The long-term wars of the Spring and Autumn period constantly changed the territory of various feudal states, and drastic social changes affected various classes of nobles and commoners. An emerging class of scholars with the purpose of career advancement began to rise. They were composed of scholars who had fallen from the top aristocratic class due to the decline of their family background, and commoners who had received private education and mastered certain knowledge and skills. They adhered to the understanding of learning to be excellent and then became an indispensable force on the political stage of the Warring States period, shuttling between countries. Winning the annexation war was the common goal of the monarchs of various countries during the Warring States period. The rise of the scholar class provided talent support for the demands of the monarchs. As a result, political, economic, and military changes emerged and spread uncontrollably in various countries.
One day in 430 BC, two people in the upper region of the Wei state were using archery to resolve a territorial dispute between them. In a lawsuit, the people had to first engage in archery competitions, and whoever shot accurately would win the lawsuit. This was the recent practice of archery issued by the highest political and military governor of the upper region, Li Xuan. After the issuance of the Xi Shooting Order, in order to win the lawsuit, archery became the most popular activity in Shangdi for a while. The decree of Li Gui, although somewhat absurd today, had its own profound meaning in the specific historical environment of that time. It was located at the border between Wei and Qin, and wars often occurred. Shortly after the issuance of the Xi Shooting Order, significant results were achieved. The local people practiced day and night and quickly became skilled archers. In the subsequent war against the Qin state, the army of the upper ground shot the Qin army upside down. Due to his outstanding political achievements in the upper ground, Li Xuan was promoted to the position of Prime Minister of the Wei state and began to preside over nationwide reforms. With the support of Marquis Wen of Wei, Li Ju promulgated a series of laws and regulations, which revitalized the state of Wei and made it a superpower in the early Warring States period.
In the late Spring and Autumn period. The collapse of etiquette and the decay of music have led to the decline of the Zhou royal family, and the political power of various countries is also controlled by powerful officials. The monarch is no longer able to rule the country, and the hegemonic politics have declined accordingly. The situation in China began to change again during this period, in 453 BC. During the Spring and Autumn period, the superpower Jin State experienced internal turmoil and ultimately split into the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei. At the same time, another great vassal state of Qi, the ruler of the Jiang family, fell into power and was eventually usurped by the imperial official Tian family. The Jiang family of Qi was officially replaced by the Tian family of Qi, and from then on, Qin, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qi formed a situation of seven kingdoms coexisting in the early Warring States period.
Unlike the Spring and Autumn period, wars during the Warring States period were no longer constrained by ritual systems, and major feudal lords were no longer satisfied with being hegemons under the banner of respecting the Zhou Emperor. In order to obtain more land, wealth, and population, they constantly engaged in mergers and acquisitions with each other, competing for survival space. The war situation was unprecedentedly fierce, and rulers of various countries were seeking ways to strengthen themselves and defeat their opponents in competition. So, the rulers of the feudal states competed to recruit talents, constantly adjusting national policies, hoping to achieve their goals in the shortest possible time.
Shao Bei: The Warring States War itself was a life and death war, and this monarch hoped that through war, one would attack cities, seize land and people, and the other would defeat other countries. This objectively requires them to walk the path of enriching the country and strengthening the military. The second is to strengthen the monarchy, to avoid the behavior of officials usurping power like in the Spring and Autumn period. The second is also to enable the orders of the national army to pass through the country, so that the whole country can act together. Therefore, this is a subjective wish of a monarch. With this wish, they hope to seek wisdom, find such people, and formulate specific policies to help them achieve this wish.
The situation of political power being sidelined during the Spring and Autumn period made the monarchs of the Warring States period constantly wary of the powerful aristocratic family. The increasing power of the aristocratic family posed a great threat to the monarch, and the monarchs of various countries urgently needed to establish a completely loyal bureaucratic team. Some scholars who came from lower classes, had no foundation and were talented, became the first choice for the monarchs to shoulder important responsibilities. In the early Warring States period, due to the fact that the Tian family had not yet replaced Qi, the new regime needed to be consolidated, and talent was extremely scarce. Therefore, Duke Huan of Qi built a palace near Jimen in the capital city of Linzi to recruit talented people from all over the world. Here, in addition to granting them the position of a doctor, the monarch of Qi also provided them with generous treatment, allowing them to have access to a wide road and live in large houses, both wealthy and noble. During the reign of King Xuan of Qi, there were over a thousand scholars from Jixia, and the Jixia Academy became the center of political consultation and academic and cultural exchange during the Warring States period.
