Qin Shihuang’s “burning of books and entrapment of Confucians” has long been regarded as a symbol of cultural destruction. It is well cited by all scholars in the world. Lu Xun compared it with Hitler's burning of books, and Borges used it with the construction of the Great Wall to discuss the First Emperor. Independent historians tend to have their own unique habits. He does not dare to flap his imagination on the basis of assumptions, and he disdains to follow others' opinions. He always tries his best to describe a more detailed process or find a more suitable reason. The results of diligent pursuit often turn out to be very different from the so-called "common sense".

As far as the history of human civilization is concerned, the persecution of books and readers has always occurred and has never stopped. An act like "burning books and harassing Confucians" is not the first time in Chinese history, and it is far from the largest. The tragic events of the great "revolution" of culture in history are numerous and needless to say; and the "burning of books" had already occurred a century and a half before Qin Shihuang: under the guidance of Shang Junjiao, Qin Xiaogong "burned the poems" ", "Book" and clarify the law." ("Han Feizi Heshi") If we recheck the accounts, the direct consequences of Qin Shihuang's "burning books and entrapping Confucians" are actually not very serious.

1. New Theory of "Burning Books to Entrap Confucians"

The so-called "Burning Books to Entrap Confucians" are actually two independent events:

213 BC In 2011 (the 34th year of Qin Shi Huang), at the Xianyang Palace reception of Qin Shi Huang, Dr. 70 congratulated the First Emperor on his birthday. Servant Zhou Qingchen flattered Zhou Qingchen and said that he "has not been as powerful as His Majesty since ancient times", and was directly criticized by the nerdy doctor Chun Yuyue for being chubby; Chun Yuyue sang "Those who do not follow the ancients but can last long are not heard of" This is an old Confucian tune, but it made the Prime Minister Li Si, a legalist, very dissatisfied. He believed that "all living beings today do not learn from the present but learn from the past, because they are not contemporary and confuse Guizhou." Therefore, he advocated: "Burn all historians except "Qin Ji" . Anyone who dares to collect "Poems", "Books" and Baijiayu in the world without being a doctor, should be burned by Yishou and Weiza. "("Historical Records: The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin") After Shang Yang's reform, Qin relied on the harsh laws of Legalism to greatly improve its military strength and administrative efficiency, and was finally able to annex the six countries and unify the country. Therefore, Qin Shihuang Naturally, Li Si’s suggestion was approved.

What is a pity is that the history books of various countries were burned, which greatly increased the difficulty for Sima Qian to write "Historical Records". "Historical Records: Preface to the Chronology of the Six Kingdoms": "What a pity! What a pity! Unique "Qin Ji" does not contain the sun and moon, and its text is not complete." This also doubled the value of the Wei Dynasty history book "Bamboo Book Annals" excavated in the Western Jin Dynasty. The national annals record a number of important events such as calendar announcements and war sacrifices, which are related to the royal line. Qin Shihuang's move is completely understandable.

"Poems", "Books", and Baijiayu should be burned by non-doctoral officials. "I have ordered them not to be burned for thirty days, and they will be tattooed as Cheng Dan." In other words, the people are not allowed to collect them anymore. , teach "Poems", "Books", and Baijiayu, but these books under the doctorate are still retained. "If you want to learn laws and regulations, you should take officials as your teachers." Confucianism, Taoism, Ming Dynasty, Mohism and other schools of thought are banned among the people. Only laws and regulations can be learned, and learning various laws from "officials" is encouraged. In addition, "what should not be removed are books on medicine, divination, and tree planting." Books on various related practical skills are also protected. Xiang Yu burned Xianyang, and the national books controlled by doctoral officials, including "Poems", "Books", and Baijiayu, were doomed. But "Poetry", "Book" and so on have been passed down and preserved very well after all. "Preface to the Table of the Six Kingdoms": "The "Poems" and "Books" that were rediscovered were mostly hidden in other families, while the Historical Records were only hidden in the Zhou Dynasty, so they were destroyed." Under the order of Qin Shi Huang to burn books, scholars like Fu Sheng held the The brochure ran away. After Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty "removed the law of calligraphy", various "Poems", "Books" and Baijiayu that were banned in the Qin Dynasty during the reigns of Emperors Wen, Jing and Wu appeared in large numbers among the people. Some of them are said to be major ones, such as the Confucius Book on the Wall of Confucius, which was obtained by King Lu Xian by destroying Confucius's house, the ancient documents collected by King Xian of Hejian, and the ancient documents obtained by a woman in Hanoi who found her old house. After the Han Dynasty, Confucian classics such as "Poems" and "Books" were further developed.

