Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC) ruled 246-210. BC e.
Little is known about the origins of the prominent Chinese Emperor Ying Zheng. According to some reports, he was the son of the Qin couple Zhuang-Xiang-wan from his beloved concubine. At birth he received the name Zheng, which means “first.” At the age of 13, after the death of his father, Zheng came to power in the kingdom of Qin, one of the largest and strongest states in China. Zheng made a lot of efforts to unite the entire country under his rule. In 221 BC, he proclaimed himself Shi Huang, which means "first sacred emperor" in Chinese. He made China the most powerful state in Asia.
Ying Zheng came of age at the age of 20. Until this age, all affairs in the kingdom of Qin were managed by its regent, Lü Buwei, one of the wisest and most educated people of that time, who served as the first minister at court. Zheng owed him a lot, primarily for strengthening his authority in the palace. Buwei taught his ward: “He who desires victories over others must gain victory over himself. That. whoever wants to judge people must learn to judge himself. He who seeks to know others must know himself.” About the veterinary clinic "Zoostatus" here Zheng learned these postulates, but he also learned another teaching, which asserted the equality of all before the law and the Son of Heaven, that is, the emperor. Titles and awards should be distributed to subordinates not according to pedigree, but according to real merit.
Zheng's teaching ended when he was proclaimed a full-fledged emperor. Then he began to restore his own order in the kingdom.
First of all, he ordered the expulsion of Buwei, whom he suspected of being a conspirator, executed several close associates and created a strict system of unquestioning subordination. In subsequent years, Shi Huangdi began to annex other kingdoms of China to his kingdom. He crossed many territories with sword and fire. But only by the age of 40 did he manage to unite all of China for the first time in history, and he took the throne name - Qin Shi Huang. He divided the conquered kingdoms into 36 regions, which in turn were divided into districts, where he appointed his governors, who were subordinate only to him and carried out only his orders.
But along with the rigid centralized control system, Qin Shi Huang also carried out several reforms. He established a unified system of weights and measures on the territory of the united empire, began to mint a single coin, and introduced a single written language. He ordered the tracks to be made the same size - that is, all carts had to have the same distance between the wheels. All these reforms were carried out with great difficulty. They did not find understanding either among the population or the governors. Shi Huangdi brutally dealt with stubborn people: if a person broke the law, then not only him, but his entire family was executed, and distant relatives of the convicted person were turned into state slaves.
Shi Huangdi established sole despotic power. This was the only way he could stay on the throne, the only way at that time he could manage a huge centralized state.
His great merit is the fight against the nomads who attacked from the north. He expelled them from the borders of his kingdom, and in order not to let anyone into his borders, he ordered them to begin building... the Great Wall of China.
Tens of thousands of Chinese were driven to the north from different regions of the country, they worked day and night to build high impenetrable walls. This fortress was supposed to stretch all the way to the sea.
Shi Huangdi devoted a lot of time to creating his tomb. Already in our time, Chinese archaeologists have dug up this tomb. It turned out to be a huge underground storage facility in which 6 thousand life-size clay soldiers with horses and weapons were buried, who were supposed to guard the peace of the deceased great emperor.
Reforms of Qin Shi Huang
Successful management of the newly united states, where their own, local, customs and laws unique to this kingdom dominated, was impossible without the introduction of a common imperial legislation for all. With the resolution of this key issue, Qin Shi Huang began his transformations. In 221, he issued an order to eliminate all laws of the six kingdoms and introduced new legislation, uniform for the entire empire.
It is quite natural that, having become emperor, he introduced throughout the entire country - with some modification - the system of government that existed in the kingdom of Qin. In its internal organization, Qin also did not resemble any of the kingdoms. Instead of a hierarchy of feudal rulers, the idea of centralization was strictly enforced here. The Qin conquerors occupied a privileged position in it; they owned all the leading official positions in the state. The state apparatus of the Qin Empire was headed by the emperor himself, who had unlimited power. Qin Shi Huang's closest assistants were the first two advisers (chengxiang). Their functions included implementing all the instructions of the emperor and directing the work of the administrative bodies of the country. The Chengxiangs, according to the Chinese historiographer and poet, creator of the genre of “dynastic stories” Ban Gu, helped the Son of Heaven (emperor) manage all affairs. The Chengxiangs were in charge of a whole staff of officials who assisted the first advisers in their daily work.
The entire population of the empire, from a simple farmer to a high-ranking government official, was obliged to unquestioningly carry out the orders of the emperor and be guided in their actions by state legislation.
Using the advice of Li Si, who rose from Minister of Justice to Chief Advisor, the First Emperor in 221 BC. e. divided his empire into 36 regions - jun, subdivided into counties - xian. In each of the regions, a civilian governor, a military commandant and an imperial inspector were appointed, who were supposed to control each other. To monitor the actions of the state apparatus, special inspector officials were appointed - jian-yushi, who were sent throughout the empire, but were subordinate only to Qin Shi Huang himself. This policy, known as "strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches", greatly strengthened the power of the emperor himself, weakened the local aristocracy, depriving them of hereditary power. Sima Qian’s “Historical Notes” states that “the strong and rich people of the empire, who made up almost 120 thousand families,” had to leave their ancestral domains and move to Xinyang, the capital of the empire, where they were monitored and palaces were specially built. All those who opposed the emperor's measures were subjected to a painful death penalty, and members of their families were turned into state slaves. Aristocratic titles were destroyed, and wealth and state merit became the criteria for nobility. “After the conquest of each kingdom, Qin Shi Huang gave orders to build an exact copy of the palace of the defeated ruler on the steep banks overlooking the Weihe River in Xianyang.” This historian’s message is confirmed by modern archaeologists. Research conducted near the city showed that there were 27 foundations underground, which were densely compacted wide areas of land, any of which could house a similar palace. Clay slabs that served as floors were discovered; symbols of the kingdoms conquered by the Qin were visible on them. The symbols of the two kingdoms: Chu and Wei, could be established,” it is written in the book “Buried Kingdoms of China.”
