Throughout human history, we can get a common sense that not every nation has the creativity of civilization. Since the beginning of human history, the rise of the Chinese ethnic groups with the Huaxia ethnic group as the core in the East Asian continent, that is, the Chinese nation, is the most important step in human history. The most civilized and creative nation in the world.
Between 45,000 and 15,000 years ago, due to the continuous warming of the earth during the last glacial period, sea levels rose, and a large number of low-altitude land and islands were submerged, causing human subjects to migrate from southern China, Indochina, and Southeast Asia. Migration, settlement and redevelopment around the world have thus created the ethnic distribution pattern of the East Asian continent.
Migrating humans first formed the Guyue people in the area south of the Yangtze River in China. The Guyue people crossed the Yangtze River in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and developed northward, forming the Dongyi people in the Huaihe River Basin and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. After the Guyue people migrated to Sichuan, they became the Ba and Shu people. The Guyue people arrived in the Songpan Plateau, the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Hexi Corridor and other areas to form the Di, Qiang, and Xiongnu tribes; the Guyue people formed the Huaxia tribe in the Qinchuan and Hetao areas; the Guyue people moved northward into the Mongolian Plateau and Northeastern China to form the Beidi. Later, the Xianbei evolved into the Xibe, Khitan, Turk, Mongolian and other nomadic groups that have profoundly influenced Chinese history and world history.
During the Little Ice Age between 4300 and 4100 years ago, the Huaxia and other northern ethnic groups moved into Sichuan to avoid disasters. Taking advantage of the social turmoil in Sichuan, the Huaxia led the northern and Bashu ethnic groups to overthrow the matrilineal lineage in Sichuan. Clan theocracy and royal power established the prototype of a patriarchal social system with more human rights and equality. At the same time, the Chinese elites created Chinese civilization based on the ancient Thai-Vietnamese civilization in accordance with the needs of the rulers. Since the Chinese civilization was more advanced than the ancient Thai-Vietnamese civilization, Superiority and progress have made the Chinese civilization gradually become a great civilization that unites and commands all ethnic groups in the East Asian continent.
Without the Huaxia ethnic group to promote the reform of culture and social systems, East Asia may still retain the self-sufficient ways of small countries and small people to develop freely and independently. It would be impossible for East Asia to have a great integration of ethnic groups, and it would be impossible to have a unified state. It is impossible for the Chinese nation, a great country, to become the general term for all the ethnic groups in East Asia. The history of the world and the process of civilization will be completely different.
The Middle East and Europe have not undergone thorough ethnic and cultural integration. Therefore, the Middle East and Europe are still full of small countries and numerous ethnic groups. They lack a cultural atmosphere of mutual tolerance of large ethnic groups. The ethnic groups are hostile to and fight against each other. The reason for this kind of ethnic and national pattern in the Middle East and Europe is that the region has never carried out cultural and social reforms that overturned theocracy and royal power, never completely overthrown social hierarchy and privileges, and never given equality and freedom to all people. right. After Europe entered modern history, this kind of residents did not change. It was just that the rich and capitalists occupied the social ranks and privileges of the monarchs and nobles in the feudal era. People's equality and freedom remained a dream rather than a reality. Therefore, it is impossible for a country in which all people to gain equality and freedom to emerge in these areas, let alone a unified nation and state.
The process of national integration is a process of struggle and cooperation. Since the East Asian continent first completed the professional division of labor and national differentiation between farming peoples and nomadic peoples, the differentiation and integration of farming peoples and nomadic peoples in East Asia is the most typical social phenomenon in human history. .
In the above chapters, we have discussed the professional division of labor and ethnic differentiation between farming peoples and nomadic peoples. Here we specifically discuss the cooperation and integration of ethnic groups.
Agricultural peoples are settled residents. Early human society was created by settlement. One of the major functions of society is to provide a platform for economic exchanges, that is, commerce and markets. Through research, we found that in East Asia, very complete commerce and markets had been developed in the ancient Yue era. In the ancient Vietnamese language, markets and bazaars are called "hui hui" (equivalent to 婜xv in modern Chinese), which also means gathering; while purchasing is called "on credit", which has basically the same pronunciation as "credit". It means buying goods without money. It can only be done through barter or credit. Since writing was not popular in ancient times, when buying goods on credit, the buyer often had to mortgage some valuable and portable items to the seller. Seashells were the main decorations of the ancients, so seashells have A certain value, so seashells became a common collateral, and over time seashells became currency. However, after seashells were over-collected, the currency devalued, so transactions returned to the credit purchase method, and the collateral may become rice or cloth. Buyers can redeem these collaterals with goods of equal value, and of course sellers can also sell these collaterals to recoup their capital and make a profit. After the emergence of metal currency, the credit purchase method gradually exited the market, but credit gradually evolved into the market's "si". The two words have the same pronunciation in the ancient Vietnamese language.
