《General History of China》E91
The great cause of unification
The unification of China ended the melee between feudal lords during the Warring States Period and ushered in a new era of unification of the Chinese nation and state. This was Qin Shihuang's major historical contribution.Qin Shihuang implemented a policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce, which restored and developed agricultural production. He took measures that were conducive to national unification and political power consolidation, and established a centralized political power structure. This was the outstanding feature of a politician in the feudal era.
However, in order to stabilize his rule, he burned books and harassed Confucians, implemented ideological and cultural autocracy, was superstitious to Legalism, imposed severe punishments for minor crimes, formulated harsh criminal laws, and used unlimited civilian and material resources, which exceeded the limits of what people at the time could tolerate.It shows that Qin Shihuang was another tyrant who was self-reliant, autocratic and tyrannical. Qin Shihuang's tyranny led to Qin's rapid demise.
