PFC Chapter 196 The Rise and Fall of Qin
Chapter 196 The Rise and Fall of Qin
The Ming Dynasty neglected coastal defense, which allowed Japanese pirates to become more rampant. After great efforts to wipe out the Japanese invasion, in 1567, four years after the death of Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Longqing, who succeeded to the throne, issued an edict to lift the maritime ban and allow private trade with overseas countries, which is known in history as the Longqing Opening.
The opening of the Longqing Port was of great significance to the Ming Dynasty. A large amount of silver poured into China, which promoted the emergence of the sprouts of capitalism in the Ming Dynasty.
The tribute of Altan in 1571 ended the hostile state with Mobei for more than 200 years by non-military means, and resolved the military crisis on both the north and south fronts of the Ming Dynasty. In 1590, Yang Yinglong of Bozhou rebelled, in 1592, Baizhi of Ningxia rebelled, and the War to Resist Japanese Aggression and Aid Korea.
Although the Ming Dynasty won all the victories, its own ruling crisis was gradually exposed. The death knell was about to ring. In the Battle of Sarhu in 1619, the Ming army was completely annihilated in Liaodong and was no longer able to curb the rise of the Later Jin.
After years of famine, the peasants in Shaanxi took the lead in rising up under the banner of Qi. The war spread across the entire north. Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng emerged and dealt a heavy blow to the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty was founded by a peasant uprising, and it was also destroyed by a peasant uprising. In 1644, Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself. The four towns in northern Jiangsu supported Emperor Hongguang to ascend the throne in Nanjing. However, the small Southern Ming court only wanted to live in peace in a corner and protect the country. It was destroyed in just one year. The various forces of the Southern Ming fought against each other and attacked each other, and it was destroyed in exile.
In 1661, Zheng Chenggong crossed the Taiwan Strait and recovered the entire territory of Taiwan from the Dutch East India Company four years later. Soon after, news came that Emperor Yongli was strangled to death by Wu Sangui. Zheng Chenggong was filled with grief and anger and died, but his family still regarded the Ming Dynasty as the orthodox dynasty.
In 1683, Zheng Keshuang, the grandson of Zheng Chenggong, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and the Ming Zheng Dynasty was destroyed.
【Learn some historical knowledge about the Four Great Inventions in one go】
How advanced are the Four Great Inventions? How did they come about? What impact did these advanced technologies, which were hundreds of years ahead of the world, have on world history?
In this video, let us understand the Four Great Inventions in one go. The Four Great Inventions were originally proposed by European scholars and have had a profound impact on the history of Asia, Europe and even the world.
Among the four great inventions, the appearance of paper can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty. Around the second century BC, hemp paper that could be written on had already appeared.
However, due to limited technology, it was unable to replace the mainstream writing material of the time, bamboo slips. In 105 AD, the eunuch Cai Lun summed up the experience of his predecessors and improved the papermaking technique using materials such as tree bark, fishing nets, and rags, making paper a relatively cheap and thin writing material.
Emperor He of the Han Dynasty was delighted and conferred the title of Marquis of Longting on Cai Lun. This kind of paper was called "Cai Hou Paper". After continuous improvements in later generations, paper gradually replaced bamboo slips and became a writing material that ordinary people could afford.
From heavy bamboo slips to expensive silk, the popularization of paper has greatly promoted the popularization of culture and the advancement of writing.
Around the 7th century AD, papermaking was introduced to Persia, and then to the Arab world. Around the 10th century AD, it was introduced to the Sicily Peninsula through Egypt, and then to European countries along the Mediterranean coast, promoting the Renaissance in Europe.
But paper alone was not enough. In the third century AD, after Huan Xuan abolished bamboo slips, China fully entered the paper age. However, books at that time were still monopolized by the rich and powerful, and were circulated among the children of the nobility through copying and other methods.
Cultural isolation resulted in the monopoly of high-ranking officials in the court during the Wei and Jin dynasties by the aristocratic families. The invention of printing broke this monopoly.
