Qin dynasty

First Imperial dynasty in China (221–206 BC)

This article is about the first imperial Chinese dynasty. Not to be confused with the Qing dynasty, the final such dynasty.

"Qin Empire" redirects here. For other uses, see Qin Empire (disambiguation).

Qin

221 BC–206 BC

Heirloom Seal of the Realm

Territory controlled by the Qin c. 210 BC

Capital| Xianyang
Common languages| Old Chinese
Government| Absolute monarchy
Emperor|

• 221–210 BC

| Qin Shi Huang

• 210–207 BC

| Qin Er Shi
Chancellor|

• 221–208 BC

| Li Si

• 208–207 BC

| Zhao Gao
Historical era| Imperial

• Accession of Qin Shi Huang

| 221 BC

• Death of Qin Shi Huang

| 210 BC

• Surrender to Liu Bang

| 206 BC
Area
220 BC[1]| 2,300,000 km2 (890,000 sq mi)
Currency| Ban Liang

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Zhou dynasty

|

| Qin (state)
| Eighteen Kingdoms |

|

Han dynasty |
Nanyue |
Qin dynasty

"Qin" in seal script (top) and regular script (bottom) Chinese characters

Chinese| 秦
Hanyu Pinyin| Qín
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Qín
Bopomofo| ㄑㄧㄣˊ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh| Chyn
Wade–Giles| Chʻin2[2]
Tongyong Pinyin| Cín
Yale Romanization| Chín
IPA| [tɕʰǐn]

Romanization| Zin
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization| Chèuhn
Jyutping| Ceon4
IPA| [tsʰɵn˩]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ| Chîn
Tâi-lô| Tsîn
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)| *[dz]i[n]
Part of a series on the

History of China

* Timeline
* Dynasties
* Historiography

Prehistoric

* Paleolithic

* * *

* Neolithic (c. 8500 – c. 2000 BC)

Yellow, Yangtze, and Liao civilization

Ancient

* Xia (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC)

* * *

* Shang (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC)

Late Shang (c. 1250 – c. 1046 BC)

* * *

* Zhou (c. 1046 – c. 256 BC)

Western Zhou (1046–771 BC)
Eastern Zhou (771–256 BC)

Spring and Autumn (c. 770 – c. 476 BC)
Warring States (475–221 BC)

Imperial

* Qin (221–207 BC)

* * *

* Han (206 BC – 220 AD)

Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC)
Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD)
Xin (9–23 AD)
Eastern Han (25–220 AD)

* * *

* Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD)

Wei, Shu, and Wu

* * *

* Jin (266–420)

|  |

Western Jin (266–316)
Eastern Jin (317–420)

* Sixteen Kingdoms (304–439)

|
|

* * *

* Northern and
Southern dynasties (420–589)

* * *

* Sui (581–618)

* * *

* Tang (618–907)
*     Wu Zhou (690–705)

* * *

|  |

* Five Dynasties and
Ten Kingdoms (907–979)

* * *

* Song (960–1279)

Northern Song (960–1127)
Southern Song (1127–1279)

* Liao (916–1125)

* Western Xia (1038–1227)

* Jin (1115–1234)

|
|

* * *

* Yuan (1271–1368)

* * *

* Ming (1368–1644)

* * *

* Qing (1644–1912)

Modern

* Republic of China (mainland, 1912–1949)

* * *

|  |

* People's Republic
of China (1949–present)

* Republic of China (Taiwan,
1949–present)

|
|

Related articles

* Art history
* Economic history
* Education history
* Legal history
* LGBT history
* Media history
* Music history
* Timeline
* Military history
* Naval history
* History of religion in China
* Christianity
* Judaism
* Islam
* Science and technology history
* Archaeology
* Cartography
* Discoveries
* Inventions
* Transport history
* Women's history

* v
* t
* e

The Qin dynasty (/tʃɪn/;[3] CHIN) was the first dynasty of Imperial China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, which was a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty that had endured for over five centuries. Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng engaged in a series of wars conquering each of the rival states that had previously pledged fealty to the Zhou. This culminated in 221 BC with the successful unification of China under Qin, which then assumed an imperial prerogative—with Ying Zheng declaring himself to be Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. This state of affairs lasted until 206 BC, when the dynasty collapsed in the years following Qin Shi Huang's death.[4]

Qin was a minor power for the early centuries of its existence. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring States period. In the mid- and late 3rd century BC, the Qin state carried out a series of swift conquests, destroying the powerless Zhou dynasty and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States. Qin's 15-year existence was the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, with only two emperors. However, the legacy of Qin strategies in military and administrative affairs shaped the consummate Han dynasty that followed, ultimately becoming seen as the originator of an imperial system that ultimately lasted in various forms until the Xinhai Revolution in 1911.

The Qin sought to create a state unified by structured centralised political power and a large military supported by a stable economy.[5] The central government moved to undercut aristocrats and landowners to gain direct administrative control over the peasantry, who comprised the overwhelming majority of the population and labour force. This allowed ambitious projects involving three hundred thousand peasants and convicts: projects such as connecting walls along the northern border, eventually developing into the Great Wall of China, and a massive new national road system, as well as the city-sized Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor guarded by the life-sized Terracotta Army.

