Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of Qin

Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of Qin Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information

The monarch known now as Qin Shi Huang (259 B.C. C 210 B.C.), personal name Ying Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 B.C. to 221 B.C. (officially still under the Zhou Dynasty), and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 B.C. to 210 B.C., ruling under the name the First Emperor. As the ruler of the Great Qin, he was known for the introduction of Legalism and also for unifying China.

The first emperor, China

After conquering the last independent Chinese state in 221 B.C., Qin Shi Huang was the king of a state of Qin ruling over the whole of China, an unprecedented accomplishment. Wishing to show that he was no longer a simple king like the kings of old during the Warring States Period, he created a new title, huangdi, combining the word huang from the legendary Three Huang (Three August Ones) who ruled at the dawn of Chinese history, and the word di from the legendary Five Di (Five Sovereigns) who ruled immediately after the Three Huang. This word huangdi is rendered in English as "emperor".

Three Huang and Five Di were considered perfect rulers, of immense power and very long lives. The word huang also meant "big", "great". The word di also referred to the Supreme God in Heaven, creator of the world. Thus, by joining these two words for the first time, Qin Shi Huang created a title on a par with his feat of uniting the seemingly endless Chinese realm, in fact uniting the world. Ancient Chinese, like ancient Romans, believed their empire encompassed the whole world, a concept referred to as all under heaven.

Name

Qin Shi Huang was born in the Kingdom of Zhao, therefore he received the last name Zhao, which is a branch of "Ying". He was born in the Chinese month zheng, the first month of the year in the Chinese calendar then in use, like January is now, and so he received the given name Zheng, both characters being used interchangeably in ancient China.

In Chinese antiquity, people joined family names and given names together as is customary for all Chinese names today. Therefore, it is anachronistic to refer to Qin Shi Huang as "Zhao Zheng", "Ying Zheng" and "Yang Zhao".

Know more about "Qin"

Youth and King of Qin -- The conqueror

Zheng was born in Handan, the capital of the enemy State of Zhao, so he had the name Zhao Zheng. 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.

Unify

When Qin defeated the other six states in 221B.C., for the first time in history, China became a unified centralized state. Then in that same year, at the age of 38, the king of Qin proclaimed himself First Emperor of the unified states of China, making him the most powerful man in China.

Abolish

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.

Reform

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.

Build

To strengthen the northern border, the Emperor sent slaves and criminals to build the line of defense now known as the Great Wall.

Events in Qin

To silence criticism of imperial rule, in the 34th year (213 B.C.) 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 210 B.C.

Influence and achievement

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.

Evaluation

Qin Shi Huang remains a controversial figure in Chinese history. Having unified China, he and his chief adviser Li Si passed a series of major reforms aimed at cementing unification, and they undertook some gigantic projects, most notably the precursor version of the current Great Wall of China, a city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, at the expense of numerous human lives. To ensure stability, he outlawed Confucianism and buried many of its scholars alive, banning and burning all books other than those officially decreed.

Despite the tyranny of his autocratic rule, Qin Shi Huang is still regarded by many today as a pivotal figure in Chinese history whose unification of China has endured for more than two millennia.

Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of Qin Highlights

Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of Qin Highlights Related

Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of Qin attraction highlights

• Tomb of Qin Shihuang

Terracotta Warriors attraction highlights

About 2,000 years ago, there was a Dynasty called Qin. After the death of the first emperor of Qin, a huge tomb was built and 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. This is the Terracotta Army, most part of which, is the terracotta warriors.

• Xi'an

Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of Qin FAQ & Travelers's Tips

1. What kinds of people do Chinese people think are gracious or nidering?
2. What's the best moral can a Chinese have?
3. What's the most important aspect of most Chinese people's lives?
4. Do Chinese people believe in God?
5. Are there any thoughts or feelings on issue that Chinese share with the west?
6. Why are Chinese people called the 'Descendants of the Dragon'?
7. How do Chinese people like their own culture?
8. How did Chinese people's value change?
9. What's Chinese people's life style?

1. What kinds of people do Chinese people think are gracious or nidering?

   In ancient China, loyalty and filial piety were used to define weather one was a good person or not. In China nowadays, they are still the standards for judging a person.

   • Loyalty: Loyalty evolved as devotion for one's family, gene-group and friends. Loyalty comes most naturally amongst small groups or tribes where the prospect of the whole casting out the individual seems like the ultimate, unthinkable rejection. Loyalty to tribes evolved from the evolutionary tactic that there is a greater chance of survival and procreation if animals form packs/tribes.
     
     In a feudal society, centered on personal bonds of mutual obligation, accounting for precise degrees of protection and fellowship can prove difficult. Loyalty in these circumstances can become a matter of extremes: alternative groups may exist, but lack of mobility will enter a personal sense of loyalty.
     
     The rise of states (and later nation states) meant the harnessing of the 'loyalty' concept to foster allegiance to the sovereign or established government of ones country, also personal devotion and reverence to the sovereign and royal family.
     
