View source for Qin Shi Huang

{{Short description|Emperor of China from 221 to 210 BC}}
{{other uses}}{{redirect|Ying Zheng|the Chinese-Canadian chemical engineer|Ying Zheng (engineer)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date = November 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name                = Qin Shi Huang<br />{{langn|zh|秦始皇}}
| image               = QinShiHuang19century.jpg<!-- No contemporary depiction exists; this one is used by multiple academic sources: Britannica; Clements 2006, p. 76; and Portal 2007, p. 29 -->
| caption             = Imaginary depiction of Qin Shi Huang, 19th century{{sfn|Clements|2006|loc=Between pp. 76–77}}{{efn|This 19th-century posthumous depiction is from a Korean book now kept in the [[British Library]].{{sfn|Clements|2006|loc=Between pp. 76–77}} It is based on a portrait of Qin Shi Huang from the ''[[Sancai Tuhui]]''.{{sfn|Portal|2007|p=29}}}}
| succession          = [[Qin dynasty#Sovereigns|Emperor of the Qin dynasty]]
| reign               = 221{{snd}}210 BC{{efn|[https://www.kanripo.org/text/KR3g0018/090 Volume 90] of ''[[Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era]]'' (8th century) indicates that he died on the ''yichou'' day of the 6th month of the 38th year of his reign (starting from his tenure as King of Qin), which corresponds to 11 July 210 BCE on the [https://ytliu0.github.io/ChineseCalendar/ proleptic Julian calendar] (始皇以六月乙丑死于沙丘...). [[:zh:s:史記/卷006|Volume 6]] of ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (1st century BC) indicates that he died on the ''bingyin'' day of the 7th month of his 38th year. While there is no ''bingyin'' day in that month, there is a ''bingyin'' day in the previous month, which corresponds to 12 July 210 BCE on the proleptic [https://ytliu0.github.io/ChineseCalendar/ Julian calendar] (七月丙寅，始皇崩于沙丘平台。) Older methods of calculation give 18 July.<ref>{{cite book |last=Moule |first=Arthur C. |author-link=Arthur Christopher Moule |year=1957 |title=The Rulers of China, 221 BC-AD 1949 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |oclc=223359908 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-rulers-of-china/page/n13 |url-access=limited |page=3}}</ref> A few modern sources give 10 September,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Farquhar |first1=Michael |title=Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem, and Misery for Every Day of the Year |year=2006 |publisher=寂天文化 |isbn=9789861840239 |page=16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=apKVCB2QijoC&pg=PA16}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Farquhar |first1=Michael |title=Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem, and Misery for Every Day of the Year |year=2015 |publisher=National Geographic |isbn=978-1-4262-1280-2 |page=324 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgONBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA329}}</ref> the ''bingyin'' day of the 8th month on the proleptic Julian calendar. Modern authors usually don't use specific dates.{{sfn|Loewe|2000|p=823}}{{sfn|Barbieri-Low|Yates|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1W3sCgAAQBAJ&pg=PR19 xix]}}}}
| successor           = [[Qin Er Shi]]
| succession1         = [[Qin (state)#Rulers|King of Qin]]
| reign1              = 6 July 247&nbsp;BC{{efn|[[:zh:s:史記/卷005|Volume 05]] of ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' indicated that King Zhuangxiang died on the ''bingwu'' day of the 5th month of the 4th year of his reign. Using the ''[[Zhuanxu]]'' calendar, the date corresponds to 6 Jul 247 BC on the [https://ytliu0.github.io/ChineseCalendar/ proleptic Julian calendar]. ([四年]...。五月丙午，庄襄王卒...)}} – 221&nbsp;BC
| predecessor1        = [[King Zhuangxiang of Qin|King Zhuangxiang]]
| successor1          = ''Position abolished'' (Himself as Emperor)
| birth_name          = Ying Zheng ({{lang|zh|嬴政}}) or<br/>Zhao Zheng ({{lang|zh-hant|趙政}})
| birth_date          = February 259&nbsp;BC{{efn|[[:zh:s:史記/卷006|Volume 06]] of ''Records of the Grand Historian'' indicated that Ying Zheng was born in the ''[[zhengyue]]'' of the 48th year of the reign of King Zhao(xiang) of Qin. Using the ''Zhuanxu'' calendar, the month corresponds to 27 Jan to 24 Feb 259 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar. (以秦昭王四十八年正月生于邯郸。)}}
| birth_place         = [[Handan]], [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]]
| death_date          = 12 July 210&nbsp;BC (aged 49)
| death_place         = [[Shaqiu]], [[Qin dynasty]]
| regnal name         = Shi Huangdi ({{lang|zh|始皇帝}})
| issue               = {{Hlist|[[Fusu]]|[[Qin Er Shi|Huhai]]}}
| full name           = {{plainlist|
* [[Ancestral name]]: [[Yíng (Chinese surname)|Ying]] ({{lang|zh|嬴}})
* [[Chinese clan name|Clan name]]: [[Zhao (surname)|Zhao]] ({{lang|zh|趙}}){{sfn|Loewe|2000|p=823}}
* Given name: Zheng ({{lang|zh|政}})}}
| father              = [[King Zhuangxiang of Qin|King Zhuangxiang]]
| mother              = [[Queen Dowager Zhao]]
| burial_place        = [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]]{{sfn|Paludan|1998|p=16}}
| house               = [[House of Ying|Ying]]
| dynasty             = [[Qin dynasty|Qin]]
}}

'''Qin Shi Huang''' ({{zh|c=秦始皇}}, {{pinyin|Qín Shǐ Huáng}}, {{pronunciation|Qin shi huang pronunciation 2.ogg}}; February 259{{efn|[[:zh:s:史記/卷006|Volume 06]] of ''Records of the Grand Historian'' indicated that Ying Zheng was born in the ''[[zhengyue]]'' of the 48th year of the reign of King Zhao(xiang) of Qin. Using the ''Zhuanxu'' calendar, the month corresponds to 27 Jan to 24 Feb 259 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar. (以秦昭王四十八年正月生于邯郸。)}}{{snd}}12 July 210&nbsp;BC) was the founder of the [[Qin dynasty]] and the first [[emperor of China]].{{sfn|Müller|2021|loc="Introduction"}} Rather than maintain the title of "[[Chinese king|king]]" ({{tlit|zh|wáng}} {{lang|zh|王}}) borne by the previous [[Shang dynasty|Shang]] and [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] rulers, he assumed the invented title of "emperor" ({{tlit|zh|huángdì}} {{lang|zh|皇帝}}), which would see continuous use by monarchs in China for the next two millennia. 

Born in Handan, the capital of [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], as '''Ying Zheng''' ({{lang|zh|嬴政}}) or '''Zhao Zheng''' ({{lang|zh|趙政}}), his parents were [[King Zhuangxiang of Qin]] and [[Queen Dowager Zhao|Lady Zhao]]. The wealthy merchant [[Lü Buwei]] assisted him in succeeding his father as the [[List of kings of Qin|king of Qin]], after which he became '''King Zheng of Qin''' ({{lang|zh|秦王政}}). By 221&nbsp;BC, he had conquered all the other warring states and [[Qin's wars of unification|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: [[Qin's campaign against the Yue tribes|campaigns]] south of [[Chu (state)|Chu]] permanently added the [[Baiyue|Yue]] lands of [[Hunan]] and [[Guangdong]] to the [[Sinosphere]], and [[Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu|campaigns]] in [[Inner Asia]] conquered the [[Ordos Plateau]] 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 among [[Ancient Chinese state|earlier Chinese states]]. He is traditionally said to have [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|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 of the First Qin Emperor|mausoleum]] guarded by a life-sized [[Terracotta Army]]. He ruled until his death in 210&nbsp;BC, during his [[Qin Shi Huangdi's imperial tours|fifth tour of eastern China]].{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}}

Qin Shi Huang has often been portrayed as a tyrant and strict [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist]]—characterizations that stem partly from the scathing assessments made during the [[Han dynasty]] that succeeded the Qin. Since the mid-20th century, scholars have begun questioning this evaluation, inciting considerable discussion on the actual nature of his policies and reforms. 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 Revolution|1911]]."{{sfn|Loewe|2000|p=654}}

== <span class="anchor" id="Origin of Name"></span><span class="anchor" id="Name"></span>Names ==
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| piccap = "Qin Shi Huang" in [[seal script]] (top) and [[regular script]] (bottom)
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| c = 秦始皇
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| p = Qín Shǐ Huáng
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| j = ceon4 ci2 wong4
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|c|eon|4|-|c|i|2|-|w|ong|4}}
| y = Chèuhn Chí Wòhng
| poj = Chîn Sí-hông
| tl = Tsîn Sí Hông
| mc = Dzin si<sup>B</sup> hwang
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| oc-bs = *{{IPA|dzin l̥əʔ ɢʷˤaŋ}}
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| c2 = 始皇帝
| p2 = Shǐ Huángdì
| w2 = {{tonesup|Shih3 Huang2-ti4}}
| oc-bs2 = *{{IPA|l̥əʔ ɢʷˤaŋ tˤek-s}}
| l2 = "First Emperor"
| tp = Cín Shǐh Huáng
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Modern Chinese sources often give the personal name of Qin Shi Huang as Ying Zheng, with [[Yíng]] ({{lang|zh|嬴}}) taken as the surname and Zheng ({{lang|zh|政}}) the given name. However, in ancient China, the naming convention differed, and the clan name [[Zhao (surname)|Zhao]] ({{lang|zh|趙}}), the place where he was born and raised, may be used as the surname. Unlike modern [[Chinese name]]s, the nobility of ancient China had two distinct surnames: the [[ancestral name]] ({{lang|zh|姓}}) comprised a larger group descended from a [[ancestral veneration in China|prominent ancestor]], usually said to have lived during the time of the legendary [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors]], and the clan name ({{lang|zh|氏}}) comprised a smaller group that showed a branch's current fief or recent title. 

