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The First Emperor of China by Frances Wood
With THE FIRST EMPEROR OF CHINA, FRANCES WOOD joins a long list of biographers of Qin Shi Huang Di, the unifier and first emperor of China. Wood's efforts have produced a book that does not break any new ground, but does provide a good introduction to early Chinese history for the casual reader or the first time traveler to China and Xian.
Perhaps the earliest biography of Qin Shi Huang Di was written by the Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian around 100 BC. Until 1974, Sima Qian's biography told us most of what we knew of this first emperor. In that year, the terrracotta army of Qin Shi Huang Di was discovered outside of Xian. Less well known is the discovery a year later, in 1975, of the tomb of a Qin official who had been buried with documents on Qin law. The discovery of the terracotta army made Xian a mandatory stop on any China tour; the two discoveries together provide informed us of both the grandness that possessed Qin Shi Huang Di as well as how the unified China was ruled.
The history of the Qin, Qin Shi Huang Di and the unification of China after the Warring States period resonate throughout Chinese history. Although unified, China remained unsettled. In particular, the issue of how to govern the unified country remained at question. While Confucianism would emerge as the dominant philosophy and become political orthodoxy, an important aspect of this early period is the various schools of governance and their philosophies. Wood provides an accessible and readable summary of the several schools and makes clear why histories written by Confucian scholars, notably Sima Qian, disparaged Qin Shi Huang Di.
It was not difficult to be critical of Qin Shi Huang Di's reign. His unsavory reputation was advanced by his burying scholars alive and burning books. Wood examines both events and sets them in both the context of the actions of later emperors and rulers as well as in the context of the revolutionary change in government that Qin Shi Huang Di represented.
As Wood points out, later emperors and the People's Republic censored and burned books as well as exiled or executed scholars. Wood quotes Mao in the aftermath of the Hundred Flowers movement, saying "[Qin Shi Huang Di] buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried 460,000 scholars... we have surpassed [Qin Shi Huang Di] a hundredfold." Qin Shi Huang Di was neither the only nor by no means the greatest offender on both points.
Wood makes it clear the Qin Shi Huang Di's reign represented a dramatic change in government for China. The feudal system of princes and lords was replaced by governors. Weights, measures, writing and laws were standardized throughout the empire. The book burnings and executions of scholars are linked directly to an effort to end political opposition. Similarly, Qin Shi Huang Di's command that hostages from rich and powerful families reside in the capital was further step taken to control dissent and opposition. While documentary evidence of the challenges confronting Qin Shi Huang Di is limited, Wood has not entirely pulled the many bits of information she has into a compelling story of the governance problems of the new empire.
In the West, Qin Shi Huang Di is perhaps best known of as the builder of the Great Wall. Thus, it will come as a surprise to many readers to learn that Qin Shi Huang Di was not the first builder of the Wall and that the Wall was less about keeping people out than about controlling territory. Wood's history here is clear and well informed. Wood has elected to treat the Wall as a topic on its own rather than dealing more generally with the periphery of the empire. At one point Wood remarks on Qin Shi Huang Di's order to settle convicts in the coastal areas and the south. This action seems designed to increase Qin control in those areas of the periphery in the same way that building the Wall was designed to control the northern and western frontier. While the Wall is of great interest to the traveler, in focusing on the Wall Wood passes up the opportunity to illustrate of the problems of control that challenged the Qin on the periphery and to strengthen the argument that the Wall was built to control territory not barricade access.
Even with this new archeological evidence and otherwise good discussions on a number of issues, Wood seems to struggle to get a book from her topic. The result is that more than a few episodes of repetition. Equally, if not more annoying, certain phrases repeat almost verbatim in various chapters. Finally, the lack of an annotated bibliography or, for that matter, any bibliography, leaves readers new to Chinese history who would like to read further nothing to work from.
Nevertheless, small enough to fit easily in a suitcase and short enough to be read on the flight to China or the train to Xian, this book remains a reasonable recommendation for those looking for a quick introduction to Xian and the China that began there.
Stephen Maire
09/12/2007
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Stephen Maire is a Director of garment manufacturing and trading company. He has lived in East Asia for more than twenty years. |
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