The reason Qin Shihuang chose black as national identity

After reuniting China, King Qin Shihuang chose black as the national identity of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 207 BC).

The country of Qin worshiped black. From the king to civilians, even slaves wore black outfits. Even the decoration of the tide of the Qin dynasty is not as colorful as many other countries, but takes the black as the main theme.

In fact, the people of the Qin Dynasty really like black. According to the "Han Law of History" recorded in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 BC - 220), Qin Wen Gong (? - 716) went out to hunt, catching a black dragon.

Costume of the Qin Dynasty in an exhibition on display at the Museum of Han Guangmen, China.(Photo: HSW)

Black is the symbol of "water virtue" , which is the practice of the Five Elements. The ruler of the Qin Dynasty now thinks that he is destined to be black. Therefore, from the time of the Spring and Autumn War (770 - 221 BC) until the reign of King Qin, the people worshiped this color.

The theory of the Five Elements is the scholarly perspective initiated by the Chinese yang Trun Dien (324 - 250 BC) of the country during the Warring States period. This theory takes metal, wood, water, fire, and earth as five circulating elements, which are used to explain the prosperity of each dynasty.

In historical dramas, the eunuch often reads the scriptures that "Phung Thien inherits, Emperor Emperor writes" . The word "inheritance " is just destiny in the Five Elements.

Different from the time of the Qin dynasty, the modern scholars found that in the Han Dynasty (202 TCN - 220) favored "fire virtue" . Therefore, sometimes people call the Han Dynasty the Influence Han, in which the word "inflammation" is hot. Red also prevails in the Han Dynasty.

Unlike other vassal countries, the Qin Dynasty's logistics is provided by the court. The Qin flag is uniform in black. The Qin Dynasty often used black flags by culture, represented by "water virtue" in the Five Elements, is black. In addition, black flags are more mysterious and difficult to guess. After reuniting China, King Qin Shihuang chose black as the national identity of the Qin Dynasty.