The Qin introduced a range of reforms such as standardised currency, weights, measures and a uniform system of writing, which aimed to unify the state and promote commerce. Additionally, its military used the most recent weaponry, transportation and tactics, though the government was heavy-handed and bureaucratic. Qin created a system of administering people and land that greatly increased the power of the government to transform environment, and it has been argued that the subsequent impact of this system on East Asia's environments makes the rise of Qin an important event in China's environmental history.

When Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BC, two of his advisors placed an heir on the throne in an attempt to influence and control the administration of the dynasty. These advisors squabbled among themselves, resulting in both of their deaths and that of the second Qin emperor. Popular revolt broke out and the weakened empire soon fell to Chu general Xiang Yu, who was proclaimed Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and Liu Bang, who founded the Han dynasty. Han Confucians portrayed the Qin as a monolithic, legalist tyranny, notably citing a purge known as the burning of books and burying of scholars; however, the earliest account of this event is in Sima Qian's Shiji (c. 91 BC), and some modern scholars dispute its veracity.[6]

## Origins and development

[edit]

See also: Qin (state) and Timeline of the Warring States and the Qin dynasty

Map showing major states during the Eastern Zhou

According to the Shiji (c. 91 BC), during the 9th century BC, Feizi, a supposed descendant of the ancient political advisor Gao Yao, was granted rule over the settlement of Qin (秦邑) (present-day Qingshui County in Shaanxi). During the rule of King Xiao of Zhou, the eighth king of the Zhou dynasty, this area became known as the state of Qin. In 897 BC, under the Gonghe Regency, the area became a dependency allotted for the purpose of raising and breeding horses.[7] One of Feizi's descendants, Duke Zhuang, became favoured by King Ping of Zhou, the 13th king in that line. As a reward, Zhuang's son, Duke Xiang, was sent eastward as the leader of a war expedition, during which he formally established the Qin.[8]

The state of Qin first began a military expedition into central China in 672 BC, though it did not engage in any serious incursions due to the threat from neighbouring tribesmen. By the dawn of the 4th century BC, the neighbouring tribes had all been either subdued or conquered, and the stage was set for the rise of Qin expansionism.[9]

### Warring States period

[edit]

The Warring States, with Qin shown in pink

During the Warring States period (c. 475 - 221 BC), the Qin statesman Shang Yang introduced a series of advantageous military reforms between 361 BC and his death in 338 BC. Yang also helped to construct the Qin capital at Xianyang, a city that ultimately resembled the capitals of the other states.[10]

Qin engaged in practical and ruthless warfare. During the Spring and Autumn period (c. 770 – c. 481 BC),[11] the prevalent philosophy had dictated war as a gentleman's activity; military commanders were instructed to respect what they perceived to be Heaven's laws in battle. For example, when Duke Xiang of the rival state of Song was at war with the state of Chu during the Warring States period, he declined an opportunity to attack the enemy force, commanded by Zhu, while they were crossing a river. After allowing them to cross and marshal their forces, he was decisively defeated in the ensuing battle. When his advisors later admonished him for such excessive courtesy to the enemy, he retorted, "The sage does not crush the feeble, nor give the order for attack until the enemy have formed their ranks."[12]

The Qin disregarded this military tradition, taking advantage of their enemy's weaknesses. A nobleman in the state of Wei accused the Qin state of being "avaricious, perverse, eager for profit, and without sincerity. It knows nothing about etiquette, proper relationships, and virtuous conduct, and if there be an opportunity for material gain, it will disregard its relatives as if they were animals."[13] This, combined with a strong leadership from long-lived rulers, openness to employ talented men from other states, and little internal opposition gave the Qin a strong political base.[14]

Another advantage of the Qin was that they had a large, efficient army and capable generals. They used the newest developments in weaponry and transportation as well, which many of their enemies lacked. These latter developments allowed greater mobility over several different terrain types which were most common in many regions of China. Thus, in both ideology and practice, the Qin were militarily superior.[15]

Finally, the Qin Empire had a geographical advantage due to its fertility and strategic position, protected by mountains that made the state a natural stronghold. This was the heart of the Guanzhong region, as opposed to the Yangtze drainage basin, known as Guandong. The warlike nature of the Qin in Guanzhong inspired a Han dynasty adage: "Guanzhong produces generals, while Guandong produces ministers."[7] Its expanded agricultural output helped sustain Qin's large army with food and natural resources;[14] the Wei River canal built in 246 BC was particularly significant in this respect.[16]

## Wars of unification

[edit]

Main article: Qin's wars of unification

Map showing the unification of Qin from 230 to 221 BC

During the Warring States period preceding the Qin dynasty, the major states vying for dominance were Yan, Zhao, Qi, Chu, Han, Wei and Qin. The rulers of these states styled themselves as kings, rather than using the titles of lower nobility they had previously held. However, none elevated himself to believe that he had the Mandate of Heaven, as the Zhou kings had claimed, nor that he had the right to offer sacrifices; they left this to the Zhou rulers.[17]

Before their conquest in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, the Qin suffered several setbacks. Shang Yang was executed in 338 BC by King Huiwen due to a personal grudge harboured from his youth. There was also internal strife over the Qin succession in 307 BC, which decentralised Qin authority somewhat. Qin was defeated by an alliance of the other states in 295 BC, and shortly after suffered another defeat by the state of Zhao, because the majority of their army was then defending against Qi. The aggressive statesman Fan Sui (范雎), however, soon came to power as prime minister even as the problem of the succession was resolved, and he began an expansionist policy that had originated in Jin and Qi, which prompted the Qin to attempt to conquer the other states.[18]

