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Defeating all his neighbors and rivals, and surviving a famous assassination attempt in 227 BCE at the hands of [[Jing Ke]]<ref>This assassination attempt forms the core of the plot of the Jet Li film ''Hero''.</ref> the king united all of central China under his rule in 221 BCE. He would reign as "emperor" for only about ten years, but during this brief reign, he established standardized systems of weights & measures, language, and currency, as well as the geographical/political divisions of provinces and counties, and established a standard ideological or intellectual tradition through the practice of "burning books and burying scholars" - in other words, destroying those traditions, and their supporters, of which he disapproved.
Defeating all his neighbors and rivals, and surviving a famous assassination attempt in 227 BCE at the hands of [[Jing Ke]]<ref>This assassination attempt forms the core of the plot of the Jet Li film ''Hero''.</ref> the king united all of central China under his rule in 221 BCE. He would reign as "emperor" for only about ten years, but during this brief reign, he established standardized systems of weights & measures, language, and currency, as well as the geographical/political divisions of provinces and counties, and established a standard ideological or intellectual tradition through the practice of "burning books and burying scholars" - in other words, destroying those traditions, and their supporters, of which he disapproved.
The First Emperor is said to have grown obsessed with immortality in his final years, trying numerous elixirs, and dispatching people to the islands to the east (i.e. Japan, possibly [[Ryukyu|Ryûkyû]]) in search of the immortal land of [[Mt. Horai|Mt. Penglai]]. Rather self-important, the First Emperor is also said by [[Sima Qian]] to have climbed [[Mt. Tai]] and written three inscriptions praising his own greatness.
Following his death in 210 BCE, the emperor was succeeded by his son, most commonly known today simply as [[Qin Er Shi]] (Qin second generation [emperor]). He was buried in a massive, elaborate tomb outside [[Xi'an]], which today remains largely un-excavated. It is said to contain great treasures, and a scale model (map) of the entire realm, with liquid mercury used for the rivers and lakes. The tomb, supposedly, is also equipped with ever-burning torches and numerous booby traps, though much about the tomb is likely purely legend. However, the massive Terracotta Army constructed to guard the tomb has been discovered, and largely excavated, and remains one of the most famous archaeological discoveries in the world.
Following his death in 210 BCE, the emperor was succeeded by his son, most commonly known today simply as [[Qin Er Shi]] (Qin second generation [emperor]). He was buried in a massive, elaborate tomb outside [[Xi'an]], which today remains largely un-excavated. It is said to contain great treasures, and a scale model (map) of the entire realm, with liquid mercury used for the rivers and lakes. The tomb, supposedly, is also equipped with ever-burning torches and numerous booby traps, though much about the tomb is likely purely legend. However, the massive Terracotta Army constructed to guard the tomb has been discovered, and largely excavated, and remains one of the most famous archaeological discoveries in the world.
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A7%8B%E7%9A%87%E5%B8%9D Shikôtei]," ''Sekai dai hyakka jiten'' 世界大百科事典, Hitachi Solutions Business, 2013.
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A7%8B%E7%9A%87%E5%B8%9D Shikôtei]," ''Sekai dai hyakka jiten'' 世界大百科事典, Hitachi Solutions Business, 2013.
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A7%8B%E7%9A%87%E5%B8%9D Shikôtei]," ''Digital Daijisen'' デジタル大辞泉, Shôgakukan.
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A7%8B%E7%9A%87%E5%B8%9D Shikôtei]," ''Digital Daijisen'' デジタル大辞泉, Shôgakukan.
*Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 47-49.
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[[Category:Emperors]]
[[Category:Emperors]]
[[Category:Yayoi Period]]
[[Category:Yayoi Period]]