The ancient practice was to list men's names separately—[[Sima Qian]]'s "Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin" introduces him as "given the name Zheng and the surname [[Zhao (surname)|Zhao]]"{{sfn|Sima|1994|p=127}}{{efn|In simplified Chinese, {{nwr|{{lang|zh|及生，名为政，姓赵氏}}.<ref name="Qinshibenben" />}} The differentiation between the two types of surnames had largely been lost well before Sima Qian's time, as can be seen from his grammatical construction using {{lang|zh|姓}} as a verb – "to be surnamed" – with the object {{lang|zh|氏}}, a different kind of surname.}}—or to combine the clan surname with the personal name: Sima's account of [[state of Chu|Chu]] describes the sixteenth year of the reign of [[King Kaolie of Chu|King Kaolie]] as "the time when Zhao&nbsp;Zheng was enthroned as King of Qin".{{sfn|Sima|1994|p=439}} However, since modern Chinese surnames (despite usually descending from clan names) use the same character as the old ''ancestral'' names, it is much more common in modern Chinese sources to see the emperor's personal name written as Ying&nbsp;Zheng,{{efn|See Nienhauser's gloss of the name Zhao Zheng (n.&nbsp;579).{{sfn|Sima|1994|p=439}}}} using the ancestral name of the [[House of Ying]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

The rulers of the [[state of Qin]] had styled themselves [[Chinese king|kings]] from the time of [[King Huiwen of Qin|King Huiwen]] in 325&thinsp;BC. Upon his ascension, Zheng became known as the King of Qin{{sfn|Sima|1994|p=127}}<ref name="Qinshibenben">{{nwr|{{nwr|zh|司马迁}}}} [<nowiki/>[[Sima Qian]]]. {{nwr|{{lang|zh|《史记》}}}} [''[[Shiji]]''], {{nwr|[http://www.guoxue.com/shibu/24shi/shiji/sj_006.htm {{lang|zh|秦始皇本纪第六}}]}} ["§6: Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin"]. Hosted at {{nwr|{{lang|zh|國學網}}<!--sic-->}} [Guoxue.com], 2003. Accessed 25 December 2013. {{in lang|zh}}</ref> or King Zheng of Qin.{{sfn|Sima|1994|p=123}}<ref name="Qinbenben">Sima Qian. ''Shiji'', {{nwr|[http://www.guoxue.com/shibu/24shi/shiji/sj_005.htm {{lang|zh|秦本纪第五}}]}} ["§5: Basic Annals of Qin"]. Hosted at {{nwr|{{lang|zh|國學網}}<!--sic-->}} [Guoxue.com], 2003. Accessed 25 December 2013. {{in lang|zh}}</ref> This title made him the nominal equal of the rulers of [[Shang dynasty|Shang]] and [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]], the [[King Nan of Zhou|last of whose kings]] had been deposed by [[King Zhaoxiang of Qin]] in 256&thinsp;BC.

Following the surrender of [[state of Qi|Qi]] in 221&thinsp;BC, King Zheng reunited all of the lands of the former [[Kingdom of Zhou]]. Rather than maintain his rank as king, however,<ref name="wilky">Wilkinson, Endymion. ''Chinese History: A Manual'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=ERnrQq0bsPYC&pg=PA108 pp. 108 ff] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225120310/https://books.google.com/books?id=ERnrQq0bsPYC&pg=PA108 |date=25 December 2019 }}. Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000. {{ISBN|0-674-00247-4}}. Accessed 26 December 2013.</ref> he created a new title of {{tlit|zh|huángdì}} ([[Chinese emperor|emperor]]) for himself. This new title combined two titles—{{tlit|zh|huáng}} of the mythical Three Sovereigns ({{nwr|{{lang|zh|三皇}}}}, {{tlit|zh|Sān huáng}}) and the ''dì'' of the legendary [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors|Five Emperors]] ({{nwr|{{lang|zh|五帝}}}}, ''Wŭ Dì'') of [[Chinese prehistory]].<ref>Luo Zhewen & al. ''The Great Wall'', p. 23. McGraw-Hill, 1981. {{ISBN|0-07-070745-6}}.</ref> The title was intended to appropriate some of the prestige of the [[Yellow Emperor]],<ref>Fowler, Jeaneane D. ''An Introduction to the Philosophy and Religion of Taoism: Pathways to Immortality'', p. 132. Sussex Academic Press, 2005. {{ISBN|1-84519-086-6}}.</ref> whose cult was popular in the later [[Warring States period]] and who was considered to be a founder of the Chinese people. King Zheng chose the new [[regnal name]] of First&nbsp;Emperor (''Shǐ&nbsp;Huángdì'', [[Wade-Giles]] Shih&nbsp;Huang-ti)<ref name="zhso5">{{nwr|{{lang|zh|司马迁}}}} [Sima Qian]. {{nwr|{{lang|zh|《史记》}}}} [''Shiji''], [http://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7005&variant=zh-hant {{nwr|{{lang|zh|秦本纪第五}}}}] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613135314/https://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%2F%E5%8D%B7005&variant=zh-hant |date=13 June 2022 }} ["§5: Basic Annals of Qin"]. Hosted at {{nwr|{{lang|zh|维基文库}}<!--sic-->}} [Chinese Wikisource], 2012. Accessed 27 December 2013. {{in lang|zh}}</ref> on the understanding that his successors would be successively titled the "Second Emperor", "Third Emperor", and so on through the generations. (In fact, the scheme lasted only as long as his immediate heir, the [[Second Emperor of Qin|Second Emperor]].)<ref>Hardy, Grant & al. ''The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China'', p. 10. Greenwood, 2005. {{ISBN|0-313-32588-X}}.</ref> The new title carried religious overtones. For that reason, [[sinologist]]s starting with [[Peter A. Boodberg]]{{cn|date=January 2023}} or [[Edward H. Schafer]]<ref>Major, John. ''Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought: Chapters Three, Four, and Five of the'' Huainanzi, [https://books.google.com/books?id=eT_MoGYdSAMC&pg=PA18 p. 18] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221222906/https://books.google.com/books?id=eT_MoGYdSAMC&pg=PA18 |date=21 December 2019 }}. SUNY Press (New York), 1993. Accessed 26 December 2013.</ref>—sometimes translate it as "thearch" and the First Emperor as the First&nbsp;Thearch.<ref>Kern, Martin. "The stele inscriptions of Ch'in Shih-huang: text and ritual in early Chinese imperial representation". American Oriental Society, 2000.</ref>

The First Emperor intended that his realm would remain intact through the ages but, following its overthrow and replacement by [[Han dynasty|Han]] after his death, it became customary to prefix his title with Qin. Thus:
* {{lang|zh|秦}}, ''Qín'' or Ch'in, "of Qin"
* {{lang|zh|始}}, ''Shǐ'' or Shih, "first"<ref name="wood" />
* {{lang|zh|皇帝}}, ''Huángdì'' or Huang-ti, "emperor", a new term{{efn|While the specific title was new, also note the use of {{nwr|{{lang|zh|皇天上帝}}}} ("August Heaven [[Shangdi]]"), a conflation of the Zhou and Shang gods by the [[Duke of Zhou]] used in his addresses to the conquered Shang peoples.<ref name="herrleeholler" />}} coined from
** {{lang|zh|皇}}, ''Huáng'' or Huang, literally "shining" or "splendid" and formerly most usually applied "as an epithet of Heaven",<ref>[[Mark Edward Lewis|Lewis, Mark]]. ''The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKxM31e408C&pg=PA52 p. 52] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505110505/https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKxM31e408C&pg=PA52 |date=5 May 2016 }}. Belknap Press (|Cambridge, MA), 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-674-02477-9}}. Accessed 27 December 2013.</ref> a title of the [[Three Sovereigns]], the high god of the Zhou<ref name="herrleeholler">Creel, Herrlee G. ''The Origins of Statecraft in China'', pp. 495 ff. University of Chicago Press (Chicago), 1970. Op. cit. Chang, Ruth. "[http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp108_chinese_deity_heaven.pdf Understanding Di and Tian: Deity and Heaven from Shang to Tang Dynasties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628004635/http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp108_chinese_deity_heaven.pdf |date=28 June 2017 }}", pp. 13–14. ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', No. 108. Sept. 2000. Accessed 27 December 2013.</ref>
** {{lang|zh|帝}}, ''Dì'' or Ti, the high god of the [[Shang dynasty]], possibly composed of their [[ancestral veneration in China|divine ancestors]],<ref>Chang, "Understanding Di and Tian", 4–9.</ref> and used by the Zhou as a title of the legendary [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors|Five Emperors]], particularly the [[Yellow Emperor]]

As early as Sima Qian, it was common to shorten the resulting four-character Qin Shi Huangdi to {{nwr|{{lang|zh|秦始皇}}}},<ref name="zhso6">{{nwr|{{lang|zh|司马迁}}}} [Sima Qian]. {{nwr|{{lang|zh|《史记》}}}} [''Shiji''], [http://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7006&variant=zh-hant {{nwr|{{lang|zh|秦始皇本纪第六}}}}] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615173032/https://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%2F%E5%8D%B7006&variant=zh-hant |date=15 June 2022 }} ["§6: Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin"]. Hosted at {{nwr|{{lang|zh|维基文库 }}<!--sic-->}} [Chinese Wikisource], 2012. Accessed 27 December 2013. {{in lang|zh}}</ref> variously transcribed as Qin Shihuang or Qin Shi Huang.

