秦始皇英文详细简介

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Qin Shi Huangdi

Ancestral name

(

姓

):

Ying (

嬴

)

Clan name

(

氏

):

Zhao?

(

趙

) or Qin?

Given name

(

名

):

Zheng (

政

)

King of the

Qin state

Dates of reign:

July 246 BCE

–

221 BCE

Official title

:

King of Qin (

秦王

)

First Emperor of China

Dates of reign:

221 BCE

–

210 BCE

Official title:

First Emperor (

始皇帝

)

Temple name

:

None.

Posthumous name

:

None.

Dates are in the

proleptic Julian calendar

———

1.

As appears in the

Records of the Grand Historian

by

Sima Qian

. Apparently, the First Emperor being born

in the

State of Zhao

where his father was a hostage, he later

adopted Zhao as his clan name (in ancient China clan names

often changed from generation to generation), but this is

not completely certain.

2. Based on ancient Chinese naming patterns, we can infer that

Qin was the clan name of the royal house of the

State of Qin

,

derived from the name of the state.

Qin Shi Huangdi

(

Chinese

:

秦始皇

;

pinyin

:

Qí

n Sh

ǐ

huáng

;

Wade-Giles

: Ch'in Shih- huang;

IPA: [t

??

in

??

< br>xu

ɑ

?]) (259 BC –

210 BC),

[1][2]

personal name

Ying Zheng

(

Chinese

:

嬴

政

;

pinyin

:

Yí

ng Zhèng

), was king of the Chinese

State of Qin

from 246 BC to 221 BC

during the

Warring States Period

.

[3]

He became the first emperor of a unified China

in 221 BC.

[3]

He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the age of 50.

[4]

Qin Shi Huang is a pivotal figure in Chinese history. After unifying China, he and his

chief advisor

Li Si

passed a series of major economic and political reforms.

[3]

He

undertook gigantic projects, including the first version of the

Great Wall of China

,

the now famous city- sized

mausoleum

guarded by a life-sized

Terracotta Army

, and

a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. To ensure

stability, Qin Shi Huang

outlawed and burned many books

.

[4]

Name of Shi Huangdi

Title meaning

During the preceding

Zhou Dynasty

(

700 BC

-

221 BC

), later rulers of the independent

states of

China

by convention used the title ―

King

‖ (

Chinese

:

王

;

pinyin

:

Wáng

).

Following his defeat of the last of the

Warring States

in

221 BC

, King Zheng of

Qin

became

de facto

ruler of all

China

. To celebrate this achievement and consolidate

his power base, King Zheng created a new title calling himself the

First Sovereign

Qin Emperor

(

Chinese

:

秦始皇帝

;

pinyin

:

Qí

n Sh

ǐ

Huángdì

;

Wade-Giles

: Qing Shih

Huang-di), often shortened to Qin Shi Huang (

Chinese

:

秦始皇

;

pinyin

:

Qí

n Sh

ǐ

Huáng

;

Wade- Giles

: Qing Shih-Huang).

The character (

始

) means ―first‖.

[5]

The first emperor's heirs would then be

successively called

generations.

[6]

The characters

皇帝

pinyin

:

Huángdì

) come from the mythical

Three Sovereigns

and Five Emperors Era

(

Chinese

:

三皇五帝

;

pinyin

:

Sān Huáng W? Dì

) (3

rd

Century BC),

from which the two characters (

皇帝

) are extracted.

[7]

By adding such a title, Qí

n Sh

ǐ

Huángdì

hoped to appropriate some of the previous

Yellow Emperor

's (

黃帝

) divine

status and prestige.

[8]

Usage

Both names,

秦始皇帝

) and

秦始皇

), appear in the

Records of the Grand Historian

written by

Sima Qian

. The longer name

Huangdi

秦始皇帝

) appears first in chapter 5,

[9]

though the shorter name

Huang

秦始皇

) was the name of chapter 6 (

秦始皇本紀

).

[10][11]

However, the name Qin

Shi Huangdi is believed to be the correct one since Ying Zheng joined together the

words Huang (Imperial) and Di (ruler), to create Huangdi (emperor).

[12]

Youth

Birth

A rich merchant in the

state of Han

, named

Lü Buwei

, met Master Yiren (

公子異人

).

Lü Buwei's manipulation helped Yiren become

King Zhuangxiang of Qin

.

[4]

At the

time, King Zhuangxiang of Qin was a prince of blood

Qin

, who took residence in the

court of

Zhao

as a hostage to guarantee an

armistice

between the two states.

[13]

According to the

Records of the Grand Historian

, Zhao Zheng, first emperor, was

born in 259 BC as the eldest son of

King Zhuangxiang of Qin

.

[2][14]

King Zhaoxiang of

Qin saw a

concubine

belonging to

Lü Buwei

, and she bore the first emperor.

[14]

At

birth, he was given the personal name Zheng (

政

).

[14]

Because Zheng was born in

Handan

, capital of the enemy

state of Zhao

(

趙

), he had the name

Zhao Zheng

.

