Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang , born Ying Zheng (嬴政) or Zhao Zheng (趙政), was the founder of the <a href="/facts/Qin_dynasty/TeBU8Nh3">Qin dynasty</a> and the first <a href="/facts/Emperor_of_China/W56Qf2Rv">emperor of China</a>. He is widely regarded as the first ever <a href="/facts/Supreme_leader/AAbS1bAH">supreme leader</a> of a <a href="/facts/Unitary_state/HAxK1eMM">unitary</a> <a href="/facts/Dynasties_of_China/a19LJP2u">dynasty</a> in <a href="/facts/Chinese_history/TNqRSvQ4">Chinese history</a>. Rather than maintain the title of "<a href="/facts/Chinese_king/Azxop94J">king</a>" (wáng 王) or "<a href="/facts/Suzerain/jzSCjQe4">overlord</a>" (共主) borne by the previous rulers of <a href="/facts/Xia_dynasty/fzpatj5e">Xia</a>, <a href="/facts/Shang_dynasty/6JYKH4wP">Shang</a> and <a href="/facts/Zhou_dynasty/70beuGpa">Zhou</a> dynasties, he invented the title of "emperor" (huángdì 皇帝), which would see continuous use by <a href="/facts/Chinese_sovereign/Azxop94J">Chinese sovereigns</a> and <a href="/facts/Monarchy_in_China/N9D39EUj">monarchs</a> for the next two millennia. 
Ying Zheng was born during the late <a href="/facts/Warring_States_period/8P3avwna">Warring States period</a> in <a href="/facts/Handan/ycXxfYMC">Handan</a>, the capital of <a href="/facts/Zhao_(state)/JswWrr11">Zhao</a>, to <a href="/facts/King_Zhuangxiang_of_Qin/gLPaIP1b">Prince Yiren</a> and <a href="/facts/Queen_Dowager_Zhao/kbDTEf1k">Lady Zhao</a>. Prince Yiren was serving as an expendable <a href="/facts/Hostage_diplomacy/7lV0mFCv">diplomatic hostage</a> in Zhao at the time, but the wealthy merchant <a href="/facts/L%25C3%25BC_Buwei/2X0qKYAr">Lü Buwei</a> saw potential in him and lobbied for his <a href="/facts/Adoption/7pTMjnSI">adoption</a> by <a href="/facts/King_Xiaowen_of_Qin/h2nJhYD6">Crown Prince Anguo</a>'s childless <a href="/facts/Dishu_system/PjWmVqf0">principal consort</a> Lady Huayang, thus making him the favoured <a href="/facts/Heir_presumptive/NPLIlCGB">heir presumptive</a>. Crown Prince Anguo died three days after coronation, and Prince Yiren subsequently became <a href="/facts/List_of_kings_of_Qin/m2gNbCq7">King of Qin</a> only to also die three years later in <a href="/facts/247_BC/BojFkDtA">247 BC</a>, so the teenage Ying Zheng succeeded the throne as King Zheng of Qin (秦王政). King Zheng's early reign was dominated by <a href="/facts/Regency/K0JDrJ6K">regency</a> from Lü Buwei (who served as his <a href="/facts/Grand_chancellor_(China)/v4LfwC03">chancellor</a>), <a href="/facts/Royal_family/cjN7Nbw7">royal</a> <a href="/facts/Aristocrat/Ij9GVxCE">aristocrats</a> and <a href="/facts/Consort_kin/PAFHTDPy">consort kins</a>, but after <a href="/facts/Coming_of_age/GfCHsl8K">coming of age</a> he managed to purge those influence and seize total control of state power by <a href="/facts/235_BC/LpLu4D5X">235 BC</a>. By <a href="/facts/221_BC/JPRruxWk">221 BC</a>, he had conquered all the other warring <a href="/facts/Ancient_Chinese_state/xkJ5hacw">states</a> and <a href="/facts/Qin%2527s_wars_of_unification/xN1DJX9C">unified all of China</a>, and ascended the throne as China's First Emperor (始皇帝). During his reign, his further military campaigns against the <a href="/facts/Four_Barbarians/LkXKELP4">Four Barbarians</a> greatly expanded the size of the Chinese dominion: <a href="/facts/Qin%2527s_campaign_against_the_Yue_tribes/1ogEoCSV">campaigns against the Yue tribes</a> from 221 BC to <a href="/facts/214_BC/Yv2PHLrc">214 BC</a> permanently added the <a href="/facts/Baiyue/x5CMWWyA">Baiyue</a> lands of modern-day <a href="/facts/Hunan/1lbDstf7">Hunan</a> and <a href="/facts/Guangdong/wvjsjdb1">Guangdong</a> to the <a href="/facts/Sinosphere/WY2269Xy">Sinosphere</a>, and <a href="/facts/Qin%2527s_campaign_against_the_Xiongnu/nL4uHLCL">campaigns against the nomads</a> in <a href="/facts/Inner_Asia/vHVKvWry">Inner Asian</a> <a href="/facts/Eurasian_Steppe/mJlxBbxJ">steppe</a> in <a href="/facts/215_BC/x5rSc2R6">215 BC</a> conquered the entire <a href="/facts/Ordos_Plateau/gTPsTwf6">Ordos Plateau</a> from the <a href="/facts/Xiongnu/wdxyuWQl">Xiongnu</a> (although after <a href="/facts/Chu-Han_contention/UoELS0FG">Qin dynasty's fall</a> in <a href="/facts/207_BC/Rk2VKApb">207 BC</a>, the region was later lost and reoccupied by Xiongnu under <a href="/facts/Modu_Chanyu/FD3ArGNX">Modu Chanyu</a> and would not be recovered until <a href="/facts/127_BC/X7dqgG2h">127 BC</a> during the reign of <a href="/facts/Emperor_Wu_of_Han/Dd9zwMuk">Emperor Wu</a> of the succeeding <a href="/facts/Han_dynasty/hanfxS9D">Han dynasty</a>）.