On the contrary, books on medicine, divination, tree planting and other practical skills that Qin Ji specially protected were extinct and lost. Had it not been for the discovery of many simple and silk daily scripts, formulas, five-star divination, health prescriptions, disease prescriptions, pulse meridians, fetal and birth books, guidance maps, and food recipes in recent years (recently in Wu Yang, Marquis of Yuanling, Huxi Mountain (discovered in tombs), etc., our knowledge of the great practical skills of ancient times can only stay on the list of books in "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi" forever. After Qin Shihuang "collected all the books from the world and discarded them if they were of no use", he "called many literary and alchemists in order to bring about peace." Although it was a high-sounding statement, Confucian scholars and alchemists were actually quite comfortable and even able to do so. Said to be very active. In 212 BC (the 35th year of Qin Shihuang), Qin Shihuang envied the immortal "real person" and used alchemists such as Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng to seek the elixir of Ganoderma lucidum. The alchemist "died" because he was unable to communicate. "When the First Emperor heard about his death, he was very angry and said: '...the alchemists wanted to practice in order to find a strange medicine. Now I heard that the Korean people left without reporting, and Xu Shi and others spent tens of thousands of dollars, but in the end they couldn't get the medicine. They were just treacherous and profiteering. They reported to Japan. Lu Sheng and others have been generously given to me, but now they are slandering me because they believe that I am not virtuous. If you are born in Xianyang, I will ask people to be honest, or they will make trouble in Guizhou. 'So I asked the censor to inquire about the case. After being informed by each other, more than 460 people who violated the ban were imprisoned in Xianyang, so that the world would know about them, and they would be exiled to the border.

” ("Historical Records·The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang") 2. Discussion on the reasons for "burning books and entrapping Confucians"

An incident that is also worthy of detailed analysis:

1. When Qin Shihuang was angry, Lu, Han, and Xu were all alchemists. Some of the arrested students and the "violators" who were "reported to each other" and confessed were Confucian scholars, but it is true that there was no "confucianism" in Sima Qian's time. "One theory. "Historical Records: Biographies of Scholars" clearly states: "In the Ji Dynasty of Qin Dynasty, "Poems" and "Books" were burned and the magicians were trapped, and the six arts were lacking from then on. "Secondly, the alchemist used the so-called magical medicine to seduce the master and spread rumors and slander, and the crime should be killed. "They were all trapped in Xianyang, so that the world would know about it, and they would be punished." There is nothing particularly excessive in the treatment; if we also believe in "Historical Records" "In other words, compared with the 400,000 surrendered soldiers killed by the general Bai Qi in the Battle of Changping, the death of more than 460 people by the majestic First Emperor is nothing. Since these are two events with not much actual impact, why do they affect the people of the country? Such a profound impression that it has been permanently used as a symbol of cultural destruction? I have always suspected that someone has made deliberate exaggerations.

2. "Historical Records: Biographies of Scholars" should be examined. "When it came to the Ji Dynasty of Qin Dynasty, "Poems" and "Books" were burned, and the magicians were trapped. The six arts were lacking from then on. "It was Sima Qian who first connected the two events. Sima Qian himself "recited ancient prose when he was ten years old", and when he was the Taishi Ling, he also "learned from the books in the stone chamber and the golden chamber". He learned "Books" from Kong Anguo, and "Poems" from Zong Jinwen was the master of Gongyang School in Chunqiu, and his father was the successor of Yang He's Yi. The pain of burning "Poems" and "Books" had been eliminated in Sima Qian's time, not to mention the main ones. The perpetrators fled long before the incident, and most of the more than 460 people killed were in Xianyang. Furthermore, Qin Shihuang died soon, and the world was in chaos during the second Qin Dynasty. Qin soon fell, and Qin's revenge on the alchemists could no longer be seen. Something. On the contrary, a large number of Qin and Han bamboo slips and Chinese and Japanese scripts, Shifa and other alchemy books have been recently unearthed in Hunan and Hubei, indicating that trapping sorcerers had no adverse impact on the popularity of alchemy in the Chu region; many bamboo slips and silk scrolls used Chu The text even shows that Qin's destruction of Chu did not completely eliminate the existence of Chu's local character.

