The Qin Dynasty

“

Source – What was Emperor Qin like?

Source – What was Emperor Qin like?

• ‘The King of Qin was born with a prominent nose, elongated eyes, the breast of a bird of prey, and the voice of a jackal: he seldom extends favour, and has the heart of a tiger or wolf. Once he really has his way in the world, he will hold the whole world captive. He is ruler without benevolence or respect for learning.’

(Sima Qian, Grand Historian, 221 B.C.)

Other ways Qin ( 秦 )is written

• Qin• Chin• Chi’in• Don’t confuse the 秦朝 Qin Dynasty (221-

206 BCE) with the 清朝 Qing Dynasty (1644-1917 CE)

• Some scholars think the name “China” comes from Qin!

The State of Qin in the Warring States Period

• Leaders of Qin were members of Zhou feudal aristocracy and famous charioteers

• Excavations at Maojiaping ‘Dog Hill’ revealed a number of lavish tombs from Zhou Period with many human sacrifices

• Increasingly involved in Zhou government, especially in Western China

• Duke Mu led Qin in a series of wars with Jin led to expansion into Yellow River area

• Other Chinese see them as brutal and uncivilised

Qin: A royal lineage

“The forebear of Qin was Lady Xiu, granddaughter of a remote descendant of Emperor Zhuanxu. Once when Lady Xu was weaving, a dark bird dropped an egg. The lady swallowed it and gave birth to Grand Undertaking. Grand Undertaking took as his wife a child of Shaodin named Lady Hua. Lady Hua gave birth to Grand Expenditure who assisted Yu the Great in regulating the lands and rivers.”

- Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian

Qin: A state on the rise

“Li Si was a clerk in the state of Chu. One day he entered his office privy [toilet]. He noticed that the rats were scrawny and filthy. In the granary near the office the rats were fat and healthy. ‘A man’s life is just like that of the rats,’ he thought. ‘His condition depends on where he places himself’ Thus, Li Si realised that Qin was fast becoming the strongest of the seven states.”

- Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian

A traveller’s report of Qin state

“Qin’s frontier defences are mountains. It has forests, streams and valleys. Entering its fronteirs, I saw that the people were simple and plain and not frivolous. They stood in deep awe of the officials and followed the old customs obediently. When I entered the cities, I saw that the officials were dignified, courteous, honest and sincere. They are worthy men.

- Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian

Qin: Military Power

“For four generations now, Qin has on easy victory. Its armies are the strongest in the world [tien xia]. It did not reach this position by goodness or worthiness, but by taking advantage of every opportunity. That is all.”

- Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian

The First Emperor• Born as Ying Zheng in 259 BCE• Rumour that he was illegitimate son

of a merchant and Qin King’s concubine

• Unified warring states • Declared himself “Qui Shi

Huangdai” - “The First Emperor” (lit. Son of Heaven)

• Died 210 BCE• Length of dynasty – short• Qin dynasty ended 206BCE – Han

Dynasty next

Important Ancient Sources

Other textsSima Qian, 史記 Shiji [Records of the Grand Historian]• Material from the First

Emperor’s Chief Minister, Li Si• Copies of First Emperor’s steles• His own investigations

Jia Yi, 過秦論 Guo Qin Lun [The faults of Qin]

Ban Gu, 漢書 Hanshu [History of the former Han]

Han Historians ArchaeologyFirst Emperor’s 7 poetic steles

Folktales• Building the Great Wall

First Emperor’s tomb at Xian

Great WallEdicts on bronze

Administrative texts on bamboo strips

Qin capital, Xianyang

Infrastructure – canals, irrigation, road building

Poetry• Chu Yuan, Songs from the South

Pacification“He demolished the walls of major cities and put to death men of fame and talent, collected all the arms of the realm at Xianyang and had the spears and arrowheads melted down to form twelve huge statues in human form – all with the aim of weakening his people. The he… posted capable generals and expert bowmen at important passes and placed trusted officials and well-trained soldiers in strategic array to challenge all who passed.”

