Chapter 6.3 Notes

 $\cdot$  The Warring States period marked a time in China when several states battled each other for power
     -Eventually, one state, the Qin, built a strong army and defeated the rest of the armies
      *The Qin dynasty united China under one government
 $\cdot$  Shi Huangdi takes the throne
      -In 221 BC, the Qin king Ying Zheng unified China and named himself Shi Huangdi
        *Shi Huangdi means “first emperor”

      *He created a strong government with strict laws and harsh punishments
      *He ordered that all writings be destroyed that did not follow Legalism
   -The only books that were saved dealt with farming, medicine, and predicting the future
      *Many scholars opposed the burning of books so the emperor responded by burying 460 scholars alive
 $\cdot$  The emperor also used his armies to expand the empire
       -The Qin occupied the lands between the two rivers

   -Shi Huangdi ensured that there would not be any future revolts in his territories
      *When the emperor conquered a city, his armies destroyed the city walls and took all the weapons 
 $\cdot$  China under the Qin
     -Shi Huangdi changed all the political system and took all the power from lords
    -He would take away their land and forced them to move to the capital for observation

 $\cdot$  Shi Huangdi divided China into districts each with its own governor
   -Each district was then subdivided and officials were appointed to control each area
          *The organization helped the emperor to collect and enforce taxes 

 $\cdot$  Qin Policies
    -As previously talked about, China’s physical geography meant that regions would develop their own languages, money and life styles
      *The Shi Huangdi wanted all Chinese people to do things the same way
    -Early in his reign, the emperor set up a uniform system of law
      *Rules & punishments were to be the same in all parts of the empire
     *He also standardized all written language, currency and trade

    -The Qin created massive building projects that unified the nation
         *The Chinese built networks of roads that connected the capital to every part of the empire
    -The water system was improved upon as well
         *Canals were built to improve the transportation for people and trade throughout the nation
         *The Qin also built irrigation systems to make more farm land  (parts of this system are still used today)
     -The Qin also wanted to protect their great nation from invaders

     *The emperor built the Great Wall to keep the empire safe
Great Wall: a barrier that linked earlier walls across China’s northern frontier
 $\cdot$  The fall of the Qin
     -The Qin’s policies unified China but his policies also created resentment
    - The Shi Huangdi was powerful enough to keep China together
        *But that did not last once he died in 210 BC and the government began to fall apart
    -Rebel forces formed across the country
        *China fell into another civil war time period.