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- Abbasid Caliphate
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Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire (/ækəˈmɛnɪˌdi/; Old Persian: Parsā, name of ruling dynasty: Haxāmanišiya) (c. 550–330 BCE), sometimes known as First Persian Empire, was an Iranian empire in Southwest Asia, founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation. It expanded to eventually rule over significant portions of the ancient world which at around 500 BCE stretched from the Indus Valley in the east, to Thrace and Macedon on the northeastern border of Greece making it the biggest empire the world had yet seen. The Achaemenid Empire would eventually control Egypt as well. It was ruled by a series of monarchs who unified its disparate tribes and nationalities by constructing a complex network of roads.
Calling themselves the Parsa after their original Aryan tribal name Parsua, Persians settled in a land which they named Parsua, bounded on the west by the Tigris River and on the south by the Persian Gulf. This became their heartland for the duration of the Achaemenid Empire. It was from this region that eventually Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of Persia) would advance to defeat the Median, the Lydian, and the Babylonian Empires, opening the way for subsequent conquests into Egypt and Asia minor.
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Akkadian Empire
Coordinates: 33°6′N 44°6′E / 33.1°N 44.1°E / 33.1; 44.1
The Akkadian Empire (Akkadian URUAkkad KI, Hittite KUR A.GA.DÈ.KI "land of Akkad"; Biblical Hebrew אַכַּד Akkad) was an empire centered in the city of Akkad (Sumerian: Agade) and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia.
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate).
The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of its founder Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BC). Under Sargon and his successors, Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such as Elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants.[citation needed]
The precise archaeological site of the city of Akkad has not yet been found.[citation needed] The form Agade appears in Sumerian, for example in the Sumerian King List; the later Assyro-Babylonian form Akkadû ("of or belonging to Akkad") was likely derived from this. The etymology and meaning of Akkad (written a.ga.dèKI or URIKI) are unknown. Centuries later, the neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus mentioned in his archaeological records that Ishtar's worship in Agade was later superseded by that of the goddess Anunit, whose shrine was at Sippar—suggesting proximity of Sippar and Agade. Despite numerous searches, the city has never been found. One theory holds that Agade was situated opposite Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates, and was perhaps the oldest part of the city of Sippar. Another theory is that the ruins of Akkad are to be found beneath modern Baghdad. Reputedly it was destroyed by invading Gutians with the fall of the Akkadian Empire.
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Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (German: Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling Kaisertum Österreich) was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire as a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 to 1918) was itself dissolved by the victors at the end of World War I and broken into separate new states.
The term "Austrian Empire" is also used for the Habsburg possessions before 1804, which had no official collective name, although Austria is more frequent; the term of Austria-Hungary has also been used.[citation needed]
The Austrian Empire was founded by the Habsburg monarch Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (who became Emperor Francis I of Austria), as a state comprising his personal lands within and outside of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
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British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence deprived Britain of some of its oldest and most populous colonies.
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China
China (
i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Empire of Brazil
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II, both members of the House of Braganza—a branch of the Capetian dynasty. A colony of the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil became the seat of the Portuguese colonial Empire in 1808, when the Portuguese Prince regent, later King Dom João VI (John VI), fled from Napoleon I's invasion of Portugal and established himself and his government in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. João VI later returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son and heir, Pedro, to rule Brazil as regent.
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Fuzhou
Fuzhou (Chinese: 福 州; pinyin: Fúzhōu, [fǔtʂóʊ] (
listen); Fuzhou dialect: Hók-ciŭ) is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (闽东, lit. East of Fujian) linguistic and cultural area.
Fuzhou's core counties lie on the north (or left) bank of the estuary of Fujian's largest river, the Min River. All along its northern border lies Ningde, and Ningde's Gutian County lies upriver. Fuzhou's counties south of the Min border on Putian, Quanzhou, Sanming and Nanping municipalities. Its population is 7,115,370 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 4,408,076 inhabitants are urban standing around 61.95%, while rural population is at 2,707,294 standing around 38.05%.
In older publications, the name "Fuzhou" was variously romanized as Foochow, Fuchow, Fuh-chau, Fuh-Chow, Hock Chew or Hokchew.
The Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties, a Chinese geographical treatise published in the 9th century AD, says that Fuzhou's name came from "Mt. Fu", a mountain located northwest of the city. The mountain's name was then combined with -zhou, meaning "settlement" or "prefecture", in a manner similar to many other Chinese cities. During the Warring States Period, the Han Chinese referred to the Fuzhou area as Ye (Chinese: 冶), though they did not conquer the area until the Qin Dynasty. The city's name was changed numerous times between the 3rd and 9th centuries AD before finally settling on Fuzhou in 948.
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Gansu
Coordinates: 38°0′N 102°20′E / 38°N 102.333°E / 38; 102.333
Gansu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 甘肃; traditional Chinese: 甘肅; pinyin: Gānsù; Wade–Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province.
Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese, and the historical home, along with Shaanxi of the dialect of the Dungans, who are Hui who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large Tibetan population. The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.
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German Empire
The German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich) is the common name given to the state officially named the Deutsches Reich (literally: "German Realm"), designating Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.
The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent territories (most of them ruled by royal families). While the Kingdom of Prussia contained most of the population and most of the territory of the Reich; the Prussian leadership became supplanted by German leaders and Prussia itself played a lesser role. As Dwyer (2005) points out, Prussia's "political and cultural influence had diminished considerably" by the 1890s. Its three largest neighbors were rivals Imperial Russia to the east and France to the west and ally Austria-Hungary to the south.
After 1850, Germany industrialized rapidly, with a foundation in coal, iron (and later steel), chemicals and railways. From a population of 41 million people in 1871, it grew to 68 million in 1913. From a heavily rural nation in 1815, it was now predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological and scientific giant, receiving more Nobel Prizes in science than Britain, France, Russia and the United States combined.
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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.
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Guilin
Guilin (Chinese: 桂林; pinyin: Guìlín; Zhuang: Gveilinz) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its unique scenery.
In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River (Guangxi).
In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.
In 507 AD, the town was renamed Guizhou.
Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties but remained a county. The city was also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive Yangtze plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.
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Gurjara-Pratihara
The Gurjara Pratihara (Sanskrit: गुर्जर प्रतिहार, Gurjara Pratihâra), often simply called Pratihara Empire, was an imperial Indian dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the 6th to the 11th centuries. At its peak of prosperity and power (c. 836–910), the Gurajara-Pratihara Empire rivaled or even exceeded the Gupta Empire in the extent of its territory.
Kannauj was the capital of imperial Gurjara Pratiharas. The Gurjara Pratihara rulers in the tenth century was entitled as Maharajadhiraja of Āryāvarta (i.e. Lords of Northern India).
The word "Pratihara" means protector or "who takes over the enemy/opponent" and was used by the Gurjara-Pratihara rulers as self-designation.It is derived mainly from buddhist term "Pratiharya" wich is quoted in many buddhist sutra, as title awarded to them for defending the vedic realm of Aryavarta . The Pratihara rulers claim descent from the Hindu mythological character Lakshmana, who had performed the duty of a gaurdian ("pratihara") for his elder brother Rama. They were thus Suryavansh dynasty according to traditional Indology.
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Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Han Ch'ao; IPA: [xân tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) (206 BCE – 220 CE) was an imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–280 CE). It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people" and Chinese characters are referred to as "Han characters".
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Hanoi
Hanoi (Hà Nội; listen), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
The city is located on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is located at 1,760 km (1,090 mi) north of Ho Chi Minh City.
October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city.
Turtle Tower in Hoan Kiem Lake, in central Hanoi
Emperor Lý Thái Tổ made Thăng Long (Hanoi) his capital in the 11th century
Colonial Hanoi
Modern Hanoi
Hanoi has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. One of the first known permanent settlements is the Co Loa citadel (Cổ Loa) founded around 200 BC.
Hanoi has had many names throughout history, all of them of Sino-Vietnamese origin. During the Chinese domination of Vietnam, it was known first as Long Biên, then Tống Bình (Chinese: 宋平, Sòngpíng, "Song Peace") and Long Đỗ (Chinese: 龍肚, Lóngdù, "Dragonbelly"). In 866, it was turned into a citadel and named Đại La (Chinese: 大羅, Dàluó, "Big Net").
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Idrisid dynasty
The Idrisids (Arabic: الأدارسة al-Idārisah, Berber: Idrisiyen) were a Zaydi-Shia dynasty of Morocco, ruling from 788 to 985. It was named after its founder Idriss I, the great grandchild of Hasan ibn Ali. Idrisids are traditionally regarded as the founders of the Moroccan state.
The founder of the dynasty was Idris ibn Abdallah (788–791), who traced his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. After the battle of Fakh, near Mecca, between the Abbasids and a Shiite party, he fled to the Maghreb. He first arrived in Tangier, at that time the most important city of Morocco, and by 788 he had settled in Volubilis.
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Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°E / 44; 113
Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: s
, Öbür Monggol and c Өвөр Монгол, Övör Mongol; Chinese: 内蒙古; pinyin: Nèi Měnggǔ, but officially romanized to Nei Mongol) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established in 1947 on the area of former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third-largest subdivision of China spanning about 1,200,000 km² (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia.
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Italian Empire
The Italian Empire (Italian: Impero Italiano) was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved out large empires over several hundred years. One of the last remaining areas open to colonisation was on the African continent.
By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Italy had annexed Eritrea and Somalia, and had wrested control of portions of the Ottoman Empire, including Libya, though it was defeated in its attempt to conquer Ethiopia. The Fascist government under Italian dictator Benito Mussolini which came to power in 1922 sought to increase the size of the empire further. Ethiopia was successfully taken, four decades after the previous failure, and Italy's European borders were expanded. An official "Italian Empire" was proclaimed on 9 May 1936 following the conquest of Ethiopia. Italy sided with Nazi Germany during World War II and initially enjoyed successes. However, Allied forces eventually captured Italian overseas colonies and by the time Italy itself was invaded in 1943, its empire had all but ceased to exist.
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Kaifeng
Kaifeng (simplified Chinese: 开封; traditional Chinese: 開封; pinyin: Kāifēng; Wade–Giles: K'aifeng), known previously by several names (see below), is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area. Located along the southern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the west, Xinxiang to the northwest, Shangqiu to the east, Zhoukou to the southeast, Xuchang to the southwest, and the province of Shandong to the northeast.
The Chinese Postal Map Romanisation for the city is Kaifeng whilst its abbreviation is biàn (汴). Historically it has also been known as:
The name "Kaifeng" first appeared as the area's name after the Qin Dynasty's conquering of China in the 2nd century BC, and literally means "expand the borders".
The prefecture-level city of Kaifeng administers five districts and five counties.
Kaifeng is one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China. As with Beijing, there have been many reconstructions during its history.
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Kingdom of Aksum
The Kingdom of Aksum or Axum, also known as the Aksumite Empire and Abyssinia, was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, existing from approximately 100–940 AD. It grew from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period ca. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD, and was a major player in the commerce between the Roman Empire and Ancient India. The Aksumite rulers facilitated trade by minting their own currency, the state established its hegemony over the declining Kingdom of Kush and regularly entered the politics of the kingdoms on the Arabian peninsula, eventually extending its rule over the region with the conquest of the Himyarite Kingdom.
Under Ezana (fl 320–360), Aksum became the first major empire to convert to Christianity, and was named by Mani (216–276) as one of the four great powers of his time along with Persia, Rome, and China. In the 7th century the Muslims, who originated in Mecca, sought refuge from Quraysh persecution by travelling to Aksum (Abyssinia), a journey famous in Islamic history as the First Hijra. Aksum's ancient capital is found in northern Ethiopia. The Kingdom used the name "Ethiopia" as early as the 4th century. It is also the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the purported home of the Queen of Sheba.[citation needed].
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Korean Empire
The Korean Empire (Hangul: 대한제국; Hanja: 大韓帝國; Daehan Jeguk; literally Great Korean Empire) is the name of the state of Korea that existed from the Proclamation of the Korean Empire in October 1897 to the Annexation of Korea by Japan on August 20, 1910. It succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.
In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries. Japan became terrified by the speed of the modernisation the Korean Empire was having and decided to speed up its plans for annexation. This was further speeded by the assassination of Ito Hirobumi. On August 22, 1910, Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan, which defeated the Russian Empire in 1905.
The Sino-Japanese War marked the rapid decline of any power the Joseon Dynasty of Korea had managed to hold against foreign interference, as the battles of the conflict itself had been fought on Korean soil and the surrounding seas. With its newfound preeminence over the waning and weak Qing Dynasty, Japan had delegates negotiate the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Qing emissaries, through which Japan wrested control over the Liaodong Peninsula from the Qing (a move designed to prevent the southern expansion of Japan's new rival, Russia), and, more importantly over Korea. However, Russia recognized this agreement as an act against its interests in northeastern China and eventually brought France and Germany to its side in saying that the Liaodong Peninsula should be repatriated to the Qing China.
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Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 辽朝; traditional Chinese: 遼朝; pinyin: Liáo Cháo; Khitan language: Mos Jælut), also known as the Khitan Empire (simplified Chinese: 契丹国; traditional Chinese: 契丹國; pinyin: Qìdān Guó; Khitan: Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur), was an empire in East Asia that ruled over Mongolia and portions of Kazakhstan, the Russian Far East, and northern China proper between 907–1125. It was founded by the Khitan Great Khan Abaoji around the time of the collapse of the Han Chinese Tang Dynasty.
The Liao Empire was destroyed by the Jurchen of the Jin Dynasty in 1125. However, remnants of its people, led by Yelü Dashi, established Western Liao Dynasty, also known as Kara-Khitan Khanate, which ruled over parts of Central Asia for almost a century before being conquered by Genghis Khan's Mongolian army.
The Khitan were a Mongolic tribe who originally formed a part of Tanshihuai's Xianbei state before submitting along with the Kumo Xi to the Yuwen chieftains after the state's disintegration. They considered themselves descendants of the legendary Qishou Khagan, who was descended from Tanshihuai (reigned 157–181). The Kumo Xi and Khitan separated as one body from the Yuwen after the Yuwen were defeated by Murong Huang of the Murong tribe in 344. In 388 the Khitan separated from the Kumo Xi. This began the written history of the Khitan as an independent tribe. In the period of Zhenjun (r. 440–449) they 'asked for paying tribute' (any presentation of gifts by foreigners were seen as submissive 'tribute') and presented famous steeds to the court of the Northern Wei. In the Xianzu period (466–470) Mofuhe Hechen of the Khitan leading the eight Khitan tribes (Xiwandan, Hedahe, Fufuyu, Yuling, Rilian, Pijie, Li and Tuliuyu) presented famous steeds and high quality fur to the Northern Wei at their capital Datong and the Khitan were 'allowed' to trade in the area of modern-day Miyun County of Beijing City.
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Linzi
The Linzi District (simplified Chinese: 临淄区; pinyin: Línzī Qū) is part of Zibo, a prefecture-level city central Shandong province, China.
Linzi was the capital of ancient State of Qi during the Zhou Dynasty.
There are many petro-chemical refineries in this area, some which are located in hills to the south of the commercial district. The area also includes agricultural land.
Linzi is one of the most highly developed industrial districts in north China with the highest GDP in Shandong Province.
Coordinates: 36°49′N 118°18′E / 36.817°N 118.3°E / 36.817; 118.3
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Medes
The Medes (/midz/) (from Old Persian Māda-) were an ancient Iranian people who lived in Iran in an area known as Media and spoke a northwestern Iranian language referred to as the Median language. Their arrival to the region is associated with the first wave of Iranian tribes in the late second millennium BCE (the Bronze Age collapse) through the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
In the 7th century BCE a unified Median state was formed which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East. An alliance with the Babylonians helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BCE which resulted in the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal centre) beyond their original homeland (central-western Iran) and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Halys River in Anatolia. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great who established the next Iranian dynasty—the Achaemenid Empire.
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Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, described by some as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the Ming capital Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun Dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662.
Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He in the 15th century far surpassed all others in size. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million.
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Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire, Shahan-e-Gurkhani, Shahan-e-Mughal, Sultanate-e-Mughliya, Daulat-e-Mughliya (Persian: شاهان گورکانی Shāhān-e Gūrkānī; Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت; self-designation: گوركانى Gūrkānī ), or Mogul (also Moghul) Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were direct descendants of Genghis Khan through Chagatai Khan and Timur. The Mughal Empire began in 1526; at the height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled most of the Indian Subcontinent—extending from Bengal in the east to Balochistan in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south. According to "Babur-Nama", Kazakh tribal aristocracy along with number of other Turkic soldiers participated actively in the campaign of Babur, which made great influence over the development of Mughal Empire. Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles).
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Nazi Germany
The Third Reich, also Nazi Germany, is the common name for Germany when it was a totalitarian state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). On 30 January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its Führer ("leader"), centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..." Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices. Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.
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Neo-Assyrian Empire
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was an empire in Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 605 BC. During this period, Assyria assumed a position as the most powerful nation on earth, successfully eclipsing Babylonia, Egypt, Urartu/Armenia and Elam for dominance of the Near East, Asia Minor, Caucasus, North Africa and east Mediterranean, though not until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BC did it become a vast empire. Assyria was originally an Akkadian kingdom which evolved in the 25th to 24th Centuries BC. The earliest Assyrian kings such as Tudiya were relatively minor rulers, and after the founding of the Akkadian Empire, which lasted from 2334 BC to 2154 BC, these kings became subject to Sargon of Akkad, who united all the Akkadian and Sumerian speaking peoples of Mesopotamia under one rule.
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Parthian Empire
The Parthian (pronounced /ˈpɑrθiən/) Empire (247 BC – 224 AD), also known as the Arsacid (/ˈɑrsəsɪd/) Empire (Modern Persian: اشکانیان Ashkāniān), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia. Its latter name comes from Arsaces I of Parthia who, as leader of the Parni tribe, founded it in the mid-3rd century BC when he conquered the Parthia region in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) in rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I of Parthia (r. c. 171–138 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now south-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce.
The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures. For about the first half of its existence, the Arsacid court adopted elements of Greek culture, though it eventually saw a gradual revival of Iranian traditions. The Arsacid rulers were titled the "King of Kings", as a claim to be the heirs to the Achaemenid Empire; indeed, they accepted many local kings as vassals where the Achaemenids would have had centrally appointed, albeit largely autonomous, satraps. The court did appoint a small number of satraps, largely outside Iran, but these satrapies were smaller and less powerful than the Achaemenid potentates. With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of central government shifted from Nisa, Turkmenistan to Ctesiphon along the Tigris (south of modern Baghdad, Iraq), although several other sites also served as capitals.
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Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire (Portuguese: Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire (Ultramar Português) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (Império Colonial Português), was the first global empire in history. In addition, it was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999 or the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002. The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different sovereign states.
Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil on the South American coast. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia. This commercial network brought great wealth to Portugal.
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Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.
The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in contemporary Northeastern China. The Aisin Gioro leader, Nurhachi, who was originally a vassal of the Ming emperors, began unifying the Jurchen clans in the late sixteenth century. By 1635, Nurhachi's son Hong Taiji could claim they constituted a single and united Manchu people and began forcing the Ming out of Liaoning in southern Manchuria. In 1644, the Ming capital Beijing was sacked by a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt, who then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when the city fell. When Li Zicheng moved against Ming general Wu Sangui, the latter made an alliance with the Manchus and opened the Shanhai Pass to the Manchurian army. Under Prince Dorgon, they seized control of Beijing and overthrew Li Zicheng's short-lived Shun Dynasty. Complete pacification of China was accomplished around 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor.
