Emperor Qin Unifies China
Ying Zheng was only 13 years old when he became king of the Qin, one of the largest of the warring-states fighting for control of ancient China. The Warring States period taught China the miseries that 254 years of constant warfare could bring. So when Zheng finally defeated the surrounding kingdoms one-by-one he set about to create a new, more stable and prosperous China.
The first thing that Zheng did was to give himself the title of Shi Huangdi- or the First Emperor. No one before Shi Huangdi had unified the many kingdoms. Nobody before Shi Huangdi had ruled with so much power. Of course, having a fancy all-powerful title quickly went to Huangd'is head. He set out to unify the country in more ways than just lines on a map. He unified the weights and measurements that people had to follow. He unified the Chinese people by forcing people to use a common written language- which for the most part became the Chinese language we know today.
These laws served a good purpose: unified measurements, language, and currency made it easier to trade throughout China. Imagine having to convert your money and learn a new measurement system whenever you traveled outside of your home state.
Legalism Becomes Law
To protect China from outside barbarians like the Mongols and the Huns, Huangdi ordered tens of thousands of peasants to begin building one of the world's greatest engineering marvels- The Great Wall of China, one day would run along much of China's northern border. Peasants and criminals were ordered to work on Huangdi's many building projects, which included more than 7,000 palaces. At any one time, 15% of China's population was building some new project to glorify their new Emperor. Millions died in the process.
However, Huangdi wasn't too concerned with the death of peasants. They were serving a greater purpose which was to show the world how great their new emperor really was. Along with big ambitions, Huangdi had an ego to match. He believed that he was a deity on earth and had his servants call him the divine power. The emperor passed laws to unify China but he allowed excuses- even ignorance for breaking them. Shi Huangdi followed a Chinese philosophy called Legalism created during the Warring States Period by a guy named Han Feizi who once wrote that if the laws are weak, so is the kingdom. The ruler alone should possess the power, wielding it like lightening or thunder. That's what the Shi Huangdi did. Death by beheading was the favored method of dealing with traitors and murders. Those who broke minor laws like using the wrong system of weighing something were forced to do hard labor on one of Huangdi's projects.
Among Emperor Qin’s greatest admirers was China's communist founder, Mao Zedong. When Mao was a young he wrote, "I considered the emperor as well as most officials to be honest, good and clever men."
Paranoid Emperor Qin
You might be thinking that someone like Hunagdi might not have a lot of friends. You're right. The people got tired of Huangdi's harsh style of rule and some tried to rise against him. Of course, with an army one million strong and a secret police that actively reported plots against the Emperor, these rebels had little chance to organize. One story tells us that the Emperor had an entire village put to death because someone in the village had written something bad about the emperor on a rock. In another incident he had 2,000 scholars put to death and countless books burned because they did not agree with his way of doing things. The guy even had his own mother locked in the palace!
Emperor Shi Huangdi naturally made more than his share of enemies and was pretty paranoid about assassination attempts. He was also pretty obsessed about living forever, which is why he surrounded himself with astrologers and magicians whose main purpose was to help him find an elixir that would allow him to become immortal.
The Epang Palace, 9 miles west of the city of Xi'an, was the official residence of the Qin Emperor.
Qin's Terra Cotta Army
In 1974, a group of peasants from a remote village in China were digging a well when they came across a terra cotta statue more than 6 feet tall and carved with astonishing detail. The farmers reported their find and soon archaeologists were uncovering one of the greatest archaeological finds in history- the legendary tomb of Shi Hunagdi. Before then most people believed that the stories told in Shiji- an ancient book of Chinese history- were just myths. The stories of life-like clay statues that stood guard over the emperor's tomb, underground palaces, and man-made rivers of mercury seemed way too far-fetched to be believable.
That is before 6,000 clay soldiers had been found- just like the stories in the Shiji said they would. Each soldier was unique, no two faces were alike. Even their hairstyles were done up in braids and topknots that were each unique and were done in such detail that individual strands of hair were carved. The soldiers wore plated armor and weapons according to their rank. Common infantry soldiers wore light plated armor to allow them to move swiftly. The officers sat upon their horses with heavier armor, helmets, and shields. Each soldier may have been carved from clay but their weapons were real and sharpened to be ready to defend the emperor from would be enemies. Chariots were made of wood and pulled by clay horses carved with powerful muscles and wide eyes; their driver stands alert and ready with a whip.
The Terra Cotta Army of Shi Huangdi has taken archaeologists more than 35 years to uncover, restore, and catalog. Only four pits have been excavated so far; and the greatest prize, the emperor's tomb itself is yet to be found.