In the ancient Vietnamese language, selling is called haihai. In ancient times, stalls were usually set up in open spaces along traffic thoroughfares to display goods for sale. So why does the nation that developed from ancient Vietnam no longer call selling sea? This is because hai evolved into street (Southwestern Mandarin pronounces "street" as gai, which is very similar to the pronunciation of hai). The image of street in oracle bone inscriptions is that of a stall at an intersection. In modern Chinese, street markets are still places where goods are bought and sold, and these places still have the habit of setting up stalls to sell goods. These business phenomena are cultural trends that have been passed down to this day from the ancient Yue era.
According to archaeological discoveries, agricultural people often have commodities such as grain, wine, silk, cloth, tea, ceramics, daily necessities, and production tools in exchange for nomadic people’s cattle, sheep, donkeys, horses and other livestock, animal leather, bone materials, gemstones, ores, etc. Metal ores and other commodities. These transactions reflect that farming peoples and nomadic peoples are highly interdependent. Therefore, they have basic conditions for ethnic integration. Since the farming peoples and nomadic peoples in East Asia belong to the ancient Thai-Vietnamese people and have the same cultural habits and values, it is easier for the farming peoples and nomadic peoples in East Asia to merge.
The Mongolian nation is a nomadic nation that emerged in the Mongolian Plateau and Siberia in the 13th century AD. The Mongolian nation is the direct descendant of the Xianbei to the Xibe people. Therefore, the Mongolian nation has experienced thousands of years of nomadic life, and they still retain many of the ancient Thai and Vietnamese traditions. cultural practices. In ancient Vietnamese, Mongolian me
ggu's confusion
g means homeland and country, and gu in ancient times means me and mine, so the original meaning of Mongolia is "my country". In history, the Mongolian Plateau and the areas north of it have only had two names, one is Siberia, and the other is Mongolia and Xibo are the ancestors of Mongolia, and liya means "the land of the Virgin." In a matrilineal clan society, worshiping women and the Virgin is the highest religious etiquette. At present, many place names in Mongolia have the suffix "me"
g, in ancient Thai-Vietnamese society, relatively independent control areas became me
g. In the Dai areas of Yunnan, Laos and Thailand, there are also people with the name "Mengme".
g" place names, these areas were once the independent control areas of the ancient Thai and Vietnamese people. In ancient Yue, boys were called Le le and girls were called Ge ge. Mongolian also called boys and girls this way, and the Mongolians passed these names on to their European relatives, linguists believe, English girls gi
The origin of the word l is related to the Mongolian girl ge. Mongolian and Ancient Yue have many things in common, too many to list here.
If the economic exchanges between the farming people and the nomadic peoples can proceed smoothly, the two peoples will definitely be able to coexist peacefully for a long time. However, man-made ethnic isolation policies and natural disasters often ruthlessly interrupt the material and cultural exchanges between the two peoples, resulting in the failure of the farming peoples. and the nomads heading to war.
After the various ethnic groups in China experienced the three ancient dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods with the Yellow River Basin as the core area, in 246 BC, the Qin State defeated South Korea, Zhao State, Wei State, Qi State, Yan State, and Chu State. On the basis of the country, the first unified empire with the Chinese nation as the main body was established. The Qin Empire had its capital in Xianyang (today's Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, 15 kilometers due west of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi). Its land area included present-day Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi and other regions.
But after 40 years of rule, the Qin Empire collapsed in the turbulent peasant uprising! What caused the Qin Empire to perish so quickly? In ancient times, the rise and fall of an empire was caused by internal and external factors. Internal factors include: the legitimacy and inevitability of the country's founding; the country's governance, economic and cultural foundation; the degree of people's recognition and support for the country; the country's cultural and technological reserves, and its innovation capabilities. External factors include: the extent to which natural resources and the environment support the country's economic and social development; the country's status, influence and competitiveness in the international environment; is there any threat or invasion from foreign enemies?