Printing technology appeared in the Tang Dynasty and had already developed on a considerable scale by the mid-9th century AD. In addition to Chang'an and Luoyang, many printing workshops also appeared in the Yangtze River Basin, printing types including almanacs, dictionaries, Buddhist scriptures, etc.
The origin of printing can be roughly traced back to the Qin and Han Dynasties. With the emergence of seal rubbing and printing and dyeing techniques and the popularization of paper, conditions were created for woodblock printing.
What really led to the large-scale promotion of woodblock printing was the prosperity of Buddhism. Because Buddhist scriptures needed to be distributed to believers, the method of woodblock rubbing was adopted to print Buddhist scriptures.
Woodblock printing was introduced to Korea and Japan in the Tang Dynasty, and later to Egypt and Sri Lanka. In the Song Dynasty, Bi Sheng invented movable type printing based on woodblock printing, which greatly improved printing efficiency.
During the Yuan Dynasty, movable type printing was introduced to Persia, Egypt and Europe through the Western Regions. In the 15th century, Johann Gutenberg invented the movable type printing technology and printed books such as the Bible, breaking the monopoly of knowledge by the church and shifting the academic center of Europe from the church to the university, which strongly promoted the process of Europe's modernization.
The third invention is the compass, which was called Sinan in ancient times. As early as the Warring States Period, Chinese working people used the characteristics of natural magnets to identify directions.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, artificial magnetized magnetic needles appeared. Later, people fixed the magnetic needles in a graduated compass, and the compass was born. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Arab merchants who came to China to do business introduced the compass to Europe, which promoted the advent of the Age of Exploration.
The fourth invention, and the one that had the greatest direct impact on history, was gunpowder. The birth of gunpowder was inseparable from alchemy. Alchemists discovered the properties of gunpowder during the long process of alchemy.
Sun Simiao recorded that sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal were explosive when combined, and sometimes came from the process of alchemy, so they were used as medicine. In the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, wars were frequent and gunpowder was used in wars.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, firearms with relatively large explosive power also appeared. In 1132 AD, Chen Gui of the Southern Song Dynasty invented the fire gun, which was originally called the Tuhuoqiang and was later improved to the Huochong.
The emergence of gunpowder greatly changed the way of war and the form of weapons, and gradually transitioned from the era of cold weapons to the era of hot weapons.
With the Mongol invasion of the west in the 12th century, gunpowder was introduced to Europe. Its power was far greater than that of the old cold weapons, which completely changed the war mode in the Middle Ages. In addition, the large-scale application of gunpowder made large-scale mining possible, which promoted the emergence of modern industry.
[Understand the history of the rise and fall of the Qin State in one breath - Qin Shi Huangdi]
He was originally a horse breeder of the Zhou emperor, and was regarded as a barbarian by the Central Plains countries. However, he divided the six dynasties into six generations, swept across the six kingdoms, and unified the world. So how did the Qin Empire rise?
Why was it so crushing in such a short time? This video will let us understand the Northwest Expedition of the Qin Empire in one go.
From the time when Qin Fuzi was granted the Qin territory in 905 BC to the time when King Ziying of Qin surrendered to Liu Bang in 207 BC, the Qin State had a total of 38 monarchs and a history of about 698 years.
The first monarch of the Qin State, Qin Fuzi, was a native of Quanqiu in the Western Zhou Dynasty. He was a descendant of the ancient tribal leader Zhuanxu and the fifth-generation grandson of E Lai, an important official of the Shang Dynasty.
Because his ancestor Wuyi had assisted Dayu in controlling floods and had made great contributions to Emperor Shun in taming birds and beasts, he was given ginkgo. Wuyi's descendant Zhao Fu was granted Zhaocheng for his contribution in quelling rebellion. Zaofu then took the fief as his surname, calling himself Zhao, which is the Ying surname Zhao.
During the reign of King Xiao of Zhou, Qin Fuzi was granted the land of Qin for his contribution to horse breeding. Qin Fuzi took the name of his fief as his surname, calling himself Qin Ying, and became the first king of Qin.
After the death of Qin people, they raised horses for the Zhou royal family and guarded the border for generations. However, at that time, Qin was just a vassal of the Zhou Dynasty with a fiefdom of less than 50 li.