Following his elevation as emperor, both Zheng's personal name {{lang|zh|政}} and possibly its homophone {{lang|zh|正}}{{efn|That both were forbidden has been the general understanding of historians but Beck cites numerous sources from the era employing the latter character in support of the argument that it was not forbidden until the reign of the [[Second Emperor of Qin]].<ref name="loserbaby">Beck, B.J. Mansvelt. "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4528373 The First Emperor's Taboo Character and the Three Day Reign of King Xiaowen: Two Moot Points Raised by the Qin Chronicle Unearthed in Shuihudi in 1975] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602231220/http://www.jstor.org/stable/4528373 |date=2 June 2016 }}". ''T'oung Pao'' 2nd Series, Vol. 73, No. 1/3 (1987), p. 69.</ref>}} became [[name taboo|taboo]].{{efn|[[King Zhuangxiang of Qin|His father]]'s name {{nwr|{{lang|zh|子楚}}}} also became taboo, prompting references to [[state of Chu|Chu]] to be replaced by its original name "Jing" ({{lang|zh|荆}}).<ref name="loserbaby" />}} The First Emperor also arrogated the first-person pronoun {{lang|zh|朕}} for his exclusive use, and in 212&thinsp;BC began calling himself The Immortal {{nwr|({{lang|zh|真人}},}} Others were to address him as "Your&nbsp;Majesty" {{nwr|({{lang|zh|陛下}},}} in person and "Your&nbsp;Highness" ({{lang|zh|上}}) in writing.<ref name="wilky" />

==Birth and parentage==
According to the ''[[Shiji]]'' written by [[Sima Qian]] during the Han dynasty, the first emperor was the eldest son of the Qin prince Yiren, who later became [[King Zhuangxiang of Qin]]. Prince Yiren at that time was residing at the court of [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], serving as a hostage to guarantee the armistice between Qin and Zhao.<ref name=wood>Wood, Frances. (2008). ''China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors'', pp. 2–33. Macmillan Publishing, 2008. {{ISBN|0-312-38112-3}}.</ref>{{sfn|Sima|1993|pp=35, 59}} Prince Yiren had fallen in love at first sight with a [[concubine]] of [[Lü Buwei]], a rich merchant from the [[state of Wey]]. Lü consented for her to be Yiren's wife, who then became known as [[Lady Zhao]] after the state of Zhao. He was given the name Zhao Zheng, the name Zheng ({{lang|zh|正}}) came from his month of birth ''Zhengyue'', the first month of the [[Chinese lunar calendar]];{{sfn|Sima|1993|pp=35, 59}} the clan name of [[Zhao (surname)|Zhao]] came from his father's lineage and was unrelated to either his mother's name or the location of his birth.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} ({{ill|Song Zhong|zh|宋忠 (三國)}} says that his birthday, significantly, was on the first day of ''Zhengyue''.<ref>{{cite Shiji|6|zhu=3|display-editors =0|trans-chapter=vol. 6, Basic annals of Qin Shihuang }}</ref>) Lü Buwei's machinations later helped Yiren become [[King Zhuangxiang of Qin]]<ref name="Ren">Ren Changhong & al. ''Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty''. Asiapac, 2000. {{ISBN|981-229-172-5}}.</ref> in 250&nbsp;BC. 

However, the ''Shiji'' also claimed that the first emperor was not the actual son of Prince Yiren but that of Lü Buwei.<ref name="Huang">Huang, Ray. ''China: A Macro History'' Edition: 2, revised. (1987). M. E. Sharpe. {{ISBN|1-56324-730-5|978-1-56324-730-9}}. p. 32.</ref> According to this account, when Lü Buwei introduced the dancing girl to the prince, she was Lü Buwei's [[concubine]] and had already become pregnant by him, and the baby was born after an unusually long period of pregnancy.<ref name="Huang" /> According to translations of the ''[[Lüshi Chunqiu]]'', Zhao Ji gave birth to the future emperor in the city of [[Handan]] in 259&nbsp;BC, the first month of the 48th year of [[King Zhaoxiang of Qin]].<ref name="LuAnnal">Lü, Buwei. Translated by Knoblock, John. Riegel, Jeffrey. ''The Annals of Lü Buwei'': Lü Shi Chun ''Qiu : a Complete Translation and Study''. (2000). Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|0-8047-3354-6|978-0-8047-3354-0}}.</ref>

The idea that the emperor was an illegitimate child, widely believed throughout Chinese history, contributed to the generally negative view of the First Emperor.<ref name=wood/> However, a number of modern scholars have doubted this account of his birth. Sinologist [[Derk Bodde]] wrote: "There is good reason for believing that the sentence describing this unusual pregnancy is an interpolation added to the ''[[Shiji]]'' by an unknown person to slander the First Emperor and indicate his political as well as natal illegitimacy".{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=42–43, 95}} John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, in their translation of Lü Buwei's ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', call the story "patently false, meant both to libel Lü and to cast aspersions on the First Emperor".<ref>{{Cite book|title= The Annals of Lü Buwei|others= Knoblock, John and Riegel, Jeffrey Trans.|publisher= Stanford University Press|year= 2001|isbn= 978-0-8047-3354-0|url= https://archive.org/details/annalsoflubuwei00}} p. 9</ref> Claiming Lü Buwei—a merchant—as the First Emperor's biological father was meant to be especially disparaging, since later Confucian society regarded merchants as the [[Four occupations|lowest social class]].{{sfn|Bodde|1986|p=43}}

==<span class="anchor" id="King of Qin"></span>Reign as King of Qin==

===Regency===
[[File:Qin shihuangdi c01s06i06.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|An 18th-century portrait of Qin Shi Huang]]
In 246 BC, when [[King Zhuangxiang]] died after a short reign of just three years, he was succeeded on the throne by his 13-year-old son.<ref name="Ancient">Donn, Lin. Donn, Don. ''Ancient China''. (2003). Social Studies School Service. Social Studies. {{ISBN|1-56004-163-3|978-1-56004-163-4}}. p. 49.</ref> At the time, Zhao Zheng was still young, so Lü Buwei acted as the regent prime minister of the State of Qin, which was still waging war against the [[Seven Warring States|other six states]].<ref name=wood/> Nine years later, in 235&nbsp;BC, Zhao Zheng assumed full power after Lü Buwei was banished for his involvement in a scandal with Queen Dowager Zhao.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ukbk52TNP8C&q=lu+buwei+scandal&pg=PA12|title=Qin Shi Huangdi: First Emperor of China|last=Pancella|first=Peggy|year=2003|publisher=Heinemann-Raintree Library|isbn=978-1-4034-3704-4|access-date=21 October 2020|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518143458/https://books.google.com/books?id=4ukbk52TNP8C&q=lu+buwei+scandal&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Zhao Chengjiao]], the Lord Chang'an ({{lang|zh|长安君}}),<ref name="司馬遷《史記·卷043·趙世家》：（赵悼襄王）六年，封长安君以饶。">司馬遷《史記·卷043·趙世家》：（赵悼襄王）六年，封长安君以饶。</ref> was Zhao Zheng's legitimate half-brother, by the same father but from a different mother. After Zhao Zheng inherited the throne, Chengjiao rebelled at [[Tunliu]] and surrendered to the state of Zhao. Chengjiao's remaining retainers and families were executed by Zhao Zheng.<ref>''Shiji'' Chapter – Qin Shi Huang: 八年，王弟长安君成蟜将军击赵，反，死屯留，军吏皆斩死，迁其 民於临洮。将军壁死，卒屯留、蒲鶮反，戮其尸。河鱼大上，轻车重马东就食。 《史记 秦始皇》</ref>

===Lao Ai's attempted coup===
As King Zheng grew older, Lü Buwei became fearful that the boy king would discover his liaison with his mother, [[Lady Zhao]]. He decided to distance himself and look for a replacement for the queen dowager. He found a man named [[Lao Ai]].<ref name="Mah">Mah, Adeline Yen. (2003). ''A Thousand Pieces of Gold: Growing Up Through China's Proverbs''. Published by HarperCollins. {{ISBN|0-06-000641-2|978-0-06-000641-9}}. pp. 32–34.</ref> According to ''The Record of Grand Historian'', Lao Ai was disguised as a eunuch by plucking his beard. Later Lao Ai and queen Zhao Ji got along so well that they secretly had two sons together.<ref name="Mah"/> Lao Ai was ennobled as Marquis, and was showered with riches. Lao Ai had been planning to replace King Zheng with one of his own sons, but during a dinner party he was heard bragging about being the young king's stepfather.<ref name="Mah" /> In 238&nbsp;BC, while the king was travelling to the former capital, Yong ({{lang|zh|雍}}), Lao Ai seized the queen mother's [[Chinese seal|seal]] and mobilized an army in an attempted [[coup d'état]].<ref name="Mah" /> When notified of the rebellion, King Zheng ordered Lü Buwei to let [[Lord Changping]] and {{ill|Lord Changwen|zh|昌文君}}<!--Please keep the interlanguage link until the article is written--> attack Lao Ai. Although the royal army killed hundreds of rebels at the capital, Lao Ai successfully fled the battlefield.<ref>The Records of the Grand Historian, Vol. 6: Annals of Qin Shi Huang. [http://ctext.org/shiji/qin-shi-huang-ben-ji] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130414130732/http://ctext.org/shiji/qin-shi-huang-ben-ji|date=14 April 2013}} The 9th year of Qin Shi Huang. 王知之，令相國昌平君、昌文君發卒攻毐。戰咸陽，斬首數百，皆拜爵，及宦者皆在戰中，亦拜爵一級。毐等敗走。</ref>

A price of 1 million copper coins was placed on Lao Ai's head if he was taken alive or half a million if dead.<ref name="Mah" /> Lao Ai's supporters were captured and beheaded; then Lao Ai was tied up and torn to five pieces by horse carriages, while his entire family was executed to the third degree.<ref name="Mah" /> The two hidden sons were also killed, while the mother Zhao Ji was placed under house arrest until her death many years later. Lü Buwei drank a cup of poisoned wine and committed suicide in 235&nbsp;BC.<ref name=wood/><ref name=Mah/> Ying Zheng then assumed full power as the King of the Qin state. Replacing Lü Buwei, [[Li Si]] became the new [[Chancellor of China|chancellor]].

===First assassination attempt===
[[File:Assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Jing Ke]]'s assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang; Jing Ke (left) is held by one of Qin Shi Huang's physicians (left, background). The dagger used in the assassination attempt is seen stuck in the pillar. Qin Shi Huang (right) is seen holding an imperial jade disc. One of his soldiers (far right) rushes to save his emperor{{snd}}stone rubbing, [[Eastern Han]] (3rd century).]]
King Zheng and his troops continued their conquest of the neighbouring states. The [[state of Yan]] was no match for the Qin states: small and weak, it had already been harassed frequently by Qin soldiers.{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}} [[Crown Prince Dan of Yan]] plotted an assassination attempt against King Zheng, recruiting [[Jing Ke]] and [[Qin Wuyang]] for the mission in 227&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Ren" />{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}} 

The assassins gained access to King Zheng by pretending a diplomatic gifting of goodwill: a map of Dukang and the severed head of [[Fan Wuji]].{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}} Qin Wuyang stepped forward first to present the map case but was overcome by fear. Jing Ke then advanced with both gifts, while explaining that his partner was trembling because "[he] had never set eyes on the [[Son of Heaven]]". When the dagger unrolled from the map, the king leapt to his feet and struggled to draw his sword{{snd}}none of his courtiers were allowed to carry arms in his presence. Jing stabbed at the king but missed, and King Zheng slashed Jing's thigh. In desperation, Jing Ke threw the dagger but missed again. He surrendered after a brief fight in which he was further injured. The Yan state was conquered in its entirety five years later.

