Expert: Jennifer - 5/5/2009

Question
My daughter needs to conduct an interview with an expert on the Qin Dynasty and ask certain questions for a project. We contacted our local museums and can not locate an expert in this area. This websit was given by her school. Question#1) What made Qin think legalism was the way to rule an empire? #2)What was the main lanquage spoken at this time? 3)What was the main religion of the empire? 4)What were his beliefs for the afterlife? I appreciate any help you can give us. Thank you so much.

Answer
Dear Katrina,

I have reordered your question a little bit as some parts are connected to another. Here are my replies:

1. Historical records do not really detailed why Qin Shihuang felt that legalism was the way to rule an empire. However, given the time he was in, namely during the Warring states, he could have concluded that an aristocratic society would only lead to instability, corruption, and inefficiency. In addition, given that he had unified China and had to rule over a vast and hugely diverse group of people, legalism could have been seen as the more practical approach over other philosophies like Confucianism to bring law and order to a new country.

3. Shi Huangdi reverted back to the worship of natural deities during his reign. During the warring states, most of the rulers worship certain cosmic deities or natural sites, such as mountains or rivers. Shi Huangdi in particular, granted priority to the worship of 4 directions (north, south, east and west).

4. Qin Shihuang was afraid of dying and believed in the possibility of achieving immortality. Such was his beliefs that he commissioned the imperial doctors to look for a pill that would allow him to never die. A man finally created a pill for him which he claimed would help the First Emperor achieve immortality. As it actually contained poison, Shi Huangdi died soon after consuming it.

2. The unification of the Chinese Language (Mandarin) occurred during Qin Shihuang's claim. He burned all other books that were written in other types of writing other than that in traditional Chinese. However, at the countrysides, people continue to speak in their own native languages, but Mandarin has become the official language.

Hope it helps.