The thousand-year-old family began with King Wu's conquest of King Zhou.

Chapter 48 Southern Expedition against Yue, Northern Strike against the Xiongnu

King Zheng of Qin, who had already unified the country, felt that the existing titles were insufficient to demonstrate his authority, so he ordered his ministers to discuss new titles.

After some discussion, Chancellor Wang Wan, Grand Secretary Feng Jie, and Chief Justice Li Si, among others, believed that King Zheng of Qin had "raised righteous troops, punished the wicked and rebelled, and pacified the world," achievements "unprecedented since ancient times, surpassing even the Five Emperors." They cited traditional honorifics, saying, "In ancient times there were Heavenly Emperors, Earthly Emperors, and Supreme Emperors, with the Supreme Emperor being the most noble," and suggested that King Zheng adopt the title "Supreme Emperor." However, Qin Shi Huang was not satisfied with this. He only adopted the character "Huang" (皇), and because of the saying "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors," he added the character "Di" (帝) below "Huang," creating the new title "Emperor" (皇帝) for himself.

Ying Zheng proclaimed himself "First Emperor," and he decreed that after his death, when the throne passed to his descendants, their successors would be called Second Emperor, Third Emperor, and so on, for ten thousand generations. Qin Shi Huang dreamed that the throne would be inherited by his family forever, "passed down without end." To sanctify the emperor's status, Qin Shi Huang adopted a series of measures to "honor the ruler":

1. Abolish the system of posthumous titles. The system of posthumous titles originated in the early Zhou Dynasty and was a system of bestowing evaluative titles upon a ruler after his death, based on his life's achievements. However, Qin Shi Huang believed that such "sons commenting on their fathers, and subjects commenting on their rulers" was outrageous and meaningless. He declared the abolition of the system of posthumous titles, forbidding future generations of officials from evaluating him.

2. The emperor referred to himself as "朕" (Zhen). The word "朕" has the same meaning as "I" and was previously used by ordinary people as well, but Qin Shi Huang restricted it to only the emperor. The emperor's orders were called "制" (Zhi) or "诏" (Zhao) (the orders were called "制" and the decrees were called "诏," because the two had different effects).

3. The emperor's name must not be mentioned in the text; it must be avoided. Whenever the words "emperor" or "first emperor" appear in the document, they must be written on a new line, flush left.

4. Only large seals carved from jade and used exclusively by the emperor could be called "玺" (xi).

These regulations aimed to highlight the emperor's special status, emphasize his distinction from others, and strengthen the mystique of imperial power in people's minds. Qin Shi Huang envisioned using these measures to ensure his throne would last for millennia among his descendants.

He then rejected the ministers' proposal to grant fiefdoms and establish a system where feudal lords served Qin. Instead, he adopted the prefecture-county system first proposed by the Liang state and made improvements based on it.

Local administrative institutions are divided into two levels: prefectures and counties. The main officials of prefectures and counties are appointed and dismissed by the central government.

The central government was headed by the positions of Chancellor, Grand Commandant, and Grand Censor. The Chancellor, with two officials (left and right), was the head of all officials and in charge of political affairs. The Grand Commandant was in charge of military affairs and was not a permanent position. The Grand Censor was the Chancellor's deputy, in charge of records and secretarial documents, and oversaw all officials.

Below the Chancellor, Grand Commandant, and Grand Censor were various ministers in charge of specific administrative affairs. Among them were the Palace Attendant in charge of palace gates and inner palaces; the Commandant of the Guards in charge of palace gates and garrison troops; the Commandant of the Capital Region in charge of the capital's security; the Minister of Justice in charge of punishments; the Minister of Grain in charge of grain and goods; the Minister of the Imperial Household in charge of taxes from mountains, seas, ponds, and lakes, as well as the government's handicrafts for supplying the imperial family; the Minister of Works in charge of palace construction; the Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of domestic and ethnic affairs and foreign affairs; the Minister of Ceremonies in charge of ancestral temple rituals; the Minister of the Imperial Clan in charge of the imperial register; and the Grand Master of the Palace Attendants in charge of carriages and horses. The Chancellor, Grand Commandant, and Grand Censor discussed administrative affairs with these ministers, and the emperor made the final decisions.

In addition to these, there were some other important official positions, such as the Doctor—"in charge of ancient and modern history," meaning someone who was knowledgeable about history to consult the emperor and was also responsible for book collection; the Director of the State—similar to the Director of the Guest House, who was in charge of minority affairs, but the difference was that the Director of the Guest House was in charge of relations with minority groups who were friendly with Qin, while the Director of the State was in charge of minority groups who had surrendered to Qin; and the Grand Master of Ceremonies—who managed the affairs of the empress and the crown prince.

