In the long history of human civilization of more than 5,000 years, the Chinese civilization is a great miracle.
Since 221 BC, China has stood in the east of the world as a unified multi-ethnic centralized imperial state. For more than two thousand years, China has been one of the most developed countries in the world at that time, and has had several glorious periods, including the Han Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Yuan Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty.
China reached its peak in the 13th century AD and became the most prosperous cultural and trade center in the world at that time. Many inventions, including the compass, papermaking, printing, and gunpowder, made important contributions to the history and technological development of the world. It also had a developed agriculture. and handicrafts.
"Everything in the world is the land of the king; the shores of the land are all the ministers of the king." The long-term advantages of the Chinese Empire have formed a huge sense of cultural superiority: according to the traditional concepts of Chinese feudal society, China is the "celestial kingdom" and the center of world civilization, and the Chinese emperor is the "co-owner of the world." Looking at world history, this view was indeed a fact before the 16th century.
Napoleon once said to the British diplomat Amerst: "China is a sleeping lion. Once awakened, the world will be shaken." Napoleon traveled throughout Europe throughout his life and trampled on the multinational coalition forces several times. Why is such a powerful figure? He would make such a judgment about China at that time. Where does his basis come from?
Looking at the modern history of the world, we will find that in the era of Napoleon, most of the regions that once had excellent ancient civilizations were fragmented and independent, such as Europe and Africa; and most of the big countries with vast lands did not have ancient civilizations, such as Russia. , the same goes for the United States; China is still the only country that can truly combine its long-standing civilization and vast territory.
Napoleon has always tried to unify Europe because he knew that only by combining the power of civilization with a vast territory can a great empire be created.
Looking at the world's five thousand years of history, we can draw this conclusion: for China's civilization to be so great, and China's power to be so powerful that people dare not underestimate it, it is crucial and decisive for China to continue to exist in the form of a unified country. factor.
As a multi-ethnic centralized monarchy, all power is concentrated in the emperor. Times create heroes, heroes create times, and a majestic emperor has the potential to change the course of history. There have been more than 400 emperors in the history of the Chinese Empire, among which 13 outstanding emperors are famous in the annals of history for their great achievements. They have left a profound mark on the history of the Chinese Empire and even the history of the world.
During the feudal society period, China had always stood in the east of the world as a great empire. All ethnic groups used their respective histories to jointly compose a history of China. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Chinese Empire drove the Huns to the west, triggering a series of great turmoil in Europe; during the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese Empire drove the Turks to the northwest, triggering turmoil in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. As for the series of dynasty changes such as Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, as well as the rebellions, divisions or uprisings in each dynasty, they are nothing more than internal strife in this empire that lasted for more than two thousand years. .
Now, when we look back at the history of this great Chinese empire, Qin Shihuang is undoubtedly the original founder of this great empire. It was precisely because of his arrival that he laid the foundation for the unification of the entire Chinese nation. In the history of the Chinese Empire, 221 BC was the first year of the empire in the true sense. Qin Shihuang, the "one emperor through the ages", unified the world, abolished feudalism, established prefectures and counties with the same culture, laws, scales, and tracks, repaired roads, and built the Great Wall. The unified Chinese empire had a "unified heart."
Since then, with their high political wisdom and unique cultural connotation, the Chinese people have left the "idea of great unification" as the highest ideal of the entire society and individuals forever in the blood of all Chinese people. Qin Shihuang is also worthy of being the first emperor of the Chinese Empire. The title of "emperor" for China's feudal emperors started with Qin Shihuang. He was called "Qin Shihuang" because he hoped that the Qin Empire would be passed down forever for the next two or three generations, and even for thousands of generations. Although the descendants of Qin Shihuang did not achieve this, in another sense, were all the subsequent emperors of the Chinese Empire the successors of Qin Shihuang? There is a saying among historians that "Han inherited the Qin system", which means that after Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, he inherited and developed the unified system of the Qin Dynasty. In this sense, Liu Bang was the first successor of Qin Shihuang.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the result of the struggle between Chu and Han for hegemony was that "the rogues defeated the heroes." Xiang Yu first won the battle for hegemony in the world, but unfortunately Xiang Yu did not have the consciousness to establish a central government at all, but instead divided all the princes into their respective territories. What he did was actually to bring China back to the great division of the Warring States Period. This was undoubtedly equivalent to a historical regression, so it is not surprising that he lost to Liu Bang in the end. From this perspective, it is not so much that Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, but rather that unity defeated division.