The story of King Zhao of Yan, the weakest among the seven states, who bought horse bones with a thousand gold coins, further illustrates the sincerity of the rulers in seeking wisdom at that time. In 314 BC, there was an internal conflict in the state of Yan. The neighboring state of Qi took advantage of the situation and invaded most of the territory of Yan. After King Zhao of Yan ascended the throne, he was determined to reclaim the lost land and revitalize the state of Yan. King Zhao of Yan humbly and generously recruited talents, but always felt that the effect was not good, so he went to seek advice from the wise man of Yan, Mr. Guo Wei. Guo Wei told him a story about a person who used a thousand coins to obtain a thousand mile horse, but did not buy it for three years. His subordinates volunteered to buy it, but ended up buying a dead thousand mile horse for five hundred gold. This person was very angry, and his subordinates explained, “You want all the dead thousand mile horses, let alone the living ones. Now everyone knows that you want to buy a thousand mile horse, and it will soon be delivered one by one.”. Sure enough, this person obtained several thousand mile horses within a year. King Zhao of Yan understood Guo Wei’s meaning, specifically built a palace, and worshipped Guo Wei as his teacher. This approach was indeed very effective, and the determination and sincerity of Yan to seek talents spread throughout the world. Outstanding talents such as Le Yi and Su Qin came one after another.
In the Records of the Grand Historian, it is recorded that Yu Qing, dressed in straw shoes and carrying an umbrella on his shoulder, went to persuade King Xiaocheng of Zhao. After the first meeting, King Zhao gave him a hundred taels of gold and a pair of white walls. On the second visit to King Zhao, he served as the superior minister of the state of Zhao. Poor and destitute, Su Qin, who would be looked down upon even if he ate leftover food at home, quickly became the commander of the United Front when he successfully lobbied other countries to promote himself and formed the United Front Alliance. He was accompanied by the seals of multiple countries, and his anger frightened the feudal lords. Military strategist Sun Bin first served in the state of Wei and was persecuted by Pang Juan, suffering from bin punishment and physical disability. Later, with the help of envoys from the state of Qi, he defected to the state of Qi and was appointed as a military commander by King Wei of Qi. He assisted General Tian Ji in defeating Pang Juan twice, laying the foundation for Qi’s hegemony. Wu Qi, who was knowledgeable in the three schools of thought: military, Legalism, and Confucianism, personally experienced the reform of the State of Wei. He was appointed by King Mou of Chu to preside over the reform of the State of Chu and held the position of commander-in-chief, standing at the top of power.
In the Warring States period, when there was no fixed subject, the rulers offered favorable conditions to attract talents to seek refuge. The sudden disparity between wealth and status attracted scholars to constantly find a good employer for themselves. Whoever appreciated him would serve him, and talents flowed frequently between various feudal states. Due to the monarchs’ thirst for talent, during the Warring States period, a scholar who was still unknown in the morning was likely to have already worn a gold seal on his waist at night, calling for wind and rain in the court.
Li Xueqin: At that time, what was popular in society? Some slogans such as selecting talents and abilities were the reality at that time, because you didn’t have some truly capable people coming out, and it was impossible to maintain them politically. If you look from top to bottom, if you look from bottom to top, it is the original aristocratic family. The big aristocratic family gradually decayed and declined. After the decline, a new class gradually emerged, and these people often came from some relatively humble classes.
