Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 87, Section 86: Mars Guards the Heart [Requesting monthly votes!!!]

This was the first time Qin Shi had attended such an important political occasion.

But it has to be said, it was better than she had imagined.

King Ji Heng of Qin was already accustomed to tables and chairs, so he sat high on the steps.

The practice of kneeling on the ground was not yet fully implemented in the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers system, and this was also the case during the Qin Dynasty.

The same equal attitude made her feel a little more relaxed.

After all, at this time, kneeling and kowtowing three times and kowtowing nine times was a grand ceremony, unless one was kowtowing to Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, parents, or teachers, or begging for mercy in a moment of desperation, or fervently expressing loyalty to the monarch...

Otherwise, one would not normally perform such a gesture of courtesy, where one is completely unguarded and devotes oneself entirely to the other person.

Furthermore, since everyone's original posture was kneeling, only the upper body needed to bow, and there was no sense of humility like the whole-body worship of later generations, Qin Shi integrated into the ritual more naturally.

She quietly observed everything before her, as if she were merging herself into the torrent of time and space.

Now, when all the officials discuss politics, regardless of their rank, they are all on the same level of vision.

But she seemed to see the emperor and his ministers sitting on equal footing in the Tang and Song dynasties a thousand years later. At that time, it would be considered impolite to kneel and bow without reason.

Then they saw the Yuan Dynasty invade, and people were divided into four classes, with the Han people only able to humbly kneel down and report to the emperor.

Then, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the once mighty Ming dynasty, which conquered the world with a broken bowl, gradually developed a strict and hierarchical system of kneeling and bowing between the emperor and his subjects.

By the Qing Dynasty, the slave-owning ideology of the nomadic tribes further fostered class distinctions, to the point that the custom of kneeling and kowtowing three times and kowtowing nine times became a common practice...

But now, Imperial Censor Wang Xueyuan cupped his hands to Qin Shi, his body pausing slightly—if he were facing the Queen of Qin, he should be performing a kowtow at this moment.

That is, maintain the current kneeling posture, press the left hand on the right hand, clasp the hands on the ground, and then gently touch the ground with the head, pausing for a long time.

However, the king had not yet ordered him to make this public, so he paused, his head still lightly touching the ground, but he immediately rose, which was the bowing salute.

This gesture is often used between people of equal status to show respect.

Now that it's been made, no one finds it unusual; on the contrary, everyone wants to pay their respects to this distinguished person.

After all, if it weren't for her presence, they would have had to crawl on their knees to the front of the hall in a sorry state, and then truly perform the kneeling and bowing ceremony to beg for their lives.

"This must be Consort Qin Qing of Lanchi? Your subject, Wang Xueyuan, Imperial Censor, greets you."

Qin Shi was taken aback—last time, Prince Qian and Princess Wen's greetings were perfunctory and not very proper, so she hadn't really returned the greeting. But now the other party was being so polite…

Well, although she is not yet the Queen of Qin, she is new here and only gave Zhou Ju and Prime Minister Wang Fu the simplest empty bows.

Now, one should also cup one's hands in front of one's chest, lower one's head slightly, and touch the chest.

Such a return gift, apart from nobles of high status, has always been a king's way of returning a gift to his subjects.

Wang Xueyuan smiled happily: Since this is how you return the gift, this distinguished person must be very polite.

That's good! As long as you follow the rules, most problems won't be too big.

Prime Minister Wang Fu was puzzled, thinking that people in the Qin Dynasty were still unfamiliar with etiquette.

Looking at Wang Xueyuan, who was inexplicably happy, he wondered if she had lost her mind from joy because the king's anger had dissipated.
Ji Heng, being on a higher level, could easily observe the actions below.

He marveled once again at the ingenuity of the tables and chairs, then glanced at Qin Shi, thinking to himself:
Although it seems that she only knows this one gesture.

But since she was the Queen of Qin, whom I personally chose, this gesture was just right, so I looked away.

His gaze lingered on the memorial for a moment before he quietly placed it back on the table: "Where is the Grand Historian?"

The Grand Historian shouldn't be here.

He was punished by the King of Qin and was originally doomed to die, but with just a few words from Qin Shi, Zhou Ju had someone recall the imperial decree.

But now, he desperately wants to be punished again.

Before the memorial from Dongjun was submitted, he had also submitted a memorial.

The King of Qin was furious earlier and hadn't even finished reading it.

And now, just as his anger subsided, he happened to see his own copy...

