Emperor Qin Unveils New Coin

Emperor Qin Unveils

New Coin

China Tribune

Written By: Far Dan

  Xianyang—Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di has decided to change China’s money system.  Qin thought it would be a great idea if everyone in China used the same money.  The old money China used to use was shells, just plain old seashells.  The coin was brownish-gold and made of bronze.  It had a square hole in the middle and there was something engraved in the side.

    Everyone in the palace thought the new coin idea was great.  The Prime minister agreed with everyone in the palace.  Prime minister Li Si told us, “The state of Qin is very powerful and our ruler [Qin] is full of great ideas and this is one of them.”

    Al though the people of the palace thought the new coin was a good idea, not everyone did.  Some citizens of China very much disagreed with the people of the palace.  A Chinese farmer told us, “I am very angry right now because I have all of this old, useless money and I have nothing to do with it.  It would be very helpful if the Emperor could tell us how to exchange the money.  I just hope there is an exchange.”

    All throughout China people are thinking differently of this new coin.  This type of thing will always happen with any new idea.  The people of China would like to know about a new idea.  They would love to know if a new idea is coming.

Brand New Coin Enters China

Brand New Coin Enters China

Emperor Qin has just standardized China.  Qin simplified our writing, weights, measures and coinage systems.  Some may say that these new systems may hurt China, but the benefit will out way the costs.  Simplifying China will help China no question.  This will make life easy on all kinds of people.  The Emperor has thought of a bright new idea to unify China through his new coin.

            Although people may have their own opinions, a lot of people like this new idea.  People who are connected to the palace love this idea.  We asked prime minister Li Si and he really liked this idea.  He told us, “I am a big traveler in China going with the emperor; I love getting to use one coin everywhere.”  There are people that are not connected to the palace who like this idea too.  Chinese merchants like the new coin also.  One traveler told us, “I like how the value of items is the same and it is easier to run my business.”

            China will be unified but you have to look at the downsides.  What are the people of China supposed to do with their old money?  Is there a way to exchange the old money?  Emperor Qin hasn’t answered any of these questions and the people demand answers.  Sure some people may say that it’s a “great idea” or “it is so easy” but some people may disagree.  No matter what idea Qin thinks of not everyone is going to agree and not everyone is going to disagree.  This is the best way to improve China.

            China should be looking for new and interesting ideas to improve it.  Emperor Qin should start looking for new ideas from the surrounding countries that are successful.  Emperor Qin should start encouraging his people to his new ideas.  If he did this, there would almost be no chance of the people rebelling.        

MAP

MAP

The map on the left shows the Qin Dynasty and the map on the right shows modern day China.  As you can see, modern day China is bigger than China during the Qin Dynasty.  The capital of modern day China is Beijing bur back then it was Xian yang.  China now and then both had a larger land area than coastal area.  That meant that there was more to do on land.  You could battle on land which is what China did a lot. The state of Qin was one piece with no islands which help it protect itself.    

    

Daily Life in China

Daily Life in China

   

    The life of the average Chinese person was very unique.  Emperor Qin set up a spy system where everyone tells on each other for breaking a law.  During the day you would be spying on someone or people would be spying on you.  Your life would be nowhere close to be living on the edge.  No one would try to be bad because they would get in trouble with the Emperor.

    Life now is a lot different than life back then.  Now, anyone who can afford land can own land.  It wasn’t like that back then.  According to Emperor Qin, nobles were not able to own land because they were not trustworthy.  Emperor Qin didn’t trust the nobles so they couldn’t own land.

    During the Qin dynasty, houses were set up in a connected way.  It was buildings that were connected with courtyards in the middle.  The courtyards could be used for relaxation or just a place for the children to play.    

                   

Invention: The Long Graveyard

Invention: The Long Graveyard

          During the Qin dynasty, Emperor Qin wanted to protect China.  He did this by building a wall.  This wall was called The Great Wall of China.  It took many workers to build this wall.  It also took many years to build.  It was built in 5 stages and it the largest structure ever built.  The wall stretches to over 6,000 meters.  In most areas it is 15-30 feet tall.  It stretched over China’s northern border. 

          This structure ended up getting a bad nickname.  The name was “The Long graveyard.”  The Great Wall got this name because it took many workers to build and a lot of them died.  They were not buried in the wall though.  If they were buried in the wall it would’ve been weakened.  The poor workers were buried in the area surrounding the wall.

          The wall was not built to just bury people.  The wall had a very good purpose.  The wall’s purpose was to protect China from the invaders coming from the north.  Most of these people were from Mongolia and Turkey.  The invaders were trying to kill China’s people and crops.  Qin did not like this so he thought of the idea to build a wall.  

        

Legalism: The Religion of the Qin Dynasty

Legalism: The Religion of the

Qin Dynasty

   During the Qin Dynasty, there was not a religion.  There was a belief system.  The system was known as Legalism.  The word Legalism simply means strict laws.  This Legalism was given out by the government’s laws.  The government’s laws were given out by Emperor Qin.  The people of China followed these laws.   

There were also different types of practices going on during the Qin dynasty.  People would try to get to the other world by praying to the spirits.  They did this praying at sacrificial alters.  These praying ceremonies took place in local shrines and sacred areas.  When this happened the senses of the witnesses would be dulled with incense.

    There was one more religion during the Qin Dynasty.  This wasn’t exactly a religion.  It was called Divination.  This was the religious practice of predicting or influencing the future.  Different types of Divination took place during the Qin Dynasty.  People thought that comets might be the next thing to come. 

            

The Interview: Prime Minister Li Si's Views

                                                                                         

 Prime Minister Li Si’s Views

Q: How do you feel about Confucian Scholars and how do you

think Emperor Qin thinks of them? 

A: Well, I am not really on a side about the Confucian scholars.  I am not a big fan of theirs but I would not kill one for no reason.

Emperor Qin hates those scholars.  He wishes they never lived.

Q: Why is China building this “Great Wall?”
A: I think that the Emperor wants to protect China by building this wall.  He wants to keep invaders coming in from the north and killing our crops and people.  I hope this works because if it does it will benefit China.

Q: What is your perspective of the Emperor’s tomb?
A: I think this is a great idea.  Building all of these warriors to the exact way they are in real life, I think it is pretty unbelievable.  Qin deserves this tomb because he is the best emperor of all time.

Q: What is your opinion on the Chinese farmers?
A: I love the farmers and I appreciate their work very much.  If these farmers didn’t do what they do now, my dinners would very different at night.  Ha!  I love vegetables and rice and I have them every day.

Q: How long do you think this dynasty will last?
A: I don’t see why this dynasty should ever end.  I also don’t see an end coming in the future.  This is a great dynasty with a great leader.