Ep. 158 | The Rise and Fall of the Qin (Part 2)

The story of the rise of the Qin continues with the annexation of the Ba and Shu kingdoms down in Sichuan. This really energized the Qin and gave their future prospects a massive boost. The history of Qin under Kings Huiwen and Zhuangxiang are covered.  The reforms of Shang Yang, discussed last episode, put the Qin State on a while new level. During the Warring States period, Qin starts knocking off their rivals one by one.  We’ll also look at the Sima Qian version of the first Qin Emperor’s early rise to power.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Ba State	巴国	Ba State near Chongqing
Bai Qi	白起	Qin general served under Zhaoxiang. Undefeated
Baiyue	百越	The Hundred Yue
banjin baliang	半斤八两	Our English version of six of one and a half dozen of the other
banliang	半两	half a liang. 16 liang equaled a jin One Jin was 0.604 kilos or 1.3 lbs
banliangqian	半两钱	Qin standardized coin that weighed eight liang
Battle of Changping	长平之战	The bloody battle where the Qin demolished the Zhao 262-260 BCE
Battle of Julu	钜鹿之战	fought near present day Xingtai in Hebei, Xiang Yu, leading the Chu army knocked the Qin army out clean in 207 BCE
Battle of Yique	伊阙	near modern day Longmen, 293 BCE Qin defeated the combined armies of Wei and Han.
Beifang caoyuan	北方草原	The grasslands of the north
Chelie	车裂	An ancient punishment where a person was tied to five chariots and pulled apart
Chen Kaige	陈凯歌	Great Chinese film director. The Emperor and the Assassin
Chen Sheng	陈胜	also known as Chen She 陈涉 One of the leaders of the Dazexiang Uprising
Chengdu	成都	Largest city and capital of Sichuan, site of the ancient Shu Kingdom
chengyu	成语	Chinese saying or proverb, usually but not always four characters
Chongqing	重庆	Municipality formerly part of Sichuan
Chu State	楚国	Chu State near Hubei
Dapingtai Village	大平台村	The village in Hebei where the Qin emperor died
Dazexiang Uprising	大泽乡起义	The first major uprising against the Qin – July to December in the year 209 BCE
Dongting Lake	洞庭湖	the dividing marker between Hubei and Hunan
Dujiangyan	都江堰	One of the most important irrigation projects in Chinese history. It tamed the Min River and changed the face of agriculture in Sichuan
Duke Xiao	秦孝公	Qin Xiao Gong He lived 381 to 338 BCE
Fan Sui	范睢	died 255 BCE, gave his king Zhaoxiang the winning strategy
Fu Su	扶苏	Qin Shihuang’s heir, tricked into committing suicide
Fujian	福建	Province just north of Guangdong
Gaoping	高平	County level city in southeast Shanxi, site of the Battle of Changping
Gong Li	巩俐	Famous and talented Chinese actress
Guangdong	广东	southernmost province of continental China and a rich one at that
Guangxi	广西	An autonomous region just west of Guangdong
Guilin	桂林	Gorgeous city in Guangxi
Han	韩国	The Han Sate, sandwiched between Chu, Qin and Wei
Han Dynasty	汉朝	One of China’s greatest dynasties 206 BCE-220 CE
Han Wudi	汉武帝	Great conquering emperor of the Western Han Dynasty
Handan	邯郸	City in Hebei Province, also the capital of Zhao
Hu Hai	胡亥	Younger son of Qin Shihuang, allowed Lao Ai and Li Si to stack the deck and allow him to become the new emperor
Huaihai Campaign	淮海战役	One of the three final campaigns of the Chinese Civil War of 1948-49.
Huangdi	皇帝	Emperor
Huaxia	华夏	Ancient core China early name
Huizong	宋徽宗	Song Dynasty emperor, featured in a CHP four-part series
Ji clan	姬家族	The Zhou Dynasty ruling family
Jing Ke	荆轲	Assassin from Yan who wasn’t able to bury his poison dagger into Ying Zheng
Jinsha	金沙	Another great archaeological discovery near Chengdu
King Huiwen or King Hui	秦惠文王	King of Qin 338-311 BCE, son of Zhaoxiang
King Nǎn, Zhou Nan Wang	周赧王	Last emperor of the Zhou Dynasty
King Xiaocheng	趙孝成王	King of Zhao who pulled Lian Po from the roster and put in Zhao Kuo
King Xiaowen	秦孝文王	Also known as Lord Anguo, Qin Shihuang’s grandfather. Didn’t reign too long.
King Zhou	商纣王	Last Shang King, and a wicked one at that. Also known as Di Xin
King Zhāoxiāng, Qin Zhao Wang	昭襄王	Qin leader, reined 306-251 BCE
Lady Huayang	华阳夫人	Wife of Qin King Xiaowen
Lao Ai	嫪毐	Introduced to Zhao Ji after she became the Queen Dowager, tried and failed to seize power
Li Bing	李冰	The Qin governor down in Sichuan, directed construction of Dujiangyan
Li Jiang	漓江	the Li River (not to be confused with the other Li River 丽江)
Li Si	李斯	Took the philosophy of Legalism to great heights. Qin Shihuang’s right hand man
Lin Biao	林彪	Great military man and one time heir to Chairman Mao
Lingnan	岭南	the southern region of China comprising mostly Guangdong and Guangxi
Lingqu Canal	灵渠	The Ling Canal…linked the Xiang with the Li
Liu Bang	刘邦	Han Dynasty founder
Lu	鲁国	State to the south of Qi. Confucius came from Lu
Luoyang	洛阳	Eastern capital of the Zhou Dynasty
Lü Buwei	吕不韦	The man who put Qin Shihuang’s father on the throne. Regent for young Qin Shihuang.
