pdf-ebookys Chapter 246: Sage Liu Xiahui
Chapter 246: Sage Liu Xiahui
In 260 BC, Qin finally attacked Zhao and the Battle of Changping broke out. At first, Lian Po, the commander of Zhao, defended the city tightly and the Qin army could not take it down.
However, the King of Zhao was quite dissatisfied with Lian Po's tactics, so the Qin State implemented a counter-espionage plan and asked the King of Zhao to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo as the chief general. Later, the Qin State secretly transferred Bai Qi to lead the army.
When Zhao Kuo, who was good at talking about war on paper, met Bai Qi, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, it was obvious who would win. After the Qin army won, Bai Qi killed all the 40 soldiers of Zhao State, which seriously damaged the vitality of Zhao State and no longer had the strength to fight against Qin State.
In 230 BC, the famous Qin general Nei Shi Teng destroyed the Kingdom of Han. The following year, the Qin sent Wang Jian and other generals to attack the State of Zhao. After using the strategy of sowing discord to get rid of Li Mu, the State of Zhao was no match for the Qin.
In 228 BC, the Qin army captured Handan and captured King Qian of Zhao, which ended the State of Zhao. However, Zhao Jia, the prince of Zhao, escaped and established the State of Dai with the support of his ministers.
In 227 BC, Prince Dan of Yan sent Jing Ke to assassinate the King of Qin, who was furious and sent Wang Jian to attack the State of Yan. The King of Yan, Xi, handed over Prince Dan, and was spared death.
However, the reason why Qin State left Yan State to survive was to concentrate its forces to destroy Wei. In 225 BC, Qin General Wang Ben flooded the capital of Wei State, Daliang, and Wei State was destroyed. Then, Wang Jian led 60 troops to attack Chu State in the south.
Under the wrong command of the then King of Chu, Fu Chu, the famous Chu general Xiang Yan rashly led his army and was defeated. In 223 BC, the Chu State was destroyed. After the destruction of Chu, Wang Jian's son Wang Ben destroyed the lingering Yan State.
Since Qi was far away from the main battlefield, Qin had always been on good terms with Qi, and Qi was addicted to the current peace and finally prepared for war. Therefore, they were no match for Qin. In 221 BC, Qi surrendered without a fight. Qin eventually unified the world.
[Understand the history of sacrifices in the Shang Dynasty in one go]
The sacrificial activities of the Shang Dynasty were an important part of its culture and religion. Its sacrificial system was strict and complex, and the selection and handling of sacrifices varied according to different identities and ghosts and gods. Today, let's take a look at the most terrifying collective activity of the Shang Dynasty - human sacrifice.
Sacrifices were not exclusive to the Shang Dynasty, but had already appeared in the Xia Dynasty. At that time, people often used animals and humans as sacrifices out of their belief in gods.
Archaeologists have discovered a sacrificial site from the Xia Dynasty around 2070 BC at the Wadian site in Yuzhou, Henan Province, including remains of sacrificial offerings. However, during the Xia Dynasty, people believed in fewer gods and the frequency of sacrifices was not that high.
In 1600 BC, the Shang Dynasty destroyed the Xia Dynasty in the Battle of Mingtiao, but inherited the sacrificial culture of the Xia Dynasty. Compared with the Xia Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty was more cruel in the selection of sacrifices, and they often used "human sacrifices", that is, living people.
There were many small tribes and states surrounding the Shang Dynasty. During its external expansion, the Shang Dynasty often came into conflict with these states and wars broke out, resulting in the capture of many Yi people, who were called "Qiang people."
In addition, small states that surrendered to the Shang Dynasty would also offer Qiang people as tribute to the Shang Dynasty, so Qiang people became the most common sacrifice.
However, the Shang people believed that the higher the standard of sacrifice, the more noble the sacrifices should be. Therefore, common people, infants, and young girls also became candidates for sacrifices. Compared with common people, there was another group of people who were more noble, and they were the slave-owning aristocrats of the Shang Dynasty.
Compared with Qiang people and common people, the nobles were sacrificed in a more advanced way. Generally speaking, the sacrifice of Qiang people and common people was completed after they were killed, but the nobles' sacrifices were further processed after they were killed and made into higher-grade tributes to the gods and ghosts.
For example, they would chop off the head first and then put it into a bronze pot to cook it; or they would cut off the most delicate parts of the nobles’ bodies, chop them into meat paste, and make meatballs or meat patties as offerings to ghosts and gods.
In order to get the blessing from ghosts and gods, people would share and eat the human flesh offerings after the sacrifice.
Bo Yikao, the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou, was probably killed in a sacrifice. In addition, the Shang people also used different sacrificial methods when sacrificing to different gods. For example, when sacrificing to the river god, the sacrifice would be pushed into the water and drowned, which gave rise to the word "Shen";
"磔" means splitting the sacrifice in half; "顾" means hollowing out the internal organs; "伐" means chopping off the head. Different ways of sacrifice also represent the different demands of the Shang people.
