Kapiolani
Community College Horizons 2001
Kapiolani
Community College
Horizons 2001
In 897 B.C. the ruling house of Zhou in China granted a local chieftain and breeder of horses a small portion of land on which to breed horses. The chieftain, an ancestor of the Qin Dynasty, settled in the northwest portion of China, in the area now known as Shensi and Kansu. Deep in the Wei Valley, protected by natural defenses of mountains and rivers, the Qin prospered.
Surrounded by nomadic groups living on their western borders, the Qin often intermarried with women from the tribe known as Rong (Guisso, 28). While the Qin benefited militarily from their strategic location, their obscure origins and ethnicity placed them in an inferior position in the realm of feudal China, and they were often referred to as “a barbarian state.”(Eberhard, 62). In 677 B.C., armed with a superior cavalry, and a strong base, the Qin illegally changed their titles to “Duke,” and slowly pushed their borders eastward, encroaching on and eventually confiscating large portions of Zhou land. The Qin were soon recognized for their military leadership and political cunning. In 350 B.C., the Qin rulers established their capital in Xianyang, and in 325 B.C., relinquished the title of “Duke” for the more impressive title of “King.” With their new titles, vast wealth, and good location, the Qin state was born (Guisso, 28 -9).
The once illustrious Zhou Dynasty, reduced and divided by feudalism, became just one of many states to struggle for superiority during the long and embittered “warring states” era. The Qin, although recognized as a minor power, were not considered a threat to the many larger kingdoms, and were continually overlooked because of their mixed bloodline. The battles of the warring period raged from 481-221 B.C. As weaker states were overcome by stronger ones, the number of competitors was reduced, and in 403 B.C., the six powerful states of Han, Wei, Zhou, Ch’u, Ch’i and Yen, along with a few others including the Qin, remained in competition for dominance (Bodde, 2).
Kingdoms, including the Qin, continuously sought advances in warfare and agricultural techniques. Philosophical schools of thought were supported, and educated philosophers were often recruited in the hopes of gaining valuable insight and superior knowledge. As the endless wars took their toll on the population of China, rulers, in an attempt at lessening the loss of so many lives, often employed diplomatic tactics in the fight for supremacy. Alliances were forged and broken, royal hostages and spies were planted in rival courts, and beautiful women, trained in the art of seduction, provided distraction in enemy states (Guisso, 30).
The warring period challenged the ideals of Confucianism, as traditional values were cast aside in favor of independence and self-reliance. While Confucian ideals of virtue, benevolence and righteousness worked in a peaceful time, they provided little comfort in the ensuing social and political upheaval. Contending states were inundated with roaming scholars, each anxious to teach his philosophy and serve his master dutifully. No longer the prize of a precious few, knowledge and the certain conquests it would bring were greedily sought after by all rulers. The philosophy known as Legalism was the last of the major schools of thought born in China during the warring period. “Fa-chia,” or The Legalist School, clashed greatly with Confucianism. While Confucianism believed in the inherent noble qualities of men, legalism believed men were basically evil in nature. In contrast with Confucian thought of “government for the people,” legalist thought espoused coercive laws, severe punishment, and the use of force to bind the masses to a tightly controlled state. Rejected by supporters of Confucianism, legalism advocated the concept of “positive” law. Requiring complete obedience and service to the ruler, positive law placed little emphasis on education, making all men equal (Harrison, 75 - 6).
Three men stand out in the history of legalism: Shang Yang, Han Fei-Tzu, and Li Ssu. Shang Yang, a legalist and statesmen, recognized the Qin potential for dominance, and in 350 B.C. left his own state of Wei to join the Qin court, then under Duke Hsiao. It was under the tutelage of Shang Yang that the house of Qin gained great advances in wealth and power. Shang Yang promoted harsh reforms and new codes of law based on systems of reward and punishment. He advocated conscription in the Qin army. Its lands confiscated by the reformed government of Shang Yang, the nobility found itself reduced in both influence and wealth. Under this legalist government, peasants had the unprecedented opportunity to buy and manage farmland of their own. For the legalist government of Qin, population growth meant more bodies to fill the armies, and the state of Qin grew considerably in size and strength. Passionate about his beliefs, Shang Yang, ignoring traditional values, went so far as to punish Prince Ssu, the Duke’s heir to the throne, when the prince overstepped the law. When Duke Hsiao died in 338 B.C., Shang Yang was left in a vulnerable situation. Surrounded by enemies, including the new Qin King, Shang Yang was outlawed and eventually killed by the Qin army as he attempted to stage a rebellion against the Qin (Li, 77-8).
