Chinese Art - Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi
Emperor Qin Shi Huang, born as Ying Zheng in 259 BC, was the son of the king of the Qin State. At the age of thirteen he succeeded his father. Ying Zheng was very aggressive and ambitious at an early age. He assumed full power at 22 by ridding himself of his premier, Lu Buwei, who acted as regent while he was a minor. He wanted to unify and subjugate all the states like Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi by the powerful political, economic and military strength of the Qin State. Ying Zheng realized his ambition and built the first feudal and centralized empire in Chinese history in 221 BC, the Qin Dynasty. Ying Zheng was the first emperor of a united China, so he proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang.
When Ying Zheng unified China he considered his achievement surpassing the legendary "San Huang (three emperors)" and "Wu Di (five sovereigns)". He created a new title for himself: "Huangdi" together with "Shi (means the first)", hence the name "Qin Shi Huang" or "Qin Shi Huangdi", which means the first emperor of China.
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