Qin Shih Huang

[Jejo]

As we all now, Qin Shih Huang is the first emperor of China. He united several states around his Chin Empire and therefore formed "China". But his desires didn't end there. He feels like he is the son of heaven on Earth and he basically craved for immortality, which he got by taking mercury pills, which drove him crazy.

Moreover, he asked for the construction of a life-size model of his army, which can be used to "guide him" in the case he dies. Add to that his will that all the people who see his funeral be trapped in his tomb complex.

He is a really weird emperor, but hey, he united China. It was a big task, but he successfully did it. He didn't use the right methods though.

By my last sentence I could say that he wasn't a good emperor. If only he used better methods...

[Adrian Hester]

As we all now, Qin Shih Huang is the first emperor of China.

You're mixing transcription systems here; his title's either Qin Shi Huang(di) (Pinyin) or Ch'in Shih Huang(-ti) (Wade-Giles).

He united several states around his Chin Empire and therefore formed "China".

If he hadn't, one of the other states likely would have done so. (And again, his state's name was Qin/Ch'in, which is also the Qin/Ch'in part of his title, First Yellow Emperor of Qin.) You can see that in the slow consolidation of power by the seven states during the Warring States period (c. 500-221 BC) and in the scramble for power after the collapse of the Qin.

Moreover, he asked for the construction of a life-size model of his army, which can be used to "guide him" in the case he dies. Add to that his will that all the people who see his funeral be trapped in his tomb complex.

This was actually a common burial practice (except for the burial of the retainers) among the Chinese aristocracy of the time, just not on nearly so megalomoniacal a scale.

He is a really weird emperor, but hey, he united China. It was a big task, but he successfully did it. He didn't use the right methods though.

By my last sentence I could say that he wasn't a good emperor. If only he used better methods...

What would you consider better methods? And "better" in what sense? (I'm not saying his were the best, I'm just curious.)

[DavidOdden]

As we all now, Qin Shih Huang is the first emperor of China.

No, that really is false. Not that he was the first emperor of China, but that we all know that. I bet that if you had posted this question without any discussion, you would have gotten at most two votes. Adrian is one of the few peple around here who reliably knows this stuff, so I'd suggest dropping the false presumptions that "we all know". How many people know the accomplishments of Qubilai Qaghan especially spelled that way?; was Rukumbuzya the greatest emperor in his dynasty?; what should the role of Gyalwa Rimpoche be in the modern world? It's not that you're asking a crazy question, it's that you're asking a contextually inappropriate question, and one that is in principle inanswerable to boot, since it presupposes some standard of evaluation. Who was the better dictator, Hitler, Stalin or Mussolini? Discuss.

[Adrian Hester]

And again, his state's name was Qin/Ch'in, which is also the Qin/Ch'in part of his title, First Yellow Emperor of Qin. (Emphasis mine.)

Actually, no, I meant to change that before posting it and forgot. Basically, the Chinese legends were that you had first the three August Ones, or huang, who were demi-gods; then the five Sage-Emperors, or di, who were human culture-heroes. (The character for di is also used for mikado in Japanese.) The first of the August Ones, Fu-xi, is credited with the invention of writing, for example, in some early sources, while the third in some sources, Shen-nong, invented agriculture--in fact, his name means "divine (shen) farmer (nong)." Of the five Sage-Emperors, for example, the last two, Yao and Shun, were credited with discovering or promulgating or whatever the principles of righteousness, benevolence, and filiality. In other sources, the third of the August Ones was Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, in which a different character for huang appears, in his case meaning yellow. (It doesn't help one in making off-the-cuff postings that from the Han Dynasty on, 206 BC-220 AD, the color yellow was reserved for the emperor--partly because imperial proclamations were printed on yellow paper, yellow in part because, I am told, it was the color of an insecticidal dye restricted to paper used in imperial proclamations from very early on.)

Anyway, Qin Shi Huangdi put the two characters for the August Ones and the Sage-Emperors together in his new title to mark the beginning of a new era (which in the case of his dynasty lasted about fifteen years). He was quite arrogant that way. If I remember correctly, the emperors of the succeeding Han Dynasty kept the title huangdi, but even before the end of the dynasty scholars had established the convention of shortening the title to huang for the two Qin emperors and di for the Han emperors. (In the case of all but the first of the Han emperors, the title consisted of two characters, the second di and the first chosen posthumously to reflect the distinctive character of his reign; thus, the emperor who reigned 140-87 BC was called the Martial Emperor, Wudi, while his grandfather, Wendi, was the Cultured Emperor. They're usually called "Emperor Wu" and "Emperor Wen" in English. Those titles are different from their personal names, by the way--the family name was Liu, the same as Lucy Liu's family name, and the personal name was tabooed. Interestingly enough, this is why the character guo, as in Zhongguo "Middle Kingdom," is used for "nation" in Chinese. Before the Han Dynasty, bang was commonly used for "state"; guo meant something like "city-state," if I remember correctly. However, the founder of the Han Dynasty was Liu Bang, and because of the taboo on his personal name, guo was chosen as the usual substitute and pretty much supplanted bang in later usage.)