The Qin State was a vassal state conferred by the Zhou Dynasty during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Most of the nobles and civilians of the Qin State had Chinese identity. The founding ancestors of the Qin State were mainly the Di and Qiang people. Some of them came from the "people who were sent by the Zhou Dynasty to clear up wasteland and station troops in the Hexi area to guard the country's gates." "Special Service" Corps. In the Guyue people, "te" means male, boy, prince;
It means metal, weapons, commander-in-chief, and general." Therefore, "Special Service Teqi"
"It means prince general. After the prince pacified the Qinling and Qinchuan areas, he simply named these areas Qinling and Qinchuan, and their country was called Qin, because Qin and Qin have the same pronunciation, and "Qin" is in the same shape as "Qin". In a sense, it means flourishing branches and flourishing, and the intention is very beautiful.
The Qin State had already been established in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. By the time the Qin State launched the War to Unify Greater China, the Qin State had experienced at least 750 years of rule and national strength reserves. During the Warring States Period, the Qin State's Qinchuan and Hexi areas (today's Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, etc.) were its base areas. , occupies the stable and fertile Sichuan region, and has the convenience of trade with the Western Regions, the Western World, and the various ethnic groups in the northern grasslands. Therefore, Qin's comprehensive national power and armaments are the strongest among the vassal states.
Why was the Qin State able to survive for more than 750 years despite the complex situation in the Qinchuan and Hexi regions, and was able to gather strength to unify China? Therefore, the Qin State is a vassal state that includes the Huaxia, Di, Qiang and other ethnic groups. Although the Qin State mainly promotes Chinese culture, it still retains a strong ancient Yue style. The Qin State maintained brotherly relations with surrounding ethnic groups and tribal countries. Prairie nomadic tribes such as the Xiongnu emerged in the Hexi region. It turned out that the Huns and the Qin people were brothers and neighbors. In ancient Yue language, Xiong xio
g means brave and martial, slave
u and
o
The homophone of g means brother, so Xiongnu xio
g
u means "Shenwu brothers". The Xiongnu tribe was undoubtedly an ally of Qin. They helped Qin manage trade in the Hexi Corridor, incorporated nomadic tribes from the grasslands of northern China, established a prairie cavalry army, and assisted Qin in fighting northern vassal states such as Shanxi and Hebei. At the same time, they purchased steel and other materials from Central Asia and the Middle East for the Qin Dynasty, and equipped the Qin Dynasty army with war horses and other military equipment, so the Huns could become bigger and stronger. However, after the Qin State unified China, it not only inherited China's land and property, but also inherited the grievances and grievances of the various ethnic groups in China and the nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu. Therefore, as soon as the Qin Dynasty was established, Qin Shihuang immediately sent General Meng Tian to lead an army to the northern desert to eliminate the Xiongnu, and then used national power to repair the Great Wall built by the northern princes during the Warring States Period to prevent nomadic armies from invading the Central Plains. Engaging in the great rupture between China and the northern nomadic peoples laid hidden dangers for the wars between Chinese dynasties and the northern nomadic countries.
In the long-term military struggle, the Qin State eliminated various vassal states and Fang states in the Hexi, Qinchuan and Sichuan areas, established the Qin Empire, and obtained the recognition and canonization of the Zhou Dynasty, gaining legal status under the Chinese patriarchal system. However, after the Qin State unified China, the Qin Dynasty did not gain the recognition and support of ethnic groups such as the Huaxia people in the Central Plains, as well as the Baiyue people in the area south of the Yangtze River. Although these ethnic groups still regarded the Qin as a foreign race, they were forced by the force of the Qin State to The jounin was angry, but the anti-Qin heroes hidden deep in the Chinese people had begun to sharpen their swords, waiting for the opportunity to overthrow the Qin Dynasty.
After the Qin Dynasty relied on force to unify the Central Plains, it swept across the land of Baiyue in the south. After defeating the Xiongnu in the northern grasslands, China presented an unprecedented peaceful situation.
The strength of the Qin State not only benefited from maintaining friendly exchanges with the nomadic peoples in the Western Regions and the North, but also benefited from the fact that the Qin State was a country that had the courage to change and innovate. The Qin State had undergone many reforms such as Shang Yang's Reform, and formulated laws based on the needs of the struggle. These reforms and innovations made Qin's comprehensive national strength surpass all the conservative and pedantic Zhou dynasty states, such as its ruling foundation, economy and culture, and enabled Qin to crush all resistance forces.
The Qin State conquered the world and established the Qin Dynasty. It immediately implemented centralized power systems such as the system of prefectures and counties, and carried out "burning books and enforcing Confucianism" in culture to eliminate all cultural and spiritual dross, unify the thinking of the whole people, and implement "books with the same text" in the national system. ", trains on the same track, unified weights and measures" and other systems to unify national value standards and operating standards and improve the country's operational efficiency. This made the Qin Dynasty's national foundation very solid, and the national system and cultural construction presented an unprecedented good situation. If Qin Shihuang hadn't died young, Chinese civilization would have been another prosperous scene.