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Second French Empire
The Second French Empire (French: Le Second Empire Français) was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.
Although the machinery of government was almost the same under the Second Empire as it had been under the First, its founding principles were different. The function of the Empire, as Emperor Napoleon III often repeated, was to guide the people internally towards justice and externally towards perpetual peace. Holding his power by universal male suffrage, and having frequently, from his prison or in exile, reproached previous oligarchical governments with neglecting social questions, he set out to solve them by organising a system of government based on the principles of the "Napoleonic Idea", i.e. of the emperor, the elect of the people as the representative of the democracy, and as such supreme; and of himself, the representative of the great Napoleon I of France, "who had sprung armed from the French Revolution like Minerva from the head of Jove", as the guardian of the social gains of the revolutionary period.
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Shaanxi
Shaanxi (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 陕西; traditional Chinese: 陝西; pinyin: Shǎnxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province. Shaanxi is the historical home, along with Gansu of the dialect of the Dungans, of the Hui people, who emigrated out of China to Central Asia.
By regular Hanyu Pinyin rules, if tone marks are not written, both Shaanxi and the neighbouring province of Shanxi, to the east of Shaanxi, should be spelled "Shanxi"; the difference is in tone: Shānxī (山西) and Shǎnxī (陕西). To make the difference clear without tonal marks, the spelling "Shaanxi" was contrived (following the romanization system of Yuen Ren Chao) for the province of Shǎnxī, while "Shanxi" is used for the province of Shānxī. Shaanxi is the official spelling on Chinese Government's official web portal. This makes "Shaanxi" the only name of Chinese provinces that has not been romanized according to pinyin rules.
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Sichuan
Coordinates: 30°N 103°E / 30°N 103°E / 30; 103
Sichuan (help·info) (Chinese: 四川, known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, "四川", is an abbreviation of "四川路" (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from "川峡四路" (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
The province and its vicinity were the cradle of unique local civilizations, which can be dated back to at least the fifteenth century BC (coinciding with the later years of the Shang Dynasty). Beginning from the ninth century BC, Shu (today Chengdu) and Ba (today Chongqing City) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established.
Shu's existence was unknown until an archaeological discovery in 1986 at a small village named Sanxingdui (三星堆) in Guanghan County. It is believed to be an ancient city of the Shu Kingdom, where excavations have yielded invaluable archaeological information.
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Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio Español) comprised territories and colonies administered by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its political and economic power when it became the foremost global power. Its establishment in the 15th century ushered in the modern global era and five centuries of European dominance of global affairs. Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe spanned six centuries, from the first voyages to the Americas in 1492 until the independence of its last African colonies in the 1970s.
After the War of the Castilian Succession (1475–1479), Spain had emerged with a personally unified monarchy, with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs or los Reyes Catolicos between the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon: the internal and foreign policy was coordinated although the rule was separate. In 1492, the Spanish monarchs completed the Reconquista with the incorporation of Granada to the Kingdom of Castile. That same year Christopher Columbus commanded the first Spanish exploratory voyage west across the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the Discovery of America and Europe's eventual colonial engagement in the New World. The Americas thereby became the focus of Spanish exploration and colonization.
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Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
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Tianshui
Tianshui (Chinese: 天水; pinyin: Tiānshuǐ) is the second largest city in Gansu province in northwest China. Its population is approximately 3,500,000.
Tianshui lies along the route of the ancient Northern Silk Road at the Wei River, through which much of trade occurred between China and the west. Nearby are the Maijishan Grottoes filled with thousands of Buddhist sculptures, represented by figures as Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara, produced in as early as the Wei Dynasty and as late as the Song Dynasty by Buddhist monks who first came here via the North Silk Road and, later on, by local Buddhists, for worship purposes.
The Qin state, later to become the founding dynasty of the Chinese empire, grew out from this area, and the Qin name itself is believed to have originated, in part, from there Qin tombs have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200 year old map of Guixian County.
Tianshui is a diocese of the Roman Catholic church, currently vacant.
Tianshui has a monsoon-influenced, four-season, cool semi-arid climate (Koppen BSk), with seasons of comparatively equal length. Winters are cold but dry, with an average January temperature of −2 °C (28.4 °F), while summers are warm and somewhat humid, with an average July temperature of 22.8 °C (73.0 °F). Much of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September, and the annual mean temperature is 11.0 °C (51.8 °F).
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Warsangali Sultanate
The Warsangali Sultanate (Somali: Saldanadda Warsangeli, Arabic: سلطنة الورسنجلي) was a Somali imperial ruling house centered in northeastern and in some parts of southeastern Somalia. It was one of the largest sultanates ever established in the territory, and, at the height of its power, included the Sanaag region and parts of the northeastern Bari region of the country, an area historically known as Maakhir or the Maakhir Coast. The Sultanate was founded in the late 13th century in northern Somalia by a group of Somalis from the Warsangali branch of the Darod clan, and was ruled by the descendants of the Gerad Dhidhin. In the late 19th century, the influential Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire governed the Sultanate, assuming control during some of its most turbulent years. The Akil Dhahar ruled south of Sanaag and some portions of the Bari region. In 1884, the United Kingdom established the protectorate of British Somaliland through various treaties with the northern Somali sultanates, including the Warsangali Sultanate.
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Wei River
The Wei River (Chinese: 渭河; pinyin: Wèi Hé; Wade–Giles: Wei Ho) is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization.
The source of the Wei River is close to Weiyuan County – Wei yuan meaning "Wei's source" – in Gansu province, less than 200 km from the Yellow River at Lanzhou. However, due to the sharp turn north the Yellow River takes in Lanzhou, the Wei and the Yellow River do not meet for more than 2000 km further along the Yellow River's course. In a direct line, the Wei's source lies 700 km west of the main city along its course, Xi'an in Shaanxi province. The length of the river is 818 km and the area drained covers 135.000 km².
The Wei River's tributaries include the Luo River, Jing River, and the Chishui River.
The valley of the Wei was one of the early cradles of Chinese civilization, along which the capitals of the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang Dynasties were situated. The area of Dingxi around its headwaters in Gansu has numerous stone age sites from various early cultures. The Wei Valley is likely the earliest center of Chinese civilisation, and also the location of China's first major irrigation works and some Chinese historians now believe the Wei is the ancient Jiang River which gave its name to the families of Shennong and the Yan emperor, two Chinese culture heroes involved with the early development of agriculture there.
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Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià; Wade-Giles: Hsi Hsia; literally "Western Xia") or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.
The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about eight hundred thousand square kilometers. The state suffered from devastating destruction by the Mongols who founded Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), including most of its written records and architecture. Its founders and history therefore remained controversial until recent research conducted both in the West and within China. They occupied the area of important trade route between North China and Central Asia, the Hexi Corridor. The Western Xia made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, which was characterized as "shining and sparkling". Their extensive stance among the other empires of the Liao, Song, and Jin was attributable to their effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combats on land and water.
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Xianyang
Xianyang (simplified Chinese: 咸阳; traditional Chinese: 咸陽; pinyin: Xiányáng; Sienyang; Hsienyang; IPA: [ɕjɛ̌n.jɑ̌ŋ]) is a former capital of China in Shaanxi province, on the Wei River, a few kilometers upstream (west) from Xi'an. It has an area of 10,213 square kilometres (3,943 sq mi). It's part of the Xi'an metropolitan area, one of the main urban agglomerations in inland China with more than 7 million inhabitants.
Xianyang was among the capital city's environs during the Western Zhou Dynasty, and was made the capital of the state of Qin in 350 BC during the Warring States Period before becoming the capital of China during the short-lived Qin Dynasty. Because the city lay south of the Jiuzong Mountains and north of the Wei River - both sunlight-rich (yang) orientations - it was named "Xianyang", meaning "fully yang". Under Duke Xiao of Qin, minister Shang Yang designed Xianyang in 350 BC, which was then the capital for over 140 years. It was located in the modern day Shaanxi province on the northern bank of the Wei River, on the opposite side of which Liu Bang would later build the Han Dynasty capital of Chang'an once he became emperor.
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Xin Dynasty
The Xin Dynasty (Chinese: 新朝; pinyin: Xīn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Hsin Ch'ao; literally "New Dynasty") was a Chinese dynasty (although strictly speaking it had only one emperor) which lasted from AD 9 to 23. It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The sole emperor of the Xin Dynasty, Wang Mang (王莽), was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. After the death of her step-grandson Emperor Ai in 1 BC, Wang Mang rose to power. After several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally proclaimed himself emperor in AD 9. However, while a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler, and his capital Chang'an was besieged by peasant rebels in AD 23. He died in the siege, and the Han Dynasty was restored by descendants of the former imperial clan.
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Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: 元朝, p Yuán Cháo; Mongolian: Их Юань улс) was the branch of Mongol Borjigin dynasty established by Kublai Khan. Although the Mongols had ruled northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style. His realm – the Great Yuan Empire (t 大元帝國, s 大元帝国, p Dà Yuán Dìguó) – was by this point isolated from the other khanates and controlled only most of present-day China and its surrounding areas including modern Mongolia. It was the first non-Han dynasty to rule all of China and lasted until 1368, after which its remnants in Mongolia were known as the Northern Yuan.
The Yuan is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and as an imperial Chinese dynasty. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan Dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song Dynasty and preceding the Ming Dynasty. Although the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu.
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Almohad Caliphate
The Almohad Dynasty (Berber: Imweḥḥden, from Arabic الموحدون al-Muwaḥḥidun, "the monotheists" or "the Unitarians"), was a MoroccanBerber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.
The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his death in 1163, the Almohads defeated the ruling Almoravids, extending their power over all of the Maghreb. Al-Andalus, Moorish Iberia (modern Portugal and southern Spain) under the Almoravid dynasty, followed the fate of Africa.
The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian princes of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. Nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.
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Almoravid dynasty
The Almoravids (Berber: ⵉⵎⵕⴰⴱⴹⴻⵏ Imṛabḍen, Arabic: المرابطون Al-Murābiṭūn) were a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who formed an empire in the 11th-century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Their capital was Marrakesh, a city which they founded in 1062 CE. The dynasty originated amongst the Lamtuna and the Gudala, which were nomadic Berber tribes of the Sahara traversing the territory between southern Morocco, the Niger river and the Senegal river.
The Almoravids were crucial in avoiding a precipitated fall of Al-Andalus to the Iberian Christian kingdoms, when they decisively beat a coalition of the Castilian and Aragonese armies at the Battle of Sagrajas. This enabled them to control an empire that stretched 3,000 kilometers north to south. However, the rule of the dynasty was relatively short-lived and the Almoravids fell - at the height of their power - when they failed to quell the Masmuda-led rebellion initiated by Ibn Tumart. As a result, their last king Ishaq ibn Ali was killed in Marrakesh in April 1147 CE by the Almohads who replaced them as a ruling dynasty both in Morocco and Al-Andalus.
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Ayyubid dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty (Arabic: الأيوبيون) was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they supplanted them under Saladin, Ayyub's son. In 1174, Saladin proclaimed himself Sultan following the death of Nur al-Din. The Ayyubids spent the next decade launching conquests throughout the region and by 1183, the territories under their control included Egypt, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and the North African coast up to the borders of modern-day Tunisia. Most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond Jordan River fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders regained control of Palestine's coastline in the 1190s.
After the death of Saladin, his sons contested control over the sultanate, but Saladin's brother al-Adil eventually established himself as Sultan in 1200. In the 1230s, the Ayyubid rulers of Syria attempted to assert their independence from Egypt and remained divided until Egyptian Sultan as-Salih Ayyub restored Ayyubid unity by taking over most of Syria, excluding Aleppo, by 1247. By then, local Muslim dynasties had driven out the Ayyubids from Yemen, the Hejaz, and parts of Mesopotamia. After repelling a Crusader invasion of the Nile Delta, as-Salih Ayyub's Mamluk generals overthrew al-Mu'azzam Turanshah who succeeded Ayyub as Sultan after his death in 1250. This effectively ended Ayyubid power in Egypt and a number of attempts by the rulers of Syria, led by an-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo, to recover it failed. In 1260, the Mongols sacked Aleppo and wrested control of what remained of the Ayyubid territories soon after. The Mamluks, who forced out the Mongols after the destruction of the Ayyubid dynasty, maintained the Ayyubid principality of Hama until deposing its last ruler in 1341.
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Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire (800–888) is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, and ends with the death of Charles the Fat. Depending on one's perspective, this Empire can be seen as the later history of the Frankish Realm or the early history of France and of the Holy Roman Empire.
The term refers to the coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800. Because Charles and his ancestors had been rulers of the Frankish realm earlier (his grandfather Charles Martel had essentially founded the empire during his lifetime), the coronation did not actually constitute a new empire. Most historians prefer to use the term "Frankish Kingdoms" or "Frankish Realm" to refer to the area covering parts of today's Germany and France from the 5th to the 9th century.
Though Charles Martel chose not to take the title King, as his son Pepin III the Short would, or Emperor, as his grandson Charlemagne would be titled, he was absolute ruler of virtually all of today's continental Western Europe north of the Pyrenees. Only the remaining Saxon realms, which he partly conquered, Lombardy, and the Marca Hispanica north of the Pyrenees were significant additions to the Frankish realms after his death.
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Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate (Mongolian: Tsagadai Khan Uls/Цагадайн улс) was a Turko-Mongolkhanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors. Initially it was considered a part of the Mongol Empire, but it later became fully independent.
At its height in the late 13th century, the Khanate extended from the Amu Darya south of the Aral Sea to the Altai Mountains in the border of modern-day Mongolia and China.
The khanate lasted in one form or another from 1220s until the late 17th century, although the western half of the khanate was lost to Tamerlane in the 1360s. The eastern half remained under Chagatai khans who were, at times, allied or at war with Timur's successors. Finally, in the 17th century, the remaining Chagatai domains fell under the theocratic regime of Apaq Khoja and his descendants, the Khojijans, who ruled East Turkestan under Dzungar and Manchu overlordships consecutively.
Genghis Khan's empire was inherited by his third son, Ögedei, the designated Great Khan who personally controlled the lands east of Lake Balkash as far as Mongolia. Tolui, the youngest, the keeper of the hearth, was accorded the northern Mongolian homeland. Chagatai, the second son, received Transoxania, between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers in modern Uzbekistan, and the area around Kashgar. He made his capital at Almalik near what is now Kulja in northwestern China. Apart from problems of lineage and inheritance, the Mongol Empire was endangered by the great cultural and ethnic divide between the Mongols themselves and their mostly Islamic Turkic subjects.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Confucius
Confucius (551–479 BC) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history.
The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known as Confucianism.
Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but only many years after his death.
Confucius's principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children (and in traditional interpretations of husbands by their wives), and family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known principle "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself", an early version of the Golden Rule.
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Derk Bodde
Derk Bodde (9 March 1909 – 3 November 2003) was a prominent 20th century American Sinologist and historian of China. He authored pioneering work in the history of the Chinese legal system.
Bodde was an emeritus Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and former president of the American Oriental Society (1968-69).
Bodde received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1930. He spent six years (1931-1937) studying in China on a fellowship. He earned a doctorate in Chinese Studies from the University of Leiden in 1938. When the Fulbright scholarship program was initiated in 1948, Bodde was the first American recipient of a one-year fellowship, which he spent studying in Beijing (formerly Peking).
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Duke Xiang of Song
Duke Xiang of Song (宋襄公) (died 637 BC) was the leader in the state of Song in the Spring and Autumn Period. His name was Zifu (子茲甫) and he took his throne in 650 BC.
After the death of Duke Huan of Qi (齊桓公), he wanted to become the next hegemon. After his installment of Duke Xiao of Qi, he made war with Chu. In 638 BC he attacked the state of Zheng and met the troops from Chu, who were running to save Zheng. Instead of giving the enemy a surprise attack, he waited for the enemy to go across the river in order to be a real Ren (仁) gentleman. In the Battle of Hongshui (泓水之戰) against the much stronger and fully prepared enemy, Duke Xiang’s troops were defeated thoroughly and he himself was badly hurt. He died in the following year and was succeeded by his son Wangchen known as Duke Cheng of Song.
Despite his failure in expansion, he is considered one of the Five Hegemons by some historians.
Mao Zedong once said about Duke Xiang's humanity in war: "We are not Duke Xiang of Song and have no use for his idiotic virtue and morality".
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Emperor of China
The Emperor of China (Chinese: 皇帝; pinyin: Huángdì, pronounced [xu̯ɑ̌ŋ tî]) refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven (Chinese: 天子; pinyin: tiānzǐ, pronounced [ti̯ɛ́n tsɨ̀]), a title that predates the Qin unification, the Emperor was recognized as the ruler of "All under heaven" (i.e., the world). In practice not every Emperor held supreme power, though this was most often the case.[citation needed]
Emperors from the same family are generally classified in historical periods known as Dynasties. Most of China's imperial rulers have commonly been considered members of the Han ethnicity, although recent scholarship tends to be wary of applying current ethnic categories to historical situations. During the Yuan and Qing dynasties China was ruled by ethnic Mongols and Manchus respectively after being conquered by them. The orthodox historical view over the years sees these as non-native dynasties that were sinicized over time, though some more recent scholars argue that the interaction between politics and ethnicity was far more complex. Nevertheless, in both cases these rulers had claimed the Mandate of Heaven to assume the role of traditional emperors in order to rule over China proper.
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Feizi
Feizi (Chinese: 非子; pinyin: Fēizǐ, died 858 BC), also known by his title Qin Ying (Chinese: 秦嬴; pinyin: Qín Yíng), was the founder of the ancient Chinese state of Qin, predecessor of the Qin Dynasty that would conquer all other Chinese states and unite China in 221 BC.
According to the founding myths of Qin recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian by Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian, Feizi descended from the mythical Yellow Emperor and his grandson and successor Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu's granddaughter Nüxiu (女脩) gave birth to Daye (大業) after swallowing an egg of a swallow. Daye's son Boyi (伯益) was awarded the ancestral name Ying (嬴) by the mythical Chinese ruler Shun.
During the Shang Dynasty, Boyi's descendant Zhongyu (中潏) was in charge of Xichui (西垂, also called Quanqiu, in present-day Li County, Gansu) among the Rong tribes. Zhongyu's son Feilian (蜚廉) and granson Elai served King Zhou of Shang, and Elai was killed when King Wu of Zhou overthrew Shang and founded the Zhou Dynasty. Feizi's father Daluo (大骆) was the great-great-grandson of Elai. However, Daluo's legal heir was not Feizi, but his other son Cheng, because Cheng was born to Daluo's main wife, daughter of the Marquis of the state of Shen.
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Gansu
Coordinates: 38°0′N 102°20′E / 38°N 102.333°E / 38; 102.333
Gansu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 甘肃; traditional Chinese: 甘肅; pinyin: Gānsù; Wade–Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province.
Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese, and the historical home, along with Shaanxi of the dialect of the Dungans, who are Hui who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large Tibetan population. The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.
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Great Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire (Turkish: Büyük Selçuklu Devleti, Persian: دولت سلجوقیان) was a medieval Persianate,Turko-PersianSunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf. From their homelands near the Aral sea, the Seljuqs advanced first into Khorasan and then into mainland Persia before eventually conquering eastern Anatolia.
