Transcript China’s Legendary Emperors

The Reign of Qin
Shi Huang Di
Qin Shi Huang Di
 Qin Shi Huang Di is
giving an order to an
attendant
 Details
 Qin Shi Huang Di, the
1st emperor of China,
is seated on a throne
 The Emperor is giving
an order; one of his
first was to end
feudalism throughout
China
The Unification of China
 Qin Shi Huang Di declared himself emperor of
China in 221 BCE, after conquering and united the
independent rival states of the region
 He ended feudalism and replaced it with a central
government bureaucracy
The Unification of China
 The empire of China was divided into 36 districts,
each overseen by three officials and a judge, who
enforced the laws of the emperor.
 Under the emperor’s legislation, all weapons from
rival regions were confiscated and melted down
 Ex-feudal lords and their families were forced to
move to the capital city of Xianyang, where the
emperor could keep watch over their activities and
prevent rebellion.
The Standardization of Chinese
Culture
 Qin Shi Huang Di
touring the countryside
 Details
 Qin Shi Huang Di
traveled the roads of
China on inspection
tours to make sure his
laws were being
followed.
The Standardization of
Chinese Culture
 Prior to the reign of Qin Shi Huang Di, each region of
China had its own customs, money, measures and
weights, and writing systems.
 He standardized the Chinese writing system, which
improved communication.
 The emperor standardized all weights
 He made one unit of currency for the empire.
 He created a unified system of laws to regulate behavior
in the empire; everyone (rich, poor, noble, peasant) was
punished equally under the law. Punishments included
forced labor, whippings, amputations, and beheadings.
The Book Burnings
 Qin Shi Huang Di’s soldiers are executing Confucian
scholars. The scholars are being thrown into a pit, and their
texts are burning in a pile at the left.
 According to legend, some scholars were buried alive,
while others were buried up to their necks and then
decapitated.
The Book Burnings
 Qin Shi Huang Di’s Legalist views were in direct
conflict with the views of Confucian scholars, who
believed that virtuous rulers could encourage
morality among their subjects without enforcing
harsh laws.
 Li Si, a trusted court official, advised burning the
Confucian books and executing the scholars
 He executed 460 scholars in 214 BCE, and forced
others (including his eldest son) to work on the
building of the Great Wall.
The Building of the Great Wall
 Workers were forced to
build the Great Wall under
harsh supervision.
 The Great Wall was
constructed over mountain
peaks and other rough
terrain.
 The Great Wall was about
25 feet high and its base
was 15 to 30 feet thick.
The Building of the Great
Wall
 At least 300,000 workers—including soldiers, peasants,
disgraced government officials, and convicted criminals—
labored for over 10 years to build the Great Wall.
 Workers were forced to labor through the winter and
summer, and many became ill and died from the extreme
heat and cold.
 Scholars estimate that tens of thousands of people died
while building the 1500-mile-long Great Wall.
 Despite its size, the Great Wall did not keep invaders out of
China; the Huns invaded in the 3rd century CE, and ruled
the north of China for more than 200 years.
The Emperor’s Death & Burial
 The tomb of Qin Shi Huang Di
 Many workers built the extensive tomb site, and artists
crafted an army of life-size terra cotta soldiers, including
archers, foot soldiers, chariot drivers, and horses facing
forward to lead the emperor to the next world.
The Emperor’s Death & Burial
 Qin Shi Huang Di was terrified of death and desired to be
immortal so he consulted with magicians, who advised him
to hide from evil spirits and drink potions
 Qin Shi Huang Di died unexpectedly at the age of 49, but
work began on his tomb when he inherited the throne at
age 13.
 Approximately 700,000 workers built the tomb, which
covered 8 square miles. They worked for almost 40 years.
 Many tomb workers were buried alive with the emperor
because the emperor’s son did not want robbers to learn of
the tomb’s vast riches.
 By most accounts, Emperor Qin—sometimes referred to as
the Tiger of Qin—was a strict and enormously powerful
leader with a commanding presence.
 One advisor described the emperor as having “[all-seeing]
eyes. His chest is like that of a bird of prey and his voice
like that of a jackal. He is merciless, with the heart of a tiger
or a wolf.”
 Shi Huang Di managed to unify many aspects of Chinese
culture
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Laws
Currency
writing system
Great Wall
Terra Cotta Army
Legacy of the Emperor
 . A famous essay entitled, “The Sins of Qin”
declared that the emperor “placed deceit
and violence above kindness and justice,
making tyranny the foundation of his
empire.” However, current scholarship has
portrayed Qin Shi Huang Di in a more
balanced way. In the words of one recent
biographer, “Qin Shi Huang Di was a
conquerer, a unifier, a centralizer, a
standardizer, a builder, and a destroyer.”