China knows everything for 5000 years

Chapter 31

Fan Zhen insisted on materialism, surpassing his time.He did not follow the trend, was not afraid of power, and his spirit of adhering to the truth and unswerving determination throughout his life is worthy of the admiration of later generations.

●Zu Chongzhi and pi
Zu Chongzhi was a famous scientist in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. He liked to study ancient science and technology when he was young, and his mind was very alert.

During the Liu, Song, and Yuanjia years, the calendar used throughout the country was the "Yuanjia Calendar" made by He Chengtian, which was much more precise than the ancient eleven calendars.But Zu Chongzhi still thought that there were omissions in it, so he measured and calculated it himself, and compiled it at the age of 33 (Da Ming Calendar), which opened up a new era of calendar history. In 462 AD, Zu Chongzhi asked Emperor Xiaowu of Song Dynasty to promulgate a new calendar, and Emperor Xiaowu called The ministers discussed. At that time, Dai Faxing, a minister favored by the emperor, came out to object, thinking that Zu Chongzhi's search for changing the ancient calendar was a deviant behavior. Zu Chongzhi refuted Dai Faxing on the spot with the data he studied. Song Xiaowu Emperor wanted to help Dai Faxing, and found Some people who were indebted to the calendar argued with Zu Chongzhi, and they were all refuted by Zu Chongzhi. However, Emperor Xiaowu of Song Dynasty still refused to promulgate the new calendar. It was not until 10 years after Zu Chongzhi's death that the Great Ming Calendar he created was implemented.

Emperor Xiaowu once got a guide car made by Yao Xingshi in the later Qin Dynasty by chance.But this compass car only has an external shape, and there is no mechanism installed inside. When walking, it can only make people squat in the car and rotate the direction of the villain on the car according to the direction of the car.Zu Chongzhi built a compass car according to the ancient method, and switched to copper machinery. Sure enough, no matter how the car turned, the direction indicated by the villain on the car remained unchanged. This has not been done since Ma Jun in the Three Kingdoms period.Legend has it that Zu Chongzhi learned that Zhuge Liang had wooden cows and horses, so he invented another machine himself. It does not rely on wind and water power, and as long as people activate the mechanism, it can run automatically.He also built a thousand-mile boat and tested it in the Xinting section of the Yangtze River. It can travel more than 100 miles a day.

Zu Chongzhi's greatest achievement is in mathematics.Zu Chongzhi once commented on the ancient mathematics work "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", and compiled a book "Zhushu".His most outstanding contribution is to obtain a fairly accurate ratio of pi.After long-term arduous research, he calculated the value of pi to be between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927, becoming the first scientist in the world to calculate the value of pi to more than seven figures.It has been more than 1000 years since foreign mathematicians obtained the same result.To commemorate Zu Chongzhi's outstanding contribution, people also call pi "Zu rate".

●Geographer Li Daoyuan
This part of the essay depicts the magnificent and dangerous scenery of the Three Gorges, which has high aesthetic value.The author is Li Daoyuan, and the article is quoted from "Shui Jing Zhu·Jiang Shui Zhu".

Li Daoyuan was born in the era of Emperor Xiaowen, and his ancestors were officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty.Li Daoyuan followed his father since he was a child. He was talented and ambitious when he was young, and was appreciated by Emperor Xiaowen. He started his official career when he was about 20 years old.He held many official positions in his life, with ups and downs, but for the prosperity and unification of the Northern Wei Dynasty, he never flinched.Li Daoyuan served as the host and guest doctor of Shangshu, and was responsible for receiving envoys from the Southern Dynasty and other vassal states.He also successively served as a local official in Jizhou (now Jixian County, Hebei Province), Luyang (now Lushan County, Henan Province), and East Jingzhou (now Biyang County, Henan Province).Li Daoyuan is well-known for his ability to enforce the law impartially and for his clean and honest government.

