The Chinese Qin Dynasty was in power for only a decade and a half. However, it was she, and above all the first ruler of this name - Qin Shi Huang, who was destined to go down in history as a unifier of disparate Chinese kingdoms into a single centralized empire, which laid the foundations for China's socio-economic and administrative-political development for many centuries to come.
Prerequisites for the emergence of an empire in ancient China
During the fifth or third centuries BC, the ancient kingdoms in China were constantly at war with each other for supremacy. Under these conditions, their future could only be ensured by the unification of disparate entities into a single strong state, capable of protecting its own borders from external enemies and capturing slaves and new lands in neighboring territories. Due to the ongoing hostility of the Chinese principalities, such a union could only be carried out by force under the auspices of the strongest of them, which eventually happened.
Time period from 255 to 222. beforeAD entered the history of China as the period of Zhangguo - "fighting (or fighting) kingdoms." The strongest of them was the principality of Qin (the territory of modern Shanxi province). Its ruler, Ying Zheng, ascended the throne at the age of twelve, but quickly proved himself to be a strong and cruel ruler. Until he came of age, the state of Qin was ruled by Lu Bu-wei, an influential merchant and courtier. However, as soon as the ruler of Qin was twenty-one years old, he immediately took power into his own hands, ruthlessly cracking down on Lü Bu-wei, who tried to overthrow him.
As a result of many years of struggle, by 221 BC, Ying Zheng managed to subjugate all the "warring kingdoms" one after another: Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi. Standing at the head of a huge power, Ying Zheng took a new title for himself and his descendants - "huangdi", which meant "emperor".
Qin Shi Huang - the first emperor of China
The Qin Empire stretched over a vast territory - from Sichuan and Guangdong to South Manchuria. Having ascended the throne under the name of Qin Shi Huang, "the first emperor of the Qin dynasty", Ying Zheng, first of all destroyed the independent state formations in the lands subordinate to him. The state was divided into thirty-six regions, each of which was also a military district. At the head of each region, the emperor of China appointed two rulers - a civilian and a military one.
The power of the aristocracy was severely limited. Former aristocratic titles were abolished- now the criterion of nobility was the level of we alth and service to the state. Local officials of the cumbersome state apparatus were now under the control of the central administration, this was facilitated by the introduction of the institution of inspectors to monitor their activities.
Qin Shi Huang carried out a number of other reforms that the Qin dynasty became famous for: he unified the monetary system, introduced a single system of weight, capacity and length throughout the country, compiled a set of laws, established a single writing system for the whole country.
In addition, he officially legalized the right to free trade in land, which led to unprecedented enrichment of the nobility along with the massive ruin of free community members. A significant increase in taxation and labor conscription, as well as new extremely strict laws providing for collective responsibility, led to the widespread slave trade. The new nobility - rich artisans, large moneylenders and merchants - strongly supported the reforms that the Qin dynasty carried out, but the former aristocracy was extremely unhappy with them. Confucians, expressing the sentiments of the latter, began to openly criticize the activities of the government and predict the imminent death of the empire. As a result, by order of Qin Shi Huang, the Confucians were subjected to severe repression.
Building activities in the Qin Empire
During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, a large-scale construction of a network of irrigation facilities and roads was carried out, covering the entire country. B 214-213years BC, the construction of a grandiose fortification - the Great Wall of China - began to protect the northern borders of the empire from nomads.
In addition, in the second half of the last century, archaeologists discovered the majestic tomb of Qin Shi Huang. A whole "terracotta army" was immured in a huge crypt - six thousand life-sized figures of soldiers and war horses, "guarding" the emperor's eternal rest.
Religion in the Qin Empire
The era when the Qin dynasty was in power in China was the time of full domination of religion. All strata of society believed in a supernatural order of the world. According to the views that arose long before the Qin Empire, the existence of the world was determined by the interaction of two cosmic principles - Yin and Yang. In close relationship with this was the idea of the five world elements. The Emperor was declared to be a supernatural being descended from Heaven. It was believed that he was under the auspices of all the elements, and his celestial "equivalent" was the Sun.
Qin Shi Huangdi himself was distinguished by an extreme degree of religiosity, reduced to fetishism and primitive superstitions. He often resorted to various spells, witchcraft, spent a lot of time and effort searching for the "elixir of immortality", even setting up a large expedition to the Japanese islands for this purpose.
Qin Dynasty Fall
In 210 BC, being inone of the inspection trips around the country, Emperor Qin Shi Huang died suddenly (historians suggest that at that time he was fifty-one years old). His son, Er Shihuangdi, ascended the throne, trying to continue his father's policy. However, he managed to stay in power for only two years. The dissatisfaction of various segments of the population with the way the emperors of the Qin dynasty ruled, escalated into a civil war. It started with a peasant uprising led by Chen Sheng (209-208 BC). Large landowners, as well as descendants of the former, old nobility, also rebelled against the central government, while also fighting against the peasant rebels.
In 207 BC, Er Shi Huangdi was killed. A certain Zhao Gao, a noble dignitary and relative of the emperor, who led a conspiracy against him, put his own son, Zi Ying, on the throne of the state. However, the new ruler was not destined to stay on the throne. Not more than a month later, Zi Ying and his father were killed by disgruntled nobles. They were the last men to be related by blood to Qin Shi Huang. Thus, the Qin Dynasty in China fell without even two decades of existence.
The historical significance of the Qin Dynasty
The creation of a single strong centralized empire in China played an important role in the further historical development of the country. The political unification of the lands, the legality of the right to private property, the division of the population according to the property principle and the implementation of measures that support the growth of trade - all this contributed to the development of social and economic relations incountry, laid the foundation for further transformation.
However, the too harsh measures that the Qin dynasty took to centralize the state, the destruction of the old nobility, tax oppression, raising prices and duties that ruined small and medium-sized producers, led to a powerful outbreak of uprisings that put an end to its rule.