-Jia Yi, The Faults of Qin

咸阳 Xianyang

Existing Qin Capital City was remodelled in First Emperor’s reign• ~62 km2

• divided into political and commercial sectors, separated by high walls• 270 palaces in surrounding area; representations of conquered regionsPalace• 65 m x 45 m; on a 6 m high foundation; three stories• Emphasis on verticality (pillars, towers, platforms)• Decorative wood, pottery bricks, tiles• Moddeled on conception of heaven• Complex sewage/drainage system • Heating system • Extensive storage facilities• Large number of bronze coins and wares

Weihe River

Han Dyn. Capital Chang’an

Qin Dyn. Capital Xianyang

Modern Xi’an

Bahe River

First Emperor’s Tomb

Qin Dyn. Palce

Administrative reforms• Capital built at Xianyang• Divided kingdom into 36 districts• Three administrative departments

– Military department• Recruiting soldiers• Paying and clothing soldiers• Defense of the realm

– Civil department• Taxes• Courts

– Imperial inspection department• Headed by an official who reported directly to the emperor• Ensured what was happening was approved• Prevented other officials becoming too powerful

• Centralisation: bringing everything under a single, central authority– All officials were paid by the emperor– No jobs could be passed on from fathers to sons– Men were chosen for posts based on experience, education and loyalty

• Standardization: Making things the same all over the Empire– Money– Weights and Measures– Writing– Canals & Irrigation– Roads– This made trading easier

Qin Dynasty Chancellery Script

Modern character

• most of the administrative text were written on bamboo slips, using the quick Chancellary Script style (lishu 隸書 )

commemorative stone tablets advertising the emperor’s achievements were written in Small Seal Script (Qin zhuan 秦篆 )

DamagedMt Liang Stele

"In the 26th year of his rule the emperor conquered all the vassal states under heaven, brought peace to the people and declared himself Emperor. He ordered Prime Ministers Kui Zhuang and Wang Wan to unify all inconsistent and incorrect weights and measures in accordance with the law."

Highway Network• 6 800 km of roads - “Speedy road” E-W and “Straight

road” N-S • Some multi-laned - centre lane reserved for Emperor and

his messengers• Standard axle-width of 6 feet• “The First Emperor ordered the building of roads, eat to

the utmost boundaries of Qi and Yan, south to the extremities of Wu and Chu, around lakes and rivers, and along the coasts of the seas. The highways were 50 bu [paces] wide and a tree was planted every 30 bu along them. The road was made very thick and firm at the edge and hammered down with metal rammers.”– Jia Shan, Histories of the Han Dynasties

• Continuation of Qin state policy

• Canals encourage trade• Allow supply of army

stationed in North• Irrigate Chegdu Plain• Reduce risk of flooding

Qin’s campaigns in North & South to expand his empire

Legalism

Legalism

• Originated in Zhou dynasty• State over the individual• Qin rejected Confusanism (rule by wisdom and

virtue) in favour of Legalism (rule by law)• Legalism believed that people were wicked• Strict laws to control behaviour• Reward/punishment

Taoist Magic• Legalist philosophy scorned belief in the

supernatural• But Qin seems to have put some store in magic– Elemental theory – era of ‘water’ replacing era of

‘fire’– Colour black (symbolic of water_– Number 6– Mercury pills and astrology– 2m wide magic mirror that could reveal the inner

organs and innermost thoughts of visitors– Xu Fu sent to find the elixir of life

Magical Policy

“The First Emperor believed that the Five Powers succeed each other in unending cycle, and he held that the Zhou dynasty had ruled by the power of fire. Since the Qin had replaced the Zhou, its power should therefore proceed from that which fire cannot overcome; the power of water had now begun its era of dominance. He changed the time for the court celebrations marking the beginning of the year, holding them all on the first day of the tenth month, and all clothing, flags, and pennants honoured the colour black. Among numbers, six was the standard, so that tallies and official caps were six inches, carriages were six feet, six feet were taken to make up one pace, and carriages were drawn by six horses. He also changed the name of the Yellow River, calling it ‘Powerful Water’ to indicate that the era of the power of water had begun.”

- Sima Qian, Records of the grand Historian

End of the Qin Dynasty

• Large meteor lands in 211BCE – “The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided”

• Qin Shi Haungdai dies in 210 BCE• No clear successor and a forged will• His son was a weak ruler• Han historians emphasise bad advice of court

eunuchs• Peasant revolt led by Chen She and Wu Guang• End of the Qin Dynasty in 206BCE• Han Dynasty was established – kept Qin’s

administration but softened harsh aspects of his rule

Video

• First Emperor of China - National Geographic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XprytutpRXw