In ancient China, the five elements were often used to explain the alternation of dynasties ... the 21 college entrance examination question RT.
It is a treasure in the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. It shines with simple materialism and dialectics, and it is one of the important ways for the ancients to know the world. Up to now, it is still the theoretical basis of Chinese medicine, martial arts, qigong and some traditional cultures. Using it to study the alternation of dynasties in the history of China, we can clearly see the internal relations and laws of the alternation of dynasties, and at the same time, we can explore a new method for studying the history of China.
one-five-element theory
Five-element theory refers to a theory that uses the attributes of wood, fire, earth, gold and water to represent and classify the attributes of all kinds of things in nature, and discusses and deduces the mutual relationship and movement change law of all kinds of things with the mutual relationship between the five elements. Its essence is to classify everything in the universe into five basic substances: wood, fire, earth, gold and water, and think that the development and change of everything in nature are the result of the continuous movement and interaction of these five basic substances.
Both nature and human society are material. Therefore, whether it is the growth and death of various substances in nature or the development and change of human society, we can use the theory of five elements to analyze and find its laws.
1. The relationship between birth and grams of the five elements
According to the theory of the five elements, there are relationships among the five elements, such as mutual birth, mutual grams, anti-birth and anti-grams.
symbiosis means mutual enrichment and mutual promotion. The sequence of the five elements is: wood fires, fire produces soil, soil produces gold, gold produces water, and aquatic wood.
mutual restraint means mutual restraint and restraint. The order of the five elements is: Mu Ke Tu, Tu Ke Shui, Shui Ke Huo, Huo Ke Jin, Jin Kemu.
mutual growth and mutual restraint are inseparable. Without life, things cannot grow. Without grams, things have no constraints and cannot maintain their normal harmonious relationship. In the history of close cooperation among political groups, there is often a symbiotic relationship between the five elements. For example, the combination of Shu Han and Soochow in the Three Kingdoms was the tree of Shu Han's aquatic Soochow; The five elements of violent confrontation between political groups are often a mutual relationship. For example, at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, two rebel leaders, Song Jiang and Fang La, surrendered to the imperial court and helped the imperial court fight Fang La. Song Jiang's army was named Song, Wu Zhimu, and Fang La Uprising Army was named Fang, Wu Zhitu (which refers to the four directions and has the nature of soil). The relationship between the two elements is "Song Mu" and "Fang Tu".
Anti-generation refers to two kinds of five elements that are related to each other. Among them, the five elements that were born are very weak, while the five elements that were born are very strong. As a result, the five elements that were born are too interdependent. Instead of accepting the auxiliary, they are restrained and restrained. For example, water is raw wood, but too much water will restrict wood, just like watering a small tree with too much water, the result will inevitably be "more water than wood" and the small tree will be drowned.
Anti-gram refers to two kinds of five elements in the relationship of mutual restraint, in which the restrained five elements are strong and the restrained five elements are weak, and the restrained five elements cannot restrict the restrained five elements. Water can resist fire, but if the fire is strong and the water is weak, its water will not resist fire, but will be evaporated by fire and even dried up.
anti-birth and anti-gram are special forms of the five elements, which are the manifestations of the loss of normal attachment or restriction between things. For example, Chu and Han contended, Chu's five elements belonged to wood, and Han's five elements belonged to water. Originally, "Hanshui" was born of "Chu wood", which can be confirmed by Liu Bang's early help to Xiang Yu break the Qin State. However, when "Hanshui" is relatively strong and "Chumu" is relatively weak, water will not grow wood, but will restrain it. Therefore, Liu Bang, the "Hanshui River", together with the water from Wujiang River, gave birth to "Chu Mu" Xiang Yu. Another example is the Five Behaviors of Daxia (known as Xixia in history). When it coexisted with the rulers, its fire was originally gram gold, but when the rulers were very strong, it was Jin Ke who caught fire, that is, the rulers destroyed Daxia.
