Introduction to Heshi Bi
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, many vassal states had their own national treasures. He Pu is He's jade, and Pu is jade that has not been polished. It is said that this piece of jade was discovered by Bian He, a native of Chu State, in the mountains during the Spring and Autumn Period. It was originally a piece of jade and was presented to King Li and Wu successively. After succeeding to the throne, Bian He hugged Yu Pu and cried in the mountains. King Wen knew that he had someone cut open the jade, and he found rare and beautiful jade, so he named it "He's Bi".
The earliest records about He's Bi can be found in books such as "Han Feizi", and the plots are roughly the same. After the appearance of He's Bi, it became the national treasure of Chu State. Chu State proposed to Zhao Hui, and He's Bi came to Zhao State. In 283 BC, the State of Qin heard that Zhao had He's Bi and offered to exchange 15 cities for it. Lin Xiangru knew that there was a fraud and secretly sent He's Bi back to Zhao.
But later, He's Bi was still owned by the Qin State. As for when and how it was owned by the Qin State, there is no historical record.
Stories related to Heshi Bi - Return of the Completed Bi to Zhao
The King of Chu cherished this beautiful jade very much and was reluctant to carve it into a vessel, so he kept it as a treasure. More than 400 years later, in order to commend his meritorious and loyal ministers, King Wei of Chu specially gave the Heshi Bi to Prime Minister Zhaoyang. When Zhaoyang led his guests to visit Chishan, he brought out a jade jade for people to admire. Unexpectedly, after everyone dispersed, He's jade disappeared. More than 50 years later, in 283 BC, Miao Xian, a native of Zhao, bought a piece of jade in the market for five hundred gold. What is unexpected is that after identification by jade workers, this jade is the He's jade that has been missing for many years.
King Zhao Huiwen heard that He's Bi appeared in Zhao State, so he took it for himself. After King Zhao of Qin learned of this, he wrote to King Zhao saying that he was willing to exchange fifteen cities of Qin for the jade. After King Zhao Huiwen got the letter, he couldn't make up his mind and was very embarrassed, so he summoned General Lian Po and many other ministers to discuss countermeasures. If He's Bi is given to Qin, I'm afraid Qin won't really exchange it with fifteen cities and will be deceived in vain; if not, Qin will be strong and Zhao will be weak, and they are afraid that Qin will send troops to attack Zhao. He was in a dilemma. He wanted to send an envoy to Qin to negotiate, but he couldn't find a suitable person.
At this time, the eunuch leader Miao Xian came out and said: "I have a retainer named Lin Xiangru. This man is both wise and brave. It is better to send him to Qin." King Zhao asked: "How do you know? Can he go as an envoy to Qin? Miao Xian told King Zhao: "I have offended the king before, and I planned to escape secretly to Yan for fear of being punished by you. When Lin Xiangru found out, he tried to dissuade me and said, "How do you know that King Yan will accept you?" ’ I told him: ‘I once followed the king to meet the king of Yan on the border. At that time, King Yan once held my hand in private and expressed his willingness to make friends with me. Therefore, I decided to go to Yan State to seek refuge with King Yan. ’ Lin Xiangru heard this and said, ‘Zhao is strong and Yan is weak, but you are King Zhao’s favorite, so King Yan is willing to make friends with you. Now that you have offended the King of Zhao, if you escape to the State of Yan, the King of Yan will be afraid of the State of Zhao and will never dare to take you in. He will only tie you up and send you back to the State of Zhao. By then, your life will be at risk. Now you might as well take off your clothes, lie naked on the ax that cuts people in half, and go to the king in person to plead guilty and ask for punishment. The king is generous and merciful, and maybe you can be forgiven by the king.' I listened and did it, and you really forgive me, king. . Therefore, I think Lin Xiangru can go to Qin as an envoy and successfully complete the mission. ".
