Qin shi huang

"Qin" in seal script (top) and regular (bottom) Chinese characters Chinese 秦 Hanyu Pinyin Qín Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qín Bopomofo ㄑㄧㄣˊ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Chyn Wade–Giles Chʻin 2 Tongyong Pinyin Cín Yale Romanization Chín IPA [tɕʰǐn] Wu Suzhounese Zín Yue: Cantonese Qin shi huang Romanization Chèuhn Jyutping Ceon4 IPA [tsʰɵ̏n] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chîn Tâi-lô Tsîn Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) * [dz]i[n] History of China ANCIENT Neolithic c.

8500 – c. 2070 BC Xia c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC Shang c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC Zhou c. 1046 – 256 BC Western Zhou Eastern Qin shi huang Spring and Autumn Warring States IMPERIAL Qin 221–207 BC Han 202 BC – 220 AD Western Han Xin Eastern Han Three Kingdoms 220–280 Wei, Shu and Wu Jin 266–420 Western Jin Eastern Jin Sixteen Kingdoms Northern and Southern dynasties 420–589 Sui 581–618 Tang 618–907 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 907–979 Liao 916–1125 Western Xia 1038–1227 Jin 1115–1234 Song 960–1279 Northern Song Southern Song Yuan 1271–1368 Ming 1368–1644 Qing 1636–1912 MODERN Republic of China on the mainland 1912–1949 People's Republic of China 1949–present Republic of China in Taiwan 1949–present • view • talk • edit The Qin dynasty ( Chinese: 秦朝; pinyin: Qín cháo), or Ch'in [3] dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( Wade–Giles: Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China, [4] lasting from 221 to 206 BC.

Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), the dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the fourth century BC, during the Warring States period. In the mid and late third century BC, the Qin state carried out a series of swift conquests, first ending the powerless Zhou dynasty and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States.

Its 15 qin shi huang was the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, consisting of only two qin shi huang, and its territory was the Yellow and Yangzi river heartland, not the modern China familiar from our maps.

[5] Despite its short reign, however, the lessons and strategies of the Qin shaped the Han dynasty and became the starting point of the Chinese imperial system that lasted from 221 BC, with interruption, development, and adaptation, until 1912 AD. The Qin sought to create a state unified by structured centralized political power and a large military supported by a stable economy.

[6] The central government moved to undercut aristocrats and landowners to gain direct administrative control over the peasantry, who comprised the overwhelming majority of the population and labour force. This allowed ambitious projects involving three hundred thousand peasants and convicts, such as connecting walls along the northern border, eventually developing into the Great Wall of China, and a massive new national road system, as well as the city-sized Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor guarded by the life-sized Terracotta Army.

[7] The Qin introduced a range of reforms such as standardized currency, weights, measures and a uniform system of writing, which aimed to unify the state and promote commerce. Additionally, its military used the most recent weaponry, transportation and tactics, though the government was heavy-handedly bureaucratic.

Han Confucians portrayed the legalistic Qin dynasty as a monolithic tyranny, notably citing a purge known as the burning of books and burying of scholars although some qin shi huang scholars dispute the veracity of these accounts. When the first emperor died in 210 BC, two of his advisors placed an heir on the throne in an attempt to influence and control the administration of the dynasty.

These advisors squabbled among themselves, resulting in both of their deaths and that of the second Qin Emperor.

Popular revolt broke out and the weakened empire soon fell to a Chu general, Xiang Yu, who was proclaimed Hegemon-King of Western Chu and Liu Bang, who founded the Han dynasty.

Contents • 1 History • 1.1 Origins and early development • 1.2 Growth of power • 1.3 Conquest of the Warring States • 1.4 Southward expansion • 1.5 Campaigns against the Xiongnu • 1.6 Fall from power • 2 Culture qin shi huang society • 2.1 Domestic life • 2.2 Architecture • 2.3 Philosophy and literature • 2.4 Government and military • 2.5 Religion • 2.6 Etymology of China • 3 Sovereigns • 4 Imperial family tree • 5 See also • 6 Notes • 7 References • 7.1 Citations • 7.2 Sources • 8 Further reading • 9 External links History [ edit ] Map showing major states of Eastern Zhou In the 9th century BC, Feizi, a supposed descendant of the ancient political advisor Gao Yao, was granted rule over Qin City.

The modern city of Tianshui stands where this city once was. During the rule of King Xiao of Zhou, the eighth king of the Zhou dynasty, this area became known as the state of Qin. In 897 BC, under the Gonghe Regency, the area became a dependency allotted for the purpose of raising and breeding horses. [8] One of Feizi's descendants, Duke Qin shi huang, became favoured by King Ping of Zhou, the 13th king in that line.

As a reward, Zhuang's son, Duke Xiang, was sent eastward as the leader of a war expedition, during which he formally established the Qin. [9] The state of Qin first began a military expedition into central China in 672 BC, though it did not engage in any serious incursions due to the threat from neighbouring tribesmen. By the dawn of the fourth century BC, however, the neighbouring tribes had all been either subdued or conquered, and the stage was set for the rise of Qin expansionism.

[10] Growth of power [ edit ] Map of the Growth of Qin Lord Shang Yang, a Qin statesman of the Warring States period, advocated a philosophy of Legalism, introducing a number of militarily advantageous reforms from 361 BC until his death in 338 BC. Yang also helped construct the Qin capital, commencing in the mid-fourth century BC Xianyang.

The resulting city greatly resembled the capitals of other Warring States. [11] Notably, Qin Legalism encouraged practical and ruthless warfare. [12] During the Spring and Autumn period, [13] the prevalent philosophy had dictated war as a gentleman's activity; military commanders were instructed to respect what they perceived to be Heaven's laws in battle. [14] For example, when Duke Xing of the rival state of Song was at war with the state of Chu during the Warring States period, he declined an opportunity to attack the enemy force, commanded by Zhu, while they were crossing qin shi huang river.

After allowing them to cross and marshal their forces, he was decisively defeated in the ensuing battle. When his advisors later admonished him for such excessive courtesy to the enemy, he retorted, "The sage does not crush the feeble, nor give the order for attack until the enemy have formed their ranks." [15] The Qin disregarded this military tradition, taking advantage of their enemy's weaknesses.

A nobleman in the state of Wei accused the Qin qin shi huang of being "avaricious, perverse, eager for profit, and without sincerity. It knows nothing about etiquette, proper relationships, and virtuous conduct, and if there be an opportunity for material gain, it will disregard its relatives as if they were animals." [16] It was this Legalist thought combined with strong leadership from long-lived rulers, openness to employ talented men from other states, and little internal opposition that gave the Qin such a strong political base.

[17] Another advantage of the Qin was that they had a large, efficient army and capable generals. Qin shi huang utilised the newest developments in weaponry and transportation as well, which many of their enemies lacked. These latter developments allowed greater mobility over several different terrain types which were most common in many regions of China.

Thus, in both ideology and practice, the Qin were militarily superior. [12] Finally, the Qin Empire had a geographical advantage due to its fertility and strategic position, protected by mountains that made the state a natural stronghold. This was the heart of the Guanzhong region, as opposed to the Yangtze River drainage basin, known as Guandong. The warlike nature of the Qin in Guanzhong inspired a Han dynasty adage: "Guanzhong produces generals, while Guandong produces ministers." [8] Its expanded agricultural output helped sustain Qin's large army with food and natural resources; [17] the Wei River canal built in 246 BC was particularly significant qin shi huang this respect.

[18] Conquest of the Warring States [ edit ] Map showing the unification of Qin during 230–221 BC During the Warring States period preceding the Qin dynasty, the major states vying for dominance were Yan, Zhao, Qi, Chu, Han, Wei and Qin.

The rulers of these states styled themselves as kings, rather than using the titles of lower nobility they had previously held. However, none elevated himself to believe that he had the "Mandate of Heaven", as the Zhou kings had claimed, nor that he had the right to offer sacrifices—they left this to the Zhou rulers. [19] Before their conquest in the fourth and third centuries BC, the Qin suffered several setbacks. Shang Yang was executed in 338 BC by King Huiwen due to a personal grudge harboured from his youth.

There was also internal strife over the Qin succession in 307 BC, which decentralised Qin authority somewhat. Qin was defeated by an alliance of the other states in 295 BC, and shortly after suffered another defeat by the state of Zhao, because the majority of their army was then defending against the Qi.

The aggressive statesman Fan Sui ( 范雎), however, soon came to power as prime minister even as the problem of the succession was resolved, and he began an expansionist policy that had originated in Jin and Qi, which prompted the Qin to attempt to conquer the other states.

[20] The Qin were swift in their assault on the other states. They first attacked the Han, directly east, and took their capital city of Xinzheng in 230 BC. They then struck northward; the state of Zhao surrendered in 228 BC, and the northernmost state of Yan followed, falling in 226 BC. Next, Qin armies launched assaults to the east, and later the south as well; they took the Wei city of Daliang (now called Kaifeng) in 225 BC and forced the Chu to surrender by 223 BC.

Lastly, they deposed the Zhou dynasty's remnants in Luoyang and conquered the Qi, taking the city of Linzi in 221 BC. [21] When the conquests were complete in 221 BC, King Zheng – who had first assumed the throne of qin shi huang Qin state at age 9 [22] – became the effective ruler of China.

[23] The subjugation of the six states was done by King Zheng who had used efficient persuasion and exemplary strategy.

He solidified his position as sole ruler with the abdication of his prime minister, Lü Buwei. The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than place the burden on people from the royal family. [23] He then combined the titles of the qin shi huang Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors into his new name: Shi Huangdi ( 始 皇帝) or "First Emperor". [24] The newly declared emperor ordered all weapons not in the possession of the Qin to be confiscated and melted down.

The resulting metal was sufficient to build twelve large ornamental statues at the Qin's newly declared capital, Xianyang. [25] Southward expansion qin shi huang edit ] Qin dynasty's expansion to the south In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang secured his boundaries to the north with a fraction (100,000 men) of his large army, and sent the majority (500,000 men) of his army south to conquer the territory of the southern tribes.

Prior to the events leading to Qin dominance over China, they had gained possession of much of Sichuan to the southwest. The Qin army was unfamiliar with the jungle terrain, and it was defeated by the southern tribes' guerrilla warfare tactics with over 100,000 men lost.

However, in the defeat Qin was successful in building a canal to the south, which they used heavily for supplying and reinforcing their troops during their second attack to the south. Building on these gains, the Qin armies conquered the coastal lands surrounding Guangzhou, and took the provinces of Fuzhou and Guilin. They struck as far south as Hanoi. After these victories in the south, Qin Shi Huang moved over 100,000 prisoners and exiles to colonize the newly conquered area.

In terms of extending the boundaries of his empire, the First Emperor was extremely successful in the south. [25] Campaigns against the Xiongnu [ edit ] Main article: Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu However, while the empire at times was extended to the north, the Qin could rarely hold on to the land for long. The tribes of these locations, collectively called the Hu by the Qin, were free from Chinese rule during the majority qin shi huang the dynasty.

[26] Prohibited from trading with Qin dynasty peasants, the Xiongnu tribe living in the Ordos region in northwest China often raided them instead, prompting the Qin to retaliate. After a military campaign led by General Meng Tian, the region was conquered in 215 BC and agriculture was established; the peasants, however, were discontented and later revolted. The succeeding Han dynasty also expanded into the Ordos due to overpopulation, but depleted their resources in the process.

Indeed, this was true of the dynasty's borders in multiple directions; modern Xinjiang, Tibet, Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, and regions to the southeast were foreign to the Qin, and even areas over which they had military control were culturally distinct. [27] Fall from power [ edit ] Stone rubbing of a Han dynasty carved relief depicting Jing Ke's assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang (right) holding an imperial jade disc.

Jing Ke (left) is held by a court physician (background). The dagger is stuck in the pillar. A soldier (far right) rushes to save his emperor. Three assassination attempts were made on Qin shi huang Shi Huang, [28] leading him to become paranoid and obsessed with immortality.

He died in 210 BC, while on a trip to the far eastern reaches of his empire in an attempt to procure an elixir of immortality from Taoist magicians, who claimed the elixir was stuck on an island guarded by a sea monster. The chief eunuch, Zhao Gao, and the prime minister, Li Si, hid the news of his death upon their return until they were able to alter his will to place on the throne the dead emperor's most pliable son, Huhai, who took the name of Qin Er Shi.

[22] They believed that they would be qin shi huang to manipulate him to their own ends, and thus effectively control the empire. Qin shi huang Er Shi was, indeed, inept and pliable.

He executed many ministers and imperial princes, continued massive building projects (one of his most extravagant projects was lacquering the city walls), enlarged the army, increased taxes, and arrested messengers who brought him bad news. As a result, men from all over China revolted, attacking officials, raising armies, and declaring themselves kings of seized territories.

[29] During this time, Li Si and Zhao Gao fell out, and Li Si was executed. Zhao Gao decided to force Qin Er Shi to commit suicide due to Qin Er Shi's incompetence. Upon this, Ziying, a nephew of Qin Er Shi, ascended the throne, and immediately executed Zhao Gao. qin shi huang Ziying, seeing that increasing unrest was growing among the people [note 1] and that many local officials had declared themselves kings, attempted to cling to his throne by declaring himself one king among all the others.

[18] He was undermined by his ineptitude, however, and popular revolt broke out in 209 BC. When Chu rebels under the lieutenant Liu Bang attacked, a state in such turmoil could not hold for long. Ziying was defeated near the Wei River in 207 BC and surrendered shortly after; he was executed by the Chu leader Xiang Yu. The Qin capital was destroyed the next year, and this is considered by historians to be the end of the Qin Empire.

[30] [note 2] Liu Bang then betrayed and defeated Xiang Yu, declaring himself Emperor Gaozu [note 3] of the new Han dynasty on 28 February 202 BC. [31] Despite the short duration of the Qin dynasty, it was very influential on the structure of future dynasties.

Culture and society [ edit ] Domestic life [ edit ] The aristocracy of the Qin were largely similar in their culture and daily life. Qin shi huang variations in culture were considered a symbol of the lower classes. This stemmed from the Zhou and was seized upon by the Qin, as such variations were seen as contrary to the unification that the government strove to achieve.

[32] Commoners and rural villagers, who made up over 90% of the population, [33] very rarely left the villages or farmsteads where they were born. Forms of employment differed by region, though farming was almost universally common.

Professions were hereditary; a father's employment was passed to his eldest son after he died. [34] The Lüshi Chunqiu [note 4] gave examples of how, when commoners are obsessed with material wealth, instead of the idealism of a man who "makes things serve him", they were "reduced to the service of things". [35] Peasants were rarely figured in literature during the Qin dynasty and afterwards; scholars and others of more elite status preferred the excitement of cities and the lure of politics.

One notable exception to this was Shen Nong, the so-called "Divine Father", who taught that households should grow their own food.

"If in one's prime he does not plow, someone in the world will grow hungry. If in one's prime she does not weave, someone in the world will be cold." The Qin encouraged this; a ritual was performed once every few years that consisted of important government officials taking turns with the plow on a special field, to create a simulation of government interest and activity within agriculture.

[34] During the Qin dynasty, Slavery in China began to gain momentum and usage. Architecture [ edit ] Dujiangyan, an irrigation project completed in 256 BC during the Warring States period of China by the State qin shi huang Qin.

It is located on the Min River in Sichuan, near the provincial capital of Chengdu. Although a reinforced concrete weir has replaced Li Bing's original weighted bamboo baskets, the layout of the infrastructure remains the same and is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region.

Warring States-era architecture had several definitive aspects. City walls, used for defense, were made longer, and indeed several secondary walls were also sometimes built to separate the different districts.

Versatility in federal structures was emphasized, to create a sense of authority and absolute power. Architectural elements such as high towers, pillar gates, terraces, and high buildings amply conveyed this.

[36] Philosophy and literature [ edit ] Stone slab with twelve small seal characters. Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BC). The 12 characters on this slab of floor brick affirm that it is an auspicious moment for the First Emperor to ascend the throne, as the country is united and no men will be dying along the road. Small seal scripts were standardized by the Qin shi huang Emperor of China after he gained control of the country, and evolved from the larger seal scripts of previous dynasties.

The text on it is " 海内皆臣，歲登成熟，道毋飢人". The written language of the Qin was logographic, as that of the Zhou had been. [37] As one of his most influential achievements in life, prime minister Li Si standardized the writing system to be of uniform size and shape across the whole country.

This would have a unifying effect on the Chinese culture for thousands of years. He is also credited with creating the " small seal script" ( Chinese: 小篆,; pinyin: xiǎozhuàn) style of calligraphy, which serves as a basis for modern Chinese and is still used in cards, qin shi huang, and advertising. [38] During the Warring States period, the Hundred Schools of Thought comprised many different philosophies proposed by Chinese scholars.

In 221 BC, however, the First Emperor conquered all of the states and governed with a single philosophy, Legalism. At least one school of thought, Mohism, was eradicated, though the reason is not known. Despite the Qin's state ideology and Mohism being similar in qin shi huang regards, it is possible that Mohists were sought and killed by the state's armies due to paramilitary activities.

[39] Confucius's school of thought, called Confucianism, was also influential during the Warring States period, as well as throughout much of the later Zhou dynasty and early imperial periods. [note 5] This school of thought had a so-called Confucian canon of literature, known as the "six classics": the Odes, Documents, Ritual, Music, Spring and Autumn Annals, and Changes, which embodied Chinese literature at the time.

[40] During the Qin dynasty, Confucianism—along with all other non-Legalist philosophies, such as Daoism—were suppressed by the First Emperor; early Han dynasty emperors did the same. Legalism denounced the feudal system and encouraged severe punishments, particularly when the emperor was disobeyed.

Individuals' rights were devalued when they conflicted with the government's or the ruler's wishes, and merchants and scholars were considered unproductive, fit for elimination. [41] One of the more drastic allegations, however the infamous burning of books qin shi huang burying of scholars incident, does not appear to be true, as it was not mentioned until many years later.

[42] The Han dynasty historian, Sima Qian wrote that First Emperor, in an attempt to consolidate power, in 213 BC ordered the burning of all books advocating viewpoints that challenged Legalism or the state, and also stipulated that all scholars who refused to submit their books to be burned would be executed by premature burial.

[25] Only texts considered productive were to be preserved, mostly those that discussed pragmatic subjects, such as agriculture, divination, and medicine.

[43] However, Sinologists now argue that the "burying of scholars" is not literally true, as the term probably meant simply "put to death". [44] Government and military [ edit ] Qin qin shi huang of the Terracotta Army. The Qin government was highly bureaucratic, and was administered by a hierarchy of officials, all serving the First Emperor. The Qin put into practice the teachings of Han Feizi, allowing the First Emperor to control all of his territories, including those recently conquered.

All aspects of life were standardized, from measurements and language to more practical details, such as the length of chariot axles. [24] The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than placing the burden on people from the royal family. Zheng and his advisors also introduced new laws and practices that ended feudalism in China, replacing it with a centralized, bureaucratic government.

The form of government created by the first emperor and his advisors was used by later dynasties to structure their own government. [23] Under this system, both the military and government thrived, as talented individuals could be more easily identified in the transformed society. Later Chinese dynasties emulated the Qin government for its efficiency, despite its being condemned by Confucian philosophy.

[24] [45] There were incidences of abuse, however, with one example having been recorded in the "Records of Officialdom".

A commander named Hu ordered his qin shi huang to attack peasants in an attempt to increase the number of "bandits" he had killed; qin shi huang superiors, likely eager to inflate their records as well, allowed this.

[46] Qin Shi Huang also improved the strong military, despite the fact that it had already undergone extensive reforms. [47] The military used the most advanced weaponry of the time. It was first used mostly in bronze form, but by the third century BC, kingdoms such as Chu and Qin were using iron and/or steel swords. The demand for this metal resulted in improved bellows. The crossbow had been introduced in the fifth century BC and was more powerful and accurate than the composite bows used earlier.

It could also be rendered ineffective by removing two pins, which prevented enemies from capturing a working crossbow. [14] The Qin also used improved methods of transportation and tactics. The state of Zhao had first replaced chariots with cavalry in 307 BC, but the change was swiftly adopted by the other states because cavalry had greater mobility over the terrain of China.

[48] The First Emperor developed plans to fortify his northern border, to protect against nomadic invasions. The result was the initial construction of what later became the Great Wall of China, which was built by joining and strengthening the walls made by the feudal lords, which would be expanded and rebuilt multiple times by later dynasties, also in response to threats from the north.

Another project built during Qin Shi Huang's rule was the Terracotta army, intended to protect the emperor after his death. [47] The Terracotta Army was inconspicuous due to its underground location, and was not discovered until 1974. [49] Religion [ edit ] Floating on high in every direction, Music fills the hall and court. The incense sticks are a forest of feathers, The cloudy scene an obscure darkness. Metal stalks with elegant blossoms, A host of flags and kingfisher banners.

The music of the "Seven Origins" and "Blossoming Origins" Are intoned as harmonious sounds. Thus one can almost hear The spirits coming to feast and frolic. The spirits are seen off to the zhu zhu of the musics, Which purifies and refines human feelings. Suddenly the spirits ride off on the darkness, And the brilliant event finishes. Purified thoughts grow hidden and still, And the warp and weft of the world fall dark.

Han shu, p. 1046 The dominant religious belief in China during the reign of the Qin, and, in fact, during much of early imperial China, was focused on the shen (roughly translating to "spirits" or "gods"), yin ("shadows"), and the realm they were said to live in.

The Chinese offered animal sacrifices in an attempt to contact this other world, which they believed to be parallel to the earthly one. The dead were said to have simply moved from one world to the other. The rituals mentioned, as well as others, served two purposes: to ensure that the dead journeyed and stayed in the other realm, and to receive blessings from the spirit realm.

[note 6] [50] [51] Religious practices were usually held in local shrines and sacred areas, which contained sacrificial altars. During a sacrifice or other ritual, the senses of all participants and witnesses would be dulled and blurred with smoke, incense, and music.

