The nine states united, and the dragon emerged! How did the Qin Dynasty achieve Chinese civilization?

Mentioning Qin

In every Chinese heart

It has its presence

People admire the grandeur of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum

The majesty of the Terracotta Warriors

(Please watch horizontally, Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum, photographer @张天柱)

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Thinking back to the Qin Dynasty building the Great Wall in the north

The grandeur of "repelling the Xiongnu for more than 700 miles"

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The brightly lit Simatai Great Wall is like a yellow dragon, marching forward in the thunderbolt. This picture is for illustration only. The above quote is from "On the Qin Dynasty" by Jia Yi of the Han Dynasty. Photographer: @许晓平)

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Admire "The King of Qin swept across the world, looking so majestic"

The heroic spirit of "swinging the sword to cut through the floating clouds, and all the princes come to the west"

(The above quote is from Li Bai's "Ancient Style: The King of Qin Sweeps the Six Kingdoms" in the Tang Dynasty. The picture below is an artistic representation of Qin's annexation of the six kingdoms. After Qin unified the six kingdoms, its political power dominated the earth. At that time, no country was more powerful than Qin. Map by @松楠&张琪&高麗倩/Planet Research Institute)

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In the textbooks of every 13-year-old in China

It's clearly written

Qin unified China

"Established the first unified multi-ethnic feudal state in Chinese history"

The Importance and Significance of the Qin State

Everyone knows

But few people ask again

Where did it come from? How did it win?

In fact

Qin went from an inconspicuous corner to the center of the stage

It took at least 500 years and 30 generations of life.

After it unified the country

It collapsed in just 15 years.

Shorter than the anime "Qin's Moon"

Daqin is not the final winner

The final winner is "China"

The story this time

Starting from humiliation

01

Outside Dog

Fire, Fire

The raging fire destroyed the magnificent palace

Devoured by the last Shang king

To us, he is called King Zhou

For the Ying clan at that time

They lost their monarch, their greatest support.

Ancestor of the Ying clan

He was a "founding hero" of the Shang Dynasty and was always treated with great favor.

The Zhou people who forced King Zhou to death established the "Western Zhou"

The Ying clan followed the descendants of the Shang king to launch a counterattack

But it was quickly suppressed

(The bronze Li Gui, with the inscriptions on it, records the epic of the transition from Shang to Zhou Dynasty, photographer @路客看看, map @张琪/星球研究院)

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Treat like a stray dog

The Ying clan was driven to the wild land in the west

"Xiquanqiu" (now in Tianshui, Gansu)

Accompanying the uncivilized Rong people

The Zhou people transformed themselves into the Zhou emperor and the Zhou royal family.

The company has been operating in Guanzhong for about 200 years.

At that time

The absolute protagonist on the historical stage

The Zhou royal family belonged to the Ji clan

They practice primogeniture

The bloodline of the eldest son of the royal family is the main

The second son of the legitimate wife and the son of a concubine are the minor clans and are given fiefs as princes.

The "small clans" that emerged from the princes were further divided into ministers and officials.

As a result, "(the Zhou royal family) established 71 states, of which 53 were surnamed Ji."

The remaining princes who were not surnamed Ji, the surname Ji would marry them

(The above quote is from Xunzi: Confucianism, drawn by @张琪/Planetary Research Institute)

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For the Zhou royal family

The family and the world are one

The Ying clan is not in this "family"

It had no land, no cars, no bronze vessels.

Poor and penniless

It was only under the jurisdiction of the Zhou Dynasty.

At the westernmost end and the edge, there is

The weak Ying clan can only become "licking dogs"

Rushing to serve the Zhou royal family

Begging for a way to live

Survival in the relatively arid Xiquanqiu

Mainly rely on hunting and animal husbandry

Raising horses and driving carriages became the specialties of the Ying clan.

Among them there is a "Bo Le" who can "recognize a good horse"

(The terracotta horse riders were unearthed from Qin Tomb No. 28057 at Taerpo, Xianyang, Shaanxi. They are the earliest terracotta horse riders discovered so far. Photographer: @Sing行摄影)

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One of the leaders of the Ying clan drove the chariot for King Mu of Zhou.

