Many people regard "burning books to bury Confucianism" as one thing. In fact, "burning books" and "burning books to bury Confucianism" are two different things. They are tandem, with different backgrounds and different natures.

According to Records of the Historical Records of Qin Shihuang, Qin Shihuang unified the six countries and a series of reforms were carried out in fierce struggles. Li si described the situation at that time and said: now the emperor unifies the world, distinguishes right from wrong and respects the legal system alone; Those who flaunt private schools collude with each other and oppose the laws and regulations of the state. As soon as the gang heard the emperor's orders, they made wild remarks with their private schools. When I entered the DPRK, I was duplicitous, and after I left the DPRK, there were many discussions in the streets. They slandered the monarch to improve their reputation, showed their intelligence through innovation, and incited some people to attack and slander state laws and regulations.

Different opinions in the field of political thought have affected the implementation of Qin Shihuang's reform decree. This struggle broke out in the thirty-fourth year of Qin Shihuang (2 13 BC). The retro school headed by Dr. Chun Yuyue, a doctor of Confucianism, once again criticized the county system implemented by Qin Shihuang at a meeting. He said that if it could not be enfeoffed, it would be usurped by the minister one day, so as to provoke the relationship between Qin Shihuang and the minister. He advocated abolishing the county system and restoring the enfeoffment system, and put forward all "lessons from the past" in politics, taking Zhou as a model of retro. Qin Shihuang submitted his opinions to his ministers for discussion. Prime Minister Reese immediately refuted this fallacy. Reese pointed out: history is developing. What can the ancient three generations emulate? The times are different, so should the methods of governance. Li Si also hit the nail on the head by revealing that Confucian scholars "learn from the past but not the present" and "learn from the past and harm the present", which is disturbing people's hearts and driving backwards. If this kind of behavior is not prohibited, it will inevitably lead to the decline of the monarch's power, and the activities of the vassal party will spread and the unity may be destroyed. In view of the confusion caused by Confucian scholars and philosophers in political thought, Reese suggested:

Historians burned all the records of the Qin dynasty; If you are not a doctoral officer, anyone who dares to hide "poems", "books" and hundreds of languages in the world will be aware of it and keep it. Those who dare to talk about "poetry" and "books" will abandon the market; People, nations and officials who regard the past as something different from the present are all guilty of the same crime; If it doesn't burn for the next 30 days, it will be a city. I won't go: books on medicine, divination and tree planting. If you want to study law, you should take an official as your teacher.

Li Si's suggestion is an idea of feudal cultural autocracy. Qin Shihuang adopted Lisi's suggestion and put it into practice. This is the "book burning" incident in history. Confucian scholars of the retro school were extremely dissatisfied with Qin Shihuang's "burning books". In the second year of "burning books" (2 12 BC), alchemists such as Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng colluded with some retro Confucian scholars to discuss the failure of state affairs. Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng were originally ordered to give Qin Shihuang the elixir of life. According to the Qin law, you must do what you say, or you will be punished. Where are they going to find the elixir of life? Afraid of being punished, they took the attack as the defense and publicized everywhere, saying that Qin Shihuang was "headstrong", "full-time prison officer", "threatening punishment" and "greedy for power" and should not ask for fairy medicine for him. Qin Shihuang was very angry after hearing this, so he arrested them and tortured them. Zhu Sheng's confession violated the ban (that is, "occasional words" poetry ","book "and" taking history as a mirror "), involving more than 460 people. Shi Feng killed them all in Xianyang. This is the so-called "pit Confucianism" in history.

Burning books and burying Confucianism are two different things. Wang Chong in the Eastern Han Dynasty was the first scholar to distinguish these two things. He pointed out in "On Constant Increase" that these are two things with different backgrounds. "Burning poems and books started with a sincere exhortation; Pit Confucian scholars, starting from life as a demon. " "Burning Books" is a book, and there is no man-made disaster; "Pit Confucianism" is a man-made disaster, but it has no name, which is unique in the history of literary disasters in China.

