Book burning in Qin Dynasty

Book burning in the Qin Dynasty was possibly used as a means of censorship. This policy was instituted by Qin Shi Huangdi while under the influence of his legalist advisor Li Si. The book burning mandate occurred in 213 B.C. at the height of his advisor Li Si’s power. This policy caused unrest within the Qin Empire and proceeding dynasties would look back negatively on this policy, though it is uncertain whether the book burnings actually happened as recorded or if they were merely used as propaganda to legitimize the Han Empire.

Controversy over Sources

Portrait of Han historian Sima Qian.

The majority of the information that we have on Qin Shi Huangdi’s order to burn books and bury scholars alive has come from the writings of the historian Sima Qian of the Han dynasty. Sima Qian, having been part of the proceeding dynasty, had views of Qin Shi Huangdi that regarded him as an opportunist with cruel legalist policies. Many of the negative views held of the Qin by proceeding empires can be seen as associated with the period in which the Qin began to implement legalism. Prior to this, the Qin were simply seen as part of the Central states, instead of the conquering barbarians that Sima Qian depicted them as. Skepticism as to the validity and objectivity of Sima Qian’s writing as a reliable source is to be had.(Sima Qian, ix –xxv)

There is little physical evidence from the time period that the book burnings were reported to have happened to support the claims of later historians such as Sima Qian. To look at the conditions in which Sima Qian wrote leads to many realizations on problems of subjectivity on his part. Sima Qian was a historian of the Han dynasty, employed to write a history about the Qin dynasty. The Han empire embraced Confucianism which stood in obvious opposition to the ideas persistent in legalism. If a brutal past immediately prior to the Han dynasty could be portrayed, the actions and rule of the Han rulers could be legitimized. With this in mind and the lack of supporting evidence from the time of the book burnings, it is understandable to question whether they actually occurred or at the very least if they happened to the degree that they were described by Sima Qian. Aside from Sima Qian there where other sources that refer to the book buring such as the Xiping stone classics but these likely are referencing the works of Sima Qian as well.

Besides these obvious problems, the books that had been purportedly destroyed still exist. It is possible that rebellious scholars hid many of these books during that time which would explain why there is some reference to scholars with illegal books being buried alive. Additionally, many of these books were kept in the imperial library for use and censorship by the rulers. Li Si did not want all the books to be burned. In his memorial, he states, “books concerned with medicine, pharmacy, divination by tortoiseshell and milfoil, the sowing of crops, and the planting of trees,” should be saved (Qian 29). He goes on to state that books with Qin records would be saved, but any book that preserved the records of other states were to be destroyed. Ouellette suggests this is important in that the record of the Qin state is more likely to be reliable than information surviving from previous states and other states during the same time period.This would in turn inhibit people from using the past to criticize the present (Ouellette 2010, 19-22). Also books within the imperial archives were exempt. None the less, their continued existence does cause one to question the harshness of the implementation of the policy or if it occurred.

Qin Shi Huangdi

I, Qin Shi Huang am considered the first emperor as I unified the states in part of what is now considered modern china and ushered in thousands of years imperial rule. To ensure this, I was willing to pursue great projects and implement drastic policies at great expense to my kingdom. With my achievements in mind and the obvious lengths that I was willing to go, it does give some credence to the idea that the propaganda fueled history of Sima Qian may have some truth to it.

Painting of Qin Shi Huangdi.

Li Si's Influence on Qin Shi Huang

Prior to me becoming the first emperor of China, I came into contact with Li Si and his Legalist ideas while he stayed as a guest of the scholar Lu Buwei. Li Si's ideas on how to unify and dominate all of the kingdoms were attractive to me because they made sense after it was clear from the warring states period that men were evil and needed a firm hand to control them. Under Li Si's influence I used my wealth to attract and assassinate influential scholars from surrounding states. This is important because early on it is seen that I understood the importance of developing ideas and destroying those that are would cause problems. Li Si's influence is also illustrated along with the resources and attention I was willing to pay to implement Li Si's ideas. Censorship through book burning may have been one. (Sima Qian)

The Conflict

During the Qin dynasty a policy of legalism was pursued that in many ways was in direct conflict with the traditional Confucian ideologies of the time. For this reason, Li Si promoted censorship as he understood legalism to be the best path for unifying and strengthening the Qin empire.

Through this act of book burning, we can see what happens when two moral theories collide, in this case, Confucianism and Legalism. Tong and Barry, in their article Confucius and the Cultural Revolution, summarize my and Li Si’s actions well. They say it is no coincidence the first systematic anti-Confucius campaigns took place during the Qin dynasty. They discuss how I took control in the third century B.C. under the influence of Legalist reforms that rivaled Confucianism. As opposed to Confuciusianism that emphasized rule through righteousness and benevolence, Legalism emphasized government by formal rules and centralized administration. This act is known as Fenshu Kengru, which literally means the burning of books and the burying of Confucians (Tong and Barry 1997, 189-212).

Confucianism

Engraving of Confucius. The Chinese characters read "Portrait of the First Teacher, Confucius, Giving a Lecture".

Unlike legalism, Confucianism assumes that people are naturally good and expects morality from leaders and citizens. Mencius wrote of this innate goodness:

"alarm and distress, not to gain friendship with the child's parents, nor to seek the praise of their neighbors and friends, nor because they dislike the reputation [of lack of humanity if they did not rescue the child]...

The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom.

Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them is to destroy themselves" (Chan 65)

Understanding this is important because it explains why I suppressed the Confucians during my reign. If people had certain unrealistic expectations on how a leader should act based in Confucianism, and that they themselves are good and deserve to be treated a certain way, how could I assure that I was seen as legitimate while still forcing people to build the great wall and my other projects that would help our great empire? Confucianists even believed that a ruler could be killed if he ruled too harshly. How could I have fulfilled any of my goals if I was not harsh?

To further illustrate the conflict between Confucianism and Legalism, I would like to point out what happened when the Hans took over China. They continually used my dynasty and our Legalist policies as an example of poor government, despite the fact that they had an unified empire and secure borders as result of my work and direction. They later dynastys, including the Han,that prided themselves on their Confucianism even made up fake histories about me and my legacy. Their plan was to destroy my image to make their reigns look legitimate in comparison and to make people feel like they were in the greatest dynasty ever. The irony is that Confucians pride themselves on having moral leaders and moral citizens, but I would argue that changing history to create beneficial propaganda for one's self is highly immoral. These later leaders merely had the image of morality, but their achievements were nothing in comparison to the great works that were done under my rule.

Fragment of Xiping stone classics referring to book burning in Qin dynasty.

Legalism

Legalism was based on the rule of law and strict policies that would allow for stability and control of citizens that were perceived as being fundamentally flawed and troublesome. Only through the understanding and respect for these laws, would the citizens be able to be kept in line and a long term dynasty be established. It was this perspective that allowed me to establish the Qin empire and create such a long lasting legacy as seen by the great wall, expansion of my borders and the continuation of imperialism for centuries after my reign.

The reason that I supported Legalism over all other ideologies on ruling is because of what became so obvious during the warring states period. We see that if people are left to their own devices that they will likely fight among themselves and cause chaos which is contrary to stability and unity. If I step in as a ruler and set forth clear laws and punishments if they are not followed, then the people will be obedient. Even more important is making examples when people have failed to follow the laws. This will cause people to fear and respect the law and further establishes a culture based on the rule of law. Confucianism expects too much of people and assumes that people are naturally good, but as I have shown, it is only through strong laws and a strong leader that people will be civilized.

In the context of Legalism, at least that which was supported by Han Feizi, the policy of burning books seemed like an appropriate path to keeping the Qin Empire in control. In describing the pitfalls of looking to the past for advice on the present, Han Feizi wrote, “In the state of an enlightened ruler there are no books written on bamboo slips; law supplies the only instruction. There are no sermons on the former kings; the officials serve as the only teachers,” (Han Fei 112). He goes on to write, “These are the customs of a disordered state: Its scholars praise the ways of the former kings and imitate their benevolence and righteousness, put on a fair appearance and speak in elegant phrases, thus casting doubt upon the laws of the time and causing the ruler to be of two minds,” (Han Fei 117).

Looking at these two excerpts, Han Feizi makes book burning seem like a reasonable undertaking. In an effort to reduce ill-informed criticisms that arose from too much emphasis on past historical achievements, Li Si recommended the burning of books. After all, the sage kings of ancient times were no longer in power so they must have done something wrong to lose their power. In order to find the correct path for the future, according to Legalist thought, one must look at the present and examine the current situation.

Map of Qin Empire.

Possible Results of Book Burning Policy

How much damage did me and Li Si cause? According to Francis Hammit in his article, The Burning of Books, the destruction under me reign was not as great as is generally supposed. In addition to those who defied the order to burn their books, certain officials were allowed to retain books, and I, myself had my own collection. A few scholars disobeyed the orders for the destruction of books by concealing old Confucian tablets and other writings. It is said that the fire caused by Hsiang Yu in the capital a few years later in 207 B.C., caused more damage to books than by the implementation of the book-burning under my orders. (Hammitt 1945, 300-12).

In Zhang Longxi's article Western Theory and Chinese Reality, he suggests that the burning of books did not have the desired effect and described the event as a complete failure. According to Zhang, “The spiritual edifice of ideas and theories cannot be destroyed by material fires, and that is bad news for all thought police and controllers of ideas, whether they are the first emperor of China, the Roman Catholic Index compilers, Adolf Hitler, or Mao and his Red Guards,” (Zhang 1992, 105-30).

This policy was more a matter of intimidation than of actual implementation. The destruction of whole ideas for the sake control is even too drastic for me. Subduing is more important to me than destroying. I wanted obedient servants and the best way to achieve this was to control the flow of information and if i could cause Confucian ideas to go underground, then all the better for Legalism to flourish.

Classroom Presentation

Media:Book_Burning_in_the_Qin_Dynasty.pptx

See Also

• Qin Shihuangdi
• Han Feizi
• Mencius
• Confucius

References

• Mencius, 2A:6. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, trans. and compiled Wing-tsit Chan(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963).

• Fei, Han,. Han Feizi basic writings. New York: Columbia UP, 2003. Print.

• Hammitt, Frances. 1945. The Burning of Books. The Library Quarterly 15, no. 4 (Oct): 300-12.

• Ouellette, Patrick. 2010. Power in the Qin Dynasty: Legalism and External Influence over the Decisions and Legacy of the First Emperor of China. East Asian Studies (Feb): 19-22.

• Qian, Sima,. Records of the grand historian. Hong Kong: Research Centre for

Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Renditions-Columbia UP, 1993. Print.

• Tong, Zhang, and Schwartz Barry. 1997. Confucius and the Cultural Revolution: A Study in Collective Memory. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 11, no. 2 (Winter): 189-212.

• Zhang, Longxi. 1992. Western Theory and Chinese Reality. Critical Inquiry 19, no. 1 (Autumn): 105-30.