Qin Shi Huang was the First Emperor of a unified China, who ruled from 246 BC to 210 BC. He was only 13 years old when he took the throne, so his prime minister Lu Buwei acted as regent for the first eight years. When he took over the reins of power, Qin Shi Huang succeeded in defeating all the six other warring states. By doing so, Qin Shi Huang had unified Northern China. His army would continue to expand the Qin Empire’s southern boundaries throughout his lifetime, driving as far south as what is now Vietnam.
The king of Qin became the Emperor of Qin Shi Huang reorganized the bureaucracy, abolishing the existing nobility, replacing them with his appointed officials. He also built a network of roads, with the capital of Xian yang at the hub. In addition, the emperor simplified the written Chinese script, standardized weights and measures and minted new copper coins. Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of an enormous defensive wall to keep out invaders from the north. This northern fortification formed the first section of what would become the Great Wall of China.
Did you know that Qin Shi Huang was often described as a wild beast, because he combined the prominent nose, large eyes and chest of a bird of prey, with the voice of a jackal, and the heart of a tiger?
