During the ten years from 22 1 BC to the first 230 years, Ying Zheng, king of Qin, wiped out the six eastern countries in one fell swoop, reuniting China, which was refreshing. But in just fifteen years, the huge Qin Empire collapsed, and people had to explore the history of its failure before they could sum up its successful experience. The demise of the Qin Dynasty is as puzzling as a fog, and some historians spend their whole lives exploring it. The establishment of the Qin empire and its perfect system are like meteors flying across the sky, leaving future generations with infinite reverie.

Historians throughout the ages agree that the demise of Qin was mainly caused by the tyranny of the rulers, which is beyond doubt. With his extraordinary talents, Qin Shihuang launched a large-scale military operation, which made the rule of the Qin Empire last for a long time, attacking Xiongnu in the north and conquering hundreds of places in the south, which brought a heavy burden to the people. In particular, the construction of the Great Wall has plunged the people into dire straits. Chen Lin wrote in the song "Drinking Horses in the Great Wall Grottoes": Be careful not to lift men and feed women with their breasts. You can't see it. Under the Great Wall, the bones of the dead support each other. In order to repair his mausoleum and overhaul his palace, Qin Shihuang entertained himself and frequently forced ordinary people to serve hard labor, regardless of their strength. You can imagine the misery of ordinary people's lives.

"Qin people, Qin also, not the world." Fu Qin loves the people of the six countries, so he can be king forever. Whoever wins will be destroyed. Du Mu's words are thought-provoking. In the final analysis, the demise of Qin was of its own making. Rulers who take the common people as their enemies will eventually turn one person's heart into the hearts of thousands of people in Qian Qian, and their demise is just around the corner.

Legalism contributed to the unification of the Qin Dynasty. Since Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Yang to start the political reform, the kings of Qin all respected the legalist thought, and Qin Shihuang even respected Han Feizi's theory. Shang Yang's reform established a strict reward and punishment system, forced all people to engage in productive occupations, and implemented the system of "sitting together" and supervision, which not only made Qin's economic strength strong, but also laid its invincible military strength. After reunification, Qin continued the legalist thought and used force to quell chaos in order to control chaos. The main measures include: destroying folk weapons, resettling local gentry, cultivating equator, unifying literal measurement, implementing county system and establishing a set of centralized imperial politics. All this was achieved under the high pressure of Qin Shihuang. On the surface, the sea is calm, but in fact, there is an undercurrent.

Qin Shihuang ruled the country with legalists and ruled the people with severe punishments and harsh laws. According to Qin Law, there are nearly 200 kinds of crimes in Qin criminal law system, including cruel criminal laws such as death penalty, corporal punishment, tolerance punishment and flogging. One person breaks the law and is cronyism; The family was found guilty and affected the neighborhood. The state of Qin under the rule of Legalism is like a huge powder keg, which is explosive at the touch of a hair. Jia Yi, a Han Chinese, once said, "When Qin was here, the world was bad, and Fu knew it." Qin Ershi's rule after the first emperor was even more brutal and extravagant, which made the people "men's labor was not enough to pay wages, women's spinning performance was not enough to make clothes, and they exhausted all resources in the world to serve their government." Mars, which forced the country's armed uprising. It has reached the point where "everyone is confused, the whole world is buzzing, and plants are competing for life". At this point, the Qin empire has embarked on the track of death.

A unified dynasty needs a unified thought and goes hand in hand with imperial politics to enhance the centripetal force of the people, especially the sense of belonging within the ruling class. This is very necessary for the newly established Qin Empire. Qin annexed the six eastern countries in one fell swoop, which was easy to conquer by force, but culturally, reconciliation was not easy, which required the great wisdom of the rulers. Obviously, legalism is not suitable as the guiding ideology of a new unified dynasty. On the contrary, it will only strengthen the power of cultural conflicts caused by cultural differences. Legalist thought is a national political philosophy and strategic system with strong nationalism and utilitarianism. The practicality of legalist theory is conducive to the growth of sovereign power and the strengthening of state power, but it is based on force and power, ignoring culture.