[14]

Zhao Zheng's ancestors are said to have come from

Gansu province

.

[2]

Birth controversy

According to the

Records of the Grand Historian

, written by

Sima Qian

during the

next dynasty and avowedly hostile to Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor was not the

actual son of King Zhaoxiang of Qin. By the time

Lü Buwei

introduced the dancing

girl Zhao Ji (

趙姬

, or the Concubine from Zhao) to the future King Zhuangxiang of Qin,

she was allegedly Lü Buwei's concubine and already pregnant by him.

[13]

According

to translated texts of

Annals of Lü Buwei

the woman bore the future emperor in

Handan

259 BC in the first month of the 48th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

[15]

There was some inconsistency between the date of birth and the theory that Lü

Buwei was the real father of the first emperor.

[15]

In the view of some scholars, the

length of the pregnancy was irregular, lasting a full year, which is impossible,

according to modern medicine.

[15]

The idea that the emperor was an illegitimate

child added to the negative view of him for most of the past 2000 years.

[5]

However,

today there is considerable skepticism among scholars about this claim by Sima

Qian. Professors John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, in their translation of Lü

Buwei's

Spring and Autumn Annals

, call the story

libel Lü and to cast aspersions on the First Emperor.

[16]

King of the Qin state

Teenage years

In 246 BC, when

King Zhuangxiang

died after a short reign of just three years, he

was succeeded to the throne by his 13-year-old son.

[17]

At the time, Zhao Zheng was

still young, so

Lü Buwei

acted as the regent prime minister of the Qin state, which

was still waging war against the

neighbouring six states

.

[5]

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 Zhao Ji (

趙姬

). He decided to distance himself

and look for a replacement for the king. He found a man named Lao Ai (

嫪毐

).

[18]

The

Record of Grand historian said Lao Ai was disguised as a

eunuch

by plucking his

beard. Later Lao Ai and queen Zhao Ji got along so well they secretly had two sons

together.

[18]

Lao Ai then became ennobled as

Marquis

Lao Ai, and was showered

with riches. Lü Buwei's plot was supposed to replace King Zheng with one of the

hidden sons. But during a dinner party drunken Lao Ai was heard bragging about

being the young king's step father.

[18]

In 238 BC the king was traveling to the

ancient capital of

Yong

(

雍

). Lao Ai seized the queen mother's

Chinese seal

and

mobilized an army in an attempt to start a

coup

and rebel.

[18]

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.

[18]

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.

[18]

The two hidden sons were also killed, while

mother Zhao Ji was placed under house arrest until her death many years later. Lü

Buwei drank a cup of poison wine and

committed suicide

in 235 BC.

[5][18]

Ying Zheng

then assumed full power as the King of the Qin state. Replacing Lü Buwei,

Li Si

was

also now the new

chancellor

.

Jing Ke's assassination mission

Main article:

Jing Ke

King Zheng and his troops continued to take over different states. The

state of Yan

was small, weak and frequently harassed by soldiers. It was no match for the Qin

state.

[19]

So

Crown Prince Dan of Yan

plotted an assassination attempt to get rid of

King Zheng, begging

Jing Ke

to go on the mission in 227 BC.

[4][19]

Jing Ke

was

accompanied by

Qin Wuyang

in the plot. Each was supposed to present a gift to

King Zheng, a map of Dukang and the

decapitated

head of

Fan Yuqi

.

[19]

Qin Wuyang first tried to present the map case gift, but trembled in fear and moved

no further towards the king. Jing Ke continued to advance toward the king, while

explaining that his partner

Son of Heaven

he is trembling. Jing Ke had to present both gifts by himself.

[19]

While unrolling the

map, a

dagger

was revealed. The king drew back, stood on his feet, but struggled to

draw the sword to defend himself.

[19]

At the time other palace officials were not

allowed to carry weapons. Jing Ke pursued the king, attempting to stab him, but

missed. King Zheng then drew out his sword and cut Jing Ke's thigh. Jing Ke then

threw the dagger, but missed again. Suffering eight wounds from the king's sword,

Jing Ke realised his attempt had failed. Both Jing Ke and Qin Wuyang would be

killed afterwards.

[19]

The Yan state was conquered by the Qin state five years

later.

[19]

Gao Jianli's assassination mission

Main article:

Gao Jianli

Gao Jianli was a close friend of

Jing Ke

, who tried to avenge his death.

[20]

As a

famous

lute

player, one day he was summoned by King Zheng to play the

instrument. Someone in the palace who had known him in the past exclaimed,

is Gao Jianli

[21]

Unable to bring himself to kill such a skilled musician, the emperor

ordered his eyes put out.

[21]

But the king allowed Gao Jianli to play in his

presence.

[21]

He praised the playing and even allowed Gao Jianli to get closer. As

part of the plot, the lute was fastened with a heavy piece of

lead

. He raised the lute

and struck at the king. He missed and his assassination attempt failed. Gao Jianli

was later executed.

