The Achievements and Faults of Qin Shihuang, The First Emperor of China
Emperor Qin Shihuang
Before the early third century BC, what is now known as China was nothing but a number of warring states. In 221 BC, Qin Shihuang, king of Qin (from which the name of the country derives), united China and became the first emperor of China. In terms of his long-lasting impact on the history of China, Qin Shihuang's life was marked with extraordinary achievement. However, from a more humanitarian point of view, those achievements came at great costs, perhaps to a fault.
Here is a look at some of Qin Shihuang's greatest achievements and greatest faults, and my analysis of which outweighs the other.
Qin Shihuang's Top Five Achievements
Qin Shihuang achieved quite a few significant accomplishments. These include:
- Uniting China
- Establishing the Qin dynasty
- Reinforcing legalism within the Chinese administrative system
- Restructuring political divisions to form a more coherent state
- Harmonising measurement units to allow for consistent, state-wide economic development
- Standardising the different Chinese scripts
- Building the Great Wall to protect the northern borders
- Constructing the Lingqu canal in the south to connect the major waterways and prevent flooding
- Building the overall infrastructure for national economic development
- Building the impressive Terracotta Army.
Here I will elaborate on what I consider to be the emperor's top five achievements.
1. Unifying China
The most important achievement under Qin Shihuang is the unification of China. After the Qin state conquered all others, ending the Warring States period, Qin Shihuang declared himself the first emperor—until that point, there had only been kings. With that, he founded the first Chinese dynasty. He continued to expand the Qin dynasty after unifying China, going as far south as Vietnam. This laid a solid foundation for future Chinese dynasties until the collapse of the Qing dynasty in the early 1900s.
The second most important of his achievements was the reinforcement of legalism within the Chinese administrative systems. The impact of this achievement far outlasted the Qin dynasty, and survives even under the current Communist rule.
Legalism is a Chinese philosophy best captured in The Book of Lord Shang. It assumes that people are essentially bad and that the only way to maintain public order is through strict laws and severe penalties. It had a great influence on the operation of the Qin dynasty.
Another important change was that meritocracy was valued over aristocracy within the government. The high officials and generals could be anybody who had the skill and the competence for those posts, and only the ruler of the state derived his privilege from birthright. This had a fundamental impact on future Chinese dynasties, in which examinations were introduced to promote people into government capacities, as opposed to inheriting the positions, as had been done in the past.
Qin Shihuang's third most important achievement was reforming the political arrangements to ensure China would not fall again into the divisive conflict of the Warring States period. To form a more coherent state, Qin Shihuang created commanderies, or military districts, within all the conquered states. He divided his empire into 36 commanderies in all, each run by a military governor. Within each commandery were a number of counties. The central government’s strong bond with its military commanderies prevented conflicts between states from turning into wars.
The fourth achievement was standardising everything from measurement units to writing scripts.
Economically, commerce was enhanced as currency, weights, roads and cart axle length were standardised. The development of roads and canals also created better connectivity between major trading regions.
Culturally, the writing script was standardised and made official throughout the dynasty. This created better internal communications for the state. All of these changes had very long-lasting impacts on later Chinese dynasties.
5. Building the Great Wall of China
Qin Shihuang also built the Great Wall of China to protect the dynasty from raids from the north. The construction of the wall lasted for 2,000 years after he began the project, and spans 13,171 mi (21,196 km) with all of its branches. It is so expansive that US Senator Jake Garn has said he could see the wall from space shuttle orbit. The wall is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
This was not Qin Shihuang's only historic monument; he also built the impressive Terracotta Army in his pursuit of immortality. The army has over 8,000 figures, each personalized with facial details and holding actual weapons. The army was also accompanied by statues of chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, and musicians and was in fact part of an entire necropolis of offices, stables, and halls surrounding Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, built beneath a huge tomb mound. Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Both of these constructions withstood the test of time and are still here today, providing great cultural sites for the people of the modern era.
Qin Shihuang's Two Major Faults
Qin Shihuang’s many faults and unattractive features derive in large part from his achievements.
