Xunzi
(approximately 313 BC - 238 BC),
Ming Kuang, courtesy name Qing, Huaxia (Han), Zhao Zhao at the end of the Warring States Period Chinese. A famous thinker, writer and politician, he was respectfully called "Xun Qing" by people at that time. In the Western Han Dynasty, to avoid the taboo of Liu Xun, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, and because the two characters "Xun" and "Sun" had similar ancient pronunciation, he was also called Sun Qing. He served as the wine-offering officer of Jixia Academy of Qi State three times, and later as the magistrate of Chu Lanling (located in present-day Lanling County, Shandong Province).
"Historical Records·Biography of Mencius and Xunqing" written by Sima Qian records his life. Xunzi was fifty years old (some scholars believe that fifteen was mistakenly changed to fifty when he was copied). He first traveled to Qi State to study, and in the era of King Xiang, he was "the most teacher" and "the third one was the wine sacrificer". Later, he was moved to Chu. Chun Shenjun thought that Lanling was the order. Chun Shenjun died and Xunqing was deposed. He lived in Lanling. Han Fei and Li Si were both his disciples, and because his two disciples were representatives of Legalism This figure made some scholars in the past dynasties doubt whether Xunzi was a Confucian scholar. "Historical Records" records that Li Si "learned the art of emperors from Xun Qing". Xunzi's "art of emperors" was reflected through Li Si's later practice. Su Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty said in "Xun Qing Lun": "Xun Qing clarified the king's way and described rituals and music, while Li Si caused chaos in the world with his learning." Xunzi was also severely criticized by many scholars in Chinese history because of his disciples.
Xunzi was the first person to use the name of fu and write it in question and answer style. Together with Qu Yuan, he is called the "ancestor of fu".
? He once entered the Qin Dynasty and affirmed the politics of the Qin State, saying that "the four generations of Qin were victorious, and it was not lucky." Fang Lue disagreed, saying, "If the county has the reputation of being a king, it will not be as good as it is."
Xunzi visited the State of Zhao again and discussed the war with Lord Linwu in front of King Zhao Xiaocheng. Finally, he died in Lanling, Chu State. He once preached and taught, and the two most famous thinkers and politicians in the late Warring States Period - Han Fei and Li Si, and the politician and scientist Zhang Cang in the early Han Dynasty were all his disciples. The collection of works is "Xunzi" (Yang Liang made annotations for it in the Tang Dynasty). Because Xunzi was criticized by scholars in the past dynasties, there were not many annotators. It was not until the rise of textual criticism in the Qing Dynasty that the number of commentators and editors increased. There are more scholars studying Xunzi in modern times than in ancient times, including Wang Xianqian in the Qing Dynasty and Liang Qixiong (brother of Liang Qichao) in the Republic of China. Tan Sitong, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, commented in his book "Renxue": "China's two thousand years of learning, Xunxue, are all based on the wishes of the country." The representative works in his later years include "Encouraging Learning".
"Xunzi" is a Confucian classic written at the end of the Warring States Period. This book is the main work recording Xunzi's thoughts, with 32 chapters in total. It is generally believed that the last five of them, namely "You Si", "Zidao", "Fa Xing", "Ai Gong" and "Yao Wen" are not his own works, but the words he and his disciples compiled or recorded the words and deeds of others. , but its view is consistent with Xunzi’s consistent views. Among the first 27 articles, there are also several articles, such as "Yi Bing" and "General Strategy", which may have been compiled by his students.
? "Xunzi" is very rich in content, extensive and profound. It is a summary of the academic ideological achievements of the pre-Qin Dynasty, showing his achievements in philosophy, logic, ethics, politics, economics, military, education, science, Research results in literature, art and other aspects. At the same time, the book "Xunzi" is also the leader in prose creation by pre-Qin scholars. "The Analects" and "Mencius" are basically a combination of quotations and narratives, but in "Xunzi" it has become a thesis. Xunzi's articles are vigorous and rigorous, with thorough reasoning. They often use metaphors, contrasts, parallelism, quotations and other techniques. They have clear views and sufficient arguments, which are unique among the prose of pre-Qin scholars. The four works of "Xunzi", "Mencius", "Zhuangzi" and "Hanfeizi" are known as the four pillars of prose by pre-Qin scholars.
Han Feizi
Life experience
? Han Feizi was a Korean aristocrat during the Warring States Period. He was born in Xinzheng, the capital of Korea (now Zhenghan, Xinzheng City, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province) at the end of the Warring States Period. old city). Han Fei was proficient in the "study of criminal names", "and his roots were attributed to Huang Lao". Both Xunzi and Qin Xiang Li Si were students of Xunzi.