In fact, what fundamentally destroyed the culture was Qin's strict cultural autocratic policy of using officials as teachers and strictly prohibiting private education. Yan Zhitui may have noticed this, "Yan's Family Instructions: Documentary Evidence": "Historical writings have been missing for a long time; in addition, the Qin people destroyed learning, Dong Zhuo burned books, and the classics were disordered, and it didn't stop there. "Is it intentional to say that Dong Zhuo "burned books" and Qin "destroyed learning"? Legalism advocated and implemented the cultural autocratic policy of using officials as teachers and strictly prohibiting private study. Shang Yang considered "Poems", "Books", Rites, and Music Cheng is the lice of a diseased country, and he believes that the country must get rid of the lice before it can become strong and prosperous ("Shang Jun Shu·Quqiang", "Shang Jun Shu·Jin Ling") Han Feizi put forward a complete set of theories of law, technique and power to strengthen monarchy. Han Feizi, who stood for the extreme expansion of the monarch's power and authority, fiercely opposed the "bachelor" who "collected books, studied and discussed, gathered disciples to serve, and served literature to discuss". , the miscellaneous and counterintuitive learning is governed by non-conformity. "("Han Feizi Xianxue") "Therefore, in the country of the Ming Dynasty, there were no written texts, and the law was the teaching; there were no words of the previous kings, and the officials were the teachers. "("Han Feizi·Five Beetles")

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, people learned from royal officials, and all kinds of knowledge were mastered in the government, and were related to the practical activities of various official duties; education was only among the nobles. Various specialized skills were passed down within the professions held by royal officials. Confucius founded private schools, teaching all without distinction, thus creating a new era of dissemination of knowledge, universal education, and free scholarship. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when rituals and music collapsed, various vassal states innovated and reformed in order to seek hegemony. In times of trouble, the schools and schools of thought paid special attention to national political thought. It was highly valued by the king. The various schools of thought prospered due to this.

The Jixia Academy of Qi State most vividly reflects the grand debate of various schools of thought. Xiaobai established the beauty of "Ting Liao" and "啧 Chamber", and even set up Jixia Academy; King Wei and King Xuan of Qi treated the virtuous and virtuous scholars, tolerated hundreds of schools of thought, and allowed full freedom of speech and academics. As a result, Qi State entered the most prosperous period of Confucianism and Confucianism. Scholars from Taoism, Ming Dynasty, Mohism, and Dharma gathered in Jixia. Famous scholars such as Chunyu Kun, Peng Meng, Tian Pian, Yin Wen, Zou Yan, Jiezi, Tianba, Lu Zhonglian, Shen Dao, Song Yan, and Huanyuan In the late period, Xunzi once offered sacrifices to the Qin Dynasty. Scholars in Jixia expressed their opinions directly and learned from each other's strengths.

It is a pity that the Qi Dynasty died in the Qin Dynasty. The country appointed Legalists. Legalist policies of autocratic centralization and suppression of ideas were effective for the wartime economy and military. After Qin Shihuang unified the world, he naturally continued to use Legalists to govern the country and implemented the practice of using officials as teachers throughout the country. , the cultural autocracy policy that strictly prohibited private education. Han Feizi and Li Si, who were fundamentally responsible for this policy, were actually students of Jixia Jijiu who advocated the recitation of "Poems" and "Books" and the Confucian master Xunzi. Today is opposed to Fagu, but its cultural policy is exactly in the old era when the kings and officials were ignorant and ignorant. Sima Qian wrote "Historical Records" at the time when the policy of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" was first advocated. Comparable to Qin Shihuang's policy of using officials as teachers. , Strictly prohibit private study, the two policies are exactly the same, except that Confucianism replaced Legalism, the cultural policies of the two generations were equally authoritarian and hegemonic. In fact, the Confucianism of the Han Dynasty was the inheritor of the Legalist cultural policy of the Qin Dynasty.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to the throne, he used the suggestions of Wei Chu and others to depose Huang Lao Xingming.

