Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Soil, Wind Direction and Rainfall

The yellow-brown soil seen by tourists from Xi'an to Lishan is the southeastern edge of the loess belt.The soil is as fine as flour, and it is imagined that it was transported by the wind millions of years ago and accumulated in a vast area.Its depth ranges from 50 to 700 feet, and its lower layers were probably shattered by the extreme pressure at the end of the Ice Age.Part of the soil may have been flushed by water and settled in the east, and after a long period of accumulation, it has accumulated to the depth it is today.This phenomenon has several effects on the unfolding of Chinese history: Because the loess is so thin, it can be cultivated by primitive tools, such as wooden plows and hoes.The founding of the Zhou Dynasty and the promotion of agriculture were mutually exclusive, obviously benefiting from this soil characteristic.Thus, in 1000 BC, Chinese society was culturally homogeneous.The organization of its grassroots cells is inextricably bound up with the operation of small plots of land, and it also shows the unity of the family.All of these have been confirmed by countless written materials, and it is not a certain kind of data that insists on this.

The loess also had another influence on China: the middle reaches of the Yellow River cut the loess region in half from north to south, with a length of 500 miles.It is also fed by several tributaries inland, and as a result, the Yellow River carries a lot of silt in its water.Generally, 5% of the sediment in the water of the river is quite a lot. The Amazon River in South America may be as high as 12% in summer, while the Yellow River's flowing water once had a record of 46%.One of the tributaries reached an unbelievable 63 percent sand concentration in one summer.Therefore, the Yellow River often silts up the riverbed, causing dikes to burst and flood, resulting in the possibility of massive loss of life and property.The flow of the river varies greatly between floods and dry periods, often exacerbating potential crises.It stands to reason that a central authority preferably located upstream, with the prestige to mobilize all resources and command the relevant people, can provide due security under the constant threat of the Yellow River.When the King of Zhou was unable to accomplish this task, great pressure was generated in the environment to make the central power reappear.So China's unity is driven by natural forces.

There is a record in "Spring and Autumn", which mentions that in 651 BC, the king of Zhou was unable to do so, so the Marquis of Qi summoned the relevant princes to make an oath not to build water conservancy projects that would hinder neighboring countries, and not to hinder the flow of grain during natural disasters.This "Kuiqiu Alliance" was mentioned by Mencius about 350 years later, but he also pointed out that the alliance swore to itself, and after the meeting, countries still acted on their own. Water control is mentioned 11 times in Mencius, which shows its importance.One of the paragraphs more directly accuses the people of that time of flooding neighboring countries for injustice.It is not difficult for us to see the consistent relationship between the flood and the Yellow River and the Loess Belt.Mencius said that the world is "fixed in one", that is, only when it is unified can there be stability.From this point of view, geographical conditions are closely related to the development of history, especially when we broaden the scope of geography and extend the perspective of history.

The above-mentioned circulation of grains and rice deserves special consideration.The rainfall in China is very seasonal. About 80% of the annual rainfall occurs in three months in summer, and the wind direction changes during this period.Moreover, the rain brought by China's monsoon is related to cyclones. The hot wind with moisture from the Philippine Sea needs to be raised by the low pressure circle from west to east and northeast to condense into rain.Thus, the livelihood of millions of sentient beings is often affected by the timely encounter of these two variables.If these two airflows continuously meet over a certain area, thunderstorms and floods may occur in the area.Conversely, if they avoid another area again and again, the area will be drought again.The predecessors lacked the knowledge of this kind of weather, and only mentioned in history books that there must be a famine at the age of six, and there must be a great famine at the age of 12.In fact, in the 2117 years before the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, there were 1621 floods and 1392 droughts, the seriousness of which was raised by the government.That is to say, there are 1.392 famines per year on average without interruption.

