The First Emperor of China

913 Words2 Pages

Zhao Zheng was born in 259 BC, even at a young age he was very aggressive and ambitious. At the age of thirteen Zhao Zheng succeeded his father to rule China. He assumed full power over China by the age of twenty-two and ruled during the Warring States period. He wanted to unify all of the states by the political, economic, and military strength of Qin State. This ambition is what built the first centralized empire in Chinese history, the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC). Zhao Zheng was the first ruler of a united China, so he proclaimed himself Qin Shi Haung, which means the first emperor of China. After China was unified, he passed several major economic and political reforms. He undertook huge projects, including the building and unifying of several sections of the Great Wall of China. He also worked to build his enormous tomb guarded by life-sized Terracotta soldiers, and a national road system. He standardized writing and measurement throughout the Chinese Empire. During his reign, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books and even buried some scholars alive, all to prevent scholars from comparing previous rulers to him. He ruled China until his death in 210 BC at the age of 49. After his death in 210 BC, the Qin Dynasty that he had built quickly fell to ruins which ended in 206 BC.
The Chinese people believed that ingesting long-lasting precious substances such as jade, cinnabar or hematite would provide a long life to those who consumed them. Gold was considered particularly potent, as it was a non-tarnishing precious metal. Some elixirs for immortality such as mercury, sulfur, and arsenic were widely used, and most are ironically poisonous. These minerals were not only used for immortality but also used for curing certai...

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...oldest son Fusu would normally become the next emperor but, Li Si conspired to kill Fusu because he was afraid that he would lose his power under the rule of Fusu. Li Si successfully had Fusu killed. The younger son of Qin Shi Huang then stepped up to rule China. Huhai became the second emperor, later known as Qin Er Shi meaning second generation Qin. Qin Er Shi was not as capable a ruler as his father was, soon revolts erupted and everything built by the First Emperor lay in ruins within a short time.

Works Cited

(Qin Dynasty). Web. 12 Nov 2013. Retrieved from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/qin_shihuang_1.htm
(Qin Shi Huang). Web. 13 Nov 2013. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huang
James Jing. (Qin Shi Huang). 19 Nov 2013. Retrieved from http://www.topchinatravel.com/chinese-history/qin-shi-huang.htm

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