Qin Shihuang
YingZheng
founder of the first unified empire in the history of China. He
established an autocratic state with centralized power over the feudal
society.
Qin Shihuang, named Yingzheng, was born in Hanan in the late Eastern
Zhou Dynasty (770-256BC). Legend has it that his father, prince of the
Qin State, was held hostage in the State of Zhao until Lu Buwei, a
wealthy merchant secured their release back to the Qin. Finding that
his own wife, who was an exceedingly beautiful woman, was pregnant, Lu
Buwei managed to inspire the prince with great love for her. With
apparent reluctance Lu Buwei granted the prince's request of his wife,
for Lu thought in due time his own offspring would have the
acknowledged heir to the throne. When the prince became King Zhuang
Xiang of Qin, he made Lu his prime minister, and for the next ten years
Lu was the ruling force in the state.
When King Zhuang Xiang died, his son, or, rather, Lu Buwei's son, came
to the throne. This boy of thirteen may be considered the real founder
of the Qin Dynasty. His name was Yingzheng, better known as Qin
Shihuang (246-221BC), and took over the reins of government at
twenty-two.
When he grew up, he discovered that his mother had been guilty of the
gravest immoralities with Lu Bubei, and that Lu revealed that he was
his natural father. He at once banished his mother to a fortress and
dismissed Lu Buwei from his office and sent him home to his estate,
with a warning that any indiscretion of Lu Buwei would be severely
punished. At last, being afraid of the king's vengeance Lu Buwei
poisoned himself.
With assistance of wise and innovative men, Yingzheng carried out a
series of reforms to develop agriculture and the military. Qin rose
rapidly among the warring states at that period. During his reign,
Yingzheng succeeded in putting down internal rebellions, and,
externally, waged wars for unification on the other six states. It took
him only ten years to wipe them out, thus putting an end to the state
of chaos caused by rival principalities. When Qin defeated the other
six states in 221BC, for the first time in history, China became a
unified centralized state, Qin. Yingzheng assumed the title
"Shihuangdi" as he considered his achievement surpassed those of "San
Huang" (three previous emperors) and "Wu Di" (five previous emperors),
legendary rulers in remote antiquity. "Shi" which means the first,
combined with "Huangdi", the given names of his predecessors signifies
his supremacy over them.
To organize his new empire, Qin Shihuang abolished the existing feudal
system. He established prefectures and counties with further townships.
These were put under the control of military and administrative
officials who were his direct appointees. The state was divided into
thirty-six prefectures with counties under their jurisdiction. Besides,
roads radiating from Xianyang, the capital, were built linking the
former Yan, Qi, Wu and Chu areas. He also standardized the script used
for writing, the coinage, introducing a circular copper coin with a
square hole in the center. Equally important reforms were the
standardization of weights and measures, and codification of the law.
These reforms benefited both the economy and cultural exchange during
the period.
To strengthen the northern border, the Emperor sent slaves and
criminals to build the line of defense now known as the Great Wall.
To silence criticism of imperial rule, in the 34th year (213BC) of the
Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin Shihuang decided to burn all the books in the
empire and to execute those scholars and their families who opposed his
rule. His command was remarkably efficient, and all historical records
but those of the Qin State were burned. The second year, the emperor
arrested approximately 460 Confucian scholars and buried them alive in
Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province.
To reinforce his rule, Qin Shihuang practiced autocracy, imposing harsh
laws and severe punishments and heavy levies and corves upon his
people. Moreover, he levied war year after year and thus caused untold
sufferings to the people.
Qin shihuang ruled by terror and spent massive amount of money to build
extravagant palaces and his tomb. After five big travels across the
country and the building of the Great Wall, China was in debt
financially and people lived in terrible conditions. All this
strengthened people's hatred towards the emperor and sped the fall of
the Qin.
Qin shihuang believed in a medicine that could make him eternal. A
group of doctors prescribed him a medicine that had a small dose of
mercury in it. This mercury poisoned Qin shihuang and was what
eventually killed him. He died while away from his capital on tour in
210BC. His demise sparked uprisings across the country. The second son
Hu Hai of Qin Shihuang took over the throne. Hu Hai was even of
inferior quality than his late father. He neglected his
responsibilities as emperor and allowed the eunuch Zhao Gao to govern
the country on his behalf.
In 206BC, the Qin Dynasty of Emperor II, 900 laborers were on a long
march to Yuyang. It seemed impossible for them to get there in time,
owing to a long spell of strong wind and heavy rain, which stopped them
at Daxexiang. According to Qin's cruel rules, they would all be put to
death. So Chen Shen and Wu Guang, of the 900 laborers, killed the
officers, raised the standard of revolt, and led the first great
peasant uprising in China's history. Very soon they captured the Ji
County. People from every corner of the country came thick and fast to
join Chen, as Emperor II was an unbearable tyrant. Chen won battle
after battle, and later called himself Emperor of Zhang Chu. The Qin
dynasty ended in 206BC.
Qin Shihuang, though on the throne for little more than a decade, had a
tremendous influence on the Chinese civilization. He laid the
foundation for a unified Chinese nation, and is called by posterity "An
Emperor of Myriads of Ages". A reformer as well as tyrant, Qin
Shihuang, left to posterity his immense and monumental Qin Mausoleum, a
creation of both blood and tears.