Pod Insights Short History Of... The First Emperor of China About this episode In the third century BC, China was a land fractured by war - a patchwork of rival kingdoms struggling for dominance. Out of this chaos rose a single, extraordinary figure who would reshape the course of history: Chin Shrr Hwong, the First Emperor of China.
His achievements were monumental, but his reign was marked by ruthlessness, so how did this teenage king rise to power? What drove him to undertake colossal projects like the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army? And how might his obsession with immortality have led to his mysterious death?
This is a Short History Of The First Emperor of China.
A Noiser Production, written by Sean Coleman. With thanks to John Man, author of The Terracotta Army: China’s First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation.
Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript 7,459 words · 10 speakers
0:00 Speaker 00 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change, your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
0:12 Speaker 01 Pricing participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
0:15 Speaker 02 Now at Kroger, your points add up to more ways to save every trip. Use them your way to take dollars off groceries at checkout or save at the pump. You can even save up to $35 on your next fill-up. Same points, more choices. And with low prices on fresh, quality food, plus digital and personalized offers tailored to how you shop, your dollar goes further. Redeem your points online or in the app. Kroger, fresh for everyone. Restrictions apply. See site or store for details.
0:50 Speaker 03 It's March 1974, near Lin Tong in China's Shanxi Province. Spring has been tough. The rains have held off, plunging the whole region into a deep drought.
1:05 Speaker 03 To the south, the steep flanks of Mount Li would ordinarily trap water in gullies, funneling it into the lowland wells which feed the orchards of persimmon and pomegranate.
1:17 Speaker 03 But not this year.
1:19 Speaker 03 On the edge of the village, six brothers gather among their parched fruit trees. They squat in the dust, cigarettes smoldering between their fingers, quietly scraping the dry earth.
1:34 Speaker 03 They're all in their 40s and 50s, born and raised on this same patch of land, where they tend these orchards, growing fruit to sell and eat. Simple farmers, living in small mud huts, they draw what little they can from the land.
1:52 Speaker 03 But right now, the one thing their trees need to thrive is the one thing that's in perilously short supply: water.
2:07 Speaker 03 As the sun climbs, the brothers shoulder their spades and head for a shallow cleft in the lower slopes of Mount Li. If there's any water to be found, it'll be somewhere along that vein. They weave through trees, just beginning to show fragile shoots of new growth, and up to where they're planning to site their new well. The eldest starts to dig, his spade crunching into the dry earth. The ground gives grudgingly. Taking it in turns, by mid-morning they've opened the mouth of a broad pit.
2:44 Speaker 03 But then they hit a layer of dense red earth, as dry as bone and hard as iron. The brothers know that, long ago, this area held large pottery kilns. So, maybe this is a roof. After a brief discussion, they decide it's better to keep going than start again somewhere else. It takes two more days to smash their way through the hard, baked layer. But once they do, they can lift basketloads of soft earth to the surface quickly. Soon, they start finding fragments of pottery, small at first, but then larger pieces.
3:29 Speaker 03 Still intent on their search for water, they keep digging, until one brother, deep in the hole, yells up that he's found a pot, and it's a big one. Their spirits lift briefly, as they all help to raise the jar from the ground. If it's intact, it'll be useful for storing fruit. But once it's out, they find it's not a jar at all, but part of a ceramic torso. Useless, worse than useless, bad luck. Because it comes from underground, the dwelling place of the dead.
4:07 Speaker 03 Then, from down in the ditch comes another shout. The brothers crowd round, gasps catching in their throats. Sticking out of the dirt is a head of fired clay. Two blank eyes staring up, long hair tied in a bun, a splendid moustache. A whisper of red still clings to his cheek. Faded pigment, a ghost of the colors this warrior once wore.
4:38 Speaker 03 One of the brothers touches the head with his spade, and the clunk tells him it's intact and solid.
4:46 Speaker 03 They may not have found water, but what they have found is something that has lain hidden for over 2,000 years: the tomb of the first emperor of China and the first glimpse of his vast terracotta army.
5:10 Speaker 03 In the 3rd century B.C., China was a land fractured by war. A patchwork of rival kingdoms struggling for dominance. Out of this chaos rose a single extraordinary figure who would reshape the course of history: Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.
5:35 Speaker 03 Through conquest, cunning, and relentless ambition, he unified the warring states into a single empire, laying the foundations for what would become one of the world's greatest civilizations. His achievements were monumental: standardizing currency, weights, measures, and even the written word. But his reign was also marked by ruthlessness: harsh laws, forced labor, and a suppression of dissent.
6:04 Speaker 03 But tyrant or visionary, how did this teenage king rise to seize power, overcome his enemies, and declare himself China's first emperor? What drove him to undertake colossal projects like the early Great Wall, the canals and roads, and his immense underground mausoleum guarded by the Terracotta Army? And how might his obsession with immortality have led to his mysterious death? I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Network, this is A Short History of the First Emperor of China.
