character from each of the three emperors and five emperors, and fusing it into the title of emperor. He also likes to use compound vocabulary.
The First Emperor gave us the name 'Zhonghua' on the land under our feet. The 'Zhong' of 'China' originated from the 'Central Plains', and the Qin land, which was first annexed by the Qin State, was once regarded as a frontier by Zhou Tianzi of the Central Plains.
Since then, successive Qin kings have sought to occupy the Central Plains and integrate into the Central Plains culture. Qin Shi Huang finally fulfilled the wishes of these generations of Qin kings.
Based on the concept of the unity of the world, the King of Qin chose the character 'Zhong' to represent the center of the world, and at the same time, gave the character 'Hua' to symbolize the people living in the Central Plains. The word 'Hua' was originally derived from the word 'Huaxia', which represents rich ceremonies and etiquette.
Before the name of the Han nationality was born, the inhabitants of the Central Plains called themselves the Huaxia people. At the same time, the well-known Xia Dynasty, China's first feudal dynasty, was founded by the continuation of the Yanhuang tribe, and we are also the descendants of Yanhuang.
After the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty followed. For the sake of distinction, the population of the Shang Dynasty was called the Shang, while the remnants of the Xia Dynasty called themselves the Xia people.
In the last years of the Shang Dynasty, the king was incompetent, and the people's resentment was boiling. With the help of the remnants of the Xia Dynasty, Ji launched an army to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. In the process of rewarding, how to address the princes caused controversy.
The Zhou Dynasty decided that the people who followed the Zhou rites were the Chinese, otherwise they were the Xia people. The princes are revered as Zhuhua or Zhuxia.
Since then, the different ethnic groups living in the Central Plains have gradually been called "Huaxia".
After Qin Shi Huang unified the Central Plains, he did not want to give Xia. Therefore, the character "Hua" was selected from Huaxia and used to represent the people in the Central Plains.
In short, the combination of "China" and "China" has made today's 'China', which is used to refer to the land under our feet and the people who live here.
Even after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty still used the term 'Zhonghua' to refer to China. Many regimes over the ages have followed suit. Even in the ** period, when calling for the expulsion of foreign enemies, people still remembered the slogan of "restoring China".
To this day, we still use this name.
Bibliography: Historical Records
Emperor Qin Shi Huang