
The Qin Dynasty (秦朝 Pinyin Qín, Wade-Giles Ch'in; 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ''Qin'', which has a pronunciation similar to the English word "chin," is a possible origin of the word "China" (see China in world languages). The unification of China 221 BC under the Qin Shi Huang marked the beginning of imperial China, a period that lasted until the fall of the Qing Empire in 1912. The Qin Dynasty left a legacy of a centralized and bureaucratic state that would be carried onto successive dynasties. Much of what came to constitute China proper was unified for the first time in 221 B.C. In that year the western frontier Qin (state), the most aggressive of the Warring States, subjugated the last of its rival states, putting an end to the Warring States Period. The King of Qin, Zheng, named himself Shi Huangdi (First Emperor), a formulation of titles previously reserved for deities and the Sanhuangwudi. He is known by historians as Qin Shi Huang. He wanted his successors to rule China forever with the title "Second Emperor", "Third Emperor", etc. In consolidating power, Qin Shi Huang imposed the State of Qin's centralized, non-hereditary bureaucratic system on his new empire in place of the Zhou's Feudalism one. The Qin Empire relied on the philosophy of legalism (philosophy) (with skillful advisors like Han Feizi and Li Si). Centralization, achieved by ruthless methods, was focused on standardizing legal codes and bureaucratic procedures, the forms of writing and coinage, and the pattern of thought and scholarship. Chinese characters from the former state of Qin became the standard for the entire empire. The length of the wheel axle was also unified and expressways standardized (馳道) to ease transportation throughout the country. To silence criticism of imperial rule, the emperor banished or put to death many dissenting Confucian scholars and confiscated and burned their books (焚書坑儒). To prevent future uprisings, Qin Shi Huang ordered the confiscation of weapons and stored them in the capital. In order to prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he also destroyed the walls and fortifications that had separated the previous six states. A national conscription was devised: every male between the ages of seventeen and sixty years was obliged to serve one year in the army. Qin aggrandizement was aided by frequent military expeditions pushing forward the frontiers in the north and south. To fend off barbarian intrusion (mainly against the Xiongnu in the north), the fortification walls built by the various warring states were connected to make a wall; this was an early precursor of the 5,000- kilometer-long Great Wall of China built later during the Ming Dynasty. A number of public works projects, including canals and bridges, were also undertaken to consolidate and strengthen imperial rule. A lavish tomb for the emperor, complete with a Terracotta Army, was built near the capital Xianyang, a city half an hour from modern Xi'an. These activities required enormous levies of manpower and resources, not to mention repressive measures. Endless labor in the later years of Qin Shi Huang's reign started to provoke widespread discontent. However, the emperor was able to maintain stability thanks to his tight grip on every aspect of the lives of the Chinese. During his reign Qin Shi Huang made five inspection trips around the country. During the last trip with his second son Qin Er Shi (胡亥) in 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died suddenly at Shaqiu prefecture. Huhai, under the advice of two high officials — the Imperial Secretariat Li Si(李斯) and the chief eunuch Zhao Gao (趙高) — forged the altered Emperor's will. The faked decree ordered Qin Shi Huang's first son, the heir Fusu (扶蘇), to commit suicide, instead naming Huhai as the next emperor. The decree also stripped the command of troops from Marshal Meng Tian (蒙恬) — a faithful supporter of Fusu — and sentenced Meng's family to death. Zhao Gao step by step seized the power of Huhai, effectively making Huhai a puppet emperor. Within three years of Qin Shi Huang's death, widespread revolts by peasants, prisoners, soldiers, and descendants of the nobles of the Six Warring States sprang up all over China. Chen Sheng (陳勝) and Wu Guang (吳廣), two in a group of about 900 soldiers assigned to defend against the Xiongnu, became the leaders of the first revolution by commoners. In the beginning of October 207 BC, Zhao Gao forced Huhai to commit suicide and replaced him with Fusu's son, Ziying (子嬰). Note that the title of Ziying was "king of Qin" to reflect the fact that Qin no longer controlled the whole of China. The Chu-Han contention ensued. Ziying soon killed Zhao Gao and surrendered to Liu Bang in the beginning of December 207 BC. But Liu Bang was forced to hand over Xianyang and Ziying to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu then killed Ziying and burned down the palace in the end of January 206 BC. Thus the Qin dynasty come to an end, three years after the death of Qin Shi Huang, and less than twenty years after it was founded. Although the Qin Dynasty was short-lived, its legalist rule had a deep impact on later dynasties in China. The imperial system initiated during the Qin dynasty set a pattern that was developed over the next two millennia. ==Sovereigns of Qin Dynasty== Note: King Zhaoxiang of Qin (秦昭襄王) had already been ruling Qin for 51 years when Qin annihilated the Zhou Dynasty; however the other six warring states were still independent regimes. Historiographers thus used the next year (the 52nd year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin) as the official continuation from Zhou Dynasty. Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after reunifying China in 221 BC. That year is therefore usually taken as the start of the "Qin Dynasty".
