Qin3

秦

QIN

(Kingdom & Empire)

 

338 – 311 Qín Huìwén-wáng Yíng Zhào (秦 惠文王 嬴 趙), First Lord & King of Qin. He was born in 357. He used the title of Jūn (君), Lord, until 324, when he formally declared himself Wáng (王 , which is usually translated as King, but was the same title as that used by the Emperors of Zhou). He conquered the Yìqú (again) and most of the State of Wei and Qin’s borders reached east to the Yellow River again, for the first time in over two hundred years. In 318 he faced an attack by the combined forces of the States of Han, Zhao, Wei, Yen, Qi and the nomadic Xiongnu and defeated them. In 316 he conquered the State of Shu and he defeated the Han in 314. By 311 he truly the dominant force in China and was even able to prosecute wars against the States of Qi and Chu in the far east of China. He married Mi Xuān-Tàihòu (琇 宣-太后), from the State of Chu, who died in 265. He died in 311, but had issue:

311 – 307 Qín Dàowǔ-wáng Yíng Zhào (秦 悼武王 嬴 趙), Second King of Qin. He was born in 330. On succeeding to the throne, the States of Han, Wei, Qi, Chu and Zhao all submitted as vassals of Qin. He immediately launched attacks against the States of Dan, Li and the Yìqú. He married a lady from the State of Wei. He died in 307 at Zhou, after he broke his shinbone during a tripod-lifting contest.

307 – 251 Qín Zhāoxiāng-wáng Yíng Zhào (秦 昭襄王 嬴 趙), Third King of Qin. He was born in 326 and spent his youth as a hostage in the State of Yen, returning to Qin only after his brother’s death in 307. He faced a rebellion of officials and princes in 305, another in Shu in 301 which were dealt with harshly. Wars with Han and Wei continued, gradually seizing more and more territory. Qin was defeated by the combined forces of the States of Qi, Han, Wei, Zhao and Song in 296, but this was a temporary setback, and Qin’s aggressive wars restarted almost immediately. In 288 he felt confident enough to proclaim himself Sovereign of the West, though he later retracted this. In 256, the Emperor of Zhou attempted to make a last stand against the Qin, but his forces were so meagre that he was forced to surrender and become a vassal, formally bringing the powerless Zhou Dynasty to an end. Zhāoxiāng-wáng took eight of the Nine Tripods of rulership and performed the sacrifices of the Emperor. He took as a concubine Bāzǐ (八子), posthumously known as Táng-Tàihòu (唐太后). He died in 251, but had issue:

251 – 250 Qín Xiàowén-wáng Yíng Zhào (秦 孝文王 嬴 趙), Fourth King of Qin. He was born in 304 and, before he acceded to the throne, he was known as Ānguó-jūn (安國-君). He married Huayáng-Tàihòu (华阳 太后), who died in 230. He ruled for less than a year before he died in 250. He had issue:

250 – 247 Qín Zhuāngxiāng-wáng Yíng Zhào (秦 莊襄王 嬴 趙), Fifth King of Qin. He was born in 282. He conquered the State of East Zhou, ruled by the last descendants of the Zhou Dynasty. He married a concubine of the Qin Chancellor, Lǚ Bùwéi (呂不韋), while a hostage in the State of Zhao, she became Queen Dowager during the reign of her son, with whom she had an awkward relationship, being banished from the capital for many years for suspected intrigues; she died in 228. He died shortly after in 247 but had issue:

247 – 210 Qín Shǐhuángdì Yíng Zhào Zhèng (秦 始皇帝 嬴 趙 政), First Emperor of Qin. He was born in Handan in the State of Zhao in 259, and acceded to the throne in 247 after the brief reigns of his father and grandfather. As he was still a minor, most affairs of state were in the hands of his officials, especially his Chancellor Lǚ Bùwéi. It is not clear whether he ever shook off this control; though the Chancellor was executed in 235, his place was soon taken by Lǐ Sī (李斯). Lǐ Sī advised that Qin ought to unite China and, in pursuit of this policy, Qin conquered the State  of Han in 230 and Zhao in 228. This rapid expansion led to almost successful assassination attempt by Jingke in 227; the King of Qin fled around his throne, struggling with a ceremonial sword too long to easily remove from its (sword-holder), a prospective god-king revealed as all too human. The Heir of Yan was responsible for the attempt, and Yan was conquered in 226. Wei followed in 225, Ching/Chu in 223 Dai in 222 and Qi in 221. After this last conquest the King declared that he had united the whole world and adopted the style of Qín Shǐhuángdì (秦 始皇帝), “First Heavenly Sovereign of Qin.” China was organised into thirty-six commanderies and weights, measures, currency and writing systems were all standardised. The Emperor spent the rest of his reign touring his realm, setting up stelae and monuments. He ordered the construction of the Great Wall in the north and the massive Opang Hall, which would have seated ten thousand people and been the centrepiece of a new Qin capital. He committed many acts of cruelty: Mount Xiang was stripped bare of trees after its deities delayed his passage across a lake, destroyed all “unnecessary” texts, executed everyone who had been near him when a secret was divulged and had 460 Confucian scholars executed . He also became increasingly obsessed with the possibility of immortality and increasingly paranoid about the possibility of assassination. He died in 210, while touring his empire; the death was concealed until his body could be returned to the capital (salted fish was loaded into his carriage to disguise the smell of his decomposing corpse). He was buried in a massive tomb at Mount Li, his childless concubines buried alive with him and the famous terracotta warriors provided to guard him.

210 – 207 Qín Èrshìhuángdì Yíng Zhào Húhài (秦 二世皇帝 嬴 趙 胡亥), Second Emperor of Qin. He was the youngest and favourite son of the First Emperor and was travelling with him when he died. With the help of the eunuch Zhào Gāo and the Chancellor Lǐ Sī, he assumed the throne and sent a letter ordering the rightful heir to commit suicide. It is not clear how old he was at this time, both 12 and 21 being offered in the sources, and thus how active he was in taking the throne. At any rate, he seems to have been dominated by his officials, especially Zhao Gao, at whose instigation he had his great vassals, members of the royal family and high officials brutally executed. In 209 soldiers under Chén Shèng Shè (陳勝涉) revolted, proclaiming the revival of the former State of Chu, with himself as King. Soon there were rebels claiming to be King of Zhao, Wei and Qi. Even as drastic action was required, the Emperor refused to attend court, demanded the money and labour continue to be poured into the construction of the Opang Hall, demanded the construction of ten thousand chariots to substantiate his title as “Lord of Ten Thousand Chariots,” and had his most successful talented generals executed. In 207, Zhào Gāo, finding the Emperor increasingly uncontrollable and organised a coup. The Emperor was confronted by the Prefect of the Capital who outlined the Emperor’s crimes and ordered him to commit suicide, which he did. He was buried as a commoner in Yichun Park.

207 Qín-wáng Yíng Zhào Zǐ-yīng (秦王 嬴 趙 子嬰), Eighth King of Qin. He was enthroned by the eunuch Zhào Gāo as the Empire crumbled. In recognition of this he was titled “King” rather than “Emperor.” He personally killed Zhào Gāo, but his reign lasted only forty-six days before the capital was occupied by the forces of Chu, commanded by Liú Bāng (劉邦), future founder of the Han Dynasty. He surrendered to these forces, but was executed about a month later by Chu’s Commander in Chief, Xiàng Yǔ (項羽), along with all remaining members of the Qin royal family.