The Qin Dynasty: What it is and its Accomplishments

 The Qin Dynasty. What is that? Well first, you should know what a dynasty is. A dynasty isn't a certain number of years. Its the time when one family is in rule. Some dynasties may last 10 years while others may last 100's. It just depends on strength. So, knowing that you would know that the Qin Dynasty was the dynasty ruled by the Qin family. Easy enough. The Qin Dynasty united all of China after the war of the states. The emperor was Qin Shi Huangdi. The dynasty had a strong government and many strongly enforced laws. It was also the dynasty with the first emperor of China ever. So, what great things did happen in this time period?

Well, there were many great accomplishments that took place during the Qin Dynasty. For example, the Great Wall of China was built. There were several smaller walls in China that were connected by a larger wall. This wall protected China from invaders from the north. Another great thing was that this dynasty had a strong government. They also united China after the war among the states and standardized their language, writing system, currency, measurements, axle lengths, and road width. Though the Qin Dynasty had many great achievements, this dynasty only lasted roughly 15 years.

Pronounciations:
Qin (Chin)

The Qin Dynasty: Qin Shi Huangdi

Born in the year 259 BC, Qin Shi Huangdi was the first emperor of China. He became ruler at the age of 13. He was from the smallest state of China, a northwestern state called Qin. He had an army of thousands of terra-cotta warriors built to guard his tomb. Qin Shi Huangdi enforced many strong rules. He had nobles be moved to the capital so he could watch them. He burned books and threw scholars into a deep ravine. He also had the Great Wall of China built. He forced slaves and peasants to build it for him. He treated them harshly and cruelly. He was not liked by the people he ruled, despite all the great things he had done and all the things done in this time period. Qin Shi Huangdi died in the year 210 BC.

Other Names:
Qin Shihuangdi
Qin Shi Huangti
Qin Shi Huang Ti
Qin Shi Huang Di
Ch'in Shihuangdi

Pronounciations:
Qin (Chin)
Shi Huangdi (She Hwawng-dee)

The Qin Dynasty: Terracotta Warriors

Would you rather... die believing you body and soul would be protected by something that would stop invaders and pass the test of time or die with no protection knowing anything could happen to your body in a day, a week, a year, or later? Qin Shi Huangdi wanted to be protected in his after life and for decades to come. So what offers good protection? An army. But Qin Shi Huangdi knew an ordinary army of ordinary men would die. So after searching for an elixir of life but coming up empty handed, he had an army built for him. An army of terracotta warriors. These life like statues protected Qin Shi Huangdi. But they them sleves are remarkable. They are all tall and all have different faces, just like ordinary people today. Some are leading horses, carrying materials, farmers, or soldiers. They're were thousands of these incredible statues built and many of them are still standing in one piece today. I guess Qin Shi Huangdi knew what he was talking about in terms of after life protection.

The Qin Dynasty: When

The Qin Dynasty took place in the years 221-206, far before your great-great-great grandparents, television, video games, telephones, flush toilets, cars, and most things we have today. It's hard to imagine what this civilization looked like. Here's a hint. First remember they didn't have great big houses, air conditioning, and those such things. Houses back then were very small. People didn't have cars or motorcycles to get around. They got around the old fashion way. And I mean old. People rode around in carts pulled by horses. And they had dirt roads. So next time you're complaining that the car is to hot or cold just remember, back then, there was no air conditioning, no heating, no roof, and the roads weren't nice and paved over like the roads now days. Luckily, they standardized how long the axle was and the road width so everyone could travel on the roads. They didn't have plumbing back then and they didn't have hoses to go out and water the crops they grew. They had irrigation canals. These would carry the water to certain places that needed water, though it was a lot of work to dig these. So now you have a hint on what life was like, far, far, far back in the "good ole days."

The Qin Dynasty: Where

Where exactly was the Qin Dynasty? Well for starters it was in China. To be exact it was in eastern China. it streched up and down a little bit. It was off the coast of the Pacific ocean. Many rivers ran through it, which was good. Back before plumbing people lived near rivers for water for drinking, cooking, bathing, irrigation, and so on. If you didn't live by a river you were toast. There were dirt roads and the Great Wall of China along it's northern edge. It had a pretty great location to live in, or at least I think it did.

What do you think? Qin Shi Huangdi did many good things for his dynasty. Do you think the good things out numbered the bad things he did or vise-versa? Why do you think that?

What do you think? What did you think was great about the terracotta army? The fact that all faces were different, the number of statues, how many stayed in tact? Or did something else interest you? Why did you find this so remarkable?