Qin Shi Huang, as the first emperor in Chinese history, has an unshakable position. But there has always been controversy about his background. Some people believe that he is the illegitimate son of Lü Buwei, while others believe that he is the biological son of Yiren.
This kind of controversy has continued throughout history, and although each has its own truth, the truth has always been confusing. Why do people doubt the background of Qin Shi Huang?
The answer to this question may be hidden in Sima Qian's Historical Records. There are two records of Qin Shi Huang's life in the "Historical Records", but they are very different. The contradiction between these two records raises more questions about Qin Shi Huang's life history.
Although history has passed, the question remains a mystery to this day, waiting to be answered.
Zhao Ji was pregnant, and Lu Buwei gave her to Yiren and hid it from Qin Yiren. The reason why Lü Buwei changed his mind was to realize his conspiracy - strange goods can live. Later, Yiren became the king of Qin Xiang, and Yingzheng became the legitimate heir as his son, unified the six kingdoms and established the Qin Dynasty.
All this proves that Lü Buwei's strategy has been successful.
Why do you have two very different stories in one book?This has confused countless people. So, who is Qin Shi Huang's biological father?Some people pointed out that the answer is Lü Buwei.
As the author of this work, Sima Qian is extremely rigorous, and his works can be called the time of studying heaven and man. In "The Chronicles of Qin Shi Huang", Sima Qian did not mention whether Zhao Ji was pregnant before she was given to Ziyi, and only revealed the truth in the follow-up.
However, some people believe that the reason why Sima Qian wrote this way was because of the long interval between the writing of "The Benji of Qin Shi Huang" and "The Biography of Lü Buweilie". The Book of Qin Shi Huang was first written, when Sima Qian believed that Qin Shi Huang was the biological son of King Xiang of Qin.
After careful consideration and extensive research, Sima Qian revealed an astonishing historical truth in The Biography of Lü Buweilie. Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian and Feng Menglong's Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty also agree with and draw on this statement.
However, scholars of ancient history have not fully accepted this controversial account. The Ming Dynasty historian Ping Yin questioned this in "Shi Yan", and the late Ming Dynasty historian Wang Shizhen also put a question mark on the authenticity of this fact in "Reading and Debate".
Historian Guo Moruo believes that the evidence of the "Historical Records" is insufficient, and the statement that Lü Buwei is the biological father of Qin Shi Huang is more like a ** plot, and Professor Wang Liqun questioned the authenticity of this.
If Zhao Ji was already pregnant after giving it to Lü Buwei, Ziyi should have noticed it, after all, the first thing Ziyi found after discovering this conspiracy was Lü Buwei, and taking such a big risk to expose Lü Buwei's conspiracy shows how much Ziyi attaches importance to this matter.
The rules in the Qin Jian show that if a father discovers that his son is not biological, then the child will not be able to inherit his property, and the biological parents will be punished.
Therefore, Lü Buwei, as a smart businessman, should not have such guts. King Qin Xiang had to be cautious when choosing his heir. In addition, it is recorded in the historical records that Qin Shi Huang was not the biological son of King Xiang of Qin, which further emphasizes the rigor of the Qin dynasty in the selection of heirs.
Based on the available evidence, we can basically determine that Qin Shi Huang was the eldest son of Yiren. The claim that Qin Shi Huang was Lü Buwei's son is more likely to be slandered out of malice, just to satisfy people's gossip psychology.
This information is published in authoritative books such as "Historical Records", "Examination of the Life History of Qin Shi Huang" and "Qin Mysteries", and the author Jin Nian is a freelance writer who loves history.
His goal is to educate people to learn from the experiences of the past, shape collective memory, and develop the future through the study of history.