Then, in 221 BC. BC, Emperor Qin Shi Huang began to carry out sweeping social reforms aimed at eliminating the clearly defined regional differences that divided the population of his empire. “If China is a single country governed by a single system of laws and customs, then the universal, ordered law of the Qin state can be applied to it.” “Consistently implementing this decision, the Emperor introduced a single currency - a small bronze disk with a square hole in the middle and the name of the reigning Emperor on the front side - for all of China.” After the reform, only the emperor had the right to mint money, the smelting of coins became a state monopoly, and the death penalty was imposed for counterfeiting banknotes.
Qin Shi Huang also standardized the system of weights and measures in his state. Uniform measures of weight, length (half a verst - li), area (mu) and capacity were designated for the entire empire. Bronze and terracotta measuring cups used for weighing grain and liquids, as well as bronze and iron weights for scales, found during excavations were mostly covered with inscriptions with the words of one of the imperial decrees. “In the 26th year of his reign,” the inscription reads, “the emperor completely united the princes of the empire, it became easier for the common people, and he received the title of huangdi or, in other words, an independent sovereign. And he ordered his ministers to streamline the measures. If they are different and inaccurate, make them precise and uniform.”
The introduction of such weights undoubtedly served to popularize the law of the emperor among the people, as did many other reforms of the First Emperor, but to what extent remained unclear until the second half of the 20th century. In 1975, workers digging a drainage ditch near the city of Yunmeng, Hubai Province, helped make a startling discovery. During the work, quite by accident, they came across several burials, one of which, according to archaeologists, belonged to a person who died in 217 BC. e., 4 years after the unification of China. The coffin contained 1,155 9-inch-long pieces of bamboo placed around the body. Marks on the plates indicate that long-decayed ropes once tied the plates together so that they represented the pages of a book. Each plate contained 40 hieroglyphs, written in a column with black ink made from pine ash. Based on the text, it can be assumed that “an official who served all his life in Qin, named Xi, was buried in the grave, who in 244 BC. e. received the position of government clerk, three years later received the position of prefectural scribe, and finally, in 235 BC. e. took the post of second-ranking official in one of the regions of the empire and retained it until his death. Responsible for the maintenance and operation of government granaries and controlling the distribution of grain, Xi was also involved in the investigation of criminal cases. Most of the bamboo plates that went with him to the other world were legislative and administrative documents to which he referred in the performance of his earthly duties. While only part of a larger body of law, the texts on the bamboo tablets provide a glimpse into the lives that men like Xi led as officials in China's first empire. The ruling jurists sought to create a strict administrative order in the Qin state; now they demanded the establishment of such an order throughout China. Imperial decrees and documents marked "urgent" were to be delivered without delay by law, and each document was marked with the month, day, time of dispatch and receipt, "in order to expedite the response."
All these events contributed to the development of trade in the Qin Empire. As historian Ban Gu notes, from that time on, pearls, jasper, tortoiseshells, cowrie shells, silver and tin ceased to be used as a means of exchange.” Uniform copper coins and gold bars were used as money.
In addition to the reforms already carried out, Qin Shi Huang unified the Chinese script (before the Qin dynasty, various kingdoms had their own scripts). Now the emperor approved the script used in Qin as the official writing system, and also reduced the number of hieroglyphs used in China by 25 percent. The new script was called xiao-zhuan (small simplified script). “Some historians consider this reform of his, which was continued by subsequent dynasties, to be the most important of all. It prevented the development of variants of writing into independent other forms of writing, which in such a huge country as China would have doomed any attempt to preserve the unity of the country for a long time,” says the book “Buried Kingdoms of China.” The Qin script served as the basis for modern Chinese writing.
However, new orders were imposed using the most severe measures. The most famous act of the emperor (and probably the most inglorious) is associated with the decree of 213 BC. e., when he ordered all the books in China to be burned. The exceptions were works on special topics such as agriculture, mathematics or medicine, as well as books containing documents on the history of the Qin dynasty and philosophical works by writers of the School of Law. However, works related to other philosophical schools, including Confucianism, were subject to destruction. Through this draconian decree, which was probably the first example of mass censorship in history, Shi Huang hoped to put an end to the influence of philosophy hostile to him, in particular the school of Confucius. To suppress discontent, the emperor took a step unprecedented in its cruelty - he ordered the execution of 460 scholars, the most prominent Confucians who openly condemned the government's policies. Many of the adherents of Confucianism were enslaved and sentenced to hard labor during the construction of the Great Wall of China. After this brutal massacre, despite the strong discontent, during the life of Qin Shi Huang no one else dared to openly criticize the actions of this despotic ruler.
Also in the empire, by decree of Shi Huangdi, private teaching was prohibited; only public schools remained, in which the learning process was conducted under the strict control and supervision of special inspectors.
Those dissatisfied with the reforms of the First Emperor were severely punished. Resistance to the central government was suppressed extremely cruelly, with the use of the most terrible types of death penalty. The law was also extremely harsh against criminals. Having become the master of the empire, Qin Shi Huang introduced a punitive system, which provided for, as a mass form of punishment, the enslavement by the state of all members of the criminal’s family in three generations, as well as families connected to each other by a system of mutual responsibility, the circle of which expanded so much that entire groups of villages were simultaneously subjected to punishment. According to your active guarantee system, in the event of a crime being committed, all persons associated with mutual guarantee with the “criminal”, namely: father, mother, wife, children, older and younger brothers, i.e. all family members, turned into state slaves. Qin Shi Huang attached great importance to the establishment of a new surety association, which was one of the main points of the unified legislation of the Qin Empire that he introduced. It is not by chance that in the text of the Langyatai Stele, among the many merits of Qin Shi Huang, it was noted that the emperor established a system of “... mutual guarantee of six relatives, and thanks to this, there were no crimes (criminals) and robberies in the country.”
Extremely cruel measures introduced under Qin Shi Huang (modeled on the reforms of Shang Yang in the Qin kingdom) severely punished the slightest offenses. In 213 BC. e. In connection with the aggravation of the situation within the country and increasing discontent on the part of certain sections of the bureaucracy, Qin Shi Huang introduced a new law, according to which an official who knew about the crime but did not report it should also be punished on an equal basis with the criminal. By issuing such a decree, Qin Shi Huang sought to protect himself from possible conspiracies and open actions by officials against the imperial power. The death penalty as the highest form of punishment was most often sentenced for anti-state actions. There were a huge number of types of death penalty - depending on the social class of the criminal and the severity of his guilt. The so-called honorable execution, when the emperor “graced death” by sending the accused a sword and ordering him to commit suicide at home, applied only to members of the ruling family and the most senior officials.
