Why did the Shang Dynasty reform prohibit fathers, sons, and brothers from choosing to live together?

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The Price of the Family and the Country: The Policy of Family Separation under the Shang Dynasty Reform Law

preface

The Qin State during the Warring States Period was a key player in the competition. From a relatively weak existence to the eventual domination of the world, one of the most critical turning points was the implementation of the Shang Dynasty reform. As an important minister of Qin Xiaogong, Shang Ying completely changed the face of the Qin state at that time with his transformative policies. Among the many changes to the law, there is one that is quite thought-provoking - it is forbidden for fathers and sons to live together. What is the reason for this seemingly "impersonal" policy? How did it affect the social landscape of the time? From the family to the state, this change not only gave the Qin state great strength, but also changed the operating mechanism of the entire society to a certain extent.

On the eve of the Shang Martingale Reform

In 395 BC, Shang Ying was born in the Qi Kingdom. Born in poverty, he relied on his courage and wisdom to become a controversial but irreplaceable changemaker.

At that time, Qin Xiaogong, the monarch of Qin, was not an outstanding figure, compared to the strength of the vassal states of Qi, Chu, and Yan, the Qin State could be regarded as a relatively backward small country. But it was under such a mediocre monarch that Shang Ying was given the opportunity to display his ambitions. He was aware of the many shortcomings of the Qin state and set out to develop a series of policies aimed at changing the status quo.

When he was in the state of Qi, Shang Ying had already realized that in order for a backward country to become strong, it was far from enough to rely on the monarch's own strength, and it was necessary to change the operating mechanism of the entire society. He began to study how to make fundamental changes to drive the transformation of the Qin state. Under such an attempt, Shang Ying was soon appreciated and appointed by Qin Xiaogong.

Immediately after, in 361 BC, Qin Xiaogong officially appointed Shang Ying as his minister, giving him the power to formulate and implement reforms. This is undoubtedly a pivotal moment that will change the course of history.

Family separation: a change of law provokes controversy

As mentioned earlier, one of the many reforms of the Shang Dynasty was quite puzzling at the time - that is, fathers and sons were forbidden to live together.

The implementation of this policy is undoubtedly a subversion of the traditional concept of family. In the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, "home" has always been the basic unit of society, and family ties are regarded as the most important interpersonal bonds. However, Shang Ying wanted to break this pattern and forced the father and son to separate.

The reason for this is that Shang Ying's considerations are by no means limited to superficiality. He saw the deeper implications of this change.

First of all, the dispersion of family members is conducive to reducing the occurrence of internal conflicts. When a family lives together, it is inevitable that there will be various entanglements, such as property distribution, economic problems, etc. Once these problems erupt, it is easy to lead to disputes and even fights between family members. Scattering family members can isolate the fermentation of contradictions on the one hand, and reduce the direct explosiveness of the problem on the other hand.

Second, this policy can also effectively increase tax revenue. At that time, taxes were calculated on a per-household basis, and many families would choose to live together for several generations in order to escape the heavy taxes. Shang Ying was aware of this problem and enforced the policy of household separation. This not only severed the ties between families, but also forced more people to pay taxes independently, thus significantly increasing the country's tax revenue.

In addition, the dispersion of family members can also increase the motivation of each household. Compared with the "big pot rice", people will cherish the fruits of their labor more and be more proactive in their work when they have their own small family. This will undoubtedly bring more productivity to the country.

It can be said that although Shang Ying's change is "impersonal" on the surface, the logic behind it is extremely sophisticated. He saw the profound impact of family structure on nation-building, and formulated a series of targeted policies accordingly. This is undoubtedly a testament to his brilliant thinking as a reformer.

The social impact of family separation

The implementation of the Shang Dynasty Reform Law undoubtedly had a huge social impact. The changes in the family structure not only change the living conditions of individuals, but also profoundly affect the operation mechanism of the whole society.

