Original subtitles

Narrator: IT’S A STORY OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD,

ABOUT THE BIRTH OF CHINA’S FIRST IMPERIAL DYNASTY.

IT WAS A TIME OF CONFLICT...

A TIME OF BETRAYAL...

AND THE LUST FOR POWER.

Man: IT HAS ALL THE MAKINGS OF A GREAT NOVEL, REALLY.

IT’S GOT INTRIGUE. IT’S GOT VIOLENCE, SEX, MYSTERY.

Narrator: AT ITS CENTER IS QIN SHI HUANG,

THE EMPEROR WHO CREATED A SUPERPOWER

OUT OF WARRING FACTIONS--

A CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE HISTORIANS VIEWED WITH SCORN.

Man: THEY PORTRAY HIM AS IRRATIONAL,

DEEPLY SUPERSTITIOUS, INCOMPETENT, A TYRANT.

Narrator: BUT IS THIS DEPICTION OF QIN SHI HUANG

FACT OR FICTION?

Woman: WHAT WE KNOW COMES FROM THE ACCOUNT

BY SIMA QIAN, WHO IS ACTUALLY WRITING

DURING THE HISTORICAL PERIOD FOLLOWING THE QIN DYNASTY.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Man, translated: HIS ACHIEVEMENTS OUTWEIGH

ANY OF HIS FAILURES.

Narrator: WAS HE AN INCOMPETENT RULER,

A BRUTAL TYRANT,

OR A GREAT LEADER?

NOW IT’S TIME TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT CHINA’S FIRST EMPEROR.

♪

♪

246 B.C.

IN FAR EAST ASIA, WAR HAD BEEN RAGING FOR NEARLY TWO CENTURIES.

THE COLLAPSE OF A 500-YEAR-OLD DYNASTY

HAD UNLEASHED A RUTHLESS POWER STRUGGLE

BETWEEN SEVEN RIVAL STATES,

EACH ONE VYING FOR DOMINANCE, EACH BENT ON CONQUEST.

WHAT ONCE WAS THE ZHOU EMPIRE HAD FRACTURED INTO PIECES.

THE BATTLEFIELD WAS WHERE DISPUTES WERE RESOLVED.

[SHOUTING]

PLAYING OUT THE AMBITIONS OF THEIR LEADERS,

THOUSANDS OF WARRIORS ENGAGED IN A RITUAL OF COMBAT,

WIELDING SWORDS AND FACING THEIR DESTINY.

[SHOUTING, WEAPONS CLASHING]

♪

IT REMAINED TO BE SEEN WHICH OF THE WARRING STATES

WOULD EMERGE VICTORIOUS

AND BECOME THE NEW POWER IN THE REGION.

♪

DURING THE CHAOS, IN XIANYANG,

THE CAPITAL OF QIN STATE

ON THE WESTERN BORDER OF THE CRUMBLING DYNASTY,

A NEW KING WAS CROWNED.

HIS ASCENSION TO THE THRONE WAS UNEXPECTED,

AND TO SOME WITHIN THE KINGDOM, REPRESENTED AN OPPORTUNITY.

THIS NEW KING WAS 13 YEARS OLD,

ILL-EQUIPPED FOR THE RESPONSIBILITIES

OF BEING A MONARCH.

HE INHERITED A PALACE RIFE WITH INTRIGUE, DECEPTION,

AND DUPLICITY.

FEW BELIEVED HE COULD GUARANTEE HIS OWN SAFETY--

LET ALONE CONTROL THE FATE OF HIS KINGDOM.

BUT THIS SEEMINGLY UNREMARKABLE HEIR

WOULD DO WHAT NO RULER HAD DONE BEFORE--

MAKE ONE NATION FROM THE REMNANTS OF A BROKEN EMPIRE.

HIS NAME WAS YING ZHENG, LATER TO BE CALLED QIN SHI HUANG.

BUT THERE’S LITTLE WE KNOW OF HIM.

Andrew Schonebaum: THE PRIMARY SOURCE FOR QIN SHI HUANG’S LIFE

IS THIS HAN DYNASTY TEXT CALLED RECORDS OF THE GRAND HISTORIAN,

WRITTEN BY SIMA QIAN.

Narrator: WRITTEN, AS IT TURNS OUT,

MORE THAN A CENTURY AFTER QIN SHI HUANG DIED.

Schonebaum: AND IT REALLY IS A MAGNIFICENT TEXT.

IT’S, IT’S VERY COMPELLING, IT’S FULL OF DETAIL AND DIALOGUE,

AND IT HAS ALL THE MAKINGS OF, OF A GREAT NOVEL, REALLY.

Narrator: BUT IS THAT TEXT ACCURATE?

ACCORDING TO SIMA QIAN, LIVING WITH THE YOUNG RULER

WAS ZHENG’S WIDOWED MOTHER, QUEEN DOWAGER ZHAO.

♪

SHE WAS THE ONLY PERSON THE YOUNG BOY KING COULD TRUST,

OR SO IT SEEMED.

WHAT HE DIDN’T KNOW WAS BENEATH HIS MOTHER’S SERENE GAZE

THERE LURKED A DARK MOTIVE.

SHE INSTALLED A PALACE MINISTER TO ACT AS HIS ADVISOR,

AN INFLUENTIAL ALLY WHO WOULD ALLOW THE QUEEN ACCESS

TO HER SON’S ROYAL POWER.

HIS NAME WAS LU BUWEI, THE MAN WHO HAD INTRODUCED THE QUEEN,

WHEN SHE WAS A LOWLY CONCUBINE, TO THE PREVIOUS KING.

Michelle Wang: SO WHEN THE YOUNG KING FIRST ASCENDED THE THRONE,

HE WAS JUST A TEENAGER.

AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COMMON PRACTICE AT THAT TIME

TO HAVE APPOINTED A REGENT

FOR RULERS WHO HAD NOT YET COME OF AGE.

Narrator: AS REGENT AND ADVISOR TO YING ZHENG,

LU BUWEI WAS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MAN IN THE PALACE--

THE POWER BEHIND THE THRONE,

WHO WOULD RULE THE KINGDOM FROM THE SHADOWS.

BUT HE HAD A SECRET OF HIS OWN TO HIDE.

HE WAS QUEEN ZHAO’S LOVER

AND THE LIKELY FATHER OF THE YOUNG KING.

Duan Qingbo, translated: LU BUWEI WAS CONCERNED

THE YOUNG KING WOULD FIND OUT ABOUT HIS AFFAIR WITH THE QUEEN,

WHICH HE FEARED WOULD COST HIM HIS POSITION IN THE COURT.

Narrator: TO CONCEAL HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE QUEEN,

LU BUWEI LOOKED FOR A MAN WHO COULD REPLACE HIM

IN THE QUEEN’S BEDROOM,

A MAN HE COULD TRUST AND HIS QUEEN WOULD ACCEPT.

Schonebaum: LU BUWEI FOUND A WELL-ENDOWED MAN

AND PARADED HIM ABOUT

SO THAT YING ZHENG’S MOTHER’S LASCIVIOUSNESS WOULD BE AROUSED.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Narrator: LU BUWEI’S SCHEME WORKED...AT FIRST.

LAO AI DISGUISED HIMSELF AS A EUNUCH

SO HE COULD ENTER THE QUEEN’S CHAMBER WITHOUT SUSPICION

AND ULTIMATELY CAPTURE HER HEART.

♪

THE QUEEN WAS A WILLING ACCOMPLICE IN LU BUWEI’S PLAN.

AWAY FROM PRYING EYES,

SHE AND LAO AI BEGAN A TORRID AFFAIR

THAT FUELED A PLOT TO OVERTHROW HER SON, THE KING.

BETRAYALS COMING FROM WITHIN THE PALACE

WERE PERILS YOUNG ZHENG HAD TO ANTICIPATE.

HE MAY HAVE POSSESSED A KING’S POWER, BUT BEING A TEENAGER,

HE WAS TOO INEXPERIENCED TO USE IT EFFECTIVELY.

AS A RESULT, HE HAD TO RELY ON LU BUWEI’S ADVICE,

WHICH MAY NOT HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN HIS BEST INTERESTS.

DESPITE THE CONSTANT STATE OF WAR IN THE REGION,

YING ZHENG HAD INHERITED A KINGDOM

THAT WAS STEADILY GROWING.

Schonebaum: THERE WERE TALENTED GENERALS.

THERE WERE WISE MINISTERS ALREADY IN PLACE.

AND LU BUWEI WAS AMONG THEM.

SO WHILE YING ZHENG WAS A TEENAGER,

THE QIN STATE CONTINUED TO GROW AND CONSOLIDATE LAND

AND BECOME MORE AND MORE POWERFUL.

[SHOUTING]

Narrator: BUT THE END TO CENTURIES OF WAR

WAS STILL OFF IN THE FUTURE.

RIVAL STATES WERE CONSUMED IN BATTLING EACH OTHER FOR SURVIVAL

AND FOR SUPREMACY.

♪

IT WOULD TAKE A BOLD LEADER, WITH FEARLESS VISION,

TO RISE ABOVE THE FRAY AND SEIZE VICTORY FROM HIS ENEMIES.

♪

EIGHT YEARS LATER, 238 B.C.

THE AFFAIR BETWEEN THE QUEEN AND HER LOVER HAD FLOURISHED.

LAO AI NO LONGER PRETENDED TO BE A SERVILE EUNUCH.

WITH THE QUEEN’S SUPPORT, HE WAS NOW A POWERFUL MAN,

AND THE PAIR SECRETLY HAD TWO SONS TOGETHER.

BUT LAO AI WANTED MORE THAN LAVISH PALACE COMFORTS.

HE HAD HIS SIGHTS SET ON A BIGGER PRIZE.

Duan: LAO AI HAD 3,000 MEN UNDER HIM

AND WAS RECRUITING MORE ALL THE TIME.

HE WANTED TO SEIZE YING ZHENG’S THRONE FOR HIMSELF.

Narrator: BUT LAO AI UNDERESTIMATED

THE NOW 22-YEAR-OLD KING.

YING ZHENG GOT WORD OF THE PLANNED COUP.

Ying Zheng: LAO AI?

Narrator: LU BUWEI’S MATCHMAKING WAS ABOUT TO BACKFIRE,

LEAVING HIM EXPOSED TO THE WRATH OF AN OUTRAGED KING.

WHEN HIS PLOT TO OVERTHROW KING YING ZHENG

WAS DISCOVERED,

LAO AI DECIDED TO MAKE HIS MOVE.

WITHOUT THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE,

HE AND HIS FOLLOWERS RODE TOWARD THE PALACE,

INTENT ON MAKING A PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE.

♪

BUT THE KING WAS NO LONGER A NAIVE TEENAGER.

HE HAD LEARNED FROM HIS PALACE MINISTERS AND MILITARY ADVISORS

AND HAD CAREFULLY PLANNED A RESPONSE.

THE KING SAW HIS CHANCE TO ELIMINATE BOTH LAO AI,

WHO WAS AFTER HIS THRONE,

AND LU BUWEI, HIS SCHEMING, TOO-POWERFUL REGENT.

YING ZHENG ANTICIPATED THAT LAO AI WOULD TRY

TO STORM THE PALACE BY ENTERING THE FRONT GATE.

[CREAKING]

HE SET A TRAP, AND LAO AI AND THE REBELS FELL INTO IT.