In "Spring and Autumn", there are often records that the troops of neighboring countries crossed the border to seize the harvest.Denial of food aid in times of famine, in particular, can be a trigger for war. Mencius mentioned famine 17 times.A passage mentions that in 320 BC, the king of the Wei State told Yasheng that he had to order a large number of people to cross the river to relocate for food when the famine was severe because his territory straddled the banks of the Yellow River.At this time, the State of Lu had expanded its territory five times, and the State of Qi had expanded its territory ten times.It is not difficult to imagine that the big powers had a clear advantage over the smaller countries at that time.The resources they control can produce precise effects in disaster relief, so they also receive extensive support in the war of annexation.When the princes fought for great success, the common people fought for survival.Such competition can only spirally make the two factors join more and more and become bigger.

Another meteorological factor also contributed to the development of centralization.Although the rainfall in a certain place can vary greatly from year to year, the average rainfall in the whole of China has a certain pattern.This phenomenon is not difficult to explain. The more the hot wind carrying moisture is blown into the interior, the higher the degree of evaporation will be.And coastal rains have reduced the humidity in the air.Of note is the so-called "15-inch isohytes."This line runs from northeast to southwest of China, and a section of it roughly coincides with the Great Wall, and further west and south separates Qinghai from Tibet and China proper.To the southeast of this isoline, an average annual rainfall of at least 15 inches is normal, in line with Lattimore's (Owen Lattimore) said, "the central plains are flourishing in agriculture and the population is multiplying."Referring to the west and north of the line, he said: "Within thousands of miles, human beings do not care about farming at all. They do not directly depend on the plants on the land for their livelihood, but add a mechanical action between themselves and the plants. This is to say that this group of people is a nomadic people. They travel with their livestock in dry areas and let the cattle and sheep find water and grass by themselves.The livelihood of pastoralists cannot be transformed into that of rice farmers.

Chinese peasants and shepherds outside the Great Wall have struggled for two thousand years. Looking back, there is less joy and more hatred.Especially when the weather is unfavorable, plagiarists on horseback can't help but plan to attack farmers, who usually have half a year's savings.Sporadic aggressions may escalate into warfare, with defenders attempting to retaliate, and sometimes to strike in an all-out manner to pre-empt strikes. In terms of time, the murals of the Assyrians depicted archers on horseback in the 9th century BC, but all nomadism became a tribal habit and the cavalry tactics that followed appeared later, and after a long period of time, Only spread to East Asia.By the 3rd century BC, the threat of nomads had become quite serious. At this time, it was necessary to combine the earth walls built by several small northern countries to form a connected fortress. This project finally made Qin Shihuang famous in history.So the unfolding of this situation also points out that China has to centralize power even in defense.The national defense line roughly coincides with the 15-inch isorain, which is the longest defense line in the world. It not only left a bitter memory for countless soldiers, but also a source of tears for Chinese women.In short, it constitutes the third factor geographically, and it is destined that the bureaucracy of China's agricultural society must be placed under a strong central system.

Mencius has only been unified by Qin Shihuang for 50 years. Like the Legalists, he already agrees that China needs a central authority.It's just that the first emperor used brutal force to complete the unification of the empire, while Yasheng was still persuading with good intentions, emphasizing moral change.Historically they have mastered the same kind of problems.At close range, Mencius seems to have failed. When he persuaded the monarchs of the Warring States to follow Zhou Wenwang's government, Zhou's feudalism had declined to an unrecognizable degree.The well field system has long been abandoned, and the hereditary class of ministers and officials has been replaced by bureaucrats.Because the monarch can directly send bureaucrats to govern the subordinate areas, they can directly tax the people, and they can also be recruited into soldiers, tens of thousands.And this competitive ethos is more influenced by business.So-called commerce was still in its infancy, only made alive and visible by the political activities of a few special individuals across national borders.In such an environment, it is no longer the case that everything has a certain place and place, or that everything can be dealt with with etiquette and compassion.In fact, the annexation wars continued until there was only one victor.

