Qin and the Qin Dynasty

Uniting China

UNITING CHINAQin was King of a state in 246 BCE Had a strong army of foot soldiers, archers, chariots of 600,000 menConquers all of the other Chinese states by 221 BCE and declares himself emperorHe uses spies, bribes, and alliances along with melting down rivals weapons into bells to get and keep controlEnds feudalism and forces 120,000 ex-nobles to move to the capital, Xianyang, so he could keep an eye on them since they had the real power before himStarts a bureaucracy of 36 commandries which are ruled by 3 officials

civil governor – laws and farmingmilitary governor – armiesimperial overseer – kept an eye on the other two officials

Each commandery is divided into counties overseen by a judgeto enforce the laws

Standardizing China’s Culture

STANDARDIZING CHINA’S CULTUREChina’s culture differed from region to region before QinQin standardizes China’s culture

writing system consisted of a dictionary of 3,300 characters which improved communication

number 6 was the basis of all measurement and measuring cup was standardized

one coin called a banliang was used as currencyQin was a legalist so he created a system of laws and everyone was treated the same with both rewards and punishments Punishments = fines, beheadings, forced labor, whipped, amputations, etc.Built a network of roads to inspect his empire

Conflicts with Scholars

CONFLICTS WITH SCHOLARSQin conflicted with Confucian scholars because his reforms went against Confucianism's beliefsConfucianists believed a ruler’s good behavior would make the people behave and you must honor past traditionsQin as a legalist believed that people were evil and needed strict laws and harsh punishments to behave and he rejected the past and devoted himself to new ideas and methodsBurned almost all of the Confucian books and forbade public teaching of ConfucianismExecuted over 460 Confucian scholars for plotting against him and had them buried alive or beheaded His own son was punished for sticking up for the scholars

LEGALISM

All people are bad by nature

Only a strong government with strict laws and harsh punishments can keep the evil under control

Building the Wall

BUILDING THE WALLQin built many public works projects (roads, water canals, Great Wall) by forcing hundreds of thousands of his people to build themConnected and extended what was already started as the Great Wall across all types of terrains and weatherDid this to prevent invasion and discourage escapeIt took at least 300,000 workers (soldiers, peasants, govt. officials, criminals)Tens of thousands died building The Wall and were buried in it making it “the longest graveyard in the world”The Wall is over 1500 miles long, made of stone, brick, and dirt Average height = 25 ft. Average thickness = 15-30 ft. It did not fill it’s purpose but still is considered an awesome achievement

Emperor’s Death and Burial

EMPEROR’S DEATH and BURIALQin was unhappy and scared of death and wanted to live forever

(immortality)Was told to hide from evil spirits so in his 270 palaces he had secret

passages built in and between themDied in 210 BCE at age 49, poisoned by drinking potions that were to give him immortalityHis death was kept a secret until his body was returned to the capitalWas laid to rest in a magnificent tomb that was started when he was 13 It covered 8 sq. miles and took 700,000 workers to make, workers were

buried alive with Qin so no stealing would take placeThe tomb contains the terra cotta army (clay soldiers), city of bronze,

mercury rivers and seas, jewels, rare objects, tools and traps

WAYS QIN WAS A HERO AND A VILLAIN

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WAYS QIN WAS A HERO DETAILS/FACTS/SUPPORT

WAYS QIN WAS A VILLAIN DETAILS/FACTS/SUPPORT

Qin a Villain or a Hero: Argument Essay Organizer

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