chinesegeography

Hongmen Banquet-Sequel І



Soon after the death of Qin Shi Huang in 209 BC, his Prime Minister Zhao Gao manipulated the coronation of Hu Hai, the dead emperor's second son. That same year saw the outbreak of China's first massive peasant insurrection. It all began when the convicts Chen Sheng and Wu Guang defiantly questioned the legitimacy of an autocratic government by asking, "Are the nobility born noble?" The six-month- long revolt they led delivered a deadly blow to the political facade of the Qin Dynasty, already crippled by the corruption of its officials and the follies of its monarch, paving the way for its downfall. Despite the defeat of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, uprisings against the government spread to become pandemic.



Out of the massive turmoil of the many skirmishes across the country emerged Xiang Yu and Liu Bang as the two leading forces. Instead of declaring themselves king as Chen Sheng had done, they crowned the grandson of the last prince of Chu, one of the warring states Qin had subdued. The new prince promised the principality of Qin to anyone who was the first to enter Xianyang, the imperial capital. Xiang Yu turned out to be a fierce warrior; in one of his typical battles, his troops destroyed a Qin army of200, 000. Liu Bang, however, listened to one of his top advisors, Zhang Liang, and adopted a more benign strategy focused on winning over his opponents through peaceful means. This strategy paid off. Liu Bang avoided all the violent encounters Xiang Yu was forced to fight through, and thus ended up in Xianyang before his rival. In 206 BC the emperor of the Qin surrendered to Liu Bang, marking the end of his dynasty.



Xiang Yu was furious when he learnt that Liu Bang had beaten him to the Qin lands. His generals smashed their way through to penetrate Hangu Pass, a strategically important gateway to Xianyang, and encamped their troops 50 kilometers away from the capital city. An officer from Liu Bang's army sent a message to Xiang Yu, reporting that Liu Bang was going to claim the principality of Qin as well as all the treasures of the empire. Xiang Yu was enraged upon hearing these words. His advisor Fan Zeng believed Liu Bang to be capable of creating major trouble for Xiang Yu and thus had to be fought before it was too late.



However, Xiang Yu's uncle Xiang Bo was friend with Zhang Liang, who had once saved his life. He was so worried that Zhang Liang would be killed in a sudden raid by Xiang Yu that he skulked away to Liu Bang's place on a swift horse to warn Zhang Liang about the impending strike, and urged him to leave Liu Bang.



Zhang Liang refused to leave Liu Bang but instead informed him of the bad news. Liu Bang begged to be introduced to his uncle. He reassured Xiang Bo that he had never entertained the slightest notion of standing up against Xiang Yu. Xiang Bo was soon won over and agreed to speak on behalf of Liu Bang when he returned to Xiang Yu's camp. But he told Liu Bang that he must offer an apology in person to Xiang Yu.

The First Emperor-Ending



At the same time, Qin Shi Huang announced that the Qin State's round bronze coins with square holes, with a standard weight of 25 grams, should be used across the country, rendering invalid the currencies of the other six states. The emperor also ordered standardization of the units of weights and measurements. In order to facilitate the spread of government policies and laws, as well as to promote cultural exchange, he unified the Chinese script, designating "Xiaozhuan," or the seal script, as the standard script. Later, "Lishu," literally "official script," which was easier to write than "Xiaozhuan," was developed based on popular writing habits. Lishu was quite similar to "Kaishu," or the regular script, widely used today.



The series of measures that Qin Shi Huang took, such as abolishing of the fief system, and unifying the currency, units of weights and measurements and the script, were conducive to cementing unification and promoting social, economic and cultural development. These should all be deemed remarkable contributions made by the emperor. The wall had an intricate structure. The wall itself was made of rammed loess, which was very solid. Along its top was a parapet wall with holes through which soldiers could keep watch for the enemy in hiding. The Great Wall was dotted with strongholds, which served as watchtowers. In addition, signal towers were built at strategic points. When they saw any sign of approaching enemies, the soldiers would light fires to signal each other so that all the frontier troops could be informed of the situation and prepare to fight the invaders.



Over a long period of time, the Great Wall served as a defense work against the hostile nomads to the north, helping to safeguard the agricultural economy in China's Central Plains. A number of later dynasties also constructed walls for the same purpose, the most famous of which was the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. Today, the Great Wall is more often regarded as a magnificent cultural heritage that the ancient Chinese left to the world.

Jing Ke Attempts to Assassinate the King of Qin-Ending



Dan prepared a sharp dagger, which had been boiled in poisonous liquid to immediately kill those stabbed with it. He gave this dagger to Jing Ke as the weapon to assassinate the King of Qin. He also designated 13-year-old Qin Wuyang as his assistant.



In 227 BC, Jing Ke set off toward Xianyang, the capital of Qin. Dan, clad in white robes and a white hat, saw him off by the Yishui River.



The King of Qin was overjoyed to learn that an envoy from Yan had brought both the head of Fan Yuqi and the map of Dukang. He decided to meet him in Xianyang Palace. During the meeting, the young Qin Wuyang became so nervous that his legs began to tremble.



"This is the first time this rustic has witnessed Your Majesty's imposing charisma," Jing Ke explained with a smile, "No wonder he is frightened. Please do not mind him." However, the king grew suspicious. "Let Qin Wuyang hand the map to you and come to me by yourself," he said to Jing.