When Li Daoyuan served as the lieutenant of the censor, he discovered that Qiu Nian, the "sister" (male prostitute) of the royal Runan Wang Yuanyue, was rampant, so he was arrested according to law.Yuan Yue pleaded with the Queen Mother Ling, and the Queen Mother Ling granted her pardon, but Li Daoyuan still executed Qiu Nian and wrote a letter to impeach Yuan Yue.Therefore, Yuan Yue took advantage of Xiao Baokui, the governor of Yongzhou, to plot to raise troops to betray the court, and urged the court to send Li Daoyuan to monitor Xiao Baokui in order to kill people with a knife.Xiao Baokui took the lead and sent troops to besiege Li Daoyuan in Yinpanyi (now east of Lintong County, Shan County).Na Daoyuan led the crowd to stand firm, and the water was exhausted as much as possible, and was finally captured.Li Daoyuan was unyielding when he died, and was finally killed at the same time as his two sons and younger brother.

As an official of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Li Daoyuan worked hard for the sake of the country and the country.At the same time, Li Daoyuan is a knowledgeable scholar, an outstanding geographer and essayist, who has always been respected by later generations.According to literature records, Li Daoyuan's writings include "Shui Jing Zhu", "Ben Zhi", "Qipin", etc., but only forty volumes of "Shui Jing Zhu" have been handed down.He wrote "Shui Jing Zhu" for the following three reasons: First, the content of previous geography books was too brief.The second is because rivers are related to the national economy and people's livelihood.The third is because he loves the mountains and rivers of the motherland very much.

Li Daoyuan devoted a lot of effort to writing "Shui Jing Zhu".He immersed himself in studying hard, and the amount of information he collected for this was overwhelming.There are 436 kinds of books cited in "Shui Jing Zhu" alone, covering all ancient documents such as classics, history, geography, maps, local chronicles, biographies, poems, letters, and dictionaries.Despite the constraints of the political situation, he managed to borrow many books from the Southern Dynasties.Li Daoyuan collected a large number of folk songs, inscriptions on inscriptions and proverbs, and there are about 350 kinds of inscriptions on inscriptions cited.Many works that have been lost for a long time are known today because they were quoted in "Shui Jing Zhu".

Li Daoyuan is rigorous in his studies, and on the basis of possessing a wealth of materials, he carefully sorts out the false and preserves the true.For example, Jishui, one of the ancient "Sidu" (Jiang, He, Huai, Ji), said in the "Shui Jing" that it "entered the river", but Li Daoyuan pointed out that it was not Jishui that flowed into the Yellow River, but a branch of the Yellow River. The tributary flows into Jishui, Li Daoyuan is correct.Another example is the section of the Yellow River in Shancheng (near Sanmenxia City, Henan Province today), with turbulent torrents.The rumors of the predecessors said that it was because the bronze man cast by Qin Shihuang (it is said to weigh 24 catties) sank here.Li Daoyuan did not believe this theory, and pointed out that for the surging Yellow River, a bronze man would never cause a long-term torrent, but a landslide blocked the river, or a large-scale landslide blocked the river.

In order to write "Shui Jing Zhu" well, Li Daoyuan also conducted many field investigations. He called his own investigations "visiting, reading and searching canals".Li Daoyuan began to carefully observe the surrounding environment since he was a boy. At that time, Li Daoyuan inspected all the mountains and rivers in the Northern Wei Dynasty.After on-the-spot investigation, the records in the book are more in line with the actual situation. The third volume of "Shui Jing Zhu" records the rock paintings of ancient nomadic peoples he discovered.In addition, he also learned about the customs from the local people. The content of "Shui Jing" is very brief. The whole book is only more than 1 characters, and only records the origin, flow and destination of 137 rivers.The longest Yellow River in the book has only 578 characters, and the Yangtze River has only 418 characters. The language is very simple.However, Li Daoyuan's "Shui Jing Zhu" included 1252 rivers, with more than 20 characters.

Most of the rivers recorded in "Shui Jing Zhu" follow the order of origin, flow, and destination, grasping their respective topography and landforms, and describe them comprehensively and specifically.According to statistics, "Shui Jing Zhu" records more than 100 kinds of animals, more than 140 kinds of plants, more than 500 lakes, hundreds of springs, and nearly 300 valleys.There are more beach washes, and there are more than 60 places in "Zhejiang Shuizhu" alone.There are also more than 60 waterfalls recorded in the book.

"Shui Jing Zhu" also recorded in detail human economic, political, military and other activities.In terms of agricultural production, it not only records the farming system, farmland, land reclamation, etc., but also records more than a dozen water conservancy projects such as po, lake, canal, embankment, pond, and water gate.

