Qin people have lived in the western border for a long time. Although they have been resisting other ethnic groups such as Canrong, their life has always been in a state of living together with Xirong. At that time, there were more than a dozen Rongdi tribes around Qin dynasty recorded by Sima Qian, including Xirong, gunrong, dangshe, Bo, Rui, Pengxi, Ji, Xiaoguo, Maojin, Dali, Yiqu, Mianzhu, etc. Qin lived by nomadism and lived with these so-called “barbarians”. In short, he was a barbarian himself. Therefore, the spring and Autumn Annals of Guliang called Qin “Di Qin” and insisted that “Qin people, Yi also”. The difference is that he actively moved closer to the Central Plains, while other ethnic groups would only blindly invade and plunder. The complex relationship of coexistence and struggle between Qin and the surrounding Rong and di makes Qin’s cultural customs have a strong brand of Rong and di.
Before the founding of the Qin Dynasty, and even in the spring and Autumn period after the founding of the Qin Dynasty for more than 300 years, there was little contact with Zhuxia countries, and they were completely isolated. This situation was not broken until the late spring and Autumn period of Duke mu of Qin, or even the era of Duke Xiao of Qin. Perhaps it was because the Qin Dynasty was busy fighting with Rong and Di, and had no time or energy to deal with Eastern countries. Perhaps it was because the Yellow river ran through the middle and Gushan Mountain stretched from north to south, blocking traffic and isolating information. In any case, Qin Dynasty was hardly influenced by the patriarchal culture of Zhuxia in terms of culture, which is an ironclad fact.
Due to the influence of the customs of Rong and Di, the culture and customs of the Qin people have always been primitive, simple, and even barbaric. He retained a large number of traces of matrilineal society. In the book of the Lord of Commerce, it is very abnormal: “the barbarism of the Qin people lies in that he has not been humanized. His father does not look like a father and his son does not look like a son. They actually sleep in the same bed.” In the eyes of various countries, this is simply unimaginable. The book of Shang Jun also records a more abnormal one: “when a daughter-in-law feeds her child, she doesn’t even avoid her father-in-law. She lifts up her clothes and feeds her child, exposing her breasts.” During Shang Yang’s reform, there was an injunction forbidding father, son and brother to live in the same house. It can be seen that at least before Shang Yang’s reform, the state of Qin had no filial piety and different concepts of men and women. Father in law, mother-in-law, son, daughter-in-law and brother-in-law all slept in one bed.
There was no difference between men and women, and the roles were chaotic, which led to the opening of the Qin people’s style. This is really open, from the royal family to the ordinary people. Empress Dowager Xuan of Qin, the wife of King Huiwen of Qin and the mother of King Zhao of Qin, once ruled the state of Qin for more than 30 years. But she is also a woman with a very dissolute private life, which is almost to the point where people are exhausted. After the death of his husband, King Huiwen of Qin, as empress dowager and widow, he had an affair with king qurong of Yi and had two sons. This kind of thing did not seem to have caused an uproar and street gossip in the state of Qin at that time, and there were no hidden words in the history books. It can be seen that the folk custom of Qin was like this. Empress Dowager Xuan also kept a lover named weichoufu (there was a word “Chou” in the name of a beautiful man, Khan). She took him with her every day when she went to the court. She also announced to the ministers in the court: “I’m dead, so weichoufu must be buried with me.” Empress Dowager Xuan, as the Empress Dowager of a country, publicly declared that she wanted her lover to be buried with her, which is the only example in historical records.
Not only that, Empress Dowager Xuan, who was bold and unrestrained, openly took the affair of men and women as an example on various diplomatic occasions. In 299 BC, Chu surrounded the Yong family of South Korea. South Korea sent envoys to the state of Qin for help. In order to coerce South Korean Envoys into giving Qin some benefits as a condition for sending troops to save South Korea, Empress Dowager Xuan said something shocking: “When I served King Hui, he pressed his thigh on me. I felt very tired and could not bear it. But when he pressed his whole body on me, I didn’t feel hard. Why? Because this posture is more comfortable for me. If the state of Qin wants to help South Korea, it would be impossible if there is not enough troops and food. It costs thousands of silver every day to save the crisis in South Korea. We spend so much money It’s hard. Don’t you show me something and let me have a good time? ” (MilanKundera said that every woman yearns for the weight of a man. This view may be inspired by Empress Dowager Qin Xuan.) It is estimated that this is the only yellow passage in the Warring States policy, but it actually came from the Empress Dowager who is below one person and above ten thousand people in the state of Qin, which shows the openness of the national style of Qin.
The words and deeds of Empress Dowager Xuan of Qin are reminiscent of Zhaoji, the mother of the first emperor of Qin. She first had an affair with LV Buwei, and then had a lover. However, she disguised her lover as a eunuch and dared to enter the palace to have sex. It can be seen that she was afraid at that time. She and she also had two sons, but a few years later, someone tipped off Qin Shihuang. Emperor Qinshihuang not only killed the two children, but also the three clans of Xi. Finally, he moved the Empress Dowager to Yong as a punishment. It was also the illegitimate son of the empress dowager, and the outcome was quite different. This shows that in the early days of Shang Yang’s reform, from the Empress Dowager to the Royal Highness, they didn’t care about extramarital relationships, and big guys didn’t have any sense of chastity. Extramarital relationships can be made public, and widows have children.