Figurines in the Museum of the Qin Terracotta Warriors, the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, emperor of China, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Northwest China, discovered in 1974.
Queen Elizabeth II viewing some of the Terracotta Army soldier statues at the Qin Shi Huang's Museum of The Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses, Shaanxi Province, during a state visit to the People's Republic of China China.
A visitor, holding her baby, views the simulation silicon model "Emperor Qin Shi Huang" at the High Simulation Robot and Simulation Silicon Model Art Exhibition at the Xi'an Art Gallery on February 25, 2011, in Xi'an of Shaanxi Province, China.
Qin Shi Huang was a Chinese ruler, who was the First Emperor of a unified China. He ruled the the Qin dynasty from 221 BC to 210 BC.
Background
Qin Shi Huang was born on February 18, 259 BC, in Handan, China. The son of King Zhuangxiang, he was born while his father was held hostage in the state of Zhao. His mother, Queen Dowager Zhao, was a former concubine of a rich merchant, Lü Buwei. Qin Shi Huang was born as Ying Zheng and his clan name was Zhao.
Career
Qin Shi Huang formally ascended the throne in 246 BCE at the age of 13. Since the king was still very young, his father's Prime Minister Lü Buwei continued to hold his position and acted as the king's regent for the next eight years. In 238 BC Qin Shi Huang attained the age of 22 – the legal age to rule the kingdom by himself. When he left for the old capital Yong for his coronation, Lao Ai, the Queen mother's lover, attempted a coup d'etat. Lao Ai's conspiracy was immediately discovered by Qin Shi Huang, who had him executed. Later, the king learned that his prime minister Lü Buwei was also involved in the attempted coup and banished Lü to Shu (today's Sichuan).
After the removal of Lü Buwei, Qin Shi Huang used the scholar Li Si as his major adviser in planning the conquest of China's six other kingdoms. In 228 BC, Qin Shi Huang besieged Han Dan, the capital of the Zhao kingdom, and captured the king of Zhao. After Zhao's fall, Qin presented a great threat to the kingdom of Yan. In the hope of preventing Qin's attack, in 227 BC the crown prince of Yan sent an assassin to kill Qin Shi Huang. After the attempt failed, the king of Yan killed the crown prince to make peace with Qin.
The Qin dynasty was involved in fights with the Xiongnu tribe from a long time but the tribe could not be defeated. Thus Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of an enormous defensive wall in order to fend off the tribes. The work on the wall was carried out by hundreds of thousands of slaves and criminals between 220 and 206 BC. A part of this wall formed the first section of what would become the Great Wall of China. In the five years between 225 BC and 221 BC, Qin defeated and conquered the rest of the regional kingdoms and brought China to unification. He was convinced he had established an eternal empire, of which he was the first emperor. That is why he called himself, appropriately, Shi Huang-di, or the first emperor. Thus, King Zheng of Qin became Qin Shi Huang-di, or the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty.
In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang made his fifth inspection tour around the country. When he reached a place called Sha Qiu (in today's Hebei province), he became seriously ill. He died on September 10, 210 BC during one of his tours of Eastern China.
With the conquest complete and the establishment of his emperorship, Qin Shi Huang began a series of reforms to consolidate his rule. In the central government, the emperor was the highest ruler, followed by San Gong Jiu Qing (three Gong and nine Qing; the titles distinguishing their hierarchical status) who assisted the emperor in ruling the country. Below the three Gong, there were nine Qing, whose major responsibilities included caring for the palace, the royal family, and the emperor. Qin Shi Huang accepted Li Si's suggestion to abolish the old system of enfeoffment (feudalism) and establish a new system of administrative districts throughout the country. Qin Shi Huang divided the empire into 36 prefectures, under each of which were a number of counties.
Under each county, were a number of towns and under each town were a number of the smallest rural administrative units. All the officials of prefectures and counties were appointed by the emperor with fixed salaries. Their positions were not hereditary, and they were subject to recall or removal by the emperor. This hierarchical system of administration achieved political unification and strongly reinforced the central government.
In order to prevent conspiracy, Qin Shi Huang ordered that all weapons belonging to civilians be gathered in the capital for melting down. At the same time, Qin Shi Huang forced the 120, 000 most powerful and wealthiest households in the empire to move into Xian Yang the capital, thereby, first, making the capital look prosperous and, second, making such powerful families easier to watch over. Qin Shi Huang sent some of the old noble families of the conquered six kingdoms to Nan Yang and Ba Shu (southwest of China) from their native places, hoping that by forcing them to leave their hereditary lands, he was helping to reduce their power.
To tighten his rule of the empire, Qin Shi Huang also unified the code of laws, establishing laws regarding the responsibilities of government officials and punishment for the neglect of their duties. One law said that peasants were not allowed to drink liquor in "field huts" and if they did, they were punished. Criminal law enforcement was extremely cruel: the penalty for even small theft was cutting off the left foot or branding the face. The heaviest punishments included being torn apart by a chariot or the elimination of an entire family.
Qin Shi Huang reformed the currency system by declaring two types of currency: gold and copper. Gold was called upper currency while copper was called the lower currency, which appeared in round coins with a square hole in the middle.
Views
In order to avoid scholars' comparisons of his reign with the past, Qin Shi Huang ordered most existing books to be burned. The only books left were those on astrology, agriculture, medicine, divination, and the history of the State of Qin. Some sources say that 460 scholars were rounded up and executed.
Quotations:
"I have collected all the writings of the Empire and burnt those which were of no use."
"The reason why All-under-Heaven suffers bitterly from endless wars is because of the existence of feudal lords and kings. A reliance on ancestral temples initially brought stability, but the revival of states results in the spread of soldiers. Doing so will never bring about stability!"
Personality
Qin Shi Huang feared death greatly and despised even talking about it. He wanted to live forever and searched far and wide for the medicine for immortality. Qin Shi Huang spent much money hiring priests and magicians to create or search for an elixir for him.
Qin Shi Huang loved traveling. He frequently toured the nation, not just for fun, but also to show off his prestigious status.
Interests
traveling
Connections
Qin Shi Huang had numerous concubines but appeared to have never named an empress. It is believed that he fathered around 50 children about 30 of whom were sons.
Father:
King Zhuangxiang
Mother:
Queen Dowager Zhao
Half-brother:
Prince Chengjiao
Son:
Prince Fusu
Son:
Qin Er Shi
Son:
Prince Jianglü
Son:
Prince Gao
Daughter:
Princess Huating
Daughter:
Princess Huayang
Daughter:
Ying Jiman
Daughter:
Ying Yinman
Daughter:
Ying Liman
Daughter:
Ying Huiman
Daughter:
Ying Shiman
References
The First Emperor of China
The First Emperor of China is the true story of Ying Zheng: the man who unified China, built the Great Wall, and whose tomb is guarded by the famous Terracotta Army.
2006
China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors
This book describes his life and times and reflects the historical arguments over the real founder of China and one of the most important men in Chinese history.
The First Emperor: Selections from the Historical Records
The extraordinary story of the First Emperor, founder of the dynasty, is told in the Historical Records of Sima Qian, the Grand Historiographer and the most famous Chinese historian. He describes the Emperor's birth and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as the political and often brutal events that led to the founding of the dynasty and its aftermath.
2007
Chinese History: A Manual
Chinese History: A Manual is an indispensable guide to researching the civilization and history of China.