Construction of Emperor Qin’s Tomb Begins

by: Kong Rui bo

China Times

East of Xianyang - It is now the year 221B.C. and Emperor Qin Shi Huang has just began the construction of his tomb. The workers constructing the wall started in the morning yesterday and are preparing themselves for a tough project.  Emperor Qin  believes that he is the greatest ruler ever known in history. He has stated to believe in immortality and has become more interested in it day after day.
Rumors have been going around that by now, Emperor Qin has become so interested in immortality that he has been planning to make a potion that will make himself immortal. No one knows if these rumors are true. There has also been some news about what Emperor Qin is planning to put inside of his tomb and how big the tomb is estimated to be. Emperor Qin said that when finished, the tomb is estimated to be around 2,180,000 square miles big. That is huge! There have also been some rumors going around that the tomb is going to be located at the eye of the dragon shaped piece of land, from Lishan to Mount Hua. Emperor Qin has also said that he is planning to have many models of palaces, pavilions and offices. He is also planning to have many of fine vessels, precious stones, and rarities. In one room of the tomb he is thinking about having replicas of the area’s rivers with streams made of mercury flowing to the sea through hills and mountains of bronze. A  major part of the tomb that Emperor Qin is planning to include is a whole army of clay warriors. He said that if he decides to make this army of clay warriors that they will be named the Terracotta Warriors. From all of this information, it sounds like the tomb is going to be a very beautiful and spectacular thing. But on the downside, it is estimated to take around 10 or 11 years to build.
Throughout China there are many people who are really excited about the idea of the tomb. When Jia Tu Ming heard about the construction beginning, he was glad. “I can’t wait to see the tomb finished. It is going to look amazing!  I think that this is a really great idea and that this is going to be a really great place for us to remember Emperor Qin when he dies.” Jia Tu Ming comes from a wealthy family. He has been a good friend with the Qin family for most of his life and is currently a minister of the Qin government.
Besides all of the people happy for the tomb, there are still many people throughout China who are not at supporting the idea of the tomb construction.  We interviewed a woman named Su Liang Shen. Su Liang Shen is one of the many hundreds of thousands of workers. She is a really poor peasant. He family is currently having some trouble. She is working to build the tomb of Emperor Qin to pay off her debt. This is what she had to say about the construction of the tomb. “I hate it! It is a very tough job, working on the tomb. Everyone gets treated in a cruel way. There are hardly any breaks either! The construction just started yesterday and 3 people have already been killed! Even though I probably have the most dangerous job in China right now, I don’t have a choice. It’s the only job I can get to pay off my debt. I looks like I’ll just have to try my best.”
There are many different opinions throughout China about the construction of Emperor Qin’s tomb, but there is much more to come. This is only the beginning of a huge project.

Map of Emperor Qin's tomb.

Part of the inside of Emperor Qin's tomb.

Too Many Workers. Too Much to Worry About.

Emperor Qin has just announced the start of the construction of his tomb. When finished, the tomb is estimated to be 2,180,000 square miles big! The tomb is going to take about 11 years to build. Who is going to build the tomb in this amount of time? The answer to that question is hundreds of thousands of workers. This is not the right choice! Emperor Qin shouldn't have hundreds of thousands of innocent workers work on such a huge and dangerous project.

Even though the tomb is going to be an important part of Emperor Qin’s legacy, the people working on the tomb are a bigger problem than getting the work finish in a short amount of time. The poor treatment of the workers and the horrible conditions of the work site, will result in thousands of workers dying. Besides the work conditions, no matter what, the workers are not getting paid or getting any type of reward for building the tomb. That is not fair at all. They are going to be doing so much good work for nothing.

Some might say that it won’t be bad if some workers die because China’s population is so massive. It is important to get this tomb built so we can honor Emperor Qin when he dies. Some people believe this because they believe that Emperor Qin is more important than all of the workers. They don’t even care about the workers since all of the workers are poor. They also think that China needs a place for Emperor Qin when he dies and so people can always remember him. All of those people are wrong. Even if the workers are poor and not as important as Emperor Qin, it is still not good to kill thousands of them even if China’s population is huge. Even though there should be a place for Emperor Qin to go when he dies, China can think of a safer and better way of building it.

It is good that Emperor Qin is constructing a beautiful tomb for himself, but it is horrible to have hundreds of innocent workers and people building it when the work is really dangerous. Emperor Qin should have more experienced workers and pay them or give them some type of reward.

A New China

The Qin Dynasty (221 B.C. - 207 B.C.) borders were much different than the borders of the warring states, as you can see in the two maps below. During the warring states, there were many borders since China was split up into many different territories. When Qin Shi Huang became emperor, he conquered all of the different territories combining them into one big unified country. He didn’t just conquer all of the different territories. He also conquered a lot of the land around the territories, as you can see in the two maps below. The Qin dynasty borders were not even half the size of present-day China’s borders. The Qin Dynasty made up most of the east part of present-day China. There were many rivers throughout the land of the Qin Dynasty, such as the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, and more. The capital of the Qin Dynasty was Xianyang. Xianyang was the centre of politics, economy, and culture of the Qin empire. The Qin Dynasty was a very powerful and successful dynasty. A lot was accomplished at that time.