One of his most well-known traits is harshness, which at times was considered despotic. He is said to have maintained strict order over his kingdom, and valued obedience above all. As the first ruler to have united many Warring States and subsequently impose a central government with astonishing alacrity, this trait may seem expected in some ways.
However, historical accounts should be taken with a grain of salt. Our only concrete sources about the Qin dynasty come largely from Han historians. Qin Shihuang's legalism, which believed strict rule was necessary because people inherently could not be trusted to govern themselves, was explicitly opposed to scholars' Confucianism, which believes that humans can and should try to improve themselves.From Qin Shihuang's legalist perspective, these views held by scholars were divisive, and consequently, scholars were persecuted in different ways, as seen below.
Ordinary people resented the Qin dynasty not only because of the emperor's harshness, but also because of legalism itself. While Qin Shihuang can be blamed partially for the faults of legalism, it was seen as the only way to unite the people and maintain order in the short term.
Qin Shihuang is most frequently faulted for the burning of books and burying of scholars. Technically it was not his idea, but that of Li Si to suppress thoughts and unify political and intellectual opinions by destroying books. The burning of books was also motivated by Qin Shihuang's desire to standardise scripts, because it was a method of removing books with non-standard writing. The many different political theories known as the ‘Hundred Schools of Thought’ and many history books were destroyed in the process, with the exception of books on legalism as well as a few on divination, medicine, agriculture, and war.
Historical accounts report that he buried alive between 400 and 700 scholars in the capital after being tricked by two alchemists. He was very concerned with mortality, as shown by his building the Terracotta Army as a monument to himself, and he was always looking for ways to extend his life through supernatural means.
Some of the scholars were also Confucians—despite his first son’s advice to not do so, Qin Shihuang continued to suppress the philosophy. This was perhaps the greatest shock to his dynasty’s foundation, as it caused a lot of resentment in the Confucian community. After his son warned him about the dangers of suppressing Confucianism, Qin Shihuang sent him into exhile, further proof that the first emperor was quite ruthless toward ideas he did not like.
From a long-term perspective, the burning of the books did not have a huge impact, because at the time most books were orally transmitted. The impact has also been mitigated by books that have been dug up in recent years. However, during the Qin dynasty, it was disastrous for the newly-founded empire. Not only did it create fear within the scholars and the educated community, but also it restricted intellectual freedom, fomenting resentment.
2. Embarking on Projects of Immense Scale and Human Costs
The emperor's other major fault lay in the inhumane conditions on his huge construction projects, such as the Great Wall, the canal, the Terracotta Army, and other infrastructure projects. Harshness was expected under legalist rule, and as a result, the people suffered immensely. Countless died in these construction projects, and the resentment toward the Qin rulers grew larger and larger. The harsh conditions of construction combined with the strict Qin laws meant that even the smallest mistakes and crimes would get punished unreasonably. All of these faults of Qin Shihuang and his first dynasty eventually caused the final collapse of the short-lived dynasty.
The Final Analysis
Did Qin Shihuang’s achievements outweigh his faults? Personally, I would say yes. He did more good than harm. Fundamentally, he established a governance model that successive dynasties emulated throughout the rest of Chinese history. He had to do the unpopular work of getting everything in place for an empire, which later emperors were faced with the task maintaining, rather than creating. The Han dynasty simply re-arranged a few things to correct Qin Shihuang’s mistakes and took off from where the Qin ended, wisely learning from its mistakes. Legalism was still infused into the Chinese administrative and legal system, except that later dynasties used a Confucian coating to make it more pleasant to the masses. This made it more sustainable and functional in the long term.
Admittedly, Qin Shihuang was not a benevolent figure and his actions were certainly harsh. Still, his achievements were very important and significant to the development of Chinese culture and history, despite the short-lived dynasty. Therefore, on a long term scale, Qin Shihuang’s achievements outweigh his faults.
Comments
He didn't build the impressive Terracotta army individually!
Thank you i needed this reserch it really fun
'he did more good than harm' ??
he had his mothers lovers limbs stretched until he was pulled apart! and had his his family killed or exiled! he had his 2 young half-brothers strangled! and everyone from the armies he won against beheaded!
