Qin (state)

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Qin ( Chinese  秦 , Pinyin Qín , W.-G. Ch'in , obsolete after Unger , Stange Ts'in ; 778 BC - 207 BC ) was a principality and later a sovereign kingdom in China during the Western Zhou dynasty , the Spring and autumn period and the Warring States period . The Qin State pursued an expansive policy, which led to the fact that it unified all of China for the first time and the Qin dynasty from it established the Chinese Empire . The ancestral name of the House of Qin is Yíng - 嬴 , the clan name as well as the kingdom: Qin.

history

Qin Guo - State of Qin - Small seal script (220 BC)

For a long time, the Qin state was the most powerful of the seven kingdoms of China ( Qi , Chu , Han , Yan , Zhao , Wei and Qin itself). His rise began with the appointment of the Qin head to the gong (German: Duke) by the Wang of the Zhou (King of the Zhou dynasty : the nominal head of China), since this 771 BC. . BC had to flee from a barbarian army from its capital. The Qin ruler provided the king with protection and a military escort, gaining the Zhou's gratitude.

The Qin sphere of influence grew steadily over the centuries, based on the extraordinary hard work and ambition of its people. The Qin gongs took numerous measures to expand their state - located in the far west of the country - and to improve its situation. To this end, they began large-scale public works, such as an exemplary network of irrigation canals and large defensive walls against attacks by barbarians and hostile countries. It is interesting to note that the Qin were actually a semi-barbarian people, meaning that parts of their population probably descended from the non-Chinese nomadic tribe of the Rong. The Sinization of foreign peoples should remain a consistent constant throughout Chinese history, even if the Qin should certainly not be viewed as foreign people. However, this factor led the other Chinese countries to contemptuously regard the still young Qin Principality as primitive and uncivilized. From the beginning, Qin was confronted with potential enemies on all sides.

One of the most important events in Qin's history was the arrival of the reformer Shang Yang . He was a staunch supporter of the state ideology of legalism . The legalists took the position that all human beings are fundamentally the same and that the strictest laws and severe penalties are necessary to bring peace and order to the subjects. Shang Yang became Chancellor of Qin under the government of Gong Xiao of Qin and immediately began to transform the state into a highly efficient "rule machine" according to the ideas of legalism, the main aim of which was to destroy all rivals. Shang Yang abolished feudalism and introduced a performance society in which only those high ranks could be expected who performed well. Furthermore, birthrights were reserved exclusively for the ruling house. Through his reforms, which many felt to be inconsiderate, Shang Yang made enemies at court, and after Gong Xiao's death in 338 BC. He was overthrown by an intrigue and later even killed. Still, the legalistic doctrine and its reforms quickly bore fruit for Qin. So no ruler of Qin was willing to change anything in these reforms, but they kept them and continued to reform in a legalistic spirit.

The reforms in the army were most obviously successful . Originally, the army was commanded by nobles and was composed of serfs . Now, however, generals from all walks of life could come, if only they were talented enough. Most importantly, the Qin army swelled to enormous proportions, making it an effective instrument of the state. As a result of the numerous public projects and the highly productive agriculture, Qin was now able to maintain a troop strength of supposedly around 600,000 1 soldiers, which far exceeded the military clout of the other empires. Only the southern state of Chu was able to similarly mobilize troops, becoming the Qin's main rival. From this position of strength, Qin began to annex its smaller neighbors and pursue an aggressive policy of expansion. From then on, the Qin gongs called themselves wang , kings. Huiwen was from 338 BC. Chr. The first king of Qin, he was the one who let execute the reformer Shang Yang, and now also benefited as the first of its innovations.

Qin and the Warring States 350 BC Chr.
Qin rose in the West the map

In 260 BC Chr. Had to find a frightened China, how inefficient the military of other states in comparison with the heavily armed Qin was. In the Battle of Changping , Qin defeated his neighbor Zhao and is said to have taken 400,000 2 prisoners of war. To intimidate Zhao, the Qin general executed all prisoners without exception. Zhao reluctantly entered into an alliance with Qin. Even today, thousands of skeletons can be found in Changping.

In the middle of the third century BC A new building project was undertaken by Qin, which should finally make his supremacy inviolable. The Han Kingdom was deeply concerned about the latest expansion of the Qin eastwards and feared that it would soon be attacked by the Qin. So the King of Han came up with a plan to ruin Qin by means of a hydraulic engineering project instead of a militarily hopeless confrontation. For some time now, Qin has been trying to further increase its productivity by building canals, including in the Wei River region. The Han King's plan was to use civil engineer Zheng Guo to trick the King of Qin into building a canal and thus wasting his resources . The Qin agreed to Zheng Guo's proposal and began construction, but the result turned out to be the complete opposite of the plan. Indeed, the project consumed significant funds, but it did not strain Qin as expected. In 246 BC Chr. The so-called was Zhengguo Canal opened, and all the investment should pay off - but for Qin. The new canal and the associated irrigation systems gave Qin high revenue surpluses, and the region around the Qin capital, Xianyang (not far from present-day Xi'an ) - known as the land within the passes - became the most productive and richest area in all of China. Qin could now send troops to the east faster and better supply his armies.