Han Fei-tzu and Li Ssu, both Confucian scholars and students of the master Confucian Hsun Tzu, attended their studies in the area known as Lan-ling. While Hsun Tzu taught Confucian doctrine, he also firmly believed that men were by nature selfish and evil. Even while absorbing their master’s teachings, Han Fei-tzu and Li Ssu opposed the Confucian merits placed on education and moral values. Legalism and its reliance on exacting laws made better sense to the young colleagues. In 248 B.C., Li Ssu took leave of his teacher. Having already decided that the state of Qin was superior, he set off in hopes of gaining entrance to the court of Qin. Han Fei-tzu would return to his home state of Han (Chan, 115, and Bodde, 57).
Li Ssu, the man who would eventually become the force behind the first emperor of China, was born in the state of Ch’u, in Shang-ts’ai, the area now known as Honan. While his actual date of birth is unknown, it is estimated that Li Ssu was born in approximately 280 B.C. A man of great ambition, Li Ssu traveled to the Qin capital after completing his studies, and found favor with the then Grand Councilor Lu Pu-wei (Cotterell, 162).
Born in 259 B.C., amidst the heavy fighting for dominance, Prince Zheng of the Qin clan was destined to inherit both his ancestor’s hard-earned territory and the clan’s heady determination to realize supreme control of China. When Prince Zheng was just thirteen years old, his father King Zizhu died, leaving Lu Pu-wei, the Grand Councilor to the throne, to serve as regent for the prince. In 238 B.C., at the age of 22, the prince assumed the throne, and upon doing so, exiled his former regent Lu Pu-wei, amidst a scandalous rumor and attempted rebellion involving some members of the royal court (Guisso, 30-4).
Prior
to Prince Zheng’s birth, his father, Prince Zizhu, had been held as a
royal hostage in the state of Zhao, where he was befriended by a politically
influential merchant, Lu Pu-wei. With the help of the Qin King’s favorite
wife who was herself without a child, Lu Pu-wei convinced the King to make Prince
Zizhu his heir apparent. Prince Zizhu, as heir apparent, married one of Lu Pu-wei’s
concubines. Unbeknownst to the prince, the concubine was already pregnant with
Lu Pu-wei’s child. When his wife gave birth to a baby boy, Zizhu, by now
King, was none the wiser. At the age of twenty-two, Prince Zheng ascended the
throne, and became aware of his dubious origins. Although Lu Pu-wei and several
court advisors attempted to overthrow the young King, Zheng immediately retaliated
by exiling not only his Grand Councilor, but his mother as well. Although King
Zheng regretted his mother’s exile, and eventually allowed her to return
to Qin, the betrayal of his chief advisor was not forgiven, and Lu Pu-wei committed
suicide two years later (Bodde, 62).
The attempted rebellion by his most trusted advisor weighed heavily on the King’s pride, and, as Lu Pu-wei had been a non-native of Qin, King Zheng issued a decree in 237 B.C., calling for the expulsion of aliens from the state of Qin. Li Ssu, an outsider himself, found his new position as “Alien Minister” to the court threatened. Having previously impressed the King with his vision of a unified country, Li Ssu was allowed to verbally challenge the King’s decree of expulsion. In his argument, Li Ssu reminded the King of all the gains the Qin Dynasty had obtained through outside influences. As the Qin state eagerly sought to refine its cultural standing, many influences were brought in from areas outside of Qin. In ridding the state of all aliens, Li Ssu argued, the King would also be dismissing the cultural changes the Qin had enjoyed. After Li Ssu’s weighty argument, the King reconsidered and revoked his decree. In appreciation of his counsel, King Zheng honored Li Ssu with advancement to the post of “Minister of Justice.” With his future in the Qin court firmly established, Li Ssu asked for and was granted the honor of financing a network of spies to expedite China’s unification (Cotterell, 163).
In the pursuit of unification, King Zheng and his trusted advisor Li Ssu made strategic alliances with, or fought wars against, their neighbors. King Zheng, already educated in the reforms of Shang Yang, continued the practice of legalism in his campaign for dominance. Militarily weak in the North and East of Qin land, King Zheng ordered the settlement of great numbers of Qin peasants to areas previously inhabited by nomadic tribes, and the Qin expanded their area of influence much more (Guisso, 78 and Cotterell, 149).
