Qin Shihuangdi (秦始皇帝
Qín Shǐ Huáng-dì"First Emperor of Qin"), real name Ying Zheng (嬴政
Ying Zheng, 259-210 BC BC) - ruler of the kingdom of Qin (from 246 BC), who put an end to the centuries-old era of the Warring States. By 221 BC. e. he established sole dominance over the entire territory of Inner China and went down in history as the ruler of the first centralized Chinese state. The Qin dynasty he founded, which planned to rule China for 10 thousand generations, was overthrown a few years after his death.
early years
Ying Zheng was born in 259 BC, in Handan (in the Principality of Zhao), where his father Zhuang Xiangwang was a hostage. At birth he was given the name Zheng ("first"). His mother was a concubine who had previously been in a relationship with the influential courtier Lü Buwei. It was thanks to the latter's intrigues that Zheng inherited the throne, which gave rise to rumors that Lü Buwei was Zheng's true father.
When Zheng became the Qin ruler at the age of 13, his state was already the most powerful in the Celestial Empire. Everything was moving towards the unification of China led by the Qin dynasty. The states of Central China looked at Shaanxi (the mountainous northern country that served as the core of the Qin possessions) as a barbarian outskirts. State structure The Qin kingdom was distinguished by a powerful military machine and a large bureaucracy.
Until 238, Zheng was considered a minor, and Lü Buwei was in charge of all affairs as regent and first minister. During these years, the future emperor absorbed the totalitarian ideology of legalism, popular at court, the most prominent representative of which at that time was Han Fei. When Zheng was 22 years old, he ordered the execution of his stepmother's lover (due to the same title, confused with his mother), and Lü Buwei was sent into exile on suspicion of preparing a rebellion.
In subsequent years, Zheng captured one after another all six states into which China was divided at that time. At the same time, he did not disdain any methods - neither the creation of a network of spies, nor bribes, nor the help of wise advisers, among whom Li Si took first place. At the age of 32, he took possession of the principality in which he was born, and then his mother died. The following year, Jing Ke, an assassin sent by Prince Yan Dan, was caught. At the age of 39, Zheng united all of China for the first time in history and took the throne name Qin Shihuang.
Title of the first emperor
The title of the first emperor, in Qin era script.
Given name Ying Zheng was given to the future emperor by the name of the month of birth (正), the first in the calendar, the child received the name Zheng (政). In the complex system of names and titles of antiquity, the first and last names were not written side by side, as is the case in modern China, so the name Qin Shihuang itself is extremely limited in use.
The unprecedented power of the ruler of the imperial era required the introduction of a new title. Qin Shihuangdi literally means "founding emperor of the Qin dynasty." The old title wang, translated as “monarch, prince, king,” was no longer acceptable: with the weakening of Zhou, the title of wang was devalued. Original terms Juan(“ruler, august”) and Di(“emperor”) were used separately (see Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors). Their unification was intended to emphasize the autocracy of a new type of ruler.
The imperial title thus created lasted until the Xinhai Revolution of 1912, until the very end of the imperial era. It was used both by those dynasties whose power extended over the entire Celestial Empire, and by those who only sought to reunite its parts under their leadership.
Rule of a unified China
The colossal campaign to unify the Celestial Empire was completed in 221, after which the new emperor carried out a number of reforms to consolidate the won unity: under the slogan “all chariots have an axle of the same length, all hieroglyphs are of standard writing,” a unified network of roads was created, disparate systems of hieroglyphs were abolished conquered kingdoms, a unified monetary system was introduced, as well as a system of weights and measures.
Detour routes of Qin Shi Huang.
Xianyang was chosen as the capital of the empire in the ancestral Qin possessions, not far from modern Xi'an. Dignitaries and nobles of all conquered states were transferred there. In order to suppress centrifugal tendencies on the ground, the empire was divided into 36 military districts. As a sign of unity, the defensive walls that separated the former kingdoms were demolished. Only the northern part of these walls was preserved, its individual sections were fortified and connected to each other: thus, the newly formed Great Wall of China separated the Middle State from the barbarian nomads.
During the last ten years of his life, the emperor rarely visited his capital. He constantly inspected various parts of his kingdom, making sacrifices in local temples, reporting to local deities about his achievements and erecting steles with self-praise. By making detours around his possessions, the emperor began the tradition of royal ascents to Mount Taishan. He was the first of the Chinese rulers to go to the seashore.
