All About the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206 B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng" which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km).
After subjugating and uniting China from seven Warring States, the emperor connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over 2500 years ago). Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes north of China (the Huns). Signal fires from the Wall provided early warning of an attack.
The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over 5,000 km (=10,000 Li) long. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.
The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Jim Irwin.
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Emperor
Infamy. The word must have been hissed often by the first emperor of China, but we should not laugh. If so many assassins had not had it in for Qin Shi Huangdi, the paranoid megalomaniac would not have needed a terracotta army of life-size warriors to guard him in the afterlife. And the British Museum would not be looking forward to its most dazzling exhibition since Tutankhamun 40 years ago.
Among the unprecedented 120 treasures the Chinese have permitted to be exhibited in London from September 13 are a dozen warriors, a musician, an acrobat, a strongman, a chariot with horses and bronze birds to serenade the emperor in the netherworld. The show is already setting new records: almost 60,000 advance tickets have been sold.
Scholars debate whether Shi Huangdi was a unifier or a destroyer during his brief reign 2,200 years ago. To the western public, the main reason he has achieved something like the immortality he sought is the buzz surrounding his buried legacy of perfect, baked clay models dating from before the birth of Christ.
But in China he has been rehabilitated as a colossus equivalent to Alfred the Great and Napoleon rolled into one. His very title, Qin, pronounced “chin”, is the origin of China’s name. He pulled together a bunch of warring states and knit them into a centralised system. By ruthless force of will, he standardised China’s language and law, not to mention building the early Great Wall of China. The style of his coinage, round with a square hole in the middle, lasted until the 1950s. Few other rulers have so shaped the sinews of their country.
His most abiding legacy, according to Frances Wood in her recent book The First Emperor of China, was the survival for more than 2,000 years of China’s bureaucracy, “the largest in the world, staffed by educated men and reaching to the lowest peasant in the land”.
The first emperor still lies in his vast mausoleum outside the city of Xi’an, entombed with his concubines and the 700,000 workers who are said to have been killed to keep the location secret. The scale of the mausoleum, three miles across, became known after a group of peasants sinking a well in 1974 discovered some fragments of terracotta and chanced upon a subterranean chamber. It was the first of four pits yielding the clay figures, smashed by falling masonry and later painstakingly reconstructed. Less than 1% of the complex has been excavated.
The distant sound of pickaxes and the recovery of 1,900 clay guardians must disturb the emperor’s rest. Like Saddam Hussein, in life he seldom remained in one place for long, carried each night by servants to sleep in different buildings of his palace complex. He hired doubles to confuse those who sought his death.
Assassination did not square with his obsession with eternal life, to which end he dispatched thousands of young people in ships to obtain the fabled elixir of life from Penglai mountain, where the immortals lived. When none returned – failure meant execution – he sent another expedition consisting of three men, only to be offered the feeble excuse that they had been frightened off by a gigantic fish. He duly set off to shoot it with a repeating crossbow, but the elixir eluded him.
So he must have given thanks that he possessed another ace – immortality pills. These consisted of mercury, which his alchemists assured him would confer the same power that the substance displayed in absorbing gold. Their strength proved fatal. A dynasty he had promised would last 10,000 years only endured a decade (221BC to 210BC).
After his death the emperor’s character was assassinated by revisionist historians in the succeeding Han dynasty. There was much to besmirch – such as the story of him ordering more than 460 scholars to be buried alive and then beheaded. This persecution of intellectuals later endeared him to Mao Tse-tung, founder of the People’s Republic of China, who rejoiced: “He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried 46,000 scholars alive.”
Besides outlawing Confucianism and burning classic texts that offended him, the first emperor became known for the ruthless elimination of defeated armies, estimated at hundreds of thousands. Countless more went to their deaths, conscripted into labouring on the Great Wall, a construction of tamped mud linking existing walls that was a precursor of the stone wall built in the Ming dynasty.
Like any tyrant worthy of the name, he decreed that black should become the paramount colour for “garments, flags and pennants” and six the paramount number. There was a certain Chinese logic to this: black and the numeral six were both associated with water, his favourite element. The result was that official hats were six “inches” long, carriages six “feet” wide, one pace was six “feet” and the imperial carriage had six horses.
None of this saved the emperor from cutting a ridiculous figure, according to his future commandant, who after their first meeting is said to have recorded: “The king of Qin has a waspish nose, eyes like slits, a chicken breast and a voice like a jackal.” As for his character: “He is merciless, with the heart of a tiger or wolf.”
He was known as a bastard in more ways than one. Born in 259BC and named Ying Zheng, he was the son of Zichu, a prince and future king from the state of Qin who was sent to a rival state as a hostage in a formal guarantee against attack. While there, Zichu befriended a merchant and fell in love with one of the latter’s concubines, whom he married. It was later claimed the concubine was already pregnant and that Zheng was not the prince’s heir but the merchant’s son.
