The Chinese Qin Dynasty remained in power for only a decade and a half. However, it was she, and first of all the first ruler of this name - Qin Shihuangdi, who was destined to go down in history as the unifier of disparate Chinese kingdoms into a single centralized empire, which laid the foundations of 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, ancient kingdoms in China constantly fought with each other for primacy. Under these conditions, the future could only be ensured for them by uniting scattered formations into a single strong power, capable of protecting their own borders from external enemies and seizing slaves and new lands in neighboring territories. Due to the ongoing hostility of the Chinese principalities, such a union could only be achieved by force under the auspices of the strongest of them, which ultimately happened.
The time interval from 255 to 222 years. BC entered the history of China as a period of Zhangguo - "fighting (or fighting) kingdoms." The strongest of them was the Principality of Qin (the territory of the modern Shanxi province). His ruler, Ying Zheng, ascended the throne at the age of twelve, but very quickly proved himself to be a strong and cruel ruler. Until his coming of age, the state of Qin was ruled by Lu Bu-wei, an influential merchant and courtier. However, as soon as Lord Qin turned twenty-one, he immediately took power into his own hands, ruthlessly cracking down on Lu Bu-wei, who tried to overthrow him.
As a result of many years of struggle, by 221 BC, In Zheng managed to subjugate all the "fighting kingdoms" one after another: Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi. Standing at the head of a huge power, Ying Zheng adopted a new title for himself and his descendants - "Huangdi", which meant "emperor".
Qin Shihuangdi - the first emperor of China
The Qin Empire extended over a vast territory - from Sichuan and Guangdong to southern Manchuria. Having ascended the throne under the name of Qin Shihuandi, "the first emperor of the Qin dynasty," Ying Zheng, first of all, destroyed independent state formations on 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 put two rulers - civil and military.
The power of the aristocracy was severely limited. The former aristocratic titles were abolished - now the criterion of nobility was the level of wealth and merit to the state. Officials of the cumbersome state apparatus in the field 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 Shihuandi carried out a number of other reforms that the Qin dynasty became famous for: it unified the monetary system, introduced a unified system of weight, capacity and length throughout the country, drafted a code of laws, and established a uniform writing system for the whole country.
In addition, he officially legalized the right to free trade in land, which entailed an unprecedented enrichment of the nobility, along with the mass ruin of free communes. A significant increase in tax oppression and labor service, as well as new extremely harsh laws providing for collective responsibility, led to the widespread spread of the slave trade. The new nobility - wealthy artisans, large moneylenders and merchants - strongly supported the reforms carried out by the Qin Dynasty, but the former aristocracy was extremely unhappy with them. Confucians, expressing the mood of the latter, began to openly criticize the activities of the government and predict the empire's quick death. As a result, on the orders of Qin Shihuandi, the Confucians were subjected to severe repression.
Construction Activities in the Qin Empire
Under the rule of Qin Shi Huang, a large-scale construction of a network of irrigation facilities and roads covering the whole country was carried out. In 214-213 BC, the construction of the grandest 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 magnificent tomb of Qin Shi Huang. An entire "terracotta army" was walled up 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 a time of the full rule of religion. All sectors of society believed in the supernatural structure 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 connection with this was the idea of the five world elements. The emperor was declared a supernatural being descending from heaven. It was believed that he was under the auspices of all the elements, and his heavenly "equivalent" was the Sun.
Qin Shihuandi himself was distinguished by an extreme degree of religiosity, which boiled down 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 equipping a large expedition to the Japanese islands for this purpose.
Qin Dynasty: the fall
In 210 BC, while on an inspection trip around the country, Emperor Qin Shi Huang suddenly died (historians suggest that he was fifty-one at that time). His son, Er Shihuandi, ascended the throne, trying to continue his father’s policy. However, he managed to stay in power for only two years. Dissatisfaction of various segments of the population with the way the emperors of the Qin dynasty ruled grew into a civil war. It began with the uprising of the peasants under the leadership of Chen Sheng (209-208 BC). Large landowners, as well as descendants of the old, old nobility, also rebelled against the central government, while fighting with the peasant rebels.
In 207 BC, Er Shihuandi was killed. A certain Zhao Gao, a noble dignitary and relative of the emperor, who led the conspiracy against him, put his own son, Zi In, 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 a disgruntled nobility. They were the last men in blood relationship with Qin Shi Huang. Thus, the Qin Dynasty in China fell, not having existed for two decades.
The historical significance of the Qin Dynasty
The creation in China of a single strong centralized empire played an important role in the further historical development of the country. The political unification of lands, the legality of the right to private property, the division of the population according to the property principle and the implementation of measures supporting the growth of trade - all this contributed to the development of social and economic relations in the country, laid the foundation for further transformations.
However, too harsh measures that the Qin dynasty took to centralize the state, destroy the old nobility, tax oppression, increase prices and duties, ruined small and medium producers, led to a powerful outbreak of uprisings that put an end to her rule.