As can be understood from the “Shi Ji” of the Han historian Sima Qian, the emperor was most worried about thoughts of impending death. During his travels, he met magicians and sorcerers, hoping to learn from them the secret of the elixir of immortality. In 219, he sent an expedition to the islands of the Eastern Sea (possibly to Japan) to search for him. Confucian scholars saw this as empty superstition, for which they paid dearly: as legend says, the emperor ordered 460 of them to be buried alive in the ground. In 213, Li Si convinced the emperor to burn all books except those on agriculture, medicine and fortune telling. In addition, books from the imperial collection and chronicles of the Qin rulers were spared (see Burning of books and burying of scholars).
In the last years of his life, disillusioned with the prospect of gaining immortality, Qin Shihuang traveled less and less around the borders of his power, isolating himself from the world in his huge palace complex. Avoiding communication with mortals, the emperor expected that they would see him as a deity. Instead, the totalitarian rule of the first emperor gave rise to a growing number of dissatisfied people every year. Having uncovered three conspiracies, the emperor had no reason to trust any of his entourage. He died in 210 or 209 during another tour of his possessions. Adherents of the previous dynasties immediately rushed into the fight for the division of the imperial inheritance, and in 206 his entire family was exterminated.
Tomb
Bronze chariot from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang
Nothing illustrates the power of Qin Shi Huang better than the size of the burial complex, which was built during the emperor’s lifetime. Construction of the tomb began immediately after the formation of the empire near present-day Xi'an. According to Sima Qian, 700 thousand workers and artisans were involved in the creation of the mausoleum. The perimeter of the outer wall of the burial was 6 km.
The burial mound of the first emperor was identified by archaeologists only in 1974. Its research continues to this day, and the burial place of the emperor is still awaiting an autopsy. The mound was crowned by a certain pyramidal room, through which, according to one version, the soul of the deceased was supposed to ascend to heaven.
To accompany the emperor in the other world, countless terracotta troops were sculpted. The faces of the warriors are individualized, their bodies were previously brightly colored. Unlike his predecessors - for example, the rulers of the Shang state (c. 1300-1027 BC) - the emperor refused mass human sacrifices.
The Qin Shihuang Tomb complex was the first Chinese site to be included by UNESCO in the Register of World Cultural Heritage Sites.
Reputation
Monument to Qin Shihuang at the mound with his tomb.
The reign of Qin Shihuang was based on the principles of legalism set forth in the treatise Han Feizi. All surviving written evidence about Qin Shihuang is passed through the prism of the Confucian worldview of Han historiographers, primarily Sima Qian. It is very likely that the information they provided about the burning of all books, the ban on Confucianism, and the burial of Confucius’ followers alive reflected Confucian anti-Qin propaganda directed against the legalists.
In traditional depictions, Qin Shihuang's appearance as a monstrous tyrant is tendentiously exaggerated. It can be considered established that all subsequent states of China, starting with the Western Han, inherited the administrative-bureaucratic system of government that was created under the first emperor.
The average person knows little about China. He can immediately name the quality of Chinese goods, the Great Wall of China and, perhaps, the fact that it is the most populated country in the world. Few people know that the history of this state goes back several thousand years and has many pages on which you can linger with delight. Today we will talk about the rulers of this country. The list of Chinese emperors who made a huge contribution to the history of the country looks like this:
- Qin Shi Huangdi.
- Jan Di.
- Li Shimin.
- Yongle.
- Kangxi.
The beginning of the march to greatness
Until 221 BC, there was no such country as China, but there were 6 counties: Han, Wei, Chu, Zhao, Yan, Qi. These small countries were engaged in different economies, had different religions, spoke different languages. The first Chinese emperor united these lands. His name is Qin Shi Huang. Born in Qin County to a local prince and his concubine, the boy received the name Ying Zheng. He was first in line to the throne, which he ascended at the age of 13 after the death of his father. At first, the boy was treated like a puppet, and many decisions were made on behalf of the page Lu Bu Wei, the smartest person in charge of the education of the ward. It was the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang who ordered the construction of an irrigation canal, which made it possible to increase the number of fertile lands and the growth of agricultural products to unprecedented proportions.
Independent steps to the throne
But after the owner came of age, the regent was expelled from Qin County, since Ying Zheng considered him a traitor who was plotting against him. The first thing he began his legal reign with was the annexation of other counties and the expansion of territory. His army had no mercy for those undesirable and after 20 years of struggle, in 221 BC. e., he managed to unite the Chinese lands and accept the imperial title - Qin Shi Huang.
