He established a unified carriage gauge and a standardised written language.(車同軌書同文)
China's Warring States Period was a time of
division. Seven major kingdoms fought and competed with each other, each
seeking to strengthen itself.
In 221 BC, the Qin Kingdom, led by Ying
Zheng, defeated the other six kingdoms, unifying China and establishing the Qin
dynasty.
Ying Zheng is known to later generations as
Qin Shi Huang.
After founding the Qin dynasty, he adopted
the advice of many wise ministers and implemented important political and
economic reforms. Many of the institutions he established continue to influence
China today.
He rejected the feudal system of the Zhou
dynasty, believing it to be a key reason for its subsequent collapse.
He divided the Qin dynasty into 36
prefectures, each of which was divided into counties and townships. The
officials in charge of these administrative agencies were managed directly by
the central government.
Each township was then divided into various
local organisations, which were overseen by central government officials and
left to the people to manage independently.
Recognising the need for a unified China to
have a unified writing system, he standardised all Chinese characters. He also
realised that the varying gauges of carriage wheels in the seven kingdoms
hindered smooth travel throughout China, so he established a unified standard
for them.
Before the Qin dynasty, the seven kingdoms
had different units of length, volume and weight. Ying Zheng standardised
these, and from then on, people across China had the same measurement system.
Before the Qin Dynasty, the seven kingdoms
had different currencies, as well as various other types of currency. Ying
Zheng implemented reforms to address these issues.
In addition to these monumental projects,
he connected the walls built by all the kingdoms in order to defend against the
northern nomads. The massive wall he constructed became known as the Great
Wall.
His achievements are considered to be
greater than those of any subsequent emperor, and he is widely regarded as the
most important emperor in China's thousand-year history.
The idiom literally refers to standardising
carriage wheel gauges and the written language. It is used to describe a
unified country with a complete and consistent set of laws and institutions.
Dear friends, what insights or inspiration
have you gained from listening to this story?
Have you or any of your friends ever
visited the Great Wall of China? Which of Qin Shihuang's reforms do you think
was the most important?
I hope this story has given you some new
insights.
車同軌書同文(He established a unified carriage
gauge and a standardised written language.)
中國的戰國時代是一個分裂的年代，中國境內有七個主要的王國，這七個王國之間彼此戰爭與競爭，這七個王國的國王都想要讓自己的王國變得更加強大。
西元前221年，嬴政所領導的秦王國打敗了另外六個王國統一了中國並建立了秦王朝。
嬴政就是後代所熟知的秦始皇。
嬴政創建秦王朝後，他接納了很多聰明的大臣的意見制定了很多極其重要的政治與經濟改革，他所建立的很多制度直到今天仍然影響著中國。
他沒有沿用周王朝的封建體制，他認為封建體制是造成周王朝後來分裂的重要原因之一。
他把秦王朝分成36個郡，每個郡下面再設置縣，每個縣下面設置鄉，負責這些行政機構的官員屬於中央政府的直接管理。
每個鄉中又劃分出各種不同的地方組織，這些地方組織由中央政府的官員負責監督與輔導並交給人民自行管理，。
他認為統一的中國還需要一套統一的文字系統來聯絡與交流，所以他統一了全中國所書寫的文字，他認為七個王國中的馬車車輪的軌距各自不同，這種情況造成中國各地的馬車無法順利地在整個中國通行，所以他制定了一套統一的馬車車輪軌距的標準。
秦王朝建立前，七個王國各國內的長度、體積、重量單位標準各自不同，嬴政也對此進行標準化的規範，從此中國各地的所有人們都有一套相同的計算標準。
秦王朝建立前，七個王國中有各自不同種類的貨幣，還有許多各種不同型態的貨幣，嬴政也針對這些進行了改革。
這些巨大的工程之外，他還連接了當時所有王國中所建造的抵禦北方遊牧民族的城牆，這個他所連接的這座巨大的城牆就是著名的萬里長城。
他的偉大的功績被認為超過所有後代的帝王，他被稱為中國千年歷史中最重要的皇帝。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是統一的馬車車輪的軌距與書寫的文字。
這句成語被用來形容國家統一而且有一套完整且一致的法律與制度。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有什麼樣的或有什麼樣的啟發呢。
你或你的朋友曾經去過中國的萬里長城嗎?你認為秦始皇的所有改革中，那一個改革是最重要的呢?
我希望這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記-秦始皇本記
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7006
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7006