The great emperor who built the Great Wall of China: Who is Qin Shi Huang?

Emperor of China from the Qin Dynasty (246-210 BC) The great emperor was a man of contrast. He successfully resisted the barbarian attacks from Mongolia, ensured the unity of the various regions of the country, and initiated the construction of the Great Wall to protect his nation from attacks. One of the most astonishing works in world history, the wall was built between 218 and 204. Finally, it reached a length of 2240 km. It was wide in breadth, with bastions and thick walls. The emperor also built roads and canals across the country and rebuilt cities.

Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. His self-invented title "emperor" would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia.

But Qin Shi Huang was a ruthless man. The Great Wall of China was not built by voluntary workers but by poor peasants and political prisoners who were forced into labor. The emperor also harbored great grudges against Chinese scholars and thinkers. He believed that they were against his own ideas and ideals. He thought they would oppose the establishment of a new imperial dynasty. For this reason, he had hundreds of them arrested and killed. In order for his ideas not to be adopted by others, he had all his works collected and burned. Among them were the works of Confucius. This has been a great misfortune for humanity and science. Because the originals were destroyed, many valuable works survived only after Qin Shi Huang's death, with the rewriting of the memories.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China and the Case of the First Great Book Burning in History

More than two thousand years have passed since the death of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. However, the emperor still makes a name for himself with his actions. Most of us know Shi Huang for his Land Soldiers and the construction of the Great Wall. The emperor is also considered to be responsible for the first major book burning in history. The idea that reading liberates and develops independent thinking has frightened despotic leaders for thousands of years. For this reason, the act of burning books is seen in every period of history. Let's take a closer look at why Emperor Qin Shi Huang slaughtered the books.

Before a major empire was established in China, there were seven separate states. The Kingdom of Qin, which was among these states, was ruled by Qin Shi Huang. When Shi Huang turned 21, he defeated six other states and established a centralized empire in China.

After establishing his centralist empire, Qin Shi Huang undertook numerous reforms.

He implemented the province and district system, dividing China into 36 separate cities administered from a single center. He set standards for length and weight measurements to ensure trade unions between cities. At the same time, a single monetary system came into effect. His most known activity in the military field was the construction of the Great Wall of China. In the cultural sphere, he created a new writing system that formed the basis of the Chinese alphabet.

Qin Shi Huang was an extremely despotic leader. He wanted to eliminate any thought that threatened his authority.

Chief among these harmful thoughts was Confucianism. This teaching, named after Confucius, was a moral system based on religion. In Confucian teaching, tolerance, morality, and virtue were among the most basic elements. Therefore, the ruler was expected to be the servant of his people. A despotic emperor like Qin Shi Huang could not be expected to be a servant of the people. Therefore, he introduced the idea of legalism instead of Confucian doctrine. In legalism, the emperor's orders were always to be met with respect and obedience by the people. Those who adopted this philosophy claimed that too much tolerance would disrupt the social order and state structure. To summarize; Legalism was a system of thought that adopted the rules of the period as a principle. This would have been possible with the complete disappearance of ancient traditions.

Qin Shi Huang BC. In 213, he ordered the burning of all books to erase the traces of Confucian thought.

This event was recorded in the history books as "book burning and the burial of scholars". Vizier Li Si played an important role in the burning of the books. According to Li Si, books were the greatest danger to the political order. Especially his books of history, poetry, and philosophy carried traces of Confucian thought. Vizier Li Si thought that those who read these books would rebel against the new administration, yearning for the past. It didn't take long for him to adopt this idea to the emperor. Because Qin Si Huang was assassinated 3 times. The emperor, who was very afraid of dying, had to adopt the new order to his people as soon as possible.

After the emperor issued his decree, all books throughout the country were burned, except for alchemy, medicine, and agriculture.

The Emperor's decision on this matter was very clear. Those who did not destroy the ancient books would be exiled. Those who did not destroy these books and continued to defend the old traditions would be killed with their families. The rulers who wanted to prevent the book massacre were equally guilty. This event, the first major censorship in history, has greatly damaged China's intellectual heritage. Historians state that 420 pieces of information were buried alive in the first year of the ban, and 700 in the following year. The emperor destroyed not only the books but also those who wrote the books. However, his brutal practice led to the rapid fall of the Qin dynasty.

Like other censorship practices in history, Qin Shi Huang's book burning failed. After Qin Shi Huang died, the newly arrived emperor killed the vizier Li Si and his family for destroying the information. During the Han dynasty, Confucianism became the official ideology of China.

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Qin Shi Huang's tomb near Xian

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