Life of qin shi huangdi
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How China's first emperor searched for elixir of life
China's first kejsare launched an obsessive search for the elixir of life before dying aged 49 in 210 BCE, new archaeological research has revealed.
Qin Shi Huang, who created the world-famous terracotta army, ordered a nationwide hunt for the mythical potion.
The sökande eller uppdrag is mentioned in 2000-year-old texts written on thousands of wooden slats - used in China before paper.
They were found in 2002 at the bottom of a well in central provins province.
The writings contain an executive beställning issued bygd the kejsare, and assorted awkward replies from regional governments who had failed to find the key to eternal life.
One locality, Langya, apparently believed that "an herb collected from an auspicious local mountain" could passform the bill.
Qin Shi Huang's terracotta warriors were further bevis of how seriously he took mortality. The 8,000 soldiers depicted his ar
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Who was China's First Emperor?
Qin Shi Huang was born on 18 February in 259 BC. Famed for his army of terracotta warriors built to protect him for eternity, the Emperor is also one of the most controversial figures in history. Seen as a visionary by some and a tyrant by others, his achievements in such a short space of time were nevertheless remarkable and far-reaching. Here we take a closer look at the life of the man at the heart of our landmark exhibition.
An early achiever
A life of conquest shaped the man who would become China’s First Emperor. Born Prince Ying Zheng, he was just 13 years old when he became King of the Qin State in 246 BC. Initially supported by his mother Queen Zhao Ji and chancellor Lü Buwei who effectively managed the government, the young king took full control of his kingdom aged 22. With massive armies he overpowered the six remaining independent kingdoms of the late Warring States Period and unified China in 221 BC; putting an end to
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At the end of the Warring States period (475–221 BCE), the state of Qin(chin) conquered all other states and established the Qin dynastya series of rulers from a single family. (221–206 BCE). It was China’s first unified state whose power was centralized instead of spread among different kingdoms in the north and south. Although it lasted only about fifteen years, the Qin dynasty greatly influenced the next two thousand years of Chinese history.
The first emperor of Qin, known as Qin Shihuangdi(chin shir-hwahng-dee) (literally “First Emperor,” 259–210 BCE), instituted a central and systematic bureaucracy. He divided the state into provinces and prefectures governed by appointed officials. This administrative structure has served as a model for government in China to the present day. Shihuangdi sought to standardize numerous aspects of Chinese life, including weights and measures, coinage, and the writing system. These standards would last for centuries after the fall of his short-l