Okay

Well, Tawnia, you wanted me to post my essay, so here it is.

Emily

The Qin dynasty of China considered unified standardization to be among its greatest achievements. The reasoning for standardization could be because of the Legalist system, where the law and order are considered essential and fundamental principles. It may also have been the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi desired to exert his authority over everything, and this power was manifested through standardization.
“A new age is inaugurated by the Emperor; rules and measures are rectified,” it states at the top of a column listing the accomplishments of the emperor; its prominence shows that this was considered extremely important.[1] Tools, measurements, and the writing system were all “made uniform.”[2] Laws and customs were also defined, “leaving nothing to doubt, making known what is forbidden.”[3] The standardization would be the same throughout the entire empire, rather than each city having its own standard, laws, and measures for these would “come from one single source,” the emperor.[4] This would remind the people that the emperor was in control, for his influence would be felt in many aspects of their lives, revealing that it is possible that one of his greatest motives for standardization was personal power.
The standardization of laws and measurements was important for the Legalist system, for either a thing would be considered legal or it would not; there was no middle ground between the distinctions of “black and white.”[5] Therefore, everything had to be defined, and the standards made clear. No one, regardless of social standing, would be considered outside the law.[6] The practice of standardization was believed to bring order, justice, and harmony to the empire.[7]
Measurements and writing were not the only things the emperor desired to standardize. Qin also attempted to standardize thought. In 213 B.C.E., at the suggestion of Prime Minister Li Si, Qin ordered all books, except for the officially sanctioned historical records and “those dealing with medicine, divination, and agriculture” to be burned.[8] Those who read other books, in particular historical records, would form differing opinions, quarrel and argue in favor of their own philosophies, bring chaos and disorder, attempt to gain power, and “slander the laws and judge each new decree according to their own school of thought, opposing it secretly in their hearts.”[9] If the standardized law is considered the most important object, then those who speak against it are against the order of the empire; and arguing against decrees is an affront to the Legalist system. Qin might also not have wanted differing philosophies, because they would oppose him, taking away his power. He may have been accusing the scholars of slander and opposition to his reign in order to seize power.
Any who read, owned, or quoted the “ancient songs, historical records, or writings of the hundred schools” would be punished, and the punishments were clearly defined: Those who quoted the old records would be publicly executed, along with their families, and government officials who did not report such crimes would suffer the same fate.[10] It is interesting to note that the punishment would be extended to family members. This might have had two purposes. First, the Chinese family is a close unit, and so the ideology of one could be considered the ideology of all members of the family. It might also have terrorized those who might rebel, because they would be unwilling to risk their family’s survival for a philosophy. The harsh punishments show how important maintaining a single ideology and standard of thought was to the Legalists. Punishing the government officials who did not carry out this law would force them to obey the emperor and take away their power, granting more authority to the emperor.
Qin desired to be viewed as the greatest emperor in the history of China, with his accomplishments surpassing those of all other emperors.[11] He hoped to form a lasting peace. He believed that the system he was establishing would “endure for generations without end.”[12] This meant that the old history books would be obsolete. Also, if there were no other emperors that could be compared to Qin, no one would question that he was superior to them. His power would be absolute, and it would be shown through the standardization of measurements, writing, law, customs, and punishments.
[1] Sima Qian, “The Legalist Policies of the Qin,” Selections from The Records of the Grand Historian, online at Chinese Cultural Studies, htpp://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/ssuma2.html (April 15, 2005), paragraph 2.
[2] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 3.
[3] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 4.
[4] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 12.
[5] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 13.
[6] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 5.
[7] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 2.
[8] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 15.
[9] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 13.
[10] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 14.
[11] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 9.
[12] Sima, “Legalist Policies,” paragraph 12.