Qin Shi Huangdi, a Brilliant Tyrant

Keilah Stypulkoski History 7 3/21/13 Chapter 20-22 test

Qin Shi Huangdi was chinas first emperor. He was born into the warring states period, and was known as Prince Zhou when he was a child. When he was 13 he became the ruler of the Qin kingdom. He was a very ambitious man and wanted to end the warring states to get full power. Once he was in full power, he became chinas fist emperor, and started the Qin dynasty. He believed that his rein would last eternally. Many people think that Qin Shi Huangdi was a brutal tyrant. In many ways he was. He was a legalist, if things didnt go his way somebody would die, if someone did good they were sometimes rewarded. He ended Confucianism and Douism. The scholars who did not give up their Confucius scrolls were buried alive. He censored books so people could not learn about Confucianism and Douism. He also had a lot of forced labor. He killed thousands of his own people to make things like his many palaces and his tomb with the terracotta warriors. Anyone who was still alive that helped build or knew where his tomb was, was killed. Many people also think that Qin Shi Huangdi was a brilliant ruler. In lots of ways, he most definitely was. He built the Great Wall of China to protect his people from the possibility of neighboring kingdoms. He made a bureaucracy because it was a more efficient was to rule. He gave free land too the peasants and moved the nobles near his palace. He ended feudalism, and gained the pesants trust. He made measures, weights, and written language the same. He also made new roads and canals, which greatly improved trade. Qin Shi Huangdi was seeking eternal life towards the end of his rein. He went traveling all over china seeking a potion or spell to give him eternal life. Some think that the scholars he killed for not giving up their scrolls were actually the people who failed to give him eternal life. While he was still looking for eternal life he died, most people believe that it was from poisoning he consumed in one of his potions. Although he believed his rein would be eternal, it only lasted ten years.

As you can see, Qin Shi Huangdi made great improvements to China, but they almost all came with a cost. The great wall was a great safety feature, but millions died from it. All the new roads and canals he made were from forced labor. For that reason, Qin Shi Huangdi was a brilliant tyrant who still lives on through his great improvements to china and the horrid storys we hear about him.