The Book Burning Pit
[Tang] Zhang Jie
With bamboo and silk scrolls turned to smoke, the emperor's cause became hollow,- the emperor's enterprise declined
And the rivers and passes locked in vain the dwelling of the First Dragon Emperor.- the geographical features of mountains and rivers, the country was no longer the same as before
Before the ashes from the pits were cold, rebellion broke out east of the mountains; - preventing cultural and ideological diversity, the ashes of the burned books were not yet cold when Xiang Yu rose up
Liu Bang and Xiang Yu originally did not read books. - They were guarding against the scholars, but in the end, it was this group of uneducated people who brought down the country.
Prime Minister Li Si said: "The Five Emperors did not repeat each other, and the Three Dynasties did not imitate one another; each ruled according to its own methods, not because they were opposite, but due to changes in the times... Now, the scholars do not follow the present era but study the ancient past, criticizing the current world and confusing the common people. Prime Minister Li Si humbly states: In ancient times, the world was scattered and chaotic, with no one able to unify it, so the feudal lords rose together, all speaking of ancient ways to harm the present, embellishing empty words to confuse reality, and favoring their private studies to criticize what the emperor has established. Now the emperor has unified the world, distinguishing right from wrong and establishing a single authority. Private learning leads to mutual criticism of illegal teachings, and when people hear an order issued, they each discuss it based on what they have learned. Inside, they secretly criticize, and outside, they gossip in the streets, boasting about their knowledge to gain fame, taking different views to appear superior, and leading the masses to create slander. If this is not prohibited, then the power of the ruler will diminish above, and factions will form below. It would be better to ban it. I request that the historians burn all records except those of Qin; if anyone other than the official scholars dares to hide copies of The Book of Poetry, The Book of History, or writings of the hundred schools of thought, they should all be handed over to the local officials for burning. Those who dare to speak privately about The Book of Poetry and The Book of History shall be executed in the marketplace. Those who use the past to criticize the present shall be exterminated as a clan. Officials who know of such actions but fail to report them shall be considered accomplices. Within thirty days of the issuance of this order, those who do not burn their books shall be branded and sentenced to forced labor building city walls. The books that are spared are those on medicine, divination, and agriculture. If anyone wishes to learn the laws, they may take the officials as their teachers."
The decree stated: "Approved."
— From Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Qin Shi Huang