The Qin army, hardened by many years of nomadic warfare, was strengthened even more by King Zheng’s belief in legalism. In contrast to feudal practice, the Qin King promoted men based on their fighting merit, not on their social position. Only warriors of excellent fighting ability and loyalty were allowed luxuries in legalist Qin, and this recognition helped make the Qin army quite superior, attracting soldiers from many areas. What areas of conquest could not be acquired through the use of force, were acquired instead by the use of bribery and manipulation. The state of Qin grew in size and wealth, and from 237-221 B.C., launched a steady and organized fight for conquest of China. Having studied legalism, King Zheng recognized the brilliance of Han Fei-tzu, the foremost writer of legalist ideology. As the Qin State grew in size and strength, the King of Han, in an effort to prevent invasion by the Qin, sent Han Fei-tzu as emissary to Qin. As delighted as King Zheng was with meeting the author of many legalist writings, Li Ssu’s advice again had great influence on the King. Li Ssu reminded the King that Han Fei-tzu, a native of Han, would clearly strive to bring success to his master, not the Qin. King Zheng ordered the emissary imprisoned, and unbeknownst to the King, Li Ssu sent poison to Han Fei-tzu who, in disgrace, committed suicide. When the King, regretting his decision to imprison the scholar, sent for Han Fei-tzu, the emissary was already dead (Bodde, 63-4 and Guisso, 64-5) .
In 256 B.C., the powerful state of Ch’u surrendered to the Qin, and the fate of China was sealed. In 221 B.C., the last of the remaining states, Ch’i, was conquered, and King Zheng’s dream of unification was completed. In honor of achieving the unification of China, King Zheng, encouraged by his advisors, determined his new title would be “First Qin Sovereign Emperor,” or “Qin Shi Huang Ti,” clearly recognizing the ruler’s unique position. According to the Emperor, his successors would be recognized as “Sovereign Emperors,” differentiating each emperor’s reign by number. Though it would not happen, Qin Shi Huang Ti predicted his dynasty would encompass ten thousand emperors (Eberard. 62, 66 amd Cotterell, 139) .
The
legalism that worked so well in the Qin Kingdom would soon be implemented in
all areas of China and Li Ssu, now Grand Councilor, gained even more influence
with the Emperor. As the Emperor also believed in Taoism, the philosophy that
held nature and the cosmos as the ideal in life, he also strongly believed in
the theory of the “five elements.” The theory of the five elements,
according to Taoist beliefs, was the successive cyclic character that legitimized
empires and their reign. Five elements of nature Ñ fire, water, earth, wood,
and metal Ñ served as symbolic characters for successive reigning powers. The
former Zhou Dynasty was characterized by the element of fire, and as water extinguishes
fire, the new Qin Emperor chose water as his empire’s characteristic element.
The Emperor decided that like the “cold and harsh” element of water,
so too would his reign be unyielding and severe. The Emperor declared the color
of black, the color symbolic of water, to be recognized as the official color
of his empire, and all flags, court robes, and pennants were of this color.
The Emperor also referred to his subjects as the “blackhaired ones.”
As the number six symbolized the element of water, the Emperor determined that
the physical appearance of things such as the height of hats and length of cart
axles would be standardized by the number six (Guisso, 36, 86) .
In its desire to prevent rebellion, the government of Qin relocated the noble families of conquered regions to the capital of Qin in Xianyang. Stripped of their influence and wealth, the noble families, estimated at one hundred and twenty thousand, were left with little ability to muster any offensive measure against the Qin. According to legalist precept, the entire expanse of the Emperor’s land was divided into thirty-six units of command, or provinces, with these further divided into prefectures. The prefectures were subordinate to the provinces, and the provinces were directly accountable to the Emperor. Putting an effective end to feudalism, the Emperor did not bestow his loyal advisors or the royal family with gifts of land. Instead, three officials in each province, each to serve for a limited time, were responsible for successful administration of the Emperor’s law. The use of three officials served to prevent any individual gaining an unnecessary amount of power in the province, and helped to ensure the success of the legalist government. As many of the Emperor’s ministers were Confucian at heart and proponents of feudalism, they urged the Emperor to secure his vast territories with his sons. Arguing that only then would all of China be successfully controlled, the ministers urged the Emperor to reconsider his decisions. It was the equally firm argument of the Emperor’s Grand Councilor Li Ssu that prevailed in the end. Li Ssu reminded the Emperor of the fallen house of Zhou, and how the practice of feudalism and independent family holdings had led to the Zhou’s destruction. He went on to argue that if the Emperor divided his vast domain, his empire would suffer similar division (Eberhard, 64 and Bodde, 78-9) .