The King of Zhao sent someone to summon Lin Xiangru and asked: "Now the King of Qin wants to exchange fifteen cities for He's Bi. Can you agree? Lin Xiangru said: "Qin is strong and Zhao is weak, we have to agree." King Zhao asked again: "What if King Qin gets the bi but refuses to hand over the city to Zhao?" Lin Xiangru said: "It is true, but Qin State offered fifteen cities in exchange for Heshi's Bi. If Zhao State does not agree, then we are in the wrong, and Qin State will have an excuse to attack Zhao State; if Zhao State sends the Bi to Qin, and Qin refused to hand over the city to Zhao, then Qin was at fault. By comparison, I think it is better to agree to the Qin State, send the bi, and let Qin State bear the responsibility for being unreasonable. "After a pause, he continued: "I think the king may not have a suitable candidate now. I would rather go to Qin as an envoy. If Qin really hands over the city to Zhao, I will keep the treasure and jade in Qin; If the country does not hand over the cities, I will definitely bring the treasures and jade back intact. ”
So King Zhao Huiwen appointed Lin Xiangru as an envoy, bringing He’s Bixi to Qin. King Qin Zhao met with Lin Xiangru at Zhangtai (the name of the Qin Palace, its former site is in Xishui, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province today) Lin Xiangru held the jade in both hands and presented it to the King of Qin. The King of Qin took the jade and opened it to look at it. It was indeed pure white and flawless. The concubines, civil and military ministers and attendants admired it, and everyone praised it, cheered "Long live" and congratulated the King of Qin.
After a long time, the King of Qin never mentioned the matter of exchanging the city for the jade. Lin Xiangru knew that the King of Qin had it. He would never trade a city for a wall, so he came up with a plan and said to King Qin: "This jade is very good, but there is a little problem. Let me point it out to the king." After hearing this, King Qin handed the jade to him, and Lin Xiangru took it. After passing the jade, he quickly took a few steps back, leaned against the pillar, and was so angry that his hair almost stood up. He said loudly and righteously to King Qin: "Your Majesty wants this piece of beautiful jade. Write a letter to King Zhao. Fifteen cities were promised in exchange. At that time, King Zhao summoned the civil and military ministers to discuss. They all said that Qin was greedy and relied on its power to defraud Zhao of its treasures and jade with a few empty words. Everyone disagreed with sending the bi.
But I think: Even if people make friends and don't deceive each other, what's more, Qin is a great country? Besides, we can't hurt the harmony between the two countries just because of a piece of jade. King Zhao accepted my advice, fasted for five days, wrote a letter of credence, and then sent me as an envoy to bring Baoyu to Qin. Such a respectful attitude. But the king received me in the ordinary palace, and his attitude was so arrogant. Your Majesty, by casually handing such a precious jade to the palace maids and attendants for viewing, is clearly teasing me and disrespecting the State of Zhao. I think the king is not sincere in exchanging the city for the jade, so I asked for it back. If the king must force me, I would rather smash my head and this jade on a pillar." After that, he raised it He Shi's bi looked at the pillar and tried to throw it at the pillar.
The King of Qin was afraid that Lin Xiangru would smash the jade, so he apologized and asked him not to do that. At the same time, he called the official in charge of the map to send him the map. King Qin spread out the map and said to Lin Xiangru that fifteen cities from here to there were going to be transferred to Zhao. Lin Xiangru thought that King Qin was just pretending and would never give the cities to Zhao, so he said to King Qin: " This piece of He's Bi is a treasure recognized by the world. King Zhao likes it very much, but he is afraid of the powerful power of Qin. Not daring not to dedicate it to King Qin, King Zhao fasted for five days and held a grand ceremony in the court when sending the jade away. Now that the king wants to accept this piece of jade, he should also fast for five days, and then hold a ceremony of nine guests in the court, and then I can present the jade to the king. "The King of Qin thought that the jade was in Lin Xiangru's hands and could not be taken by force, so he agreed to fast for five days, and then sent someone to take Lin Xiangru to the Guangcheng Hotel to rest.
Lin Xiangru went to the court and said to the King of Qin Li Li said: "The Qin State has had twenty-one monarchs since Duke Mu of Qin, and none of them are trustworthy. I was afraid that I would be deceived by the king and that I would be sorry for the State of Zhao, so I sent someone to lead Bi to leave the State of Qin early. I am afraid that I have already arrived in the State of Zhao. "The King of Qin was very angry. Lin Xiangru still calmly said: "Today's situation is that Qin is strong and Zhao is weak, so the king sent an envoy to Zhao to ask for the bi, but Zhao did not dare to disobey. Send me to deliver the jade immediately. Now if Qin really cedes fifteen cities to Zhao in exchange for He's bi, how dare Zhao dare to offend the king by asking for Qin's cities."