In 842 BC, King Li of Zhou was forced to flee to Zhui because of his cruelty and tyranny, which led to rebellion among the princes and the people. The Western Rong took the opportunity to invade the Western Zhou Dynasty. Although Qin Zhong, the fourth king of Qin, resisted with all his might, he was still defeated.
After King Xuan of Zhou ascended the throne, he appointed Qin Zhong as a minister to fight against the Western Rong again. In 822 BC, Qin Zhong was killed in the battle with the Western Rong, and his son Qin Zhuanggong ascended the throne.
In order to avenge his father, Duke Zhuang of Qin asked King Xuan of Zhou for troops to attack the Western Rong, so King Xuan of Zhou allocated 7000 soldiers and horses to him. Duke Zhuang of Qin lived up to expectations and defeated the Western Rong in one battle. He was named the Doctor of Xichui for his merits.
In 778 BC, Duke Zhuang of Qin was seriously ill and wanted to pass the throne to his eldest son, Shifu. However, Shifu insisted on leading his troops to kill King Rong because his grandfather's revenge had not been avenged. So he passed the throne to his younger brother, Duke Xiang of Qin.
After Qin Xianggong ascended the throne, he moved the capital from Qin to Wei in order to fight against the Western Rong in the future. In 771 BC, King You of Zhou abolished Crown Prince Yijiu because he favored Bao Si, and also set off beacons to trick the princes, causing the princes to be alienated. He was killed at the foot of Mount Li by his grandfather, Marquis Shen, and the Western Rong army.
Duke Xiang of Qin sent troops to rescue Zhou and supported the crown prince Yijiu as King Ping of Zhou. To express his gratitude, King Ping of Zhou gave the land west of the mountain to Duke Xiang of Qin and made an oath with him that if Qin could drive away the Western Rong, the land would belong to Qin.
From then on, the State of Qin not only gained the opportunity to develop freely in the Guanzhong region, but also officially became a vassal state of the Zhou Dynasty.
With the promise of the Zhou emperor, Duke Xiang of Qin began to send troops to the surrounding Rongdi tribes in order to expand his territory, and eventually died on the way to attack the Western Rong.
During the reign of Duke Wen of Qin, the state of Qin moved its capital to the hinterland of Guanzhong and began to establish historians to educate the people. Duke Wen of Qin extended the territory of Qin to Mount Qishan and also took in the Zhou people who had not moved away from the area of Mount Qishan.
These Zhou people taught the Qin people how to farm, enabling the Qin state to transform from a primitive nomadic economy to the most advanced agricultural economy at the time.
Through the efforts of several generations of monarchs, the Qin State conquered and annexed many Rong tribes one after another. Thus, the Qin people ended their nearly 100 years of hard work in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty, occupied most of the territory of the Guanzhong Plain, achieved their rise, and became an emerging power in the West.
In 675 BC, Duke Xuan of Qin ascended the throne. At this time, the State of Jin, which was also in a stage of rapid development like the State of Qin, began to invade the State of Qin relying on its strength.
But the Qin State had always been fighting against the Western Rong before, and its army was much more powerful. Although there was a huge gap in strength between the two countries, the Qin State eventually defeated the Jin State.
From then on, wars between Qin and Jin became commonplace. By the time of Duke Mu of Qin, Qin had become a second-rate power after Jin, Chu, and Qi.
In 655 BC, Duke Mu of Qin married the daughter of Duke Xian of Jin and established the friendly relations between Qin and Jin. Among the slaves in the dowry, there was a captive from Yu who escaped to Chu and was exchanged by Duke Mu of Qin for five black sheepskins. This captive was the famous Five Goats Minister Baili Xi.
With his assistance, Duke Mu of Qin improved the state's internal affairs and sought hegemony abroad. He opened up thousands of miles of land, dominated the Western Rong, and became one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.
In 628 BC, Duke Mu of Qin took advantage of the mourning of the State of Jin to send troops to attack the State of Zheng, but was ambushed by the army led by Duke Xiang of Jin at Mount Yao, and as a result, more than 2 Qin troops were wiped out.