Objectively speaking, the main reason for the demise of the Qin Dynasty was the disidentification, non-support, resistance and resistance of the Huaxia people in the Central Plains and the Baiyue people in the south towards the Qin people and the Qin Dynasty. After more than 1,000 years of rule and cultural influence by the Zhou Dynasty, all ethnic groups in the Central Plains region at that time already considered themselves to be pure Chinese people, while they believed that the Qin people were the likes of Xirong and Beidi. They believed that the Qin people were unorthodox and unconventional; living on the Yangtze River The Baiyue people in the river basin and southern China have long maintained friendly exchanges with the people in the Central Plains. Therefore, they believe that the Huaxia and Baiyue people are brother nations. The Huaxia people also identify with the Baiyue people, so the Baiyue people agree with the Huaxia people. The views and attitudes of the people of Qin and the Qin Dynasty. Since there is no sense of national identity, Qin's unification war will definitely be regarded as a war of aggression by the Huaxia and Baiyue tribes. This understanding and concept is the reason why the Qin Dynasty is bound to perish.
According to the perspective and analysis of this article, the mother clan of the Huaxia ethnic group was formed in the Shimao Village area of Gaojiabao Town, Shenmu City, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province 4,300 years ago; between 4,300 years ago and 4,100 years ago, in order to avoid small During the Ice Age disaster, the Huaxia mother tribe migrated to the Sichuan Basin. They merged with the Bashu people to form the Huaxia tribe, overthrew the ancient Shu Kingdom and established the Huaxia Kingdom. After that, the Huaxia tribe used Sichuan as their base to conquer the Yangtze River Basin and conquered the Yangtze River Basin. The Xia Dynasty was founded in 1600 BC, which is 3623 years ago. Later, the Huaxia people placed the core of their national operations in their homeland of Qinchuan and the Yellow River Basin. In 1027 BC, which was 3050 years ago, the Qinchuan Huaxia people overthrew the Shang Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty. After that, the pattern of various ethnic groups in China was formed and developed to this day on the basis of that time.
In the Zhou Dynasty, the Central Plains and other northern regions spoke the Chinese language, which evolved into ancient Chinese and other northern East Asian languages; the ethnic groups in the south of the Yangtze River basin spoke the ancient Yue language, and later the ancient Yue language in the south of the Yangtze River evolved into the Chinese dialect Wu; the two lakes areas in the Yangtze River basin spoke the Chu language (i.e. Ancient Yue dialect), and later the Chu language gradually evolved into the northern dialect of Chinese; as they were far away from the center of national rule, the ethnic groups in southern China continued to maintain their ethnic status. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the ethnic groups in southeastern China gradually integrated into the Han nationality, and the ancient Yue ethnic group in southwest China evolved The various ethnic groups in southwest China gradually developed into the Zhuang ethnic group and became the modern concept of ethnic minorities in China.
In the last years of the Qin Dynasty, against the background of national divisions, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's uprising in Daze Township was influenced by historical inevitability and accidental factors. The Qin Dynasty was like being placed on a volcano that had been brewing for a long time. Under the shock, the volcano erupted, and in an instant the Qin Dynasty was reduced to nothing in the flames of war!
Because the Qin Dynasty devoted its national power to build the Great Wall of Defense to prevent the northern nomads from grazing southward and intruding on the farming people, the Qin Dynasty completely broke away from the northern nomads. The Qin Dynasty lost its trade channels with the Western Regions and also lost the support of the northern nomads. and reinforcements, these factors also accelerated the demise of the Qin Dynasty.
As soon as the Qin Dynasty fell, the world immediately entered into a conflict between Chu and Han. Chu refers to the hegemonic court of Western Chu controlled by Xiang Yu, and Western Chu is known as the orthodoxy of Greater China; Han refers to the small court of Han State led by Liu Bang.
The reason for the conflict between Chu and Han was that after a peasant uprising broke out at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu was the number one leader of the uprising army and was a noble of the Chu state. Liu Bang is the leader of the main force of the rebel army. He is a native of Bozhou and a commoner. He is known as the orthodox of China. When the uprising war came to an end, in order to eliminate the Qin Dynasty as soon as possible, Xiang Yu made an agreement with the leaders of the uprising army: "The first to attack Xianyang will win the world." Therefore, after Liu Bang invaded Xianyang and destroyed the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang would occupy Qin's hometown and prepare to dominate the world. But how could Xiang Yu tolerate a commoner who came from a rough background to be the emperor who commands the world and rules him? Therefore, Xiang Yu led his army into the Qinchuan area and threatened Xianyang. Liu Bang did not want to suffer an immediate loss. After escaping from the "Hongmen Banquet", he led his entourage and subordinates to cross the Qinling Mountains and set up camp in the Hanzhong area at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains, preparing for a long-term discussion with Xiang Yu. So Xiang Yu followed the current and canonized Liu Bang as King of Han, and deployed heavy troops in various fortresses in Qinchuan to guard against Liu Bang.