Local prefectures and counties were headed by governors, military commanders, and supervisors (censors). The governor was in charge of governing his prefecture. The military commander assisted the governor and was in charge of military affairs. The supervisor was in charge of oversight. Qin Shi Huang divided the empire into thirty-six prefectures, and later added more, bringing the total to forty-one.

Counties with more than 10,000 households were headed by a magistrate (县令), while those with fewer than 10,000 households were headed by a chief (县长). The magistrate and chief were subordinate to the assistant magistrate (县丞), the county commandant (县尉), and other officials. The magistrate and chief were primarily responsible for administrative affairs, the county commandant was in charge of military affairs, and the assistant magistrate was in charge of judicial matters.

Townships were established below the county level, and their main functions were fourfold: 1. to impose corvée labor; 2. to collect land taxes; 3. to investigate and verify the facts of cases involving defendants in their respective townships; and 4. to participate in the safekeeping of grain in state warehouses.

The village was staffed with three elders in charge of education, a tax collector in charge of litigation and taxation, and a patrol officer in charge of maintaining order.

In rural areas, the village (里) was the most basic administrative unit. Each village had a village head (里典), later known as the village chief (里正) or village leader (里魁), who was a powerful figure known as a "local strongman" (豪帅). Within the village, a strict system of ten or five households was established to facilitate the allocation of corvée labor and the collection of taxes.

It stipulated mutual supervision and reporting of wrongdoing, with all neighbors implicated if one person committed a crime. In addition, there were specialized agencies called "ting" (亭) to manage public order and combat theft, each headed by a ting chief. Besides primarily managing public order, the ting were also responsible for receiving visiting officials and managing government supplies, procurement, and delivery. The distance between two ting was approximately ten li (about 5 kilometers).

Counties with more than 10,000 households were headed by a magistrate (县令), while those with fewer than 10,000 households were headed by a chief (县长). The magistrate and chief were subordinate to the assistant magistrate (县丞), the county commandant (县尉), and other officials. The magistrate and chief were primarily responsible for administrative affairs, the county commandant for military matters, and the assistant magistrate for judicial matters. Below the county level were townships (乡), whose main functions were fourfold: 1. apportioning corvée labor; 2. collecting land taxes; 3. investigating cases involving defendants within the township; and 4. participating in the safekeeping of grain in the national granaries. Townships were headed by three elders (三老) responsible for education, a tax collector (瑟夫) responsible for litigation and taxation, and a patrolman (游龍) responsible for maintaining order. Below the township level were villages (里), the most basic administrative units. Each village had a village head (里典), later called a village chief (里正) or village leader (里魁), usually a powerful figure. Villages were organized into strict ten- and five-household registration systems to facilitate the allocation of corvée labor and the collection of taxes. Mutual reporting and accusations of wrongdoing were mandated, with the entire neighborhood implicated if one person committed a crime. In addition, there were specialized agencies for maintaining order and preventing theft, called pavilions (亭), ​​headed by a pavilion chief (亭长). Besides its primary function of maintaining order, the pavilion was also responsible for receiving visiting officials and managing government affairs such as supplying, procuring, and delivering documents. The two pavilions were about ten li apart.

After completing the unification of the Central Plains, Ying Zheng set about formulating a strategy to attack the Xiongnu in the north and pacify the Baiyue in the south.

After a series of preparations, in 218 BC, Ying Zheng ordered General Tu Sui and Zhao Tuo to lead an army of 50 to launch a war to conquer the Yue people in Lingnan. The Qin army was divided into five routes, marching through Yuecheng Ridge, Jiuyi Mountain, and Nankang and Yugan, among other places, towards the Yue people in Lingnan.

Among them, the Qin army that captured Panyu was the fastest. They passed through the Jiuyi Fortress, went down the Beijiang River, and occupied Panyu.

The two armies that attacked the Yue people were able to launch surprise attacks on the Qin army at night because the Yue people were familiar with the terrain and were good at traversing mountains and rivers. This caused the Qin army a great deal of trouble.

The Yue people initially won a victory, but the Qin army's supply lines were cut off, leading to insufficient supplies. Tu Sui, one of the commanders, was also killed. Food shortages, the killing of the commander, and the casualties of hundreds of thousands of Qin soldiers plunged the war into a stalemate, which lasted for three years.

