Qin+Empire

==Origins==

The Qin Dynasty was established in 221 BCE by emperor Shi Huangdi and was the first dynasty to unify China. Sometimes, the Qin Empier is called the Chi'in, which is where the name "China" comes from. The Qin were part of the Era of the Warring States in the late Zhou Dynastic Era. They defeated the other states and Shin Huangdi appointed himself as the emperor.

Social Structure
The social structure of the Qin Empire revolved around the emperor, Shi Huangdi. He controlled the political, economic, and military affairs. Below the emperor were the shenshi. The shenshi were bureaucrats or landowners that had passed the state regulated examination enabling them to hold office. Peasants stood after the Shenshi in the social structure. Below them were the workers and artists, then the merchants, and finally, soldiers.

Nature of Imperial Administration
The nature of imperial administration for the Qin dynasty was when China was organized into large provinces ruled by bureaucrats appointed by the emperor. Also the Qin dynasty was under the rule of Shi Huangdi. While under his rule powerful armies crushed regional resistance.



The Qin Empire possessed the strongest military amongst all of the warring states. They were extremely large and contained archers with great precision and range. Swords and crossbows greatly improved the efficiency of the military. Shi Huangdi increased the taxes in order to support a strong military. He also built the Great Wall which extended over 3,000 miles to protect from invasions by barbarians.

Cities
Xi’an was an important city in during the Qin Empire. It was located along the Silk Road which made it a cultural center. Xi’an is where many of the Emperors resided while they were reining China including Shi Huangdi who lived in his grand mausoleum.

Technological Innovations and Achievements


Chinese economy grew big and fast by the second century AD. Cities grew rapidly along with the trade industy. Several military campains made great achievements including the opening of the Silk road.The Qin Dynasty's technological innovations were in politics and culture.New irrigation projects promoted manufacturing especially silk cloth. One of the most important achievements of the Qin Dynasty was the construction of the Great Wall. The Great Wall of China extended over 300 miles to guard against barbarian invasion. The Dynasty also worked hard to unify the Chinese. Emperor Shi Huangdi standardized coins, weights, and measures as well as calculating the national census.The creation of Chinese written script uniform ensured a single basic language which all educated Chinese could communicate.

=Food production=

Even though new irrigation projects were supported by Shi Huangdi, mathods used in Europe to plant seeds were inefficient and most of the seeds never produced cropsleaving nothing to eat. Weeding was impossible so the fields quickly became useless.

=Decline=

Shi Huangdi was not popular among the Qin citizens. He imposed heavy taxes on them that caused resentment and he banned books that spoke ill of the government. Any scholar that didn't agree with this policy was banished from the empire. Huangdi killed thousands of his opponants as well. When he passed away in 210 BCE, his son took his throne but was deposed in 260 BCE and replaced by the Han Dynasty. Although the Qin Empre did not last long, it was significant because it was the first empire that tried to unify China.

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