Second, "burning books to bury Confucianism" was not an invention of Qin Shihuang.

Because Qin Shihuang practiced "burning books to bury Confucianism", he was branded as a "tyrant" in history. Some commentators even linked the short life of the Qin Dynasty with "burning books and burying Confucianism", believing that it led to the rapid collapse of the Qin Dynasty.

In fact, from the historical tradition, "burning books to bury Confucianism" was not the invention of Qin Shihuang. Whether it is "burning books" or "burying people", it is the way used before.

Although Qin was called the overlord in the Mu Gong era, its real strength began with Shang Yang's political reform. Shang Yang is one of the representatives of Legalism. The sharp weapon of his ruling the country is Jue Lu and punishment, and he hates Confucian poems, books, rituals and pleasures, and derides them as "six lice" [1]. Han Fei also said that he "taught filial piety to burn" poems "and" books "and made laws" [2]. This is probably the earliest book burning in history, but there is no evidence to study it in detail. In connection with the history of Qin State, Qin Shihuang burned books only to maintain his tradition, "It has existed since ancient times, but it is fierce now".

In the Qin Dynasty, prisoners were executed by killing, abandoning the market, slaughtering, cutting waist, splitting cars, cutting tops, lacing tendons, frying in iron pots, patting bags, etc., all of which were extremely cruel death sentences. It seems to be a kind of "preferential treatment" for Qin Shihuang to bury the "Confucian" who violated the ban alive; But more than 460 people were buried alive at the same time, which is really terrible. In fact, this is also an old tradition of Qin. According to Biography of Historical Records, in the thirty-fourth year of Qin Dynasty (273 BC), Jun Bai of Wu 'an defeated Zhao's general and sank his 20,000 soldiers into the Yellow River, which was a "water burial". In forty-seven years (260 BC), Tian Lei defeated the Zhao army in Changping again, captured 400,000 people and killed them all with tricks. This is "buried underground". Qin Shihuang's "pit Confucianism" is still dwarfed by Bai Qi. The legendary "Fu Ji" is not fabricated out of thin air. It is clearly recorded in Historical Records that hidden weapons was installed in the tomb of Qin Shihuang at the foot of Mount Li.

Third, it is selfish for Reese to put forward that "burning books".

The "book burning order" is very harsh: when it comes to the Book of Songs and the Book of History, it is necessary to cut the city god Cao; It is said that quoting ancient books and events to criticize current politics requires the whole family to behead; Officials who know but don't report it are guilty of the same crime as the offenders; Those who keep their books for more than 30 days after the promulgation of the law will be fined for building the Great Wall with tattoos on their faces. It seems accidental that Reese put forward such a harsh "book burning order", but in fact, the legalists represented by Reese used their power to suppress academic disputes of other academic factions.

On the surface, it happened by accident: Zhou's hospitality at the banquet received Chun's advice, and Chun's advice was given by Reese. Finally, Qin Shihuang ruled and issued orders. If Zhou didn't pay tribute, or Chun and Reese didn't speak, it seems that there would be no book burning order. In fact, every link in this matter is dominated by necessity. Only with Qin Shihuang's approval can Zhou propose to him. Paying homage was the prevailing custom at that time, and it was not initiated by Zhou alone. Li Si's tribute is no less than Zhou's. Chun is a Qilu scholar. Influenced by Confucianism, he yearned for the ancient times and advocated "learning from the ancient times". His speech should be said to be loyal, but it is unwise to advocate the restoration of the outdated enfeoffment system. He took advantage of Qin Shihuang when he died. Li Si was not only a hero of the Qin Dynasty, but also a famous courtier. He and Han Fei are both students of Xunzi. They are private enemies, but their academic and political views are the same. They all respect the law and despise Confucianism, and enthusiastically support the extreme monarchy. When someone puts forward the idea of weakening the autocratic monarchy, Reese, as the prime minister, naturally stands up and refutes it and puts forward suggestions to strengthen the dictatorship.

