Lesson 9 Qin Unifies China

Qin's destruction of the Six Kingdoms

The people of the vassal states wanted to end the war and live a stable life. The people of the vassal states wanted to put an end to the war and live a stable life. After the change of law by Shang Yang, Qin became stronger than the six eastern states and had the conditions to unify them. After his accession to the throne, King Ying Zheng of Qin made full preparations for the destruction of the six states. He recruited talents from different countries, entrusted them with important tasks, listened to advice in time and actively planned the unification.

In 230 B.C., Qin launched a powerful offensive and started the war to unify the Six Kingdoms. In less than ten years, Qin's army was able to conquer the six states of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi. In 221 B.C., Qin completed its unification and established the Qin Dynasty with its capital in Xianyang.

After the destruction of the six kingdoms, Qin went north and south to explore and manage the frontier areas, expanding its jurisdiction greatly.

The unification of Qin put an end to the chaotic situation of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States, and established the first unified, multi-ethnic feudal state in the history of China.

Establishment of a centralized system of government

After the Qin Dynasty achieved great unification, the original political form of separate rule could no longer adapt to the new social development. In order to strengthen the rule over the whole country, the Qin Dynasty established a centralized system of unification.

The supreme ruler of the country, called the emperor, had supreme authority and was in charge of all military and political affairs in the country. Ying Zheng called himself "the First Emperor" and was known as "Qin Shi Huang". Under the emperor, there was a central authority, headed by the prime minister, the chief lieutenant and the imperial governor, who were in charge of administrative, military and supervisory affairs.

At the local level, the feudal system practiced since the Western Zhou was further abolished and a county system under the direct jurisdiction of the central government was established. The country was divided into 36 counties, later increased to more than 40 counties, and the administrators of the counties were called county sheriffs; under the counties, there were counties, and the governors of the counties were called county magistrates or county governors. The governors of the counties were appointed and removed directly by the court. Below the counties, there were also grassroots social organizations such as townships, pavilions, and li. In this way, the emperor and the court firmly controlled the power to rule all parts of the country, and introduced political, legal, military, land and taxation systems to the whole country. The implementation of the county system created the basic model of local administration for subsequent dynasties in China.

Measures to consolidate unification

In order to meet the needs of national unification, Qin Shi Huang vigorously implemented a series of measures to consolidate unification.

During the Warring States period, the scripts of the seven states were different. In order to eliminate the differences in writing, Qin Shi Huang ordered his prime minister Li Si and others to unify the scripts and make the small seal script with regular strokes, which was issued as the common script throughout the country. The unification of scripts enabled the smooth implementation of governmental decrees throughout the country and enabled people from different regions to communicate with each other smoothly, which was conducive to cultural exchange and development.

Qin Shi Huang ordered the abolition of the currencies of the six states and the use of the Qin half-penny with a round square hole as the standard currency for circulation throughout the country. This changed the confusing situation of the previous coinage system and facilitated the state's management of the economy and the exchange of economies from one place to another.

In order to change the different standards of length, capacity and weight used by the vassal states, Qin Shi Huang decided to unify the system of weights and measures based on the Qin system, and all the instruments used for weights and measures were unified and supervised by the state. The unification of weights and measures facilitated economic development.

In order to strengthen the transportation between different regions, Qin Shi Huang ordered to standardize the width of vehicles and roads, and to build roads through the whole country, so that the Qin Dynasty could have a wide range of land transportation. He also sent people to dig the Spirit Canal, which connected the Xiang and Li rivers and facilitated water transportation between the north and the south. Qin Shi Huang sent his general Meng Tian to fight the Xiongnu in the north and built the Great Wall. The Great Wall stretched from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east, which is known worldwide as the "Great Wall of Ten Thousand Miles".

The territory of the Qin Dynasty, east to the East China Sea, west to Longxi, north to the Great Wall area, south to the South China Sea, was one of the world's great powers.（878words）