A Study On The Political Counselors Between The Late Of The Qin Dynasty And The Early Of The Han Dynasty

The dissertation is divided into four chapters. The first chapter centers on the investigation of the political counselors' living background. The second and the third chapters focus discussions on the political counselors' life, works and thoughts. The forth chapter concentrates efforts on probing the reasons of the political counselors' disappearance.Between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty, the political strategists' works were disseminated and studied widely, the mood of canvass was still prevailing, and the activities of canvass were frequent. Under the circumstances, a group of scholars emerged following the political strategists in the Warring States Period, they operated actively between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty, studied all kinds of the political strategists' works, got a place of political tactics by going canvass, and served directly politics, military affairs and diplomatic struggles. It is the political counselors between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty. Viewed from the origins of learning, identity characteristics and life actions, they were the political strategists' inheritance and development. Viewed from the living circumstances, political role and social status aspects, they were the political strategists' variation and transformation. They were people of the same generation as the political strategists between the, late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty.Special background of politics, society and thoughts atmosphere between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty provided appropriate conditions for the political counselors' emerging. In the political sphere, the political pattern of dukes' divisions and struggles provided social circumstances and broad historical stage for the political counselors' living. In social custom, the custom of cultivating scholars prevailed again, because of the atmosphere of scholars' studying in other places was in vogue, which made the political counselors have basic source. In the ideal sphere, the revival of the political strategists' theories was the production of the revival of various schools of thought and their exponents. The period of between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty was a key stage when the political strategists' culture was spread. During the period the scholars' works, such as philosophical works: Lujia's "xinyu", Liuan's "huainanzi" etc, and historical records: Si Maqian's "Records of the Historian", recorded and commented on the political strategists' life stories. The wide broadcasting of the thoughts of the political strategists promotes the prosperity of the thoughts of the political strategists and the development of the political counselors.At that time, the political counselors between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty were a group of very active persons in the political arena. Most of them understood deeply political situation and were good at astuteness, so they had important influence on the trend of development. Such as Li Yiji, Kuaitong, Lujia, Zouyang, Meisheng, Zhu Fuyan, Suihe, Yangsheng, Gong Sungui, Yanzhu, Wubei, Biantong, Xuyue, Yanan, Liaocang, and so on, they were presented persons. They studied or wrote the political strategists' works on the basis of the pattern of the political strategists' behaviors and the spirit of the political strategists' thoughts.Though the political counselors between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty had no systematic and comprehensive theories, they had their own views. They advocated unity in politics, and promoted development of thought based on human in theory and action. They worshiped the road of keeping forging ahead and associated with others by behaviors in philosophy of life. They showed enterprising philosophy style and feature of life that sought achievements for actions in life matters. They paid more attention to mutual choice of the monarch and them. The political counselors took the political strategists' theories as the dominant factor, but they also gave consideration to Taoists, Confucianism etc and absorbed the thoughts. Their theory and aesthetic conceptions that showed difference from the Taoists and the Confucianism etc consisted of bright-colored and noticeable page in the political and cultural history between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty.During Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a series of changes in the political, social and ideological sphere made the political strategists' theories lost their soil of development, and there was no place for the persons of studying the political strategists' works. With increasing emperor power the ducks had also experienced a process from powerful and prosperous to wane. And then the increasing reduction of ducks' manor and power couldn't still be the stage and insurance for the political counselors to put their abilities to good use. Limiting the atmosphere of cultivating scholars and going canvassing during the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made the political counselors lose their basic sources. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty proscribed all non-Confucianism schools of thought and espoused Confucianism as the orthodox state ideology, which cancelled the position of equal and free contention between other schools of thoughts and the Confucianism, and put them under the control of Confucianism, thus the theories of other schools of thoughts be attacked by the Act. So it is necessary that the political counselors declined during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Between the late of the Qin Dynasty and the early of the Han Dynasty, the political counselors' contributions are on following aspects: firstly, as the heirs of the political strategists, they played an important role in the history of thoughts and culture ; secondly, they played an important role in political, military and diplomatic struggles; thirdly, they inherited and developed the political strategists' theories, and they played an unparalleled role in inheriting the political strategists' culture; and in addition, their pretexts, submitting a written statement to a higher authority and poetry and prose had great influence on China's literature of late ages.