[ARROWS WHIZZING]

LAO AI COULD ONLY WONDER WHO HAD ORCHESTRATED THE ATTACK.

THEN HE SPOTTED LU BUWEI,

THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS RISE IN THE PALACE.

[YELLS]

THE CO-CONSPIRATORS WERE NOW MORTAL ENEMIES.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Duan: LU BUWEI NEVER THOUGHT THAT LAO AI

WOULD POSE A THREAT TO HIS POWER IN THE COURT,

BUT NOW HE SAW THAT IF HE DIDN’T HELP STOP

LAO AI’S PLAN TO OVERTHROW YING ZHENG,

HE COULD LOSE EVERYTHING,

SO THAT’S WHY LU BUWEI SIDED WITH THE KING AGAINST LAO AI.

IT WAS ALL ABOUT PRESERVING HIS POSITION IN THE KINGDOM.

Narrator: TO FAIL IN A PALACE COUP

IS TO INVITE THE MOST SEVERE PUNISHMENT.

[HORSES NEIGHING]

LAO AI, THE QUEEN’S LOVER, PAID A TERRIBLE PRICE FOR DARING

TO PLOT AGAINST THE KING.

[HORSES NEIGHING]

[ROPE STRETCHING]

LAO AI AND 3,000 OF HIS MEN WERE EXECUTED OR EXILED

BY YING ZHENG.

BUT YING ZHENG DIDN’T STOP THERE.

HE HAD THE SONS OF LAO AI AND HIS MOTHER KILLED

TO KEEP THEM FROM ONE DAY SEEKING REVENGE AGAINST HIM.

IN A GESTURE OF MERCY, YING ZHENG SPARED HIS MOTHER,

BUT PLACED HER UNDER HOUSE ARREST.

NOW HE HAD ONE LAST CONSPIRATOR TO DEAL WITH.

LU BUWEI--HIS ADVISOR AND THE MASTERMIND OF THE MATCH

BETWEEN LAO AI AND THE QUEEN--

WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR HIS BETRAYAL.

Duan: YING ZHENG DEALT WITH LU BUWEI AT ONCE.

HE SENTENCED HIM TO EXILE IN SICHUAN PROVINCE,

WHERE LU BUWEI LATER COMMITTED SUICIDE

BY DRINKING A CUP OF POISONED WINE.

SO HERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE TAKING THE THRONE,

YING ZHENG SHOWED HIS WILLINGNESS TO ACT FOR HIMSELF.

Narrator: IT WAS A TURNING POINT

IN THE GROWTH OF THE YOUNG RULER.

Schonebaum: THE MOMENT WHEN YING ZHENG

BECOMES THE KING OF QIN AND THIS POWERFUL MAN

IS THE MOMENT AT WHICH LU BUWEI DECIDES

TO DRINK POISON AND KILL HIMSELF,

REALIZING THAT HE HAD ANGERED

WHAT HAD NOW BECOME THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL MAN.

Narrator: YING ZHENG WENT ON TO UNVEIL AN AMBITIOUS PLAN

TO UNIFY THE SEVEN WARRING STATES INTO ONE.

HE BEGAN TO APPOINT MEN OF ABILITY, GUEST OFFICERS,

REGARDLESS OF THEIR BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN.

ONE OF THE FIRST WAS LI SI.

ORIGINALLY FROM THE CHU STATE, LI SI HAD A SUPERB LEGAL MIND

AND WOULD LATER DRAW UP THE RULING IDEOLOGY

OF THE QIN EMPIRE.

Jeffrey Riegel: HERE WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST EMPEROR

ALLOWING SOMEONE WHO CAME FROM AN ENEMY STATE,

TO SERVE HIM IN A CLOSE POSITION,

BECAUSE HE RECOGNIZED THAT LI SI WAS SOMEONE WHO COULD BE OF USE.

Narrator: YING ZHENG PROMOTED ANOTHER TALENTED FOREIGNER,

ZHENG GUO, A HYDRAULIC ENGINEER FROM THE NEARBY HAN STATE.

Riegel: IN THIS CASE, WHAT THE FIRST EMPEROR WISHED

TO HAVE ZHENG GUO BUILD FOR HIM

WAS A CANAL THAT COULD BE USED TO TRANSFORM THE AREA--

THE PLAIN AROUND THE CAPITAL OF QIN--INTO A FERTILE AREA.

Narrator: HOWEVER, THE CANAL PROJECT HIT A SNAG

FROM THE VERY START.

YING ZHENG LEARNED THAT ZHENG GUO, WHOM HE TRUSTED,

WAS ACTUALLY A SPY FROM THE HAN STATE

SENT TO DIVERT QIN’S RESOURCES TO WASTEFUL PROJECTS.

THE KING’S MOST POWERFUL ADVISORS URGED HIM

TO EXPEL ALL FOREIGN OFFICERS FROM THE STATE.

BUT THEN LI SI, FROM THE CHU STATE, WEIGHED IN.

HE RISKED EXPULSION BY WRITING A PETITION

ARGUING THAT FOREIGNERS, LIKE HIMSELF,

WERE NEEDED IF YING ZHENG WAS TO ACHIEVE HIS DREAM

OF UNIFYING THE STATES.

Narrator: LI SI’S PETITION WAS PERSUASIVE.

INSTEAD OF EXPELLING ZHENG GUO,

THE KING ORDERED HIM TO CONTINUE BUILDING THE CANAL.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Suruma Kazuyuki, translated: MANY OF THE KING’S ADVISORS

URGED HIM TO EXPEL ALL FOREIGNERS,

BUT YING ZHENG REJECTED THE IDEA.

HE WAS CONVINCED THAT ACCEPTING THEM IN HIS KINGDOM

AND USING THEIR TALENTS WAS OF GREATER BENEFIT.