The Qin were swift in their assault on the other states. They first attacked the Han, directly east, and took thir capital city of Xinzheng in 230 BC. They then struck northward; the state of Zhao surrendered in 228 BC, and the northernmost state of Yan followed, falling in 226. Next, Qin armies launched assaults to the east, and later the south as well; they took the Wei city of Daliang (now called Kaifeng) in 225 and forced Chu to surrender by 223. Lastly, they deposed the Zhou dynasty's remnants in Luoyang and conquered Qi, taking the city of Linzi in 221 BC.[19]

Upon the completion of Qin's conquests in 221 BC, King Zheng - who had first assumed the throne of the Qin state at age 9[20] - became the effective ruler of China.[21] The subjugation of the six states was done by King Zheng who had used efficient persuasion and exemplary strategy. He solidified his position as sole ruler with the abdication of his prime minister, Lü Buwei. The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than place the burden on people from the royal family.[21] He then combined the titles of the earlier Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors into the new name "Shi Huangdi", meaning 'First Emperor'. The newly declared emperor ordered all weapons not in the possession of the Qin to be confiscated and melted down. The resulting metal was sufficient to build twelve large ornamental statues at the Qin's newly declared capital at Xianyang.[22]

### Southward expansion

[edit]

Main article: Qin campaign against the Yue tribes

The Qin's expansion to the south

In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang secured his boundaries to the north with a fraction of his large army (roughly 100,000 men) and sent the majority (500,000 men) of his army south to conquer the territory of the southern tribes. Prior to the events leading to Qin dominance over China, they had gained possession of much of Sichuan to the southwest. The Qin army was unfamiliar with the jungle terrain, and it was defeated by the southern tribes' guerrilla warfare tactics with over 100,000 men lost. However, in the defeat Qin was successful in building a canal to the south, which they used heavily for supplying and reinforcing their troops during their second attack to the south. Building on these gains, the Qin armies conquered the coastal lands surrounding Guangzhou, and took the provinces of Fuzhou and Guilin. They may have struck as far south as Hanoi. After these victories in the south, Qin Shi Huang moved over 100,000 prisoners and exiles to colonise the newly conquered area. In terms of extending the boundaries of his empire, the First Emperor was extremely successful in the south.[22]

### Campaigns against the Xiongnu

[edit]

Main article: Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu

However, while the empire at times was extended to the north, the Qin could rarely hold on to the land for long. The tribes of these locations, collectively called the Hu by the Qin, were free from Chinese rule during the majority of the dynasty.[23] Prohibited from trading with Qin peasants, the Xiongnu tribe living in the Ordos region in northwestern China often raided them instead, prompting the Qin to retaliate. After a military campaign led by General Meng Tian, the region was conquered in 215 BC and agriculture was established; the peasants, however, were discontented and later revolted. The succeeding Han dynasty also expanded into the Ordos due to overpopulation, but depleted their resources in the process. Indeed, this was true of the dynasty's borders in multiple directions; modern Xinjiang, Tibet, Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, and regions to the southeast were foreign to the Qin, and even areas over which they had military control were culturally distinct.[24]

## Collapse

[edit]

Stone rubbing of a Han dynasty carved relief depicting Jing Ke's assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang (right) holding an imperial jade disc. Jing Ke (left) is held by a court physician (background). The dagger is stuck in the pillar. A soldier (far right) rushes to save his emperor.

Main article: Chu–Han Contention

Three assassination attempts were made on Qin Shi Huang,[25] leading him to become paranoid and obsessed with immortality. While on a trip to the eastern frontiers in 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died in an attempt to procure an elixir of immortality from Taoist magicians, who claimed the elixir was stuck on an island guarded by a sea monster. The chief eunuch, Zhao Gao, and the prime minister, Li Si, hid the news of his death upon their return until they were able to alter his will to place on the throne the dead emperor's most pliable son, Huhai, who took the name of Qin Er Shi.[20] They believed that they would be able to manipulate him to their own ends, and thus effectively control the empire. Qin Er Shi was, indeed, inept and pliable. He executed many ministers and imperial princes, continued massive building projects (one of his most extravagant projects was lacquering the city walls), enlarged the army, increased taxes, and arrested messengers who brought him bad news. As a result, men from all over China revolted, attacking officials, raising armies, and declaring themselves kings of seized territories.[26]

During this time, Li Si and Zhao Gao fell out, and Li Si was executed. Zhao Gao decided to force Qin Er Shi to commit suicide due to Qin Er Shi's incompetence. Upon this, Ziying, a nephew of Qin Er Shi, ascended the throne, and immediately executed Zhao Gao.[26] Ziying, seeing that increasing unrest was growing among the people[note 1] and that many local officials had declared themselves kings, attempted to cling to his throne by declaring himself one king among all the others.[16] He was undermined by his ineptitude, however, and popular revolt broke out in 209 BC. When Chu rebels under the lieutenant Liu Bang attacked, a state in such turmoil could not hold for long. Ziying was defeated near the Wei River in 207, and surrendered shortly after; he was executed by the Chu leader Xiang Yu. The Qin capital was destroyed the next year, and this is considered by historians to be the end of the Qin Empire.[27][note 2] Liu Bang then betrayed and defeated Xiang Yu, declaring himself Emperor Gaozu[note 3] of the new Han dynasty on 28 February 202 BC.[28] Despite the short duration of the Qin, it was very influential on the structure of future dynasties.

