Warring States

We’ve learned about several different countries that had to be united by strong kings. King Narmer made Upper and Lower Egypt into one country. Over in Sumer, Sargon the Great united all the different, fighting Sumerian cities into one country.

Exactly the same thing happened in China. China was ruled by strong warriors called “warlords.” Each warlord had his own, separate kingdom and his own army. There were at least six strong warlords in ancient China—and at least six different Chinese kingdoms. This time in China is called “The Period of the Warring States,” because China wasn’t one country. It was a whole handful of different countries, all fighting with each other! And like Egypt, Sumer, and India, the Warring States of China all became part of one country.

The Warring State all the way to the East was called Qin (pronounced “Chin”). Its warlord, Qin Zheng, had an army with one million men in it.

The other Warring States didn’t like the Qin. They thought the Qin people were barbarians, uncivilized people who didn’t care about reading, writing, or art. But the Qin army was the strongest army in China. The Qin conquered the other Warring States, one at a time, until Qin Zheng ruled all of China!

Qin Zheng became the first emperor of all China. And this new, united country, was named after Qin Zheng and his tribe. The word “China” comes from the word Qin.

Qin Zheng knew that the conquered warlords would try to rebel against him. So he forced all the warlords and former rulers of the Warring States to move into his capital city. As long as they lived near him, he could keep an eye on them and make sure they weren’t planning to overthrow him. He took all their weapons away, melted them down, and turned the metal into twelve enormous statues, which he put in his own palace. He built wide, straight roads so that his soldiers could travel quickly to fight anyone who might try to rebel against him. He executed anyone who might be planning treason. And because he was afraid that Chinese writers might encourage the Chinese people to get rid of him, he ordered thousands and thousands of books burned.

Some of these books were printed. But many were written by hand. Calligraphers had spent years and years laboring over their pages. But Qin Zheng didn’t care. He wanted those books destroyed, so that no one would get rebellious ideas from them. His prime minister even announced that anyone who discussed books in public would be executed in the marketplace.

Qin Zheng kept his new empire together. But he used burning, destroying, and killing to keep his power. Even though he gave his name to the country of China, many Chinese people despised him for his cruelty.