Narrator: YING ZHENG’S DECISION TO WELCOME FOREIGNERS

WOULD ALTER THE COURSE OF CHINESE HISTORY.

THE CANAL THAT ZHENG GUO COMPLETED

MADE THE GUANZHONG PLAIN INTO FERTILE LAND.

AND, AS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION INCREASED,

THE QIN KINGDOM GREW RICHER THAN OTHER STATES.

♪

WITH HIS TREASURY OVERFLOWING, YING ZHENG WAS DETERMINED

TO MAKE HIS DREAM OF UNITING THE WARRING STATES A REALITY.

[SHOUTING]

HE REPORTEDLY RECRUITED A MILLION MEN TO BECOME SOLDIERS,

SUPPLYING THEM WITH THE LATEST WEAPONS

AND TRAINING THEM IN THE ART OF WAR.

THE RESULT WAS A FORMIDABLE FIGHTING MACHINE.

♪

IT WOULD TAKE TIME,

BUT YING ZHENG’S WARRIORS WERE READY TO MOBILIZE.

[SHOUTING]

A MILLION MEN STOOD POISED TO SACRIFICE THEIR LIVES,

TO FIGHT THEIR ENEMIES ON THE BATTLEFIELD

AND BUILD YING ZHENG’S MIGHTY EMPIRE.

IN 230 B.C., THE 29-YEAR-OLD KING OF QIN

EMBARKED ON AN EPIC CAMPAIGN OF CONQUEST.

HE WANTED TO CREATE AN EMPIRE

OUT OF THE PIECES OF THE CRUMBLING ZHOU DYNASTY,

AND NOW HE HAD THE ARMY TO DO IT.

THE KING’S FORCES NUMBERED OVER A MILLION MEN,

HAD A VAST ARSENAL OF WEAPONS,

AND KNEW ONLY ONE BATTLE STRATEGY--TO ATTACK.

♪

THE FIRST TARGET IN YING ZHENG’S PLAN

WAS THE NEIGHBORING STATE OF HAN TO THE EAST.

IN THE PAST, THE STATES OF THE ZHOU DYNASTY

CREATED A SERIES OF ALLIANCES AND COALITIONS

TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AGAINST THE THREAT OF A POWERFUL ENEMY.

IT WORKED FOR A WHILE.

BUT THINGS WERE DIFFERENT THIS TIME.

DIPLOMACY PROVED USELESS AGAINST THE QIN WAR MACHINE.

IN LITTLE TIME, THE HAN STATE FELL.

♪

THEN, YING ZHENG SET HIS SIGHTS ON ANOTHER NEIGHBOR, ZHAO STATE.

BLOOD FLOWED FREELY ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

Duan: THE QIN MILITARY WAS SUCH A POWERFUL FIGHTING FORCE

THAT THE OTHER KINGDOMS GREW DESPERATE

TO COME UP WITH STRATEGIES TO COUNTERACT THEM.

ONE OF THEM WAS THE KINGDOM OF YAN.

Narrator: TWO YEARS INTO THE WAR,

DIPLOMATS FROM YAN ARRIVED IN QIN.

THEIR DECLARED PURPOSE WAS TO MAKE AMENDS WITH THE QIN STATE

AND NEGOTIATE A PEACE.

AS PROOF, THE YAN ENVOYS CAME BEARING GIFTS FOR YING ZHENG.

THE ENVOY JING KE BROUGHT A BOX

CONTAINING THE SEVERED HEAD OF A QIN GENERAL

WHO YEARS EARLIER HAD FLED TO YAN

AFTER BETRAYING THE QIN STATE.

♪

JING KE ALSO BROUGHT A MAP OF THE YAN LANDS

TO BE PRESENTED TO THE RULER

AS A GESTURE SIGNIFYING THE PEACEFUL SURRENDER OF THE STATE.

BUT HIDDEN WITHIN THE MAP WAS A SURPRISE.

♪

WHILE YING ZHENG AVOIDED THE POISON DAGGER,

HE WAS ON HIS OWN AGAINST THE ASSASSIN.

Schonebaum: THE KING’S MINISTERS ARE NOT ABLE TO COME TO HIS AID

BECAUSE THERE’S A LAW THAT SAYS THEY MUST ASK PERMISSION

TO MOVE ABOUT THE THRONE ROOM,

AND THEY’RE NOT ALLOWED TO CARRY WEAPONS EITHER.

Narrator: YING ZHENG ELUDED JING KE.

THEN, SWORD IN HAND, HE KILLED HIM.

♪

DESPITE ESCAPING UNHARMED,

THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT INFURIATED THE KING.

ENRAGED, HE ORDERED HIS ARMY TO RETALIATE

BY SPEEDING UP THE WAR AGAINST HIS ADVERSARIES.

[SHOUTING]

Narrator: THE SLAUGHTER BEGAN.

THE NEIGHBORING STATES WERE NO MATCH FOR QIN’S MASSIVE ARMY

OF SKILLFULLY TRAINED SOLDIERS.

10 YEARS PASSED.

ONE BY ONE, THE QIN ARMIES

CONQUERED THE SIX NEIGHBORING STATES

THAT BATTLED FOR THE PAST 200 YEARS.

YING ZHENG’S DREAM OF CREATING AN EMPIRE BECAME A REALITY.

Riegel: PEOPLE HAD THOUGHT ABOUT AN EMPIRE

THAT OCCUPIED IN EFFECT THE WHOLE WORLD,

BUT IT WAS YING ZHENG WHO ACTUALLY CREATED IT.

AND BY DOING SO, HE CREATED AN IDEAL

THAT WOULD REMAIN IMPORTANT

FOR THE REMAINDER OF CHINESE HISTORY

UP UNTIL THE PRESENT DAY.

Narrator: 221 B.C.