Often executions took place in public. Obviously, the emperor sought to intimidate the people and, to some extent, protect himself from possible anti-government protests. In addition to the death penalty, the Qin Empire had other penalties. Hard labor became widespread. Often convicts, including women along with men, were sent to build the Great Wall of China; their heads were shaved or they were branded. For those whose heads were shaved, the period of exile lasted five years, for those branded - four years. However, women did not directly participate in construction work.
All in the same 221 BC. e. Qin Shi Huang issued an order to confiscate weapons from the entire population of the country, thus disarming the remnants of the defeated armies of the six kingdoms. All confiscated weapons were taken to Xianyang and poured into bells and statues. According to Sima Qian, 12 human figures were cast, each weighing 1000 dan, i.e. 29,960 kilograms. The colossal statues supposedly stood near one of the imperial palaces, but archaeologists have not yet found confirmation of their existence.
At the end of 220 BC. e. Qin Shi Huang decided to check how successfully his reforms were being implemented locally. He traveled to the western regions of the country, visiting Longxi and Beidi counties. The first trip apparently yielded positive results - having convinced himself of the reliability of the western border districts, Emperor Qin Shi Huang decided to make more distant and lengthy journeys. We must not forget that the unification of the six kingdoms was carried out by very non-peaceful means: the Qin people came to each kingdom with weapons in their hands, and the local population did not greet them very friendly. The emperor needed to convince broad sections of the population of the six conquered kingdoms of the correctness of his policies. Knowing the people's ardent desire for a peaceful life, he promised them long-term peace. During an inspection tour of the eastern regions of the country in 218, an attempt was made on the emperor’s life, but the assassin missed. For ten days, a massive search for the criminal was carried out throughout the Celestial Empire, but he managed to escape.
Another reform of Qin Shi Huang - land reform - was later considered by ancient Chinese statesmen as an evil that entailed disastrous consequences. The free purchase and sale of land introduced by the emperor throughout the entire empire marked the beginning of an unprecedented enrichment of the property nobility, who concentrated large land holdings in their hands. On the other hand, this innovation entailed the massive ruin of free community members. The dignitary Dong Zhongshu, who lived in the 2nd–1st centuries BC. e., wrote: “Under Qin... they applied the laws of Shang Yang,... they abolished (the system) “jing tian” (the so-called well field system), which, according to most scientists, should be understood as an agricultural community. People were able to sell and buy land. Then the fields of the rich stretched lengthwise and crosswise, and the poor had no place to stick an awl.” The sharp deterioration in the position of free producers was also facilitated by the extreme increase in taxes and duties in the empire. During the Qin dynasty, taxes increased 20 times, and labor and military conscription increased 30 times. The creation and maintenance of irrigation and transport canals, and the enormous construction work carried out by order of the emperor and his officials, required a huge number of workers.
Many were sent to work on the construction of the palaces that the emperor ordered to be built in and around Xianyang, or on the construction of even greater projects, such as the empire's new road system, which was supposed to facilitate communications with distant areas. “Starting from 220 BC. e. thousands of convicts and those serving corvee labor worked on the construction of roads that fanned out from Xianyang to the west, north, northeast, east and southeast. As a result, nearly 5,000 miles of 38-foot-wide dirt roads were built. Remnants of the main 500-mile northbound road, called the Straight Road, can still be seen today. According to Historical Notes, the road was built by at least 300 thousand convicts. Working to the point of exhaustion, they had the right to let go of construction tools only in two cases: to pick up military weapons and defend themselves from barbarians, or to move on to the construction of the future Great Wall of China.”
Qin Shi Huang began rebuilding the existing border fortification into the Great Wall of China in 214 BC. e., wanting to protect the northern borders of the state from the raids of the Xiongnu nomads. By connecting the walls built during the existence of the states of Wei, Zhao, Yan and others, they obtained a continuous strip of defensive structures stretching along the northern border of China. This marked the beginning of the construction of one of the most grandiose structures in the history of mankind - the Great Wall of China. The entire population from 23 to 56 years old, including convicts and slaves, had to participate in the construction work of defensive structures unprecedented in scale. Thus, a fifth of the then population of the country, that is, about a million people, was involved in the construction of the Great Wall of China. Work detachments walked in an endless stream north towards the desert regions of the Great Steppe. Following them were carts of clothing and food - in order to provide for the builders, two-thirds of the harvest was taken from the farmers, dooming them to an existence of starvation. The living conditions of the builders of the Great Wall were truly terrifying: bare steppe, open to all winds, half-starved rations, lashes of overseers, raids of steppe nomads. Peasants fled from this great construction site in the thousands, the fugitives were caught and immured in the walls. Observers from among the criminals were placed on observation towers extended into the steppe, and so that their flight would not expose the builders to the danger of a sudden attack by the nomads, their legs were cut off.
Constructed from compacted earth and stone blocks, the gigantic wall was supposed to clearly fix the boundaries of Chinese civilization, promote the consolidation of the empire that had just been assembled from the conquered kingdoms, and also protect the subjects of the Middle Kingdom from being drawn into a semi-nomadic lifestyle and assimilation with the barbarians. Today, the Great Wall of China is the main symbol of China, which literally everyone knows about. In terms of the grandeur of its structure, the Great Wall of China has no equal in the history of world architecture. The eighth wonder of the world, the longest in the world, Wan li chang cheng (Wall of Ten Thousand Li) - this is how the Great Wall was called at different times. And although the last name suggests the real size of the ancient Wall of China, different sources give different figures. According to some assumptions, its length does not exceed 4 thousand kilometers, according to others - it is more than 5 thousand kilometers, according to others, the figures are even more impressive - the length of the wall with all its branches is 8 thousand 851 kilometers and 800 meters, and the length of the wall itself from the edge to the edge - two thousand five hundred kilometers. At the entrance, on the restored part of the Wall, you can see an inscription made by Mao Zedong: “If you have not visited the Great Wall of China, you are not a real Chinese.”