6:45 Speaker 03 Before 475 B.C., China is a land in turmoil, united neither by border nor a single ruler. It's a time of shifting allegiances, local power battles, and constant discord.
7:03 Speaker 03 John Mann is an historian, travel writer, and author of The Terracotta Army: China's First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation.
7:13 Speaker 04 Before the First Emperor, that is, right about the 5th century B.C., China was a huge mass of minor states and city-states, rather like the Holy Roman Empire became for Europe. And they were in constant conflict with each other, each one trying to expand itself and defend itself. And over the years, they whittled themselves down to seven states.
7:41 Speaker 03 These seven rival states, the Qin, Chu, Zhou, Wei, Han, Yan, and Chi, are locked in brutal conflict.
7:56 Speaker 03 Known as the Warring States Period, it lasts almost 250 years. As each kingdom fights for superiority, seeking to expand their territories and crush their enemies. It's a world defined by betrayal and bloodshed, where survival depends on military strength, strategic brilliance, and merciless ambition.
8:21 Speaker 03 At the heart of the conflict lies a fierce competition for power and resources, but also for control over key trade routes and fertile lands.
8:32 Speaker 03 As the years pass, advances in warfare like the use of crossbows, cavalry, and large, disciplined infantry armies make the battles increasingly destructive. Entire cities are sacked, populations enslaved, and countless lives lost. This constant state of war creates a harsh and pragmatic political culture, where rulers rely on cunning advisers, spies, and generals to outmaneuver their foes.
9:06 Speaker 03 It is into this crucible of war that a young boy named Ying Zhong, the future Qin Shi Huang, is born in 259 B.C.
9:17 Speaker 03 He is the son of a concubine of the crown prince of Qin, and pretty low down the royal pecking order. That said, the issue of succession is not clear because the crown prince's official wife is infertile. But as a boy, he comes to the attention of an ambitious merchant called Liu Buwei, who sees potential, and perhaps the promise of fulfilling some ambitions of his own.
9:44 Speaker 04 Well, his origins are rather obscure because he was a minor prince who had been sent off to a neighboring state as a hostage. This is common practice at the time. It ensured reasonable behaviour supposedly between the warring states. And he was found by a merchant who saw in him, a minor prince, the possibility of progress. To cut a long story short, he talked his way into the Qin court, appealed to the queen who was barren, had himself turned into an adopted son.
10:26 Speaker 03 Ying Zhong is now thrust into the heart of a dangerous world. With Liu Buwei constantly by his side, when the wily merchant is not entertaining the queen, that is, Ying Zhong grows up in a court rife with intrigue. He quickly learns that power is fragile, while trust is something to be bestowed sparingly. Advisors whisper, alliances shift, and assassinations are not uncommon. This environment likely instills in him the paranoia he will carry throughout his life.
11:02 Speaker 03 At the same time, the continual conflict outside Qin's borders is reshaping the landscape of China, and with it, the young Ying Zhong's ambitions.
11:13 Speaker 04 The fact of constant warfare had two contradictory effects. One was a worry about how people should live together. And from that stems what we call Confucianism. Confucius said that human beings are basically virtuous and you can build on this virtue. And there was an equal and opposite tendency which said, no, the way to achieve peace was to always prepare for war and constantly fight. And in order to do that, you had to have an assumption that human beings were not good at all, but were fundamentally bad, untrustworthy, and had to be controlled from the top. And this was a system known as legalism, which depended on the law
11:57 Speaker 04 and depended on total control of the population.
12:07 Speaker 00 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change, your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5, only at McDonald's for a limited time.
12:19 Speaker 01 Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
12:22 Speaker 02 Now at Kroger, your points add up to more ways to save every trip. Use them your way to take dollars off groceries at checkout or save at the pump. You can even save up to $35 on your next fill-up. Same points, more choices. And with low prices on fresh, quality food, plus digital and personalized offers tailored to how you shop, your dollar goes further. Redeem your points online or in the app. Kroger, fresh for everyone. Restrictions apply. See site or store for details.
12:52 Speaker 03 The Qin state is known for its strict legalist philosophy, emphasizing obedience and the supremacy of the state over the individual. This ethos teaches the young prince that peace can only be achieved through total domination, and that these rival kingdoms will never stop fighting unless someone forces them to.
13:14 Speaker 03 As he watches Qin's armies gradually expand their territory, Ying Zhong begins to envision a future where China could finally be united under his rule. At the age of just 13, Ying Zhong ascends to the throne of Qin, following the death of the crown prince. But his youth and inexperience make him vulnerable in a court teeming with rivalries.
