We might as well understand the reasons why Shang Ying fell from the peak of his life to the bottom through the beginning and end of Shang Ying's reform.

Shang Ying served in the Wei state as a young man, and because he was influenced by Li Kui and Wu Qi's reforms, he focused on the doctrine of criminal name magic. When the uncle of the prime minister of Wei was seriously ill, he recommended Shang Ying to King Wei Hui as the minister of state, and said to King Wei Hui: "If the lord does not use Shang Ying, he must be killed, and he will not be allowed to defect to other countries." King Wei Hui did not accept Uncle Gong's recommendation.

During the autumn period, Qin Mugong was known as the Five Tyrants of Autumn together with Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Xiang of Song, Duke Wen of Jin, and King Zhuang of Chu. In the early Warring States period, the Wei State passed the Li Kui Reform, the Wei State passed the Wu Qi Reform, and the Korea Dynasty passed the Shen Bu Harm Reform, etc., and all the countries gradually grew stronger through their own reforms. At this time, although the Qin State could not be said to be weak, it was located in a remote location, and did not participate in the alliance of the princes of the Central Plains, and was alienated by the princes and treated like Yidi. The power of the clan and nobles is huge, the power of the monarch is weak, and the throne of several generations has been moved), the national strength has been greatly weakened, the politics and economy are also relatively backward, and they have been bullied by the powerful Wei State after the reform, and even lost the land west of the river.

In 362 BC, after the death of Qin Xiangong, the 21-year-old Qin Xiaogong succeeded to the throne, taking the restoration of the hegemony of the Qin Mugong period as his own responsibility, eager to reform the current maladministration of the Qin State, and promulgated the famous order of seeking talents in the country, ordering the ministers of the country to offer the policy of enriching the country and strengthening the army.

Shang Ying heard Qin Xiaogong's order to seek talent, so he took Li Kui's "Book of Law" to Qin State, and met Qin Xiaogong through Qin Xiaogong's favorite minister Jing Jian recommended, Shang Ying first spoke to Qin Xiaogong with the art of the emperor and the royal road, and Qin Xiaogong did not think so. After Shang Ying understood Qin Xiaogong's thoughts, he talked about the strategy of enriching the country and strengthening the army with a domineering technique to Qin Xiaogong, and Xiaogong was overjoyed after hearing it, and the two talked freely for a few days without getting tired.

Because the reform was obstructed by the Qin nobles, Shang Ying was the first to meet the Confucianism in the court, criticized and refuted the retro ideas of the old aristocracy represented by Gan Long and Du Zhi of the so-called "ancient law" and "ritual", and made public opinion preparations for the implementation of the reform. Later, it won the trust of the people in one fell swoop through the well-known "Ximu Lixin".

The time dates back to 359 B.C., when Qin Xiao ordered Shang Ying to promulgate the "Grass Reclamation Order" in Qin, which opened the prelude to a comprehensive reform of the law. Its main contents are: stimulating agricultural production, suppressing commercial development, reshaping social values, improving the social awareness of agriculture, weakening the privileges of nobles and officials, allowing domestic aristocrats to join agricultural production, and implementing a unified tax and rent system.

The time dates back to 356 B.C., after the successful implementation of the "Reclamation Order", Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Ying as the head of the left concubine, and implemented the first reform of the law in Qin. Its main contents are: reforming the household registration system, increasing the law of Shiwu Liansit, explicitly ordering military law to reward military merits, abolishing the Shiqing Shilu system, establishing a 20-rank lord system, severely punishing private fighting, rewarding farming and weaving, valuing agriculture and suppressing business, changing the law into a law, formulating Qin law, and implementing a small family system.

Dating back to 350 B.C., Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Ying as the Great Liang and built a new capital in Xianyang, and moved the capital from Liyang to Xianyang the following year, while making a second change. Its main contents are: opening the frontier and sealing the territory, abandoning the well field, making the Yuantian, allowing the private ownership and trading of land, the implementation of the county system, the initial endowment, the unification of weights and measures, the burning of poems and books and the clarification of laws, the invitation of the private door, the people of the eunuchs, the implementation of the household division order to stop the people, fathers, sons and brothers from living in the same room and other reform strategies.

