Advanced Army Of The Ch In State example essay topic

Shi Huangdi, self-named the First Emperor of China, was responsible for some of the greatest advancements of Classical China, due to his erratic and selfish style of governing. The Ch " in (or Qin) Empire lasted from only 221-206 BC however in those few years Huangdi made unprecedented advances in technological and political philosophies, which stayed intact for many years following his reign. Huangdi's methods were very harsh and controversial, however his success as an absolute power advocate was astonishing. King Zhen of Ch " in, was one day a poor peasant, but he stepped into the driver's seat of the Ch " in state during the Warring States period when there was no leader and took the everyone by surprise.

He adopted the newly coined name Huangdi, or Emperor, and began calling himself Shi Huangdi (First Emperor). Huangdi (259-210 BC) was known as a cruel and merciless leader. His tactics were unpleasing and controversial to many of the Chinese people during this time. He made people labor over massive projects intended to symbolize his power and authority. These projects included, the "Great Wall", roadways throughout the city, and even his own massive tomb. This led to a great loss of life and unnecessarily high taxes throughout the city.

However, some of Huangdi's improved innovations included standardizing Chinese writing, law, and weight and measurement and building a capital at Xian. He also made currency standardized by creating a circular coin with a square hole in the middle that held value. Huangdi also made the cartwheel uniformed. The measurements and thickness of the wheels were all identical; ruts were then placed in the roadways so all wheels would fit into the grooves for easier travel.

His greatest triumph was unifying the Warring States and expanding the empire. Huangdi led the Ch " in state to conquer the Warring States and form the first empire. This is where the name China is believed to have come from. There were two main reasons why his unification was so successful. The first was his newly appointed system of legalism. Legalism replaced all of the previous ways of the Chinese states with the previous beliefs in the Ch " in state.

Huangdi got these legalist ideas from his grand chancellor, Li Si. Li Si was a strong believer in. ".. the dominant concerns centered upon the power and authority of the state and ruler", 1 which was the base of legalism. This was one of the major schools of Chinese thought that arose during the Warring States period. Huangdi's hardcore Legalist beliefs led him to the infamous "Burning of Books" in 213 BC. "In an attempt to impose intellectual conformity, the Qin [Huangdi] alleged to have ordered the destruction of writings that advocated ethical ideals and thereby criticized the realistic and authoritarian measure of the Qin government". 2 Education was provided only by government officials to teach literacy to people who intended to serve for the government.

Huangdi made sure that only those who would benefit the state would be in schools, and the others could strive on their own. The government worked on a rewards and punishment system to keep order in the empire, which left little flexibility to the people. This strictness let Huangdi successfully enforce absolute power over the Ch " in people. The new system of Legalism also ended hereditary power of Emperors. Instead of power descending from the family, the new system appointed new government officials at the end of a term. This system consisted of thirty-six provinces that each had a civil governor, a military commander, and an imperial inspector.

Each of the provinces had to report to Huangdi in a written report. This change gave Huangdi complete control over the state and government, so there would be no worries of another tyrannical leader to overpower him. The second reason was the advanced army of the Ch " in state. .".. their battle formations show that the Qin had developed an advanced war machine. A well-built highway network linked provinces to the capital". 1 The roads were complete with canals to transport goods and weapons. Men on horseback traveled on these highways as well.

The Ch " in army was heavily trained on cavalry, which enabled the Ch " in to cover more territory and fight from a better position, swinging their weapons from atop a horse. Since the city was used so often for travel, Huangdi ordered thousands of men to the northern border of the Ch " in state. The men exasperated themselves building a massive wall for protection. This was discussed above as one of Huangdi's image of power, however it turned out to be very successful against invasions from enemy states. The Ch " in state was also located in an iron-rich environment. This Iron Age resulted in great advances in weaponry.

Most other armies were trained in hand-to-hand combat and lacked the weapons that turned out to be the deciding factor of the great wars. Another greatly impacted innovation was the invention of the crossbow. The crossbow allowed the Ch " in army to defeat their opponents without even being in dangerous vicinity. The Ch " in army was a step ahead of the rest, resulting in a military triumph and uniformity that led the first empire in Classical China. More of Huangdi's egotistical lifestyle was put into his massive tomb.

The construction of this necropolis, or underground city of the dead, was started in preparation for his death as soon as Huangdi took power. He had an immense army built from clay to commemorate his great conquer over the Warring States. Huangdi meticulously placed horse bodies, complete with hay, as his stables, and pits that held clay models of plants and birds to represent his parks. There were also twenty some tombs that held his personal possessions. Huangdi's tomb was placed in the heart of the underground world, which is still un excavated today. The most amazing part of his tomb was the terra cotta army that was placed in three wooden vaults.

There were six thousand soldiers in rank, fourteen hundred cavalrymen, infantry and horses, ninety wooden chariots, and seventy figures of important military leaders. The last pit remained empty, possibly signifying the battleground. This tomb was very important to modern day historians who are able to learn about the Ch " in from the sculptures. These outrageous tombs were the ultimate symbol of Huangdi's power and ill lived success. The Ch " in Empire, which Huangdi predicted to last thousands of years, only lasted three years after his death. However, the hereditary feudalism ceased to exist from that point on and the Han adopted the imperial system of the Ch " in.

The impact of Huangdi helped shape Chinese culture today. The reign of the Ch " in Empire was short, but filled with important revolutionary and history-altering events that let China stay unified for two thousand years afterward. 1) The Encyclopedia of Asian History (1987) 2) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (Succeeds 1982 ed.) 3) web "Dynasties of Early Imperial China" 4) web Written by Paul Frankenstein 5) web "Qin Shi Huangdi, First Chinese Emperor" 6) web "Early Imperial China: Tomb of the First Emperor".