The Rise and Fall of Qin Dynasty - Essay Example

The Rise and fall of Qin Dynasty Background Before China’s unification as a it went through first a period of conflict where states were engaged in war in its bid to emerge as the dominant state. Among these warring states, Qin dynasty emerged as the victor by defeating and conquering other states under the strong leadership of Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang unified ancient China by a series of events that either led to capture, surrender and conquer of other states. It begun in 228 BC with the surrender of the King of the Han and was followed by the conquest of Zhao territory in 227 BC where the King of Zhao was captured. In 225, the King of Wei surrendered where all of his territories were annexed to Qin dynasty. It was followed by the defeat of the Kingdom of Chu in 223 BC where its King was eventually killed and its General committed suicide. A year later, the Yan territory was taken until finally in 221, the last King of other warring states was captured with the seizure of the King of Qi (Portal 32-35). For the first time, ancient China was unified under a single leadership with Qin Shi Huang at the helm declaring himself as the first emperor of China (Portal 32-35). Qin dynasty’s rose to prominence as the first dynasty to unify China is a huge achievement considering that it started from a humble beginning. Qin dynasty begun when the last heir of the Zhou dynasty gave land to one of its Dukes, Duke Zhuang which enabled the Qins to start as one of ancient China’s vassal lords. Later, the small land granted by the Zhou dynasty expanded when Duke Zhuang’s son embarked on expansionary quest that eventually established the State of Qin (Yu 15). The Qin dynasty’s reign however was short lived lasting only for 15 years from 221 until 207 BC. Despite this short period of Qin dynasty’s existence, it left a lasting legacy in China that even its name as a country was derived from this dynasty. Unification of China In 221 AD, the Qin dynasty through the leadership of Qin Shi Huang finally emerged as the victor during the period of warring states through its superior and fierce military. Immediately after its victory Qin Shi Huang installed himself as the first emperor of China which unified China under one ruler for the first time. Qin Shi Huang first directive as the emperor of China was to initiate reforms such as the improvement of the administration of its bureaucracy with the establishment of shi bureaucracy where educated bureaucrats were tasked to administer the various functions of the regime. The nature of military also changed when the vassal warriors under the former warring monarchs eventually faded in significance when they were replaced by the conscription of peasants who were previously imprisoned. Implementation of Reforms The reforms initiated by the Qin dynasty yielded to the increase of collection of funds and this afforded the regime to improve its military capability by building the size of the army and further improve the technology of its weapons. This increased military capability provided the Qin dynasty the advantage to defeat other kingdoms during the period of warring states and eventually unified it to make it the China that we know today. The Legalist Sanction One of the systems employed by the Qin dynasty that made it an effective state and perhaps even became precursor of the present idea of nation state is the use of legalist sanction. Legalist sanction was the basis of the despotic regime of Qin dynasty. This legalist thought was founded by Shang Yang who espoused that people should be subservient to the state but the state must also be ruled by law without exemption that even its rulers are subjected to it (Yu 80). Following this absolutist principle, the Qin dynasty believed that it is the foremost duty of any leader to increase the power and wealth of the state. Legalist sanction also imposes that for a state to be orderly it has to employ strict laws to create social stability. The legalist sanction was enforced with cruelty that perhaps contributed to the peasant uprising that eventually led to the fall of Qin dynasty and made its regime short lived. Qin Shi Huang as an Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang as an emperor was a despot who tolerated no hindrance to his establishment of an absolutist state. He was cruel and harsh in imposing his will and law on his subjects. After defeating the other warring states in China, he then proceeded in destroying regional aristocracies in his bid to be the China’s absolute emperor. Kingdoms were replaced with provinces and the Qin bureaucracy was then integrated in administering the newly created regional provinces. Despite Qin Shi Huang despotism as an emperor however, he also introduced measures that improved China’s trade and commerce and constructed projects that we still marvel today. Among the measures that Qin Shi Huang introduced during his reign as emperor was the standardization of the Chinese alphabet, institution of uniform measurement in weights and measurements as well as the introduction of currency through a coin. Qin leadership is also responsible for the construction of China’s famous Great Wall which had been touted as one of the wonders of the world. Qin dynasty also integrated the economy of China by constructing grids of roads and bridges that made it progressive and prosperous. The tyranny of Qin Shi Huang The harsh rule of the Legalist bureaucrats and the overextension of the economy in its grandiose construction schemes attributed to the abrupt end of Qin dynasty. The emperor’s legalist repression of forced labor and ruthless leadership proved to be intolerable among peasants because it brewed resentment among the population that eventually culminated to a rebellion. The peasants who were forced to work on the Great Wall initiated the revolt due to the harsh