Wu Qi, a native of the state of Wei, had a wealthy family when he was young, but he did not love production and management. Instead, he traveled to various countries in search of official positions, but was unsuccessful even after exhausting his family’s wealth. Disappointed, Wu Qi suffered from the laughter and neglect of his neighbors. In a fit of anger, he killed more than thirty people who had once mocked him and fled from the state of Wei to the state of Lu. Before leaving, Wu Qi bid farewell to his mother and gritted his right arm, swearing that he would never return to the state of Wei unless he became a high-ranking official. That year, Qi attacked Lu, and after several years of silence, Wu Qi finally waited for the long-awaited opportunity. In order to dispel Duke Lu Mu’s concerns, Wu Qi killed his wife who came from the state of Qi and succeeded in becoming the general of the state of Lu. This time, Wu Qi’s talent was finally showcased. At the beginning, he led the army of the State of Lu to defeat the Qi army. As a general of a small country, Wu Qi was able to defeat the powerful Qi army to pieces. With great achievements, Wu Qi was full of determination and determined to showcase his skills in the state of Lu. Wu Qi, who was in the state of Lu, had already studied under the Confucian scholar Zeng Shen. When Wu Qi’s mother passed away, according to Confucian tradition, his son had to mourn for three years after his parents passed away. However, Wu Qi, who was devoted to his official career, did not go home to mourn. Wu Qi’s behavior caused criticism from the officials of the state of Lu, and Duke Mu of Lu began to listen to slander and distance himself from Wu Qi. Faced with the indecisive Duke Mu of Lu, Wu Qi resolutely left the state of Lu and turned to seek development in the then strongest state of Wei.
Professor Jiang Zhongyue from Beijing Normal University: Today’s topic is called self realization. To achieve self realization is also an ideal and an aspiration. A person who has achieved success in learning and wants to achieve self-worth has this condition, what is it called freedom of choice. You have the right to choose who you serve, so they make full use of this opportunity.
Li Xueqin: We don’t need to look at Wu Qi’s own situation. Wu Qi’s situation is actually very clear in “Biography”. In fact, at that time, there was always a tendency towards these people, who were talented and mobile between countries. We must not transfer this later, especially the boundaries and concepts between countries today, to the Warring States period. During the Warring States period, countries did not have such strict boundaries, which was not the case. At that time, the thinking was still about a country, and in terms of thinking, it was required to be unified.
When Wu Qi began to serve as the General of the State of Lu, he was appointed as the Prime Minister by King Wen of Wei and was implementing reforms throughout the country. After arriving in the State of Wei, Wu Qi witnessed the process of Li Qi’s reforms and witnessed the increasing strength of the State of Wei. No one could have imagined how profound the reforms of Li Xuan in the state of Wei had on other countries at that time and on China’s later history of over two thousand years.
In November 2014, staff from the cultural relics protection department of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, were repairing bamboo slips from the Western Han Dynasty. After sleeping underground for more than two thousand years, these bamboo slips had become very soft and could be easily destroyed. However, on these soft bamboo slips, we can see the shadow of the strictest laws at that time. These bamboo slips are part of the earliest ancient document we can find that records complete cases, the “Book of Documents”. The document records a total of 22 complete cases from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Western Han Dynasty, and the punishment criteria for these cases can be traced back to a legal code called the “Law Classic”. Later, when Shang Yang entered Qin, he brought the “Law of Qin” with him. Later, both the “Law of Qin” and the “Law of Han” of the Han Dynasty were based on the “Law of Qin” and gradually revised and added. The Book of Laws was formulated by Li Jian during the reform of the Wei Dynasty, and it was also the first systematic legal code in China, which detailed how to use severe punishment and law to punish acts that disrupt the ruling order. It is divided into six parts: “Theft Law”, “Thief Law”, “Prisoner Law”, “Arrest Law”, “Miscellaneous Law”, and “Specific Law”, which make specific and harsh punishment provisions for various illegal behaviors.
