Chinese Emperor: Qin Shi Huang Quiz

Answer: Ying Zheng

Also known as Zhao Zheng, Ying Zheng was born while his father was being kept as a hostage in the state of Zhau. His mother was once a concubine of a wealthy merchant, and his father was King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who ruled the Qin state (an ancient Chinese state prevalent during the Zhou Dynasty, which is now the modern day Shaanxi province of China).

Answer: Zhao Ji

Zhao Ji was from a wealthy an well-connected family of Zhao, one of the seven main states during the warring states time of China. She was the concubine of a wealthy politician and businessman who gave her as a gift to Zhuangxiang (while he was still known as Prince Yiren of Qin, and not yet king of the state).

Zhao Ji and her husband both lived in Handan (now in modern day Hebei Province) when Zhuangxiang was being held as a hostage. When the forces of Qin invaded Handan, her husband was rescued by the rich politician whom she was a concubine of, but Zhao Ji and her son had to hide in the city. Thanks to the intervention of this politician, Zhuangxiang was able to become leader of the Qin state.

Answer: Lü Buwei

Lü Buwei (291-235 BC) was a rich Chinese businessman and politician. He was savvy enough to implement Zhuangxiang, Qin Shi Huang's (purported) father onto the throne of the Qin state, despite Zhuangxiang not being the original successor. Although Qin Shi Huang's mother was a concubine of Lü Buwei, many historians assert that the idea that Lü Buwei was Qin Shi Huang's biological father, is nothing more than slander to bring scandal to his family.

After Zhuangxiang's death in 247 BC, Lü Buwei became regent to Ying Zheng, who would later become Qin Shi Huang.

Answer: 13

Qin Shi Huang was only 13 years old when he ascended the throne to the Qin state in 246 BC. Qin was already the most prominent state of Warring China at the time. The central states regarding the Qin State as savages and barbarians, however, Qin's territory in that time encompassed areas that are now the modern centre of Shaanxi Province, and mountainous areas on the western edge.

The Qin state was in a strong position to unite the entirety of China under one rule. This was however, a difficult time to rule China when war was rife.

This was a time when Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" was particularly popular in China. Qin Shi Huang was not yet of legal age to impose his rules, therefore Lü Buwei acted as his regent until he came of age.

Answer: Execute his mother's lover

Qin Shi Huang saw his mother's lover as a potential threat to his now fully established kingship. He not only executed him, but his entire clan.

Sima Qian, author of "Records of the Grand Historian" (the historical accuracy of which has been questioned by historians) asserts that Lü Buwei introduced Qin Shi Huang's mother, Zhao Ji, to a man disguised a eunuch, Lao Ai. Lü Buwei was worried that his continuing affair with Qin Shi Huang's mother was about to be exposed, and gave her Lao Ai as part of a plot to dispose of her son. He also realised that Lao Ai was not a real eunuch, and hoped for Lao Ai to impregnate the Queen Mother in order to shake Qin Shi Huang's claim to the throne.

Sima Qian asserts that Lü Buwei and Lao Ai organised a rebellion with the assistance of the nearby Wei whilst Qin Shi Huang was away. Qin Shi Huang was made aware of this. He is purported to have Lao Ai executed by having his hands, neck and legs tied to separate horses who were commanded to sprint in opposite directions, decapitating him. Qin Shi Huang apparently forced his mother to watch as her lover was ripped apart. Lao's children with the emperor's mother were killed, as were Lao Ai's uncles, aunt's cousins etc.

Qin Shi Huang spared his mother from death, sending her into a temporary exile. Lü Buwei was permanently exiled, leading to him deliberately ingesting poison as a suicide in 235 BC. Zhao Ji was not killed for associating with would-be usurper, Lao Ai, but she was kept under house arrest for the remainder of her life.

Answer: Li Si

Li Si (280 BC-208 BC) was born in the ancient state of Chu in the area of Shang Cai (located in modern-day Henan Province). Li Si travelled to Qin in 247 BC and was proficient in legalism, philosophy and calligraphy. He supplied Qin Shi Huang with heart-hearted but effective ideas regarding how to unite and rule the entirety of China. Li Si was behind most of the implementations of political and cultural nature during Qin Shi Huang's time in power, serving as his prime minister for around 40 years.

