Shang Yang’s Reform: The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were a transitional period when slavery collapsed and feudalism was established. During this period, the use of iron farm tools and the gradual promotion of cattle farming led to the gradual state ownership of land by slave owners. It was replaced by feudal private ownership of land and the emergence of two opposing classes, landlords and peasants. With the growth of economic strength, the emerging military-landlord class demanded corresponding political rights, thus causing changes in the social order. Therefore, they all demanded political reforms, the development of the feudal economy, and the establishment of landlord class rule. Various countries have launched reform movements one after another, such as Li Kui's reform in Wei State, Wu Qi's reform in Chu State, etc. In the early Warring States period, the collapse of the well-field system, the emergence of private ownership of land, and tax reform in the Qin State were all later than those of the other six countries. The social and economic development lagged behind the six major countries of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han. In order to enhance the strength of the Qin State, be in a favorable position in the struggle for hegemony among the vassal states and prevent it from being annexed by other countries, Qin Xiaogong introduced talents and implemented reforms to strengthen the state.
After Shang Yang’s reform, the old system of Qin was completely abolished and the feudal economy developed. Qin gradually became the strongest country among the seven heroes of the Warring States Period, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent unification of the world by the Qin Dynasty. .
The reforms of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty originated from Shang Yang's Reform, but compared with the former, the latter also promoted the great integration of ethnic groups in the north and accelerated the process of feudalization of ethnic minorities in the north. However, the original intention of both was the same It is to develop the economy, promote productivity, consolidate political imperial power, promote historical progress, enhance national unity and harmony, and first lay a good foundation for improving the country's combat effectiveness.
The Xianbei people are an ancient people in Chinese history. A northern ethnic group, the Tuoba Tribe is a branch of the Xianbei ethnic group that lives in the eastern foothills of the northern end of the Greater Khingan Mountains. The Tuoba tribe continued to move south. During the Western Jin Dynasty, the tribal leader Tuoba Yilu was named Dai King by the emperor because of his contribution to helping the court fight against Liu Yuan and Shi Le, and established the Dai Kingdom. But soon, the Dai Kingdom was destroyed by the rise of the Former Qin Dynasty, and the history of the Tuoba tribe was temporarily interrupted. After the Battle of Feishui, the rule of the former Qin Dynasty collapsed. Tuoba Gui of the Tuoba Tribe took the opportunity to restore the country, held a tribal meeting, assumed the throne, and changed the country's name to Wei, claiming the emperor, and was known as the Northern Wei in history. After that, several generations of rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty were committed to unification, launched annexation wars, and successively destroyed Daxia, Beiyan, and Beiliang in the north, and unified the north in 439.
After the Five Husty Rebellion, North China was finally unified by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe and the Northern Wei Dynasty was established. At that time, all the monarchs of the Northern Wei Dynasty paid attention to the study of Han culture. By the time of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Empress Dowager Feng and courtier Li Chong had carried out reforms to establish a land equalization system and re-establish a large empire with agriculture as the main body. Because Emperor Xiaowen was raised by the Empress Dowager Feng, who was of Han nationality, he was deeply influenced by Han culture. After he ascended the throne, he initiated the policy of Sinicization in the future.
During the process of national conquest, the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty implemented ethnic discrimination and cruel ethnic oppression policies against people of all ethnic groups. Crazy ethnic killings often occurred during the wars of conquest, and ethnic conflicts continued to intensify (reform necessity). By the middle of the Northern Wei Dynasty, although ethnic conflicts had gradually eased, class conflicts had become increasingly acute due to excessive exploitation and oppression by the ruling class. Peasant uprisings broke out every year, especially in Xingcheng, Shaanxi Province in 445 AD (the sixth year of Taiping Zhenjun). The uprising led by Gai Wu, a Lushui barbarian, mobilized more than 100,000 people to participate in the uprising. The Northern Wei government sent 60,000 cavalry to suppress it, and the ruler Tuoba Tao personally commanded it. In the end, Gai Wu was killed by a traitor, and the Gai Wu uprising failed. , but the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty were greatly shocked. In 471 AD (the fifth year of Emperor Xing's reign), Tuobahong ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaowen. Since then, the peasant uprisings continued unabated, and the court's brutal suppression not only failed to quell the people's uprisings, but instead inspired more conflicts and struggles. In order to alleviate social and ethnic conflicts, Empress Dowager Feng and Emperor Xiaowen successively carried out a series of reforms, collectively known as Emperor Xiaowen's reforms.
The Sinicization reform measures implemented by Emperor Xiaowen were conducive to easing class conflicts and played a positive role in the recovery and development of social economy.
The nine-rank Zhongzheng system established in the Cao Wei Dynasty had become a situation in which officials were selected from aristocratic families during the Western Jin Dynasty, and two social classes, the gentry and the common people, evolved. This is the origin of the famous saying "There are no nobles in the lower class".
Because the Xianbei people themselves do not have advanced cultural literacy and have no independent thoughts on political reform, they blindly copy the policies of the previous Han regime and inherit this clan system that has seriously affected social development. "Book of Wei Official Records" records: "Three generations of officials were given surnames, governors of prefectures, generals of towns, and those who were promoted to princes...and there were three generations of officials who were Zhongsan, eunuchshang, and outsiders were prefects. , Zidu, the male who has the highest rank is the clan." The clan system further extended from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and was not abolished until the establishment of the imperial examination system in the Sui Dynasty. One of the reasons for the success of Emperor Xiaowen's reform was that at that time, most of the Hu people could speak Chinese and wear Han clothes, but they could still speak Hu and wear Hu clothes. This reform only accelerated the process of changing customs.
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