Edited October 24, 2006 by Adrian Hester

[Miles White]

All forms of Autocratic government are inherently evil. The only good king, would be the one who abolishes the monarchy to establish a constitutional republic. There is no point in establishing a government unless it is guaranteed to protect the natural rights of the individual. Sure he might have acheived great things during his rule, but the ends don't justify the means and non of it excuses him from taxation or militarism.

[DarkWaters]

Sure [Emperor Qin] might have acheived great things during his rule, but the ends don't justify the means and non of it excuses him from taxation or militarism.

Given that we are talking about an emperor from before the common era, the fact that he was militant or taxed people is not nearly as important as that he banned and burned scores of books, outlawed certain forms of thought (e.g. Confuscionism) and buried many of its scholars alive.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huangdi

Unfortunately, these tactics were an enormous influences on Mao Zedong during his perverse Hundred Flowers Campaign.

Condemn Emperor Qin not for his taxation or his militantism but for his tyrannous attempt to rule the human mind.

[Moebius]

Qin Shih Huang's methods weren't particularly unique. Most of his actions are typical of any monarch at the start of their respective empires, with the only distinction being that he was more thorough than most. Yes it is evil by modern standards, but so were virtually every single civilization for the majority of human history.

Now, was he a good emperor? I mean, what standards are you using to define "good"? Obviously despotic monarchies are inherently evil. However he did stablize an extremely chaotic and war-torn region and ended all conflicts. What he did exceptionally well in was uniting the language, culture, and standards of measurement for a huge group of people in a large geographic area. I think in that aspect he is unique among empire builders -- the single minded determination to unite and homogenize all the subjects under his rule, as supposed to simply lording over them. Here is a man who single handedly created the concept of China, and the population has remained essentially Chinese over the centuries regardless of who ruled over them.

His actions has consequently resulted in China being the single oldest continuous civilization in the world, as well as being the most dominant culture in Asia (and maybe world-wide in terms of population). So in that sense, Qin Shih Huang has ultimately realized his vision for the Han Chinese. As for whether that is a good thing for humanity at large? Who knows? It would have to depend on what direction China ultimately decide to move towards. I do think however that it is inevitable the China will become the next global superpower given the size of its population and the pace at which it is developing, so whether it is for good or ill, Qin Shih Huang will probably end up as one of the most important and significant figures in human history.

[ruveyn ben yosef]

His actions has consequently resulted in China being the single oldest continuous civilization in the world, as well as being the most dominant culture in Asia (and maybe world-wide in terms of population). So in that sense, Qin Shih Huang has ultimately realized his vision for the Han Chinese. As for whether that is a good thing for humanity at large? Who knows? It would have to depend on what direction China ultimately decide to move towards. I do think however that it is inevitable the China will become the next global superpower given the size of its population and the pace at which it is developing, so whether it is for good or ill, Qin Shih Huang will probably end up as one of the most important and significant figures in human history.

One of the better consequences of a united China was that the Silk Road was kept open and operating for hundreds of years. European civilization benefited indirectly from the China trade. Several inventions and ideas made it back to the trading cities in Italy and the Adriatic and spread through Europe therefrom (See Marco Polo). The lust for the China trade also fueled westbound sea expeditions to reach the Orient. While this impulse was based on a geographical error it did lead to the discovery and exploitation of the New World. Contact with the East helped to awaken Europe from its cultural slumber.

ruveyn

[War]

What do you mean by ' good emperor '?

[Devils_Advocate]

There are some nutcase dictators whom I respect as leaders and will make some excuses for, to a certain extent (Napolean, or Ceaser), but Qin Shi Huang is certainly not one of them.

He may have united China, but think - was that really such a huge accomplishment? Sure, it shows his army was brutal and well trained, and he was a master at diplomatic intimidation, but beyond that, it shows very little in the way of promoting a nation. He wasted time using his military to conquer the area, when he could have used that effort to build his own state and beome a dominant political player, and possibly have peacefully united the states.

But even then, the states split not too long after. Civil war, followed by reunion, has just been part of Chinese history. Qin Shi Huang was just another player in that cycle.

And, the fact that his dynasty fell apart after his brutal and psychopathic 13 year reign shows that he was not very good at politics, besides being able to intimidate everyone within his reach.