Qin Shi Huang

259 BCE – 210 BCE · died at about 49^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Qin Shi Huang

• Qin Shi Huang's tomb has never been opened. The historian Sima Qian described it with 100 rivers made of mercury and crossbows rigged to shoot anyone who tried to break in.^[1]
• The Terracotta Army guarding the First Emperor was found by farmers digging wells in 1974. The historian Sima Qian never mentioned it.^[1]
• Qin Shi Huang invented the title huangdi, or emperor, instead of calling himself king. Chinese rulers used it for the next two thousand years.^[1]
• Obsessed with immortality, Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu with hundreds of young men and women to find a magical mountain. They never returned, and legend says they reached Japan.^[1]
• When the assassin Jing Ke pulled a dagger hidden in a map, the future emperor struggled to draw his own sword, since no courtiers were allowed to carry arms in his presence.^[1]
• Qin Shi Huang standardized weights, measures, coins, and even the length of wagon axles, and unified the forms of Chinese characters across the empire.^[1]
• Qin Shi Huang was alive at the same time as Archimedes — their lives overlapped for 47 years (259 BCE–212 BCE).^[1][2][3][4]
• Qin Shi Huang lived to about 49, from 259 BCE until 210 BCE.^[1][2]

Qin Shi Huang was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He invented the title huángdì rather than reuse the existing title for "king" ; the new title was used by monarchs in China and other countries for the next two millennia.^[1]

Contemporaries

Archimedes

47 yr overlap

Hannibal

37 yr overlap

Ashoka

27 yr overlap

Questions About Qin Shi Huang

When was Qin Shi Huang born?

Qin Shi Huang was born in 259 BCE and died in 210 BCE.

How old was Qin Shi Huang at death?

Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BCE at about 49 years old (259 BCE–210 BCE).

What was Qin Shi Huang known for?

Qin Shi Huang was known for: First emperor of a unified China. Qin Shi Huang was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He invented the title huángdì rather than reuse the existing title for "king" ; the new title was used by monarchs in China and other countries for the next two millennia.

Who was alive at the same time as Qin Shi Huang?

Qin Shi Huang's closest contemporary was Archimedes. Their lives overlapped for 47 years.