Qin Shi Huang was impressed by Li Si's intelligence and ruthlessness. Under Li Si's advice, Qin Shi Huang enticed intellectuals residing in other states of China to come to the Qin State, and authorised the assassinations of academics who chose to stay in the other states.

Li Si would later be executed, but this was not under the rule of Qin Shi Huang. He was charged with treason under Qin Shi Huang's successor. Sima Qian asserts that Li Si's last words were directed at his son, stating "I wish that you and I could take our brown dog and go out through the eastern gate of Shang Cai to chase the crafty hare. But how could we do that!"

Answer: Han

The Han State was located in the centre of China, between modern day Shanxi and Henan. The Han State's capital was Zheng. Han was arguably the weakest of the seven Warring States of China at the time, and Qin Shi Huang was well aware of this. In 230 BC, Qin Shi Huang's army (led by Neishi Teng) attacked the Han State by heading southerly across the Yellow River, forcing An, King of Han, to surrender after around a year of fighting. Two years later in 228 BC the Zhao State fell to Qin, and others would follow.

Answer: Jing Ke

Jing Ke's birth year is unclear. Alongside Qin Wuyang, Jing Ke became the first would-be assassin of Qin Shi Huang after being recruited by Crown Prince Dan of Yan, son of Xi, King of Yan. Dan of Yan wanted rid of Qin Shi Huang, who has commanded his troops to invade and conquer Qin's neighbouring states of China. Han State had already fallen and after the fall of Zhao, Qin Shi Huang's army was directly on the border of the Yan State.

Suspecting the invasion from Qin State was coming, Crown Prince Dan of Yan spoke with Jing Ke about assassinating Qin Shi Huang. They realised they needed a ruse to get close to Qin Shi Huang. They decided to pretend Jing Ke was a nobleman who had a map of potential territory for Qin Shi Huang, and the severed head of a traitor to the Qin State: Fan Yuqi (also known as Huan Yi).

Fan Yuqi was a general of the Qin State. In 233 BC, Fan Yuqi had defected to the Yan State due to losing to the Zhao State in battle and being fearful that returning to Qin would result in his execution. Qin Shi Huang ordered that Fan Yuqi's clan be executed for this and also put a reward out for anyone who could bring him the defector's head. Fan Yuqi felt such hatred and a desire for vengeance against Qin Shi Huang that Jing Ke was able to persuade him to sacrifice himself so that his severed head could be presented to the Qin leader. Fan Yuqi committed suicide for this purpose.

Answer: Stabbing

Jing Ke had wrapped a dagger in the strategic map he pretended to be interested in presenting to Qin Shu Huang. He and Qin Wuyang approached the Qin leader under the guise of being ambassadors for the Yan State. Qin Wuyang was so nervous about the plan he could not conduct himself inconspicuously, and Jing Ke had to make excuses for him such as that he was nervous about seeing Qin Shi Huang in all of his magnificence, and that he was from the country and was suffering a culture shock in such a cosmopolitan area. Qin Wuyang was so unable to compose himself that he was told to wait outside while Jing Ke saw Qin Shi Huang alone.

Jing Ke presented the severed head of Fan Yuqi and the map to Qin Shi Huang and then attacked him with the concealed dagger. He only managed to sever the emperor's sleeve, who then fled his assailant. The guards were stunned and unsure of what to do - they were unarmed as there was no swords allowed in the emperor's presence. Qin Shi Huang had a sword, however it was a long ceremonial sword which he had difficulty removing from its scabbard whilst running for his life.

Xia Wuju, a physician working at the palace, decided to defend Qin Shi Huang and threw his medicine bag at the would-be assassin. This bought the emperor enough time to remove his sword and slash Jing Ke in the thigh. As a last desperate attempt to slay the emperor, the wounded Jing Ke launched his dagger at Qin Shi Huang but missed and instead hit a nearby pillar. Qin Shi Huang stabbed King Je around eight times to make sure he had killed him. King Je remained defiant even in death, with his legs spread apart and forward (considered very vulgar in China during this time). Qin Wuyang was then found and killed.