The wall starts near the Liaodong Gulf and runs through the mountains through Northern China and the Gobi Desert. It stretches along cities, through deserts, valleys, deep gorges - across the whole of modern China. Its construction, begun during the Warring States era (475–221 BC), continued for more than 2,000 years and cost the lives of several million Chinese whose souls are said to still roam around. So many victims fell on the altar of the implementation of the great project that modern Chinese now say that every stone of the Great Wall is someone’s life. It is unlikely that anywhere else in the world there will be a building with such a long, great and at the same time tragic history.
The height of the Great Wall of China, which is an earthen rampart lined with stone, reaches 16 meters, the thickness at the bottom is 8 meters, at the top - up to 5 meters. Carts and columns of troops of 10 people in a row could move freely along the wall. There are two-story towers with internal staircases in the wall. The main feature of the construction was that each of the towers had to be in direct visibility of the two neighboring ones. This made it possible to transmit messages quickly and without much time using fire and smoke.
In ancient times, the Great Wall was indeed a serious obstacle on the path of anyone who tried to get into the “Middle State”. She turned the country to the south into a huge, well-defended fortress. The only way in was through special checkpoints, which were tightly closed in the evening. They could not be opened at night under any circumstances; once even the Chinese emperor himself had to wait for the morning to come! During the Qin Dynasty, the troops guarding the wall consisted of detachments of 145 people led by commanders. Each detachment had mounted messengers. “Soldiers of the border troops were allocated plots of land near the wall, had families and households. Much attention was paid to organizing the communication service. Observation posts along the Great Wall were 4 kilometers apart from each other. Near each post there was a pile of dry reeds to give a signal when the enemy approached. Rockets were also used for signaling. The weapons of the soldiers on the Great Wall consisted of a sword, a crossbow (the Chinese were the first to use crossbows) and a shield.
In addition to border structures, under Qin Shi Huang there were numerous construction projects throughout the country - temples, palaces and strategic roads. However, the emperor paid special attention to his capital - Xianyang. To decorate Xianyang, he spared neither money nor opportunity. All the most valuable and rare things that could be found on the vast territory of the empire: precious stones and metals, trees with fragrant wood or wood of rare colors - green and pink - all this was brought from distant places to decorate the luxurious imperial palaces. The capital stretched along both banks of the Weihe River, across which a bridge was thrown - a real miracle of technology of that time. To the north of the river was the city itself, with numerous streets, alleys, parks and magnificent palaces of the emperor and the highest nobility. To the south of the Weihe River there was the famous imperial park - a huge reserve where the emperor himself and his entourage rested and hunted. A palace was built in this park, surpassing in luxury everything that had been created previously. The largest palace was the Efangong Palace, erected by Qin Shi Huang not far from the capital of the empire, on the southern bank of the Weihe River. This is a whole ensemble of buildings connected by a system of covered galleries and hanging bridges. It is very interesting that the general composition of the buildings recreated the location of the stars in the sky. Imperial palaces were erected throughout the empire. As already mentioned, even during the war for the unification of the country, Qin Shi Huang issued a decree on the construction of palaces near Xianyang, modeled on the best palaces of the kingdoms he captured. In total, according to Sima Qian’s calculations, there were over seven hundred palaces in the empire, 300 of which were located on the territory of the former Qin kingdom. By order of Qin Shi Huang, roads and transport canals were also built in the empire, connecting the capital with all regions of the huge state. To ensure greater safety of roads, the emperor's decree established a uniform axle width for carts, carts and chariots, since vehicles with a longer axle destroyed the standard track in soft soil. Now it was possible to provide more or less acceptable communication along compacted deep road ruts. Large water canals were also built in the country, but water transportation for military purposes was not widely used at that time. The main branch of the army of Qin Shi Huang was the infantry, consisting of archers and spearmen.
By 213 BC. e. Qin Shi Huang's power in the empire assumed an absolutely despotic character. The ruler no longer consulted with his closest assistants and official state advisers (boshi), having reduced the functions of the latter to blind execution of orders from above. According to Sima Qian's records, Qin Shi Huang had enormous capacity for work and looked through at least 30 kilograms of various documentation and reports every day. From now on, all more or less significant matters were decided by the emperor himself. In the last years of his life, Qin Shi Huang became painfully suspicious and did not trust almost any of his closest assistants, especially since representatives of the aristocracy repeatedly attempted to assassinate him. Therefore, the emperor, fearing for his life, built 37 interconnected palaces so that no one would know exactly where he was at night. In total, 270 palaces were specially built in various places within a radius of 200 kilometers from the capital. In each of them, everything was ready to receive the emperor, right down to the concubines; officials were forbidden to rearrange things without permission or change the furnishings in the halls. Since 212 BC. e. Qin Shi Huang, as a rule, never lived for a long time in one palace, but constantly moved from one place to another, without notifying anyone close to him in advance. None of the population of the empire, including wide circles of officials, should have known about the place of residence of Qin Shi Huang. Those who even unwittingly let it slip were subject to the death penalty.
The first ruler of China believed that his dynasty would rule forever, and wanted to live an earthly life as long as possible. Obsessed with the idea of personal immortality, Qin Shi Huang spent a lot of time and effort in search of the elixir of eternal life. Wanting to discover the secret of immortality, he examined ancient manuscripts, interrogated sages, equipped expeditions on large ships in search of wonderful islands where eternally young, non-aging people live. By order of the emperor, many of the best scientists and healers in China tried to find a magical plant or make a potion that could grant immortality. And at the same time, while still very young, having barely succeeded in inheriting the throne of the Qin ruler, Shi Huangdi gave the order to begin the construction of his own tomb. The workers' army began to build a mausoleum of unprecedented size in 246 BC. e., but never completed its construction 36 years later, when the emperor died. “Archaeologists can only speculate about what would have been built if the builders had more time, but no one doubts that they nevertheless created one of the greatest wonders of the world - the Terracotta Army,” writes V. Akatov in the book “ The Buried Kingdoms of China." Initially, Shi Huangdi was going to bury alive 4,000 of the best warriors of the active army, so that they would guard the treasures of his giant tomb in the other world, but such a barbaric act could cause popular outrage. The advisers managed to dissuade Qin Shi Huang from mass burial of soldiers, and then the Emperor of the Celestial Empire ordered the production of a clay army that would ensure his personal safety and the safety of countless riches in the afterlife. Qin Shi Huang died suddenly in Shaqiu in the territory of modern Shandong province in the summer of 210 BC. e. at the age of 48 years. This happened when the emperor was returning from his next inspection trip to the eastern regions of the country.