However, in the long run, Mencius, the sub-sage, and Confucius, the great sage, have seen clearly that China is destined to be a huge rural organization. Although it must act according to certain mathematical principles, it still needs the foundation of humanism. adjust.The so-called Confucianism is composed of lofty emotions, and it has its own value in this context. Mencius mentions that Yasheng disagreed with two of his younger philosophers.Yang Zhu advocated that everyone act according to their own self-interest. If morality is used to persuade people to act against their own will, it will only increase chaos. Therefore, he said that it is not okay to pluck out a hair to benefit the world.His logic holds that everyone should approach happiness and avoid suffering according to their own tendencies, which is very close to the "possessive individualism" (possessive individualism) that is fashionable in the West recently.Contrary to his point of view is Mozi, who emphasizes that heaven commands everyone to love others regardless of boundaries and restraints of ritual.With such a compulsive presence, no demands are too much.In action, Mo Di and his disciples risked their lives in an attempt to avoid the annexation war that day.

Mencius had nothing good to say about either of them.He accused Yang Zhuzhi of indulging personal self-interest, which is tantamount to admitting that the monarch is unnecessary.On the other hand, Mozi's universal love is tantamount to denying the special status of his father.With categorical intransigence he warns: "There is no father or king, nor are beasts." Such intolerance may surprise modern readers.Therefore, it is necessary to cast a historical perspective in order to understand what is going on. At the end of the Warring States period, ironware had already appeared, so the complexity of the upper class increased.But hundreds of years later, China is still an agricultural country, and the grassroots still maintains a uniform and similar foundation.The writers still used bamboo slices to make book covers, and the invention of paper was still in the 1st century AD.But the conditions that require the entire empire to act as one cannot wait.In this way, to form a grassroots organization among the peasant masses is nothing more than promoting family unity.One corollary of this is to have hereditary monarchs follow the example of their fathers.The kindness towards other people must also be divided into closeness and closeness, just like blood relationship.Therefore, it may be attractive to modern readers to think that individuals act according to self-interest or treat others equally, but it is unrealistic in ancient China. First of all, legal disputes will arise.Until the 20th century, China still lacked the ability to protect individual human rights, let alone before the birth of Christ.In fact, China has maintained a largely unchanged criminal law throughout the monarchy. This criminal law also obliges everyone to keep their own place according to the social organization, that is, the closeness of the family. As for what rights each person has, it can only be determined by this depends on the social system.

Modern jurisprudence is derived over a long period of time.In the West, it was not until the end of the Middle Ages that the feudal princes were unable to control the city, so that the citizens were not subject to the control of the manor court.Later, from the privileges of the city, came the liberties of citizens. From the beginning to the end, this development is not waiting for anyone to seek.It was not until the last two centuries that a conscious movement arose that extended the liberties of all citizens to the whole people.It is only in recent decades that we have seen this movement gradually achieve its purpose.In fact, it is also destined that this movement has never occurred in Chinese history. It is not that there are factors that oppose this trend and oppose it, but that the conflict between the gentry and businessmen and the bureaucrats in the city has never occurred.European sinologist Etienne Balazs said that Chinese bureaucrats never lost control of the city.In fact, Chinese officials have the most power within the city walls. It is obvious that the rulers of Confucianism affirmed the status of men over women, the elders over the younger, and the educated over the ignorant when they legislated, thinking that all this was consistent with the law of nature.For a long time, the order and stability produced by this system won the admiration of the outside world.It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that Western commercial interests gained a foothold in various coastal areas of China with their strength, which completely exposed the weakness of the Confucian system by comparison.It claims to be a perfect ideal, after all, there are more assumptions than reality.Moreover, it aims at satisfying the lowest expectations of the people, rather than the highest standards, and appears to be a poorly organized and ineffective form of government.It lacks both flexibility and strength.When these weaknesses are exposed, its inefficiency can still be regarded as immoral. Combining Yang Zhu, Mo Di, and Meng Ke together, we can see the long stems in Chinese history.Of course, there is more to it than that. Since then, this face and trend have developed quite a long time, involving many amazing twists and turns. The above only points out that anything worth mentioning is unfolded in China, usually on a very large scale. Expand.The dramatic and unexpected places in Chinese history are of course inseparable from this characteristic, and if there are any mistakes and mistakes in it, they are usually serious mistakes and mistakes.