The attempted assassination did not bode well for the Yan State. Facing a Qin Shi Huang who was feeling even more murderous than before, King Xi of Yan ordered the execution of his own son, Dan of Yan, who had originally organised the assassination, in an attempt to appease Qin Shi Huang. This was to no avail and the Yan State was conquered by the Qin State in 222 BC.

Answer: Lingqu

Qin Shi Huang established the Lingqu canal in what is now the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the south of China, ordering its construction in 214 BC. The canal joins the Li River with the Xiang River. This canal became the first canal that ever joined two river valleys, and facilitated journeys of around 1,200 miles (2,000 km) between what is now Hong Kong and Beijing.

Qin Shi Huang originally established the Lingqu canal in order to make fighting the Hundred Yue of the south of China and the north of Vietnam easier. The Lingqu is the eldest artificially dug transport canal which closely adheres to the canal's nature structure (also known as a "contour canal"). It is considered to be one of the most complete ancient water projects surviving into modern times. Lingqu canal was important in Qin Chi Huang's conquest of China, providing him with the ability to use the canal to transport his soldiers to the south.

Answer: Gao Jianli

Gao Jianli was an associate of Jing Ke and wished to avenge the death of his friend. Gao Jianli was an excellent lute player and could usually be found playing for the public in the marketplace of Ji, the capital of Yan State. Jing Ke would sometimes join in the performance by singing along. Some sources state that Gao Jianli even played encouraging music with his lute to serenade Jing Ke as he left Yan to assassinate Qin Shi Huang.

After Yan State was completely annexed by 222 BC, Gao Jianli made himself scarce. He suspected that Qin Shi Huang would not take kindly to a friend of the person who tried to murder him. Gao Jianli did not want to draw attention to himself, so stopped playing the lute in public and became a labourer. However, he could not stop himself from commenting on how others played the lute and his co-workers began to have suspicions that he was knowledgeable in music. His boss asked him to play the lute during a gathering and Gao Jianli could not resist. His performance was well received and his became more and more famous for his talent. His newfound fame brought him to the court of Qin Shi Huang.

Unfortunately for Gao Jianli, he was recognised as Jing Ke's friend at the emperor's court. Qin Shi Huang ordered that Gao Jianli be blinded, however, the emperor appreciated his music and still wished for him to play at his court. Gao Jianli wanted revenge for his treatment and for the death of Jing Ke. Although blinded, he could still hear when the emperor was in his proximity. He hid a weighty piece of lead inside of his lute and attempted to bludgeon Qin Shi Huang to death with it. He missed his target, and Qin Shi Huang ordered his execution.

Answer: Heshibi

Heshibi, or "Mr He's Jade" is prominent in Chinese history. It was considered sacred, a ceremonial "bi" that is, a disk of jade featuring a round hole in the middle. Qin Shi Huang had it carved into the Imperial Seal of China, and it was passed down through generations to dynasties until the 10th century when it was lost. Qin Shi Huang had taken the disk from King Dai of Zhao during the annexation of the state in 228 BC. Qin Shi Huang had the disc inscribed with "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life."

Answer: Ban Liang

In around 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang abolished all other coins and established the Ban Liang as China's first ever united currency. The currency was round featuring a square hole in the centre. The higher value versions of this currency were made of gold, and the lower forms consisted of bronze. Qin Shi Huang also unified Chinese characters in writing.

He also made Chinese weights and measures the same. Also, under the advice of Li Si, Qin Shi Huang ordered books to be burned so that academics would find it impossible to compare the Qin ruler's reign with leaders of the past.

Answer: Zhang Liang

Zhang Liang (251 BC-189 BC) was an aristocrat from the Han State who joined Liu Bang (also known as Emperor Gaozu of Han) who was established the Han Dynasty, in rebelling against the Qin State. Zhang Liang wanted revenge on Qin Shi Huang for annexing his homeland. He gathered his inheritance and general riches to buy the services of an assassin. He was so hellbent on revenge that he spent all of his money on this assassin and did not have the means to give his dead brother a respectable funeral.