The struggle for hegemony between Chu and Han also created another rule of the game in the empire: the emperors took turns, and the heroes did not ask where they came from. The result of this rule is "successful kings and defeated bandits", which perfectly solves the "legitimacy" problem of dynasty changes within the empire, and to a certain extent ensures that the most capable person becomes the founding emperor and leads the empire to glory again and again.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to the throne, he deposed all the schools of thought that only respected Confucianism, and laid a solid ideological foundation for the unification of China for more than two thousand years. The "Three Cardinal Guidelines" and the "Five Constant Rules" in Confucianism effectively promoted the idea of great unification among the people. Take root in your heart. "There are countless heroes, and wherever swords and horses go, they are all Han." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu in the north, pacified the two Vietnams in the south, and connected with the Western Regions in the west, laying the initial foundation for the vast territory of modern China. He also vigorously promoted exchanges between China and the West, and sent envoys to the Western Regions several times, which promoted national integration, and the Chinese Empire began to have With widespread influence around the world, the Han cultural circle began to take shape.
"The general trend of the world is that if it stays together for a long time, it will break up, and if it stays divided for a long time, it will unite." At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, China's unified pattern split for the first time for a long time. It was this split that awakened the Chinese nation's strong sense of unity.
When Cao Cao was young, he was praised by Xu Shao, a famous scholar at that time, as "a capable minister in times of trouble and a traitor in troubled times." And he indeed lived up to this evaluation. His achievements made future generations sigh and envy him. After Cao Cao unified the north, his power had reached the extreme level, but he did not proclaim himself emperor. The reason was that he was deeply influenced by the concept of maintaining orthodoxy. Then he immediately led the army to the south. Although he was ultimately unsuccessful, many of the policies he implemented in the north laid a solid foundation for the future development of the Jin Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Western Jin Dynasty reunified China, and the greatest contribution was undoubtedly made by Cao Cao. This is why Cao Cao is considered the ancestor of the Jin Dynasty. In terms of maintaining unity, Cao Cao deserves to be one of the greatest politicians in history.
The Three Kingdoms period was an era when heroes emerged in large numbers. Liu Bei became the most popular civilian emperor in Chinese history with his unique personality charm. Liu Bei was a member of the clan of the Han Dynasty, and he was kind and loving to the people, so he was popular among the people in the troubled times at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was precisely by virtue of these two conditions that he went from a poor straw mat seller to the founding monarch of the Shu Han Dynasty. He spent his whole life working hard to unify the world and revive the Han Dynasty. Due to the limitations of the times, he It was not successful, but the Shu Han he established made great contributions to developing the southwest and promoting national integration. Liu Bei was able to win one of three parts of the world, largely because he took advantage of "orthodoxy", and the essence of orthodoxy is unity.
History entered the Tang Dynasty. More than 900 years after the establishment of the Chinese Empire, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin pushed this ancient empire to the pinnacle of glory. Among the emperors of the past dynasties of China, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was one of the very few who was good at conquering the world on horseback and able to rule the world when he was dismounted. During his reign, he was prepared for danger in times of peace, appointed virtuous people, accepted advice with an open mind, implemented the policy of light corvee and low taxes, and lax punishments, and carried out a series of political and military reforms, which finally contributed to social stability and production development. For the surrounding ethnic minorities, he implemented enlightened policies, appeased the leaders, and encouraged people-to-people exchanges. He was respected as the "Khan of Heaven".
For thousands of years, the "Government of Zhenguan" pioneered by Li Shimin has been a highly respected example of governance in feudal society. He himself has become a generation of wise kings that later emperors emulate. Under his governance in the Tang Dynasty, China's influence on the world reached an unprecedented height.
Compared with Li Shimin's outstanding performance, Wu Zetian is not inferior in any way. As a daughter, in a feudal society where men were superior to women, she could sit on the throne and make all the men in the world bow to her. This was something that no one could achieve. But her accession to the throne was not just a victory for a woman. The "Wuzhou Revolution" she created was an important transition for the Chinese Empire in the Tang Dynasty. Politically, she inherited the "Government of Zhenguan" and focused on enriching the country and reassuring the people. Although her process of seizing power was cruel, the people's lives were not only not affected, but became richer. This laid a solid foundation for the "Kaiyuan Age" that followed. .
On the big stage of the Chinese Empire, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's excellence was more focused on the improvement of the system. The unified regimes before the Song Dynasty, whether it was the Han Dynasty or the Tang Dynasty, were troubled by local forces in the later period. The reason was that local forces had armies and could easily threaten the central government.
After Song Taizu ascended the throne, his first move was to use gentle means to reduce the military power of the generals, so that the entire army would be in the hands of the emperor, and completely eliminate the possibility of rebellion by local forces. At the same time, Song Taizu was an emperor who valued culture. The economic prosperity and cultural prosperity of the Song Dynasty were also rare in previous dynasties.