The lead sacrificer would fast and meditate before a sacrifice to further blur his senses and increase the likelihood of perceiving otherworldly phenomena. Other participants were similarly prepared, though not as rigorously.

Such blurring of the senses was also a factor in the practice of spirit intermediaries, or mediumship. Practitioners of the art would fall into trances or dance to perform supernatural tasks. These people would often rise to power as a result of their art— Luan Da, a Han dynasty medium, was granted rule over 2,000 households. Noted Han historian Sima Qian was scornful of such practices, dismissing them as foolish trickery.

[52] Divination—to predict and/or influence the future—was yet another form of religious practice. An ancient practice that was common during the Qin dynasty was cracking bones or turtle shells to gain knowledge of the future. The forms of divination which sprang up during early imperial China were diverse, though observing natural phenomena was a common method. Comets, eclipses, and droughts were considered omens of things to come.

[53] Etymology of China [ edit ] The name 'Qin' is believed to be the etymological ancestor of the modern-day European name of the country, China. The word probably made its way into the Indo-Aryan languages first as 'Cina' or 'Sina' and then into Greek and Latin as 'Sinai' or 'Thinai'. It was then transliterated into English and French as 'China' and 'Chine'.

This etymology is dismissed by some scholars, who suggest that 'Sina' in Sanskrit evolved much earlier before the Qin dynasty. ' Jin', a state controlled by the Zhou dynasty in seventh century BC, is qin shi huang possible origin. [54] Others argued for the state of Jing (荆, another name for Chu), as well as other polities in the early period as the source of the name. qin shi huang Sovereigns [ edit ] An edict in bronze from the reign of the second Qin Emperor Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after unifying China in 221 BC.

That year is therefore generally taken by historians to be the start of the "Qin dynasty" which lasted for fifteen years until 207 when it was cut short by civil wars. [56] Posthumous name / title Personal name Period qin shi huang Reigns Shi Huangdi Zheng (政) 221 – 210 BC Er Shi Huangdi Huhai (胡亥) 210 – 207 BC None Ziying (子嬰) 207 BC Imperial family tree [ edit ] Qin Dynasty See: family tree of the Kings of Qin Zheng 政 259–210 BC King of Qin 秦王 247–221 BC Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇 221–210 BC 1 18 or 25 (disputed) Fusu 扶蘇 d.

210 BC Huhai 胡亥 229–207 BC Qin Er Shi 秦二世 210–207 BC Ziying 子嬰 d. 206 BC Qin San Shi 秦三世 207 BC See also [ edit ] • ^ This was largely caused by regional differences which survived despite the Qin's attempt to impose uniformity.

• ^ The first emperor of the Qin had boasted that the dynasty would last 10,000 generations; it lasted only about 15 years. (Morton 1995, p. 49) • ^ Meaning "High Progenitor". • ^ A text named for its sponsor Lü Buwei; the prime minister of the Qin directly preceding the conquest of the other states.

• ^ The term "Confucian" is rather ill-defined in this context—many self-dubbed Confucians in fact rejected tenets of what was known as "the Way of Confucius", and were disorganized, unlike the later Confucians of the Song and Yuan dynasties. • ^ Mystics from the state of Qi, however, saw sacrifices differently—as a way to become immortal. References [ edit ] Citations [ edit ] • ^ a b "Qin dynasty". britannica. • ^ Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C.

to 600 A.D". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 121. doi: 10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959. • qin shi huang "Qin dynasty". Encyclopedia Britannica. • ^ ".The collapse of the Western Zhou state in 771 BC and the lack of a true central authority thereafter opened ways to fierce inter-state warfare that continued over the next five hundred years until the Qin unification of China in 221 BC, thus giving China her first empire." Early China A Social and Cultural History, Cambridge University Press, 2013, page 6.

• ^ Lewis pp. 6–7 • ^ Tanner 2010, pp. 85–89 • ^ Beck, B, Black L, Krager, S; et al. (2003). Ancient World History-Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: Mc Dougal Little. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-618-18393-7. • ^ a b Lewis 2007, p. 17 • ^ "Chinese surname history: Qin". People's Daily. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008.

Retrieved 28 June 2008. • ^ Lewis 2007, pp. 17–18 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 88 • ^ a b Morton 1995, p. 45 • ^ Origins of Statecraft in China • ^ a b Morton 1995, p. 26 • ^ Morton 1995, pg.

26 • ^ Time-Life Books 1993, p. 86 • ^ a b Kinney and Clark 2005, p. 10 • ^ a b Lewis 2007, pp. 18–19 • ^ Morton 1995, p. 25 • ^ Lewis 2007, pp. 38–39 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 10 • ^ a b Bai Yang. 中国帝王皇后亲王公主世系录 [ Records of the Genealogy of Chinese Emperors, Empresses, and Their Descendants] (in Simplified Chinese).

Vol. 1. Friendship Publishing Corporation of China (中国友谊出版公司). pp. 134–135. • ^ a b c Qin shi huang, Michael (9 September 2007). "China's First Empire". History Today. 57 (9). Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017. • ^ a qin shi huang c World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, p.

36 • ^ a b c Morton 1995, p. 47 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 129 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 5 • ^ Borthwick, p. 10 • ^ a b Kinney and Hardy 2005, pp. 13–15 • ^ Bodde qin shi huang, p. 84 • ^ Morton 1995, pp. 49–50 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 11 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 102 • ^ a b Lewis 2007, p. 15 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 16 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 75–78 • ^ World and its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, p. 34 • ^ Bedini 1994, p. qin shi huang • ^ Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, p.

61 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 206 • ^ Borthwick, p. 17 • ^ Nylan, Michael (2001), The five "Confucian" classics (PDF), Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-08185-5, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2014.

pp. 29–30. • ^ Borthwick, p. 11 • ^ Bodde (1986), p. 72. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFBodde1986 ( help) • ^ Borthwick 2006, pp. 9–10 • ^ Chen, pp. 180–81 • ^ a b Borthwick 2006, p. 10 • ^ Morton 1995, p. 27 • ^ "Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor".

UNESCO. Archived from the original qin shi huang 7 August 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008. • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 178 • ^ Lewis 2007, p.

186 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 180 • ^ Lewis 2007, p. 181 • ^ Keay 2009, p. 98. • ^ Wade, Geoff (May 2009). "The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China' " (PDF). Sino-Platonic Papers. 188. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011. "This thesis also helps explain the existence of Cīna in the Indic Laws of Manu and the Mahabharata, likely dating well before Qin Shihuangdi." • ^ Bodde 1986, p. 20 Sources [ edit ] • World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia.

Marshall Cavendish. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7614-7631-3. • Philip J. Ivanhoe; Bryan W. Van Norden, eds. (2005). Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87220-780-6. • Breslin, Thomas A. (2001). Beyond Pain: The Role of Pleasure and Culture in the Making of Foreign Affairs. Greenwood Publishing Group.

ISBN 978-0-275-97430-5. • Bedini, Silvio (1994). The Trail of Time: Shih-chien Ti Tsu-chi : Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-37482-8. • Bodde, Derk (1986). "The State and Empire of Ch'in". In Twitchett, Dennis; Loewe, Michael (eds.).

The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24327-8. • Borthwick, Mark (2006). Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia. Westview Press. ISBN qin shi huang. • Kinney, Anne Behnke; Hardy, Grant (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China.

Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5. • Keay, John (2009). China A History. Harper Press. ISBN 9780007221783. • Lewis, Mark Edward (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han.

London: Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. • Chen Guidi; Wu Chuntao (2007). Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants. Translated by Zhu Hong. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-441-5. • Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.

ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. • Tanner, Harold (2010). China: A History. Hackett. ISBN 978-1-60384-203-7. Further reading [ edit ] • Cotterell, Arthur. (2007). The Imperial Capitals of China – An Inside View of the Celestial Empire. London: Pimlico. pp. 304 pages. ISBN 978-1-84595-009-5.

• Fong, Wen, ed. (1980). The great bronze age of China: an exhibition from the People's Republic of China. Qin shi huang York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-87099-226-1. • Paludan, Ann. (1998). Chronicle of the China Emperors. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 224 pages. ISBN 978-0-500-05090-3. • Yap, Joseph P. (2009). Wars with the Xiongnu, A Translation from Zizhi tongjian. AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A. ISBN 978-1-4490-0604-4. External links [ edit ] • Media related to Qin Dynasty at Wikimedia Commons Hidden categories: • CS1 uses Chinese-language script (zh) • CS1 Simplified Chinese-language sources (zh) • Harv and Sfn no-target errors • Articles with short description • Short description is different from Wikidata • Wikipedia pending changes protected pages • Use dmy dates from October 2021 • Use British English from August 2017 • Articles containing Chinese-language text • Commons category link from Wikidata • Articles with VIAF identifiers • Articles with GND identifiers • Articles with LCCN identifiers • Articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers • Afrikaans • Alemannisch • العربية • Asturianu • Azərbaycanca • تۆرکجه • বাংলা • Bân-lâm-gú • Башҡортса • Bikol Central • Български • བོད་ཡིག • Brezhoneg • Буряад • Català • Чӑвашла • Čeština • Cymraeg • Dansk • Deutsch • Eesti • Ελληνικά • Español • Esperanto • Euskara qin shi huang فارسی • Français • Gaeilge • 贛語 • 客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî • 한국어 • Հայերեն • हिन्दी • Hrvatski • Bahasa Indonesia • Italiano • עברית • Jawa • ქართული • Қазақша • Kiswahili • Kurdî • Latina • Latviešu • Lietuvių • Lingua Franca Nova • Magyar • മലയാളം • मराठी • მარგალური • Bahasa Melayu • Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄ • Монгол • မြန်မာဘာသာ • Nederlands • 日本語 • Norsk bokmål • Norsk nynorsk • Occitan • Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ • پنجابی • ភាសាខ្មែរ • Polski • Português • Română • Русский • Shqip • සිංහල • Simple Qin shi huang • Slovenščina • کوردی • Српски / srpski • Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски • Suomi • Svenska • Tagalog • தமிழ் • ไทย • Türkçe • Українська • اردو • ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche • Vahcuengh • Tiếng Việt • Winaray • 吴语 • 粵語 • 中文 Edit links • This page was last edited on 8 May 2022, at 07:59 (UTC).

• Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0 ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. • Privacy policy • About Wikipedia • Disclaimers • Contact Wikipedia • Mobile view • Developers • Statistics • Cookie statement • • — Qin Shi Huang to Hades in Chi You Qin Shi Huang is Humanity's representative in the seventh round of Ragnarok, going up against Hades.

He's the founder of the Qin Dynasty and the first Emperor to unify China. His real name is Ying Zheng (嬴政, Eisei), with Qin Shi Huang (or " Shi Huang Di") (始皇帝, Shikōtei) being a title, which literally means " First Emperor of Qin". He is widely regarded as the greatest Chinese Emperor of all time, despite sometimes being viewed as a tyrant. He is known qin shi huang "The King Where It All Began" (始まりの王, Hajimari no Ō) and has been called the "King of Men" (人の王, Hito no Ō) during his battle with Hades.

Contents • 1 Appearance • 2 Personality • 3 Abilities • 3.1 Physical Abilities • 3.2 Fighting Abilities • 3.3 Supernatural Abilities • 3.4 Miscellaneous Abilities • 4 Techniques • 5 Equipment • 6 Quotes • 7 Trivia • 8 References • 9 Navigation Appearance [ ] Qin Shi Huang is a man of average stature; comparable to Jack the Ripper in overall body composition.

He has a muscular build along with broad shoulders. Qin Shi Huang wears an intricate bare-shouldered robe, resembling ones worn by Chinese Empresses. He also wears a blindfold decorated with a patterned streak that covers his eyes.

He has two tattoos of centipede: The first on his right cheek, going downward vertically from his right eye, which is covered by the blindfold; and the other on his back. He wears nail guards on his right hand's middle and index fingers, as well as on his left hand's ring, middle, and index fingers. Ying Zheng at Age 12 Personality [ ] He seems to be extremely confident in himself, seeing as how he walked into the Gods' area and sat down in Hades' chair (although he did this due to being clueless as to where his waiting room was).

He's also extremely proud of his rank as Emperor, to the point of brazenly ordering Ares and Hermes to kneel before him and show respect. Qin Shi Huang is also quite fearless and daring, attacking Ares without being afraid of the God and still ignoring him as if he were nothing.

As a kid, he often sported a forced, unnatural smile to hide the hatred and misery he was feeling due to all the mistreatment he suffered when he was a hostage in Zhao, which led to people thinking of him as a "creepy child". However, upon meeting Chun Yan (who took on the role as his mother figure), he started to eventually learn how to smile genuinely.

Abilities [ ] Overall Abilities: Qin Shi Huang is probably the most powerful Emperor in mankind's history as he was able to defeat the Demon God, Chiyou as well as fight on par with and overwhelm the King of the Netherworld, Hades. Physical Abilities [ ] Godly Strength: [2] Qin Shi Huang qin shi huang able to destroy multiple corridor walls of the Valhalla Arena with ease as well as overwhelm even the likes of Hades, who boasted great physical strength himself.

Godly Speed & Reflexes: Qin Shi Huang can move at speeds matching the likes of Gods, as shown in his fight against Hades; not only could Qin keep up with his countless afterimages and blinding speeds, but eventually managed to outmaneuver him.

Godly Stamina & Endurance: Qin Shi Huang possesses a nearly limitless degree physical and mental fortitude. Due to his unique form of Mirror Touch Synesthesia, he was forced to feel the physical and mental pain of others for almost his entire life and yet, despite that, he was to keep on smiling without so much as a hint he was suffering, even when a chunk of his flesh was torn out.

His incredible tenacity was further demonstrated by him being able to battle against Chiyou for six whole days without displaying any signs of exhaustion or fatigue. Fighting Abilities [ ] Martial Arts Expert: Qin Shi Huang is a very skilled martial artist as, during his confrontation with Chiyou, he managed to create qin shi huang master his own style of martial arts which he derived from five other fighting styles he learned from his adoptive mother, Chun Yan.

With it, Qin Shi Huang has access to a great variety of techniques that he can use in order to gain an advantage over his opponents. • Unarmed Combat Proficiency: Qin Shi Huang was capable of defeating the likes of Chiyou, a "Demon God of War", using nothing but his own body. He is also skilled enough in unarmed combat he can also stand up to the King of the Netherworld himself. Supernatural Abilities [ ] Golden Age: As a soul in the afterlife, Qin Shi Huang possesses the same appearance and skills that he did when he was at his peak.

Qin Shi Haung sees Hades' Qi flow Qi Sight: Qin Shi Huang can see the flow of Qi within the bodies of living beings. Along these pathways are cruxes in the form of stars which Qin can strike to disrupt his opponent's Qi, thereby weakening their techniques. Qin Shi Huang awakened this ability after surviving countless battles with his Mirror Touch Synesthesia.

Mirror Touch Synesthesia: Born with this condition, whenever Qin Shi Huang saw a person be injured, he would receive the same injury by inverted.

Due to qin shi huang being exposed to hatred, Qin Shi Huang's Mirror Touch Synesthesia eventually ascended beyond the human level, reaching the point where he'd become injured simply from people's negative emotions which appeared on his body like burn marks. Miscellaneous Abilities [ ] Enhanced Sight: Despite constantly wearing a piece of cloth over his eyes, Qin Shi Huang has no trouble fighting even with his vision partially obscured.

When his eyes are not covered, he is capable of seeing the Qi flow of his opponents. Techniques [ ] Chi You ( 蚩 し尤 ゆう, Shiyū): [3] A martial art style created by Qin Shi Huang. It comprises of five different fighting styles and it is considered to be the ultimate martial art. Qin Shi Huang mastered the techniques during his battle with the Demon God, Chiyou. After beating him, Qin Shi Huang named his martial art style after him.

Each of the five fighting styles are named after one of the five tools of war that Chiyou is believed to have created: Crossbow Form, Sword Form, Halberd Form, Spear Form and Armor Form. Heavenly Hand of Defense (Chi You – Armor Form) ( 蚩 し尤 ゆう 鎧 かい式 しき・ 承 しょう力 りき天 てん鳯 ほう, Shiyū Kaishiki: Shōriki Tenhō): [4] Qin Shi Huang intercepts an attack and absorbs the energy of its force. After taking the force of an attack into his body, Qin Shi Huang is able to redirect it back at his opponent. For example, Qin Shi Huang absorbed the blow of Hades' Persephone Roa and redirected it into his bident, causing the other end of the bident to hit Hades in the chest and send him flying across the entire arena.

Mount Tai Dragon Claw (Chi You - Spear Form) ( 蚩 し尤 ゆう 矛 む式 しき・ 泰 たい山 ざん龍 りゅう爪 そう, Shiyū Mushiki: Taizan Ryūsō): [5] Qin Shi Huang pierces through his opponent's body by stabbing them with the zhijiatao on either his right hand or left hand. This attack was powerful enough to gouge out Hades' flesh. Tortoise Ripple (Chi You - Crossbow Form) ( 蚩 し尤 ゆう 弩 ど式 しき・ 波 は流 りゅう亀 き, Shiyū Doshiki: Haryūki): [6] Using his eyes to see the flow of Qi in a person's body and the cruxes along that flow in the form of stars, Qin Shi Huang fires an invisible bullet of air from his mouth to hit one of the stars he sees.

When the air bullet makes contact, the flow of the target's technique is upset, causing even techniques guaranteed to kill, to be weakened. Qin Shi Huang has also used this abilty to swerve Hades' attacks away.

Brunhilde said it was the hidden technique of Chiyou. Thanks to this ability being able to weaken the enemy's attacks and defense, Qin Shi Huang was able to take on Hades more than equally, even though Hades is superior when it comes to speed, power and combat experience. White Tiger Crescent Moon (Chi You - Halberd Form) ( 蚩 し尤 ゆう 戟 げき式 しき・ 白虎 びゃっこ弧 こ月 げつ, Shiyū Gekishiki: Byakko Kogetsu) [7]: Qin Shi Huang lifts up his right leg and proceeds to swing his kick in a crescent arc.

This kick was so powerful, that it was able to blow back Hades and rip through the skin of his left arm. Equipment [ ] Zhijiatao (指甲套 or Nail Guards): Qin Shi Huang possesses 5 zhijiatao in total, with 2 on his right hand, and 3 on his left. They are symbols of nobility and wealth in ancient China. Qin Shi Huang appears to use them as qin shi huang piercing weapon whenever he is in battle.

Shenluo Kaixiu/Almighty Spaulders ( 神 しん羅 ら鎧 かい袖 しゅう, Shinra Kaishū): A Divine Weapon in the form of shoulder plates provided by the Völundr of the 10th Valkyrie, Alvitr. Due to Alvitr's unique nature, the Almighty Spaulders provide great defensive strength while also maximising the full potential of Qin Shi Huang's martial arts.

Quotes [ ] • (To Hermes and Ares) " Humble yourselves. It matters not what this place is. You're in the presence of an Emperor. The throne is where I am." [8] • (To Hades) " Hades, King of the Netherworld, was it? Let me tell you qin shi huang. There can only be one king in the world. and that man is I." [9] • (To Chiyou) " All the kings before me. were not kings. I'll defeat you, and become "The King Where It All Began"!" [10] • (To Hades) " One who never doubts.

never yields. never relies. and always stands as the leader of his people. That is what makes a king." [11] • (To Hades) " It's precisely because I know the pain of others that I am the greatest king!" [12] • (To Hades) " You are strong, King of the Netherworld. But I have made a promise to a particular someone that I would become the greatest king.

Therefore, I cannot afford to lose, no matter my opponent." [13] Trivia [ ] • Qin Shi Huang's design was revealed early in Chapter 11, Volume 3 of Shuumatsu no Valkyrie - The Legend of Lü Bu: The Flying General, released in December 2020. His design in The Legend of Lü Bu was explicitly stated to be identical to his design in Shuumatsu no Valkyrie.

• In Chinese culture, centipedes are associated with powerful magic potions despite being known to have a venomous bite. Therefore, the centipede qin shi huang on Qin Shi Huang's right cheek is probably there to reflect on his pursuit for the elixir of life, known as Xiandan (仙丹) in Chinese, throughout his life. References [ ] • ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 59 (Page 4).

• ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 55 (Page 27). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 57 (Page 19). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 56 (Page 60). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 58 (Page 22).

• ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 58 (Page 32). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 60 (Page 18). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 55 (Page 33-34).

• ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Qin shi huang 56 (Page 61-62). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 57 (Page 14-15). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 57 (Page 24). • ↑ Qin shi huang no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 59 (Page 77). • ↑ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Manga: Chapter 60 (Page 4-5). Navigation [ ] v - e Characters Einherjar Adam • Buddha • Jack the Ripper • Kojiro Sasaki • Lü Bu • Michel Nostradamus • Qin Shi Huang • Raiden Tameemon • Simo Häyhä • Soji Okita Fighters for the Gods Beelzebub • Bishamonten • Hades • Hajun • Heracles • Loki • Odin • Poseidon • Shiva • Thor • Zerofuku • Zeus Valkyries Alvitr • Brunhilde • Göll • Hlökk • Hrist • Randgriz • Reginleif • Thrud Humans Abel • Anne • Arthur Conan Doyle • Cain • Cao Cao • Cao Pi • Castor • Chen Gong • Chun Ou • Chun Yan • Confucius • Eve • Genpaku Sugita • Guan Yu • Hanemon Seki • Hokusai Katsushika • Inshun Hozoin • Iori Miyamoto • Isami Kondo • Ittosai Itto • Jack Smith • Jataka • Jesus • Johann Sebastian Bach • Kagekatsu Toda • Kagemasa Toda • Kajinosuke Tanikaze • Ken Seki • Kisaburo Onogawa • Liu Bang • Liu Bei • Liu Che • Mary • Michelangelo • Musashi Miyamoto • Nobutsuna Kamiizumi • Seigen Toda • Seijuro Yoshioka • Sekishusai Yagyu • Socrates • Suddhodana • Sun Quan • Toraji • Yohachi Urakaze • William Shakespeare • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • Zhang Fei • Zhu Yuanzhang Gods Adamas • Agni • Aphrodite • Ares • Benzaiten • Brahma • Daikokuten • Durga • Ebisu • Forseti • Fukurokuju • Ganesha • Heimdall • Hermes • Hoteison • Indra • Jurojin • Kali • Nishumbha • Parvati • Proteus • Rudra • Shumbha • Tyr • Varuna • Vishnu Demons Chiyou • Incubus • The Serpent Animals Huginn • Muninn • Red Hare Titans Kronos Others Unnamed Characters
• Entertainment & Pop Culture • Geography & Travel • Health & Medicine • Lifestyles & Social Issues • Literature • Philosophy & Religion • Politics, Law & Government • Science • Sports & Recreation • Technology • Visual Arts • World History • On This Day in History • Quizzes • Podcasts • Games • Dictionary • Biographies • Summaries • Top Questions • Week In Review • Infographics • Demystified • Lists • #WTFact • Companions • Image Galleries • Spotlight • The Forum • One Good Fact • Entertainment & Pop Culture • Geography & Travel • Health & Medicine • Lifestyles & Social Issues • Literature • Philosophy & Religion • Politics, Law & Government • Science • Sports & Recreation • Technology • Visual Arts • World History • Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.

• Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. • #WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. • This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. • Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains qin shi huang variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.

• Buying Guide Expert buying advice. From tech to household and wellness products. • Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. • COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to qin shi huang pandemics to better understand how to respond today.

• 100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Qin shi huang, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. • Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning. Go ahead.

Ask. We won’t mind. • Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them!

• SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! Shihuangdi created the first unified Chinese empire. The bureaucratic and administrative structure that he institutionalized as emperor remained the basis of all subsequent dynasties in China. Qin Shi Huang, qin shi huang called Shihuangdi, Wade-Giles romanization Shih-huang-ti, personal name ( xingming) Zhao Zheng or Ying Zheng, (born c.

259 bce, Qin state, northwestern China—died 210 bce, Hebei), emperor (reigned 221–210 bce) of the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce) and creator of the first unified Chinese empire (which collapsed, however, less than four years after his death). Early years Zhao Zheng was born the son of Zhuangxiang (who later became king of the state of Qin in northwestern China) while his father was held hostage in the state of Zhao.

His mother was a former concubine of a rich merchant, Lü Buwei, who, guided by financial interests, managed to install Zhuangxiang on the throne, even though he had not originally been designated as successor. The tradition, once widely accepted, that Zheng was actually Lü Buwei’s natural son is probably a slanderous invention.

Get hooked on history as this quiz sorts out the past. Find out who really invented movable type, who Winston Churchill called "Mum," and when the first sonic boom was heard. When Zheng, at age 13, formally ascended the throne in 246 bce, Qin already was the most powerful state and was likely to unite the rest of China under its rule. The central states had considered Qin to be a barbarous country, but by that time its strong position on the mountainous western periphery (with its centre in the modern province of Shaanxi) enabled Qin to develop a strong bureaucratic government and military organization as the basis of the totalitarian state philosophy known as legalism.

Until Zheng was officially declared of age in 238, his government was headed by Lü Buwei. Zheng’s first act as king was to execute his mother’s lover, who had joined the opposition, and to exile Lü, who had been involved in the affair. A decree ordering the expulsion of all aliens, which would have deprived the king of his most competent advisers, was annulled at the urging of Li Si, later grand councillor.

By 221, with the help of espionage, extensive bribery, and the ruthlessly effective leadership of gifted generals, Zheng had eliminated one by one the remaining six rival states that constituted China at that time, and the annexation of the last enemy state, Qi, in 221 marked his final triumph: for the first time China was united, under the supreme rule of the Qin.

Emperor of China To herald his achievement, Zheng assumed the sacred titles of legendary rulers and proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang (“First Sovereign Emperor”). With unbounded confidence, he claimed that his dynasty would last “10,000 generations.” As emperor he initiated a series of reforms aimed at establishing a fully centralized administration, thus avoiding the rise of independent satrapies.

Following the example of Qin and at the suggestion of Li Si, he abolished territorial feudal power in the empire, forced the wealthy aristocratic families to live in the capital, Xianyang, and qin shi huang the country into 36 military districts, each with its qin shi huang military and civil administrator. He also issued orders for almost universal standardization—from weights, measures, and the axle lengths of carts to the written language and the laws.

Construction of a network of roads and canals was begun, and fortresses erected for defense against barbarian invasions from the north were linked to form the Great Wall.

Great Wall of China. © Izmael/Shutterstock.com In 220 Qin Shi Huang undertook the first of a series of imperial inspection tours that marked the remaining 10 years of his reign. While supervising the consolidation and organization of the empire, he did not neglect to perform sacrifices in various sacred places, announcing to the gods that he had finally united the empire, and he erected stone tablets with ritual inscriptions to extol his achievements.

Another motive for Qin Shi Huang’s travels was his interest in magic and alchemy and his search for masters in these arts who could provide him with the elixir of immortality. After the failure of such an expedition to the islands in the Eastern Sea—possibly Japan—in 219, the emperor repeatedly summoned magicians to his court. Confucian scholars strongly condemned the step as charlatanry, and it is said that 460 of them were executed for their opposition.

The continuous controversy between the emperor and Confucian scholars who advocated a return to the old feudal order culminated in the famous burning of the books of 213, when, at Li Si’s suggestion, all books not dealing with agriculture, medicine, or prognostication were burned, except historical records of Qin and books in the imperial library.

The last years of Qin Shi Huang’s life were dominated by an ever-growing distrust of his entourage—at least three assassination attempts nearly succeeded—and his increasing isolation from the common people. Almost inaccessible in his huge palaces, the emperor led the life of a semidivine being. In 210 Qin Shi Huang died during an inspection tour.

He was buried in qin shi huang gigantic funerary compound hewn out of a mountain and shaped in conformity with the symbolic patterns of the cosmos. (Excavation of this enormous complex of some 20 square miles [50 square km]—now known as the Qin tomb—began in 1974, and the complex was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Among the findings at the site were some 8,000 life-sized terra-cotta soldier and horse figures forming an “army” for the dead king.) The disappearance of Qin Shi Huang’s forceful personality immediately led to the outbreak of fighting among supporters of the old feudal factions that ended in the collapse of the Qin dynasty and the extermination of the entire imperial clan by 206. Terra-cotta soldiers in the Qin tomb, near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China.

© Lukas Hlavac/Fotolia Most of the information about Qin Shi Huang’s life derives from the successor Han dynasty, which prized Confucian scholarship and thus had an interest in disparaging the Qin period.

The report that Qin Shi Huang was an illegitimate son of Lü Buwei is possibly an invention of that epoch. Further, stories describing his excessive cruelty and the general defamation of his character must be viewed in the light of the distaste felt by the ultimately victorious Confucians for legalist philosophy in general. Qin Shi Huang certainly had an imposing personality and showed an unbending will in pursuing his aim of uniting and strengthening the empire.

His despotic rule and the draconian punishments he meted out were dictated largely by his belief in legalist ideas. With few exceptions, the traditional historiography of imperial China has regarded him as the villain par excellence, inhuman, uncultivated, and superstitious. Modern historians, however, generally stress the endurance of the bureaucratic and administrative structure institutionalized by Qin Shi Huang, which, despite its official denial, remained the basis of all subsequent dynasties in China.

Claudius Cornelius Müller The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Wikimedia Commons An 18th-century imagining of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. In April 1974, Zhao Kangmin, the director of a small public antiquities collection in central China’s Shaanxi province, heard that some nearby villagers might have stumbled upon something interesting.

The farmers, digging a well, had unearthed a bunch of disarticulated body parts made of clay. Based on the location, Zhao suspected that the clay parts would be an important find, and he got on his bike and rushed to see them.

His hunch was right. The discovery that he identified would rank as one of the most spectacular archaeological finds of all time. The Terracotta Army comprised 8,000 clay soldiers, each with a unique face, which filled the tomb of China’s First Emperor. Qin Shi Huangdi, also called Qin Shi Huang, founded China’s first united imperial dynasty in 221 BC.

The Qin Empire would last fewer than four years after his own death, but long afterward, his legacy would affect the lives of the Chinese people long after his passing. Qin Shi Huang: Building An Empire Qi Shi Huang’s contemporaries didn’t remember him fondly.

The man went down in history as a byword for brutal tyranny. Born Ying Zheng, or Zhao Zheng, to the royal house of Ying in 259 B.C., the future emperor was the heir of the king of Qin. The Qin state was one of seven kingdoms that remained in central-eastern China after centuries of war and conquest.

Zheng, who qin shi huang to the throne as a child, completed the subjugation of the six rival states by the time he reached his late 30s. To mark a status beyond that of king, Zheng took the name Qin, for his homeland, and the title Shi Huangdi, meaning First Emperor, and evoking a mythical past. The First Emperor began construction on his tomb complex in qin shi huang B.C., and it was still being expanded when he died 36 years later. A reported 700,000 workers constructed the complex — and this was only one of many major engineering projects Shi Huang spearheaded.

Christels/Pixabay Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Army numbered approximately 8,000 soldiers, all situated in canals surrounding his tomb. Traditional histories trace the origin of what we call the Great Wall to Qin Shi Huang — although people at the time wouldn’t have used that name for it.

He expanded existing northern fortifications and sent 300,000 troops to pacify the frontier. Prisoners augmented soldiers in the labor force. Estimates of those who died on the job range in the hundreds of thousands, and for centuries the walls remained a symbol of bitter toil rather than national pride. The Qin Dynasty ramparts wouldn’t have resembled the familiar, later iterations of the Great Wall, which are merely 500 years old.

Instead of bricks, early walls were built using rammed earth, as well as natural features like mountains. Workers filled large wooden containers with soil, which they pounded with mallets, producing a solid mound subject to weathering.

Most walls from the Qin era and earlier have long been covered over, repurposed, or just forgotten, but the model of a fortified frontier would endure. One China The sense of a single, united China may be the First Emperor’s most profound legacy. Qin Shi Huang did away with the political structures of the former rival states, replacing them with a system already in use in his homeland. No longer would nobility pass proprietary fiefs to their children.

The Qin model was a centralized hierarchy, appointed by the emperor.

Reforms were thoroughgoing. Under the leadership of Li Si, Shi Huang’s most trusted advisor, weights and qin shi huang were standardized, as was coinage. A uniform writing system eliminated regional variations; with modifications, the official Qin script provided the basis for modern Chinese characters. Wikimedia Commons The iconic brick and stone fortifications at Jinshanling, near Beijing, date from the 16th century, but they follow a precedent started centuries earlier.

Qin Shi Huang spent much of his reign touring the empire, and roads were often built at his command. The southern part of the domain was hard to reach, so the emperor ordered the digging of a canal to join the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers. All of this construction required an unbelievable amount of labor, and the grueling conditions of work helped earn the First Emperor his reputation as a tyrant.

The ruling philosophy of the Qin state was Legalism, a code known for its unwavering and often brutal punishments. The more severe the offense, the more severe the nature of punishment, ranging from a stern lecture to branding, mutilation, and of course, qin shi huang. “Burn The Books, Bury The Scholars” The main rival to Legalism was Confucianism, which prized benevolence, harmony, and piety.

Legalism, on the other hand, started from the principle that people only respond to rewards and punishments, and had no interest in cultivating anyone’s better nature. To stamp out dissent, the advisor Li Si recommended a policy of censorship, remembered in the saying “burn the books, bury the scholars.” The order was to destroy all texts that didn’t serve a practical function.

Except for records of the Qin state, history books were out, since they provided material for veiled criticism. Possession of banned books was a capital crime, but some scholars held onto their texts. Those discovered were buried alive. Qin Shi Huang’s oldest son, Fu Su, protested, and was sent to the northern frontier. Sovfoto/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Later generations remembered the censorship campaign with horror.

Assassination plots started early, before the wars with the rival states finished in Qin’s favor. In a famous qin shi huang, the emissary Jing Ke, from the state of Yan, brought tokens of submission: the head of a rebel general and a map of land to be ceded. Already paranoid to the extent of fearing his own staff, the future emperor alone was allowed to carry a sword in the throne room.

The map, however, concealed a knife. The ambassador attacked. The king managed to fight him off, but it was a close call. Two other attempts on Qin Shi Huang’s life followed. Qin Shi Huang hoped for literal immortality. He sought out alchemists who might hold such a secret. Some told him what he wanted to hear, and so he began a regimen of health supplements rich in mercury, which would drive him to madness before killing him.

Qin Shi Huang’s Inglorious End The emperor must have doubted his medicine’s efficacy, as he dispatched delegates on a voyage to a legendary island of immortals.

The first group disappeared, and a second mission reported that they’d been scared by a large fish. Qin Shi Huang went to the shore to kill this fish, shooting at it with a crossbow. But the sea creature was now irrelevant, because the emperor was already sick to the point of dying from the mercury poisoning, and he realized the end was approaching. He gave word that Fu Su, the oldest of his 30 sons, should succeed him to the throne. But the adviser Li Si would betray the sovereign’s dying wish, believing that he personally would fare better under one of the younger sons.

Wikimedia Commons Qin Shi Huang, in a portrait from circa 1850. Li Si had to hide the news of the emperor’s death as long as possible. The corpse remained in a covered vehicle, and a cart of fish was added to the cortege to disguise the stench.

Back at the capital, one of Qin Shi Huang’s youngest sons seized the throne. He promptly murdered his brothers and his father’s concubines. In less than four years, the second qin shi huang was dead. Forty-five days later, the Han Dynasty rose to power. Judging The Evidence Except for a very few details, all of the early writings about the First Emperor comes from Sima Qian, an official historian of the Han Dynasty.

Writing almost a century after the fact, Sima Qian would have had incentive to recount the worst stories about the previous regime. Modern historians consider Sima Qian a crucial source, but don’t take him at face value. The only other early records about Qin Shi Huang are self-praising inscriptions the emperor posted around his realm. The discovery of the Terracotta Warriors came at a fortuitous moment.

During China’s Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s, youth brigades known as the Red Guards engaged in a campaign to destroy the past, raiding temples and smashing artifacts. Daniele Darolle/Sygma/Getty Images Archaeologists excavate the Terracotta Army in 1980.

Things had calmed down by 1974, but the archaeologist Zhao Kangmin was reticent even then to publicize the two statues he painstakingly restored. As excavations continued, more details of life in the Qin era emerged. Graceful brass cranes, clay acrobats and musicians, and terracotta court officials with writing utensils came to light, offering a look at the civilization behind the military.

Masses of skeletons, however, lent credence to the story that the builders of the emperor’s tomb were murdered upon its completion. At the center of the sprawling necropolis stands a 168-foot mound, thought to contain the First Emperor’s remains.

Sima Qian never mentioned the clay army in his writings, but did note additional wonders within the central tomb: a model landscape with rivers flowing with mercury (soil samples from the vicinity show a high level of mercury).

Remote sensing indicates a treasure hoard. For now, though, there isn’t a way to excavate the chamber without risking damage to its contents. Even with the spectacular finds to date, more remains to be discovered about Qin Shi Huang, the man who united China. After reading about Qin Shi Huang, learn all about China’s first female emperor, Wu Zetian. Then take a look at the disturbing practice of Chinese foot-binding.
Qin Shi Huangdi 秦 始 皇 帝 Personal details Born 18th February 259 BC Died 11 (aged -8–-7)th August 210 BC (aged 49) Q Chinese 秦始皇 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qín Shǐhuáng Wade–Giles Ch'in Shih-huang IPA [tɕʰǐn ʂɨ̀xwɑ̌ŋ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping ceon 4 ci 2 wong 4 Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Dzin Si B Hwang Zhào Zhèng Chinese 趙正 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Zhèng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping ziu 6 zing 3 This article contains Chinese text.

Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other qin shi huang instead of Chinese characters. Qin Shi Huang (Wade-Giles: Ch'in Shih Huang; Chinese: 秦 始 皇; 259 BC – 210 BC); [1] personal name: Zhao Zheng (Wade-Giles: Chao Cheng; Chinese: 趙政 or 趙正); [2] [3] was the king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC, during the Warring States period.

[4] He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC. [4] He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the age of 49.

[5] Calling himself the First Emperor ( Chinese: 始皇帝, Shǐ Huángdì) after China's unification, Qín Shǐ Huáng is a pivotal figure in Chinese history, ushering in nearly two millennia of imperial rule. After unifying China, he and his chief advisor Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms.

[4] He undertook gigantic projects, including building and unifying various sections of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by the life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. During his reign, Qin Qin shi huang Huang outlawed and burned many books and buried some scholars alive. [5] Contents • 1 Name of Qin shi huang Huangdi • 1.1 Usage • 1.2 Naming taboo • 2 Family history and birth • 2.1 Birth controversy • 3 King of the Qin state • 3.1 Teenage years • 3.2 Lao Ai's attempted coup • 3.3 Jing Ke's assassination mission • 3.4 Gao Jianli's assassination mission • 4 First unification of China • 5 First emperor of the Qin dynasty • 5.1 Division and politics • 5.2 Economy • 5.3 Identification • 5.4 Zhang Liang's assassination attempt • 5.5 North: Great wall • 5.6 South: Lingqu canal • 5.7 End of hundred schools of thought • 5.8 Book burning period • 6 Death and aftermath • 6.1 Elixir of life • 6.2 Death • 6.3 Second emperor conspiracy • 7 Legacy • 7.1 Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor • 7.2 Qin Shi Huang's tomb • 7.3 Family of Qin Shi Huang • 8 Historiography of Qin Shi Huang • 9 Cultural references • 9.1 Literature • 9.2 Films • 9.3 Television • 9.4 Music • 9.5 Video games • 10 See also • 11 Qin shi huang • 12 Further reading • 13 External links Name of Shi Huangdi 始皇帝 Shǐ Huángdì "First Emperor" ( small seal script from 220 BC) From the beginning of the Zhou dynasty in 1045 BCE to the time of the First Emperor, rulers of the Chinese states were titled Wang ( Chinese: 王), a term that originally meant "big man" but later came to mean "chief" or "king".

[6] Following his defeat of the last of the Warring States in 221 BC, King Zheng of Qin became de facto ruler of all China. To celebrate this achievement and consolidate his power base, King Zheng created a new title calling himself the First Sovereign Emperor of Qin ( Chinese: 秦 始 皇 帝; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huángdì; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih Huang-ti), often shortened to Qin Shi Huang ( Chinese: 秦 始 皇; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huáng; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih-Huang).

• The character shǐ 始 means "first". [7] The first emperor's heirs would then be successively called "Second Emperor", "Third Emperor" and so on down the generations. [8] • The term Huangdi ( Chinese: 皇帝; Wade–Giles: Huang-ti) comes from the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors Era ( Chinese: 三 皇 五 帝; pinyin: Sān Huáng Wŭ Dì), from which the two terms "Sovereign" and "Emperor" ( huang 皇 and di 帝) are extracted. [9] By adding such a title, Qin Shihuang hoped to appropriate some of the previous Yellow Emperor's divine status and prestige.

[10] • Additionally, the character huáng 皇 literally means "shining" or "splendid" and was "most frequently used as an epithet of Heaven." [11] Usage Both "Qín Shǐ Huángdì" (秦始皇帝) and "Qín Shǐ Huáng" (秦始皇) appear in the Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian. The longer name "Qín Shǐ Huángdì" (秦始皇帝) appears first in chapter 5, [12] though the shorter name "Qín Shǐ Huáng" (秦始皇) was the name of chapter qin shi huang (秦始皇本紀, Qín Shǐ Huáng Běnjì). [13] [14] However, qin shi huang name Qin Shi Huangdi is believed to be the correct one since Ying Zheng joined together the words Huang (Imperial) and Di (ruler), to create Huangdi (emperor).

[15] Naming taboo In Chinese history, the emperors' and seniors' given names must be avoided as they are a naming taboo. When it came to Zhao Zheng's given name Zheng, it was considered as a National Taboo (国讳).

Zhao Zheng was born in the first month of the qin shi huang (Zhengyue 正月 in the Chinese calendar) thus he received the character Zheng (正) as given name. According to the footnote of the "The lunar calendar of Qin and Chu" (《秦楚之际月表》) from the Index of the Records of the Grand Historian (《史记索隐》), the first month Zhengyue, "due to the taboo of the First Emperor's given name Zheng, was reformed as Duanyue (端月).

By the end of 1975, at Shuihudi archaeological excavations site, in Yunmeng County, Hubei province, a large number of the Qin Dynasty bamboo slips were unearthed from the tombs, some dating from the end of the Warring States period. In a group of bamboo slips called "phrase book" (《语书》), there were several encounters of the word "Zheng", they were all reformed as the character "Duan" (端) instead.

Such as "To correct the people's support" (以矫端民心), "no justice of the heart" (毋公端之心), and so on, "Duan" was supposed to qin shi huang Zheng. They were clearly changed in order to avoid the First Emperor's taboo.

But according to the "Biography of Li Si" in the Records of the Grand Historian, the naming taboo was not adhered to universally: " General Tian and Fusu were living far away. They do not avoid the taboo by correcting the word Zheng (正).

It was easy to understand their motive." [16] Family history and birth A rich merchant in the State of Han, named Lü Buwei, met Master Yìrén (公子異人, Gōngzǐ Yìrén). Lü Buwei's manipulation helped Yiren become King Zhuangxiang of Qin. [5] At the time, King Zhuāngxiāng of Qin was a prince of Qin blood, who took residence at the court of the State of Zhao as a hostage to guarantee an armistice between the two states.

[17] According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the first emperor was born in 259 BC as the eldest son of King Zhuangxiang of Qin. [1] [18] King Zhuangxiang of Qin saw a concubine belonging to Lü Buwei, and she bore the first emperor on 18 February, it was in January according to qin shi huang Chinese calendar. [18] At birth, he was given the clan name of Zhao (the clan name of the royal house of Qin) inherited from his father and personal name Zheng (正), because he was born in the first month ( Zhengyue 正月 in the Chinese calendar).

