-221 BC- so, the Warring States Period had ended, and China (as we know it today) was now unified under Qin (which was now the Qin dynasty, as opposed to the state of Qín).
-However, while many still argue this viewpoint, it could also be argued that the idea of an actual "Chinese" civilization did not begin when China was finally unified, but instead was ALREADY a civilization under the Xia and Shang dynasties and that the Warring States period was like a long period of civil war within this civilization; it was a renewal, not a beginning.
-Anyway, to reflect this "renewal", King Zhèng went back into ancient Chinese history and selected the title "Huángdì" ("Emperor"), which was derived from the titles used by the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors when they had ruled China, as well as "Shǐ" ("First"), which implied that this was the start of a brand-new imperial dynasty; hence, he was transformed from "Qín Wáng Zhèng" ("King Zhèng of Qín") to "Qín Shǐ Huáng" ("First Emperor of Qín"). Pretty cool!
-As emperor, Qín Shǐ Huáng immediately began implementing a number of serious reforms and changes across his new empire.
-The old feudalism model of the Zhou dynasty and the Warring States period was replaced by an imperial model that enforced unity, in part by reorganized the land into 36 jùn, or commanderies/prefectures (which would actually grow in number as the empire expanded), all of which were ruled directly by the emperor.
-These prefectures were then further divided into xiàn (counties).
-These counties were then divided even further into xiàng (townships).
-These townships were then divided even further into li (communities/subdistricts (100 families per li)).
-Property rights were also abolished under this new system. Instead, positions of power were awarded based on merit, not family background.
-All weapons not belonging to the imperial army were confiscated (and melted down, if possible).
-So many metal-based weapons were melted down that among them Qín Shǐ Huáng was able to build these massive statues in the capital (Xiányáng) that would become known as the Twelve Metal Collosi.
-Standardized a system of weight (around the unit jin, or catty (outside of mainland China), equal to like 0.5kg (at least in modern times)).
-Road systems and transportation requirements (axle lengths/widths) were standardized as road and canal construction became a huge priority for the empire.
-A new currency was also introduced to replace the "blade coins / knife money" (unclear as to what exactly the deal was with these) that had been used in the past- the bàn liǎng (which had been the form of currency in the state of Qín).
-Bàn liǎng were round bronze coins with a square hole in the middle. They doubled as both currency and a system of weight measurement, as one bàn liǎng weighed 1/16 of a jin/catty.
-Qín Shǐ Huáng also continued construction (which had started around 246 BC (before he was emperor)) on a massive mausoleum (The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Qínshǐhuáng Líng), located in modern-day Xī'ān, Shǎnxī Province) which was to serve as his tomb.
-It's been recorded that between 300,000-720,000 workers (!) toiled away on this project (for 38 years!), but the number of workers is most likely an insane exaggeration.
-It was a huge undertaking (the circumference of the inner city is 2.5 km; the outer is 6.3 km!), and was actually finally finished two years after Qín Shǐ Huáng had already died!
-Although an archaeological excavation was initiated in 1974, it's still being worked on today (as of 2019), although the process is slowed dramatically due to a bunch of complications and technical shit (high levels of mercury (dangerous), air exposure could damage the site, etc.).
-For example, in 2012 archaeologists discovered what appears to be Qín Shǐ Huáng's imperial palace, which was also fucking massive!
-This is also the site of the infamous Teracotta Army (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, of course).
-214 BC- Qín Shǐ Huáng sends a huge army to the north in order to secure the border and an even bigger army to the south to conquer the Bǎiyuè (or "Hundred Yuè"), a loose collection of tribes/states/kingdoms occupying (at this time) a stretch of territory from (roughly) modern-day Southern China to Northern Vietnam.
-The Qín forces had a really rough time trying to subjugate the Bǎiyuè, as the Qín troops weren't used to fighting in jungles. The Bǎiyuè knew this, and were especially adept at guerrilla warfare. However, this still wasn't enough to ultimately repel the Qín invaders.
-In order to make travel to the south easier (presumably for military vessels, supply boats, etc.), Qín Shǐ Huáng ordered the construction of the Líng Qú ("Magic Canal"), a long (36km!) canal, in order to connect the Xiāng River with the Lí River.
-This was extremely significant because it essentially connected the Yangtze (or Yángzǐ) River with the Pearl River Delta (Zhūjiāng Sānjiǎozhōu)! Thus, the Qín now had a superhighway in which they could use to pour their armies into Bǎiyuè land (as opposed to having the armies travel overland, which would be extremely expensive and an overall giant pain in the ass.
-The lands in the south that the Qín dynasty did end up conquering they immediately started to colonize.
-They did this by sending tens of thousands of criminals (with promises of freedom should they agree to live in these new regions), exiles, and other undesirables into these newly-acquired lands (in addition to military troops).
