The decline of the Qin Dynasty The inevitability of history or the mistakes of the emperors?

Around 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang defeated six other statesThe first super-empire in Chinese history was built.

He came up with the system of three princes and nine secretaries, and alsoCoins, weights and measures and characters were unified, and the Great Wall of 10,000 miles was built, fighting the Xiongnu in the north and Baiyue in the south, which has built China's political system for more than 2,000 yearsBasic pattern

However, after only fifteen years, this mighty empire suddenly collapsed, becoming the shortest-lived dynasty in history.

Why did the Qin Dynasty come to an end, was it a historical arrangement or an emperor's mistake?

In 221 BCE, after defeating six other states, Qin Shi Huang did a whole host of powerful things to maintain the newly established regime.

He abolished the previous feudal system, engaged in the county system, and divided the whole country into thirty-six counties and more than seven hundred counties, all of which were directly managed by ***. This system can effectively strengthen the strength of the state and prevent local governments from pursuing independence.

Furthermore, Qin Shi Huang also unified coins, weights and measures, and charactersThe construction of the Great Wall, the fight against the Xiongnu in the north, and the conquest of Baiyue in the south have made the country more united and the nation more harmonious.

However, there is something wrong with Qin Shi Huang's policy of great unification. He carried out a policy of burning books and paging Confucianism, suppressed the intellectuals' freedom of thought and speech, and also imposed very harsh laws and harsh administrations, causing great pressure on the common people and social turmoil.

During his reign, Qin Shi Huang built a lot of palaces and tombs. The most famous are the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and the Afang Palace. These projects cost a lot of manpower and financial resourcesThis makes the treasury more and more empty. At the same time, these projects have also increased the burden on the common people and made social contradictions more and more acute.

At that time, Qin Shi Huang carried out many major projects, such as the Great Wall, straight roads, galloping roads, etc., and there were several foreign wars, which tired the common people to death. It is said in the "Records of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty": "Men plough the fields, women work, and everything is in order." ”

"Men enjoy their domains, women cultivate their professions, and everything is in order. ”

According to the records of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, (Qin Shi Huang) collected all the weapons in the world, all concentrated in Xianyang, which was then melted into bells, and twelve golden figures were made, each weighing a thousand stones, and placed in the palace. He also prescribed uniform weights and measures and units of length. The car should have the same specifications, and the book should have the same words. ”

(Qin Shi Huang) collect the world's soldiers, gather Xianyang, sell it as a bell, gold twelve, weigh a thousand stones, and place it in the palace. Measure the stone with the law. The car is on the same track. The book is the same as the text. ”

It's a pity that Hu Hai did not inherit Qin Shi Huang's ability to govern the family, because of his young age, all the power fell into the hands of Zhao Gao and them. Zhao Gao wielded power and was seriously politically corrupt. At the same time, the internal strife within the Qin Dynasty also became more and more intense, and the political situation became more unstable. The politics of the Qin Dynasty became even darker.

According to the "Qin Shi Huang Benji" record:

"(Hu Hai) is more lawful, the benefits are deep, the rewards and punishments are improper, the endowment is excessive, the world is troublesome, and the officials cannot be disciplined; The people were poor, but the Lord received mercy. Then the treachery and hypocrisy rise together, and the upper and lower escapes; The guilty are multitude, and the torture and killing look at each other, and the world suffers. ”

In 209 BC, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up in Daze Township, igniting the fuse of the peasant uprising at the end of the Qin Dynasty.

They played the slogan of "the prince will have a kind of Xiangning", and quickly won the response and support of the vast number of peasants. The rebels soon captured several counties and established the Zhang Chu regime, which became a major threat to the Qin dynasty.

This uprising was like a spark that quickly ignited the prairie fireThe princes of the world gathered and followed, and finally overthrew the rule of the Qin Dynasty.

It is worth mentioning that, according to the "Historical Records", Qin Shi Huang suffered from severe drought and locust plague in his later years, which led to a decrease in grain production and a lack of livelihood for the people. These disasters exacerbated the economic situation of the Qin dynasty and further accelerated its decline. Qin Shi Huang The Qin Dynasty engaged in a book-burning pit to unify everyone's thinking and culture. Unfortunately, this kind of control has aroused the disgust and resistance of intellectuals and scholars.

Besides, the Qin Dynasty also failed to accept and respect all kinds of different views and ideasAs a result, the ideas and culture in society become monotonous and uninteresting.

This kind of control of culture and thought was certainly not beneficial to the long-term development of society, and also laid the foundation for the decline of the Qin Dynasty.

History is a mirror, and the decline of the Qin Dynasty was not a one-day coldThe fall of the Qin Dynasty has provided us with a profound historical lesson, warning that any regime must always pay attention to the people's livelihood and maintain social stability, so as to ensure the long-term peace and stability of our country.