It was a very helpful article which I used to research for an assignment. Maybe try to elaborate a bit more on the Terracotta army or make it a little more readable, such as adding a table of contents or something. Overall, it was good.
I liked it
Qin was a god.
Guys, this website is about the achievements and faults of Qin Shi Huangdi. The main focus isn't on the Qin Dynasty. I found it very informative, especially for my project. Be grateful that there's already this website to help you!
This helped me a lot for my school project! Thanks!
he didn't build the wall...
it is ok
History Project done and dusted!
Mmmm herro
this is crusted
thanks it was useful yaaaaaaaay!
hi anyone want to join
ay yo kkk you are sheeeeeete
What is the author's name? I need to in-text cite this and I don't know this person's last name!!! Please help.
Qin Shi Huangdi is a bad man
Building the overall infrastructure for national economic development
Building the impressive Terracotta Army.
Here I will elaborate on what I consider to be the emperor's top five achievements.
1. Unifying China
Qin Shihuan conquered all of the states in China, ending the Warring States period.
Qin Shihuan conquered all of the states in China, ending the Warring States period.
The most important achievement under Qin Shihuang is the unification of China. After the Qin state conquered all others, ending the Warring States period, Qin Shihuang declared himself the first emperor—until that point, there had only been kings. With that, he founded the first Chinese dynasty. He continued to expand the Qin dynasty after unifying China, going as far south as Vietnam. This laid a solid foundation for future Chinese dynasties until the collapse of the Qing dynasty in the early 1900s.
The second most important of his achievements was the reinforcement of legalism within the Chinese administrative systems. The impact of this achievement far outlasted the Qin dynasty, and survives even under the current Communist rule.
Legalism is a Chinese philosophy best captured in The Book of Lord Shang. It assumes that people are essentially bad and that the only way to maintain public order is through strict laws and severe penalties. It had a great influence on the operation of the Qin dynasty.
Another important change was that meritocracy was valued over aristocracy within the government. The high officials and generals could be anybody who had the skill and the competence for those posts, and only the ruler of the state derived his privilege from birthright. This had a fundamental impact on future Chinese dynasties, in which examinations were introduced to promote people into government capacities, as opposed to inheriting the positions, as had been done in the past.
Qin Shihuang restructured China into military districts so that states would not fall into war once more. The military was so important to him that he built the Terracotta Army to aid him in the afterlife.
Qin Shihuang restructured China into military districts so that states would not fall into war once more. The military was so important to him that he built the Terracotta Army to aid him in the afterlife.
Qin Shihuang's third most important achievement was reforming the political arrangements to ensure China would not fall again into the divisive conflict of the Warring States period. To form a more coherent state, Qin Shihuang created commanderies, or military districts, within all the conquered states. He divided his empire into 36 commanderies in all, each run by a military governor. Within each commandery were a number of counties. The central government’s strong bond with its military commanderies prevented conflicts between states from turning into wars.
Qin Shihuang standarised Chinese scripts, improving internal communication throughout the large country.
Qin Shihuang standarised Chinese scripts, improving internal communication throughout the large country.
The fourth achievement was standardising everything from measurement units to writing scripts.
Economically, commerce was enhanced as currency, weights, roads and cart axle length were standardised. The development of roads and canals also created better connectivity between major trading regions.
Culturally, the writing script was standardised and made official throughout the dynasty. This created better internal communications for the state. All of these changes had very long-lasting impacts on later Chinese dynasties.
5. Building the Great Wall of China
One of Qin Shihuang's achievements was building the Great Wall of China, now considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
One of Qin Shihuang's achievements was building the Great Wall of China, now considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Qin Shihuang also built the Great Wall of China to protect the dynasty from raids from the north. The construction of the wall lasted for 2,000 years after he began the project, and spans 13,171 mi (21,196 km) with all of its branches. It is so expansive that US Senator Jake Garn has said he could see the wall from space shuttle orbit. The wall is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
This was not Qin Shihuang's only historic monument; he also built the impressive Terracotta Army in his pursuit of immortality. The army has over 8,000 figures, each personalized with facial details and holding actual weapons. The army was also accompanied by statues of chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, and musicians and was in fact part of an entire necropolis of offices, stables, and halls surrounding Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, built beneath a huge tomb mound. Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Both of these constructions withstood the test of time and are still here today, providing great cultural sites for the people of the modern era.