After Liu Bang was named the Queen of Han, he immediately planned and prepared for the war against Xiang Yu. Due to the limited strength, equipment and materials of the Han army, Liu Bang could only rely on the human, material and financial resources of Hanzhong and Sichuan. In the northwest of Hanzhong is Lueyang, which is home to the Di people (the ancient Yue people were in northwest Sichuan and Songpan Plateau). Branch) was an important military and political area. After Liu Bang learned that the Di people had simple folk customs, were good at farming and animal husbandry, and practiced martial arts and a strong army, he recruited many Di leaders and talents to serve in the Han army and the Han court. After Liu Bang received help from the Di people, he quickly gained support in manpower, material and financial resources from Hanzhong and Sichuan. With the help of the newly recruited military prodigy Han Xin, Liu Bang adopted the ingenious strategy of "building plank roads openly and secretly attacking Chencang". He led the Han army to secretly cross the Qinling Mountains, stationed troops at Chencang (now Baoji City) at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, raided the Chu army, and recaptured Qinchuan in one fell swoop. Treasure Land, leaving Hanguguan to fight against the Western Chu coalition forces. After several years of bloody war, the Han army defeated the Chu army and gained the world. From then on, the Han Dynasty officially opened for business.
Liu Bang was completely different from Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng, the founding emperor of the Qin Empire. Ying Zheng was born in Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao. His father was a prince sent by the State of Qin to serve as a hostage in the State of Zhao. He received enlightenment education in Handan. When he became wise, his father was named the prince of the State of Qin. Soon his father ascended the throne and became the king of Qin. After the death of his father, Ying Zheng inherited his father's legacy and ascended the throne as Qin Shihuang. He was only 13 years old that year, and he was truly a young man. Ying Zheng was born into a top nobleman. He has regarded the country as his only concern since he was sensible, and began to be involved in the cruel struggles between the court and the harem. Therefore, Ying Zheng is a silent, calm, thoughtful, well-read classics, and well-versed in strategies. , the decisive and decisive high-level intellectual emperor, Ying Zheng established the first imperial centralized governance system and organizational system, established China's earliest and most systematic legal system and the efficient operation of national government affairs, military affairs, diplomacy, economy and society. System, Ying Zheng made great contributions to Chinese civilization.
When Liu Bang and Xiang Yu fought for world supremacy, he was exactly 50 years old. When the Chu-Han War ended and the Han Dynasty formally ruled China, Liu Bang was already 54 years old. In ancient times, 54 years old was considered an old man. Liu Bang was indeed a hero who had gone through many vicissitudes of life and suffered all the taste of life. Liu Bang was born into a poor peasant family. He was idle and wandering around the world since he was a child. When he grew up, he was recommended by an acquaintance to work as a low-level government servant in a local government office in the Qin Dynasty. After the peasant uprising broke out at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang used his position to call on and organize an armed uprising by the brave and reckless people in the countryside. Because Liu Bang was loyal, philanthropic, courageous, resourceful, and daring to fight, soon the troops he led were not only large in number, but also became the key force of the rebel army. Liu Bang was not a scholar, he was just the lowest official in the Qin Dynasty. Before becoming an emperor, Liu Bang had never thought about "being an emperor and governing the country and bringing peace to the world." His participation in the uprising army was a huge gamble in life. He believed in the truths that overturned the fate of life, such as "Princes, generals, and ministers, would you rather be born?"
However, after Liu Bang became emperor, he had to consider how to govern this huge country with mixed people, fragmentation, and hidden crises? ! He had been an official in the Qin Dynasty, and he knew the pros and cons of governing the country in the Qin Dynasty. Liu Bang and his advisers must have believed that the Qin Dynasty's centralized legal system and management system were the best way to govern the country. Therefore, the Han Dynasty basically continued the Qin Dynasty's governance strategy and regulations. However, Liu Bang's group believed that the main reason for the demise of the Qin Dynasty was that it failed to implement benevolent governance, which caused people's resentment and disunity, and ultimately led to disaster. Therefore, the Han Dynasty regarded Confucianism, which advocated "moral education, governing the country with benevolence and righteousness, and etiquette and diplomatic relations," as the country's orthodox thought, moral standard and legislative basis.