At the time China was divided into six warring states, the others having been conquered or annexed. Despite being regarded as a “barbarian” state, Qin had for over a century been quite progressive.
The feudal rule of local aristocrats had been abolished and a system of laws and regulations installed. So when Zheng ascended the throne at the age of 13 under a regent, later assuming full power after staging a palace coup at 21, he had a working model on which to build.
By tenanciously attacking and defeating the feudal states with his cavalry, he finally took control of the whole of China in 221BC. Abolishing the feudal system, he divided the empire into 36 provinces, governed by civilian and military powers that were overseen by an inspector.
His most significant reforms were to standardise Chinese script, weights and measures and even the length of cart axles so that every cart could run smoothly in the ruts. An extensive new network of roads and canals improved trade and the movement of troops between provinces.
With an eye on possible rebellion, he ordered that “all the weapons were brought into the capital, where they were melted down to make bronze bells and two bronze statues of giants”. The emperor insisted that the nobility from other provinces move to his new capital at Xianyang, near present-day Xi’an.
The emperor’s reputation for cruelty and ever more extravagant projects stirred mutinous murmurs. In the capital, massive construction work began on palaces, an imperial temple and his extravagant tomb nearby. This vast mound was said to have been coated with molten copper and was protected by crossbows calibrated to shoot anyone who tried to break in.
According to Sima Qian, a Chinese historian writing less than a century after the emperor’s death, the tomb contained rare jewels, a map of the heavens with pearls depicting the stars and a panorama map of China with the seas and rivers represented by flowing mercury.
Intrigue swirled around the emperor’s death. Inconveniently, he died while touring a province in eastern China, about two months’ travel from the capital. Concerned that news of his death might trigger an uprising by a resentful population, Li Si, his prime minister, managed to keep the news quiet by pretending to confer with him every day in the emperor’s wagon. He also ordered that carts of fish travelled before and behind the imperial vehicle to explain the smell of decomposition.
By one account, the emperor managed to write a letter to his oldest son, naming him as his successor. But Li had other ideas, forcing the elder son to commit suicide and persuading the ruler’s 18th son, Huhai, to forge the emperor’s will.
As second emperor, Huhai proved to be the runt of the litter whose incompetence sparked revolt. By the time of his death four years later, many of his father’s achievements had been diluted and the Qin dynasty unravelled in civil strife.
Reviled for so long as a mass murderer and the burner of books, the first emperor has at least one solace. His travelling army of clay warriors are now ambassadors for an ascendant China, providing a thrilling fanfare for the Beijing Olympics. Even in the afterlife, he is proving he can reach out and make populations tremble in awe.
Among the unprecedented 120 treasures the Chinese have permitted to be exhibited in London from September 13 are a dozen warriors, a musician, an acrobat, a strongman, a chariot with horses and bronze birds to serenade the emperor in the netherworld. The show is already setting new records: almost 60,000 advance tickets have been sold.
Scholars debate whether Shi Huangdi was a unifier or a destroyer during his brief reign 2,200 years ago. To the western public, the main reason he has achieved something like the immortality he sought is the buzz surrounding his buried legacy of perfect, baked clay models dating from before the birth of Christ.
But in China he has been rehabilitated as a colossus equivalent to Alfred the Great and Napoleon rolled into one. His very title, Qin, pronounced “chin”, is the origin of China’s name. He pulled together a bunch of warring states and knit them into a centralised system. By ruthless force of will, he standardised China’s language and law, not to mention building the early Great Wall of China. The style of his coinage, round with a square hole in the middle, lasted until the 1950s. Few other rulers have so shaped the sinews of their country.
His most abiding legacy, according to Frances Wood in her recent book The First Emperor of China, was the survival for more than 2,000 years of China’s bureaucracy, “the largest in the world, staffed by educated men and reaching to the lowest peasant in the land”.
The first emperor still lies in his vast mausoleum outside the city of Xi’an, entombed with his concubines and the 700,000 workers who are said to have been killed to keep the location secret. The scale of the mausoleum, three miles across, became known after a group of peasants sinking a well in 1974 discovered some fragments of terracotta and chanced upon a subterranean chamber. It was the first of four pits yielding the clay figures, smashed by falling masonry and later painstakingly reconstructed. Less than 1% of the complex has been excavated.
The distant sound of pickaxes and the recovery of 1,900 clay guardians must disturb the emperor’s rest. Like Saddam Hussein, in life he seldom remained in one place for long, carried each night by servants to sleep in different buildings of his palace complex. He hired doubles to confuse those who sought his death.