Map of Warring States

Map of Qin Dynasy compared to present-day China

My Interview With Emperor Qin

Q: When you unified China, was it easy?

A: Some people might think that it was easy for me, but if they were in my shoes, they would realize how hard it was. First off, I has to conquer all of the different states in China, which was the hardest step. After I accomplished that, I had to spread peace throughout all of the people and explain to them what my rules are. After those two steps were complete, China was pretty much a unified country.

Q: Do you think the belief system of Legalism is good for China and the people?

A: Yes, I think Legalism helps motivate the people to follow my rules better and in a more serious way. Some people are worried that they might receive one of my harsh punishments, such as hard labor, being beaten, being quartered, or being hanged. If you just follow the rules, you have nothing to worry about. If you follow the rules correctly, you can sometimes receive some great rewards. For rewards, I usually give a bag of coins or no labor for a month. If I’m really impressed, I might give the person a piece of land for free. It’s pretty simple to follow Legalism.

Q: How do you feel about the construction of the Great Wall so far?

A: The Great Wall looks amazing so far and I have a really good feeling that it is going to come out really well. The purpose of the wall is to keep the Mongols from invading China, and by looking at it right now, I have a feeling that the wall is going to work really well. Even though the wall is coming out great so far, it is still estimated to take more than a few more years to build. It is going to be an exciting day when the Great Wall is complete.

Q: What do the citizens and the workers on the Great Wall think of the Great Wall so far?

A: Well lately I have been getting complaints from some of the workers saying that they have been treated really cruelly. Some people have also been saying that there are poor conditions on the work site and the work is not safe at all. I’ll admit that the conditions aren’t the best, but the workers have to tough it out. They should remember that the work they are doing is benefiting me, and maybe that will keep them from complaining.

Q: Thank you so much for letting me interview you. Right before you go, I just have one more question to ask. How long are you planning to be emperor for?

A: Well I have been studying immortality for quite a while now and I am currently in the process of having someone create a potion for me. When the potion is complete, it should give me immortality if I drink it. If I become immortal, I will then be able to rule China forever, but for now I just have to wait.

Legalism in the Qin Dynasty

During the Qin Dynasty, the main belief system was Legalism. The important texts for Legalism is the Basic Writings. Legalism is a very strict and serious belief system. A couple of the key principles for Legalism is that everybody must be loyal to the ruler, there are clear laws, and clear punishments. If you followed legalism, it was very important to be loyal to your ruler and to never complain about the government. If you broke those rules, there would be harsh punishments and possibly even a death sentence.

It wasn’t only the citizens who had rules to follow. The ruler also has to follow some rules. A few of the rules are, the ruler must never demonstrate or give in feelings of affection, the ruler must trust no one, and the rulers must give harsh punishments, and clear rewards.

Legalism had some cruel effects on people, but there were some good effects. Legalism helped keep the citizens calm and under control. Legalism also forced the citizens to follow the laws and be loyal to their ruler. Legalism was very helpful to the ruler. Legalism wasn’t that much of a popular belief system, but it sure was a very interesting one.

Literature/Art/Music in the Qin Dynasty

The literature in the Qin Dynasty was pretty interesting. Ligue culture was the literature at the time and reflected many political ideas.The people of the Qin Dynasty used a logographic written language. The prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, Li-Si, standardized the writing system to be a uniform size and shape across the whole country. This had a unifying effect on the Chinese culture for thousands of years. Li-Si also has credit for creating the style of calligraphy called the lesser-seal. This style of calligraphy is still used today in modern China.
The some of the art in the Qin Dynasty was amazing. Pottery was used in many different ways. There were bowls, pots, and even the Terra Cotta Warriors. The Terra Cotta Warriors are a whole army of warriors made out of clay. These warriors are located inside of Emperor Qin’s tomb. They were created to accompany Emperor Qin in the after life, so he could become ruler in the after life. The Terra Cotta Warriors still exist today and so does the rest of Emperor Qin’s tomb. A lot of the warriors are in mint condition. The Terra Cotta warriors are a great piece of history.
During the Qin Dynasty, the pipa was a major instrument. The pipa is a short-necked lute instrument. The pipa has a pear shaped body with a wooden belly. The pipa was used for hundreds of years as a solo instrument, but then it later became more popular and important instrument. The pipa was suitable for playing a song with almost any type of emotion. The influence of the pipa spread from China and was a well known instrument.
 

Woman playing the pipa.

Terra Cotta Warriors

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Emperor Qin Shihuangs Tomb. N.d. China Absolute Tours. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2012. <http://www.absolutechinatours.com/​Xian-attractions/​Emperor-Qin-Shihuang-s-Tomb.html>.

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