Qin Dynasty China
221 BC-205 BC
The First Real Empire
Zhou to Qin: Warring States

Disorder or loose government of Later Zhou devolves
into “Warring States Period”
 Autonomous smaller regions emerge as largely
independent nations
 Periodic war ensues
 One among the several emerges to establish a
new, far more centralized dynasty
 Qin Dynasty emerges as the first Chinese
“Empire” 221 BC (pronounced “chin”)
Qin Shi Huang Di
Unifies China by brute
force
Adopts Legalism as
official governing
ideology
Rules with ruthless, iron
fist
Qin Dynasty and Legalism
Legalism as promoted by Han Fei
Zi: 233 BC
Humans are selfish and evil; can not
be reformed
Ruler must establish rule of law
Ruler must rule with force and
violence
Confucian doctrine is misguided and
corrupting
Qin Dynasty:
Qin Shi Huang Di
Rejects Confucian
Governance Rules
Orders Slaughter of 400
Scholars
Orders ALL Confucian
Documents/Books
Burned
Qin Dynasty
Captures and unifies
much of China
Builds first Great Wall
Builds Canal System
Qin Dynasty:
Qin Shi Huang Di
Builds Great Tomb
Terracotta Warriors – 8000 + and still counting
Qin Dynasty: Brutality Pays
(but only for a while)
Brutality of Legalist Governance alienates:
Gentry
Not recognized as important
Traditional privileges stripped
Scholars
Confucian knowledge and skills distained
Many scholars slaughtered
Commoners
Brutal, forced labor and harsh law enforcement
Qin Dynasty: Problems
Legalism Provides no Legitimating Myth
No Mandate of Heaven Claim
Legalism = rule of law --- but by force
Force as a source of Power???
Generates Hostility
Requires vigilant monitoring
Inevitably creates the revolution that destroys it
Qin Dynasty: Collapse 205 BC
First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, Dies
Son, heir not as capable or brutal
Alienation leads to revolt and collapse
Han Dynasty: 206 BC – 221 AD
Han Gaozu – First Emperor
 Originally a commoner
 Rose to prominence as a general in
an army trying to overthrow the
Qin
 Overthrows his own king to
become Emperor when they
succeed
Han Dynasty:
Han Gaozu
Governing
philosophy drawn
from XunZi:
The prince is the boat; the common
people are the water.
The water can support the boat, or
the water can capsize the boat.
Han Dynasty: Han Gaozu
Government of Reconciliation:




Win over gentry by restoring privileges
Win over scholars by reinstating Confucian
advisors and Confucian court system
Win over commoners with reduced labor load
and more gentle system of government
Make peace with northern neighbors:
 Marriages
of convenience -send his
daughters
 Generous dowries
 Lavish annual gifts to
keep peace
Han Dynasty
Cultural
Developments

Han period Poetry develops and gains in
elegance and complexity

Confucian ideals codified
Confucian based civil service exam developed
but never used in official recruitment

Han Dynasty:
Problem Becomes Opportunity
Tax System based on Land and Agriculture
Great Families are Tax Exempt
Major revenue problem
Iron, Salt, and Liquor Monopolies imposed to
boost government revenue
Han Dynasty:
Problem Becomes Opportunity
Grain Storage and Arbitrage
 Government buys grain in good times
 Stores it
 Government sells grain in shortage periods
Intent: Profit and Government Revenue
Outcome:
 Price Stabilization
 Avoid Famine
 Stabilize political system and support
Recurring Dynastic Themes:

Empress families
Empresses come from powerful families
 She brings along brothers or uncles who are
appointed to powerful posts
 Clash or power struggle between empress’ family
and imperial family
 Major power struggles
 Solutions… Complex, sometimes violent

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

Eunuchs: emasculated male servants

Ensure legitimacy of Imperial Heir

(Empress can’t produce a bastard if she never sees any
other men with reproductive equipment intact)
Men without offspring (or testicles) were presumed to
lack ambition – hence they were thought trustworthy
 Eunuchs sometimes adopted or worked to build
inheritance for a nephew

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

Eunuchs: Continued

Testicles apparently do not equal ambition (or more
precisely, the absence of testicles does not equal the
absence of ambition)

Eunuchs built alliances with Empresses

Power battles between eunuchs and other factions,
even the imperial family were common
Recurring Dynastic Themes:
Millenarian Movements ??
Millennium ??
Christian Millennium: heaven on earth, reign of Christ,
1000 years of peace
 Millenarian movements are social movements
claiming the ability to lead their followers to some ideal
world, some heaven on earth. Often also referred to as
utopian movements.
Tend to arise in times of economic or social stress or
chaos: flood, drought, famine, plague, etc.
Han Period Millenarian Movements

Red Eyes

Yellow Turbans: 184 AD

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Daoist Agricultural rebellion
Five Pecks of Rice: 2nd Century AD
Daoist inspired.
 Communal movement
 5 pecks of rice was the price of entry
 Unsettled Han Period power structure

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

Disinterest in military oversight
Confucianism does not value military virtues
 Confucian scholar officials avoid military issues


Generals frequently recruited from low status
families or even as foreign mercenaries
Recurring Dynastic Themes:

Factional fighting
Top families form factions in government and feud
for power
 Feuding within government creates major
weaknesses and vulnerabilities

Han’s End

Too-independent generals overthrow Han 221
AD
No new, unified dynast succeeds Han period.

Six Dynasties period until 589