Qin Shi Huang is a pivotal figure in <a href="/facts/Chinese_history/TNqRSvQ4">Chinese history</a>. As the sovereign of a <a href="/facts/Centralization/xgEewEy4">centralized</a> country, he worked with his minister <a href="/facts/Li_Si/REXhQrR9">Li Si</a> to enact major <a href="/facts/Economic_reform/AFIEaqpx">economic</a>, <a href="/facts/Social_reform/1zc4MuG3">social</a> and <a href="/facts/Political_reform/1zc4MuG3">political reforms</a> aimed at the <a href="/facts/Standardization/vS9AhNMS">standardization</a> and <a href="/facts/Chinese_uniformity/sQCL3eBs">uniformity</a> of various facets of the Chinese society, from <a href="/facts/Chinese_script_styles/VfMvbqtj">writing scripts</a> and <a href="/facts/Currency/g5GPGfTe">currency</a> to <a href="/facts/Measurement_system/xIsWmFWW">measurement systems</a> and <a href="/facts/Wagon/RUVs11Yb">wagon</a> <a href="/facts/Track_gauge/aQIXUugv">axle gauges</a>. He is traditionally said to have <a href="/facts/Burning_of_books_and_burying_of_scholars/oEWGyYuc">banned and burned many books and executed scholars</a>. His public <a href="/facts/Infrastructure/QJvbsSpl">infrastructure</a> projects included the incorporation of diverse state <a href="/facts/Defensive_wall/AQYGI8Mh">defensive walls</a> into a single <a href="/facts/Great_Wall_of_China/aXVq4FrH">Great Wall of China</a>, a massive new national <a href="/facts/Road/3aadH4s3">road</a> system, <a href="/facts/Hydraulic_engineering/atT6tL89">hydraulic engineering</a> projects such as the <a href="/facts/Zhengguo_Canal/V1IjBQ6P">Zhengguo Canal</a> and <a href="/facts/Lingqu_Canal/aNenD57F">Lingqu Canal</a>, as well as his city-sized <a href="/facts/Mausoleum_of_the_First_Qin_Emperor/9gM2VUv2">mausoleum</a> guarded by a life-sized <a href="/facts/Terracotta_Army/bnd6yBGz">Terracotta Army</a>. Having survived three high-profile <a href="/facts/Assassination/hgoazwWn">assassination</a> attempts, he ruled the nation with an iron fist until his death in 210 BC, during his <a href="/facts/Qin_Shi_Huangdi%2527s_imperial_tours/xU7APsSn">fifth tour of eastern China</a>.
Qin Shi Huang has often been portrayed as a strict <a href="/facts/Legalism_(Chinese_philosophy)/vAmCUPdg">Legalist</a> and a ruthless <a href="/facts/Tyrant/SINzgmGP">tyrant</a> — characterizations that stem partly from the scathing <a href="/facts/Confucianist/Nlbwgmxw">Confucianist</a> assessments made during the succeeding Han dynasty and have been carried down by Confucian <a href="/facts/Historian/5DBH5eCb">historians</a> through the subsequent dynasties. Since the mid-<a href="/facts/20th_century/0Gq5Ivn7">20th century</a>, modern scholars have begun questioning this narrative, inciting considerable discussion on the actual nature of his policies and reforms, especially after studying textual evidence recorded in newly discovered <a href="/facts/Artifact_(archaeology)/SftLTFf5">artifacts</a> such as the <a href="/facts/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts/o13jRGQK">Shuihudi</a> and <a href="/facts/Liye_Qin_Slips/vczmqvlT">Liye</a> <a href="/facts/Bamboo_slip/TgDxfHcU">bamboo slips</a>. According to the sinologist <a href="/facts/Michael_Loewe/zsYh11GS">Michael Loewe</a>, "few would contest the view that the achievements of his reign have exercised a paramount influence on the whole of China's subsequent history, marking the start of an epoch that closed in <a href="/facts/1911_Revolution/lCnPzBWo">1911</a>".

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Qin Shi Huang