Assassination did not square with his obsession with eternal life, to which end he dispatched thousands of young people in ships to obtain the fabled elixir of life from Penglai mountain, where the immortals lived. When none returned – failure meant execution – he sent another expedition consisting of three men, only to be offered the feeble excuse that they had been frightened off by a gigantic fish. He duly set off to shoot it with a repeating crossbow, but the elixir eluded him.
So he must have given thanks that he possessed another ace – immortality pills. These consisted of mercury, which his alchemists assured him would confer the same power that the substance displayed in absorbing gold. Their strength proved fatal. A dynasty he had promised would last 10,000 years only endured a decade (221BC to 210BC).
After his death the emperor’s character was assassinated by revisionist historians in the succeeding Han dynasty. There was much to besmirch – such as the story of him ordering more than 460 scholars to be buried alive and then beheaded. This persecution of intellectuals later endeared him to Mao Tse-tung, founder of the People’s Republic of China, who rejoiced: “He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried 46,000 scholars alive.”
Besides outlawing Confucianism and burning classic texts that offended him, the first emperor became known for the ruthless elimination of defeated armies, estimated at hundreds of thousands. Countless more went to their deaths, conscripted into labouring on the Great Wall, a construction of tamped mud linking existing walls that was a precursor of the stone wall built in the Ming dynasty.
Like any tyrant worthy of the name, he decreed that black should become the paramount colour for “garments, flags and pennants” and six the paramount number. There was a certain Chinese logic to this: black and the numeral six were both associated with water, his favourite element. The result was that official hats were six “inches” long, carriages six “feet” wide, one pace was six “feet” and the imperial carriage had six horses.
None of this saved the emperor from cutting a ridiculous figure, according to his future commandant, who after their first meeting is said to have recorded: “The king of Qin has a waspish nose, eyes like slits, a chicken breast and a voice like a jackal.” As for his character: “He is merciless, with the heart of a tiger or wolf.”
He was known as a bastard in more ways than one. Born in 259BC and named Ying Zheng, he was the son of Zichu, a prince and future king from the state of Qin who was sent to a rival state as a hostage in a formal guarantee against attack. While there, Zichu befriended a merchant and fell in love with one of the latter’s concubines, whom he married. It was later claimed the concubine was already pregnant and that Zheng was not the prince’s heir but the merchant’s son.
At the time China was divided into six warring states, the others having been conquered or annexed. Despite being regarded as a “barbarian” state, Qin had for over a century been quite progressive.
The feudal rule of local aristocrats had been abolished and a system of laws and regulations installed. So when Zheng ascended the throne at the age of 13 under a regent, later assuming full power after staging a palace coup at 21, he had a working model on which to build.
By tenanciously attacking and defeating the feudal states with his cavalry, he finally took control of the whole of China in 221BC. Abolishing the feudal system, he divided the empire into 36 provinces, governed by civilian and military powers that were overseen by an inspector.
His most significant reforms were to standardise Chinese script, weights and measures and even the length of cart axles so that every cart could run smoothly in the ruts. An extensive new network of roads and canals improved trade and the movement of troops between provinces.
With an eye on possible rebellion, he ordered that “all the weapons were brought into the capital, where they were melted down to make bronze bells and two bronze statues of giants”. The emperor insisted that the nobility from other provinces move to his new capital at Xianyang, near present-day Xi’an.
The emperor’s reputation for cruelty and ever more extravagant projects stirred mutinous murmurs. In the capital, massive construction work began on palaces, an imperial temple and his extravagant tomb nearby. This vast mound was said to have been coated with molten copper and was protected by crossbows calibrated to shoot anyone who tried to break in.
According to Sima Qian, a Chinese historian writing less than a century after the emperor’s death, the tomb contained rare jewels, a map of the heavens with pearls depicting the stars and a panorama map of China with the seas and rivers represented by flowing mercury.
Intrigue swirled around the emperor’s death. Inconveniently, he died while touring a province in eastern China, about two months’ travel from the capital. Concerned that news of his death might trigger an uprising by a resentful population, Li Si, his prime minister, managed to keep the news quiet by pretending to confer with him every day in the emperor’s wagon. He also ordered that carts of fish travelled before and behind the imperial vehicle to explain the smell of decomposition.
By one account, the emperor managed to write a letter to his oldest son, naming him as his successor. But Li had other ideas, forcing the elder son to commit suicide and persuading the ruler’s 18th son, Huhai, to forge the emperor’s will.
As second emperor, Huhai proved to be the runt of the litter whose incompetence sparked revolt. By the time of his death four years later, many of his father’s achievements had been diluted and the Qin dynasty unravelled in civil strife.
Reviled for so long as a mass murderer and the burner of books, the first emperor has at least one solace. His travelling army of clay warriors are now ambassadors for an ascendant China, providing a thrilling fanfare for the Beijing Olympics. Even in the afterlife, he is proving he can reach out and make populations tremble in awe.