The Seljuq empire was founded by Tughril Beg in 1037 after the efforts by the founder of the Seljuq dynasty, Seljuq Beg, back in the first quarter of the eleventh century. Seljuq Beg's father was in a higher position in the Oghuz Yabgu State, and gave his name both to the state and the dynasty. The Seljuqs united the fractured political scene of the Eastern Islamic world and played a key role in the first and second crusades. Highly Persianized in culture and language, the Seljuqs also played an important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition, even exporting Persian culture to Anatolia. The Seljuqs conquest gave impetus to the progressive Turkicization of parts of Anatolia, Iran and the Caucasus.
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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.
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Hata clan
The Hata clan (秦氏?) was an immigrant clan active in Japan since the Kofun period, according to the epic history Nihonshoki.
Hata is the Japanese reading of the Chinese (state and dynasty) name 秦 given to the Qin Dynasty (the real family name was Ying), and given to their descendants established in Japan. The Nihonshoki presents the Hata as a clan or house, and not as a tribe; also only the members of the head family had the right to use the name of Hata.
The Hata can be compared to other families who came from the continent during the Kofun period: the descendants of the Chinese Han Dynasty, by Prince Achi no Omi, ancestor of the Yamato no Aya clan, the Sakanoue clan, the Tamura clan, the Harada and the Akizuki clan; also, the descendants of the Chinese Cao Wei Dynasty by the Takamuko clan. The descendants of Baekje (Kudara in Japanese) who sought refuge in Japan, for example the Yamato no Fubito (also called Yamato no Fubito-和史 later given a new title, Takano no Asomi-高野朝臣) , Kudara no Konikishi clan, and the Sue clan.
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History of Germany
The concept of Germany as a distinct region in central Europe can be traced to Roman commander Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing it from Gaul (France), which he had conquered. The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (AD 9) prevented annexation by the Roman Empire. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the other West Germanic tribes. When the Frankish Empire was divided among Charlemagne's heirs in 843, the eastern part became East Francia. In 962, Otto I became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval German state.
In the High Middle Ages, the dukes and princes of the empire gained power at the expense of the emperors. Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation against the Catholic Church after 1517, as the northern states became Protestant, while the southern states remained Catholic. They clashed in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which was ruinous to the twenty million civilians. 1648 marked the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire and the beginning of the modern nation-state system, with Germany divided into numerous independent states, such as Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony.
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Hunnic Empire
The Hunnic empire was formed under the reign of Attila, centered in present-day Hungary; its territory included parts of Germany, the Balkans, and Ukraine. It bordered the Eastern Roman Empire to the southeast and the Western Roman Empire to the west and southwest; its other boundaries are uncertain. The empire dissolved after Attila's death in 453 as a result of struggles over succession and leadership, finally disappearing around 469.
The origins of the Huns that swept through Europe during the 4th Century remain unclear; they may have been connected with the Xiongnu and the later Northern Xiongnu, defeated and dispersed by China some three centuries before. However, most mainstream historians consider them as a group of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with mixed origin.[citation needed] There was a Hunnic language, and Gothic seems also to have been used as a lingua franca.
European accounts first mention the Huns in the lands north-west of the Caspian Sea about 370, when they conquered a tribe of Alans to their west. Pushing further westward, the Huns subjugated many Ostrogoths. In 395, a Hun raid across the Caucasus mountains devastated Armenia, then captured Erzurum, besieged Edessa and Antioch, and even reached Tyre.
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Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire (Quechua: Tawantinsuyu), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century.
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia.
The official language of the empire was Quechua, although hundreds of local languages and dialects of Quechua were spoken. The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu which can be translated as The Four Regions or The Four United Provinces.
There were many local forms of worship, most of them concerning local sacred "Huacas", but the Inca leadership encouraged the worship of Inti—the sun god—and imposed its sovereignty above other cults such as that of Pachamama. The Incas considered their King, the Sapa Inca, to be the "child of the sun."
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Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°E / 44; 113
Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: s, Öbür Monggol and c Өвөр Монгол, Övör Mongol; Chinese: 内蒙古; pinyin: Nèi Měnggǔ, but officially romanized to Nei Mongol) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established in 1947 on the area of former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third-largest subdivision of China spanning about 1,200,000 km² (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia.
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John Keay
John Keay (born 1941) is an English journalist and author specialising in writing popular histories about India and the Far East, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and exploration by Europeans.
John Keay was born in Devon, England to parents of Scottish origin. He studied at Ampleforth College in York, before going on to read Modern History at Oxford University. Among his teachers at Oxford were the famous historian A.J.P. Taylor and the future playwright Alan Bennett. Keay was a resident of Magdalen College.
In 1965, he visited India for the first time. He went to Kashmir for a fortnight's trout-fishing, but liked it so much that he returned the following year, this time for six months. It was during his stay in Kashmir that Keay decided upon writing as a career. He joined the staff of The Economist magazine, and as their political correspondent, he returned to India several times to cover various elections and conflicts. He also started contributing stories to BBC Radio.
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King Ping of Zhou
King Ping of Zhou (before 771 BC - 720 BC) (ch. 周平王 Zhōu Píng Wáng), also referred to as Crown Prince Yijiu or King P'ing of Chou was the thirteenth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and the first of Eastern Zhou Dynasty. He was the son of King You of Zhou and Queen Shen.
King You of Zhou had exiled Queen Shen and Crown Prince Yijiu after the king became enamored with his concubine Baosi and made her queen. As a result, Queen Shen's father, the Marquess of Shen, teamed with the Quanrong nomads and local satellite states to overthrow King You. King You was killed, Baosi captured and Yijiu acquired his father's throne as King Ping of Zhou.
King Ping of Zhou moved the Zhou Dynasty east from Hàojīng (鎬京/镐京) to Luoyi (雒邑), thus ending the Xi (Western) Zhou Dynasty and beginning the Dong (Eastern) Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period.
Ping is noteworthy as an ancestor of Wu Zetian, who from 690 AD would style her dynasty the later Zhou in recognition of her ancestry.[citation needed]
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King Xiao of Zhou
King Xiao of Zhou (ch 周孝王 zhōu xìao wáng) or King Hsiao of Chou was the eighth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 891–886 BC or 872–866 BC (Cambridge History of Ancient China). His reign is poorly documented. He was preceded on the throne by his nephew King Yi of Zhou (Ji Jian) and followed by his nephew's son, King Yi of Zhou (Ji Xie). Sima Qian says that the second Yi was 'restored by the many lords'. This hints at a usurpation, but the matter is not clear.
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Li Si
Li Si (Chinese: 李斯; pinyin: Lǐ Sī; Wade–Giles: Li Ssu) (ca. 280 BC – September or October 208 BC) was the influential Prime Minister (or Chancellor) of the feudal state and later of the dynasty of Qin, between 246 BC and 208 BC. A famous Legalist, he was also a notable calligrapher. Li Si served under two rulers: Qin Shi Huang, king of Qin and later First Emperor of China—and his son, Qin Er Shi. A powerful minister, he was central to the state's policies, including those on military conquest, draconian centralization of state control, standardization of weights, measures and the written script, and persecution of Confucianism and opponents of Legalism. His methods of administration of China is seen by some as being an early form of totalitarianism.
Li Si was originally from Shang Cai (上蔡) in the State of Chu. As a young man he was a minor functionary in the local administration of Chu. According to the Records of the Great Historian, one day Li Si observed that rats in the outhouse were dirty and hungry but the rats in the barnhouse were well fed. He suddenly realized that "there is no set standard for honor since everyone's life is different. The values of people are determined by their social status. And like rats, people's social status often depends purely on the random life events around them. And so instead of always being restricted by moral codes, people should do what they deemed best at the moment." He made up his mind to take up politics as a career, which was a common choice for scholars not from a noble family during the Warring States Period.
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Liu Bang
Emperor Gao (256 BC or 247 BC – 1 June 195 BC), commonly known by his temple name Gaozu (Chinese: 高祖; pinyin: Gāozǔ; Wade–Giles: Kao Tsu), personal name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han Dynasty, ruling over China from 202 BC to 195 BC. Liu Bang was one of the few dynasty founders in Chinese history that emerged from the peasant class (another prominent example being Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming Dynasty). In the early stage of his rise to prominence, Liu Bang was addressed as "Duke of Pei", with the "Pei" referring to his hometown of Pei County. He was also granted the title of "King of Han" by Xiang Yu, when the latter split the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms. Liu Bang was known by this title before becoming Emperor of China.
Liu Bang was born in a peasant family in Zhongyang Village, Feng Town, Pei County, Sishui Commandery (in present-day Feng County, Jiangsu). His parents' names were not recorded in history and they were referred to as "Liu Taigong" (劉太公; Old Sir Liu) and "Liu Ao" (劉媼; Old Madam Liu). It is said that before Liu Bang's birth, his mother was caught in a rainstorm and took shelter under a bridge. Just then, there was lightning and thunder and the sky darkened. Liu Bang's father went to fetch his wife home and saw a dragon above her. Liu Bang's mother became pregnant and gave birth to Liu Bang.
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Luan Da
Luan Da (died 112 BC;Chinese: 栾大; Pinyin: Luán Dà; Wade-Giles: Luan Ta) was a religious figure during the early Han Dynasty from the state of Yue. He professed to know the secret to immortality and be able to communicate with spiritual beings. Possessing the gift of gab and adept at confidence tricks, Luan Da gained the favour of Emperor Wu of Han, also known as Han Wudi. In the space of a few months, he rose from a commoner to great influence, holding titles and land, and marrying one of the emperor's daughters. However, he could not fulfill his promise to Emperor Wu, failing to produce a means to immortality. He gradually lost the emperor's favour and went on a purported visit to immortals; however, he was eventually captured and executed. At the apex of his career, many of his fellow mystics held him up as their role model and sought to emulate him. His death was a sign of the trade's fall from favour; laws were passed to restrict the practice of mediumship, even penalising those who married its practitioners.
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Marinid dynasty
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty (Arabic: مرينيون Marīniyūn or بنو مرين Banū Marīn) was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the 13th and 14th centuries. The last Marinid fortress in the Iberian Peninsula fell to Castile in 1344.[citation needed] They were replaced in turn by the Wattasids in 1465.
They were the founders of Fes Jdid and built the most important monuments in Fes.
The Marinids were a nomadic Zenata Berber tribe from the area between Tlemcen and Tahert. They advanced through the Moulouya basin east of Morocco. As early as 1145, the Marinids engaged in several battles with the Almohads, the ruling dynasty at the time, who regularly defeated them until 1169. In that year, the Marinids began a dedicated pursuit to take Morocco from the Almohads. Following their expulsion from the south, the Marinids moved northwards under the command of Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq and took Fes in 1244, making it their capital. This date marks the beginning of the Marinid dynasty.
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Medes
The Medes (/midz/) (from Old Persian Māda-) were an ancient Iranian people who lived in Iran in an area known as Media and spoke a northwestern Iranian language referred to as the Median language. Their arrival to the region is associated with the first wave of Iranian tribes in the late second millennium BCE (the Bronze Age collapse) through the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
In the 7th century BCE a unified Median state was formed which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East. An alliance with the Babylonians helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BCE which resulted in the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal centre) beyond their original homeland (central-western Iran) and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Halys River in Anatolia. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great who established the next Iranian dynasty—the Achaemenid Empire.
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Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire or Turkish Empire or Sublime Ottoman State or sometimes also referred to as Turkey (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِيّهٔ عُثمَانِیّه Devlet-i ʿAliyye-yi ʿOsmâniyye (also عثمانلى دولتى Osmanlı Devleti),Modern Turkish: Osmanlı Devleti or Osmanlı İmparatorluğu) was a Turkish empire which lasted from 27 July 1299 to 1 November 1922, when the Sultanate was abolished.
The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and longest lasting empires in history; such that the Ottoman State, its politics, conflicts, and cultural heritage in a vast geography provide one of the longest continuous narratives. During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the empire was one of the most powerful states in the world – a multinational, multilingual empire that stretched from the southern borders of the Holy Roman Empire to the outskirts of Vienna, Royal Hungary (modern Slovakia) and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the north to Yemen and Eritrea in the south; from Algeria in the west to Azerbaijan in the east; controlling much of southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states, some of which were later absorbed into the empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.
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Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American author, educator, and influential scholar of Central Asia, especially Mongolia. In the 1930s, he was editor of Pacific Affairs, a journal published by the Institute of Pacific Relations, and then taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963. During World War II, he was an advisor to Chiang Kai-shek and the American government and contributed extensively to the public debate.
In the early post-war period of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, American wartime China Hands were accused of being agents of the Soviet Union or under the influence of Marxism. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused Lattimore in particular of being "the top Russian espionage agent in the United States."
The accusations led to years of Congressional hearings that did not substantiate the charge that Lattimore had been one (and wartime intercepted Venona cables did not refer to him as one). The hearings documented Lattimore's sympathetic statements about Stalin and the Soviet Union, however. Although charges of perjury were dismissed, the controversy put an end to Lattimore's role as a consultant of the United States State Department and eventually to his career in American academic life.
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Qin Er Shi
Qin Er Shi (Chinese: 秦二世; pinyin: Qín Èr Shì; IPA: [tɕʰǐn ɑ̂ɻ ʂɨ̂]; 229 BC – beginning October 207 BC), literally Second Emperor of Qin Dynasty, personal name Huhai, was emperor of the Qin Dynasty in China from 210 to 207 BC.
Huhai's father the First Emperor was born in the State of Zhao when his father was a hostage. Hence Huhai also adopted Zhao as his clan name. The name Huhai (胡亥) does not appear in the Records of Grand Historian with either the Zhào (趙) or Qín (秦) name. Though 秦二世 appears many times in Chapter 6 and 7. The royal house of Qin did not carry the practice of the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, so the First Emperor does not have a temple name.
The First Emperor Qin Shi Huang died during one of his tours of Eastern China, on September 10, 210 BC (Julian Calendar) at the palace in Shaqiu prefecture (沙丘平台), about two months away by road from the capital Xianyang. Eventually, after about two months, Li Si and the imperial court were back in Xianyang, where the news of the death of the emperor was announced. After his death, the eldest son Fusu was supposed to be the next emperor.
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Qin Shihuang
Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (259 BC – 210 BC), personal name Ying Zheng (嬴政), was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC. He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the age of 49.
Calling himself the First Emperor (Chinese: 始皇帝) after China's unification, Qin Shi Huang is a pivotal figure in Chinese history, ushering nearly two millennia of imperial rule. After unifying China, he and his chief advisor Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He undertook gigantic projects, including building and unifying various sections of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books and buried some scholars alive.
From the beginning of the Zhou dynasty in 1045 BC to the time of the First Emperor, rulers of the Chinese states were titled Wang (Chinese: 王), a term that originally meant "big man" but later came to mean "chief" or "king". Following his defeat of the last of the Warring States in 221 BC, King Zheng of Qin became de facto ruler of all China. To celebrate this achievement and consolidate his power base, King Zheng created a new title calling himself the First Sovereign Emperor of Qin (Chinese: 秦始皇帝; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huángdì; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih Huang-ti), often shortened to Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huáng; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih-Huang).
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Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدية al-khilāfat ar-Rāshidīyah), (c. 632-661) comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (Year 10 A.H. in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia in the east. At its greatest extent it was one of the largest empires in history. It is also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate.
After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar (a Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and the Quraish soon following suit. Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalifa Rasul Allah (Successor of the Messenger of God), and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First, though, he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had gone back on their oaths of allegiance to Islam and the Islamic community. As a Khalifa or Caliph he was not a monarch and never claimed such a title nor did his three successors do so.
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Shaanxi
Shaanxi (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 陕西; traditional Chinese: 陝西; pinyin: Shǎnxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province. Shaanxi is the historical home, along with Gansu of the dialect of the Dungans, of the Hui people, who emigrated out of China to Central Asia.
By regular Hanyu Pinyin rules, if tone marks are not written, both Shaanxi and the neighbouring province of Shanxi, to the east of Shaanxi, should be spelled "Shanxi"; the difference is in tone: Shānxī (山西) and Shǎnxī (陕西). To make the difference clear without tonal marks, the spelling "Shaanxi" was contrived (following the romanization system of Yuen Ren Chao) for the province of Shǎnxī, while "Shanxi" is used for the province of Shānxī. Shaanxi is the official spelling on Chinese Government's official web portal. This makes "Shaanxi" the only name of Chinese provinces that has not been romanized according to pinyin rules.
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Shang Yang
Shang Yang (Chinese: 商鞅; pinyin: Shāng Yāng; Wade–Giles: Shang Yang, 390–338 BC) was an important statesman of the State of Qin during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. Born Wei Yang (simplified Chinese: 卫鞅; traditional Chinese: 衛鞅) in the State of Wey, with the support of Duke Xiao of Qin Yang enacted numerous reforms in Qin. These were in accordance with his legalist philosophy as recorded in The Book of Lord Shang and assisted Qin in its change from a peripheral state to that of a militarily powerful and strongly centralized kingdom. He changed the administration of the state through an emphasis on meritocracy and devolvement of power from the nobility.
The vast majority of Yang's reforms were taken from policies instituted elsewhere, such as from Wu Qi of the State of Chu;[citation needed] however, Yang's reforms were more thorough and extreme than those of other states. Under Yang's tenure, Qin quickly caught up with and surpassed the reforms of other states.
After Duke Xiao of Qin, ascended the Qin throne, Yang left his lowly position in the State of Wey (to whose ruling family he had been born, but had yet to obtain a high position in) to become the chief adviser in Qin at Duke Xiao's behest. There his changes to the state's legal system (which were said to have built upon Li Kui's Canon of Laws) propelled the Qin to prosperity. His policies built the foundation that enabled Qin to conquer all of China, uniting the country for the first time and ushering in the Qin dynasty.
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Shi Huangdi
Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (259 BC – 210 BC), personal name Ying Zheng (嬴政), was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC. He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the age of 49.
Calling himself the First Emperor (Chinese: 始皇帝) after China's unification, Qin Shi Huang is a pivotal figure in Chinese history, ushering nearly two millennia of imperial rule. After unifying China, he and his chief advisor Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He undertook gigantic projects, including building and unifying various sections of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books and buried some scholars alive.
From the beginning of the Zhou dynasty in 1045 BC to the time of the First Emperor, rulers of the Chinese states were titled Wang (Chinese: 王), a term that originally meant "big man" but later came to mean "chief" or "king". Following his defeat of the last of the Warring States in 221 BC, King Zheng of Qin became de facto ruler of all China. To celebrate this achievement and consolidate his power base, King Zheng created a new title calling himself the First Sovereign Emperor of Qin (Chinese: 秦始皇帝; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huángdì; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih Huang-ti), often shortened to Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huáng; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih-Huang).
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Sichuan
Coordinates: 30°N 103°E / 30°N 103°E / 30; 103
Sichuan (help·info) (Chinese: 四川, known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, "四川", is an abbreviation of "四川路" (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from "川峡四路" (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
The province and its vicinity were the cradle of unique local civilizations, which can be dated back to at least the fifteenth century BC (coinciding with the later years of the Shang Dynasty). Beginning from the ninth century BC, Shu (today Chengdu) and Ba (today Chongqing City) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established.
Shu's existence was unknown until an archaeological discovery in 1986 at a small village named Sanxingdui (三星堆) in Guanghan County. It is believed to be an ancient city of the Shu Kingdom, where excavations have yielded invaluable archaeological information.