Taking the map from Qin Wuyang, he approached close to the king and first presented him a wooden box. Opening the box, the king saw the head of Fan Yuqi. He then asked Jing to show him the map. Jing scrolled out the map slowly until the dagger that had been hidden in the map appeared. He then grabbed the dagger and stabbed at the king's chest.



At this critical moment, a doctor attending to the king threw his medicine chest at Jing Ke. While Jing fended off the medicine chest with his hand, the king took out his sword and hit him in the left leg. Jing staggered and fell to the ground. He then threw his dagger at the king but missed him. The king jabbed with his sword at the empty-handed Jing Ke several times, before his bodyguards rushed to his rescue and slew the assassin.

Jing Ke Attempts to Assassinate the King of Qin-Sequel І



Prince Dan of the State of Yan during the Warring States Period had been a hostage in the Qin State before he secretly fled back to Yan. Furious at Qin, he was keen to take revenge. Using all his wealth, he scouted for people who could assassinate Ying Zheng, King of Qin. Later, he was introduced to a competent warrior named Jing Ke. He took him in as a protege and treated him well. Jing, of course, was grateful to the prince.



One day in 230 BC, Dan said to Jing Ke: "I am considering sending a warrior to the King of Qin disguised as an envoy. He should try to force the king to return to the other states all the lands he has occupied. If he does not consent, the warrior should assassinate him. What do you think of this idea?"



"Not bad," answered Jing, "but we must convince the king that we are there to make peace before we would be allowed to approach him. I hear that the king has long been coveting the fertile Dukang region of Yan. Also, Fan Yuqi, a Qin general who the King of Qin is offering a bounty for, has taken refuge in Yan. I am certain the king will meet me personally if I were to visit him with Fan's head and a map of Dukang. Then I shall be able to do something about him."



Vexed, the prince mused, "It is easy to prepare a map of Dukang, but how can I hurt General Fan, who turned to me to avoid the persecution of Qin?"



Knowing that Dan could not bear to have Fan executed, Jing met the general privately and told him everything. "All right, take my head with you," Fan said resolutely, before beheading himself with a sword.

Shang Yang's Reforms of the State of Qin-Sequel І



The Spring and Autumn Period ended in 367 BC when three major families of Jin partitioned the state -arguably the most powerful state in the Spring and Autumn Period - into three smaller states, the Han, Zhao and Wei. China had by now moved into the Warring States Period, during which emerged the seven most powerful states - Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin, collectively known as the "Seven Warring States."



Qin, a state in western China, lagged behind its peers in the Central Plains in terms of political, economic and cultural development. In 361 BC, Duke Xiaogong of Qin assumed power, resolving to vitalize his state by seeking out talented personnel. He issued an order declaring: "Anyone able to devise ways for the Qin State to prosper, be he a native of Qin or a migrant from another state, shall be given an official post."



The result was that many capable people surged into Qin answering the call of Xiaogong. Among them was an aristocrat of the Wei State called Gongsun Yang, who later became known as Shang Yang. Overlooked in his home country, he came to Qin and was recommended to Duke Xiaogong.



"In order to make a country prosperous and strong, priority should be given to developing agriculture and rewarding people for their service," he told the duke during their meeting. "Reward and punishment are both indispensable to good governance. With reward and punishment, the court maintains its authority, making it easy to carry out reforms."



Completely agreeing with Shang Yang, the duke nominated him as chief advisor. He then drafted a directive to initiate reforms. However, he was unsure whether the general public would trust him and abide by the new laws.

Confucius, the Great Chinese Thinker-Ending

Confucius could do nothing but return to Lu. When he was 50, he was forced to go into exile again by people who disapproved of his thinking. However, he was still anxious to obtain an opportunity to realize his political aspirations. He and his companions traveled to Wei, Cao, Song, Zheng, Chen, Cai and Chu states. Despite all the hardships on the journey and all kinds of rebuffs, he continued to promote his theories tenaciously.



Confucius was a great educator who occupies a significant position in the history of education in China. In slave society, only children from privileged families had access to education. Regarding this system as unfair, Confucius claimed that everybody should have the right to receive a decent education. In the private school that he founded, Confucius admitted privileged and common children alike.



It was said that Confucius had 3,000 disciples, of whom 72 stood out for their excellence. He gave lectures wherever possible - in lecture halls, in his courtyard, in his bedchamber, in the outskirts, or in horse driven carts on journeys. A devoted teacher, he lived and worked with his students, winning deep respect from them. Confucius put forward the idea of "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude," meaning a teacher should adopt different methods to teach students with different personalities and academic levels.



In his later years, Confucius edited several important ancient Chinese classics including The Book of Songs, Collection of Ancient Texts and The Spring and Autumn Annals. After he died, his disciples compiled a 20-chapter book titled The Analects, based on his daily teachings and dialogues with disciples. At the same time, they spread his doctrines to an ever-wider audience, giving rise to the school of Confucianism. The main points of the Confucian philosophy may be summed up as follows:



First, Confucius set great store by the concept of "benevolence;" that is to say, rulers are expected to demonstrate concern for their subjects and refrain from overexploiting them so as to reconcile conflicts between different classes of the society. Second, he called for virtuous government and was categorically opposed to tyranny and torture. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty designated Confucianism as the official ideology. For the next over 2,000 years, it served as the orthodox thinking of feudal China. The Chinese often refer to Confucius as "The Sage" to show their respect.