13:41 Speaker 03 In addition to contending with the rivalry of his step-siblings, Ying Zhong must navigate the influence of his mother, Queen Dowager Zhao, and her many lovers. One of these is Liu Buwei, who remains a key advisor and tutor, acting as a sort of regent alongside the Queen Dowager to control the machinery of the state. For years, Ying Zhong remains little more than a figurehead, watching and learning as Liu Buwei maneuvers to maintain his dominance.
14:17 Speaker 03 The advisor's position, though, is precarious. He has powerful allies, but also enemies who question his loyalty to the young king and peddle in rumors about his relationship with the queen Dowager.
14:31 Speaker 03 As Ying Zhong enters manhood, he begins to assert himself. Seeing how power can be wielded and how easily it can be lost, he quietly prepares to take control.
14:46 Speaker 03 By the time he reaches his twenties, he is ready to break free from Liu Buwei's grip and to reshape the kingdom in his own image. In 238 B.C., Ying Zhong turns 21 and holds a grand coming-of-age ceremony in the capital of Jin Yang. No longer a boy king, he formally assumes full control of the throne. With adulthood comes authority, and he moves decisively against those who threaten his power.
15:18 Speaker 03 Aware that Liu Buwei's influence still poses a danger, Ying Zhong acts with political cunning rather than brute force. He strips his "former mentor of his titles," exiling him from court under the pretense of sparing his life.
15:35 Speaker 04 I mean, the whole thing was an explosive situation, which he, as a teenager, had to seize control of. And that's what he did. He might have pleased his mother and his protector by simply doing as he was asked, but in fact, what he did was follow the legalist advice of one of his other advisors and sent his mother away into exile, exiled his protector, Liu Buwei, who eventually committed suicide, killed his two younger stepbrothers, and seized power in a very big way.
16:11 Speaker 03 Liu Buwei's death marks the final collapse of the old power structure and solidifies Ying Zhong's absolute control over Qin.
16:24 Speaker 03 With his enemies eliminated and the old factions dismantled, he is free to pursue his grand ambition: the unification of China.
16:37 Speaker 03 By the time he becomes sole ruler, Qin has already established itself as the most powerful of the warring states, thanks to its army and military technology, and its adherence to the harsh but efficient principles of legalism. But the other six rival kingdoms still stand in the way of Ying Zhong's plan to bring the whole country under his rule.
17:01 Speaker 03 The path to unification comes at a bloody cost, as he launches a relentless campaign to conquer them all. It begins in 230 B.C., when he invades the small and weakened state of Han. Over the next decade, his armies systematically defeat his enemies. But he doesn't stop until he has completely absorbed their lands and dismantled their political structures to eliminate any threat to Qin's supremacy.
17:32 Speaker 04 Over a period of a decade, we don't have any details of how he actually did it. But the end result was that they all rolled over and he was victorious over them all. And because Qin was perhaps the strongest of the strong and the most ruthless of the six states, he defeated them all and unified what became the core of China. And of course, we get the name China from his state Qin, spelled Q-I-N.
18:07 Speaker 03 By 221 B.C., Ying Zhong is close to achieving what no one before him has managed in over 200 years: total unification under one ruler. All that's left is to take the last holdout: the wealthy and isolated state of Qi.
18:30 Speaker 03 King Jian of Qi stands on the balcony of his palace, looking out over the eastern city of Linzi, his capital.
18:39 Speaker 03 Dawn is approaching, but shadows still cling to the narrow streets and tiled rooftops.
18:47 Speaker 03 Below him, the city is quiet, too quiet. The heavy silence of a people holding their breath, braced for a terrible, inevitable fate.
19:00 Speaker 03 There are no merchants in the square, and families are hiding in their homes, clutching their children close.
19:07 Speaker 03 Soldiers stand motionless at the gates, hands resting uneasily on the hilts of their swords. They know. Everyone knows. The Qin army is coming.
19:25 Speaker 03 The king turns away from the balcony and walks slowly back inside, his footsteps echoing in the empty hall.
19:33 Speaker 03 By the time he finally reaches the gates of the palace, the sky is a glowing fire of pinks and oranges as the sun rises over the open plains and low hills beyond the city. He surveys the ranks of his soldiers, standing in rigid silence, ready to defend. Their faces are grim, resigned. Some of them glare at him, others can't quite meet his gaze. None of them wanted it to come to this.
20:03 Speaker 03 Then a sound draws his eye to a spot in the distance. At first, it's just a low, dark shape on the horizon, but it grows taller and sharper until it resolves into the banners and spears of Qin's army.
20:20 Speaker 03 Dust billows beneath their feet as they march, a relentless and indifferent tide.
20:27 Speaker 03 King Jian stands still, watching them come, the thud of their war drums carrying on the wind, along with the clipped shouts of commanders.
20:40 Speaker 03 When the army finally halts, a single rider breaks away from the formation and approaches the king.
20:48 Speaker 03 A general, his army dented and streaked with dust, he carries himself with the unshakable certainty of a man who has never lost a battle.
