Qin DynastyMeena Radhakrishnan, Srihari Krishnaswamy, Anu

Malhotra, Abby Weissman, Brie Vienneau

Background- 221 BC-206 BC

-founded and established by Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China

-Qin Shi Huang constructed parts of the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Army, and advanced the system of roads in the empire

Timeline

The States of Qin and Zhou become allies by together guarding the Zhou Territory from barbarians.

770 BC 230 BC 218 BC 210 BC 206 BC

When a campaign to unify China began at the end of the Warring states period, the Qin ruled a third of China.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Great Wall.

Qin Shi Huang dies and his weak second son takes power.

Rebels Forces begin to take over as the dynasty loses the mandate of heaven for its people. The Dynasty crumbles and a battle for power ensues.

213 BC

Qin Shi Huang ordered book burnings, executed scholars, and became obsessed with eternal life

Thesis

The Qin Dynasty standardized writing and number systems, which eliminated communication barriers and created endless engineering and architectural advancements, ultimately unifying the empire and paving the way for a more modernized and complex society.

Qin Shi Huang’s Principles-Legalist: claimed that the power of the state was more significant than an individual’s power

-Developed a system of bureaucracy-decisions were made by state officials not elected individuals

-Burned all books related to confucianism

How Did the Qin Dynasty gain followers?

-Qin Shi Huang conquered the empires: Han, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Chu and Qi

-After he conquered the six states he took the title of being China’s first emperor of Qin

How did the Qin Dynasty stay at the top?

➔ Government Giant➔ Economy Elephants ➔ Trade Take➔ Construction Cats➔ Weapons & Military When➔ Communication Cranky

Government/Bureaucracy-Qin Shi Huang centralized all the political, economical and military power to his controlling and liking-In the central government, he appointed the Prime Minister as Yushi Dafu and Taiwei as the Commander in Chief

Economy- Established a currency amongst the people of China

-Standard units of numbers & measure

-Militarized and agricultural society

Trade-Territories were connected through road and canal systems, which allowed internal trade

-Marine Silk Road--allowed sea trade through the port of the South China Sea

-Enabled trade from China along the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, and it is the world's oldest known marine trading route

Construction-Built a vast network of roads and canals throughout the country-Trade became easier-Great Wall of China construction began

Weapons & Military-To prevent future uprisings, Qin Shi Huang ordered the confiscation of weapons

- Every male between the ages of seventeen and sixty years

was obliged to serve one year in the army.

Communication-Standardization of simple, non-alphabetic written script across all of China

-Widespread communication, made record keeping easier, influenced methods of communication in later dynasties

Terracotta Army-Owned by the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in order to protect him in the afterlife -Each soldier was different

-Anyone who helped build or knew about the Terracotta Army was buried alive

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The Second Emperor of the Qin Dynasty-Qin Er Shi, was the second & last emperor, overthrown by a popular rebellion after the first emperor died. It was followed by the Han dynasty

-Er Shi was born in 230 BCE (birth name: Hu Hai)

Fall of the Qin Dynasty-Emperor’s brutal ways of ruling = Revolts

-After the first Emperor died, there was a Civil war that was followed by ongoing floods and droughts.

-In 207 BCE, Qin Shi Huang’s son was killed, and the dynasty collapsed completely

-There was chaos until 202 BCE

Negative Impacts

-Great Wall of China Did not stop the Mongols and the Manchus from invading Qin’s borders-Forced labor building the Great Wall of China, roads, and irrigation works-Residents were taxed heavily to help the government pay for its services

Negative Impacts

-Limited education

- Most forms of religion were outlawed, requiring people to be loyal and obedient only to the government.

-He also ordered that most of the existing books be burned. He wanted history to begin with his rule and the Qin dynasty.

Positive Impacts

-Built the Great Wall of China-Terracotta Army -Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified China-Standardized currency and writing amongst China-Constructed roads and canals

Fun Facts-Qin Shi Huang was paranoid about his death, so he survived many failed assassinations

-Qin Shi Huang died in 210 B.C. , while touring eastern China. Officials wanted to keep it secret, so they hid the smell of his body by traveling with 10 carts of fish

-Buried 460 Confucian scholars alive because of belief against education