During his lifetime, Qin Shi Huang was as cruel, greedy and proud as he was great. If you believe the chronicles of the largest Chinese historiographer Sima Qian, then Shi Huangdi’s body was placed in a bronze sarcophagus, which was then lowered into the tomb, and along with untold riches, 3,000 concubines and hundreds of servants also ended up there. According to the chronicles, a bronze sarcophagus with the body of a Chinese ruler floated on a huge lake of mercury. According to other descriptions, Qin Shi Huang's body was dressed in gold and jasper, large pearls were placed in his mouth, and his coffin floated on the waves of the mercury river.
After the death of the First Emperor, mass uprisings broke out in the country, the cause of which was rooted in the cruelty of his regime, and soon after the death of Shi Huang, the Qin dynasty ceased to exist. The heir to the First Emperor reigned for less than four years. Hu Hai, who became emperor under the name Ershi, began his reign with the mass executions of all his father's officials and military leaders. The paranoia that gripped Qin Shi Huang in recent years also burned his heir. But the brutal executions could no longer stop the general outrage that had been accumulating for decades. A wave of numerous popular uprisings swept across China and swept away the barely nascent Qin dynasty in 206 BC. e. By the way, the Terracotta Army helped them in this - along with the clay warriors, quite real weapons were buried, which the rebels used. And in 202 BC. e., having led the rebels and won the title of emperor in the struggle for power, Liu Ban, a native of the peasants, founded a new dynasty - the Han. However, the new rulers did not destroy what their predecessor had created. On the contrary, they strengthened the empire, as well as their power, backing it up with a whole set of political and philosophical laws that were strictly observed in China for many centuries - until the beginning of our century. Everything new that Qin Shi Huang laid down bore fruit in this era, therefore, in the eyes of contemporaries, the years of the reign of the first emperors of the Han dynasty were a time of prosperity for the empire. This is how Sima Qian described it: “From the time of the reign of Han, for more than 70 years, the state did not know any worries, there were no disasters from droughts and floods. Among the people, everyone had enough for a family. Both in the capital and in remote border towns, the barns were full of grain. The treasury's wealth was very great."
Meanwhile, the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, slept eternally in his huge tomb, hidden by many meters of loess layers, guarded by his clay soldiers...
The tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is inviolable to this day. The eternal peace of the First Emperor of united China, as in ancient times, is guarded by thousands of silent terracotta warriors, faithfully serving their powerful ruler.
This text is an introductory fragment.
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The Qin Kingdom occupies a special place in the history of Ancient China. It was his ruler, having destroyed the remaining kingdoms of the Zhanguo period (Warring States, 453-221 BC), who created a single state entity that covered a significant part of the territory of modern China. This ruler was a Qin Wang named Zheng, who went down in history as the first emperor of the Qin Empire - Qin Shi Huang (ruled 221-210 BC).
Qin Shi Huang is perhaps one of the most famous historical figures in ancient Chinese history. His name can be placed alongside the names of Sargon of Akkad, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Lenin, when we are talking about leaders who, during the years of their reign, did something that shook the foundations of their contemporary societies to the core and radically changed the life of not only their native state , but also many neighbors. The names of these people remain forever in history, because their deeds mark the end of one historical era and the beginning of a new one.
Each generation strives to understand why these leaders were able to accomplish their grandiose deeds - because of their genius or only because, by a coincidence of historical circumstances, they found themselves at the pinnacle of power in time. An even bigger mystery is their passing away. Often premature, inopportune, it always gives rise to theories about whether the death was caused by natural causes or violence. This also applies to Qin Shi Huang.
In the work of someone who lived at the turn of the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. historian Sima Qian shi ji(“Historical Notes”) it is reported that the emperor died in 210 during another trip around the country. Death overtook the sovereign suddenly and at the most inopportune moment. There is reason to think that he did not die a natural death. Historians' suspicions fall on a not very high-ranking, but influential official from the management of the imperial stables taipu head of the emperor's departure chefulin by name Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao was very close to one of the twenty sons of the emperor, his favorite, Hu Hayu, whom he will soon bring to the throne, against the will of his father. Apparently, Zhao Gao gained confidence in the emperor himself, since he entrusted him with his beloved son. Sima Qian seems to be pushing the idea that Zhao Gao planned the assassination attempt in advance. Zhao Gao's further actions, his victory in the struggle for power, will show that he could well agree to this.
If we accept the hypothesis that it was Zhao Gao who planned the assassination of the emperor, then we must admit that he chose the most convenient time for this - the emperor was far outside the capital. If the emperor died a natural death, then again we must admit that Zhao Gao was excellent at taking advantage of the situation. He had many allies at court.
The formation of the new Qin as a pan-Chinese state had just begun, and to continue the transformations, the will and determination of the emperor were needed. But both the nobility and the people were tired of the global changes that were taking place. As often happens, many began to believe that without this restless ruler they would immediately live well and calmly, and perhaps the old order would return. No one knew that wars would soon break out, which would shake the Celestial Empire for almost ten years: its millet-growing north, the Yellow River Valley, and its rice-growing south, the Yangtze Valley.
The emperor was gone, but a historical precedent appeared in East Asia: it became clear that the creation of a single state was possible, and the path back to separate political entities of the Warring States period was historically doomed. The new state of Western Han (206 BC - 8 AD) was formed on the basis of the Qin experience, gradually over several decades.
By the ninth month of 210, the procession with the body of the emperor returned to the capital. Qin Shihuang wanted to see his eldest son Fu Su as a successor, but by the will of Zhao Gao, one of the emperor’s younger sons, Hu Hai, was placed on the throne, who began to rule with the title Ershi Huangdi (210-207 BC).
It is surprising how easily the court and the capital's bureaucracy went about this. The conspirators’ calculations were justified: after all, Fu Su often argued with his father and was seemingly in disgrace, while Hu Hai was his father’s favorite, accompanied him on the imperial tour and could seem like a successor. He suited most of the courtiers.
Thus began a new era. The Qin Empire still existed, but it was already doomed.
Finds near Mount Lishan
Emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried in the same ninth month of 210 in a tomb at Mount Lishan.