However, if it is only to prohibit scholars from slandering the discussion, "the past is not today, and the home is not home", this article is enough, and there is absolutely no need to burn books on a large scale. The reason why Reese proposed a complete book burning scheme should be said that he had not only political considerations, but also ideological and academic considerations. Since Reese is a student of Xunzi, he should be a disciple of Confucianism, but Confucianism can't be eaten in Qin, so he abandoned Confucianism and changed to the study of punishment spells after he arrived in Qin. Now that he is prime minister, Confucianism has become a stumbling block to his career. He realized that all students' slander is "Miao" and Confucianism is "root". Cutting grass must be uprooted, so books must be burned. He wants to completely eliminate the spread of Confucianism by burning books.

Fourth, Qin Shihuang didn't burn all the books in the world.

There are many discussions about Qin Shihuang burning books in later generations, one of which is how many books Qin Shihuang burned. According to Records of the Historian, according to the law at that time, there were three kinds of books that should be burned: all the historical materials of the other six countries except the historical materials of Qin; Confucian poetry and books; One hundred languages. There are three issues involved here:

First, did the official book burn?

The original text of Historical Records: "Those who are not doctors dare to collect poems, books and hundreds of languages in the world, and they all know them and keep them." Then, are there other poems, books and hundreds of languages besides the people in Doctor's Post? If so, will it burn? The provisions of the original text are vague. Wang Chong believes that the laws and regulations stipulate that only privately collected poems, books and hundreds of languages can be burned, and doctors can't burn them. Later scholars followed his theory. A Qing writer Liu Da (Mu Kui) wrote a book about book burning, which proved that official books were not burned. He believes that the books collected by doctors were not burned by Qin Shihuang, but by Xiang Yu when he burned the palace in Xianyang. Therefore, Xiang Yu is the culprit of burning books, not Qin Shihuang.

Zhang Taiyan, a close friend, thinks that Wang Chong misread the original Historical Records. In "Qin Ji Xian", he said the original text "To put it bluntly, those who dare to collect poems, books and hundreds of schools of thought in the world are not doctors. It is said that "Poetry", "Book" and "Hundred Languages" are not posts of doctoral officers. " He believes that according to the law, except the historical documents of Qin State and books on medical skills, divination and tree planting, other books can be burned, and there is no such thing as the doctor's palm not burning, because the doctor has never managed poetry, books and hundred languages.

2. What book is Hundred Languages?

It is generally believed that "Hundred Words" is a book of a hundred schools of thought. Zhu Yizun even thought that Reese's original intention was to burn hundred schools of thought's books, but if only hundred schools of thought's books were burned without the poetry books, hundred schools of thought's fallacies would be attached, so he had to burn them with the poetry books.

In Lun Heng Shu Jie, Wang Chong thinks that "although Qin has no way, it does not burn the philosophers. All the philosophers have books and articles. " Liu Xie also thinks that "Qin's fire is fierce, dangerous Kungang, and smoke is not as poisonous as it is" in Wen Xin Diao Long Zhuzi. Fan Wenlan, a modern man, took notes on Liu Xie's words, thinking that the book of hundred schools of thought is not heavy, and the wall of the rock house is easy to hide, so as not to fall into the Qin fire. This explanation seems to be divorced from Liu Xie's original intention. However, judging from the spread of books of Taoism, Buddhism, fame, Mohism and Yin and Yang, Qin Shihuang did not burn books of various factions.

Some scholars think that "the skill of a hundred schools of thought" refers to the book of military strategists, because people in the Han Dynasty often refer to the skill of vertical and horizontal as "the skill of a hundred schools of thought", just as Historical Records and Biography of Gan Mao said.

Third, what is the effect of the book burning order?