Han Fei's writing was so outstanding that even Li Si felt inferior to him. Han Fei traced his theory back to the Taoist Huang-Lao technique. He did considerable research on Laozi's "Tao Te Ching". In "Han Feizi", he wrote chapters such as "Jie Lao" and "Yu Lao", etc. Expresses Han Fei’s philosophical views. Han Fei was a materialist philosopher at the end of the Warring States Period and a master of Legalist thought. Han Fei witnessed the poverty and weakness of Korea in the late Warring States Period, and wrote to the King of Korea many times, hoping to change the situation of governing the country without respecting the rule of law, supporting people beyond their needs, and using people beyond their needs. However, his ideas were never adopted. Han Fei believed that this was "an honest and upright minister who cannot tolerate evil and dishonest officials." So he retired and wrote books, including "Gu Anger", "Five Worms", "Inner and Outer Storage", "Shuo Lin", "Shuo Nan" and other works.
? His book spread to Qin, and the King of Qin admired Han Fei's talent very much. Soon, because Qin attacked Han, the king of Han had to appoint Han Fei and sent him as an envoy to Qin. Han Feizi was sent as an envoy to Qin by the King of Han. The King of Qin liked Han Fei very much, but he had not yet decided whether to retain him. However, Han Fei, who had outstanding literary talent, was appreciated by King Yingzheng of Qin and was highly valued. Because Li Si proposed a grand plan to destroy the six countries and unify the world, the primary target was South Korea. However, as the son of South Korea, Han Fei had political disagreements with Li Si (Han Fei advocated preserving Han and destroying Zhao), which hindered Qin's plan to unify, so Li Si asked the King of Qin Shang Shu argued. Han Fei and Li Si had political disagreements. Han Fei wanted to preserve Han, and Li Si wanted to destroy Han. Because Han Feizi and Li Si were classmates, Li Si knew that Han Fei was a good eloquent and was worried that Ying Zheng would be deceived by Han Fei's strategy, so he went to Ying Zheng to explain the pros and cons. He said: "Han Fei came here not necessarily because he thought that he could let Han stay, but because he came to care about Han's interests. His rhetoric in debates concealed deceit, and he wanted to benefit from Qin and wait for His Majesty to make a countermeasure. Han Fei's story.
The King of Qin thought that Li Siyan was right, so he arrested Han Fei and forced him to commit suicide by poisoning. Later, Han Fei wanted to write to the First Emperor, but he was rejected. He regretted it and sent someone to pardon him, but Han Fei was already dead.
Han Feizi's article is exquisitely conceived, bold in description, humorous in language, and has an artistic style that is thought-provoking and warning to the world. Han Fei's five books, "Gu Anger", "Five Worms", "Shuo Nan", "Shuo Lin", and "Cong Nei Chu", contain more than 100,000 words, lamenting the difficulties of the world and the difficulty of life, and have been read all over the world. , thousands of feelings.
Li Si
(about 284 BC - 208 BC)
? Li's name is Si, and his courtesy name is Tonggu. At the end of the Warring States Period, he was born in Shangcai (now Li Silou Village, Lugang Township, Shangcai County, Henan Province). He was a famous politician, writer and calligrapher in the Qin Dynasty.
Li Si was a county official in his early years. Later, he learned the art of emperors from Xunzi and entered the Qin Dynasty. He was first appointed as a minister by Lu Buwei. Later, he persuaded the king of Qin to destroy the princes and become an emperor. He was appointed as the chief historian. The king of Qin adopted his strategy and sent counselors to lobby the Sixth Kingdom of Guandong. In the tenth year of the Qin Dynasty (237 BC), the Korean spy Zheng Guo entered the Qin Dynasty, and the King of Qin ordered the expulsion of the guest ministers of the six countries. He was adopted and soon became a Tingwei. After Qin unified the world, he agreed with Wang Wan and Feng Jie to respect Qin Wangzheng as the emperor and formulated the relevant etiquette system. As Prime Minister? He suggested demolishing county walls and destroying civilian weapons; opposed the feudal system and insisted on the county system; he also advocated burning folk collections of "Poetry", "Books" and other hundreds of languages, and prohibiting private study to strengthen centralization. During his reign, he also participated in the formulation of laws and unified the system of carriage rails, writing, and weights and measures. The implementation of Li Si's political ideas had a profound impact on China and the world, and established the basic pattern of China's political system for more than two thousand years after the death of Qin Shihuang. , he conspired with Zhao Gao, forged a posthumous edict, forced the first emperor's eldest son Fusu to commit suicide, and established the youngest son Hu Hai as the second emperor. Later, he was tabooed by Zhao Gao, and was beheaded in the bustling city of Xianyang in the second year of Qin II (208 BC). , merged with the Yi tribe?
amp; Biographies
? Learned from Xunzi
At the end of the Warring States Period, Li Si was born in Shangcai County (now Li Silou, Lugang Township, Shangcai County, Henan Province Village), he worked as a clerk in charge of documents when he was young. During the Warring States Period, when everyone was vying for fame and fortune, Li Si also wanted to do something great. In order to achieve the goal of becoming a prosperous person, Li Si resigned as a petty official and went to Qi to study and became a disciple of Xun Qing. Xunzi's thoughts are very close to the legalist ideas, and he also studies how to govern the country, which is the so-called "imperial art". After Li Si finished his studies, he analyzed and compared the situations of various countries and decided to go to Qin.