##No.16 short-lived dynasty - Sui Dynasty

●Yang Jian replaced Zhou Jian in the Sui Dynasty
Yang Jian, a native of Hongnong Huayin (now East Huayin, Shaanxi), succeeded his father as Sui Guogong in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.In 577 A.D., Yu Wenyong destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty and unified the north. Later, he became seriously ill during the Northern Expedition to the Turks and died in 578 A.D.The succeeding Emperor Xuan Yu Wenzan is Yang Jian's son-in-law, who has no ambitions and is very cruel.Less than a year after his accession to the throne, he passed the throne to his 7-year-old son Yu Wenchan, namely Emperor Jing, named himself Emperor Tianyuan and continued to rule the regime.Yu Wenzan ignored the government, and the ministers could not see him, so they could only report through eunuchs.His suspicion of the ministers deepened day by day, and if the minister violated slightly, he would be punished and beaten if the minister was slight.There was panic inside and outside the court, and the contradictions within the ruling group became more and more acute.

In 580 A.D., Emperor Xuan of Zhou died, and Yu Wenchan officially came to power.In 581 AD, Yang Jian abolished Zhou and proclaimed himself emperor, changed the name of the country to Sui, made Chang'an its capital, and was known as Emperor Wen of Sui in history.

●The licentious emperor Chen Empress
Chen Shubao, character Yuanxiu, small character Huangnu, the eldest son of Emperor Chen Xuan, was established as the son of King Ancheng in AD 562; in AD 566, he was appointed General Ning Yun; in AD 568, he was the bastard son of the crown prince and moved to serve; in AD 569 In 582 AD, Emperor Yi died, and Chen Shuling, the king of Shixing, wanted to seize the emperor's throne and murdered the crown prince, but failed.

Chen Houzhu is a famous licentious and innocent monarch.He loves female sex, and there are Concubine Zhang, Concubine Kong, Concubine Gong and others in the harem.Concubine Zhang Gui, whose name is Lihua, is a daughter of a military family with outstanding looks.His hair is seven feet long, and his light can be learned from. He is smart and flattering. He flatters Chen Shubao in every possible way and is deeply loved.Chen Shubao ignored the government, and all the official memorials were invited by the eunuchs Cai Tuo'er and Li Shandu.Shubao sat in the soft "hidden bag", hugging Zhang Lihua on his lap, and decided together whether it was OK or not.Concubine Zhang Guifei could answer all the things that Li and Cai couldn't remember one by one, so she seized power, cited clan relatives, and committed crimes.

Mr. Pushe Jiang, although he is the prime minister, is not close to government affairs.He often served with more than ten people, including Duguan Shangshu Kong Fan, Sanqi Changshi Wang Tuo, etc., and served banquets in the cabinet, which were called "Xianke".At each banquet, concubines, bins, female scholars and escorts compose poems together and answer each other.Among them, the gorgeous verses are composed into songs.More than a thousand court ladies were selected to learn new voices, sing and dance according to the songs.The songs include "Flowers in the Backyard of Yushu" and "Linchun Music".Monarchs and ministers sang and drank all night long.Du Mu, a Tang poet, wrote a poem satirizing: "Business women don't know the hatred of subjugation, but they still sing "Flowers in the Backyard" across the river."

In order to enjoy himself to the fullest, Chen Shubao also carried out large-scale construction projects, built palaces, and built Buddhist temples, which made the treasury empty, and those corrupt officials plundered and amassed endlessly, and the people were displaced and starved to death in the wilderness.The country is impoverished and the people are poor, and the demise of the Chen Dynasty is imminent.

●Yang Jian sent to destroy the Chen Dynasty
After Chen Shubao came to the throne, he was greedy for wine and sex, drinking and having fun with his favorite concubines in the harem all day long, and had no intention of interfering with government affairs.

One day, Chen Shubao was admiring flowers in the garden with Concubine Zhang Gui and several ministers. Suddenly someone came to report and said, "Emperor, it's not good. Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian sent his second son, King of Jin Yang Guang, to attack us. There are 50 soldiers in total. The Eighth Route has now reached the north bank of the Yangtze River." Since ancient times, the Yangtze River has flowed from west to east, like a natural barrier, blocking the attacking troops from the north and the south.The current of the Yangtze River is fast and the water surface is wide, so it is very difficult to cross the Yangtze River.Chen Shubao didn't believe that Yang Guang could fly across the Yangtze River, so he didn't care, and then drank with Zhang Guifei to enjoy the flowers.