We know that from the historical records that it took 30 years for 700,000 people to construct their marvel of the ancient Chinese world. The accurate accounts given in the Shiji make it very possible that one day soon find the underground palace that Shi Huangdi had built for death that mirrors the one he lived in while he was alive. This palace is said to be filled with fine utensils, precious stones, and rarities. Once this tomb is found it may prove to be the richest find in history. One thing is for sure, Shi Huangdi never found that elixir but he did achieve his dream of immortality by creating a tomb so elaborate and incredible that hardly anyone believed it could be have been possible.
Emperor Qin's tomb is a massive complex of underground rooms spanning almost a square mile. The tomb of the emperor Qin himself is underneath the hill shown in the background.
Most of the workmen who were still working on the tomb when the Emperor died were buried alive with him to serve him in the after life. They were not alone; also buried alive with him were concubines, clerks, scribes, cooks, personal servants and minor court officials. Once the tomb was sealed it is believed it was then booby trapped with crossbows to deter grave robbers. Although, as at 2010, the earth pyramid containing the body has not been opened it is believed to be intact.
The Mandate of Heaven
In ancient China royal power was given by "Heaven" and if an emperor ruled justly (by not abusing his power) he could expect to have a long and prosperous reign. If he abused his power like Emperor Qin he could expect the full wrath of Heaven to come down a kick some royal butt. The Chinese believed that times of peace and prosperity meant that Heaven was pretty happy with the current establishment. But when war, disease, plague, earthquakes, famine, or any other signs of nastiness broke out it was sure sign that Heaven wanted a change. This system of political rule was known as the Mandate of Heaven. Which meant that emperors held control until the gods didn’t want them to anymore. This is how a common peasant came to be China’s next emperor.
The Qin Dynasty did not last long after the death of Shi Huang di. His son was weak and the people were angry. Peasant uprisings were erupting all over China. One of those peasants was a soldier named Liu Bang who defeated his rivals in the Civil War that had torn China apart. In 202 B.C.E. Liu Bang took the title of Gazou (emperor) bringing China into the four hundred year golden age known as the Han Dynasty.
The current government of China was founded by Mao Tse Tung in 1949. Unlike all other previous rulers, Mao never claimed the Mandate of Heaven. Does this make China's communist government illegitamate?
More Mandate of Heaven
Unlike in ancient Rome, the emperors of China were not gods themselves but they were more than mere humans. They were the Ti’en Tzu– the Sons of Heaven, a sort of link between Heaven and earth. The Emperors lived a life of unimagined luxury but every day of their royal life was dictated by strict and complicated rituals that had to be precisely followed.
The imperial palaces were places of absolute luxury. Entire cities dedicated to the whim of the emperor and his family. In the capital city of Chang’’an the Emperor his wife and his hundreds of concubines lived in the inner most sanctuary of the palace complex. But even if the royal family were the pampered children of the gods they still had to follow the complex rituals that defined Chinese culture.
"As heaven’s representative on Earth, he had to ensure that his every action harmonized with the great cosmic cycles reflected in nature. ..each cycles corresponded to the seasons of the year… colors, and directions north, south, and so on.”
Source: A Life in China
Based on the teachings of the Tao, an ancient Chinese philosophy that used meditation and astrology, the emperor during the spring season had to move into the Eastern Pavilion and could only wear green. In the summer he would take up residence in the Southern Pavilion and wear the color red. During the autumn season the emperor moved into the Western Pavilion, wore white, and was permitted to eat dog meat (not as a punishment).
No one was allowed to look the emperor directly in the eye. No one could speak or even write the emperor’s true name. No one could be on the road when the imperial carriage passed by. No one was allowed to even speak directly to the emperor. Anyone wishing to communicate with the emperor would communicate–eyes lowered–to the emperor’s messenger who would repeat what had just been said. Breaking any of these protocols could mean death. One man who made the mistake of cursing the emperor was cut in two. The word of the emperor was final and without question.
To help the emperor accurately read the signs of heaven such as comets and earthquakes the Imperial Palace hired trained astronomers, astrologers, and fortune tellers. No important government decision was every done without first consulting one of these diviners who kept an eye out for omens both good and bad. One of the basic tools of a diviner was the Taoist Book of Changes that used coins or sticks that when throw gave a specific pattern. A Diviner used the Book of Changes to interpret this pattern and advise the emperor. Other signs included strange formations in the clouds, halos around the moon, rainbows. The worst omen of all was a comet which meant that death or misery was just around the corner.
First emperor of the Han Dynasty-
Liu Bang
One of the earliest forms of Chinese fortune telling comes from the Shang period (1500 B.C.E.)
Questions would be written on
a tortise shell and hot pokers would be applied a specific spots. the resulting cracks would tell the future.
Take a 360 Panoramic Tour to Lintong District, China and see the Terra Cotta Army from the eyes
of a tourist.