Of course, Liu Bang, who was born as a commoner, must have realized that ethnic issues must also be the main cause of social conflicts and national divisions. Therefore, the Han Dynasty no longer allowed the "Chinese aristocratic theory" to hold the country's fate hostage, and promoted the concept of equality for all citizens in society, that is, the concept of the country and the nation. Everyone claimed that the subjects of the Han Dynasty were Han people, and today's Han people. The establishment of national consciousness makes the country a powerful force that unites people's hearts.
The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin Dynasty's policy of dealing with nomadic peoples in the west and north, adopting diplomatic and military measures that combined gentleness and aggression. In terms of defending the western region of the Hetao and the Hetao in northern Shaanxi, the Han Dynasty dispatched troops from the Di and Qiang ethnic groups with military exploits to defend the border and defend the enemy. They also established border trade markets to prosper the regional economy. In dealing with the nomadic powers, we took the initiative to attack and drive away and frighten the northern steppe powers.
In ancient times, the nomadic peoples should have entered the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, that is, the Central Plains, earlier than the farming peoples. After the farming peoples entered the Central Plains, the nomads gradually moved north and west. However, the nomads still used the Central Plains as a place to protect themselves from the cold and winter. land, and winter pastures. After the farming people developed and expanded in the Central Plains, they began to establish states, completely driving the nomads out of the Central Plains, and building permanent defenses in the northern grasslands, Yanyun Valley, and mountains on the north bank of the Yellow River to prevent the nomads from grazing southward. These hostile policies will inevitably lead to intensified contradictions and constant conflicts between nomadic peoples and farming peoples.
In early 200 BC, Liu Bang personally led more than 300,000 Han troops to fight against the Xiongnu coalition. The main force of the Han army first attacked the troops of Han Wangxin, the Xiongnu ally, and defeated their army at Tongtan (now south of Qinxian County, Shanxi), and then defeated their coalition with the Xiongnu at Jinyang (now Jinyuan Town, south of Taiyuan, Shanxi).
Later, Liu Bang heard that the Huns were stationed in Daigu (today's northwest of Fanzhi, Shanxi). Liu Bang wanted to attack the Huns again, so he sent spies to Daigu to investigate the strength of the Huns. The leader of the Xiongnu, Maodun, learned that the Han spies had arrived, so he asked the Xiongnu army to hide their strength and deliberately show weakness.
Han spies came back to report that the Huns could be attacked, but Liu Bang didn't believe it, so he sent more than a dozen spies to spy on the Huns. However, the spies reported that "the Huns could be attacked."
Finally, Liu Bang sent his confidant Lou Jing to Daigu for reconnaissance. Before Lou Jing returned, Liu Bang learned that he had sent 320,000 Han troops north to Daigu.
After Lou Jing returned to the Han army camp, he told Liu Bang that the Huns were deceitful and should not attack easily. Liu Bang was eager to fight, but he did not listen to Lou Jing's dissuasion. Liu Bang personally led the leading troops to Pingcheng (today's east of Datong, Shanxi Province), but not all of the Han army's infantry could keep up with the leading troops. After that, Maodun Chanyu used 400,000 elite cavalry troops to surround Liu Bang and his vanguard troops at Baishan Mountain near Pingcheng (now northeast of Datong, Shanxi Province) for seven days and nights. Communication between the Han army inside and outside was interrupted, and the Han armies were unable to rescue each other. .
In order to break the siege, Liu Bang adopted the strategy of counselor Chen Ping and bribed Maodun Chanyu's wife Yan's family heavily. Under Yan's persuasion, Mao Dun ordered the Xiongnu army to open a gap for the Han army. After Liu Bang led the Han army to break through, they met with the main force of the Han army in Pingcheng. When the Han army was retreating, Liu Bang adopted Xia Houying's suggestion, put the entire army on alert and slowed down the retreat, and finally returned to the court safely.
Then the Huns led their troops north. When the national power of the Han Dynasty had not been restored, Liu Bang adopted Liu Jing's suggestion, adopted a peace policy towards the Xiongnu, and opened the customs markets on both sides; he sent large quantities of silk, grain, wine and other gifts every year to ease their intrusion on the Han Dynasty.
From then on, the northern border of the Han Dynasty gained peace. Until the Wenjing period, the Han Dynasty still adopted the policy of fraternity towards the northern nomads to promote the integration of the Han nationality and the northern nomads.