Achievements and memory of descendants
His reign was remembered for the beginning of the construction of the Great Wall of China, which was supposed to protect the people from the raids of nomads, exterminated by the emperor later, and the introduction of a unified monetary system. He reformed the written system, built roads, and introduced an order so that all carts were the same size, which greatly facilitated the work of ordinary peasants. But at the same time, he was remembered as one of the cruelest rulers, since in case of refusal to follow the laws of the emperor, not only the violator was executed, but also his family, and distant relatives became servants of the nobles.
Vanity
The Chinese emperor was vain. During his lifetime, he began to build his tomb, which was distinguished by its luxury. 6 thousand terracotta soldiers made of clay stood guard over the peace of the deceased emperor. 48 concubines were buried alive in order to please their master even after death.
Period of Troubles
After the death of the great man, Chinese civilization began an almost 800-year period of turmoil. The united territory was subject to both external and internal disasters. The question of choosing Confucianism or Buddhism, attacks by nomads, an environmental disaster caused by a change in the course of the Yellow River, famine of the peasants, droughts and crop failures, a rebellion against the feudal lords, the inept leadership of Liu Bang, Wang Mang and other emperors leads to the fact that the once great country fell apart again into several principalities. The struggle for the throne lasted for several centuries, sometimes it seemed that an ordinary passerby, having gathered a couple of hundred military men, could seize the imperial throne. Uncertainty grew along with generations, and this led to the disunity of interests, culture, and religion.
Age of Hope
This is the name given to the Tang era of Li's reign. Chronology of existence - 618-907. During the “Just War,” when the peasants rebelled against the anti-people policies of Emperor Yang Di and intended to destroy the ruling stratum, Li Yuan, the dictator’s military leader, came to their aid, on the advice of his son. His son was destined to become the greatest emperor, during whose reign the Chinese Empire became the most developed country that time. His name was Li Shimin.
Choosing a route
Coming from an aristocratic family, Li Shimin received an excellent education. It was developed in many branches of science and art. Spent a lot of time military equipment and martial arts classes. He understood that the main problem in China is disunity between people. After all, among those who called themselves Chinese, there were aristocrats who were accustomed to living well and enjoying wealth, and peasants who were looking for ways to earn food through hard work, and military step soldiers who were ready to immediately go into battle for their interests. To unite them, he pursued a policy of “good brother”, giving a helping hand to the poor, stroking the aristocrats who wanted it, and supporting step dancers by praising their ability to master the martial art.
Great power politics
Li Shimin directed his policy to help the largest population of his country - the peasants. He reduced taxes and allowed them to pay in food, shortened the days of work for the feudal lord, and allowed the trade of allocated land. He reformed the monetary system, issued a code of laws and rules in society, to facilitate trade, he established road connections between cities, and gave impetus to the development of land and sea transport.
He assigned the most important role in building the empire to officials, who now held their positions not by right of origin, but thanks to their knowledge in a certain industry. Book printing, silk-screen printing, and metal production began to develop. The Chinese began to grow new crops: tea, sugar cane, oak silkworm. A revolution took place in the agricultural environment when a field irrigation system was introduced, which significantly reduced the time it took to cultivate fields.
Changes also affected the military industry: shipbuilding developed, gunpowder was invented, and armor was improved. It is impossible not to mention the achievements of art of the Tang Dynasty - masterpieces of sculpture, poetry and visual arts became the hallmark of this period of history.
Fall of the dynasty
Chinese history tells us that policies aimed at economic development have borne fruit for three centuries. But when local feudal lords put their own interests above the state, huge problems began. Often they bought up all the land in the surrounding area, imposed disproportionate taxes on the peasants, and then, if people could not pay, they sent them outside their native lands, transferring the debt per person to another feudal lord. This led to unprecedented economic prosperity for the nobles. Some of them became millionaires. With that kind of money, they were not afraid to go against the will of the emperor and openly oppose his policies. Rebellions have again come to the prosperous territory.
Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
After the fall of the House of Tang, a fifty-year period of five dynasties and ten kingdoms began in Chinese history. Perhaps the bloodiest era in Chinese history. At the end of the Tang dynasty, regional governors were given broad powers. They played the role of the emperor, sending him large taxes taken from local residents. But sensing the sovereign’s precarious position, they wanted to take his place. As a result of this, 10 kingdoms were created with their leaders: Wu, Wu Yue, Min, Chu, Southern Han, Early Shu, Later Shu, Jingnan, Southern Tang, Northern Han.
This period in history was short-lived, because each of the rulers, not without reason, suspected their immediate circle of a possible coup. Inheriting domestic politics, there was also bloodshed in foreign policy for the expansion of territories. True, at the same time, the principalities did not forget to exchange goods and pursue a broad economic policy among themselves.
