Chapter 6.3 Notes

Chapter 6.3 Notes

The Qin Dynasty 

The Qin Emperor’s Strong Government

 $\cdot$  The Warring States period marked a time in China when several states battled each other for power
     -Eventually, one state, the Qin, built a strong army and defeated the rest of the armies
      *The Qin dynasty united China under one government
 $\cdot$  Shi Huangdi takes the throne
      -In 221 BC, the Qin king Ying Zheng unified China and named himself Shi Huangdi
        *Shi Huangdi means “first emperor”

    -The Shi Huangdi followed a Legalist political belief

      *He created a strong government with strict laws and harsh punishments
      *He ordered that all writings be destroyed that did not follow Legalism
   -The only books that were saved dealt with farming, medicine, and predicting the future
      *Many scholars opposed the burning of books so the emperor responded by burying 460 scholars alive
 $\cdot$  The emperor also used his armies to expand the empire
       -The Qin occupied the lands between the two rivers

Open Ended

What happened to people that did not follow the emperors rules?

        *The armies moved north closer to the Gobi Desert and south closer to the Xi River

   -Shi Huangdi ensured that there would not be any future revolts in his territories
      *When the emperor conquered a city, his armies destroyed the city walls and took all the weapons 
 $\cdot$  China under the Qin
     -Shi Huangdi changed all the political system and took all the power from lords
    -He would take away their land and forced them to move to the capital for observation

Multiple Choice

Who held all the power in the Qin Dynasty?

• Nobles

• Lords

• King

• Heaven

     *He also forced commoners to work on government projects and extreme hardships, dangers or even death

 $\cdot$  Shi Huangdi divided China into districts each with its own governor
   -Each district was then subdivided and officials were appointed to control each area
          *The organization helped the emperor to collect and enforce taxes 

Open Ended

Why do you think the Shi Huangdi had an easier time governing the Chinese?

A Unified China

 $\cdot$  Qin Policies
    -As previously talked about, China’s physical geography meant that regions would develop their own languages, money and life styles
      *The Shi Huangdi wanted all Chinese people to do things the same way
    -Early in his reign, the emperor set up a uniform system of law
      *Rules & punishments were to be the same in all parts of the empire
     *He also standardized all written language, currency and trade

Poll

What did the Shi Huangdi standardize in his empire?

• currency

• language

• trade

• writing style

 $\cdot$  Qin Achievements

    -The Qin created massive building projects that unified the nation
         *The Chinese built networks of roads that connected the capital to every part of the empire
    -The water system was improved upon as well
         *Canals were built to improve the transportation for people and trade throughout the nation
         *The Qin also built irrigation systems to make more farm land  (parts of this system are still used today)
     -The Qin also wanted to protect their great nation from invaders

Open Ended

What was one of the best achievements of the Qin Dynasty and why?

    *Nomads from the north were fierce warriors and were an extreme threat to China

     *The emperor built the Great Wall to keep the empire safe
Great Wall: a barrier that linked earlier walls across China’s northern frontier
 $\cdot$  The fall of the Qin
     -The Qin’s policies unified China but his policies also created resentment
    - The Shi Huangdi was powerful enough to keep China together
        *But that did not last once he died in 210 BC and the government began to fall apart
    -Rebel forces formed across the country
        *China fell into another civil war time period.

Open Ended

Why did the Qin build the Great Wall of China?