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Sima Qian
Sima Qian (ca. 145 or 135 BC – 86 BC) (pinyin: Sīmǎ Qiān; Wade–Giles: Ssu-ma Ch'ien) was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes (太史公 taishigong) of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian, a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wu of Han. His definitive work laid the foundation for later Chinese historiography.
Sima Qian was born and grew up in Longmen, near present-day Hancheng to a family of astrologers. His father, Sima Tan, served as the Prefect of the Grand Scribes of Emperor Wu of Han (Emperor "Han Wudi"). His main responsibilities were managing the imperial library and maintaining or reforming the calendar. Due to intensive training by his father, by the age of ten, Sima Qian was already well versed in old writings. He was a student of the famous Confucians Kong Anguo (孔安國) and Dong Zhongshu. At the age of twenty, with the support of his father, Sima Qian started a journey throughout the country, collecting useful first-hand historical records for his main work, Shiji. The purpose of his journey was to verify the ancient rumors and legends and to visit ancient monuments, including the renowned graves of the ancient sage kings Yu and Shun. Places he visited include Shandong, Yunnan, Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hunan.
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Somali people
Somalis (Somali: Soomaaliyeed, Arabic: الصوماليون) are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Ethnic Somalis number around 15-17 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (more than 10 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Yemen (a little under 1 million), Kenya (900,000), Djibouti (464,600), and an unknown but large number live in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe.
Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name "Somali" is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, which together mean "go and milk" — a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people. Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for "wealthy" (dhawamaal), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.
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Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
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Wu Hu
Wu Hu (Chinese: 五胡; pinyin: Wǔ Hú; literally "Five Barbaric Tribes") was a Chinese term for the northern non-Chinese nomadic tribes which caused the Wu Hu uprising, and established the Sixteen Kingdoms from 304 to 439 AD.
The Chinese word "Hu" (胡) in "Wu Hu" means "unintelligible" or "difficult to understand," which probably refers to the native languages spoken by these ethnic groups. It is similar to the origin of the word "barbarian" in many European languages. A diplomatic message sent by Hulugu to Emperor Wu of Han which was recorded in the Han Shu defined Hu as the proud son of heaven (天之驕子).
The Xiongnu were the most powerful non-Chinese ethnic group bordering the Chinese Han Dynasty, therefore the Han simply referred to them as the Hu (the non-Chinese or barbarians). Both "Hu" and "Xiongnu" were used concurrently. Nevertheless, Hu later became a collective term for non-Chinese ethnic groups, often preceded by Chinese numerals and characters such as Wu (five) or Zhu (numerous). The term Wu Hu meaning the "Five Hu" was first used in the Shiliuguo Chunqiu (501-522), which recorded the history of the five tribes ravaging Northern China from the early fourth century to the mid fifth century. They are mostly defined as: Xiongnu (匈奴), Xianbei (鮮卑), Di (氐), Qiang (羌), and Jie (羯); although different groups of historians and historiographers have their own definitions.
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Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu (232 BC – 202 BC) was a prominent military leader and political figure during the late Qin Dynasty.
Xiang Yu was a native of Xiaxiang (下相; present-day Suqian, Jiangsu). He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公) by King Huai II of Chu in 208 BC. The following year, Xiang Yu led the Chu rebel forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han. After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu proclaimed himself "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (Chinese: 西楚霸王; pinyin: Xī Chǔ Bà Wáng) and ruled a vast area of land covering parts of present-day Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangsu, with Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou) as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang, founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, in a long struggle for power, known as the Chu–Han Contention, that concluded with his eventual defeat and suicide at the bank of the Wu River.
There are two accounts of Xiang Yu's family background. The first claimed that Xiang Yu was from the house of Mi (羋), the royal family of the Chu state. His ancestors were granted the land of Xiang (項) by the king of Chu and had since adopted "Xiang" as their family name. The other account claimed that Xiang Yu was a descendant of a noble clan from the Lu state and his family had served the Chu rulers as military commanders for generations. Xiang Yu's grandfather, Xiang Yan, was a well known general who led the Chu army in resisting the Qin invaders led by Wang Jian, and was killed in action when Qin conquered Chu in 223 BC.
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Xinjiang
Xinjiang (XUAR) (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ, ULY: Shinjang; Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕíntɕjɑ́ŋ]; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade–Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang) is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2. Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.
It is home to a number of different ethnic groups including the Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, and Mongol. More than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities are located in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, and East Turkestan. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range. Only about 4.3% of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation.
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Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (Chinese: 匈奴; pinyin: Xiōngnú; Wade–Giles: Hsiung-nu; Middle Chinese Guangyun: [xi̯woŋ˥˩nu˩]) were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources. What little is known of their titles and names comes from Chinese transliterations of their language.
The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses, because only a few words, mainly titles and personal names, were preserved in the Chinese sources. Proposals by scholars include Turkic, Mongolic, Iranian,Yeniseian,Tocharian, and Uralic. The name Xiongnu may be cognate to the name Huns, but the evidence for this is controversial.
Chinese sources from the 3rd century BC report them as having created an empire under Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC. This empire stretched beyond the borders of modern-day Mongolia. After defeating the previously dominant Yuezhi in the 2nd century BC, Xiongnu became a dominant power on the steppes of eastern Asia. They were active in southern Siberia, Mongolia, western Manchuria, and the Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Relations between early Chinese dynasties and the Xiongnu were complex, with repeated periods of military conflict and intrigue alternating with exchanges of tribute, trade, and marriage treaties.
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Zhao Gao
Zhao Gao (Chinese: 趙高; died 207 BC) was the chief eunuch during the Qin Dynasty of China. Considered as one of the most corrupt, villainous, violent and powerful eunuchs in Chinese history, Gao played an instrumental role in the downfall of the Qin Dynasty.
Zhao Gao was distantly related to the ruling house of the state of Zhao. According to the Shiji, Zhao Gao's parents committed crimes and were punished. Both Zhao Gao and his brother were made eunuchs.[dubious – discuss] However Qin Shi Huang valued Zhao Gao since he was an expert in law and punishment.[clarification needed] This was very useful to Qin Shi Huang since he himself was always looking for ways to control the people by laws and punishments. Zhao Gao enjoyed a steady rise in position.[clarification needed]
When Zhao was a minor official, he committed a crime punishable by death. Meng Yi was the official in charge of sentencing and he sentenced Zhao to death and removed him from the officials list as instructed by Qin Shi Huang.[citation needed] Zhao was later pardoned by Qin Shi Huang and returned to his official status.
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【Travelogue HQ】 History Special / Qin Dynasty 1/2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:23
- Updated: 23 Nov 2012
Channel: CCTV-News International Program: Travelogue Date: 2009-02-05 Description: History Special / Qin Dynasty 1/2 Video Series ID: aJkYd92Xa98H9CeBuUbLLQ== Multipart Video ID: fYfn2vPBgR5PadGEU69AbQ==
http://wn.com/【Travelogue_HQ】_History_Special_Qin_Dynasty_1_2
Channel: CCTV-News International Program: Travelogue Date: 2009-02-05 Description: History Special / Qin Dynasty 1/2 Video Series ID: aJkYd92Xa98H9CeBuUbLLQ== Multipart Video ID: fYfn2vPBgR5PadGEU69AbQ==
Discovering China - The Qin Dynasty—China's First Dynasty
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:51
- Updated: 08 Dec 2012
The Qin Dynasty from 221 to 206 BC is considered China's first dynasty. Although China did have three ancient dynasties: the Xia, Shang and Zhou, Qin's ruler was the first to declare him self an emperor. He united China after centuries of division and ruled over an estimated population of twenty million people. Now despite its glory, the Qin was a brutal and short-lived dynasty. Emperor Qin's objective was to rule "all under heaven," and he did this through military campaigns and a state philosophy of legalism, or the idea that misbehavior is met with harsh punishment in order to keep the populace in line. The original state of Qin was located in the western area of what was China at the time. It was a royal domain allocated for raising horses. It then became one of seven warring states after the ancient Zhou dynasty spilt up. The young king of Qin started his assault of other states in the year 230 BC and by 221 BC had defeated all six, unifying China. He then sought to solidify this unification through a unification of culture. Qin unified the currency, weights and measures, Chinese characters and even the width of roads across the whole empire. But emperor Qin was not popular among the people, his compulsory public works projects and high taxation put a heavy burden on the populace. The Qin emperor ordered the burning of all books on alternative philosophies than the one used by the Qin government, he then buried alive 460 people who violated this rule. His heavily ...
http://wn.com/Discovering_China_The_Qin_Dynasty—China's_First_Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty from 221 to 206 BC is considered China's first dynasty. Although China did have three ancient dynasties: the Xia, Shang and Zhou, Qin's ruler was the first to declare him self an emperor. He united China after centuries of division and ruled over an estimated population of twenty million people. Now despite its glory, the Qin was a brutal and short-lived dynasty. Emperor Qin's objective was to rule "all under heaven," and he did this through military campaigns and a state philosophy of legalism, or the idea that misbehavior is met with harsh punishment in order to keep the populace in line. The original state of Qin was located in the western area of what was China at the time. It was a royal domain allocated for raising horses. It then became one of seven warring states after the ancient Zhou dynasty spilt up. The young king of Qin started his assault of other states in the year 230 BC and by 221 BC had defeated all six, unifying China. He then sought to solidify this unification through a unification of culture. Qin unified the currency, weights and measures, Chinese characters and even the width of roads across the whole empire. But emperor Qin was not popular among the people, his compulsory public works projects and high taxation put a heavy burden on the populace. The Qin emperor ordered the burning of all books on alternative philosophies than the one used by the Qin government, he then buried alive 460 people who violated this rule. His heavily ...
- published: 14 Aug 2012
- views: 4421
- author: NTDTV
China - Land of the Qin (Re: Manchu history - 4. Qing dynasty is NOT China)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:32
- Updated: 11 Nov 2012
This video is in response to "Manchu history - 4. Qing dynasty is NOT China" and apparently, the user "realtruehistory" does not want this video to be pasted in his video as a response for some ulterior reasons. The problem lies in the word China. China is just a word meaning 'land of the Qin'. It's a reference by the West to the Qin Dynasty over 22 centuries ago. Now we call our nation 中国(zhongguo), abbrevation for 中华民国（zhonghua minguo meaning ROC), or 中华人民共和国（zhonghua renmin gongheguo meaning PRC). Before the creation of ROC in 1912, we call our nation by the name of the kingdoms or dynasties. So if China now means 中国（zhongguo）, then of course Qing is not part of China as the word zhongguo is not created before the end of the Qing Dynasty. However, if China means the history, civilisation of our people, then of course Qing Dynasty is part of China. This video depicts the empire that gave birth to the word China.
http://wn.com/China_Land_of_the_Qin_Re_Manchu_history_4_Qing_dynasty_is_NOT_China
This video is in response to "Manchu history - 4. Qing dynasty is NOT China" and apparently, the user "realtruehistory" does not want this video to be pasted in his video as a response for some ulterior reasons. The problem lies in the word China. China is just a word meaning 'land of the Qin'. It's a reference by the West to the Qin Dynasty over 22 centuries ago. Now we call our nation 中国(zhongguo), abbrevation for 中华民国（zhonghua minguo meaning ROC), or 中华人民共和国（zhonghua renmin gongheguo meaning PRC). Before the creation of ROC in 1912, we call our nation by the name of the kingdoms or dynasties. So if China now means 中国（zhongguo）, then of course Qing is not part of China as the word zhongguo is not created before the end of the Qing Dynasty. However, if China means the history, civilisation of our people, then of course Qing Dynasty is part of China. This video depicts the empire that gave birth to the word China.
- published: 11 May 2010
- views: 21113
- author: theboyuan0jcfan
The Evolution of Chinese Armor 1: Shang to Qin Dynasty
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:40
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Playlist: www.youtube.com Horse armors covering from neck to body were also excavated in the First Emperor's tomb, along with the last armor seen in this video; therefore, heavy armored cavalry covered with iron plates existed during the Qin period. Musics: For The World Yearning for Peace Love In Distance Spirit Fight (all Hero soundtracks by Tan Dun) References: 画说中国历代甲胄(Illustrate Ancient Chinese Armor) by David Chen 陈大威e9studio.com tieba.baidu.com www.madefuns.com www.chinahistoryforum.com www.360doc.com hfsword.com wiudwing.blogspot.com www.chinahistoryforum.com www.360doc.com steppes.proboards.com
http://wn.com/The_Evolution_of_Chinese_Armor_1_Shang_to_Qin_Dynasty
Playlist: www.youtube.com Horse armors covering from neck to body were also excavated in the First Emperor's tomb, along with the last armor seen in this video; therefore, heavy armored cavalry covered with iron plates existed during the Qin period. Musics: For The World Yearning for Peace Love In Distance Spirit Fight (all Hero soundtracks by Tan Dun) References: 画说中国历代甲胄(Illustrate Ancient Chinese Armor) by David Chen 陈大威e9studio.com tieba.baidu.com www.madefuns.com www.chinahistoryforum.com www.360doc.com hfsword.com wiudwing.blogspot.com www.chinahistoryforum.com www.360doc.com steppes.proboards.com
- published: 08 Nov 2010
- views: 13109
- author: firearthwater
【Travelogue HQ】 History Special / Qin Dynasty 2/2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:27
- Updated: 13 Dec 2012
Channel: CCTV-News International Program: Travelogue Date: 2009-02-05 Description: History Special / Qin Dynasty 2/2 Video Series ID: aJkYd92Xa98H9CeBuUbLLQ== Multipart Video ID: fYfn2vPBgR5PadGEU69AbQ==
http://wn.com/【Travelogue_HQ】_History_Special_Qin_Dynasty_2_2
Channel: CCTV-News International Program: Travelogue Date: 2009-02-05 Description: History Special / Qin Dynasty 2/2 Video Series ID: aJkYd92Xa98H9CeBuUbLLQ== Multipart Video ID: fYfn2vPBgR5PadGEU69AbQ==
- published: 15 Aug 2011
- views: 1102
- author: cctv9travelogue
Chinese Empire-- the Great Wall, The Qin, Han, Ming Dynasties and PRC
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:58
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
Engineering the Chinese Empire-- the Great Wall, The Qin Army, Han, Ming Naval Power and PRC--Clips from the History Channel.
http://wn.com/Chinese_Empire-_the_Great_Wall,_The_Qin,_Han,_Ming_Dynasties_and_PRC
Engineering the Chinese Empire-- the Great Wall, The Qin Army, Han, Ming Naval Power and PRC--Clips from the History Channel.
- published: 09 Nov 2008
- views: 38448
- author: americaninjustice
Qin Shi Huangdi
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:01
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
Our Ancient China History Project based on Lady GaGa's Poker Face
http://wn.com/Qin_Shi_Huangdi
Our Ancient China History Project based on Lady GaGa's Poker Face
- published: 24 Feb 2010
- views: 57531
- author: mattandmikaela
Xi'an Qin Dynasty Music - Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:45
- Updated: 27 Mar 2012
SAMS 6th Grade China Alive! 2007
http://wn.com/Xi'an_Qin_Dynasty_Music_Part_1
Legend Of Qin Dynasty Slot Machine Emperor Feature Bonus Round.MOV
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:20
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Legend Of Qin Dynasty Slot Machine Emperor Feature Bonus Round.
http://wn.com/Legend_Of_Qin_Dynasty_Slot_Machine_Emperor_Feature_Bonus_RoundMOV
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- published: 11 Feb 2011
- views: 3231
- author: MrTaylormade81
The Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:40
- Updated: 05 Dec 2012
This edition of Mr. Zoller's social studies podcasts examines the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty from Chinese history.
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This edition of Mr. Zoller's social studies podcasts examines the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty from Chinese history.
- published: 12 Oct 2011
- views: 5314
- author: MrZoller
Group project Qin Dynasty
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:32
- Updated: 04 Apr 2012
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Group project for Asian African about the Qin Dynasty.
- published: 03 Dec 2008
- views: 2317
- author: loveisgood323
The Qin Dynasty - The Age of Unification
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:51
- Updated: 09 Nov 2012
The Qin Dynasty from 221 to 206 BC is considered China's first dynasty. Although China did have three ancient dynasties: the Xia, Shang and Zhou, Qin's ruler was the first to declare him self an emperor. He united China after centuries of division and ruled over an estimated population of twenty million people. Now despite its glory, the Qin was a brutal and short-lived dynasty. Emperor Qin's objective was to rule "all under heaven," and he did this through military campaigns and a state philosophy of legalism, or the idea that misbehavior is met with harsh punishment in order to keep the populace in line. The original state of Qin was located in the western area of what was China at the time. It was a royal domain allocated for raising horses. It then became one of seven warring states after the ancient Zhou dynasty spilt up. The young king of Qin started his assault of other states in the year 230 BC and by 221 BC had defeated all six, unifying China. He then sought to solidify this unification through a unification of culture. Qin unified the currency, weights and measures, Chinese characters and even the width of roads across the whole empire. But emperor Qin was not popular among the people, his compulsory public works projects and high taxation put a heavy burden on the populace. The Qin emperor ordered the burning of all books on alternative philosophies than the one used by the Qin government, he then buried alive 460 people who violated this rule. His heavily ...
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The Qin Dynasty from 221 to 206 BC is considered China's first dynasty. Although China did have three ancient dynasties: the Xia, Shang and Zhou, Qin's ruler was the first to declare him self an emperor. He united China after centuries of division and ruled over an estimated population of twenty million people. Now despite its glory, the Qin was a brutal and short-lived dynasty. Emperor Qin's objective was to rule "all under heaven," and he did this through military campaigns and a state philosophy of legalism, or the idea that misbehavior is met with harsh punishment in order to keep the populace in line. The original state of Qin was located in the western area of what was China at the time. It was a royal domain allocated for raising horses. It then became one of seven warring states after the ancient Zhou dynasty spilt up. The young king of Qin started his assault of other states in the year 230 BC and by 221 BC had defeated all six, unifying China. He then sought to solidify this unification through a unification of culture. Qin unified the currency, weights and measures, Chinese characters and even the width of roads across the whole empire. But emperor Qin was not popular among the people, his compulsory public works projects and high taxation put a heavy burden on the populace. The Qin emperor ordered the burning of all books on alternative philosophies than the one used by the Qin government, he then buried alive 460 people who violated this rule. His heavily ...
- published: 17 Sep 2012
- views: 371
- author: ntddiscoveringchina
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- published: 12 Jan 2012
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- published: 20 Aug 2012
- views: 1556
- author: TroubleshootingHelp
The Bright Moon of Chin Dynasty
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- Duration: 3:12
- Updated: 02 May 2012
An epic story spanning over 3 decades, with significant historical events ranging from Qin Shi Huang extinguished six countries and united into one nation, and established as the first emperor of China, to the destruction of Xian Yang, when Xian Yu burned the grandiose palace into flame that extended more than 300 kilometers as backdrops, our nemesis Jin Tien Min eventually conquered all the challenges, and turned the tide of history. Jin Tien Min's adventure relived the moments where a series of major reforms took place, most notably the precursor version of the current Great Wall of China, the standardization of the measurement of weight and length, written script, legal system and currency; the battles with Xiongnu tribe and other urban legends. During this time, xi yen, a sword-fight warrior, and all the greatest thinkers were all gathered in this fateful intersection, and crashing into one another with splendid drama.
