Name of your empire: Chinese Empire, Qin Dynasty.
Founder of your empire: Qin dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang, who is shown in the figure image below.
Reasons why the empire was established
Qin Shin Huang focused on improving the political power and the economy of Qin. Therefore, the significant reasons why the empire was established involved developing a state that had a stable economy, unified political power, and a strong military.
The period your empire existed
Qin Shi Huang was the first dynasty of imperial China, and it existed from 221 to 206 B.C. Nonetheless, the Qin dynasty had cultural impacts on other dynasties, such as the Han dynasty, which followed after its end.
When was the empire at its largest extent (attach a map with reference)
During the Qin dynasty, the Chinese empire’s territory was considered mainly, and it expanded significantly. The population also increased, and Qin Shi ensured that an integrated national economy was established (Yang-jiu 2). Although the kingdom existed for some years, its most considerable extent was its engineering of the Great Wall of China for defense. The map below shows the Qin’s ruling area map and the great wall.
Areas (countries, nationalities) your empire ruled
The Qin dynasty ruled in China, and the significant areas that the Qin leaders engulfed were the six Warring states. These areas were Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei. Qin dynasty ruled these areas since it eventually grew to be the strongest, and the other states had to surrender.
How many languages were spoken in your empire? Give some examples?
Li Si is one of the Qin dynasty leaders who focused on standardization of the currency, weights, measures, writing styles, and languages (Li 10). Consequently, old Chinese was the language spoken in the Qin dynasty.
Did religious freedom exist? Give examples of religions/cultures that existed within it.
Religious freedom did not exist during the Qin dynasty since some spiritual works were prohibited. Qin Shi Huangti banned some religious practices and destroyed other faiths’ pieces (Zhang, 159). However, the dominant belief during the Qin dynasty’s reign was the Chinese folk religion (Yang-jiu 2). Cultures that existed within it involved farming, which was almost universally common (Jichun and Xiaocong 1). Heredity was also common, whereby professions were inherited.
Did slavery exist in your empire?
Slavery existed during the Qin dynasty, whereby enslaving families was a form of punishment. Furthermore, during the Qin empire, China’s captivity started increasing since slaves constructed buildings, roads, and work in various infrastructure programs (Van Dinh 81). Thus, slave labor was primarily used to develop the empire.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jichun, Yong, and Zhou Xiaocong. “On Economic Development of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in the Early Qin Dynasty.” Agricultural Archaeology, 2018, p. 1.
Li, Kin Sum Sammy. “Attaining Accuracy and Precision of Measuring Containers During the Qin Dynasty.” Journal of Chinese History, 2020, pp.1-22.
Van Dinh, Trinh. “Infrastructure Construction as Empire Consolidation in Chinese History.” Critical Reflections on China’s Belt & Road Initiative. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, pp. 81-93.
Yang-jiu, S. H. I. “An interpretation of the Implications of “De” in the Pre-Qin Dynasty: A Case Study of Zhoushu in Shangshu.” Journal of Yunnan University, 2017, pp. 2.
Zhang, Jinfan. “The Legal System of Qin Dynasty with “Laws Made in Every Field”.” The History of Chinese Legal Civilization. Springer, 2020, pp.157-247.