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Qin Dynasty Wikipedia

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The Qin Dynasty (Wade-Giles) (秦朝 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. Qin, which has a pronunciation similar to the English word "chin," is a possible origin of the word "China" (see China in world languages). The unification of China 221 BC under the Qin Shi Huang|First Emperor marked the beginning of imperial China, a period that lasted until the fall of the Qing Empire in 1912. The Qin Dynasty left a legacy of a centralized and bureaucratic state that would be carried onto successive dynasties.

Much of what came to constitute China proper was unified for the first time in 221 B.C. In that year the western frontier Qin (state)|state of Qin, the most aggressive of the Warring States, subjugated the last of its rival states, putting an end to the Warring States Period.

The King of Qin, Zheng, named himself Shi Huangdi (First Emperor), a formulation of titles previously reserved for deities and the Sanhuangwudi|mythological sage-emperors. He is known by historians as Qin Shi Huang. He wanted his successors to rule China forever with the title "Second Emperor", "Third Emperor", etc.

In consolidating power, Qin Shi Huang imposed the State of Qin's centralized, non-hereditary bureaucratic system on his new empire in place of the Zhou's Feudalism|feudalistic one. The Qin Empire relied on the philosophy of legalism (philosophy)|legalism (with skillful advisors like Han Feizi|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. Chinese character|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 (馳道) 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 (焚書坑儒)

To prevent future uprisings, Qin Shi Huang 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 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 was an early precursor of the 5,000- kilometer-long Great Wall of China built later 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.

Image:Qin_empire_210_BCE.jpg|left|thumb|300px|The Qin empire in 210 BC.

Endless labor in the later years of Qin Shi Huang's reign started to provoke widespread discontent. However, the emperor was able to maintain stability thanks to his tight grip on every aspect of the lives of the Chinese.

During his reign Qin Shi Huang made five inspection trips around the country. During the last trip with his second son Qin Er Shi|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 (趙高) — forged the 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.

Within three years of Qin Shi Huang'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, became the leaders of the first revolution by commoners.

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 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. Thus the Qin dynasty come 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.

Last Modified:   2005-04-13