Was Qin Shi Huang A Hero Or Tyrant?

Qin Shi Huang, the first ruler of the Qin dynasty, led the way to creating a powerful nation. Before then, citizens were suffering from wars due to constant vying for power between the Warring States. Finally, in 221 B.C., the King of Qin unified the empire mainly through aggressive military power with the help of social reforms, including standardizing mathematical measures and formalizing a Chinese writing system, which revolutionized the Chinese civilization. During his rule, Qin Shi Huang also worked on establishing a bureaucratic government, enforcing strict rules, creating clear social rankings, constructing extravagant architectures, and building a renowned reputation for himself. The Qin Dynasty featured a strong centralization and

was the underlying foundation for a unified nation, which was created by Qin Shi Huang through the bureaucracy of legalism and standardization of multiple social, economic, and architectural factors.
From around 475 B.C. to about 221 B.C., the citizens of China had been immersed in the suffering of wars between the Warring States, each trying to undertake others to be the leader. Among all, Qin had been the most powerful and had finally defeated the remaining states and eliminated feudal orders in 221 B.C.. “Now all China was united under the iron rule of King Zheng, who set up his capital in Xianyang and proclaimed himself Qin Shihuangdi- first emperor of the Qin dynasty” (Sullivan 65). Following his declaration as emperor, Qin Shi Huang utilized the concept of legalism, which is the use of strict laws by autocrats, to reinforce his rule. Furthermore, he “strengthened the northern frontiers against the Xiongnu by linking walls,” (Sullivan 65) on one hand to protect the Chinese people, and on the other to expand his territory. After expanding his territory, Qin Shi Huang splitted the land into provinces and set up a bureaucratic government in which each province was ran by government officials, instead of operating by the old practice of feudalism. By enforcing strict rules, the emperor was able to put all aspects of life such as military and financial operations under his control. Such supervision led to questions about whether his tyrannical actions were justified even when his objectives were to unify a nation and provide a peaceful environment.
Much debates have been taken to determine whether Qin Shi Huang was a hero or a tyrant.

The birth of the emperor remains a myth since no one knew exactly who the birth father of Qin Shi Huang was; some said it was the former King of Qin, others believed that his mother had already been impregnated by someone else before she met the King of Qin. Although Qin Shi Huang’s birth is a mystery, it did not stop his ambitions from conquering the other Chinese states. He had a vision about unifying the nation by creating a standard writing system, a centralized government, and an aggressive army to protect him from various attempts of assassination. Just because of his eagerness to succeed, Qin Shi Huang had to live in constant fear as seen in historical accounts, as “ the roads connecting his many palaces were protected by high walls” (Sullivan 65). Furthermore, he dedicated his resources into finding pills that would allow him to be immortal, but according to those accounts, “he died due to ingesting mercury pills, made by his alchemists and court physicians. Ironically, these pills were meant to make Qin Shi Huang immortal” (“Qin Shi Huang”). Even though he could not reign forever, what he contributed to the Chinese civilization politically and socially was

