Qin Empire
Longevity
15 years
221-206 BC.[1]
Leadership
King Zheng, the man who would unify China and become the first Emperor (a word that he himself coined combining the words for ‘august’ and ‘lord’), was not remembered by later Chinese historians in the same way that Roman conquerors would be remembered today. He was descried as ‘cruel, arbitrary, impetuous, suspicious, and superstitious megalomaniac’.[2] The new justice systems that were started by the new Emperor ran under two rules: that everyone has the responsibitlity to follow the law and to persecute other when necessary, and that making the law severe enough that no one would dare to break it. These punishments included extracting ribs and people being boiled in cauldrons.[3]
Population estimated 20,000,000[4]
Because of the lack of an organised census and the fact that this was a dynasty made up of recently conquered lands, it can only be estimated how many people were in each country.
Economy
There was a preference in this empire for agriculture over commerce, which led to merchants occasionally being rounded up and forced to move to distant lands. This attitude is thought by some to have lasted throughout China even into the twentieth century. Gold and copper coins were put into circulation to help standardize the currency.[5] The way that the government made sure that the coins were being put into circulation was by banning the use of local weights or currency, and any attempt to preserve the was considered treason.[6]
Military Power
State control of the country made building a military easier for Qin. The state downgraded the artisans and merchants while exalting the farmers and administrators who were better suited for becoming soldiers. The new canals and irrigation networks that were built were also well suited for defensive positioning as well.[7] Also instead of the previous system of using chariots in battle, (especially in the Southern Regions where using a chariot was particularly difficult) the Qin Empire saw the rise of the cavalry in China.[8]
Technology
The famous Great Wall of China was associated with Qin, although there were obviously renovations to it afterwards. People died during its construction for what was considered an extremely ambitious project. The numbers of those people are thought to be extremely high. It must be noted that this was not so much a building of a new set of fortifications, but a joining of past fortifications left over from the Warring Period.[9] Along with this, this period saw the rise of new irrigation systems and canals as previously mentioned but also the
Size:
2,800,000 sq. km[10]
[1] John Fairbank King, China A New History, (Harvard University Press: London, 1994), pg. 48
[2] Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated History China, (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996), pg. 61
[3] J.A.G Roberts, The Complete History of China, (Sutton Publishing: Gloucestershire, 2003), pg. 37
[4]Roberts, Complete History, pg. 35
[5] Roberts, Complete History, pg. 37
[6] Ebrey, Illustrated History, pg. 61
[7] King, New History, pg. 55
[8] King, New History, pg. 56
[9] Roberts, Complete History, pg. 37-8
[10] http://www.chinaeducenter.com/en/whychina/qin.php, visited 18:02, 30/04/14
15 years
221-206 BC.[1]
Leadership
King Zheng, the man who would unify China and become the first Emperor (a word that he himself coined combining the words for ‘august’ and ‘lord’), was not remembered by later Chinese historians in the same way that Roman conquerors would be remembered today. He was descried as ‘cruel, arbitrary, impetuous, suspicious, and superstitious megalomaniac’.[2] The new justice systems that were started by the new Emperor ran under two rules: that everyone has the responsibitlity to follow the law and to persecute other when necessary, and that making the law severe enough that no one would dare to break it. These punishments included extracting ribs and people being boiled in cauldrons.[3]
Population estimated 20,000,000[4]
Because of the lack of an organised census and the fact that this was a dynasty made up of recently conquered lands, it can only be estimated how many people were in each country.
Economy
There was a preference in this empire for agriculture over commerce, which led to merchants occasionally being rounded up and forced to move to distant lands. This attitude is thought by some to have lasted throughout China even into the twentieth century. Gold and copper coins were put into circulation to help standardize the currency.[5] The way that the government made sure that the coins were being put into circulation was by banning the use of local weights or currency, and any attempt to preserve the was considered treason.[6]
Military Power
State control of the country made building a military easier for Qin. The state downgraded the artisans and merchants while exalting the farmers and administrators who were better suited for becoming soldiers. The new canals and irrigation networks that were built were also well suited for defensive positioning as well.[7] Also instead of the previous system of using chariots in battle, (especially in the Southern Regions where using a chariot was particularly difficult) the Qin Empire saw the rise of the cavalry in China.[8]
Technology
The famous Great Wall of China was associated with Qin, although there were obviously renovations to it afterwards. People died during its construction for what was considered an extremely ambitious project. The numbers of those people are thought to be extremely high. It must be noted that this was not so much a building of a new set of fortifications, but a joining of past fortifications left over from the Warring Period.[9] Along with this, this period saw the rise of new irrigation systems and canals as previously mentioned but also the
Size:
2,800,000 sq. km[10]
[1] John Fairbank King, China A New History, (Harvard University Press: London, 1994), pg. 48
[2] Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated History China, (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996), pg. 61
[3] J.A.G Roberts, The Complete History of China, (Sutton Publishing: Gloucestershire, 2003), pg. 37
[4]Roberts, Complete History, pg. 35
[5] Roberts, Complete History, pg. 37
[6] Ebrey, Illustrated History, pg. 61
[7] King, New History, pg. 55
[8] King, New History, pg. 56
[9] Roberts, Complete History, pg. 37-8
[10] http://www.chinaeducenter.com/en/whychina/qin.php, visited 18:02, 30/04/14