In order to consistently promote his own reform proposals from top to bottom, Li Yi formulated the “Law Jing” and imposed strict constraints on it; On the one hand, starting from the fundamental reward of agricultural warfare, the farmers of the Warring States period were the foundation of labor and troops, and monarchs of various countries hoped that more people would sacrifice their lives for themselves. Since the emergence of iron farming tools in the late Spring and Autumn period, the cultivation ability has greatly improved. Many people have cultivated wasteland outside of public labor and turned it into private fields. The harvest from private fields belongs to their own control and can also be used for exchange. Li Yi emphasized the need for governments at all levels to vigorously develop agriculture, make every effort to tap into the potential of land, and increase food production. Under his auspices, the State of Wei implemented the land grant system in accordance with the registered residence system and guided farmers to actively produce. The people of Wei had more land and less land. Li Qian calculated a detailed account that within a radius of one hundred miles, there were about six million acres of arable land. If farmers worked diligently, they could harvest three more bushels per acre. If they worked carelessly, they would harvest three less bushels per acre. This way, with each increase and decrease, the amount of grain in the area within one hundred miles would be 1.8 million stones. At the same time, due to frequent natural disasters at that time, the price of grain was very unstable, and farmers often did not receive basic security. When grain was expensive, it hurt farmers, and when grain was cheap, it also hurt farmers. In order to make farmers work with peace of mind and stabilize the national economic foundation. Li Gui implemented the equal purchase law. In the year of harvest, the state purchased grain from farmers at a fair price. In the year of famine, the state still sold grain to the people at a fair price, effectively preventing merchants from speculating on grain.
Jiang Zhongyue: The “Fajing” became a blueprint for the later written laws of various countries, which is its contribution. Another contribution is called the “teaching of the utmost effort”, which is how to develop agricultural production, how to cultivate land, how to distribute, how to use, preserve, and handle food and other living resources. This is the contribution of Li Qian. So Li Jian is remarkable in this regard, playing a foundational role in agricultural warfare and legal construction.
While ensuring the income of farmers, Li Yi also advocated for the abolition of the hereditary aristocratic system and the vigorous development of individual economy. This is a small farming family that is completely different from the collective labor of the Western Zhou Dynasty, with typical men farming and women weaving. Li Gui called those who originally did not make contributions but relied on hereditary wealth and prosperity “lewd people” and used their money to support those who contributed to the country. The progress of production tools and Li Gui’s reforms led Wei to develop the small farming economy model of the Warring States period. Due to the adoption of political measures of fairness, equality, and clear rewards and punishments, Li Gui’s political reform achieved great success. In addition, with the encouragement of agricultural policies such as land use and land purchase, the state of Wei began to become increasingly strong.
To dominate a country, relying solely on economic development and enlightened politics is far from enough. It must establish an invincible and powerful army. While carrying out reforms in the fields of economy, politics, and the rule of law with Li Qi, Wu Qi also carried out his military reforms in the military. Wu Qi’s military reforms not only focused on improving the relationship between officers and soldiers. The main purpose was to establish a standing army capable of conscription and combat, and in order to select warriors, Wu Qi set strict standards for the army. He believed that soldiers should not be many, but rather essence, and he pioneered the method of selecting military soldiers. The conditions for being selected as a soldier are very strict. They must wear full armor, be able to pull a twelve stone crossbow, carry equipment that can hold fifty arrows, and also resist long spears and cross swords. They must carry three days of dry food and travel a hundred miles in half a day. Once a soldier is selected as a soldier, the state exempts his family from corv é e and homestead taxes, which greatly stimulates the fighting enthusiasm of the soldiers. In just a few years, these selected soldiers by Wu Qi were transformed into the strongest infantry among the feudal states during the Warring States period, intimidating other countries. During the Warring States period, under absolute strength, strength meant expansion. Wu Qi, who was highly valued by Marquis Wen of Wei, was possessed by gods on the battlefield. During the Wei period, Wu Qi led his army to fight against other feudal lords 76 times, achieving a total victory of 64 times.
In the Battle of Yin and Jin in 389 BC, Wu Qi defeated nearly ten times the Qin army with 50000 Wei soldiers, and in just a few years, occupied the Hexi region that originally belonged entirely to the Qin state. Wei established Hexi Commandery here and appointed Wu Qi as the governor of Xihe Commandery. During his tenure as a county magistrate, Wu Qi summarized his military practice experience and wrote “The Art of War of Wu Zi”.
