China

People:  

Ying Sheng ​= Qin Shi Huangdi  = First Emperor of China

Li Su ​​= Prime Minister (name also spelled: Li Ssu, and Li Si) of the First Emperor

Lao Ai​​= Imposter Eunuch(!) and lover of First Emperor’s Mother?!

Lu Buwei​= Merchant and Friend of First Emperor’s father.  OR was the REAL dad of the

First Emperor! (What!?)

​​

IDs:  Qin [country]​​Terra Cotta Army​Mausoleum       Legalism  [vs. Confucianism]

 

 

1. Name a surprising thing about the legend of the burial place of First Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi?

 

2. What was the 1974 architectural discovery in China? Why was it a key point in history?

 

3. What event occurred in 247 BC in Xianyang that brought the future emperor (also known as Ying Sheng) to power?

 

4. How was Li Su introduced to Ying Sheng (the future First Emperor)?

 

5. What did Li Su encourage Ying Sheng to do in a private meeting?

 

T   F   6.  Prisoners of War were treated with mercy, if they promised to be loyal to the emperor

and join his army.  (Smart way to grow the army)

 

T   F​7.  The terra cotta soldiers are made of separate pieces (like a puzzle), each having

different faces, and all are painted, originally.

 

8. What have the archaeologists determined about the weapons of the Qin army?

 

9.  Why was Lao Ai, the Queen’s lover, a particular threat to Ying Sheng?  (Wait, what is strange about the Eunuch Lao Ai [ remember a Eunuch = a male with their genitals entirely cut off and a straw left for urinating]?

 

10. Why was Ying Sheng particularly angry with Lu Buwei, the Prime Minister? [Lu Buwei might have been his REAL dad, not the king!  This Queen mom seems busy…]

 

 

11. What happened to Lao Ai and his sons after his attempted government takeover failed?

 

12. What happened to Lu Buwei? (his real dad)

 

13.  What does the diplomat of the kingdom of Yen hide in a map as a “gift” to be given to the Emperor Qin?  

 

14. Why does no one in the bodyguard rush in to help the Emperor when someone tries to stab him?  Who is allowed to have weapons in his presence?

 

15. Why did Shi Huangdi become more and more paranoid about the afterlife over time?

 

16. How did this paranoia lead him to order the construction of the Terra Cotta army? And leave empty suits of armor?

 

17. Why was the year 221 BC a key year for Qin history?

 

T   F   18. Li Su explained to the young emperor that chaos and warfare would end in China only

if power was be shared and delegated, not centralized under one person.

 

19. What is the term for the idea of total, centralized power developed in Qin government?  

A) Totalitarianism. B) Legalism.  C) Confucianism.  D) Taoism.

 

20. Who, specifically, was the Great Wall of China made to protect against?

 

T  F  21. Amazingly, the Great Wall of China was not built by forced labor or slavery, but instead the workers were well paid, and relatively few were injured since all was planned with meticulous care.

 

22.  Besides soldiers, what other things have been found in the Emperor’s tomb, so far?

 

23.  What, did Professor Riegel indicate was underneath the burial mound? (hint: possible rivers of ?)

 

24.  What did the research team determine about the size & shape of the tomb of Shi Huangdi?

 

25.  What substance (and activity) did Shi Huangdi’s physicians prescribe for longevity and to gain eternal life?

 

26. What happened to the Confucian scholars and their books?

 

27. What evidence from sources show that Shi Huangdi had virtually lost all touch with reality?And what was he hunting with a crossbow?

 

 

28.​How old was Shi Huangdi when he died?

 

T   F   29. In one last show of mercy, all the Emperor’s childless concubines (wives) were

allowed to go free and marrry again.

 

T   F  30.  Alchemists compete to give the Emperor the elixer of life that will make him immortal

– often this includes eating mercury.  

 

T   F  31.  The great tomb is supposed to have a giant lake of mercury within it – modern

archaeologists have actually found high traces of mercury in the soil.  

 

32.  What happened to the architects and builders of the tomb?

 

T   F​33)  In many ways, the Emperor’s emphasis on unity allowed the rulers of China during the

​following centuries to create an open and free society for the Chinese people – millennia

​before this was seen in the West.