A MASSIVE CROWD GATHERED FOR A CORONATION CEREMONY

IN THE CAPITAL OF QIN, WHERE, AT 38 YEARS OLD,

YING ZHENG NAMED HIMSELF QIN SHI HUANG,

THE FIRST EMPEROR OF A VAST NEW TERRITORY,

A TERRITORY WE NOW KNOW AS CHINA.

THE TITLE OF EMPEROR MEANT

THAT THERE WAS NOW ONE AND ONLY ONE SOVEREIGN--

A DECLARATION THAT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WAS UNDER HIS RULE.

THIS WAS THE BIRTH OF CHINA--

A LAND OF WARRING STATES THAT WAS NOW ONE NATION.

[CHANTING]

IT WAS THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA.

Wang: YING ZHENG’S ASSUMPTION OF THE TITLE,

THE AUGUST FIRST EMPEROR OF QIN, OR QIN SHI HUANG,

IS CRUCIAL BECAUSE IT SUGGESTS TO US

THAT HE NO LONGER SAW HIMSELF MERELY AS A TERRESTRIAL KING,

BUT RATHER HE SAW HIS ROLE AS BEING ELEVATED

TO THAT OF THE RULER OF AN EMPIRE,

AND A ROLE THAT COULD BE VIEWED PERHAPS ON COSMIC PROPORTIONS.

Narrator: BUT AS EMPEROR,

QIN SHI HUANG STILL FACED MANY CHALLENGES.

AMONG THEM WAS THE NEED TO BRING TOGETHER PEOPLE

FROM DIFFERENT STATES AND CULTURES UNDER A SINGLE SYSTEM

TO CONSOLIDATE HIS REALM.

Schonebaum: IT’S PRETTY CLEAR THAT HE RECOGNIZED

THAT WHAT HE WAS DOING HAD NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.

IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HIM THAT PEOPLE NOT THINK OF THEMSELVES

AS LOYAL TO FORMER KINGDOMS BUT RATHER LOYAL TO THE QIN EMPIRE.

Narrator: UNIFICATION BEGAN

WITH A CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT.

QIN SHI HUANG ABOLISHED FEUDALISM,

DIVIDING THE EMPIRE INTO 36 PREFECTURES, OR PROVINCES,

WHICH WERE PLACED UNDER HIS DIRECT CONTROL.

THIS CENTRALIZATION OF POWER WAS UNPRECEDENTED.

OFFICIALS WERE APPOINTED TO POSITIONS

ON THE BASIS OF MERIT AND ABILITY,

RATHER THAN ON HEREDITARY RIGHTS OR FAMILY TIES.

THIS SYSTEM, KNOWN AS LEGALISM,

REPRESENTED A BREAK FROM PREVIOUS TRADITIONS.

Schonebaum: THE EARLY LEGALISTS VIEWED HUMANS

AS ESSENTIALLY SELFISH,

BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN A BAD WAY.

THEY THOUGHT THAT THE STATE COULD HARNESS THIS SELFISHNESS

AND ALLOW THEIR SUBJECTS

TO PURSUE THEIR DESIRES AND PASSIONS

IN THE SERVICE OF THE STATE.

Narrator: QIN SHI HUANG HAD TO OVERCOME FIERCE OPPOSITION

FROM POWERFUL MINISTERS FOR HIS REFORMATIONS TO SUCCEED.

TO DO SO, HE RELIED ON LI SI, WHO SERVED AS HIS PRIME MINISTER

AND WROTE MANY OF QIN’S NEW LAWS.

Riegel: QIN DIDN’T EMPHASIZE RITUAL AND TRADITION.

BUT INSTEAD, THEY EMPHASIZED LAW AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LAW CODES,

OF SOMETHING THAT DIDN’T VARY OR CHANGE

ACCORDING TO FAMILY OR ACCORDING TO LOCAL PLACE.

THIS IS SOMETHING INTRODUCED BY THE QIN.

Narrator: IN 1975,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS GOT A FIRSTHAND LOOK AT QIN’S LEGAL SYSTEM

WHEN OVER 1,000 BAMBOO SLIPS WERE FOUND IN A SMALL VILLAGE

IN HUNAN PROVINCE.

ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT THE LAWS WERE WRITTEN

DURING QIN SHI HUANG’S REIGN.

THE BAMBOO SLIPS DEMONSTRATE HOW EXTENSIVE AND STRICT

THE LAWS WERE AT THE TIME.

THEY REGULATED PEOPLE’S LIVES CLOSELY,

AND HARSH PUNISHMENTS WERE METED OUT TO VIOLATORS.

THERE WERE ALSO OTHER CHANGES IN STORE FOR THE EMPIRE.

LI SI STANDARDIZED WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS.

UNITS OF VOLUME, LENGTH, AND WEIGHT WERE MADE UNIFORM

TO SIMPLIFY TRADE AND TAX COLLECTION.

QIN SHI HUANG CONTINUED HIS STANDARDIZATION POLICY

THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE.

♪

THIS IS THE BAN LIANG COIN OF THE QIN.

AT THE TIME, DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE COUNTRY

USED DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURRENCY.

QIN SHI HUANG UNIFIED THE CURRENCY WITH BAN LIANG COINS,

MAKING BUYING AND SELLING EASIER THROUGHOUT CHINA.

BUT THAT WASN’T THE LAST OF THE EMPEROR’S CHANGES.

AMONG THE REFORMS THAT QIN SHI HUANG INTRODUCED

TO UNIFY CHINA, ONE STOOD AS THE MOST CHALLENGING.

Narrator: EACH STATE IN THE NEWLY CREATED EMPIRE

HAD ITS OWN FORM OF WRITING,

WHICH MADE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THEM DIFFICULT.

THIS WAS THE BIGGEST STUMBLING BLOCK

TO ENFORCING QIN’S NEW LAWS AND POLICIES.

