China

Leaders

• Qin Shi Huang

Middle Kingdom

• Starts the game knowing Astrology.
• +2 in Cities connected to your Capital

Qin Shi Huang

Each copy you ship them, by caravan or trade deal, raises their mood towards you by 2 (up to 6).

Biography

Qin Shi Huang (c. 259 BCE – 210 BCE) was the first emperor of a unified China and the founder of the Qin Dynasty. He ascended the throne at the age of 13 and by the age of 38, he successfully conquered the other six warring states and declared for himself the Mandate of Heaven and sole rulership over an imperial China. The rest of his reign was spent in unifying the new empire by standardizing weight and measures, establishing one currency system and starting construction on what would become the Great Wall of China. However, the emperor was also notorious for burning books and executing scholars to suppress dissent. Assassination attempts and rebellions only fueled his paranoia and by the end of his reign, the Emperor had become obsessed with immortality, commissioning his own tomb, guarded by the famous Terracotta Army, and seeking out the fabled Elixir of Life. Ironically, it was this pursuit that killed him. He died by poison after drinking a fake immortality potion. Though the Qin dynasty fell almost immediately after his death, Qin Shi Huang is credited with uniting China and paving the way for an imperial rule that lasted into the early 20th century.