The era of the great dynasties of Chinese emperors
The Song Dynasty (960-1279), having existed for about 3 centuries, was split into two parts: northern and southern. During its 70 years of reign, the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) was remembered for its wars with the Mongols and their final expulsion from its territory. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), founded by Zhu Yuan-chang, with its policy of caring for the feudal lords, turned the peasants against themselves and inflamed their fighting spirit, which they could not extinguish even after the end of the existence of the Mings. The Southern (Nan) Ming Dynasty became a transitional stage to the establishment of the power of the Qin Dynasty.
Luxury for the Holy Emperors
The Ming era was remembered not only for turning peasants against themselves and brutal showdowns with them, but also for the construction of the Purple forbidden city- a complex of palaces used for housing and ceremonies among emperors. The Chinese Emperor Yongle ordered the construction of the Palace of the Emperor of China. About 100 thousand masters of various arts worked on this - stone and wood carvers and artists. It took no less than 1 million builders. It was with the completion of work in this complex that Beijing became the capital of the empire.
Roots of a new dynasty
The Chinese Jurchen people in Manchuria and Northeast China were destroyed by Mongol raids in the 13th century. Nomads lived comfortably in these territories for two centuries. But the troops of the Ming family drove them out of their habitats and formed three military districts - Haixi, Jianzhou and Yeren, which were led by regional governors.
In 1559, Jianzhou united the Jurchens and stopped sending tribute to the capital. He named his dominion Later (Hou) Jin, emphasizing the connection of the new power with the Jurchen emperors. The period of the Jin Dynasty went down in history under the name of the Great Qing Empire, or the Manchu Dynasty. The existence of this dynasty is significant - from 1644 to 1912. During this time, 12 emperors were replaced.
Challenging Challenges
Since its formation, the dynasty has shown a multicultural approach to its residents. The rulers used the official titles of the emperor, while remaining Mongol khans, and supported Confucianism and Buddhism. They believed that everyone deserved a promotion, but at the same time they launched a bureaucratic system that is still used in the modern Republic of China.
To begin with, the future empire had to fight the corruption of officials, high taxes and poverty of the population. But the main problem of this period was foreign policy. The Manchu dynasty lost the war against Great Britain and was forced to sign an unequal treaty, as a result of which it gave up its ports for free use and did not tax foreign goods, with which domestic goods could not adequately compete. The war with the Japanese further aggravated the plight of the Qing dynasty.
Golden era of the Chinese Empire
This is what they call the era of the reign of the great Chinese Emperor Kangxi. He came to power in 1679 when he overthrew his predecessor, Prince Songota. He reigned for about 60 years. He weakened the influence of the Council of Princes-Regents and dignitaries, listened only to himself regarding the most important decisions, and led the war to conquer and pacify China. During his reign, the number of armed uprisings against the Manchu conquerors sharply decreased.
The Emperor was interested in science and was aware of the latest developments in the scientific world. He was interested in the hydraulic engineering of cities, strengthened dams, and built new dams connecting different villages. At this time, he risked introducing a tax on monopolistic foreign goods, which led to an unprecedented development of the domestic market for consumption and production of products. Also, this Chinese emperor showed brilliant knowledge of foreign policy. He defeated Russia and conquered part of its territory, but subsequently established economic relations with it. IN Northern Mongolia he actively fomented internal conflict in order to subsequently seize part of its territory, which he did very well by annexing Khalkha.
The diplomat also had a strong influence on culture. He allocated significant sums for the publishing of ancient manuscripts, anthologies and encyclopedias. True, he acted as an authoritarian censor, forcing publishers to cross out criticism of the Manchu rulers and free views on life. In his personal life, too, everything was in order: he had 64 wives, who gave him 24 sons and 12 daughters. He died at the age of 68, leaving a brilliant empire, which after his death began to decline.
This is just a small part interesting story The Chinese Empire, which modern China is rightfully proud of.
The first emperor of China, Qin Shihound, is an iconic figure for the Chinese. He is considered the founder of the current state.
China until 221, when the emperor declared himself the ruler of all of China, consisted of several kingdoms,
Ying Zheng (this was the emperor's real name) became the ruler of the Qin kingdom in 246 BC at the age of 13. Having reached adulthood in 238, Ying Zheng completely took power into his own hands.
The reign of Ying Zheng is associated with the largest construction projects in Chinese history and ancient world. One of them is a large irrigation canal, which in 246 began to be built by the engineer Zheng Guo from the Han kingdom. The length of the canal was 150 km. and it took ten years to build. As a result of construction, the amount of area suitable for agriculture increased by 264.4 thousand hectares, which led to an unprecedented economic rise in Qin.