King of Qin His conspiracy was completely exposed, and he couldn't make any excuses, so he had to smile bitterly. From then on, Qin State refused to cede fifteen cities to Zhao State, so Zhao State naturally did not give the jade to Qin State.
Stories related to He Shibi - The Meeting at Mianchi
Lian Po led the army to send King Zhao to the border, and before parting, he said to King Zhao: "This time the king is going to Mianchi, plus the journey back and forth. The duration of the meeting is estimated to be no more than thirty days. In order to prevent accidents, if the king has not returned after this date, please allow us to make the prince king to eliminate the idea of ????Qin State detaining the king and threatening Zhao State. "The King of Zhao agreed. Lian Po also deployed a large number of troops on the border to guard against Qin's attack.
When he arrived at Mianchi, he saw the King of Qin. The two sides saluted and then talked at the banquet. The wine arrived. During the tour, King Qin said to King Zhao: "I heard that you like to play the harp. I have a harp here, so please play a piece of music to cheer up the fun!" "King Zhao did not dare to refuse, so he had to play a song. At this time, the censor of Qin came over and wrote on the slip: On a certain day of a certain month in a certain year, the king of Qin and the king of Zhao had a banquet in Mianchi. The king of Qin ordered the king of Zhao to Play the harp.
Seeing this, Lin Xiangru stepped forward and said to King Qin: "King Zhao heard that King Qin is good at playing the fou. I have a fou here. Please knock the fou to make everyone happy. "The King of Qin refused to agree. Lin Xiangru picked up the fou and walked over to offer it to the King of Qin. The King of Qin still refused to knock it. Lin Xiangru said: "Now I am only five steps away from the King. If the King does not agree, I will fight to die. I'll splatter you with blood. "
The King of Qin was very unhappy, so he had no choice but to knock on the fou a few times. Lin Xiangru called the censor of Zhao State and wrote down the incident: On a certain day of a certain year, a certain month, King Zhao and King Qin had a banquet in Mianchi, and King Zhao ordered King Qin to knock on the gou to add to the fun.
Until the end of the banquet, Lin Xiangru fought tactfully and unyieldingly with the monarchs and ministers of Qin in order to safeguard the dignity of the country. Frustrated Qin's plot
He's Bi and the Imperial Seal
In 228 BC, Qin destroyed Zhao, and He's Bi eventually fell into the hands of Qin. Unfortunately. However, the Heshi Bi disappeared from historical records. According to legend, after Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he made the Heshi Bi into the Chuanguo Jade Seal.
Regardless of whether the Chuanguo Jade Seal was made of Heshi. It is made of jade. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he indeed ordered jade workers to carve an emperor's seal, which he called the "Emperor's Seal". According to historical records, this seal was carved from Lantian white jade in Shaanxi Province. It has a tiger button and is said to be a dragon fish. The inscription on the phoenix button jade seal is written in large seal script by Prime Minister Li Si, which reads "Ordered by Heaven, you will live forever"
It is said that the imperial seal began a legendary experience after it came into being. In 219 BC, when Qin Shihuang was patrolling south to Dongting Lake, a sudden storm broke out and the boat he was riding was about to be destroyed. He threw the imperial seal in the lake and worshiped the gods to calm the waves. Eight years later, he was able to cross the lake safely. When he traveled to Pingshu Road in Huayin, someone stood in the road holding a jade seal and said to the attendants of the First Emperor: "Please return this seal to Zulong (Qin Shihuang's generational name). "After saying this, he disappeared. The jade seal passed down to the country returned to Qin.
In the war at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang led his troops to Xianyang first. The gentleman Ying who conquered Qin dedicated the "Seal of the Emperor" to Liu Bang. Liu Bang ascended the throne after establishing the Han Dynasty and wore it. This imperial seal is known as the "Han Imperial Seal".