## Culture and society

[edit]

### Domestic life

[edit]

Location of the Palace, west of Xi'an

Excavation of the western platform

A gate of the Palace

Objects found at the site

Remains of the Epang Palace destroyed in 206 BC

The Qin aristocracy were largely similar to the Zhou in culture and daily life, with regional variation generally considered a symbol of the lower classes - and ultimately as contrary to the unification that the government strove to achieve.[29]

Commoners and rural villagers, who made up over 90% of the population,[30] very rarely left the villages or farmsteads where they were born. Forms of employment differed by region, though farming was almost universally common. Professions were hereditary; a father's employment was passed to his eldest son after he died.[31] The Lüshi Chunqiu[note 4] gave examples of how, when commoners are obsessed with material wealth, instead of the idealism of a man who "makes things serve him", they were "reduced to the service of things".[32]

Peasants were rarely figured in literature during the Qin dynasty and afterwards; scholars and others of more elite status preferred the excitement of cities and the lure of politics. One notable exception to this was Shen Nong, the so-called "Divine Father", who taught that households should grow their own food. "If in one's prime he does not plow, someone in the world will grow hungry. If in one's prime she does not weave, someone in the world will be cold." The Qin encouraged this; a ritual was performed once every few years that consisted of important government officials taking turns with the plough on a special field, to create a simulation of government interest and activity within agriculture.[31]

### Architecture

[edit]

Dujiangyan, an irrigation project completed by the state of Qin in 256 BC. It is located on the Min River in Sichuan, near the provincial capital of Chengdu. Although a reinforced concrete weir has replaced Li Bing's original weighted bamboo baskets, the layout of the infrastructure remains the same and is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometres of land in the region. Qin dynasty roof tile end

Warring States-era architecture had several definitive aspects. City walls, used for defence, were made longer, and indeed several secondary walls were also sometimes built to separate the different districts. Versatility in federal structures was emphasised, to create a sense of authority and absolute power. Architectural elements such as high towers, pillar gates, terraces, and high buildings amply conveyed this.[33]

Stone slab with twelve small seal characters, affirming that it is an auspicious moment for the First Emperor to ascend the throne, as the country is united and no men will be dying along the road. The text reads 海内皆臣，歲登成熟，道毋飢人

### Philosophy and literature

[edit]

The written language of the Qin was logographic, as that of the Zhou had been. As one of his most influential achievements in life, prime minister Li Si standardised the writing system to be of uniform size and shape across the whole country. This would have a unifying effect on the Chinese culture for thousands of years. He is also credited with creating the small seal script style, which serves as a basis for modern Chinese and is still used in cards, posters, and advertising.[34]

During the Warring States period, the Hundred Schools of Thought comprised many different philosophies proposed by Chinese scholars. Contemporary institutions descended in part from the methods of the Mohists and school of names.[35] Confucius's school of thought, called Confucianism, was also influential beginning in the Warring States period, and throughout the imperial periods.[note 5] Beginning in the subsequent Han dynasty, this school of thought had a so-called Confucian canon of literature, known as the Six Classics: the Odes, Documents, Ritual, Music, Spring and Autumn Annals, and Changes, which embodied Chinese literature at the time.[36]

### Penal policy

[edit]

Qin law was primarily administrative, and included penal law alongside ritual orthopraxy, comparative model manuals in the Qin empire guided penal legal procedure and application based on real-life situations, with publicly named wrongs linked to punishments.

While some Qin penal laws deal with infanticide or other unsanctioned harm of children, it primarily concerned theft; it does not much deal with murder, as either more straightforward or more suitable to ritual. By contrast, detailed rules and "endless paperwork" tightly regulate grain, weights, measures, and official documents.[37][38] Like most ancient societies, tradition China did not divide administration and judiciary,[39] but it did include such concepts as intent, judicial procedure, defendant rights, retrial requests and distinctions between different kinds of law (common law and statutory law).[40]

The Book of Lord Shang prophecies a future sage of "benevolence and righteous",[41] which the First Emperor declares himself to be.[42] Regardless, in the Qin and early Han, criminals may be given amnesties, and then only punished if they did it again.[43] While Dong Zhongshu claims that Qin officials and taxes were harsh, he doesn't specifically claim that punishments were harsh for their time, in fact he claims that the Qin failed to punish criminals.[44]

Penal law actually develops more in the Han dynasty. The Qin often expelled criminals to the new colonies, or pardoned them in exchange for fines, labour, or one to several aristocratic ranks, even up to the death penalty. While the penal laws would still be considered harsh compared to the modern day, they were not very harsh for their time, and often not actually enacted.[45]

Villainising the first Emperor while adopting Qin administration,[46] a revulsion against the Qin developed over the course of the Han dynasty, centring on Shang Yang and Han Fei as espousing rigorous law and punishment.[47] While Shang Yang, and maybe Han Fei, may have been influential for Qin administration, the Qin otherwise abandoned the harsh penal policy of Shang Yang before its founding.[48]

### Government and military

[edit]

Terracotta Army at the museum of the grave of Qin Shi Huang Qin warriors and horse from the Terracotta Army

The Qin government was highly bureaucratic, and was administered by a hierarchy of officials, all serving the First Emperor. The Qin put into practice the teachings of Han Fei, allowing the First Emperor to control all of his territories, including those recently conquered. All aspects of life were standardised, from measurements and language to more practical details, such as the length of chariot axles.[49][self-published source?]