Professor Chen Xiangling from the National University of Defense Technology of the People’s Liberation Army of China: Wu Qi’s military strategy was once on par with “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu. He believed that in this era, we not only had to learn “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, but also “The Art of War by Wu Tzu”. Why was Wu Qi’s military strategy so popular? He combined Confucian and military thinking, and proposed an important strategy in the military book, which is called “cultivating civil morality internally and governing military readiness externally”. This is what we are talking about dialectics. Internally, we need to win the hearts of the people and inherit the traditional idea of emphasizing benevolence and virtue in the past; So when it comes to external affairs, you must develop our strong army and weapons and equipment. Only by combining these two can you stand firm in the struggle for hegemony among the feudal lords.
After the death of Marquis Wei Wen, his son Marquis Wei Wu succeeded to the throne and appointed Tian Wen as the Prime Minister. Wu Qi understood very well that for Wei, he was an outsider. In the case of the newly established ruler, Tian Wen was indeed more suitable to serve as the Prime Minister than himself. However, after Tian Wen’s death, Wu Qi still did not become the Prime Minister. He succeeded Gong Shucuo, who married a princess. Wu Qi’s dazzling talent and remarkable achievements were like thorns, constantly hurting the new Prime Minister and making him restless. Gongshu Cuo knew that his talent was far from sufficient for Wu Qi. Gongshu Cuo, who had concerns about Wu Qi, designed to make Wei Wuhou suspicious of Wu Qi and make him no longer trust him. Unable to establish a foothold in the state of Wei, Wu Qi had to search for a new stage again – the state of Chu.
Professor Chen Xiangling from the National University of Defense Technology of the People’s Liberation Army of China: As a country at that time, talent mobility was very common. If you didn’t use me, then I would go to other countries, so in the end, as the state of Chu, it also urgently needed development. We said that the key to attracting talent at that time was to have a wise ruler. As the King of Chu, it needed change. Through many practices, he found that why the development of the state of Chu was always a lagging phenomenon, he needed reform, he needed change. In this situation, after Wu Qi passed, it was very natural and there was a place for use.
Chen Xiaofeng, an expert in legal history at the Law School of Wuhan University, has a research topic in his field called the relationship between moral governance and the rule of law. In his view, if we want to explore this topic, we must look back. At that time, the actions of the Legalist school showed that during the Warring States period, Wei’s economic strength and national strength were strong and prosperous after the Li Gui Reform, which led to Wei occupying a dominant position in the early years of the Warring States period. The rulers of various countries are no longer sticking to the rules and are beginning to reform one after another. While Li Ju presided over the reform of Wei, the Prime Minister of Zhao, Zhong Lian, also carried out political reforms. By the time Wu Qi presided over the reform in Chu, Zou Ji was in Qi, and Shen Bu was in Korea, both undergoing varying degrees of social reform. Chen Xiaofeng believes that if the reform of various countries during the Warring States period was the first nationwide reform in Chinese history, today’s legal scholars propose the combination of rule of virtue and rule of law, which is the continuous evolution and improvement of the Warring States period legal scholars who proposed the rule of law for all things. It can be said that it has covered the entire society and pointed to any object in social life.
Professor Chen Xiaofeng from the School of Law at Wuhan University: Legalism was the latest to emerge, followed by Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, and Legalism. Legalism encompasses the strengths of various schools of thought. They use laws to unify the political system of the country, which centers around the appointment power of the emperor and the appointment power of the core authority. They establish a hierarchical bureaucratic system, with officials above and officials below, followed by prefects and county magistrates, and use administrative methods to establish the political system of the entire country. This practice has been passed down to today.
Liye Town, Longshan County, Hunan Province
This is Liye, a small town of the Tujia ethnic group in Longshan County, Hunan Province. In 2002, more than 30000 bamboo slips from the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang were unearthed in a well by the river in this ancient city. Two of the bamboo slips have the same content as our current ID cards, detailing age, surname, appearance, and titles. Although it is a record document of the Qin Shihuang period, today’s archaeological discoveries prove that most of the laws of the State of Qin were revised by integrating the experience of the State of Wei and other states, so we can determine the general situation of the basic registered residence system in the Warring States Period. During the Warring States period, in order to ensure the basic labor force and military resources for farming and warfare, not only the State of Wei, but also other countries were implementing the county system. From state to county, counties were unified under each county, with townships and neighborhoods under each county. From the central to the local level, the entire country was controlled layer by layer like a huge spider web. The registered residence system is the strong sticky spider silk on the spider web, which firmly controls the people in the hands of the monarch.
