Chapter 35 Bank of China said: Is it a traitor to the empire or a cultural scholar?

After Maodun Shanyu died of illness, his son Ji Porridge succeeded him as Shanyu, and his name was Shang Shanyu.The Chanyus before Ji Porridge had no names, so the Xiongnu Shanyu may have learned from the Han Dynasty. There have always been two explanations for the word "Laoshang". Chen Xujing explained in "History of the Xiongnu": "The term "Laoshang" should be translated into Chinese characters. He claimed to be the old Shang Shanyu." In addition, Pei Yi's "Historical Records Collection" quoted Xu Guang as saying: "One cloud'Ji porridge is the second Shan Yu', and since then he has been separated as his younger brother." After a while, he listed the lineage inheritance of Xiongnu Shanyu. He believed that he was the second generation, and "Lao Shang" was equivalent to "Second Generation". However, Xu Guang himself said this in a doubtful tone, that is, No one can be sure about this.

During the time when the old Shang Shanyu was in power, the national power of the Huns was still very strong, and it did not change due to the death of Mao Dun.After Ji Porridge succeeded Shan Yu, he led the Huns to launch the fourth war of aggression against the Yuezhi, killed the Yuezhi king and took his head as a drinking vessel, and caused some Yuezhi people to flee westward to the Junggar Basin and Ili. The Shi people drove away some of the local Serbs and settled here. Since then, the Huns have grown in prestige, and the country is booming. They have completely controlled the Western Regions and guarded the trade between the East and the West. With the rapid development of the economy, the national power has become stronger and stronger. It is really difficult for the Han Dynasty to match it.

In such a situation where the Han was weak and the Xiongnu were strong and the power was disparate, the government of the Western Han Dynasty wisely and decisively adopted a soft policy towards the old Shang Shanyu's government. A royal princess married to the Huns.Liu Heng mainly wanted Bank of China to take care of the princess during the journey, but Bank of China said that he firmly disagreed with going to the Xiongnu, and threatened the Han court: "If you do not force me to go to the Xiongnu, I will cause disaster for you. " The Bank of China said that it might be a person who yearns for the simple folk customs of the Huns. He despises the intrigues of the Han people and only cares about political struggles all day long.However, probably because this person was in the Han area, his thoughts and actions had to be restricted by traditional morals and rules, especially in actions.

He was unwilling to take the initiative to go to the Huns, because as long as he escaped from the Han Dynasty, his thought and action constraints would be lifted, and as long as he arrived in the Huns, he could not help but devote himself to that land. And it is true.Bank of China said that he had a stubborn temper, and Liu Heng was even more stubborn than him. To be precise, both of them were very stubborn. Bank of China said that they were forcibly sent to the Huns in the end.As a result, this guy was so angry that he surrendered when he got there, and told the old Shang Shanyu all the secrets of the Han Dynasty he knew.Ji Porridge was overjoyed when he heard about it, and said to Bank of China that he was very favored.The Bank of China said that it was also a traitor and sold it happily. It was complacent as a "traitor" and settled in the Huns with peace of mind.

The Huns originally liked the silk and food of the Han Dynasty. Of course, this kind of liking is by no means a kind of dependence, but just a kind of curiosity.However, Zhongxing said that it is completely wrong for the Huns to love the food and clothing of the Han people. He told Ji Porridge: "The total population of the Xiongnu is not as large as the population of a county in the Han Dynasty, but the Xiongnu is much stronger than the Han Dynasty. It is because the clothing and food habits of the Huns are different from those of the Han Dynasty. Shan Yu always likes the things of the Han people, which is very dangerous. The Huns cannot be dependent on the products of the Han people, otherwise the Han people only need to take out their items A very small part can buy off our entire Huns. This is the Han Dynasty’s sinister policy of softening and assimilating the Huns.”

Perhaps today's readers will think that Bank of China's words are nonsense when they hear these words, and they will rise up against the case and scold angrily: "The traitor Bank of China said, why do we Han people have such vicious ideas, why are our Han people's things bad, and why are Han people's things so bad?" Weaker than the Huns so much that they want to resort to such indecent tricks!" In fact, however, what the Bank of China said was not wrong at all.In the era when human beings have not stepped into the development of globalization, the independence of a nation is an important factor in determining its rise and fall.At the same time, the independence of a nation should be based on conforming to the natural characteristics of its region.

What the Bank of China said is undoubtedly the most beneficial to the development of the Huns. Moreover, the Bank of China said that it was a conspiracy that the Han sent a large amount of Han goods to the Xiongnu, which is also completely correct.Jia Yi did put forward such a suggestion to Liu Heng, and it was also adopted by Liu Heng. This will be explained in detail later, and I will not express it here for the time being. Ji Porridge very much agrees with what Bank of China said. In order to let the Huns realize that the things of the Han Dynasty are actually not as good as those of the Huns, every time the Han Dynasty sends clothes to the Huns, Ji Porridge deliberately brings people wearing silk fabrics in the store. Running in the thorny jungle, let the branches scratch all the silk clothes, in order to prove that the quality of the silk clothes of the Han Dynasty is not as good as the felt carpet leather clothes of the Huns.Ji Congee also made people throw away all the Han food brought in by the Han Dynasty, in order to show that those things are far from the Xiongnu's big cheese.In addition, Bank of China said that it also helped Shanyu keep records, conduct censuses, investigate private capital and the development of animal husbandry.