Since then, the jade seal has been kept in Changle Palace and became a symbol of imperial power. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped power. Emperor Liu Ying was only two years old, and the jade seal was controlled by Empress Dowager Xiaoyuan. Wang Mang ordered Wang Shun, the Marquis of Anyang, to force the Queen Mother to hand over the jade seal, but the Queen Mother angrily rebuked him. When the Queen Mother threw the jade seal to the ground in anger, a corner of the jade seal was thrown off. Later, it was repaired with gold, leaving a flaw from then on.
After Wang Mang's defeat, the jade seal changed hands several times, and finally fell into the hands of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu, and was passed on to the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shi Changshi made a rebellion, and the young emperor fled in a hurry. He had no time to take away the jade seal. When he returned to the palace, he found that the jade seal was missing. During the "Eighteen Route Princes' Attack on Dong Zhuo", Sun Jian's men salvaged the body of a palace maid from the Zhen Palace Well in the south of Luoyang City, and found the "Jade Seal of the Kingdom" from the brocade pouch under her neck. Sun Jian regarded it as a good omen, so he started to do it. The emperor's dream. Unexpectedly, someone in Sun Jian's army informed Yuan Shao of the incident. Yuan Shao heard about it and immediately detained Sun Jian's wife and forced Sun Jian to hand over the jade seal. Later, the Yuan Shao brothers were defeated and died, and the "Jade Seal of the State" was returned to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
When the Three Kingdoms came into being, the Jade Seal belonged to Wei. When the Three Kingdoms were unified, the Jade Seal belonged to Jin. At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, the north fell into an era of frequent dynasty changes and turmoil. The "Jade Seal of the Kingdom" was constantly fought over. In the fifth year of Yongjia reign of Emperor Huai of Jin Dynasty (AD 311), the jade seal returned to former Zhao Liu Cong. In the fourth year of Xianhe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 329), Later Zhao Shile destroyed the former Zhao and obtained the jade seal; Later Zhao general Ran Min killed Shi Jian and established himself, regaining the jade seal. At this stage, several "privately carved" jade seals also appeared, including the self-engraved seals of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Murong Yong's carved seals of the Western Yan Dynasty, Yao Qin's seals, etc. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, the surrendered general Hou Jing rebelled and robbed the jade seal passed down to the country. Soon after Hou Jing was defeated and died, the jade seal was thrown into the well of Qixia Temple. The monks of the temple fished it out and kept it, and later presented it to Emperor Chen Wu.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the "Jade Seal of the State" was still the most precious treasure of the rulers. After Zhu Wen of the Five Dynasties usurped the Tang Dynasty, the Yuxi suffered another misfortune. Li Congke, the deposed emperor of the later Tang Dynasty, was defeated by the Khitan and climbed the tower with the Yuxi to burn himself. The whereabouts of the Yuxi are still unknown.
Since the rulers of the past dynasties have vigorously promoted that obtaining the national seal is "destiny" and "a sign of auspiciousness", since the Song Dynasty, genuine and fake national seals have been discovered repeatedly. For example, in the third year of Shaosheng's reign in the Song Dynasty (AD 1096), Duan Yi, a native of Xianyang, said that he dug out a jade seal from the ground when he was building a house, which was "green as blue, warm and lustrous" and had "five plates of chi buttons on the back". Waiting for 13 officials to "research", they determined that it was the jade seal of the "genuine imperial seal made by the Qin Dynasty". However, according to later generations' research, this was a trick played by Cai Jing and others to deceive the emperor. In the 13th year of Hongzhi's reign in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1500), Mao Zhixue of Huxian County obtained the jade seal in Nihe, and Xiong Yuzhong, the governor of Shaanxi Province, presented it to Emperor Xiaozong. According to legend, the imperial seal brought into the desert by Emperor Yuan Shun at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was visited by Huang Taiji, Emperor Taizong of the Later Jin Dynasty. Huang Taiji therefore changed the country's name from "Jin" to "Qing". However, there were 39 jade seals in the Forbidden City in the early Qing Dynasty. Among them, the one known as the Chuan Guo Xi was regarded as a fake by Emperor Qianlong. This shows that it is difficult to determine the authenticity of the Chuan Guo Xi. It is said that the real national seal was brought to Mobei by Yuan generals when the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Yuan Dynasty. Was the true imperial seal made by He Shibi? Where does it flow to? So far, there are divergent opinions and no consensus.