===Second assassination attempt===
[[Gao Jianli]] was a close friend of Jing Ke, and wanted to avenge his death.<ref>{{cite book |last= Ward| first=Jean Elizabeth |date=2008|title=The Songs and Ballads of Li He Chang|isbn=978-1-4357-1867-8|page= 51|publisher=Lulu.com}}</ref>{{sps|certain =y|date=October 2024}} As a famous ''[[Zhu (string instrument)|zhu]]'' player, he was summoned to play for King Zheng. Someone in the palace recognized him and guessed his plans.<ref name="Wu">{{cite book | author-link=Wu Hung|last=Wu | first= Hung | author-mask=Wu Hung| title= The Wu Liang Shrine: The Ideology of Early Chinese Pictorial Art|publisher =Stanford University Press|date=1989 | isbn=978-0-8047-1529-4| page= 326}}</ref> Reluctant to kill such a skilled musician, the king ordered his eyes put out, and then proceeded with the performance. The king praised Gao's playing and even allowed him closer. The ''zhu'' had been weighted with a slab of lead, and Gao Jianli swung it at the king but missed. The second assassination attempt had failed; Gao was executed shortly after.

===Unification of China===
{{Main|Qin's wars of unification}}
[[File:Qin Unification.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Qin's unification of the [[Seven Warring States]]]]
In 230&nbsp;BC, King Zheng began the final campaigns of the [[Warring States period]], setting out to conquer the remaining six major Chinese states and bring China under unified Qin control.

The state of [[Han (Warring States)|Han]], the weakest of the Warring States, was the first to fall in 230&nbsp;BC. In 229, Qin armies invaded [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], which had been severely weakened by natural disasters, and captured the capital of [[Handan]] in 228. Prince [[Jia of Zhao]] managed to escape with the remnants of the Zhao army and established the short-lived state of [[Dai (Warring States period)|Dai]], proclaiming himself king.

In 227&nbsp;BC, fearing a Qin invasion, [[Crown Prince Dan]] of [[Yan (state)|Yan]] ordered a [[Qin Shi Huang#First assassination attempt|failed assassination attempt]] on King Zheng. This provided ''casus belli'' for Zheng to invade Yan in 226, capturing the capital of [[Jicheng (Beijing)|Ji]] (modern [[Beijing]]) that same year. The remnants of the Yan army, along with King [[Xi of Yan]], were able to retreat to the [[Liaodong Peninsula]]. 

After Qin besieged and flooded their capital of [[Daliang, Tianjin|Daliang]], the [[state of Wei]] surrendered in 225&nbsp;BC. Around this time, as a precautionary measure, Qin seized ten cities from Chu, the largest and most powerful of the other Warring States. In 224, Qin launched a full-scale invasion of Chu, capturing the capital of Shouchun in 223. In 222, Qin armies extinguished the last Yan remnants in Liaodong and the Zhao rump state of Dai. In 221, Qin armies invaded the state of [[Qi (state)|Qi]] and captured King [[Jian of Qi]] without much resistance, bringing an end to the [[Warring States period]].

By 221&nbsp;BC, all Chinese lands had been unified under the Qin. To elevate himself above the feudal Zhou kings, King Zheng proclaimed himself the First Emperor, creating the title which would be used as the title of the Chinese sovereign for the next two millennia. Qin Shi Huang also ordered the ''[[Mr. He's jade|Heshibi]]'' to be crafted into the [[Heirloom Seal of the Realm]], which would serve as a physical symbol of the [[Mandate of Heaven]], and would be passed from emperor to emperor until its loss in the 10th century.

During 215&nbsp;BC, in an attempt to expand Qin territory, Qin Shi Huang ordered [[Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu|military campaigns against the Xiongnu nomads]] in the North. Led by General [[Meng Tian]], Qin armies successfully routed the Xiongnu from the [[Ordos Plateau]], setting the ancient foundations for the construction of the [[Great Wall of China]]. In the South, Qin Shi Huang also ordered several [[Qin's campaign against the Yue tribes|military campaigns against the Yue tribes]], which annexed various regions in modern [[Guangdong]] and Vietnam.<ref name="Haw">Haw, Stephen G. (2007). ''Beijing a Concise History''. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-39906-7}}. pp. 22–23.</ref>

==Reign as Emperor of Qin==
===Administrative reforms===
{{Further|Administration of territory in dynastic China#Qin dynasty (221–206 BC)}}
[[File:Qin Dynasty.png|thumb|Administrative divisions of Qin]]
In an attempt to avoid a recurrence of the political chaos of the [[Warring States period]], Qin Shi Huang and Li Si worked to completely abolish the feudal system of loose alliances and federations.<ref name="Veeck">Veeck, Gregory. Pannell, Clifton W. (2007). ''China's Geography: Globalization and the Dynamics of Political, Economic, and Social Change''. Rowman & Littlefield publishing. {{ISBN|0-7425-5402-3|978-0-7425-5402-3}}. pp. 57–58.</ref><ref name="Haw" /> They organized the empire into administrative units and subunits: first 36 (later 40) [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]], then [[Counties of the People's Republic of China#History|counties]], townships, and hundred-family units (里, ''Li'', roughly corresponding to modern-day [[Subdistricts of the People's Republic of China|subdistricts]] and [[Chinese residential communities|communities]]).<ref name="Chang">{{Citation|last=Chang |first=Chun-shu |year=2007
 |chapter=The rise of the Chinese Empire |title=Nation, State, and Imperialism in Early China ca. 1600 BC–8 AD |publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-11533-4
|pages=43–44}}</ref> People assigned to these units would no longer be identified by their native region or former feudal state, for example "Chu person" (楚人, ''Chu rén'').<ref name="Chang" /> Appointments were to be based on merit instead of hereditary right.<ref name="Chang" />

===Economic reforms===
Qin Shi Huang and [[Li Si]] unified China economically by standardizing the [[Chinese units of measurement|weights and measurement]]s. Wagon axles were prescribed a standard length to facilitate road transport.<ref name="Veeck" /> The emperor also developed an extensive network of roads and canals for trade and communication.<ref name="Veeck" /> The currencies of the different states were standardized to the [[Ban Liang]] coin.<ref name="Chang" /> The forms of [[Chinese characters]] were unified. Under Li Si, the [[seal script]] of the state of Qin became the official standard, and the Qin script itself was simplified through removal of variant forms. This did away with all the regional scripts to form a universal written language for all of China, despite the diversity of spoken dialects.<ref name="Chang" />

===Monumental statuary===
According to Chinese records,<ref name="Sima">''Shiji'' by Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BC), after [[Liu An]] in the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' circa 139 BC: 收天下兵, 聚之咸陽, 銷以為鍾鐻金人十二, 重各千石, 置廷宮中. 一法度衡石丈尺. 車同軌. 書同文字.<br>
"He collected the weapons of All-Under-Heaven in [[Xianyang]], and cast them into twelve bronze figures of the type of bell stands, each 1000 dan [about 70 tons] in weight, and displayed them in the palace. He unified the law, weights and measurements, standardized the axle width of carriages, and standardized the writing system."<br>Quoted {{cite journal |last1=Nickel |first1=Lukas |title=The First Emperor and sculpture in China |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |date=October 2013 |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=436–450 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X13000487 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X13000487 |issn=0041-977X |quote=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> after unifying the country in 221&nbsp;BC, Qin Shuhuang confiscated all the bronze weapons of the conquered countries, and cast them into twelve monumental statues, the ''[[Twelve Metal Colossi]]'', which he used to adorn his Palace.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lei |first1=Haizong |title=Chinese Culture and the Chinese Military |year=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-47918-9 |pages=13–14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dp7bDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14}}</ref> Each statue was said to be 5 zhang [11.5 meters] in height, and weighing about 1000 dan [about 70 tons].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nickel |first1=Lukas |title=The First Emperor and sculpture in China |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |date=October 2013 |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=436–450 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X13000487 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X13000487 |issn=0041-977X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Sima Qian considered this as one of the great achievements of the Emperor, on a par with the "unification of the law, weights and measurements, standardization of the axle width of carriages, and standardization of the writing system".<ref name="Sima"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Howard |first1=Angela Falco |last2=Hung |first2=Wu |last3=Song |first3=Li |last4=Hong |first4=Yang |title=Chinese Sculpture |year=2006 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10065-5 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGuPsNCaJdwC&pg=PA50}}</ref> During 600 years, the statues were commented upon and moved around from palace to palace, until they were finally destroyed in the 4th century AD, but no illustration has remained.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barnes |first1=Gina L. |title=Archaeology of East Asia: The Rise of Civilization in China, Korea and Japan |year=2015 |publisher=Oxbow |isbn=978-1-78570-073-6 |page=287 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bAJDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA287}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Elsner |first1=Jaś |title=Figurines: Figuration and the Sense of Scale |year=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-886109-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q_7-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA91}}</ref>

===Philosophy===
{{Main|Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Burning of books and burying of scholars}}
{{Chinese Legalism}}

While the previous Warring States era was one of constant warfare, it was also considered the golden age of free thought.<ref name="Goldman">Goldman, Merle. (1981). ''China's Intellectuals: Advise and Dissent''. Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-11970-3|978-0-674-11970-3}}. p. 85.</ref> Qin Shi Huang eliminated the [[Hundred Schools of Thought]], which included [[Confucianism]] and other philosophies.<ref name="Goldman" /><ref>Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam. (2004). ''History of Modern China''. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. {{ISBN|81-269-0315-5|978-81-269-0315-3}}. p. 317.</ref> With all other philosophies banned, [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] became the mandatory ideology of the Qin dynasty.<ref name="Chang" /> 