Shao Bei: In the Spring and Autumn Period, the registered residence was distributed to the doctor Qing and lived in his manor, so he belonged to the doctor Qing. In this country, the registered residence system is directly established, which is in the charge of local officials and managed by the state. In fact, the central government can directly control the local government. In addition, the registered residence system itself is linked with the land grant system of the Warring States Period, which is the saying that according to the regulations, one family has one hundred mu of land. Then, the small peasant economy and land can be directly combined through the national means, and the state can directly levy taxes through the registered residence system. In fact, a country can directly control the local government.
His name is Zhou Guoping, a researcher at the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. He is leading a team to conduct archaeological surveys at the Chu State Ji Nan Ancient City Site, 5 kilometers southeast of Jingzhou. More than two thousand years ago, here stood the capital city of Chu. After Wu Qi came to Chu, he received the support of King Mou of Chu to carry out reforms. In order to cooperate with the construction of the Jingzhou Chu Jinan Ancient City Site Protection Area and explore the architectural planning of the entire city, Zhou Guoping and his team have been working here for nearly five years. The unique geological conditions and scattered residential areas on this land make the work of the archaeological team very difficult.
Zhou Guoping: The entire Jinan City, in terms of scale, is 16 square kilometers. Even if it is over 4000 meters from east to west and over 3000 meters from north to south, the overall scale is roughly the same. This scale was a very large capital city in the southern region at that time, and the whole country. Such a capital city could only be built when the Chu State was very powerful and the national strength was very strong.
This is the location of the Chu Ying capital, Jinan City, during the reign of King Mou of Chu. The towering city walls and magnificent palaces have long been forgotten, leaving only the rammed earth buried deep underground for the world. Time goes back more than two thousand years, and Wu Qi walked along this road into the palaces of Chu, but the road he took was even more difficult than Zhou Guoping today. During the Spring and Autumn period, the state of Chu had a vast territory and a large population, making it a pivotal force among the five hegemons. However, when Wu Qi arrived, the Chu state was politically corrupt, economically backward, and its national strength had been declining. Although it had a large number of troops, its combat effectiveness was not strong. In 402 BC, there was an incident of theft and killing of a king in the state of Chu. After the shocking King Mou of Chu ascended to the throne, he was attacked by Wei, Zhao, Han and other countries for several years, losing his teachers and land. King Mou of Chu had to bribe Qin with heavy gifts, and with the help of Qin, he made peace with Wei, Zhao, and Han. However, during this period, the nobles who held most of the power and wealth of the Chu state remained silent in endless material desires. Lightweight and beautiful lacquerware and exquisite jade were the favorites of the Chu nobles.
In this situation of national poverty, weak soldiers, and internal and external difficulties, the arrival of Wu Qi was like a gift from heaven to King Mou of Chu, who was like a precious treasure. At the beginning of his tenure in the state of Chu, Wu Qi was appointed as the governor of Wan. One year later, he was promoted to the position of commander-in-chief and presided over the reform of the state of Chu. Wu Qi, who held the power of reform, first underwent a major overhaul of the Chu state officialdom. Any incompetent and useless officials, as well as those who were not urgent or useless, were eliminated, and the salary of the remaining officials was reduced. The saved salary was used to support those who were selected and trained. At the same time, it is strictly prohibited to engage in corrupt practices in the officialdom, and private petitions are strictly prohibited. It is also prohibited for political leaders to engage in lobbying to prevent them from causing trouble and damaging the atmosphere. For the nobles, Wu Qi showed no mercy, depriving them of hereditary privileges and canceling their titles three generations later. At that time, although Chu had a large amount of land, its development was not sufficient. Therefore, Wu Qi forced his aristocratic children to move to sparsely populated remote areas, cultivate wasteland, and rely on themselves. This measure also accelerated the development of Chu’s remote areas.