Shang Ying's two changes completely abolished the old system that hindered the development of Qin, disintegrated the power of Qin's nobles, strengthened the power of the king, and developed the economy, and Qin gradually became the most powerful country among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States.

The time dates back to 341 BC, when Wei suffered a heavy blow from Qi in the Battle of Maling, the main general Pang Juan committed suicide, and the crown prince Shen was captured. Shang Ying advised Qin Xiaogong to take advantage of the great injury of Wei to attack Wei, and Shang Ying led his army to defeat Wei, recovered the land west of Hexi, and captured Wei Gongzi Mao. Shang Ying was awarded the title of Shang 15 Yi for his military exploits, and was called Shang Jun.

Shang Ying's change made the Qin State quickly stronger, and also allowed himself to obtain the supreme honor, but its law of sitting and military merit did not take into account the interests and face of the Qin nobles, Zhao Liang, the prince of the Qin State, once persuaded Shang Yang to accumulate too deep grievances, and it was appropriate to return to the fifteen capitals, irrigate the garden in despised, not greedy for business, rich in it, and not favor the teachings of the Qin State, and Shang Ying did not listen. and laid the groundwork for his tragic end.

The time dates back to 338 BC, when Qin Xiaogong died, and the crown prince Si ascended the throne, that is, King Qin Hui. Gongziqian and others falsely accused Shang Ying of rebellion, and King Qin Hui ordered Shang Ying's arrest. Shang Ying fled to the border and wanted to stay, but the innkeeper saw that he did not bring any certificates, so he told him that the law of Shang Jun stipulated that guests who stayed without certificates were punished by sitting together. wanted to flee to Wei, but offended Wei because he captured Gongzi Mao when recovering the land west of the river, and was denied entry. I have to say that it is my own cocoon and self-restraint, which is also the origin of the term "self-killing". Shang Ying fled, unsuccessfully, and launched a rebellion among the soldiers of the captured fiefdoms and was killed in battle. His body was brought back to Xianyang, where it was executed and the whole family was destroyed. Although Shang Yang died, the new law was not repealed.

History has had different evaluations of Shang Yang since ancient times, and the great man once said: Shang Ying, the premier great statesman who benefited the country and enriched the people, was a religious sincere and idealist. The law of Shang Yang punished to protect the rights of the people, cultivated and woven to enhance the well-being of the people, and the military merit to establish the prestige of the country, and the greed and slackness to eliminate consumption. This is a great policy that our country has never had. Shang Yang can be called the first truly radical reformer in Chinese history, and his reforms were not limited to his time, but also influenced China for thousands of years. Sima Qian: "Shang Jun, his talent is mean. Traces of his filial piety to the emperor's technique, hijacking the floating theory, is not its quality. And the reason for the minister, and use, the criminal son is pious, bullying Wei Jiangang, not learning from Zhao Liang's words, but also enough to invent the young grace of the merchant king. Yu Wei read Shang Jun's book on the cultivation of the war, and acted similarly to others. He is notorious to Qin, and there is a husband!"

Throughout history, although Shang Ying's law was too harsh, for the Qin State at that time, Qin Xiaogong was eager to restore the hegemony of Qin and become strong in the shortest possible time. This also laid a solid foundation for Qin Shi Huang to unify the six kingdoms and the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, and the feudal dynasty for 2,000 years was also greatly affected. Shang Ying should also be evaluated fairly and objectively, and he dared to challenge the old aristocratic forces and break the old rules, which is a commendable spirit.

Why was the Warring States Shang Dynasty successful? People are dead, and the government is not abolished!

Why did the Shang Martingale reform succeed? Shang Ying's reform, Wang Mang's reform, Wang Anshi's reform, and Zhang Juzheng's reform are known as the four major changes in ancient China. Among these four major changes, only the Shang Yang reform did not have "people die and politics abolished". Why is it that only Shang Ying's reform is like this, and the other changes have ultimately failed?

In orthodox education, the reasons for the success of the Shang Dynasty reform are as follows:

First, conform to the development trend of the historical trend;

Second, a series of concrete and effective methods have been formulated;

Third, we must dare to struggle against the old forces. Four. Win the trust of the people and gain the trust of the people. Five. The support of the monarch.