Another leader raised horses for King Xiao of Zhou

They saw the prosperity and wealth of Guanzhong

Longing to stay in Guanzhong

But they are of low status

Many Ying clan members are like pigs and dogs.

The kings and princes bought, sold, given away, and discarded them at will.

When the Rong people in the western border harassed the central dynasty from time to time

King Xiao of Zhou then thought of the Ying clan, which was close to him.

Raise their status to "Vassal"

Build a city in Qinyi (now Zhangjiachuan, Gansu) to resist Rongdi

From then on, Qin became the clan name of the Ying clan.

(Please watch in horizontal mode. Guanshan Ranch is located at the junction of Long County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province and Zhangjiachuan, Gansu Province. This is where the ancestors of Qin Shihuang raised horses. Photographer: Liu Supei)

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So what is a vassal?

It's not some kind of prince.

It is an existence that depends on the princes.

They were not even qualified to pay tribute directly to the Zhou emperor.

It's ridiculous that they worked for the King of Zhou for many years.

But not even a vassal

Facing the increasingly fierce attacks of the Rong people

The status of the Qin people also became higher and higher

King Xuan of Zhou conferred the title of "Grand Doctor" on the leader of the Qin people

There were small victories in the battle against the Rong people.

Also added as "Xichui Doctor"

Although the Zhou royal family used it as a dog to defend against the Western Rong

The Qin people still did not give up their dreams

Another leader (Duke Xiang of Qin)

Actively moved the tribe to Weiyi (now Longxian County, Shaanxi)

Weishui (now Qianhe River) flows through here and merges into Weihe River.

This is a natural way to enter Guanzhong

The Qin people are like standing at the gate of Guanzhong

Ready to go

(A diagram of the Qin capital during the Western Zhou Dynasty. As to whether Weiyi was the Qin capital, there is no consensus in the academic community. This article is based on the viewpoint in the book The Rise of Yongcheng compiled by the Museum of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. Map by @松楠/星球研究院)

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From Xiquanqiu to Qinyi and then to Weiyi

The Qin people have been moving closer to Guanzhong

Compared with the prosperous Guanzhong

The edge of their activities

Just like "chicken ribs", it is tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away

They stood at the gate of Guanzhong and watched

They also want to eat meat

But the princes of the Ji clan who were well fed and well-fed

Keep them out of the door

Until they met someone

That man is King You of Zhou

02

Tiger in a cage

That's right

This is the King You of Zhou who played tricks on the princes by lighting beacons.

During his reign

The Rong people entered Guanzhong

Conquered the capital (Haojing) and killed King You of Zhou

Historians define it as

"The Western Zhou Dynasty fell and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period) began"

(The bone tube with line-carved hunting patterns, the warrior hunting picture engraved on it, the composition style, line carving technique and character image are very different from Chinese craftsmanship. It must be from a foreign country or a work influenced by foreign culture. The picture comes from @Gansu Provincial Museum, and the map is @Zhang Qi/Planet Research Institute)

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From then on, the Zhou emperor was just a puppet.

The princes divided up the royal property through him.

The Qin people helped the Zhou emperor move away from Guanzhong

Got some benefits

The Zhou emperor recognized it in his own name

The leader of the Qin people (Qin Xianggong) was a vassal

The land west of Qishan in Guanzhong was given to them.

The Qin State was officially established

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the fertile land of Guanzhong next to the mountains, photographer @陈剑峰)

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but

The title of Zhou Emperor is no longer valuable

Guanzhong is now ruled by the Rong people

The Qin people wanted this land

Only fists can speak

that's all

The Qin people fought hard with the Rong people for 4 years, but all ended in failure.

Duke Xiang of Qin himself also died in the war against the Rong people.

The Qin people found themselves sitting at the table of the great power game

I don't have any chips in my hand

I only have brute strength and a miserable life.

"Qin Feng Wu Yi" in the Book of Songs

This is a true portrayal of this period.

As the battle approached, Qin Jun shouted angrily

"Who said I don't have a uniform?"

The soldiers will respond in unison

"I will wear the same robe with you!"

