Death of Qin Shi Huang and the Qin Collapse
Qin Shi Huang spent his final years obsessed with immortality, consuming mercury-laced pills prescribed by court alchemists that likely hastened rather than delayed his death in 210 BCE during an inspection tour of the eastern provinces. He was buried in a vast mausoleum near Xianyang guarded by the now-famous Terracotta Army — thousands of individually sculpted life-size soldiers, chariots, and horses, undiscovered until 1974. Chancellor Li Si and eunuch Zhao Gao concealed the emperor's death and forged a testament ordering the capable heir apparent, Fusu, to commit suicide, installing the pliable younger son Huhai as the Second Emperor instead. Huhai proved catastrophically weak, allowing Zhao Gao to seize effective control and continue the harsh conscription and taxation policies that had already exhausted the population. Rebellions erupted almost immediately: the Dazexiang Uprising of 209 BCE, led by conscripted labourers facing execution for a delay beyond their control, ignited widespread revolt. Former Chu general Xiang Yu and minor official Liu Bang emerged as the most successful rebel leaders. The Qin capital fell in 207 BCE; the dynasty that had unified China lasted barely fifteen years.
- Year: 210 BCE
- Category: Military
