404 empires and dynasties: Asia and the Pacific N The Shang Dynasty dominated ancient China between 1500 and 1045 b.c.e CHINA’S QIN DYNASTY One of history’s most remarkable people is the emperor Zheng (r 221–210 b.c.e.), who ruled the Qin province from 246 b.c.e in the west of the Zhou empire Public works projects, such as irrigation systems, by Zheng’s father and grandfather had enabled Qin to have a thriving economy, which could feed and equip a large army They had dispensed with the tradition of using heredity to appoint public officials, instead using merit This meant that they had an army run by able men who were often commoners who had risen through the ranks because of their accomplishments Clever and ruthless, Zheng defeated the other provinces in battle In 246 b.c.e he declared himself Qin Shi Huangdi He chose “Huangdi” to tie himself to the mythical first king and also because huang outranked wang, because by then it meant “emperor,” and di meant that he had the divine right to rule Shi meant he was the “first” emperor of China He ordered the destruction of historical records so that all history would begin with him as well as to eliminate what he thought was the corrupting influence of past governments He had about 40,000 Confucian scholars buried alive to prevent their teaching about the past He imposed the legalist philosophy of government, under which every aspect of life was governed by laws, and punishment was severe When he died in 210 b.c.e his government began to collapse So loathed were Qin Shi