The Mystery Of The Mausoleum
The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi / Photo from Fraggle Rockstar
The tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China is loaded with historical significances. This mausoleum, which is seen as the epitome of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi’s boundless power and prestige is located 30 km to the outside of X’ian in the Shensi province of China. Qin Shi Huangdi was the only ruler who single-handedly unified the seven warring clans of the China of 221 BCE and commanded massive construction of several public infrastructures as well as the legendary Great Wall of China.
Generales de Qin Shi Huang / Photo from Lezama
The emperor left a written record of his military and diplomatic feats in a series of tablets. He successfully abolished feudalism, promoted religion and divided China into 36 states for an efficient administration. Among the other significant achievements of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was the standardization of various systems of writing, weights and measures, currencies and the simplification of the record-keeping methods. Despite these progressive works, Qin Shi Huangdi was despotic and tyrannical in his rule.
Some of the 7000 Warriors, discovered in 1974. They are guarding the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi near Xi’an, Central China.
Known as the “Terra-cotta Army”, the Warriors are now considered the 8th Wonder of the World / Photo from Heaven’s Gate (John)
Interestingly, this great builder ordered the erection of his burial chamber right after his ascension to the throne in 246 BCE when he was just a boy of thirteen! Going by the records about his personal traits, it was rather a contradictory step for Qin Shi Huangdi to take because of his search for an immortality formula to help him eternalize his ‘divine rule’. However, the work completed 36 years after it was started and Qin Shi Huangdi died soon after in 210 BCE to be buried in it.
Tomb Warriors exhibit in Epcot’s China Pavillion. / Photo from Damgaard
The discovery of this archeological treasure happened in 1974, when a team of Chinese peasants abruptly came across the tomb while trying to drill a well. What was most striking about this mausoleum was its huge size and the remarkable artworks stored in it. This includes the 8000 life-size army consisting of terracotta statues of men and horses. Because each statue was individually built with 3-inch thick terra-cotta clay, you can distinguish each soldier and horse from another in their unique looks, weaponry and dressing.
Terracotta Warriors / Photo from One Daring Armadillo
The warriors are positioned according to the ranks they held in the contemporary time. The different sections of the 8000 troops are distributed in three separate chambers. The first and the largest chamber contains the troop of active duty officers, the second chamber is where the reserves are placed while the third small chamber houses 68 elite commanders and officers. All the soldiers face east to protect the afterlife of Qin Shi Huangdi from possible enemy attacks coming from that direction.
Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses – Xian, China. / Photo from Purple Cloud
The mystery of this tomb lies in the fact that the three-chamber terracotta soldier complex forms only 1% of the total mausoleum area. The central section of the 90-feet tall mausoleum building beneath an earthen pyramid is still unexcavated. According to the accounts of Chinese historians and popular legends, this part is mapped as a city, with walls, palaces and cemetery and meant for the use of Qin Shi Huangdi in his luxurious afterlife. The rivers and water bodies are sketched with flowing mercury while the sky is represented by constellations of pearls.
Photo from Kiwi Mikex
The underground palace is arguably the most elaborate structure in its grandeur and amenities. It could be an abode of long-buried treasures like precious gems, metals and other wealth. This intricate bronze-lined, waterproof construction extending over four square miles took the labor of 700,000 prisoners of war and slaves for its completion after which they were killed to stop them from divulging the tomb’s secret. To make Qin Shi Huangdi’s second life as pompous as his life on earth, his mistresses were buried alive in this tomb as well.
Life after death / Photo from Mernas
Even today the excitement over the mysterious secrets of this sophisticated necropolis has not stopped drawing groups of tourists and intellectuals from the world over. As a tourist, you can freely take a tour to the spot although all the details of its excavations are strictly under Chinese authorities. They are still to dig out treasures and valuables from the womb of Qin Shi Huangdi’s mausoleum. Only when the tomb is opened up completely, the myriad marvelous accounts it has commanded will meet the light of truth.
The tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China is loaded with historical significances. This mausoleum, which is seen as the epitome of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi’s boundless power and prestige is located 30 km to the outside of X’ian in the Shensi province of China. Qin Shi Huangdi was the only ruler who single-handedly unified the seven warring clans of the China of 221 BCE and commanded massive construction of several public infrastructures as well as the legendary Great Wall of China.
Generales de Qin Shi Huang / Photo from Lezama
The emperor left a written record of his military and diplomatic feats in a series of tablets. He successfully abolished feudalism, promoted religion and divided China into 36 states for an efficient administration. Among the other significant achievements of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was the standardization of various systems of writing, weights and measures, currencies and the simplification of the record-keeping methods. Despite these progressive works, Qin Shi Huangdi was despotic and tyrannical in his rule.
