Qin Shihuang's reign

Qin Shihuang was born Ying Zheng in about 259 BC. As the sole king of Qin, Ying Zheng proved to be a tough ruler. He attacked the other warring states surrounding Qin, intent on bringing them all under his rule. One of Qin Shihuang's great reforms was to standardise written language, currency and weights and measures throughout his empire. The man who During his time as emperor, Qin Shihuang was as ruthless as he had been in attaining that title. He quashed any opposition by centralising the administration, forcing the nobility of the other states to move to his capital at Xianyang. He began building a city to match the magnificence of the empire he hoped would last 10,000years. He was also constantly concerned about barbarian invasions, plots and assassination attempts. To keep out the barbarians, he began building a defensive wass, the Great Wall. To foil plotters he executed all who showed the slightest opposition to him or his policies. To avert assassinations he kept a distance between himself and everyone around him, although there were three near-successful attempts to kill him. He also became obsessed with immortality and invited magicians to his court looking for a way to stay alive forever. Despite his efforts he died in 210 BC.