During the Qin Dynasty, starting with Qin Shi Huang, there were no posthumous names. The title of ''Shi Huangdi'' ("Commencing Emperor") and ''Er Shi Huangdi'' ("Second Generation Emperor") were used during the rulers' lifetimes.
History of China
==References==
A correction to information on the Qin Dynasty's northern wall from:
* Richard Hooker (1996). [http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHEMPIRE/CHIN.HTM The Ch'in Dynasty]. Retrieved Jan 22, 2005.
Should we break it into State of Qin and Qin Dynasty? We all know that there are only 2 (or 3) emperors of Qin Dynasty, including the pro-dynasty ruler of Qin doesn't make sense. User:Wshun 21:47, 19 Oct 2003 (UTC) ---- == Kings in dynasty list == Why are rulers before Shi Huang Di listed in the table? --User:Jiang The reason had already been explained in the note of the table. ''(秦昭襄王 qin2 zhao1 xiang1 wang2) had already been ruling Qin for 51 years when Qin anniliated Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC); however the other six warring states were still independent regimes. (Traditional Chinese) Historiographers thus used the next year (the 52nd year of Qin Zhao Shang Wang) as the official continuation from Zhou Dynasty. Qin Shi Huang Di was the first Chinese sovereign proclaimed himself "Emperor".'' First the table was an abridged copy from a list of Chinese kings in a dated Chinese dictionary (to be specific, it's a ''Cidan''). As with most old sources, the traditional Chinese view of history prevails, i.e. obsession with uniterrupted succession of Chinese rulers. Tradtional Chinese histriography recognized rulers of the state since the end of Zhou Dynasty as the ''de facto'' rulers of the known Chinese territory even though there was not a single ruler who actually imposed administrative authoirty over all known Chinese territories. The rulers of Qin were powerful enough to dominate but not rule the known Chinese world despite it had to wait until the completion of unificaton in 221 BC. Just as an example, if the state of Chu, but not Qin, had unified China, we would have known the Chu Dynasty and been reading kings of Chu in the dynasty list. So I am supporting removal of Qin kings from the list for clarity. For this period of history of China: #up to 256 BC: Warring States Period (including the state of Qin) and a recognized king of the Zhou Dynasty #256 BC to 221 BC: Warring States (including Qin) #since 221 BC: Qin Shihuangdi unified China, beginning of Qin Dynasty User:Ktsquare 23:01, 22 Nov 2003 (UTC) :Maybe we better put the explanation outside the table. If I fail to notice it, many people do. User:Wshun 23:05, 22 Nov 2003 (UTC) : The inclusion of the kings as the dynastic ruler is actually contrary to official Taiwanese middle school textbooks (and probably HK and Mainlander too). Hence the source of the widespread confusion nowadays. --User:Menchi 00:04, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :The reason the exclusion of the kings as dynastic rulers in official textbook guidelines is to get rid of the traditional standpoints. As I have stated it above, the list of kings was from a dated ''Cidan'', so to avoid copyright issues. IMO it's better to take the pre-Qin Shihuangdi rulers out of the list beacuse no dynasty existed between 256 BC to 221 BC. User:Ktsquare 01:18, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) Agreed, the kings should be moved to State of Qin (it's already there, I think). Keep the Note on traditional historiographer's view, however. It's informative, but maybe extend it a bit to clarify more. So basically there are two definitions of "dynasty" in China? The traditional view states that once the old dynasty is destroyed by B, B becomes the dynasty. The new view says that B must unify all China (and proclaim oneself emperor) to be a dynasty? Maybe some of such information is suitable on Dynasty, since it may not be Qin-specific. --User:Menchi 03:11, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :No, Qin Dynasty ALWAYS started in 221 BC but traditional historiography takes reigns of Qin rulers of the state to date years between 256 BC to 221 BC. User:Ktsquare 03:46, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :: But the state began at least in 778 BC with Duke Xiang. Do they not recognize that? --User:Menchi 03:56, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) Okay, let me clarify it a bit. Compare these 2 lists. Course