Analysis on Records of the Grand Historian

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Analysis on Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known as Shiji, is a historical document written by Sima Quin, the first chief Chinese historian, around 94 BC. It records the history of China from the period of the renowned Yellow Emperor to the time of the author writing the book. The work covers 2,500 years of Chinese civilization's earliest years and is widely regarded as ingenious and authoritative. This essay will cover one of the primary themes in the Records of the Grand Historian: The destruction of tragic heroes and the rise of universal commoners at the founding of the imperial order. The paper will examine how the great Qin dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China, lost the favor of the people after years of oppressing the general populace with large-scale wars and ongoing construction projects until a common peasant succeeded in leading the whole empire in revolt and ending its dominion.
Sima Qian begins by giving an account of the progressive rise of the state of Qin and how it managed to wrest control of the various warring states from the powerless Zhou dynasty. The Qin state implemented swift conquests of the neighboring warring states so that over a lengthy interval of time, it had managed to expand its territory sufficiently enough to overthrow the previous rule and start a new imperial system. However, the strength of the Qin dynasty lay in its large-scale irrigational projects such as the Zheng Guo Canal, which ensured that increasingly large areas of land were irrigated with silt-laden water, thereby providing enough food for the people and even bringing great wealth to the state (Watson, 54). Qin state no longer suffered from famine because of its vast fertile fields that produce food throughout the year. With the ability to nourish an army and other states relying on its food security, Qin became rich and powerful and was capable of conquering all other feudal lords until it had succeeded at uniting the empire.
However, the First Emperor’s appetite for ambitious projects saw him begin on an idealistic attempt at colonizing neighboring states, something that had always remained a challenge among previous rulers in a bid to expand the country further. Before the Qin dynasty, the country had not known any peace in a long time owing to the constant wrangling among the feudal lords. When the king of Qin managed to unite all the warring states into one empire and declared himself the First Emperor, he razed the fortifications of the feudal lords and melted their weapons down to making bells in order to show the country that his reign would be one of peace (Watson 200). The people eagerly welcomed his emperorship, believing they would be spared the hardships of war and demands upon their labor. However, the First Emperor was bidding his time and his earlier vanity that had seen him supplant the Zhou dynasty returned. He desired to extend his might to other lands and broaden his empire by pushing the frontier. Shortly after ascending to the throne, the First Emperor set about raising a large army which he dispatched north to attack the barbarians in a bid to seize as much land as possible. He also sent a stream of porters to carry fo...