Qin Shi Huangdi – the First Emperor
Qin’s achievements:
Qin only ruled China as Emperor for eleven years. In that time, he accomplished many
things:
1: Set up strict laws to govern the country and made them apply to everyone equally
2: Abolished hereditary rule an privilege
3: Standardised weights and measures throughout China
4: Rebuilt part of the Great Wall of China in stone to protect the Northern border
5: Built the 36.5 km Lingqu canal that connected the Liang River in the north and the Xiang
River in the south
6: Established a single currency in China
7: Standardised Chinese script throughout the empire.
Qin’s Reputation:
Although Qin made many positive changes to China, he was not popular by all scholars at
the time. In 213 BC, Qin held a celebration banquet. At the banquet, a scholar declared
nothing lasted long, unless it was based on Ancient traditions. He was implying that Qin’s
reign would not last very long. This angered Qin and his court officials. Qin decided to burn
the ancient books and have four hundred scholars killed as a warning to any other scholars
who opposed his reign.
Qin was also hated for his use of forced labour on his many building projects. It is estimated
that one million people died during the construction of his Great Wall. Many of them were
buried in the wall itself. Qin also raised taxes to pay for these building costs.
Qin’s decline
There were many assassination attempts, but in the end, Qin died of natural causes in 210
BC. His son, Qin Er Shi, was the next Emperor, but he was not a talented ruler. Within four
years of Emperor Qin’s death, the Qin dynasty was overthrown by the people, who were
tired of Qin’s laws, forced labour, taxes and harsh punishments.
Questions on Emperor Qin
1) How did Qin Shi Huangdi ensure there was no-one to challenge his power?
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2) What achievements of Qin’s helped unify (bring together) China as a nation?
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3) Draw the Lingqu Canal on this (very rough) map of Liang River and Xiange River. Be
sure to label both rivers and the canal, and add in how long the Lingqu Canal is.
4) Why did the people overthrow the Qin regime?
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5) Complete the following passage using the words provided.
Emperor _______united the Warring States into one empire. He made sure to have no
opposition by killing all other _______ and their noble _______. Whilst Emperor, Qin had
many achievements, including rebuilding part of _________, and abolishing ________ rule
and privilege. He had many building projects, on which he used _______ labour. It is
estimated that _____________ people died during the construction of The Great Wall.
When he died, his son ___________ him, but the Qin ______ was soon overthrown.
Forced
Qin
the Great Wall
families
one million
hereditary
dynasty
succeeded
kings
Design a coin to commemorate Emperor Qin
Things to include:
-Qin’s name and years of reign
-An image of Qin
-Images that symbolise Qin’s reign
-Images that show China/The Great Wall
Qin: Dates
Qin was alive from 259-210BC.
Qin became king of the State of Qin in
246BC (at age 13).
Qin became first Emperor of China (221
BC) (at age 38).
Qin died in 210 BC (at age 49).
Using these important dates, create a time line of Qin’s life, from birth to
death. Include a picture of Qin for each important time. The first and last
column has been started for you. Use the bottom row to draw your pictures.
What
happened?
Qin is born
Qin dies
How old was
Qin?
What was
the year?
Age: 0
Age: 49
259 BC
210 BC
What did Qin
look like?