of history: #up to 256 BC: Warring States Period (including the state of Qin) and a recognized king of the Zhou Dynasty #256 BC to 221 BC: Warring States (including Qin) #since 221 BC: Qin Shihuangdi unified China, beginning of Qin Dynasty Traditional historical dating: #up to 256 BC: rulers of Zhou Dynasty #256 BC to 221 BC: rulers of the Qin state #since 221 BC: rulers of Qin Dynasty User:Ktsquare 04:12, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :# So they mean ''indepedent'' (not subordinate) to Zhou? :# But the status of Qin as a state (independent or not, pre-256 or post-) is not blurry, right? : --User:Menchi 04:16, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :This involved the concept of mandate of heaven. Traditional historiographers viewed rulers of Zhou Dynasty as the "sons of heaven", despite gradual dwindling of their authorities. So the state of Qin is always in the status of ''Zhuhou'' until 221 BC when Qin Shihuangdi became son of heaven. User:Ktsquare 04:37, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) == Cantonese origin of the word "China" == I don't believe the first part of this statement in the article is correct, nor is it substantiated by anything: :'' ''Qin'' is sometimes spelt as ''Chin'', the Cantonese phonic, due to the fact that cantonese people had earlier contact with the western world compared to Mandarin people. This is also a possible origin of the word "China." (See China in world languages).'' I do agree that Qin is probably the origin of the word for China, but the first sentence seems to be pulled out of thin air (a Google search yields nothing). The Cantonese pronunciation of Qin is actually not too different from the Mandarin pronunciation. Using International Phonetic Alphabet notation, the pronunciation is tsʰiːn in Cantonese and tɕʰin in Mandarin, both of which sound like "chin" to an English speaker's ears since English lacks alveolar affricates. In fact, before Hanyu Pinyin was invented, Qin was romanized as Ch'in in Wade-Giles, a Mandarin romanization scheme. In addition, from the China in world languages article, it says: :''Marco Polo described China specifically as ''Chin'', which is the word used in Persian, the main ''lingua franca'' on his route.'' First of all, this sentence does not mention anything about Cantonese, and second of all, at the time Marco Polo visited China, there was no Cantonese or Mandarin as we now know it, but rather a mix of languages that evolved from Middle Chinese that would eventually evolve into the modern dialects. So, I am replacing this statement with the following: :'' ''Qin'', which has a pronunciation similar to the English word "chin," is a possible origin of the word "China" (see China in world languages).'' --User:Umofomia 09:49, Feb 17, 2005 (UTC)
#REDIRECT Qin Dynasty
#REDIRECT Qin Dynasty
See other meanings of words starting from letter:A | B | C | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | X | Y | Z |
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty (秦朝 Pinyin Qín, Wade-Giles Ch'in; 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ''Qin'', which has a pronunciation similar to the English word "chin," is a possible origin of the word "China" (see China in world languages). The unification of China 221 BC under the Qin Shi Huang marked the beginning of imperial China, a period that lasted until the fall of the Qing Empire in 1912. The Qin Dynasty left a legacy of a centralized and bureaucratic state that would be carried onto successive dynasties. Much of what came to constitute China proper was unified for the first time in 221 B.C. In that year the western frontier Qin (state), the most aggressive of the Warring States, subjugated the last of its rival states, putting an end to the Warring States Period. The King of Qin, Zheng, named himself Shi Huangdi (First Emperor), a formulation of titles previously reserved for deities and the Sanhuangwudi. He is known by historians as Qin Shi Huang. He wanted his successors to rule China forever with the title "Second Emperor", "Third Emperor", etc. In consolidating power, Qin Shi Huang imposed the State of Qin's centralized, non-hereditary bureaucratic system on his new empire in place of the Zhou's Feudalism one. The Qin Empire relied on the philosophy of legalism (philosophy) (with skillful advisors like Han Feizi and Li Si). Centralization, achieved by ruthless methods, was focused