But Dong Zhongshu is generally considered to be the advocate of the policy of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone". Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty promoted virtuous literature, and Dong Zhongshu used virtuous countermeasures and said: "I foolishly thought that all those who are not in the six arts and the art of Confucius should cut off their own way and should not be allowed to advance together. The theory of extermination of evil will cease, and then the unified discipline can be unified The laws are clear and the people know what to follow." ("Book of Han: Biography of Dong Zhongshu") This strategy was affirmed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. "Book of Han: Praise of Emperor Wu": "When Xiaowu first established, Zhuoran deposed hundreds of schools and published six classics. Then he consulted the sea, praised his talents, and performed meritorious services with them. He established the Imperial Academy, built suburban sacrifices, corrected Shuo, and fixed the calendar. , harmonious music, composing poems and music, establishing feudal narratives, paying homage to hundreds of gods, following the Zhou Dynasty, issuing orders and writings, which can be described in detail. "During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the country had recovered from extreme poverty and was replaced by a system aimed at The political and economic changes that strengthened the centralization of authoritarianism; the foreign policy also changed from the policy of peace and friendship with the Xiongnu, and took the initiative to expand territory in the Western Regions. Correspondingly, culturally, the original Huang-Lao idea of ??governing by doing nothing is no longer needed. Therefore, "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" is actually a product of such an era.

Although Sima Qian had a background as an ancient historian and was influenced by his father's Taoist teachings, he was different from Dong Zhongshu. He resented Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for being tortured; but as a person of that era, he also had a strong sense of With the atmosphere of that era. "Historical Records Tai Shigong's Preface": "Ancestors have said: Confucius was born when the Duke of Zhou died at the age of 500. After Confucius died, until now, at the age of 500, there is someone who can lead the Ming Dynasty. The "Book of Changes", following the "Spring and Autumn", this book "Poetry", "Book", "Li" and "Music" are all about this! How dare you give in? "Sima Qian took the Six Classics as the basis for governing the country and followed the example of the Spring and Autumn Annals. "Historical Records" believes that future generations will establish royal laws and establish standards for human ethics. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" aims to "study the relationship between heaven and man, understand the changes in ancient and modern times, and form a family story." The so-called "words of one family" are exactly "the miscellany of Jue Xie's Six Classics and different traditions, and the miscellany of hundreds of schools of thought". ("Tai Shi Gong's Preface") "Jue Xie's Six Classics and Different Biographies neatly organize the miscellany of hundreds of schools of thought", which is consistent with "depose of hundreds of schools of thought and respect only Confucianism". Sima Qian was the first to link the two events of Qin Shihuang's "burning of "Poems" and "Books" and "trapping of magicians", and exaggeratedly believed that "the six arts have been lacking from now on"; and for Confucius Zhengding's Six Classics, the foundation of country governance In the eyes of Sima Qian, who prided himself on being the heir, this was a grave crime. The two incidents of "burning poems and books" and "trapping sorcerers" were connected and exaggerated by natural inferences, thereby substantively covering up the extremely harmful cultural autocracy implemented by Qin Shihuang. policy. Therefore, Qin Shihuang's destruction of culture became a personal behavior and an isolated incident. Countless literati in the past dynasties have denounced Qin Shihuang's personal violent behavior, but ignored the harm of cultural autocratic policies. It can be said that this is entirely the result of deliberate guidance. Since the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the act of covering up the harm of Qin Shihuang's cultural autocratic policies has been a long-term process, and the fundamental purpose of this behavior is because the same policies are being implemented. Starting from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the cultural autocratic policy of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" was gradually implemented. This policy reached its extreme during the reigns of Emperors Yuan and Cheng of the Han Dynasty. The languages ????of various schools of thought and various practical skills were destroyed and banned, leading to a large number of extinctions.

3. Is Sima Qian a "talent with a good history"? "Historical Records" is a "real record" of "its writing is straight, its facts are clear, it does not pretend to be beautiful, and it does not conceal evil". ("Book of Han·Sima Qian Biography") Sima Qian said "burning "Poems" and "Books"" , the two incidents of "trapping sorcerers" are indeed historical facts; Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism", and he only deposed Dr. Taichang who did not treat the Five Classics. "The legends of various scholars are all filled with secrets." ("Hanshu·Yiwenzhi Preface") Until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many schools of thought other than Confucianism were still handed down.