♪

IT WAS IMPORTANT TO UNIFY THE WRITING SYSTEM

AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

THE EMPEROR SENT SCHOLARS TO EACH PROVINCE

TO TEACH THE QIN SCRIPT.

SINCE WRITING SYSTEMS EXPRESS THOUGHT AND CULTURE,

QIN SHI HUANG KNEW THAT WITHOUT A UNIFIED SCRIPT,

HIS EMPIRE COULD DISSOLVE INTO CHAOS.

IMPOSING A UNIVERSAL WRITTEN LANGUAGE

MADE FOR BETTER COMMUNICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF POLICIES.

THESE CHARACTERS MEAN "HORSE"

IN THE VARYING SCRIPTS OF EACH STATE.

QIN SHI HUANG UNIFIED THEM WITH THE QIN SCRIPT.

Wang: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INTRODUCING

A STANDARDIZED SYSTEM OF WRITING CANNOT BE OVERSTATED

BECAUSE IT FACILITATED GREATLY THE NEW SYSTEM BUREAUCRACY

THAT WAS INTRODUCED UNDER QIN SHI HUANG.

Narrator: MANY OF THE STANDARDIZED CHINESE CHARACTERS

ESTABLISHED DURING THE QIN DYNASTY

HAVE SURVIVED TO THE PRESENT DAY.

QIN SHI HUANG HAD ACHIEVED WHAT MANY HAD DREAMED,

BUT NO ONE HAD DONE BEFORE--

UNITING THE WARRING STATES INTO A SINGLE NATION.

HE CREATED A NEW SOCIETY BASED NOT ON CUSTOM AND TRADITION,

BUT ON A POWERFUL CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AND THE RULE OF LAW.

YET DESPITE THIS ACHIEVEMENT, QIN SHI HUANG HAS BEEN PORTRAYED

THROUGHOUT 2,000 YEARS OF HISTORY

AS A CRUEL AND BRUTAL TYRANT.

♪

SOME ANCIENT RECORDS CLAIM

THE EMPEROR ORDERED THE BURNING OF BOOKS

THAT HE BELIEVED CRITICIZED HIS RULE OR UNDERMINED HIS POWER.

HE WAS ALSO SAID TO HAVE DECREED

THAT DISSIDENT SCHOLARS BE BURIED ALIVE.

THE REASONS FOR BOOK BURNING--

ESSENTIALLY SUPPRESSING FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND SPEECH--

WERE POLITICAL.

THE EMPEROR WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE SPREAD OF IDEAS

OPPOSING HIS REFORMATION POLICIES

AND CHALLENGING THE LEGITIMACY OF HIS RULE.

YET HISTORIANS TODAY QUESTION

WHETHER WHOLESALE BOOK BURNINGS ACTUALLY OCCURRED.

Riegel: WE DOUBT VERY MUCH

THAT IF THE BURNING OF THE BOOKS EVER HAPPENED,

THAT IT REALLY REPRESENTED A BURNING OF ALL OF LITERATURE.

I THINK WE SHOULD, IF IT HAPPENED,

WE SHOULD TAKE IT AS AN EXAMPLE

OF A GOVERNMENT WANTING TO CONTROL INFORMATION,

WANTING TO DEFINE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG,

TO CREATE A KIND OF ORTHODOXY.

AND I THINK THERE’S NOTHING ESPECIALLY UNIQUE IN THAT.

EVERY COUNTRY, EVERY CIVILIZATION WANTS TO BE ABLE

TO TELL ITS STORY THE WAY THEY WANT TO TELL IT.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS,

THE QIN DYNASTY DID NOT DESTROY ALL BOOKS.

SOME COPIES OF FORBIDDEN TEXTS WERE PRESERVED

IN THE EMPEROR’S IMPERIAL ARCHIVES.

WRITINGS ON MEDICINE, FARMING, TECHNOLOGY, AND ASTRONOMY

WERE KNOWN TO BE KEPT IN THE PALACE.

IT’S EVIDENCE THAT QIN SHI HUANG DID VALUE PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE.

BUT MORE DISTURBING THAN BOOK BURNINGS

ARE ACCOUNTS OF THE EMPEROR’S BRUTALITY,

DESIGNED TO ENFORCE OBEDIENCE THROUGH INTIMIDATION.

ACCORDING TO THE RECORDS OF HISTORIANS

WRITING AFTER THE FALL OF THE QIN DYNASTY,

QIN SHI HUANG ORDERED THAT 460 CONFUCIAN SCHOLARS,

WHO OWNED COPIES OF FORBIDDEN BOOKS, WERE TO BE BURIED ALIVE.

BUT THESE ACCOUNTS WERE WRITTEN

OVER A CENTURY AFTER THE BURIALS WERE TO HAVE OCCURRED,

WHICH LEADS HISTORIANS TO DOUBT THEIR VALIDITY.

Wang: AND SINCE IN CHINESE HISTORY

THERE WAS A LONGSTANDING PRACTICE OF DYNASTIC HISTORIES

BEING WRITTEN BY THE SUCCESSOR DYNASTIES,

THE VIEW THAT IS PRESENTED OF QIN SHI HUANG BY SIMA QIAN,

WHO IS ACTUALLY WRITING DURING THE HISTORICAL PERIOD

FOLLOWING THE QIN DYNASTY,

PRESENTS A RULER WHO WAS A TYRANT.

Riegel: WHENEVER PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT BAD RULERS,

BAD KINGS IN THE PAST,

ONE OF THE THINGS THEY WOULD SAY ABOUT A BAD RULER OR A BAD KING

WAS THAT THIS WAS A PERSON WHO HAD NO RESPECT FOR SCHOLARS

AND BURIED THEM OR, OR BURNED DOCUMENTS,

AND SO, IN EFFECT,

WHAT, WHAT WE’RE TOLD ABOUT THE FIRST EMPEROR

IS JUST PART OF A TRADITION

OF CRITICIZING RULERS THAT YOU DON’T LIKE.

