Qin Shi Huangdi History

<Qin Shi Huangdi>

Qin Shi Huangdi was the first Chinese Emperor of great civilisation of China from 246 to 221 BC. When he was the great ruler of the seven Warring States of China, he made a huge impact on how China functioned as a whole. While he ruled, Qin Shi Huangdi was able to standardize the system of units and measures used in the country. He also standardized Chinese currency as well as the chinese language Some people would say that he was a powerful ruler and that everything he did helped China while others would say that he was a ruthless ruler and just used violence into unifying China.

The conqueror Qin Shi Huangdi saw danger in what people thought, so he made the people who were for him confiscate all books other than those on subjects thought practical, such as agriculture, , herbal medicine and burning them. The confiscated books were burned, except for one copy of each, which were to be kept from the public in the state's private library. He intended to unite the country, under the 1 emperor and 1 way of thinking. He killed the scholars too because he thought they were smart and that they stood in his way of country unification. He did that because he believed in ruling with strict law, and the country is one big military organisation.

Appart from burning the books and killing the scholars, he also ordered over one million soldiers to work excessively to build the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta warriors without any pay, and then buried a lot of his workers alive. Those who tried to run away from the work camps were killed in the cruelest of ways, including being ripped apart by horse-drawn chariots. Those who worked on the sites and spoke ill of Shi Huang Di were executed, and those who were lazy were whipped.

To be fair, Qin Shi Huangdi was not just a cruel person who just did cruel things but he was to standardize the currency and language. From 6 different languages before Shi Huang Di unified China, to just one main language to after he unified China. This was greatly beneficial to China as it provided great ease in communication one single language brought to the country. Barriers created by different languages were overcome, as people could communicate with more ease and efficiency, and without the hassles of having to translate. The standardization of coins helped Chinese people trade, as they did not have to calculate values of individual things that they wanted to trade, which decreased the chance of people getting fooled in conversions.

Qin Shi Huandi also did one huge thing which helped China hugely which was building the Great Wall of China. After he unified the seven warring states, he ordered General Meng Tian to connect the existing walls which were built in the Warring States Periods (476 BC - 221 BC) and to extend them further as a front line defense against possible invasion. Thus the Great Wall was formed.

In conclution Shi Huang Di was a very strong, powerful leader and who unified China and standardized the language and currency in China, but at the same time was very self-centered, and fearful of other people and ideas overthrowing him. Assuming that a ruler’s actions and thoughts – whether they be positive or negative define the extent to which he was good, Shi Huang Di can be said to be a great ruler of China, as his positive achievements outweigh his negative, in both quantity and importance.