on standardizing legal codes and bureaucratic procedures, the forms of writing and coinage, and the pattern of thought and scholarship. Chinese characters from the former state of Qin became the standard for the entire empire. The length of the wheel axle was also unified and expressways standardized (馳道) to ease transportation throughout the country. To silence criticism of imperial rule, the emperor banished or put to death many dissenting Confucian scholars and confiscated and burned their books (焚書坑儒). To prevent future uprisings, Qin Shi Huang ordered the confiscation of weapons and stored them in the capital. In order to prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he also destroyed the walls and fortifications that had separated the previous six states. A national conscription was devised: every male between the ages of seventeen and sixty years was obliged to serve one year in the army. Qin aggrandizement was aided by frequent military expeditions pushing forward the frontiers in the north and south. To fend off barbarian intrusion (mainly against the Xiongnu in the north), the fortification walls built by the various warring states were connected to make a wall; this was an early precursor of the 5,000- kilometer-long Great Wall of China built later during the Ming Dynasty. A number of public works projects, including canals and bridges, were also undertaken to consolidate and strengthen imperial rule. A lavish tomb for the emperor, complete with a Terracotta Army, was built near the capital Xianyang, a city half an hour from modern Xi'an. These activities required enormous levies of manpower and resources, not to mention repressive measures. Endless labor in the later years of Qin Shi Huang's reign started to provoke widespread discontent. However, the emperor was able to maintain stability thanks to his tight grip on every aspect of the lives of the Chinese. During his reign Qin Shi Huang made five inspection trips around the country. During the last trip with his second son Qin Er Shi (胡亥) in 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died suddenly at Shaqiu prefecture. Huhai, under the advice of two high officials — the Imperial Secretariat Li Si(李斯) and the chief eunuch Zhao Gao (趙高) — forged the altered Emperor's will. The faked decree ordered Qin Shi Huang's first son, the heir Fusu (扶蘇), to commit suicide, instead naming Huhai as the next emperor. The decree also stripped the command of troops from Marshal Meng Tian (蒙恬) — a faithful supporter of Fusu — and sentenced Meng's family to death. Zhao Gao step by step seized the power of Huhai, effectively making Huhai a puppet emperor. Within three years of Qin Shi Huang's death, widespread revolts by peasants, prisoners, soldiers, and descendants of the nobles of the Six Warring States sprang up all over China. Chen Sheng (陳勝) and Wu Guang (吳廣), two in a group of about 900 soldiers assigned to defend against the Xiongnu, became the leaders of the first revolution by commoners. In the beginning of October 207 BC, Zhao Gao forced Huhai to commit suicide and replaced him with Fusu's son, Ziying (子嬰). Note that the title of Ziying was "king of Qin" to reflect the fact that Qin no longer controlled the whole of China. The Chu-Han contention ensued. Ziying soon killed Zhao Gao and surrendered to Liu Bang in the beginning of December 207 BC. But Liu Bang was forced to hand over Xianyang and Ziying to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu then killed Ziying and burned down the palace in the end of January 206 BC. Thus the Qin dynasty come to an end, three years after the death of Qin Shi Huang, and less than twenty years after it was founded. Although the Qin Dynasty was short-lived, its legalist rule had a deep impact on later dynasties in China. The imperial system initiated during the Qin dynasty set a pattern that was developed over the next two millennia. ==Sovereigns of Qin Dynasty== Note: King Zhaoxiang of Qin (秦昭襄王) had already been ruling Qin for 51 years when Qin annihilated the Zhou Dynasty; however the other six warring states were still independent regimes. Historiographers thus used the next year (the 52nd year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin) as the official continuation from Zhou Dynasty. Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after reunifying China in 221 BC. That year is therefore usually taken as the start of the "Qin Dynasty".