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An epic story spanning over 3 decades, with significant historical events ranging from Qin Shi Huang extinguished six countries and united into one nation, and established as the first emperor of China, to the destruction of Xian Yang, when Xian Yu burned the grandiose palace into flame that extended more than 300 kilometers as backdrops, our nemesis Jin Tien Min eventually conquered all the challenges, and turned the tide of history. Jin Tien Min's adventure relived the moments where a series of major reforms took place, most notably the precursor version of the current Great Wall of China, the standardization of the measurement of weight and length, written script, legal system and currency; the battles with Xiongnu tribe and other urban legends. During this time, xi yen, a sword-fight warrior, and all the greatest thinkers were all gathered in this fateful intersection, and crashing into one another with splendid drama.
- published: 12 Aug 2007
- views: 4096
- author: Guojie Luo
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- published: 23 Dec 2011
- views: 3711
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The Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty
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- Duration: 6:14
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- published: 04 Sep 2010
- views: 1276
- author: juliaw4
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- published: 09 Sep 2012
- views: 341
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- published: 10 Apr 2011
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- published: 24 Sep 2012
- views: 299
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- published: 03 Oct 2010
- views: 5871
- author: 777wully777
photo: AP / Nick Ut
14 Dec 2012
Former President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, meet 55-year-old Martha Sellers. For the past nine years, Sellers has worked as a Walmart cashier in Paramount, California ... More than 10,000 community members joined more than 30 striking employees who walked off the job to demand better working conditions. . "It was wonderful ... That's not too much to ask for." ... 1698 ... ....(size: 23.6Kb)
photo: AP / Jessica Hill
14 Dec 2012
More than two dozen people, mostly elementary school children, were shot and killed at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school this morning, federal and state sources tell ABC News. The massacre involved two gunmen at a Connecticut school this morning, prompting the town of Newtown to lock down all of its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today. State Police confirm that one shooter is dead ... at ABCNews.com ... ....(size: 4.5Kb)
photo: AP / Newtown Bee, Shannon Hicks
15 Dec 2012
Newtown, Conn. Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, ultimately killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in US history ... Authorities found 18 children and seven adults, including the gunman, dead at the school, and two children were pronounced dead later after being taken to a hospital ... Reuters ....(size: 7.5Kb)
photo: AP / Manu Brabo
14 Dec 2012
One of Syria's key allies has admitted for the first time the Assad regime is losing the 20-month ground war. Russia’s deputy foreign minister’s comments are significant because Russia has blocked action to stem the violence, supplied weapons to the Assad regime, and vetoed three UN resolutions -- even as other countries called for Assad to step down. The comments are expected to put new pressure on the Syrian leader ... Reporter ... ... ....(size: 6.6Kb)
photo: AP / Manu Brabo
13 Dec 2012
MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) – Syrian rebels behind the kidnapping of Ukrainian journalist Ankhar Kochneva have released a video threatening more attacks on Russians and Ukrainians, as a deadline for her execution approaches on Thursday. Kochneva, a 40-year-old Ukrainian citizen, was abducted in October by Syrian rebels as she traveled to the city of Homs, and has been held there by them since, they claim ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)
MSNBC
06 Dec 2012
Qin Shihuang was born in 259 B.C. as heir to the throne of Qin, one of the six kingdoms found in what is now China ... Qin Shihuang also began constructing segments that would later be connected by future dynasties into the Great Wall ... The Qin dynasty was overthrown in 206 B.C., shortly after Qin Shihuang's death. The next dynasty, the Han, built on much of what the Qin dynasty had accomplished and lasted until A.D....(size: 3.4Kb)
Huffington Post
06 Dec 2012
A rare find in England has riveted the British archeological community. Artifacts, including a bronze helmet dated to the 1st Century B.C.E., were found by a man with a metal detector on farmland near Canterbury in southeastern England, the BBC reports ... "But the finder seemed very confident and I knew he was an experienced detectorist.". The man who made the find has chosen to remain anonymous ... Also on HuffPost ... Qin Dynasty Palace Ruins ... ....(size: 24.0Kb)
The Inquisitr
04 Dec 2012
Archaeologists in China have unearthed the ruins of an ancient palace right near the resting place of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, in the city of Xi’an ... Regardless, Chinese archaeologists are thrilled by the discovery, which they say could shed light on the architectural techniques of the Qin dynasty ... ancient ruins found, china, palace ruins found, qin dynasty, qin shi huang palace, qin shi huang tomb....(size: 7.8Kb)
Huffington Post
04 Dec 2012
Chinese archeologists have discovered the ancient ruins of a massive palace complex at the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the central city of Xi’an ... Sun Weigang, a researcher with the Shaanxi provincial institute of archaeology, says the palace, which he describes as a clear predecessor to the Forbidden City, could shed light on the imperial architectural techniques of the Qin dynasty, according to Russia Today....(size: 24.3Kb)
The Hollywood Reporter
04 Dec 2012
share ... Back to 1942 (Yi Jiu Si Er). Film Review. The Last Supper (Wang De Sheng Yan) ... Speaking at a forum at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June, Lu and his producers hinted at state intervention as the reason for the subsequent postponement of the local release of the film, which revolves around the power struggle between two warlords seeking to become the ruler of an unified China after the end of the Qin Dynasty ... share. ....(size: 6.7Kb)
Taipei Times
01 Dec 2012
Qin Shihuang (秦å§ç), a ruler during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 207 BC), presided over Chinaâs unification and declared himself its first emperor ... The Forbidden City at the heart of the capital served as an imperial palace for the Ming and Qing dynasties from the 14th century through the early 20th century....(size: 1.8Kb)
The New York Times
28 Nov 2012
By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW ... It can also be puzzling ... The authorities apparently did not want Chinese film-goers watching a tale of the bloody overthrow of the despotic Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty — an event that happened about 2,200 years ago — before the power transfer here in Beijing in mid-November, when Xi Jinping became the new head of the ruling Communist Party, succeeding Hu Jintao ... Mr ... presenters....(size: 3.4Kb)
Chicago Tribune
25 Nov 2012
1/ Di Xin, whose reign ended the Shang Dynasty around 1050 B.C., was remembered as a decadent leader who once threw a party featuring a pond filled with wine, allowing 3,000 guests to slurp up the booze like cattle ... He buried 400 Confucian scholars alive, and ordered all books written before his Qin Dynasty to be burned ... But the Qing Dynasty (1644-1917), created a countermeasure....(size: 5.8Kb)
noodls
07 Nov 2012
PR085/12. 7 November 2012 MTR Introduces Priority Red Lift Queues for the Elderly and Passengers in Need ... The first two priority queuing lines for lifts are now in place at MTR Nam Cheong and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations ... Afterwards, they enjoyed a train ride on the West Rail Line and went to see Hong Kong's largest-ever exhibition of the world-famous Qin Dynasty terracotta warriors at the Hong Kong Museum of History. - End - ... 1 ... 2 ... (noodl....(size: 4.0Kb)
noodls
05 Nov 2012
Author.MEPO Humanity Technology Inc. Article Source.mepopedia.com. Publish Date.2012.10.27 ... These include photos of the Terracotta Warriors from the Qin Dynasty; a 17th century Dutch representation of Guan Gong (關公); puppet stars from the Pili International Multimedia Company's television series (霹靂布袋戲); cute plastic toys of deities sold in convenience stores; as well as designer toys from Hong Kong and Taiwan ... Teri J ... Dr ... Media Contacts.....(size: 5.5Kb)
Irish Times
03 Nov 2012
... chariots and horses, which archaeologists believe were built to guard Emperor Qin Shihuang in the afterlife ... It is an eerie testament to the hubris of Qin Shihuang, who was himself something of an innovator in that he was China���s self-styled first emperor, who founded the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and began more than 2,000 years of imperial rule....(size: 3.5Kb)
BBC News
26 Oct 2012
Trace ancestry back to Huaxia people who lived along northern China's Yellow River Name comes from Han Dynasty that ruled a ... Before the victory of the Qin dynasty in 221BC, China was divided into many different states ... From the mid-17th Century, large tracts of the western region were conquered by the Qing dynasty in a series of brutal wars....(size: 11.3Kb)
The Examiner
25 Oct 2012
Related topics. teagiftsNolitashoppingNYCgluten free ... The first recorded drinking of tea is in China, with the earliest records of tea consumption dating back to the 10th century BC.[2][33] It was already a common drink during the Qin Dynasty (third century BC) and became widely popular during the Tang Dynasty, when it was spread to Korea, Japan and possibly Vietnam although it was not recorded when the Vietnamese began to drink tea ... ....(size: 10.6Kb)
Not to be confused with the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of Imperial China.
| Qin | ||||
|
||||
 |
||||
| Capital | Xianyang | |||
| Language(s) | Old Chinese | |||
| Religion | Chinese folk religion, Legalism | |||
| Government | Monarchy | |||
| Emperor | ||||
| - 221 BC–210 BC | Qin Shihuang | |||
| - 210 BC–207 BC | Qin Er Shi | |||
| Chancellor | ||||
| - 221 BC–208 BC | Li Si | |||
| - 208 BC–207 BC | Zhao Gao | |||
| History | ||||
| - Unification of China | 221 BC | |||
| - Death of Qin Shihuang | 210 BC | |||
| - Surrender to Liu Bang | 206 BC | |||
| Population | ||||
| - 210 BC est. | 20,000,000 | |||
| Currency | Ban liang coins | |||
 |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANCIENT | |||||||
| 3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors | |||||||
| Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BC | |||||||
| Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BC | |||||||
| Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 BC | |||||||
| Western Zhou | |||||||
| Eastern Zhou | |||||||
| Spring and Autumn Period | |||||||
| Warring States Period | |||||||
| IMPERIAL | |||||||
| Qin Dynasty 221 BC–206 BC | |||||||
| Han Dynasty 206 BC–220 AD | |||||||
| Western Han | |||||||
| Xin Dynasty | |||||||
| Eastern Han | |||||||
| Three Kingdoms 220–280 | |||||||
| Wei, Shu and Wu | |||||||
| Jin Dynasty 265–420 | |||||||
| Western Jin | 16 Kingdoms 304–439 |
||||||
| Eastern Jin | |||||||
| Southern and Northern Dynasties 420–589 |
|||||||
| Sui Dynasty 581–618 | |||||||
| Tang Dynasty 618–907 | |||||||
| (Second Zhou 690–705) | |||||||
| 5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms 907–960 |
Liao Dynasty 907–1125 |
||||||
| Song Dynasty 960–1279 |
|||||||
| Northern Song | W. Xia | ||||||
| Southern Song | Jin | ||||||
| Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368 | |||||||
| Ming Dynasty 1368–1644 | |||||||
| Qing Dynasty 1644–1911 | |||||||
| MODERN | |||||||
| Republic of China 1912–1949 | |||||||
| People's Republic of China 1949–present |
Republic of China (Taiwan) 1949–present |
||||||
The Qin Dynasty (Chinese: 秦朝; pinyin: Qín Cháo; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Ch'ao; IPA: [tɕʰǐn tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BCE. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Gansu and Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring States Period. In the mid and late third century BC, the Qin accomplished a series of swift conquests, first ending the powerless Zhou Dynasty, and eventually destroying the remaining six states of the major states to gain control over the whole of China, resulting in a unified China.
During its reign over China, the Qin Dynasty achieved increased trade, improved agriculture, and military security. This was due to the abolition of landowning lords, to whom peasants had formerly held allegiance. The central government now had direct control of the masses, giving it access to a much larger workforce. This allowed for the construction of ambitious projects, such as a wall on the northern border, now known as the Great Wall of China. The Qin Dynasty also introduced several reforms: currency, weights and measures were standardized, and a better system of writing was established. An attempt to purge all traces of the old dynasties led to the infamous burning of books and burying of scholars incident, which has been criticized greatly by subsequent scholars. The Qin's military was also revolutionary in that it used the most recently developed weaponry, transportation, and tactics, though the government was heavy-handed and bureaucratic.
Despite its military strength, the Qin Dynasty did not last long. When the first emperor died in 210 BC, his son was placed on the throne by two of the previous emperor's advisers, in an attempt to influence and control the administration of the entire dynasty through him. The advisors squabbled among themselves, however, which resulted in both their deaths and that of the second Qin emperor. Popular revolt broke out a few years later, and the weakened empire soon fell to a Chu lieutenant, who went on to found the Han Dynasty.[note 1] Despite its rapid end, the Qin Dynasty influenced future Chinese empires, particularly the Han, and the European name for China is thought to be derived from it.
Contents |
History[link]
See also: Qin (state)
Origins and early development[link]
Feizi, a descendant of the ancient political advisor Gao Yao, was granted rule over Qin City.[note 2] During the rule of King Xiao of Zhou, the eighth king of the Zhou Dynasty, this area became known as the state of Qin. In 897 BC, under the regency of Gonghe, the area became a dependency allotted for the purpose of raising and breeding horses.[1] One of Feizi's descendants, Duke Zhuang, became favoured by King Ping of Zhou, the thirteenth king in that line. As a reward, Zhuang's son, Duke Xiang, was sent eastward as the leader of a war expedition, during which he formally established the Qin.[2]
Qin state first sent a military expedition into central China in 672 BC, though it did not engage in any serious incursions due to the threat from neighbouring tribesmen. By the dawn of the fourth century BC, however, the neighbouring tribes had all been either subdued or conquered, and the stage was set for the rise of Qin expansionism.[3]
Growth of power[link]
Lord Shang Yang, a Qin statesman, introduced a number of militarily advantageous reforms from 361 BC until his death in 338 BC, and also helped construct the Qin capital, Xianyang. This latter accomplishment commenced in the mid-fourth century BC; the resulting city greatly resembled the capitals of other Warring States.[4]
Of Shang Yang's reforms, the most notable one was advocating the philosophy of Legalism, which encouraged practical and ruthless warfare.[5] In contrast, during the Zhou Dynasty and the ensuing Warring States Period, the prevalent philosophy had dictated war as a gentleman's activity; military commanders were instructed to respect what they perceived to be Heaven's laws in battle.[6] For example, during the Warring States Period, Duke Xiang of Song[note 3] was at war with the state of Chu, and had an opportunity to attack the enemy force, commanded by Zhu, while they were crossing a river. Instead, however, he waited for them to finish crossing, and allowed them to marshal their forces. He was decisively defeated in the ensuing battle, and when, later, his advisors admonished him for such excessive courtesy to the enemy, he retorted, "The sage does not crush the feeble, nor give the order for attack until the enemy have formed their ranks."[6] The Qin disregarded this military tradition, taking advantage of their enemy's weaknesses. A nobleman in the state of Wei accused the Qin state of being "avaricious, perverse, eager for profit, and without sincerity. It knows nothing about etiquette, proper relationships, and virtuous conduct, and if there be an opportunity for material gain, it will disregard its relatives as if they were animals."[7] It was this Legalist thought combined with strong leadership from long-lived rulers, openness to employ talented men from other states, and little internal opposition that gave the Qin such a strong political base.[8]
Another advantage of the Qin was that they had a large, efficient army[note 4] and capable generals. They utilised the newest developments in weaponry and transportation as well, which many of their enemies lacked. These latter developments allowed greater mobility over several different terrain types[note 5] which were most common in many regions of China. Thus, in both ideology and practice, the Qin were militarily superior.[5]
Finally, the Qin empire had a geographical advantage due to its fertility and strategic situation, protected by mountains that made the state a natural stronghold.[note 6] Its expanded agricultural output helped sustain Qin's large army with food and natural resources;[8] the Wei River canal built in 246 BC was particularly significant in this respect.[9]
Conquest of other states[link]
Main article: Qin's wars of unification
During the Warring States Period preceding the Qin Dynasty, the major states vying for dominance were Yan, Zhao, Qi, Chu, Han, Wei and Qin. The rulers of these states styled themselves as kings, rather than using the titles of lower nobility they had previously held. However, none elevated himself to believe that he had the "Mandate of Heaven," as the Zhou emperors had claimed, nor that he had the right to offer sacrifices—they left this to the Zhou rulers.[10]
Before their conquest in the fourth and third centuries BC, the Qin suffered several setbacks. Shang Yang was executed in 338 BC due to a grudge by the leader King Wu over a student who had been executed because of Shang Yang's insistence that law applied even to nobility. There was also internal strife over the Qin succession in 307 BC, which decentralised Qin authority somewhat. Qin was defeated by an alliance of the other states in 295 BC, and shortly after suffered another defeat by the state of Zhao, because the majority of their army was then defending against the Qi. The aggressive statesman Fan Sui (范雎), however, soon came to power as prime minister even as the problem of the succession was resolved, and he began an expansionist policy that had originated in Jin and Qi, which prompted the Qin to attempt to conquer the other states.[11]
The Qin were swift in their assault on the other states. They first attacked the Han, directly east, and took the city of Yangdi in 230 BC. They then struck northward; the state of Zhao surrendered in 228 BC, and the northernmost state of Yan followed, falling in 226 BC. Next, Qin armies launched assaults to the east, and later the south as well; they took the Wei city of Daliang (now called Kaifeng) in 225 BC and forced the Chu to surrender by 223 BC. Lastly, they deposed the Zhou Dynasty's remnants in Luoyang and conquered the Qi, taking the city of Linzi in 221 BC.[11]
Dominion of China[link]
When the conquests were complete in 221 BC, King Zheng[note 7] – who had first assumed the throne of the Qin state at age 13[12] – became the effective ruler of China. He solidified his position as sole ruler with the abdication of his prime minister, Lü Buwei. He then combined the titles of the earlier Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors into his new name: Shi Huangdi (始皇帝) or "First Emperor".[13][note 8] The newly declared emperor ordered all weapons not in the possession of the Qin to be confiscated and melted down. The resulting metal was sufficient to build twelve large ornamental statues at the Qin's newly declared capital, Xianyang.[14]
In 214 BC Qin Shihuang secured his boundaries to the north with a fraction (100,000 men) of his large army, and sent the majority (500,000 men) of his army south to conquer the territory of the southern tribes. Prior to the events leading to Qin dominance over China, they had gained possession of much of Sichuan to the southwest. The Qin army was unfamiliar with the jungle terrain, and it was defeated by the southern tribes' guerrilla warfare tactics with over 100,000 men lost. However, in the defeat Qin was successful in building a canal to the south, which they used heavily for supplying and reinforcing their troops during their second attack to the south. Building on these gains, the Qin armies conquered the coastal lands surrounding Guangzhou,[note 9] and took the provinces of Fuzhou and Guilin. They struck as far south as Hanoi. After these victories in the south, Qin Shihuang moved over 100,000 prisoners and exiles to colonize the newly conquered area. In terms of extending the boundaries of his empire, the First Emperor was extremely successful in the south.[14]
However, while the empire at times was extended to the north, the Qin could rarely hold on to the land for long. The tribes of these locations, collectively called the Hu by the Qin, were free from Chinese rule during the majority of the Dynasty.[15] Prohibited from trading with Qin Dynasty peasants, the Xiongnu tribe living in the Ordos region in northwest China often raided them instead, prompting the Qin to retaliate. After a military campaign led by General Meng Tian, the region was conquered in 215 BC and agriculture was established; the peasants, however, were discontented and later revolted. The succeeding Han Dynasty also expanded into the Ordos due to overpopulation, but depleted their resources in the process. Owen Lattimore said of both Dynasties' attempts to conquer the Ordos, "conquest and expansion were illusory. There was no kind of success that did not create its own reaction."[16] Indeed, this was true of the dynasty's borders in multiple directions; modern Xinjiang, Tibet, Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, and regions to the southeast were foreign to the Qin, and even areas over which they had military control were culturally distinct.[17]
Fall from power[link]
Three assassination attempts were made on Qin Shihuang's life,[18] leading him to become paranoid and obsessed with immortality. He died in 210 BC, while on a trip to the far eastern reaches of his empire in an attempt to procure an elixir of immortality from Taoist magicians, who claimed the elixir was stuck on an island guarded by a sea monster. The chief eunuch, Zhao Gao, and the prime minister, Li Si, hid the news of his death upon their return until they were able to alter his will to place on the throne the dead emperor's most pliable son, Huhai, who took the name of Qin Er Shi.[12] They believed that they would be able to manipulate him to their own ends, and thus effectively control the empire. Qin Er Shi was, indeed, inept and pliable. He executed many ministers and imperial princes, continued massive building projects (one of his most extravagant projects was lacquering the city walls), enlarged the army, increased taxes, and arrested messengers who brought him bad news. As a result, men from all over China revolted, attacking officials, raising armies, and declaring themselves kings of seized territories.[19]
During this time, Li Si and Zhao Gao fell out among themselves, and Li Si was executed. Zhao Gao decided to force Qin Er Shi to commit suicide due to Qin Er Shi's incompetence. Upon this, Ziying, a nephew of Qin Er Shi, ascended the throne, and immediately executed Zhao Gao.[19] Ziying, seeing that increasing unrest was growing among the people[note 10] and that many local officials had declared themselves kings, attempted to cling to his throne by declaring himself one king among all the others.[9] He was undermined by his ineptitude, however, and popular revolt broke out in 209 BC. When Chu rebels under the lieutenant Liu Bang attacked, a state in such turmoil could not hold for long. Ziying was defeated near the Wei River in 207 BC and surrendered shortly after; he was executed by the Chu leader Xiang Yu. The Qin capital was destroyed the next year, and this is considered by Derk Bodde, as well as other historians, to be the end of the Qin empire.[20][note 1] Liu Bang then betrayed and defeated Xiang Yu, declaring himself Emperor Gaozu[note 11] of the new Han Dynasty.[21] Despite the short duration of the Qin Dynasty, it was very influential on the structure of future dynasties.