For one, the dispersion of family members exacerbates the rise of individualism. In the past, people were accustomed to putting family interests above the individual, but nowadays, small independent families make everyone more focused on the pursuit of their own interests. This somewhat weakened traditional collectivist values and replaced them with a stronger individualistic tendency.

Second, this change has also affected society's trust network. In the past, close ties between family members built a relatively closed circle of trust. But as the family separated, the circle expanded, and the object of interpersonal interaction changed. This undoubtedly increases social mobility, but at the same time reduces people's trust in their relatives.

Third, family separation policies have also affected the way people socialize. In the past, people relied on frequent interactions between family members to meet social needs. But nowadays, independent lifestyles have forced people to seek new social channels, which has led to the rise of organizations such as clubs and hometown associations to compensate for the lack of family ties.

In general, the policy of family separation under the Shang Dynasty reform law not only changed the family structure on the surface, but also profoundly affected the way the whole society functioned. From the rise of individualism, to the change of trust networks, to the transformation of social patterns, this reform had a profound impact on the Qin society at that time.

The rise of the new Qin state

The Shang Dynasty Reform was undoubtedly a far-sighted reform. He had insight into the many shortcomings of the Qin State at that time, and based on his own analysis, he formulated a series of measures to hit the shortcomings of the times. Among this series of changes, the family separation policy is undoubtedly the most controversial, but it also best reflects the core of Shang Ying's reform thinking.

By reshaping the family structure, Shang brought great benefits to the Qin state. First of all, it helps to reduce the probability of conflicts within the family, thereby reducing the risk of social unrest. Second, it has effectively increased the country's tax revenue and provided a solid economic foundation for subsequent arms building. Moreover, it also promoted the improvement of labor productivity, which brought more practical benefits to the Qin state.

Driven by the Shang Dynasty reforms, the Qin state quickly rose from a relatively backward small state to one of the most powerful vassal states of the time. In 359 BC, Qin Xiaogong successively promulgated a series of reform measures such as the "Eighteen Policies", which laid the foundation for the long-term development of the Qin state. As a result of these changes, the Qin state made great strides in agricultural production, military strength, and administration.

Soon, in 236 BC, Qin Shi Huang finally completed the feat of unifying the six kingdoms, establishing the first unified multi-ethnic state in Chinese history - the Qin Dynasty, supported by the legacy of Shang Ying's reforms. This not only demonstrates the foresight of Shang's reforms, but also proves his great contribution to the rise of the Qin state.

epilogue

The Shang Dynasty reform method was effective, but its methods were often controversial. The policy of family separation is undoubtedly the most controversial of all. However, when we dig deeper into the logic behind it, it is not difficult to see the farsightedness of this reform. Shang Yang saw the profound impact of family structure on national development, and formulated a series of sophisticated countermeasures accordingly.

Although this reform caused a lot of repercussions at the time, it eventually paved the way for the Qin state to become a strong country. The state of Qin rose from then on to become the founder of the first unified multi-ethnic state in Chinese history. This undoubtedly confirms Shang Ying's foresight and sagacity in reforming the law, and also demonstrates his extraordinary courage as a reformer.

Perhaps at the time, Shang Ying's approach was too extreme, and even a little "unkind". But in fact, he saw the key to a strong country, and based on it, he developed a series of practical policies. It was this far-sighted thinking that enabled the Qin state to take off from a small border state to a powerful central dynasty. This undoubtedly shows that great reformers often need to go beyond the conceptual limitations of their time and pave the way for future development.

It is often said that "home and everything is prosperous". However, in Shang Ying's view, for the benefit of the family and the country, sometimes it is also necessary to pay the price of the family. It was this kind of sacrifice and choice that enabled the Qin State to grow from weak to strong, and eventually became the founder of the history of China's unification. This undoubtedly shows the hardships and costs of reform, but it also shows the tenacity and courage of the reformers in their pursuit of national prosperity.

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