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.