Portrait: AI-generated imagined likeness
Politician · Philosopher · Writer
Prime Minister of Qin. He promoted centralization based on legal ideology and supported Qin Qin's unification of China. He is an expert on the unified state and bureaucracy of ancient China.
View in catalogChu
Birth
Xianyang
Work
Qin unification of China
221 BC
Political event · Leader
Legalist government
221 BC–208 BC
Political event · Leader
Map: Natural Earth (PD)
It is said that he was born in Chu during the Warring States period and studied under Xunzi. He lived in an era in which talented samurai served in powerful countries in highly competitive countries.
He became the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty and supported the county and prefecture system, as well as the unification of weights and measures and writing. With a background of legalist ideology, he was involved in creating a system for a unified state with the emperor at the top.
While Yi Si contributed to the construction of a unified nation, he is also associated with book-burning, Confucianism, and court intrigue. It also shows the politicians who created the system getting caught up in a power struggle.
If you study Li Si, you will understand that the unification of Qin was not only a military conquest, but also an institutional reform that brought the laws, letters, and administrative divisions into line. This is important when considering the prototype of China's imperial system and bureaucracy. It can also be used for comparison with surrounding areas from the same era.
