When we are in a vast country, no matter where we go, we have a universal common language to communicate and use, with the same words, currency and various units of measurement. Do you know that not all countries in the world can have such a convenient life?
There was once a Chinese student in Switzerland . When he stayed in a hotel, he wanted to charge his phone, but he didn't bring a charger and went to the front desk to rent it. Unexpectedly, I changed a bunch of plugs to successfully charge the phone. , a news that sounds interesting, has made people connect it with the seemingly unrelated , Qin Shihuang, , unified the six countries . What kind of relationship does
have? Where does the difference come from?
The historical bloodline of the unified dynasty
In 771 BC, in order to make Baosi smile, the beacons and kings of Zhou suffered bad consequences. The Western Zhou regime collapsed, and the Central Plains has since entered a historical stage of disputes between princes and severing the territory- Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period . It was not until more than five hundred years later that the 36th generation Qin Wang Ying Zheng completed the unification of the world and brought our country on the path of integrated development again.
In fact, even the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, which were previously in the slave society system, did not truly realize the concept of " unified " in the sense of . According to research and discoveries from the archaeological and historical circles, in the pre-Qin period of China, the monarch's management of the country could be said to be based on the state, that is, the vassal states in which the monarch itself is located, and radiates to the surrounding small countries through certain power.
is the typical internal and external service system of in the Shang Dynasty , which is managed in a hierarchical manner from the capital to the border. As for the specific systems in various places, they are arranged by the princes and princes who have been enfeoffed. This seal system has been passed down for thousands of years. In that era of traffic jam and poor information communication, only such management methods can ensure the stability of the state's regime as much as possible.
The Qin King Ying Zheng, who succeeded to the throne as a young man, has been assisted by famous officials since he was a child. One of the ones that has to be mentioned is the later Prime Minister Li Si . It was his proposal to King Ying Zheng of Qin that unification of the six countries is not only the unity of territory, cities and population resources, but also a comprehensive integration of culture, language, unit of measurement and political laws. Li Si's view at that time was contrary to the Chinese ancestral system, because from the Yanhuang civilization to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the feudal of the royal family and nobles and the princes and meritorious officials was the only way to manage the country's politically.
With the development of the times, especially through the reforms and reforms of the various vassal states in the late Warring States period, the new social system that is about to emerge has become unstoppable.
After Ying Zheng conquered the six countries with the force of the Qin army, he adopted Li Si's suggestion and generally implemented the political county system in the Central Plains, as well as the unity of language, currency and weights and measures in economic and life. However, the good times did not last long. Due to the lack of theoretical support of Confucianism, the Qin Dynasty, which was levied heavily, died in the second generation. The Liu Han Dynasty, replaced it, once again enfeoffed the royal relatives and heroes in various places.
But what cannot be changed is that the concept of unification and cultural thoughts left by important officials of the Qin Dynasty have been deeply integrated into the political blood of this country. From then until today, great unification has been the eternal and unchanging appearance of the Chinese nation.
The Western Small Country has many ideas
It is precisely because of the management of the same text and the same track of the six countries in the unification of the six countries that the article mentioned at the beginning of the article is mentioned. Now we can communicate with currency in any corner of the country in a common language, and not like the international student in Switzerland, even using several plugs to use a mobile phone charger.
It is not difficult to see from this that contrary to the unified political thought, Westerners are more keen on the city-state-style concept of clear distinction and small countries.We are not counting the ancient civilizations that are relatively backward in Africa and the Americas. Why do the two continents, , Eurasia, and , which best represents human history, and are on the same continent, have completely different political models?
First of all, geographical factor , which is often mentioned in the historical community of Asian river civilization and European marine civilization . Taking our country as an example, although there is a coastal half of the southeastern wall, the endless stream of Yangtze River Yellow River is the most important source of material for nurturing the Central Plains. With the irrigation of rivers, the survival of various animals and plants, especially grain crops, is reliable guaranteed. People living here make a living by farming every day and relocate. In addition, these two long rivers that stretch for thousands of meters have impacted the vast plains in the middle and lower reaches, and also provided superior living conditions for ancient ancestors in our country.
, while Europe on the west coast of the mainland is completely different, especially along the , Mediterranean , which first appeared in human tribal activities. With mountains and sparse arable land resources, a big mountain is enough to isolate two city-states.
Therefore, they are not like us. Although different tribes and city-states also have mutual conquests, most of them are just plundering, not to expand territory. Even if you turn the city-state on the other side of the mountain into your own, the abundant resources you can get are very limited. Moreover, the two sides of the mountain represent the basic conditions required for agricultural production such as different precipitation, soil quality, and vegetation, and it is more complex to manage.