His clan name Zhao has nothing to do with being born at the Kingdom of Zhao; it was a coincidence. Birth controversy According to the Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian during the next dynasty, the first emperor was not the actual son of King Zhuangxiang.

By the time Lü Buwei introduced the dancing girl Zhào Jī (趙姬, or the Concubine from Zhao) to the future King Zhuangxiang of Qin, she was allegedly Lü Buwei's concubine and had already become pregnant by him. [17] According to translations of the Annals of Lü Buwei the woman gave birth to the future emperor in the city of Handan in 259 BC, the first month of the 48th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

[19] The idea that the emperor was an illegitimate child was widely believed throughout Chinese history, and contributed to the generally negative view of the First Emperor.

[7] However, modern analysis has revealed that the sentence in Records of the Grand Historian describing Qin Shi Huang's unusual birth is probably a later interpolation added in order to slander him. [20] John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, in their translation of Lü Buwei's Spring and Autumn Annals, call the story "patently false, meant both to libel Lü and to cast aspersions on the First Emperor." [21] Claiming Lü Buwei – a merchant – as the First Emperor's biological father was meant to be especially disparaging, since later Confucian society held qin shi huang to be the lowest of all social classes.

[22] King of the Qin state King Zhuangxiang of Qin House of Ying Died: 247 BC Regnal titles Preceded by King Xiaowen King of Qin 249–247 BC Succeeded by Qin Shi Huang Teenage years In 246 BC, when King Zhuangxiang died after a short reign of just three years, he was succeeded on the throne by his 13-year-old son. [23] At the time, Zhao Zheng was still young, so Lü Buwei acted as the regent prime minister of the State of Qin, which was still waging war against the other six states.

[7] Chengjiao, the Lord Chang'an (长安君), [24] was Zhao Zheng's legitimate half brother by the same father but from a different mother. After Zhao Zheng inherited the throne, Chengjiao rebelled at Tunliu and surrendered to the state of Zhao. Chengjiao's remaining retainers and families were executed by Zhao Zheng. [25] Lao Ai's attempted coup As King Zheng grew older, Lü Buwei became fearful that the boy king would discover his liaison with his mother Zhào Jī (趙姬).

He decided to distance himself and look for a replacement for the queen dowager. He found a man named Lào Ǎi (嫪毐). [26] According to the Record of Grand Historian, Lao Ai was disguised as a eunuch by plucking his beard.

Later Lao Ai and queen Zhao Ji got along so well they secretly had two sons together. [26] Lao Ai then became ennobled as Marquis Lào Ǎi, and was showered with riches. Lü Buwei's plot was supposed to replace King Zheng with one of the hidden sons. But during a dinner party drunken Lào Ǎi was heard bragging about being the young king's step father. [26] In 238 BC the king was traveling to the ancient capital of Yōng (雍). Lao Qin shi huang seized the queen mother's seal and mobilized an army in an attempt to start a coup and rebel.

[26] When King Zheng found out this fact, he ordered Lü Buwei to let Lord Changping and Lord Changwen attack Lao Ai and their army killed hundreds of the rebels at the capital, although Lao Ai succeeded to flee from this battle.

[27] A price of 1 million copper coins was placed on Lao Ai's head if he was taken alive or half a million if dead. [26] Lao Ai's supporters were captured and beheaded; then Lao Ai was tied up qin shi huang torn to five pieces by horse carriages, while his entire family was executed to the third degree.

[26] The two hidden sons were also killed, while mother Zhao Ji was placed under house arrest until her death many years later. Lü Buwei drank a cup of poison wine and qin shi huang suicide in 235 BC.

[7] [26] Ying Zheng then assumed full power as the King of the Qin state. Replacing Lü Buwei, Li Si became the new chancellor. Jing Ke's assassination mission Main article: Jing Ke King Zheng and his troops continued to take over different states. The state of Yan was small, weak and frequently harassed by soldiers. It was no match for the Qin state. [28] So Crown Prince Dan of Yan plotted an assassination attempt to get rid of King Zheng, begging Jing Ke to go on the mission in 227 BC.

[5] [28] Jing Ke was accompanied by Qin Wuyang in the plot. Each was supposed to present a gift to King Zheng, a map of Dukang and the decapitated head of Fan Wuji. [28] Qin Wuyang first tried to present the map case gift, but trembled in fear and moved no further towards the king.

Jing Ke continued to advance toward the king, while explaining that his partner "has never set eyes on the Son of Heaven", which is why he qin shi huang trembling. Jing Ke had to present both gifts by himself. [28] While unrolling the map, a dagger was revealed. The king drew back, stood on his feet, but struggled to draw the sword to defend himself. [28] At the time, other palace officials were not allowed to carry weapons. Jing Ke pursued the king, attempting to stab him, but missed.

King Zheng drew out his sword and cut Jing Ke's thigh. Jing Ke then threw the dagger, but missed again. Suffering eight wounds from the king's sword, Jing Ke realized his attempt had failed and knew that both of them would be killed afterwards. [28] The Yan state was conquered by the Qin state five years later.

[28] Gao Jianli's assassination mission Main article: Gao Jianli Gao Jianli was a close friend of Jing Ke, who wanted to avenge his death. [29] As a famous lute player, one day he was summoned by King Zheng to play the instrument.

Someone in the palace who had known him in the past exclaimed, "This is Gao Jianli". [30] Unable to bring himself to kill such a skilled musician, the emperor ordered his eyes put out. [30] But the king allowed Gao Jianli to play in his presence. [30] He praised the playing and even allowed Gao Jianli to get closer. As part of the plot, the lute was fastened with a heavy piece of lead. He raised the lute and struck at the king.

He missed, and his assassination attempt failed. Gao Jianli was later executed. [30] First unification of China Main article: Qin's wars of unification Imperial tours of Qin Shi Huang In 230 BC, King Zheng unleashed the final campaigns of the Warring States period, setting out to conquer the remaining independent kingdoms, one by one.

The first state to fall was Hán (韓; sometimes called Hann to distinguish it from the Hàn 漢 qin shi huang Han dynasty), in 230 BC. Then Qin took advantage of natural disasters in 229 BC to invade and conquer Zhào, where Qin Shi Huang had been born. [31] [32] He now avenged his poor treatment as a child hostage there, seeking out and killing his enemies. Qin armies conquered the state of Zhao in 228 BC, the northern country of Yan in 226 BC, the small state of Wei in 225 BC, and the largest state and greatest challenge, Chu, in 223 BC.

[33] In 222 BC, the last remnants of Yan and the royal family were captured in Liaodong in the northeast. The only independent country left was now state of Qi, in the far east, what is now the Shandong peninsula.

Terrified, the young king of Qi sent 200,000 people to defend his western borders. In 221 BC, the Qin armies invaded from the north, captured the king, and annexed Qi. For the first time, all of China was unified under one powerful ruler. In that same year, King Zheng proclaimed himself the "First Emperor" (始皇帝, Shǐ Huángdì), no longer a king in the old sense and now far surpassing the achievements of the old Zhou Dynasty rulers.

[34] The emperor made the He Shi Bi into the Imperial Seal, known as the "Heirloom Seal of the Realm". The words, "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life." (受命於天，既壽永昌) were written by Prime Minister Li Si, and carved onto the seal by Sun Shou.

The Seal was later passed from emperor to emperor for generations to come. In the South, military expansion in the form of campaigns against the Yue tribes continued during his reign, with various regions being annexed to what is now Guangdong province and part of today's Vietnam.

[32] First emperor of the Qin dynasty Division and politics Main article: History of the administrative divisions of China In an attempt to avoid a recurrence of the political chaos of early imperial China, the conquered states were not allowed to be qin shi huang to as independent nations. [35] The empire was then divided into 36 (郡, Jùn), later more than 40 commanderies.

[32] The whole of China was now divided into administrative units: first commanderies, then districts (縣, Xiàn), counties (鄉, Xiāng) and hundred-family units (里, Li). [36] This system was different from the previous dynasties, which had loose alliances and federations. [37] People could no longer be identified by their native region or former feudal state, as when a person from Chu was called "Chu person" (楚人, Chu rén).

[36] [38] Appointments were now based on merit instead of hereditary rights. [36] Economy A 5- catty weight inscribed with a description of Qin Shi Huang's edict to standardize weights and measures, 221 BC Qin Shi Huang and Li Si unified China economically by standardizing the Chinese units of measurements such as weights and measures, the currency, the length of the axles of carts to facilitate transport on the road system.

[37] The emperor also developed an extensive network of roads and canals connecting the provinces to improve trade between them. [37] The currency of the different states were also standardized to the Ban liang coin (半兩, Bàn Liǎng). [36] Perhaps most importantly, the Chinese script was unified. Under Li Si, the seal script of the state of Qin was standardized through removal of variant forms within the Qin script itself.

This newly standardized script was then made official throughout all the conquered regions, thus doing away with all the regional scripts to form one language, one communication qin shi huang for all of China. [36] Identification Qin Shi Huang also followed the school of the five elements, earth, wood, metal, fire and water.（五德終始說） Zhao Zheng's birth element is water, which is connected with the colour black.

It was also believed that qin shi huang royal house of the previous dynasty Zhou had ruled by the power of fire, which was the color red. The new Qin dynasty must be ruled by the next element on the list, which is water, represented by the color black. Black became the color for garments, flags, pennants. [39] Other associations include north as the cardinal direction, winter season and the number six. [40] Tallies and official hats were six inches long, carriages six feet wide, one pace (步, Bù) was 6 ft (1.8 m).

[39] Zhang Liang's assassination attempt Main article: Zhang Liang (Western Han) In 230 BC, the state of Qin had defeated the state of Han. A Han aristocrat named Zhang Liang swore revenge on the Qin emperor. He sold all his valuables and in 218 BC, he hired a strongman assassin and built him a heavy metal cone weighing 120 jin (roughly 160 lb or 97 kg). [26] The two men hid among the bushes along the emperor's route over a mountain. At a signal, the muscular assassin hurled the cone at the first carriage and shattered it.

However, the emperor was actually in the second carriage, as he was traveling with two identical carriages for this very reason. Thus the attempt failed. [41] Both men were able to escape in spite of a huge manhunt. [26] North: Great wall Main article: Great Wall of China The Qin fought nomadic tribes to the north and northwest.

The Xiongnu tribes were not defeated and subdued, thus the campaign was tiring and unsuccessful, and to prevent the Xiongnu from encroaching on the northern frontier any longer, the emperor ordered the construction of an immense defensive wall. [32] [42] This wall, for whose construction hundreds of thousands of men were mobilized, and an unknown number died, is a precursor to the current Great Wall of China.

It connected numerous state walls which had been built during the previous four centuries, a network of small walls linking river defenses to impassable cliffs. A great monument of China to this day, the Great Wall still stands, open to the public to challenge its million steps.

[43] [44] South: Lingqu canal Main article: Lingqu Canal A famous South China quotation was "In the North there is the Great wall, in the South there is the Lingqu canal" (北有長城、南有靈渠, Běiyǒu chángchéng, nányǒu língqú). [45] In 214 BC the Emperor began the project of a major canal to transport supplies to the army.

[46] The canal allows water transport between north and south China. [46] The canal, 34 kilometers in length, links the Xiang River which flows into the Yangtze and the Li Jiang, which flows into the Pearl River. [46] The canal connected two of China's major waterways and aided Qin's expansion into the southwest.

[46] The construction is considered one of the three great feats of Ancient Chinese engineering, the others being the Great Wall and the Sichuan Dujiangyan Irrigation System.

[46] End of hundred schools of thought While the previous Warring States era was one of constant warfare, it was also considered the golden age of free thought. [47] Qin Shi Huang eliminated the Hundred Schools of Thought which incorporated Confucianism and other philosophies.

[47] [48] After the unification of China, with all other schools of thought banned, legalism became the endorsed ideology of the Qin dynasty.

[36] Legalism was basically a system that required the people to follow the laws or be punished accordingly. Book burning period Main article: Burning of books and burying of scholars Portrait of Epang palace Beginning in 213 BC, at the instigation of Li Si and to avoid scholars' comparisons of his reign with the past, Qin Shi Huang ordered most existing books to be burned with the exception of those on astrology, agriculture, medicine, divination, and the history of the State of Qin.

[49] This would also serve the purpose of furthering the ongoing reformation of the writing system by removing examples of obsolete scripts. [50] Owning the Book of Songs or the Classic of History was to be punished especially severely.

According to the later Records of the Grand Historian, the following year Qin Shi Huang had some 460 scholars buried alive for owning the forbidden books. [49] [51] The emperor's oldest son Fusu criticised him for this act. [52] The emperor's own library still had copies of the forbidden books but most of these were destroyed later when Xiang Yu burned the palaces of Xianyang in 206 BC. [53] Death and aftermath Elixir of life Later in his life, Qin Shi Huang feared death and desperately sought the fabled elixir of life, which would supposedly allow him to live forever.

He was obsessed with acquiring immortality and fell prey to many who offered him supposed elixirs. [54] He visited Zhifu Island three times in order to achieve immortality.

[55] Xu Fu's ships set sail in 219 BC in search of the medicine for immortality. In one case he sent Xu Fu, a Zhifu islander, with ships carrying hundreds of young men and women in search of the mystical Penglai mountain. [41] They were sent to find Anqi Sheng, a 1,000-year-old magician whom Qin Shi Huang had supposedly met in his travels and who had invited him to seek him there. [56] These people never returned, perhaps because they knew that if they returned without the promised elixir, they would qin shi huang be executed.

Legends claim that they reached Japan and colonized it. [54] It is also possible that the book burning, a purge on what could be seen as wasteful and useless literature, was, in part, an attempt to focus the minds of the Emperor's best scholars on the alchemical quest.

Some of the executed scholars were those who had been unable to offer any evidence of their supernatural schemes.

This may have been the ultimate means of testing their abilities: if any of them had magic powers, then they would surely come back to life when they were let out again. [57] Since the great emperor was afraid of death and "evil spirits", he had workers build a series of tunnels and passage ways to each of his palaces (he owned over 200), because traveling unseen would supposedly keep him safe from the evil spirits.

Death In 211 BC a large meteor is said to have fallen in Dōngjùn (東郡) in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. On it, an unknown person inscribed the words "The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided." [58] When the emperor heard of this, he sent an imperial secretary to investigate this prophecy. No one would confess to the deed, so all the people living nearby were put to death.

The stone was then burned and pulverized. [18] The Emperor died during one of his tours of Eastern China, on September 10, 210 BC (Julian Calendar) at the palace in Shaqiu prefecture (沙丘平台, Shāqiū Píngtái), about two months away by road from the capital Xianyang.

[28] [28] [59] [60] Reportedly, he died due to ingesting mercury pills, made by his alchemists and court physicians. [61] Ironically, these pills were meant to make Qin Shi Huang immortal. [61] After the Emperor's death Prime Minister Li Si, who accompanied him, became extremely worried that the news of his death could trigger a general uprising in the Empire.

[28] It would take two months for the government to reach the capital, and it would not be possible to stop the uprising. Li Si decided to hide the death of the Emperor, and return to Xianyang. [28] Most of the Imperial entourage accompanying the Emperor was left ignorant of the Emperor's death; only a younger son, Ying Huhai, who was traveling with his father, the eunuch Zhao Gao, Li Si, and five or six favorite eunuchs knew of the death.

[28] Li Si also ordered that two carts containing rotten fish be carried immediately before and after the wagon of the Emperor. The idea behind this was to prevent people from noticing the foul smell emanating from the wagon of the Emperor, where his body was starting to decompose severely as it was summertime. [28] They also pulled down the shade so no one could see his face, changed his clothes daily, brought food and when he had to have important conversations they would act as if he wanted to send them a message.

[28] Second emperor conspiracy Eventually, after about two months, Li Si and the imperial court reached Xianyang, where the news of the death of the emperor was announced.

[28] Qin Shi Huang did not like to talk about his own death and he had never written a will. After his death, the eldest son Fusu would normally become the next emperor. [62] Li Si and the chief eunuch Zhao Gao conspired to kill Fusu because Fusu's favorite general was Meng Tian, whom they disliked [62] and feared; Meng Tian's brother, a senior minister, had once punished Zhao Gao.

[63] They believed that if Fusu was enthroned, they would lose their power. [62] Li Si and Zhao Gao forged a letter from Qin Shi Huang saying that both Fusu and General Meng must commit suicide. [62] The plan worked, qin shi huang the younger son Huhai became the Second Emperor, later known as Qin Er Shi or "Second Generation Qin." [28] Qin Er Shi, however, was not as capable as his father.

Revolts quickly erupted. His reign was a time of extreme civil unrest, and everything built by the First Emperor crumbled away within qin shi huang short period. [32] One of the immediate revolt attempts was the 209 BC Daze Village Uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

[58] Legacy Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor See also: Terracotta Army The Chinese historian Sima Qian, writing a century after the First Emperor's death, wrote that it took 700,000 men to construct the emperor's mausoleum.

The British historian John Man points out that this figure is larger than any city of the world at that time and calculates that the foundations could have been built by 16,000 men in two years.

[64] While Sima Qian never mentioned the terracotta army, the statues were discovered by a group of farmers digging wells on March 29, 1974. [65] The soldiers were created with a series of mix-and-match clay molds and then further individualized by the artists' hand. Han Purple was also used on some of the warriors.

[66] There are around 6,000 Terracotta Warriors and their purpose was to protect the Emperor in the afterlife from evil spirits.

Also among the army are chariots and 40,000 real bronze weapons. [67] Qin Shi Huang's tomb One of the first projects the young king accomplished while he was alive was the construction of his own tomb.

In 215 BC Qin Shi Huang ordered General Meng Tian with 300,000 men to begin construction. [51] Other sources suggested he ordered 720,000 unpaid laborers qin shi huang build his tomb to specification.

[23] Again, given John Man's observation regarding populations of the time (see paragraph above), these historical estimates are debatable. The main tomb (located at 34°22′52.75″N 109°15′13.06″E  /  34.3813194°N 109.2536278°E  / 34.3813194; 109.2536278) containing the emperor has yet to be opened and there is evidence suggesting that it remains relatively intact. [68] Sima Qian's description of the tomb includes replicas of palaces and scenic towers, "rare utensils and qin shi huang objects", 100 rivers made with mercury, representations of "the heavenly bodies", and crossbows rigged to shoot anyone who tried to break in.

[69] Qin shi huang tomb was built at the foot of Li Mountain, and is only 30 kilometers away from Xi'an. Modern archaeologists have located the tomb, and have inserted probes deep into it. The probes revealed abnormally high quantities of mercury, some 100 times the naturally occurring rate, suggesting that some parts of the legend are credible. [61] Secrets were maintained, as most of the workmen who built the tomb were killed. [61] [70] Family of Qin Shi Huang Main article: Chinese emperors family tree (early) The following are some family members of Qin Shi Huang: • Parents • King Zhuangxiang of Qin • Queen Dowager Zhao • Half siblings: • Chengjiao, [13] Lord of Chang'an [24] • Two half-brothers born to Queen Dowager Zhao and Lao Ai • Children: • Fusu, Crown Prince (17th son) [71] • Gao • Jianglü • Huhai, later Qin Er Shi (18th son) [71] Qin Shi Huang had about 50 children, sons about 30, daughters about 15, but most of their names are unknown.

He had numerous concubines but never seemed to name an empress. [72] Historiography of Qin Shi Huang A modern statue of Qin Shi Huang, located near the site of the Terracotta Army In traditional Chinese historiography, the First Emperor of the Chinese unified states was almost always portrayed as a brutal tyrant who had obsessive fear of assassination.

Ideological antipathy towards the Legalist State of Qin was established as early as 266 BC, when Confucian philosopher Xun Zi disparaged it. [ citation needed] Later Confucian historians condemned the emperor who had burned the classics and buried Confucian scholars alive. They eventually compiled a list of the Ten Crimes of Qin to highlight his tyrannical actions. The famous Han poet and statesman Jia Yi concluded his essay The Faults of Qin (過秦論, Guò Qín Lùn) with what was qin shi huang become the standard Confucian judgment of the reasons for Qin's collapse.

Jia Yi's essay, admired as a masterpiece of rhetoric and reasoning, was copied into two great Han histories and has had a far-reaching influence on Chinese political thought as a classic illustration of Confucian theory. [73] He attributed Qin's disintegration to its failure to display humanity and righteousness or to realise that there is a difference between the power to attack and the power to consolidate.

[74] In more modern times, historical assessment of the First Emperor different from traditional Chinese historiography began to emerge. The reassessment was spurred on by weakness of China in the latter half of 19th century and early 20th century, and Confucian traditions at that time began to be seen by some as an impediment to China's entry into the modern world, opening the way for changing perspectives.

At a time when Chinese territory was encroached upon by foreign nations, leading Kuomintang historian Xiao Yishan emphasized the role of Qin Shi Huang in repulsing the northern barbarians, particularly in the construction of the Great Wall. Another historian, Ma Feibai (馬非百), published in 1941 a full-length revisionist biography of the First Emperor entitled Qín Shǐ Huángdì Chuán (秦始皇帝傳), calling him "one of the great heroes of Chinese history". Ma compared him with the contemporary leader Chiang Kai-shek and saw many parallels in the careers and policies of the two men, both of whom he admired.

Chiang's Northern Expedition of the late 1920s, which directly preceded the new Nationalist government at Nanjing was compared to the unification brought about by Qin Shi Huang. A modern statue of the First Emperor and his attendants With the coming of the Communist Revolution in 1949, new interpretations again surfaced.

The establishment of qin shi huang new, revolutionary regime prompted another re-evaluation of the First Emperor, this time in accordance with Maoist thought. The new interpretation given of Qin Shi Huang was generally a combination of traditional and modern views, but essentially critical.

This is exemplified in the Complete History of China, which was compiled in September 1955 as an official survey of Chinese history. The work described the First Emperor's major steps toward unification and standardisation as corresponding to the interests of the ruling group and the merchant class, not the nation or the people, and the subsequent fall of his dynasty as a manifestation of the class struggle.