The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than placing the burden on people from the royal family. Zheng and his advisors also introduced new laws and practices that ended feudalism in China, replacing it with a centralised, bureaucratic government. A supervisory system, the Censorate was introduced to monitor and check the powers of administrators and officials at each level of government.[50] The Qin instituted a permanent system of ranks and rewards, consisting of twenty ranks based on the number of enemies killed in battle or commanding victorious units. Ranks were not hereditary unless a soldier died heroically in battle, whereby the soldier's rank will be inherited by his family. Each rank was assigned a specified number of dwellings, slaves and land, and ranks could be used to remit judicial punishments.[51]

The form of government created by the first emperor and his advisors was used by later dynasties to structure their own government.[21] Under this system, both the military and government thrived, as talented individuals could be more easily identified in the transformed society. Later Chinese dynasties emulated the Qin government for its efficiency, despite its being condemned by Confucian philosophy.[49][self-published source?][52] There were instances of abuse, however, with one example having been recorded in the "Records of Officialdom". A commander named Hu ordered his men to attack peasants in an attempt to increase the number of "bandits" he had killed; his superiors, likely eager to inflate their records as well, allowed this.[53]

Qin Shi Huang also improved the strong military, despite the fact that it had already undergone extensive reforms.[25] The military used the most advanced weaponry of the time. It was first used mostly in bronze form, but by the 5th century BC, kingdoms such as Chu and Qin were using iron and/or steel swords. The demand for this metal resulted in improved bellows. The crossbow had been introduced in the 5th century BC and was more powerful and accurate than the composite bows used earlier. It could also be rendered ineffective by removing two pins, which prevented enemies from capturing a working crossbow.[54]

The Qin also used improved methods of transportation and tactics. The state of Zhao had first replaced chariots with cavalry in 307 BC, but the change was swiftly adopted by the other states because cavalry had greater mobility over the terrain of China.[55]

The First Emperor developed plans to fortify his northern border, to protect against nomadic invasions. The result was the initial construction of what later became the Great Wall of China, which was built by joining and strengthening the walls made by the feudal lords, which would be expanded and rebuilt multiple times by later dynasties, also in response to threats from the north. Another project built during Qin Shi Huang's rule was the Terracotta Army, intended to protect the emperor after his death.[25] The Terracotta Army was inconspicuous due to its underground location, and was not discovered until 1974.[56]

### Religion

[edit]

> Floating on high in every direction,
>  Music fills the hall and court.
>  The incense sticks are a forest of feathers,
>  The cloudy scene an obscure darkness.
>  Metal stalks with elegant blossoms,
>  A host of flags and kingfisher banners.
>  The music of the "Seven Origins" and "Blossoming Origins"
>  Are intoned as harmonious sounds.
>  Thus one can almost hear
>  The spirits coming to feast and frolic.
>  The spirits are seen off to the zhu zhu of the musics,
>  Which purifies and refines human feelings.
>  Suddenly the spirits ride off on the darkness
>  And the brilliant event finishes.
>  Purified thoughts grow hidden and still,
>  And the warp and weft of the world fall dark.

Han shu, p. 1046

The dominant religious belief in China during the reign of the Qin, and, in fact, during much of early imperial China, was focused on the shen (roughly translating to 'spirits' or 'gods'), yin ('shadows'), and the realm they were said to live in. The Chinese offered animal sacrifices in an attempt to contact this other world, which they believed to be parallel to the earthly one. The dead were said to have simply moved from one world to the other. The rituals mentioned, as well as others, served two purposes: to ensure that the dead journeyed and stayed in the other realm, and to receive blessings from the spirit realm.[57]

Religious practices were usually held in local shrines and sacred areas, which contained sacrificial altars. During a sacrifice or other ritual, the senses of all participants and witnesses would be dulled and blurred with smoke, incense, and music. The lead sacrificer would fast and meditate before a sacrifice to further blur his senses and increase the likelihood of perceiving otherworldly phenomena. Other participants were similarly prepared, though not as rigorously.

Such blurring of the senses was also a factor in the practice of spirit intermediaries, or mediumship. Practitioners of the art would fall into trances or dance to perform supernatural tasks. These people would often rise to power as a result of their art - Luan Da, a Han dynasty medium, was granted rule over 2,000 households. Han historian Sima Qian was scornful of such practices, dismissing them as foolish trickery.[58]

Divinations to predict or influence the future were another form of religious practice during the Qin, including the ancient practice of cracking bones or turtle shells to gain knowledge of the future. The forms of divination which sprang up during early imperial China were diverse, though observing natural phenomena was a common method. Comets, eclipses, and droughts were considered omens of things to come.[59]

### Etymology of China

[edit]