     Wars of religion and their intermingling with wars of states have seen loyalty used in religious senses too, involving faithful support of a chosen or traditional set of beliefs or of sports representatives. And in modern times marketing has postulated loyalties to abstract concepts such as the brand. Customer churn has become the opposite of loyalty, just as high treason once stood as the opposite of the same idea. Compare loyalty card.
     
     Loyalty is also seen in business in a variety of ways. As governments have grown in size and scope, some people are more loyal to a company rather than to a country. As corporation complexity has grown, people have shifted their loyalties to individuals rather than companies. As those individuals move between companies, they often take other people with them. Stock options are one method devised to keep people loyal to a company.
     
     
   • In Confucian thought, filial piety is one of the virtues to be cultivated: a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.
     
     In somewhat general terms, filial piety means to take care of one's parents; not be rebellious; show love, respect and support; display courtesy; ensure male heirs, uphold fraternity among brothers; wisely advise one's parents; conceal their mistakes (though some schools advocate pointing out and correcting their mistakes); display sorrow for their sickness and death; and carry out sacrifices after their death.
     
     Filial piety is considered the first virtue in Chinese culture, and it is the main concern of a large number of stories. One of the more famous one is The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars. This story depicts how children exercised their filial piety in the past. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has been common to almost all of them; for example, Historian Hugh D. R. Baker calls respect for the family the only element common to almost all Chinese believers. These traditions were sometimes enforced by law; during parts of the Han Dynasty, for example, and those who neglected ancestor worship could even be subject to corporal punishment.
     
     
   People define bad people in different ways. When someone does something and one person was angry about, another person might think he is actually a good person and doing the right thing? Then what kinds of people do Chinese think are bad?

   Someone doing something bad doesn't mean he is bad. Being bad depends on the inner world of a person, and what's the purpose of being bad? A poor good person might steal to feed his family; while a bad person can do all the kind things just to achieve his evil plan. How do Chinese people define being bad?

   • One character is for sure, which is betrayal. Contrast to loyalty, Betrayal is a form of deception or dismissal of prior presumptions, breaking or violation of a presumptive social contract (trust, or confidence) that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Often betrayal is the act of supporting a rival group, or it is a complete break from previously decided upon or presumed norms by one party from the others.

   • In ancient China, disrespecting the emperor was also considered as a big crime and disgraces. The emperor was the supreme power of ruling the whole country. Showing disrespect to the emperor equaled to showing the same thing to the country. People could be executed for showing disrespect to the emperor. Now there is no more emperor, but respect to the elderly, to women and child is still needed in this society. The elderly, women and child are the weak group and they deserve to be respected.

2. What's the best moral can a Chinese have?

   You might wonder why Buddha always has a smiley face. That's because they have reached the highest level of moral, which is 'beneficence'.
   
   Traditionally understood as the 'first principle'of morality, the dictum'do good and avoid evil' lends some moral content to this principle. The principle of beneficence is a 'middle principle' insofar as it is partially dependent for its content on how one defines the concepts of the good and goodness. As a middle principle, beneficence is not a specific moral rule and cannot by itself tell us what concrete actions constitute doing good and avoiding evil.
   
   The Principle of Nonmaleficence, commonly translated as first, 'do no harm' is often considered to be a corollary to the principle of beneficence. In this respect, it shares the same characteristics of beneficence considered as a middle principle. Considered in its own right, nonmaleficence is sometimes interpreted to imply that if one cannot do good without also causing harm, then one should not act at all (in that particular circumstance). The difficulty with this rigorist interpretation, however, is that it makes action almost impossible in a world where even the best actions may have some harmful results. The principle of double effect offers a more reasonable method of analysis for those conflict situations where avoiding harm would require no action, including actions that may be both morally good and necessary for achieving the good. It is important to note that, while nonmaleficence refers to doing no harm, nonmalevolence refers to not intending or willing harm. It may be helpful to think of nonmaleficence not simply as 'doing no harm', but as 'doing no evil' which is closer to its etymological roots.




3. What's the most important aspect of most Chinese people's lives?

   Just like a saying that goes like this: east and west, home is best. Family is always the number one thing a Chinese would think when asked about the most important aspect of their life. Some would say money, because without money, one can't do anything. Yet, money is just a substance that can satisfy one's material need. After one is satisfied with all these material need, a higher lever of desire will come up for sure, which is the need to be accompanied. During festivals, Chinese people take every chance to go back home and unite with their family. Whenever one is happy or sad, they will share with their family first, or at least make sure they will share it with family. Family is always a Chinese's support, and is always where a Chinese belong to.




4. Do Chinese people believe in God?

   Most Chinese are antitheists. Sometimes you might hear people say something about God, but it doesn't really mean they believe in it.

   There are some Chinese Christians in China who believe in God, but the number of the Chinese Christians only takes up a small portion.



5. Are there any thoughts or feelings on issue that Chinese share with the west?

   With the development of China, more and more western thoughts are cramming into Chinese people's heads. Common thoughts shared by both Chinese and westerners are becoming more and more.

