Qin Shi Huangdi: The Unification Of China

Qin Shi Huang-di was an effective leader for China because he unified China and made it as a whole. This was very important because he was able to do the impossible, China was separated into seven families and he took the advantage of making China into one whole family. These seven families were called: Zhao, Yeh, Chi, Hah, Wei, Chin, and Chu (First Emperor). He also undertook multiple construction projects and other projects that seemed almost impossible. An example of this is, when he decided to build the construction of the Great Wall of China, something he is most famous for is the fact that he built six feet tall terracotta warriors. He built hundreds of thousands of them because he feared that all the people he killed would come after

My first point depicts Emperor Qin’s amazing skill as a leader, analyzing Qin’s overall impact in his society. Facts and opinions combined, Emperor Qin had a great influence over China, one that positively impacted the entire country; he unified China, creating a new type of government and standardizing many things for the Chinese.

In order to fend off the Xiongnu, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of an enormous defensive wall. The work was carried out by hundreds of thousands of slaves and criminals between 220 and 206 BCE; untold thousands of them died at the task.

The idea of ruling a powerful government based on the principle of using two conflicting ideologies at the same time appeared foreign to most dynasties of early China. In early Chinese times, after the Period of the Warring States, two ideologies emerged: Legalism and Confucianism. Legalism stressed a strong central government that expressed harsh laws while Confucianism had a decentralized government, placing trust in conscientious and learned individuals to work together to solve political issues. These two schools of thought were in stark contrast to each other and, up until the Han dynasty, had never been combined with each other through government policy. The Qin dynasty, for example implemented a strict Legalist government while the

Qin Shi Huang Di is remembered as one of the greatest rulers in Chinese’s history, he has benefited China by many of his creations, but some see him as the emperor who killed millions and burned knowledgable books. Although, he only ruled for 15 years, he successfully united China after centuries of civil war and built an empire that has lasted to this very day, he is known as both a brutal tyrant and a great leader. He created a unified system of weights and measures, writing and currency, but used violence to take control of China which eventually killed many scholars and burnt books to wipe out heresy and brutality which was the basis of his greatest achievements. He started many major structures such as the early structure of the

The Great Wall was built by The Qin and the Han Dynasty. They built The Great Wall to keep out and protect China from the Mongols. The benefits of building The Great Wall of China did not outweigh the costs. In Document B, it showed that tribute was being paid by The Han. The Han was one of the the dynasties who first built The Great Wall. This shows that the benefits did not outweigh the costs because The Han still had tribute to pay to the Xiongnu Mongols and The Han dynasty still had to build and protect The Wall from the Mongols. In Document C, the text indicated that The Qin and The Han dynasties were peasants, and worked on The Great Wall while they got feed a little bit of food and suffered. The Qin and The Han were not treated well

“Qin Shi Huang was a fierce leader who was feared by his people.”(Source 1) Believing that knowledge about the past was dangerous, as were ideas that encouraged free and independent thinking, he banned the teaching of Confucius. He instead preferred what is known as legalism. Han Fei-tzu, a Legalist and the tutor of Shi Huangdi, wrote, "The ruler alone should possess the power, wielding it like lightning or like thunder." Qin Shi Huang ordered books and writing that did not support his ideas to be burned. Over 460 scholars were killed or enslaved for owning banned books. As religion played a big role in Ancient China the disrespecting of his subject’s beliefs, made him a forbidding

He made everything from currency to law much easier in the countries. He standardised many things that were different in the separate states, which made life easier for travellers. The currency, measurements, weight and script were made the same throughout the country, which simplified what merchants had to go through when selling to other people. He made all the laws the same throughout all the provinces and put all the houses into groups that were responsible for each other's wrongdoing. Qin's way of ruling was carried out for many dynasties after his death, and changed the way China was ruled forever.

Additionally, literature was discouraged under Legalism because they were believed as poisons to the mind. The Legalists believed this way because not all the information in books contains the truth. Agriculture and war were promoted on the other hand, because it would carve a rich and powerful empire (Walker 39). Many argue that the harshness of Legalism caused the downfall of the Qin Dynasty. However, it was one of the main reasons by the Qin Dynasty stood as the strongest among the Chinese states and possibly in the world. The reason why is because harsh punishments encouraged good conduct and discipline. When this is brought upon, there will be more room to contribute to society and there will be fewer worries about crimes being committed. In addition, the conduct and discipline was a plus for the military. By doing what they are told, the military can execute their job perfectly. All in all, Legalism flourished the Qin Dynasty; it did not cause it to go downhill.

When Emperor Qin took the throne, he ordered the general Mengtian to reorganise/extend the separate walls of the former states, reaching an extent to all 7 ‘warring states’. This was to provide a more stable form of protection for habitants in his empire. 300 000 captured soldiers and conscripts lived, worked and died in the remote areas of the empire. Slaves were also commissioned to take part in the construction of the wall. Little of the wall built by Qin remains today, as it has been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the majority of the wall seen today was built by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). This structure is now a form of transporting to other states/a tourist attraction, and is labelled one of the ‘7 Wonders of the Medieval World’.

Even though the Qin dynasty was seen as barbaric and brutal, the Han did implement some of the old Qin institutions into their new government. One of these institutions were the Commanderies. These were administrative divisions of land in which a governor would be appointed by the government and run it as the government or emperor wants it to be ran. This is institution is very useful for knowing how many people you have. When war comes and you need to draft able bodied men to go fight, you will know just how many you will be able to get. Another reason would be for tax purposes. It is also very useful to regulate the trade and growing of certain crops. Even more in depth than that the government can control what the children in the commanderies are taught and what propaganda they are seeing. Qin law is another thing that the Han used from the former dynasty. One example of this practice was the fact that women could bring up cases against men even though the women did not have the same rights as men. Punishments were also

The Qin and Han dynasties changed many things regarding how China was governed. Like when Qin Shi Huang standardized the units of measurement, currency, and the width of roads to ease trade within his country, strengthening the unity between areas. Another change is the Han dynasty’s usage of education. They let all boys receive an education to a certain extent, however, if they wanted to further their education more they would have to travel to the capital. One of the several changes Qin Shi Huang changed how dictators controlled China in many ways how he distributed his land and power. Many of the changes he implemented were used by Chinese rulers for over 2000 years, these changes created a lasting effect on how China was ruled. The Qin

Qin Shi Huang had a large impact on China’s culture. He helped implement canals and roads for easier travel. He started the imperial road system and created fast roads. He was extremely influential in China’s government. Qin declared that the round coins with a square-shaped hole in the center will be the currency of China. He named it the bang liang coin. The first emperor was able to create a measuring

Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi ruled Ancient China from 221 till 210BC and was the founder of the Qin Dynasty. He came into ruling at the young age of thirteen after his father’s death. He was a very effective ruler who during his reign accomplished unifying China and building monuments such as the Terracotta warriors and the Great Wall of China. Although Shi Huangdi did numerous things to help China and make it better, he also burnt books to destroy records of the past and punished those who did not follow his rules. Even though some of Qin Shi Huangdi’s methods were questionable he impacted China in many ways and was an effective leader because of his desire to unify China and make it better.

Before unification was achieved, China was at the Warring States Period. During this time, the region of Zhou dynasty was divided between 8 states and these states experience frequent wars. These wars are caused by the attempt of one state to conquer and control all of the states. Also, it is because of their greed to own more of the territory because it would make them more powerful. Each state was always against with each other that fighting never stopped not until Shihuangdi started to reign.