Culture and society[link]
Domestic life[link]
The aristocracy of the Qin were largely similar in their culture and daily life. Regional variations in culture were considered a symbol of the lower classes. This stemmed from the Zhou and was seized upon by the Qin, as such variations were seen as contrary to the unification that the government strove to achieve.[22]
Commoners and rural villagers, who made up over 90% of the population,[23] very rarely left the villages or farmsteads where they were born. Common forms of employment differed by region, though farming was almost universally common. Professions were hereditary; a father's employment was passed to his eldest son after he died.[24] The Lüshi Chunqiu[note 12] gave examples of how, when commoners are obsessed with material wealth, instead of the idealism of a man who "makes things serve him", they were "reduced to the service of things".[25]
Peasants were rarely figured in literature during the Qin Dynasty and afterwards; scholars and others of more elite status preferred the excitement of cities and the lure of politics. One notable exception to this was Shen Nong, the so-called "Divine Father", who taught that households should grow their own food. "If in one's prime he does not plow, someone in the world will grow hungry. If in one's prime she does not weave, someone in the world will be cold." The Qin encouraged this; a ritual was performed once every few years that consisted of important government officials taking turns with the plow on a special field, to create a simulation of government interest and activity within agriculture.[24]
Architecture[link]
Warring States-era architecture had several definitive aspects. City walls, used for defense, were made longer, and indeed several secondary walls were also sometimes built to separate the different districts. Verticality in federal structures was emphasised, to create a sense of authority and absolute power. Architectural elements such as high towers, pillar gates, terraces, and high buildings amply conveyed this.[26]
Philosophy and literature[link]
The written language of the Qin was logographic, as that of the Zhou had been.[27] As one of his most influential achievements in life, prime minister Li Si standardized the writing system to be of uniform size and shape across the whole country. This would have a unification effect on the Chinese culture for thousands of years. He is also credited with creating the "lesser-seal" (Chinese: 小篆, Pinyin: xiǎozhuàn) style of calligraphy, which serves as a basis for modern Chinese and is still used in cards, posters, and advertising.[28]
During the Warring States Period, the Hundred Schools of Thought comprised many different philosophies proposed by Chinese scholars. In 221 BC, however, the First Emperor conquered all of the states and governed with a single philosophy, Legalism. At least one school of thought, Mohism, was eradicated, though the reason is not known. Despite the Qin's state ideology and Mohism being similar in certain regards, it is possible that Mohists were sought and killed by the state's armies due to paramilitary activities.[29]
Confucius's school of thought, called Confucianism, was also influential during the Warring States Period, as well as throughout much of the later Zhou Dynasty and early imperial periods.[note 13] This school of thought had a so-called Confucian canon of literature, known as the "six classics": the Odes, Documents, Ritual, Music, Spring and Autumn Annals, and Changes, which embodied Chinese literature at the time.[30]
During the Qin Dynasty, Confucianism—along with all other non-Legalist philosophies—was suppressed by the First Emperor; early Han Dynasty emperors did the same. Legalism denounced the feudal system and encouraged severe punishments, particularly when the emperor was disobeyed. Individuals' rights were devalued when they conflicted with the government's or the ruler's wishes, and merchants and scholars were considered unproductive, fit for elimination.[31] One of the more drastic measures employed to accomplish the eradication of the old schools of thought was the infamous burning of books and burying of scholars incident, which almost singlehandedly gave the Qin Dynasty a bad reputation among later scholars.[14] The First Emperor, in an attempt to consolidate power, ordered the burning of all books on non-Legalist philosophical viewpoints and intellectual subjects.[32] This decree was passed in 213 BC, and also stipulated that all scholars who refused to submit their books to be burned would be executed by premature burial.[14] Only texts considered productive by Legalists were preserved, most on pragmatic subjects, such as agriculture, divination, and medicine.[32] However, controversy remains about the “burning of books and burying of scholars”. Nowadays, many Sinologists argue that the “burying of scholars”, as recorded in Grand Historian, is not literally true, as the term probably meant simply "put to death."[33]
Government and military[link]
Credit: Liang Jieming
The Qin government was highly bureaucratic, and was administered by a hierarchy of officials, all serving the First Emperor. The Qin put into practice the teachings of Han Fei, allowing the First Emperor to control all of his territories, including those recently conquered. All aspects of life were standardized, from measurements and language to more practical details, such as the length of chariot axles.[13] Zheng and his advisers also introduced new laws and practices that ended feudalism in China, replacing it with a centralized, bureaucratic government. Under this system, both the military and government thrived, as talented individuals could be more easily identified in the transformed society. Later Chinese dynasties emulated the Qin government for its efficiency, despite its being condemned by Confucian philosophy.[13][34] Such a system, however, could be manipulated by power-hungry individuals; one example of such an occurrence was documented in the "Records of Officialdom". A commander named Hu ordered his men to attack peasants, in an attempt to increase the number of "bandits" he had killed; his superiors, likely eager to inflate their records as well, allowed this.[35]
Qin Shihuang also improved the military, despite the fact that it had already undergone extensive reforms.[36] The military used the most advanced weaponry of the time. The invention of the sword during the Warring States Period was a great advance. It was first used mostly in bronze form, but by the third century BC, the Qin were using stronger iron swords. The demand for metal this produced resulted in improved bellows. The crossbow had been introduced in the fifth century BC and was more powerful and accurate than the composite bows used earlier. It could also be rendered ineffective by removing two pins, which prevented enemies from capturing a working crossbow.[6]
The Qin also used improved methods of transportation and tactics. The state of Zhao had first replaced chariots with cavalry in 307 BC, but the change was swiftly adopted by the other states because cavalry had greater mobility over the terrain of China.[37]
The First Emperor developed plans to fortify his northern border, to protect against the nomadic Mongols. The result was the initial construction of what later became the Great Wall of China,which was built by joining and strengthening the walls made by the feudal lords, which would be expanded and rebuilt multiple times by later dynasties, also in response to threats from the north. Another project built during Qin Shihuang's rule was the Terracotta army, intended to protect the emperor after his death.[36] The Terracotta army was inconspicuous due to its underground location, and was not discovered until 1974.[38]
Religion[link]
Floating on high in every direction,
Music fills the hall and court.
The incense sticks are a forest of feathers,
The cloudy scene an obscure darkness.
Metal stalks with elegant blossoms,
A host of flags and kingfisher banners.
The music of the "Seven Origins" and "Blossoming Origins"
Are intoned as harmonious sounds.
Thus one can almost hear
The spirits coming to feast and frolic.
The spirits are seen off to the zhu zhu of the musics,
Which purifies and refines human feelings.
Suddenly the spirits ride off on the darkness,
And the brilliant event finishes.
Purified thoughts grow hidden and still,
And the warp and weft of the world fall dark.
Han shu, p. 1046
The dominant religious belief in China during the reign of the Qin, and, in fact, during much of early imperial China, was focused on the shen (roughly translating to "spirits"), yin ("shadows"), and the realm they were said to live in. The Chinese offered sacrifices[note 14] in an attempt to contact this other world, which they believed to be parallel to the earthly one. The dead were said to simply have moved from one world to the other. The rituals mentioned, as well as others, served two purposes: to ensure that the dead journeyed and stayed in the other realm, and to receive blessings from the spirit realm.[note 15][39][40]
Religious practices were usually held in local shrines and sacred areas, which contained sacrificial altars. During a sacrifice or other ritual, the senses of all participants and witnesses would be dulled and blurred with smoke, incense, and music. The lead sacrificer would fast and meditate before a sacrifice to further blur his senses and increase the likelihood of perceiving otherworldly phenomena. Other participants were similarly prepared, though not as rigorously.
Such blurring of the senses was also a factor in the practice of spirit intermediaries, or mediumship. Practitioners of the art would fall into trances or dance to perform supernatural tasks. These people would often rise to power as a result of their art—Luan Da, a Han Dynasty medium, was granted rule over 2,000 households. Noted Han historian Sima Qian was scornful of such practices, dismissing them as foolish trickery.[41]
Divination—to predict and/or influence the future—was yet another form of religious practice. An ancient practice that was common during the Qin Dynasty, was cracking bones or turtle shells to gain knowledge of the future. The forms of divination which sprang up during early imperial China were diverse, though observing natural phenomena was a common method. Comets, eclipses, and droughts were considered omens of things to come.[42]
Etymology of China[link]
The name 'Qin' (pronounced as 'Chin') is believed to be the etymological ancestor of the modern day European name of the country, China. The word probably made its way into the Indo-Aryan languages first as 'Cina' or 'Sina' and then into Greek and Latin as 'Sinai' or 'Thinai'. It was then transliterated into English and French as 'China' and 'Chine'. This etymology is although dismissed by some scholars suggesting that 'Sina' in Sanskrit evolved much earlier before the Qin dynasty. 'Jin' (pronounced as 'Zhin'), a state controlled by the Zhou Dynasty in seventh century BC, is another possible origin.[43]
Sovereigns of Qin Dynasty[link]
| Posthumous names / title | Chinese family names and given names | Period of Reigns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convention: "Qin" + posthumous name | |||
| Zhaoxiang (昭襄 Zhāoxiāng) | Ying Ze (嬴則 qíng zé) or Ying Ji (嬴稷 yíng jì) | 306 BC–250 BC | |
| Xiaowen (孝文 Xiàowén) | Ying Zhu (嬴柱 yíng zhù) | 250 BC | |
| Zhuangxiang (莊襄 Zhuāngxiāng) | Ying Zichu (嬴子楚 yíng zi chǔ) | 249 BC–247 BC | |
| Shi Huangdi (始皇帝 Shǐ Huángdì) | Ying Zheng (嬴政 yíng zhèng) | 246 BC–210 BC | |
| Er Shi Huangdi (二世皇帝 Èr Shì Huángdì) | Ying Huhai (嬴胡亥 yíng hú hài) | 210 BC–207 BC | |
| Ziying was often referred using personal name or
Qin Wang Ziying (秦王子嬰 qín wáng zi yīng) |
|||
| Did not exist | Ying Ziying (嬴子嬰 yíng zi yīng) | 206 BC | |
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ a b The first emperor of the Qin had boasted that the dynasty would last 10,000 generations; it lasted only about 15 years. (Morton 1995, p. 49)
- ^ The modern city of Tianshui stands where this city once was.
- ^ Not to be confused with any Duke of the Song Dynasty of a later period.
- ^ This was due to the large workforce available as a result of their landowning policies (implemented by Shang Yang), described in the "Culture and society" section.
- ^ These, along with the weaponry, are elaborated upon in the section describing the Qin's military and government.
- ^ This was the heart of the Guanzhong region, as opposed to the region of the Yangtze River drainage basin, known as Guandong. The warlike nature of the Qin in Guanzhong evolved into a Han Dynasty adage: "Guanzhong produces generals, while Guandong produces ministers." (Lewis 2007, p. 17)
- ^ His personal name was Yíng Zhèng.
- ^ As the modern Chinese habit is to include dynasty names as a surname, this became Qin Shihuangdi. Later, this was abridged to Qin Shihuang, because it is uncommon for Chinese names to have four characters.
- ^ Formerly known as Canton.
- ^ This was largely caused by regional differences which survived despite the Qin's attempt to impose uniformity.
- ^ Meaning "High Progenitor".
- ^ A text named for its sponsor Lü Buwei; the prime minister of the Qin directly preceding the conquest of the other states.
- ^ The term "Confucian" is rather ill-defined in this context—many self-dubbed Confucians in fact rejected tenets of what was known as "the Way of Confucius," and were disorganized, unlike the later Confucians of the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
- ^ Sacrifices were always animals; human sacrifice had been abolished in ancient China.
- ^ Mystics from the state of Qi, however, saw sacrifices differently—as a way to become immortal.
References[link]
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 17
- ^ "Chinese surname history: Qin". People's Daily Online. http://english.people.com.cn/200602/20/eng20060220_244270.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ Lewis 2007, pp. 17–18
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 88
- ^ a b Morton 1995, p. 45
- ^ a b c Morton 1995, p. 26
- ^ Time-Life Books 1993, p. 86
- ^ a b Kinney and Clark 2005, p. 10
- ^ a b Lewis 2007, pp. 18–19
- ^ Morton 1995, p. 25
- ^ a b Lewis 2007, pp. 38–39
- ^ a b Bai Yang (in Chinese). Records of the Genealogy of Chinese Emperors, Empresses, and Their Descendants (中国帝王皇后亲王公主世系录). 1. Friendship Publishing Corporation of China (中国友谊出版公司). pp. 134–135.
- ^ a b c World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, p. 36
- ^ a b c d Morton 1995, p. 47
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 129
- ^ Breslin 2001, p. 5
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 5
- ^ Borthwick, p. 10
- ^ a b Kinney and Hardy 2005, p. 13-15
- ^ Bodde 1986, p. 84
- ^ Morton 1995, pp. 49–50
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 11
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 102
- ^ a b Lewis 2007, p. 15
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 16
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 75–78
- ^ World and its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, p. 34
- ^ Bedini 1994, p. 83
- ^ Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, p. 61
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 206
- ^ Borthwick, p. 17
- ^ a b Borthwick, p. 11
- ^ Bodde 1986, p. 72 [1]
- ^ Borthwick 2006, pp. 9–10
- ^ Chen, pp. 80-81
- ^ a b Borthwick 2006, p. 10
- ^ Morton 1995, p. 27
- ^ "Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor". UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=441. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 178
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 186
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 180
- ^ Lewis 2007, p. 181
- ^ Keay 2009, p. 98.
Bibliography[link]
- World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7614-7631-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=cKh2KL5LqEsC&printsec=frontcover.
- Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Edited by Philip J. Ivanhoe and Bryan W. Van Norden. Hackett Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-87220-780-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=5PL9hSUiVEoC&printsec=frontcover.
- Breslin, Thomas A. (2001). Beyond Pain: The Role of Pleasure and Culture in the Making of Foreign Affairs. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-97430-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=AD5Lx-kJsMEC&printsec=frontcover.
- Bedini, Silvio (1994). The Trail of Time: Shih-chien Ti Tsu-chi : Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37482-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=xdVkzs6iI1YC&printsec=frontcover#PPA183,M1.
- Bodde, Derk. (1986). "The State and Empire of Ch'in," in The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24327-0.
- Borthwick, Mark (2006). Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-4355-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=Wbd-Eonn70cC&printsec=frontcover.
- Behnke, Anne; Grant Hardy (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-32588-X.
- Keay, John (2009). China A History. Harper Press. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/978000722178|978000722178]].
- Lewis, Mark Edward (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9.
- Chen Guidi; Wu Chuntao (2007). Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants. Translated by Zhu Hong. PublicAffairs. ISBN 1-58648-441-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=gFEK1pLNqqMC&printsec=frontcover.
- Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed. ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-043424-7.
Further reading[link]
- Bodde, Derk. (1986). "The State and Empire of Ch'in," in The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24327-0.
- Cotterell, Arthur. (2007). The Imperial Capitals of China – An Inside View of the Celestial Empire. London: Pimlico. pp. 304 pages.. ISBN 978-1-84595-009-5.
- Paludan, Ann. (1998). Chronicle of the China Emperors. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 224 pages.. ISBN 0-500-05090-2.
- Yap, Joseph P. (2009). Wars With The Xiongnu, A Translation from Zizhi tongjian. AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A. ISBN 978-1-4490-0604-4.
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| Preceded by Zhou Dynasty |
Dynasties in Chinese history 221 – 206 BC |
Succeeded by Han Dynasty |
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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.
In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.[1]
The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".
The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).
Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.
As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.
Contents |
Rulers[link]
- Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
- Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
- Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
- Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
- Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
- Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
- Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
- Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
- Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
- Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
- Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
- Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
- Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
- Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
- Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
- Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
- Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
- Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
- Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
- Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
- Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
- Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
- Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
- Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
- Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
- Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
- Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
- Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
- Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse[3]
- Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
- Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
- Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
- Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
- Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
- Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea[4][5]
- Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
- Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
- Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
- Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
- Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
- Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
- Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
- Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
- Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
- John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
- John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
- Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
- Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
- Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
- Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
- Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
- Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
- Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
- Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
- Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
- Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
- Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
- Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
- Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
- Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
- Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
- Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
- Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
- K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
- Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
- Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
- Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
- Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
- Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
- Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
- Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.[6][7][8]
- Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
- Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
- Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
- Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
- Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
- Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
- Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
- Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
- Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
- Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
- Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king[9]
- Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
- Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
- Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
- Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
- Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
- Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
- Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
- Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
- Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
- Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
- Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
- Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
- Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
- Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
- Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
- Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
- Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
- William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
- William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
- Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
- Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China
Religious figures[link]
- Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
- Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
- Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
- Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
- Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
- Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
- Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
- Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
- Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
- Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
- Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
- Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
- Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
- Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
- Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
- Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
- William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites
Other[link]
- Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
- Emmy the Great, folk singer
- Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
- Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia
See also[link]
- Epithet
- List of monarchs by nickname
- List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
- James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
- Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"
Notes[link]
- ^ In a clay cylinder (online). The expression was used in a propagandistic context: the conqueror wants to show he is a normal Babylonian ruler. The first Persian ruler to use the title in an Iranian context was Darius I of Persia (Darius the Great), in the Behistun Inscription (online).
- ^ Plautus, Mostellaria 775.
- ^ History, Instituto Geografico De Agostini S.p.A., p. 479
- ^ World and Its Peoples:Korea. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. September 2008. p. 887. ISBN 0-7614-7631-8.
- ^ Alison Behnke (2004). North Korea in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 70. ISBN 0-8225-1908-9. http://books.google.com/?id=ovWvhyLc6hAC&pg=RA1-PA70&dq=%22Gwanggaeto+the+Great%22.
