Qin Dynasty (221 - 202 BCE)
by Vincent and Joshua
Politics
The Qin expanded their state before taking over China. Their state became powerful during the decline of the Zhou dynasty, and they took out the last Zhou ruler (King Nan of Zhou). After taking out King Nan of Zhou, the Qin spread their rule over more and more of China. In 246 BCE, a nine-year-old boy named Ying Zheng, who was later the emperor Qin Shihuangdi, became the leader of the state Qin. Shihuangdi unified states by dividing the empire into 36 provinces (territories) , dividing each provinces into districts, and then assigning a governor and a defender for each province. Shihuangdi also made people use the same writing, language, money, and measuring system. Unfortunately, Shihuangdi became obsessed with immortality, and died by poisoning in 210 BCE when he drank an “immortality potion”. After he died, he passed his dynasty to his son, Emperor Er Shi, who was killed in 207 BCE. After the death of Emperor Er Shi, the Qin dynasty collapsed entirely, and chaos reigned until 202 BCE. During the Qin dynasty, only two rulers held power, and they were Shihuangdi and Emperor Er Shi.
Economics
Inventions / Technology / Science & Architecture
Because of the Qin Dynasty’s short lasting time, there weren't lots of inventions or scientific discoveries during the period of the Qin Dynasty. However, there were still some major inventions and achievements during that time. Examples of some inventions during the Qin Dynasty are the magnetic compass, crossbows, standardized writing, language, money, and system of measurement, and multiplication tables. There were also important buildings and structures that were built in the Qin Dynasty. One example is the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China was built to protect the country from invasions from the north. An example of an important structure built in the Qin Dynasty would be the terracotta army. In 1974, Chinese farmers dug up some parts of the terracotta army. This led to the discovery of seven thousand terracotta warriors that have buried with Qin Shihuangdi to protect him in the afterlife. Although the Qin Dynasty only lasted for around 17 years, but the Qins’ sowed the seeds of unification and building of the Great Wall of China led to later periods of prosperity and stability during the great dynasties that followed.