The Qin Dynasty and the Unification of China: 221-202 B.C. By Encyclopedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.02.17 Word Count 1,086 Level 950L

A 19th century ukiyo-e painting by Kuniyoshi depicting the great sea expedition ca. 219 B.C. The ships had been sent by the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Their mission was to find the legendary home of the immortals, Mount Penglai, and bring back the elixir of immortality. Photo from Wikimedia.

The Qin dynasty was a powerful ruling family that ruled China in the third century B.C. During its short reign, it unified China into a single country. It led grand construction projects, like expanding the Great Wall of China. When the Qin ruler Shi Huangdi (also sometimes called Qin Shi Huang) died, he was buried with an army of 6,000 clay soldiers, now known as the Terracotta warriors.

The Qin first gained power over the western part of China in 650 B.C. Soon, the Qin state took over many non-Chinese tribes and states. At this time, many states in central China were competing for power. Because the Qin were not located near the war zone, they were spared some of the conflict. The Qin state was also young compared to the others, and this allowed it to create its own government. Unlike other Chinese states, it did not use the system of feudalism. In a feudal system, the king shared his power with the area's lords. In return, the lords had to pay the king for their lands and titles.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Feudal states often had complicated government structures and too many officials. The Qin state did not have this problem, and was soon able to compete with the eastern states.

Creation of a well-organized state

Until the fourth century B.C., Qin was not a major power in China. Great changes were then made by Xiaogong (361–338 B.C.), the Qin ruler, and a man named Shang Yang. Shang Yang once worked in an eastern court, for the Wei dynasty, but grew frustrated. He went west hoping to try out his ideas for a new government. He partnered with the ruler Xiaogong and created the best-organized state of their time.

First, Shang Yang established strict laws. These were to be enforced on everyone equally, no matter who was rich and who was poor. Another big change came to local governments. Various villages and towns were grouped into counties and prefectures, or districts, which helped create a more unified Qin state.

Shang Yang also encouraged his people to farm more. Farmers were offered rewards for turning wasteland into farmland. When there were not enough laborers, the Qin hired them from neighboring states.

In order to increase production, the Qin government doubled taxes on any male who was not the master of a household. As a result, the traditional extended family system — where aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins lived and worked together — broke down. Younger children were forced to move out and make a life for themselves. After this, Qin families were more likely to be smaller. For some, this went against Confucianism, the traditional moral code of China, which said that one should respect elders and ancestors.

Growing wealthy and powerful

Shang Yang also had everyone in Qin use the same the system of weights and measures. This was of great help for trade, since merchants were no longer forced to compare different measures of goods.

Qin grew wealthy and powerful under Xiaogong and Shang Yang. However, after Xiaogong's death, Shang Yang was put to death by enemies at the Qin court.

At this time, the Zhou royal court had grown weak, and China was divided. Many felt that China's states should be brought together as one large country. Still, the powers disagreed on how this was to be done and who would be the great leader of this new land.

Huiwang, son of Xiaogong, claimed the royal title in 325 B.C. One by one, Qin managed to defeat its neighboring states, and within 50 years Qin was the main power in China.

The unification of China

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. When Qin was able to unify China in 221 B.C., its king claimed the title of "First Sovereign Emperor." His name was Shi Huangdi, and he was a strong and lively ruler.

Shi Huangdi made a number of important changes to government. He got rid of the feudal system completely. He also expanded the system of prefectures and counties to all of China, dividing the country into some 40 prefectures. The empire created by Shi Huangdi soon became the traditional territory of China as we know it. Shi Huangdi also unified and simplified the writing system.

In order to control this vast area, Shi Huangdi built a network of highways to move his troops. Several hundred thousand workers were forced to connect and strengthen the existing walls along the northern border. This was an early version of the Great Wall of China. The wall protected the land from foreign invaders.

The emperor had many grand projects, but they weren't all successful. He tried and failed to get a canal dug across Southern China. In addition, these 11 or 12 years of change caused great pain for China's people. Millions were forced into these huge construction jobs, and many died on the long journey to their destination. Hundreds of great thinkers were killed for daring to speak out against the emperor. Any book that was not about law, farming or medicine was banned. To some, Shi Huangdi is considered a cruel tyrant in Chinese history.

Shi Huangdi was afraid of death

However, Shi Huangdi himself believed he had brought peace and order. He thought he had corrected the misbehavior of the leaders before him.

Shi Huangdi was also afraid of death. He did everything he could to try to live forever, such as praying to gods and looking for medicines. He died in 210 B.C. while on a tour of the empire. Thousands of years after his death, his tomb was discovered near the modern city Xi'an. It was found to have more than 6,000 life-size statues of soldiers, still on guard.

Shi Huangdi's death led to the fall of the Qin dynasty. Capable and loyal servants were put to death as members of the court schemed for power. Ershidi, the second emperor, reigned for only four years. A rebellion broke out in the Yangtze River area when a small group of workers killed their officers.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Escaped workers and soldiers had been hiding throughout the land. Now, they came out in large numbers to attack the emperor's armies. The second emperor was killed, and in 206 B.C. the last Qin prince surrendered his power.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.