Influence Of The Ch In Ancient China

Formation of China

The Ch'in Ancient China had always been a collection of more or less independent states in the north of China. The Shang and the Chou dominated the political landscape as the most powerful of those states, but they did not exercise uniform rule over neighboring regions. When the Chou began to weaken around 500 BC, these independent states began to war among themselves over territory and influence. So chaotic was this period that the Chinese refer to it as The Warring States period, and it did not end until the whole of north China was unified under a single empire, the Ch'in dyansty. 

 In Chinese history, the Ch'in are the great, evil dynasty, but Western historians often stand in awe of the Ch'in. They were repressive,
His most powerful and trusted advisor was Li Ssu, one of the foundational theorists of Legalism. Under their advice, in 232 BC, King Ch'eng, at the age of twenty-seven, began a vigorous campaign to unify and centralize all the northern kingdoms. The surrounding kingdoms were no match for the wealth and military power of the Ch'in, and by 221 BC, Ch'eng conquered all of the northern kingdoms. 

 He assumed the title, Ch'in shih-huang-ti, or "The First Exalted Emperor of the Ch'in." Under his guidance, and the advice of Li Ssu, Ch'in shih-huang-ti created the form of government which served as the model for all future Chinese dynasties. First, the government was centralized around the emperor and his ministers. In order to facilitate that centralization, the Ch'in replaced the old, feudal system in which territory was controlled by more or less independent nobility with a strong, hierarchical bureaucracy. All the members of this bureaucracy, as well as the ministers of the state, would be appointed by the central government. In order to break the power of the aristocracy, he confiscated their lands and distributed them to the peasants. To facilitate the taxation process, government taxes were taken directly from the peasants rather than
While the Legalist government of Ch'in shih-huang-ti was ruthlessly efficient in its control over the state and the bureaucracy, that ruthlessness proved to be its undoing. The emperor, who had hoped to found a dynasty lasting over ten thousand years, had alienated many people, particularly the landed aristocracy. The building projects of the Ch'in demanded forced labor and heavy taxation; people all throughout the empire were on the verge of revolt. Finally, the Ch'in had created a government that virtually ran without the emperor, who remained aloof from day to day governing. Upon Ch'in shih-huang-ti's death, the two most powerful administrators, Li Ssu and Chao Kao, covered up his death and took over the government. They installed a puppet emperor, but for the most part all Chinese government rested in their hands. Both Li Ssu and Chao Kao ruthlessly enforced penalties on lower administrators; because of this, regional administrators kept secret the revolts and uprisings in their territories for fear of punishment. Eventually, Chao Kao eliminated Li Ssu, and the territorial uprisings became so severe that they could no longer be kept secret. By that point, it was too late, and the dynasty that was to last ten thousand years disappeared only four years after its founder