Although the court issued a "book burning order", it is actually very difficult to really burn all the books. Sima Qian pointed out: except Qin, the history books of the six countries burned the most thoroughly, and there were still embers in the poetry books. Historical Records Chronology of the Six Kingdoms III says: "Qin is proud, burning poetry books all over the world, especially the historical records of governors, and laughing at it." Therefore, those who see poems and books hide more, while history books hide Zhou's room alone and destroy it. "Later scholars believe that Qin Shihuang did not and could not burn all the books in the world. Zheng Qiao in the Song Dynasty, Kang Youwei and Zhang Taiyan in modern times all proved this. Zheng Qiao even said: "Qin people burned books to bury Confucianism, and Confucianism died of poverty." [3] This sentence means that Qin Shihuang's "burning books" did not burn all the books in the world. On the contrary, scholars in the Han dynasty engaged in the study of chapters and sentences, which destroyed Confucianism beyond recognition.

5. What "Confucianism" did Qin Shihuang pit?

"Pit Confucianism" is caused by the alchemist's "slander" on the emperor, so some scholars think that Qin Shihuang is a "pit alchemist" rather than a "pit Confucianism". Because the status of Confucian scholars in the Qin dynasty has been significantly improved than in the past. During the Qin Dynasty, there was no record of mass slaughter of Confucianism. Qin Shihuang paid more attention to the role of Confucian scholars, allowing them to be doctors, master classics, prepare rituals and music, and prepare consultations. They could also participate in the DPRK discussion and implement the preferential policy of "respecting and offering more". Therefore, Confucianism criticized Qin for "burning books" in the early Han Dynasty, but rarely mentioned the matter of "burying Confucianism". For example, Jia Yi and Dong Zhongshu were both famous Confucian scholars for a period of time, and it should be known that it was decades or hundreds of years before the burial and killing incident. If Qin Shihuang really killed a large number of Confucian scholars, Mr. Jia and Mr. Dong would certainly stand up and criticize them, but they never talked about "cheating Confucianism".

According to Historical Records, Hou Sheng, Lu Sheng, Xu Fu, Han Zhong and others are alchemists, not scholars. Their occupation is to cater to Qin Shihuang's superstition, pray for him and visit the immortals, and look for the elixir of life. However, "it cost a lot of money", but the fairy medicine was gone. Qin Shihuang was cheated and had to find an excuse to kill for revenge, so the pit was buried. Sima Qian first suggested killing "alchemists" and "alchemists", obviously referring to the immortals. When Ban Gu was writing The Biography of Confucian Scholars in Han Dynasty, if he found that Sima Qian didn't know the historical data of killing Confucian scholars, he would explain or supplement it in a suitable biography, but there was no such material. When he mentioned it, he still called it "killing warlocks." Later, some great scholars had reservations about cheating on Confucianism, such as Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty and Sima Guang in the Song Dynasty. They said "cheating on a bachelor" or "butcher" instead of "cheating on Confucianism".

But Confucian scholars may also set foot in alchemy, and alchemists are more likely to set foot in Confucianism. Take Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng as examples. They are alchemists. Of course, they seek the elixir of life for Qin Shihuang, but their slanderous words about Qin Shihuang are full of the flavor of Confucian scholars. This can only be explained in this way: the real alchemist has only deceptive methods and no touching theory. He didn't study Confucianism, and playing the signboard of Confucianism was not enough to expand his influence and call on his disciples; From the side of Confucian scholars, it is obvious that pure Confucianism is inedible. Since Qin Shihuang was superstitious about alchemy, it is inevitable for Confucian scholars to study alchemy at the same time or abandon Confucianism to specialize in alchemy. Hou sheng and Lu sheng are both called "sheng", which shows that they are alchemists and also study Confucianism. Therefore, the prevailing view in history is that most of the people killed by Qin Shihuang were Confucian scholars.