Because Liu Bang was born in the civilian class, and he had rich experiences and saw through the entire content and meaning of life, Liu Bang's views, ideas and practices are very pragmatic and straightforward. He does not have the kind of religious innocence, piety and dreams, which may be worth it. The only things he fears are nature, that is, heaven, earth, man and other natural things. The ancients believed that one can only obey nature and make the best use of the situation. Because the Liu Bang group generally has this kind of philosophy of returning to nature, Han culture has become an important cornerstone of Chinese civilization and has become the spiritual force that unites the Chinese nation.
In the early days of the Han Dynasty, the foundation of the Han Empire's rule was not stable, so the Han court worked hard to manage the Central Plains region as the foundation of the country; it took precautions against countries and nomadic peoples in the north and northwest, and adopted tolerant foreign policies such as trade and marriage; In the southern region, especially the Nanyue Kingdom in the Lingnan region (including Guangdong, Guangxi, northern Vietnam and other regions) and other local forces and ethnic separatist areas, non-military means such as pacification, recruitment, and vassalization were used to govern. These pragmatic measures to govern the country quickly stabilized and consolidated the national situation of the Han Dynasty, laying a solid foundation for the long-term peace and stability of the Han Empire.
After the rule of Wenjing, the Han Dynasty became stronger and stronger, and the combat effectiveness of its troops was unprecedentedly improved. After the death of Emperor Jing, his son Liu Che came to the throne and became Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. During his reign, Liu Che adopted a series of reform measures, forged ahead with determination, and expanded territory.
Politically, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty strengthened the imperial power, created the first reign title, adopted Zhu Fuyan's suggestion, and implemented the Tuien Order, which weakened the power of the princes and kings. From then on, the power of the princes and kings could no longer pose a threat to the central government; On the grounds that the gold was impure, more than a hundred marquises were revoked, which is what history books call the "lost marquises of minted gold" incident. After this second incident, centralization of power was greatly strengthened.
Culturally, the Han Dynasty's idea of governing the country with "Huang-Lao theory and governing by inaction" was abolished, and the country was actively governed; it adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestions and began to reuse Confucianism. Although Liu Che's period used talents from Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, Yin and Yang, and Zongheng, the Han Dynasty has always adopted a policy of governing the country that combines domineering and kingly ways. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty praised Confucianism, which made Confucianism be taken seriously, and it gradually became a Mainstream thought in China for two thousand years.
Militarily, they actively dealt with the Han Dynasty's biggest foreign invasion, the Xiongnu. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the treatment of soldiers was greatly improved. When inspecting the north, the border guards were rewarded with 1 million bolts of silk and 2 million coins. During this period, outstanding generals such as Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Li Guang appeared in the Han Dynasty. They finally defeated the Xiongnu, built the Guanglu Sai and Juyan Sai of the Great Wall, recaptured Hetao and incorporated Hexi into the territory, which promoted the "No Royal Court in Monan". situation, and successively annexed South Vietnam (today's Guangdong, Guangxi and northern Vietnam), Minyue (today's Fujian Province), Yelang (today's Guizhou Province), Dian Kingdom (today's Yunnan Province), Weiman Korea (today's Korean Peninsula), etc. country, expedition to Dayuan (an ancient country in Central Asia, in the upper reaches of the Syr Darya River in present-day Uzbekistan) and surrendered the countries in the Western Regions, making China the leading power in the world at that time. The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the scope of the Han Dynasty and was also an important period for the Han Dynasty to become stronger.
Diplomatically, Zhang Qian was sent twice as envoy to the Western Regions and opened up the Silk Road. And successively used the two princesses Liu Xijun, Liu Jieyou and Wusun of the Western Regions to achieve the purpose of driving a wedge between the Western Regions and the Xiongnu, and then control the Western Regions, and opened the Silk Road from Chang'an to Central Asia. The Silk Road became the economic and cultural exchange between the East and the West. bridge.
Since the patriarchal system stipulates that the supreme ruler of the country, the heir to the emperor, must be the prince appointed by the emperor, most of the emperor's children and grandchildren are spoiled, ignorant, uneducated princes. These people often only engage in eating, drinking, having fun, and sensuality. Governing a country is a difficult and boring thing. Therefore, princes cannot be interested in governing the country and other court affairs. Even if they are interested, they do not have the ability and wisdom to govern the country. This way of life and work is very dangerous and dangerous for the emperor. fatal.
Therefore, every dynasty cannot escape the fate of the hereditary system: "Emperors are inferior to each generation, and the country is inferior to each other year by year." After the foundation and capital of the country are exhausted by the prodigal sons, the country was built in a bloody storm and then again in a bloody storm. It collapsed in the fishy wind and became a piece of text in the long river of history, a topic for later generations to talk about after dinner!