[21]

First unification of China

Imperial tours of Qin Shi Huang

In 230 BC, King Zheng unleashed the final campaigns of the

Warring States Period

,

setting out to conquer the remaining independent kingdoms, one by one.

The first state to fall was

Han

(

韓

; sometimes called Hann to distinguish it from the

Han

漢

of

Han dynasty

), in 230 BC. Then Qin took advantage of a

natural disaster

,

the 229 BC Zhao state earthquake, to invade and conquer Zhao where Qin Shi

Huang had been born.

[22][23]

He now avenged his poor treatment as a child hostage

there, seeking out and killing his enemies.

Qin armies conquered the state of

Zhao

in 228 BC, the northern country of

Yan

in

226 BC, the small state of

Wei

in 225 BC, and the largest state and greatest

challenge,

Chu

, in 223 BC.

[24]

In 222 BC, the last remnants of Yan and the royal family were captured in

Liaodong

in the northeast. The only independent country left was now

state of Qi

, in the far

east, what is now the

Shandong

peninsula. Terrified, the young king of Qi sent

300,000 people to defend his western borders. In 221 BC, the Qin armies invaded

from the north, captured the king, and annexed Qi.

For the first time, all of China was unified under one powerful ruler. In that same

year, King Zheng proclaimed himself the

始皇帝

).

In the South, military expansion continued during his reign, with various regions

being annexed to what is now

Guangdong

province and part of today's

Vietnam

.

[23]

First Emperor of the Qin dynasty

Division and politics

Main article:

History of the administrative divisions of China

In an attempt to avoid a recurrence of the political chaos of the

Warring States

Period

, Qin Shi Huang and his prime minister

Li Si

completely abolished

feudalism

[23]

and independent states (

國

)

[25]

; the conquered states were not allowed to be

referred to as independent nations. The empire was then divided into 36

commanderies

(

郡

), later more than 40 commanderies.

[23]

The whole of China was

now divided into administrative units: first commanderies, then

districts

(

縣

),

counties

(

鄉

) and hundred-family units (

里

).

[25]

This system was different from the

previous dynasties, which had loose alliances and federations.

[26]

People could no

longer be identified by their native region or former feudal state, as when a person

from

Chu

was called

楚人

).

[2 5][27]

Appointments were now based on

merit instead of

hereditary

rights.

[25]

Economy

Qin Shi Huang and

Li Si

unified China economically by standardizing the

Chinese

units of measurements

such as weights and

measures

, the

currency

, the length of

the

axles

of

carts

to facilitate transport on the road system.

[26]

The emperor also

developed an extensive network of roads and canals connecting the provinces to

improve trade between them.

[26]

The currency of the different states were also

standardized to the

Ban liang coin

(

半兩

).< /p>

[25]

Perhaps most importantly, the

Chinese

script

was unified. Under Li Si, the

seal script

of the state of Qin was standardized

through removal of variant forms within the Qin script itself. This newly

standardized script was then made official throughout all the conquered regions,

thus doing away with all the regional scripts to form one language, one

communication system for all of China.

[25]

Identification

Qin Shi Huang also followed the school of the

five elements

, earth, wood, metal, fire

and water. It was believed that the royal house of the previous dynasty

Zhou

had

ruled by the power of fire, which was the color red. Thus the new Qin dynasty must

be ruled by the next element on the list, which is water, represented by the color

black. Thus black became the colour for garments, flags, pennants.

[28]

Other

associations include north as the

cardinal direction

, winter season and the number

six.

[29]

Tallies and official hats were six

inches

long, carriages six feet wide, one

pace

(

步

) was 6 ft (1.8 m).

[28]

Zhang Liang's assassination attempt

Main article:

Zhang Liang (Western Han)

In 230 BC, the state of Qin had defeated the state of

Han

. A Han aristocrat named

Zhang Liang

swore revenge on the Qin emperor. He sold all his valuables and in 218

BC, he hired a

strongman

assassin and built him a heavy metal cone weighing 120

jin

(roughly 160 lbs. or 97 kg.).

[18]

The two men hid among the bushes along the

emperor's route over a mountain. At a signal, the muscular assassin hurled the

cone at the first carriage and shattered it. However, the emperor was actually in

the second carriage, as he was traveling with two identical carriages for this very

reason. Thus the attempt failed.

[30]

Both men were able to escape in spite of a huge

manhunt.

[18]

North: Great wall

Main article:

Great wall of China

The Qin fought

nomadic

tribes to the north and northwest. The

Xiongnu

tribes were

not defeated and subdued, thus the campaign was tiring and unsuccessful, and to

prevent the Xiongnu from encroaching on the northern frontier any longer, the

emperor ordered the construction of an immense defensive wall.

[23][31]

This wall, for

whose construction hundreds of thousands of men were mobilized, and an unknown

number died, is a precursor to the current

Great Wall of China

. Very little survives

today of the great wall built by the first emperor as the original wall sections went

to ruins centuries ago.

[32]

South: Lingqu canal

Main article:

Lingqu Canal

A famous South China quotation was

South there is the Lingqu canal

北有長城、南有靈渠