"Quality" originally refers to the goods used as "meeting gifts" between nobles or princes, which is equivalent to the collateral for strengthening credit communication. Later, commodities were no longer sufficient evidence, and "people-oriented" appeared again. The vassal state regards the relationship with the vassal state as its own quality.
At that time, the monarch basically had 10 or 20 sons. Because this is a mortgage, it must be valuable, so he can't have only one son. So it was not the prince who was hijacked, but the son with higher status.
Generally speaking, there are several reasons why princes or important sons go to other countries as hostages. First of all, the two countries formed an alliance to show their sincerity in establishing friendly relations and exchanging hostages. Second, the defeated party is willing to make peace and take the initiative to admit defeat. Third, in order to protect big countries, small countries take the initiative to send their sons as collateral, while big countries also send their sons to other countries in exchange for temporary benefits. Big countries like Jin and Chu sent governors to take hostages.
During the Warring States period, it was common for princes to mortgage goods, but their mutual credit became worse and worse. At first, when they are hostages, they will pay attention to the Covenant and keep their promises. At this time, they are more interested in communication and fighting. Because of frequent wars, my son wants to be a master and make great achievements. Taking hostages in other countries is a cost-effective way compared with bitter battles on the battlefield. Therefore, those countries with better solutions will find some client countries with lower risks as hostages to seek developed capital in the future.
And his son are the most famous hostages in Qin State. At that time, it was difficult for Qin to be the hostage of Zhao because of its repeated attacks on Zhao. Lv Buwei discovered the treasure with the shrewd eyes of a businessman and gave it to Xu Huixin, the beloved woman of Zi Chu.
Finally, under the planning of Lv Buwei, Zi Chu became the king of Qin, and together with Xu Huixin, he gave birth to Ying Zheng and Qin Shihuang, and later unified the six countries. However, it is said that Ying Zheng is the son of Lv Buwei. Since then, Lv Buwei and Xu Huixin have kept in touch, and this anecdote has also become a hot spot in TV production.
Being a hostage's son also has complicated problems. Yan dan, the prince of Yan, felt humiliated because he didn't get the courtesy of Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, because he had a bad life in Qin. He found an opportunity and fled back to China in anger. Later, under the military pressure of Qin sweeping the six countries, Taizi Dan could no longer swallow new and old hatred, and wanted to behead him with the tactic of "Jing Ke stabbing Qin". Unexpectedly, the assassination failed, and the king of Qin accelerated the attack on Yan. Under pressure, the prince killed Taizi Dan and apologized to the king of Qin, leaving only an elegy of "The wind is rustling, Shui Han, a strong man is gone forever".
During the Spring and Autumn Period, great changes have taken place in the social order. Zhou became less and less valued by the princes, and even a proton exchange scandal appeared.
After the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty, under the protection of Zheng and Jin, people had to bow their heads under the eaves, but their hearts were strongly dissatisfied. On one occasion, Zheng Zhuanggong secretly tried to bring down Zheng Zhuanggong, only to be discovered, so he came to singling out. Zhou Pingwang dare not admit it, saying that there is absolutely no such thing. If he doesn't believe that we have exchanged our son for a hostage, we are not allowed to break our word when we get along well.
Zhou Pingwang's guilt is embarrassing. Zhou and the son of a vassal are hostages to each other. This is obviously a disgrace to yourself. Other vassal States also saw this and paid more attention to Zhou Wang.
After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the nature and form of national unity and the quality of descendants have also changed, becoming a part of the exchange and integration process between the Central Plains regime and the grassland regime.
In the early Han Dynasty, due to the turbulent situation and the threat of Xiongnu, they were forced to adopt a compromise policy that was close to the people. When the national strength was strong, the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu on a large scale and swept the western regions, and "offering protons" became the symbol of western countries' submission to the Han Dynasty
Therefore, special institutions and systems have been established to manage the collection, welcome, management and education of protons. In fact, they have certain diplomatic and border control functions. Since then, the proton management system has continued to this day, which has played a role in integrating the Han nationality with neighboring nationalities and promoting national cultural exchanges.