Then they shed their blood together on that yellow land

That is a kind of monarch and minister who depend on each other for their lives.

The sadness that can never be reversed

(Stone armor of the Qin Dynasty, hidden in the Shaanxi Archaeological Museum. Each Qin person is like a piece of armor, forming an indestructible Qin Dynasty. Photographers @张天柱、白阳, map @张琪/星球研究院)

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With the courage to face death

The Qin people "conquered the King of Rong, added twelve states, and opened up a thousand miles of land"

Gradually and violently suppressed the Rong people

After a conquest of Rongdi

The Qin State established the earliest county in Chinese literature

Previously, the Zhou emperor managed the country through

The princes were enfeoffed and the eldest son inherited the throne, forming a separatist regime

The Qin State divided "counties" into administrative units.

Local governors were directly appointed and dismissed by the monarch rather than being hereditary.

Advanced systems flourished in Qin

Outside the Rong people

Guanzhong, the former homeland of the Zhou royal family

The Zhou people had status, culture, and technology

Descendants of merchants from the previous dynasty

It was also slowly absorbed and digested by Qin

Bronze ritual vessels and military chariots that did not exist before

Brick and tile palaces appeared in the Qin State

The Qin State greedily absorbed all cultural nutrients

(The Qin Gong Bi from the Spring and Autumn Period was unearthed from Taigong Temple in Chencang District, Baoji City. The above quote is from "Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Qin". There is no consensus in the academic community as to whether Qin conquered the descendants of the Shang people. This article adopts the viewpoint of Lin Jianming's "Draft History of Qin". Photographer @梦物如颜)

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The King of Qin learned the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty

On Yongshan

Sacrifices on behalf of the Zhou emperor

To show high status and authority

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The Yongshan Blood Pond Site is located in Fengxiang, Shaanxi. The total area of ​​the site is 4.7 million square meters, including more than 3,200 buildings, sites, roads, sacrificial pits, etc. This is the earliest, largest, most clear, longest-lasting, and most complete national large-scale sacrificial site from the Qin and Han dynasties that has been discovered and recorded in ancient documents. Photographer: Li Minchao, map: Zhang Qi/Planetary Research Institute)

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The Qin ruler used the Zhou people's site selection and construction technology to

On the side of Yongshan Mountain (now Fengxiang, Shaanxi)

Created a " Qin Capital on Water " from scratch

That is "Yongcheng"

Its exterior is surrounded by water

Surrounded by Yongshui River and Zhifang River

Tashi River and Fenghuangquan River

A natural defense facility

The interior is built along the river.

The Baiqi River flowing down from Yongshan Mountain

Many rivers run through the city

Roads are built along rivers, and people live along the rivers

This is how the "Book of Songs·Qinfeng" came about.

"The so-called beauty is on the other side of the water"

(Qindu Yongcheng illustration, map by @李雪茜&高麗倩/Planet Research Institute)

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19 Qin Jun planned their business here

Yongcheng also became the longest-established capital of the Qin State.

When the Rong people's envoys saw the palace of Yongcheng

I can't help but sigh, "If I ask a ghost to do it, it will be a lot of trouble."

(The ghosts and gods must have been very troubled to build this palace)

The Qin people also proposed a more ambitious goal in Yongcheng

"My descendants drink water from the Yellow River"

(The iron sword with a gold handle inlaid with turquoise and snake pattern is known as the "Star of Qin Swords". It was unearthed in Tomb No. 2 of Yimen Village, Baoji, Shaanxi Province in 1992. The above quote is from "Historical Records: The Book of Qin". Photographer @梦物如颜, map @张琪/星球研究院)

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To understand the goal of this Yellow River drinking horse

We must open up the God's perspective

To observe the Qin State and its neighboring Jin State

The geographical relationship between

Although the Qin State had established a firm foothold in Guanzhong at that time

But the mountains around Guanzhong plus the Yellow River

Suppressed the expansion of Qin

Like a "beast in a cage"

The Hangu Pass controlled by the Jin State

It's the "door lock" and the "key"

The Qin State was firmly locked in a "cage"

(Sketch of the confrontation between Qin and Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period, drawn by @松楠&高麗倩/Planetary Research Institute)

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With Qi, Jin, Song, Chu, Wu

Compared with the great Eastern countries that were enfeoffed by the Western Zhou Dynasty

Qin was a very young country.