working condition that many even died during its construction. Xiang Yu and Liu Bang led the revolt that made the dynasty to be short lived because it only lasted for 15 years. Tyrant with a legacy Despite the Qin dynasty’s short existence, its regime proved to be pivotal for China as a country. China was even named after the Qin dynasty due to its numerous contributions that made China as a country. Foremost was China’s first form of government which was initiated during the Qin dynasty with the introduction of educated bureaucrats in civil service. China’s economy also became integrated for the first time through the network of roads, bridges and canals built during Qin dynasty, and its measurements and currency were standardized during the regime in addition the construction of the Great Wall that was not only advantageous during war but also an engineering marvel as well. Events leading to the fall of Qin dynasty The very policy that was responsible for the ascension of Qin dynasty to power also became the source of its demise. Its legalist sanction may have provided the emperor an efficient way to rule the whole China single-handedly, but it also created dissent among its subjects particularly among the peasants who resented the emperor’s excessive taxes and forced labor (Yu 80). Thus, it can be said that the factors that contributed to the Qin dynasty’s fall was largely driven internally. The events that finally ended the Qin dynasty in the form of peasant uprising led by Xiang Yu and Liu Bang was precipitated by the peasants discontent over the heavy taxation imposed by the emperor to strengthen his military and fund his expensive projects. The policy of forced labor may have done the dynasty good that included the building of the Great Wall, roads that facilitated commerce and irrigation that improved their crops and harvests, but the dynasty also embarked on building capricious and luxurious palaces out of forced labor that fueled the dynasty’s unpopularity among peasants that culminated in a revolt (Books LLC 35). It may also seem ironic that the very dynasty who pioneered the standardization of Chinese alphabet that did not only let literature flourish but also made policy transmission efficient through the written text was also a book burner. The Qin dynasty was so threatened by the thinking class and kept their citizens uneducated by burning scrolls and books that contained any form of studies that includes philosophy and as a result, intellectual growth during that period was stunted. The emperor even imposed a penalty of killing anyone who starts any form of philosophical thought and to aggravate the penalty, such philosopher/thinker will even be buried together with the books that they wrote. Hu-Wai as an inept emperor Another factor that contributed significantly to the Qin dynasty’s fall from power is the unpreparedness of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s successor, his son Hu-Wai. Emperor Hu-Wai was also a despot like his father and ruled with equal cruelty and capriciousness. But unlike his father who was capable of uniting China and brilliant enough to establish a bureaucracy that brought shi and along with it a degree of order among the Chinese society, Hu-Wai on the other hand was inept as an emperor which explains why his reign only lasted shortly after being overthrown by its own people led by Xiang Yu and Liu Bang which later gave way the more stable and long period of Han dynasty under the leadership of Liu Bai which characterized China’s classical period The fall of Qin dynasty Qin dynasty’s downfall was precipitated by the death of its first emperor Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang was obsessed with immortality (which explains the Terracota soldiers) and this quest for immortality caused his death while on a trip of getting the putative elixir of immortality from Taoist magicians (Changhong 206). After his, death his close advisers advisers Zhao Gao and Li Si installed his son Hu-wai as the successor believing that Hu-Wai can be manipulated to serve Zhao Gao and Li Si’s interest. True to the emperor adviser’s calculation, Hu-wai was indeed pliable but inept and capricious as an administrator of an empire. He was Insensitive to the burgeoning discontent of the people against its legalist sanction of forced labor and excessive taxes that he even raised the tax further that led to a revolt in 209 BC. The next of kin ascended as an emperor was Ziying who also proved to be incompetent. Ziying was unable to contain the peasant’s revolt led by Xiang Yu and Liu Bang until finally he was defeated in the Wei River in 207 BC and later executed by Xiang Yu and finally ended the Qin dynasty (Paludan 135). Aftermath of Qin dynasty After the downfall of Qin dynasty, a conflict arose between the leaders of the revolt Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. It lasted for four years until finally Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu to become the emperor of the Han dynasty in 202 BC. The Han dynasty immediately replaced the Qin dynasty and ruled much longer than the Qin dynasty whose regime was characterized as China’s classical age because commerce, technology, prosperity and culture flourished during the duration of the dynasty. Works Cited Books LLC. “Qin Dynasty Emperors: Qin Shi Huang, Qin Er Shi, Xue Ju, Xue Rengao”. General Books LLC, 2010 Changhong, Ren. “Rise and Fall of Qin Dynasty”. Asiapc Books, Singapore, 2000 Paludan, Ann. Chronicle of the China Emperors”. London: Thames & Hudson. 1998. ISBN 0-500-05090-2. Portal, Jane. The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army. Harvard University Press, 2007 Yu, Weichao. A Journey Into China's Antiquity: Warring States Period, Qin Dynasty, The Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, through Western and Eastern Jin to Northern and Southern Dynasties. Morning Glory Publishers, 1997 Read More