Beginning in 213&nbsp;BC, at the instigation of Li Si and to avoid scholars' comparisons of his reign with the past, Qin Shi Huang ordered most existing [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|books to be burned]], with the exception of those on astrology, agriculture, medicine, divination, and the history of the [[state of Qin]].<ref name="Lih">Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee. Ames, Roger T. (2006). ''Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation''. SUNY Press. {{ISBN|0-7914-6749-X|978-0-7914-6749-7}}. p. 25.</ref> This would also serve to further the ongoing reformation of the writing system by removing examples of obsolete scripts.{{sfn|Clements|2006|p=131}} Owning the ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'' or the ''[[Book of Documents]]'' was to be punished especially severely. According to the later ''Shiji'', the following year Qin Shi Huang had some 460 scholars buried alive for possessing the forbidden books.<ref name=wood/><ref name="Lih" /> The emperor's oldest son [[Fusu]] criticized him for this act.<ref>Twitchett, Denis. Fairbank, John King. Loewe, Michael. ''The Cambridge History of China: The Ch'in and Han Empires 221 B.C.–A.D. 220''. Edition: 3. Cambridge University Press, 1986. {{ISBN|0-521-24327-0|978-0-521-24327-8}}. p. 71.</ref> The emperor's own library did retain copies of the forbidden books, but most of these were destroyed when [[Xiang Yu]] burned the palaces of Xianyang in 206&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=74–75, 119, 148–49}}

Recent research suggests that this "burying Confucian scholars alive" is a Confucian martyrs' legend. More probably, the emperor ordered the execution of a group of alchemists who had deceived him. In the subsequent Han dynasty, the Confucian scholars, who had served the Qin loyally, used this incident to distance themselves from the failed regime. [[Kong Anguo]] ({{circa|165|74&nbsp;BC}}), a descendant of Confucius, described the alchemists as Confucianists and entwined the martyrs' legend with his story of discovering the lost Confucian books behind a demolished wall in his ancestral house.<ref>Neininger, Ulrich, ''Burying the Scholars Alive: On the Origin of a Confucian Martyrs' Legend,'' ''Nation and Mythology'' (in ''East Asian Civilizations. New Attempts at Understanding Traditions''), vol. 2, 1983, eds. Wolfram Eberhard et al., pp. 121–36. {{ISBN|3-88676-041-3}}. http://www.ulrichneininger.de/?p=461 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414161916/http://ulrichneininger.de/?p=461 |date=14 April 2021 }}</ref>

Qin Shi Huang also followed the theory of the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five elements]]: fire, water, earth, wood, and metal. It was believed that the royal house of the previous [[Zhou dynasty]] had ruled by the power of fire, associated with the colour red. The new Qin dynasty must be ruled by the next element on the list, which is water, Zhao Zheng's birth element. Water was represented by the colour black, and black became the preferred colour for Qin garments, flags, and pennants.<ref name=wood/> Other associations include north as the [[cardinal direction]], the winter season and the number six.<ref>Murowchick, Robert E. (1994). ''China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land''. University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8061-2683-3|978-0-8061-2683-8}}. p. 105.</ref> Tallies and official hats were {{convert|15|cm|in|abbr=off}} long, carriages {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=off|spell=in}} wide, one [[Chinese units of measurement|pace]] ({{zhi|c=步|p=bù}}) was {{cvt|1.4|m|ft}}.<ref name=wood/>

===Third assassination attempt===
{{further|Zhang Liang (Western Han)}}
[[File:秦始皇帝東巡雕塑.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of Qin Shi Huang during his imperial tour]]
In 230&nbsp;BC, the state of Qin had defeated the [[state of Han]]. In 218, a former Han aristocrat named [[Zhang Liang (Western Han)|Zhang Liang]] swore revenge on Qin Shi Huang. He sold his valuables and hired a strongman assassin, building a heavy metal cone weighing 120 [[Jin (mass)|jin]] (roughly 160&nbsp;lb or 97&nbsp;kg).<ref name="Mah" /> The two men hid among the bushes along the emperor's route over a mountain during his third imperial tour.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sanft |first= Charles |year=2014 |title=Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BOhTAgAAQBAJ&dq=Communication%20and%20Cooperation%20in%20Early%20Imperial%20China%20Charles%20Sanft&pg=PA79 |publisher=State University of New York Press  |isbn=978-1438450377 |pages=79–84  |chapter=Outline of the Progress / 218 BCE: Third Progress}}</ref> At a signal, the muscular assassin hurled the cone at the first carriage and shattered it. However, the emperor was travelling with two identical carriages to baffle attackers, and he was actually in the second carriage. Thus the attempt failed,<ref name="Wintle">Wintle, Justin Wintle. (2002). ''China''. Rough Guides Publishing. {{ISBN|1-85828-764-2|978-1-85828-764-5}}. pp. 61, 71.</ref> though both men were able to escape the subsequent manhunt.<ref name="Mah" />

===Public works===
[[File:Qin State Warring States-Qin Dynasty Bronze Dragon (46740307754).jpg|thumb|Qin dynasty twin bronze dragons, found near the [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]]]]
====Great Wall====
{{Main|Great Wall of China}}
Numerous state walls had been built during the previous four centuries, many of them closing gaps between river defences and impassable cliffs.{{sfn|Clements|2006|pp=102–103}}<ref>Huang, Ray. (1997). ''China: A Macro History''. Edition: 2, revised, illustrated. M. E. Sharpe. {{ISBN|1-56324-731-3|978-1-56324-731-6}}. p. 44</ref> To impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, the Emperor ordered the destruction of walls between the former states, which were now internal walls dividing the empire.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} 

However, to defend against the northern [[Xiongnu]] nomads, who had beaten back repeated campaigns against them, he ordered new walls to connect the fortifications along the empire's northern frontier. Hundreds of thousands of workers were mobilized, and an unknown number died, to build this precursor to the current [[Great Wall of China]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Slavicek |first1=Louise Chipley |url=https://archive.org/details/greatwallofchina00loui/page/35 |title=The Great Wall of China |last2=Mitchell |first2=George J. |last3=Matray |first3=James I. |publisher=Infobase |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7910-8019-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/greatwallofchina00loui/page/35 35]}}</ref><ref>Evans, Thammy (2006). Great Wall of China: Beijing & Northern China. Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 3. {{ISBN|978-1-84162-158-6}}</ref><ref>[http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Tourism/history-Great-Wall-3-defense.html "Defense and Cost of The Great Wall"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617105147/http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Tourism/history-Great-Wall-3-defense.html|date=17 June 2013}}. Paul and Bernice Noll's Window on the World. p. 3. Retrieved 26 July 2011.</ref> Transporting building materials was difficult, so builders always tried to use local materials: rock over mountain ranges, [[rammed earth]] over the plains. "Build and move on" was a guiding principle, implying that the Wall was not a permanently fixed border.<ref>Burbank, Jane; Cooper, Frederick (2010). Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 45.</ref> There are no surviving records specifying the length and course of the Qin walls, which have largely eroded away over the centuries.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

====Lingqu Canal====
{{main|Lingqu}}
In 214 BC, the Emperor began the project of a major canal allowing water transport between north and south China, originally for military supplies.<ref name="Mayhew">Mayhew, Bradley. Miller, Korina. English, Alex. ''South-West China: lively Yunnan and its exotic neighbours''. Lonely Planet. {{ISBN|1-86450-370-X|978-1-86450-370-8}}. p. 222.</ref> The canal, 34 kilometres in length, links two of China's major waterways, the [[Xiang River]] flowing into the [[Yangtze]] and the [[Lijiang River]], flowing into the [[Pearl River]].<ref name="Mayhew" /> The canal aided Qin's expansion to the south-west.<ref name="Mayhew" /> It is considered one of the three great feats of ancient Chinese engineering, along with the Great Wall and the Sichuan [[Dujiangyan Irrigation System]].<ref name="Mayhew" />

===Elixir of life===
[[File:阿房宫前殿遗址夯土台西侧_2023-10-01_10.jpg|thumb|The [[Epang Palace]] in [[Xi'an]], destroyed in 206&nbsp;BC]]
As he grew old, Qin Shi Huang desperately sought the fabled [[elixir of life]] which supposedly confers immortality. In his obsessive quest, he fell prey to many fraudulent elixirs.<ref name="Ong">Ong, Siew Chey. Marshall Cavendish. (2006). ''China Condensed: 5000 Years of History & Culture''. {{ISBN|981-261-067-7|978-981-261-067-6}}. p. 17.</ref> He visited [[Zhifu Island]] three times in his search.<ref>Aikman, David. (2006). Qi. Publishing Group. {{ISBN|0-8054-3293-0|978-0-8054-3293-0}}. p. 91.</ref>

In one case he sent [[Xu Fu]], a Zhifu islander, with ships carrying hundreds of young men and women in search of the mystical [[Mount Penglai]].<ref name="Wintle" /> They sought [[Anqi Sheng]], a thousand-year-old magician who had supposedly invited Qin Shi Huang during a chance meeting during his travels.<ref>Fabrizio Pregadio. ''The Encyclopedia of Taoism''. London: Routledge, 2008: 199</ref> The expedition never returned, perhaps for fear of the consequences of failure. Legends claim that they reached Japan and colonized it.<ref name="Ong" /> 

It is also possible that the Emperor's book burning, which exempted [[alchemical]] works, could be seen as an attempt to focus the minds of the best scholars on the Emperor's quest.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 October 2012 |title=Qin Shi Huang: The ruthless emperor who burned books |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19922863 |access-date=24 November 2022}}</ref> Some of those buried alive were alchemists, and this could have been a means of testing their death-defying abilities.{{sfn|Clements|2006|pp=131, 134}} 

The emperor built a system of tunnels and passageways to each of his over 200 palaces,{{cn|date=July 2024}} because travelling unseen would supposedly keep him safe from evil spirits.

==Final years==
===Death===
[[File:Qin tours.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Imperial tours of Qin Shi Huang]]
In 211&nbsp;BC, a large meteor is said to have fallen in [[Dong Commandery|Dongjun]] in the lower reaches of the [[Yellow River]], and someone inscribed the seditious words "The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided" ({{lang|zh|始皇死而地分}}).<ref name="LiangY">Liang, Yuansheng. (2007). ''The Legitimation of New Orders: Case Studies in World History''. Chinese University Press. {{ISBN|962-996-239-X|978-962-996-239-5}}. p. 5.</ref> The Emperor sent an imperial secretary to investigate this prophecy. No one would confess to the deed, so all living nearby were put to death, and the stone was pulverized.{{sfn|Sima|1993|pp=35 & 59}}

During his fifth tour of eastern China, the Emperor became seriously ill in Pingyuanjin ([[Pingyuan County, Shandong]]), and died in July or August of 210&nbsp;BC, at the palace in Shaqiu [[prefecture]], about two months travel from Xianyang,{{sfn|Sima|2007|p=82|loc="In the seventh month on ''bingyin'' the First Emperor passed away at Pingtai in Shaqiu."}}<ref>Xinhuanet.com. "[http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2005-03/20/content_2719803.htm " ''中國考古簡訊：秦始皇去世地沙丘平臺遺跡尚存.''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318222506/http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2005-03/20/content_2719803.htm |date=18 March 2009 }} Xinhuanet. Retrieved on 28 January 2009.</ref> at the age of 49.