The Western Zhou Dynasty was just established after its demise

The national development cycle is at least one or two hundred years behind

After the conflict between Qin and Jin began (576 BC)

The State of Jin defeated the State of Qin many times.

Even deep into the Qin territory, coming and going freely

The Qin State was trapped in the mountains and had no power to fight back.

However, Jin did not pursue the victory.

Because it is facing

Intense turmoil and change

(The monarch of Jin State fought for power with the Zhao family in China, and staged a "Zhao Orphan". The picture below shows the chariot and horse burial pit in the tomb of Zhao Qing in Taiyuan. Photographer @邬红波)

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Due to the decline of the Zhou royal family

The power shifted downwards and the princes gained power

Within the vassal states

A lower-level official

Also imitate the princes, rise up and fight for profit

Land gradually changed from state-owned to privately owned

The three nobles of Zhao, Wei and Han in Jin

The territory of Jin was divided up in this way.

It is called "Three Families Divide Jin" in history.

Wei succeeded Jin

The Qin State firmly locked Guanzhong

(Many scholars believe that the "Three Families Dividing Jin" marked the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States Period. The picture below shows the Hanzhuang Great Wall in Xinzhou, Shanxi. It was built by the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period and rebuilt on the original basis in the Ming Dynasty. Photographer: @朱哲)

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This is a crucial "land reform"

Originally, most of the harvest from the fields belonged to the state.

Every farmer, no matter how much effort he puts in

The rations received are roughly the same

After the reform, most of the gains belong to individuals.

Only a fixed tax is paid to the state

In other words

The more diligent you are, the richer you will be.

Farmers are working hard

The country's strength has also soared

The Qin people made drastic changes to the country outside

Still unaware

Although he entered Guanzhong

It is still centered on the Eastern power.

Wandering on the edge of the advanced cultural circle

(Bronze mirror with warriors fighting beasts from the Qin Dynasty in the Warring States Period. On the back, there are two brave warriors holding shields in their left hands and swords in their right hands, each facing a ferocious leopard, as if fighting a beast. Photographer: @柳叶氘, map by @张琪/Planetary Research Institute)

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Compared to the royal family at this time

A great Eastern country that had been divided for hundreds of years

The Qin State was a conquered nation

The people sitting there were all descendants of Rong people, Zhou people, and Shang people.

Almost no blood ties

Burying people alive is a rare event in a large oriental country.

In the Qin Dynasty, it was extremely popular and became more and more serious.

Duke Wu of Qin "accompanied 66 people to die"

Duke Mu of Qin "killed 177 people"

The First Tomb of the Qin Emperor excavated in Yongdi

The number of people buried with the deceased was as high as 186.

This is the tomb with the most human sacrifices since the Zhou Dynasty

The appearance of these unearthed human remains

Often huddled together

This suggests that they were probably like livestock.

Tied and buried

(Sketch of human remains, drawn by @张琪/Planetary Research Institute)

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also

The size of Qin Gong Tomb No. 1 is very large

It is the largest tomb before the Qin Dynasty.

During the archaeological excavation, there were 247 robbery holes.

However, more than 3,000 cultural relics were unearthed.

but

These burial objects are extremely simple and crude.

Far behind other major countries

General technical level

But they were able to build such a grand tomb

This shows that the Qin rulers

Control the people and implement human wave tactics

And the huge ability to amass resources

(Sketch of Qin Gong Tomb No. 1, photographers @李文博, 郝天真, map @张琪/Planetary Research Institute)

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This ability stems from

The relationship between the government and the people under its rule through war and conquest

The Qin State implemented

Strict militarized and legalized management

As the saying goes

(From "Marching to the Front" by Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty)

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"What's more, the Qin soldiers are very good at fighting and are no different from dogs and chickens when driven."

