Historical figure ｜ Ba Qing： The most legendary woman in the Qin Dynasty, the first female entrepreneur in the history of China, supplied hundreds of tons of mercury to the Qin Mausoleum.

Who is Baqing? Most people may not be familiar with it, but those who have watched the TV series "Looking for Qin" are deeply impressed by the talented and restrained heroine Qin Qing.

As a teacher of Ying Zheng, Qin Qing was familiar with Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism, and had his own unique and accurate views on world affairs and the way of governing the country.

Qin Qing in the TV series "Searching for Qin"

The prototype of Qin Qing in history is Ba Qing.

Ba Qing, a native of Ba County in Qin Dynasty. She was the first woman in China’s historical records to get rich by doing business, and her deeds were first seen in Sima Qian’s Biography of Historical Records and Huo Zhi: "The widow of Ba was clean, and she got the Danxue first, but she was good at benefiting several generations, and her family was not ashamed. Qing, a widow, can keep her job, defend herself with money, and not be invaded. Emperor Qin thought that a virtuous woman was a guest, in order to build a clear platform for her. Widows in poor rural areas are famous for their courtesy and resistance to all things. Isn’t it rich and evil? "

She is a widow. She became rich by mining cinnabar, and was "the earliest female entrepreneur in China". She once donated money to Qin Shihuang to build the Great Wall and made outstanding contributions to the cause of Qin Empire. After her death, Qin Shihuang ordered the construction of "Huaiqing Terrace".

Such a rich woman in Qin Dynasty and the first female entrepreneur in China were called "widows in poor villages" in Sima Qian’s comments. So, how did she achieve "courtesy against all odds, famous in the world"?

Business legends are not just "personal legends"

Cinnabar, also known as cinnabar and Cinnabar, is the main mineral raw material for extracting mercury.

In the daily life of modern society, cinnabar has gradually faded out of people’s realization, while in ancient China society, cinnabar has a wide range of uses.

Cinnabar is a Chinese herbal medicine, which has sedative, tranquilizing and bactericidal effects, and is also an important raw material for ancient alchemy.

In addition, cinnabar can be used for dyeing cloth and building. In the hundreds of years from the early Warring States to the Qin Shihuang era, cinnabar became a prosperous product.

cinnabar

Sulfur-rich ore is the main raw material of cinnabar, and Ba County, where Ba widow Qing is located, is the place where sulfur-rich ore is stored.

Sima Qian’s Biography of Huo Zhi in Historical Records pointed out that Bashu was rich in cinnabar, "Bashu was in the south, and Bashu was also fertile, and the land was rich in ginger, cinnabar, bronze, bamboo and wood."

Today, the distribution of endogenous mercury deposits in China is still the same, with the most concentrated in southern Chongqing, northeastern Guizhou and western Hunan, that is, the vicinity of Wujiang River, such as Youyang, Xiushan, Wuchuan, Tongren, Wanshan, Xinhuang and Fenghuang.

The "Dansha" production base of "Ba Widow Qing" is located in the most concentrated area of mercury mines in China.

Ba County’s rich cinnabar mineral resources and commercial value provide a unique geographical advantage and excellent background for Ba Qing’s commercial road.

According to local legend, the great-grandfather of the widow Qing’s husband was a doctor. When he was collecting medicine, he found a cave full of cinnabar mines, so he immediately raised funds, hired workers, mined alchemy and extracted mercury.

Since then, the family business has grown bigger and bigger, and its sales area has become wider and wider. By the generation of widow and husband, it has operated a number of ore mines, and its sales have spread all over Ba County and even all over the country.

According to the research, women in Qin and Han dynasties had more freedom of property, and obviously had greater control over the right to dispose of family property.

After losing her husband or being divorced, women in the Han Dynasty can still get their husbands’ fields and houses to stand on their own feet.

Baqing statue

A woman who dares to carry heavy burdens

If Baqing started from the cinnabar industry as a foreshadowing of family business, he can still maintain his business after her husband’s death, and his business will grow bigger and bigger, so that he can reach the point of "courtesy against all odds". It must be said that Baqing has his unique business mind and personal courage.

In management, she pays attention to the quality of cinnabar and creates brand effect, which makes Badi cinnabar famous all over the world.

In internal management, rewards and punishments are clear, and both rigidity and softness are combined.

In personnel appointment, knowing people and being good at their duties is meritocratic.

Baqing "used money to defend himself, but not to invade" and was praised by Qin Shihuang as a "virtuous woman".

According to records, there were thousands of servants and tens of thousands of workers and soldiers in Baqing’s family. At that time, the total population of a county was only 40,000 to 50,000. Baqing has become a local "overlord".

However, in the legends of later generations, Ba Qing’s image has never been as mean and greedy as Shylock or as cunning and stingy as Grandet, but as a resolute and feminine image unique to women.

Legend has it that one year Baqing’s hometown was hit by a heavy hail, and many people nearby were homeless.