Chance. Once, Li Si said to the King of Qin: "Anyone who succeeds must seize the opportunity. Although Qin Mu was very strong in the past, he failed to complete the great cause of unification because the time was not ripe. Since Qin Xiaogong, Zhou Dynasty The emperor was completely in decline, and the vassal states fought for years, and the Qin State took the opportunity to become stronger. Now that the Qin State is powerful and the king is virtuous, it is as easy to wipe out the six kingdoms as to sweep away the dust on the stove. Now is the best time to complete the imperial cause and unify the world. "Don't miss it." King Qin listened to Li Si's plan to alienate the kings and ministers of various countries. For the six countries, Li Si also proposed the order of annexation of "destroy Han first to fear other countries." So he was appreciated by the King of Qin and promoted to Chang Shi. Li Si persuaded the King of Qin to send people with gold and jade to various countries to buy and bribe, so as to alienate the monarchs and ministers of the six countries. As expected, the effect was achieved, and he was named a guest minister again.
Just when King Qin was determined to unify the six countries, South Korea was afraid of being destroyed by Qin, so he sent water engineer Zheng Guo to Qin to encourage the construction of canals. The purpose was to weaken Qin's manpower and material resources and contain Qin. of eastward. Later, Zheng Guo's purpose of building canals was exposed. At this time, various countries in the East also sent spies to Qin to be guests. The ministers talked a lot about the foreign guests and said to the King of Qin: "People from all over the world who come to Qin mostly come to Qin for the benefit of their own country." If you disrupt the work, please order the expulsion of all visitors." King Qin issued an order to expel guests, and Li Si was also expelled.
Li Si wrote a letter to the King of Qin, advising the King not to expel guests. This is the famous "Book of Remonstrance and Expulsion of Guests". He said: "I heard that the officials were talking about expelling guests, which is wrong. In the past, Duke Mu of Qin asked for wise men. He invited Yu Yu from the Rong in the west, Baili Xi from the Chu State in the east, and Uncle Jian from the Song State. Duke Mu of Qin appointed Pi Bao and Gongsun Zhi from the Jin State. He annexed twenty countries and dominated Xirong. , Qin State became stronger. King Qin Hui used Zhang Yi's strategy to break up the alliance of the six countries to resist Qin, and forced all countries to obey Qin State. . These four generations of kings all contributed to the Qin State by appointing guest officials. If these four kings also ordered to expel the guests, it would only make the country less prosperous and the Qin State not have a strong reputation. He decisively adopted Li Si's suggestion and immediately canceled the expulsion order. Li Si was still reused and was named a court captain.
The Sand Dune Revolution
Qin Shihuang died violently in the sand dunes while he was traveling. The eunuch Zhao Gao forced Li Si to launch the "Dune Revolution". They conspired to tamper with the edict of the First Emperor's succession and deposed the crown prince. Fusu established Hu Hai as the new emperor and the second emperor of Qin.
Killed and exterminated
In order to repair the Epang Palace, Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, imposed corvee labor, pushing the people into the abyss of misery. At that time, the anti-Qin uprising of the Chinese people was already raging. For the common interests of the ruling class, Li Sidong, the Prime Minister on the right, and General Feng Jie persuaded Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, to stop the construction of Afang Palace and reduce some corvee labor. At that time, Qin II was having a banquet with the palace ladies. He was very angry when he saw Li Si and others writing a letter and ordered them to be arrested and imprisoned. Li Si wrote many times in prison, but was detained by Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao took the opportunity to accuse Li Si and his son Li You of treason, and tortured Li Si severely to extract a confession. Li Si was forced to admit rebellion and was killed in July of the second year of Qin II (208 BC). Yi tribe.
But his son Li You still sent troops outside. Soon, he fought with Xiang Yu and Liu Bang in Yongqiu, was defeated, and was beheaded by the rebel army in Yongqiu.
Zhang Cang
(256 BC - 152 BC)
? Prime Minister of the Western Han Dynasty, granted the title of Marquis of Beiping, rich in Yangwu County (now Yuan Yang County) A native of Zhangdafuzhai Village, Ningji Township. He was born in the late Warring States period (256 BC) and died in the fifth year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (152 BC). His posthumous title was Beiping Wenhou. At the end of the Warring States Period, he studied under Xunzi (about 313 BC - 238 BC, named Kuang, courtesy name Qing). He was a fellow disciple of Li Si, Han Fei and others. He once served as a censor during the Qin Dynasty.
? During Liu Bang's uprising, he surrendered to Liu Bang. After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, he successively held the official positions of Dai Prime Minister and Zhao Prime Minister. Because of his meritorious service in helping Liu Bang eliminate the rebellion of King Zang Tu of Yan, he was granted the title of Marquis of Beiping by Jin, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and was later promoted to Prime Minister and Chief Planner. After the death of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Guan Ying took over the post of prime minister. In the first year of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty voluntarily retired due to different political opinions. The main disciple is Jia Yi from Luoyang.
Zhang Cang corrected "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" and formulated the calendar. He was also an ancient scientist in Chinese history who advocated the abolition of corporal punishment.