The truly vicious ones are those who changed the phrase "burning poems and books to trap sorcerers" to "burning books to trap Confucians". There is a preface to the pseudo-confucian version of "Guwenshangshu" written by Kong Anguo, in which "burning books and entrapping Confucianism" first appears: "And Qin Shihuang destroyed the ancient books, burned books and entraped Confucian scholars, and the scholars of the world fled and were disbanded. . ”

It is actually not difficult to understand why the earliest version of “burning books and entrapping Confucians” was the preface of the pseudo-Confucian biography “Guwen Shangshu”. Sima Qian said that "burning "Poems" and "Books" was a trap for magicians, and the six arts were missing from now on." However, the actual situation is that except for the "Music" (because it was originally a music score to accompany the performance of "Poems" without diction), the Five Classics almost The only one that has been completely preserved and suffered damage during the Qin fire is the Book of Documents. Therefore, if we want to condemn Qin Shihuang's "burning books and entrapping Confucianism" as an eternal crime, the most powerful weapon is "Shang Shu"; and the most suitable attacker is Kong Anguo, who is a descendant of Confucius and passed "Old Texts Shangshu" to Sima Qian.

The spread of "Shangshu" is definitely the most complicated issue in philology. Qin Shihuang burned books, Dr. Qin Fu Sheng ran away holding the bamboo slips, and "Shang Shu" was hidden on the wall of the house. When Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty opened the book law, Fu Sheng took out "Shang Shu" from the wall of the house. Unfortunately, it was incomplete, and only 28 chapters were pieced together, which was taught among Qi and Lu. When Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was looking for someone who could manage the Book of Documents, Fu Sheng was already an old man in his nineties, so he sent Chao Cuo to study it. In this way, 28 chapters of the Book of Ministers were collected in the secret palace and became the Zhongmi Edition. ("Historical Records" and "The Scholars" in "Hanshu") Fusheng's disciples were appointed academic officials after several biographies, which was called "Jinwen Shangshu".

The ancient text of "Shangshu" appeared in the Western Han Dynasty. "Historical Records·The Scholars": "Fu Shengsun was in charge of the "Shang Shu" campaign, but he couldn't understand it. Lu Zhouba, Kong Anguo, and Luoyang Jia Jia were quite capable of talking about "Shang Shu" affairs.

Kong's "Gu Wen Shangshu" was read by Anguo in modern texts. Because he had more than ten chapters in "Shu" written by Jiayi, the number of "Shangshu" was multiplied. "Kong Anguo is the eleventh grandson of Confucius, and his family has "Shang Shu" (some people say it is also hidden on the wall of the house, so it is confused with Kong Bi Shu). It has more than ten chapters more than the "Jinwen Shangshu" written by Fu Sheng. This is In addition, King Xian of Hejian also obtained the "Guwen Shangshu" from the people. Liu Xin used the Confucian version of "Shangshu" with 16 chapters and asked him to become an academic official. However, he was opposed by modern writers and caused a long-lasting influence. The dispute between modern and ancient texts. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Du Lin obtained the lacquered book "Guwen Shangshu" from Xizhou, but there were no 16 chapters in Yishu. The chapters were the same as those of modern texts. Wei Hong, Jia Kui, Ma Rong, Zheng Xuan, Wang Su, etc. They all annotated it.

In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a man named Meiju (Yi) of Yuzhang presented a pseudo "Guwen Shangshu" written in "Li Guding". The 28 chapters were analyzed into 33 chapters, and another 25 chapters were compiled from the ancient books at that time, to make up the 58 ancient chapters Liu Xiang said. For this pseudo-Guwenshangshu, countless scholars from the Tang and Song Dynasties spent a lot of money. With great efforts, Wu Yu in the Song Dynasty, Wu Cheng in the Yuan Dynasty, the Mei clan in the Ming Dynasty, and Yan Ruochu and Huidong in the Qing Dynasty thoroughly proved this forgery case. If the complex situation of document inheritance is taken into account more comprehensively, Then a more appropriate statement should be: the pseudo-Confucian biography "Gu Wen Shangshu" is forged in terms of its overall structure, but it does not rule out the use of historical materials in its specific content. It should actually be Mei Yi's "Classic Commentary". That is, it is called "Mei Yi" or "Mei Yi"; this person's courtesy name is Zhongzhen, "the ancient name is 'Yi', and the courtesy name is 'Zhen'" (Duan Yucai's "Shuowen Jiezi Note·Bu"); there was indeed a Henan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty Zhang Taishou Mei Yi, courtesy name Zhongzhen, was mentioned in "Shishuoxinyu·Fangzheng"

