The rise |
UNIFYING
Qin Shi Huangdi went to many lengths in order to ensure that his beliefs would be the only beliefs of his people and that he would remain all-powerful. In the beginning of his rule he moved all of the nobles that formerly had power in China's feudal state. He did this to make sure he could keep an eye on the nobles and that he could maintain much more power than they had. (Ellis 102)
Qin Shi Huangdi was very against any Confucius ideas and wanted all his subjects to abide by Legalist philosophy. To ensure this he burned all but one of all of the Confucius Classics. Qin Shi Huangdi also had many Confucian scholars executed for speaking out against his beliefs. He did whatever it took to make sure his subjects would only know and do what he believed in.
(Memorial on Annexation of Feudal States and Memorial on the Burning of Books DBQ)
Qin Shi Huangdi was very against any Confucius ideas and wanted all his subjects to abide by Legalist philosophy. To ensure this he burned all but one of all of the Confucius Classics. Qin Shi Huangdi also had many Confucian scholars executed for speaking out against his beliefs. He did whatever it took to make sure his subjects would only know and do what he believed in.
(Memorial on Annexation of Feudal States and Memorial on the Burning of Books DBQ)
Death Of Qin Shi HuangDI
-Qin Shi Huangdi's death in 210 BCE was hard-hitting on the dynasty's success. The Qin Dynasty had not only lost it's supreme leader who had brought it into its state of power, but were also left with an illegitimate leader. Qin Shi Haungdi's predecessor, Er Shi, did not have the same ability to lead in a Legalist state and was therefore unable to rule the Qin Dynasty. It wasn't long before rebellion took place and the dynasty eventually fell after a short 15 year reign. (GB Times: The Demise of the Qin Dynasty)
Xiang Yu & Liu Bang
Xiang Yu was the grandson of a great military general and was brought up with intense military training. Xiang Yu helped to re-establish the Chu state and was able to slowly put together a large group of followers against the Qins. Liu Bang had humble roots as a peasant but was able to secure a position as a small-time official in the Qin government. This helped him prepare for his enemy because he had become close with their governmental structure. These two rebels came together to plot against and eventually overthrow The Qin Dynasty. Xiang Yu took a more brute force method and took on many ranks of the Qin's army. Liu Bang was able to work more quickly to the capital having Xiang Yu's troops taking on most of the Qin's army, and by 206 BCE were able to completely conquer the dynasty. The Qin Dynasty had officially fallen, after only 15 total years of existence. To this day it is the shortest-lived dynasty to rule that territory in Chinese history. (GB Times: The Demise of the Qin Dynasty) |