Some of the 7000 Warriors, discovered in 1974. They are guarding the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi near Xi’an, Central China.
Known as the “Terra-cotta Army”, the Warriors are now considered the 8th Wonder of the World / Photo from Heaven’s Gate (John)
Interestingly, this great builder ordered the erection of his burial chamber right after his ascension to the throne in 246 BCE when he was just a boy of thirteen! Going by the records about his personal traits, it was rather a contradictory step for Qin Shi Huangdi to take because of his search for an immortality formula to help him eternalize his ‘divine rule’. However, the work completed 36 years after it was started and Qin Shi Huangdi died soon after in 210 BCE to be buried in it.
Tomb Warriors exhibit in Epcot’s China Pavillion. / Photo from Damgaard
The discovery of this archeological treasure happened in 1974, when a team of Chinese peasants abruptly came across the tomb while trying to drill a well. What was most striking about this mausoleum was its huge size and the remarkable artworks stored in it. This includes the 8000 life-size army consisting of terracotta statues of men and horses. Because each statue was individually built with 3-inch thick terra-cotta clay, you can distinguish each soldier and horse from another in their unique looks, weaponry and dressing.
Terracotta Warriors / Photo from One Daring Armadillo
The warriors are positioned according to the ranks they held in the contemporary time. The different sections of the 8000 troops are distributed in three separate chambers. The first and the largest chamber contains the troop of active duty officers, the second chamber is where the reserves are placed while the third small chamber houses 68 elite commanders and officers. All the soldiers face east to protect the afterlife of Qin Shi Huangdi from possible enemy attacks coming from that direction.
Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses – Xian, China. / Photo from Purple Cloud
The mystery of this tomb lies in the fact that the three-chamber terracotta soldier complex forms only 1% of the total mausoleum area. The central section of the 90-feet tall mausoleum building beneath an earthen pyramid is still unexcavated. According to the accounts of Chinese historians and popular legends, this part is mapped as a city, with walls, palaces and cemetery and meant for the use of Qin Shi Huangdi in his luxurious afterlife. The rivers and water bodies are sketched with flowing mercury while the sky is represented by constellations of pearls.
Photo from Kiwi Mikex
The underground palace is arguably the most elaborate structure in its grandeur and amenities. It could be an abode of long-buried treasures like precious gems, metals and other wealth. This intricate bronze-lined, waterproof construction extending over four square miles took the labor of 700,000 prisoners of war and slaves for its completion after which they were killed to stop them from divulging the tomb’s secret. To make Qin Shi Huangdi’s second life as pompous as his life on earth, his mistresses were buried alive in this tomb as well.
Life after death / Photo from Mernas
Even today the excitement over the mysterious secrets of this sophisticated necropolis has not stopped drawing groups of tourists and intellectuals from the world over. As a tourist, you can freely take a tour to the spot although all the details of its excavations are strictly under Chinese authorities. They are still to dig out treasures and valuables from the womb of Qin Shi Huangdi’s mausoleum. Only when the tomb is opened up completely, the myriad marvelous accounts it has commanded will meet the light of truth.
Qin shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China, was born on the first month of the year. He was given the name of Zheng. Zheng was born during the time of a series of wars where the Chinese were fighting to get control over the states, known as the Warring States Period. Zheng lived in the state of Qin which was the strongest state in the war. Zheng’s father was Zichi, a royal prince who took over the throne of Qin.
Zheng took over the throne when he was just twelve and a half years old in 247 BC when his father died. With the help of his mother and his mother’s ex-boyfriend, he started ruling the Qin state. In 238 BC, at the age of 21, he assumed full power and started ruling on his own. He controlled Qin and was continuously attacking and conquering the other states in China. Finally in 221 BC, he defeated the last independent state, and had taken control of the whole China.
In that same year, when he was 38 years old, he named himself Shi Huangdi, meaning “First Emperor”. So Qin shi Huangdi literally means the “First Emperor of Qin”. Qin eventually became his family name. “Huang” and “Di” were both names for eight legendary kings. Zheng took the name Huangdi, combining both names, which showed that he thought he was greater and better than the other eight legendary kings.
Shi Huangdi continued attacking and conquering the regions in the south and north/northwest. To prevent northern invaders, he started building the Great Wall of China, a strong defensive wall, to protect China.
Shi Huangdi had many accomplishments. He divided China into 36 different regions and he appointed a governor, commander and inspector for each region. He built a capital, which was made in Xianyang, located in Qin. He also built many big structures including a huge palace made for himself. In addition, roads and canals were built to facilitate trading with other nations. Weights, measures, currency and law were standardized. One of the most important things he did was to develop a completely new Chinese script in contrast to the old traditional ones.
