Qin Shi Huangdi: The Mausoleum Of The First Emperor

Shang Yang came to power as a court official and within his rule, he made big political changes following certain set of strict rules and a clear political philosophy. Even though people killed him and he failed, his philosophy the Legalism was adopted and it provided a great impact to the latter generations of state rulers especially in the Qin. Shang Yang introduced major governmental and political reforms that were revolutionary for his time, and set the course for Qin to become militarily more powerful and ruthless than the other states (Qin Shihuang - Owner of The Terracotta Army. Retrieved from: http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/china-history/qin-shi-huang.htm).

A new discovery has accused in China. About 40 years ago a group of archeologists found a giant tomb of warriors. The Terra Cotta warriors of China. These warriors Were built to protect the kingdom. King Qin was only 13 years old when he became king of the Qin dynasty. These warriors were made out of clay. Each warrior looked different from each other, none of them looked alike. There are up to 7,800 soldiers, horses, and archers underground to protect under the kingdom from being attacked. No molds were used to make these soldiers. This tomb spreads over 20 square miles. Two pits have been evacuated of the three that were made. The third most recently found tomb that the archeologists have found has up to 86 soldiers and 44 Terra Cotta warrior

The earliest Emperor of the Qin dynasty was Qin Shi Huang, who was born in 259BCE and ultimately came into power at the age of 21. Despite accomplishing many significant achievements, he attained this in a brutal and callous way. Arguments that will be clearly discussed and explained in this assignment to emphasize the negative aspects of Qin Shi Huang are: the severe punishments he enforced for criminals, his fierce and deceitful war strategies and the prohibiting and burning of Confucius teachings.

I have been fortunate enough through my travels to have trans versed the Great Wall of China, which was constructed by Qin Shihuang in order to unify the six states, he ordered General Meng Tian to connect the existing walls and to extend them further as a front line defense against possible invasion, it was an exhilarating experience, the piece of the wall I started to ascend, it was extremely steep with four levels, the configuration of the wall was unusual, in the design of the steps, they were built in a non–uniform format. The steps ranged in various sizes, from approximately 4” to what seemed like 12”, so in turn , it made the climb very uncomfortable, it also showed me that I was defiantly out of shape, but I did eventually make it to the second level, and looking over the mountain terrain, and along the hillside where it was built, I had a rush of adrenaline and realized that the Wall of China, was every bit as exhilarating to me today, as the day it was constructed. This engineering, of the Qin dynasty was truly an amazing feat. I will examine some key elements, while comparing the Qin, and Han dynasties, to The Roman Empire. Both cultures had implemented an impressive, society by introducing engineering wonders, an extensive political system that managed vast amounts of people, and a military to rule over their territories.

Chapter 3. 24. The terra-cotta figures near the Qin First Emperor’s burial mound demonstrate the

    Emperor Qin inherited his power at the age of thirteen, and faced many adversities. China was split into several states fighting for control of land. Qin eventually unified China through his bloody victories. Many citizens were unfavorable of the emperor and Qin was determined to change this, no matter the lengths he would have to take. In order to secure a long rein, Qin eliminated anything and anyone who posed as a threat. He destroyed books containing poetry, philosophy and history other than historical records about Qin. He also exterminated scholars, philosophers, and anyone who opposed him. The only approved school of thought was legalism: follow the emperor's laws. All these precautions were taken so that his work wouldn’t revert back to the past.

Emperor Qin brought together seven states (including his own) into one massive empire and country. He had to conquer six other states first, showing leadership since the ability to lead is needed to win almost anything (including Qin’s own battles). By uniting China, Emperor Qin had ceased constant battles between the states (Whipps, 2008), made it safer for all the citizens (as they were together in a big country), and had set a foundation for more benefits to come.

Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China, controlled his empire from 221 BCE to 207 BCE. During his tyrannical rule, he managed to produce brutal actions that took place in his country; The burning of books, the homicide of scholars, and the central cause behind the death of the innocent lives lost while building the Great Wall of China. This essay will clarify how those changes impacted his reign and the people in his so-called “prosperous” empire of a mere 15 years. First of all, let’s emphasize on what kind of books this man ordered to be burned, and why; Qin Shi Huangdi was the kind of person who didn’t like suggestions very much. He hated it if other people were smarter than him, so he didn’t want it to happen this time either.

Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Qin emperor, was a proactive and ambitious emperor who implemented a central bureaucratic system that oversaw the evolution and unification of China at the cost of public sentiment. The Qin Dynasty is considered among the most influential dynasties as it laid the foundation for the massive cultural and economic development of China that took place during the Han Dynasty, but it also failed to achieve many of its pro-commoner ideological goals. In fact, socioeconomic disparity was not alleviated and despite the notion of enriching the lives of the common people, it was under Qin rule in which public resentment of the authoritarian government peaked as there were countless peasant revolts against the iron-handed bureaucratic rule of China. Because a paranoid emperor alone wielded political clout and influence, the tumultuous few years of Qin reign was rife with paranoia and suspicion among the masses. Although the Qin Dynasty is seldom thought as possessing the same glaring discrepancy between ideology and state that the Communist regime in post-World War II China had despite the similarities, the failure of the flawless egalitarian state models in socioeconomic and political aspects during the Qin Dynasty mirrored the developments in early Communist China.

This was also a very important time for the emperor. He believed there was much slander that existed so a man by the name of Lisi burned all the negative information that anyone had, or was out, about the Emperor (McKay, 186). When this emperor died, he installed Terra Cotta warriors in his specialty tomb to have them protect him into the afterlife. The Qin State finally fell apart in 210 after the death of the first emperor and failed to make an impact after.

The first emperor of China, Shi Huangdi was a man of no mercy, however as unpardonable as his reign was, it is impossible to ignore how successful he was in gaining power. The sheer size of China alone is a true measure of his strategist potential, and his ability to unify what was once seven separate states proved that Shi Huangdi was also a man of smart manipulation. He started great construction projects such as the Great Canal of China to name just one. Shi Huangdi also standardized measurements, money, and language. Without Shi Huangdi, China would not have been unified, and possibly not even as successful as nation as it is today.

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.

Even though the Qin Dynasty deprived the civilization of education, it created a strong bureaucratic system that limited feudal power and developed a cooperative population. Each Warring state followed a different political system, before it was conquered by Qin. The First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, felt it was necessary to legitimize his power to unify the city states and for a cooperative population. In the Qin Dynasty, “the institution of emperor had a special meaning in China as the repository of imperial legitimacy” (Feng 2013, 249). In other words, the first emperor was given the title of being a “mythical ruler” that had godly powers and is the righteous leader of the empire based on the Mandate of Heaven

From an ancient unknown writer, we have learnt that the labourers made the tomb of bronze, with its floor being a map of China and rivers of mercury, which, as long as they flowed, Qin would live forever in his underground world. The workers continued construction on the tomb until the emperor’s death in 209BC. The mound was a scale model of the palace, the empire and the world. The labourers installed automatically triggered weapons in the mausoleum to safeguard the treasures and ward off tomb robbers. Most of the workmen who were working on the tomb when the Emperor died were buried alive with Qin to serve him in the afterlife. The warriors were constructed by the 700, 000 employed workers of Qin Shi Huangdi to prepare him for his afterlife journey.

Qin Shi Huang was born in 259 BC and eventually ascended to the throne of the kingdom of Qin at the age of 21 creating a war and declaring himself China’s first emperor (Source 1). Although he did bring unification to China, Qin Shi Huang was a forbidding and brutal dictator who abused his power and dishonoured his people and country. This assignment will clearly highlight the negative aspects of Qin Shi Huang, including: the banning of Confucius, how he enforced of unnecessarily strict laws and how his arrogance and ignorance eventually took over.