:''Not to be confused with the
Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China.''
The 'Qin Dynasty' () (
221 BC -
206 BC) was preceded by the
feudal Zhou Dynasty and followed by the
Han Dynasty in
China. The unification of China in 221 BC under the
First Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (or Shih Hwang-Tih) marked the beginning of Imperial China, a period which 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. At the height of its power, the Qin Dynasty had a population of about 40 million people.
Qin Shi Huangdi
Main articles: Qin Shi Huangdi
Qin Shi Huangdi imposed the
State of Qin's centralized, non-hereditary bureaucratic system on his new empire in place of the Zhou's
quasi-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 Huangdi 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 a
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, 4,856- 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 Huangdi's behavior reportedly increasingly became erratic in the latter years of his rule. This may have been the result of drinking solutions containing mercury as well as other deadly compounds. Ironically, Qin ingested the mixtures in an increasingly desperate search for an
elixir that would prolong his life. It has often been speculated that this was at least partially responsible for many of his later acts such as building the
terracotta army. The elixirs may also have been the cause of his eventual death.
Second Emperor
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 (蒙恬) — 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. Hubai did not care much about Zhao Gao taking over his family 's ruling power, since Huhai cared much more about playing with himself in the palace. From this point on, Qin starts to decline.
Within three years of Qin Shi Huangdi'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 (匈奴), became the leaders of the first revolution by commoners.
Huhai lived to see the
Battle of Julu, the major defeat of the Qin army in the hands of the rebels, which marked the end of the Qin Dynasty.
Third Emperor
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. It is said the fire lasted two months before the inferno died down. A recent archeology survey of the ruin palace determined it to be roughly the size of Manhattan island of New York City. The palace is supported with thousands of pillars made from prehistoric lumbers growing to up to 115 meters (375 ft) high. One single pillar requires a team of a thousand workers a life time to harvest. Due to the weight and scale of each lumber, cutting the lumber can take weeks if not months, transporting from the prehistoric forest to the lumber mill requires certain weather so the river can be flooded to even move the massive lumber down river. The captain of each team is rewarded with imperial rank, their goal in life is to acquire one of these prehistoric lumber for the construction of the palace. It is said each pillar sacrificed the lives of a hundred men. Xiang Yu's controversial action sets the stage for the legendary battles between Xiang Yu, the warrior king and Liu Bang, the people's king. 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.
Sovereigns of Qin Dynasty
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 second 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.
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