The First Emperor (221 BCE)

In the twenty-sixth year, King Jian of Qi and his chancellor Hou Sheng sent troops to guard their western border and cut off relations with Qin. Qin sent General Wang Ben south from Yan to attack Qi, and captured King Jian.

When the King of Qin had first united all under heaven, he ordered the chancellor and Imperial Counselor: “Formerly the King of Han surrendered his lands and presented his seal, asking to be our vassal. Then he broke his agreement, joined Zhao and Wei in an alliance, and rebelled against Qin. Therefore I sent troops to punish him and captured him. I thought this good, hoping at last to lay down arms. The King of Zhao sent his chancellor Li Mu to conclude an alliance, so I returned his hostage prince. Then he broke the alliance and rebelled in Taiyuan, and I raised troops to punish him and captured him. Prince Jia of Zhao proclaimed himself King of Dai, so I sent an army to destroy him. The King of Wei first agreed to submit to Qin, but then plotted with Han and Zhao to ambush us. Our officers and soldiers punished him and defeated him. The King of Jing offered the lands west of Qingyang, then broke his agreement and attacked Nanjun. I therefore sent troops to punish him, captured him, and subdued Jing. The King of Yan was deluded and disordered; his crown prince Dan secretly sent Jing Ke as an assassin. Our troops punished him and destroyed his state. The King of Qi followed Hou Sheng’s counsel, severed contact with Qin’s envoys, and planned rebellion. Our forces punished him, captured him, and pacified Qi. With my insignificant person I raised armies to punish violence and rebellion; through the power of our ancestral temple all six kings have answered for their crimes, and the realm is at last settled. Unless my title is changed, it cannot express this achievement or transmit it to posterity. Deliberate on an imperial title.” Chancellor Wan, Imperial Counselor Jie, Commandant of Justice Li Si, and the others all said: “In ancient times the five emperors each held a thousand li of land. Outside it, the lords of the outer and foreign domains came to court or did not; the Son of Heaven could not control them. Your Majesty has raised righteous armies, punished cruel rebels, and pacified all under heaven. All within the seas is now made into commanderies and counties, with law and decree issuing from a single authority. Nothing like it has happened since highest antiquity; the five emperors did not attain it. We have respectfully consulted with the Erudites: ‘In antiquity there was the Heavenly Sovereign, the Earthly Sovereign, and the Great Sovereign, of whom the Great Sovereign was noblest.’ At the risk of our lives we propose the honorable title ‘Great Sovereign’ for the king. Let his commands be called ‘imperial ordinances,’ his orders ‘imperial edicts,’ and let the Son of Heaven call himself ‘We.’” The king said: “Remove ‘Great,’ retain ‘Sovereign,’ and adopt the ancient title ‘Emperor’: let my title be ‘Sovereign Emperor.’ Let the rest be as proposed.” His ordinance said: “Approved.” He posthumously honored King Zhuangxiang as Supreme Sovereign. He issued an ordinance: “I have heard that in highest antiquity rulers had titles but no posthumous names; in middle antiquity they had titles and, after death, received names based on their conduct. That lets a son judge his father and a minister judge his lord. It is wholly improper; I will not accept it. From now on abolish the practice of posthumous names. I am the First Emperor. My successors shall be numbered the Second Emperor, the Third Emperor, down to the ten-thousandth generation, in endless succession.”

The First Emperor considered the succession of the five powers and held that Zhou had obtained the power of fire, while Qin, replacing Zhou, followed the power that overcame it. Now was the beginning of the power of water: he changed the beginning of the year, so court congratulations began on the first day of the tenth month. Clothes, yak-tail standards, pennants, tallies, and banners all favored black. The number six became the standard: tally tokens and ceremonial caps measured six inches; carriages measured six feet; six feet made a pace; and carriages were drawn by six horses. He renamed the Yellow River the River of Virtue, seeing in it the beginning of the power of water. Resolute, harsh, and severe, he decided every affair according to law, stripped away benevolence, kindness, harmony, and righteousness, and thus conformed to the reckoning of the five powers. Laws grew stringent and long-serving offenders received no pardon.

