Qin Dynasty Culture

These are some of symbols that were used in the form of seals;
a writing system developed by the Qin Dynasty.
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=AFQjCNFwSuxX1N3r-sRUXUSQc3s_gmdAwg&ust=1367024825833338



This is a picture of some the the warriors of the Terracotta Army. These warriors were buried
in Emperor Qin's tomb to protect him in the afterlife.
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3cjVQHyHhsLzzM&tbnid=X7QFViy6cX0GJM:&ved=0CAQQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.travelchinaguide.com%2Fattraction%2Fshaanxi%2Fxian%2Fterra_cotta_army%2F&ei=eNR5Ubi9Hs26
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Some of the most admired pieces of Chinese art came from the Qin dynasty. Some of these art forms are the Terracotta Army, The start of construction on the Great Wall of China and the change in writing. The Terracotta Army is a collection of sculptures representing the armies of Emperor Qin. It is a form of “funerary art” buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC. The pottery warriors were made with outstanding craftsmanship. There are minor differences in each soldier's hairstyle, expression, clothes and even the edges of the armor. The purpose of the sculptures was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. These warriors are unique in Chinese sculpture history, having an influence on sculptural art after the Qin Dynasty. Then the Great Wall, although it was started in the past dynasty and completed two dynasties later, it became the “great wall” because of the unifying by the Qin Dynasty. This wall became one of the 7 manmade wonders many centuries later. It was developed for the purpose of defense. Lastly the writing changed to a new formalized style known as seals. This writing style was most likely developed to standardize writing throughout China; it has lasted with only minor changes. These were some major cultural aspects of the Qin Dynasty.

Qin Dynasty Map

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                The Qin Dynasty has multiple geographic features. One feature is the fact that the northern area of the dynasty is bordered by the Great Wall of China. This is a large boundary that can keep intruders away. The Qin Dynasty also has a few major rivers, including the Wei River, Yangtse River and Yellow River. These rivers can supply the dynasty’s people with water for drinking and agricultural uses. The capital of the Qin Dynasty was Xianyang, located above the Wei River. The Qin Dynasty was located roughly where todays China Proper is located.

Picture Collage

 





This is Emperor Qin, he was the first ruler of the Qin dynasty.
He made many changes to the life ofr people living there.
He standardized weights, measurements, law and a fewother things.
He also burnt books that he thought would encourage creativity.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+Qin+dynast
y&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=the+qin+dynasty&sc=8-15&
sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=788BC1F241C22D0E92
328DE075E96D23C47B429F&selectedIndex=14 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of the army made for Emperor Qin's tomb. This army
was made to protect the emperor in the after life.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+Qin+dynasty&q=
n&form=QBIR&pq=the+qin+dynasty&sc=8-1
5&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=8C5D04E10634C548
CE578C81BE5DC18BA90A833C&selectedIndex=44

 

The images without links are from google images.





Opinion/ Editorial

Was it necessary to burn books and bury scholars?

         Would you ever burn books just so people could not read them? Would you ever burn anyone alive? That is exactly what Emperor Qin did.  He believed that people should not think out of the box and if anyone was against him then they should be punished. To limit people on how they should think is an awful thing; just as punishing people for their opinions. “To prevent his people to think freely, he burnt many books which he feared would affect people's thinking (travelchinaguide.com).” some of these books were Confucian books. He believed that the books would encourage people to think spontaneously which he did not approve of. So he improperly burnt these books. This is a terrible occurance because it is limiting the right of education. Any information in those books have been taken from the people.

          Along with the burning of books, he also buried scholars alive. “after he learnt some scholars' discussions about his arrogance, he buried 460 of them alive (travelchinaguide.com).” This is indispicable; to portray such onslaught is unbearable. The people simply had an opinion and beacause he did not approve of it, he buried them alive. I do not understand how someone could act that cruel to other beings. What type of example is he setting for his dynasty? He is basically showing his people that if they do not like someone’s opinion they can kill them. I think the actions of Emperor Qin were wrong and disrespectful.

                                                                                                                Staff Writer                 

Front page news story

Emperor Qin standardizes weights, money, measures, language and law

        Emperor Qin decided that standardizing weights, money, measures, language and law would be a wise decision. The standardizing was carried out by statesman Li Si. It was done in a somewhat formalized style referred to as seals; the standardizing done has generally survived with only minor changes. The Qin Dynasty was the first dynasty to standardize Chinese characters by announcing a dictionary. Weights and measures such as the pound were standardized. Also laws were made more clear for the dynasty.

         The standardizing of weights, measurements and money led to more efficient commerce and allowed the dynasty to develop a tax system. The standardizing of language is what helped reading and writing be developed. With everyone using the same Chinese characters people can communicate easier and more efficiently. The standardizations overall advanced the Qin Dynasty and were very useful.

                                                                                                                     Staff Writer