Construction of the emperor's tomb began in 246 BC, that is, long before the birth of the empire. Construction lasted 36 years, until the death of the emperor and, apparently, did not stop after his death. Only after the fall of the empire in 206 BC. work was stopped.
IN shi ji it is said that a total of about 700 thousand people were involved in construction. Workers were brought from various, including the most remote, regions of the empire. In addition, convicted criminals constantly worked here.
Sima Qian, who lived a hundred years later than these events, left a description of the tomb, the reliability of which raises some doubts: after all, the historian used sources that were probably of literary origin, and not of documentary historical origin. This is what he wrote: “They went deep to the third waters, filled [the walls] with bronze and lowered the sarcophagus down. The crypt was filled with [copies of] palaces, [figures of] officials of all ranks, rare things and extraordinary jewelry that were transported and lowered there. The craftsmen were ordered to make crossbows so that, [installed there], they would shoot at those who would try to dig a passage and get into [the tomb]. Large and small rivers and seas were made from mercury, and the mercury spontaneously flowed into them. A picture of the sky was depicted on the ceiling, and the outline of the earth on the floor. Lamps filled with fish oil Renyu in the expectation that the fire will not go out for a long time"
The organizers of the funeral structure tried to do everything to protect the tomb from looting, and they succeeded. The same Sima Qian writes: “When the emperor’s coffin was already lowered down, someone said that the craftsmen who made all the devices and hid [the valuables] know everything and can spill the beans about hidden treasures. Therefore, when the funeral ceremony was over and everything was covered, they blocked the middle door of the passage, after which they lowered the outer door, tightly walling up all the artisans and those who filled the grave with valuables, so that no one came out. They planted grass and trees [on top] so that the grave took on the appearance of an ordinary mountain” (translation by R.V. Vyatkin).
The burial complex is located at the northern foot of Lishan Mountain, 35 km away. east of the administrative center of Shaanxi province, Xi'an. Total area 56.25 sq. m. It includes primarily the tomb of the emperor, a mausoleum with a terracotta army. Other objects that should be mentioned were also discovered in the area: a kind of small “zoo” with figurines of rare animals and a serving character, a stable, tombs of the emperor’s children, mass graves of the builders of the complex, two chariots. More recently, a storage area for armor and helmets was excavated in 1998, figurines of 12 acrobats and a bronze tripod were found elsewhere, and in 2000 figurines of low-ranking civilian officials were found.
During archaeological research, it was established that the tomb itself is located inside a high mound, which in plan is a square with sides of 345 by 350 m. There were two shafts around the tomb - an internal and an external one. For some reason, its excavations have not been carried out until now. I would like to believe that it was only because scientists were not confident that they would ensure the safety of finds that could collapse in the air. In other words, except for those who conducted research - by the way, at the end of the notorious “Cultural Revolution” - and a number of senior government officials of the PRC, no one yet knows whether the tomb of the first emperor actually exists and what it looks like. But what archaeologists discovered was enough to understand that we are talking about a discovery of world significance.
In combat formation
The date of the discovery of the “terracotta army” is known exactly. On March 29, 1974, peasants from the village of Si-yang, digging a well, came across fragments of a terracotta sculpture of an ancient warrior. Already in 1975, a museum was created here, and in 1976 intensive excavations began, as a result of which four underground structures were discovered, each of which is a rectangular chamber.
Let's describe one of them. The third sector chamber was located at a depth of about 5 meters, the distance from the floor to the ceiling was 3.2 meters. The floor is paved with bricks, which are quite well preserved. The load-bearing structures of the walls and ceiling are made of wood. To prevent water from entering the interior, the walls and ceiling were additionally covered with a layer of clay. In some places the clay collapsed, but in general it played a protective role, which ensured the relatively good preservation of many sculptures.
The total number of sculptures is most likely close to 8 thousand, but so far 6 thousand warriors and about 90 horses have been identified. Restoration work is constantly ongoing, according to data from the early 2000s. 1225 images of warriors and 88 horses were restored. The warriors were arranged in an order corresponding to the military formation of the Qin army. Their height varies from 175 to 196 cm, so we can assume that this is not an army as such, but a “guard” (in addition, some deliberate exaggerations made by the sculptors are noticeable).
The custom of accompanying the burials of the nobility with figurines existed even before Qin Shi Huang, at least from 384, when the Qin Xian Gong (384-362 BC) prohibited the sacrifice of people to accompany the dead, but the reconstruction of an entire army - so far the only known case in ancient Chinese history. The warriors are depicted at full height, in combat garb, their hairstyles and facial features are so individual that scientists saw portrait images in them. You can see the wrinkles on the general’s forehead and the smile on the young warrior’s face. Note that portrait images were not characteristic of the traditions of the population of the Middle Yellow River (the ancestors of the modern Han people - the state-forming ethnic group of the People's Republic of China). This suggests that the residents of the river located in the valley. Weihe, a western tributary of the Yellow River, the kingdom of Qin, belonged to a different religious culture.
Anthropometric measurements made it possible to draw some conclusions about the ethnic composition of Qin Shihuang's army. The corresponding analysis was carried out by the famous ethnographer and anthropologist Professor N.N. Cheboksarov on the basis of 22 images. His results are presented in the book “Ancient Chinese in the Age of Centralized Empires.” According to N.N. Cheboksarov, many of the presented warriors belong to the East Asian race of Pacific Mongoloids: they have a not very wide, but high face with strongly protruding cheekbones, an oblique arrangement of the axes of the palpebral fissures inclined towards the nose, the presence of an epicanthus - the so-called " Mongolian fold” at the inner corner of the eye. A number of features (wide nose with a low bridge, thickened lips, specific shape of the nasal openings) indicate a connection between the Qin population and the southern Mongoloids. The presence of denser tertiary hair (mustaches, beards) than the Mongoloids allows us to suggest an admixture of a Caucasoid element. This is due to possible connections of the Qin steppe people with the peoples of Southern Siberia and Central Asia. In other words, among the Qin warriors there were many steppe inhabitants, who later became part of the Han ethnic group. Indeed, in 2006, scientists from Shanghai Fudan University conducted a DNA analysis of 50 tomb builders and found that some of them were Caucasian.