| Posthumous names / title | Chinese family names and Chinese names | Period of Reigns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ''Convention: "Qin" + posthumous name'' | |||
| King Zhaoxiang of Qin | Ying Ze (嬴則 yíng zé or Ying Ji|嬴稷 yíng jì) | 255 BC–250 BC | |
| King Xiaowen of Qin | Ying Zhu (嬴柱 yíng zhù) | 250 BC | |
| King Zhuangxiang of Qin | Ying Zichu (嬴子楚 yíng zi chǔ) | 249 BC–247 BC | |
| Shi Huangdi (始皇帝 Shǐ Huángdì) | Ying Zheng (嬴政 yíng zhèng) | 246 BC–210 BC | |
| Qin Er Shi (二世皇帝 Èr Shì Huángdì) | Ying Huhai (嬴胡亥 yíng hú hài) | 209 BC–207 BC | |
| ''Ziying was often referred using personal name or Qin Wang Ziying (秦王子嬰 qín wáng zi yīng)'' | |||
| ''Did not exist'' | Ying Ziying (嬴子嬰 yíng zi yīng) | 207 BC | |
Qin Dynasty
Should we break it into State of Qin and Qin Dynasty? We all know that there are only 2 (or 3) emperors of Qin Dynasty, including the pro-dynasty ruler of Qin doesn't make sense. User:Wshun 21:47, 19 Oct 2003 (UTC) ---- == Kings in dynasty list == Why are rulers before Shi Huang Di listed in the table? --User:Jiang The reason had already been explained in the note of the table. ''(秦昭襄王 qin2 zhao1 xiang1 wang2) had already been ruling Qin for 51 years when Qin anniliated Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC); however the other six warring states were still independent regimes. (Traditional Chinese) Historiographers thus used the next year (the 52nd year of Qin Zhao Shang Wang) as the official continuation from Zhou Dynasty. Qin Shi Huang Di was the first Chinese sovereign proclaimed himself "Emperor".'' First the table was an abridged copy from a list of Chinese kings in a dated Chinese dictionary (to be specific, it's a ''Cidan''). As with most old sources, the traditional Chinese view of history prevails, i.e. obsession with uniterrupted succession of Chinese rulers. Tradtional Chinese histriography recognized rulers of the state since the end of Zhou Dynasty as the ''de facto'' rulers of the known Chinese territory even though there was not a single ruler who actually imposed administrative authoirty over all known Chinese territories. The rulers of Qin were powerful enough to dominate but not rule the known Chinese world despite it had to wait until the completion of unificaton in 221 BC. Just as an example, if the state of Chu, but not Qin, had unified China, we would have known the Chu Dynasty and been reading kings of Chu in the dynasty list. So I am supporting removal of Qin kings from the list for clarity. For this period of history of China: #up to 256 BC: Warring States Period (including the state of Qin) and a recognized king of the Zhou Dynasty #256 BC to 221 BC: Warring States (including Qin) #since 221 BC: Qin Shihuangdi unified China, beginning of Qin Dynasty User:Ktsquare 23:01, 22 Nov 2003 (UTC) :Maybe we better put the explanation outside the table. If I fail to notice it, many people do. User:Wshun 23:05, 22 Nov 2003 (UTC) : The inclusion of the kings as the dynastic ruler is actually contrary to official Taiwanese middle school textbooks (and probably HK and Mainlander too). Hence the source of the widespread confusion nowadays. --User:Menchi 00:04, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :The reason the exclusion of the kings as dynastic rulers in official textbook guidelines is to get rid of the traditional standpoints. As I have stated it above, the list of kings was from a dated ''Cidan'', so to avoid copyright issues. IMO it's better to take the pre-Qin Shihuangdi rulers out of the list beacuse no dynasty existed between 256 BC to 221 BC. User:Ktsquare 01:18, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) Agreed, the kings should be moved to State of Qin (it's already there, I think). Keep the Note on traditional historiographer's view, however. It's informative, but maybe extend it a bit to clarify more. So basically there are two definitions of "dynasty" in