Although it was a forgery presented by Mei Yi, the author is not the author. There are different opinions among the examiners. For example, Wang Mingsheng said that it was either Wang Su or Huangfu Mi ("Shang Shu Hou Case·Bian Kong Yingda Shu"), and some people believed that there were two pseudo-Kong editions (Cheng Tingzuo, "Wang Su's Notes"). It is very possible that he is forgery, but scholars such as Zhu Yizun, Cheng Tingzuo, Chen Li, Wu Chengshi, and Chen Mengjia have proved with numerous evidences that Wang's annotation of "Shangshu" is different from the pseudo-Confucian biography.

The real forger should be Zheng Chong. The title of Volume 2 of "Yu Shu" in Tang Kong Yingda's "Shang Shu Zhengyi" says: "The Biography of Huangfu Mi in the Book of Jin" says: "My sister-in-law Liang Liubian's "Guwen Shangshu" , the book "Century of Emperors" often contains fifty-eight chapters of "The Legend of Confucius". "The Book of Jin" also says: "Zheng Chong, the Taibao Gong of Jin Dynasty, taught Fufeng Su Yu in ancient Chinese literature, and the word "Yu" was not given to him. He was given the word "Hong Ji" in Tianshui Liang and Liu Ji, Mi's younger brother. Ji was given the word "Yan" to Zang Cao of Chengyang. At the beginning; at the beginning, he was granted the title of Zhongzhen, the son of the county governor, Runan Meizu, and he was also the internal history of Yuzhang. So he wrote his book in the Pre-Jin Dynasty and implemented it. '" (not the current version of "Book of Jin") Volume 609 of "Taiping Yulan" published in the Song Dynasty quoted "Shang Shu Zhengyi": "..."Old Wen Shangshu",...At the time of Wei and Jin, Zheng Chong of Xingyang was private in the world. It was passed on, but not implemented. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Mei Yizou of Runan was first listed among the academic officials. This is also an ancient text. "Zheng Chong was the real originator of the pseudo-"Gu Wen Shangshu". The subsequent genealogy was: Zheng Chong passed on Su Yu, Su Yu passed on Liang Liu, Liang Liu passed on Zang Cao, and Zang Cao passed on Mei Yi. Liang Liu was Huangfu Mi's cousin, so Huangfu Mi must also be a book, so Kong Yingda also said: "Huangfu Mi of the Jin Dynasty only got his book, which is recorded in "Emperor Chronicles" ("Shang Shu Zhengyi Preface")

If we talk about the pseudo-Confucian biography "Gu Wen". "Shangshu" is more or less pieced together with some scattered original materials, so the pseudo-Kong Anguo preface is a complete forgery, and the most likely forger is Zheng Chong. Since the Han Dynasty, the original chapters of "Shangshu" have been copied. The preface is always a "Preface to the Book", which is appended to the end of the book; if copied, there is one more chapter than the 58 chapters Liu Xiang said, so the prefaces to each chapter are separated and appended to each chapter in chronological order. Beginning or end. There is also a forged preface by Kong Anguo at the front of the book, which is what we call the preface of the pseudo-Confucian biography "Guwen Shangshu": "And. The First Emperor of Qin destroyed the ancient books of the past, burned books to trap Confucians, and the scholars of the world fled and dispersed." He changed "Burn Poems and Books to trap Warlocks" to "Burn Books to trap Confucians", with cunning methods and vicious intentions. Further investigation of Zheng Zheng If Chong is a person and the background of the era, we can even discover the real political purpose behind this malicious change.

Zheng Chong (?-274), the fourth year of Wei Chenliu King Cao Huan Jingyuan. (263) He worshiped the Taibao. Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty worshiped the Taifu after receiving Zen. As an important official in the two dynasties, Zheng Chong was very famous in historical records. The "Book of Jin" said that he was "excellent in conduct, quiet and calm in desires". , "Have good looks, act according to etiquette, be sincere and self-responsible, and don't want the reputation of country music." When he was in Cao Wei, "elegance was his virtue, and he did not have the reputation of being a bureaucracy when he came to his post. He wore silk robes, and did not engage in property. This is what he has done in the world." In the Jin Dynasty, "Although he was in a position of assistant, he did not predict world affairs. "He seems to be a gentle and quiet person. But considering that the Jin Dynasty usurped the throne and conquered the world, and the political situation in the Wei and Jin Dynasties was dangerous, we must be wary of the words in the history books.

