Emperor Qin: The Legalist

By: Talia Bhatti, amateur blogger

      Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was the first person to control all of China under the Qin dynasty. Most of the dynasties lasted for hundreds of years but the Qin dynasty lasted only 15 years filled with many amazing accomplishments. Qin ruled his dynasty with complete power under legalism. Legalists believe everyone is selfish and bad. They also believed people needed to be disciplined to work on farms and battlefield. Qin had very harsh punishments and anyone who whined or tried to improve things was sentenced to death. Emperor Qin also started bureaucracy and divided his empire into 36 provinces. Each province was ruled by two government officials who watched the well trained workers. Emperor Qin created a spy system during his rule that was part of the law. The people spied on each other at work, home, and in the village. Those who turned in people who broke laws were rewarded. 

     Emperor Qin changed several things during his rule over China. One of the changes was in the land. The nobles were not allowed to own land so they would not rise in power over the king. Emperor Qin also standardized a system of weights, measures, money, language, and law. Peasants were also assigned jobs under Qin's rule and all books were burned because studying took away time from planting. Emperor Qin believed his rule was not cruel and did not have any revolts during his rule. 

This is a picture of emperor Qin that can be found at http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=40&