Zhao Gao is a first-class calligrapher, philologist, and professional master of law. He is tall and strong, good at riding and driving, and has extraordinary martial arts skills. He was a rare talent with both civil and military skills in the Qin court. Zhao Gao is the mastermind of the Sand Dune Conspiracy and the main figure in the future destruction of the Qin Empire. For two thousand years, there has been little understanding or misunderstanding of Zhao Gao's life experience. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhao Gao was demoted to eunuch, and his family members were also demoted to eunuch. This mistaken prejudice continues to this day.
We know that Zhao Gao is a man with children. His daughter married Leyan. Leyan was appointed to the order of Xianyang and participated in the coup as the king of the First Palace. This is clear evidence that Zhao Gao is not a eunuch. In fact, Sima Qian never said that Zhao Gao was an eunuch. Not only did Sima Qian never say that Zhao Gao was an eunuch in all the history books before the Eastern Han Dynasty. The misunderstanding that Zhao Gao is an eunuch stems from the misunderstanding of the word "eunuch" and the ugly misinterpretation of the word "hidden palace".
It is recorded that Zhao Gao is an official with official records. This is a piece of material that Zhao Gao was misunderstood as an eunuch. But according to the newly unearthed bamboo slips from the Zhangjiashan Han tomb, "official" means serving in the palace. Officials are people who work in the palace and are equivalent to the personal bodyguards of the king or emperor. The official register was used to register people entering and leaving the palace gates. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, neither "official", "official" or "eunuch" meant castrated people holding official positions in the palace, which is what later generations meant by "eunuch". At that time, the castrated people were called "chosen people" and the eunuchs serving in the palace were called "official candidates", which had a very clear definition. According to this latest material, Zhao Gao was an official working in the palace, that is, a minister trusted by the emperor, rather than a castrated official.
Said: "Tell the world that everyone is born in a secret palace." This is another piece of information that Zhao Gao was mistaken for an eunuch. The meaning of the word "hidden palace" is unclear. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Shan used this title to annotate "Historical Records of Li Si". He interpreted the "palace" in his "Tibetan Palace" as castration, which led to the theory that Zhao Gao's father was castrated and his mother gave birth to Zhao Gao's brothers. Zhao Gao's younger brother, surnamed Zhao, was castrated and became an eunuch. The bigger the lie, the happier it is, so it is repeated over and over again. After the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Gao's family were all officials and eunuchs, and they gradually settled down and there were no more rumors. Teacher Ma, an expert on Qin history, has long pointed out that the word "Yin Gong" is a typographical error of "Yin Guan", "Brothers Zhao Gao were both born in Yin Gong". After the bamboo slips were unearthed from the Han tomb in Zhangjiashan, the significance of Tibetan officials became clearer. Yinguan not only refers to the place where prisoners work, but also refers to the identity of prisoners, which has nothing to do with castration or castration.
The famous historian Gu Jiegang has a very famous conclusion, which is the so-called stratification of ancient history. Teacher Gu believes that the ancient history we see today is no longer original, but has been continuously transformed and rewritten, adding to the interest of past dynasties. To understand the true ancient history, we must clean up the addendums of past dynasties and restore the truth of ancient times. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, eunuchs brought disaster to the country and the people. Liu's misinterpretation coincided with people's hatred of eunuchs at that time. Everyone is willing to spread rumors that the perishing countries are all eunuchs. The eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty were autocratic and disorderly, and the spirit of ancient eunuchs who destroyed their country still existed. In this atmosphere of analogy and condemnation, the rumor that Zhao Gao became a eunuch naturally continued and became the final conclusion. In the Ming Dynasty, the eunuch curse became more and more serious. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the great eunuch Li was still misbehaving in the Cixi Palace, and the people hated the eunuch. Therefore, the misinterpreted history has been passed down as official history to this day. However, none of this matters. I'm just taking this opportunity to express my feelings about human frailty. We all want to believe who we want to be
Historical narratives are based on historical facts. Verifying the authenticity of historical facts is the basis of the work of historians, because without truth, everything is built on quicksand. The authenticity identification and textual research of historical materials is another kind of history that needs to be expressed in the form of a paper. Now, let us return to the historical narrative and once again cut into the Dune plot of Zhao Gao’s previous behavior.
It is the surname of the Zhao royal family. Zhao Gao's paternal line is a sparse family of the Zhao royal family. During the Warring States Period, the whole world formed an alliance with Lian Heng. Countries formed alliances, exchanged contracts, and took the prince as a hostage. Most of these hostages were unpopular outliers among the king's many children. After taking the oath, they often stay abroad for a long time. Many people spend their entire lives poor and never come back until they die. Zhao Gao's ancestors were hostages from Zhao to Qin. They were not favored in Zhao, helpless and dissatisfied in Qin, and stayed in Qin. Later, he married a wife and had children in the Qin State. His descendants lived in Xianyang and became Qin people, just like ordinary people.
