HSTAS 252: The Rise and Fall of the First Chinese Empire
How did a marginal frontier state become the first unified Chinese empire and why did that empire collapse after only fifteen years? This course introduces the dramatic rise and fall of Qin, the dynasty that created the model of centralized imperial government followed in China for more than two thousand years. Although the Qin empire itself lasted only from 221 to 207 BCE, it laid the institutional foundation and governing blueprint for much of later Chinese history, with legacies that continued to shape political culture, state power, and society even into the modern era. Studying Qin therefore offers a powerful way to understand Chinese civilization, the long history of imperial governance, and aspects of China’s modern path.
We will explore conquest, warfare, law, bureaucracy, rituals, rebellion, palace coup, and commoners' everyday life under empire, and Qin’s afterlives in film, television, video games, and modern historical imagination. No prior background of Chinese history or the Chinese language is required.
This class is designed to be engaging, accessible, and manageable. Readings will include short primary sources in translation, selections from modern scholarship, excavated legal and administrative documents, archaeological evidence, and popular materials such as Zhang Yimou’s movie, Hero. Class sessions will include discussion, debate, mock court activities, close reading exercises, and occasional extra-credit reading practice.
Assignments are varied and creative. There will be one map quiz (5%), one closed-book midterm with a note sheet allowed (25%), and one open-book final (25%). Students will also write three short papers of about 300–500 words each (15%), including a movie review and a legal judgment/court decision. The creative assignment is an optional AI project (15%) in which students design a historically informed conversation with a Qin dynasty figure, such as the First Emperor, or his ministers, a soldier, or a local official, and then critically evaluate what AI gets right and wrong about ancient history. Students have the option to choose to complete an oral interview instead of the AI project.
The goal of the course is not just to learn what happened in Qin history, but also to think about how historical narratives are made, received, and revised. Students will leave the course with a stronger understanding of empire, state power, historical evidence, Chinese civilization, and the continuing fascination with China’s First Emperor.