The perennial debate about the fall of the Qin Dynasty was also explained in Marxist terms, the peasant rebellions being a revolt against oppression – a revolt which undermined the dynasty, but which was bound to fail because of a compromise with "landlord qin shi huang elements". Since 1972, however, a radically different official view of Qin Shi Huang has been given prominence throughout China.

The re-evaluation was initiated by Hong Shidi's biography Qin Shi Huang. The work was published by the state press as a mass popular qin shi huang, and it sold 1.85 million copies within two years. In the new era, Qin Shi Huang was seen as a farsighted ruler who destroyed the forces of division and established the first unified, centralized state in Chinese history by rejecting the past.

Personal attributes, such as his quest for immortality, so emphasized in traditional historiography, were scarcely mentioned. The new evaluations described how, in his time (an era of great political and social change), he had no compunctions against using violent methods to crush counter-revolutionaries, such as the "industrial and commercial slave owner" chancellor Lü Buwei.

However, he was criticized for not being as thorough as he should have been, and as a result, after his death, hidden subversives under the leadership of the chief eunuch Zhao Gao were able to seize power and use it to restore the old feudal order.

To round out this re-evaluation, a new interpretation of the precipitous collapse of the Qin Dynasty was put forward in an article entitled "On the Class Struggle During the Period Between Qin and Han" by Luo Siding, in a 1974 issue of Red Flag, to replace the old explanation. The new theory claimed that the cause of the fall of Qin lay in the lack of thoroughness of Qin Shi Huang's "dictatorship over the reactionaries, even to the extent of permitting them to worm their way into organs of political authority and usurp important posts." Mao Zedong, chairman of the People's Republic of China, was reviled for his persecution of qin shi huang.

On being compared to the First Emperor, Mao responded: "He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried forty-six thousand scholars alive.

You [intellectuals] revile us for being Qin Shi Huangs. You are wrong. We have surpassed Qin Shi Huang a hundredfold." [75] Cultural references Wikiquote has media related to: Qin Shi Huang Literature • Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986), the Argentine writer, wrote an acclaimed essay on Qin Shi Huang, "The Wall and the Books" (" La muralla y los libros") in the 1952 collection Other Inquisitions ( Otras Inquisiciones).

[76] • The 1984 book Bridge of Birds (by Barry Hughart) portrays Qin Shi Huang as a power-hungry megalomaniac who achieved immortality by having his heart removed by an "Old Man of the mountain". • The Chinese Emperor, by Jean Levi, appeared in 1985. • In the 1985 Contact (by Carl Sagan), the character Xi Qiaomu—who had been involved in excavations of the tomb of Emperor Qin during the Cultural Revolution—is visited by a personified alien in the form of the Emperor Qin.

[77] • In the Area 51 book series, Qin Shi Huang is revealed to be an alien exile stranded on Earth during an interstellar civil war. • In Terry Pratchett's Interesting Times, the wizard, Rincewind, discovers a suit of armor owned by a previous emperor which gives him control of a terracotta army.

As with most of Pratchett's Discworld series, this book is a play on a real-world concept. In this case, the model is Emperor Qin Shi Huang's cultural impact on modern-day China.

• In Hydra's Ring, the 39th novel in the Outlanders series, Qin Shi Huang is revealed to be still alive in the early 23rd century through extraterrestrial nano-technology qin shi huang has bestowed a form of immortality. Films • Shin No Shikoutei (1962) - The film portrays Qin Shi Huang as a battle-hardened emperor with his roots in the military.

[78] • The Emperor's Shadow (1996) - The film focuses on Qin Shi Huang's relationship with the musician Gao Jianli, a friend of the assassin Jing Ke. [79] • The Emperor and the Assassin (1999) - The film centers on the identity of Qin Shi Huang's father, his supposed heartless treatment of his officials, and a betrayal by his childhood lover, paving the way for Jing Ke's assassination attempt.

[80] • Hero (2002) - The film starred Jet Li, a nameless assassin who qin shi huang an assassination attempt on the King of Qin ( Chen Daoming). The film is qin shi huang fictional re-imagining of the assassination attempt by Jing Ke on Qin Shi Huang. [81] • The Myth (2005) - The film starred Jackie Chan as Meng Yi, a military general serving under Qin Shi Huang.

Meng is reincarnated into the present-day as an archaeologist. Kim Hee-sun co-starred as a Korean princess who was forced to marry the emperor. [82] • The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) - Third installment in the Mummy film series.

Jet Li plays Qin Shi Huang, resurrected from the dead along with his Terracotta Army. Television • Rise of the Great Wall (1986) - a 63 episode TV series chronicling the events from the emperor's birth until his death. [83] • The Not-So-Great Wall Of China (1999) - one of the episodes of History Bites.

Bob Bainborough played Qin Shi Huang. • A Step into the Past (2001) - a Hong Kong TVB production based on a science fiction novel by Huang Yi. [84] • Qin Shi Huang (2002) - a mainland Chinese TV series production. It qin shi huang a semi-fictionalized story of the emperor's life, from his childhood until his death. Zhang Fengyi starred as Qin Shi Huang. [85] • First Emperor: The Man Who Made China (2006) - a drama-documentary special about Qin Shi Huang. James Pax played the emperor.

It was shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in 2006. [86] • Secrets of China's First Emperor, Tyrant and Visionary (2006) - a documentary by National Geographic.

It provided an in-depth look at the magnificent and controversial ruler. [87] • China's First Emperor (2008) - a special three-hour documentary by The History Channel.

Xu Pengkai played Qin Shi Huang. [88] • Kingdom (2012) - An anime featured during the Warring States Period (475-221BCE) portraying Qin Shi Huang before he became emperor Shi Huangdi, and his legacy of uniting China. Music • Qin Shi Huang is the protagonist in the opera The First Emperor.

Video games • The 1995 video game Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom depicts a fictional archaeological mission to explore the First Emperor's burial site.

The emperor is featured in several voice-overs in Mandarin Chinese. • The 2003 video game Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb portrays Indiana Jones entering the tomb of Qin Shi Huang to recover "The Heart of the Dragon". • In the 2005 video game Civilization IV, Qin Shi Huang is one of the two playable leaders of China. [89] • In the computer game Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, the Qin Dynasty campaign has the player as the head architect of Qin Shi Huang, in charge of overseeing the construction of the capital, the Lingqu canal, the Great Wall, as well as his tomb and the terracotta army.

• Qin Shi Huang is also revealed to be the final boss of the video game Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid 2. See also • Burning of books and burying of scholars • Yíng (Chinese surname) • Qin Wuyang of Yan (state) • surname • Jin (Korean name) • Hata clan • He Shi Bi • Lady Meng Jiang References • ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wood, Frances. (2008). China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors. Macmillan publishing. ISBN 0-312-38112-3, ISBN 978-0-312-38112-7. p 2. • ↑ "北大珍藏西汉竹书" (in Chinese). Western Han bamboo books in the collection of Peking University.

2013-02-19. http://www.gmw.cn/guoxue/2013-02/19/content_6734120.htm. Retrieved 2013-05-22. qin shi huang • ↑ At the time, female members used ancestral name and male members used clan name. • ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Duiker, William J. Spielvogel, Jackson J. Edition: 5, illustrated. (2006). World History: Volume I: To 1800. Qin shi huang Higher Education publishing.

ISBN 0-495-05053-9, ISBN 978-0-495-05053-7. pg 78. • ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ren, Changhong. Wu, Jingyu. (2000). Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty. Asiapac Books Pte Ltd.

ISBN 981-229-172-5, ISBN 978-981-229-172-1. • ↑ Endymion Wilkinson, Chinese History: A Manual (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2000): 108. • ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Wood, Frances.

(2008). China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors. Macmillan publishing. ISBN 0-312-38112-3, ISBN 978-0-312-38112-7. pp 23-24, 26. • ↑ Hardy, Grant.

Kinney, Anne Behnke. (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN qin shi huang, 9780313325885. p 10. • ↑ The Great Wall. (1981). Luo, Zhewen Luo. Lo, Che-wen. Wilson, Dick Wilson. Drege, J. P. Contributor Che-wen Lo. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-070745-6, ISBN qin shi huang. pg 23. • ↑ Fowler, Jeaneane D. (2005). An Introduction to the Philosophy and Religion of Taoism: Qin shi huang to Immortality. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 1-84519-086-6, ISBN 978-1-84519-086-6.

pg 132. • ↑ Lewis, Mark Edward (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 52. Qin shi huang 978-0674024779. http://books.google.com/books?id=EHKxM31e408C&lpg=PA52&dq=the%20early%20chinese%20emperors%20lewis%20%22was%20most%20frequently%20used%20as%20an%20epithet%20of%20Heaven%22&pg=PA52#v=onepage&q&f=false.

• ↑ Wikisource Records of the Grand Historian Chapter 5. • ↑ 13.0 13.1 Wikisource Records of the Grand Historian Chapter 6. Cite error: Invalid tag; name "shijichapter6" defined multiple times with different content • ↑ Book.sina.com.cn.

" Sina." 帝王相貌引起的歷史爭議. Retrieved on 2009-01-18. • ↑ see Qin shi huang Emperors by Ma Yan. ISBN 978-1-4351-0408-2. • ↑ Taboo: http://baike.baidu.com/view/15449.htm • ↑ 17.0 17.1 Huang, Ray. China: A Macro History Edition: 2, revised. (1987). M.E. Sharpe publishing. ISBN 1-56324-730-5, ISBN 978-1-56324-730-9. pg 32. • ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 ‘‘Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty (English translation). (1996). Ssu-Ma, Ch'ien. Sima, Qian. Burton Watson as translator. Edition: 3, reissue, revised.

Columbia. University Press. ISBN 0-231-08169-3, ISBN 978-0-231-08169-6. pg 35. pg 59. • ↑ Lü, Buwei. Translated by Knoblock, John. Riegel, Jeffrey. The Annals of Lü Buwei: Lü Shi Chun Qiu : a Complete Translation and Study. qin shi huang. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3354-6, ISBN 978-0-8047-3354-0. qin shi huang ↑ Bodde (1987:42–43, 95) • ↑ The Annals of Lü Buwei. Knoblock, John and Riegel, Jeffrey Trans.

Stanford University Press. 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3354-0. p. 9 • ↑ Bodde (1987:43) • ↑ 23.0 23.1 Donn, Lin. Donn, Don. Ancient China. (2003). Social Studies School Service. Social Studies. ISBN 1-56004-163-3, ISBN 978-1-56004-163-4. pg 49. • ↑ 24.0 24.1 司馬遷《史記·卷043·趙世家》：（赵悼襄王）六年，封长安君以饶。 • ↑ Records of the Grand Historian Chapter - Qin Shi Huang:八年，王弟长安君成蟜将军击赵，反，死屯留，军吏皆斩死，迁其 民於临洮。将军壁死，卒屯留、蒲鶮反，戮其尸。河鱼大上，轻车重马东就食。 《史记 秦始皇》 • ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6 26.7 26.8 Mah, Adeline Yen.

(2003). A Thousand Pieces of Gold: Growing Up Through China's Proverbs. Published by HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-000641-2, ISBN 978-0-06-000641-9. p 32-34. • ↑ The Records of the Grand Historian, Vol. 6: Annals of Qin Shi Huang.

[1] The 9th year of Qin Shi Huang. 王知之，令相國昌平君、昌文君發卒攻毐。戰咸陽，斬首數百，皆拜爵，及宦者皆在戰中，亦拜爵一級。毐等敗走。 • ↑ 28.00 28.01 28.02 28.03 28.04 28.05 28.06 28.07 28.08 28.09 28.10 28.11 28.12 28.13 28.14 28.15 Sima Qian.

Dawson, Raymond Stanley. Brashier, K. E. (2007). The First Emperor: Selections from the Historical Records. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-922634-2, ISBN 978-0-19-922634-4.

pg 15 - 20, pg 82, pg 99. • ↑ Elizabeth, Jean. Ward, Laureate. (2008). The Songs and Ballads of Li He Chang. ISBN 1-4357-1867-4, ISBN 978-1-4357-1867-8. p 51 • ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Wu, Hung. The Wu Liang Shrine: The Ideology of Early Chinese Pictorial Art. Stanford University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-8047-1529-7, ISBN 978-0-8047-1529-4.

p 326. • ↑ Hk.chiculture.net. " HKChinese culture." 破趙逼燕. Retrieved on 2009-01-18. • ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 Haw, Stephen G. (2007).

Beijing a Concise History. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-39906-7. p 22 -23. • ↑ Sima Qian: The First Emperor. Tr. by Raymond Dawson. Oxford University Press.

Edition 2007, Chronology, p. xxxix • ↑ Clements, Jonathan (2006). The First Emperor of China. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3959-1. pp. 82, 102-103, 131, 134. • ↑ Imperialism in Early China. CA. 1600BC - 8AD'. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11533-2, ISBN 978-0-472-11533-4. p 43-44' • ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 36.5 Chang, Chun-shu Chang. (2007). The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Nation, State, and Imperialism in Early China, CA. 1600BC - 8AD.

University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11533-2, ISBN 978-0-472-11533-4. p 43-44 • ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Veeck, Gregory. Pannell, Clifton W.

(2007). China's Geography: Globalization and the Dynamics of Political, Economic, and Social Change. Rowman & Littlefield publishing.

ISBN 0-7425-5402-3, ISBN 978-0-7425-5402-3. p57-58. • ↑ The source also mention ch'ien-shou was the new name of the Qin people. The may be the Wade-Giles romanization of (秦受, Qín shòu) "subjects of the Qin empire". • ↑ 39.0 39.1 Wood, Frances. (2008). China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors. Macmillan publishing. ISBN 0-312-38112-3, ISBN 978-0-312-38112-7. p 27. • ↑ Murowchick, Robert E. (1994). China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land.

University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8061-2683-3, ISBN 978-0-8061-2683-8. p105. • ↑ 41.0 41.1 Wintle, Justin Wintle. (2002). China. Rough Guides Publishing. ISBN 1-85828-764-2, ISBN 978-1-85828-764-5. p 61. p 71. • ↑ Li, Xiaobing. (2007). A History of the Modern Chinese Army. University Press of Kentucky, 2007. ISBN 0813124387, ISBN 978-0-8131-2438-4. p.16 • ↑ Clements, Jonathan (2006). The First Emperor of China. pp.

102-103. • ↑ Huang, Ray. (1997). China: A Macro History. Edition: 2, revised, illustrated. M.E. Sharpe publishing.

ISBN 1-56324-731-3, ISBN 978-1-56324-731-6. p 44 • ↑ Sina.com. " Sina.com." 秦代三大水利工程之一：灵渠. Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 46.4 Mayhew, Bradley. Miller, Korina. English, Alex. South-West China: lively Yunnan and its exotic neighbours. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-86450-370-X, 9781864503708. pg 222. • ↑ 47.0 47.1 Goldman, Merle.

(1981). China's Intellectuals: Advise and Dissent. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-11970-3, ISBN 978-0-674-11970-3. pg 85. • ↑ Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam. (2004). History of Modern China. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 81-269-0315-5, ISBN 978-81-269-0315-3. pg 317. • ↑ 49.0 49.1 Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee. Ames, Roger T. (2006). Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-6749-X, 9780791467497. p 25. • ↑ Clements, Jonathan (2006). The First Emperor of China.

p. 131. • ↑ 51.0 51.1 Wood, Frances. (2008). China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors. p 33. • ↑ Twitchett, Denis. Fairbank, John King. Loewe, Michael. The Cambridge History of China: The Ch'in and Han Empires 221 B.C.-A.D. 220. Edition: 3.

Cambridge University Press, 1986. ISBN 0-521-24327-0, ISBN 978-0-521-24327-8. p 71. • ↑ From Records of the Grand Historian, translated by Raymond Dawson in Sima Qian: The First Emperor. Oxford University Press, ed. 2007, pp. 74-75, 119, 148-9 • ↑ 54.0 54.1 Ong, Siew Chey. Marshall Cavendish. (2006).

China Condensed: 5000 Years of History & Culture. ISBN 981-261-067-7, ISBN 978-981-261-067-6. p 17. • ↑ Aikman, David. (2006). Qi. Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8054-3293-0, ISBN 978-0-8054-3293-0. p 91. • ↑ Fabrizio Pregadio. The Encyclopedia of Taoism. London: Routledge, 2008: 199 • ↑ Clements, Jonathan (2006).

The First Emperor of China. pp. 131, 134. • ↑ 58.0 58.1 Liang, Yuansheng. (2007). The Legitimation of New Orders: Case Studies in World History. Chinese University Press. ISBN 962-996-239-X, 9789629962395. pg 5. • ↑ O'Hagan Muqian Luo, Paul. (2006). 讀名人小傳學英文: famous people. 寂天文化. publishing. ISBN 986-184-045-1, ISBN 978-986-184-045-1. p16. • ↑ Xinhuanet.com.

" Xinhuanet.com." 中國考古簡訊：秦始皇去世地沙丘平臺遺跡尚存. Retrieved on 2009-01-28. • ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 61.3 Wright, David Curtis (2001). The History of China. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 49. ISBN 0-313-30940-X. • ↑ qin shi huang 62.1 62.2 62.3 Tung, Douglas S.

Tung, Kenneth. (2003). More Than 36 Stratagems: A Systematic Classification Based On Basic Behaviours. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 1-4120-0674-0, ISBN 978-1-4120-0674-3. • ↑ Sima Qian: The First Emperor. Tr. Raymond Dawson. Oxford University Press. Edition 2007. p. 54 • ↑ Man, John. The Terracotta Army, Bantam Press 2007 p125. ISBN 978-0-593-05929-6. • ↑ Huang, Ray. (1997). China: A Macro History. Edition: 2, revised, illustrated.

M.E. Sharpe publishing. ISBN 1-56324-731-3, ISBN 978-1-56324-731-6. p 37 • ↑ Thieme, C. 2001. (translated by M. Will) Paint Layers and Pigments on the Terracotta Army: A Comparison with Other Cultures of Antiquity. In: W. Yongqi, Z. Tinghao, M. Petzet, E. Emmerling and C. Blänsdorf (eds.) The Polychromy of Antique Sculptures and the Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor: Studies on Materials, Painting Techniques and Conservation. Monuments and Sites III.

Paris: ICOMOS, 52-57. • ↑ Portal, Jane. "The First Emperor: China's Terra Cotta Army. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Qin shi huang Press, 2007. • ↑ Jane Portal and Qingbo Duan, The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Arm, British Museum Press, 2007, p.

207. • ↑ Man, John. The Terracotta Army, Bantam Press 2007 p170. ISBN 978-0-593-05929-6. • ↑ Leffman, David. Lewis, Qin shi huang. Atiyah, Jeremy. Meyer, Mike. Lunt, Susie. (2003). China. Edition: 3, illustrated. Rough Guides publishing. ISBN 1-84353-019-8, ISBN 978-1-84353-019-0. pg 290. • ↑ 71.0 71.1 《史记·高祖本纪》司马贞《索隐》写道：“《善文》称隐士云赵高为二世杀十七兄而立今王，则二世是第十八子也。” • ↑ 张文立：《秦始皇帝评传》，陕西人民教育出版社，1996，第325～326页。 • ↑ Loewe, Michael.

Twitchett, Denis. (1986). The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24327-0. • ↑ Lovell, Julia. (2006). The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC-AD 2000. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-1814-3, ISBN 978-0-8021-1814-1. pg 65. • ↑ Mao Zedong sixiang wan sui! (1969), p. 195. Referenced in Governing China (2nd ed.) by Kenneth Lieberthal (2004).

• ↑ Southerncrossreview.org. " Southerncrossreview.org." "The Wall and the Books". Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ Sagan, Carl. (1985). Contact. Pocket Books.

ISBN 0-671-70180-0. Pages 302-304, 368-370, 404-405. • ↑ Samuraidvd. " Samuraidvd." Shin No Shikoutei. Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ NYTimes.com. " NYtimes.com." Film review. Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ IMDb.com. " IMDb-162866." Emperor and the Assassin. Retrieved on 2009-02-02.

• ↑ ""Hero" - Zhang Yimou (2002)". The Film Sufi. http://www.filmsufi.com/2009/10/hero-zhang-yimou-2002.html.

• ↑ IMDb.com. " IMDb-365847." San wa. Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ Sina.com. " Sina.com.cn." 历史剧:正史侠说. Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ TVB. " TVB." A Step to the Past TVB. Retrieved on qin shi huang. • ↑ CCTV. " CCTV." List the 30 episode series.

Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ DocumentaryStorm • ↑ Blockbuster. " Blockbuster." Secrets of China's First emperor. Retrieved on 2009-02-02.

• ↑ Historychannel.com. " Historychannel.com." China's First emperor. Retrieved on 2009-02-02. • ↑ Gamefaqs.com. " Gamefaqs-165." Civilization IV. Retrieved on 2009-02-03. Further reading • Bodde, Derk (1987). "The State and Empire qin shi huang Ch'in". In Twitchett, Denis; Loewe, Michael. The Cambridge history of China.

1. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-21447-5. • Clements, Jonathan (2006). The First Emperor of China. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3960-7. • Cotterell, Arthur (1981). The first emperor of China: the greatest archeological find of our time. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

ISBN 0-03-059889-3. • Guisso, R.W.L.; Pagani, Catherine; Miller, David (1989). The first emperor of China. New York: Birch Lane Press. ISBN 1-55972-016-6. • Yu-ning, Li, ed (1975). The First Emperor of China.

White Plains, N.Y.: International Arts and Sciences Press. ISBN 0-87332-067-0. • Portal, Jane (2007). The First Emperor, China's Terracotta Army. British Museum Press. ISBN 978-1-932543-26-1. • Qian, Sima (1961). Records of the Grand Historian: Qin dynasty.