He enlisted the help of a physically formidable man with the plan of bludgeoning Qin Shi Huang to death with a large hammer. This hammer weighed around 160 pounds, or just over 70 kilograms. Zhang Liang had it personally made to kill the Qin leader. In 218 BC, Zhang Liang was informed that Qin Shi Huang was travelling around what is now modern-day Henan Province.

Zhang Liang and his large hired assassin waited for Qin Shi Luang and his fleet of carriages to arrive in the area. They mistakenly believed that the most decorated carriage was carrying the emperor, a possible ploy from Qin Shi Huang should an assassination attempt occur. Thankfully for Qin Shi Huang, he was in the following carriage and fled the scene as the assassin smashed the hammer into the neighbouring carriage, with the occupants inside dying upon impact.

Realising his plan had failed (and the potentially dire consequences for him because of this) Zhang Liang ran. He remains the only would-be assassin of Qin Shi Huang who was not executed on the orders of the Qin emperor for his attempt. Little is known about his later life and death, and several places in China still stand purporting to be his tomb, including tombs in the provinces of Henan, Jiangsu and Shangdong.

Answer: Walls

For many years the Chinese had undertaken wall-building activities in order to protect China from nomadic invaders. The walls originally consisted of "rammed earth" which is hard packed soil and dirt. After uniting China in 220 BC, Qin Shi Huang thought it would be logical to unite all of China's walls into one great wall, incorporating walls from once separate states into one another. Hundreds of thousands arrived to build what was the blueprint for the Great Wall of China in its current state, with an unknown amount of workers perishing to found its completion. Specifics and records of how long and dense the walls of the Qin Dynasty were have been lost to history.

It is known however, that rammed earth was not the only element of the wall. Marble, granite and brick.

Answer: Zhifu Island

Zhifu Island is a small peninsula in the Bohai Sea, located near Yantai, Shandong Province. Legends surrounded the island concerning its possession of "a mountain of immortality" and Qin Shi Huang visited it at least three times and was so obsessed with avoiding death, that he sent out wooden slips to every government worker to cease all other activities and focus on finding the elixir.

An alchemist from Zhifu Island named Xu Fu convinced Qin Shi Huang that there was immortals on the mythological Penglai Island, who possessed the key to immortality. Xu Fu explained that he would need a large boat and a harem of 6,000 virgins to offer the immortals. Xu Fu was granted this and Qin Shi Huang sailed to Zhifu Island with what the alchemist had requested. The Qin Emperor chipped into a stone on the island "Arrived at Fu and carved the stone" which can still be observed there today. Xu Fu had likely knowingly conned Qin Shi Huang, but his pretence in searching for the elixir of life probably cost him dearly. While some legends say he settled in Japan after conning the Emperor, Xu Fu is also thought to have died at sea in 210 BC, when he went on his second mission to "find" the elixir and never returned.

Answer: Buried around 460 scholars and alchemists alive

In around 213 BC, Li Si had advised Qin Shi Huang that it would be unwise to allow any records that displayed his reign before united China, as well as any favourable recollections of rulers before him in the country. Acting upon the advice of Li Si, Qin Shi Huang ordered the burning of books, apart from those on the subject of medicine, the history of the Qin State (when he was in a favourable light), astrology, the supernatural and agriculture.

After being duped by alchemists in his quest for immortality, Qin Shi Huang purportedly ordered around 460 "alchemists" to be buried alive. Several of these were Confucius scholars.

Answer: Fu Su

Qin Shi Huang fathered around 50 children, but most of their names are lost to history.

Fu Su was heir to the Qin throne and the first son of Qin Shi Huang. His mother was from the Zheng State and purportedly liked to sing the Zheng ballad "On the Mountains are Good Trees" which is where Fu Su got his name from, with his name meaning "good trees." Fu Su was said to be a calming influence who regularly counteracted the aggressive whims of his dictatorial father. Fu Su protested the live burials of alchemists and Confucian scholars and attempted to explain to Qin Shi Huang that burying these scholars would surely cause a deep resentment towards the Emperor and his reign. Qin Shi Huang was not impressed what what he perceived as his son's insolence, and sent him effectively into exile to monitor General Meng Tian and his army on the northern border.