With the country unified and controlled by officials of the government, the ability to communicate effectively became paramount to the success of the Qin Empire. Efficient communication certainly furthered the cause of unity in the land, and enhanced the Emperor’s plans for a cohesive society. Li Ssu was very influential in making the writing of China uniform by repressing various characters and approving others (Bodde, 122 and Guisso, 90).
With the overwhelming influx of population in the capital, taxes, then paid in kind, became of great importance, and a system of uniform weights and measures was enforced. The standardized system helped to ensure a steady flow of taxes for the government. As the network of roads in the Emperor’s land were traveled frequently and gutted by cart tracks, a mandated axle length was made uniform. A more daunting task was the teaching of the legalist principles of daily life to the masses. As people’s lives were closely monitored and standardized, households were grouped into sets of five and held mutually responsible for each other. The punishment for disobedience was extremely severe, and varied according to the crime committed against the throne. Beheading was common, as was torture and mutilation. For other crimes, forced labor and the tattooing of exposed body parts served as punishment. Li Ssu exercised great influence in the administration of legalism. As author John A. Harrison claims, “It is difficult to ascribe the massive achievements of this reign to a man of such arbitrary appetites, and it is generally believed that the final unification of China, the abolition of feudalism, and the political, legal, and economic measures that sustained the Ch’in state were the work of that brilliant pupil of Hsun-tzu and fellow student of Han Fei, Li Ssu, grand councilor of the First Emperor” (Harrison, 84 and Guisso, 116) .
In 213B.C, Li Ssu’s advice once again had great effect on Shi Huang Ti. Members of the Emperor’s court, resentful of the changes wrought by legalism, urged the Emperor to return to the time honored tradition of feudalism. Consulted, Li Ssu urged the Emperor not to weaken his resolve. The Grand Councilor furthered his argument by requesting that the Emperor punish the court members by destroying the literature that served to perpetuate the idea of feudalism and weaken the government. The Grand Councilor, with the approval of Shi Huang Ti, called for mass destruction of all literature deemed a threat to the Emperor’s policies. The “Shih,” the book of Odes, and the “Shu,” the book of History, as well as books of opposing philosophical thought were deemed dangerous sources of information, and destroyed. Literature on the subjects of agriculture, medicine, and divination were considered quality reading, and were excluded in the subsequent burning of books (Harrison, 87) .
Li Ssu enjoyed his position of influence with the Emperor, and as legalist precepts dictated, Shi Huang Ti, as ruler, was urged to present himself as a symbol of heaven, leaving the matters of state in the hands of his advisors, namely Li Ssu. While he did not relinquish complete control, Shi Huang Ti allowed himself pursuits of pleasure outside the court (Guisso, 144) .
For the many peasants and soldiers who fought in the war, China’s unification changed very little. When the war ended many soldiers mistakenly anticipated a quick discharge from the army. Instead they were put to work on another project. The Emperor, seeking to strengthen his empire, commanded his military leader, General Meng T’ien, to strengthen his northern borders by connecting existing walls of defense into one. The General, initially provided with more than three hundred thousand soldiers and forced laborers, was not only given the task of building a frontier wall; he was also responsible for building a network of roads with which to transport supplies and manpower, while simultaneously defending the borders against nomadic groups. With little rest and food the laborers worked through extreme climate conditions and hostile attacks from barbarous groups and untold numbers of people lost their lives building the Great Wall. General Meng T’ien completed the project in ten years, with the completed wall covering more than four thousand kilometers. As the Emperor conquered his rivals, he had replicas of their palaces built in Xianyang. Numbered at two hundred and seventy structures, the building of palaces required a great deal of manpower, which was provided by forced labor. The development of canals, while constructed to aid in agriculture and trade, made for yet another forced hardship on the general population, and resentment over the severity of the Emperor’s rule grew (146) .
Three assassination attempts were made on the life of Qin Shi Huang Ti during his harsh reign as ruler of China. Although all three were unsuccessful and the perpetrators were put to death, the Emperor became increasingly concerned about his personal safety. The Emperor strongly believed in the Taoist philosophical ideas of immortality. Consulting with Taoist teachers, Shi Huang Ti was encouraged to attract the Taoist “true men,” those who had withdrawn from society, and were said to hold the secret to immortality, the magic elixir of life. Increasingly afraid of death, Shi Huang Ti was told to avoid evil spirits by making his whereabouts unknown. In doing so, the Emperor would realize divinity himself, and attract the Taoist true men. An ardent believer, the Emperor ordered his palaces connected with covered walkways, and forbade members of his court to reveal his whereabouts, as he constantly moved from residence to residence in his pursuit of divine power. The Emperor also supervised the construction of his great tomb filling it with an entire army with which to protect him in his next life (Bodde, 116) .