Chen Xiaofeng: Wu Qi belongs to the category of people who have relatively hard means, and then the means are relatively hard, and the measures are relatively fierce. Of course, first and foremost, they need to seize the land of debauchers and spare the land of those nobles, which is the land of idle people. Let’s use a metaphor for later generations: take away the iron pole crops of the Eight Banner Sons. Seizing the land of debauchery and food, and then recruiting talents from all over the world, recruiting famous talents from all over the world, this is the same measure as Li Yi’s. Secondly, his political system was more problematic than that of Li Gui, which was to seize the title without military merit in the third generation. Unless you say I want to go to war and that you are for the country’s use, this is acceptable, otherwise you will have to seize the title.
Wu Qi’s reform directly hit the key points of the Chu state and deeply touched the interests of the aristocratic families and clans of the Chu state. Many nobles held a grudge against him, wishing he could not be eliminated and then be eliminated. At that time, the Taoist of Chu, Qu Yijiu, criticized his reforms in person during a tour of Wu Qi, which changed the country’s tradition and common sense of governance. Although there were many opponents, King Mou of Chu remained unmoved and fully supported Wu Qi’s bold reforms. In a short period of time, the political landscape of Chu changed, the economic situation improved, and military capabilities greatly enhanced.
The transformation of Wu Qi in the state of Chu should be the most thorough in Chinese and even world history. Who was he going to overthrow, the nobility. We say that the aristocrats of the past can be inherited, but now I want to create new aristocrats. You can’t inherit anymore, and I want to break your iron rice bowl for you. Who will become a new aristocrat? They are those who have made military achievements and replace the old aristocrats with them. So who is the most afraid of them? They are the old aristocrats, and they are both afraid and hate each other. Who welcomes them the most? Ordinary people, I can change my destiny through military achievements, but unfortunately, just after this reform, King Mou of Chu passed away.
The reform allowed the newly established vassal state of Wei in the Warring States period to dominate, and also allowed the gradually declining state of Chu to stand firm again. However, the legalists who presided over the reforms in various countries severely affected the power of the old aristocracy, and most of them paid the price of their lives. In 381 BC, Wu Qi led his troops to attack the state of Wei, all the way to both sides of the Yellow River. Just as he achieved victory, King Mou of Chu passed away. Wu Qi hurriedly rushed back to the capital of Chu from the front line to mourn. As a foreign scholar with no foundation in Chu, Wu Qi immediately returned to a state of loneliness once the King Mou of Chu passed away. At this time, the capital city was waiting for Wu Qi’s vengeful revenge from the old aristocrats of Chu. At the funeral, the old nobles eagerly launched an attack on Wu Qi. In despair, Wu Qi pounced on the body of King Mourning of Chu. The old nobles fired arrows at Wu Qi and also hit the body of King Mourning of Chu. This is a revenge plan that Wu Qi had already planned for himself before his death. According to the laws of the Chu state, those who killed the king’s body with their soldiers would be punished severely, and the three tribes would be arrested. In other words, those who injured the king’s body would be punished by the three tribes. As a result, more than seventy nobles of the Chu state suffered from the extermination of their families. After the death of Wu Qi, the reform also died prematurely, and the old forces of the Chu state regained their power. The military and political power remained in the hands of the aristocratic families Zhao, Jing, and Qu, and the governance of officials did not truly improve. Afterwards, the direction of the Chu state, as Han Fei said, was to reduce chaos without Wu Qi.
Shao Bei: This is because the monarch wants to strengthen his monarchy, and someone needs to reform. These reform figures generally come from this class of scholars. In his own country, he does not have his own foundation or influence, and relies entirely on the support of the national army. Once the monarch passes away, the national army is no longer there, because one of his main reforms is to crack down on the hereditary system of the nobility and the power of the original royal family. So, once their monarch is gone, these aristocratic families will inevitably launch a counterattack.