20:57 Speaker 03 He dismounts and strides towards King Jian,
21:01 Speaker 03 who now kneels on the cold, damp earth and holds out the royal seal, the symbol of Qi's sovereignty.
21:10 Speaker 03 All hold their breath and wait.
21:14 Speaker 03 The general bends to take the seal. A moment later, he turns and raises his hand.
21:23 Speaker 03 Behind him, the banners of Qin unfurl with a soft ripple that carries all the way to the walls of the city. It's over. Qi has fallen.
21:36 Speaker 03 The unification of China is complete.
21:47 Speaker 03 With Qi's surrender in 221 B.C., the warring states period finally comes to an end, and for the first time in history, China has just one ruler. To mark his unprecedented achievement, Ying Xun decides it's time for a rebrand. He needs a new title, one which befits his glorious status.
22:12 Speaker 04 It's a big problem as to what he should call himself, because this is unprecedented. And clearly, it had to be related somehow to Qin, and he was going to be the first of a dynasty, of a whole line, so Qin and first had to be part of the title. And there was an ancient title of Huang Di, which means August Emperor, and this came from a distant past, and he applied it to himself. So he called himself Qin Shi Huang Di, the Qin First August Emperor.
22:44 Speaker 03 As the first to rule a truly unified China, he often embarks on long imperial tours, inspecting his lands and monitoring the improvements he immediately begins instituting. But for the First Emperor, conquering China is only the beginning. Now he moves quickly to consolidate control and set about building an empire that will last for eternity.
23:10 Speaker 03 Laying the groundwork for a truly unified state, he imposes a uniform system of writing, currency, and measurements. He even dictates the axle width of carts to fit the new imperial roads.
23:25 Speaker 04 He coordinated then all the seven nations together and instituted a social revolution such as China had never seen before. Because all these states had separate traditions of script, of number systems, of clothing, of weights and measures, and all these were then brought together by the First Emperor and coordinated into single systems. And this was a revolution.
23:55 Speaker 03 By enforcing a single writing system, the emperor creates a shared cultural and administrative language that will outlast his reign and form the basis of modern written Chinese. A standard coinage to replace regional currency streamlines trade and taxation. The new round bronze coins feature square holes, representing the cosmic balance of the world. The circle of the coin symbolizes the heavens, while the square signifies the earth. But the design serves a practical purpose too, with the holes allowing them to be strung together, making them easier to carry and exchange.
24:38 Speaker 03 At the same time, he abolishes the old feudal aristocracies, stripping nobles of their titles and relocating them to the capital, while dividing the empire into thirty-six commanderies governed by officials loyal to him alone.
24:55 Speaker 04 He incorporated the whole lot in his own system. So he had huge numbers of soldiers in his army, all the bureaucrats he could possibly need, and the peasants below who would produce the food for the army. The big problem then is what to do with that army, because an army has to be employed in order to keep it active, because an inactive army is potentially revolutionary. And it's from that that came the first emperor's urge to have enormous building projects.
25:29 Speaker 03 He sets his huge, but largely dormant, army to work on improving China's infrastructure, building thousands of miles of roads and canals, connecting the capital Zhenyang to the farthest reaches of the empire. This new transport network allows for the rapid movement of armies, goods, and officials, tightening the emperor's control over his vast territory.
25:56 Speaker 03 And the construction doesn't stop there. Lavish palaces are constructed, including grand administrative complexes to protect the emperor's authority and accommodate his centralized bureaucracy. Monumental public works rise across the landscape, all echoing a single message: The emperor's power is absolute, and his reach extends to every corner of the realm.
26:24 Speaker 03 But not all of Qin Shu Huang's building is focused inwards. As he looks to the empire's borders, his ambition turns to defense, on a scale never before imagined. He is going to build a wall to keep out the rising barbarian empire to the north.
26:45 Speaker 04 There was a long tradition of walls in the warring states before because cities and states had begun to build walls to defend themselves. And as a result of what he had done, the barbarians of the north unified and created their own empire. And it was against them that he built the Great Wall.
27:10 Speaker 03 Rather than starting from scratch, the emperor orders the linking and expansion of existing regional walls built by the former warring states. Combining them into a single unified defensive barrier stretching across the northern frontier, he creates an early iteration of what will become the Great Wall of China. It is a staggering display of imperial will. Hundreds of thousands of conscripted laborers, many of them prisoners or commoners punished for minor crimes, are forced to work under harsh and often deadly conditions.
27:44 Speaker 03 Though it fails to provide impenetrable protection, the wall leaves a legacy that far outlives the Qin Dynasty itself.
27:58 Speaker 03 Having brought the central plains and the fertile lands along the Yellow and Yangtze River under his rule when he conquered the warring states, he now pushes northwards against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes beyond his borders. Meanwhile, to the south, his armies drive into the Lingnan region, securing valuable agricultural and mineral wealth for his ever-growing empire.