2. Classification of Five Elements
All kinds of things and phenomena in nature and human society can be classified into five elements according to their nature and functions. The contents related to this article are classified as follows:
five lines
square position
seasonal festival
features
color
five characteristics
dynasty
wood
east
spring
straight curve
green
benevolence < At the end of the middle
four seasons
crops
yellow
faith
Zhou, Wei, Tang, Republic of China, * * * and China
gold
west
autumn
from leather
white
meaning
gold yuan < The five acts of Shang Dynasty were water, which meant commerce and circulation and had the nature of water. The five acts of the Zhou Dynasty were earthy, with the meaning of surrounding and all directions and the nature of earthy. The five acts of the Qin dynasty were wood, Qin Naihe and the name of wood; In the Han dynasty, the five acts of water, Han is the name of water, and there is water on the side; Wei Chao's five acts are earthy, and Wei Gu's word means that the mountain is tall; The five acts of Jin dynasty were fire, and Jin was the meaning of sunshine entering everything; The five acts of the Sui Dynasty were water, and the Sui Dynasty followed suit, with the meaning of following suit and the nature of water; The five acts of the Tang dynasty were soil, and the Tang dynasty had the meaning of dikes and roads; The five acts of Song Dynasty are wood, which is the meaning of wood in Song Naiju, and the radical is wood; The five acts of the Yuan Dynasty were gold, and the yuan headed by it had the meaning of dry yuan; The five acts of the Ming dynasty were fire, which meant light and illumination; The five acts of the Qing Dynasty are water, which means that water is clean, and the head is water; The Republic of China and the Chinese people * * * and the five elements of the country are all soil, because they all highlight their "middle" orientation.
The history of the birth of the Five Elements
If the names of dynasties that realized the relative integrity and unity of the main body of the country are transformed into the Five Elements according to the above table, it is not difficult to see that the replacement of dynasties often follows the principle of the birth of the Five Elements. In this sense, the 5,-year history of civilization in China is also a history of the birth of the Five Elements.
1. After the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties started the history of civilization, it was a precedent in ancient times.
In the theory of Five Elements, "fire" is the main etiquette of civilization, and at the same time, it is magnificent and endless. Therefore, the 5,-year history of civilization of the Chinese nation began from the Xia Dynasty, where five behaviors were "fire". The establishment of the Xia Dynasty marked a great progress in social development, and it was the first dynasty in which China entered.
The five elements of fire are water, so the Xia Dynasty was replaced by the Shang Dynasty, where the five elements belonged to water. If Shang's "water-based" in terms of shape and meaning is still weak, the five elements of its founding monarch "Tang" are also water, which just makes up for the shortage of water. In addition, the Shang dynasty moved the capital many times, which was not only related to the internal political struggle as historians said, but also related to the strong fluidity of the name of water.
The five elements of Keshui are soil, so it is the Zhou Dynasty that replaced the Shang Dynasty. The replacement of ancient dynasties created the precedent of the former dynasties after the replacement of Chinese historical dynasties. In the subsequent dynasties, the relationship between the five elements was mostly the five elements of the later dynasty and the five elements of the former dynasty.
2, Qin Mu Ke Zhou Tu Han Shui Piao Qin Mu
In the theory of five elements, wood is earth-conquering, so it is the Qin Dynasty that replaces the Zhou Dynasty with five lines of wood. In fact, the Zhou Dynasty was replaced by a dynasty with five elements belonging to wood. From the "five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period", it has already shown signs. Among these five tyrants, there are three tyrants with five elements belonging to wood, namely Song (Xiang Wang), Qin (Mu Gong) and Chu (Zhuang Wang), and the second tyrant with five elements belonging to wood, namely Huan Gong of Qi and Mu Gong of Qin, and the other tyrant is Jin Wengong.
due to the tyranny of the Qin dynasty, it became very fragile under the attack of the peasant rebels at the end of the Qin dynasty, so the Qin dynasty was finally destroyed by Hanwang Liu bang. Originally, the five behaviors of Qin Dynasty were wood, while the five behaviors of Han Dynasty were water. Water was raw wood, but Qin Wei was a weak wood, and Hanshui was stronger. So when Qin and Han Dynasties met, the result was that water was floating, and Hanshui gave birth to Qin Mu.
