Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇, ⓘ; February 259 – 12 July 210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" (王, wáng) borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled China from 221 to 210 BC as the first "emperor" (皇帝, huáng dì) of the Qin dynasty. This title, which he invented for himself, would see continuous use by Chinese monarchs for the next two millennia.
| Qín Shǐ Huáng 秦始皇 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huangdi (皇帝) | |||||||||
Posthumous depiction of Qin Shi Huang, 19th century | |||||||||
| Emperor of the Qin dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | 221 BC – 12 July 210 BC | ||||||||
| Successor | Qin Er Shi | ||||||||
| King of Qin | |||||||||
| Reign | 6 July 247 BC – 221 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | King Zhuangxiang | ||||||||
| Successor | Position abolished Himself as Emperor | ||||||||
| Born | Ying Zheng (嬴政) or Zhao Zheng (趙政) February 259 BC Handan, State of Zhao | ||||||||
| Died | 12 July 210 BC (aged 49) Shaqiu, Qin dynasty | ||||||||
| Burial | |||||||||
| Issue | |||||||||
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| Dynasty | Qin | ||||||||
| Father | King Zhuangxiang | ||||||||
| Mother | Queen Dowager Zhao | ||||||||
Born in the Zhao state capital Handan, as Ying Zheng (嬴政) or Zhao Zheng (趙政), his parents were King Zhuangxiang of Qin and Lady Zhao. The wealthy merchant Lü Buwei assisted him in succeeding his father as the ruler of Qin, after which he became Zheng, King of Qin. By the age of 38 in 221 BC, he had conquered all the other Warring States and unified all of China, and he ascended the throne as China's first emperor. During his reign, his generals greatly expanded the size of the Chinese state: campaigns south of Chu permanently added the Yue lands of Hunan and Guangdong to the Chinese cultural orbit, and campaigns in Inner Asia conquered the Ordos Loop from the nomadic Xiongnu, although the Xiongnu later rallied under Modu Chanyu.
Qin Shi Huang also worked with his minister Li Si to enact major economic and political reforms aimed at the standardization of the diverse practices of the earlier Chinese states. He is traditionally said to have banned and burned many books and executed scholars. His public works projects included the incorporation of diverse state walls into a single Great Wall of China and a massive new national road system, as well as his city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army. He ruled until his death in 210 BC, during his fifth tour of Eastern China.
Historically, Qin Shi Huang was often portrayed as a tyrannical ruler and strict Legalist, in part from the Han dynasty's scathing assessments of him. Since the mid 20th-century, scholars have begun to question this evaluation, inciting considerable discussion on the actual nature of his policies and reforms. Regardless, according to the sinologist Michael Loewe "few would contest the view that the achievements of his reign have exercised a paramount influence on the whole of China's subsequent history, marking the start of an epoch that closed in 1911".