Hu Hai (also known as "Qin Er Shi" whilst emperor) was the eighteenth son of Qin Shi Huang. When Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BC, Fu Su had become a seasoned army man on the northern bordern with General Meng Tian. However, this would not stop Hu Hai from usurping him. Hu Hai forged Qin Shi Huang's will, littering it false statements that Fu Su was a disgrace, had never helped China and had to die. General Meng Tian objected to the will vehemently, declaring it a forgery. Fu Su likely realised that he would be killed regardless by his brother and those who supported him, and stabbed himself with his sword. General Meng Tian eventually gave in to the pressure and poisoned himself.

Hu Hai was the successor of Qin Shi Huang, but his reign only lasted for three years. He slaughtered his siblings out of paranoid, but it was not them he perhaps should have feared. Zhao Gao, a statesman who had helped him usurp his elder brother, forced him to commit suicide in 207 BC, aged 21-22. He was not given a royal funeral.

Fu Su is considered a tragic and unjustly persecuted character within Chinese history. He was considered to be the one who deserved the throne of Qin after Qin Shi Huang's death. If he had have taken General Meng Tian's advice and fought the fake decree with a 300,000-strong army on his side, Hu Hai would have been easily defeated. Based on his military proficiency, morals and intelligence his reign that never happened would have likely made the Qin Dynasty last longer.

Answer: Mercury

In his obsessive quest for immortality, Qin Shi Huang was partial to drinking jugs of sweetened wine laced with mercury. Although it is not officially confirmed, his habit of ingesting mercury has been suggested as the likely cause of his death in 210 BC, aged 49. He died in Shaqiu Prefecture (what is now modern day Xingtai City, Hebei).

Li Si was terrified of the potential rebellion that could occur if the Chinese public were to be made aware of the death of Qin Shi Huang. He decided to conceal the death, only telling Hu Hai, the eighteenth son of the emperor, and Zhao Gao, the eunuch who would assist Hu Hai in usurping heir apparent, Fu Su, before leading Hu Hai to death himself. Li Si went as far as to wheel the corpse of the emperor around in a carriage as if he was alive, pretending to deliver messages to him and having carts of rotting fish surround the carriage to disguise the smell of a decomposing human body in the summer.

Li Si would later be executed under the orders of Hu Hai, who was under the influence of Zhao Gao. Li Si was subjected to the Five Punishments, which included amputation, castration and death. His death saw him being sliced in two via his waist, in public, at the hands of an executioner.

Answer: Shaanxi

Shaanxi is located in the northwest of China.

The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is the size of an ancient great city. It once had a pyramid that stretched to around 330 feet high (100 m) but this has eroded to half of its size with time. There are 8,000 sculptures coined the "terracotta warriors" or the "terracotta army." The figures depict the army of Qin Shi Huang and were constructed to protect the Emperor during the afterlife.

The tomb and its striking terracotta warriors were discovered in 1974. However, a thorough excavation is not an option. During the early digs upon the tomb's discovery, the paint on the faces of the warriors curled away after just 15 seconds of being exposed to air. Despite this, elements of the terracotta army were displayed in the British Museum between 2007-2008. The Forum de Barcelona, Spain, also displayed some items of the tomb, making it one of their most popular exhibitions. Items of the tomb have also been successfully displayed in the U.S.A and Canada. This does not however mean that the tomb of Qin Shi Huang can be thoroughly excavated.

Sima Qian also asserts that mechanical crossbows were implemented in the tomb to shoot anyone who triggers them. Rivers of mercury are also said to surround the body of Qin Shi Huang, with scientists confirming that the soil in the area contains an unusual amount of mercury. It is clearly a dangerous place for a person to enter due to the potential poisoning, and an ironic so-called protection in the grave, considering that this was the element that likely what killed the first emperor of a united China.