AND SO, IN MY VIEW,

I DON’T THINK WE CAN GIVE VERY MUCH HISTORICAL WEIGHT

TO THOSE CLAIMS MADE AGAINST THE FIRST EMPEROR.

Narrator: RATHER THAN BEING A CRUEL TYRANT,

IT’S LIKELY THAT QIN SHI HUANG WAS A TARGET

OF POLITICAL PROPAGANDA

CREATED BY THE HAN DYNASTY THAT SUCCEEDED HIS.

ITS PURPOSE WAS TO DISCREDIT THE QIN DYNASTY, AND BY DOING SO,

JUSTIFY AND ELEVATE ITS OWN EXISTENCE.

Schonebaum: ALL OF OUR SOURCES FOR QIN DYNASTY HISTORY

COME FROM THE SUBSEQUENT DYNASTY, THE HAN DYNASTY.

AND SO WE ALWAYS HAVE TO SORT OF TAKE THEM WITH A GRAIN OF SALT,

CONSIDERING THAT THEY CONSISTENTLY PORTRAY

QIN DYNASTY MINISTERS AND QIN SHI HUANG HIMSELF

AS SOMEWHAT TYRANNICAL, SOMEWHAT OPPORTUNISTIC,

AND ULTIMATELY A FAILURE.

Narrator: MANY OF TODAY’S SCHOLARS SEE QIN SHI HUANG

IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT.

Kazuyuki: QIN SHI HUANG IS OFTEN PORTRAYED

AS AN EVIL TYRANT,

BUT ACTUALLY, HE WAS A KING

WHO WAS MORE FAIR-MINDED THAN HE’S GIVEN CREDIT FOR.

HE DIDN’T TOLERATE CORRUPTION FROM BUREAUCRATS,

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CAME AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

I THINK WE SHOULD REEVALUATE HOW WE VIEW QIN SHI HUANG.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Narrator: BY VIRTUE OF HIS MILITARY AND POLITICAL PROWESS,

QIN SHI HUANG ENDED CENTURIES OF CONFLICT

AND BROUGHT PEACE TO THE CONSTANTLY WARRING STATES.

DURING HIS 12-YEAR REIGN, HE JOURNEYED THROUGHOUT HIS REALM

IN THE COMPANY OF HIS ARMY TO INSPECT THE NATION HE HAD BUILT.

BUT HE ALSO HAD A PERSONAL REASON

FOR UNDERTAKING THESE TOURS.

Riegel: HE WANTED TO LIVE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.

HE WANTED TO PROLONG HIS LIFETIME.

AND SO, ONE OF THE REASONS

FOR MAKING THESE, UH, EXPEDITIONS AROUND HIS EMPIRE

WAS TO LOOK FOR THE SECRETS OF IMMORTALITY

THAT WOULD ENABLE THE FIRST EMPEROR

TO EXTEND HIS LIFETIME AND EXTEND HIS REIGN

SO THAT HE COULD CONTINUE TO RULE OVER HIS EMPIRE.

Narrator: AS HE TRAVELED THROUGH HIS EMPIRE,

QIN SHI HUANG HAD STONE MONUMENTS, CALLED STELE,

ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE HIS TOURS.

ENGRAVED ON THEM ARE HIS DECREES,

ACHIEVEMENTS, AND EXPLOITS--

THE ONLY WRITTEN RECORDS FROM THE TIME.

BUT EVEN AFTER FORMING A MIGHTY SUPERPOWER,

QIN SHI HUANG’S REALM WAS NOT FREE FROM OUTSIDE THREATS.

AND IT LED HIM TO UNDERTAKE ONE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD’S

MOST EXTENSIVE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS TO DEFEND HIS NATION.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA-- ERECTED AS A DEFENSIVE PERIMETER

AGAINST ENEMIES ATTACKING FROM THE NORTH--

HAS BECOME QIN SHI HUANG’S MOST VISIBLE LEGACY.

TODAY, IT DRAWS SOME 10 MILLION VISITORS A YEAR.

PORTIONS OF THE WALL HAD ALREADY EXISTED,

BUILT BY RULERS OF THE STATES QIN SHI HUANG HAD CONQUERED.

THE EMPEROR’S PLAN WAS TO CONNECT THOSE WALLS

WITH NEWLY BUILT BARRICADES--

A PROJECT INVOLVING AS MANY AS A MILLION OF HIS SUBJECTS

WORKING OVER MANY YEARS.

Schonebaum: AND SO HE SET ABOUT CONSOLIDATING

THESE PRE-EXISTING WALLS OF OTHER KINGDOMS.

THEY WEREN’T THE BRICK AND STONE WALL WE KNOW NOW.

THAT WAS PRIMARILY A PROJECT OF THE MING DYNASTY.

THE QIN DYNASTY WALL WAS TAMPED EARTH,

ESSENTIALLY SETTING UP WOODEN FRAMEWORKS

AND TAMPING EARTH BETWEEN THEM,

AND THEN RAISING THE FRAME TO THE DESIRED HEIGHT.

Narrator: ONCE COMPLETED,

THE GREAT WALL FORMED A VAST STRUCTURE

RUNNING OVER 5,000 MILES--

A MONUMENT TO QIN SHI HUANG’S VISION

OF A GREAT CHINESE EMPIRE.

HIS FINAL GREAT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

WAS CREATING A NATIONAL NETWORK OF ROADS.

2,000 YEARS LATER, THESE MAGNIFICENT ROADS

TESTIFY TO THE SPLENDOR OF THE QIN DYNASTY.

THE EMPEROR PROBABLY TRAVELED ALONG THIS ROADWAY

ON HIS INSPECTION TOURS.