It is most convenient to tell the story about the “terracotta army” by visiting these sectors one after another. It must be said that they have not yet been completely excavated and the degree of preservation of the figures in each of them is different. Some have already been restored, some will never be restored. It is important that scientists reconstructed what their battle formations originally looked like.
The first sector, oriented from east to west, is the largest - 230 m long and 62 m wide. It is established that the infantry and chariot personnel were formed in battle formation facing east. The infantry were placed along the perimeter in the front and rear lines in three rows, each of which had 68 archers and crossbowmen. On the flanks the infantry are lined up in two columns. In the nine inner columns stood warriors armed with knives, spears and swords. Some of them are dressed in military robes, others are wearing armor. In columns 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, five war chariots were located between the rows of soldiers on the same line. Each chariot, drawn by four horses, was served by a driver and two warriors.
1087 warriors, 32 horses and 8 war chariots were restored here. It is assumed that in total there could be up to 6 thousand warriors, 160 horses and 40 chariots.
The second sector was opened 20 meters northeast of the first. Its configuration resembles the letter “L”. Here the soldiers were lined up by branch of the army: archers, chariots and cavalrymen leading their horses. In total, images of 900 warriors, 89 chariots, 356 horses harnessed to chariots, and 116 saddled cavalry horses are expected to be found here. It was established that on the left flank in the vanguard there were 160 archers kneeling on one knee and 172 standing at full height. Behind them, 108 cavalrymen were placed in three columns, standing in front of their saddled war horses, and there were also 6 chariots. To the right of them are three more columns of 6 chariots, and even to the right are 8 columns with 8 chariots each. There are different numbers of soldiers between them. Currently, this sector has been partially excavated in 16 different places, the state of preservation of the material is not very good, the figures of many warriors are either beheaded or broken into pieces.
The third sector, although small in size, is very important: after all, it is here that the command staff of the army of Emperor Qin Shihuang is located. Its configuration resembles a horseshoe. It was established that there were 68 human figures, and in the center was a painted and varnished chariot drawn by four horses. This chariot was guarded by an escort of four warriors. At the moment, fragments of 64 figures have been identified, all but 5-6 are incomplete or poorly preserved. Bronze weapons and, oddly enough, fragments of deer antlers and animal bones were also discovered. These finds, according to scientists, indicate that a sacrifice ceremony was carried out here.
Excavations in 1995 showed that the fourth sector, located between the three previously found, was completely empty. It differed little from the previous three: width 48 meters, length - 96, depth - 4.8. This circumstance has given rise to many hypotheses and discussions. After all, the troops in the first and second sectors form the left and right flanks of the army, and it is logical to assume that the forces of the center should have been in the fourth sector, but for some reason they are not. The most likely version is this: since the emperor died unexpectedly, the troops simply did not have time to manufacture this part.
Terracotta Warriors
The warrior figures are made of baked clay. They were originally painted in different colors; archaeologists have found traces of paint in green, red, purple, blue and white, and the faces were covered with a layer of flesh-colored paint. The weight of each figure varies from 150 to 300 kg. They were made in parts, which indicates the mass nature of production and the existence of large workshops. It is interesting that the torsos, heads and arms are empty inside, but the legs are not. The heads were made separately, from two halves, which were then glued together, after which specially sculpted ears, nose, and hair were added to them. The expressions of the eyes and lines of the mouth were supposed to reflect the character of a person, so a number of scientists believe that many of the images were made from life. The finished sculpture was dried and then placed in an oven, where the temperature reached 950-1050 degrees. It is remarkable that we know the names of the 80 craftsmen who made these images, since they were inscribed on the clothes, shoes or weapons of the warriors.
Warriors belonging to different branches of the military differ in hairstyles, hats, clothing, weapons and shoes. They look straight ahead, have a slender posture, and some infantrymen are depicted in a fighting stance. Facial expressions are concentrated, tense. The nature of the formation, weapons and equipment, as well as the morale of soldiers and officers indicate a high level of military development in the Qin Empire.
The figures of military leaders and commanders are the tallest (up to 196 cm). Their attire is quite exquisite, and their spiritual faces reveal representatives of the upper strata of society, while ordinary soldiers have poorer uniforms and rougher faces, which indicates that they belong to the common people.
The highest military leaders wore a special headdress with two “ears”; their neck, chest, shoulders and back were decorated with elegant bows. Their robes are somewhat longer than those of other warriors, they go down below the knees. On top of them they wore armor made of leather and felt, protecting the shoulders and chest, and below the belt was fastened a known from ancient times V-shaped protective “apron” covered with a pattern reminiscent of fish scales.
The clothing of middle-ranking officers was somewhat different and varied depending on the type of troops. In general, armor was worn over a shorter military robe that protected the chest, abdomen, groin, as well as the upper arms.
The archers, standing at full height, are dressed in ordinary military garb and have no armor. Placed in front of the formation, kneeling arrows, whose height is 1.2 m, on the contrary, are protected by powerful armor.
The infantrymen are dressed in military robes. Some are without weapons, others are holding spears.
The drivers also wore armor over their robes. For some, the squeezing reins of the hands are covered with special plates. Their poses convey movement, with both their arms extended forward. Of course, neither the reins nor the wooden parts of the chariots have survived. But the horses with large, alert eyes and powerful muscles look like they are alive. Their mane is neatly trimmed and their bangs are carefully combed and parted in the middle.
Almost all warriors wore a mustache, and some generals wore a beard. Everyone's hair is carefully tied into a complex hairstyle, standard for the branch of the military.
The weapons used by the terracotta warriors, according to experts, correspond to real weapons of that time. It can be divided into three groups: daggers and swords; peaks and pecks; bows and crossbows. In total, approx. 10 thousand items of weapons, including crossbow triggers, metal arrows and spearheads and 17 bronze swords. The largest sword is almost a meter long, and the shortest is 81 cm. Particular attention of archaeologists was attracted by a sword whose length is 90 cm and the width does not exceed the width of a willow leaf. Narrower and longer than most known analogues of this period, it gave the warrior a certain advantage in battle. Surprisingly, the sword remained sharp due to the chromium oxide coating on its blade.
Emperor's Companions
Around the burial of Qin Shi Huang, several other burials were arranged, as if accompanying the main one. First of all, we should name 17 burials that apparently belonged to the sons and daughters of the emperor who were killed after his death. Gold, silver, bronze, iron, jasper and other items were found in them.
