Great Leader or Cruel Tyrant?

• Who became king at the age of 13?• Who executed hundreds of enemies?• Who killed thousands of his subjects with his

building projects?• Who unified the Chinese government and

culture?

Qin Shihuangdi

Ch 22 The First Emperor of China

• Introduction• Creating an Empire• Standardizing the Culture• Protecting the Northern Border• Ending Opposition• The Emperor's Death and the End of

the Qin Dynasty• Summary

Introduction• Unification of China under Qin Shihuangdi• Qin pronounced "chin"

– ruled from 221 - 210 BCE– Executed enemies– known for building projects– Unified Chinese government and culture

• Most ambitious project– Great Wall along China's northern border– Project organized like a general trying to win a

war.

Creating an Empire• First emperor began as Prince Zheng

– Born in 256 BCE– Became king at the age of 13– Called the Tiger of Qin– Extremely ambitious– Conquered rival states– 221 BCE he gained control of all of China– Took a new title Qin Shihuangdi, First

Emperor of Qin

Creating an Empire• Rule of Emperor

– Influenced by Legalism– Divided territory into 36 districts– 3 officials appointed for each district

• one in charge of the army• one in charge of laws & agriculture• one reported to emperor

– Used harsh measures to maintain power• Leaders of plots and their families were killed• Exiled his own mother

Standardizing the Culture• Unified system of laws

– Many laws aimed at government officials• food in storehouses spoiling• wall built under their supervision collapsing

– Every day life• widows not allowed to remarry

– Based on Legalist beliefs• Rich and poor punished equally• Typical punishments

– Fines paid in suits of armor, shields, or gold– Physical punishments like forced labor, whippings, and

beheadings

Standardizing the Culture• Standardized money weights, and measures

– Money• Under the Emperor could only use metal coins made of

gold or bronze– Coins had holes in the center so the could be carried on a cord

• Previously used money, shells, pearls, silver, tin objects, and coins

– Weights and Measures• Same size measuring cups• Bell-shaped weights of bronze or iron in standard sizes

• Simplified the writing system– Reduced to 9,000 approved characters

Protecting the Northern Border

• Built wall along China's Northern border– Built walls to connect smaller walls– Called 10,000 Li Long Wall– 10 yrs to build

• crossed high mountains, desert, swampland, and quicksand• Weather bitterly cold in winter & blazing hot in summer

– workforce of 300,000 men assembled to build it• soldiers• peasants who were forced to leave their fields• musicians, teachers, writers, & artists who were sent into

exile• 10's of thousands died while working on project• workers buried in the wall

– Effective at stopping invasions

Ending Opposition• Changes to unify and protect China aroused opposition• Main opposition from Confucian scholars• Emperor's Response

– Executed 460 Confucian scholar for plotting against him• Confucian scholar criticized the emperor during a banquet• The emperor's advisor, Li Siu, insisted criticism be stopped• Learning Confucianism was banned• Confucian books were brought to the capital city and burned• Disobedient subjects had their face tattooed and sent to do forced

labor• Anyone discussing ancient teachings to criticize the government

was executed• Emperor's son was a victim

– Criticized the killing of scholars– Sent to oversee work on the Great Wall

Them Emperor's Death and the End of the Qin Dynasty

• Emperor was afraid to die– Asked magicians how to become immortal– Sought a magic potion– Sent an expedition to islands in the sea east of China

• 210 BCE Emperor of Qin died– may have been poisoned– ruled 10 years– Buried in a gigantic tomb in a man-made mound in

the capital city– 700,000 workers helped build it

Them Emperor's Death and the End of the Qin Dynasty

• Emperor's Tomb– Discovered in 1974– Found tools, precious jewels, and rare objects– Entire army made of clay called terra cotta

• 6,000 life-size figures- archers, foot soldiers, chariot drivers, and horses• Each unique

• Dynasty Ended– Emperor claimed his dynasty would last 10,000 years– Fell apart after his death– Rebellion in the countryside broke out– Members of the royal families joined the revolt– Civil war followed– 206 BCE Liu Bang, a peasant leader defeated rivals and

established the Had dynasty

Summary• Qin Shihuangdi

– First emperor of China– Unified China– Expanded China's borders– Centralized the government– Standardized Chinese laws, money, weights,

measures, and writing– Built the Great Wall– China's name comes from the word Qin

• Harsh rule led to an early end of the Qin dynasty