Interview with Emperor Qin

By Thom E. Gemcity, Pro Blogger
   The Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) 



While in China I had the opportunity to interview Emperor Qin. I asked him various questions about his life:

What were some of your greatest accomplishments while you were in power?
 The Greatest accomplishment of mine is uniting China into one. When I came to power China was separated into "warring states." Another great accomplishment of mine was building The Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China was built to protect my Empire from invading Nomads. The wall boarders the northern part of my Empire. Building The Great Wall of China took a lot of money and a large amount of material to build. Some portions of the wall were created partly of the rubble from previous attempts at building a protection wall.



Do you believe that having a Legalist society helped you to hold power and keep control of your Empire?
Many people believe that I was a harsh ruler because of my legalistic style but yes, it did help me to control my empire. Having a Legalist showed my strengths as an Empire by showing that I can control my people. Having a legalist society also provided organization and strict order. Anyone who went against me or refused the ways of Legalism would be sentenced to a brutal death. Although Legalism may seem cruel it was an effective way of controlling an Empire.  
 
Could you elaborate on the building of The Great Wall of China?
I built the Great wall to protect the empire from the northern Nomads. The Great Wall of China was built as a protection wall and did just that. Building The Great Wall of China was a sacrifice of materials, money, and people. Although I was the first to create The Great Wall of China there were attempts before me for protection but those did not suffice and needed to be added to. In Fact, some of the rubble from other walls was used in the making of The Great Wall of China a built. 

Why did you create standardization in China?

Standardization was enforced to create organization, going along with a legalist society. Standardization throughout China helped traders along trade routes exchange money. Standardizing China also helped with weight. No matter where you went in China a pound would be the same amount and would cost the same everywhere. Having a standardized Empire helped to keep China unified. 

What were some steps you took to develop China?

The Great Wall of China was not only for protection but was also a boarder showing where the northern part of my Empire ended. To further develop China I wanted to show that my empire was the most important so I had all books that didn’t relate to the Qin Dynasty burned. I also threw anyone who refused to accept this and scholars who wrote about anything other than the current empire into the fire with the books.