27. China’s Most Brutal Emperor
Chin Shi Huang Di (259 – 210 BC), whose name means “First Emperor of Chin”, started off as king of the Chinese state of Chin – one of several rival kingdoms in China’s Warring States Period (475 – 221 BC). He ascended the throne as a child, and in his teens, wrested power from the regents and courtiers who had governed during his minority. The young monarch then consolidated his power with a massacre of palace plotters who sought to usurp his prerogatives. He then went on the warpath. He pushed back the northern barbarians, defeated and conquered all other Chinese states by 221 BC, and consolidated them under his rule.
He then declared himself the First Emperor of China. Chin Shi Huang pulled off the impressive task of ending the chaotic feudalism that had prevailed in China for over five centuries. In its place was now a unified, peaceful, and efficiently governed centralized state. Unification, pacification, and efficiency, came at a high price, however: tyranny and great oppression. As a result, despite Chin Shi Huang’s key role in China’s foundation, he was greatly abhorred by most Chinese because of his brutal behavior.