In order to reverse the situation of insufficient troops and difficulties in supplying food, in 217 BC, Qin Shi Huang ordered the imperial censor Shi Lu to dig the Lingqu Canal to connect the Xiang River and the Li River.

The Lingqu Canal was only 34 kilometers long, and the amount of labor involved in the project was not large, so the Qin army completed it quickly.

The Lingqu Canal connected the Xiang River and the Pearl River system, enabling the Qin army to transport its provisions and supplies to Lingnan in a continuous stream, providing a reliable material guarantee for Qin Shi Huang to complete the unification of Lingnan.

In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang ordered Ren Xiao and Zhao Tuo to launch another attack on the Baiyue tribes. The Qin army swept through the region and quickly defeated the resistance of the Xiou people in what is now Guangxi and the Luoyue people in central and northern Vietnam. The entire Lingnan region was thus incorporated into the Qin Dynasty's territory.

To maintain stability in Lingnan, Qin Shi Huang ordered the soldiers who marched into Lingnan to remain and garrison the area. In addition, a large number of people were migrated from the Central Plains to Lingnan. Of the soldiers and migrants who remained, most married women from Yue (Guo ethnicity), with the exception of a few who married women from the Central Plains.

In the thirty-third and thirty-fourth years of Qin Shi Huang's reign (214 BC - 213 BC), Qin Shi Huang dispatched General Meng Tian to lead an army to attack the Xiongnu in the north, launching a large-scale offensive.

Meanwhile, the Xiongnu in the north were also growing stronger.

During the Warring States period, the Xiongnu, who lived in the north, had already entered a slave society. At that time, the states in the Central Plains were busy with wars and had no time to look north. The Xiongnu frequently raided the northern border areas of the three neighboring states of Qin, Zhao, and Yan.

After Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, in order to eliminate the threat posed by the Xiongnu to Qin, he ordered Meng Tian to lead an army of 30 to attack the Xiongnu in the north.

In the spring of the thirty-third year, Meng Tian led the main force from Shangjun (whose capital was Fushi, south of present-day Yulin City, Shaanxi Province) north out of the Great Wall to attack the east; Yang Wengzi led a detachment from Xiaoguan (southeast of Guyuan, Ningxia) out of the Great Wall to attack the west, and the Xiongnu were defeated and fled.

Qin then seized the Henan region (south of the Wujia River in Inner Mongolia and the Yikezhao League) and established 44 counties along the river, relocating people to cultivate and govern the area.

Because of the constant attacks by the Xiongnu, in the autumn of the following year, Qin Shi Huang ordered Meng Tian's army to cross the Yellow River again to the north, capture Gaoque (Jilan Pass in the middle of Langshan in Inner Mongolia), and conquer Yangshan (Langshan and Yinshan in the north of Wujia River in Inner Mongolia) and Beijia (the area south of Wujia River with mountains and rivers).

The Xiongnu were no match for the enemy and migrated north.

To consolidate the Henan region, Qin established Jiuyuan Commandery (its capital was Jiuyuan, northwest of Baotou City, Inner Mongolia). To prevent the Xiongnu from moving south, Meng Tian was ordered to conscript a large number of laborers to build the Great Wall, stretching from Lintao (Minxian County, Gansu) in the west to Liaodong in the east, based on the existing walls of Yan, Zhao, and Qin.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Qin territory: Ba Commandery, Shu Commandery, Longxi Commandery, Beidi Commandery;

Zhao territory: Taiyuan Commandery, Yunzhong Commandery, Handan Commandery, Julu Commandery, Yanmen Commandery, Dai Commandery, Changshan Commandery;

Wei territory: Shangjun, Hedongjun, Dongjun, Dangjun, Henanjun;

Han territory: Samcheon Commandery, Sangdang Commandery, Yeongcheon Commandery;

The lands of Chu and Yue: Hanzhong Commandery, Nan Commandery, Qianzhong Commandery, Nanyang Commandery, Chen Commandery, Xue Commandery, Sishui Commandery, Jiujiang Commandery, Kuaiji Commandery, Changsha Commandery, Hengshan Commandery;

Qi region: Donghai Commandery, Qi Commandery, Langya Commandery, Jiaodong Commandery, Jibei Commandery;

Yan region: Guangyang Commandery, Shanggu Commandery, Yuyang Commandery, Youbeiping Commandery, Liaoxi Commandery, Liaodong Commandery;

The former territory of Nanyue: Minzhong Commandery, Nanhai Commandery, Guilin Commandery, Xiang Commandery;

Former territory of the Xiongnu: Jiuyuan Commandery.