Download Ancient China: The Shang Dynasty

Major Dynasties of Ancient China:
The Qin Dynasty
China’s 3rd major dynasty, the Qin (pronounced Chin) Dynasty, was its shortest (221 BC - 207 BC). It was founded by Shi
Huangdi, who unified the many independent states of China under his rule. Shi Huangdi’s name literally means “First
Emperor” and the western name for China comes from the word Qin. Shi Huangdi divided his empire into 36 military districts
ruled by governors. His capital city was Xianyang and he ruled a larger area than either the Shang or Zhou.
During his reign, Shi Huangdi forced hundreds of thousands of his subjects to build public works projects. He oversaw the
construction of an impressive network of roads (over 4200 miles of 38-foot wide roads) that linked his capital city to different
parts of the empire. His most famous project, however, was the Great Wall of China. In the centuries before his rule, China’s
northern regions had built various defensive walls along their borders to keep out invading peoples from North Central Asia
(modern-day Mongolia & Russia). In 221 BCE, Shi Huangdi ordered his trusted general, Meng Tian, to connect and extend the
defensive walls to form a vast wall that would span China’s entire northern frontier. Shi Huangdi envisioned a great wall that
would both prevent invading tribes from entering China and discourage his own subjects from leaving the empire. Taking over
ten years to construct, the Great Wall extended more than 1500 miles along China’s northern border and is considered to be one
of the most amazing achievements of the reign of Shi Huangdi.
Prior to the rule of Shi Huangdi, Chinese culture differed from region to region. Each region had its own customs, money,
measures and weights and writing system. One of Shi Huangdi’s first acts was to simplify and establish standards for, or
standardize, the Chinese writing system. He eliminated about one fourth of the writing symbols, or characters, used in written
Chinese. He forbade the use of anything but the 3,300 government approved characters which were listed in an official
government dictionary. The standardized writing system improved communication throughout the empire and provided a strong
foundation for Chinese culture. Shi Huangdi standardized other aspects of Chinese culture as well. He chose the number 6 as
the basis for all measurements and ordered that all measuring cups be made the same size. He also replaced the various coins for
money being used in different region in China with a single round coin called a banliang. It had a hole in the middle of it that
allowed people to carry several coins together on a cord.
Shi Huangdi believed in the teachings of Legalism, which taught that people were by nature evil, selfish and untrustworthy –
peace and prosperity could only be achieved through strict laws and by threatening severe punishment. To control behavior, Shi
Huangdi created a uniform set of laws for the empire known as the Code of Qin that governed every aspect of Chinese life. The
laws were extremely detailed and outlined various punishments and rewards for bad and good behavior. Most laws applied to
everyday citizens. For example, widows were forbidden to remarry and planned or premeditated murder was punished severely.
He also ordered all weapons not belonging to his military confiscated and melted down. Typical punishments were either fines or
physical (forced labor, whippings, amputation, beheading). Everyone – rich or poor, noble or peasant farmer – was punished
equally under the law. Shi Huangdi used his vast system of roads to conduct inspection tours of his empire to make sure his laws
were being followed.
Many of the reforms (changes) made by Shi Huangdi were in direct conflict with the beliefs of the empire’s Confucian scholars.
These scholars followed the teachings of Confucius that stated that rulers should use good or virtuous behavior and not laws to
encourage people to behave in a moral and respectful manner. This belief was in direct contradiction to the Legalist views held
by Shi Huangdi. He also refused to remember or follow past traditions and rituals and instead only devoted himself to new ideas
and methods. This too, angered the Confucian scholars, who strongly emphasized past traditions and rituals. Shi Huangdi
eventually banned Confucian teachings in public and authorized the burning of all Confucian books. He executed approximately
460 Confucian scholars for plotting against him.
Despite the many achievements of Shi Huangdi, ancient Chinese writings reveal that he was an unhappy man. At the root of his
unhappiness was his terror of death and his desire to live forever (immortality). Shi Huangdi enlisted the help of countless
magicians who claimed to know the secrets of immortality. They instructed Shi Huangdi to hide from all evil spirits – as a
result, he built a large network of secret passages to travel unseen among his 270 palaces.
Shi Huangdi’s obsession with death led him to begin plans for his own tomb. About 700,000 workers were brought in to
construct his elaborate tomb, located inside Mount Li near the city of Xian. After Shi Huangdi eventually died, many of the
tomb workers were buried alive along with the emperor because Shi Huangdi’s son did not want anyone to know the tomb’s
exact location. The tomb contained an underground city made of bronze, precious jewels and rare objects. The tomb was lined
with various traps to kill any potential grave robbers. Most amazing of all, artisans crafted an entire army of soldiers made of
fired, unglazed clay, called terra cotta, for the tomb. Archaeologists have discovered several thousand unique life size figures,
including archers, foot soldiers, chariot drivers and horses. The terra cotta army was positioned forward on purpose to lead Shi
Huangdi into the next world.
In 210 BCE, Shi Huangdi died at the age of 49. While no one knows the exact cause of his death, some scholars believe that he
may have accidentally poisoned himself by drinking various potions in an effort to gain immortality. His advisors worried that
Shi Huangdi’s death might cause chaos throughout the land. Therefore, his top advisors attempted to keep his death a secret
while all of the necessary arrangements were made. They had food delivered to his room and continued to issue fake imperial
announcements. Eventually, news of his death was made public and he was laid to rest in one of the most magnificent tombs in
the entire ancient world.
Shi Huangdi's Empire did not outlast him by much – his son took over and rebellions began immediately. In 207 BC, the Qin
Dynasty fell to a revolt led by Liu Bang, who founded the Han Dynasty.