Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
October 2000
Previously a minor state in the northwest, Qin had seized the territories of small states on its south and west borders by the mid-third century B.C., pursuing a harsh policy aimed at the consolidation and maintenance of power. Soon thereafter, Ying Zheng (259–210 B.C.), who would reunite China, came to the Qin throne as a boy of nine. He captured the remaining six of the “warring states,” expanding his rule eastward and as far south as the Yangzi River, and proclaimed himself First Emperor of the Qin, or Qin Shihuangdi. Qin, pronounced chin, is the source of the Western name China.
Throughout his rule, Qin Shihuang continued to extend the empire, eventually reaching as far south as Vietnam. His vast empire was divided into commanderies and prefectures administered jointly by civil and military officials under the direction of a huge central bureaucracy. This administrative structure served as a model for government in China until the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911. Qin Shihuang also standardized the Chinese script, currency, and system of measurements, and expanded the network of roads and canals. He is credited with building the Great Wall of China by uniting several preexisting defensive walls on the northern frontier; and reviled for a state-sponsored burning of Confucian works and other classics in 213 B.C.
Excavations begun in 1974 brought to light over 7,000 lifesize terracotta figures from the vast army guarding the tomb of Qin Shihuang, one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries in Mainland China. Although his tomb chamber has not yet been unearthed, historical records describe it as a microcosm of his realm, with constellations painted on the ceiling and running rivers made of mercury.
Citation
Department of Asian Art. “Qin Dynasty (221–206 B.C.).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/qind/hd_qind.htm (October 2000)
Additional Essays by Department of Asian Art
- Department of Asian Art. “Mauryan Empire (ca. 323–185 B.C.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Zen Buddhism.” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Chinese Cloisonné.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Chinese Gardens and Collectors’ Rocks.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Landscape Painting in Chinese Art.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Nature in Chinese Culture.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Kushan Empire (ca. Second Century B.C.–Third Century A.D.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Rinpa Painting Style.” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Jōmon Culture (ca. 10,500–ca. 300 B.C.).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “The Kano School of Painting.” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo-e Style.” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Traditional Chinese Painting in the Twentieth Century.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386–581).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Tang Dynasty (618–907).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Yayoi Culture (ca. 300 B.C.–300 A.D.).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Art of the Pleasure Quarters and the Ukiyo-e Style.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Scholar-Officials of China.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Kofun Period (ca. 300–710).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Shunga Dynasty (ca. Second–First Century B.C.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Lacquerware of East Asia.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Painting Formats in East Asian Art.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Asuka and Nara Periods (538–794).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Heian Period (794–1185).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Kamakura and Nanbokucho Periods (1185–1392).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Momoyama Period (1573–1615).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Neolithic Period in China.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Muromachi Period (1392–1573).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Samurai.” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Shinto.” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Art of the Edo Period (1615–1868).” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Seasonal Imagery in Japanese Art.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Shōguns and Art.” (October 2004)
Related Essays
- Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.)
- Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China
- Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
- Music and Art of China
- Neolithic Period in China
- Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127)
- Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386–581)
- The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Painting
- Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279)
- Tang Dynasty (618–907)
- Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)