The resource that truly meets the life of ancient European tribes is from the vast ocean outside the land. In this way, European society in BC gradually formed an economic production mode of living by going to sea. Coupled with the natural geographical factors of large mountain coverage, even if it is geographically connected, the two city-states refused to be integrated.
In addition, European and my country have a very significant difference in ancient history. , that is, the former pays more attention to the influence of religion and power .
In ancient China, especially during the feudal dynasty that began in the Qin Dynasty, the emperor was the highest owner of all power in this country, which is the biggest feature of the monarchical autocratic system. Although from the current democratic perspective, the dictatorship of one family and one family will bring many disadvantages, it at least prevents religion from interfering in people's lives. Our ancestors also had superstitious behaviors in an era when science was uncivilized, but these so-called theological leaders never became dominant in a country.
But the West is different. From Roman Empire to various kingdoms on the European continent, monarchy authority is not just an empty word, but there are indeed religious leaders who have certain actual power. Even in some countries, the power of the pope is higher than that of the royal government. Of course, it would be fine if one believes in the same religion and increases the cohesion of the state. The problem is that the excessive religious power nourishes a group of greedy people, trying to increase their influence through the increase in the number of believers.
For example, , the coast of North Sea , the Netherlands and , Belgium , can still be divided into two countries due to differences in religious beliefs when the land area is not much larger.
In 1830 AD, William I, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, attempted to let the Belgian provinces with a larger population at that time manage in a "Dutchized" model, so that the Belgians in the north can learn the religion and culture of Dutch . This is obviously unreasonable.
and British Empire , which once dominated the world, are not only slowly falling apart in the external Commonwealth countries, but also the internal interiors of the local British Isles are not as united as they appear. It is clearly the same country, but it has to be divided into England, which is mainly composed of Anglo-Saxons, as well as four parts: Scotland, Wales, , and Northern Ireland, . The most restless one is the "second brother" Scotland. One of the important reasons for their regional differences is the difference in religious beliefs.
European integration process
Although the political concept of great unity has been influenced by many aspects such as natural objectivity and cultural subjectivity, it is not without European politicians who have thought about this issue. For example, the famous France First Empire The Great Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte , the man who once tried to conquer the European continent by force, but unfortunately he was defeated in Russia, which was unacceptable to the local conditions. Under the joint suppression of domestic and foreign forces, a generation of famous kings eventually died in loneliness. Although the ambition of Napoleon has not been realized, it has brought new ideas for political ideas to Europe. After , Europe, which was almost buried in the ruins, needs to be revived urgently, and "struggle together to keep warm" has become a path that has to be taken .
From the European Steel Community, which initially cooperated for a single economic project, to the later European Community and European Union , which had a wider range of radiation, to the creation and use of the euro in the 21st century. Europe in the new era is on a path of comprehensive integrated development in multiple fields.
Of course, this road that is contrary to history is not smooth sailing, and it is difficult for European countries to achieve true integration. As a major member state, the United Kingdom also announced its departure from EU in 2016. However, when the crisis comes, the existence of the EU can change the situation where different governments of different countries act independently, and maximize the interests of the entire Europe . For example, during the Greek economic crisis, EU member states collectively contributed to help their peers overcome difficulties.
2021, the 17th European Cup football match did not hold a concentrated match in a certain country, but chose to be jointly organized by twelve countries across Europe. Isn’t this the most intuitive manifestation of the European integration process?
No matter what historical and natural reasons are, the two civilizations on the east coast of the Eurasian continent have moved towards different political development directions. However, as the world becomes more and more complicated communication, we and Europe are also learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses. In learning, learning and self-reflection, we each find the best future path for ourselves.
Finally, we are talking about Qin Shihuang mentioned at the beginning of the article. You can say that he was a selfish king who was levied heavily on his own life and the thousand-year eternity of his regime, he spent all his efforts on building the Great Wall in the north and building water conservancy in the south. Military service and corvee eventually led to the destruction of the first dynasty in China.
However, what Qin Shihuang created was not just a history of one dynasty, but the entire feudal era of China, laying the foundation for the development of political civilization and cultural thoughts in this country for more than two thousand years. Until today, the concept of centralized unification and the national system of multi-ethnic integration are still affecting China today and in the future. His greatness is self-evident.
Author: Kinoshita Yiren Proofreader: Kawakawa
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