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Regarding Qin Shihuang's behavior, whether it is derogation or praise, everyone seems to have a consensus, that is, "burning books and burying Confucianism".

In order to maintain his rule, he went on a killing spree, burying more than 400 Confucian scholars alive at one time.

However, regarding Qin Shihuang's notorious "burning books and burying Confucianism" incident, some people believe that Qin Shihuang did not confuse Confucianism, but some quack warlocks.So, who exactly were Qin Shihuang pitted?
Regarding "burning books and burying Confucianism", it is recorded in "Historical Records":

After Qin Shihuang established the regime, he regarded the common people in the world as straw dogs, making the people miserable.

In particular, in order to control his thoughts, he followed Prime Minister Li Si's suggestion and burned all the books in the world, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among scholars.

Qin Shihuang was reported by some people in Xianyang to bewitch the public and disturb the people's thinking, so he ordered the arrest of some scholars who spread "evil words" and tortured them severely.

More than 460 Confucian scholars were implicated.

Qin Shihuang gave an order, and these more than 400 people were buried alive in Xianyang.This is the "pitting Confucianism" incident that occurred in 212 BC.

When referring to this passage in "Historical Records", it uses "Zhusheng" instead of "Confucian scholars".

The term "Kengru" first appeared in the classics of the early Western Han Dynasty, more than 100 years after the death of Qin Shihuang.

In the sixth year of the Western Han Dynasty, Sang Hongyang, the financial steward of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, fought against the Confucians at the famous Yantie Conference, and published a grand theory. Like those thieves, they have been a scourge since ancient times.

The king of the state of Lu expelled Kong Qiu and discarded him because he was pedantic in spite of his sleek appearance.

Based on the same principle, Qin Shihuang burned the works of Confucian scholars so that their speech could not be disseminated, and would rather bury them alive than use them.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a "Preface to Kong Anguo" in the fake book "Guwen Shangshu".

This is probably the earliest source of the term "burning books and burying Confucianism".This statement was widely quoted by later generations and has been handed down to this day.

So what is the real history?
The burning of books actually originated from a dispute between Zhou Qingchen and Chun Yuyue.

In 213 BC, in order to celebrate the construction of the Great Wall by the Qin Dynasty and the acquisition of Nanyue, the First Emperor held a banquet in the Xianyang Palace.

A servant named Zhou Qingchen lent the opportunity to the emperor to toast and praised the first emperor, saying: "In the past, the state of Qin was very small, and its land was only a thousand miles away. guest clothes."

Then, he praised the system of prefectures and counties, saying that Qin Shihuang changed the system of enfeoffment of princes into a system of prefectures and counties, so that the country would be free from war and the people could enjoy peace for a long time.Its merits and virtues have been unmatched since ancient times.

Although Zhou Qingchen's words were not without flattery, what he stated was basically the truth.

Unexpectedly, a man named Chun Yuyue was dissatisfied.

Chun Yuyue has always advocated giving more importance to the past than the present, and believes that all ancient things are good and all contemporary things are bad.

When he heard Zhou Qingchen praise the system of prefectures and counties and belittle the enfeoffment system, he jumped up and said: "I heard that in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the state was handed down for nearly a thousand years because of the enfeoffment of children, because entrusting the meritorious officials of the children can allow them to take care of each other with the monarch.

Now the first emperor, you are rich all over the world, but you don't divide up your children as a response. If there are people like Tian Chang who usurped the power of Qi, how will you deal with it?Zhou Qingchen didn't point this out to Your Majesty, but flattered you face to face, not a loyal minister! "

Chun Yuyue and Zhou Qingchen had nothing against each other. This debate was purely a dispute of opinions, and it also had the taste of literati's disparity. It should not have any real consequences.Unexpectedly, Prime Minister Li Si suddenly intervened at this time, which caused a qualitative change in the situation.

Li Si said: "The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors each had their own way of governing the country, and they all did well.

This is because they can use different policies according to the general trend of the world.Now that His Majesty has created a great cause and made great achievements for all generations, the stupid Confucian scholars don't understand the reason. Chunyu Yue took the Three Emperors and Five Emperors as an example. Is this worth imitating?