Shi Huangdi was known for his harshness and bruteness. He was very violent and killed many people who opposed his ideas or spoke against him. He even burned books that wrote about governments he disliked. He believed in Legalism, the belief in strict laws and punishments. To create the Great Wall of China, he forced thousands of people to work on it and many of them perished in the harsh conditions and treatment while building the wall.
Shi Huangdi made many trips to different cities and regions in China during his reign. Assassins often saw these trips as chances to kill him. During the many assassination attempts, Shi Huangdi became terrified of death and he did all he could to keep safe. He also went to the Zhifu Island to seek immortality. He looked for special potions to keep alive. However, when he went to search for the Islands of the Immortals on one trip, he suddenly died. No one knew what happened though it was rumoured that he died of drinking a potion that his court officials had made for him, which was supposed to make him immortal. This happened in September 210 BC.
Li Si, Shi Huangdi’s Prime Minister, did not want to spread the news that the emperor had died at once because he was afraid of chaos and riots taking place. Thus after two months, the news of the emperor’s death finally went around China. Li Si had Qi’s second son, Huhai, to forge the Emperor’s will, as the Emperor had never written one. Then Li Si forced Qi’s first son, Fusu, to commit suicide, and killed Meng’s family (supporter of Fusu) too. Huhai became the second Emperor but he was a terrible ruler and could not control China. The Qin Dynasty finally came to an end when Huhai died four years after Shi Huangdi’s death.
This was succeeded by the Han Dynasty, which started in 206 BC. and maintained many of Shi Huangdi’s laws. Qin shi Huangdi had ruled China for 37 years. He was buried in a big mausoleum surrounded by 6000 life-size guards in Xianyang. Although he was fierce and violent, he made a great contribution to modern China’s works. He had accomplished many things. He will always be known for his achievements and accomplishments as well as his evil nature and terrible personality.
He was a terrible ruler and ruthless. He did not care for the poor and old people’s lives. He made them work on the Great Wall of China, and seemed not to care for their health. Even though he was great and powerful, he was hated by his subjects. About 700 years before he was born, Solomon commented that "god has put eternity into the heart of man". The quest for eternal life consumed Shi Huangdi and he surrounded himself with graven images for comfort in death.
Zheng took over the throne when he was just twelve and a half years old in 247 BC when his father died. With the help of his mother and his mother’s ex-boyfriend, he started ruling the Qin state. In 238 BC, at the age of 21, he assumed full power and started ruling on his own. He controlled Qin and was continuously attacking and conquering the other states in China. Finally in 221 BC, he defeated the last independent state, and had taken control of the whole China.
In that same year, when he was 38 years old, he named himself Shi Huangdi, meaning “First Emperor”. So Qin shi Huangdi literally means the “First Emperor of Qin”. Qin eventually became his family name. “Huang” and “Di” were both names for eight legendary kings. Zheng took the name Huangdi, combining both names, which showed that he thought he was greater and better than the other eight legendary kings.
Shi Huangdi continued attacking and conquering the regions in the south and north/northwest. To prevent northern invaders, he started building the Great Wall of China, a strong defensive wall, to protect China.
Shi Huangdi had many accomplishments. He divided China into 36 different regions and he appointed a governor, commander and inspector for each region. He built a capital, which was made in Xianyang, located in Qin. He also built many big structures including a huge palace made for himself. In addition, roads and canals were built to facilitate trading with other nations. Weights, measures, currency and law were standardized. One of the most important things he did was to develop a completely new Chinese script in contrast to the old traditional ones.
Shi Huangdi was known for his harshness and bruteness. He was very violent and killed many people who opposed his ideas or spoke against him. He even burned books that wrote about governments he disliked. He believed in Legalism, the belief in strict laws and punishments. To create the Great Wall of China, he forced thousands of people to work on it and many of them perished in the harsh conditions and treatment while building the wall.
Shi Huangdi made many trips to different cities and regions in China during his reign. Assassins often saw these trips as chances to kill him. During the many assassination attempts, Shi Huangdi became terrified of death and he did all he could to keep safe. He also went to the Zhifu Island to seek immortality. He looked for special potions to keep alive. However, when he went to search for the Islands of the Immortals on one trip, he suddenly died. No one knew what happened though it was rumoured that he died of drinking a potion that his court officials had made for him, which was supposed to make him immortal. This happened in September 210 BC.
Li Si, Shi Huangdi’s Prime Minister, did not want to spread the news that the emperor had died at once because he was afraid of chaos and riots taking place. Thus after two months, the news of the emperor’s death finally went around China. Li Si had Qi’s second son, Huhai, to forge the Emperor’s will, as the Emperor had never written one. Then Li Si forced Qi’s first son, Fusu, to commit suicide, and killed Meng’s family (supporter of Fusu) too. Huhai became the second Emperor but he was a terrible ruler and could not control China. The Qin Dynasty finally came to an end when Huhai died four years after Shi Huangdi’s death.
