Qin Dynasty

Background Info

Religion

Communications and Writing

Websites used

Lasted from 221 BC to 206 BC

Began when King
Zheng from Qin state
conquered all of china

China was previously a few separate states

Was not only done through war, but also through persuasion

Fun Fact- King Zheng was only 12-13 years old when he ascended to the throne

made his name “始皇帝”, which means first or beginning emperor

Ended after Zi Yin surrendered to Liu Bang and was executed shortly after

3 Emperors

Qin Er Shi

Qin Shi Huang

Qin Zi Ying

Photos used

Believed in Shen (roughly translated into 'spirit' or 'gods')

Rituals were conducted to ensure the dead journeyed and stayed in the 'other realm' and to receive blessings from the gods

Religious Practices were held in Shrines and Sacred Areas, which contained sacrificial altars

Senses of participants were covered by smoke, music and incense

lead sacrificer would fast and meditate before a ritual to further blur their senses and increase the likelihood of experiencing otherworld phenomenons

Other participants would undergo similar preparations, though not as rigorously.

Divination was another kind of religious practice

Offered animal sacrifices to contact the world of their gods

The dead were have said to just have moved from one world to another

Was used to predict the future or influence the future

A common practice was cracking turtle shells or bones to gain knowledge of the future

Forms of divination sprung up during early imperial china, and were very diverse, though observing natural phenomena was quite common

Comets, eclipses and draughts were considered omens of things to come

Logographic Writing was used

Li Si (Calligrapher, Philosopher, and Prime Minister in the Qin Dynasty) standardized the writing system to be a uniform size and shape across the whole country

Credited with creating the 'lesser-seal' form of calligraphy which set the path for how chinese writing evolved over the years

It is still used in some cards, writing etc. even today

Previous writing was quite pictographic, lesser so after 'lesser-seal' writing was created

symbols represented concepts themselves, not pictures or appearance

Made much more of a dramatic impression of readers because instead of just looking at pictures, you're absorbing concepts directly as you read.