The cause of Qin Shi Huang's death remains unknown, though he had been worn down by his many years of rule.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barme |first=Geremie R. |year=2009 |title=China's Flat Earth: History and 8 August 2008 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0305741009000046/type/journal_article |url-status=live |journal=The China Quarterly |volume=197 |pages=64–86 |doi=10.1017/S0305741009000046 |issn=0305-7410 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731043507/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/abs/chinas-flat-earth-history-and-8-august-2008/DEAE427889CEE683C39CB4AC48209E0B |archive-date=31 July 2022 |access-date=24 June 2020 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1885/52104 |s2cid=154584809}}</ref> One hypothesis holds that he was [[Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning|poisoned by an elixir]] containing [[mercury (element)|mercury]], given to him by his court alchemists and physicians in his quest for immortality.<ref name="wright">{{cite book|title=The History of China|year=2001|last=Wright |first=David Curtis|publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0-313-30940-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofchina00wrig/page/49 49]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchina00wrig/page/49}}</ref>

===Succession===
Upon witnessing the Emperor's death, Chancellor [[Li Si]] feared the news could trigger a general uprising during the two months' travel for the imperial entourage to return to the capital Xianyang.{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}} Li Si decided to hide the emperor's death: the only members of the entourage to be informed were a younger son, [[Qin Er Shi|Ying Huhai]], the eunuch [[Zhao Gao]], and five or six favourite eunuchs.{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}} Li Si ordered carts of rotten fish to be carried before and behind the wagon of the Emperor, to cover the foul smell of his body decomposing in the summer heat.{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}} Pretending he was alive behind the wagon's shade, they changed his clothes daily, brought food, and pretended to carry messages to and from him.{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}}

After they reached Xianyang, the death of the Emperor was announced.{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}} Qin Shi Huang had not liked to talk about his death and had never written a will.<ref name="Tung">Tung, Douglas S. Tung, Kenneth. (2003). ''More Than 36 Stratagems: A Systematic Classification Based On Basic Behaviours''. Trafford Publishing. {{ISBN|1-4120-0674-0|978-1-4120-0674-3}}.</ref> Although his eldest son [[Fusu]] was first in line to succeed him as emperor, Li Si and the chief eunuch Zhao Gao conspired to kill Fusu, who was in league with their enemy, general [[Meng Tian]].<ref name="Tung" /> Meng Tian's brother [[Meng Yi]], a senior minister, had once punished Zhao Gao.{{sfn|Sima|2007|p=54}} Li Si and Zhao Gao forged a letter from Qin Shi Huang commanding Fusu and General Meng to commit suicide.<ref name="Tung" /> The plan worked, and the younger son Hu Hai started his brief reign as the Second Emperor, later known as [[Qin Er Shi]] or "Second Generation Qin".{{sfn|Sima|2007|pp=15–20, 82, 99}}

==Family==
{{further|Chinese emperors family tree (early)#Qin dynasty|label 1=Qin dynasty family tree}}
The immediate family members of Qin Shi Huang include:
* Parents{{sfn|Clements|2006|p=172}}
** [[King Zhuangxiang of Qin]]
** [[Queen Dowager Zhao]]
* Half-siblings:
** [[Chengjiao (prince)|Chengjiao]], legitimate paternal half brother from a different mother<ref name="shijichapter6">{{Cite web|url=https://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%2F%E5%8D%B7006&variant=zh-hant|title=史記/卷006 – 維基文庫，自由的圖書館|website=zh.wikisource.org|access-date=31 July 2022|archive-date=15 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615173032/https://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%2F%E5%8D%B7006&variant=zh-hant|url-status=live}}</ref> Lord of Chang'an<ref name="司馬遷《史記·卷043·趙世家》：（赵悼襄王）六年，封长安君以饶。"/>
** Two illegitimate maternal half-brothers born to [[Queen Dowager Zhao]] and [[Lao Ai]].
* Children:
** [[Fusu]], Crown Prince (1st son)<ref name="ReferenceA">《史记·高祖本纪》司马贞《索隐》写道："《善文》称隐士云赵高为二世杀十七兄而立今王，则二世是第十八子也。"</ref>
** Gao
** Jianglü
** [[Qin Er Shi|Huhai]], later [[Qin Er Shi]] (18th son)<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Qin Shi Huang had about 50 children (about 30 sons and 15 daughters), but most of their names are unknown. He had numerous [[Concubinage|concubines]] but appeared to have never named an empress.<ref>张文立：《秦始皇帝评传》，陕西人民教育出版社，1996，第325～326页。</ref>{{Qin dynasty family tree}}

==Legacy==
===Mausoleum and Terracotta Army===
{{Main|Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang}}
{{see also|Terracotta Army|Qin bronze chariot}}
[[File:Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Plan of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=A. R. |title=Discoveries May Rewrite History of China's Terra-Cotta Warriors |journal=National Geographic |date=12 October 2016 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/china-first-emperor-terra-cotta-warriors-tomb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228210204/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/china-first-emperor-terra-cotta-warriors-tomb |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2021}}</ref>]]
[[File:Army of Terracotta.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Statues from the [[Terracotta Army]] discovered near modern Xi'an, meant to guard the [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]]]]

Sima Qian, writing a century after the First Emperor's death, wrote that it took 700,000 men to construct the [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor|emperor's mausoleum]]. British historian [[John Man (author)|John Man]] points out that this figure is larger than the population of any city in the world at that time and he calculates that the foundations could have been built by 16,000 men in two years.<ref>Man, John. ''The Terracotta Army'', Bantam 2007 p. 125. {{ISBN|978-0-593-05929-6}}.</ref> Sima Qian never mentioned the [[Terracotta Army]], but he did mention that the Qin Emperor built monumental bronze statues for his palace.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nickel |first1=Lukas |title=The First Emperor and sculpture in China |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |date=October 2013 |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=436–450 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X13000487 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X13000487 |issn=0041-977X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The terracotta statues were discovered by a group of farmers digging wells on 29 March 1974.<ref>Huang, Ray. (1997). ''China: A Macro History''. Edition: 2, revised, illustrated. M. E. Sharpe. {{ISBN|1-56324-731-3|978-1-56324-731-6}}. p. 37</ref> The soldiers were created with a series of mix-and-match clay molds and then further individualized by the artists' hand. [[Han purple and Han blue|Han Purple]] was also used on some of the warriors.<ref>Thieme, C. 2001. (translated by M. Will) ''Paint Layers and Pigments on the Terracotta Army: A Comparison with Other Cultures of Antiquity''. In: W. Yongqi, Z. Tinghao, M. Petzet, E. Emmerling and C. Blänsdorf (eds.) ''The Polychromy of Antique Sculptures and the Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor: Studies on Materials, Painting Techniques and Conservation''. ''Monuments and Sites III''. Paris: ICOMOS, 52–57.</ref>
There are around 6,000 statues excavated, whose purpose was to protect the Emperor in the afterlife from evil spirits.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 March 2022 |title=The dark history behind the record-breaking Terracotta Army |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2022/3/the-dark-history-behind-the-record-breaking-terracotta-army-694905 |access-date=24 November 2022 |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref> Also among the army are chariots and 40,000 real bronze weapons.{{sfn|Portal|2007|p={{page needed|date=January 2022}}}}

One of the first projects which the young king accomplished while he was alive was the construction of his own tomb. In 215 BC Qin Shi Huang ordered General [[Meng Tian]] to begin its construction with the assistance of 300,000 men.<ref name=wood/> Other sources suggest that he ordered 720,000 unpaid laborers to build his tomb according to his specifications.<ref name="Ancient" /> Again, given John Man's observation regarding populations at the time (see paragraph above), these historical estimates are debatable. The main tomb (located at {{Coord|34|22|53|N|109|15|13|E|type:landmark}}) containing the emperor has yet to be opened and evidence suggests that it remains relatively intact.{{sfn|Portal|2007|p=207}} Sima Qian's description of the tomb includes replicas of palaces and scenic towers, "rare utensils and wonderful objects", 100 rivers made with mercury, representations of "the heavenly bodies", and crossbows rigged to shoot anyone who tried to break in.<ref>Man, John. ''The Terracotta Army'', Bantam 2007 p. 170. {{ISBN|978-0-593-05929-6}}.</ref> The tomb was built at the foot of [[Mount Li]], 30 kilometers away from Xi'an. Modern archaeologists have located the tomb, and have inserted probes deep into it. The probes revealed abnormally high quantities of mercury, some 100 times the naturally occurring rate, suggesting that some parts of the legend are credible.<ref name="wright" /> Secrets were maintained, as most of the workmen who built the tomb were killed.<ref name="wright" /><ref>Leffman, David. Lewis, Simon. Atiyah, Jeremy. Meyer, Mike. Lunt, Susie. (2003). ''China''. Edition: 3, illustrated. Rough Guides publishing. {{ISBN|1-84353-019-8|978-1-84353-019-0}}. p. 290.</ref>