Zhao Gao has several brothers, all of whom are anonymous officials. The only person whose name is left in history is his younger brother Zhao Cheng. Zhao Cheng succeeded Zhao Gao and became a high official in the Qin Empire. He participated in the coup that killed Wang and was also a figure. The secret office is a handicraft workshop set up by the government in an inconspicuous place to hold prisoners. Zhao Gao's mother was punished for her guilt. After being pardoned, she could not see people because of her physical disability and did not want to be seen.
In the Qin Dynasty’s hierarchy, people who worked and lived anonymously were also called anonymous. In today's terms, they are equivalent to ex-convicts. Their status is lower than that of ordinary people, and they can only occupy half of the land and houses of ordinary people. Imperial law emphasizes justice. Although the status of Yin officials is very low, their marriage is not restricted, and the children of Yin officials have the same status as ordinary people. Zhao Gao's father was probably a junior civil servant, a secretive official who knew the law and was good at calligraphy. While hiding incognito, he met Zhao Gao's mother, started a family, and gave birth to the Zhao Gao brothers. The Qin State was a country that valued the world, inherited its father's legacy, and used officials as teachers as its national policy. As an adult, Zhao Gao became a first-class calligrapher and jurist, closely related to his father's career and influence.
Zhao Gao was born in the late Qin Dynasty, probably in 51 AD, and was a native of Xianyang, the capital of Qin. At that time, the Changping War between Qin and Zhao entered the later stage, and the capital of Zhao State, Handan, was besieged by the Qin army. Three years ago, Qin Shihuang was born in Handan, and he and his mother were trapped there. It's interesting to think about. Qin Shihuang and Zhao Gao were basically in the same era and played a role in communication and destruction in history. Qin Shihuang's father was a member of the Qin royal family. Born in Qin and Zhao, he married Zhao. Qin Shihuang was born in Handan, the capital of Zhao State, and later destroyed Zhao State. Zhao Gao, a native of Zhao, came from Zhao to Qin and married a Qin man. Zhao Gao was born in Xianyang, the capital of Qin, and later destroyed Qin. Another contemporary, Liu Bang, was born in Pei County, Chu State in the same year. More than 40 years later, he joined forces with Zhao Gao to destroy Qin, quickly inherited the legacy of Qin Shihuang, and established the Han Dynasty as the foundation. As for another important figure related to the rise and fall of the Qin Empire, Li Si is now an adult, about 25 years old, and serves as a county magistrate in Chu State. These figures who will drive history have not yet collided, but are scattered around, silently waiting for the call of history.
Since Shang Yang’s reform, Qin has cultivated its morality and governed the country in accordance with the law. Soldiers are the most respected by society; ordinary people are most afraid of officials. There are only two ways for men in Qin to enter society: joining the army or becoming an official. When this person was 17 years old, Fu Ji began to undertake the labor of the country, either joining the army, killing enemies, performing meritorious services, or studying in the clinic, and passing the selection examination to become an official. The self-study rooms are official schools that specialize in training grammar officials and are located in the capital and counties. Most students were selected from the children of grammar officials. They entered school at the age of 17 and studied for three years, mainly learning literacy, calligraphy and law. After three years of study, those who can memorize more than 5,000 words can pass the qualification examination in their own study room. They can serve as deacons, or clerks, of grammatical matters. In addition to those who are awarded history, they can also participate in primaries sponsored by the central government. Preliminary examinations were held in various places, and the examination papers of each county were sent to the capital Xianyang for review by the Shaofu History. As a result of judgment, promotion is the best and punishment is the worst. Those with the best grades will be appointed to Jiazhou County, which is equivalent to a secretary and directly subordinate to the county magistrate; those with the worst grades will be removed from their historical positions. Three years later, an advanced selection examination was held for those who would step into history-making positions. After rigorous review and assessment, a best candidate is selected. He entered the court as a minister of history and died. He directly served as a minister in the palace on both sides of King Qin.
Because his father was a language judge and had strict requirements for his children, the Zhao Gao brothers probably learned reading, writing and law under the guidance of their father since childhood, laying a solid grammatical foundation. Zhao Gao has been smart, agile, studious, persistent and tenacious since he was a child. His career in formal grammar may have been smooth sailing. At the age of 17, I entered the study room with Judge Wen's children and achieved excellent results. Three years later he passed the qualifying examination and was awarded the History. Then, he passed the preliminary examination and was named the best linguist judge in the history class. Three years later, he took the advanced selection examination and won first place again. He entered the court of King Qin and inherited the title of Minister. After his death, he directly became the secretary to King Qin. Among the thousands of literary and legal officials in the Qin State, Zhao was an outstanding figure. After Zhao Gao entered the court, his abilities began to directly enter the vision of Ying Zheng, the future Qin Shihuang.
When Zhao Gao entered the dynasty, he was about twenty-three years old, about thirteen years before the Qin Dynasty. This year, King Qin Yingzheng was twenty-six years old. In his fifth year after pro-government, he began to achieve great political success.