Twenty two years after the murder of Wu Qi, Shang Yang arrived in the state of Qin with Li Yi’s “The Classic of Laws” and a summary of the lessons learned from the failures of various countries. In the state of Qin, while constantly improving various legal systems, Shang Yang also brought the Legalist school’s emphasis on using heavy thinking and reform practices in times of chaos to the peak of the reform movement in other countries.
In December 1975, a Qin Dynasty bamboo slip named “The Way to Serve Officials” was unearthed from the Qin Tomb at No. 11 Shuihudi in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province. It records legal documents from the era of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. After the bamboo slip, it is copied into two Wei laws issued in 252 BC, clearly demonstrating the inheritance and absorption of Wei laws by Qin laws. For the rewards of soldiers, the State of Qin also absorbed and reformed from the laws of the State of Wei, setting it as a twenty level system and re establishing principles for obtaining, elevating, and inheriting titles. Military merit was the sole basis for rewarding titles, and those who bravely killed enemies on the battlefield, regardless of their background as nobles, scholars, farmers, or slaves, could be awarded titles based on the number of beheadings, while those who were defeated would have their titles revoked. The generous rewards were extremely tempting for the Qin people, who worked hard to kill enemies and made contributions on the battlefield. The Qin army became an invincible combat machine. At the same time as rewarding military achievements, the laws of Qin state punished private combat quite severely. At that time, there were many and cruel punishment methods, including more than ten types of death penalty alone, including nose cutting, foot chopping, and castration. The prisoners became various disabilities, so the Qin people were brave in public war and afraid of private combat. Even more harshly, the state of Qin also implemented the Shiwu household registration system and the Lianzuo law. Shang Yang grouped residents into five families and ten families into one Shiwu, and each family had to supervise each other. Any illegal behavior had to be reported to each other, one family was guilty, and all other families were Lianzuo. It was these laws that laid the foundation for the unification of the six states of Qin in the future, but they also led to the tragic fate of Shang Yang and Wu Qi. After the death of Duke Xiaogong of Qin, the successor to the throne, King Hui of Qin, believed false accusations and split Shang Yang’s carriage to death.
Li Xueqin: Anyone who undergoes reform is opposed to tradition, right? Otherwise, how do they call reform? Originally, there is law, but it does not mean there is no law. He wants to transform it, and if he does, it will be opposed to some existing forces, resulting in certain consequences. I think this is also inevitable and easy to understand, but this tragic result is actually his own. As for some of the achievements of the reform, some of them are still preserved in politics.
Although many Legalists sacrificed themselves due to reforms, after the reforms they presided over, the rulers of the Warring States period achieved varying degrees of prosperity and military strength. The centralized political system and new economic system have also been established in various countries. The Warring States Reform Movement lasted for over a hundred years and greatly changed the face of society. Its scope and influence were unprecedented. The reform formed the embryonic form of China’s national machinery, economic structure, and legal system for the next two thousand years. Although it had undergone regime changes and dynastic changes, the centralized bureaucratic political system led by the monarch ruled over the land of China, enduring wind and rain without wavering. It was not until the larger storm of change, the Xinhai Revolution, that it bid farewell to the historical stage.
90 Seconds in History: Battle of Changping
In 262 BC, the Qin army captured a large area of Korean territory, and the Korean governor not only refused to surrender, but also gave the land to the state of Zhao, igniting the flames of war between the Qin and Zhao countries. In the Changping area of the Zhao state, the Qin and Zhao sides gathered nearly a million strong armies and built barriers along the mountainous areas of more than 50 miles around Changping city, facing off from east to west. This was a decisive battle concerning the life and death of the two countries. Under the resolute defense of General Lian Po of the Zhao state, the two sides held each other for three years. However, as the war developed, the Qin state successfully used a counter plot, causing King Xiaocheng of Zhao to send Zhao Kuo to replace Lian Po as the general. The Qin state secretly used Bai Qi as the superior general, and the Zhao army suffered a great defeat of 400000 people and surrendered to Qin. Bai Qi buried them all alive, only releasing 240 young prisoners of war. In this battle, After the largest and most brutal battle in the history of ancient warfare, the state of Zhao never recovered, and other feudal lords had no strength to stop Qin’s unification of China.