To the east of the tomb, a kind of stable was discovered, containing the skeletons of horses and ceramic figures of grooms. The horses, apparently, were buried alive in the ground, only some of them were first killed and placed in wooden blocks. Next to the figures of people lie their tools.
In August 1978, as a result of test digging to the west of the location of the “terracotta army,” archaeologists discovered a gold-decorated fragment of a certain item. Two years later, in December 1980, two chariots were excavated, each of which had two spoked wheels and was drawn by four horses. Along with them, one of the oldest horse harnesses in China was discovered. The chariots were significantly damaged. They were not made in full size, but were copies reduced to half the size of the original. It is believed that these are the remains of original chariots used by the emperor during inspection tours around the country.
As a result of painstaking work, archaeologists and restorers managed to literally restore them piece by piece.
In front was an open chariot, called gao che, it, according to researchers, was used for military purposes, for example, as combat escort. A rather high folding umbrella was installed above the cart, which gave the driver the opportunity to drive while standing and have a wider view. The driver stands behind a wall that covers the entire lower part of the body. A crossbow is attached to the front of the shield under the driver's left hand, and on the left, near the left wall of the chariot, there is a case for arrows. The driver has a bronze sword behind his back. He also had a shield painted, apparently, with patterns from the southern kingdom of Chu, which are characterized by rounded lines. Elements of Chu symbolism can also be seen on some parts of the horse harness and removable fragments of the umbrella stand.
The second chariot, called an che, closed. It was made of 3,462 gold, bronze and silver parts and was a cart with two barred windows and an entrance door at the back. Its weight exceeded 1200 kg. The sloping domed roof, made of thin bronze sheet, was supported by 36 pillars, which, as noted, corresponds to the number of districts of the Qin Empire. The roof protected not only the passenger, but also the driver from bad weather. The interior decoration of the chariot was quite luxurious. This is evidenced by fragments of paintings depicting clouds, dragons, and phoenixes. Remains of silk fabric suggest that the walls of the cart were lined with silk, and the pillows made long journeys less tiring.
The skillful technique of making bridles and reins is amazing: they are assembled from bronze cylinders 1 cm long.
In 1998, 200 meters southeast of the imperial tomb, archaeologists discovered the remains of more than a hundred people from among those who participated in the construction of the burial complex. There were also grave goods there: shovels, spades, adzes, wedges. The work continues and scientists expect new interesting discoveries.
***
The burial complex of Qin Shihuang perfectly illustrates the fact that the emperor himself, like his subjects the Qin steppe people, were ideally suited to the task of conquering and forcibly unifying the agricultural ethnic groups of East Asia into a new unified state. It was impossible to resist his powerful, well-equipped and disciplined army.
However, as history has shown, Qin Shi Huang was a brilliant military man and diplomat, but he turned out to be unprepared to govern a new type of state in peacetime. He boldly led huge armies into battle, but could not keep the expanding bureaucratic apparatus under his control. He unfailingly selected talented commanders, but proved unable to find equally talented and dedicated administrators and senior officials. It was these military leaders (Zhang Han and his subordinates Wang Li, She Jian and others) who stood up to defend Qin after the policies of the all-powerful temporary leader Zhao Gao led to the collapse of the empire and, without reliable support in the rear, fought valiantly, knowing full well their doom . I would like to think that among the commanders, officers and soldiers of the “Terracotta Army” there are also these valiant warriors.
Qin Shi Huang was the ruler of the Chinese kingdom of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC. Also known as Ying Zheng. Became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC, after the end of the Warring States era. He ruled the empire until his death in 210 BC.
Qin Shi Huang is one of the key figures in the history of Ancient China. After the unification of the country, he and his chief advisor Li Si carried out a series of successful economic and political reforms; It was during his time that a number of titanic projects, even by today’s standards, were laid - like the first version of the Great Wall of China, a city-sized mausoleum guarded by the legendary Terracotta Army, or a global system of roads throughout the country. Of course, all these projects claimed many lives in the process of implementation; Shi Huangdi's harshness as a ruler was also manifested in the fact that he outlawed and burned almost all the books in the country - the only exceptions were literature on agriculture, medicine and fortune-telling and works from the personal imperial library.
The future emperor was born in Handan, Principality of Zhao. His mother was the concubine of the influential courtier Lü Buwei; in fact, it was Buwei’s actions that helped the young Ying Zhei come to power; because of this, rumors began to actively circulate that it was Buwei who was the guy’s real father.
Ying Zheng became the ruler of the Qin kingdom at the age of thirteen; at that time, this kingdom was already, in fact, the most powerful of the warring kingdoms of ancient China. At first - until 238 - Shi Huangdi was considered a minor; his regent was, of course, the same Lü Buwei. Ying Zheng, however, did not waste time and carefully studied the difficult process of governing the empire; at twenty-two, he expelled his adoptive father into exile, accused of preparing a rebellion.
Taking power into his own hands, Zheng began the unification of the Under Heaven
sleep. Over time, he managed to capture all six major kingdoms of ancient China; at thirty-nine years old he became the sole ruler of the Middle Kingdom; it was then that he was given the throne name Qin Shi Huang.
Of all the legacies of the first emperor of united China, the most famous in our time are the Great Wall of China and the tomb guarded by the Terracotta Army. The wall in the form in which it exists now was created during the Ming kingdom; Qin Shi Huang only laid its foundations. The Terracotta Army, on the other hand, is solely his legacy. According to the research of the Chinese historian Sima Qian, seven hundred thousand people were employed in the construction of the mausoleum and the army. The British historian John Man later questioned these figures - according to his calculations, there were not so many inhabitants in the time of Shi Huang in any of the largest cities in the world; Man himself is inclined to believe that only sixteen thousand people were employed in the construction. Qian never mentioned the Terracotta Army in his writings; It was discovered only on March 29, 1974. A group of farmers were digging new wells and came across a humanoid statue in the ground. As further research showed, the soldiers were first made in several large batches using clay molds, and then finished by hand.
One of the first projects that the young ruler started was his own crypt. Its construction began in 215 BC; the work employed - according to various sources - from three hundred to seven hundred and twenty thousand people; however, according to the same Manu, these figures are greatly exaggerated.