Qin Shihuang's Two Major Faults
Qin Shihuang’s many faults and unattractive features derive in large part from his achievements.
One of his most well-known traits is harshness, which at times was considered despotic. He is said to have maintained strict order over his kingdom, and valued obedience above all. As the first ruler to have united many Warring States and subsequently impose a central government with astonishing alacrity, this trait may seem expected in some ways.
However, historical accounts should be taken with a grain of salt. Our only concrete sources about the Qin dynasty come largely from Han historians. Qin Shihuang's legalism, which believed strict rule was necessary because people inherently could not be trusted to govern themselves, was explicitly opposed to scholars' Confucianism, which believes that humans can and should try to improve themselves.From Qin Shihuang's legalist perspective, these views held by scholars were divisive, and consequently, scholars were persecuted in different ways, as seen below.
Ordinary people resented the Qin dynasty not only because of the emperor's harshness, but also because of legalism itself. While Qin Shihuang can be blamed partially for the faults of legalism, it was seen as the only way to unite the people and maintain order in the short term.
Qin Shihuang is most frequently faulted for the burning of books and burying of scholars. Technically it was not his idea, but that of Li Si to suppress thoughts and unify political and intellectual opinions by destroying books. The burning of books was also motivated by Qin Shihuang's desire to standardise scripts, because it was a method of removing books with non-standard writing. The many different political theories known as the ‘Hundred Schools of Thought’ and many history books were destroyed in the process, with the exception of books on legalism as well as a few on divination, medicine, agriculture, and war.
Historical accounts report that he buried alive between 400 and 700 scholars in the capital after being tricked by two alchemists. He was very concerned with mortality, as shown by his building the Terracotta Army as a monument to himself, and he was always looking for ways to extend his life through supernatural means.
Some of the scholars were also Confucians—despite his first son’s advice to not do so, Qin Shihuang continued to suppress the philosophy. This was perhaps the greatest shock to his dynasty’s foundation, as it caused a lot of resentment in the Confucian community. After his son warned him about the dangers of suppressing Confucianism, Qin Shihuang sent him into exhile, further proof that the first emperor was quite ruthless toward ideas he did not like.
From a long-term perspective, the burning of the books did not have a huge impact, because at the time most books were orally transmitted. The impact has also been mitigated by books that have been dug up in recent years. However, during the Qin dynasty, it was disastrous for the newly-founded empire. Not only did it create fear within the scholars and the educated community, but also it restricted intellectual freedom, fomenting resentment.
2. Embarking on Projects of I
this is amazing it gave me a lot of information for my project. thank you whoever made this.
needs more on Qin Dynasty but good relible site
Are we sure all this info is true.
very help full and helped me complete my history assessment. thanks
this website has help me with my history assessment
This is a really go place to study
Helped so much
I like this website it has good pictures and informaion
i need to know how tall he was and what he weighed and what his achievements were for a school project. this is no use. i give up.
Liked the information and how you elaborated on the information!
But don't know if it is all right
thanks for help?
gave me lots of good information for my essay! :-)
u read that wrong too and now ur rereading this C:
This is good information
Really good
Great website, thank you so much!
Thank you.
You guys make no sense...
I like dis article very fun helped me thousand times over thanks!
Lol shoutout to my yr 7 core sose class for being the OG bombass commenters
Y'all rock .
Helped me ✍
this helped me alot
Dear Hub Pages Editor,
First of all I would just like to apologise on behalf of everyone on here for the rude and stupid comments that are being posted. Second of all I would like to thank you for this amazing page,it has been very helpful and helped me score a perfect score on my Ancient Chinese History SAT test. The previous comments above about the great wall of China have been especially helpful (I know, I know, it does sound unbelievable at first but without this information I wouldn't have scored 100%). So, thank you Mr JohnathonGreenwood for all your help and I look forward to reading that page you recommended above by CMHypno.