28:25 Speaker 03 With the structure of the empire now secured, the first emperor turns his attention to something even more ambitious: reshaping the minds of his people.
28:37 Speaker 03 In 213 B.C., he orders the destruction of ancient texts and the silencing of dissenting scholars.
28:46 Speaker 03 Still inspired by the harsh legalist philosophy under which he was raised, the first emperor seeks to erase the old world and remake China in his image. One unified law, one vision of history, one truth.
29:04 Speaker 03 While scholars mourn the loss of wisdom and tradition, the emperor presses on, pitilessly punishing anyone who defies his edicts. According to later historical accounts, Qin Shi Huang's war on knowledge reaches its darkest point with an alleged mass execution. In 212 B.C., he is said to have ordered over 400 Confucian scholars buried alive, but defying his regime and criticizing his reforms.
29:38 Speaker 03 But the true brutality of his rule can never be fully known. As with so much of early history, this story is told not by contemporaries, but by chroniclers writing decades, even centuries later. And the most influential among them had little interest in impartiality.
29:55 Speaker 04 The whole... The source of all this information is pretty crucial because it was only written up a couple of hundred years later by a great historian who had his own personal reasons for portraying the first emperor as even worse than he was. The historian's name was Sima Qian, and he wrote wonderfully evocative and dramatic accounts of the first emperor in order to criticize his own emperor. If he criticized his own emperor directly, he would have been torn apart very quickly by chariots galloping off in different directions. So he criticized the first emperor instead.
30:34 Speaker 03 We cannot say for certain that books were burned, though the historian Sima Qian writes that all works deemed counterproductive to the first emperor's vision of a unified empire are destroyed in this purge. This allegedly includes an expansive range of texts, from philosophical works to historical records and literary classics.
30:57 Speaker 03 The aim is to suppress dissenting ideas, particularly those of Confucianism, which advocates for a decentralized, morally-guided governance. Only practical works on medicine, agriculture, and divination are spared, as they are seen as useful for maintaining the empire's practical needs. But since there is no archaeological evidence to support the specifics of the claims, Sima Qian's account must be taken with a pinch of salt.
31:26 Speaker 03 Whether fact or fable, the image of a ruler who governs through fear, unifies through force, and destroys history with fire makes for an impressive illusion of a god-like man who will stop at nothing to shape his empire.
31:40 Speaker 04 Sima Qian makes him extremely scary. He was pigeon-breasted and rather small and extremely scary insofar as he had a vile temper. Anyone who mentioned his mother, for instance, was likely to be executed.
32:02 Speaker 03 But not everyone is willing to bend to his will. Across the empire, discontent simmers. Former nobles, dispossessed scholars, and the people struggling under the weight of forced labor, heavy taxation, and extreme punishments now whisper of rebellion.
32:21 Speaker 03 Rumors of resistance, potential uprisings, even assassination plots reach his ears. But despite his best efforts, dissent is not fully extinguished. As Qin Shi Huang's empire expands and his power solidifies, his paranoia grows. But so too does his obsession with immortality.
32:50 Speaker 00 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change, your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
33:02 Speaker 01 Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
33:06 Speaker 05 Afternoon glare totally ruined my watch party for the big game. That's when my buddy recommended Blinds.com.
33:13 Speaker 06 With custom window treatments made to fit your style, space, and budget, customers who shop at Blinds.com experienced overwhelming satisfaction. Side effects may include a fuller, deeper night's sleep and the sudden urge to host the watch party again. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home.
33:30 Speaker 07 Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week.
33:36 Speaker 03 From the moment he ascended to the throne, the first emperor has been aware of both the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death. Despite his successes, his conquests, and everything he's achieved for the empire, he develops a growing sense of vulnerability. Driven by the fear of death, he embarks on a tireless, but ultimately destructive quest to secure eternal life.
34:03 Speaker 03 The idea of immortality is not new to the emperor or to anyone in China at the time. In ancient Chinese belief, the soul is seen as having two parts: the po, the earthly soul which remains tied to the body, and the hun, the spirit soul, which journeys into the afterlife.
34:23 Speaker 03 For centuries, ancient Chinese texts, many of which he has recently ordered destroyed, have spoken of a spirit world mirroring the tangible one. It's a place where the spirit soul would live on, surrounded by the same comforts, hierarchies, and protections it enjoyed on earth. Maybe understanding that true immortality is beyond even the reach of a ruler such as himself, he is also pursuing protections and securities for his spirit life after death.
34:55 Speaker 03 His approach is both spiritual and practical. He uses elixirs, secret potions, and mystical solutions to defy the inevitable. He summons alchemists and shamans, hoping that they can create a draught that will grant him everlasting youth. Some of those he consults promise him the secret to a long earthly life as well as a secure afterlife, only to ply him with concoctions laced with gold, mercury, arsenic, lead, copper, and other toxins.