   The first thing to mention is privacy. In western countries, everyone deserve the rights to have some privacy even a 3-year-old child. Children usually demand a room of their own when they turn to 14. More and more Chinese now demand privacy too. Mother reading her little daughter's diary is no longer acceptable, and father going into his son's room without knocking is considered as rude.

   The second thing to mention is the aware of protecting animals. China is famous for its cuisines, yet a lot of animals, even endangered animals, are killed and be cooked into a yummy dish on people's dinning table. Chinese people no longer, like most westerners would think, 'eat everything'. Killing precious animals is against the law, and only pork, beef, chicken, mutton, etc. can be cooked as meals.

6. Why are Chinese people called the 'Descendants of the Dragon'?

   Dragons are commonly symbols of good luck/health in some parts of Asia, and are also sometimes worshipped. Asian dragons are considered as mythical rulers of weather, specifically rain and water, and are usually depicted as the guardians of flaming pearls.
   
   In China, as well as in Japan and Korea, the Azure Dragon is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellation, representing spring (season), the element of Wood and the east. A Yellow dragon with five claws on each foot, on the other hand, symbolizes imperial authority in China, and indirectly the Chinese people as well. Chinese people often use the term 'Descendants of the Dragon' as a sign of ethnic identity.




7. How do Chinese people like their own culture?

   Proud of their own culture, Chinese people like to spread their culture to all over the world. However, due to the closed country during the Qing Dynasty when the emperor ordered to close up the country and severed all the diplomatic relations with foreign countries, a lot of tradition was descended and now conflicts with the new generations.

   For example, parents still seem to have the supreme power to decide what their children should or should not do, on the perspective of life style, marriage, even career; younger Chinese demand more privacy while their parents still like to treat them like babies. Chinese people now are under a condition when the transition of new and old generation is taking place. People in the new generation will still be proud of their own culture and meanwhile, carry a western way of thinking.



8. How did Chinese people's value change?

   The marketing economy influenced Chinese's cultural ideas at following aspects:

   • It weakened Chinese people's emphasizes on family and pushed them to enter society. And the conception to conform to elders began to weaken.

   • Chinasmarketing economy was still among the primary stage, which caused Chinese people to pursue material profits blindly, so the parochial idea to make money in illegal ways became more and more popular.

   In 90's, Chinese people's social needs, value goals, and behavior orientations have all been changed.

   • Social needs
     
     Material desires other than basic needs increased; Needs for occupation and income insurance increased; Needs for independence and freedom, for fairness and equality emerged and developed rapidly.

   • Value Goals
     
     Making money has become more and more Chinese people's main life goal. In the eyes of the Chinese people who hold this kind of life goal, how much property (money) one owned is considered as one of the indexes judging people's social status and evaluating whether people make success or not, even is considered as an important happiness resource.

   • Behavior Orientations

     The idea about self-others relationship has been changed from 'only for others not for self at all' to 'Unless for yourself, you will stand condemned by God'. More and more people tend to value asking from society, instead of devoting themselves to society as before.
   
   

9. What's Chinese people's life style?

   Generally speaking, the Chinese people live a life distinct from other peoples in that they pursue such qualities as conformity to nature, harmony, and plain living as opposed to conquest of nature, individuality and material luxury. A pretty flower or a full moon can mean a lot of things for Chinese people, depending on the circumstances.
   
   In connection with their ethics, the Chinese people's lifestyle is characterized by two considerations: Harmony between humans and nature, and harmony among humans.
   
   This preoccupation with nature permeates all aspects of the Chinese people's life. For example, even on an outing, the Chinese people seek to integrate themselves into nature. In springtime, they admire the new-grown greenery in the summer, they appreciate the lotus in the autumn, they climb up a hill for a view of the golden season; and in the winter, they feast their eyes on the first snow.
   
   Festivals occupy an important position in the Chinese's life. Although they offer sacrifices to gods on festivals, the gods are actually of secondary importance. Interpersonal harmony, in contrast, is of primary importance. The most important of all the festivals, of course, is the 'spring festival'. And even on this day, the offerings are intended for people to consume, and the gods are believed to raise no objection to this.
   
   Chinese Culture is omnipresent. Qin (a Chinese stringed instrument somewhat like zither), qi (Chinese chess or go), shu (calligraphy) and hua (painting) are the four most popular traditional forms of entertainment. The point is not how good you can get; rather, it is the mood and atmosphere these activities build up for the player. It is a tempering of the character. There is a dao (literally, way or path; norm, principle for everything. Playing Chinese chess or go, for example, is not just for winning. In the processing of playing, one can learn the art of self-composure and the spirit of detachment to fame and gain.
   
   Another major element in the ordinary life of the Chinese is staying good health. Qigong is the most popular form of exercise by coordinating breathing and other physical as well as mental conditions, qigong reflects the traditional thinking of integrating humans into the universe. In connection with qigong, most people can play some taijiquan or some other 'kung-fu' Chinese martial arts aim primarily at strengthening the body and cultivating the mind. It is a means of making friends not enemies.