incomparable.
Socially, Qin Shi Huang simplified the usage of language, created clear social status for citizens, developed agricultural advancements, built luxurious architectures, and strengthened the economy. Standardized written language and measuring units contribute to the unification of the empire, for it made communication easier and it brought together “the scattered tribes and principalities, so that now for the first time we can speak of China as a political and cultural entity” (Sullivan 65). However, he also burned copies of classical texts such as the Book of Songs and the Classic of History and “stopped all non-legalist philosophies, such as Confucianism” (Sullivan 65) and instead utilized legalism in which the emperor has total control and has no concern for the afterlife or religion. By imposing strict rules, the emperor will be able to rule without chaos; by setting social status in which emperor is on top, then the nobles, warriors, and lastly the peasants, people will be clear about their obligations. For example, “the number of clay figures in or near the grave as substitutes for the living depends on the rank of the deceased,” and one is not allowed to exceed his or her limit. With a clear distinction in personal roles, farmers in the Qin empire had produced sufficient food, thus “agriculture was a plus for the Qin Dynasty because surplus amount of food would be produced [, and] when there is a surplus amount of food, people are able to stay healthy and the military will strengthen. [Also,] the development of fine roads would ease transportation and trade very much” ("Qin Dynasty :: Hostury, Chonisi Covolozetoun."). Trade had been a huge part of the success; however, high taxes were usually imposed on local peasants and strict trade laws between citizens had affected economical wealth. Nonetheless, as the nation rise as a superpower, Qin Shi Huang began to worry about issues regarding his life and death, and had started working on an “army” of soldiers to one day protect his body.
The terracotta warriors, each weighing between 150 and 200 kg, are one of the most crucial evidences of the magnificence of Qin empire. Qin Shi Huang not only worked on palaces for him to stay during his reign but has also put resources into building a life after death for himself. The makers of the terracotta army were usually makers of drainage pipes, grouped into small teams of about ten workers with a leader taking charge of quality control. The workers were separated into levels of beginners, experienced, and specialists, each having different responsibilities. Inscriptions on the clay warriors also revealed that “staff members from state factories and workers from local workshops pooled their efforts in one big project,” (Ledderose) which signified the unification of an empire working as a complete entity. However, historians could still tell the quality difference as “figures from the palace factories are more static... they also show a more consistent level of workmanship and greater stylistic uniformity. Figures from local workshops are more varied in their postures and faces, and tend to be more realistic” (Ledderose) which indicated that social status affected the resources and attitude of each citizen. The rigorous work ethic and a module system rationalized the production process to “such a degree that, with the material and time available to them, they were able to meet the expectations of the emperor- the creation of a magic army that would protect his tomb for eternity” (Ledderose). With that being said, Qin Shi Huang was really aiming to create an everlasting kingdom and a reputation for his own.
The movie Hero somewhat accurately depicts the history, even though only the King of Qin was a historical accountable figure, thus “we may view the king as an allegorical symbol of monarchy rather than as the actual historical tyrant” (Zhang). In the movie, Qin Shi Huang had not yet unified the nation and was still ruling the State of Qin; however, his ambition caused the attempts of murder by various assassins. Even though Qin Shi Huang’s objectives were positive, to unify the empire and put an end to the seemingly ceaseless battles between the Warring States, his strategies of physically conquering the remnants were ironic. Nevertheless, this movie incorporated various dimensions of the culture, including swordsmanship, the arts of calligraphy, landscape, heroism, personal relationships, motives driven by the desire of power, and the spirituality in which Daoism embraces. Furthermore, Hero focuses on the power of storytelling (Kraicer) as the movie switches between the narrative of the protagonist, Nameless, and the King of Qin. “Nameless [first] arrives for an audience with the King and tells him a straightforward tale of chivalry, but the King discovers this to be a false tale, and offers an alternative story. Hero stages a struggle among narratives. It puts control of narrative into question” (Kraicer).
Hero not only discovers the political atmosphere of ancient China, but also incorporated cultural values. As Zhang, a movie critic suggested, each scene is associated with one specific color; for example, the King of Qin is usually in a “bluish tone… which symbolized power and profundity” (Zhang); when Flying Snow was fighting Moon, they were in red which represented blood and vengeance; when Broken Sword confronted the King of Qin in his palace, the scene was in green which signifies self-respect, well-being, and a balance. Moreover, the movie has integrated Daoism’s doctrine, to let go of material desires and fulfill our spirit by embracing the universe, as “Broken Sword learn progressively to renounce what they have been striving for, and grow to accept that their goals were merely provisional… though less tangible” (Zhang). At last, when Qin Shi Huang has finally unified the nation, the movie included the glorious landscape of the Great Wall, “cast in shadow, [representing] the glory of the unified empire as accompanied by a feeling of darkness” (Zhang).
From the conquering of the other Warring States, to establishing an empire of his own, Qin Shi Huang has revolutionized the Chinese civilization politically, socially, and economically. Just as the Qin Dynasty is progressing towards a seemingly never-ending reign, successors of the former emperors of Qin were not as dedicated and peasants were tired of how they were being treated, thus sparked the rebellion by Xiang Yu of Chu and Liu Bang of Han in 206 B.C.; Liu Bang eventually won the battle in 202 B.C. and formed an empire of his own, contributing to the founding of the Han Dynasty. The enormous but incomplete Efang Palace of Qin Shi Huang was destructed and “marked the fall of the dynasty” (Sullivan 65). Even though the Han has destroyed the Qin dynasty, they still paid great respect to the influences that the former dynasty generated and was inspired by the governing style of the Qin dynasty, thus creating an equally successful empire as its predecessor.