Zheng Chongqi rose from humble beginnings. He "wanted to play with the classics and history, and then studied Confucianism and the opinions of hundreds of schools of thought", and finally "accepted Confucianism to protect Fu" ("Book of Jin? 6? 1 Scholars"). The Sima family is a big family in Hanoi who adheres to Confucianism. Sima Yi. His grandfather Sima Jun was "erudite and fond of ancient times", and his father Sima Fang's family was "respectful between father and son"; while Cao Wei came from the Han tribe and was related to eunuchs. "It's miserable, science and defense are mutually beneficial", frugality and etiquette, and "evaluation based on talent" are fundamentally contrary to the spirit of Confucianism.

Therefore, Jin's usurpation of Wei was actually a reform of the criminal law implemented by Confucian politics in troubled times after social stability.

Zheng Chong was involved in politics as a Confucian master, and his political face was very clear. Therefore, it was he who "led the officials to persuade Jin to advance" and "sent the nine tins of mahogany soil to the Duke of Jin" ("Book of Jin? 6? 1 Chronicles of Emperor Wen"). It was he who represented Emperor Wei Yuan who "sent the emperor's seal and ribbon to make a policy letter and settled in Jin". He ("Jin Shu? 6? 1 Li Zhi 1"). At the beginning of the founding of the Jin Dynasty, Zheng Chong and Xun Yi "cut the national code", established the etiquette system with the restoration of the five rites of Zhou officials, and implemented the funeral rites for three years ("Book of Jin? 6?1 Etiquette"); they also assisted Jia Full of re-established laws ("Jin Shu? 6? 1 Criminal Law Chronicles"). It is said in this biography that "Emperor Wen assisted in the administration. After the peace of Shu, he ordered Jia Chong and Yang Hu to formulate etiquette and laws. They all consulted Chong first and then implemented them." This statement is true. Zheng Chong was the chief architect of the Jin Dynasty system. .

Zheng Chong was "the emperor's teacher", and he was famous for giving lectures on "Shangshu" to the Duke of Gaogui Township. "Three Kingdoms? 6? 1 Wei Shu? 6? 1 Chronicles of the Three Young Emperors": "At the end of the career of talking about Shangshu, Sikong Zhengchong and Shizhong Zheng Xiaotong were given personal teachings, each with their own differences." The original biography of "Book of Jin" is also Remember this. In terms of the distinction between Zheng Chong and Zheng Xiaotong, it may be related to the different numbers of their families. Zheng Xiaotong is the grandson of Zheng Xuan and the master of Shangshu in the Cao Wei Dynasty. He passed down Zheng Xuan's family studies; it is suspected that Zheng Chong's Shangshu studies are related to Wang Su. "Jin Shu? 6? 1 Criminal Law Chronicles" says that the old Jin Code before Zheng Chong established the Jin Code "all Confucian chapters and sentences are taken from Zheng's" and "cannot be inherited", which may be side evidence.

Zheng Chong condescended to study and engage in politics. He did not hesitate to falsify and delete historical theories for the sake of real politics. He regarded Confucianism as the absolute Confucianism, which fundamentally deviated from Confucius's creation of private education, dissemination of knowledge, universal education, and free scholarship. The true spirit. Serving the culturally authoritarian Confucian political order was the real reason why Zheng Chong deliberately and thickly accused Qin Shihuang of "burning books and entrapping Confucianism".

