Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), personal name Ying Zheng, was the greatest emperor in China history. He was the first emperor to unified China in Qin Dynasty.He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the age of 49.

 

Calling himself the First Emperor after China's unification, Qin Shi Huang is a pivotal figure in Chinese history, ushering nearly two millennia of imperial rule. After unifying China, he and his chief advisor Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He undertook gigantic projects, including the first version of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books and buried some scholars alive.

 

♦ Brith of Qin Shi Huang
According to legend, a rich merchant named Lu Buwei befriended a prince of the Qin State during the latter years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 B.C.).

 

The times when Shi Huangdi was born was the end of the period of the Warring States in Chinese history. It was the times that wars broke out quite often. His father was named Zichu---the grandson of the emperor Chin Shaodi and also the son of the prince Chin'an'guo.  Zichu was sent to the country Zhao as a hostage.  At that time, a businessman called Lubuwei saw the special situation of Zichu, so he helped him a lot to make him back to his native country.  Lubuwei also provided Zichu with a beauty called Zhaoji to be his wife. Before long she got a son, it is the right person called Yingzheng-the emperor Shi Huangdi.

When Zichu got back to the country Chin, he became the emperor of Chin. He was called the emperor Zhuang Xiangdi and he made Yingzheng to be the prince.   The emperor Chinzhuangxiang died in 247 BC and Yingzheng became the emperor who was only 13 years old at that time. In 238 BC he held a coronation and after that time he became the real emperor who could control the whole country. He defeated the army which wanted to overset him and sent his mother into prison. The next year he made the Premier Lubuwei to be a civilian. With the help of Lisi,  Weiliao, Wangjian, Mengtian and so on, he chose the right time to attack other countries. The war lasted 10 years from 230-221BC. He annihilated the countries--Han, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Chu and Qi and brought the Warring States which lasted about 100 years to an end. He made himself to be the emperor of the first fuedalism country made up of several peoples in Chinese history. 

After he made all parts of China to be a whole country, he called himself "Shi Huangdi". To make his power more stronger, he made a lot of policies, including consolidating characters, coin and metrology, putting the rule of province and country into use, dividing the whole country into 36 provinces,  making country under the control of province and so on. He created several important officials who were under the control of the emperor. All the officials was chosen by the emperor. It was Shi Huangdi who was in charge of the power of the army and politics. From then on during about 2000 years, the results of innovation made a great effect of the feudalism system of China.

 

The young king was only 13 years old when he took the throne, so his prime minister (and probable real father) Lu Buwei acted as regent for the first eight years.

 

This was a difficult time for any ruler in China, with seven warring states vying for control of the land. The leaders of the Qi, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, Chu and Qin states were former dukes under the Zhou Dynasty, but had each proclaimed themselves king as the Zhou fell apart.

 

In this unstable environment, warfare flourished, as did books like Sun Tzu's Art of War.

 

Lu Buwei had another problem, as well; he feared that the king would discover his true identity.

 

In 230 BC, King Zheng unleashed the final campaigns of the Warring States Period, setting out to conquer the remaining independent kingdoms, one by one.

 

The first state to fall was Han (韓; sometimes called Hann to distinguish it from the Han 漢 of Han dynasty), in 230 BC. Then Qin took advantage of a natural disaster, the 229 BC Zhao state earthquake, to invade and conquer Zhao where Qin Shi Huang had been born. He now avenged his poor treatment as a child hostage there, seeking out and killing his enemies.

 

Qin armies conquered the state of Zhao in 228 BC, the northern country of Yan in 226 BC, the small state of Wei in 225 BC, and the largest state and greatest challenge, Chu, in 223 BC.

 

In 222 BC, the last remnants of Yan and the royal family were captured in Liaodong in the northeast. The only independent country left was now state of Qi, in the far east, what is now the Shandong peninsula. Terrified, the young king of Qi sent 300,000 people to defend his western borders. In 221 BC, the Qin armies invaded from the north, captured the king, and annexed Qi.
 

For the first time, all of China was unified under one powerful ruler. In that same year, King Zheng proclaimed himself the "First Emperor" (始皇帝), no longer a king in the old sense and now far surpassing the achievements of the old Zhou Dynasty rulers.

 

In the South, military expansion continued during his reign, with various regions being annexed to what is now Guangdong province and part of today's Vietnam.

 

In 211 BC a large meteor is said to have fallen in Dongjun (東郡) in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. On it, an unknown person inscribed the words "The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided." When the emperor heard of this, he sent an imperial secretary to investigate this prophecy. No one would confess to the deed, so all the people living nearby were put to death. The stone was then burned and pulverized.

 

The emperor died during one of his tours of Eastern China, on September 10, 210 BC (Julian Calendar) at the palace in Shaqiu prefecture (沙丘平台), about two months away by road from the capital Xianyang. Reportedly, he died due to ingesting mercury pills, made by his court scientists and doctors. Ironically, these pills were meant to make Qin Shi Huang immortal.

 

After the emperor's death Prime Minister Li Si, who accompanied him, became extremely worried that the news of his death could trigger a general uprising in the empire. It would take two months for the government to reach the capital, and it would not be possible to stop the uprising. Li Si decided to hide the death of the emperor, and return to Xianyang. Most of the imperial entourage accompanying the emperor was left ignorant of the emperor's death; only a younger son, Ying Huhai, who was traveling with his father, the eunuch Zhao Gao, Li Si, and five or six favorite eunuchs knew of the death. Li Si also ordered that two carts containing rotten fish be carried immediately before and after the wagon of the emperor. The idea behind this was to prevent people from noticing the foul smell emanating from the wagon of the emperor, where his body was starting to decompose severely as it was summertime. They also pulled down the shade so no one could see his face, changed his clothes daily, brought food and when he had to have important conversations they would act as if he wanted to send them a message.