Qin Shi Huangdi: The First Emperor

Throughout China’s long history, the struggle for one central government and ruler led it through many short-living dynasties that did not extend across the entire China. After the Zhou dynasty fell apart in 256 BCE, the states of China fought over power again, and out of them, the Qin rose victorious. Their leader, King Cheng (or Zheng), unified the entire China for the first time in Chinese history and created the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE. Cheng renamed himself Qin Shi Huangdi, which means “The First Emperor”. It was through Qin Shi Huangdi’s leadership that make him one of the most influential figures in history. After the Zhou dynasty fell, the Chinese states fell into a period known as the Warring States period. At the time, 13-year-old
He invented pottery for storing things, boats for trading, carts to travel faster with a load, and new kinds of medicines. Other things Shi Huangdi did were creating a uniform set of laws and taxes, replacing bronze with iron, and connecting previously built walls to make a giant wall which we know as the Great Wall of China. The replacing of bronze products with iron products made work in China much more efficient. Iron products were stronger than bronze and wore off after a longer period of time. The Qin were the first to use iron weapons, which gave them an advantage over the other states. Qin Shi Huangdi promoted the use of iron because it could also be used as a container for food or storage. Iron vases were also used as decorations in homes of richer families. Pottery was also used as a storage container because it could store things for a long time without getting dirty or breaking. The Great Wall of China is one of the biggest walls we know today. Many previous rulers of China had made walls to keep the Northern invaders out, but Qin Shi Huangdi was the first person to join these walls to make one giant wall of protection. Shi Huangdi forced criminals and slaves work to create this wall. Altogether, 500,000 people worked to create the Great Wall, out of which 400,000
First, Shi Huangdi sent a man named Xu Fu to go east and find a legendary mountain where elixir of immortality would be attained. Japanese legend says that Xu Fu sailed east and landed on an island, which became Japan. They believe Mt. Fuji is the sacred mountain. It is believed that Shi Huangdi did find mercury, drank it, and died from it. After death, his son Hu Hai took over. Hu Hai was a horrible ruler because of things like high taxation. Hu Hai was overthrown and the Qin dynasty fell in 207 BCE, just 14 years after Qin Shi Huangdi became the emperor. Qin Shi Huangdi’s grave was another very important aspect in history. “Replicas of palaces, scenic towers, and the hundred officials, as well as rare utensils and wonderful objects, were brought to fill up the tomb… Mercury was used to fashion imitations of the hundred rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze, and the seas, constructed in such a way that they seemed to flow. Above were representations of all the heavenly bodies, below, the features of the earth” (Lloyd). A historian named Sima Qian helps us visualize the Terra-Cotta Army here, one of the things that made Qin Shi Huangdi famous. Many historic events including Huangdi’s army were sculpted here. Mercury is said to flow to represent the rivers and represent immortality in Shi Huangdi’s tomb. 8,000 warriors, who are said