Unification of China

Ying Zheng was born in 259 BC.  He was brought into a harsh world where he had many enemies plotting his demise hoping to steal his thrown.  His mother, the most dangerous of these foes, plotted to kill her son.  He found this out and had her banished from his kingdom.  This was when he decided that his ultimate goal would be to conquer China.  Over the next few years, he accomplished this goal and became Qin Shi Huangdi, or first emperor of the Qin Dynasty.

I was parched.  I had been walking for a few miles when I saw him.  He looked majestic on horseback where he had a look of intense concentration.  I hadn’t seen a person for a while and setting my eyes upon this fellow made me realize how not only was I thirsty, but I was also fatigued.  I slow my pace to a stop and looked up at the man.  His gaze veered sharply towards me, assessing my appearance (which I imagine would’ve been a bit shabby).  He then gestured to his assistant who approached me in a sort of timid way, almost as though I were diseased.  I smiled in an inviting way so that he wouldn’t be as nervous.  He then began moving towards me in a brisk fashion. 

“State your purpose,” he demanded.
“I’m just passing through.”
“Not through here you’re not.  This area is under protection by the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi.”
“Who,” I felt embarrassed to not be keeping up on politics.
“Are you not familiar with the leader of our society?”
“I guess not.  The last news I heard was during the Warring States.”
“Well, all of the states are in control of the Qin Dynasty.”

He then almost took pity on my ignorance and explained what I had been missing while I was out wandering in the forest.  Now, looking back on the experience, I know what I didn’t then.  The Qin Dynasty was ruthless.  It started out as one of the western states during the Period of the Warring states which took place in 475-221 BCE.  Their objective was conquering and unifying China. They were revolutionary in warfare due to two great advantages in war.  One of these was their abundance of foot soldiers and another was their use of horsemen.  They also knew how to mass produce weapons.  With these strengths they defeated the other six warring states and achieved their goal.  The Qin dynasty was the first to unify China.  Although it only lasted from 221-207 BCE, the dynasty was very significant to China's history. 

Accomplishments of the Qin Dynasty

Aside from being one of the most technologically advanced civilizations in history, the Qin also managed to standardize the language and writing of China.  The new region had a need for consistent communication and so they established a common language.  Another accomplishment was the work of Li Bing.  Li Bing was a hydraulic engineer who built a channel through Mount Qian.  The rivers of this region were treacherous to townspeople when there were overflows and conversely during droughts lack of water threatened their way of life.  Li Bing wanted to control the water so it would be of abundance when needed and contained during heavy rains.  He had one obstacle while creating this channel; Mount Qian.  Mount Qian was directly in the way of his water system.  He couldn't move the mountain out of the way and to make heavy lifting easier he devised an ingenious plan.  He put sticks in the cracks of boulders and then filled them with water.  The wood would absorb the water causing it to expand and crack the boulders into movable sizes.  With this method, Li Bing managed to make a channel through the mountain for water to pass.  When the channel was built, the region became highly populated with more agriculture.  This region was where I eventually decided to move my home to. 

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