Qin's legalist thought of governing the country made people temporarily submit to the power of the monarch, but in the era of great unification, individuals in the lower classes were more directly combined, and individuals got rid of the shackles of clans and nobles, and to some extent had more space. Therefore, after being severely oppressed, farmers often easily turn from struggle for existence to the struggle to seize state power. The ruler of Qin almost fell into the sea of Wang Yang where the people rebelled. There are simple farmers, intellectuals and the original army in the struggle. Bobby Chen and Guangwu rose up and finally ignited the war in the hearts of people from all walks of life.

In my opinion, the demise of the Qin Dynasty was caused by the rulers' continued adoption of Legalism after reunification. The so-called "success is also Xiao He, failure is also Xiao He", which is more appropriate to describe Legalism. Legalists made great contributions to the establishment of the Qin Empire, and also planted the seeds of extinction. After the reunification of the country, the rulers should change their ways. Under the rule of Legalism, the common people, especially the scholar-officials, have no goals and ideals to fight for. Later Confucianism made up for this defect and made the feudal society in China develop continuously for a long time.

Therefore, the main reason for the demise of the Qin Dynasty is the tyranny of the rulers, but the improper ruling ideology is also an important reason that cannot be ignored.

The following quotes the warning of the ancient philosopher Lao Tzu to summarize the demise of the Qin Dynasty:

("Those who are both virtuous, the Tao is also virtuous, and those who are both lost, the Tao is also lost")

Regardless of individuals, families, organizations, society, countries and even everything, we should respect morality, otherwise, we will be abandoned by the road.

("Those who dare to kill, those who dare not kill (live)")

Even if people have internal strength, they should be afraid, afraid of heaven. Otherwise it will inevitably lead to death.

("If you give up your kindness and courage, you will die")

Compassion is the attribute of the road. If you lose your compassion and be brave blindly, you will die.

("Deyi (one is the name of virtue, just as zero is the name of Tao) thinks that the world is right. . . . . . If the prince is not expensive, he will be afraid of falling.

National rulers must firmly grasp the essence of virtue in order to gain honor, or they will fall from a high position in bring disgrace to oneself. Be cast aside by the people.

("If you love it very much, you will spend a lot of money; Hide too much and you will die ")

We should control our own desires, indulge our selfish greed blindly, and die sooner or later regardless of the lives of others.

("There are many taboos in the world and the people are poor." . . . . . . There are many things, but there are many thieves ")

If the rulers set obstacles to the people everywhere and bind their hands and feet, then the people will inevitably get into trouble. At this time, no matter how tough the law is, it will not work. On the contrary, the more laws there are, the more chaotic society will be.

("It is (the meaning of political governance) observation (monitoring and controlling people's thoughts), and its state is (the meaning of disintegration)")

If the ruler is bent on controlling the people's thoughts and monitoring them, then when it reaches the extreme, the country will inevitably fall apart.

("A substitute for a master looks (rarely) without hurting his hands")

Anyone who makes and implements laws should understand that making laws is always less than natural law. And heaven has a good life. If the ruler of the world resorts to criminal law and wantonly cuts down trees, it will be himself who will eventually be guillotined.

("If the people can't cure it, cure it, because they (the meaning of leadership) think (the meaning of making trouble, reckless behavior)")

The reason why the people can't be governed is because the rulers indulge their own desires and do whatever they want, so they are bound to be effective and will never be at peace.

("The wind is endless, and the storm is endless")

Simply intimidating by force, creating fear for the people and governing the country with strength will not last long.

("I want to take the world, I will do it. I think it will succeed. " The world is an artifact and must be done. If you are defeated, you lose. " )

Political power is obtained by virtue and good deeds, not by pure power, otherwise, even if it is obtained, it will soon be lost. Become a short-lived clown.

("Soldiers are not weapons of gentlemen, but ominous weapons. . . . . . Don't be beautiful If you are beautiful, you are willing to kill people. If you enjoy killing people, you can't succeed in the world. " )

War and force are tools of forced self-defense. If you enjoy it, be complacent, and enjoy killing people, one day, you will be buried with everyone.