China? The traditional view states that once the old dynasty is destroyed by B, B becomes the dynasty. The new view says that B must unify all China (and proclaim oneself emperor) to be a dynasty? Maybe some of such information is suitable on Dynasty, since it may not be Qin-specific. --User:Menchi 03:11, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :No, Qin Dynasty ALWAYS started in 221 BC but traditional historiography takes reigns of Qin rulers of the state to date years between 256 BC to 221 BC. User:Ktsquare 03:46, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :: But the state began at least in 778 BC with Duke Xiang. Do they not recognize that? --User:Menchi 03:56, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) Okay, let me clarify it a bit. Compare these 2 lists. Course of history: #up to 256 BC: Warring States Period (including the state of Qin) and a recognized king of the Zhou Dynasty #256 BC to 221 BC: Warring States (including Qin) #since 221 BC: Qin Shihuangdi unified China, beginning of Qin Dynasty Traditional historical dating: #up to 256 BC: rulers of Zhou Dynasty #256 BC to 221 BC: rulers of the Qin state #since 221 BC: rulers of Qin Dynasty User:Ktsquare 04:12, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :# So they mean ''indepedent'' (not subordinate) to Zhou? :# But the status of Qin as a state (independent or not, pre-256 or post-) is not blurry, right? : --User:Menchi 04:16, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) :This involved the concept of mandate of heaven. Traditional historiographers viewed rulers of Zhou Dynasty as the "sons of heaven", despite gradual dwindling of their authorities. So the state of Qin is always in the status of ''Zhuhou'' until 221 BC when Qin Shihuangdi became son of heaven. User:Ktsquare 04:37, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC) == Cantonese origin of the word "China" == I don't believe the first part of this statement in the article is correct, nor is it substantiated by anything: :'' ''Qin'' is sometimes spelt as ''Chin'', the Cantonese phonic, due to the fact that cantonese people had earlier contact with the western world compared to Mandarin people. This is also a possible origin of the word "China." (See China in world languages).'' I do agree that Qin is probably the origin of the word for China, but the first sentence seems to be pulled out of thin air (a Google search yields nothing). The Cantonese pronunciation of Qin is actually not too different from the Mandarin pronunciation. Using International Phonetic Alphabet notation, the pronunciation is tsʰiːn in Cantonese and tɕʰin in Mandarin, both of which sound like "chin" to an English speaker's ears since English lacks alveolar affricates. In fact, before Hanyu Pinyin was invented, Qin was romanized as Ch'in in Wade-Giles, a Mandarin romanization scheme. In addition, from the China in world languages article, it says: :''Marco Polo described China specifically as ''Chin'', which is the word used in Persian, the main ''lingua franca'' on his route.'' First of all, this sentence does not mention anything about Cantonese, and second of all, at the time Marco Polo visited China, there was no Cantonese or Mandarin as we now know it, but rather a mix of languages that evolved from Middle Chinese that would eventually evolve into the modern dialects. So, I am replacing this statement with the following: :'' ''Qin'', which has a pronunciation similar to the English word "chin," is a possible origin of the word "China" (see China in world languages).'' --User:Umofomia 09:49, Feb 17, 2005 (UTC)
Qin dynasty
#REDIRECT Qin Dynasty
Qín Dynasty
#REDIRECT Qin Dynasty
See other meanings of words starting from letter:A | B | C | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | X | Y | Z |
These materials are based on Wikipedia and licensed under the GNU FDL
YouTube.com videos better site than Turbo Tax 2007