Lüshi Chunqiu	吕氏春秋	Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals
Meixian	陕西眉县	Mei County in Shaanxi, west of Xian
Meng Tian	蒙恬	Great Qin general who did most of his fighting in the north. Key person in the construction of the Great Wall
Mengding Shan	蒙顶山	Mountain near Chengdu site of the first known cultivation of tea
Min	岷江	Min River in Sichuan, tamed by the Dujiangyan irrigation project
Nanhai Commandery	南海郡	The Qin office that administered the two Guang’s, based near Guangzhou
Nanyue	南越	the southern Yue
Qi	齐国	Qi State near Shandong
Qi Lu Liangguo	齐鲁两国	The two Shandong kingdoms of Qi and Lu
Qin	秦	The kingdom and later dynasty, led by the Ying Clan
Qin Shihuang	秦始皇	The First Qin Emperor, Ying Zheng
Qin Èrshì	秦二世	The Second Qin Emperor
Qinchao Sanda Shuiligongcheng	秦朝三大水利工程	The three great irrigation project of the Qin
Qinling Mountains	秦岭	Mountain range separating Shaanxi from Sichuan, also Qin Mountains (ling 岭means mountain range)
Ren Tu	人屠	The Butcher of Men, Bai Qi’s nickname (well-earned I might add)
San Huang Wu Di	三皇五帝	The mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
Sanmenxia	三门峡	City in Henan in the cradle of Chinese civilization
Sanxingdui	三星堆	Archaeological discovery of an ancient non-Han civilization located halfway between Chengdu and Deyang
Shaanxi	陕西	Province in China, capital is Xian
Shandong	山东	Northeastern province of China
Shang Dynasty	商朝	The Shang Dynasty 1600 BCE – 1046 BCE
Shang Yang	商鞅	Great Qin statesman, helped make the Qin. 390-338 BCE
Shanxi	山西	Province in China just east of Shaanxi
Shennong	神农	The Divine Farmer, legendary discoverer of tea who gifted the Shen Nong Classic of Herbal Medicine
Shi Ji	史记	The Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian
Shi Lu	史禄	Architect of the Ling Qu, the Ling Canal
Shiniu Dao	石牛道	The Stone Cattle Road
Shi’er Jinren	十二金人	Twelve Gold Men made from all the melted down weapons handed in from the defeated warring states
Shu	蜀国	Shu State near Chengdu
Si Da Ming Jiang	四大名将	the four great generals of the day. Bai Qi白起, Lian Po 廉颇, Li Mu李牧 and Wang Jian 王翦
Sichuan	四川	Province in southwest China
Siku Quanshu	四库全书	The Emperor’s Four Treasures, commissioned by Qianlong. 36,381 Volumes divided up into 79,000 chapters, over two million pages and about 800 million characters
Sima Cuo	司马错	Qin general. Advised Huiwen to annex Shu and Ba
Sima Qian	司马迁	China’s Herodotus, writer of the Records of the Grand Historian
The Longmen Grottoes	龙门石窟	UNESCO Heritage site containing thousands of statues of Buddha and paintings
Tu Sui	屠睢	Qin general who got schooled when he invaded the Lingnan region
Wang Ben	王贲	Son of one of the four great generals of the Warring States period
Wei	魏国	Kingdom of Wei, east of Qin, south of Zhao
Wei River	渭河	One of the major tributaries of the Yellow River
Wey State	卫国	Different from Wei State 魏国. Absorbed by Jin before it broken up. Lü Buwei was from Wey
Wu Guang	吴广	The other leader of the Dazexiang Uprising
Wu Lizhen	吴理真	Planted seven tea trees on Mengding Mountain, first known tea cultivation
Wu Xíng	五刑	The Five Pains. Tattooing the face, nose cut off, foot cut off, private parts cut off and the fifth pain for Li Si was the old Yāozhǎn. Cut in half at the waist
Xiang Jiang	湘江	The Xiang River
Xiang Yu	项羽	The hegemon of Chu State, fought Liu Bang and lost. Featured in CHP episode 91
Xianyang	咸阳	Near modern day Xian. Capital of Qin
Xiongnu	匈奴	Also referred to sometimes as the Huns, a northern nomadic people
Yan	燕国	Yan State near Beijing
Yan Di	炎帝	The Flame Emperor, considered to be Shennong
Yichuan County	伊川县	is located in Henan just south of Luoyang near the famous Longmen Grottoes.
Ying Zheng	嬴政	Qin Shihuang’s name
Zhang Yimou	张艺谋	One of the great film directors of China
Zhao	赵国	Zhao State in the Yellow River Valley
Zhao Gao	赵高	Palace eunuch who conspired with Li Si against Qin Shihuang’s wishes
Zhao Ji	赵姬	Qin Shihuang’s mother and a lover to many men (so says Sima Qian)
Zhao Kuo	赵括	Son Zhao She, got beat bad at the Battle of Changping
Zhao She	赵奢	Zhao general who once gave the Qin a lickin’
Zhao Tuo	赵佗	Qin officer in charge of the Nanhai Commandery. Founded the Nanyue Kingdom
Zhengguo Canal	郑国渠	joined together the Jing and Luo Rivers, both tributaries of the Wei. Named after the builder Zheng Guo
zhishang tan bing	纸上谈兵	To discuss military strategy on paper
zhishi fenzi	知识分子	intellectuals
Zhou	周朝	The Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Wu Wang	周武王	Co-founder of the Zhou, brother of the Duke of Zhou
Zibo	淄博	Former capital of the Qi State
Zichu	子楚	Other name of Qin Shihuang’s father and later King Zhuangxiang
Ziying	子婴	The third and final Qin emperor, reigned for 46 days
Zuo Shu zhang	秦朝左庶长	Left militia general

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