Qin Dynasty
The
Qin Dynasty () (
221 BC -
206 BC) was preceded by the
Zhou Dynasty and followed by the
Han Dynasty in
China. The unification of China 221 BC under the
First Emperor (Qin Shi Huangdi) marked the beginning of imperial China, a period that lasted until the fall of the
Qing Dynasty in
1912. The Qin Dynasty left a legacy of a centralized and bureaucratic state that would be carried onto successive dynasties.
Qin Shi Huang imposed the
State of Qin's centralized, non-hereditary bureaucratic system on his new empire in place of the Zhou's
feudalistic one. The Qin Empire relied on the philosophy of
legalism (with skillful advisors like
Han Fei and
Li Si). Centralization, achieved by ruthless methods, was focused on standardizing legal codes and bureaucratic procedures, the forms of writing and coinage, and the pattern of thought and scholarship.
Characters from the former state of Qin became the standard for the entire empire. The length of the wheel axle was also unified and expressways standardized to ease transportation throughout the country. To silence criticism of imperial rule, the emperor banished or put to death many dissenting
Confucian scholars and confiscated and
burned their books.
To prevent future uprisings, Qin Shi Huang ordered the confiscation of weapons and stored them in the capital. In order to prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he also destroyed the walls and fortifications that had separated the previous six states. A national conscription was devised: every male between the ages of seventeen and sixty years was obliged to serve one year in the army. Qin aggrandizement was aided by frequent military expeditions pushing forward the frontiers in the north and south. To fend off barbarian intrusion (mainly against the
Xiongnu in the north), the fortification walls built by the various warring states were connected to make a wall; this is usually recognised as the first
Great Wall of China, although the present, 5,000- kilometer-long
Great Wall of China was largely built or re-built during the
Ming Dynasty. A number of public works projects, including canals and bridges, were also undertaken to consolidate and strengthen imperial rule. A lavish tomb for the emperor, complete with a
Terracotta Army, was built near the capital
Xianyang, a city half an hour from modern
Xi'an. These activities required enormous levies of manpower and resources, not to mention repressive measures.
Qin Shi Huang reportedly began going "crazy" from swallowing mercury pills, which were made by his court alchemists and doctors, containing too much mercury. Ironically, these pills were meant to make Qin Shi Huang immortal. This may be accountable for most of his paranoiac acts such as building the terracotta army. This may also be the cause of his death later on.
During his reign Qin Shi Huang made five inspection trips around the country. During the last trip with his second son
Huhai (胡亥) in
210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died suddenly at
Shaqiu prefecture. Huhai, under the advice of two high officials — the Imperial Secretariat
Li Si(李斯) and the chief
eunuch Zhao Gao, forged and altered Emperor's will. The faked decree ordered Qin Shi Huang's first son, the heir
Fusu (扶蘇), to commit suicide, instead naming Huhai as the next emperor. The decree also stripped the command of troops from Marshal
Meng Tian ('恬) — a faithful supporter of Fusu — and sentenced Meng's family to death. Zhao Gao step by step seized the power of Huhai, effectively making Huhai a puppet emperor.
Within three years of Qin Shi Huang's death, widespread revolts by peasants, prisoners, soldiers, and descendants of the nobles of the Six
Warring States sprang up all over China.
Chen Sheng (陳勝) and
Wu Guang (吳廣), two in a group of about 900 soldiers assigned to defend against the Xiongnu, became the leaders of the first revolution by commoners.
In the beginning of October
207 BC, Zhao Gao forced Huhai to commit suicide and replaced him with Fusu's son,
Ziying (子嬰). Note that the title of Ziying was "king of Qin" to reflect the fact that Qin no longer controlled the whole of China. The
Chu-Han contention ensued. Ziying soon killed Zhao Gao and surrendered to
Liu Bang (劉邦) in the beginning of December
207 BC. But Liu Bang was forced to hand over Xianyang and Ziying to
Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu then killed Ziying and burned down the palace in the end of January
206 BC. Thus the Qin dynasty came to an end, three years after the death of Qin Shi Huang, and less than twenty years after it was founded.
Although the Qin Dynasty was short-lived, its legalist rule had a deep impact on later dynasties in China. The imperial system initiated during the Qin dynasty set a pattern that was developed over the next two millennia.
Note:
King Zhaoxiang of Qin (秦昭襄王) had already been ruling Qin for 51 years when Qin annihilated the Zhou Dynasty; however the other six warring states were still independent regimes. Historiographers thus used the next year (the 52nd year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin) as the official continuation from
Zhou Dynasty.
Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after reunifying China in
221 BC. That year is therefore usually taken as the start of the "Qin Dynasty".
During the Qin Dynasty, starting with Qin Shi Huang, there were no posthumous names. The title of Shi Huangdi
("Commencing Emperor") and Er Shi Huangdi'' ("Second Generation Emperor") were used during the rulers' lifetimes.
A correction to information on the Qin Dynasty's northern wall from:
* Richard Hooker (1996).
The Ch'in Dynasty. Retrieved Jan 22, 2005.
