I used to be an avid reader of Chinese history and classics, until I left secondary school. Chinese history has always been fascinating to me. I did an European history course in my first year and I didn’t quite like it. Chinese history seems more to my liking. And of course, history is fascinating because of the tendency for it to repeat itself in the course of time.

Anyway, of all the various dynasties in ancient China, the Qin dynasty is perhaps one of the most intriguing ones. The founding emperor, 秦始皇 (Qin Shi-huang, meaning Qin, the First Emperor) is an iron-fisted ruler. Some would even call him a brutal tyrant. He abolished the system of feudal lords that caused much of the chaos of the Warring States, and instead divided the country into 36 districts, and he could appoint or dismiss commanders at will. To prevent the building of a base of power, commanders were constantly rotated. Each district also had an inspector to report back to court everything about the district, thus sealing the control of the court over the districts.

Unifying the Warring States, Qin Shih-huang ordered all the members of royalty of the conquered states to move to Xianyang so that he could monitor them closely in case they decided to rebel. He was also known for burning most of the books in existence and the live burial of a large number of intellectuals who refuse to conform to state dogma. And, who can forget that he was responsible for the building of the Great Wall of China, which many people were forcibly conscripted to carry out the job?

Qin Shih-huang is arguably a very talented person. Yet, the Qin dynasty collapsed within 3 years of his death, and it’s the shortest dynasty in Chinese history, lasting about 20 years. The collapse of the Qin dynasty has been attributed to his harsh policies and iron-fisted rule. In fact, when Qin Shih-huang died (during a tour of the country), his Prime Minister, afraid that the news will immediately spark rebellion and uprising, kept the news from the entire royal entourage until they returned to the capital 2 months later. The inevitable, though delayed, still occurred, and the dynasty fell.

The source of the success of the Qin dynasty, i.e. harsh laws and unbearable burdens placed on the subjects (in the form of conscription for the emperor’s various mega-projects and extravagances) eventually led to its downfall. According to Confucius, a government can only last if the ruler is virtuous and win the whole-hearted support of the people. Well, to modify the Confucian idea a little, I would say that a government can only last if the ruler is perceived to be virtuous by the subjects. Therefore, for any government to have a lasting legacy, it would be wise to keep in touch with the ground and understand what the subjects perceive to be a virtuous ruler that they will follow whole-heartedly.

Personal Note:

I think I’ve re-discovered my passion for Chinese language, culture and history. Unfortunately, I’ve not been doing much reading on Chinese culture and history for many years, and I’ve also let my command of Chinese language rust away. I think I’ll set up a blog in Chinese in a couple of weeks to help me practise and revive both knowledge and command of Chinese language.