Ying Zheng waged successful wars. Gradually, he captured, one after another, all six states into which China was divided at that time: in 230 BC. e. Han, in 225 - Wei, in 223 - Chu, in 222 - Zhao and Yan, and in 221 - Qi.
Thus, he united all of China and in 221 BC took the throne name Qin Shihuang, founding a new imperial Qin dynasty and naming himself its first ruler.
The capital of the empire was Xianyang, not far from modern Xi'an.
In addition to the reforms of writing, the monetary system, the creation of roads and other things, the emperor began grandiose construction projects, the burden of which fell on the shoulders of millions of ordinary people.
Immediately after declaring himself emperor, Qin Shi Huang began building his tomb.
Construction of the tomb began in 247 BC. e. More than 700 thousand workers and artisans were involved in its construction. Qin Shi Huang was buried in 210 BC. e. A huge amount of jewelry and handicrafts were buried with him. Also, 48 of his concubines were buried alive with the emperor.
A whole army of clay sculptures, the so-called, was hidden underground.
The warriors and horses of the Terracotta Army were made in various areas of China.
The warrior figures are real works of art; they were made individually. Each statue has its own unique features and even facial expressions.
Another no less significant construction project of Qin Shi Huang was During its construction, the previously existing northern walls were used, which were strengthened and connected to each other.
Construction lasted 10 years, the number of workers reached 300 thousand. The landscape along which the construction of the wall took place was complex (mountain ranges, gorges), so construction was fraught with significant difficulties.
To build the Great Wall of China, stone slabs were used, which were laid close to each other over layers of compacted earth. During the construction of the Wall, a large embankment was built in the east. Later, sections of the Wall began to be faced, for which stone and brick were used.
The emperor died in 210 during another tour of his possessions.
However, the Qin Dynasty ended there. After the death of the emperor, an uprising broke out and his entire family was exterminated.
based on wikipedia materials
Message quote Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army.
In the 3rd century BC. In the Chinese kingdom of Qin, Prince Ying Zheng was born, for whom the gods had a great destiny. Already at the age of 13 he ascended the throne, and at 21 he became an independent ruler.
At that time, China was divided into 7 independent kingdoms. Local kings were constantly at odds with each other, weakening and ruining their states.
And Ying Zheng set out to become a great ruler. He gathered a huge army and captured all the neighboring lands. He killed kings, razed capitals to the ground, and established his own rules everywhere.
Ying Zheng spent 17 years in wars, killed thousands of people in battles, but achieved the unification of all of China under his rule.
Big deal! It was not suitable for the great ruler to live with his old childhood name, and he took for himself a new name, befitting his status, Qin Shi Huang, which means “First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty”
IN official language a number of new terms were introduced that reflected the greatness of the ruler: from now on the emperor began to call himself Zheng, which corresponds to the Russian “We” used in imperial decrees. The emperor's personal orders were called zhi, and his orders throughout the Celestial Empire were called zhao.
Since Ying Zheng was the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, he ordered to call himself Shi Huangdi - the First Highest Emperor.
Qin Shihuang - unified China under his rule in 221 BC. e., dividing the country into 36 provinces, governed by officials appointed by the emperor.
The colossal campaign to unify the Celestial Empire was completed in 221 BC, after which the new emperor carried out a number of reforms to consolidate the gains. First, he designated the city of Xi'an as the capital of his entire empire. He introduced strict standards for everything: money, measures of weight and length, writing, construction, even the width of the axle for carts, so that the carts could easily get from one end of the mighty empire to the other. Naturally, the standards of the Qin kingdom were taken as a model. All previous history was declared irrelevant. In 213 BC. the ancient chronicles and books of all the conquered kingdoms were burned. More than 460 scientists suspected of disloyalty to the new regime were buried alive in the ground.
But Qin Shi Huang was not only wise, but also extremely cruel. Any disobedience to the new laws will result in death. At the same time, the simple death penalty was the lightest punishment. The following types of capital punishment were common: breaking out ribs, tearing by chariots, boiling in a large cauldron, cutting in half or into pieces, quartering, beheading and, after execution, displaying the head on a pole in public places. Particularly dangerous crimes were punishable by execution not only of the perpetrator, but also of all his relatives in three generations, and, given that the Chinese had large families, this measure often affected thousands of people.
At this time, wild tribes of nomadic Huns attacked China from the north. They ravaged the lands and took the inhabitants into captivity.
