Ep. 157 | The Rise and Fall of the Qin (Part 1)

In this first of three episodes Laszlo gives Qin Shihuang, the subject of the first ever China History Podcast episode, a total makeover.  The story begins with the early rise of the Qin State during the early Zhou Dynasty.  The critical dukes and kings of the Ying family who advanced the fortunes of the Qin State will be introduced and what they did during their reigns. Part 1 will begin with Qin’s earliest ancestors who received favor from the Zhou King for their loyalty to the dynasty. The episode will conclude with the great things done under the reign of Duke Xiao and his advisor Shang Yang.

Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Player

---

Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Anhui	安徽	Central China province
Ba	巴国	Ba State near Chongqing
Battle of Changping	长平之战	The bloody battle where the Qin demolished the Zhao 262-260 BCE
Bawang	霸王	A hegemon
Beidi	北狄	One of the four “barbarians”
chelie	车裂	death by being pulled apart by 5 chariots
Chengzhou	成周	Ancient name of Luoyang
Chu	楚国	Chu State near Hubei
Dongyi	东夷	One of the four “barbarians”
Duke Wen	秦文公	Qin ruler 765-716 BCE
Duke Xiang	秦襄公	Qin leader 777-766 BCE
Duke Xiao (Qin Xiao Gong)	秦孝公	He lived 381 to 338 BCE
Fan Sui	范睢	died 255 BCE, gave his king the strategy of yuanjiao jingong.
Gansu	甘肃	Western Province in China
Han Feizi	韩非子	lived from 280 to 236 BCE The man who made Legalism famous
Hebei	河北	North-central China province
Henan	河南	Central China province
Huaxia	华夏	Ancient core China early name
Hubei	湖北	Central China province
Ji Family	姬家族	The Zhou Dynasty ruling family
King Helü	阖闾	King of Wu 514-496 BCE
King Zhaoxiang	昭襄王	Qin leader, reined 306-251 BCE
Lintong, Shaanxi	陕西临潼	Town outside Xian where the terra cotta warriors were found
Linzi	临淄	just east of modern day Zibo
Liu Bang	刘邦	Han Dynasty founder
Luoyang	洛阳	Eastern capital of the Zhou Dynasty
Nanman	南蛮	One of the four “barbarians”
Pi	錍	A kind of ancient weapon similar to a dagger on a long stick
Puyi	溥仪	China’s Last Emperor
Qi	齐国	Qi State near Shandong
Qi Xiong	七雄	The final seven warring states
Qin Mu Gong	秦穆公	Qin Ruler 659-621 BCE
Qin Shi Huang	秦始皇	The first emperor of China, Qin Dynasty founder
Ren duo hao ban shi	人多好办事	When you have a lot of people to do the job, it’s much easier
Rong	戎	“Barbarian” people to the west and north of the core China
San Jia Fen Jìn	三家分晋	the Partition of Jin between 434 and 403 BCE
Shaanxi and Shanxi	陕西／山西	Neighboring provinces that almost sound the same
Shandong	山东	North eastern province of China
Shang	商朝	The Shang Dynasty
Shang Jun Shu	商君书	Also called The Shangzi 商子 credited to Shang Yang, the blueprint for Legalism and how to run the Qin State.
Shang Yang	商鞅	Great Qin statesman, helped make the Qin. 390-338 BCE
Shi	士	knight, scholar
Shiji	史记	The Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian
Shu	蜀国	Shu State near Chengdu
Si Yi	四夷	The “Four Barbarians”
Sima Qian	司马迁	China’s Herodotus
Song Dynasty	宋朝	The Song Dynasty
Taiyuan	太原	Capital of Shanxi
The Battle of Jìnyáng	金阳之战	Battle of Jinyang 455-453 BCE
Tianshui	天水	Gansu’s second largest city after Lanzhou
Wei River	渭河	One of the major tributaries of the Yellow River
Wu State	吴国	State around Suzhou-Wuxi area
Xia	夏朝	The Xia Dynasty, mythical they say it was…
Xian	西安	Capital of Shaanxi, one of China’s most ancient cities
Xiang Yu	项羽	The hegemon of Chu State, fought Liu Bang and lost. Featured in CHP episode 91
Y.K. Pao	包玉刚	Featured in CHP-124, HK tycoon and philanthropist
Yan	燕国	Yan State near Beijing
Ying	嬴	The surname of the Qin Kings and Dukes
Ying Zheng	嬴政	Qin Shihuang’s name
Ying Zhuangxiang	秦庄襄王	Qin Shihuang’s father
Yu the Great (Da Yu)	大禹	Xia Dynasty Founder
yuan jiao jin gong	远交近攻	Make allies of those far away in order to focus on defeating those who are nearby
Yue	越国	Yue State near Zhejiang
Zaixiang	宰相	chancellor or chief minister
Zhao	赵国	Zhao State in the Yellow River Valley
Zhi state	智国	The Zhi state, annihilated at the Battle of Jinyang
Zhongguo ren	中国人	A Chinese
Zhou	周朝	The Zhou Dynasty
Zhou King Ping	周平王	Zhou King 770-720
zhulian jiuzu	株连九族	a.k.a. the zuzhu 族诛 That meant when Shang Yang went down, so did his whole family: parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, uncles and uncle’s spouses…they all had to go

---

Enjoy the show and want to support the CHP?

Join the CHP Patreon

Make a Direct Donation

---