Qin and Zhao fought for hegemony, why did Zhao lose? In terms of ethnic integration, the Qin state had the upper hand
During the Warring States period, the Three Jin Dynasty was divided into seven kingdoms.
King Ping of Zhou moved east to Luoyi, and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began. At this time, the authority of the Zhou royal family had declined, and the princes of the world took the opportunity to rise.
When Han, Zhao, and Wei began to divide the Jin State and became princes, the annexation wars between the vassal states intensified, but at the same time, the Zhou royal family had no time to maintain the original co-ruler order of the world, and the Central Plains gradually appeared in the Warring States situation of seven heroes competing for hegemony.
In the end, the Qin state won the battle for hegemony and achieved the first true unification in history.
If we look at the end of the Warring States period, we will find that at this stage, it was not only the Qin state, but also the Zhao state that was able to unify China. The struggle for hegemony between Qin and Zhao was the main theme of history in this period, and in the decades at the end of the Warring States period, although the vassal states of Shandong were weaker, it can be said that Zhao's adaptability was no worse than that of Qin, at least in terms of military strength.
So, in the Qin and Zhao hegemony, why didn't Zhao succeed? In fact, there are many reasons why Zhao is inferior to Qin, whether it is political reform, economic development, or geographical location. In addition, the Qin state had an advantage in the degree of ethnic integration, and although this did not have a decisive impact on the final outcome of the Qin and Zhao hegemony struggles, its role should not be overlooked.
In this article, the author will focus on the issue of national unification, discuss the differences between Qin and Zhao, and emphasize the inevitability of Qin's unification of China.
A village country during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
There are more than 400 people in Zhou Feng and more than 800 people in the Serval Kingdom.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was no clear distinction between the ethnic groups in the Central Plains, and the vassal states seemed to have become the dividing line between the ethnic groups. As mentioned above, the Zhou dynasty had more than 400 vassal states and more than 800"Serving States", the vassal states eventually formed an independent clan state.
The vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty did not represent the entire Zhou royal family"Central Plains"There are also ethnic minority countries such as Rong, Di and Hu; In fact, there is no accurate answer to the question of how many vassal states there were during this period, and the Lü Spring and Autumn Period only gives an approximate figure.
Another important feature of the vassal states of this period is that some minority clan states were promoted to vassal states, such as the Zhongshan State of the Baidi people, the Yue State of the Yue people, the Chu State of the barbarians, the Ba State of the Ba people, the Shu State of the Shu people, the Ba State of the Ba people, the Shu State of the Shu people, etc., which were either divided by the Zhou royal family or established independently by the Zhou royal family.
Frequent wars between vassal states and escalating wars of annexation led to a sharp decline in the number of vassal states, accompanied by the unification of clans, which was also the beginning of the gradual evolution of the clans into the Chinese nation.
The Warring States period was of decisive significance to the formation of the Chinese nation in the Central Plains, and the steady progress of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States period for hegemony accelerated this process. Of course, within the different vassal states, the degree of national integration is also different, and aside from the other vassal states, we will only talk about the influence of Qin and Zhao on national integration.
Ethnic integration between Qin and Zhao.
Qin and Zhao are located in the western and northern parts of the Central Plains, bordering nomads to the north. The war in the era of cold weapons, to put it bluntly, was a competition for people and property, and the two vassal states fought nomads'Idea', so what is the difference between the national integration of the two countries?
Let's talk about Qin first. The customs of the Qin State are the same as those of Rong Zhai, with the heart of a tiger and a wolf, greedy genes and interests, but no religious beliefs, no etiquette, righteousness and shame, as long as there are interests, regardless of whether they are high or low, and regard their relatives as monsters.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, he has been discriminated against by the princes of the Central Plains, who organized activities such as assemblies and did not play with the Qin State at all. As mentioned above, what Wei Wuji said to the King of Wei undoubtedly represented the view of many princes at the time that the Qin state was the same as Rong Zhai and had no sincerity.
So, is this the prejudice of the vassal states against the Qin state? In fact, not necessarily, "Historical Records - The Biography of Shang Jun" wrote: At the beginning of Qin Rong Zhai's teaching, father and son were not different, living in the same room, and now I have entered his religion, which is the difference between men and women.
This sentence was said by Shang Ying when he persuaded Zhao Liang to withdraw from the army, that is, the original customs of Qin were the same as those of Rong Di, father and son were not separated, and men, women and children lived in the same room, however, Shang Ying's change changed the indoctrination education of Qin State, so that men and women were separated and lived in separate rooms, which shows that Qin State is similar to Rong Di and different from the princes of the Central Plains.