-210

GRECO
BACTRIANS

PAR-
THIA

Pazyryk
culture

SAKAS

Tagar
culture

Sagly
culture

Shule

Khotan

DONGHU

SABEANS

Ordos
culture

Dian
culture

JIN

YUEZHI

Subeshi

Wusun

SELEUCID
EMPIRE

MAURYA
EMPIRE

QIN
DYNASTY

XIONGNU

PTOLE-
MIES

MEROË

Scythians

Sarmatians

class=notpageimage|

The Qin state and main polities in 221 BC, with the capital Xianyang ().[60][61][62]

The name Qin is believed to be the origin of the modern name for the country in many European languages, China. The word probably made its way into the Indo-Aryan languages first as Cina or Sina, and then into Greek and Latin as Sinai or Thinai. It was then borrowed into English and French as China and Chine. This etymology is dismissed by some scholars, who suggest that Sina in Sanskrit evolved much earlier before the Qin. However, the preceding state of Qin was itself founded in the 9th century BC. Jin, a state during the Zhou dynasty until the 4th century BC, is another possible origin.[63] Others argued for the state of Jing (荆, another name for Chu), as well as other polities in the early period as the source of the name.[64]

## Sovereigns

[edit]

See also: Qin (state) § Rulers

Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after unifying China in 221 BC. That year is therefore generally taken by historians to be the start of the "Qin dynasty" which lasted for 14 years until 207, when it was cut short by civil wars.[65]

Posthumous name | Personal name | Reign

|
|

Shi Huangdi | Zheng (政)  | 221–210  BC
Er Shi Huangdi | Huhai (胡亥) | 210–207 BC

{{{1}}}

| Ziying (子嬰)  | 207 BC

## Imperial family tree

[edit]

An edict in bronze from the reign of the second Qin Emperor, Qin Er Shi Qin Dynasty

| | | | | See: family tree of
the Kings of Qin

|
|
|
|

| | | | | |
| | | | Zheng 政 259–210 BC
King of Qin 秦王 247–221 BC
Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇
221–210 BC
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
1| | | | | | 18 or 25 (disputed)
Fusu 扶蘇
d. 210 BC| | | | | | Huhai 胡亥 229–207 BC
Qin Er Shi 秦二世
210–207 BC
| |
Ziying 子嬰 d. 206 BC
Qin San Shi 秦三世
207 BC

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ This was largely caused by regional differences which survived despite the Qin's attempt to impose uniformity.
2. ^ The first emperor of the Qin had boasted that the dynasty would last 10,000 generations; it lasted only about 15 years. Morton 1995, p. 49
3. ^ Meaning "High Progenitor".
4. ^ A text named for its sponsor Lü Buwei; the prime minister of the Qin directly preceding the conquest of the other states.
5. ^ The term "Confucian" is rather ill-defined in this context - many self-dubbed Confucians in fact rejected tenets of what was known as "the Way of Confucius", and were disorganized, unlike the later Confucians of the Song and Yuan dynasties.

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 121. JSTOR 1170959.
2. ^ "Qin dynasty". Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 September 2019.
3. ^ "Qin". Collins English Dictionary (13th ed.). HarperCollins. 2018. ISBN 978-0-008-28437-4.
4. ^ Li 2013, p. 6.
5. ^ Tanner 2010, pp. 85–89.
6. ^ Lander 2021.
7. ^ a b Lewis 2007, p. 17.
8. ^ "Chinese surname history: Qin". People's Daily. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
9. ^ Lewis 2007, pp. 17–18.
10. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 88.
11. ^ Origins of Statecraft in China
12. ^ Morton 1995, pp. 26, 45.
13. ^ Time-Life Books 1993, p. 86
14. ^ a b Kinney & Hardy 2005, p. 10.
15. ^ Morton 1995, p. 45.
16. ^ a b Lewis 2007, pp. 18–19.
17. ^ Morton 1995, p. 25.
18. ^ Lewis 2007, pp. 38–39.
19. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 10.
20. ^ a b Bo 2008, pp. 134–135.
21. ^ a b c Loewe, Michael (9 September 2007). "China's First Empire". History Today. Vol. 57, no. 9\. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
22. ^ a b Morton 1995, p. 47.
23. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 129.
24. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 5.
25. ^ a b c Borthwick 2006, p. 10.
26. ^ a b Kinney & Hardy 2005, pp. 13–15.
27. ^ Bodde 1986, p. 84.
28. ^ Morton 1995, pp. 49–50.
29. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 11.
30. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 102.
31. ^ a b Lewis 2007, p. 15.
32. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 16.
33. ^ Lewis 2007, pp. 75–78.
34. ^ Bedini 1994, p. 83.
35. ^ Smith, Kidder (2003). "Sima Tan and the Invention of Daoism, 'Legalism,' et cetera". Journal of Asian Studies. 62 (1). Duke University Press: 141–144. JSTOR 3096138.
36. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 206.
37. ^ Bodde 1986, p. 60.
38. ^ Cheng 2008, p. 208.
39. ^ Hulsewé 1986, p. 528.
40. ^ Goldin 2005, pp. 5–6.
41. ^ Pines 2017, p. 84.
42. ^ Pines 2014, p. 267.
43. ^ Pines 2014, p. 213.
44. ^ Loewe 2011, pp. 93–94.
45. ^ Hulsewé 1986, pp. 526, 534–535; Goldin 2005, p. 5.
46. ^ Lewis 2007, pp. 42, 72; Pines 2009, p. 110.
47. ^ Loewe & Shaughnessy 1999, p. 1008.
48. ^ Pines, Yuri. "Legalism in Chinese Philosophy". In Edward N. Zalta; Uri Nodelman (eds.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2023 ed.).
49. ^ a b World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, p. 36
50. ^ Xue, Deshu; Qi, Xiuqian. "Research on Supervision System in Ancient China and Its Contemporary Reference". Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research. 319: 415.
51. ^ Hui, Victoria Tin-bor (2005). War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 81\. ISBN 978-1-139-44356-2.
52. ^ Borthwick 2006, pp. 9–10.
53. ^ Chen & Wu 2007, pp. 180–181.
54. ^ Morton 1995, p. 26.
55. ^ Morton 1995, p. 27.
56. ^ Morton 1995, p. 49.
57. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 186.
58. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 180.
59. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 181.
60. ^ Coatsworth, John; Cole, Juan; Hanagan, Michael P.; Perdue, Peter C.; Tilly, Charles; Tilly, Louise (2015). Global Connections: Volume 1, To 1500: Politics, Exchange, and Social Life in World History. Cambridge University Press. p. 138\. ISBN 978-1-316-29777-3.
61. ^ Atlas of World History. Oxford University Press. 2002. p. 51\. ISBN 978-0-19-521921-0.
62. ^ Van Den Bosch, Jeroen; Fauve, Adrien; De Cordier, B. J., eds. (2021). The European Handbook of Central Asian Studies. Ibidem. p. 403\. ISBN 978-3-8382-1518-1.
63. ^ Keay 2009, p. 98.
64. ^ Wade, Geoff (May 2009). "The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China'" (PDF). Sino-Platonic Papers. 188. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011. "This thesis also helps explain the existence of Cīna in the Indic Laws of Manu and the Mahabharata, likely dating well before Qin Shihuangdi."
65. ^ Bodde 1986, p. 20.