Burton Watson, trans. New York: Columbia Univ. Press. • Wood, Frances (2007). The First Emperor of China. Profile. ISBN 1-84668-032-8. • Yap, Joseph P (2009). Wars With the Xiongnu, A Translation From Zizhi tongjian. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4490-0604-4. External links • History of China • "What's Inside Qin Shi Huang's Tomb?"
Home • Science, Tech, Math • Science • Math • Social Sciences • Computer Science • Animals & Nature • Humanities • History & Culture • Visual Arts • Literature • English • Geography • Philosophy • Issues • Languages • English as a Second Language • Spanish • French • German • Italian • Japanese • Mandarin • Russian • Resources • For Students & Parents • For Educators • For Adult Learners • About Us History & Culture • Asian History • Figures & Events qin shi huang Basics • Southeast Asia • East Asia • South Asia • Middle East • Central Asia • Asian Wars and Battles • American History • African American History • African History • Ancient History and Culture • European History • Genealogy • Inventions • Latin American History • Medieval & Renaissance History • Military History • The 20th Century • Women's History View More • Known For: First Emperor of unified China, founder of Qin dynasty • Also Known As: Qin shi huang Zheng; Zheng, the King of Qin; Shi Huangdi • Born: Exact date of birth unknown; most likely around 259 BCE in Hanan • Parents: King Zhuangxiang of Qin and Lady Zhao • Died: September 10, 210 BCE in eastern China • Great Works: Beginning construction of the Great Wall of China, the terracotta army • Spouse: No empress • Children: Around 50 children, including Fusu, Gao, Jianglü, Huhai • Notable Quote: "I have collected all the writings of the Empire and burnt those which were of no use." Early Life Qin Shi Huang's birth and parentage are shrouded in mystery.

According to legend, a rich merchant named Lu Buwei befriended a prince of the Qin State during the latter years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–256 BCE). The merchant's lovely wife Zhao Ji had just gotten pregnant, so he arranged for the prince to meet and fall in love with her. She entered into a relationship with the prince and then gave birth to the merchant Lu Buwei's child in 259 BCE.

Early Reign The young king was only 13 years old when he took the throne, so his prime minister (and likely real father) Lu Buwei acted as regent for the first eight years. This was a difficult time for any ruler in China, with seven warring states vying for control of the land. The leaders of the Qi, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, Chu, and Qin states were former dukes under the Zhou Dynasty but had each proclaimed themselves king as the Zhou reign fell apart.

Lao Ai's Revolt According to Sima Qian in the Shiji, or "Records of the Grand Historian," Lu Buwei hatched a scheme to depose Qin Shi Huang in 240 BCE.

He introduced the king's mother Zhao Ji to Lao Ai, a man famed for his large penis. The queen dowager and Lao Ai had two sons and Lao and Lu Buwei decided to launch a coup in 238 BCE. Lao raised an army, aided by the king of nearby Wei, and tried to seize control while Qin Shi Huang was traveling. The young king, however, cracked down hard on the rebellion and prevailed. Lao was executed by having his arms, legs, and neck tied to horses, which were then spurred to run in different directions.

His whole family was also killed, including the king's two half-brothers and all other relatives to the third degree (uncles, aunts, cousins). The queen dowager was spared but spent the rest of her days under house arrest. Consolidation of Power Lu Buwei was banished after the Lao Ai incident but did not lose all of his influence in Qin. However, qin shi huang lived in constant fear of execution by the mercurial young king. In 235 BCE, Lu committed suicide by drinking poison.

With his death, the 24-year-old king assumed full command over the kingdom of Qin. Qin Shi Huang grew increasingly suspicious of those around him and banished all foreign scholars from his court as spies. The king's fears were well-founded. In 227, the Yan state sent two assassins to his court, but the king fought them off with his sword. A musician also tried to kill him by bludgeoning him with a lead-weighted lute. The Han kingdom fell to Qin Shi Huang in 230 BCE. In 229, a devastating earthquake rocked another powerful state, Zhao, leaving it weakened.

Qin Shi Huang took advantage of the disaster and invaded the region. Wei fell in 225, followed by the powerful Chu in 223. The Qin army conquered Yan and Zhao in 222 (despite another assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang by a Yan agent).

The final independent kingdom, Qi, fell to the Qin in 221 BCE. As Emperor, Qin Shi Huang reorganized the bureaucracy, abolishing the existing nobility and replacing them with his appointed officials. He also built a network of roads, with the capital of Xianyang at the hub.

In addition, the Emperor simplified the written Chinese script, standardized weights and measures, and minted new copper coins. Steve Peterson Photography / Getty Images The Great Wall and Ling Canal Despite its military might, the newly unified Qin Empire faced a recurring threat from the north: raids by the nomadic Xiongnu (the ancestors of Attila's Huns). In order to fend off the Xiongnu, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of an enormous defensive wall. The work was carried out by hundreds of thousands of enslaved people and criminals between 220 and 206 BCE; untold thousands of them died at the task.

The Confucian Purge The Warring States Period was dangerous, but the lack of central authority allowed intellectuals to flourish. Confucianism and a number of other philosophies blossomed prior to China's unification. However, Qin Shi Huang viewed these schools of thought as threats to his authority, so he ordered all books not related to his reign burned in 213 BCE. Qin Shi Huang's Quest for Immortality As he entered middle age, the First Emperor grew more and more afraid of death.

He became obsessed with finding the elixir of life, which would allow him to live forever. The court doctors and alchemists concocted a number of potions, many of them containing "quicksilver" (mercury), which probably had the ironic effect of hastening the Emperor's death rather than preventing it.

Tim Graham / Getty Images The Terracotta Army To guard Qin Shi Huang in the afterworld, and perhaps allow him to conquer heaven as he had the earth, the Emperor had a terracotta army of at least 8,000 clay soldiers placed in the qin shi huang.  The army also included terracotta horses, along with real chariots and weapons.

Whether Qin Shi Huang should be remembered more for his monumental creations and cultural advances or his brutal tyranny is a matter of dispute. All scholars agree, however, that Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty and a unified China, was one of the most important rulers in Chinese history. Additional References • Lewis, Mark Edward.

The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Harvard University Press, 2007. • Lu Buwei. The Annals of Lu Buwei. Translated by John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, Stanford University Press, 2000.

• Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian. Translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 1993. Szczepanski, Kallie. "Biography of Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of China." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/qin-shi-huang-first-emperor-china-195679. Szczepanski, Kallie. (2021, February 16). Biography of Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of China. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/qin-shi-huang-first-emperor-china-195679 Szczepanski, Kallie.

"Biography of Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of China." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/qin-shi-huang-first-emperor-china-195679 (accessed May 9, 2022).• 姓 Ancestral name: Ying ( 嬴) • 氏 Clan name: Zhao ( 趙) [3] • 名 Given name: Zheng ( 政) Regnal name Shi Huangdi ( 始皇帝) Dynasty Qin Father King Zhuangxiang Mother Queen Dowager Zhao Qin Shi Huang ( Chinese: 秦 始 皇; lit.

'First Emperor of Qin', pronunciation ( help· info); 259–210 BCE), or Shi Huangdi, was the founder of the Qin dynasty, and the first emperor of a unified China. [6] Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( 王 wáng) borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( 始皇帝) of the Qin dynasty from 221 to 210 BCE.

His self-invented title "emperor" ( 皇帝 huángdì) would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia. Historically, he was often portrayed as a qin shi huang ruler and strict Legalist, in part from the Han dynasty's scathing assessments of him. Since the mid 20th-century, scholars have begun to question this evaluation, inciting considerable discussion on the actual nature of his policies and reforms.

Regardless, according to sinologist Michael Loewe "few would contest the view that the achievements of his reign have exercised a paramount influence on the whole of China's subsequent qin shi huang, marking the start of an epoch that closed in 1911". [7] Born in the Zhao state capital Handan, as Ying Zheng ( 嬴政) or Zhao Zheng ( 趙政), his parents were King Zhuangxiang of Qin and Lady Zhao.

The wealthy merchant Lü Buwei assisted him in succeeding his father as the ruler of Qin, after which he became Zheng, King of Qin ( 秦王政). When he was 38, the Qin had conquered all of the other Warring States and unified all of China in 221 BCE, resulting in his ascension as China's first emperor. During his reign, his generals greatly expanded the size of the Chinese state: campaigns south of Chu permanently added the Yue lands of Hunan and Guangdong to the Chinese cultural orbit; campaigns in Central Asia conquered the Ordos Loop from the nomad Xiongnu, although eventually it would also lead to their confederation under Modu Chanyu.

Qin Shi Huang also worked with his minister Li Si to enact major economic and political reforms aimed at the standardization of the diverse practices of the earlier Chinese states. He is traditionally said to have banned and burned many books and executed scholars. His public works projects included the unification of diverse state walls into a single Great Wall of China and a massive new national road system, as well as the city-sized mausoleum guarded by the life-sized Terracotta Army.

He ruled until his death in 210 BCE during his fourth tour of Eastern China. [8] Contents • 1 Origin of qin shi huang • 2 Birth and parentage • 3 Reign as the King of Qin • 3.1 Regency • 3.2 Lao Ai's attempted coup • 3.3 First assassination attempt • 3.4 Second assassination attempt qin shi huang 3.5 Unification of China • 4 Reign as the Emperor of Qin • 4.1 Administrative reforms • 4.2 Economic reforms • 4.3 Philosophy • 4.4 Third assassination attempt • 4.5 Public works • 4.5.1 Great Wall • 4.5.2 Lingqu Canal • 4.6 Elixir of life • 5 Final years • 5.1 Death • 5.2 Succession • 6 Family • 7 Legacy • 7.1 Mausoleum • 7.2 Reputation and assessment • 8 Notes • 9 References • 10 Bibliography qin shi huang 10.1 Early • 10.2 Modern • 11 Further reading • 12 External links Origin of name Qin Shi Huang "Qin Shi Huang" in seal script (top) and regular (bottom) Chinese characters Chinese 秦始皇 Literal meaning "First Emperor of Qin" Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qín Shǐ Huáng Wade–Giles Ch‘in 2 Shih 3 Huang 2 IPA [tɕʰǐn ʂɻ̩̀ xwǎŋ] ( listen) Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Chèuhn Chí Wòhng Jyutping Ceon 4 Ci 2 Wong 4 IPA [tsʰɵ̏n tsʰǐː wɔ̏ːŋ] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chîn Sí-hông Tâi-lô Tsîn Sí Hông Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Dzin si B hwang Old Chinese Baxter (1992) * dzin hlɨjʔ waŋ Baxter–Sagart (2014) * dzin l̥əʔ ɢʷˤaŋ Shi Huang Di Chinese 始皇帝 Literal meaning "First Emperor" Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shǐ Huángdì Wade–Giles Shih 3 Huang 2-ti 4 Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) * l̥əʔ ɢʷˤaŋ tˤek-s Modern Chinese sources often give the personal name of Qin Shi Huang as Ying Zheng, with Ying ( 嬴) taken as the surname and Zheng ( 政) the given name.

However, in ancient China, the naming convention differed, and the clan name Zhao ( 趙), the place where he was born and raised, may be used as the surname. Unlike modern Chinese names, the nobles of ancient China had two distinct surnames: the ancestral name ( 姓) comprised a larger group descended from a prominent ancestor, usually said to have lived during the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of Chinese legend, and the clan name ( 氏) comprised a smaller group that showed a branch's current fief or recent title.

The ancient practice was to list men's names separately— Qin shi huang Qian's "Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin" introduces him as "given the name Zheng and the surname Zhao" [9] [c]—or to combine the clan surname with the personal name: Sima's account of Chu describes the sixteenth year of the reign of King Kaolie as "the time when Zhao Zheng was enthroned as King of Qin".

[11] However, since modern Chinese surnames (despite usually descending from clan names) use the same character as the old ancestral names, it is much more common in modern Chinese sources to see the emperor's personal name written as Ying Zheng, [d] using the ancestral name of the Ying family. The rulers of Qin had styled themselves kings from the time of King Huiwen in 325 BCE.

Upon his ascension, Zheng became known as the King of Qin [9] [10] or King Zheng of Qin. [12] [13] This title made him the nominal equal of the rulers of Shang and of Zhou, the last of whose kings had been deposed by King Zhaoxiang of Qin in 256 BCE. Following the surrender of Qi in 221 BCE, King Zheng had reunited all of the lands of the former Kingdom of Zhou. Rather than maintain his rank as king, however, [14] he created a new title of huángdì ( emperor) for himself.

This new title combined two titles— huáng of the mythical Three Sovereigns ( 三皇, Sān Huáng) and the dì of the legendary Five Emperors ( 五帝, Wŭ Dì) of Chinese prehistory.

[15] The title was intended to appropriate some of the prestige of the Yellow Emperor, [16] whose cult was popular in the later Warring States period and who was considered to be a founder of the Chinese people. King Zheng chose the new regnal name of First Emperor ( Shǐ Huángdì, formerly transcribed as Shih Huang-ti) [17] on the understanding that his successors would be successively titled the "Second Emperor", "Third Emperor", and so on through the generations.

(In fact, the scheme lasted only as long as his immediate heir, the Second Emperor.) [18] The new title carried religious overtones.

For that reason, Sinologists—starting with Peter Boodberg [19] or Edward Schafer [20]—sometimes translate it as "thearch" and the First Emperor as the First Thearch. [21] The First Emperor intended that his realm would remain intact through the qin shi huang but, following its overthrow and replacement by Han after his death, it became customary to prefix his title with Qin.

Thus: • 秦, Qín or Ch‘in, "of Qin" • 始, Shǐ or Shih, "first" [22] • 皇帝, Qin shi huang or Huang-ti, "emperor", a new term [e] coined from • 皇, Huáng or Huang, literally "shining" or "splendid" and formerly most usually applied "as an epithet of Heaven", [24] a title of the Three Sovereigns, the high god of the Zhou [23] • 帝, Qin shi huang or Ti, the high god of the Shang, possibly composed of their divine ancestors, [25] and used by the Zhou as a title of the legendary Five Qin shi huang, particularly the Yellow Emperor As early as Sima Qian, it was common to shorten the resulting four-character Qin Shi Huangdi to 秦始皇, [26] variously transcribed as Qin Shihuang or Qin Shi Huang.

Following his elevation as emperor, both Zheng's personal name 政 and possibly its homophone 正 [f] became taboo. [g] The First Emperor also arrogated the first-person Chinese pronoun 朕 ( OC * lrəm ’, [28] mod. zhèn) for his exclusive use and in 212 BCE began calling himself The Immortal ( 真人, Qin shi huang * Tin-niŋ, [28] mod.

Zhēnrén, lit. "True Man"). [14] Others were to address him as "Your Majesty" ( 陛下, mod. Bìxià, lit. "Beneath the Palace [29] Steps") in person and "Your Highness" ( 上) in writing. [14] Birth and parentage According to the Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian during the Han dynasty, the first emperor was the eldest son of the Qin prince Yiren, who later became King Zhuangxiang of Qin.

Prince Yiren at that time was residing at the court of Zhao, serving as a hostage to guarantee the armistice between the Qin and Zhao states. [22] [30] Prince Yiren had fallen in love at first sight with a concubine of Lü Buwei, a rich merchant from the State of Wey. Lü consented for her to be Yiren's wife, who qin shi huang became known as Lady Zhao (Zhao Ji) after the state of Zhao. He was given the name Zhao Zheng, the name Zheng ( 正) came from his month of birth Zhengyue, the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar; [30] the clan name of Zhao came from his father's lineage and was unrelated to either his mother's name or the location of his birth.

[ citation needed] ( Song Zhong says that his birthday, significantly, was on the first day of Zhengyue. [31]) Lü Buwei's machinations later helped Yiren become King Zhuangxiang of Qin [32] in 250 BCE. However, the Records of the Grand Historian also claimed that the first emperor was not the actual son of Prince Yiren but that of Lü Buwei.

[33] According to this account, when Lü Buwei introduced the dancing girl to the prince, she was Lü Buwei's concubine and had already become pregnant by him, and the baby was born after an unusually long period of pregnancy. [33] According to translations of the Annals of Lü Buwei, Zhao Ji gave birth to the future emperor in the city of Handan in 259 BCE, the first month of the 48th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin. [34] The idea that the emperor was an illegitimate child, widely believed throughout Chinese history, contributed to the generally negative view of the First Emperor.

[22] However, a number of modern scholars have doubted this account of his birth. Sinologist Derk Bodde wrote: "There is good reason for believing that the sentence describing this unusual pregnancy is an interpolation added to the Shih-chi by an unknown person in order to slander the First Emperor and indicate his political as well as natal illegitimacy". [35] John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, in their translation of Lü Buwei's Spring and Autumn Annals, call the story "patently false, meant both to libel Lü and to cast aspersions on the First Emperor".

[36] Claiming Lü Buwei—a merchant—as the First Emperor's biological father was meant to be especially disparaging, since later Confucian society regarded merchants as the lowest of all social classes. [37] Reign as the King of Qin Regency A portrait painting of Qin Shi Huangdi, first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, from an 18th-century album of Chinese emperors' portraits.

In 246 BCE, when King Zhuangxiang died after a short reign of just three years, he was succeeded on the throne by his 13-year-old son. [38] At the time, Zhao Zheng was still young, so Lü Buwei acted as the regent prime minister of the State of Qin, which was still waging war against the other six states. [22] Nine years later, in 235 BCE, Zhao Zheng assumed full power after Lü Buwei was banished for his involvement in a scandal with Queen Dowager Zhao.

[39] [40] Zhao Chengjiao, the Lord Chang'an ( 长安君), [41] was Zhao Zheng's legitimate half-brother, by the same father but from a different mother. After Zhao Zheng inherited the throne, Chengjiao rebelled at Tunliu and surrendered to the state of Zhao.

Chengjiao's remaining retainers and qin shi huang were executed by Zhao Zheng. [42] Lao Ai's attempted coup As King Zheng grew older, Lü Buwei became fearful that the boy king would discover his liaison with his mother Lady Zhao. He decided to distance himself and look for a replacement for the queen dowager. He found a man qin shi huang Lao Ai.

[43] According to The Record of Grand Historian, Lao Ai was disguised as a eunuch by plucking his beard. Later Lao Ai and queen Zhao Ji got along so well they secretly had two sons together. [43] Lao Ai then became ennobled as Marquis Lào Ǎi, and was showered with riches. Lao Ai's plot was supposed to replace King Zheng with one of the hidden sons.

But during a dinner party drunken Lào Ǎi was heard bragging about being the young king's step father. [43] In 238 BCE the king was travelling to the former capital, Yong ( 雍). Lao Ai seized the queen mother's seal and mobilized an army in an attempt to start a coup and rebel.

[43] When King Zheng discovered this fact, he ordered Lü Buwei to let Lord Changping and Lord Changwen attack Lao Ai. Although the royal army killed hundreds of rebels at the capital, Lao Ai succeeded in fleeing from this battle. [44] A price of 1 million copper coins was placed on Lao Ai's head if he was taken alive or half a million if dead. [43] Lao Ai's supporters were captured and beheaded; then Lao Ai was tied up and torn to five pieces by horse carriages, while his entire family was executed to the third degree.

[43] The two hidden sons were also killed, while mother Zhao Ji was placed under house arrest until her death many years later. Lü Buwei drank a cup of poison wine and committed suicide in 235 BCE. [22] [43] Ying Zheng then assumed full power as the King of the Qin state. Replacing Lü Buwei, Li Si became the new chancellor.

First assassination attempt Jing Ke's assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang; Jing Ke (left) is held by one of Qin Shi Huang's physicians (left, background). The dagger used in the assassination attempt is seen stuck in the pillar. Qin Shi Huang (right) is seen holding an imperial jade disc.

One of his soldier (far right) rushes to save his emperor. Stone rubbing; 3rd century, Eastern Han King Zheng and his troops continued to take over different states. The state of Yan was small, weak and frequently harassed by soldiers. It was no match for the Qin state. [8] So Crown Prince Dan of Yan plotted an assassination attempt to get rid of King Zheng, begging Jing Ke to go on the mission in 227 BCE. [32] [8] Jing Ke was accompanied by Qin Wuyang in the plot.

Each was supposed to present a gift to King Zheng: a map of Dukang and the severed head of Fan Wuji. [8] Qin Wuyang first tried to present the map case gift, but trembled in fear and moved no further towards the king. Jing Ke continued to advance toward the king, while explaining that his partner "has never set eyes on the Son of Heaven", which is why he is trembling. Jing Ke had to present both gifts by himself. [8] While unrolling the map, a dagger was revealed.

The king drew back, stood on his feet, but struggled to draw the sword to defend himself. [8] At the time, other palace officials were not allowed to carry weapons. Jing Ke pursued the king, attempting to stab him, but missed. King Zheng drew out his sword and cut Qin shi huang Ke's thigh. Jing Ke then threw the dagger, but missed again.

Suffering eight wounds from the king's sword, Jing Ke realized his attempt had failed and knew that both of them would be killed afterwards. [8] The Yan state was conquered by the Qin state five years later. [8] Second assassination attempt Further information: Gao Jianli Gao Jianli was a close friend of Jing Ke, who wanted to avenge his death. [45] As a famous lute player, one day he was summoned by King Zheng to play the instrument. Someone in the palace who had known him in the past exclaimed, "This is Gao Jianli".

[46] Unable to bring himself to kill such a skilled musician, the emperor ordered his eyes put out. [46] But the king allowed Gao Jianli to play in his presence. [46] He praised the playing and even allowed Gao Jianli to get qin shi huang. As part of the plot, the lute was fastened with a heavy piece of lead.

He raised the lute and struck at the king. He missed, and his assassination attempt failed. Gao Jianli was later executed. [46] Unification of China Qin's unification of seven warring states In 230 BCE, King Zheng unleashed the final campaigns of the Warring States period, setting out to conquer the remaining independent kingdoms, one by one. The first state to fall was Hán (韓; sometimes called Hann to distinguish it from the Hàn 漢 of Han dynasty), in 230 BCE.

Then Qin took advantage of natural disasters in 229 BCE to invade and conquer Zhào, where Qin Shi Huang had been born. [47] [48] He now avenged his poor treatment as a child hostage there, seeking out and killing his enemies. Qin armies conquered the state of Zhao in 228 BCE, the northern country of Yan in 226 BCE, qin shi huang small state of Wei in 225 BCE, and qin shi huang largest state and greatest challenge, Chu, in 223 BCE.