This was succeeded by the Han Dynasty, which started in 206 BC. and maintained many of Shi Huangdi’s laws. Qin shi Huangdi had ruled China for 37 years. He was buried in a big mausoleum surrounded by 6000 life-size guards in Xianyang. Although he was fierce and violent, he made a great contribution to modern China’s works. He had accomplished many things. He will always be known for his achievements and accomplishments as well as his evil nature and terrible personality.
He was a terrible ruler and ruthless. He did not care for the poor and old people’s lives. He made them work on the Great Wall of China, and seemed not to care for their health. Even though he was great and powerful, he was hated by his subjects. About 700 years before he was born, Solomon commented that "god has put eternity into the heart of man". The quest for eternal life consumed Shi Huangdi and he surrounded himself with graven images for comfort in death.
The emperor Shi Huangdi [246-210 BC] was the Tiger of Qin, the first emperor of China, who unified the warring tribes into one group. The founder of the Qin Dynasty, Shi Huangdi ruled China between 221 and 210 BC. He was even the subject of the recent film by Zhang Yimou called "Hero".
In 1974, workmen discovered the tomb of Shi Huangdi near the city of Xi'an in the modern Shensi province. Among the treasures found there is a marvelous army of terracotta (fired clay) soldiers and horses, consisting of nearly 8,000 life size individual sculpted statues.
Shi Huangdi and Recent Discoveries
Investigations reported in Minerva (vol 16, iss 2) in 2005 indicate that archaeologists opening another section of Qin's tomb have found a life-size model of a wetland, complete with 40 bronze sculptured aquatic birds, cranes, swans, and geese.
A new technique was developed that reveals the vivid colors of the terracotta soldiers, including classic Chinese purple. Chinese or Han Purple is based on copper silicate, and it has been found on objects used in the Zhou dynasty (1046-221 BC), centuries before the emperor Qin's rule.
In 1974, workmen discovered the tomb of Shi Huangdi near the city of Xi'an in the modern Shensi province. Among the treasures found there is a marvelous army of terracotta (fired clay) soldiers and horses, consisting of nearly 8,000 life size individual sculpted statues.
Shi Huangdi and Recent Discoveries
Investigations reported in Minerva (vol 16, iss 2) in 2005 indicate that archaeologists opening another section of Qin's tomb have found a life-size model of a wetland, complete with 40 bronze sculptured aquatic birds, cranes, swans, and geese.
A new technique was developed that reveals the vivid colors of the terracotta soldiers, including classic Chinese purple. Chinese or Han Purple is based on copper silicate, and it has been found on objects used in the Zhou dynasty (1046-221 BC), centuries before the emperor Qin's rule.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Qin's terracotta army consists of life-size figures of warriors, depicted in battle dress according to rank an unit, and numerous figures of horses and chariots, and this is only part of what is believed to be his grand tomb. The terracota army lies approximately a mile east of Qin's main tomb which is said to contain spectacular objects. To date only trial digs of the main tomb site have been completed and they have yet to find the main entrance to the tomb.
Emperor Qin ordered the construction of his tomb when he was only 13 years old, an order that involved hundreds of thousands of workers and thirty-six years to complete. It is also believed that Qin ordered that the tomb workers and supervisors involved in its design be buried alive to protect its secrets.
Anyone wanting a good idea of Emperor Qin's life should rent a copy of The Emperor and The Assassin. It's a long movie, 2 hours and 41 minutes, with English subtitles, so it's not easy to follow at times, but it presents a fairly accurate history of Qin's efforts and struggles to unite China.
To date three underground pits, totaling 22,000 square meters, have been discovered with 8,000 life-size terracotta figures of warriors and horses. Each pit lies 15 to 20 feet below current ground level and was constructed with the figures placed in corridors or rooms. These corridors, separated by earthen walls, are paved with pottery bricks on which the warriors and horses stand. Large wooden planks placed over the corridors between the earthen walls and covered by layers of mats made from fibers formed the roofing. This was then covered by earth to conceal the the army's location. In the 2,000 years since its construction the roofing collapsed damaging the figures and there is evidence of fires indicating the presence of tomb robbers also.
Construction of the terracotta warriors is interesting and, considering they're over 2,000 years old, very high-tech for the period. Prior to Emperor Qin Chinese pottery was relatively small and fired at low temperatures. Studies of these life-size pottery figures, weighing between 242 and 660 pounds, indicate they were fired at much higher temperatures, between 950 and 1,050 degrees centigrade, resulting in a much harder pottery figures. Constructed from local clay all of the figures were constructed essentially using the same methods. The head, arms and bodies of the soldiers are all hollow with the legs being solid pottery. The same is true of the horses, their head and body are hollow with solid legs. Archaeologist believe that separate molds were used to make the various body parts, with these parts being glued together prior to firing the pottery. The human heads were made from a two-piece mold that were joined together later on. The ears, nose, hair and other facial features were individually sculpted and added prior to firing. In addition to the facial features the armor, belt hooks, shoe ties and costume details were also independently sculpted. As a result each warrior has a different and unique appearance, no two are exactly the same. The names of the craftsmen creating each figure was inscribed on the warrior's robe, leg or armor. Similar practices were also employed for sculpting the horses making them unique also.