This sentence also indirectly shows that after the Shang Dynasty changed the law, the Qin State made great achievements in the field of ethnic integration, not only changing the backward customs of Rongzhai, but also"The battalion is like Lu Wei", and Lu Wei was at the time"Advanced civilization"It can be seen that Shang Ying made great contributions to the Qin State and even the integration of the nation. The Shang Dynasty seems to have made a great contribution to the Qin state and even the integration of the peoples.
Let's go back to the country of Zhao. Zhao, the province of the Central Plains, its people are light and difficult to govern.
Han Feizi believes that although Zhao is a centralized state, the people living in it are very different, so it is unfair and difficult to implement, which shows that the ethnic structure of Zhao is very complex, and it was still at the end of the Warring States period"Inhuman", which is also one of the reasons why Han Fei persuaded King Qin to destroy Zhao first.
Since Han Fei thinks that Zhao Guo has such a defect, it means that Qin State does not have such worries for the time being, and it also shows that Qin State is there"Mixed people"'s problems are handled well, at least better than Zhao Guo; Otherwise, if the Qin State also has it"Mixed people"The problem of such persuasion can be ignored. Otherwise, if the Qin State also has it"Mixed people"This persuasion is equally irrelevant.
In addition, Han Feizi's above remarks were also recorded in "Warring States Policy-Qin Ce", and Zhang Yi also said it to King Qin. It can be seen that the problem of national integration is the main problem that Zhao has not completely solved. How can the country be stable if the various ethnic groups in the country cannot be truly integrated? Even if it can be fought, it will be short-lived and cannot last long, which is the final result of the national integration of Zhao State is not as good as that of Qin State.
The reason for the different degrees of ethnic integration of Qin and Zhao.
The ancestors of the Zhao State are the same as the ancestors of the Qin State. Historical Records - Zhao Shijia.
Qin and Zhao were of the same origin, but later developed into two different vassal states, but the external environment that Qin and Zhao initially faced was similar, such as the Qin State was surrounded by Yiqiu, Ba, Shu, Wu and other minority countries, and the Zhao State was surrounded by Linhu, Donghu, Loufu, Zhongshan and other minority countries, as well as the problem of Xiongnu invading the territory of the two vassal states.
Above we talked about the difference in the speed of national integration between Qin and Zhao, of course, this is not to say that Zhao did not carry out national integration, but to say that Qin's national integration speed is much faster than Zhao's, and the integration rate is much higher than Zhao's.
Political reform. Historical Records - Biography of Shang Jun.
As far as the political reform of the Qin State is concerned, we cannot ignore the revision of the Shang Dynasty Reform Law, which was the most comprehensive and successful reform of the Warring States Period, which greatly enhanced the national strength of the Qin State, and of course the reform also continued the process and scope of national integration.
As mentioned above, if there are more than two strong men in a family who are not separated, they must pay double taxes, which not only developed the small peasant economy of the Qin State and was conducive to the establishment of the feudal economy, but also changed the bad habit of ethnic minorities mixing old and young, and reduced the resistance of ethnic minorities to integrate into the Chinese nation.
From the execution of Shang Ying in 356 BC to 338 BCE, the Qin state steadily pursued legal reforms for nearly 20 years. According to the Historical Records-Biography of the Shang Emperors, the multi-ethnic Qin State gradually broke down the barriers between the various policies of the Shang Dynasty and formed"Qin people"consensus. There are no thieves in the mountains, the home is sufficient, the battle is brave, the private fight is cowardly, and the county governance is perfect.
When Qin changed the law, Zhao and Wei were at war. Under the wise leadership of King Wuling of Zhao, the state of Zhao did not introduce Hu Qi until 307 BC, speeding up the process of ethnic integration. As a result, Zhao's political reforms lagged behind Qin's by about 50 years. The Warring States period should have been more than 200 years, how could Zhao make up for these 50 years of delay?
It is a good thing that Zhao destroyed Linhu, Loufu, Zhongshan and other surrounding minority countries, but it was also a bad thing. On the good side, Zhao showed his strength with the Hu people, but on the bad side, as Mr. Yang Kuan pointed out in the History of the Warring States, it was that Zhao did not have enough time to integrate with these minority countries; Before the Zhao state could fully integrate with these minority states, the Battle of Changping broke out.
After the Battle of Changping, Zhao was defeated, the comprehensive national strength fell sharply, and the control over the surrounding ethnic minorities was greatly weakened, and the ethnic minorities who had no sense of belonging took advantage of the situation, which undoubtedly further hindered the process of ethnic integration of the Zhao State.