Chancellor Wan and the others said: “The lords have only just been conquered. Yan, Qi, and Jing are far away: unless kings are appointed there, they cannot be secured. We ask that your sons be installed, if Your Majesty graciously permits.” The First Emperor submitted the proposal to his ministers, who all found it expedient. Commandant of Justice Li Si argued: “Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou enfeoffed many sons, brothers, and clansmen. Yet their descendants grew distant, attacked one another like enemies, and waged wars that the Zhou Son of Heaven could not prevent. Now, through Your Majesty’s divine power, all within the seas is unified and made into commanderies and counties. Your sons and meritorious ministers can be richly rewarded from public taxes; they will be easy to govern. When no one in the realm harbors divided loyalties, peace will be assured. Appointing feudal lords is inadvisable.” The First Emperor said: “The whole realm has suffered from ceaseless war precisely because of kings and lords. Through the ancestors’ aid the realm has only just been pacified. To establish states anew would be to plant the seeds of war; how could we then hope for peace? The Commandant of Justice is right.”

He divided the realm into thirty-six commanderies, each with a governor, a military commandant, and an inspector. He renamed the people “black-haired subjects.” A great feast was held. The weapons of the realm were gathered at Xianyang and melted into bells and their frames, and twelve bronze figures weighing a thousand shi each, set in the palace courtyard. Measures of capacity, weight, and length were unified. Carts had a common axle width and writing a common script. The realm stretched east to the sea and Korea, west to Lintao and Qiang territory, south to the lands of the north-facing households, and north to the Yellow River as its frontier, including the Yin Mountains and extending to Liaodong. One hundred twenty thousand rich and powerful households from across the realm were moved to Xianyang. All the ancestral temples, as well as Zhangtai and Shanglin, lay south of the Wei River. Each time Qin conquered a lord, it copied his palaces and built them on the northern slopes of Xianyang overlooking the Wei River, from Yong Gate eastward to the Jing and Wei rivers. Halls, elevated passages, and encircling galleries connected them. The beauties, bells, and drums taken from the lords filled them.

In the twenty-seventh year the First Emperor toured Longxi and Beidi, went out through Jitou Mountain, and passed through Huizhong. He built Xin Palace south of the Wei River, then renamed it the Pole Temple, modeled on the celestial pole. A road from the Pole Temple led to Mount Li, and he built the front hall at Ganquan. He built a covered way connecting it to Xianyang. That year he granted everyone one rank of nobility and constructed imperial highways.

In the twenty-sixth year, King Jian of Qi and his Chancellor Hou Sheng sent troops to guard their western border and cut off contact with Qin. Qin sent General Wang Ben south from Yan to attack Qi, and he captured King Jian.

When the King of Qin first united the lands under his rule, he ordered the Chancellor and Imperial Counselor to consider this statement: “The King of Han once handed over his lands and presented his seal, asking to become a dependent ruler. Then he broke the agreement and joined Zhao and Wei in an alliance against Qin. So we raised troops to punish him and captured their king. I thought this was good and hoped the fighting would stop. The King of Zhao sent his Chancellor Li Mu to make a treaty with us, so I sent back his hostage son. Then he broke the treaty and rebelled against us in Taiyuan. We raised troops to punish him and captured his king. Prince Jia of Zhao then declared himself King of Dai, so we sent troops to destroy him. The King of Wei first agreed to submit to Qin, but then planned an attack with Han and Zhao. Our troops punished him and defeated him. The King of Jing offered us the lands west of Qingyang, but then broke the agreement and attacked our Nanjun Commandery. So we sent troops to punish him, captured his king, and secured all his land. The King of Yan was confused and disorderly. His crown prince Dan secretly sent Jing Ke to commit murder. Our troops punished him and destroyed his state. The King of Qi followed Hou Sheng's advice, cut off Qin's envoys, and planned a rebellion. Our troops punished him, captured the king, and pacified Qi. Though I am only one insignificant man, I raised troops to punish violence and rebellion. Thanks to the spirits of my ancestors, all six kings have paid for their crimes, and the world is at peace. But unless the titles are changed, there is no way to honor this success and hand its memory down to later generations. Discuss a title for the emperor.” Chancellor Wang, Imperial Counselor Jie, Commandant of Justice Li Si, and the others said: “In the past, each of the Five Emperors ruled a territory a thousand li across. Beyond it were lords of the outer and foreign territories. Some came to court and others did not; the Son of Heaven could not control them. Now Your Majesty has raised an army for a just cause, punished cruel criminals, and pacified the whole world. All the lands within the seas have become commanderies and counties, and laws and orders come from one ruler. This has never happened since earliest times, and the Five Emperors did not achieve it. We have respectfully consulted with the Erudites, who say: ‘In ancient times there was a Heavenly Sovereign, an Earthly Sovereign, and a Great Sovereign. The Great Sovereign was the most honored.’ At the risk of our lives, we propose that the king take the honored title ‘Great Sovereign’; that his commands be called ‘decrees,’ his orders ‘edicts,’ and that the Son of Heaven call himself ‘We.’” The king said: “Leave out ‘Great’ and keep ‘Sovereign.’ Add the ancient title ‘Emperor,’ making the title ‘Sovereign Emperor.’ The rest can be as you propose.” His decree said: “Approved.” He gave King Zhuangxiang the posthumous title Supreme Sovereign. He issued this decree: “I have heard that in remote antiquity rulers had titles but no posthumous names. In later antiquity they had titles and after death were given names based on their conduct. That lets a son judge his father and a minister judge his ruler. It makes no sense, and I will not accept it. From now on, end the practice of posthumous names. I am the First Emperor. Later rulers will be numbered the Second, the Third, up to the ten-thousandth generation, passing the rule on without end.”

