Chinese Empire Chapter 9

The Qin Qin was a mountainous kingdom located in northwestern China Beyond the kingdom, there were foreign lands of Asia Although by the late Zhou dynasty, Qin had become the strongest kingdom in western China, King Zheng wanted more power!

Uniting the Warring States Kin Zheng of Qin was ruthless, he defeated each kingdom one by one By 221 BC, Qin forces defeated their last enemy and united China There are still challenges: Languages and customs varied Rebellion may occur Invasion by nomads

The First Emperor The Qin ruler decided that the Chinese needed to become one people by one government King was too small of a word for such a vast empire He then declared himself Shi Huangdi – “First Emperor” “Huagdi” is tied to the gods and legendary rules of China’s past

The Great Wall Before the Qin unification, the smaller kingdoms had walls to protect themselves from other kingdoms Shi Huagdi had these walls torn down and began work on one of the largest public works projects in history The Great Wall A long wall running east and west along his empire’s northern border to defend the empire from nomads living close by

Protection Building the wall was dangerous and many workers died It did not always keep invaders out, but other emperors who followed also relied on the wall for protection

Establishing Standards Shi Huagdi knew he needed to standarize daily life Standards for economy Standards for culture Anyone who did not follow the standards was punished as a traitor Most importantly, the empire established a single written language

Establishing Standards Transportation became standardized The government established a standard length for the axles of all vehicles, making travel between different areas easier All carts and wagons could travel in the same ruts on the same roads A uniform set of weights and measures was also set into place This made trade easier Currency was the same throughout China

Organization Shi Huagdi introduced the concept of centralization (central government system) He organized China into 36 provinces Each province was divided into counties Each county had a leader who reported to central government who then reported to the emperor To prevent rebellion, Shi Huagdi forced thousands of noble families to move to the capital where spies could watch them

A Legalist Government In the alte Zhou dyansty, the Qin rulers brought in advisors to help make the Qin stronger Shang Yang was a very important advisor who belonged to a school of thought called Legalism According to this, a strong leader and a strong legal system are needed to create social order

A Legalist Government The Qin kings took more direct control over the common people with heavy taxes and labor requirements The kingdom became stronger and more orderly Shi Huagdi became very interested in harsh laws and following Legalist Han Feizi

Rules and Punishment under Legalism Han Feizi did not agree with Confucianism Instead, he believed people must be forced to do good This was done by making strict laws and enforcing them Shi Huagdi made a uniform legal code across his empire with very severe punishments Ex: a thief could face physical punishment as harsh as cutting off the feet or nose Ex: less serious theft may receive punishment of harsh labor such as working on the walls or the roads

Censoring Thought The First Emperor tried to control Chinese thought by censoring ideas he found dangerous or offensive Debate about the government was banned People could not praise past rulers or criticize the present one Books that did not support his policies were burned

Fall of the Qin Dynasty About 3 years after Shi Huagdi’s death, the dynasty collapsed A soldier named Chen Sheng led a rebellion He was leading troops north to defend the borders of China, but a storm of heavy rains delayed them He knew that arriving late would have a severe penalty so he and his men decided they had nothing to lose by rebelling

Fall of the Qin Dynasty As news of Chen Sheng’s uprising spread, many others rose up to support him Qin generals tried but could not put down these rebellions Knowing the punishment for failure, some of the generals joined the rebellions The rebels joined together long enough to defeat the Qin, but then began fighting amongst themselves and chaos erupted AGAIN