Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang was a ruler who founded the Chinese nation by unifying the Warring States. He ruled from 221 BC until his death in 210 BC at the age of 50.

With extensive iron deposits and a totalitarian "Legalist" governing structure, the State of Qin had advantages compared to the other Warring States. In a nine-year war, Qin defeated the other states and forged an empire. The king of Qin took the title "Qin Shi Huangdi" (first emperor of Qin).

Qin Shi Huang
Chinese	秦始皇
Literal meaning	Qin first emperor
Transcriptions Mandarin - Pinyin Qín Shǐhuáng - Wade-Giles Ch‘in Shih-huang

Among the projects undertaken by Qin Shi Huang were the Terracotta Army and the first version of the Great Wall of China.^[1] He was a brutish tyrant who banned all books on philosophical and political topics. The story of Lady Meng, whose husband died building the Great Wall, is used to illustrate the emperor's cruelty.^[2] He was obsessed with finding eternal life.^[3] The emperor's early death is sometimes blamed on mercury, a poison he took believing it to be an elixir of immortality. He is condemned in traditional history, but admired by Mao Zedong and the Communists.

See also[edit]

• Qin dynasty

References[edit]

1. ↑ "Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.) and His Empire", china.org.com
2. ↑ "Good Stories from China: Lady Meng-Jiang's Tears Made the Great Wall Collapse", The Epoch Times, Aug 02, 2006
3. ↑ Williams, Thomas D. (December 26, 2017). China’s First Emperor Obsessed with ‘Eternal Life,’ Archaeology Reveals. Breitbart News. Retrieved December 27, 2017.