Rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty Part 1 Quiz

Answer: The west

During 10th century BC, King Mu of Zhou toured the the western parts of his kingdom and was very pleased by the collection of chariots presented to him by Zao Fu. Zao Fu was successful in protecting the Zhou dynasty against the native king Yan of the Xu tribes.

In order to strengthen ties between his family and the Zhou dynasty further, they were given the territory of Qin. This position also imposed upon him the duty to serve as a shield against the wild nomadic tribes in the west.

Answer: Most remote region

Located in the western part, the natural landscape had only two passes, Hangu in the east and Tong Pass in the west. This constituted protection and also provided the opportunity for the Qin to conquer the surrounding smaller states, expanding its territory and power.

During that era the westernmost region (present day Shaanxi province) was the most remote and isolated state, with no threats for any surrounding states.

Answer: Moved the capital, established counties

By moving the long-time capital at Yong (present day Fengxiang, Shaanxi) to Yueyang, he weakened the influence of the powerful family clans. At the same it was closer to the other states, providing more trading opportunities.

Establishing counties administered by the central government gave him more control than the old practice of territories controlled by the aristocratic family clans.

Answer: Shang Yang

Duke Xiao (reigned 361-338 BC) appointed Shang Yang in 359 BC. Shang Yang left his lowly position in the state of Wei to become the chief advisor to Duke Xiao. He was born in the state of Wei, with the surname Gongsun.

Answer: Legalism

The two series of measures of Legalism he accomplished were:

The abolition of hereditary jingtian (9-square field) system, legal recognition of private ownership of land and the right to freely buy and sell it.

The abolition of hereditary official posts and benefits and the establishment of a new feudal hierarchy on the basis of military achievements. Those who achieved outstanding military deeds would be duly rewarded with a rank and position of nobility and more land.

Answer: Hated by the aristocracy for his reforms

Shang Yang was put to death by King Huiwen (Ying Si, reigned 337-311 BC). The nobles hated the reforms which did not make any distinction between the nobles and the commoners. Execution by the Qin was very cruel, the head and all the four limbs were tied to five horses and he was torn apart.

In his youth, King Huiwen was also punished by the strict laws for committing a crime and possibly felt humiliated. However after the death of Shang Yang, King Huiwen continued to carry out the practice of Legalism and continue with the reforms.

Answer: Sichuan

The two remote states of Ba and Shu were the present day Sichuan province, south west region of China. Under Li Bing, the magistrate in Sichuan, the Dujiang Dam irrigation system was built to stop the Minjiang River from flooding as it entered the Chengdu plain and to rationally distribute its water. The systems of dams, canals and dikes were systematically constructed to enable irrigation to turn the plain into fertile lands.

Agriculture was boosted, thus was able to provide steady food supplies to the military when they were at wars. The region was difficult to attack due to the mountainous region.

Answer: Befriended faraway states and attacked neighboring states

Zhang Yi proposed the stratagem of befriending their strong rival, the state of Qi, which was located in the east, present-day Shandong. He devised plans to attack the powerful neighboring state of Chu, which was said to have more than one million troops.

Zhang skilfully carried out many diplomatic plans against Chu and carried out many attacks on the north-west border of Chu. After many defeats, Chu had to give away more lands to Qin. In 312 BC, General Wei Zhang of Qin massacred the army of Chu after the battle of Danyang. The territory of Hanzhong was occupied and annexed by Qin.

Answer: Divide and conquer

During the reign of King Zhaoxiang (306-251 BC), the Qin kingdom had become a major military power by 294 BC. General Bai noticed the alliance between the Han and Wei was not a friendly one, as the troops were very hostile to each other.

After understanding the situation, Bai organized small ambushes to divert the attention of the main Han forces. The Han troops were afraid to take on the better trained Qin troops directly. In the case of Wei, the forces were isolated and received no support from Han. General Bai was able to defeat Wei over the next few months. After the defeat of Wei, he focused his force on the trapped Han force and completely annihilated them.

The battle was a decisive victory by Qin which suffered a loss of fewer than 9,000 men. Both states had to cede more land to Qin to sue for peace.

Answer: Combined force of 1 million soldiers

A combined force one million troops were in battle for the first time in history, which was the largest number of armies ever assembled before World War I.

The battle lasted for more than two years from April 262 BC and to July 260 BC. Qin troops massacred about 400,000 prisoners-of-war, leaving behind less than thirty teenage soldiers to carry the message of defeat to the ruler of Zhao. The severely weakened Zhao was no longer a threat to Qin. Although Qin also suffered also a substantial lost of 150,000 men, they had more in reserve.