35:28 Speaker 03 Though these substances are thought to not necessarily prolong life but to prevent the body's decay after death, in reality, they serve only to slowly poison the patient.
35:41 Speaker 03 At the same time, he begins preparations for his eternal soul, ensuring that he will be as protected in the spirit world as he is in this one.
35:51 Speaker 04 One of his obsessions was to achieve the immortality that had been mooted by Daoist philosophers, who thought that by taking various chemicals, it would be possible for the human body to survive death and to have an existence in the spirit world, where it would have an existence similar to something on earth. So other emperors, and in a way this emperor, wanted to equip themselves with things that stuff of this world in order to look after themselves in the next world. And that's where the terracotta army comes in.
36:37 Speaker 03 Work on Qin Shi Huang's tomb actually begins just months after he became king at the age of 13, albeit on a much smaller scale. Now, with the unification complete and his empire in place, his ambitions for a mausoleum have adapted into something fit for an emperor who rules by heaven's will.
36:58 Speaker 03 Determined that even death should not diminish his authority, he orders the construction of an extraordinary subterranean tomb complex that will house him for eternity. It's designed as a microcosm of life above ground, a symbolic representation of his empire. And when the time comes, he won't be alone down there.
37:22 Speaker 03 While there is no record of an official empress by marriage, the first emperor has numerous concubines, many of whom will be required to join him when his spirit-soul journeys into the afterlife. Those who have borne him one of his twenty sons will live on, but those who have not produced a son by the time of his death will join him in the tomb. There is even a rumor that the engineers who design and build the tomb will join the emperor in death, knowing as they do the secrets of its layout.
38:00 Speaker 03 But he has no intention of taking it easy in the afterlife. Just as he is ruled and conquered in life, so he intends to continue in death. He will still be an emperor, and every emperor needs an army.
38:15 Speaker 03 He commissions thousands of larger-than-life-sized clay soldiers, horses, and chariots, all meticulously crafted and positioned in battle formation, ready to fight. Hundreds of thousands of workers, including artisans, laborers, soldiers, and prisoners, toil day and night to build this gigantic, subterranean world. The terracotta warriors who will populate it have unique facial features and hairstyles, intricate stone armor, and real weapons.
38:48 Speaker 03 Six thousand of these statues will rank in the first pit, ready for battle. In a second pit will be scores of wooden chariots and many hundreds of horses, cavalrymen, and archers. Thirteen hundred figures in all.
39:04 Speaker 03 A third pit, much smaller by comparison, will contain sixty-eight well-spaced figures and a four-horse chariot facing the exit ramp. This is the command center of the terracotta army, from where the action will be directed in the spirit battle, with the chariot ready to carry a messenger into the spectral field.
39:27 Speaker 03 In addition to the army, there are other representations of the living world. A real water garden, built around an underground spring, complete with bronze swans, cranes, and geese, all attended by fifteen further terracotta figures, some kneeling, some stretched out in relaxation. And the jewels in the crown would be two exquisite, half-size bronze carriages, with moving wheels, removable parasols and weapons, all embellished with rich lacquer and accents of gold and silver.
40:08 Speaker 03 With work on the monumental tomb in hand, the First Emperor embarks on his fifth tour of Eastern China. Before he and his entourage of servants and guards set off, his youngest son, Prince Hu Hai, on whom the Emperor dotes, pleads to come along too. With Hu Hai comes his tutor, Zhao Gao, whose father died to save the First Emperor's father many years ago, and who has himself risen from palace eunuch to senior court official and the keeper of the seals. This journey is more than just a tour of the Eastern Empire. It's another step in the Emperor's pursuit of immortality, a search for hidden sages, enchanted isles, and the elusive elixir of life.
40:52 Speaker 03 But though the Emperor presses on with imperial certainty, the road is running out beneath his feet.
41:01 Speaker 03 Just a few weeks into their journey, Qin Shihuang falls ill. At first, it's dismissed, fatigue from the road perhaps, or the heat rising off the coastal plains. But his condition worsens with alarming speed. His appetite fades, his limbs tremble, his skin turns sallow beneath the heavy robes of state.
41:25 Speaker 03 Some whisper, "It's poison, one too many doses of the potions meant to cheat death", though typhus is another possibility.
41:43 Speaker 03 Within days, the man who once commanded armies and reshaped a nation cannot stand on his own. And yet, word of his condition cannot be allowed to spread. Any hint of weakness could spark panic, or worse, rebellion. Now, having reached the level plains of eastern China, his convoy of identical black lacquered carriages stands motionless, like a funeral procession paused in time, waiting for news of the emperor's fate.
42:16 Speaker 00 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change, your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
42:28 Speaker 01 Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
42:31 Speaker 08 We just moved into our new house and I didn't realize just how close we were to the neighbors. That's when my friend told me about Blinds.com.