He closed his eyes, then bowed deeply, his head touching the ground, and remained there for a long time.

"Your subject, Grand Astrologer Yuan Xin, is here."

Qin Shi immediately looked over. The astronomical calendar she had been thinking about still needed to rely on this Grand Astrologer.

However, despite trembling all over, and feeling the King of Qin's piercing gaze, he still had no choice but to say:

"Your Majesty, I observed the celestial phenomena last night and saw Mars guarding the heart of the sky, a very ominous sign!"

Upon hearing this, a collective gasp filled the Zhangtai Palace.

Qin Shi's heart skipped a beat.

The phrase "荧惑守心" refers to Mars.

The "heart" in "guarding the heart" refers to Antares, one of the seven constellations of the Azure Dragon of the East.

【守】 represents Mars' approach and stay.

Mars and Antares are the two reddest stars in the sky. The phrase "Mars guarding Antares" refers to the fact that due to celestial phenomena, Mars remains in the position of Antares for a long time, making it visible to the naked eye.

There are also Star One and Star Three nearby.

Unfortunately, in ancient astronomy and calendar systems, the first star represents the crown prince, while the third star represents a son born out of wedlock.

And the second star represents the human king.

When Mars enters the constellation Antares, it signifies that the fate of the human king is threatened.

In later scientific research, this was merely a natural celestial phenomenon that occurs every ten years or so. But today, it holds absolute authority and predictive power.

Qin Shi clenched his fist instantly.

She didn't know what major events had occurred according to the Qin state's previous records of "Mars guarding the heart," but in this day and age, she couldn't convince anyone.

Indeed, given Ji Heng's pride and arrogance, such a major event would anger him, but it wouldn't throw him off balance.

But the ones who will truly descend into chaos are the people of the land.

She couldn't convince them of this matter in just a few words.

Looking at the entire timeline, major events such as the death of the First Emperor, the sudden death of Emperor Cheng of Han, Wang Mang's usurpation of the throne, the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, the An Lushan Rebellion, and the invasion of Western Xia all happen to correspond to this celestial phenomenon.

To make matters worse, news of the meteorite inscription "The King of Qin died and the land was divided" has only just begun to emerge!
The Zhangtai Palace was deathly silent.

The Grand Historian touched the ground with his head, making the floor tiles slightly warm, but he still dared not raise his head.

Even at the higher level, Ji Heng's expression remained unreadable.

"Mars guards the heart..."

He murmured to himself, for some reason recalling the wretched scene of himself lying in the carriage, exhausted and unable to speak due to the high fever.

At that time, besides the agony of desperately struggling to survive, he was also filled with the anguish and hardship of wondering to whom the future of the Qin Dynasty could be entrusted...

Who is truly capable of shouldering the responsibility of his Great Qin Dynasty and unifying the world?
The answer is: Nobody.

He needs a ruler who can maintain the status quo, but the other party must also have an exceptionally broad mind and the courage to forge ahead.

But the intense heat burned away all his thoughts, and his whole body felt as if it were engulfed in flames, turning completely red.

"Mars guards the heart."

He sighed softly again, then suddenly turned to look at Qin Shi:

"Such an ominous sign that the King's fate is sealed, does Qin Qing feel any fear?"

Regarding etiquette, the Zhou Dynasty's rites (礼) had detailed distinctions. At that time, people generally knelt, so the hierarchical distinctions within these rites were not as clearly defined.

The specifics have all been explained in the article, so I won't go into further detail.

[Regarding the celestial phenomenon of Mars guarding the heart of the sky, there are indeed records of this; this phenomenon occurred when the First Emperor died.]

[There's actually a very fascinating background to the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon in the East, but it's irrelevant to the main text, so I won't go into detail. I recommend watching Professor Feng Shi's open lectures or reading his books on ancient astronomy and calendar systems; they explain the I Ching and astronomy in detail, which is quite interesting.]

In the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor's reign, a series of major events occurred within a single year, including a meteorite carving words, Mars's conjunction with the heart of Antares, and the sinking of the Jade Disc of the First Emperor... It is easy to imagine that the First Emperor was driven to desperation and beheaded countless people.

While researching this information, I inexplicably felt a sense of destiny.

[When I set Ji Heng's age, I didn't include these events. But my first thought was that he should be 36 years old. And the conjunction of Mars and Antares occurred in the 36th year of the First Emperor's reign. Historically, he died the following year at the age of 49.]