[49] In 222 BCE, the last remnants of Yan and the royal family were captured in Liaodong in the northeast. The only independent country left was now state of Qi, in the far east, what is now the Shandong peninsula. Terrified, the young king of Qi sent 200,000 people to defend his western borders.

In 221 BCE, the Qin armies invaded from the north, captured the king, and annexed Qi. Some of the strategies Qin used to unify China were to standardize the trade and communication, currency and language. For the first time, all Chinese lands were unified under one powerful ruler. In that same year, King Zheng proclaimed himself the "First Emperor" (始皇帝, Shǐ Huángdì), no longer a king in the old sense and now far surpassing the achievements of the old Zhou Dynasty rulers.

[50] The emperor ordered the Heshibi to be made into the Imperial Seal, known as the "Heirloom Seal of the Realm". The words, "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life." ( 受命於天, 既壽永昌) were written by Prime Minister Li Si, and carved onto the seal by Sun Shou.

The Seal was later passed from emperor to emperor for generations to come. In the South, military expansion in the form of campaigns against the Yue tribes continued during his reign, with various regions being annexed to what is now Guangdong province and part of today's Vietnam. [48] Reign as the Emperor of Qin Administrative reforms Map of the Qin dynasty and its administrative divisions In an attempt to avoid a recurrence of the political chaos of the Warring States period, Qin Shi Huang and his prime minister Li Si completely abolished feudalism.

[48] The empire was then divided into 36 commanderies (郡, Jùn), later more than 40 commanderies. [48] The whole of China was thus divided into administrative units: first commanderies, then counties (縣, Xiàn), townships (鄉, Xiāng) and hundred-family units (里, Li, which roughly corresponds to the modern-day subdistricts and communities). [51] This system was different from the previous dynasties, which had loose alliances and federations.

[52] People could no longer be identified by their native region or former feudal state, as when a person from Chu was called "Chu person" (楚人, Chu rén). [51] qin shi huang Appointments were subsequently based on merit instead of hereditary rights.

[51] Economic reforms Qin Shi Huang and Qin shi huang Si unified China economically by standardizing the Chinese units of measurements such as weights qin shi huang measures, the currency, and the length of the axles of carts to facilitate transport on the road system.

[52] The emperor also developed an extensive network of roads and canals connecting the provinces to improve trade between them. [52] The currencies of the different states were also standardized to the Ban liang coin (半兩, Bàn Liǎng). [51] Perhaps most importantly, the Chinese script was unified. Under Li Si, the seal script of the state of Qin was standardized through removal of variant forms within the Qin script itself. This newly standardized script was then made official throughout all the conquered regions, thus doing away with all the regional scripts to form one language, one communication system for all of China.

[51] Philosophy • v • t • e While the previous Warring States era was one of constant warfare, it was also considered the golden qin shi huang of free thought. [53] Qin Shi Huang eliminated the Hundred Schools of Thought which included Confucianism and other philosophies. [53] [54] After the unification of China, with all other schools of thought banned, legalism became the endorsed ideology of the Qin dynasty.

[51] Beginning in 213 Qin shi huang, at the instigation of Li Si and to avoid scholars' comparisons of his reign with the past, Qin Shi Huang ordered most existing books to be burned with the exception of those on astrology, agriculture, medicine, divination, and the history of the State of Qin.

[55] This would also serve the purpose of furthering the ongoing reformation qin shi huang the writing system by removing examples of obsolete scripts. [56] Owning the Book of Songs or the Classic of History was to be punished especially severely. According to the later Records of the Grand Historian, the following year Qin Shi Huang had qin shi huang 460 scholars buried alive for owning the forbidden books.

[22] [55] The emperor's oldest son Fusu criticised him for this act. [57] Recent research suggests that the "burying of the Confucian scholars alive" is a Confucian martyrs' legend; rather, the emperor ordered the killing (坑 kēng) of a group of alchemists after having qin shi huang that they had qin shi huang him. In Han times, the Confucian scholars, who had served the Qin loyally, used that incident to distance themselves from the failed dynasty.

Kong Anguo (孔安國 c. 165 – c. 74 BCE), a descendant of Confucius, turned the alchemists (方士 fāngshì) qin shi huang Confucianists (儒 rú) and entwined the martyrs' legend with the strange story of the rediscovery of the lost Confucian books behind a demolished wall in the house of his ancestors. [58] The emperor's own library still had copies of the forbidden books but most of these were destroyed later when Xiang Yu burned the palaces of Xianyang in 206 BCE.

[59] Qin Shi Huang also followed the theory of the five elements, earth, wood, metal, fire and water. ( 五德終始說) Zhao Zheng's birth element is water, which is connected with the colour black. It was also believed that the royal house of qin shi huang previous dynasty Zhou had ruled by the power of fire, which was the colour red. The new Qin dynasty must be ruled by the next element on the list, which is water, represented by the colour black.

Black became the colour for garments, flags, pennants. [22] Other associations include north as the cardinal direction, winter season and the number six. [60] Tallies and official hats were 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) long, carriages two metres (6.6 feet) wide, one pace ( 步; Bù) was 1.4 metres (4.6 ft). [22] Third assassination attempt Main article: Zhang Liang (Western Han) In 230 BCE, the state of Qin had defeated the state of Han.

A Han aristocrat named Zhang Liang swore revenge on the Qin emperor. He sold all his valuables and in 218 BCE, he hired a strongman assassin and built him a heavy metal cone weighing 120 jin (roughly 160 lb or 97 kg). [43] The two men hid among the bushes along the emperor's route over a mountain. At a signal, the muscular assassin hurled the cone at the first carriage and shattered it.

However, the emperor was actually in the second carriage, as he was travelling with two identical carriages for this very reason. Thus the attempt failed. [61] Both men were able to escape in spite of a huge manhunt. [43] Public works Great Wall Main article: Great Wall of China The Qin fought nomadic tribes to the north and north-west. The Xiongnu tribes were not defeated and subdued, thus the campaign was tiring and unsuccessful, and to prevent the Xiongnu from encroaching on the northern frontier any longer, the emperor ordered the construction of an immense defensive wall.

[48] [62] [63] This wall, for whose construction hundreds of thousands of men were mobilized, and an unknown number died, is a precursor to the current Great Wall of China. It connected numerous state walls which had been built during the previous four centuries, a network of small walls linking river defences to impassable cliffs.

[64] [65] Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, Ying Zheng ordered the destruction of the sections of the walls that divided his empire among the former states. To position the qin shi huang against the Xiongnu people from the north, however, he ordered the building of new walls to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's northern frontier.

"Build and move on" was a central guiding principle in constructing the wall, implying that the Chinese were not erecting a permanently fixed border. [66] Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. There are no surviving historical records indicating the exact length and course of the Qin walls.

Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. The human cost of the construction is unknown, but it has been estimated by some authors that hundreds of thousands, [67] if not up to a million, workers died building the Qin wall.

[68] [69] Lingqu Canal Main article: Lingqu Canal A famous South China quotation was "In the North there is the Great wall, in the South there is the Lingqu canal" ( 北有長城、南有靈渠; Běiyǒu chángchéng, nányǒu língqú). [70] In 214 BCE the Emperor began the project of a major canal to transport supplies to the army.

[71] The canal allows water transport between north and south China. [71] The canal, 34 kilometres in length, links the Xiang River which flows into the Yangtze and the Li Jiang, which flows into the Pearl River. [71] The canal connected two of China's major qin shi huang and aided Qin's expansion into the south-west.

[71] The construction is considered one of the three great feats of Ancient Chinese engineering, the others being the Great Wall and the Sichuan Dujiangyan Qin shi huang System. [71] Elixir of life Later in his life, Qin Shi Huang feared death and desperately sought the fabled elixir of life, which would supposedly allow him to live forever. He was obsessed with acquiring immortality and fell prey to many who offered him supposed elixirs.

[72] He visited Zhifu Island three times in order to achieve immortality. [73] In one case he sent Xu Fu, a Zhifu islander, with ships carrying hundreds of young men and women in search of the mystical Penglai mountain.

[61] They qin shi huang sent to find Anqi Sheng, a 1,000-year-old magician whom Qin Shi Huang had supposedly met in his travels and who had invited him to seek him there. [74] These people never returned, perhaps because they knew qin shi huang if they returned without the promised elixir, they would surely be executed. Legends claim that they reached Japan and colonized it. [72] It is also possible that the book burning, qin shi huang purge on what could be seen as wasteful and useless literature, was, in part, an attempt to qin shi huang the minds of the Emperor's best scholars on the alchemical quest.

Some of the executed scholars were those who had been unable to offer any evidence of their supernatural schemes. This may have qin shi huang the ultimate means of testing their abilities: if any of them had magic powers, then they would surely come back to life when they were let out again.

[75] Since the emperor was afraid of death and "evil spirits", he had workers build a qin shi huang of tunnels and passageways to each of his over 200 palaces, because traveling unseen would supposedly keep him safe from the evil spirits. Final years Death Imperial tours of Qin Shi Huang In 211 BCE a large meteor is said to have fallen in Dongjun in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. On it, an unknown person inscribed the words "The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided" ( 始皇死而地分).

[76] When the emperor heard of this, he sent an imperial secretary to investigate this prophecy. No one would confess to the deed, so all the people living nearby were put to death. The stone was then pulverized.

[30] During his fifth tour of Eastern China, the Emperor became seriously ill after he arrived in Pingyuanjin ( Pingyuan County, Shandong), and died on July–August 210 BC qin shi huang the palace in Shaqiu prefecture (沙丘平台, Shāqiū Píngtái), about two months away by road from the capital Xianyang. [77] [78] The cause of Qin Shi Huang's death is unknown. It was later alleged he died from Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning due to ingesting mercury pills, made by his alchemists and court physicians, believing it to be qin shi huang elixir of immortality.

[79] A possible contributing factor was illness due to the stress of running the empire. [80] Succession After the Emperor's death, Prime Minister Li Si, who accompanied him, became extremely worried that the news of his death could trigger a general uprising in the Empire.

[8] It would take two months for the entourage to reach the capital, and it would not be possible to stop the uprising. Li Si decided to hide the death of the Emperor, and return to Xianyang.

[8] Most of the Imperial entourage accompanying the Emperor were left ignorant of the Emperor's death; only a younger son, Ying Huhai, who was travelling with his father, the eunuch Zhao Gao, Li Si, and five or six favourite eunuchs knew of the death. [8] Li Si also ordered that two carts containing rotten fish be carried immediately before and after the wagon of the Emperor.

The idea behind this was to prevent people from noticing the foul smell emanating from the wagon of the Emperor, where his body was starting to decompose severely as it was summertime. [8] They also pulled down the shade so no one could see his face, changed his clothes daily, brought food and when he had to have important conversations, they would act as if he wanted to send them a message. [8] Eventually, after about two months, Li Si and the imperial court reached Xianyang, where the news of the death of the emperor was announced.

[8] Qin Shi Huang did not like to talk about his own death and he had never written a will. After his death, the eldest son Qin shi huang would normally become the next emperor. [81] Li Si and the chief eunuch Zhao Gao conspired to kill Fusu because Fusu's favorite general was Qin shi huang Tian, whom they disliked [81] and feared; Meng Tian's brother, a senior minister, had once punished Zhao Gao.

[82] They believed that if Fusu was enthroned, they would lose their power. [81] Li Si and Zhao Gao forged a letter from Qin Shi Huang saying that both Fusu and General Meng must commit suicide.

[81] The plan worked, and the younger son Hu Hai became the Second Emperor, later known as Qin Er Shi or "Second Generation Qin".

[8] Family Further information: Qin dynasty family tree The following are some family members of Qin Shi Huang: • Parents [83] • King Zhuangxiang of Qin • Queen Dowager Zhao • Half siblings: • Chengjiao, legitimate paternal half brother from a different mother [84] Lord of Chang'an [41] • Two illegitimate maternal half-brothers born to Queen Dowager Zhao and Lao Ai.

• Children: • Fusu, Crown Prince (1st son) [85] • Gao • Jianglü • Huhai, later Qin Er Shi (18th son) [85] Qin Shi Huang had qin shi huang 50 children (about 30 sons and 15 daughters), but most qin shi huang their names are unknown.

He had numerous concubines but appeared to have never named an empress. [86] Legacy Mausoleum Lifelike terracotta soldier statues from the Terracotta Army, discovered near modern Xi'an, which was meant to guard the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor The Chinese historian Sima Qian, writing a century after the First Emperor's death, wrote that it took 700,000 men to construct the emperor's mausoleum.

British historian John Man points out that this figure is larger than the population of any city in the world at that time and he calculates that the foundations could have been built by 16,000 men in two years. [87] While Sima Qian never mentioned the terracotta army, the statues were discovered by a group of farmers digging wells on 29 March 1974.

[88] The soldiers were created with a series of mix-and-match clay molds and then further individualized by the artists' hand. Han Purple was also used on some of the qin shi huang. [89] There are around 6,000 Terracotta Warriors and their purpose was to protect the Emperor in the afterlife from evil spirits.

Also among the army are chariots and 40,000 real bronze weapons. [90] One of the first projects which the young king accomplished while he was alive was the construction of his own tomb. In 215 BCE Qin Shi Huang ordered General Meng Tian to begin its construction with the assistance of 300,000 men. [22] Other sources suggest that he ordered 720,000 unpaid laborers to build his tomb according to his specifications. [38] Again, given John Man's observation regarding populations at the time (see paragraph above), these historical estimates are debatable.

The main tomb (located at 34°22′53″N 109°15′13″E  /  34.38139°N 109.25361°E  / 34.38139; 109.25361) containing the emperor has yet to be opened and there is evidence suggesting that it remains relatively intact.

[91] Sima Qian's description of the tomb includes replicas of palaces and scenic towers, "rare utensils and wonderful objects", 100 rivers made with mercury, representations of "the heavenly bodies", and crossbows rigged to shoot anyone who tried to break in. [92] The tomb was built at the foot of Mount Li, 30 kilometers away from Xi'an. Modern archaeologists have located the tomb, and have inserted probes deep into it. The probes revealed abnormally high quantities of mercury, some 100 times the naturally occurring rate, suggesting that some parts of the legend are credible.

[79] Secrets were maintained, as most of the workmen who built the tomb were killed. [79] [93] Reputation and assessment A posthumous depiction of Qin Shi Huang, painted during the late Qing dynasty Traditional Chinese historiography almost always portrayed the First Emperor of the Chinese unified states as a brutal tyrant who had an obsessive fear of assassination.

Ideological antipathy towards the Legalist State of Qin was established as early as 266 BCE, when Confucian philosopher Xunzi disparaged it. [ citation needed] Later Confucian historians condemned the emperor, alleging that he burned the classics and buried Confucian scholars alive. [94] They eventually compiled a list of the Ten Crimes of Qin qin shi huang highlight his tyrannical actions. [95] The famous Han poet and statesman Jia Yi concluded his essay The Faults of Qin (過秦論, Guò Qín Lùn) with what was to become the standard Confucian judgment of the reasons for Qin's collapse.

Jia Yi's qin shi huang, admired as a masterpiece of rhetoric and reasoning, was copied into two great Han histories and has had a far-reaching influence on Chinese political thought as a classic illustration of Confucian theory. [96] He attributed Qin's disintegration qin shi huang its internal failures. [97] Jia Yi wrote that: Qin, from a tiny base, had become a great power, ruling the land and qin shi huang homage from qin shi huang quarters for a hundred odd years.

Yet after they unified the land and secured themselves within the pass, a single common rustic could nevertheless challenge this empire. Why? Because the ruler lacked humaneness and rightness; because preserving power differs fundamentally from seizing power.

[98] In more modern times, historical assessment of the First Emperor different from traditional Chinese historiography began to emerge. The reassessment was spurred on by the weakness of China in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Qin shi huang that time some began to regard Confucian traditions as an impediment to China's entry into the modern world, opening the way for changing perspectives. At a time when foreign nations encroached upon Chinese qin shi huang, leading Kuomintang historian Xiao Qin shi huang emphasized the role of Qin Shi Huang in repulsing the northern barbarians, particularly in the construction of the Great Wall.

Another historian, Ma Feibai ( 馬非百), published in 1941 a full-length revisionist biography of the First Emperor entitled Qín Shǐ Huángdì Zhuàn ( 秦始皇帝傳), calling him "one of the great heroes of Chinese history". Ma compared him with the contemporary leader Chiang Kai-shek and saw many parallels in the careers and policies of the two men, both of whom he admired. Chiang's Northern Expedition of the late 1920s, which directly preceded the new Nationalist government at Nanjing was compared to the unification brought about by Qin Shi Huang.

With the coming of the Communist Revolution and the establishment of a new, revolutionary regime in 1949, another re-evaluation of the First Qin shi huang emerged as a Marxist critique. This new interpretation of Qin Shi Huang was generally a combination of traditional and modern views, but essentially critical. This is exemplified in the Complete History of China, which was compiled in September 1955 as an official survey of Chinese history.

The work described qin shi huang First Emperor's major steps toward unification and standardisation as corresponding to the interests of the ruling group and the merchant class, not of the nation or the people, and the subsequent fall of his dynasty as a manifestation of the class struggle. The perennial debate about the fall of the Qin Dynasty was also explained in Marxist terms, the peasant rebellions being a revolt against oppression—a revolt which undermined the dynasty, but which was bound to fail because of a compromise with " landlord class elements".

Statue of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in Handan Since 1972, however, a radically different official view of Qin Shi Huang in accordance with Maoist thought has been given prominence throughout China.

Hong Shidi's biography Qin Shi Huang initiated the re-evaluation. The work was published by the state press as a mass popular history, and it sold 1.85 million copies within two years.

In qin shi huang new era, Qin Shi Huang was seen as a far-sighted ruler who destroyed the forces of division and established the first unified, centralized state in Chinese history by rejecting the past. Personal attributes, such as his quest for immortality, so emphasized in traditional historiography, were scarcely mentioned.

The new evaluations described approvingly how, in his time (an era of great political and social change), he had no compunctions against using violent methods to crush counter-revolutionaries, such as the "industrial and commercial slave owner" chancellor Lü Buwei. However, he was criticized for not being as thorough as he should have been, and as a result, after his death, hidden subversives under the leadership of the chief eunuch Zhao Gao were able to seize power and use it to restore the old feudal order.

To round out this re-evaluation, Luo Siding put forward a new interpretation of the precipitous collapse of the Qin Dynasty in an article entitled "On the Class Struggle During the Period Between Qin and Han" in a 1974 issue of Red Flag, to replace the old explanation. The new theory claimed that the cause qin shi huang the fall of Qin lay in the lack of thoroughness of Qin Shi Huang's " dictatorship over the reactionaries, even to the extent of permitting them to worm their way into organs of political authority and usurp important posts." Mao Zedong was reviled for his persecution of intellectuals.

On being compared to the First Emperor, Mao boasted: He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried forty-six thousand scholars alive. You [intellectuals] revile us for being Qin Shi Huangs. You are wrong. We have surpassed Qin Shi Huang a hundredfold. When you berate us for imitating his despotism, we are happy to agree! Your mistake was that you did not say so enough. [99] Tom Ambrose characterises Qin Shi Huang as the founder of "the first police state in history".

[100] • "The Wall and the Books" (" La muralla y los libros"), an acclaimed essay on Qin Shi Huang published by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) in the 1952 collection Other Inquisitions ( Otras Inquisiciones). [101] • The Emperor's Shadow (1996) – The film focuses on Qin Shi Huang's relationship with the musician Gao Jianli, a friend of the assassin Jing Ke. [102] • The Emperor and the Assassin (1999) qin shi huang The film covers much of Ying Zheng's career, recalling his early experiences as a hostage and foreshadowing his dominance over China.

[103] [104] • Hero (2002) – The film stars Jet Li, a nameless assassin who plans an assassination attempt on the King of Qin ( Chen Daoming). The film is a fictional re-imagining of the assassination attempt by Jing Ke on Qin Shi Huang.

[105] • Rise of the Great Wall (1986) – a 63-episode Hong Kong TV series chronicling the events from the emperor's birth until his death. [106] Tony Liu played Qin Shi Huang. • A Step into the Past (2001) – a Hong Kong TVB production based on a science fiction novel by Huang Yi. [107] • Qin Shi Huang (2002) – a mainland Chinese TV semi-fictionalized series with Zhang Fengyi.

[108] • Kingdom (2006) – a Japanese manga that provides a fictionalized account of the unification of China by Ying Zheng with Li Xin and all qin shi huang people that contributed to the conquest of the six Warring States. • Fate/Grand Order (2015), an online, free-to-play role-playing mobile game of the Fate franchise developed by Delightworks and published by Aniplex features Qin Shi Huang as a Ruler class servant.

[109] • First Emperor: The Man Who Made China (2006) – a drama-documentary special about Qin Shi Huang. James Pax played the emperor. It was shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in 2006. [110] • China's First Emperor (2008) – a special three-hour documentary by The History Channel.

Xu Pengkai played Qin Qin shi huang Huang. [111] Notes • ^ This 19th-century posthumous depiction is from a Korean book now kept in the British Library. [1] It is based on a portrait of Qin Shi Huang from the Sancai Tuhui. [2] • ^ Though Vervoorn 1990, p.

311 gives 18 July 210 as the date for the end of Qin Shi Huang's reign, this is not corroborated in other sources. [3] [4] • ^ In simplified Chinese, 及生，名为政，姓赵氏. [10] • ^ See, e.g., Nienhauser's gloss of the name Zhao Zheng (n. 579). [11] • ^ While the specific title was new, also note the use of 皇天上帝 ("August Heaven Shangdi"), a conflation of the Zhou and Shang gods by the Duke of Zhou used in his addresses to the conquered Shang peoples. [23] • ^ That both were forbidden has been the general understanding of historians but Beck cites numerous sources from the era employing the latter character in support of the argument that it was not forbidden until the reign of the Second Emperor.