To defend the northern borders of the Empire, Qin Shi Huang began uniting disparate defensive structures into a single one - the Great Wall of China, stretching for almost 4 thousand kilometers. It was built over 10 years from compacted earth and stone blocks by more than 2 million people (soldiers, slaves, prisoners of war and criminals). Those who died from overwork, according to legend, were walled up in the wall. Construction conditions: bare steppe, periodic raids of tribes and half-starved existence. The watchmen's legs were cut off so that they could not escape from the towers when attacked by nomads. The Great Wall claimed an unprecedented number of victims; now modern Chinese say that every stone in the wall is someone’s life.
At the time of the creation of the empire, Qin Shi Huang was forty years old, which is a considerable age for those ancient times. The time had come to start searching for immortality - old wounds were bothering him, age was taking its toll, and it was planned to reign for another thousand years. In search of a wonderful elixir, he examined ancient manuscripts, interrogated sages, sent expeditions on large ships in search of a magic herb, which, according to legend, bestowed immortality.
Eventually, Qin Shi Huang issued a decree that the emperor would live forever. Therefore, even after his death, his body remained in the throne room for a long time, and the ceremonies were carried out in the same way as if he were alive.
The death of the emperor turned out to be somewhat awkward. Like any eastern ruler, Qin Shi Huang had a harem, and there were several thousand concubines in it. One of them killed the first emperor of China by sticking a large needle into his ear while he was sleeping. This happened in 210 BC, when Qin Shi Huang was 48 years old.
From the moment he ascended the throne, Qin Shi Huang gave the order to begin construction of his tomb. And 30 kilometers from the city of Xi'an, near Mount Lishan, over 38 years, 700 thousand workers built an entire burial city - a huge underground complex, designed as a mirror image of the capital of the Qin dynasty.
The emperor's mausoleum was a palace surrounded by two walls made of mud brick. The outer one stretches for more than six kilometers, the inner one is about four kilometers long. Behind the inner wall is the mausoleum itself: a rectangular underground structure half a kilometer long and slightly less wide. Several tunnels approach it. The entire complex covers an area of 60 square meters. km.
The crypt was filled with copies of palaces transported and placed there, figures of officials of all ranks, rare things and extraordinary valuables, countless treasures, including the golden throne of the first emperor.
On the floor of the tomb was a huge map of the world, with rivers and oceans made of mercury.
To protect the emperor and his wealth, terracotta warriors were buried 1.5 km east of the royal tomb. Initially, Qin Shi Huang was going to bury 4,000 real warriors, but such an attempt could cost both himself and his empire his life. And the advisers managed to convince the emperor to create clay ones, numbering more than 8,000, as well as about 200 horses. The harness, weapons, and details of the weapons of this mysterious army were real. The figures were modeled from real warriors, so that after death the souls of the warriors could move into sculptures and continue their service to the Emperor.
All wars were facing east. It was there that the kingdoms were destroyed by the great tyrant. The statues were made with jewelry precision and amazing diligence. It is impossible to find a single identical face. Among the warriors are not only Chinese, but also Mongols, Uighurs, Tibetans and many other nationalities. The only deviation from reality the sculptors made was in growth. The height of the statue is 1.90-1.95 meters. The Qin soldiers, of course, were not that tall. The warrior's weight is about 135 kilograms. The finished sculptures were fired by craftsmen in huge kilns at a temperature of 1,000 degrees. Then the best artists painted them in natural colors in accordance with the table of ranks.
The soldier is dressed in a short robe and breastplate without decorations, his hair is tied in a knot, his feet are wrapped in windings and shoes with a square toe. The officer is wearing chest armor with decorations, a high hat, and boots on his feet. The general has scaly armor with decorations and a hat in the shape of two birds. Shooters with bows and crossbows, wearing breastplates and short robes. All details of clothing or hairstyle strictly correspond to the fashion of that time. Shoes and armor are reproduced with amazing accuracy.
To install this army, a pit the size of a football field was dug, and when the army took its place, the ancient craftsmen placed solid tree trunks on top, mats on them, then 30 cm of cement and 3 m of earth. Then the grass was sown and the army disappeared. She disappeared forever, not a single chronicler or robber knew about her.
After his death, Qin Shi Huang was buried in a golden coffin and placed in the middle of a sea of mercury.
The craftsmen made and loaded crossbows so that they would shoot at those who tried to get into the tomb. The heir to the throne ordered to bury alive all the wives and 3 thousand concubines of the emperor, thousands of his slaves, dancers, musicians and acrobats, as well as 17 sons and some ministers.
Then 70 thousand workers were herded there, who equipped and built the crypt with their families, servants who knew about its location. And then the jade doors closed... The entrance was walled up, a hill 120 meters high was poured on top, bushes and trees were planted on the hill so that no one would guess how to get in there.
The tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is inviolable to this day. The Terracotta Army serves its Emperor faithfully, and neither grave robbers nor archaeologists have yet disturbed it.
For more than 2000 years, no one in the whole world knew where the grave of the emperor and his army was, until in 1974, a simple Chinese peasant, Yan Ji Wang, and five of his friends decided to dig a well. They didn’t find water, but they found a life-size statue of an ancient warrior at a depth of 5 meters. This was the main battle formation of Qin Shi Huang - about 6,000 figures. Yan Ji Wan became a millionaire overnight. Now he writes books about his discovery and signs autographs for tourists every day.
Today, a whole city has arisen on the site of the historical find. A huge roof was built over the “army”, like over a large train station. Not all the warriors have been excavated yet, because most of the statues were crushed by a once collapsed roof and a load of earth, they have to be restored piece by piece.
Three large pavilions shelter the funeral army of the first Chinese emperor from the weather. Three crypts with a total area of more than 20 thousand square meters. meters
Excavations have been going on for more than 25 years, and there is no end in sight. In 1980, scientists excavated a second column - about 2,000 statues.
In 1994, an underground general staff was discovered - a meeting of senior military leaders.
However, there is an opinion that the found army is only one of the few guarding the Emperor’s necropolis
The reason for the creation of such an army, which could only be created by thousands of sculptors and tens of thousands of workers, apparently lay in the beliefs that forced ancient kings from Northern Europe to Japan to take wives, slaves, warriors and servants with them into the afterlife. But if the leader of the Vikings or Scythians limited himself to dozens of victims who were killed at his grave, then the death of Qin Shi Huang, the Lord of the Universe, entailed the death of thousands of people - everyone who knew access to the tomb. Although human sacrifice was no longer practiced in China by that time, better world They sent with the despot everyone who should have served the deceased.
But no matter how impressive the finds in the crypts of the warriors are, the number of which continues to grow, the main attention of archaeologists is drawn to the tomb of the emperor.
Archaeologists began to lay exploration pits to determine what was under and around the hill. This work is being carried out carefully and slowly.
According to Chinese press reports, in ten recent years In the area of the tomb, over an area of more than ten square kilometers, more than forty thousand holes and trenches were drilled. But this explored area represents approximately a sixth of that occupied by the tomb and its accompanying structures.
When pits were laid in order to determine the size and configuration of the mausoleum, archaeologists twice came across tunnels made by robbers in ancient times. Both tunnels touched the wall of the mausoleum, but did not penetrate it. And although the western and southern walls of the tomb have not yet been fully explored, according to indirect data, scientists are increasingly convinced that the emperor’s mausoleum was not destroyed and plundered, as the chroniclers reported. This allows us to hope that everything inside the mausoleum remains the same or almost the same as on the day the jade doors closed.
And one more interesting detail: the soil samples from the hill have a high mercury content. She could not get there by natural means, therefore, the reports of the historian Sima Qian that on the floor of the tomb there was a huge map of the world, with rivers and oceans made of mercury, are true.
So far, only three crypts have been discovered, 1.5 km east of the tomb, containing thousands of terracotta figurines (known as bing ma yun) and two sets of huge bronze chariots and horses to the west of the mausoleum.
For centuries, robbers have tried to find treasures in the imperial tombs. For some, these attempts cost their lives. Surprisingly, the clay soldiers protected the spirit of their master as best they could. It is said that not a single human skeleton was found among the excavated statues.
Today even the clay from which the walls are made has turned golden. One clay brick from the Qin Shi Huang era costs tens of thousands of dollars. The owner of just one brick can exchange it for, say, a decent mansion in the vicinity of Beijing.
Looking into the empty clay eyes, you are overcome with involuntary trepidation. There is something there, inside. Maybe it’s true that the souls of the warriors, after their earthly life, inhabited the shells prepared for them, and are now forced to languish in terracotta bodies forever, to protect their king, despite the passing millennia.
He received the throne not by direct inheritance, but thanks to the palace intrigues of his wise mentor Lü Buwei. The future ruler of the Qin kingdom, who received the name Ying Zheng at birth, was given to the world by a concubine in 259 BC. e. At the age of 13, the boy, still under the strict control of the regent, sat in the royal chair. Soon the wayward teenager began to dictate his royal will to all seven disparate Chinese lands. The unification of the “Warring States” was achieved through the great aristocratic blood of six independent state entities. But even more blood was required to implement the great plans of the odious but far-sighted Son of Heaven.
