Chapter 124 Burning books and burying scholars

This is a major event in the persecution of Confucianism and Confucianism in Chinese history. At the time of Confucius, his ideas were not accepted by the princes.After Confucius, the propositions of Mencius and Xunzi were not adopted by the princes.Mencius described his situation at that time as saying that the opinions of the people in the world were either in favor of Zhu or Mozi.Although many Confucianists were serving the regime at that time in various forms, the ideas of Confucianism were not supported by the princes.After the Qin Dynasty unified China, it also faced a problem of how to govern, or the problem of what ideology to govern.Such a debate erupted at a sudden moment.

In 213 BC, Qin Shihuang held a large banquet in the imperial palace, and Confucian scholars who served as doctors (advisors to the emperor) toasted the emperor.At this time, Zhou Qingchen, a military chief, praised that in the past, the land of the Qin State was only a thousand miles away. Thanks to the emperor's wisdom, as long as the sun and the moon can shine, it is our territory.The original vassal states became prefectures and counties, and the common people are happy, and they will never suffer from wars for generations to come.Since ancient times, no emperor has had such great merit.Qin Shihuang was very happy when he heard this.

At this time, a doctor named Chun Yuyue stepped forward and retorted, I heard that the rule of the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty lasted for thousands of years, because they entrusted their children and heroes as branches and assistants of the central government.Now we practice counties and counties, and the children are almost like ordinary people.If someone wants to usurp the central government, how to rescue each other.Rule a country without imitating the ancients, and such rule will not last long.But Zhou Qingchen flattered you face to face. This is to aggravate your fault, the emperor, not the behavior of a loyal minister.

Qin Shihuang handed over their opinions to his courtiers for discussion.Prime Minister Li Si believes that since ancient times, the policies of successive dynasties are different, but they can all cure the country.It's not that they intended to do the opposite, but that circumstances have changed.Now that the emperor has created such a great achievement, the stupid Confucian scholars cannot understand it.What Chunyu Yue was talking about was the situation in ancient times, so how could he be a role model for today!In the past, when the feudal lords fought with each other, they used generous gifts to recruit scholars who were running around and seeking to be officials.Now that the world is unified, the common people should regard agricultural production as their main business, and the scholars should study the laws of the country carefully.But these Confucian scholars want to learn ancient things, slander today's policies, and confuse the people.I do not think that the free expression of all kinds of speech during the war can be continued, so that people will oppose the unified orders of the country according to their own doctrines, they flatter each other, and slanderous speeches everywhere, which will weaken if it is not prohibited. The authority of the emperor.In this case, I think it should be strictly prohibited.Therefore, it is suggested that, first, burn folk books, "Shangshu" and scholars' monographs, and keep them in state collections; second, keep books on medicine, divination, and tree planting; third, those who are willing to learn laws and regulations should ask officials Learn.

This book burning was carried out quite strictly, which dealt a heavy blow to the spread of Confucianism among the people. After this burning, although Confucian books have almost disappeared among the people, the state still retains them.However, at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu led troops to overthrow the rule of the Qin Dynasty and burned down the palaces of the Qin Dynasty. This time, the country's collection of books also suffered a heavy loss, and many Confucian books were eventually lost.