At that time, the princes were fighting each other, and everyone wanted to attract scholars from all over the world. Now that the world has been settled, the common people are devoted to agriculture and industry, and intellectuals should study law. This is the right way.

Instead of starting from the present, these Confucian scholars use ancient examples to confuse the people by saying that the present is not the case: in the past, when the world was in chaos, each insisted on his own opinion, only then did the princes rise together, and everyone respected messy academics instead of the country's system.If the emperor unifies the world, he should unify his thoughts... My request: If it wasn't for the history written by my dynasty, all the history written by my dynasty would be burned, unless it is the duty of a doctoral officer, anyone who dares to have a collection of poems and books in the world will be burned by the local officials..."

Li Siluoli talked a lot, but there was only one central point, that is, the past should be favored over the past, and the past should not be used to detract from the present. For this reason, he suggested burning books and implementing them with strict measures.

Note that Li Si wanted to burn historical works other than "Qin Ji", and did not suggest that Qin Shihuang burn all the Confucian "Book of Songs", "Book of Books" and books of various schools of thought.

This matter was also mentioned in "Historical Records Biography of Li Si". Sima Qian quoted Li Si as saying: "I invite all those who have literature, poems, books, and a hundred languages, to remove them, and let them go in thirty days. Cheng Dan.

Those who do not go, books on medicine, divination, divination, and tree planting, if you want to learn, use officials as teachers. "

Li Si only used the word "go" for those poems and books, and did not definitely want to "burn".

Immediately after this passage, there is another sentence: "The first emperor can discuss it, and take away poems, books, and words from a hundred schools of thought to fool the people."

Combining the above three paragraphs, it can be clearly seen that the poems and books and the books of various schools of thought were not burned, but were collected by the central government of the Qin Dynasty and corresponding government officials for the purpose of "fooling the people" rather than destroying them. .

A record in "Historical Records Xiao Xiangguo Family" can also prove that Qin Shihuang did not burn books.

This kind of record is: "He (Xiao He) was the first to enter and collect the prime minister of Qin, the censor's laws, and the collection of books... How did the King of Han know the world's troubles, the number of household registrations, the strengths and weaknesses, and the sufferings of the people? Qin Shu also."

It means that after Liu Bang's army captured Xianyang City, Xiao He first confiscated the laws and books hidden by the prime minister and censor of the Qin Dynasty; The strengths and weaknesses, the sufferings of the people, etc.

It is not difficult to see from this passage that Qin Shihuang only ordered the confiscation of folk books and hid them in the hands of the government and academic officials, but did not burn them. Otherwise, how could the Han Dynasty "obtain 420 articles of a hundred schools of thought".

The misunderstanding of "burning all the books in the world" should be clarified.

In fact, Shihuang was not a fool. If all the books were burned, the superstructure would be completely destroyed, and the foundation of the rule would also be greatly shaken. He wouldn't even know this.

The incident of "pitting Confucianism" originated in the 35th year of Qin Shihuang.

On this day, Yingzheng drove to the Liangshan Palace, poured wine into the wind, and when he stopped at the top of the mountain, Qin Shihuang occasionally looked up and found that the prime minister had many followers, and he couldn't help frowning.

At that time, there were two prime ministers in the Qin Dynasty, namely Li Si and Feng Quji. I don't know which one exceeded the standard.

This subtle move was discovered by an eunuch who was accompanying him. This nobleman was friends with the prime minister who exceeded the standard, so he leaked the fact that the emperor seemed to be dissatisfied with his excessive riding.

A few days later, Qin Shihuang didn't know how he heard about it, so he issued an imperial edict and executed all the nobles who were around at that time, making everyone feel in danger.

Who are the more than 460 people who were killed?
Since the Western Han Dynasty, people have almost unanimously said that they are Confucian scholars.

However, Sima Qian narrated this historical fact in "Historical Records: Biography of Scholars".Warlocks are not the same as Confucian scholars.

Warlocks, alchemists, are people who are good at teaching immortal alchemy in ancient my country.

