48 The Qin Dynasty
Learning Objective
- Support the argument that the Qin Dynasty, though short-lived, was one of the most important periods of China’s Classical Age
Key Points
- The leader of the victorious Qin state established the Qin Dynasty and recast himself as Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of China.
- The Qin Dynasty was one of the shortest in all of Chinese history, lasting only about 15 years, but was also one of the most important. It was marked by a strong sense of unification and crucial technological and cultural innovation.
- Shi Huangdi standardized writing throughout the empire, built expansive infrastructure, such as highways and canals, standardized currency and measurement, conducted a census, and established a postal system.
- Legalism was the official philosophy, and other philosophies, such as Confucianism, were suppressed. Shi Huangdi also built the Great Wall of China, roughly 1,500 miles long and guarded by a massive army, to protect the nation against northern invaders.
- The Qin Dynasty collapsed after only 15 years. There was a brief period of chaos until the Han Dynasty was established.
Terms
Legalism
A Chinese philosophy claiming that a strong state is necessary to curtail human self-interest.
Mandate of Heaven
The belief, dating from ancient China, that heaven gives a ruler the right to rule fairly.
Great Wall of China
An ancient Chinese fortification, almost 4,000 miles long, originally designed to protect China from the Mongols. Construction began during the Qin Dynasty, under Shi Huangdi.
When the Qin state emerged victorious from the Warring States period in 221 BCE, the state’s leader, King Zheng, claimed the Mandate of Heaven and established the Qin Dynasty. He renamed himself Shi Huangdi (First Emperor), a far grander title than King, establishing the way in which China would be ruled for the next two millennia. Today he is known as Qin Shi Huang, meaning First Qin Emperor. He relied on brutal techniques and Legalist doctrine to consolidate and expand his power. The nobility were stripped of control and authority so that the independent and disloyal nobility that had plagued the Zhou would not pose a problem.
The Qin Dynasty was one of the shortest in all of Chinese history, lasting only about 15 years, but it was also one of the most important. With Qin Shi Huang’s standardization of society and unification of the states, for the first time in centuries, into the first Chinese empire, he enabled the Chinese to think of themselves as members of a single kingdom. This laid the foundation for the consolidation of the Chinese territories that we know today, and resulted in a very bureaucratic state with a large economy, capable of supporting an expanded military.
Innovations of Emperor Shi Huangdi
The First Emperor divided China into provinces, with civil and military officials in a hierarchy of ranks. He built the Lingqu Canal, which joined the Yangtze River basin to the Canton area via the Li River. This cana