秦君名號變更與「皇帝」的出現——以戰國至秦統一政治秩序的演進為中心

The Evolution of Qin Monarch’s Imperial Title and the Emergence of “Emperor”: An Analysis of the Development in Political Hierarchies from the Warring States Period to Unification in the Qin Dynasty

戰國以降，秦君的政治名號先後經歷了稱公、伯、王、帝，以至「皇帝」尊號的出現。名號變更與戰國至秦統一政治秩序的演進關係密切。獻、孝擴張之初，秦對式微周室多予倚重，以致有「周致伯於秦孝公」事。「惠文君元年」表述與稱王逾年改元有關，而「王」與「天子」稱謂，於戰國時期在使用上仍有區分。秦稱王稍晚而發展勢頭強勁，始封諸侯並積極推行郡制。「昭襄業帝」指昭襄王成就帝業。戰國「帝」制主要對應「帝—諸侯」政治秩序，而非「帝—郡縣」，偏重「分天下」，而非「并天下」。此種特徵在秦楚之際甚或西漢前期再次呈現。「皇帝」仍屬「『帝』位號」序列。「泰皇」未得採納，乃因時人側重「五帝三王」而非「三皇五帝」的政治敘述。王綰等群臣與李斯廷議，並非簡單的封建、郡縣之爭，而是「帝—郡縣∕諸侯」與「帝—郡縣」之爭。「皇帝」名號初始旨在強調「盡并兼天下諸侯」的外部成就，隨著原本內部「郡縣∕諸侯」複合制的取消，由此進一步確立與戰國「帝」制不同的歷史新秩序。

Since the beginning of the Warring States period, the titles of Qin monarchs had undergone changes from Gong (公), Ba (伯), Wang (king 王), and Di (帝), to “Huang Di” (emperor 皇帝) eventually. This development was closely associated with the evolving political order from the Warring States period to a unified Qin Empire. In its preliminary expansions of Xian Gong (獻公) and Xiao Gong (孝公) era, Qin relied heavily on the support from the weakened Zhou royal families, who had bestowed the title “Ba” (伯) to Xiao Gong. The statement “the beginning year of Hui Wen Jun’s (惠 文君) rule” indicates a change of reign designation after declaration of kingship in the previous year, while the title “Wang” (king 王) is still different from “Tianzi” (Son of Heaven 天子). Qin declared kingship relatively late but in a forcible way by conferring land to lords and establishing a system of commanderies and counties. The term Zhaoxiang Ye Di (昭襄業帝) refers to King Zhaoxiang’s imperial achievements. The Di (帝) institution corresponds to the Di (帝)-Zhuhou (lords 諸侯) political structure as opposed to the Di (帝)-Jun Xian (commanderies and counties 郡縣) one, and it focuses on dividing rather than unifying the world. This phenomenon reappeared in the late Qin and early Han dynasties. The title Huang Di is one of titular varieties of Di. Due to contemporaries’ preference of Wu Di San Wang (五帝三王) over San Huang Wu Di (三皇五帝), the proposal on titling emperor as Tai Huang (泰皇) was vetoed. The discussion among Li Si, Wang Wan and other officials was not simply the debate about the preference between commanderies and counties system or feudalism, but also the competition between Di-commanderies and counties / lords and Di-commanderies and counties system. The title Huang Di was aimed at promoting Qin’s achievement of uniting independent states. With the system of commanderies / lords being abolished during the Qin dynasty, a new political order other than the Di system of the Warring States period was established.