### Works cited

[edit]

* Bedini, Silvio (1994). The Trail of Time: Shih-chien Ti Tsu-chi: Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-37482-8.
* Bo Yang (柏杨) (2008). 中国帝王皇后亲王公主世系录 [Records of the Genealogy of Chinese Emperors, Empresses, and Their Descendants] (in Chinese). Vol. 1\. Taiyuan: Zhongguo youyi chubangongsi.
* Borthwick, Mark (2006). Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia. Westview. ISBN 978-0-8133-4355-6.
* Breslin, Thomas A. (2001). Beyond Pain: The Role of Pleasure and Culture in the Making of Foreign Affairs. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-275-97430-5.
* Chen, Guidi; Wu, Chuntao (2007). Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants. Translated by Zhu, Hong. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-441-5.
* Cheng, Chung-ying (2008). "The Yi-jing and Yin-Yang way of thinking". In Mou, Bo (ed.). The Routledge History of Chinese Philosophy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-24937-4.
* Goldin, Paul R. (2005). After Confucius: Studies in Early Chinese Philosophy. University of Hawaiʻi Press. doi:10.26530/oapen_625891. ISBN 978-0-8248-2842-4.
* Ivanhoe, Philip J.; Van Norden, Bryan W., eds. (2005). Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Hackett. ISBN 978-0-87220-780-6.
* Keay, John (2009). China: A History. Harper. ISBN 978-0-00-722178-3.
* Kinney, Anne Behnke; Hardy, Grant (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5.
* Lander, Brian (2021). The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-25508-9.
* Lewis, Mark Edward (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9.
* Li Feng (2013). Early China. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89552-1.
* Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L., eds. (1999). The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8.
* Loewe, Michael. "The Heritage Left to the Empires". In Loewe & Shaughnessy (1999), pp. 967–1032. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521470308.016
* 

 (9 September 2007). "China's First Empire". History Today. Vol. 57, no. 9\. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
* 

 (2011). Dong Zhongshu, a ‘Confucian’ Heritage and the Chunqiu fanlu. China Studies, vol. 20. Leiden: Brill. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004194656.i-370.15. ISBN 978-90-04-21486-6.
* Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0.
* World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7614-7631-3.[self-published source?]
* Pines, Yuri; Shelach, Gideon; Shelach-Lavi, Gideon; Falkenhausen, Lothar von; Yates, Robin D. S. (2014). Birth of an Empire. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-28974-1.
* 

 (2009). Envisioning Eternal Empire. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3275-9.
* 

 (2017). "Confucius' Elitism: The Concepts of junzi and xiaoren Revisited". A Concise Companion to Confucius. Wiley. doi:10.1002/9781118783863.ch8. ISBN 978-1-118-78387-0.
* Tanner, Harold (2010). China: A History. Hackett. ISBN 978-1-60384-203-7.
* Twitchett, Dennis; Loewe, Michael, eds. (1986). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24327-8. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521243278
* Bodde, Derk. "The State and Empire of Chʻin". In Cambridge History of China (1986), pp. 20–102.
* Hulsewé, A. F. P. "Chʻin and Han Law". In Cambridge History of China (1986), pp. 520–544.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Korolkov, Maxim (2022). The Imperial Network in Ancient China: The Foundation of Sinitic Empire in Southern East Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-65428-3.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Qin Dynasty at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by