Ignorance of human nature and lag in development

Let the Eastern powers despise Qin as a "barbarian"

Never ally with

Confucius traveled around the world but never went to Qin

(Tiger Talisman of Qin Du in the Warring States Period, photographer @脉影, annotated @张琪/Planetary Research Institute)

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The Qin State was blockaded and despised by the great powers.

Like a sick "tiger in a cage"

I want to go to the fertile land of the East to beg for food.

Hangu Pass is the only exit

But it was never a rival of Jin State.

Now it is no match for Wei.

Wei after the "Land Reform"

It is also an active attack, deep into Guanzhong

The fortifications built along the Luo River

Like a sharp blade piercing into the heart of Qin

At this critical moment

Qin Guo met another person

A person who really helped it change its fate

That man's name is Shang Yang

03

Dragon

Yes

"Shang Yang's Reforms"

History textbooks always emphasize

How Shang Yang transformed the Qin State

But in fact

Shang Yang and the Qin State achieved mutual success

Shang Yang was originally a bastard of the royal family of Wei State.

Possessing high-level knowledge and insights

But due to the system of primogeniture

He couldn't inherit the family business and had no way out.

(The seal with the character "gong" is an ancient seal of the Three Jin Dynasties in the Warring States Period. The picture comes from @乾堂焦新帅, and the map is @张琪/星球研究院)

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He was not the only one in this situation.

Due to the hundreds of years of prosperity of the Zhou royal family

A large number of capable nobles

Outside the national system

Their views on the way to enrich the country and strengthen the military

Different schools of thought hold different opinions

Shang Yang was one of them. He advocated ruling the country by law.

He is full of knowledge and is in urgent need of a place to live

To practice his theory and display his talents

At this time, the Qin State, which militarized its people,

For Shang Yang, it was a land of heaven.

There is rule of law here

Fertile soil for growth

(Aerial photography of the Guanzhong Plain, a well-regulated land “woven” by rules and regulations, photographer @陈剑峰)

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Shang Yang repeatedly made suggestions and debated in Qin

Fighting domestic conservatives who are unwilling to reform

He persuaded the King of Qin (Qin Xiaogong)

Move the capital to Xianyang, away from the old forces and old aristocrats

Then, in the form of a decree

Redefining the "way of survival" for the people of Qin

usually

Private fighting and "illegal" speech are strictly prohibited

Basic industries such as farming, weaving and breeding

Those who harvested more were exempted from corvee labor.

Those who harvest less will be punished as slaves

(Shang Yang Fangsheng in the Warring States Period, sheng is the unit of volume for weighing crops, photographer @罗巧巧, wikimedia commons, map @张琪/Planet Research Institute)

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Wartime

Some regulations have mentioned

Capture the head of an Armor Piercer

You can upgrade your rank by one

Plus a hundred acres of fertile land and a luxurious house

The term "first class" came from this

Without military merit, even royal nobles have no privileges.

Facing those who violated the law

Shang Yang was never soft-hearted

He once ordered the execution of 700 people in one day.

The flowing blood dyed the Wei River red

From then on, "women and infants all spoke of Shang Yang's laws."

(The above quote is from "Strategies of the Warring States: Qin Strategy", Weihe River, photographer @陈剑峰)

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Facing the Crown Prince who violated the law

Shang Yang cut off the prince's teacher's nose

Nobles who lost their privileges

I wish I could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin

When agriculture is the only source of wealth

People will try every possible way to improve efficiency

Ox-drawn plows and iron tools quickly became popular in the Qin State.

The water conservancy project "Zhengguo Canal" irrigates thousands of hectares of fertile fields in Guanzhong

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System in the Bashu region is still in use today.

(Please watch in horizontal mode, panoramic view of Dujiangyan Irrigation Project, photographer @张铨生)

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When fighting is the only way to rise

“When the people see war, they see meat like hungry wolves.”

When two armies clash, no prisoners are taken.

Specialized in beheading, very scary

The Qin people's martial tradition of establishing a country through war

Together with the "first-class" system

Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Li Xin, Meng Tian, ​​etc.

