After centuries of war among the states of ancient China, the Qin conquered all others in just twenty-five years. Under the rule of Qin, China saw sweeping reforms and massive public works projects. Despite these achievements, the Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years. In this lesson, students read three documents to answer the question: What caused the fall of the Qin dynasty?
We thank Liheng Kong and Yingyin Ye at Guangzhou Institute of Educational Research for sharing their Chinese translation with us.
Image: Photo of a terracotta warrior from the First Emperor's tomb. From the Wikimedia Commons.