Burning books and burying Confucianism: Who exactly started this catastrophe by Qin Shihuang? What is the reason?

Influenced by this idiom, many people think that burning books to bury Confucianism is one thing, but it is actually two things, which happened in two periods. Let's talk about burning books today. Whose idea was it to burn books? Is it Qin Shihuang? That's not true. Two people in history advocated and eventually contributed to the burning of books. Coincidentally, these two books were both burned in the state of Qin. This is the first time in Qin Xiaogong's time. The proposer is Shang Yang. Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Yang for reform. Shang Yang's political reform is very famous in the history of China. One of the contents of its reform is the writing method of burning poems (Han Feizi). However, the records in Han Feizi are very brief, and there is no specific record of how to burn and what to burn.

The second time happened in Qin Shihuang's time. The proposer is Reese. This book burning is mentioned in Historical Records of Qin Shihuang and Biography of Lisi, which is quite detailed. So focus on the second burn. The reason for burning books is an argument. One of the protagonists in the debate is Zhou and the other is Chun. The focus of the debate is the advantages and disadvantages of the enfeoffment system and the county system, and which system should be implemented in the Qin Dynasty.

In 2 13 BC, Qin Shihuang hosted a banquet in Xianyang Palace to entertain his ministers. In the process of toasting, Zhou kowtowed to Qin Shihuang, saying that your majesty calmed the sea and exiled barbarians, and the sun and the moon shone. Taking princes as counties and counties, everyone is happy, and there is no war, which has been passed down from generation to generation. Not as good as your majesty since ancient times, Qin Shihuang was very happy and praised Zhou.

At this time, Chunyuyue couldn't sit still. He stood up against it and said: Now your majesty has the sea, and your children are ordinary people. Who will save you if something happens? Besides, I've never been in a county before, and I've never heard of the national policy of not learning from the past for a long time. Now Zhou is flattering you, which shows that he is not a loyal minister.