Military generals show their power in Qin

Bai Qi alone conquered more than 70 cities for the Qin State

(Sketch of Qin weapons, the above quote is from "Book of Lord Shang", photographers @张天柱,柳叶氘,路客看看, map @张琪/星球研究院)

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Less than 30 years after Shang Yang's reforms

The State of Wei was defeated and surrendered.

The land on the west bank of the Yellow River and the Hangu Pass

Qin finally gained full management rights over Guanzhong

The basic situation is stable, we can attack or defend

At this time, 443 years had passed since the Qin people first entered Guanzhong.

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The largest waterfall of the Yellow River, Hukou Waterfall, was originally the boundary between Qin and Wei. After Shang Yang's reform, it belonged to Qin. Photographer: @吕桂明)

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The Qin State after Shang Yang's Reform

Treating the people as a kind of state property

A renewable resource

The country is like a high-speed machine

The law is enforced absolutely

This is another great country formed by the reproduction of relatives.

What can't be done

The Qin State after Shang Yang's Reform

Positions and ranks are determined by people's abilities

It itself is a fusion of many ethnic groups such as Rong people and Zhou people.

It is common for people of different races and surnames to hold high positions

This is also the case with other major countries where relatives control the court.

Incomparable

(The "foreigners" among the high-ranking officials of the Qin State indicate that Shang Yang, who made great contributions to the Qin State, was also a "foreigner". However, the Qin people did not thank Shang Yang. After losing the power support of the Qin monarch, the Qin people "tore Shang Yang apart with five horses". Map by @张琪/星球研究院)

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And the reform of Qin State was behind other great powers.

No more crossing the river by feeling the stones

It takes advantage of the “latecomer advantage”

Overtaking on the curve in the era of great changes

More than 400 years of efforts

Not as good as these 30 years of earth-shaking changes

in this way

The Qin State completed the transformation from a cicada to a dragon

Breaking out of Hangu Pass

Opened the way eastward

The troops are at the throat of the nations

(The rise of Qin and the assassination of the King of Qin [Qin Shi Huang] are stories from this period. Although everyone knows that "once a warrior leaves, he will never return", living in the face of death is also a kind of bravery. Map by @张琪/Planetary Research Institute)

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The Eastern powers decided to "cooperate"

That is, the longitudinal (north-south) connection forms a barrier

Want to turn Qin into a beast

Put it back into the "cage" in Guanzhong

The Qin State used the strategy of "lianheng"

That is, horizontal (east-west) lobbying and joining forces with other countries

"Make friends with distant countries and attack nearby countries" to defeat them one by one

Every time a country is destroyed

The King of Qin built

This country-style palace

(Sketch of the royal buildings in Xianyang, Qin Dynasty, drawn by @高麗倩&李雪茜/Planet Research Institute)

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Like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves

Qin took over all the countries

Unified writing and currency

Standardized weights and measures, and standardized track systems

…

finally

The Qin king who unified the world became

Qin Shi Huang

All the troops in the world gathered in Xianyang

(The above text is adapted from "On the Qin Dynasty" by Jia Yi of the Han Dynasty. The picture below is the Terracotta Warriors. Photographer: @李文博)

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To ensure peace in the world, we must first build roads

The "highway" connecting the whole country (Qinchi Road)

Stretching across the land

Qin Shi Huang toured the territory along this route

at the same time

Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum and Terracotta Warriors

The Great Wall, Afang Palace and many other unprecedented

" Super Project "

Roll out across the country

The production process of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum

Like manual 3D printing

Explosive growth in technology

(Diagram of the production of the Terracotta Warriors, drawn by @韩佳琪&张琪/Planet Research Institute)

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The Terracotta Warriors are equipped with

Arrowhead head outline

Compared to today's semi-automatic rifle bullets

Very similar

A total of 40,000 arrowheads

Average deviation of the base of each arrowhead

Only 0.83 mm

This is what is known so far

The earliest large-scale "standardized" production

(Terracotta Warriors bow and arrow, photographer @张振华, Lao Tubao Sun Yan, map @张琪/Planet Research Institute)

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The bronze chariot and horses in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang are even more

A sensitive machine made up of more than 3,000 parts

It uses the earliest known anti-rust technology

Wire drawing process, welding process, inlay process

Casting process, casting and forging combined process

Hollow casting process, loose-leaf connection process, button ring connection process