[27] • ^ His father's name 子楚 also became taboo, prompting references to Chu to be replaced by its original name "Jing" ( 荆). [27] • ^ The source also mentions ch'ien-shou was the new name of the Qin people. The may be the Wade-Giles romanization of (秦受, Qín shòu) "subjects of the Qin empire". References • ^ a b Clements 2006, Between pp. 76–77. • ^ Portal 2007, p.

29. • ^ a b Loewe 2000, p. 823. • ^ Barbieri-Low & Yates 2015, p. xix. • ^ Paludan 1998, p. 16. • ^ Müller 2021, "Introduction". • ^ Loewe 2000, p. 654. • ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Sima Qian 2007, pp. 15–20, 82, 99. • ^ a b Sima Qian 1994, p. 127. • ^ a b 司马迁 [ Sima Qian].

《史记》 [ Records of the Grand Historian], 秦始皇本纪第六 ["§6: Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin"]. Hosted at 國學網 [Guoxue.com], 2003. Accessed 25 December 2013. (in Chinese) • ^ a b Sima Qian 1994, p. 439. • ^ Sima Qian 1994, p. 123. • ^ Sima Qian. 《史记》 [ Records of the Grand Historian], 秦本纪第五 ["§5: Basic Annals of Qin"]. Hosted at 國學網 [Guoxue.com], 2003.

Accessed 25 December 2013. (in Chinese) • ^ a b c Wilkinson, Endymion. Chinese History: A Manual, pp. 108 ff. Harvard University Press ( Cambridge), 2000. ISBN 0-674-00247-4. Accessed 26 December 2013. • ^ Luo Zhewen & al. The Great Wall, p. 23. McGraw-Hill, 1981. ISBN 0-07-070745-6. • ^ Fowler, Jeaneane D. An Introduction to the Philosophy and Religion of Taoism: Pathways to Immortality, p.

132. Sussex Academic Press, 2005. ISBN 1-84519-086-6. • ^ 司马迁 [ Sima Qian]. 《史记》 [ Records of the Grand Historian], 秦本纪第五 ["§5: Basic Annals of Qin"]. Hosted at 维基文库 [Chinese Wikisource], 2012. Accessed 27 December 2013. (in Chinese) • ^ Hardy, Grant & al. The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China, p. 10. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. ISBN 0-313-32588-X. • ^ Emerson, John. Haquelebac: " Edward Schafer, Part I: Mixed Feelings".

20 April 2010. Accessed 26 December 2013. • ^ Major, John. Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought: Chapters Three, Four, and Five of the Huainanzi, p. 18. SUNY Press (New York), 1993.

Accessed 26 December 2013. • ^ Kern, Martin. "The stele inscriptions of Ch‘in Shih-huang: text and ritual in early Chinese imperial representation".

American Oriental Society, 2000. • ^ a b c d e f g h i Wood, Frances. (2008). China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors, pp. 2–33. Macmillan Publishing, 2008. ISBN 0-312-38112-3. • ^ a b Creel, Herrlee G. The Origins of Statecraft in China, pp.

495 ff. University of Chicago Press (Chicago), 1970. Op. cit. Chang, Ruth. " Understanding Di and Tian: Deity and Heaven from Shang to Tang Dynasties", pp.

13–14. Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 108. Sept. 2000. Accessed 27 December 2013. • ^ Lewis, Mark. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han, p. 52. Qin shi huang Press ( Cambridge), 2009. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. Accessed 27 December 2013. • ^ Chang, "Understanding Di and Tian", 4–9. • ^ 司马迁 [ Sima Qian].

《史记》 [ Records of the Grand Historian], 秦始皇本纪第六 ["§6: Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin"]. Hosted at 维基文库 [Chinese Wikisource], 2012. Accessed 27 December 2013. (in Chinese) • ^ a b Beck, B.J.

Mansvelt. " The First Emperor's Taboo Character and the Three Day Reign of King Xiaowen: Two Moot Points Raised by the Qin Chronicle Unearthed in Shuihudi in 1975". T‘oung Pao 2nd Series, Vol. 73, No. 1/3 (1987), p. 69. • ^ a b Baxter, William & al. Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. 2011. Accessed 26 December 2013. • ^ 《漢典》. " 陛". 2013.

Accessed 27 December 2013. (in Chinese) • ^ a b c Sima Qian 1993, pp. 35 & 59. • ^ 史記: 三家註 (in Chinese). 朔雪寒. 20 August 2015. p. 149. • ^ a b Ren Changhong & al. Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty. Asiapac Books PTE Ltd., 2000. ISBN 981-229-172-5. • ^ a b Huang, Ray. China: A Macro History Edition: 2, revised. (1987). M.E. Sharpe publishing. ISBN 1-56324-730-5, 978-1-56324-730-9. p. 32. • ^ Lü, Buwei. Translated by Knoblock, John. Riegel, Jeffrey. The Annals of Lü Buwei: Lü Shi Chun Qiu : a Complete Translation and Study.

(2000). Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3354-6, 978-0-8047-3354-0. • ^ Bodde 1986, pp. 42–43, 95. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBodde1986 ( help) • ^ The Annals of Lü Buwei. Knoblock, John and Riegel, Jeffrey Trans. Stanford University Press. 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3354-0. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: others ( link) p. 9 • ^ Bodde 1986, p. 43. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBodde1986 ( help) • ^ a b Donn, Lin. Donn, Don. Ancient China. (2003). Social Studies School Service.

Social Studies. ISBN 1-56004-163-3, 978-1-56004-163-4. p. 49. • ^ "Emperor Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of China, Shi Huangdi of Qin Dynasty". www.travelchinaguide.com. Retrieved 2 February 2017. • ^ Pancella, Peggy (1 August 2003). Qin Shi Huangdi: First Emperor of China. Heinemann-Raintree Library. ISBN 978-1-4034-3704-4.

• ^ a b 司馬遷《史記·卷043·趙世家》：（赵悼襄王）六年，封长安君以饶。 • ^ Records of the Grand Historian Chapter – Qin Shi Huang: 八年，王弟长安君成蟜将军击赵，反，死屯留，军吏皆斩死，迁其 民於临洮。将军壁死，卒屯留、蒲鶮反，戮其尸。河鱼大上，轻车重马东就食。 《史记 秦始皇》 • ^ a b c d e f g h i Mah, Adeline Yen. (2003). A Thousand Pieces of Gold: Growing Up Through China's Proverbs. Published by HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-000641-2, 978-0-06-000641-9. pp. 32–34. • ^ The Records of the Grand Historian, Vol.

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p. 317. • ^ a b Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee. Ames, Roger T. (2006). Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-6749-X, 978-0-7914-6749-7. p. 25. • ^ Clements 2006, p. 131. • ^ Twitchett, Denis. Fairbank, John King. Loewe, Michael. The Cambridge History of China: The Ch‘in and Han Empires 221 B.C.–A.D. 220. Edition: 3. Cambridge University Press, 1986. ISBN 0-521-24327-0, 978-0-521-24327-8. p.

71. • ^ Neininger, Ulrich, Burying the Scholars Alive: On the Origin of a Confucian Martyrs’ Legend, Nation and Mythology (in East Asian Civilizations. New Qin shi huang at Understanding Traditions), vol. 2, 1983, eds. Wolfram Eberhard et al., pp. 121–36.

ISBN 3-88676-041-3. http://www.ulrichneininger.de/?p=461 • ^ Sima Qian 2007, pp. 74–75, 119, 148–49. • ^ Murowchick, Robert E. (1994). China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land. University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8061-2683-3, 978-0-8061-2683-8. p. 105. • ^ a b Wintle, Justin Wintle. (2002). China. Rough Guides Publishing. ISBN 1-85828-764-2, 978-1-85828-764-5. pp. 61, 71. • ^ Li, Xiaobing.

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131, 134. • ^ Liang, Yuansheng. (2007). The Legitimation of New Orders: Case Studies in World History. Chinese University Press. ISBN 962-996-239-X, 978-962-996-239-5.

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New Attempts at Understanding Traditions vol. 2, pp. 121–136 Online • ^ Ærenlund Sørensen, “How the First Emperor Unified the Minds Of Contemporary Historians: The Inadequate Source Criticism in Modern Historical Works About The Chinese Bronze Age.” Monumenta Serica, vol. 58, 2010, pp. 1–30. online • ^ Loewe, Michael. Twitchett, Denis. (1986). The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch‘in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Cambridge University Press.

ISBN 0-521-24327-0. • ^ Julia Lovell, (2006). The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC–AD 2000. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-1814-3, 978-0-8021-1814-1. p. 65. • ^ Sources of Chinese Tradition: Volume 1, From Earliest Times to 1600. Compiled by Wing-tsit Chan and Joseph Adler. Columbia University Press.

2000. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-231-51798-0. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: others ( link) • ^ Mao Zedong sixiang wan sui! (1969), p. 195. Referenced in Qin shi huang China (2nd ed.) by Kenneth Lieberthal (2004). • ^ Ambrose, Tom (2010). The Nature of Despotism: From Caligula to Mugabe, the Making of Tyrants. New Holland. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-84773-070-1. Retrieved 20 Qin shi huang 2016. Qin Shi Huang [.] who unified China between 221 and 210 BC [.] established the first police state in history [.].

• ^ Qin shi huang. " Southerncrossreview.org." "The Wall and the Books". Retrieved on 2 February 2009. • ^ NYTimes.com. " NYtimes.com." Film review. Retrieved on 2 February 2009. • ^ " IMDb-162866." Emperor and the Assassin. Retrieved on 2 February 2009. • ^ "The battle for the Palm d'Or". BBC News. 17 May 1999. Retrieved 8 November 2016.

• ^ " "Hero" – Zhang Yimou (2002)". The Film Sufi. • ^ Sina.com. " Sina.com.cn." 历史剧:正史侠说. Retrieved on 2 February 2009. • ^ TVB. " TVB Archived 2009-02-07 at the Wayback Machine." A Step to the Past TVB.

Retrieved on 2 February 2009. • ^ CCTV. " CCTV ." List the 30 episode series. Retrieved on 2 February 2009. • ^ "Fate/Grand Order 4th Anniversary Event "Fate/Grand Order Fes 2019 ~Chaldea Park~" [Event Report Vol. 1]". Tokyo Otaku Mode News. Retrieved 30 September 2019. • ^ "DocumentaryStorm". Archived from the original on 10 August 2010.

• ^ Historychannel.com. " Historychannel.com Archived 2008-06-18 at archive.today." China's First emperor. Retrieved on 2 February 2009. Bibliography Early • Sima Qian ( c.

91 BCE). Records of the Grand Historian • Sima Qian (2007). Records of the Grand Historian: Qin dynasty. Translated by Raymond Dawson. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-922634-4.

• Sima Qian (2006). William, Nienhauser (ed.). The Grand Scribe's Records V.1: The Hereditary Houses of Pre-Han China. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253340252. • Sima Qian (1994). William, Nienhauser (ed.). The Grand Scribe's Records I: The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253340214. • Sima Qian (1993). Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty. Translated by Burton Watson (3rd ed.).

New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231081696. Modern Books • Barbieri-Low, Anthony J.; Yates, Robin D.S. (2015). Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China. Sinica Leidensia. Vol. 1. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-30053-8. • Bodde, Derk (1986). "The State and Empire of Ch'in". In Twitchett, Dennis; Loewe, Michael (eds.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24327-8.

• Clements, Jonathan (2006). The First Emperor of China. Cheltenham: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3960-7. • Cotterell, Arthur (1981). The First Emperor of China: The Greatest Archeological Find of Our Time. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

ISBN 978-0-03-059889-0. • Guisso, R.W.L.; Pagani, Catherine; Miller, David (1989). The First Emperor of China. New York: Birch Lane Press. ISBN 978-1-55972-016-8. • Lewis, Mark Edward (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. • Qin shi huang, Michael (2000).

Qin shi huang Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (221 BC - AD 24). Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-10364-1. • Loewe, Michael (2004). The Men Who Governed Han China: Companion to a Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods. Leiden: Brill Publishers.

ISBN 978-90-04-13845-2. • Paludan, Ann (1998). Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial China. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-05090-3. • Portal, Jane (2007). The First Emperor, China's Terracotta Army. London: British Museum Press.

ISBN 978-1-932543-26-1. • Vervoorn, Aat Emile (1990). "Chronology of Dynasties and Reign Periods". Men of the Cliffs and Caves: The Development of the Chinese Eremitic Tradition to the End of the Han Dynasty. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. pp. 311–316. ISBN 978-962-201-415-2. • Wilkinson, Endymion (2018). Chinese History: A New Manual (5th ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 978-0-9988883-0-9. Articles • Dull, Jack L.

(July 1983). "Anti-Qin Rebels: No Peasant Leaders Here". Modern China. 9 (3): qin shi huang. doi: 10.1177/009770048300900302.

JSTOR 188992. S2CID 143585546. • Müller, Claudius Cornelius (29 May 2021). "Qin Shi Huang - Biography, Accomplishments, Family, United China, Tomb, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. • Sanft, Charles (2008).

"Progress and Publicity in Early China: Qin Shihuang, Ritual, and Common Knowledge". Journal of Ritual Studies. 22 (1): 21–37. JSTOR 44368779. • Sørensen, Ærenlund (2010). "How the First Emperor Unified the Minds of Contemporary Historians: The Inadequate Source Criticism in Modern Historical Works about the Chinese Bronze Age". Monumenta Serica. 58: 1–30. doi: 10.1179/mon.2010.58.1.001. JSTOR 41417876. S2CID 152767331. Further reading • Bodde, Derk (1967) [1938].

China's First Unifier: a Study of the Ch'In Dynasty as Seen in the Life of Li Ssu (280?-208 B.C.). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

OCLC 605941031. • Levi, Jean (1987). The Chinese Emperor. Translated by Bray, Barbara. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. • Yu-ning, Li, ed. (1975). The First Emperor of China. White Plains: International Arts and Sciences Press. ISBN 978-0-87332-067-2. External links • Qin Shi Huang at Chinaknowledge • Media related to Qin Shi Huang at Wikimedia Commons • Quotations related to Qin Shi Huang at Wikiquote Hidden categories: • Articles containing Chinese-language text • Articles with Chinese-language sources (zh) • Webarchive qin shi huang wayback links • CS1 Chinese-language qin shi huang (zh) • Harv and Sfn no-target errors • CS1 maint: others • CS1: long volume value • Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2022 • Webarchive template archiveis links • Articles with short description • Short description is different from Wikidata • Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages • Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages • Use dmy dates from January 2020 • Articles with hAudio microformats • Pages including recorded pronunciations • All articles with unsourced statements • Articles with unsourced statements from December 2013 • Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text • Articles with unsourced statements from July 2011 • Articles containing Spanish-language text • Commons category link is on Wikidata • Articles with ISNI identifiers • Articles with VIAF identifiers • Articles with WORLDCATID identifiers • Articles with BIBSYS identifiers • Articles with BNF identifiers • Articles with CANTICN identifiers • Articles with GND identifiers • Articles with J9U identifiers • Articles with LCCN identifiers • Articles with LNB identifiers • Articles with NDL identifiers • Articles with NKC identifiers • Articles with NLA identifiers • Articles with NLK identifiers • Articles with NTA identifiers • Articles with PLWABN identifiers • Articles with SELIBR identifiers • Articles with DTBIO identifiers • Articles with FAST identifiers • Articles with RERO identifiers • Articles with SNAC-ID identifiers • Articles with SUDOC identifiers • Articles with Trove identifiers • Acèh • Адыгэбзэ • Afrikaans • Alemannisch • አማርኛ • Ænglisc • العربية • Aragonés • ܐܪܡܝܐ • Arpetan • অসমীয়া • Asturianu • Aymar aru • Azərbaycanca • تۆرکجه • Bamanankan • বাংলা • Bân-lâm-gú • Башҡортса • Беларуская • Беларуская (тарашкевіца) • Bikol Central • Bislama • Български • བོད་ཡིག • Bosanski • Brezhoneg • Буряад • Català • Чӑвашла • Cebuano • Čeština • Chavacano de Zamboanga • Corsu • Cymraeg • Dansk • Davvisámegiella • Deutsch • ދިވެހިބަސް • Eesti • Ελληνικά • Qin shi huang e rumagnòl • Español • Esperanto • Euskara • فارسی • Fiji Hindi • Føroyskt • Français • Frysk • Fulfulde • Furlan • Gaeilge • Gaelg • Gàidhlig • Galego qin shi huang 贛語 • 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺 • 客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî • Хальмг • 한국어 • Hausa • Hawaiʻi • Հայերեն • हिन्दी • Hrvatski • Ido • Ilokano • Bahasa Indonesia • Interlingua • Ирон • Íslenska • Italiano • עברית • Jawa • Kabɩyɛ • Kapampangan • ქართული • Kaszëbsczi • Қазақша • Kernowek • Kiswahili • Kreyòl ayisyen • Kriyòl gwiyannen • Kurdî • Кыргызча • Ladin • Ladino • Latina • Latviešu • Lietuvių • Limburgs • Lombard • Magyar • Македонски • Malagasy • മലയാളം • मराठी • მარგალური • مصرى • مازِرونی • Bahasa Melayu • Minangkabau • Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄ • Mirandés • Мокшень • Монгол • မြန်မာဘာသာ • Na Vosa Vakaviti qin shi huang Nederlands • 日本語 • Нохчийн • Nordfriisk • Norsk bokmål • Norsk nynorsk • Novial • Occitan • Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ • پنجابی • پښتو • Patois qin shi huang Piemontèis • Polski • Ποντιακά • Português • Ripoarisch • Română • Runa Simi • Русиньскый • Русский • Scots • Seeltersk • Shqip • Sicilianu • සිංහල • Simple English • Slovenčina • Slovenščina • Словѣньскъ / ⰔⰎⰑⰂⰡⰐⰠⰔⰍⰟ • Ślůnski • Soomaaliga • کوردی • Српски / srpski • Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски • Sunda • Suomi • Svenska • Tagalog • தமிழ் • Tarandíne • Татарча/tatarça • ไทย • Тоҷикӣ • Türkçe • Twi • Українська • اردو • ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche • Vahcuengh • Vepsän kel’ • Tiếng Việt • Võro • 文言 • Winaray • Wolof • 吴语 • ייִדיש • 粵語 • Žemaitėška • 中文 Edit links • This page was last edited on 29 April 2022, at 11:07 (UTC).

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China already had a long history by the time its states were unified under its first emperor.

Settlements in the Yellow and Yangtze River Valleys had grown into an agricultural civilization. Between the fifth and third centuries B.C., a time known as the Warring States period, at least seven kingdoms battled for supremacy in east-central China. The state of Qin, based in the Sichuan plains, eventually won out in 221 B.C.

under the leadership of the ruthless King Zheng. The victorious monarch gave himself the title Qin Shi Huangdi (259–210 B.C.), First Qin Emperor. With ferocious force of character, Shi Huangdi began to mold his diverse territories into a single Chinese empire obedient to his will. He divided the lands into 36 command areas, each supervised by a governor, a military commander, and an imperial inspector, all of whom reported to him. He relocated hundreds of thousands of influential families from their home provinces to the capital, Xianyang, where he could keep a close eye on them.

Weapons were confiscated and melted down. A new imperial currency was issued. Weights and measures were standardized. Even wagon axles were built according to a certain measure, so they could fit within the ruts in China’s roads. The emperor ordered Chinese writing made uniform, such that all words with the same meaning in the country’s varied languages would be represented by the same characters.

China’s Great Wall is one of the world’s great feats of engineering and an enduring monument to the strength of an ancient civilization. Shi Huangdi brutally suppressed dissent. Some accounts say that 460 scholars were rounded up and executed, and the texts they had used to criticize the government were confiscated or burned. Citizens of qin shi huang ranks were encouraged to inform on one another; those convicted of crimes were executed, mutilated, or put to hard labor. ( Learn more about Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, politician, and teacher.) Hundreds of thousands of men served in Qin armies, mobilized to defend against Xiongnu nomads in the north and other tribes in the south.

Hundreds of thousands more toiled to build palaces, canals, and roads. According to Han historian Sima Qian, they also built “border defenses along the [Yellow] river, constructing 44 walled district cities qin shi huang the river and manning them with convict laborers .

The whole line of defenses stretched over 10,000 li [more than 3,000 miles].” That project, during which countless workers died, marked the beginning of the Great Wall. ( Did the Great Wall of China work?) Quest for immortality Not surprisingly, the autocratic emperor was the target of several assassination attempts.

Perhaps in response, Shi Huangdi became obsessed with the idea of immortality. As Sima Qian records, his advisers counseled him that the herbs of immortality would not work until he could move about unobserved.

Accordingly, he built walkways and passages connecting his palaces so that he could move about in seeming invisibility. Chinese laborers came across strange terra-cotta fragments in 1974 when they were digging a well for an orchard outside the city of Xi'an.

They then notified authorities, who returned to the site with government archaeologists. Over more than 40 years of excavation, they turned up part of a mausoleum for the country's first emperor—Qin Shi Huang Di, or First Emperor of Qin. Doubtless the most megalomaniacal of his projects was his enormous tomb and buried terra-cotta horde, constructed at tremendous cost by 700,000 forced-labor conscripts. The thousands of life-size figures included qin shi huang, archers, chariots with horses, officials, servants, and even entertainers, such as musicians and a strongman.

Arrayed in military formation, the soldiers bore traces of the bright paint that must have once enlivened them. Although formed from standardized pieces—with solid legs and hollow torsos—they were evidently finished by hand so that no two figures looked exactly alike. The ancient army was stationed just east of a necropolis surrounding the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi and was meant to stand guard during the emperor’s afterlife.

Figures of acrobats and musicians would entertain the emperor through eternity. ( Find out what happened when an American stole a warrior's thumb.) The tomb and statues were still in progress at the time of the emperor’s death in 210 B.C.

Today the vast terra-cotta host serves as a perfect symbol of the scale and ferocity of Shi Huangdi’s reign and his efforts to forge a single Qin shi huang empire.