-One of the most important things Qín Shǐ Huáng did during this time was standardizing a system of writing that was to be used by his entire empire, as up till this point every region used a different script to write their dialect.
-This script became known as zhuànshū ("seal script"), which was based off of the script used by the Zhou dynasty but was what had been used by the kingdom of Qín before all of this.
-The "director" who oversaw all of this implemented was the Qín dynasty's chancellor/prime minister Lǐ Sī, who was also a calligrapher and Legalist philosopher/writer.
-For what it's worth, he's also considered to be one of the most important figures in all of Chinese history because of his reforms (which included promoting a unified, standardized script to be used throughout the empire, as well as destroying/removing/erasing any other script that was being used at the same time that wasn't zhuànshū. In many cases, he also suppressed intellectual dissent by cracking down on "free-thinking" scholars by destroying their works and historical records and then having the scholars themselves either imprisoned (and sent north to go work on border fortifications (NOT the Great Wall of China, although it was a precursor) that Qín Shǐ Huáng was having built in order to defend against the Xiōngnú) or executed; only books written by pro-Qín writers and intellectuals were spared.
-Additionally, anyone caught discussing the classics of poetry or history would be executed. Criticism of the government would also result in the execution of one's entire family!
-Because of this, China's "Hundred Schools of Thought" intellectual golden age (which included Confucianism, Taoism, the works of Sūnzǐ (Sun Tzu), etc.) was finally coming to an end.
-213 BC- around the time that all these reforms were being passed, Qín Shǐ Huáng realized that he was starting to get a little old. Because of this (and also having survived multiple assassination attempts), he became obsessed with achieving immortality, and used all of the resources at his disposal in order to do so.
-He famously had over 460 scholars buried alive after he found out that he was being deceived by two alchemists who had promised that they could create a potion of immortality for him.
-When Qín Shǐ Huáng's own son, Crown Prince Fúsū argued that this brutal oppression of Confucian scholars would result in widespread civil unrest across the land, Qín Shǐ Huáng had him sent to the northern frontier on "military duty" (but it was obvious that he had actually just been exiled)!
-It's been argued that perhaps Qín Shǐ Huáng ordered the book burnings and executions in order for his scholars and alchemists to focus solely on finding out how to become immortal.
-At one point he actually sent thousands on an expedition to try and find Mount Pénglái (located in the legendary, mystical land of Pénglái ("Pénglái Xiāndǎo")) where it was believed that a 1000 year-old immortal wizard named Ānqī Shēng lived. Perhaps he could help Qín Shǐ Huáng?
-Leading this expedition was Xú Fú, a (the?) sorcerer for the court of the Qín dynasty.
-However, after years of exploration and adventures, Xú Fú and his expedition eventually just ended up disappearing. Where did they go?
-Assuming this is a true story, according to legend Xú Fú and his people landed in Japan and they just ended up staying there and colonizing it!
-Additional theories have proposed that it wasn't Japan but was actually Jeju Island, Taiwan, etc., but of course who the fuck really knows.
-Perhaps they didn't want to return empty-handed to Qín Shǐ Huáng because they knew that he would have them executed for their failure
-211 BC- according to legend, a meteor fell to earth near the lower reaches of the Yellow River.
-On the meteor, someone wrote the words "Qín Shǐ Huáng will die and his land will be divided", which of course freaked out Qín Shǐ Huáng.
-Qín Shǐ Huáng tried to figure out who wrote these words, but no one in the nearby town fessed up so he had all of the villagers executed and the meteor pulverized!
-210 BC- Qín Shǐ Huáng dies, quite possibly from mercury poisoning due to all the wacky potions and shit he was having his alchemists create in order to try and achieve immortality!
-Upon hearing the news of the emperor's death, Lǐ Sī, fearing that the empire would break up to its old state of chaos, ordered for the death to be covered up; this was possible because Qín Shǐ Huáng had died in Shāqiū prefecture (Shāqiū Píngtái) at one of his palaces.
-Because this particular palace was like a two month-journey outside of the capital at Xiányáng, Lǐ Sī ordered for the few witnesses of the emperor's death (which included the emperor's second-eldest son, Prince Húhài (who would soon take the imperial name Qín Èr Shì when he was finally enthroned as the second (and final) emperor of the Qín dynasty), Chief Eunuch Zhào Gāo, and a few other eunuchs) to keep quiet about it as they journeyed back to the capital with the emperor's entourage. This seemed to work, as everyone just assumed that the emperor was chilling in his wagon, and routines went on as normal as they made the trip.
-However, of course over time the body began to decompose, so Lǐ Sī ordered for wagons carrying rotting fish to travel next to the emperor's wagon in order to cover up the corpse's stench.
-How no one caught on at this point what was going on is beyond me.
-Anyway, when they finally reached Xiányáng, Lǐ Sī allowed the news of the emperor's death to be revealed.
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