The promised true men did not appear, and in his growing angst, Shi Huang Ti became even more obsessed and tyrannical. The Taoist teachers, afraid of the Emperor’s wrath, escaped his palace, and the Emperor, in a fury, blamed scholars for their disappearance, believing them to have affected the Taoist teachers. As the inquisition of the scholars provided no satisfaction for the Emperor, he condemned four hundred and sixty to death, and had them buried alive in the capital, hoping to use their fate as an example to others. Fu-Su, Shi Huang Ti’s eldest son, angered by his father’s rash judgment, pleaded with the Emperor that by his actions he would create unrest in the empire. Furious with his son’s remonstration, Shi Huang Ti ordered Fu-Su to join General Meng T’ien on the construction site of the northern frontier (116-118) .
Becoming increasingly erratic in thought and actions, the Emperor, consumed with finding an answer to his quest for immortality, left most of the administrative tasks to his trusted advisors, Li Ssu, and Chao-Kao, a eunuch in his harem. In 210 B.C., on one of his tours of the kingdom, the Emperor became very sick. As he had not found the magic elixir for immortality, he entrusted Chao-Kao, his eunuch and advisor, to notify Fu-Su, and instructed his oldest son to prepare for his burial. Instead, Chao-Kao, along with Li Ssu, withheld the notification from Fu-Su. Afraid of Fu-Su, and unwilling to part with the power they held, Li Ssu and Chao-Kao, dispatched a message “from the Emperor,” ordering both Fu-Su and General Meng T’ien to commit suicide. Both Fu-Su and General Meng T’ien, loyal to the end, committed suicide.
Together, Li Ssu and Chao-Kao decided to appoint Hu-hai, the easily manipulated second son of Shi Huang Ti, to the throne, and he was given the title of Erh-shih, Second Emperor. Chao-Kao, a longtime servant in the Emperor’s palace, held even more influence over the young and weak Erh-shih, and Li Ssu soon found his power and position of respect diminished. The many projects of the First Emperor caused the empire a sharp decline in agricultural resources, as manpower was demanded elsewhere. The Second Emperor, not considering the already unbearable load of the peasants, called for even stronger measures of punishment for the public.
In his concern for the preservation of the empire, Li Ssu asked Emperor Hu-hai to reconsider his actions. Chao-Kao, in a heightened position of dominance over the young Emperor, arranged for Li Ssu’s arrest and execution on the matter of not fulfilling his duties to the First Emperor. Li Ssu, himself responsible for the deaths of many innocent men, was condemned to death by the new Grand Councilor, Chao-Kao. The mastermind who helped bring about the unification of China suffered prolonged agony before his death in 208 B.C. Referred to as the five tortures, Li Ssu suffered the slitting of his nose, the amputation of a hand, the amputation of a foot, castration, and finally public execution by being cut in two at the waist (Guisso, 37 and Bodde, 85) .
In his “Shih-Chi,” meaning “Records of the Historian,” the noted Chinese historian Ssu-Ma Chien defined Li Ssu as “a representative of the particular class known as itinerant strategists.” Ssu-Ma Chien claimed men like Li Ssu were a new breed of Chinese knights. In his quest for glory, Ssu-Ma Chien claimed, the knight looked out for his own best interests, taking no oath of loyalty or duty to anyone but himself (Watson, 21).
Emperor Erh-Shih’s inept rule threw China into near anarchic conditions. Hatred of the harsh legalist rule grew and many rebel groups were formed. Chao-Kao, taking full advantage of the vulnerable Erh-Shih, staged a mock rebellion in the capital. Believing himself the target of an assassination attempt, the young Emperor Erh-Shih hastily committed suicide. The Grand Councilor surreptitiously assumed the throne, only to be opposed by members of the court. Forced to appoint an uncle of Emperor Erh-Shih to the throne, Chao-Kao was soon murdered by the new ruler in retaliation for his misdeeds. Within three days rebel groups invaded and destroyed the capital city of Xianyang, bringing a violent end to the Qin dynasty (Harrison, p.85) .
In summary, the unusually severe practice of legalism in the Qin reign, while condemned by later writers of history, served to unify a country torn apart by the ravages of war. As brutal as the system of legalism was, China was made cohesive under one ruler, and one standardized system of taxes and writing. Ironically, Li Ssu and Qin Shi Huang Ti, the men who unified China, will forever be held responsible for destroying ancient Confucian text. However, despite all the negative aspects of the Qin reign, the name by which the world recognizes the country “China” is derived from the name of its First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang Ti.
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