- ^ Sarkar, Benoy Kumar (December 1919). "An English History of India". Political Science Quarterly 34 (4): 644–653. DOI:10.2307/2142032. JSTOR 2142032. ""The finances of the state were not more centralized under Louis XIV than under Rajaraja the Great.""
- ^ "Heaven sent: Michael Wood explores the art of the Chola dynasty". Royal Academy, UK. http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/ra-magazine/winter2006/features/heven-sent,47,RAMA.html. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ "The Chola Dynasty: Accession of Rajaraja, the Great". Sify.com. http://sify.com/itihaas/fullstory.php?id=13219885. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ Christoph Bluth; Gareth Schott (2007). Korea. Polity. p. 10. ISBN 0-7456-3356-0.
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For other uses, see Qin Shi Huang (disambiguation).
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| Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇 |
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| Ancestral name (姓): | Ying (嬴) |
| Clan name (氏): | Zhao¹ (趙) |
| Given name (名): | Zheng (政) |
| King of the State of Qin | |
| Dates of reign: | 7 May 247 BC – 221 BC |
| Official title: | King of Qin (秦王) |
| First Emperor of China | |
| Dates of reign: | 221 BC – 10 September 210 BC |
| Official title: | First Emperor (始皇帝) |
| Dates are in the proleptic Julian calendar | |
| ——— 1. As appears in the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian. Apparently, the First Emperor being born in the State of Zhao where his father was a hostage, he later adopted Zhao as his clan name (in ancient China clan names often changed from generation to generation), but this is not completely certain. |
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| Chinese | 嬴政 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (259 BC – 210 BC),[1][2] personal name Ying Zheng (嬴政), was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period.[3] He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC.[3] He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the age of 49.[4]
Calling himself the First Emperor (Chinese: 始皇帝) after China's unification, Qin Shi Huang is a pivotal figure in Chinese history, ushering nearly two millennia of imperial rule. After unifying China, he and his chief advisor Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms.[3] He undertook gigantic projects, including building and unifying various sections of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books and buried some scholars alive.[4]
Contents |
Name of Shi Huangdi[link]
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Title meaning[link]
From the beginning of the Zhou dynasty in 1045 BC to the time of the First Emperor, rulers of the Chinese states were titled Wang (Chinese: 王), a term that originally meant "big man" but later came to mean "chief" or "king".[5] Following his defeat of the last of the Warring States in 221 BC, King Zheng of Qin became de facto ruler of all China. To celebrate this achievement and consolidate his power base, King Zheng created a new title calling himself the First Sovereign Emperor of Qin (Chinese: 秦始皇帝; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huángdì; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih Huang-ti), often shortened to Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huáng; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Shih-Huang).
- The character shǐ 始 means "first".[6] The first emperor's heirs would then be successively called "Second Emperor", "Third Emperor" and so on down the generations.[7]
- The term Huangdi (Chinese: 皇帝; Wade–Giles: Huang-ti) comes from the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors Era (Chinese: 三皇五帝; pinyin: Sān Huáng Wŭ Dì), from which the two terms "Sovereign" and "Emperor" (huang 皇 and di 帝) are extracted.[8] By adding such a title, Qin Shihuang hoped to appropriate some of the previous Yellow Emperor's divine status and prestige.[9]
- Additionally, the character huáng 皇 literally means "shining" or "splendid" and was "most frequently used as an epithet of Heaven."[10]
Usage[link]
Both "Qin Shi Huangdi" (秦始皇帝) and "Qin Shi Huang" (秦始皇) appear in the Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian. The longer name "Qin Shi Huangdi" (秦始皇帝) appears first in chapter 5,[11] though the shorter name "Qin Shi Huang" (秦始皇) was the name of chapter 6 (秦始皇本紀).[12][13] However, the name Qin Shi Huangdi is believed to be the correct one since Ying Zheng joined together the words Huang (Imperial) and Di (ruler), to create Huangdi (emperor).[14]
Family history and birth[link]
A rich merchant in the State of Han, named Lü Buwei, met Master Yiren (公子異人). Lü Buwei's manipulation helped Yiren become King Zhuangxiang of Qin.[4] At the time, King Zhuangxiang of Qin was a prince of Qin blood, who took residence at the court of the State of Zhao as a hostage to guarantee an armistice between the two states.[15]
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the first emperor was born in 259 BC as the eldest son of King Zhuangxiang of Qin.[2][16] King Zhuangxiang of Qin saw a concubine belonging to Lü Buwei, and she bore the first emperor.[16] At birth, he was given the personal name Zheng (政).[16] Because Zheng was born in Handan, capital of the enemy state of Zhao (趙), he thus had the name Zhao Zheng.[16] Zhao Zheng's ancestors are said to have come from Gansu.[2]
Birth controversy[link]
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian during the next dynasty and avowedly hostile to Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor was not the actual son of King Zhuangxiang of Qin. By the time Lü Buwei introduced the dancing girl Zhao Ji (趙姬, or the Concubine from Zhao) to the future King Zhuangxiang of Qin, she was allegedly Lü Buwei's concubine and had already become pregnant by him.[15] According to translations of the Annals of Lü Buwei the woman gave birth to the future emperor in the city of Handan in 259 BC, the first month of the 48th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.[17] The idea that the emperor was an illegitimate child added to the negative view of him for most of the next 2000 years after his death.[6] Today there is skepticism amongst some scholars about this claim as recorded by Sima Qian. There is some inconsistency between the date of birth and the theory of Lü Buwei being the real father of the first emperor.[17] In the view of some scholars, the length of the pregnancy, lasting a full year if the accusation is true, is impossible according to modern medicine.[17] Professors John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, in their translation of Lü Buwei's Spring and Autumn Annals, call the story "patently false, meant both to libel Lü and to cast aspersions on the First Emperor."[18]
King of the Qin state[link]
Teenage years[link]
In 246 BC, when King Zhuangxiang died after a short reign of just three years, he was succeeded to the throne by his 13-year-old son.[19] At the time, Zhao Zheng was still young, so Lü Buwei acted as the regent prime minister of the State of Qin, which was still waging war against the other six states.[6]
Lao Ai's attempted coup[link]
As King Zheng grew older, Lü Buwei became fearful that the boy king would discover his liaison with his mother Zhao Ji (趙姬). He decided to distance himself and look for a replacement for the queen dowager. He found a man named Lao Ai (嫪毐).[20] According to the Record of Grand Historian, Lao Ai was disguised as a eunuch by plucking his beard. Later Lao Ai and queen Zhao Ji got along so well they secretly had two sons together.[20] Lao Ai then became ennobled as Marquis Lao Ai, and was showered with riches. Lü Buwei's plot was supposed to replace King Zheng with one of the hidden sons. But during a dinner party drunken Lao Ai was heard bragging about being the young king's step father.[20] In 238 BC the king was traveling to the ancient capital of Yong (雍). Lao Ai seized the queen mother's seal and mobilized an army in an attempt to start a coup and rebel.[20]
A price of 1 million copper coins was placed on Lao Ai's head if he was taken alive or half a million if dead.[20] Lao Ai's supporters were captured and beheaded; then Lao Ai was tied up and torn to five pieces by horse carriages, while his entire family was executed to the third degree.[20] The two hidden sons were also killed, while mother Zhao Ji was placed under house arrest until her death many years later. Lü Buwei drank a cup of poison wine and committed suicide in 235 BC.[6][20] Ying Zheng then assumed full power as the King of the Qin state. Replacing Lü Buwei, Li Si was also now the new chancellor.
Jing Ke's assassination mission[link]
Main article: Jing Ke
King Zheng and his troops continued to take over different states. The state of Yan was small, weak and frequently harassed by soldiers. It was no match for the Qin state.[21] So Crown Prince Dan of Yan plotted an assassination attempt to get rid of King Zheng, begging Jing Ke to go on the mission in 227 BC.[4][21] Jing Ke was accompanied by Qin Wuyang in the plot. Each was supposed to present a gift to King Zheng, a map of Dukang and the decapitated head of Fan Wuji.[21]
Qin Wuyang first tried to present the map case gift, but trembled in fear and moved no further towards the king. Jing Ke continued to advance toward the king, while explaining that his partner "has never set eyes on the Son of Heaven", which is why he is trembling. Jing Ke had to present both gifts by himself.[21] While unrolling the map, a dagger was revealed. The king drew back, stood on his feet, but struggled to draw the sword to defend himself.[21] At the time, other palace officials were not allowed to carry weapons. Jing Ke pursued the king, attempting to stab him, but missed. King Zheng drew out his sword and cut Jing Ke's thigh. Jing Ke then threw the dagger, but missed again. Suffering eight wounds from the king's sword, Jing Ke realised his attempt had failed and knew that both of them would be killed afterwards.[21] The Yan state was conquered by the Qin state five years later.[21]
Gao Jianli's assassination mission[link]
Main article: Gao Jianli
Gao Jianli was a close friend of Jing Ke, who wanted to avenge his death.[22] As a famous lute player, one day he was summoned by King Zheng to play the instrument. Someone in the palace who had known him in the past exclaimed, "This is Gao Jianli".[23] Unable to bring himself to kill such a skilled musician, the emperor ordered his eyes put out.[23] But the king allowed Gao Jianli to play in his presence.[23] He praised the playing and even allowed Gao Jianli to get closer. As part of the plot, the lute was fastened with a heavy piece of lead. He raised the lute and struck at the king. He missed, and his assassination attempt failed. Gao Jianli was later executed.[23]
First unification of China[link]
Main article: Qin's wars of unification
In 230 BC, King Zheng unleashed the final campaigns of the Warring States Period, setting out to conquer the remaining independent kingdoms, one by one.
The first state to fall was Han (韓; sometimes called Hann to distinguish it from the Han 漢 of Han dynasty), in 230 BC. Then Qin took advantage of a natural disaster, the 229 BC Zhao state earthquake, to invade and conquer Zhao where Qin Shi Huang had been born.[24][25] He now avenged his poor treatment as a child hostage there, seeking out and killing his enemies.
Qin armies conquered the state of Zhao in 228 BC, the northern country of Yan in 226 BC, the small state of Wei in 225 BC, and the largest state and greatest challenge, Chu, in 223 BC.[26]
In 222 BC, the last remnants of Yan and the royal family were captured in Liaodong in the northeast. The only independent country left was now state of Qi, in the far east, what is now the Shandong peninsula. Terrified, the young king of Qi sent 300,000 people to defend his western borders. In 221 BC, the Qin armies invaded from the north, captured the king, and annexed Qi.
For the first time, all of China was unified under one powerful ruler. In that same year, King Zheng proclaimed himself the "First Emperor" (始皇帝), no longer a king in the old sense and now far surpassing the achievements of the old Zhou Dynasty rulers.[27]
In the South, military expansion continued during his reign, with various regions being annexed to what is now Guangdong province and part of today's Vietnam.[25]
First emperor of the Qin dynasty[link]
Division and politics[link]
Main article: History of the administrative divisions of China
In an attempt to avoid a recurrence of the political chaos of early imperial China, the conquered states were not allowed to be referred to as independent nations.[28] The empire was then divided into 36 commanderies (郡), later more than 40 commanderies.[25] The whole of China was now divided into administrative units: first commanderies, then districts (縣), counties (鄉) and hundred-family units (里).[29] This system was different from the previous dynasties, which had loose alliances and federations.[30] People could no longer be identified by their native region or former feudal state, as when a person from Chu was called "Chu person" (楚人).[29][31] Appointments were now based on merit instead of hereditary rights.[29]
Economy[link]
Qin Shi Huang and Li Si unified China economically by standardizing the Chinese units of measurements such as weights and measures, the currency, the length of the axles of carts to facilitate transport on the road system.[30] The emperor also developed an extensive network of roads and canals connecting the provinces to improve trade between them.[30] The currency of the different states were also standardized to the Ban liang coin (半兩).[29] Perhaps most importantly, the Chinese script was unified. Under Li Si, the seal script of the state of Qin was standardized through removal of variant forms within the Qin script itself. This newly standardized script was then made official throughout all the conquered regions, thus doing away with all the regional scripts to form one language, one communication system for all of China.[29]
Identification[link]
Qin Shi Huang also followed the school of the five elements, earth, wood, metal, fire and water. It was believed that the royal house of the previous dynasty Zhou had ruled by the power of fire, which was the color red. The new Qin dynasty must be ruled by the next element on the list, which is water, represented by the color black. Black became the color for garments, flags, pennants.[32] Other associations include north as the cardinal direction, winter season and the number six.[33] Tallies and official hats were six inches long, carriages six feet wide, one pace (步) was 6 ft (1.8 m).[32]
Zhang Liang's assassination attempt[link]
Main article: Zhang Liang (Western Han)
In 230 BC, the state of Qin had defeated the state of Han. A Han aristocrat named Zhang Liang swore revenge on the Qin emperor. He sold all his valuables and in 218 BC, he hired a strongman assassin and built him a heavy metal cone weighing 120 jin (roughly 160 lb or 97 kg).[20] The two men hid among the bushes along the emperor's route over a mountain. At a signal, the muscular assassin hurled the cone at the first carriage and shattered it. However, the emperor was actually in the second carriage, as he was traveling with two identical carriages for this very reason. Thus the attempt failed.[34] Both men were able to escape in spite of a huge manhunt.[20]
North: Great wall[link]
Main article: Great Wall of China
The Qin fought nomadic tribes to the north and northwest. The Xiongnu tribes were not defeated and subdued, thus the campaign was tiring and unsuccessful, and to prevent the Xiongnu from encroaching on the northern frontier any longer, the emperor ordered the construction of an immense defensive wall.[25][35] This wall, for whose construction hundreds of thousands of men were mobilized, and an unknown number died, is a precursor to the current Great Wall of China. It connected numerous state walls which had been built during the previous four centuries, a network of small walls linking river defenses to impassable cliffs. A great monument of China to this day, the Great Wall still stands, open to the public to challenge its million steps.[27][36]
South: Lingqu canal[link]
Main article: Lingqu Canal
A famous South China quotation was "In the North there is the Great wall, in the South there is the Lingqu canal" (北有長城、南有靈渠).[37] In 214 BC the Emperor began the project of a major canal to transport supplies to the army.[38] The canal allows water transport between north and south China.[38] The canal, 34 kilometers in length, links the Xiang River which flows into the Yangtze and the Li Jiang, which flows into the Pearl River.[38] The canal connected two of China's major waterways and aided Qin's expansion into the southwest.[38] The construction is considered one of the three great feats of Ancient Chinese engineering, the others being the Great Wall and the Sichuan Dujiangyan Irrigation System.[38]
End of hundred schools of thought[link]
While the previous Warring States era was one of constant warfare, it was also considered the golden age of free thought.[39] Qin Shi Huang eliminated the Hundred Schools of Thought which incorporated Confucianism and other philosophies.[39][40] After the unification of China, with all other schools of thought banned, legalism became the endorsed ideology of the Qin dynasty.[29] Legalism was basically a system that required the people to follow the laws or be punished accordingly.
Book burning period[link]
Main article: Burning of books and burying of scholars
Beginning in 213 BC, at the instigation of Li Si and to avoid scholars' comparisons of his reign with the past, Qin Shi Huang ordered most existing books to be burned with the exception of those on astrology, agriculture, medicine, divination, and the history of the State of Qin.[41] This would also serve the purpose of furthering the ongoing reformation of the writing system by removing examples of obsolete scripts.[27] Owning the Book of Songs or the Classic of History was to be punished especially severely. According to the later Records of the Grand Historian, the following year Qin Shi Huang had some 460 scholars buried alive for owning the forbidden books.[41][42] The emperor's oldest son Fusu criticised him for this act.[43] The emperor's own library still had copies of the forbidden books but most of these were destroyed later when Xiang Yu burned the palaces of Xianyang in 206 BC.[44]
Other achievements[link]
After the unification, Qin Shi Huang moved out of Xianyang palace (咸陽宮), and began building the gigantic Epang palace (阿房宫) south of the Wei river, Epang is the most loved concubine of Qin Shi Huang.[45] Other achievements such as the 12 bronze colossi were also made from the melted-down collected weapons.
Death and aftermath[link]
Elixir of life[link]
Later in his life, Qin Shi Huang feared death and desperately sought the fabled elixir of life, which would supposedly allow him to live forever. He was obsessed with acquiring immortality and fell prey to many who offered him supposed elixirs.[46] He visited Zhifu Island three times in order to achieve immortality.[47]
In one case he sent Xu Fu, a Zhifu islander, with ships carrying hundreds of young men and women in search of the mystical Penglai mountain.[34] They were sent to find Anqi Sheng, a 1,000-year-old magician whom Qin Shi Huang had supposedly met in his travels and who had invited him to seek him there.[48] These people never returned, perhaps because they knew that if they returned without the promised elixir, they would surely be executed. Legends claim that they reached Japan and colonized it.[46] It is also possible that the book burning, a purge on what could be seen as wasteful and useless literature, was, in part, an attempt to focus the minds of the Emperor's best scholars on the alchemical quest. Some of the executed scholars were those who had been unable to offer any evidence of their supernatural schemes. This may have been the ultimate means of testing their abilities: if any of them had magic powers, then they would surely come back to life when they were let out again.[27] Since the great emperor was afraid of death and, "evil spirits", he had workers build a series of tunnels and passage ways to each of his palaces (over 200 were owned by him), because these would keep him safe from the evil spirits, as he traveled unseen.