From then on, Qin's eastward advance into the Central Plains was blocked by Jin, and Duke Mu of Qin had to continue to use his troops westward. The friendship between Qin and Jin turned into a feud. In 621 BC, Duke Mu of Qin died, and the crown prince succeeded him as Duke Kang of Qin.
Duke Kang repeatedly sent troops to attack the State of Jin but was unable to gain victory. In addition, he indulged in pleasure and neglected state affairs. This was the result of the gradual decline of the State of Qin from the overlord of the Western Rong during the time of Duke Mu of Qin.
After Duke Kang of Qin died, his son Duke Gong of Qin died after 5 years in office. His son Duke Huan of Qin ascended the throne. At that time, Duke Li of Jin wanted to stop fighting with Qin and formed the Linghu Alliance. Unexpectedly, Duke Huan of Qin contacted Chu and Di people to attack Jin right after forming the alliance.
Duke Huan of Qin's treacherous behavior caused dissatisfaction among the princes, and they began to turn to Jin. In 579 BC, Duke Li of Jin united Qi, Song, Wei, Lu and other eight countries to attack Qin, and Qin was defeated. The following year, Duke Huan of Qin died of depression, and his son Duke Jing of Qin succeeded to the throne.
Duke Jing of Qin continued to follow his father's policy of ruling Jin, but after Duke Dao of Jin ascended the throne, Jin regained its dominance over the Central Plains and even defeated the State of Chu, which attempted to march into the Central Plains, in the Battle of Yanling.
In 546 BC, 14 countries including Jin, Chu, Qi, Qin, Lu and Wei signed a peace treaty. The Central Plains battlefield ushered in a long-lost silence, and King Jing of Qin also began to work hard to improve relations with Jin.
The two countries rekindled their friendship, and after the death of Duke Jing of Qin, the two countries lived in peace until 453 BC, when the powerful Jin State was divided up by Han, Zhao, and Wei.
The Qin State seemed to see hope of advancing eastward again, but unfortunately the Jin State fell and the powerful Wei State stood up again.
Duke Wen of Wei appointed Li Kui as prime minister and took the lead in reforming the state among all the countries. As the national strength of Wei increased dramatically, it began to encroach on the land west of the Yellow River. Duke Jian of Qin and his son Duke Hui of Qin attacked Wei many times but failed to recapture it.
In 389 BC, Duke Hui of Qin led an army of 50 to fight against the State of Wei, but was defeated by the Wei general Wu Qi with only 5 Wei soldiers. Until Wu Qi left the State of Wei, the State of Qin no longer had the ability to fight for the land west of the Yellow River.
It was not until the reign of Duke Xian of Qin that the Qin army and the Wei army fought again at Shimen. In this battle, the Qin army killed 6 enemies and won the respect of the six countries again. To express his congratulations, the Zhou emperor also gave Duke Xian of Qin a set of formal clothes, which was recorded in history as Duke Xian was called Bo.
Two years later, Duke Xian of Qin died of old age and was succeeded by his son Ying Quliang, who became Duke Xiao of Qin.
After Qin Xiaogong ascended the throne, he appointed Shang Yang as the Minister of War and began to implement reforms across the country. In view of the fact that Qin was vast and sparsely populated, he issued a preferential policy that exempted foreign immigrants from taxes for three generations, which attracted people from the Three Jin regions to flock to reclaim wasteland.
Since then, Qin State has become the most powerful country in the late Warring States Period with its well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. In 343 BC, the Zhou Emperor appointed Qin Xiaogong as Fangbo, officially recognizing Qin's hegemony. In 338 BC, Qin Xiaogong died of illness, and his son Ying Si ascended the throne and became King Huiwen of Qin.
When King Huiwen of Qin first ascended the throne, in order to appease the nobles' dissatisfaction with the reform, he exterminated Shang Yang's clan, but did not abolish his laws. At the same time, he appointed a large number of foreign capable officials to govern the country, and even people from Wei such as Gongsun Yan, Zhang Yi, and Wei Zhang were given important positions.