Fix the mistake: The Qin and Han Empires and the Chinese World
The Unification under Qin
In 221 BCE, King Zheng of Qin（Ying Zheng）unified all of China for the first time and called himself the "First Emperor." Although the dynasty lasted only 15 years, it left a decisive legacy for later Chinese history.
The Road to Unification
Among the Seven Warring States（Qin・Chu・Yan・Qi・Han・Wei・Zhao）, Qin strengthened its national power through Shang Yang's reforms, which adopted Legalist ideas, and achieved unification by destroying the six other states in 221 BCE.
- Shang Yang's reforms（4th century BCE）：achieved a rich country and a strong army by clarifying laws, rewards, and punishments
- 230〜221 BCE：destroyed the six states one after another over 10 years
- The title "emperor"：created the title of supreme authority by combining the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
The First Emperor's Policies of Unification
・Junxian system：divided the country into 36 commanderies and sent officials from the central government to rule them directly（abolishing the feudal system）
・Unification of writing, weights and measures, and currency：applied Small Seal Script（writing）・the banliang coin（currency）・standardized measurements throughout the country
・Great Wall of China：connected and extended existing walls to prevent invasions by northern nomads（the Xiongnu）
・Burning of books and burying of scholars（213〜212 BCE）：burned books criticizing government policies and buried Confucian scholars alive as a form of censorship
The First Emperor died suddenly in 210 BCE, and Qin fell in 206 BCE after a peasant rebellion（the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising）.
・Junxian system：divided the country into 36 commanderies and sent officials from the central government to rule them directly（abolishing the feudal system）
・Unification of writing, weights and measures, and currency：applied Small Seal Script（writing）・the banliang coin（currency）・standardized measurements throughout the country
・Great Wall of China：connected and extended existing walls to prevent invasions by northern nomads（the Xiongnu）
・Burning of books and burying of scholars（213〜212 BCE）：burned books criticizing government policies and buried Confucian scholars alive as a form of censorship
The First Emperor died suddenly in 210 BCE, and Qin fell in 206 BCE after a peasant rebellion（the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising）.
The Legacy of Qin
Qin's junxian system was adopted by later dynasties as a model of centralization, and the unification of writing, weights and measures became the foundation for the formation of the "Sinographic cultural sphere." The country name "China" is also said to derive from Qin.
Practice
- What was the centralized local government system that the First Emperor adopted in place of the feudal system?
- Give the name of the Qin policy of burning books and punishing scholars to control ideas.
- Give the three things that the First Emperor unified when Qin unified China.
Previous and next lessons in this course
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