===Reputation and assessment===
[[File:Qinshihuang.jpg|thumb|An imaginary depiction of Qin Shi Huang, painted during the late [[Qing dynasty]]]]
Traditional Chinese [[historiography]] almost always portrayed the Emperor as a brutal tyrant who had an obsessive fear of assassination. Ideological antipathy towards the [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist]] State of Qin was established as early as 266 BC, when Confucian philosopher [[Xun Kuang|Xunzi]] disparaged it.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} Later Confucian historians condemned the emperor, alleging that he [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|burned the classics and buried Confucian scholars alive]].<ref>{{citation|last = Neininger |first = Ulrich |chapter= Burying the Scholars Alive: On the Origin of a Confucian Martyrs' Legend", Nation and Mythology| title = East Asian Civilizations. New Attempts at Understanding Traditions vol. 2|year=1983 |editor-first= Wolfram |editor-last=  Eberhard| pages= 121–136}} [http://ulrichneininger.de/?p=461 Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310223442/http://ulrichneininger.de/?p=461 |date=10 March 2022 }}</ref> They eventually compiled a list of the ''[[Ten Crimes of Qin]]'' to highlight his tyrannical actions.<ref>Ærenlund Sørensen, "How the First Emperor Unified the Minds Of Contemporary Historians: The Inadequate Source Criticism in Modern Historical Works About The Chinese Bronze Age." ''Monumenta Serica'', vol. 58, 2010, pp. 1–30. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41417876 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109161003/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41417876 |date=9 January 2021 }}</ref>

The famous Han poet and statesman [[Jia Yi]] concluded his essay ''The Faults of Qin'' (過秦論, ''Guò Qín Lùn'') with what was to become the standard Confucian judgment of the reasons for Qin's collapse. Jia Yi's essay, admired as a masterpiece of rhetoric and reasoning, was copied into two great Han histories and has had a far-reaching influence on Chinese political thought as a classic illustration of Confucian theory.<ref>Loewe, Michael. Twitchett, Denis. (1986). ''The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-24327-0}}.</ref> He attributed Qin's disintegration to its internal failures.<ref>[[Julia Lovell]], (2006). ''The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC–AD 2000''. Grove Press. {{ISBN|0-8021-1814-3|978-0-8021-1814-1}}. p. 65.</ref> Jia Yi wrote that:

{{quote|Qin, from a tiny base, had become a great power, ruling the land and receiving homage from all quarters for a hundred odd years. Yet after they unified the land and secured themselves within the pass, a single common rustic could nevertheless challenge this empire... Why? Because the ruler lacked humaneness and rightness; because preserving power differs fundamentally from seizing power.<ref>{{cite book|title= Sources of Chinese Tradition: Volume 1, From Earliest Times to 1600|others= Compiled by Wing-tsit Chan and Joseph Adler|year= 2000|publisher= Columbia University Press|isbn= 978-0-231-51798-0|page= 230}}</ref>}}

In the modern period, assessments began to emerge that differed from those of traditional historiography. The reassessment was spurred on by the weakness of China in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. At that time, some began to regard Confucian traditions as an impediment to China's entry into the modern world, opening the way for changing perspectives.

At a time when foreign nations encroached upon Chinese territory, leading [[Kuomintang]] historian [[Xiao Yishan]] emphasized the role of Qin Shi Huang in repulsing the northern barbarians, particularly in the construction of the Great Wall.

Another historian, Ma Feibai ({{lang|zh|馬非百}}), published in 1941 a full-length revisionist biography of the First Emperor entitled ''Qín Shǐ Huángdì Zhuàn'' ({{lang|zh|秦始皇帝傳}}), calling him "one of the great heroes of Chinese history". Ma compared him with the contemporary leader [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and saw many parallels in the careers and policies of the two men, both of whom he admired. Chiang's [[Northern Expedition (1926–1927)|Northern Expedition]] of the late 1920s, which directly preceded the new Nationalist government at [[Nanjing]] was compared to the unification brought about by Qin Shi Huang.

With the advent of the [[Chinese Communist Revolution]] and the establishment of a new, revolutionary regime in 1949, another re-evaluation of the First Emperor emerged as a Marxist critique. This new interpretation of Qin Shi Huang was generally a combination of traditional and modern views, but essentially critical. This is exemplified in the ''Complete History of China'', which was compiled in September 1955 as an official survey of Chinese history. The work described the First Emperor's major steps toward unification and standardisation as corresponding to the interests of the ruling group and the merchant class, not of the nation or the people, and the subsequent fall of his dynasty as a manifestation of the [[class struggle]]. The perennial debate about the fall of the Qin dynasty was also explained in Marxist terms, the peasant rebellions being a revolt against oppression—a revolt which undermined the dynasty, but which was bound to fail because of a compromise with "landlord class elements".

On hearing he'd been compared to the First Emperor for his persecution of intellectuals,<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 October 2012 |title=Qin Shi Huang: The ruthless emperor who burned books |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19922863 |access-date=24 November 2022 |work=BBC}}</ref> [[Mao Zedong]] reportedly boasted in 1958:{{quote|He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried forty-six thousand scholars alive... You [intellectuals] revile us for being Qin Shi Huangs. You are wrong. We have surpassed Qin Shi Huang a hundredfold. When you berate us for imitating his despotism, we are happy to agree! Your mistake was that you did not say so enough.<ref>''Mao Zedong sixiang wan sui!'' (1969), p. 195. Referenced in ''Governing China'' (2nd ed.) by Kenneth Lieberthal (2004).
</ref>}}

[[File:Qin Shi Huang statue.jpg|thumb|Statue of Qin Shi Huang in [[Handan]]]]
Since 1972, however, a radically different official view of Qin Shi Huang in accordance with [[Maoist]] thought has been given prominence throughout China. Hong Shidi's biography ''Qin Shi Huang'' initiated the re-evaluation. The work was published by the state press as a mass popular history, and it sold 1.85&nbsp;million copies within two years. In the new era, Qin Shi Huang was seen as a far-sighted ruler who destroyed the forces of division and established the first unified, centralized state in Chinese history by rejecting the past. Personal attributes, such as his quest for immortality, so emphasized in traditional historiography, were scarcely mentioned. The new evaluations described approvingly how, in his time (an era of great political and social change), he had no compunctions against using violent methods to crush [[counter-revolutionaries]], such as the "industrial and commercial slave owner" chancellor Lü Buwei. However, he was criticized for not being as thorough as he should have been, and as a result, after his death, hidden subversives under the leadership of the chief eunuch [[Zhao Gao]] were able to seize power and use it to restore the old feudal order.

To round out this re-evaluation, Luo Siding put forward a new interpretation of the precipitous collapse of the Qin dynasty in an article entitled "On the Class Struggle During the Period Between Qin and Han" in a 1974 issue of ''Red Flag'', to replace the old explanation. The new theory claimed that the cause of the fall of Qin lay in the lack of thoroughness of Qin Shi Huang's "dictatorship over the reactionaries, even to the extent of permitting them to worm their way into organs of political authority and usurp important posts."