42:39 Speaker 06 Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Customers who shop at Blinds.com experience excellent customer service, from consultation to installation. Side effects include increased privacy and better sleep. Talk to your partner today and see if Blinds.com is right for you.
42:56 Speaker 07 Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week.
43:06 Speaker 03 It's 2:10 B.C. on a grassy plain a couple of hundred miles inland of the Yellow Sea.
43:13 Speaker 03 The imperial camp sprawls across the sun-scorched landscape, a maze of silk-draped tents and lacquered carts shimmering in the heat. Crims and banners flutter from carved wooden poles, each bearing the black symbol of Qin. Smoke from breakfast fires coils lazily into the air, mingling with the scent of millet porridge, horses, and the faint tang of medicinal herbs.
43:42 Speaker 03 Guards in iron-scaled armor patrol the camp's perimeter, their movements crisp and quiet, while servants scurry between pavilions, their footsteps muffled by layers of dust and trampled grass.
43:57 Speaker 03 Zhao Gao, dressed in his deep indigo silk traveling robes, makes his way through the campsite, balancing the emperor's breakfast on an ornate tray. His face is a picture of worry and distress. But it's not just because of his master's failing health. Only yesterday, Qin Shihuan called into his tent to take down a brief but vital message. Fearing that his life is at its end, the emperor is looking to his succession.
44:30 Speaker 03 The message must be sent to his eldest but estranged son, Fu Su, in the event of his father's death. It reads simply: "Come to my funeral in Jin Yang and bury me."
44:45 Speaker 03 But Zhao Gao has reservations about sending the missive. Once air apparent, the principled Fu Su fell out of favor after opposing the emperor over the burial of the Confucian scholars.
44:58 Speaker 03 Since then, he's been languishing far to the north, guarding the frontier, surrounded by supporters that stand in direct opposition to Zhao Gao.
45:10 Speaker 03 Picking his way across the dry earth, Zhao Gao knows only too well that the brief order in his pocket will be read by Fu Su as an apology, recalling him to the capital and clearing his way to the throne.
45:26 Speaker 03 As he approaches the emperor's quarters, the guards straighten up, and one of them lifts the flap to allow him to carry the tray inside.
45:36 Speaker 03 Ducking into the tent, he waits for the crisp voice that usually greets him, but instead, he is met with silence.
45:46 Speaker 03 Laying the tray down, Zhao Gao leans over to confirm his worst fears. The first emperor lies motionless beneath embroidered covers, his skin waxy, his jaw slightly open. There is no mistaking it, no need to call for the imperial physician. He is dead.
46:10 Speaker 03 Instead of the clamor that should follow, Zhao Gao remained silent. He does not cry out that the emperor is gone, but remains inside, thinking it over, quietly emptying the tea into the dry ground. No one can know of this yet, not even the emperor's youngest son, camped just a few tents away.
46:35 Speaker 03 For now, the future of the empire is in Zhao Gao's hands. He still holds the emperor's final letter, the one that could change everything. Even more importantly, he still holds the emperor's imperial seals.
46:50 Speaker 03 In the awful silence, as he stacks the empty breakfast vessels back onto the tray, he knows that the emperor's death is his secret to keep for now.
47:02 Speaker 03 Before anything can be announced, there are decisions to be made.
47:14 Speaker 04 At the time, he was on a sort of mission all the way around the empire in order to make ritual sacrifices and to share himself to his people. And he was coming back towards Xi'angyang, the capital, when he fell ill and died. And that released a plot, which is also a wonderful story insofar as his death was kept secret in order that his succession could be well managed.
47:45 Speaker 03 Zhao Gao immediately puts a cunning plan into action, carefully orchestrated to keep his power intact. The emperor's final decree recalling his eldest son to the capital to claim the throne is easily destroyed. And since he takes dictation for most of the imperial edicts, and still has the imperial seals, he simply writes a new command, ordering the succession to Prince Hu Hai, the emperor's youngest son, who is far more malleable.
48:18 Speaker 03 To ensure that the eldest son Fu Su doesn't take control, Zhao sends a secret order, supposedly from the emperor, telling the young man to commit suicide.
48:30 Speaker 03 Unaware of his father's death and not suspecting a plot, the prince does as he's told. In this critical moment, Zhao Gao eliminates the last obstacle standing in the way of his succession plan.
48:50 Speaker 03 All he has to do now is get the body back some 300 miles to the capital without anyone finding out that the emperor is dead.
49:00 Speaker 03 This job is made somewhat easier by Qin Shi Huang's paranoia of being assassinated. The imperial party always travels in a convoy of identical covered carriages, which switch and change position as they journey along, so that no one ever knows which one contains the emperor. Zhao Gao will use that to his advantage now.
49:22 Speaker 03 But while the enclosed chariots maintain the secrecy of where the emperor is, his body poses another serious challenge in the form of rapid and fragrant decomposition in the summer heat. To mask the smell and prevent any suspicion arising during the long journey home, Zhao orders that some of the other carriages be filled with fish.