Sang Hongyang, a contemporary financial expert of Sima Qian, clearly pointed out in On Salt and Iron that Qin Shihuang was a "pit scholar". Looking at Sima Qian's original text, it is also very clear: Li Si said before "Burning Books" that "today's students should learn from the past instead of the present", and the "students" here obviously refer to Confucian scholars rather than alchemists; After "Pit Confucianism", Prince Fu Su said that "the teachings of Confucius recited by various philosophers are all focused on the teachings of the law" [4], and he is also a Confucian scholar. Kong Anguo, a scholar of the Western Han Dynasty, was a doctor during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, not far from the incident of "burning books to bury Confucianism". He clearly pointed out in the Preface to Shangshu: "Destroy ancient books with Qin Shihuang, burn books and bury Confucianism, become a bachelor in the world, and escape and dissolve." Wang Chong, a philosopher in the Eastern Han Dynasty, also described in detail that Qin Shihuang deceived Confucianism and raped and killed 467 people. He further concluded that Qin Shihuang "burned poetry books and cheated Confucian scholars."

Another point can also be used as circumstantial evidence of "cheating Confucianism" According to the article "Shuoyuan Rebellion", after Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng, the perpetrators of "cheating Confucianism", escaped, Lu Sheng was not captured, and Hou Sheng was later arrested. Qin Shihuang wants to divide the car and wait for the health, count the crimes of Qin Shihuang's extravagance and harm to the people, and point out its harmfulness. Qin Shihuang listened silently and let him go.

It is precisely because "burning books" and "burning books to bury Confucianism" are severe measures taken against the "slander" of Confucian scholars, so although they are two different things, people are used to calling them "burning books to bury Confucianism".

6. How many times did Qin Shihuang "pit" Confucianism?

According to historical records, Qin Shihuang not only cheated Confucianism once, but also created a greater tragedy of killing Confucian scholars. Yan Shigu, a writer in the Tang Dynasty, wrote:

The warm soup place in Xinfeng County is called Ruxiang. There is a horse valley in the southwest of Wentang and a pit on the west bank of the valley, so the old legend says that Qin pits Confucianism. Wei Hong's Preface to Ancient Literature in China said: "Since Qin burned books, the world has not changed its laws from what it suffered. The living worshiped Lang, surrounded by 700 people, and ordered us to plant melons in Lishankeng Valley at moderate temperature in winter. As Dr. Zhao and He said, everyone is different, so it is fate to treat it as a lie. Sages and Confucians are coming one after another, and it is difficult to compete. Because of the opportunity, they poured soil from above, all of them were pressed, but in the end they were silent. " This is the land of Confucianism, which is not absurd.

Kong Ying Da, who was contemporary with Yan Shigu, quoted Wei Hong's Preface to Ancient Chinese Characters in his Justice of Shangshu, and there are similar records.

If this record is true, then more than 700 Confucian scholars will instantly become ghosts, which is a greater "pit Confucianism" of Qin Shihuang. Just because it was done by an "organ" and the means were extremely secret, it was unknown at that time. It was not until 2560 that Wei Hong revealed it. Wei Hong was a litterateur and exegetist during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He is the author of Old Opinions of Han Officials and Instructions. His academic attitude is rigorous. Although he didn't specify the specific time of the second pit Confucianism, and he didn't know what materials to use to expose the secret, his statement was not nonsense. At the same time, Yan Shigu and Kong are also famous and rigorous scholars. When they annotated Hanshu and Shangshu, they chose very strict examples, especially the annotations were re-examined. They can write it down in their notes. There must be some basis.

However, many people do not agree with Qin Shihuang's second burial of Confucianism. They think the story of Wei Hong is quite legendary. He killed more than 700 people at a time with the "organ", which was not in line with the style of Qin Shihuang, and it was simply fast and left no trace. Besides, it is unbelievable that the secrecy work has been so successful. Moreover, other historical materials in the Qin and Han dynasties did not contain this matter, and Wei Hong's mouth alone said that it was after 2560. There is no specific time and no other evidence, which is unbelievable.

Seven, the historical evaluation of "burning books to bury Confucianism"

Qin Shihuang's "burning books to bury Confucianism" has been discussed in history, and almost all of them are denounced. As the tyrannical measures of Qin Shihuang, it was condemned by the ages, which is almost beyond doubt.

"Burning books to bury Confucianism" was an important policy pursued by Qin Shihuang. It is not a rash decision, but a necessary measure taken after careful consideration, which has the purpose of killing two birds with one stone. The first is to implement the policy of ignorance of the people and unify people's thinking. Jia Yi of the Western Han Dynasty saw this clearly. He said in the text of On Qin that "the words of a hundred schools of thought are burned into foolish words." Qin Shihuang wanted to take cultural knowledge to the royal family, exercise strict public opinion control, and then unify his thinking and understanding. The second is to muzzle Confucian scholars and prevent them from making irresponsible remarks. Intellectuals can understand ancient things and often use ancient books to criticize state affairs. If they don't ask, it will disturb people's hearts. In this regard, we can't be indifferent and should resolutely suppress it. Those who gather privately to talk about "poetry" and "books" are beheaded, and those who are not today are exterminated. cheat people's spearhead of burning books points to Confucian scholars, which is cruel, severe and heartless.

However, Qin Shihuang did not burn all the books, nor did he catch all the Confucian scholars. It should be said that his "burning books and burying Confucianism" is very targeted. Only the history of Qin is glorious and correct, and the historical records of other countries are of course not necessary to be preserved; Of course, a hundred schools of thought in poems, books and languages that disturb people's thoughts and provide a theoretical basis for "slander" cannot be retained. Confucian scholars and alchemists who dare to publicly "slander" the court and the emperor must of course be physically eliminated. Other books need to be kept, and obedient Confucian scholars should continue to serve the court. Facts have proved that after "burning books to bury Confucianism", a large number of books still exist, Chinese culture can be passed on, and a large number of Confucian scholars still live well. Chen Sheng Uprising and Liu Bang's entrepreneurship were all supported by a large number of Confucian scholars, among whom Sun Tong, Lu Jia, Li Shiqi and Fu Sheng were all Confucian scholars or doctors in the Qin Dynasty.

"Burning books to bury Confucianism" is certainly wrong, but it is excusable. If the matter is concerned, "burning books to bury Confucianism" is not a major policy that Qin Shihuang has always implemented, but a measure to consolidate the new regime and strengthen centralization. Any ruling class knows the importance of public opinion control. After the Qin dynasty, some dynasties also had large-scale "burning books to bury Confucianism" I'm afraid Qin Shihuang will be surprised by the number of books burned and Confucian scholars killed in the literary inquisition. For example, during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, on the one hand, it boasted about the literary rule, on the other hand, it promoted the literary inquisition. In the ten years since the compilation of Sikuquanshu, as long as you see books that denigrate the characters of the Qing Dynasty, or think that there are unruly words, you must destroy them, and even some ancient books that have nothing to do with politics are born to die!

However, who has accused people like Emperor Qianlong of "burning books and burying Confucianism"? To put it bluntly, it is because the Qin dynasty was a short-lived dynasty, and its rapid demise was related to its "tyranny", which was the tyranny that most disgusted intellectuals. In fact, Qin Shihuang established a unified and centralized empire for the first time in the history of China, and the opposition to the enfeoffment system was also the strongest. As a ruler, Qin Shihuang did nothing excessive. Of course, as "The Book of the New Tang Dynasty, the Meaning of Literature and Art" said: "Since Qin burned the Six Classics and returned to Han, the way of his teacher's transmission has been lost, and the simplified version has no mistakes, so scholars can't get its authenticity, so the learning of Confucian chapters and sentences is prosperous. "From the perspective of cultural heritage, Qin Shihuang's' burning books to bury Confucianism' is indeed a disaster of China's history and culture.