=== Depictions in popular media ===
<!-- Not sure this worth including, but it was removed without notice, restored if you like * In [[The Nature of Despotism: From Caligula to Mugabe, the Making of Tyrants]], [[Tom Ambrose]] characterises Qin Shi Huang as the founder of "the first police state in history".<ref>{{cite book
 |last1        = Ambrose
 |first1       = Tom
 |title        = The Nature of Despotism: From Caligula to Mugabe, the Making of Tyrants
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=OGDuAAAAMAAJ
 |publisher    = New Holland
 |date         = 2010
 |page         = 20
 |isbn         = 978-1-84773-070-1
 |access-date  = 20 August 2016
|quote        = Qin Shi Huang [...] who unified China between 221 and 210 BC [...] established the first police state in history [...].
 |archive-date = 19 December 2019
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20191219035714/https://books.google.com/books?id=OGDuAAAAMAAJ
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>-->
* "The Wall and the Books" ("{{lang|es|La muralla y los libros}}"), an acclaimed essay on Qin Shi Huang published by Argentine writer [[Jorge Luis Borges]] (1899–1986) in the 1952 collection ''Other Inquisitions'' (''{{lang|es|Otras Inquisiciones}}'').<ref>Southerncrossreview.org. "[http://www.southerncrossreview.org/54/borges-muralla.htm Southerncrossreview.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319011106/http://www.southerncrossreview.org/54/borges-muralla.htm |date=19 March 2009 }}." "The Wall and the Books". Retrieved on 2 February 2009.</ref>
* ''[[The Emperor's Shadow]]'' (1996) – The film focuses on Qin Shi Huang's relationship with the musician [[Gao Jianli]], a friend of the assassin [[Jing Ke]].<ref>NYTimes.com. "[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE1DF113DF93BA25751C1A96E958260 NYtimes.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822104523/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE1DF113DF93BA25751C1A96E958260 |date=22 August 2011 }}." ''Film review.'' Retrieved on 2 February 2009.</ref>
* ''[[The Emperor and the Assassin]]'' (1999) – The film covers much of Ying Zheng's career, recalling his early experiences as a hostage and foreshadowing his dominance over China.<ref>"[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162866/ IMDb-162866] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731062622/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162866/ |date=31 July 2018 }}." ''Emperor and the Assassin.'' Retrieved on 2 February 2009.</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/345742.stm|title=The battle for the Palm d'Or|work=BBC News|date=17 May 1999|access-date=8 November 2016|archive-date=31 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731043505/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/345742.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Hero (2002 film)|Hero]]'' (2002) – The film stars [[Jet Li]], a nameless assassin who plans an assassination attempt on the King of Qin ([[Chen Daoming]]). The film is a fictional re-imagining of the assassination attempt by Jing Ke on Qin Shi Huang.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsufi.com/2009/10/hero-zhang-yimou-2002.html |title="Hero" – Zhang Yimou (2002) |work=The Film Sufi |access-date=5 September 2013 |archive-date=31 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731043505/http://www.filmsufi.com/2009/10/hero-zhang-yimou-2002.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Rise of the Great Wall]]'' (1986) – a 63-episode Hong Kong TV series chronicling the events from the emperor's birth until his death.<ref>Sina.com. "[http://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2003-11-10/0821230366.html Sina.com.cn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116054301/http://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2003-11-10/0821230366.html |date=16 January 2008 }}." ''历史剧:正史侠说.'' Retrieved on 2 February 2009.</ref> [[Tony Liu]] played Qin Shi Huang.
* ''[[A Step into the Past]]'' (2001) – a Hong Kong [[TVB]] production based on a science fiction novel by [[Huang Yi (author)|Huang Yi]].<ref>TVB. "[http://tvcity.tvb.com/drama/steppast/story/index.html TVB] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207032642/http://tvcity.tvb.com/drama/steppast/story/index.html |date=2009-02-07 }}." ''A Step to the Past TVB.'' Retrieved on 2 February 2009.</ref>
* ''[[Qin Shi Huang (2001 TV series)|Qin Shi Huang]]'' (2002) – a mainland Chinese TV semi-fictionalized series with [[Zhang Fengyi]].<ref>CCTV. "[https://archive.today/20120701160335/http://big5.cctv.com/news/ttxw/20011225/100002.html CCTV] ." ''List the 30 episode series.'' Retrieved on 2 February 2009.</ref>
* ''[[Kingdom (manga)|Kingdom]]'' (2006) – a Japanese manga that provides a fictionalized account of the unification of China by Ying Zheng with [[Li Xin (Qin)|Li Xin]] and all the people that contributed to the conquest of the six [[Warring States]].
* ''[[Fate/Grand Order]]'' (2015), an online, free-to-play role-playing mobile game of the [[Fate/Stay Night|Fate]] franchise developed by Delightworks and published by [[Aniplex]] features Qin Shi Huang as a Ruler class servant.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fate/Grand Order 4th Anniversary Event "Fate/Grand Order Fes 2019 ~Chaldea Park~" [Event Report Vol. 1]|url=https://otakumode.com/news/5d7726c682bf0c7854139d73/Fate-Grand-Order-4th-Anniversary-Event-%E2%80%9CFate-Grand-Order-Fes-2019-~Chaldea-Park~%E2%80%9D-Event-Report-Vol-1)#References|website=Tokyo Otaku Mode News|date=29 September 2019 |access-date=8 October 2019|archive-date=31 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731043506/https://otakumode.com/news/5d7726c682bf0c7854139d73/Fate-Grand-Order-4th-Anniversary-Event-%E2%80%9CFate-Grand-Order-Fes-2019-~Chaldea-Park~%E2%80%9D-Event-Report-Vol-1#References|url-status=live}} Retrieved 30 September 2019.</ref>
* [[Civilization VI]] (2016), a [[turn-based strategy]] [[4X]] video game developed by [[Firaxis Games]] and published by [[2K (company)|2K]] features Qin Shi Huang as a playable leader.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-12 |title=Civilization 6 DLC Rulers of China gets release date on Steam and Epic |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/civilization-vi/dlc-rulers-of-china |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=PCGamesN}}</ref>
* ''First Emperor: The Man Who Made China'' (2006) – a drama-documentary special about Qin Shi Huang. [[James Pax]] played the emperor. It was shown on [[Channel 4]] in the United Kingdom in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://documentarystorm.com/history-archaeology/the-first-emperor-the-man-who-made-china/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810231033/http://documentarystorm.com/history-archaeology/the-first-emperor-the-man-who-made-china/|url-status=dead|title=DocumentaryStorm|archive-date=10 August 2010}}</ref>
* ''China's First Emperor'' (2008) – a special three-hour documentary by [[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]]. Xu Pengkai played Qin Shi Huang.<ref>Historychannel.com. "[http://www.historychannelasia.com/china/ Historychannel.com] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20080618144441/http://www.historychannelasia.com/china/ |date=2008-06-18 }}." ''China's First emperor.'' Retrieved on 2 February 2009.</ref>
* ''[[The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor]]'' (2008) – the third of [[The Mummy (franchise)|''The Mummy'' trilogy]]. It happened that after General Ming Guo was killed for touching Zi Yuan, she put a curse on the Emperor and his army.
* Qin Shi Huang is depicted in seventh volume of the manga ''[[Record of Ragnarok]]'', fighting [[Hades]]. In the manga, he is depicted as a tall slender young man with a cloth covering his eye. He is also shown to be wearing traditional Chinese clothing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Record of Ragnarok Manga Volume 16 Releasing First On Mangamo |url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni63841557 |access-date=10 March 2023 |website=IMDb}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
=== Early ===
* [[Sima Qian]] ({{circa|91&nbsp;BC}}). ''[[Shiji]]''
** {{Cite book |last=Sima |first=Qian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruicEVx96lwC|year=2007 |title=Records of the Grand Historian: Qin dynasty |publisher=Columbia University Press] |translator-first=Raymond |translator-last=Dawson |isbn=978-0-19-922634-4}}
** {{Cite book |last=Sima |first=Qian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDo3xBcsX-UC|year=2006 |editor-link= William H. Nienhauser, Jr. |title=The Grand Scribe's Records V.1: The Hereditary Houses of Pre-Han China |publisher=Indiana University Press |editor-first=Nienhauser |editor-last=William|isbn=9780253340252}}
** {{Cite book |last=Sima|first=Qian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDo3xBcsX-UC|year=1994 |editor-link= William H. Nienhauser, Jr. |title=The Grand Scribe's Records I: The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China |publisher=Indiana University Press |editor-first=Nienhauser |editor-last=William|isbn=9780253340214}}
** {{Cite book|last=Sima|first=Qian|year=1993|translator-first=Burton|translator-last=Watson|title=Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0231081696|edition=3rd}}

=== Modern ===
==== Books ====
* {{cite book |last1=Barbieri-Low |first1=Anthony J. |last2=Yates |first2=Robin D. S. |author2-link=Robin D. S. Yates |year=2015 |title=Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China |series=Sinica Leidensia |volume=1 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-30053-8 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1W3sCgAAQBAJ}} }}
* {{Cite Cambridge History of China |last=Bodde |first=Derk |author-link=Derk Bodde |volume=1 |chapter=The State and Empire of Ch'in |pp=20–103}}
* {{cite book |last=Clements |first=Jonathan |year=2006 |title=The First Emperor of China |publisher=Sutton |location=Cheltenham |isbn=978-0-7509-3960-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstemperorofch00clem |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last=Cotterell |first=Arthur |year=1981 |title=The First Emperor of China: The Greatest Archeological Find of Our Time |publisher=Holt, Rinehart, & Winston |location=New York |isbn=978-0-03-059889-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstemperorofch00cott |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last1=Guisso |first1=R. W. L. |last2=Pagani |first2=Catherine |last3=Miller |first3=David |year=1989 |title=The First Emperor of China |publisher=Birch Lane |location=New York |isbn=978-1-55972-016-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstemperorofch0000guis |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Mark Edward |author-link=Mark Edward Lewis |year=2007 |title=The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=978-0-674-02477-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Loewe |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Loewe |year=2000 |title=A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (221 BC - AD 24) |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-10364-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Loewe |first=Michael |year=2004 |title=The Men Who Governed Han China: Companion to a Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-13845-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Paludan |first=Ann |author-link=Ann Paludan |year=1998 |title=Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial China |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London | isbn=978-0-500-05090-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Pines |first=Yuri |date=2009 |title=Envisioning Eternal Empire |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-3275-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhpLJgHZMTQC}}
* {{cite book |last=Portal |first=Jane |year=2007 |title=The First Emperor, China's Terracotta Army |publisher=[[British Museum Press]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-932543-26-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstemperorchin0000unse |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last=Vervoorn |first=Aat Emile |year=1990 |title=Men of the Cliffs and Caves: The Development of the Chinese Eremitic Tradition to the End of the Han Dynasty |publisher=[[Chinese University Press]] |location=Hong Kong |isbn=978-962-201-415-2 |pages=311–316|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nftZLCw19aIC&pg=PA316|chapter=Chronology of Dynasties and Reign Periods}}
* {{cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Endymion |author-link=Endymion Wilkinson |year=2018 |title=Chinese History: A New Manual |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |location=Cambridge, MA |edition=5th |isbn=978-0-9988883-0-9}}

==== Articles ====
* {{cite journal |last=Dull |first=Jack L. |date=July 1983 |title=Anti-Qin Rebels: No Peasant Leaders Here |journal=[[Modern China (journal)|Modern China]] |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=285–318 |doi=10.1177/009770048300900302 |jstor=188992 |s2cid=143585546 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Müller |first=Claudius Cornelius |date=29 May 2021 |title=Qin Shi Huang|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |location=Chicago |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Qin-Shi-Huang }}
* {{cite journal |last=Sanft |first=Charles |year=2008 |title=Progress and Publicity in Early China: Qin Shihuang, Ritual, and Common Knowledge |journal=Journal of Ritual Studies |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=21–37 |jstor=44368779}}
* {{cite journal |last= Sørensen|first=Ærenlund |year=2010 |title=How the First Emperor Unified the Minds of Contemporary Historians: The Inadequate Source Criticism in Modern Historical Works about the Chinese Bronze Age |journal=[[Monumenta Serica]] |volume=58 |issue= |pages=1–30 |doi=10.1179/mon.2010.58.1.001 |jstor=41417876 |s2cid=152767331 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Bodde |first=Derk |author-link=Derk Bodde |year=1967 |orig-year=1938 |title=China's First Unifier: a Study of the Ch'In Dynasty as Seen in the Life of Li Ssu (280?–208 B.C.) |publisher=[[Hong Kong University Press]] |location=Hong Kong |oclc=605941031 }}
* {{cite book |last=Levi |first=Jean |translator-last=Bray |translator-first=Barbara |translator-link=Barbara Bray |year=1987 |title=The Chinese Emperor |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=Boston}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Yu-ning |editor-first=Li |year=1975 |title=The First Emperor of China |publisher=International Arts and Sciences Press |location=White Plains |isbn=978-0-87332-067-2 }}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Qin Shi Huang}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline|Qin Shi Huang}}

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{{s-hou|[[House of Ying]]||260 BC||210 BC||name=First Emperor of Qin}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[King Zhuangxiang of Qin|King Zhuangxiang]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Qin (state)|King of Qin]]|years=246–221 BC
|regent1=[[Lü Buwei]]|years1=246–235 BC}}
{{s-vac|recreated|next=[[Ziying|Qin San Shi]]}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Emperor of China]]|years=221–210 BC|dynasty=[[Qin dynasty|Qin]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Qin Er Shi]]|rows=2}}
{{S-vac|last=[[King Nan of Zhou]]|as=King of China|reason=[[Qin's wars of unification]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chinese sovereign|Monarchs of China]]<br /><small>''as Emperor of China''</small>|years=221–210 BC|dynasty=[[Qin dynasty|Qin]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Monarchs of Qin}}
{{Qin dynasty topics}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|China|History}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Qin Shi Huang| ]]
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[[Category:Legalism (Chinese philosophy)]]
[[Category:People from Handan]]
[[Category:Qin dynasty emperors]]