Qin+Shi+Huangdi+by+Nicole+Malofsky

** Tournament of Greatness: Qin Shi Huangdi ** ** Word count: 489 words **
 * Nicole Malofsky **

** Qin Shi Huangdi: China's Heroic Unifier and Most Accomplished Leader **

Qin Shi Huangdi's extraordinary leadership over an astonishingly brief decade facilitated not only China's first total unification, but also a centralized government that then created an also centralized, standardized economy, education system, military and overall culture. No one in history ever accomplished so much so quickly and, amazingly, these influences have persisted over 2,000 years to current day, as Shi Huangdi wished. [1] [2] To accomplish this over such a vast region during ancient times with no modern communications among widely varying cultures and actually have these disparate cultures buy into a single centralized philosophy is simply incredible. While more well known in the west, the Roman Empire simply does not match these accomplishments in timing and the persistence and scope in its influence. [3] Qin Shi Huangdi, formerly known as Zhao Zheng, had come from a long line of dukes ruling the Qin state, such as Tzu Chu and Duke of Qin Chao. Before China's unification under Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor ruling from 259 BC to 210 BC, China was made up of seven major states which were often at war with each other, competing for power and supremacy, during the "Warring States period." Shi Huangdi's ancestors originated from a small state to the west, commonly known as Qin. The Qin began as horse breeders under the rule of the Zhou people, yet as the group began to organize and develop political skills, the Qin people assumed power around 320 BC. By 221 BC, Shi Huangdi seized and consolidated power, taking over all of China. [4] Shi Huangdi's standardization of money, wheeled carts, military items, and writing represented the culmination of a truly unified, successful nation. By example, a single system of coinage facilitated far ranging trade and economics. A seemingly small thing, mandating the consistent widths of carts' wheels to create standard ridges in roads, also greatly facilitated trade growth. Finally, standardizing military weapons enabled consistent military manufacturing, training and strategies. Though many advancements were made under the divine leadership of Shi Huangdi, the standardization of a writing system was an essential element to the Qin Dynasty. [5] Shi Huangdi also faced stiff opposition, as all successful leaders do. Huangdi eradicated all opposition mercilessly, whether he dealt with scholars, religious leaders, politicians, or military leaders. He simply did not tolerate non-conformance or disobedience of any kind at all levels of society. Shi Huangdi considered this critical to creating the broad scale uniformity and centralized government he felt necessary to unifying China. [6] Sadly, Shi Huangdi's preoccupation with making not only his China, but also himself immortal led to squandered vast resources and lives and, some would argue, his own life. [7] Still, if one defines greatness for a leader as accomplishing things on a scale that propels their cause to that of a leading global influence that persists far beyond his or her natural life, it's simply impossible to find a competitive alternative to Shi Huangdi being the greatest of all time.

** Bibliography **

Class Notes Johnson, Harold D. Trustees of the British Museum. Accessed April 8, 2012. __ [] __. Score: 16 Rasinoff, Beth L. Enchanted Learning. Accessed April 8, 2012. __ [] __ Score: 15 Warsaw, Patricia R. Discovery Communications, Inc. Accessed April 10, 2012. __ [] __. Score: 17 Wu, Pang K. Cultural China. Accessed April 8, 2012. __ [] __. Score: 17

Footnotes

[1] Johnson, Harold D. Trustees of the British Museum. Accessed April 8, 2012. __ [] __. Score: 16 [2] Warsaw, Patricia R. Discovery Communications, Inc. Accessed April 10, 2012. __ [] __. Score: 17 [3] Rasinoff, Beth L. Enchanted Learning. Accessed April 8, 2012. __ [] __ Score: 15 [4] Johnson, Harold D. Trustees of the British Museum. Accessed April 8, 2012. __ [] __. Score: 16 [5] Class Notes [6] Class Notes [7] Wu, Pang K. Cultural China. Accessed April 8, 2012. __ [] __. Score: 17