The next morning, a eunuch hurried in and reported: "Sui general Han Qinhu from Caishi and He Ruobi from Jingkou crossed the Yangtze River and attacked Jiankang City."

Now, Chen Shubao became anxious, and hurriedly summoned all civil and military officials to discuss how to repel the Sui soldiers.However, the government was corrupt at that time, and the civil and military ministers were all incompetent, so no one dared to lead troops into battle.Chen Shubao was angry and anxious. At this time, General Cheqi, Lord Suiyuan, Inspector of Xuzhou in the south of Lingnan, and old general Xiao Mahe stood up. He was willing to lead the three armies to repel the Sui army.Chen Shubao was very happy, and said: "After you go to war, I will send someone to let your wife and son enter the palace. I will reward them with titles and gold and silver."

After Xiao Mahe led his troops to the expedition, his wife and son entered the palace to receive rewards.Chen Shubao took a fancy to Xiao Mahe's newly married young and beautiful wife, so he kept her in the palace.Xiao Mohe left Jiankang and set up a long snake array at Baitugang. Just as the battle was about to start, his servant came to report, "Madam was left in the palace by the emperor and did not return for several days." Xiao Mohe fainted in anger. on the ground.As a result, Chen Jun was in a mess, and he was defeated without a fight.

The next day, the Sui army surrounded Jiankang City. The guards surrendered without fighting, opened the city gates, and let the Sui army enter the city.Civil and military officials all fled for their lives.Chen Shubao was still in the harem at this time, and when he heard the sound of killing, he knew that the situation was over, so he dragged Concubine Zhang Gui and Sun Guiyan to Jingyang Hall.After Sui rushed Han Qinhu into the palace, he sent people to look for Chen Shubao everywhere.Later, Chen Shubao and the three were found in the well.Han Jiehu killed the two imperial concubines, tied up Chen Shubao and took them away.At this time, the Chen Dynasty perished. This year was 589 AD, when the Sui Dynasty unified the world and ended the history of the "Northern and Southern Dynasties".

Fifteen years later, Chen Shubao died in Luoyang, ending his life as a subjugated king.

●Three provinces and six ministries established the Sui system
After Yang Jian established the Sui Dynasty, he abolished the six officials established in the Northern Zhou Dynasty according to the "Zhou Rituals", such as Tianguan Zai, Digong Da Situ, Spring Official Da Zongbo, Xia Official Da Sima, Autumn Official Da Sikou, and Winter Official Da Sikong. According to Cui Zhongfang's suggestion, the official system should be changed to establish three public officials and three divisions, instead of holding real power, and the three provinces should be the real power organs of the central government.The three provinces established in the central government are Shangshu Province, Menxia Province, and Neishi Province. Their chiefs are Shangshuling, Nayan, and Neishi, respectively, to assist the emperor in handling national affairs.The Menxia Province and the Ministry of Internal History were in charge of the secretaries, and were institutions to assist the emperor in decision-making; the Ministry of Internal History was responsible for drafting and promulgating the emperor's regulations;

Shangshu Province is the general body of the imperial court to carry out government affairs.There are six departments under Shangshu Province: Li, Li, Hu, Bing, Punishment, and Gong to deal with various government affairs.

The Ministry of Officials is the head of the six ministries, which is in charge of the government affairs of the appointment, removal, examination, dismissal, and transfer of officials across the country.Its chief is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and the deputy is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials.Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Officials (one is called Si Lie), Si Feng, Si Xun, and Kao Gong (one is called Si Ji) four divisions.The heads of each department are Langzhong (one is called a doctor), and the adjutants are Yuanwailang.

The Ministry of Rites integrates the functions of the former court guest Cao and the Ministry of Ancestral Hall, and is in charge of the government affairs of etiquette, sacrifice, and tribute.Its chief is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and his deputy is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites (one is called Si Li), the Temple Department (one is called Si Geng), the host and guest (one is called Si Fan), and the Food Department (one is called Si Shan) four divisions.The heads of each department are Langzhong (one is called a doctor), and the adjutants are Yuanwailang.