For example, Xu Fu who "went into the sea to seek immortals" during the first emperor of Qin Dynasty, Xin Yuanping who "looked forward to get the tripod" during Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Li Shaojun who advocated "ancestral stove" during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the young man from Qi who claimed to be able to "send ghosts" to see Mrs. Li.

Furthermore, it was alchemists who cheated Qin Shihuang of money "in huge amounts", such as Xu Fu who led boys and girls across the sea to seek immortality, and Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng who slandered Qin Shihuang and ran away. Why did Qin Shihuang vent his anger on Confucian scholars?

Taking a step back, even if Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng were Confucian scholars, Qin Shihuang would not let go of the alchemists who cheated him of money and only punish Confucian scholars.

In other words, there is no evidence at all to prove that Qin Shihuang murdered all Confucian scholars.

The reason why people think that Qin Shihuang pitted "Confucianism" is that Sima Qian called the pitted "Sheng" in "Historical Records Qin Shihuang Benji", and Sima Qian said in the index of "Historical Records" that "Since the Han Dynasty, Confucians have all "Sheng", so "Sheng" means "Confucianism".

In fact, this is obviously taken out of context, because before the Han Dynasty, alchemists could also be called Sheng, such as An Qisheng recorded in "Historical Records" was a famous warlock.

Therefore, the "sheng" in the Qin Dynasty was not exactly a Confucian student.

What's more, "Kit Confucianism" is a saying that appeared more than 100 years after Qin Shihuang's death, so some people think that "Knocking Confucianism" should be a false word imposed on Qin Shihuang by the literati out of anger at Qin Shihuang's tyranny.

After Qin Shihuang "burned books and buried students", his eldest son Fusu remonstrated: "Nowadays the world is initially settled, and people far away may not be convinced.

These Confucian scholars all learned from Confucius. If Your Majesty punishes them so severely, I am afraid that the people of the world will be terrified.Please be aware of the emperor. "

Qin Shihuang was furious when he heard the remonstrance, and drove Fusu to the far northern border, making him the supervisor of Meng Tian.This move led to the subsequent Dune Change.

When Sima Qian recorded the incident of Qinshihuang Xianyang Kengsheng, he only said "Zhusheng" or "Warlock" in general. When Fusu gave advice, he explained the meaning of "Zhusheng" very clearly. .”

Why is the description in the same book so confusing?

It may be because Qin Shihuang liked ghosts and gods and sent people everywhere to ask for immortal medicines, so some Confucian scholars followed suit and joined the ranks of warlocks. It is said that Qin Shihuang "burned poems and books and pitted warlocks".

In addition, most of the alchemists are also scholars, and they can be regarded as quasi-Confucian scholars.What's more, once killings may hurt innocent people, it is inevitable that some Confucian scholars were wrongly killed among these "students" who were cheated.

The behavior of Qin Shihuang's "King Sheng" dealt a huge blow to the Qin Dynasty.

In Sima Qian's view, Qin Shihuang's "burning of poems and books and trapping warlocks" was a fatal blow to people's study of the "six arts" at that time.

During the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprisings, Confucian scholars in Shandong resolutely joined the rebel army. Confucius' eighth-generation grandson Kong Yu also became Chen Sheng's doctor, and later died together with Chen Sheng.Chen Sheng was able to establish his own political power within a month, thanks to these Confucian scholars.

It stands to reason that Confucian scholars should be the group of people who most uphold the rules of the monarch and ministers. At this time, they followed Chen Sheng to rebel. In order to make a living, he couldn't bear it and embarked on the road of armed resistance.

At the same time, it should also be related to the killing of some Confucian scholars.

We can draw the following conclusions: Qin Shihuang burned books, but not all of them were destroyed; Xianyang’s "student" incident occurred mainly against alchemists, but it also affected Confucian scholars.

Qin Shihuang was not as arrogant and unreasonable as we think, there are reasons for everything he did.Although those real things cannot be erased, by revealing the truth behind them, it can help future generations see the true face of historical figures.I hope that the world's misunderstanding of Qin Shihuang will be resolved from this article.