3. Wei Tuke's Hanshui Jin Fire gave birth to Wei Tu
The Han Dynasty was replaced by the Wei Dynasty, in which the five elements belonged to the soil. At this time, history entered the period of Wei, Shu and Dong Wu, and Shu and Dong Wu acted as water, while Dong Wu acted as wood (because the East was the main wood). The relationship among them was as follows: Shu and Han lived in Dongwu wood, Wei territory lived in Shu and Han water, and Dongwu wood lived in Wei territory. The famous "Red Cliff War" is the proof of the relationship between the three. Because of this complicated situation, there is life in life and there is life in life, so the three countries have formed a tripartite confrontation.
The Wei Dynasty was replaced by the Jin Dynasty, where the five elements belonged to fire. The five acts of fire in Jin Dynasty were native. However, when the power of Jin King Si Mazhao and his son Sima Yan was great, that is, when the fire was very strong, it would not be native, but conquered, so Wei was replaced by Jin.
4. Jin was destroyed by the Han and Southern Dynasties and returned to Sui
Soon after the Jin Dynasty unified the whole country, it was destroyed by Liu Yuan, a Xiongnu aristocrat who called himself "Hanwang". Obviously, the relationship between Han and Jin was water and fire. Later, history entered the split period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Finally, the Sui Dynasty, where the five elements belonged to water, unified the whole country. In the Sui Dynasty, the canal was overhauled, and Emperor Yangdi toured the whole country, which probably had something to do with the water quality of the national title.
5. All the generations in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties were in harmony with each other
The Sui Dynasty was replaced by the Tang Dynasty with five behaviors, and the replacement of the later dynasties was also reflected in the relationship between the later dynasties and the former dynasties, namely, the wood in the Song Dynasty, the wood in the Song Dynasty, the fire in the Ming Dynasty, the fire in the Ming Dynasty and the water in the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, the replacement of dynasties is by no means as simple as one gram, which historians have already explained in detail. However, from the above analysis, it is not difficult to see that 7% of the dynasty changes are the five elements of the later dynasty and the five elements of the former dynasty. This is obviously not a coincidence. The development of history and the change of dynasties contain the theory of the five elements and the profound Chinese culture.
Three Historical Experiences and Laws
Studying the history of China with the theory of Five Elements can not only explain many historical events, but also reveal the internal relationship of dynasty alternation, and at the same time, it can also sum up many useful experiences and laws.
1. Prosperous times tend to appear in dynasties that belong to soil and water
In the history of China, historians have called them "prosperous times in Wu Ding" in Shang Dynasty, where the five elements belong to water; The "rule of Wenjing" in the Han Dynasty, the "prosperous time of Kanggan" in the Qing Dynasty, and the "rule of Zhenguan" and "rule of Kaiyuan" in the Tang Dynasty, where the five elements belonged to the soil. At the same time, these two dynasties with five elements often ruled for a long time, such as the Zhou Dynasty, which has a history of more than 8 years. The Han dynasty has a history of more than 4 years, and both the Tang dynasty and the Qing dynasty have a history of nearly 3 years. In the theory of five elements, water dominates wisdom and water is the source of life; The soil believes in it, and it has great inclusiveness and germinability. The so-called "four lines of soil" and "everything is born in soil" all illustrate the biochemical, bearing and receiving functions of soil. Therefore, dynasties with these two titles and five elements can often show extraordinary wisdom, create a prosperous era of enriching the country and strengthening the people, and achieve long-term stability.
At present, China is in its heyday, and the solidity, vitality and cohesion of the soil are fully reflected. Therefore, judging from the current development and historical experience, it is just around the corner that a strong and unified Chinese people and country will stand in the world, and it will surely achieve long-term stability.
In addition, there are often many small countries behind the territorial dynasties, which can be confirmed by the fact that many vassal States were eager to strive for hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in the late Zhou Dynasty, and the pattern of five dynasties and ten countries appeared after the Tang Dynasty. The reason is also related to the fact that soil is the mother of all things and has strong germinability.
2. The dynasties in which the five elements belonged to gold were the best.
In China's dynasties, the dynasties in which the five elements belonged to gold were mainly the Jin Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty was founded in 1115 AD and died in 1234. In 119 years, there were wars almost every year, first against Liao, then against the Northern Song and Southern Song Dynasties, and then against Xixia and Mongolia. The Yuan Dynasty paid more attention to martial arts than literature, and the territory conquered by force ranked first among all dynasties in China. Since it entered the Central Plains, the struggle against Yuan has never stopped all over the country. The reason is that Jin Bing's autumn spirit, in the five elements, has the nature of inheriting, killing and destroying, so the dynasty in which the five elements belong to gold is naturally more belligerent than other five elements.
3. It is easy to win the war from north to south
If there is a confrontation between the north and the south between political groups, it is often the north that will win the war in the end. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period,
Shu Han tried to capture Wei in the north for many times, but they could not succeed and were eventually destroyed by the north; In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the South could not defeat the North, and eventually the Sui Dynasty in the North unified the whole country. The Southern Song Dynasty always wanted to restore its rule over the north, but the result was finally eliminated by the Yuan Dynasty in the north. China's war of liberation was also fought from the north to the south, and finally won the national victory. The reason is that the five actions in the north are water, and the five actions in the south are fire, and water can overcome fire. Therefore, it is easy for the north to win if it fights south, and it is easy to fail if it fights south.
4. Dynasties with the same name are all north first, then south first, then west and then east
In the history of China, after a dynasty was overthrown, the "royalty" of that dynasty often formed another dynasty with the same name, but the name of this dynasty and the location of the capital were west first, then east, and north first, then south. Such as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty behind the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty behind the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Jin Dynasty behind the Western Jin Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty after the Northern Song Dynasty. The land of the Central Plains is most threatened by foreign countries from the north and the west. When the north calls, it will move south, and when the west calls, it will move east. However, the northern five acts as water, the southern five acts as fire, and water is fire-resistant. The western five acts as gold, and the eastern five acts as wood, and gold is wood-resistant, so wars are often fought from north to south and from west to east.
to sum up, using the theory of five elements to study the replacement of dynasties can not only reveal the general law of the replacement of dynasties and the characteristics of the five elements of each dynasty, but also give a reasonable explanation to many historical events. However, there are some special cases that are not the case. For example, the dynasties with five elements belonging to water generally ruled for a long time, but the Sui Dynasty was very short, with a history of only 38 years. Another example is that a dynasty or political group with five elements belonging to wood should have charitable characteristics, which can be confirmed by the fact that Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, released Liu Bang and Song Dynasty's humiliation songs to Liao, Xixia and Jin at the Hongmen banquet, but the Qin Dynasty with five elements belonging to wood was a rare "brutal rule" and could not see any "benevolence" of wood at all, which needs further study and discussion.
Four Postscripts
When I first wrote this article, I thought that it was a great discovery to explain the change of dynasties with the theory of five elements. I didn't know until I collected information and read a lot of books that there were related records in Lv Chunqiu more than two thousand years ago. However, the ancients mostly determined the five elements by phonology, which is very different from the five elements determined by the word meaning of the font in this paper, and there have been many changes after 2, so I continued to write it.
a vast country with a vast history can't be explained clearly in just a few words in this article. I'm afraid it's far-fetched, and there are mistakes. Please correct me.
note: fifty-four years from the Tang dynasty to the northern song dynasty belonged to the period of five dynasties and ten kingdoms, and the Tang dynasty was replaced by the back beam. Its five-element relationship was that the back beam was the soil of the Tang dynasty, and the northern song dynasty was established in place of the later Zhou dynasty. Its five-element relationship was the soil of the northern song dynasty, so it was not detailed because the five dynasties and ten kingdoms existed for a short time, and its dynasty replacement was mostly the relationship between the last five elements and the first five elements.