Baqing offered a huge sum of silver to resettle the lives of the victims and help them resume production and rebuild their homes.

The cemetery of widows after the Qing Dynasty was called "Shenxian Cave" by local people, and it became a place of worship for people to pray and show their saints.

As a widow, Ba Qing "defends herself with money, but she can’t be invaded", so some people speculate that she will be able to compete with Qin Shihuang. What’s more, she may have a huge private armed force and calculate that she will spend a huge amount of military money every year.

In order to maintain business and protect commercial interests, Baqing must have its own guard force. However, under the background of Qin Shihuang’s unification of the six countries and the collection of weapons from all over the world, it is somewhat unrealistic to say that Baqing has an army that can compete with the Qin Empire.

Baqing used money to defend himself and avoid aggression, which was not only driven by money power, but also by women’s kindness and dedication.

Baqing statue

Mother Teresa is such an example: when the Kosovo civil war broke out in Yugoslavia, Teresa found the commander in charge of the war and said that women and children in the war zone could not escape.

The commander told her this: "Sister, I want to cease fire, but the other side keeps on, so there is nothing I can do."

Teresa said, "Well, I have to go!"

Teresa entered the war zone, and as soon as both sides heard that Mother Teresa was in the war zone, both sides immediately ceased fire.

When she took the women and children out of the war zone, the two sides fought again.

The news later reached the United Nations. At that time, UN Secretary-General Annan heard the news and praised: "Even I can’t do this."

The most powerful force in this world is never money or force, but the personal charm of the common people.

Such women can often stand in the forefront of the times, standing at the top of the trend, not being annihilated by the historical waves, but enduring with the precipitation of years.

Meeting Qin Shihuang: Shopping malls have never been a battlefield for one person.

If Ba Qing hadn’t met Qin Shihuang, then she might just be a generation of local rich people, and her influence was far less profound than it is now.

Later generations can’t help but daydream about the relationship between Qin Shihuang and Ba Qing, and even speculate that there is a subtle relationship between them that is unclear and unclear.

There is nothing wrong with this romantic imagination, but it also ignores the individual’s efforts and courage in success, and denies the shaping role of an era and a society.

Overlooking the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang

There are three main points about the connection between Baqing and Qin Shihuang:

First, Qin Shihuang pursued immortality, and sent Xu Fu to lead 3,000 boys and girls to seek immortality.

Bashu is an important birthplace of early Taoism, and refining and taking Dan medicine is an important means for Taoists to pursue immortality. Ba widow mastered the production of cinnabar and probably mastered the early alchemy, so she was trusted and reused by Qin Shihuang.

In addition, according to modern scientific detection, there is a large amount of mercury in the mausoleum of Qin Dynasty, which shows that there was also a large demand for cinnabar, the main mineral raw material for extracting mercury.

Secondly, Baqing contributed a huge amount of property to the cause of Qin Empire. Qin Shihuang swept the six countries, and waging war needed economic support. Although the policy of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce" was implemented since Shang Yang’s political reform, businessmen played an indispensable role in the establishment of the Qin Empire. Lv Buwei, a former prime minister, was also a businessman.

Baqing has huge property, actively supports the construction of the Great Wall, and donates tens of thousands of silver savings to the court as expenses.

Thirdly, Pakistan is the frontier area of Qin Empire, and Baqing, as the richest man in Pakistan, is inextricably linked with Qin Shihuang, which contributes to the stability of the unified border of the empire.

Qin Shihuang praised Ba Qing as a "virtuous woman" and built a "pregnant platform", which is far from being Qin Shihuang’s longing for Ba Qing as invented by unofficial history. This is more of a hindrance to imperial interests, a demonstration role and a reward mechanism to encourage businessmen and border people to be loyal to the rule of the Qin Dynasty.

It is also said that Qin Shihuang was using Baqing, but he threw away the shackles of imperial hierarchy and thought about it in another way. The relationship between Qin Shihuang and Baqing was not only a kind of cooperation, but also an "equal exchange" between the two sides and a "better self".

Portrait of Qin Shihuang

In addition, women’s business is not an individual phenomenon in the history of Qin and Han Dynasties.

According to the biography of Han Wang Mang, the son of Lu Mu, an evil woman, was "unjustly killed" by local officials. Lu Mu scattered her wealth, bought weapons by selling wine, recruited young people from poor families, and carried out revenge plans.

Although the purpose of Lu’s mother is not commercial activities, it shows that women’s business in the Han Dynasty is not eye-catching.

There is also Zhuo Wenjun, a famous talented woman in the Western Han Dynasty. After eloping with Sima Xiangru, her family cut off her financial resources, so she opened a wine house with Sima Xiangru and sold wine herself.

Later, Zhuo Wenjun’s father, Zhuo Wangsun, could not bear his daughter’s suffering, and gave her 100 slaves, 1 million yuan and various belongings, and the husband and wife bought land and houses.

With these original funds, if Wen Jun went into business, there would probably be another businesswoman in the Qin and Han Dynasties, right?