For example, "Pao" means burning people alive. People at that time believed that this method could "give", so the queen of the Shang Dynasty used "Pao" to offer sacrifices when a drought occurred in her fiefdom.
The Shang Dynasty not only had a variety of ways to sacrifice to the dead, but also a wide variety of objects to sacrifice to. They not only worshipped natural gods such as river gods, mountain gods, sun gods, and land gods, but also the ancestors of the Shang Dynasty.
The people of the Shang Dynasty believed that their ancestors would transform into gods after death and bless the Shang Dynasty with long-term stability.
In addition, heaven and earth were also important objects of worship for the Shang people. There are records in oracle bone inscriptions that the Shang people offered sacrifices to heaven and earth to pray for a good harvest and a smooth war. In the process of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, they sometimes also offered sacrifices to their ancestors.
There were many gods to be worshipped, and countless people died in the process. The Yinxu site alone had more than 2500 sacrificial pits, containing many human skeletons.
During the reign of Wu Ding alone, the number of human sacrifices exceeded 9000, while the average population of a vassal state at that time was only more than 5000. Human sacrifice was very popular during the Shang Dynasty, so why did human sacrifice gradually disappear after the demise of the Shang Dynasty?
This is also thanks to the Zhou Dynasty's ruler, Duke of Zhou. Duke of Zhou formulated the Zhou rituals, promoted the ritual system, and began to advocate "ruling the world with virtue." He claimed that the stability of a dynasty's rule had little to do with sacrifices, but was closely related to the monarch's virtue.
A virtuous person will be blessed by heaven even if he does not require human sacrifices; on the contrary, a person without talent or virtue will not receive heaven's approval no matter how many sacrifices he performs.
Duke Zhou also improved the sacrificial method by using livestock as sacrifices instead of human sacrifices. Since then, human sacrifices have gradually disappeared in the long river of history.
[A "serious man" who remained calm even when a woman's arms were flirting with him. Understand his life in one breath. How serious is he? A little historical knowledge about Liuxia Hui]
Confucius called him "the lost wise man", Mencius called him "the teacher of all ages", and also called him one of the four great sages together with Boyi, Yi Yin and Confucius.
However, his career was full of twists and turns. He served as a judge four times and was dismissed four times. The most well-known story of his life is the story of "sitting on a woman's lap without being tempted". He was the wise man Liuxia Hui in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Liuxia Hui was a native of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. His original name was Zhan Huo. After his death, his relatives and friends gave him the posthumous title of "Hui", so later generations also called him Liuxia Hui.
Liuxia Hui was born into a noble family in Lu State. His father was Zhan Wuhai, a doctor in Lu State. His family was well-off, which means they had land rent to collect, so he basically achieved financial freedom without doing anything. However, Liuxia Hui was not a spoiled and domineering second-generation official, but an upright and sensible young man.
On a cold winter night, Liuxia Hui, who was staying at the city gate, met a woman. Fearing that she would freeze to death, Liuxia Hui unbuttoned his coat and held the woman in his arms.
The two spent the whole night together without any trouble. This is the story of "sitting in the arms without being disturbed" that has been passed down through the ages. It was also because of his integrity that Liuxia Hui became the judge in charge of punishment in the State of Lu.
However, because he enforced the law too fairly, strictly followed reason, and seemed unsympathetic, he offended many people.
However, he was very talented, so being appointed and dismissed became a routine operation in Liuxia Hui's official career: he became a judge at the age of 28, dismissed at the age of 29, reinstated at the age of 34, dismissed at the age of 36, appointed three times at the age of 40, and dismissed three times at the age of 41.
At the age of 49, although Liuxia Hui was often dismissed from office, he was very Buddhist. Some people advised him to change jobs and become an official in other countries, but Liuxia Hui said:
"I am impartial and upright in my work and I am incorruptible. I will be dismissed no matter where I am. But if I have to be servile and try to please the powerful in everything, why must I leave the state of Lu where I was born and raised?" So he insisted on staying in the state of Lu.
When he was 59, the court wanted to appoint him as an official, but he simply refused. In 655 BC, Duke Xi of Lu wanted to use Liuxia Hui again after he ascended the throne. At that time, the royal family of Lu had declined, and the government was controlled by Zang Wenzhong and others.
Zang Wenzhong, the official in charge of prisons, knew Liuxia Hui very well and knew that he was too upright and impartial, so he did not agree to employ him, and Duke Xi had to give up.
Later, even Confucius complained for Liuxia Hui in the Analects, saying that Zang Wenzhong was a "thief". He knew that Liuxia Hui had potential, but he did not recommend him to be an official, and praised Liuxia Hui as a "missed wise man".
But the feud between Zang Wenzhong and Liuxiahui was actually caused by a bird. In 661 BC, a seabird named Yuanju flew to the east gate of the capital of Lu State and stayed there for two days, which attracted Zang Wenzhong's attention.
For the people of Lu, whose borders bordered the East China Sea to the east and the not-so-small Ju State to the east, the arrival of the seabird was clearly a spectacle. So Zang Wenzhong ordered the people to offer sacrifices to it.
