Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE)

Not to be confused with Qing dynasty

Qin 秦 qín
221 BCE–206 BCE
Qin dynasty in 210 BCE
Capital	Xianyang（咸阳）
Government	Absolute monarchy
Area
• Total	2,300,000 km²

The Qin dynasty was the first dynasty of Imperial China. It was five times the size of the earlier Shang dynasty.

History

Founding

Around the last decades of the period, starting at the 3rd century BCE, the Qin state collected victory over victory and quickly annexed the various remaining states, until only two were left: Qin and Chu, both controlling similarly-sized areas. The ruler of the Qin state was named Qin Shi Huangdi in Chinese historiography, meaning First emperor of the Qin. This marked the moment the term Emperor (Huangdi) entered the Chinese vocabulary. This was a very significant development, as previous rulers were called kings (wang). Huangdi was an ancient mythological—almost spiritual or god-like—figure, from back in the age of Yao and Shun. The king of the Qin adopting the title of Huangdi was a claim to a type of rulership that had not been seen in China previously; it was a claim to total power over all of China, the lord of all.

During the Warring States period, the Qin overthrew the Zhou dynasty using chariots, crossbows, and horse archers. Qin Shi Huang adopted the title of emperor and deported 120,000 members of the former ruling class.

Collapse

The dynasty collapsed after Qin Shi Huang's death in 210 BCE, and the peasant revolutionary Liu Pang became the first emperor of the Han dynasty.

The doctrine of legalism proved to be a very effective system at gaining power, but not at retaining it. There was no method of self-regulation in this system, i.e. no restraint on how to wield power. Qin Shi Huangdi pursued this power purely in his own self-interest and died in 210 BCE. His son succeeded him on the throne, but proved unable to maintain the state his father had assembled, and he was killed only three years later.

In the five following years, several contenders emerged, trying to establish their dynasty over China. Fairly quickly, two principal contenders appeared: Xiang Yu (Xiàng Yǔ, 项籍), and Liu Bang (Liú Bāng, 劉邦). Xiang Yu was a general in the state of Chu prior to the unification under the Qin state, and was the most likely contender for the throne as he proved very popular in the empire.

On the other hand, hist opponent Liu Bang was a relatively minor figure; he was a jailer, escorting groups of prisoners from local jails to county jails. Around the time the Qin state was collapsing, Liu Bang embarked on one of this mission, which involved an overnight journey. He made camp with his prisoners in the night and, in the morning, found that several had escaped. He knew that this would have dire consequences for him as, under the Qin system, he had failed his duties and would be likely executed. To avoid this fate, Liu Bang resorted to the only other alternative available to him: he assembled his remaining prisoners and told them he would set them free if they followed him. They became the core of his rebel army who fought against the Qin and, after the collapse of the dynasty, he continued to raise an army which eventually grew to become a serious military challenger for power.

Xiang Yu and Liu Bang eventually came into direct conflict with one another. In the year 204 BCE, a battle took place in which Xiang Yu defeated the rival army, inflicting very strong casualties on Liu Bang's side and concluding that his army (and Liu Bang's struggle for the throne) was destroyed. However, Liu Bang had executed a strategic withdrawal which led his army into a port town on the Yellow river (named Ao). There, he seized the granary, recruited new followers and rebuilt his forces to resume the conflict with Xiang Yu.

Two years later, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu in a very dramatic siege. The story, in traditional Chinese historiography, was that Xiang Yu found his encampment surrounded by the soldiers of Liu Bang—themselves former soldiers of the Chu—singing folk songs of their homeland. When Xiang Yu heard the songs, he knew that his cause was lost. He had a final evening with his favorite concubine, killed her, and then leapt on his horse straight into the enemy's lines where he was finally cut down.

With his main opponent taken out of the power struggle, Liu Bang was free to proclaim a new dynasty over China, which he called the Han, after the district from which he originated. The Han dynasty became one of the great ages in Chinese history, lasting for 400 years, reaching a geographical size, population and wealth never seen before. The Han dynasty was a contemporary of the Roman Empire in the west and the two indirectly traded through the Silk road.

Government

The Qin had an extremely centralized government and ordered all books from previous dynasties to be burnt.

Infrastructure

Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall of China to keep out the Xiongnu. The wall was 3,600 km long and 7.3 m tall and was the greatest construction project in human history, but its construction required hundreds of thousands of forced laborers and consumed the grain surpluses of millions of peasants. The Qin dynasty also had a longer road system than the Roman Empire and very advanced canals.