Burning of the books and burial of the scholars () is a phrase that refers to a policy and an events in the Qin Dynasty of China, between the period of 213 BC and 206 BC.

Book burning

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According to the Records of the Grand Historian, after the First Emperor of Qin annexed the State of Qi and unified China in 221 BC, his Chancellor Li Si suggested suppressing the freedom of speech, unifying all thoughts and political opinions. This was justified by accusations that the intelligentsia sang false praise and raised dissent through libel.

Beginning in 213 BC, all classic works of the Hundred Schools of Thought — except those from his own, the school of philosophy known as Legalism — were subject to burning.

Li Si proposed that all histories in the imperial archives except those written by the Qin historians be burned; that the Classic of Poetry, the Classic of History, and works by scholars of different schools be handed in to the local authorities for burning; that anyone discussing these two particular books be executed; that those using ancient examples to satirize contemporary politics be put to death, along with their families; that authorities who failed to report cases that came to their attention were equally guilty; and that those who had not burned the listed books within 30 days of the decree were to be banished to the north as convicts working on building the Great Wall. The only books to be spared in the destruction were books on medicine, agriculture and divination. 丞相李斯曰：「臣请史官非秦记皆烧之。非博士官所职，天下敢有藏诗、书、百家语者，悉诣守、尉杂烧之。有敢偶语诗书者弃市。以古非今者族。吏见知不举者与同罪。令下三十日不烧，黥为城旦。所不去者，医药卜筮种树之书。」Shiji 6

Burial of the scholars

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After being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life, the First Emperor of Qin ordered more than 460 of them in the capital to be buried alive in the second year of the proscription, though an account given by Wei Hong in the 2nd century added another 700 to the figure. The Crown Prince Fusu counselled that, with the country newly unified, and enemies still not pacified, such a harsh measure imposed on those who respect Confucius would cause instability. 於是使御史悉案问诸生，诸生传相告引，乃自除犯禁者四百六十馀人，皆阬之咸阳，使天下知之，以惩後。益发谪徙边。始皇长子扶苏谏曰：「天下初定，远方黔首未集，诸生皆诵法孔子，今上皆重法绳之，臣恐天下不安。唯上察之。」Shiji 6 However, he was unable to change his father's mind, and instead was sent to guard the frontier in a de facto exile.

The quick fall of the Qin Dynasty was attributed to this proscription. Confucianism was revived in the Han Dynasty that followed, and became the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state. However, many of the other schools of thought disappeared.

Remembrance in literature

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In the Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian complained the book burning made his working very difficult, because the only history book he had at hand was that of the Qin, which did not record dates properly and used sparse language which were vague on details. 惜哉！惜哉！独有《秦记》，又不载日月，其文略不具。Shiji 15.

The events eventually became a Chinese Four-character idiom to describe general policies against educated people. Zhang Jie, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem that refers to this policy:

• Chinese:
  • 坑灰未冷山東亂
  • 劉項原來不讀書
• Translation:
  • Even before the ashes in the burning pit became cold, riots had begun in Shandong;
  • It turned out that Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were both uneducated.

Notes

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See also

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• Anti-intellectualism
• Old Texts

External links

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• The Burning of the Books

Chinese phrases | Chinese thought | History of China | Qin Dynasty

분서갱유 | 焚書坑儒 | Đốt sách chôn nho | 焚书坑儒