Death[link]
In 211 BC a large meteor is said to have fallen in Dongjun (東郡) in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. On it, an unknown person inscribed the words "The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided."[49] When the emperor heard of this, he sent an imperial secretary to investigate this prophecy. No one would confess to the deed, so all the people living nearby were put to death. The stone was then burned and pulverized.[16]
The Emperor died during one of his tours of Eastern China, on September 10, 210 BC (Julian Calendar) at the palace in Shaqiu prefecture (沙丘平台), about two months away by road from the capital Xianyang.[21][21][50][51] Reportedly, he died due to ingesting mercury pills, made by his court scientists and doctors.[52]Ironically, these pills were meant to make Qin Shi Huang immortal.[52]
After the Emperor's death Prime Minister Li Si, who accompanied him, became extremely worried that the news of his death could trigger a general uprising in the Empire.[21] It would take two months for the government to reach the capital, and it would not be possible to stop the uprising. Li Si decided to hide the death of the Emperor, and return to Xianyang.[21] Most of the Imperial entourage accompanying the Emperor was left ignorant of the Emperor's death; only a younger son, Ying Huhai, who was traveling with his father, the eunuch Zhao Gao, Li Si, and five or six favorite eunuchs knew of the death.[21] Li Si also ordered that two carts containing rotten fish be carried immediately before and after the wagon of the Emperor. The idea behind this was to prevent people from noticing the foul smell emanating from the wagon of the Emperor, where his body was starting to decompose severely as it was summertime.[21] They also pulled down the shade so no one could see his face, changed his clothes daily, brought food and when he had to have important conversations they would act as if he wanted to send them a message.[21]
Second emperor conspiracy[link]
Eventually, after about two months, Li Si and the imperial court reached Xianyang, where the news of the death of the emperor was announced.[21] Qin Shi Huang did not like to talk about his own death and he had never written a will. After his death, the eldest son Fusu would normally become the next emperor.[53]
Li Si and the chief eunuch Zhao Gao conspired to kill Fusu because Fusu's favorite general was Meng Tian, whom they disliked[53] and feared; Meng Tian's brother, a senior minister, had once punished Zhao Gao.[54] They believed that if Fusu was enthroned, they would lose their power.[53] Li Si and Zhao Gao forged a letter from Qin Shi Huang saying that both Fusu and General Meng must commit suicide.[53] The plan worked, and the younger son Huhai became the Second Emperor, later known as Qin Er Shi or "Second Generation Qin."[21]
Qin Er Shi, however, was not as capable as his father. Revolts quickly erupted. His reign was a time of extreme civil unrest, and everything built by the First Emperor crumbled away within a short period.[25] One of the immediate revolt attempts was the 209 BC Daze Village Uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.[49]
Legacy[link]
Mausoleum of the first emperor[link]
Main article: Terracotta Army
The Chinese historian Sima Qian, writing a century after the First Emperor's death, wrote that it took 700,000 men to construct it. The British historian John Man points out that this figure is larger than any city of the world at that time and calculates that the foundations could have been built by 16,000 men in two years.[55] While Sima Qian never mentioned the terracotta army, the statues were discovered by a group of farmers digging wells on March 29, 1974.[56] The soldiers were created with a series of mix-and-match clay molds and then further individualized by the artists' hand. Han Purple was also used on some of the warriors.[57] There are around 6,000 Terracotta Warriors and their purpose was to protect the Emperor in the afterlife from evil spirits. Also among the army are chariots and 40,000 real bronze weapons.[58]
Qin Shi Huang's tomb[link]
One of the first projects the young king accomplished while he was alive was the construction of his own tomb. In 215 BC Qin Shi Huang ordered General Meng Tian with 300,000 men to begin construction.[42] Other sources suggested he ordered 720,000 unpaid laborers to build his tomb to specification.[19] Again, given John Man's observation regarding populations of the time (see paragraph above), these historical estimates are debatable. The main tomb (located at 34°22′52.75″N 109°15′13.06″E / 34.3813194°N 109.2536278°E / 34.3813194; 109.2536278) containing the emperor has yet to be opened and there is evidence suggesting that it remains relatively intact.[59] Sima Qian's description of the tomb includes replicas of palaces and scenic towers, "rare utensils and wonderful objects", 100 rivers made with mercury, representations of "the heavenly bodies", and crossbows rigged to shoot anyone who tried to break in.[60] The tomb was built on Li Mountain, which is only 30 kilometers away from Xi'an. Modern archaeologists have located the tomb, and have inserted probes deep into it. The probes revealed abnormally high quantities of mercury, some 100 times the naturally occurring rate, suggesting that some parts of the legend are credible.[52] Secrets were maintained, as most of the workmen who built the tomb were killed.[52][61]
Family of Qin Shi Huang[link]
Main article: Chinese emperors family tree (early)
The following are some family members of Qin Shi Huang:
- Parents
- King Zhuangxiang of Qin
- Lady Zhao
- Half siblings:
- Chengjiao,[12] Lord of Chang'an
- Two half-brothers born to Lady Zhao and Lao Ai
- Children:
- Fusu, Crown Prince
- Gao
- Jianglü
- Huhai, later Qin Er Shi
Qin Shi Huang had about 28 children, but most of their names are unknown. He had numerous concubines.[citation needed]
Historiography of Qin Shi Huang[link]
In traditional Chinese historiography, the First Emperor of the Chinese unified states was almost always portrayed as a brutal tyrant who had obsessive fear of assassination. Ideological antipathy towards the Legalist State of Qin was established as early as 266 BC, when Confucian philosopher Xun Zi disparaged it.[citation needed] Later Confucian historians condemned the emperor who had burned the classics and buried Confucian scholars alive. They eventually compiled a list of the Ten Crimes of Qin to highlight his tyrannical actions.
The famous Han poet and statesman Jia Yi concluded his essay The Faults of Qin (過秦論) with what was to become the standard Confucian judgment of the reasons for Qin's collapse. Jia Yi's essay, admired as a masterpiece of rhetoric and reasoning, was copied into two great Han histories and has had a far-reaching influence on Chinese political thought as a classic illustration of Confucian theory.[62] He attributed Qin's disintegration to its failure to display humanity and righteousness or to realise that there is a difference between the power to attack and the power to consolidate.[63]
In more modern times, historical assessment of the First Emperor different from traditional Chinese historiography began to emerge. The reassessment was spurred on by weakness of China in the latter half of 19th century and early 20th century, and Confucian traditions at that time began to be seen by some as an impediment to China's entry into the modern world, opening the way for changing perspectives.
At a time when Chinese territory was encroached upon by foreign nations, leading Kuomintang historian Xiao Yishan emphasized the role of Qin Shi Huang in repulsing the northern barbarians, particularly in the construction of the Great Wall.
Another historian, Ma Feibai (馬非百), published in 1941 a full-length revisionist biography of the First Emperor entitled Qin Shi Huangdi Zhuan (秦始皇帝傳), calling him "one of the great heroes of Chinese history". Ma compared him with the contemporary leader Chiang Kai-shek and saw many parallels in the careers and policies of the two men, both of whom he admired. Chiang's Northern Expedition of the late 1920s, which directly preceded the new Nationalist government at Nanjing was compared to the unification brought about by Qin Shi Huang.
With the coming of the Communist Revolution in 1949, new interpretations again surfaced. The establishment of the new, revolutionary regime prompted another re-evaluation of the First Emperor, this time in accordance with Maoist thought. The new interpretation given of Qin Shi Huang was generally a combination of traditional and modern views, but essentially critical. This is exemplified in the Complete History of China, which was compiled in September 1955 as an official survey of Chinese history. The work described the First Emperor's major steps toward unification and standardisation as corresponding to the interests of the ruling group and the merchant class, not the nation or the people, and the subsequent fall of his dynasty as a manifestation of the class struggle. The perennial debate about the fall of the Qin Dynasty was also explained in Marxist terms, the peasant rebellions being a revolt against oppression – a revolt which undermined the dynasty, but which was bound to fail because of a compromise with "landlord class elements".
Since 1972, however, a radically different official view of Qin Shi Huang has been given prominence throughout China. The re-evaluation was initiated by Hong Shidi's biography Qin Shi Huang. The work was published by the state press as a mass popular history, and it sold 1.85 million copies within two years. In the new era, Qin Shi Huang was seen as a farsighted ruler who destroyed the forces of division and established the first unified, centralized state in Chinese history by rejecting the past. Personal attributes, such as his quest for immortality, so emphasized in traditional historiography, were scarcely mentioned. The new evaluations described how, in his time (an era of great political and social change), he had no compunctions against using violent methods to crush counter-revolutionaries, such as the "industrial and commercial slave owner" chancellor Lü Buwei. However, he was criticized for not being as thorough as he should have been, and as a result, after his death, hidden subversives under the leadership of the chief eunuch Zhao Gao was able to seized power and used it to restore the old feudal order.
To round out this re-evaluation, a new interpretation of the precipitous collapse of the Qin Dynasty was put forward in an article entitled "On the Class Struggle During the Period Between Qin and Han" by Luo Siding, in a 1974 issue of Red Flag, to replace the old explanation. The new theory claimed that the cause of the fall of Qin lay in the lack of thoroughness of Qin Shi Huang's "dictatorship over the reactionaries, even to the extent of permitting them to worm their way into organs of political authority and usurp important posts."
Mao Zedong, chairman of the People's Republic of China, was reviled for his persecution of intellectuals. On being compared to the First Emperor, Mao responded: "He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried forty-six thousand scholars alive... You [intellectuals] revile us for being Qin Shi Huangs. You are wrong. We have surpassed Qin Shi Huang a hundredfold."[64]
Cultural references[link]
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Qin Shi Huang |
Works of fiction[link]
- During the Korean War, they would play a Song of the Yi River was produced. The play was based on the attempted assassination of the king by Jing Ke. In the play, Ying Zheng was portrayed as a cruel tyrant and an aggressor and invader of other states. In contrast, Jing Ke was a chivalrous warrior who said that "tens of thousands of injured people are all my comrades." A huge newspaper ad for this play proclaimed: "Invasion will definitely end in defeat; peace must be won at a price." The play portrayed an underdog fighting against a cruel, powerful foreign invader with help from a sympathetic foreign volunteer.
- Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986), the Argentine writer, wrote an acclaimed essay on Qin Shi Huang, "The Wall and the Books" ("La muralla y los libros") in the 1952 collection Other Inquisitions (Otras Inquisiciones). It muses on the opposition between large-scale construction of the Great Wall and destruction book-burning that defined his reign.[65]
- The 1956 book Lord of the East is a historical romance about the favorite daughter of Qin Shi Huang, who runs away with her lover. The story uses Qin Shi Huang to create the barrier for the young couple.[66]
- The 1984 book Bridge of Birds (by Barry Hughart) portrays Qin Shi Huang as a power-hungry megalomaniac who achieved immortality by having his heart removed by an "Old Man of the mountain".
- The Chinese Emperor, by Jean Levi, appeared in 1984. This work of historical fiction moves from discussions of politics and law in the Qin state to an exploration of Qin Shi Huang's psychology, in which his terracotta army were actually automata created to replace fallible humans.
- In the 1985 Contact (novel) (by Carl Sagan), the character Xi Qiaomu—who had been involved in excavations of the tomb of Emperor Qin during the Cultural Revolution—is visited by a personified alien in the form of the Emperor Qin.[67]
- In the Area 51 book series, Qin Shi Huang is revealed to be an alien exile stranded on Earth during an interstellar civil war. The Great Wall is actually designed to display the symbol for 'help' in his language, and he orders it built in the hope that a passing spaceship would notice it and rescue him.
- In Hydra's Ring, the 39th novel in the Outlanders series, Qin Shi Huang is revealed to be still alive in the early 23rd century through extraterrestrial nano-technology that has bestowed a form of immortality.
- In the Magic Tree House book series, one book is titled Day of the Dragon King, named for Qin Shi Huangdi.
- Ten Dragon Tails by Candy Taylor Tutt contains "The Wall", a historical fiction short story based on the building of the Great Wall.
- Emperor!: A Romance of Ancient China by Lanny Fields centers around Qin Shi Huang and a former Roman soldier named Marcus Lucius Scipio, whom Qin Shi Huang befriends after Marcus Scipio saves his life on multiple occasions. This fictional account is told through the eyes of the historian Sima Qian, who writes about Marcus Scipio after he travels from Rome to China.
- In Terry Pratchett's Interesting Times, the wizard, Rincewind, discovers a suit of armor owned by a previous emperor which gives him control of a terracotta army. As with most of Pratchett's Discworld series, this book is a play on a real-world concept. In this case, the model is Emperor Qin Shi Huang's cultural impact on modern-day China.
- The Tiger Warrior by David Gibbins (Bantam; June 2009) weaves in the history of Qin Shi Huang and his quest for immortality with Roman legionnaires, Indian tribes, Victorian-era British soldiers and a modern archaeological-adventure story.
- In the Wraith: the Oblivion roleplaying game books, the ghost of "Qin Shihuang" continues to rule despotically over the afterlife of China to this day, assisted by an army of nigh-invincible ghost soldiers based on the terracotta army.
Films[link]
- Shin No Shikoutei (1963) - The film portrays Qin Shi Huang as a battle-hardened emperor with his roots in the military. Despite his rank, Qin Shi Huang is shown lounging around a campfire with common men. A female character, Lady Chu, serves as a foil who questions whether Qin Shi Huang's cause is just. Qin Shi Huang converts her from an enemy to a loyal concubine.[68]
- Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - The film mentions Qin Shi Huang's name twice as the person who imposed the curse of no flesh on Lopan in 272 BC.
- The Emperor's Shadow (1996) - The film focuses on Qin Shi Huang's relationship with the musician Gao Jianli, a friend of the assassin Jing Ke. Gao played the Song of Yishui for Jing Ke before the latter embarked on his assassination mission.[69]
- The Emperor and the Assassin (1999) - The film centers on the identity of Qin Shi Huang's father, his supposed heartless treatment of his officials, and a betrayal by his childhood lover, paving the way for Jing Ke's assassination attempt. Director Chen Kaige sought to question whether Qin Shi Huang's motives were meritorious. A major theme in this film is the conflict between Qin Shi Huang's dedication to his vows and to his lover, Lady Zhao.[70]
- Hero (2002) - The film starred Jet Li, a nameless assassin who plans an assassination attempt on the King of Qin (Chen Daoming). Both the king and the assassin may be references to Qin Shi Huang and Jing Ke respectively.[citation needed]
- The Myth (2005) - The film starred Jackie Chan as Meng Yi, a military general serving under Qin Shi Huang. Meng is reincarnated into the present-day as an archaeologist. Kim Hee-sun co-starred as a Korean princess who was forced to marry the emperor.[71]
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) - The film starred Jet Li, the resurrected mummy called the "Han Emperor" and may be a reference to Qin Shi Huang. The emperor's role is highly fictionalised as he possesses magical powers.[72]
Television[link]
- Rise of the Great Wall (1986) - a 63 episode TV series chronicling the events from the emperor's birth until his death. It was produced by Hong Kong's ATV. The lyrics of the opening theme song summarized most of the story: "The land shall be under my foot; nobody shall be equal to me."[73]
- Histeria! (1998–1999) - an animated series. Pepper Mills wants Shi Huang Di's autograph, thinking he was Scooby Doo.
- The Not-So-Great Wall Of China (1999) - one of the episodes of History Bites. Bob Bainborough played Qin Shi Huang.
- My Date with a Vampire II (1999) - a Hong Kong supernatural-fantasy TV series. There is a flashback scene showing Qin Shi Huang being deceived into believing that turning into a vampire is the key to attaining immortality.
- A Step into the Past (2001) - a Hong Kong TVB production based on a science fiction novel by Huang Yi. It starred Raymond Lam as Zhao Pan, a man of the Zhao state who took on his new identity of Ying Zheng and rose to power as Qin Shi Huang. He is assisted by Xiang Shaolong, a time traveller from the 21st century.[74]
- Qin Shi Huang (2002) - a mainland Chinese TV series production. It features a semi-fictionalized story of the emperor's life, from his childhood until his death. Zhang Fengyi starred as Qin Shi Huang.[75]
- Martin Mystery (2003–2006) - an animated series. The protagonist finds that the Terracotta Army was actually created to keep the First Emperor inside his tomb and not to help him in the spiritual world.
- First Emperor: The Man Who Made China (2006) - a drama-documentary special about Qin Shi Huang. James Pax played the emperor. It was shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in 2006.[76]
- Secrets of China's First Emperor, Tyrant and Visionary (2006) - a documentary by National Geographic. It provided an in-depth look at the magnificent and controversial ruler.[77]
- China's First Emperor (2008) - a special three-hour documentary by The History Channel. Xu Pengkai played Qin Shi Huang.[78]
- The Myth (2010) - a Chinese TV series produced by Jackie Chan and based on the 2005 film of the same title. Two men are accidentally transported back in time to the Qin Dynasty period. They take on the new identities of Meng Yi and Zhao Gao and become rivals in the Qin imperial court.
- Stargate SG-1 In the TV series, the system Lord Yu Huang Shang Ti is reportedly based on this Emperor.
Music[link]
- Qin Shi Huang is the protagonist in the opera The First Emperor.
- Swedish musician Evert Taube explores Qin Shi Huang's actions and motives in his song "Muren Och Böckerna" ("The Wall And The Books").
Video games[link]
- The 1995 video game Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom depicts a fictional archaeological mission to explore the First Emperor's burial site. The emperor is featured in several voice-overs in Mandarin Chinese.
- In the 2002 computer game Prince Of Qin, the user plays Qin Shi Huang's first son Fusu, who was forced to commit suicide. But in this game, Fusu does not die, he will fight for his birth right to inherit the throne and seek the truth of Qin Shi Huang's death.
- The 2003 video game Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb portrays Indiana Jones entering the tomb of Qin Shi Huang to recover "The Heart of the Dragon".
- In the 2005 video game Civilization IV, Qin Shi Huang is one of the two playable leaders of China.[79]
- In the computer game Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, the Qin Dynasty campaign has the player as the head architect of Qin Shi Huang, in charge of overseeing the construction of the capital, the Lingqu canal, the Great Wall, as well as his tomb and the terracotta army, although the game takes liberties with the time frames in which these events actually took place.
- The PlayStation title Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix deals heavily with the myths of the emperor's tomb, and The Eight Immortals.
- In Rise of Nations, the player (or enemy) can build the "Terracotta Army" as one of the many "wonders of the world" featured in the game.
- Qin Shi Huang is also revealed to be the final boss of the video game Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid 2
- In Assassin's Creed II it is said that an Assassin, Wei Yu, killed Qin Shi Huang with a spear. In the Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia it is said that Qin Shi Huang was aided by the Templars, the series' antagonist organization.
- In Tomb Raider II (1997), adventurer Lara Croft discovers the 'Dagger of Xian' after visiting, among other Chinese sites, the 'Temple of Xian'. This level shows a resemblance with the descriptions of the Tomb of Qin, including a room with a (decorative) terracotta army.
- Qin Shi Huang is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei. He is addressed by his personal name "Ying Zheng" in the game. He has higher governance stats than all other characters, except Guan Zhong.
- The popular MMORPG Silkroad Online has a Qin-Shi Tomb area. It is available only to players of level 75 or higher.
See also[link]
References[link]
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- ^ a b c Wood, Frances. (2008). China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors. Macmillan publishing. ISBN 0-312-38112-3, ISBN 978-0-312-38112-7. p 2.
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- ^ a b c d Ren, Changhong. Wu, Jingyu. (2000). Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty. Asiapac Books Pte Ltd. ISBN 981-229-172-5, ISBN 978-981-229-172-1.
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- ^ Hardy, Grant. Kinney, Anne Behnke. (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32588-X, 9780313325885. p 10.
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Further reading[link]
- Bodde, Derk (1978). "The State and Empire of Ch'in". In Twitchett, Denis; Loewe, Michael. The Cambridge history of China. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-21447-5.
- Clements, Jonathan (2006). The First Emperor of China. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3960-7.
- Cotterell, Arthur (1981). The first emperor of China: the greatest archeological find of our time. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 0-03-059889-3.
- Guisso, R.W.L.; Pagani, Catherine; Miller, David (1989). The first emperor of China. New York: Birch Lane Press. ISBN 1-55972-016-6.
- Yu-ning, Li, ed. (1975). The First Emperor of China. White Plains, N.Y.: International Arts and Sciences Press. ISBN 0-87332-067-0.
- Portal, Jane (2007). The First Emperor, China's Terracotta Army. British Museum Press. ISBN 978-1-932543-26-1.
- Qian, Sima (1961). Records of the Grand Historian: Qin dynasty. Burton Watson, trans. New York: Columbia Univ. Press.
- Wood, Frances (2007). The First Emperor of China. Profile. ISBN 1-84668-032-8.
- Yap, Joseph P (2009). Wars With the Xiongnu, A Translation From Zizhi tongjian. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4490-0604-4.
External links[link]
|
First Emperor of Qin
Born: 259 BC Died: 210 BC |
||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by King Zhuangxiang |
King of Qin 246–221 BC with Lü Buwei (246–235 BC) |
Recreated
Title next held by
Qin San Shi |
| New title | Emperor of China Qin Dynasty 221–210 BC |
Succeeded by Qin Er Shi |
|
|||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Qin Shi Huang |
| Alternative names | First Emperor |
| Short description | First emperor of a unified China |
| Date of birth | November / December 260 BC |
| Place of birth | Handan, State of Zhao |
| Date of death | September 10, 210 BC |
| Place of death | Shaqiu prefecture, China |
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