After 215 years of rule in the Han Dynasty, Wang Mang, a royal relative, a usurper and a great reformer, established the Han Dynasty as a new dynasty. From 9 AD to 23 AD, he implemented "land resumption to the country and unified national planning" throughout the country. For the use and development of land, the state will unify tax standards and collection systems so that tillers have their fields, foresters have their mountains, and herders have their fields." and other new social reform policies. This great reform was more than 2,000 years earlier than Westerners initiated similar reforms. However, because this reform benefited the country and the people, it touched the interests of feudal lords, separatist forces, landlords and other vested interests. Therefore, this reform received strong nationwide attention. Resistance and resistance, coupled with the fact that Wang Mang was a blatant usurper of power, resulted in the new dynasty established by Wang Mang quickly being wiped out by warlords and rebels from all over the country. Wang Mang, like Ying Zheng, became the most heinous villain and devil in Chinese history.
Fortunately, the Han Dynasty was still respected and supported by the people at that time. Liu Xiu, a direct descendant of the Han Dynasty royal family and the leader of the rebel army, re-established the Han Dynasty in 25 AD with its capital in Luoyang, which was known as the Eastern Han Dynasty in history.
The Eastern Han Dynasty inherited and carried forward the system, culture and governance strategy of the Western Han Dynasty, because the Han Dynasty had brought the patriarchal ruling system and cultural development of the family world to its ultimate and peak. In terms of territory, the Han Dynasty had a vast and boundless territory that could be called the world, so the Han Dynasty had lost the need and desire for territorial expansion; in terms of national governance, after more than 200 years of rule, the Han culture had become commonplace, and the people had a strong sense of the country. The Han nationality has basically formed a high sense of identity and belonging. Due to the unity of the people and social stability, it provides conditions and guarantees for the country's economic development and comprehensive national strength. In terms of national strength, the Han Dynasty conquered the Xiongnu, the Western Regions, Central Asia, Lingnan, Yunnan and Guizhou. , Korea and other regions, the territory of the Han Dynasty was vast, and no force could be found to threaten or compete with the Han Empire. The Han Empire became a great country and a paradise on earth that people all over the world admired infinitely; in terms of happiness and life dreams, the Han Dynasty The ruling class such as princes, nobles, generals and officials, wealthy landlords, etc. already live a luxurious life, and the people of the middle and lower classes can also live a life with enough food and clothing. The entire society has material reserves and other guarantees, and everyone is full of hope for the future. In such a complete society, all the rulers can do is to "keep to the old ways and govern by doing nothing"! There are people doing hard work, hard work, innovation and other things at all times. Those oppressed and forgotten people who are struggling in suffering are always gathering the power to destroy the old world. When this society is full of despair and pain, this kind of The power will explode in an instant!
From AD 25 to AD 220, after 195 years of rule, the Eastern Han Dynasty fell into corruption, chaos and war. Amidst the disputes and confusion, the Han Dynasty was replaced by the Cao Wei regime, and the world entered into the struggle between the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. The era of the world. The Wei State ruled the Central Plains and other northern China regions; the Shu State ruled Hubei and Sichuan and other regions; and the Wu State ruled the Jiangnan and Jianghuai regions.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, within the Han court, foreign relatives were monopolizing power and eunuchs were in power. There was no justice and fairness in the court, and the court completely lost its normal function of managing the country. At the same time, a large-scale Yellow Turban uprising broke out in the Han Dynasty. On the northwest and northern borders, the Western Qiang Army and the Xianbei warlords invaded the Han Dynasty, causing the Han Dynasty to fall into a state of chaos in name only.
One of the great civilizational achievements of the Han Dynasty was the creation of the Chinese patrilineal clan system and system, which advocated moral values and social systems such as "men are superior to women" and "three cardinal principles and five constant principles", which is unique in the world. Because of this, Chinese people have concepts and customs such as surnames, superiority, seniority, clan, etc., but these concepts and customs do not exist outside China. These cultural concepts and social systems lay a solid foundation for the long-term stability and development of Chinese society.
Of course, these systems have also cultivated the Chinese people's docile, tactful, and tactful character, as well as their tendency to fight secretly and in private, and lack integrity, bravery, and bloodiness. The Chinese have benefited from these characters, and they have also suffered from these characters.
Fortunately, today's China has changed its customs and become a modern country. Chinese civilization is more tolerant, open, equal, benevolent and just. The Chinese have mastered the truth and can see through all the beauty, ugliness, good and evil in the world.