Snap-button connection process, snap-button plus pin connection process

And so on and so forth…

Horse head tassel decoration

The diameter is less than 0.5 mm, as thin as a hair

All are cast

The entire chariot can be called the " Crown of Bronze "

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the bronze chariot and horses in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang are shown by @老土豹孙岩, Li Wenbo, and Zhang Tianzhu, and the map is by @张琪/星球研究院)

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However, behind these brilliant

The people from the annexation of the six kingdoms

Considered as a human resource

Being driven and exploited

(From "China's Population History" by contemporary historian Ge Jianxiong)

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"Qin's population was 40 million, and the additional conscription reached 20 million, accounting for 50% of the total population"

The state machinery is running at high speed

After all, people are not "parts".

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's uprising was known as "destroying the unjust and punishing the tyrannical Qin"

Extreme oppression brings extreme resistance

The Qin Dynasty only existed for 15 years.

From the perspective of China's five thousand years of history

Qin seems to be just a transitional dynasty

But from a global perspective

Daqin was the largest and most populous country at that time.

Once established

Becoming the world's most powerful country

Like a dragon, rising into the sky

(The Qin territory indicates that the Qin State had already come into contact with foreign countries at that time. Before Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, there was a "Southwest Road" of "Myanmar-India-West Asia" and a "Grassland Road". A head of a Hu person was unearthed in the foundation of a Western Zhou palace in Zhouyuan, Shaanxi. Map by @高麗倩/星球研究院)

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The Great Qin's Cry That Soared to the Sky

Also remembered by the world

Today Westerners call our

"China" "Chinese"

Most likely derived from the transliteration of Qin, "Ch'in".

In our consciousness

The motherland should be strong and unified

And when we turn our attention to the Middle East, to Europe

I was surprised to find that this deep-rooted

Carrying out more than 2000 years of belief

It is precious and lucky

It was planted in our hearts by the Qin Dynasty

(In 2023, the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Museum, where the Terracotta Warriors are located, received more than 10 million tourists. Photographer @刘艳晖)

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Daqin

In the spiritual world of all Chinese people

Created a new

"China's Heaven and Earth"

Qinling Mountains, the Three Qins, and Qinzhong have been the imperial states since ancient times.

The 800-li Qinchuan Plain is covered with flying yellow earth

The Great Wall is our pride

The Qinqiang is roaring, the Yellow River is roaring

The brilliance of Qin's moon

Shining into our chests

It also illuminates the way we came.

In this world

All of us identify with our motherland and China.

Transformed into a dragon

As old as the sky, as boundless as the earth

(Please watch horizontally. The Qin Dynasty came from the east to pacify the world. The dragon is likely to be an ancient Chinese clan with the snake totem as the main element. It constantly defeated and annexed other clans and tribes, and the snake totem continued to merge with the totems of other tribes. Therefore, after the Qin Dynasty unified China, the dragon was basically finalized, and the process of the Qin Dynasty coming from the east and constantly relocating important cities was like a dragon cruising across the land of China. Map by @松楠&张琪/星球研究院)

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This article was created by

Written by: Lingjun

Image: Xia Xue

Animation: Han Jiaqi

Design: Zhang Qi & Li Xueqian

Map: Song Nan & Gao Liqian

Reviewer: Chen Zhihao

Cover Photographer: Li Wenbo

Expert review

Professor Sun Wenbo, School of Chinese Studies, Renmin University of China

【References】

[1] Lin Jianming. Draft History of Qin[M]. Beijing: China Renmin University Press, 2009.

[2] The Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Museum. The Road to Empire: The Rise of Yongcheng[M]. Xi'an: Shaanxi Normal University Press, 2019.4.

[3] Liu Jingchun. Research on Qin History and Northern Historical Geography[M]. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2017.7.

[4] Wang Zijin, ed. The Process and Significance of Qin Unification[M]. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2017.11.

[5] Lu Weiyi, translated by Wang Xingliang. Harvard History of China: Qin and Han [M]. Beijing: CITIC Press, October 2016.