Looking at the great attention to detail that these artisans had, It's evident that they took great pride in their work. We are indeed fortunate today to be able to stand before Emperor Qin's mighty army and behold its beauty.
A Child Of Qin
Shi Huangdi was born in about 259 B.C.E his mother was named Zhao Ji,
and his father was king of Zhuang Xiang of Qin. at birth, Shi Huangdi
was given the name Zheng.
The Warring States
and his father was king of Zhuang Xiang of Qin. at birth, Shi Huangdi
was given the name Zheng.
The Warring States
Very little is known about Zheng's early life. He was Born During a time
called the warring states period. the land we now call china was divided
into separate small kingdoms, known as states. Each kingdom had it's own
rulers and own ways of doing things.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 BC - 210 BC) fascinates people when they talk about the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses - his two greatest achievements to China. As the first emperor of China, he indeed has a profound influence on Chinese history and culture.
How did he come to the throne?
Emperor Qin Shi Huang, born as Ying Zheng in 259 BC, was the son of the king of the Qin State. At the age of thirteen, he succeeded his father's regality. Ying Zheng was very aggressive and ambitious at an early age. He assumed full power at 22 by ridding himself of his premier, Lu Buwei, who acted as regent while he was a minor. He wanted to unify and subjugate all the states like Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi by the powerful political, economic and military strength of the Qin State. Ying Zheng realized his ambition and built the first feudal and centralized empire in Chinese history in 221 BC. This was what we called - the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). Ying Zheng was the first emperor of a united China, so he proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang.
"Qin Shi Huang"
When Ying Zheng unified China, he considered his achievement surpassing the legendary "San Huang (three emperors)" and "Wu Di (five sovereigns)". He created a new title for himself: "Huangdi" together with "Shi (means the first)", hence get the name "Qin Shi Huang" or "Qin Shi Huangdi", which means he was the first emperor of China. He hoped his descendants would follow in his steps to rule China for eternity.
Achievements and Defects
In order to consolidate the nascent empire, Qin Shi Huang reformed politics, economy and culture. In politics, he abolished the hereditary vassal enfeoffment system and established prefectures and counties, ruled directly by the emperor. Based on the original rules of the Qin State, the emperor adopted some regulations of other rival states to form a workable law of the Qin Dynasty. In economy, he claimed that both the agriculture and commerce were very important. People should have them developed together. Besides, tax system began to function and coinage and metrology were all standardized. In culture, the emperor unified the Chinese characters in writing, which promoted the development of the Chinese culture. However, he also suppressed scholars who were not to his liking. Consequently, many scholars involved were killed in Xianyang.
Qin Terracotta ArmyThe symbol of the Chinese ancient civilization, the Great Wall bears witness to Qin Shi Huang's centralism. He ordered conscript laborers to link together the defensive works against marauding nomads already built by the former states. That was the forerunner of the modern Great Wall. Another world-famous achievement is the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xian, which was discovered nearby the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Both are the wonders of China. But during their construction, countless conscripts lost their lives. It's really wasting manpower and resources.
Decline of the First Emperor
Qin Shi Huang longed for longevity, so he sent his ministers to go on quests seeking for an elixir of immortality. However, death claimed him before he could find success on that matter. The emperor departed from the world of the living in 210 BC while traveling. The Peasant Uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang broke out soon after Hu Hai, the second generation, got onto the throne. Accordingly, the Qin Dynasty came to an abrupt end in 206 BC. Qin Shi Huang is truly an epoch-making historic emperor in China's history.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
A ruler from the western state of Qin united and subjugated the Warring States and formed China in 221 B.C. He declared himself the first emperor of China and named himself Shi Huangdi (meaning First Emperor).
During the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C. - 206 B.C.), the emperor connected and extended the old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over 2500 years ago), forming the Great Wall of China to stop invading barbarians from the north.
The Emperor standardized Chinese writing, bureaucracy, scholarship, law, currency, weights and measures. He expanded the Chinese empire, built a capital in Xian, a system of roads, and massive fortifications and palaces.
Shi Huangdi (259-210 B.C.) was a cruel ruler who readily killed or banished those who opposed him or his ideas. He is notorious for burning virtually all the books that remained from previous regimes. He even banned scholarly discussions of the past.
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