Imperial Floor Tiles with a Message

Among the most intriguing artifacts prized by collectors of Chinese antiquities are large floor tiles bearing 12 or 16-character inscriptions in raised relief. The 12-character version proclaims: “All within the seas are subjects; the harvests ripen abundantly; the roads have no starving people.” The extended 16-character variant adds the phrase “Tread here for ten thousand years” – a clear indication these were imperial artifacts meant for royal palaces.

These remarkable tiles, featuring elegant Qin-style small seal script (xiaozhuan), first gained scholarly attention when the National Museum acquired one in 1950. Then, around 2005, a significant quantity surfaced in Xi’an’s antique markets, reportedly originating from Yuwangcheng in Xia County and Fancun Village in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province. While debates continue about certain characters – particularly whether “si ren” refers to cannibalism or beggars – their historical significance remains undisputed.

Decoding the Inscriptions’ Political Theology

The inscriptions present a vision of imperial utopia: unified territory without war, favorable weather ensuring bountiful harvests, and no citizen suffering hunger. Such grandiose proclamations undoubtedly adorned the floors of major palace complexes, serving as both decoration and political propaganda. Unfortunately, their illicit excavation means we lack crucial contextual data about their original architectural settings. Paleographic analysis suggests they postdate the Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE), most likely belonging to the Han period (206 BCE-220 CE).

The persistence of Qin small seal script into the Han era reflects what historians call “Han continuation of Qin institutions.” As the famous saying goes: “The Qin built palaces that the Han re-roofed.” The administrative systems pioneered under China’s first emperor proved so effective that successive dynasties maintained them. Professor Li Ling of Peking University, during his fieldwork in Shanxi, discovered smaller brick fragments bearing Confucian-inspired characters like “respect,” “speech,” “thought,” and “inquiry.” He posits these belonged to a 25-character series related to classical Confucian teachings.

Confucianism in the Qin: A Paradoxical Relationship

The apparent Confucian elements in these artifacts create a historical puzzle. During my 1999 excavations at Yongcheng in Fengxiang, we uncovered a Warring States period (475-221 BCE) Qin tomb containing a seal inscribed “loyal, humane, thoughtful scholar.” As my colleague Wang Zhiyou noted, this reflects quintessential Confucian values serving as personal conduct guidelines. Similar “maxim seals” appear in commoner graves around Xianyang, like the “scholar of humaneness” seal from the Ta’erpo Qin cemetery.

This seems contradictory given Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s notorious “burning of books and burying of scholars” in 213-212 BCE. Historical accounts describe an elaborate trap: after growing melons using hot springs in winter (a technological marvel), the emperor invited Confucian scholars to sample them, only to have them buried alive in Lishan valley. This became prime evidence for later Han historians condemning Qin tyranny.

The Complex Dance Between Qin Rule and Confucianism

The reality proves more nuanced. Confucianism actually flourished in mid-Warring States Qin, attracting prominent scholars. Its later suppression stemmed from Confucians’ outspoken criticism threatening state stability. Yet examining the terracotta generals’ dignified, scholarly bearing – embodying Confucian virtues of gentleness and humility – suggests the ideology’s persistent influence.

More compelling evidence comes from the Qin administrative manual “The Way of Being an Official,” which lists five virtues for bureaucrats: loyalty, incorruptibility, prudence, benevolence, and humility – all Confucian ideals. Clearly, while periodically suppressed, Confucian thought never disappeared from Qin society. The movement’s revival under Han Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BCE) would have been impossible had Qin truly eradicated it.

Material Culture as Historical Witness

These inscribed bricks offer tantalizing glimpses into Qin-Han political ideology. Like the dragon-patterned hollow bricks housed at Shaanxi Normal University Museum, they demonstrate how material culture can illuminate history’s complexities beyond textual records. The very existence of these artifacts suggests that beneath Qin’s Legalist exterior flowed undercurrents of Confucian thought that would eventually resurge to shape Chinese civilization for millennia.

Their messages of benevolent governance and universal prosperity, meant to be trodden under imperial feet, ultimately outlasted the dynasties they served. Today, they invite us to reconsider simplistic narratives about China’s first empires and ponder the enduring interplay between power and ideology in Chinese history.