Thank you so much,
Hayley Thomas
replying to 'katniss everdene':
Qin Shi just repaired the great wall. It was actually built ten years before he fixed it. It was destroyed because a bunch of nomads got angry and tore it down when the chinese took one of their horses.
Hopefully this will help you!
Hi, 'Katniss Everdene',
In response to your question asked above, Qin Shi did not build the wall but just repaired it. It was actually built ten years prior to this and he had to fix it because a group of wild nomads tore it down in anger for the Chinese kidnapping one of their horses.
Sorry for the late reply, hope this is helpful!\
Kindest regards,
Jonathon Green
-Hub Pages Editor
(Just a gentle reminder to not post rude comments because I can trace your IP address and find out who posts them)
Camron Lowe (historian) did enjoy this post. (Thanks),
You still haven't gotten back to me about if Qin Shi rally did build the great wall or just repaired it. Pls get back to me =-). All the haters f this website stop posting stupid comments, IT'S THE BEST WEBSITE YET. I also need details to include in my reference list. All the best, and thanks.
i am referencing your website and i need to know the publication date and author if you could get back to me that would be wonderful thankyou
Hay, Great Iinfo
I am qin shi Huangdi and always will be hehe
Thanks for the information. It helped me for my essay. Please,don't make stupid comments.
What's with all the haters, this website was awesome and very useful. Jonathon, thank u soooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!! All this information was valid in every other website that i went on so i believe it is mostly true. But, did Qin Shi Huang Di actually build the great wall or did he just repair it and make it longer???? If u could answer that for me it would be very helpful for my assignment...
Thanks ;)
Thank u sooooooo much!!!! This wb site was very helpful and i will read i am looking forward to reading 'Will the Tomb of the First Emperor of China Ever Be Excavated?'
This was really helpful for my high school assignment! Thanks so much!
i love minecraft all you haters
Dear editor, thank you so much for the valuable info. but the comments are really worthless, id rather just hear you respond to messages from others rather than posting it like this. Once again, thank you so much.
This website is probably the best incent china I seen yet
This help me the most to pass my IB exama
I thought that this is a very good website,it's jfkckdkx,decided know,s,s.skjsiw,s,sidncneuemdnwodidndhdyemdi
That mr. Qin is dummy!LOL! LOL!
love this site
Its crap
it helped a lot
this was sick
willy
this website if fully sick
This website is bullshit I learnt nothing. Thanks a heap now I am going to fail my history essay thanks to you.
Come on u think anyone's actually gonna believe that the kardashians would comment on a page about the fist emperor of China. I mean SERIOISLY guys.
okayyyyyy...
I want a sausage now... :)
you will be missed...
Im crying right now cos north just told me to shut up
I think my life is over
GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD
I wish we could just paint a rainbow and all be happy xxxx
North honey language! Its not good publicity!
no one seems to have any Christmas spirit these days
hi im bak
not here grampz
not here gandpa :)
not here grandpa!
wheres the Christmas spirit
come on editor take a chill pillll
Please behave yourself online. The comments are for feedback on the webpage ONLY.
Also I do not appreciate people impersonating me as the previous 'hub pages editor'
Thank you for understanding
On a lighter note I would recommend you read the article 'Will the Tomb of the First Emperor of China Ever Be Excavated?' by CMHypno.
Sincerely,
Jonathon Greenwood,
Hub Pages Editor
*touches you*
hi guys
meh....
Santa claus ive been BAD
hahahahhahaha
that's right I'm going to be too busy on the biggest north pole lose
but not for u santa!!!!! :P
Christmas is soon
............
Hi Love you too @JessicaGrace
khloe k fat lady sings so start singing!!
I LOVE you Kim you are my FAVOURITE
hello
Khloe K this fight isn't over until the fat lady sings so start singing!!
wth are you doing kloe, get off my computer
what are you doing khloe
Kim, can I get an AMEN???
chelsea
good website :)
me YOU WILL DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
149