At that time only six other kingdoms existed, nothing more was left of the once thousands of principalities of the Zhou period. Qin's archenemy was the Chu empire, alongside the powerful Zhao and Han countries as neighbors of the Qin. But none of these countries had such a well-trained army and such a wealthy population as Qin. It was able to establish itself as a supreme power. In 256 BC BC Qin ended the existence of the tiny royal domain of the Zhou king, who was still nominally the supreme liege lord of China and religious head. From then on, the King of Qin claimed the Zhou title of Tianzi ( Son of Heaven ) for himself and made it clear to all other empires that he claimed rule over all of China.

The year 247 BC BC marks the beginning of the end of the Warring States, when the thirteen-year-old Prince Zheng ascended the throne of the King of Qin. Seventeen years later, based on the solid preparatory work of his predecessors, he began his war of annihilation against the other kingdoms with the conquest of Hans. After extremely violent wars, King Zheng of Qin succeeded all of China in 221 BC. Chr. , After the kingdom of Qi had finally unite surrender without a fight. The king founded the Chinese Empire, called himself First Emperor (Shi Huang Di = First Exalted God) and founded the Qin Dynasty .

His line of rulers should rule ten thousand generations according to his idea, but things turned out differently. 207 BC Chr. Qin went in the chaos of the civil war which followed the death of the First Emperor, under.

Timeline from the time of proclaimed kingship

List of rulers of Qin

The following list uses the Chinese titles Gong (in German: Duke) and Wang (in German: King). As far as is known, the names are the posthumous ruler's names .

  1. Feizi (非子) (? –858 BC, inserted by Xiao Wang )
  2. Count of Qin (秦 侯, 857–848 BC, name unknown, ennobled by later generations)
  3. Gongbo (公 伯, 847–845 BC), without ennoblement
  4. Zhong (嬴 仲, 844–822 BC)
  5. Zhuang Gong (莊 公, 821–778 BC, ennobled by later generations)
  6. Xiang Gong (襄公, 777–766 BC, hereditary ennoblement during lifetime)
  7. Wen Gong (文公)
  8. Ning Gong (寧 公)
  9. Wu Gong (武 公)
  10. De Gong (德 公)
  11. Xuan Gong (宣 公)
  12. Cheng Gong (成 公)
  13. Mu Gong (穆公)
  14. Kang Gong (康 公): Ying Ying (罃)
  15. Gong Gong (共 公): Ying Dao (稻)
  16. Huan Gong (桓公): Ying Rong (榮)
  17. Jing Gong (景 公): Ying Hou (後)
  18. Ai Gong (哀公)
  19. Hui Gong (惠 公)
  20. Dao Gong (悼公)
  21. Li Gong (厲 公): Ying Ci (刺)
  22. Zao Gong (躁 公)
  23. Huai Gong (懷 公)
  24. Ling Gong (靈 公): Ying Su (肅)
  25. Jian Gong (簡 公): Ying Daozi (悼 子)
  26. Hui Gong (II.) (惠 公)
  27. Chu Gong (出 公)
  28. Xian Gong (獻 公): Ying Shiti (師 隰)
  29. Xiao Gong (孝公), 361 - 338 BC Chr.
  30. King Huiwen (惠 文王), 338 - 311 BC Chr.
  31. King Wu (武王), 311-307 BC Chr.
  32. King Zhaoxiang (昭襄王), 307-250 BC Chr.
  33. King Xiaowen (孝文 王), 250 BC Chr.
  34. King Zhuangxiang (荘 襄王) 250 - 246 BC Chr.
  35. Emperor Qin Shihuangdi (秦始皇), 246-210 BC Chr.
  36. Emperor Qin Er Shi Huangdi (二世 皇), 210 - 207 BC Chr.
  37. King Ziying (子 嬰), 207 BC Chr.

see also: Emperor of the Qin Dynasty

annotation
1All figures are taken from traditional Chinese historiography, in which the information is often greatly exaggerated for propaganda reasons. Peers points out that the average size of the Chinese armies (for the great kingdoms, during the final phase of the Warring States) is closer to 100,000 to 200,000 soldiers.
2 The same applies to this information.

literature

  • Chris J. Peers: Ancient Chinese Armies: 1500 BC-200 BC , Osprey 1990.
  • Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe (eds.): The Cambridge History of China. Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC – AD 220 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 1986.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Term "Qin - 秦". In: www.zdic.net. Retrieved September 23, 2019 (Chinese, English, French).
  2. ^ Term "Qin - 秦". In: www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk. Retrieved September 23, 2019 (Chinese, English).