The First Emperor applied the theory that the five powers succeed one another. He held that Zhou had the power of fire and that Qin was replacing Zhou with the power that conquers it. This was the beginning of the power of water. He changed the start of the year, making court celebrations begin on the first day of the tenth month. Clothes, horsehair standards, emblems, and flags all favored black. Six became the standard number: tallies and ceremonial caps were six inches long, carriages were six feet long, a pace was six feet, and six horses drew a carriage. He renamed the Yellow River the Virtuous Water, seeing it as a sign that the power of water had begun. He was stern, determined, and severe. Every matter was settled by law, with harsh penalties and no kindness, compassion, moderation, or justice. In this way he followed the reckoning of the five powers. He tightened the laws and did not pardon people whose sentences had been long in force.

Chancellor Wang and others said: “The other states have only just been defeated. Yan, Qi, and Jing are far away. Unless we appoint kings there, we cannot keep them under control. We ask that your sons be made kings, if Your Majesty will approve.” The First Emperor put this proposal to the ministers, who all thought it wise. Commandant of Justice Li Si said: “Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou gave fiefs to many sons, brothers, and men of the same clan. Later their descendants grew distant and attacked one another like enemies. The feudal lords killed and fought each other, and the Zhou Son of Heaven could not stop them. Now all the lands within the seas have been united thanks to Your Majesty's divine power and made into commanderies and counties. Your sons and deserving ministers can be richly rewarded from public taxes. That is enough and makes them easy to control. If no one has reason to oppose the government, the world will be peaceful. Appointing feudal lords is unwise.” The First Emperor said: “Everyone has suffered from endless war because there were lords and kings. Thanks to our ancestors, the world has just been pacified. If we establish kingdoms again, we plant the seeds of war. How could we then expect peace? The Commandant of Justice is right.”

He divided the world into thirty-six commanderies, each with a governor, a military commander, and an inspector. He renamed the common people “black-haired people.” Great public feasts were held. He collected weapons from across the land and gathered them at Xianyang, where they were melted down to make bells and their stands, and twelve bronze figures, each weighing one thousand shi. These were placed in the palace court. He standardized laws, measuring vessels, weights, and lengths. Carriage axles were set at a uniform width. Writing used the same characters everywhere. The territory reached east to the sea and Korea, west to Lintao and the lands of the Qiang, south to the land where doors face north, and north to the Yellow River, which served as a border barrier. It included the Yin Mountains and extended to Liaodong. He moved a hundred and twenty thousand wealthy and powerful households from across the land to Xianyang. All the ancestral shrines, as well as Zhangtai and Shanglin, stood south of the Wei River. Whenever Qin defeated another state, it made a copy of its palaces on the northern slope of Xianyang overlooking the Wei to the south. From Yong Gate east to the Jing and Wei rivers, the halls, covered walkways, and surrounding galleries joined one another. The beautiful women, bells, and drums taken from the other rulers filled them.

In the twenty-seventh year, the First Emperor toured Longxi and Beidi, went out to Mount Jitou, and passed through Huizhong. He then built Xin Palace south of the Wei River, renaming it the Pole Temple to represent the pole of heaven. A road was opened from the Pole Temple to Mount Li, and a front hall was built at Ganquan. A covered passageway connected it to Xianyang. That year everyone was awarded one rank of nobility. Highways were built.