♪

THE EMPIRE THAT QIN SHI HUANG CREATED

WAS CENTERED AROUND THE YELLOW RIVER

AND STRETCHED FROM THE GREAT WALL IN THE NORTH

TO THE BORDERS OF VIETNAM IN THE SOUTH.

HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE STAGGERING.

IN JUST OVER TWO DECADES OF RULE,

QIN SHI HUANG LAID THE FOUNDATION OF CHINA

THAT WOULD LAST FOR THE NEXT 2,000 YEARS.

ONCE A VULNERABLE 13-YEAR-OLD KING CONTROLLED BY OTHERS,

YING ZHENG SURVIVED TREACHERY IN THE PALACE,

OUTWITTED HIS ENEMIES, AND BECAME A POWERFUL LEADER.

[SHOUTING]

AFTER A DECADE-LONG WAR,

HE UNIFIED CHINA AND BUILT AN EMPIRE.

DESPITE A REPUTATION THAT PORTRAYED HIM AS A TYRANT,

QIN SHI HUANG HAS EMERGED AS A RULER

WHO TRANSFORMED THE WORLD HE WAS BORN INTO.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Xu Weimin, translated: HIS ACHIEVEMENTS OUTWEIGH

ANY OF HIS FAILURES.

SOME SAY THAT HE WAS TOO HARSH

AND THAT HIS MASSIVE BUILDING PROJECTS

MAY HAVE SPED UP THE FALL OF THE QIN EMPIRE.

OTHERS ARE EVEN MORE DISMISSIVE,

SAYING HE BURNED BOOKS AND KILLED SCHOLARS.

BUT IF WE LOOK AT HIS ENTIRE REIGN,

WE CAN SEE THAT HE DEVOTED HIS LIFE

TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA AS A NATION.

IN MY VIEW, HE CERTAINLY WASN’T THE TYRANT

THE HISTORICAL RECORDS CLAIMED THAT HE WAS.

Narrator: 210 B.C.,

12 YEARS AFTER CHINA WAS UNIFIED.

QIN SHI HUANG WAS ON ANOTHER QUEST,

THIS TIME FOR IMMORTALITY.

NOW 50 YEARS OLD, THE EMPEROR WAS EXHAUSTED FROM OVERWORK

AND WEAKENED FROM INGESTING MERCURY PILLS,

WHICH HE BELIEVED WOULD MAKE HIM IMMORTAL.

♪

ON A HOT SUMMER DAY, DURING A TOUR OF EASTERN CHINA,

THE EMPEROR DIED...

NOT IN HIS ROYAL PALACE, BUT IN HIS CARRIAGE.

THE EXACT CAUSE OF DEATH WAS NEVER REVEALED,

THOUGH IT’S THOUGHT MERCURY POISONING

LIKELY PLAYED A PART IN HIS DEMISE.

THE EMPEROR’S BODY WAS RETURNED TO THE QIN CAPITAL

AND THEN LAID TO REST IN HIS MAUSOLEUM

UNDER THE MAN-MADE MOUNTAIN IN NEARBY XIANYANG.

♪

THE FUNERAL PROCESSION ENTERED A TOMB

THAT WAS THE STUFF OF WONDER.

A LAVISH, DIVINELY INSPIRED REPLICA OF HIS EMPIRE

AWAITED HIM UNDERGROUND--

A WORLD HE BELIEVED

HE WOULD RULE IN THE AFTERLIFE FOR ETERNITY.

RECORDS FROM HISTORIAN SIMA QIAN CLAIM

THAT IT TOOK 700,000 WORKERS 38 YEARS TO BUILD THE MAUSOLEUM.

JOINING HIM IN THE AFTERLIFE WERE MANY PRICELESS TREASURES,

INCLUDING RARE BIRDS AND ANIMALS,

AS WELL AS HIS CHILDLESS WIVES,

ALL SEALED WITH QIN SHI HUANG IN HIS BURIAL CHAMBER.

A RULER WHO DREAMED OF IMMORTALITY,

HE ALSO HAD AN ARMY OF TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

BURIED NEARBY TO PROTECT HIM IN THE AFTERLIFE

AND ENHANCE HIS LEGACY.

Xu: QIN SHI HUANG HAS HAD A GREAT INFLUENCE

OVER THE LAST 2,000 YEARS OF CHINA’S HISTORY.

MANY OF THE SYSTEMS AND POLICIES

THAT HE ORIGINATED DURING HIS REIGN

ARE STILL IN PLACE TODAY.

Duan: HE IS THE ONE FIGURE

WHO CANNOT BE LEFT OUT OF ANY RECORD OF CHINESE HISTORY.

Narrator: JUST FOUR YEARS AFTER QIN SHI HUANG DIED,

THE DYNASTY HE ESTABLISHED COLLAPSED.

BUT THE NATION HE CREATED LIVED ON AND STILL EXISTS TODAY.

CHINA IS A COUNTRY OF 1.4 BILLION PEOPLE,

COMPRISING 55 DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS,

WHO SPEAK 120 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.

HOME TO THIS RICH DIVERSITY FOR THE PAST 2,000 YEARS,

IT’S REMAINED ONE NATION.

Riegel: WE SHOULD KEEP IN MIND

THAT THE BOUNDARIES OF EMPIRE THAT YING ZHENG CREATED

ARE MORE OR LESS THE BOUNDARIES OF MODERN-DAY CHINA.

Narrator: CHINA NOW ENJOYS THE GREATEST ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

IN ITS HISTORY.

SCHOLARS TELL US THE ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES AND BELIEFS

OF QIN SHI HUANG

ARE STILL WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF THE NATION.

Schonebaum: I THINK IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT

PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT LEGACY OF QIN SHI HUANG

IS THE IDEA OF EMPIRE ITSELF.

♪