But when you think about it, it's wrong. The above characteristics are not only possessed by the Shang Yang Method, but also other Methods. The reasons for the success of the Shang Martingale reform are as follows:

First, the old nobles of the Qin State were the weakest. Among the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States", Qin was the latest to be founded. Before the formal establishment of the Qin state, Qin's territory was called the "Land of Xirong", which was a place where ethnic minorities lived; After the founding of Qin, the state of Qin has always been in a state of "Yidi mixed living". Before the Shang Dynasty reformed the law, Qin was the poorest and weakest state. Therefore, in the Qin State, the old noble forces were the weakest, and the resistance to changing the law was the least.

Second, the king's support was strong. When Shang Ying changed the law, he received the full support of the monarch, and it can even be said to be "obedient to his words". Even the prince didn't give face.

Third, the timing of the implementation of the law. Shang Ying began to change the law in 356 B.C., and in 338 B.C., Shang Ying was "split" by King Qin Hui in Tong, destroying the Shang monarch's family, and the Shang Yang reform has been implemented for a total of 18 years. Eighteen years, even if you have a child now, you are already an adult, and you are more likely to have become a father in ancient times. This is long enough time for the new interest classes that benefited from the new law to come to court and gain a firm foothold, or at least to gain the strength to confront the old interests to ensure that the new law is not repealed. Moreover, as the new law continues to be implemented, the new interest classes will become stronger and stronger, while the old interest classes will weaken and eventually be replaced by the new interest classes.

Of course, the above three points are only auxiliary reasons. Personally, I think that the following two points are the most fundamental reasons for the success of Shang Ying's reform.

Fourth, the establishment of the credibility of the government. The most terrible thing for a government is not a "political crisis", not an "economic crisis", and still less a "military crisis". What can fundamentally destroy a government is a "crisis of confidence". The story of Shang Ying's "City Gate Standing Wood" is basically familiar to everyone. It was in this way that Shang Ying established the credibility of the reformist government he represented, and made the view that "Shang Jun changed the law and said one thing is the same" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Later, "the prince makes a mistake, and the prince is punished" deterred all officials from strictly implementing the new law, so that the law change could be implemented smoothly. And what about the other three

The "Zhang Juzheng Reform" was successful in the early stage, but unfortunately it was abolished after the Wanli Emperor took power.

"Wang Mang's reform" has almost become synonymous with "change of the order of the day".

As for the "Wang Anshi Change", not to mention, even Wang Anshi himself is "executing in disguise" in order to crack down on political enemies.

You must know that the most famous political phenomenon in China since ancient times is that "there is a policy at the top, and there is a countermeasure at the bottom". If the reformers themselves cannot strictly enforce the law without deviation, then when the decree of the law change is finally implemented to the people, I am afraid that the decree has been changed beyond recognition by the "countermeasures". What is even more serious is that if the reformers and the reformers themselves are not able to establish the credibility of their own government among the general public, then ordinary people will not be able to distinguish whether these decrees are the will of the reformers or the "countermeasures" of the officials. The people will only regard these laws that have been "countermeasured" as the laws of the reformers. This situation will eventually lead to the reformer becoming the target of public criticism.

Fifth, the differentiation of old interest strata and the establishment of new interest strata. This is the most important fundamental reason why the "Shang Dynasty Reform Law" did not have "people die and government abolished".

Due to the carelessness of textbooks and scholars, almost all people did not notice that the Shang Dynasty reform was divided into two important periods in succession.

There are two stages in the Shang Dynasty reform. The first stage is to reward the ploughing battle. This phase lasted for 10 years. The main role of this stage is to accumulate experience in reforming the law, cultivate social classes, and foster reform forces. This is a stage of laying the foundation. Ten years later, on the basis of the first reform, Shang Ying pushed the Qin king to move the capital to Xianyang and implement the second reform. The second reform was extremely profound: the well field system was abolished and the military merit was implemented. At the same time, the economic and political systems of the whole society underwent radical changes. After the second reform was basically completed, although Shang Ying was killed after the death of Qin Xiaogong, it was impossible for those old-school figures to be restored: because their social base was basically gone, the restoration would offend the powerful emerging strata of society, and eventually pay the same heavy price as Shang Ying. For the sake of the stability of the country, King Qin Hui, who killed Shang Ying, rejected the opinions of the old school figures to fight back wildly, and continued to implement the law of Shang Ying.

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