Ying Zheng decided to consolidate his victory with a new title - Qin Shi Huang - “First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty”, under which he went down in history. But the talented military leader understood that to maintain the unity of the territories, not only the force of arms is needed. Therefore, the first ruler of a united China, surrounded by advisers, began comprehensive reform activities. The greatest ruler in the history of China, whose importance cannot be overestimated. The scale of his legacy, captured in, amazes to this day.
According to ancient chronicles, ruler Qin Shi Huang devoted his entire life to two cherished goals:
1. Extend the reign of the Qin Dynasty by 10,000 generations.
2. Find the elixir eternal life.
The Qin dynasty, founded by Shi Huang, outlived its creator by only three years. The exhausted country threw off the imperial heir, who did not have the strength and wisdom of his father. The new Han dynasty that reigned, without hiding its hatred of Shi Huangdi's personality, preserved most of his transformations. All subsequent rulers bore the imperial title.
The blood sons could not fulfill the dream of the first emperor. But if we call everyone who was able to benefit from the fruits of his activities as heirs, then there is still a chance. The echo of the transformations of the Qin era can be traced all the way to modern China. And the global architecture of the Qin era gave immortality to the name of the great Shi Huangdi.
Foreign policy
Several problems were solved in different directions at the same time. The new dynasty tried to expand its territories and preserve the acquired lands.
The northern borders had to be protected from raids by nomads. The main enemy was the elusive and legendary Huns (Xiongnu). They were the ones who caused it. The scattered border outposts built during the Zhangguo (Warring States) period were destroyed throughout the country, except for the northern border, where they were united into a common line. The grandiose defensive structure is a favorite trail for modern tourists. Construction of the border required hundreds of thousands human hands. The main source of which were convicts and their families, as well as guilty accomplices. The Chinese themselves say that every stone in the Great Wall of China is someone's life.
In the south, military operations were carried out with the aim of capturing new promising territories. The annexation of the coastal states was carried out with varying degrees of success.
Internal reforms
The new capital is Xianyang. All the surviving nobility from the conquered kingdoms were resettled in the city. This measure made it possible to prevent attempts to overthrow local authorities. The conquered elite was under control in a foreign city.
New Administrative division. All 7 kingdoms were divided into 36 military districts, which consisted of regions and counties. The localities were governed by numerous officials who had only executive functions.
Disarmament of the country. The defeated princes and their associates were deprived of the right to own weapons, which made it possible to avoid military attempts to remove the young dynasty.
Road construction. The first goal of road construction was the need for a mobile army capable of quickly moving throughout the country.
A single standard of weights and measures, common rules of writing for the entire united empire.
The reforms carried out contributed to the development general economy, which became a solid foundation for the future unity of the Chinese nation within one country. Not all of Qin Shi Huang's contemporaries were able to appreciate the positive trends; numerous conspiracies and assassination attempts haunted the emperor throughout his life. There are many legends about the suspiciousness of the ruler, who spent a lot of time traveling and traveling in search of immortality.
Monumental art
In addition to the grandiose northern border, many kilometers of roads, hundreds of palaces as part of numerous architectural ensembles, Emperor Qin Shi Huang is primarily known as the creator of an unsurpassed tomb. The burial complex can be called complete underground city. According to legend, the golden sarcophagus of the immortal emperor rests amidst untold luxury and is surrounded by rivers of mercury. Next to the emperor, all the wives and thousands of concubines, the wisest advisers and a large staff of servants found eternal peace. The mausoleum is protected by rows of cunning traps and a terracotta army of thousands in full uniform. was hidden from the world under an artificial mound. The grandiose structure was discovered by accident at the end of the 20th century.
Archaeological excavations have not yet reached the imperial hall. The 8,000 clay warriors standing in the way, created to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in eternal life, have been standing guard for the third millennium. According to legend, each statue was made in the image of a specific warrior, so among the terracotta army there are no identical faces. Under the weight of centuries, part of it suffered, which forced scientists to get bogged down in restoration work, unable to move forward.
When telling the biography of the great ruler, many paint the image of Qin Shi Huang as a cruel tyrant. But modern researchers are inclined to argue that this estimate was greatly and deliberately exaggerated by the subsequent Han Dynasty. Many chronicles of the Qin dynasty were written by followers of the teachings of Confucius, which was brutally persecuted in early imperial China. It is possible that the study of the last burial palace of the first emperor will reveal to the world the secrets of the Great Qin Shi Huang, whose main merit is that he was able to create a single nation from disparate ancient Chinese ethnic groups, which refutes the myth of the fragility and non-viability of the Ancient Worlds.