Qin Dynasty

Qin Dynasty . After the Zhou Dynasty collapsed, seven separate states fought each other for control of China . Ultimately, the Qin state emerged victorious, establishing a strongly authoritarian empire. Emperor Qin Shi Huang abolished the states and established a strong central government that practiced ruthless authority, efficient administration, and a strict legal code.

History

The warlike Qin tribes of the West began conquering their neighbours in 350 BC. By 221 BC they had established the empire from which China takes its name. King Zheng of Qin united much of China, ending the Warring States period. Zheng changed his name to Shi Huangdi or Qin Shi Huang, meaning “first emperor,” and founded China’s first imperial dynasty.

Imperial China

Shi Huangdi reorganized the government so that he controlled everything. He standardized weights and measures, Chinese writing, and even the width of chariot wheels; he promulgated the laws and institutions of the Qin dynasty; and he introduced a single currency. He was a ruthless modernizer: he abolished the powers of the feudal aristocracy and sent his administrators to govern the regions. He built roads and canals, and improved agriculture by introducing irrigation and drainage schemes.

To protect China from barbarian attacks, Shi Huangdi began building the Great Wall, much of which still exists today. He established imperial traditions that remained almost unchanged through different dynastic periods for some two thousand years. Shi Huangdi destroyed many literary works, including those of Confucius, and even executed four hundred scholars in order to ensure modernization.

The 2,200-year-old Great Wall is now a popular tourist attraction. It was built to protect Chinese civilization from devastating raids by the Huns and other tribes from the north.

First Emperor

His full name was Chin Shi Huang-Di, a name he gave to a country that had existed for over 2,000 years. Over the centuries, “Chin” evolved into “China.” He single-handedly unified China, leading ten times as many subjects as the pharaohs of Egypt. He ruled from 246 to 210 BC, two hundred years before the birth of Christ. It took him less than 40 years to complete his empire—an empire that outlasted the Romans by 1,000 years. He became the leader of an empire thousands upon thousands of miles long, with an estimated population of 30 million. He built the Great Wall of China in a vast project that unified existing buildings to create a single, massive wall over 5,000 kilometers long. At the height of construction, more than 700,000 people were enslaved to achieve its purpose.

Kings