But Liuxia Hui said: "Zang Wenzhong is simply reckless! Sacrifices should be made to people and things that have contributed to the people and the country. Sacrificing a bird casually is neither benevolent nor wise."
It was because of this honesty that Liuxia Hui could only become a forgotten hermit. Although he had no official position, Liuxia Hui became the golden signboard of Lu State.
In 646 BC, the State of Qi attempted to attack the State of Lu in order to obtain the Gao Ding from the State of Lu. Duke Xi of Lu did not want to be attacked, but was reluctant to part with his Gao Ding, so he sent a fake Ding to the State of Qi.
But Duke Xi of Lu's trick did not fool the Duke of Qi, who returned the fake tripod and sent someone to tell Duke Xi of Lu: "If Liuxia Hui says this is the Gao Ding, I am willing to accept it."
Duke Xi of Lu asked Liu Xiahui for help, but Liu Xiahui valued his reputation and was unwilling to lie for Duke Xi of Lu. In the end, Duke Xi of Lu had no choice but to send the real Gao Ding to Qi.
In 634 BC, Duke Xiao of Qi wanted to attack the State of Lu again after he succeeded to the throne. Duke Xi of Lu sent Liuxia Hui's younger brother Zhan Xi to comfort the Qi army in preparation for the battle. Zhan Xi came to ask his brother for advice, and Liuxia Hui taught him how to persuade the Qi army to retreat and asked him to meet Duke Xiao of Qi.
After meeting Duke Xiao of Qi, Zhan Xi followed Liuxia Hui's teachings and said, "A villain will be afraid, a gentleman will not be afraid." He then said, "In the past, the ancestors of Lu and Qi were united, assisted King Cheng of Zhou, and signed an alliance, and Qi and Lu did not invade each other for generations.
However, Duke Xiao of Qi attacked the State of Lu only 9 years after he came to the throne, which violated the wishes of Duke Tai. "In this way, Zhan Xi immediately occupied the moral high ground, and Duke Xiao of Qi, who felt guilty, returned to the court before entering the territory of Lu.
In 621 BC, Liuxia Hui died at the age of .
Later generations still praise his virtue. When Qi attacked Lu, they passed by Liuxia Hui's tomb. The King of Qi issued a special order: Anyone who dared to cut wood at Liuxia Hui's tomb would be killed without mercy.
Mencius also highly respected Liuxia Hui, and he called Liuxia Hui, Boyi, Yi Yin, and Confucius the four great saints. Liuxia Hui can be called a teacher for all ages.
【Understand the historical knowledge of the Three Kingdoms Division of Jin in one go】
Jin was the ceiling of power during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It could fight against Qin in the north and defeat Chu in the south. However, this invincible country was divided up by several nobles in the country.
Some even say that it was the State of Jin that was divided, but what was destroyed was the 800-year foundation of the Zhou Dynasty. Today, let's take a look at the watershed of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period - the Three Families Dividing Jin.
In 678 BC, a shocking event occurred in the State of Jin: Marquis Min of Jin and Duke Wu of Quwo, who was also a member of the Jin royal family, started an internal struggle.
Duke Wu of Quwo defeated Marquis Min of Jin and bribed the King of Zhou with the stolen treasures and property to make him appoint him as the new King of Jin, which is known in history as "Quwo replaced Yi". Duke Wu of Quwo also transformed himself into Duke Wu of Jin.
In 677 BC, Duke Wu of Jin died and his son Guizhu succeeded him as Duke Xian of Jin. In order to prevent the recurrence of the "Quwo replacing Yi" incident, Duke Xian of Jin eliminated a large number of members of the Jin royal family.
Later, in order to gain hegemony and become stronger, he ordered that except for the heir, the monarch's other sons should not participate in state affairs, and state affairs should be handed over to talented ministers of different surnames.
This order brought a new change to the political arena of Jin State, from nepotism to meritocracy, which attracted numerous talents. This policy of Duke Xian of Jin also laid the foundation for Jin State to become one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.
However, it also led to the monarch having no blood relatives to help him in the court, and the power fell into the hands of others. The nobles gradually became more powerful and held the real power of the State of Jin.
By 489 BC, Jin had become the world of four great families: Han, Zhao, Wei, and Zhi. Among them, Zhi was the most powerful. In order to further gain power, Zhi Bo, a great family of Zhi, sent envoys to ask for land from Han, Zhao, and Wei.
Originally, the three doctors disagreed, as they were worried that their own strength would decline significantly after losing their land.
However, soon after, Han Kangzi, the weakest Han official, was the first to compromise, followed by Wei Huanzi, the Wei official, who also offered land. At this time, only Zhao had not made a statement. No matter how Zhi Bo pressed them, Zhao would not give in.
In 455 BC, Zhi Bo used the excuse that Zhao refused to offer land to him and led the coalition forces of Han and Wei to attack Zhao. Zhao was strong in both military and military, and their ruler, Zhao Xiangzi, was no pushover.