3. Why did Qin Shihuang "burn books to embarrass Confucians"?

Most people's evaluation of Qin Shihuang is very controversial, especially on the matter of "burning books to embarrass Confucians" It shows his cruelty even more, and why did Qin Shihuang want to "burn books and humiliate Confucians"? Everyone can't agree on it? In fact, it is very interesting. Until now, no one knows exactly which books and classics Emperor Qin burned. Even if they do know, it is only fragmentary. In my memory, it seems that Qin State’s own There are also historical books, tree planting, divination and medical books. It’s no wonder. It’s not that these books are bad, but that the Qin State at that time “emphasized the basics and neglected commerce” (emphasis on agriculture over business), so there were no agricultural related matters such as tree planting (farming technology) and divination (nature). Changes and the four seasons and weather) and medicine (healing people and animals). At that time, China was in the turbulent era of the Warring States Period, when hundreds of schools of thought and culture were contending. Qin was the country that most vigorously promoted Legalist ideas and policies. In addition, Qin Shihuang was passionately involved in it, so it was time to annex the six kingdoms to unify the world. At that time, in order to strengthen autocratic rule and ideological control, they carried out such a frightening and controversial "burning books and entrapping Confucians". All these things are recorded one by one in the Chronicles of Qin Shihuang in the Historical Records. I will make a supplement about the antecedents and development results: At the social level at that time, the private schools established by intellectuals were a headache for the Qin government. Intellectuals Use private studies to comment on and oppose government decrees; Li Si once pointed out: "Private studies are not taught by others, and when people hear orders, they will discuss them based on their own learning. If you take something different and think it is superior, lead the group to create slander." ("Historical Records of Qin Shihuang") In 213 BC, Dr. Chun Yuyue proposed to write to Qin Shihuang and suggested dividing the disciples. Qin Shihuang asked ministers to discuss it, but Li Si believed that this was the work of someone who was engaged in "private learning" and "does not follow the example of today's people". If it is not prohibited to "learn from the ancients" and "do the ancients to harm the present", "the main power will be lowered, and the party and the success will be lowered." Therefore, it is recommended to burn private collections of poems, books, Bai Jiayu and Qin Dynasty. The historical records of various countries other than those recorded in the records were strictly enforced: "Anyone who dares to write poems and calligraphy" should "abandon the market", and "anyone who dares to use the ancient to make things different from the present" should be exterminated. The purpose is to ban "private learning" and force people to "learn laws and regulations." "Taking officials as teachers" enables the state's laws to be "determined by one person", and it is also the embodiment and expansion of the Legalist Shang Yang's policy of "burning poems and writing down laws and regulations". In fact, the actions of the Qin government not only targeted Confucianism, but also the "hundred schools" of private learning. Among the intellectuals and scholars at that time, anyone with a little opinion or book could form a family. Therefore, the prosperity of hundreds of schools also becomes the difficulty of hundreds of schools of thought. In the second year after the ban on book burning was issued, some literary scholars privately accused Qin Shihuang of being a "dedicated jailer", and "although there are seventy doctors, there are no special staff (Qin has a staff of seventy doctors)", or Qin Shihuang and the Qin government were scolded for being "happy to use punishment as a threat" or "greedy for power". Qin Shihuang ordered an investigation, and more than 460 "violators" were arrested and killed. Of. What prohibition did they commit? Han Fei once advocated that against "defamation laws" and "double-minded private studies" that "rebellion against the world", he should "forbid his behavior, break up his group, and disperse his party" ("Han Feizi's Secret Envoy"), Qin Shihuang would kill him These literary scholars (Confucian scholars) who violated the ban were the specific actions to implement the legalist Han Fei's advocacy of cracking down on "double-minded private learning". In short, they had the flavor of killing one person to serve as an example to others.

The entire incident of burning books and harassing Confucians also reflected the Qin government's efforts to control thought and public opinion and strengthen autocratic rule. It was a fatal blow to the current trend of thought of a hundred schools of thought at that time, and also caused very serious damage to the development of academic culture. It can be regarded as "China's A catastrophe in cultural history”? However, the author has always disagreed. At the same time, I believe that for the first time in history to be unified, or the first time to become "China", it only arrested and killed more than 460 "violators" across the country, which should be an extremely virtuous policy. As Mao himself said during the "Cultural Revolution", Qin Shihuang's "burning books and entrapping Confucianism" was nothing compared to him. When the human nature to pursue ideals and the pursuit of political power are in conflict with each other, what will the powerful party do, and how should the weak party respond? There is a saying: "There are policies from above and countermeasures from below." Otherwise, for thousands of years, how can people cultivate wisdom and create new cultural situations from these ancient books that have been turned into ashes?

For this reason, history is always easily misinterpreted by some with practical purposes. People use it as an excuse or evasion, and the three of them become tigers. Fortunately, real historians firmly believe in the sole existence of historical facts, and are accustomed to dealing with layers of distorted and deleted historical materials to restore the historical truth as much as possible, as long as not all historical materials are burned.