After experiencing the split between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Liao, Jin, and Xixia, the Mongols led by Genghis Khan once again unified the Chinese Empire. This was not only the first time that Chinese ethnic minorities unified the country, but also made China's ethnic minorities once again shocked the world. . Genghis Khan was born to be a war king. He spent his whole life in war, leaving traces of his conquests in the Central Plains, Mobei, Western Regions, and Central Asia. The Chinese Empire has never shown such strong aggression as when Genghis Khan was in power. Therefore, Genghis Khan also became one of the Chinese emperors who had a profound influence on the world.
During the Ming Dynasty, China was still in a state of unification. After Zhu Yuanzhang unified the empire, he abolished the post of prime minister and went on a killing spree, almost killing all the founding heroes. In addition, he established a royal guard to monitor the words and deeds of ministers and people. The feudal system Imperial power developed to a new peak in his hands.
Under Zhu Yuanzhang's series of measures, the Ming Dynasty almost developed into his family world. No matter the central or local governments, there were no ministers with power who could compete with the emperor. This cannot be attributed to Zhu Yuanzhang personally, but rather to the shortcomings of the system. , the unified feudal autocracy that had been implemented for more than 1,500 years gradually came to an end.
The Ming Dynasty put the most effort into rebuilding the Great Wall, which also shows that the Ming Dynasty has the lowest ability to resist foreigners. Under the influence of Zhu Yuanzhang, the subsequent emperors of the Ming Dynasty only focused on internal fighting and did not think about progress. The Ming Dynasty's world influence also gradually With this decline, the territory of the Chinese Empire also dropped to a low point.
The Qing Dynasty was established by the Jurchen people. This was the second time that ethnic minorities unified China. The most talented and strategic emperor in the Qing Dynasty was undoubtedly Emperor Kangxi. Kangxi was the last emperor of the Chinese Empire who was outstanding in both civil and military affairs.
Kangxi adopted a series of policies that were beneficial to the national economy and people's livelihood, which rapidly expanded the area of cultivated land, increased grain production, and widely planted cash crops, which ultimately promoted the development of the agricultural economy and laid the foundation for the "Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties". Kangxi also put down the Junggar rebellion, firmly integrated Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan into China's territory, and signed the "Treaty of Nerchinsk" with Tsarist Russia, effectively resisting Tsarist Russia's aggression in the northeastern region.
The Kangxi period was another peak of the Chinese Empire. However, due to complacency and isolation, China could no longer keep up with the pace of world development. The great empire of nearly two thousand years declined in its final glory.
China's feudal autocratic system developed into the Yongzheng period, and the centralization of monarchy reached its highest peak. Yongzheng's accession to the throne can be said to have brought into full play the ancient Chinese princes' struggle for power. After he ascended the throne, he stipulated that future emperors must write the names of their heirs in edicts and seal them, which fundamentally solved the problem of disputes over royal heirs. Yongzheng also established the Military Aircraft Department, which served as the emperor's secretarial team, providing advice, writing documents, and handling government affairs for the emperor.
Yongzheng's contribution to economic development cannot be ignored. It is precisely because of his efforts to bring order to chaos that some of Kangxi's effective policies can be continued, and the prosperous situation created by Kangxi can be continued.
Qianlong, the son of Yongzheng, was the last person of the "Kang-Qian Dynasty". Qianlong reigned for sixty years. In the early period, his politics were quite clear and clear. Based on the Kangxi and Yongzheng dynasties, he pushed the "Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties" to its peak.
In the later years of his rule, Qianlong began to engage in military violence, squandering all the wealth accumulated by the Qing government for hundreds of years, and implemented a policy of isolation from the outside world, further delaying the simultaneous development of China and the world. Sometimes the British described the Qing Dynasty as "a shabby ship." "First-class battleship", in this sense, Qianlong was also the end of the entire Chinese Empire. …
Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom bluntly said: The reason why the West has long been suspicious of China is because China has always been a unified country.
"Unification" is a key to unlocking Chinese civilization. After Qin Shihuang unified China in 221 BC, China's local governments could no longer compete with the central government politically. No matter which feudal monarch he was in later generations, he could not resist the temptation to strive for unification or maintain it. It is also a fate that he cannot escape. The concept that one country cannot tolerate two masters is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in this land that it has truly become the national DNA of the Chinese people. It is also the real reason why the Chinese civilization is timeless and everlasting, and the Chinese nation can stand proudly in the world.
Therefore, the protagonist of our story, Yuan Xi, is also destined to embark on the same path of unity as his predecessors, destined to be bloody, violent and glorious.