The above narration is carried out in an objective and neutral manner.However, if we read "Historical Records: Biography of the Huns", you will find that the Huns are very funny, their series of practices are very hypocritical, and the porridge also seems very immature, although what the author is talking about is the same thing, giving people a sense of humor. The impression is quite different.This is actually related to Shi Qian's own view of history. Sima Qian's subjective national consciousness in his description of the history of the Huns is very strong.In fact, it is not only the Huns, Sima Qian has prejudice against all ethnic minorities. This prejudice is reflected in "Historical Records", which is mentioned in the book "Huns: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Nomadic Countries" by Japanese historian Isao Sawada. The so-called "our consciousness" relative to other (ethnic) groups".

In addition, Chinese people have been indoctrinated with Confucianism since they were young, talking about "China Zhengshuo" and "Han nationalism" and thinking that "Hua and Yi are different". These traditional concepts must be rejected when we study ethnic historiography.The author must emphasize these in the narration of the text, because most people in today’s society are influenced by the “discrimination between Hua and Barbarians” and cannot face up to ethnic historiography.In fact, these ideas that emphasize that minority civilizations are completely behind Han civilization as a whole have a strong sense of national division and dictatorship, which is completely unacceptable today.If you can’t understand this point well, readers won’t be able to objectively treat the incisive and penetrating remarks made by Bank of China in the next debate with the envoys of the Han Dynasty.

The envoys of the Han Dynasty came to the Xiongnu and criticized the Huns for not treating the elderly well. Bank of China retorted: "According to the customs of the Han people, when a son joins the army, do parents have to do their best to wear the thickest clothes and the best quilts?" How about bringing out the food for your son?" The envoy of the Han Dynasty replied: "Yes." The Bank of China continued to say: "The Xiongnu are a nation on horseback. Everyone is skilled in bowing horses. There are many wars in the country, and the old and weak cannot participate in the battles. Therefore, the fat food is rewarded to the healthy people. Defend the vulnerable groups, defend the country, so that the safety of the old and the young is guaranteed, how can it be said that we treat the elderly badly!"

The envoy of the Han Dynasty criticized again: "Father and son of the Xiongnu live together under a yurt (yurt). When the father dies, the son will marry his stepmother; sister-in-law) married. The Huns don’t wear hats or belts, and there is no strict hierarchy, so the status and status of the monarch and ministers are not obvious.” Bank of China retorted: "According to the customs of the Huns, the big guys eat meat, drink milk and wear fur clothes. The livestock eat grass and drink water, and can be moved at any time. Therefore, the Huns are skilled in bows and horses, and they can fight when they encounter wars." , when there is no war, people can live and work in peace and contentment, concentrate on production, there are few restrictions on people's activities, and everything is easy to deal with. There are no complicated and useless etiquettes between monarchs and ministers. The whole country is like a whole from top to bottom, and government orders are conveyed smoothly. very good. "Father and son brothers died, and the living family members married their wives, so that the family lineage could be guaranteed. Therefore, what the Huns did seemed to be unethical, but in fact they protected their noble lineage. "Although the Han people in the Central Plains do not marry the wives of their fathers and brothers, the relationship between their family members will become alienated as the blood relationship gradually weakens, which will eventually lead to family members killing each other and even changing their surnames. This is what you Han people say The result of the so-called autocratic ethics. "The development of the hierarchy of etiquette and righteousness will magnify the contradictions and conflicts between people to the extreme. Traditional etiquette is used to make people hate each other; if the house is built to the extreme, manpower and material resources will be exhausted. Used in farming and mulberry The way of working is used to meet the needs of clothing and food, and the way of building cities is used to defend against foreign enemies. This will cause the common people not to fight in wartimes, and to patronize the building of cities and houses in peacetime. "You Han people who love houses, you better shut up quickly, don't talk about it, and wear hats and belts, what's the use of pretending all day long!" Although the words of the Bank of China may not sound good to the ears of the people of the Han Dynasty, they are indeed reasonable. A physically disabled eunuch can have such an advanced understanding of the traditional ethics and autocratic system of the Central Plains Dynasty and the difference between nomadic civilization and farming civilization. Although he is still not as thorough as the reflection of modern thinkers, he is still worthy of respect. The remarks made by the Bank of China are obviously after careful consideration and several investigations. If we abandon the political stance that the Bank of China said, he seems to be more like a scholar who studies the similarities and differences of Chinese and Hungarian cultures, but his academic achievements are covered by his political leanings up. Bank of China said that he was a traitor of the Han Empire, but he is one of the few scholars in history who can clearly understand the cultural differences between the Han and Hungarian nations. His views have the value of setting things right. From then on, the envoys of the Han Dynasty could not hold their heads up in front of the Bank of China. Every time Liu Heng's envoy wanted to argue, the Bank of China said: "You don't come here, and you should honestly give us the money with quality and quantity. The Xiongnu's cloth and cotton grains are ready, that's all. If you don't have all kinds of things to hand over, and if there is any problem with the quality, then wait for our Hun cavalry to trample on your crops when the autumn harvest comes!" In addition, Bank of China also often helped the old Shang Shanyu to test which places in the Han Dynasty could be attacked and which places could not be attacked. In the eleventh year of Emperor Wen's BC (169 BC), the Xiongnu launched a tentative attack on the Han Dynasty. Three years later, a large-scale Hun army invaded the border of the Han Dynasty, and the relationship between Han and Xiongnu became tense again.