Qin's bureaucracy was strict and complete, and the promotion of Chinese judges was mostly assessed through routine examinations, which was a step-by-step process. Zhao Gao is very lucky. During his tenure in the Qin Palace, he was directly appreciated by King Qin Yingzheng, and stood out among the many ministers and dead men in the Shaofu. He was appointed as an officer of CRRC.
Da Fuling is a subordinate of his great servant. Taipingcong was one of the nine ministers of the empire's main departments and provinces. He was responsible for the empire's horse and carriage transportation and was equivalent to the Minister of Transportation. His subordinates include various government agencies and Ma Yuan to oversee the order. For example, various chao spoke orders, with an official rank of 600 shi, and an adjutant, Che Xi Cheng, with an official rank of 300 shi, and dozens of officials. In terms of level, the CRRC government order is only a middle-level official; however, since the CRRC is a forbidden carriage in the palace, its status is equivalent to the emperor's attendant and carriage supervisor. It was responsible for managing the emperor's carriages and horses, accompanying the emperor on his travels, and even driving for the emperor himself. This position was so important that the emperor could not get close to his trusted confidants.
Zhao Gao’s minister CRRC was personally selected and appointed by King Qin Yingzheng. Zhao Gao was appreciated by King Yingzheng of Qin. In addition to outstanding test scores, personal abilities and talents after entering Qin Gong are also major factors. Zhao Gao's calligraphy is first-rate, so in the huge Qin empire, probably no one except Prime Minister Li Si can beat him. Zhao Gao also has profound attainments in primary school writing. He made considerable contributions to the writing reform of the late Qing Dynasty. He wrote six chapters, "Historical Records of Mengtian", which is part of the Qin official literacy textbook and is a famous philological work. The Qin Empire was a pragmatic country governed by the rule of law, a tool for the study of administrative documents and criminal law. Zhao Gao's exquisite calligraphy was only the preparation and result of his study of criminal law and prison law. In Qin's complex and strict legal system, Zhao was a professional legal master and a famous jurist. In his later years, Qin Shihuang entrusted education to his youngest son Hu Hai precisely because of his superb attainments in calligraphy, calligraphy, and law.
Historical books say that Zhao Gao worked hard without complaint, was perseverant, and acted decisively. This is a summary of his outstanding administrative talents. Of course, this was one of the reasons why Qin Shihuang appreciated him. But there were practical reasons why Zhao Gao was promoted to governor by Qin King Ying Zheng, and Zhao Gao was a suitable candidate for this position.
Zhong Fuling is the emperor's attendant and chariot supervisor. He has very strict requirements on the management of chariots and horses and the ability to maintain the emperor's safety. According to the laws of the Qin Dynasty, drivers must undergo at least four years of training. After four years, they were unable to control their own carriages and horses. The instructor wanted punishment and fines, and I had to do hard labor for four years. Qualified drivers must be under 40 years old and taller than 7 feet 5 inches; have sonorous and powerful steps, chasing galloping horses; flexible skills, able to ride up and down; skilled driving skills, able to move forward and backward; powerful, able to control the vehicle Standard; high strength in martial arts, able to draw eight powerful crossbows and bows before galloping. China Auto Home brings together the essence of Qin Dynasty royal cars. Their requirements are far beyond those of ordinary riders. In modern terms, everyone is the master of chariots and horses, and everyone is a warrior in Ouchi. The bronze chariots and horses unearthed from Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum were cast in the realistic style of Qin Shi Huang's life. Their chariots are equipped with swords and crossbows, and their beards are elegant, powerful, and steady. This is the official home image of the CRRC Palace. The CRRC Government Order is the head of the CRRC Government and the supreme master of royal cars and fragrances. It is completely conceivable that Zhao Gao, the commander-in-chief of CRRC, is tall and burly, good at horseback riding, archery, sword dancing, and has extraordinary martial arts skills. He was a rare talent with both civil and military skills in the Qin court.
Zhao Gao's promotion to CRRC was of great significance to his life. Its significance lies not only in the improvement of status, but also in that it involves the core and center of the Qin regime and touches important secrets. If the time is right, it will directly affect the world political situation. When Zhao Gao became an official of the CRRC, he was about forty years old, in his prime, and had a bright future.
But under the autocratic system of official career, the hierarchy of officialdom, and the rule of the monarch, everyone is a helpless pawn. What's more, when emergencies occur, everyone has their own destiny. When his future was promising, Zhao Gao broke the law and was imprisoned. The emperor first ordered his minister Meng Yi to give it a try. The result of the trial was that Zhao Gao was sentenced to death, dismissed from his official position, deprived of his official position in the palace, and awaited execution. It is important to be close to the emperor. Meng Yi did not dare to hide it and directly wrote to the First Emperor for a decision. The emperor couldn't bear to cherish Zhao Gao, thinking that Zhao Gao had been in power for many years and acted quickly and diligently, so he pardoned Zhao Gao as an exception and restored him to the official position of Chexi Order. The details of this incident are not recorded in the history books.
But judging from the history of later generations, whether it is Zhao Gao's life, Sand Dune, the fate of the Montessori family, or even the demise of the Qin Empire, they cannot be ignored. We’ll talk about this later.