Zhou dynasty

|  Dynasties in Chinese history
221–207 BC  | Succeeded by

Han dynasty

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Qin dynasty topics

History|

* Qin's wars of unification
* Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu
* Qin's campaign against the Yue tribes
* Burning of books and burying of scholars
* Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising
* Battle of Julu

See also|

* Xianyang
* Epang Palace
* Mr. He's jade
* Terracotta Army
* The Acrobats
* Twelve Metal Colossi
* Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts
* Ten Crimes of Qin
* The First Emperor
* Qin Shi Huang

* v
* t
* e

Empires

Ancient
(colonies)|

* Akkadian
* Armenian
* Urartu
* Orontid
* Ancient
* Assyrian
* Middle Assyrian
* Neo-Assyrian
* Babylonian
* Old Babylonian
* Kassite
* Neo-Babylonian
* Chinese
* Qin
* Han
* Jin
* Dʿmt
* Egyptian
* Old Kingdom
* Middle Kingdom
* New Kingdom
* Goguryeo
* Harsha
* Hellenistic
* Macedonian
* Seleucid
* Ptolemaic
* Bactrian
* Indo-Greek
* Hittite
* Hunnic
* White
* Xiongnu
* Iranian
* Median
* Achaemenid
* Parthian
* Sasanian
* Kush
* Kushan
* Magadha
* Haryanka
* Shaishunaga
* Nanda
* Maurya
* Shunga
* Gupta
* Phoenician
* Carthaginian
* Roman
* Western
* Eastern
* Satavahana
* Neo-Sumerian
* Xianbei
* Rouran

Post-classical|

* Angevin
* Aragonese
* Armenian
* Bagratid
* Vaspurakan
* Artsakh
* Cilician
* Zakarid
* Ayyubid
* Aztec
* Benin
* Bornu
* Bruneian
* Bulgarian
* First
* Second
* Burmese
* First
* Calakmul
* Caliphate
* Rashidun
* Umayyad
* Abbasid
* Fatimid
* Chalukya
* Western
* Eastern
* Chinese
* Sui
* Tang
* Liao
* Song
* Jīn
* Yuan
* Chola
* Ethiopian
* Aksum
* Zagwe
* Solomonic
* Genoese
* Georgian
* Huetar
* Inca
* Kannauj
* Pala
* Gurjara-Pratihara
* Rashtrakuta
* Iranian
* Tahirid
* Saffarid
* Samanid
* Buyid
* Japanese
* Yamato
* Kamakura
* Muromachi
* Edo
* Kanem
* Khmer
* Latin
* Lithuanian
* Grand Duchy
* Commonwealth
* Majapahit
* Mali
* Mongol
* Yuan
* Golden Horde
* Chagatai Khanate
* Ilkhanate
* Moroccan
* Idrisid
* Almoravid
* Almohad
* Norwegian
* North Sea
* Oyo
* Polish
* Kingdom
* Commonwealth
* Hellenic Roman
* Byzantine
* Nicaea
* Thessalonica
* Trebizond
* Epirus
* Morea
* Romano-Germanic
* Carolingian
* Holy Roman
* Russian
* Ruthenian
* Novgorod
* Vladimir-Suzdal
* Muscovy
* Permian
* Serbian
* Singhasari
* Songhai
* Srivijaya
* Tibetan
* Tikal
* Tiwanaku
* Toltec
* Turco-Persian
* Ghaznavid
* Great Seljuk
* Khwarezmian
* Timurid
* Turkic
* First
* Western
* Eastern
* Second
* Türgesh
* Uighur
* Kyrgyz
* Ukrainian
* Ruthenian
* Kyivan
* Venetian
* Vietnamese
* Dinh
* Early Le
* Ly
* Tran
* Ho
* Later Tran
* Later Le
* Vijayanagara
* Wagadou
* Wari

Modern|

* Afghan
* Ashanti
* Austrian
* Austro-Hungarian
* Brazilian
* Burmese
* Second
* Third
* Central African
* Chinese
* Ming
* Qing
* China
* Manchukuo
* Contemporary
* Ethiopian
* Haitian
* First
* Second
* French
* First
* Second
* German
* German Empire
* Nazi Germany
* Indian
* Indo-Persian
* Mughal
* Sikh
* Iranian
* Safavid
* Afsharid
* Zand
* Qajar
* Pahlavi
* Japanese
* Korean
* Maratha
* Mexican
* First
* Second
* Mongol
* Oirat
* Khoshut
* Dzungar
* Kalmyk
* Bogd
* Moroccan
* Saadi
* 'Alawi
* Ottoman
* Russian
* Tsarist
* Imperial
* Contemporary
* Sokoto
* Somali
* Isaaq
* Tongan
* Ukrainian
* Vietnamese
* Mạc
* Revival Lê
* Tay Sơn
* Dainam
* Vietnam

| Colonial|

* American
* Belgian
* British
* English
* Scottish
* Chinese
* Danish
* Dutch
* French
* German
* Italian
* Japanese
* Mongol
* Omani
* Polish–Lithuanian
* Couronian
* Portuguese
* Russian
* Spanish
* Swedish

|

Lists|

* Empires
* largest
* Ancient great powers
* Medieval great powers
* Modern great powers
* European colonialism
* African empires

Miscellaneous|

* "Empire" as a description of foreign policy
* American Empire
* Soviet empire

Portals:

* China
* History

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Israel

*[c.]: circa
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template