49:47 Speaker 03 The fish, preserved in salt, mask the odor of the decaying body, allowing the emperor's remains to be transported without raising alarm. The tactic ensures no one can discern which of the carriages holds the emperor's body, keeping the secret intact until Zhao is ready to reveal the truth.
50:08 Speaker 03 The official announcement of the emperor's death comes after several weeks, once the entire party have returned to the capital. By this point, Zhao has ensured that the court has remained in order and that Hu Hai is ready to take the reins.
50:24 Speaker 03 The emperor is mourned as a great leader and is interred in his tomb. But it will be another two years before the mausoleum is completed, in 208 B.C.
50:36 Speaker 04 He had to be taken home pretty quickly to Shanyang and then transported to his tomb, which would then have to be filled in. The terracotta army is a separate pit, so that was dealt with separately. But the tomb itself had to be given its grave goods, then covered in a way that would not collapse, presumably with wooden structures, and then huge amounts of earth piled on top to create the 150-meter mound, up which you can walk today.
51:13 Speaker 03 Finally, the first emperor can rest, with his thousands-strong army of terracotta soldiers to guard him for all eternity.
51:24 Speaker 03 But Zhao Gao's succession plan begins to unravel almost immediately. Prince Hu Hai proves inept as an emperor. He's too easily manipulated and unable to control the vast empire his father built. His reign is marked by poor decisions, and his failure to manage the court and military weakens his position.
51:49 Speaker 03 As unrest grows, factions within the court become disillusioned with his leadership. In 207 B.C., a revolt is staged against Hu Hai, led by a former ally of his father's along with other disgruntled court members. Zhao Gao's influence over the young emperor crumbles as the conspiracy unfolds.
52:12 Speaker 03 Finally, Hu Hai is arrested and ultimately forced to commit suicide, bringing an abrupt end to his reign.
52:21 Speaker 03 The empire, already weakened by infighting and corruption, quickly fragments.
52:32 Speaker 03 Shortly after Hu Hai's death, the brief Qin Dynasty, lasting only two rulers, collapses swiftly. But the legacy of Qin Shi Huang endures. His brutal consolidation of power, legal reforms, and monumental achievements like the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army leave an indelible mark on history. Though China fractures once more into warring states after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, when it begins to stabilize and expand under Emperor Wu some 150 years later, it does so by building on the foundation laid by the First Emperor.
53:12 Speaker 03 Known for his harsh rule and merciless methods, he unified China through fear and force. And yet, his vision of a centralized empire and a unified nation continues to shape the future.
53:28 Speaker 04 Because of the historian Xie Maqian, he remained absolutely crucial to the idea of unity. The First Emperor's empire lasted only just over a decade. I mean, it's nothing in many ways. But what it did was provide a unity that remained a part of the Chinese government's aim of all the empire's aims from then onwards. The idea of unity has gripped China, whoever was in command of it, and however scattered and broken it was, up until the present day.
54:06 Speaker 03 But as with so much of ancient history, it's important to use caution when considering his story. Despite the vast, physical evidence of his ambitious rule, the accounts we have about his life come from a single historian writing many years after his death.
54:23 Speaker 04 Everything we know about the first emperor should be taken slightly with a pinch of salt. We have no idea, since there are no other sources, how true it was. The only thing you can be sure of is that there was a great wall, there was unification, he had huge palaces, he did have an enormously rich capital, and we know where all this took place, and there's been good archaeology to back up that. But some of the more lurid details of how he came to power are to be doubted. They make wonderful television, but it may not be as true as the Chinese like to believe.
55:10 Speaker 03 Next time on Short History, we'll bring you a short history of the Manhattan Project.
55:19 Speaker 09 They were pretty confident that uranium bomb would work, because they could do tests with very minute amounts, and then scale up their theory to kilograms. Ultimately, the uranium enrichment process was very inefficient, but by the summer of 1945, they had enough of this variant of uranium for just one bomb. So this must be one of the few times in military history where a significant new weapon is deployed without a full-scale test beforehand. The first test was really Hiroshima.
55:56 Speaker 03 That's next time.
55:59 Speaker 03 If you can't wait a week until the next episode, you can listen to it right away by subscribing to Noiser Plus. Head to www-noiser.com/subscriptions for more information.
56:11 Speaker 00 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change, your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
56:23 Speaker 01 Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
56:26 Speaker 08 We just moved into our new house and I didn't realize just how close we were to the neighbors. That's when my friend told me about Blinds.com.
56:34 Speaker 06 Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Customers who shop at Blinds.com experience excellent customer service, from consultation to installation. Side effects include increased privacy and better sleep. Talk to your partner today and see if Blinds.com is right for you.
56:51 Speaker 07 Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week.
Previous Anne Frank Next The Manhattan Project Page updated November 3, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated