The emperors' pursuit of immortality is so crazy. It can be said that they are willing to give everything to their lives. Some of them even lead to the defeat of the country. As a result, these emperors still have not been able to achieve immortality. The most important thing is to extend their lifespan, or die directly in the so-called immortality pill. It can be said that immortality has harmed many emperors.

Of course, when emperors pursue immortality, there are still some benefits. Some emperors have extended their lifespan because of their pursuit of immortality.

You should know that in ancient society, human lifespan was very low, and the average lifespan was only about thirty years old.

So why did people in ancient times have such short lifespan?

First, the medical conditions at that time were backward, which seemed very common now, and was helpless at that time.

For example, typhoid fever, the disease that Hua Xiaoshuan, described by Lu Xun, cannot be cured. His father loved his son very much and wanted to continue the family line. He had to believe in superstition and bake him with human blood steamed buns, but it was useless in the end. Hua Xiaoshuan died.

This is still a modern thing, and it is even worse to say it far away. It is conceivable that just such a small problem will kill many people.

Also, in ancient times, due to backward medical conditions and lack of medical conditions, once we encounter plague or some large-scale infectious disease, the consequences are unimaginable to us now.

In history, there have been several particularly huge plagues. The consequences of these plagues are really

Among these plagues, the most famous one is the Black Death. There are countless people who died in history because of the Black Death.

The Black Death is one of the deadliest plagues in human history. It is widely believed to be caused by a bacteria called plague, but recently some people believe it is caused by some other diseases.

The origin of the plague has caused widespread controversy among experts. Some historians believe that the Black Death began in China or Central Asia in the 1420s and 1930s, and was carried by merchants and soldiers to the southern Crimea of ​​the bear country in the following years.

In the 1440s, the epidemic spread from Crimea to Western Europe and North Africa, and the Black Death caused 75 million deaths worldwide, of which 25 million to 50 million deaths were reported in Europe.

The combined number of deaths in World War I and World War II is not so many, which shows how harmful the plague is!

One symptom of the Black Death is that many dark spots appear on the patient's skin, so this special plague is called the "Black Death".

For those who are infected with the disease, a painful death is almost inevitable. There is no possibility of cure.

The plague causes the plague is carried by fleas hidden in the fur of black rats.

In the 14th century, the number of black rats was large, and once the disease occurred, it would spread rapidly. In the years 1348-1350, a total of 25 million Europeans died of the Black Death. However, this epidemic did not end here, and it happened again and again in the next 40 years.

Before the plague bacteria broke out again in the 1420s, it had lurked in the Asian Gobi desert for hundreds of years. Then it quickly spread around with the blood from the fleas on the mice, spreading from China along the caravan trading route to Central Asia and Türkiye, and then brought to Italy by ships to Europe.

The dense population of Europe became the gunpowder for this disease. In three years, the Black Death ravaged the entire European continent and spread to the Bear Kingdom, causing deaths of nearly one-third to half of the Bear Kingdom's population.

Not only in ancient society, plagues were very harmful, but even in modern society, there were also extremely harmful plagues. The most representative ones were infectious diseases including AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Gregory Hartel, a spokesman for the United Nations World Health Organization (Who), said. "This move marks an important step in humanity's struggle against infectious diseases. If measures are not taken, these three infectious diseases are likely to completely destroy human economic and social structures. On the contrary, if the richest countries in the world can contribute together to this, things will change fundamentally."

It is understood that 35 million people are infected with HIV worldwide, of which 70% live in sub-Saharan Africa, and 11 million people have died of AIDS so far.

One-third of AIDS patients end up dying from tuberculosis, which claimed 2 million lives each year and 8 million were infected, almost all concentrated in developing countries.

Malaria can be contagious only with mosquito bites, and in Africa, it takes 1 million lives every year.

The World Health Organization estimates that in developing countries, the three infectious diseases, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, have suffered huge losses. Among them, in sub-Saharan African countries, infectious diseases alone have lost one third of their GDP in the past 35 years.

Lancia President Chirac said at a major AIDS meeting that he would urge leaders from other countries to support improving the medical standards in developing countries at the G8 leadership meeting.

Judging from the past, the promises made by the G8 often fail to be fulfilled in the end.

For example, in 1999, the G8 announced that it would cut debt of 100 billion meters for the world's poorest countries, but so far no country has taken concrete action.

In view of this, the World Charity Health Front (MSF), which actively calls for the provision of cheap medicines to poor countries, warned that the G8 must take practical actions to fulfill its promises.

"The G8 should provide funds to help developing countries produce common medicines, such as antiretroviral drugs for AIDS, to free these countries from dependence on large foreign pharmaceutical companies," said Samantha Polton, a spokeswoman for msf.

In addition, it is also very important to encourage and support the research work of public research institutions. The development of new drugs should not be monopolized by a large multinational company like a commodity.

The treatment of tuberculosis is a prominent example. The only vaccine at present was discovered in 1923. Since then, almost no one has studied new and more effective drugs. After more than 30 years of use, this vaccine called TB is not only expensive, but also the drug power is gradually declining.

"Tuberculosis is a disease for the poor. If you get tuberculosis, you have to stay in the hospital for a few months and can't work, which is simply unaffordable for many people."

Second, men at that time generally had to support many children. As the saying goes, "Ten children and blessings are the most important.

For example, there is a Sanduotang in Shanxi, also known as the Cao Family Courtyard, located in Beiping Village, Taigu County, 7 kilometers away from the Qiao Family Courtyard. It is the glorious foundation of the Cao family founder Cao Sanxi, the founder of the Cao family in Taigu. Sanduotang means many children, many blessings and longevity. Sanduotang is very famous.

In fact, this is just because China mainly follows the concept of family inheritance, which is mainly based on agricultural reclamation. To put it bluntly, if there is more population, you have to pay more and work more to support the family. However, people's energy is limited. Therefore, at that time, under the dominance of this concept, all the lifespan of men was ruined too early on the milling. Such a result can be imagined.

Third, it is directly related to polygamy in ancient times.

Polygamy is not a simple thing to say. Since it is a wife, men must fulfill their husband's responsibilities.

No one is easy to be neglected. If you neglect, the family will easily have conflicts and trouble.

But on this issue, which man can do so impartial? In fact, it is not that men do not want to be impartial, but that there are so many wives. In terms of emotions, interests, love for children, and inheritance of the family business, all of them think that men are biased and relied on this. This cannot be blamed on women, as women like to be jealous is something that no one can change.

The problem is, if you are just jealous, then that's fine. The key is that although the status of a woman seemed to be low at that time, women had to fight openly and secretly in private, just like the queen and concubine in the palace. For the sake of that little vested interest, they wanted to kill someone to take their lives, which made men very worried.

When we read some ancient books, it may not be difficult to find such a problem in today's TV series. Just imagine that even the emperor cannot solve this problem fundamentally. What can ordinary people do?

There is no way. So this makes men always in a situation where they show off their power, show off their appearance, and have short-sighted heroes and are powerless to turn things around.

If this goes on, how can life span not be lost?

At the same time, polygamy is a strain on men's energy. It is inevitable that men work hard for such a family during the day, and they also have to take care of their wives at night.

We know that the more powerful and rich men were in the past, the more wives and concubines there were. If you had to take care of so many wives and concubines, it would be difficult to settle them without using all your strength.

Of course, Ximen Qing in "Water Margin" is not a good bird. I mentioned him here just to study his short life from his wives and concubines.

For his own selfish desires, this person did not hesitate to frame his friends and killed people and killed people. There were many wives and concubines. According to records, Ximen Qing, who was only 33 years old, had finished all the lamp oil and returned to the west.

Actually, it is not surprising that the emperor lived in ancient times. All the kings under the sky were the kings, and all the kings were the kings. Compared with his Ximen Qing, it was one in the sky and one underground.

But so what? Aren’t they still short-lived and young, and young, dead? There is no way, but they have not yet retired, and there are many concubines. This is also a disease of wealth and honor that has always been deeply rooted and difficult to cure.

If we count the rulers of all dynasties from Qin Shihuang until the late Qing Dynasty Emperor Puyi in 1911, there were 335 emperors, and their average lifespan was 41 years.

In the book "Rongzhai Essays" by Hong Mai, a Song Dynasty man, there is an article called "A Life Examination of the Lords and Kings", which is specifically used to study the lifespan of the emperor. According to his records, only five emperors before the Song Dynasty were older, namely Liu Che (69 years old), Emperor Wu of Han, Sun Quan (70 years old), Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan (85 years old), Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan (69 years old) and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Li Longji (77 years old). In the eyes of the ancients, these five people all lived to a relatively high age and could be called the old birthday stars among the emperors.

Although the average lifespan of ancient China was only 35 years old, it included a large number of prematurely dead people. If this factor was eliminated, the average lifespan of ancient population could reach 57 years, which was far higher than the average lifespan of emperors. Why did the average lifespan of emperors at the peak of power and enjoy a luxurious life so short?

First, the abnormal mortality rate among the emperor group is high.

Among the more than 300 emperors since Qin Shihuang, 147 people died abnormally, with an abnormal death rate of 44%. The safety factor of the emperor's "position" is too low. There are always many people who covet the throne, and they always use violent means. It is common in history when emperors are beheaded, poisoned, and executed by claustrophobia.

Second, emperors are generally overworked.

In order to ensure their own exclusive power, they have repeatedly tried to crush any threats and challenges to the imperial power by others. At the same time, they have to bear heavy "load".

Qin Shihuang stipulated that he had to read 120 kilograms of bamboo slips to rest every day. Zhu Yuanzhang had to read more than 200 memorials every day and handle more than 400 state affairs. Emperor Yongzheng reigned for thirteen years and wrote more than 10 million words of red scriptures. The load and pressure were far beyond the imagination and endurance of ordinary people.

Third, the emperors all indulged in lust.

The emperor's harem had "three thousand beauties, and there were many wives and concubines". The emperors had too many sexual intercourse, which consumed their energy and qi. At the same time, the jealousy between the harems would also bring endless troubles to the emperor. Ming Guangzong ascended the throne only one month after he was lucky enough to have a few women.

Fourth, there is great psychological pressure in the power field.

The struggles in the palace are very cruel, including open and secret struggles between the royal family and mutual suspicion between the monarch and the ministers. The consequences of doing so will inevitably lead to the emperor's bad mentality such as suspicion, tension, jealousy, anxiety, and irritability.

Looking back at the Twenty-Four Histories, nearly one-quarter of the emperor’s biography records the manifestations of personality abnormalities, psychopathy or even schizophrenia, which is also the reason for the short lifespan of ancient emperors.

Therefore, some historians jokingly say that from a certain perspective, the emperor was one of the most unfortunate "professions" in ancient China.

Fourth, large-scale wars.

Every time the rise and change of dynasties in Chinese history is accompanied by bloody killings and a large population decline. Even in ancient times, war was still indispensable.

The war between the Five Emperors and the surrounding tribes has never been interrupted. The war between Zhuanxu and Gonggong, the "Astronomy Training" of Huainanzi" and "Military Training" are all recorded, and the cause is "fighting for emperors".

The war between Gonggong and Gao Xin is found in "Huainan Ziyuan Daoxu".

The war between Yao and Sanmiao, "Lüshi Chunqiu Zhaolei": "Yao fought at the supra of Danshui to subdue the southern barbarians."

The war between Shun and the "Four Evils", the war between Shun and Sanmiao; the war between Yu and Sanmiao, judging from "Mo Zifei's Conquest", the scale of this war is quite large.

There was a generation of Xia (2033-1562 BC), and civil wars in power and surrounding wars continued ("Records of the Grand Historian Xia").

The Shang Dynasty had a "nine generations of rebellion", and Zhongding began. After five generations, nine kings all killed the throne, moved the capital repeatedly, and continued to fight with surrounding tribes.

The Shang Dynasty's "Inscriptions" recorded 61 various wars. According to the statistics of the "Study on the Yin Ruins Books" (revised version), the Shang Dynasty suffered as many as 26 times.

Judging from the amount of troops used by the Shang Empire, 3,000 or 5,000 or even 30,000 people can be collected at one time, and 2,656 enemies can be killed at one time. The scale of the war is not small.

The Great Oath records King Wu of Zhou's words: "Zheng had 100 million barbarians." The so-called "100 million barbarians" are the prisoners Zhou obtained in the war to fight against the Yi side.

During the Battle of Muye, King Zhou suddenly armed 170,000 (some say 700,000) slaves, proving that King Wu's words were true.

After the destruction of Shang, King Wu of Zhou led 300 chariots and 5,000 Tiger Ben. After three years, he destroyed 99 square countries, conquered 652 square countries, and captured 4.1 million prisoners of war. "The 40th Prisoner of Yi Zhou Shu". After that, the Western Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed a large number of vassal states. The Western Zhou Dynasty (1066-771 BC) had constant civil strife and frequent external troubles, such as the Wu Geng Rebellion. He fought against Chu State in the south and conquered Quanrong.

Three thousand years of written history records 6,000 wars! It accounts for about 1/3 of the total number of world wars.

As the saying goes, "How can we divide power and conquer the country? Totalitarianism has always begun to war."

According to the "Spring and Autumn Annals", in the 242 years of the Spring and Autumn Annals (770-476 BC), 36 monarchs were killed, 52 vassal states were destroyed, and more than 480 major and large wars occurred.

During the 250 years of the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), there were 222 large-scale wars alone... During the Yu period, there were 1773 countries in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, 1200 countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, and only seven countries remained.

The Qin people were obsessed with war. They held the head in their left hand and held the prisoners under their right arm, chasing their opponents.

Sima Qian recorded: Qin State attacked Wei and killed 80,000 people, fought against the five-nation coalition forces and killed 82,000 people. In attacking Han, killed 10,000 people, attacking Chu and killed 80,000 people, attacking Han and killed 60,000 people, attacking Chu and killed 20,000 people, attacking Han, Wei killed 240,000 people, attacking Wei and killed 40,000 people, attacking Wei and killed 100,000 people, and attacking Han and killed 40,000 people. In 262 BC, he attacked Zhao Baiqi and killed 420,000 people, attacking Han and killed 40,000 people, and attacking Zhao and killed 90,000 people... In 207 BC, Xiang Yu pitted Qin's surrendered troops of 200,000.

At the end of the Warring States Period, China had a population of 20 million, but the squadrons far exceeded Europe: Qin Shihuang defended the Five Ridges and used 500,000 troops, defended against the Huns, grew to 500,000, and built 1.3 million people in the Qin Emperor Mausoleum of Afang Palace (of which more than 700,000 were castrated). So much so that "Ding was transferred to Jia and Ding's woman, and lived in pain. He passed by the Taoist tree, and the dead were facing each other" ("Han Shu, Biography of Yan An").

In the 36th year of Qin Shihuang, a meteor fell, and someone engraved the words on the meteorite: "The land is divided by the death of the First Emperor." Qin Shihuang killed all the people living around the meteorite.

All the concubines in Qin Shihuang's harem who had no son were buried with him. After the funeral was completed, more than 200,000 soldiers were sealed in the tomb and died in misfortune. In the future, all the migrant workers who built the imperial tombs would end up miserably.

This is a historical record before Qin. After Qin, there were also many large-scale wars, which led to a large extinction of the population.
To be continued...