In addition, the Shang Dynasty issued various decrees to unify customs in the form of laws, and after the Zhao State exterminated the minority vassal states with the help of Tiger Hill, there were no corresponding legal provisions to unify the customs, resulting in the slow progress of the ethnic integration of the Zhao State under the rule of Tiger Hill.
Geographical location. This natural connection, which helps to create the spirit of the nation, is the basis of geography.
As such"Eight miles of different winds, ten miles of different customs"It is pointed out that the customs and habits of different regions vary, but in a small area, even the customs are the same, and the geographical location is an important aspect that affects the integration of peoples, as Hegel clearly points out in the Philosophy of History, and as mentioned earlier, the geographical basis of the national spirit forms a natural connection.
The Qin region includes the Guanzhong Plain and the Sichuan Basin, and only the Bashu region is relatively flat. The superior geographical location not only promoted the development of the agricultural economy of the Qin State, but also enabled the various ethnic groups in the region to cooperate closely with each other and gradually integrate into each other"Qin people"。
Zhao is different, the terrain of Zhao is complex, as described in the "Manuscript of the History of Zhao": the territory of Zhao can be divided into four parts: Hebei Plain, Shanxi Plateau, Hexi and Hebei Mountains, and Inner Mongolia Plateau, which are separated by mountains and mountains, and are relatively independent of each other. After Qin destroyed Handan, the reason why the nobles of Zhao State were able to continue to live in Daiguo was also closely related to the geographical situation.
In ancient times, compared with today's transportation, due to natural barriers, there were few exchanges between ethnic groups, and it was difficult for the ethnic minorities of Zhao to form a unity"Zhao Ren"The concept that the farming peoples and the nomadic peoples were relatively independent due to the natural barrier, which delayed the process of ethnic integration of the Zhao State. This also slowed down the process of ethnic integration in Zhao Province.
The influence of different degrees of ethnic integration on the Qin and Zhao hegemony.
The main problem at the end of the Warring States period was the dispute between Qin and Zhao, but Zhao was completely defeated after the Battle of Changping and the Battle of Handan. However, the Qin State did not gain much in these two wars, and Bai Qi's refusal to allow King Qin Zhaoxiang to send troops to destroy Zhao again is a clear proof: more than half of the soldiers of the Qin State were **, and the country was hollowed out.
Why, then, did the Qin and Zhao states equally fail in their national power, while the Zhao states perished in just a few years, and the Qin states rose again in just a few years?In fact, Qin's high degree of ethnic integration provided the necessary conditions for a rapid increase in population. As mentioned above, the Qin state had a much higher degree of ethnic integration than the Zhao state, so the Qin state was better able to accommodate the surrounding ethnic minorities and thus be better able to overcome the problem of population loss in the region.
After Zhao was defeated by Qin, the originally conquered minorities did not consider how to help Zhao resist Qin, but seized the opportunity to regain their independence. Until the fall of the Zhao State, the Xiongnu were still the core of the Chinese nation, which shows that the degree of ethnic integration of the Zhao State was not high, and the ethnic minorities did not really integrate into the Zhao State. This also shows that the degree of ethnic integration in Zhao is not high.
The degree of ethnic integration also affects social stability. Think about it, if all nationalities cannot live in harmony, they are destined to be full of contradictions. "Soulmates are hard to find"Although this sentence is more radical, it also shows that if most people do not take some people as"Bosom friend", they will look at them with colored eyes, and social stability will become an empty word. "Bosom friends do not distinguish between high and low"Although this sentence is more radical, it also shows that if most people do not take some people as"Bosom friend", they will be looked at with colored eyes, and social stability will become an empty word.
And this point is also manifested in the Qin State and the Zhao State, "Xunzi - Qiangguo" wrote: The entrance to see its customs, the folk customs are simple, the vocal music is filthy and does not flow, do not choose clothes, or even those who are afraid of their duties, the elderly, through Xunzi's eyes, it seems to see the Qin State with simple folk customs and social stability and harmony.
This is also a hidden danger of insufficient ethnic integration and the failure of ethnic minorities to fully integrate into Zhao culture.
Make a judgment. At the end of the Warring States Period, Qin and Zhao fought for hegemony, and the two countries were equal in military terms, but due to differences in political, economic, strategic, geographical and other factors, Qin finally destroyed Zhao, not to mention the degree of national integration, and the Shandong princes did not take advantage of Qin's advantages in all aspects, so Qin's attack on the six countries to unify China is actually a historical inevitability.
Today, our country is still a multi-ethnic country, but it is a unified Chinese nation, and although all ethnic groups have different customs and habits, they live in harmony, because the unique traditional customs and culture of the Chinese nation are inherited and followed by the people of the whole country, forming a common national spirit.
What are your thoughts on this?