One of the more drastic measures employed to accomplish the eradication of the old schools of thought was the infamous burning of books and burying of scholars incident, which almost singlehandedly gave the Qin Dynasty a bad reputation among later scholars. The First Emperor, in an attempt to consolidate power, ordered the burning of all books on non-Legalist philosophical viewpoints and intellectual subjects. This decree was passed in 213 BC, and also stipulated that all scholars who refused to submit their books to be burned would be executed by premature burial. Only texts considered productive by Legalists were preserved, most on pragmatic subjects, such as agriculture, divination, and medicine. However, controversy remains about the “burning of books and burying of scholars”. Nowadays, many Sinologists argue that the “burying of scholars”, as recorded in Grand Historian, is not literally true, as the term probably meant simply "put to death."
The Qin government was highly bureaucratic, and was administered by a hierarchy of officials, all serving the First Emperor. The Qin put into practice the teachings of Han Fei, allowing the First Emperor to control all of his territories, including those recently conquered. All aspects of life were standardized, from measurements and language to more practical details, such as the length of chariot axles. Zheng and his advisers also introduced new laws and practices that ended feudalism in China, replacing it with a centralized, bureaucratic government. Under this system, both the military and government thrived, as talented individuals could be more easily identified in the transformed society.
Later Chinese dynasties emulated the Qin government for its efficiency, despite its being condemned by Confucian philosophy. Such a system, however, could be manipulated by power-hungry individuals; one example of such an occurrence was documented in the "Records of Officialdom". A commander named Hu ordered his men to attack peasants, in an attempt to increase the number of "bandits" he had killed; his superiors, likely eager to inflate their records as well, allowed this.
Qin Shihuang also improved the military, despite the fact that it had already undergone extensive reforms. The military used the most advanced weaponry of the time. The invention of the sword during the Warring States Period was a great advance. It was first used mostly in bronze form, but by the third century BC, the Qin were using stronger iron swords. The demand for metal this produced resulted in improved bellows. The crossbow had been introduced in the fifth century BC and was more powerful and accurate than the composite bows used earlier. It could also be rendered ineffective by removing two pins, which prevented enemies from capturing a working crossbow.
The Qin also used improved methods of transportation and tactics. The state of Zhao had first replaced chariots with cavalry in 307 BC, but the change was swiftly adopted by the other states because cavalry had greater mobility over the terrain of China. The First Emperor developed plans to fortify his northern border, to protect against the nomadic Mongols. The result was the initial construction of what later became the Great Wall of China,which was built by joining and strengthening the walls made by the feudal lords, which would be expanded and rebuilt multiple times by later dynasties, also in response to threats from the north. Another project built during Qin Shihuang's rule was the Terracotta army, intended to protect the emperor after his death. The Terracotta army was inconspicuous due to its underground location, and was not discovered until 1974.
The dominant religious belief in China during the reign of the Qin, and, in fact, during much of early imperial China, was focused on the shen (roughly translating to "spirits"), yin ("shadows"), and the realm they were said to live in. The Chinese offered sacrifices in an attempt to contact this other world, which they believed to be parallel to the earthly one. The dead were said to simply have moved from one world to the other. The rituals mentioned, as well as others, served two purposes: to ensure that the dead journeyed and stayed in the other realm, and to receive blessings from the spirit realm.
Religious practices were usually held in local shrines and sacred areas, which contained sacrificial altars. During a sacrifice or other ritual, the senses of all participants and witnesses would be dulled and blurred with smoke, incense, and music. The lead sacrificer would fast and meditate before a sacrifice to further blur his senses and increase the likelihood of perceiving otherworldly phenomena. Other participants were similarly prepared, though not as rigorously.
Such blurring of the senses was also a factor in the practice of spirit intermediaries, or mediumship. Practitioners of the art would fall into trances or dance to perform supernatural tasks. These people would often rise to power as a result of their art—Luan Da, a Han Dynasty medium, was granted rule over 2,000 households. Noted Han historian Sima Qian was scornful of such practices, dismissing them as foolish trickery. Divination—to predict and/or influence the future—was yet another form of religious practice. An ancient practice that was common during the Qin Dynasty, was cracking bones or turtle shells to gain knowledge of the future. The forms of divination which sprang up during early imperial China were diverse, though observing natural phenomena was a common method. Comets, eclipses, and droughts were considered omens of things to come.
The name 'Qin' (pronounced as 'Chin') is believed to be the etymological ancestor of the modern day European name of the country, China. The word probably made its way into the Indo-Aryan languages first as 'Cina' or 'Sina' and then into Greek and Latin as 'Sinai' or 'Thinai'. It was then transliterated into English and French as 'China' and 'Chine'. This etymology is dismissed by some scholars, who suggest that 'Sina' in Sanskrit evolved much earlier before the Qin dynasty. 'Jin' (pronounced as 'Zhin'), a state controlled by the Zhou Dynasty in seventh century BC, is another possible origin.
| Posthumous names / title | Chinese family names and given names | Period of Reigns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convention: "Qin" + posthumous name | |||
| Zhaoxiang (Zhāoxiāng) | Ying Ze (qíng zé) or Ying Ji (yíng jì) | 306 BC – 250 BC | |
| Xiaowen ( Xiàowén) | Ying Zhu (yíng zhù) | 250 BC | |
| Zhuangxiang (Zhuāngxiāng) | Ying Zichu ( yíng zi chǔ) | 249 BC – 247 BC | |
| Shi Huangdi (Shǐ Huángdì) | Ying Zheng (yíng zhèng) | 246 BC – 210 BC | |
| Er Shi Huangdi ( Èr Shì Huángdì) | Ying Huhai (yíng hú hài) | 210 BC – 207 BC | |
| Ziying was often referred using personal name or
Qin Wang Ziying (qín wáng zi yīng)
| |||
| Did not exist | Ying Ziying (yíng zi yīng) | 206 BC | |
- Xianyang
- Old Chinese
- Chinese folk religion,
- Legalism
- Monarchy
- 221 BC–210 BC Qin Shihuang
- 210 BC–207 BC Qin Er Shi
- 221 BC–208 BC Li Si
- 208 BC–207 BC Zhao Gao
- Unification of China 221 BC
- Death of Qin Shihuang 210 BC
- Surrender to Liu Bang 206 BC
- 210 BC est. 20,000,000
- Ban liang coins