The Ministry of Households is in charge of government affairs such as land, household registration, taxation, and fiscal revenue and expenditure across the country.Its chief is the Minister of the Household Department, and his deputy is the Minister of the Household Department.Under the jurisdiction of the household department (one is called Siyuan), Duzhi (one is called Sidu), Jinbu (one is called Sizhen), and Cangbu (one is called Sigeng) four divisions.The heads of each department are Langzhong (one is called a doctor), and the adjutants are Yuanwailang.

The Ministry of War is in charge of the selection of military attaches throughout the country, as well as military registration, ordnance, maps, and military orders.Its chief is the Minister of the Ministry of War, and his deputy is the Minister of the Ministry of War (renamed Si Rong Shaochang Bo).Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War (one is called Sirong), the staff (one is called Sicheng), the driving department (one is called Siyu or Sijia), and the Ministry of Treasury (one is called the treasury).The heads of each department are Langzhong (one is called a doctor), and the adjutants are Yuanwailang.

The Ministry of Punishment is in charge of the state's laws and regulations, the criminal law, the administration of slavery, and the administration of reinstatement and prohibition.Its chief is the Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, and its deputy is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment.The heads of each department are Langzhong (one is called a doctor), and the adjutants are Yuanwailang.

The Ministry of Industry is in charge of the government affairs of various projects, farming, water conservancy, mountains and rivers, and transportation throughout the country.Its chief is the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and the deputy is the Minister of the Ministry of Industry.Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry (one is called Siping), Tuntian (one is called Sitian), Yubu (one is called Siyu), and the Ministry of Water (one is called Sichuan or Sishui) four divisions.The heads of each department are Langzhong (one is called a doctor), and the adjutants are Yuanwailang.

Menxia Province and the Ministry of Internal History are in charge of confidential documents, jointly discussing state affairs, are responsible for reviewing edicts, signing chapters, and have the right to deny and refute.The governor of Menxia Province was called Shizhong, and he was also called Nayan, Zuoxiang, Huangmenjian, etc., which varied from time to time.The servant is the prime minister.The Ministry of Internal History is the highest government agency in the Sui Dynasty, and its chief is the Internal History Supervisor and Order.

The implementation of the system of three provinces and six ministries, on the one hand, made the division of labor of the prime ministers clear, on the other hand, weakened the power of the prime ministers, prevented powerful officials from monopolizing power, and was conducive to strengthening the imperial power.The system of three provinces and six ministries is a manifestation of the strengthening of centralized power. It had a great impact on the feudal ruling system after Tang Dynasty, especially the six ministries system, which was used until the end of Qing Dynasty.The feudal bureaucracy, which had been developing since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, formed a complete and rigorous system in the Sui Dynasty.

●Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty issued an edict to set the ceremony
Ritual and music are the rules that the emperor must follow in major events such as offering sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth, ancestors, and court good and bad.Since Confucius, Confucianism has focused on discussing rites and music, and has accumulated complicated theories. The imperial court adopted it, which has nothing to do with actual politics, and abandoned it, but it did not become the emperor of China.Non-Han people who are Chinese emperors can only add some old practices of their own people to the traditional rituals and music of the Han people, and dare not make major changes.If the change is large, it will be regarded as "heterogeneous" and be opposed.Therefore, rites and music have spiritual functions, and any feudal dynasty must pay attention to them. Yang Jian never liked Confucianism, but his emphasis on rites and music was no exception.

Although the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties were located in the Yangtze River Basin, the northern occupiers had to admit that the southern part was the orthodox Chinese. The high-ranking gentry of the Southern Qi Dynasty fled to the Northern Wei Dynasty. Emperor Xiaowen of Wei respected him very much.Gao Wei, the Empress of the Northern Qi Dynasty, ordered Xue Daoheng and other Confucians to revise the five rites. According to the level of Confucianism at that time, Qi rites were probably second only to Liang rites.As for the Zhou rites created by Su Chuo and Lu Bian for Yu Wentai, in the minds of Confucian scholars in the Southern Dynasties and Shandong, they were just the fabrications of some humble Confucians, far from the orthodox rites and music.At the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, Taichang elegant music and "Hu Sheng" coexisted in the palace. Yang Jian called for the restoration of Chinese orthodoxy.

(End of this chapter)