8 Mysteries about Emperor Qin Shi Huang

For over two thousand years, historians have debated the true father of Qin Shi Huang. There are two main theories. One, based on some historical records, claims he was the illegitimate son of a merchant named Lü Buwei. The story says Lü Buwei presented a dancer, Zhao Ji, the mother of Qin Shi Huang, to King Zhuangxiang of Qin while she was already pregnant with his child, hoping his own son would one day inherit the throne and help him gain power secretly. The more widely accepted and logical theory is that Qin Shi Huang was the biological son of King Zhuangxiang. 
 

Historical descriptions of Qin Shi Huang's appearance also vary. One account portrays him with an aquiline nose, narrow eyes, a protruding chest bone, and a raspy voice, suggesting that he may not have been good-looking and could have had a congenital condition called rickets. Another view argues that he must have been dignified and impressive. After all, his mother was a famous beauty, and his father had royal lineage, so he likely inherited good traits from them. Since ancient records from later dynasties might have wanted to paint the first emperor in a negative light, and leaders were often chosen for their capability and presence, it is more probable that Qin Shi Huang had the commanding appearance fitting for an emperor rather than an odd or ugly one.

As China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang had many concubines and children; records mention 23 sons and 10 daughters. However, there is no historical record of him ever appointing an official empress, which is highly unusual. Scholars believe this was likely due to the scandal involving his mother, Zhao Ji. Her affairs with Lü Buwei and the fake eunuch Lao Ai, which led to a rebellion, made him deeply distrustful of women. By not having an empress, he prevented power struggles within the inner court and further centralized authority. Archaeological findings also show that his mausoleum complex has no separate tomb area for an empress. While some suggest that records related to an empress were lost in the wars during the late period of the Qin Dynasty (221 - 207 BC), this seems less likely. If he had ever appointed an empress, then even if the historical records were destroyed, it is highly unlikely that none of them would have survived. In comparison, not appointing an empress fits much better with his style of ruling, which focused on centralizing authority and controlling everything.
 

After conquering the other six major states and unifying China, Qin Shi Huang left the small State of Wei alone. It wasn't abolished until the reign of his successor, the Second Emperor of Qin. Why did he spare it? There are different explanations. One popular but unlikely story is that he did so out of gratitude, because two important figures who helped build Qin's power, Shang Yang and Lü Buwei, were originally from Wei. However, given his known ruthless reputation, this is unlikely. A more practical reason lies in his policy for managing newly conquered territories. To integrate remote southern tribes peacefully, he would grant their chiefs the title of "Lord" and allow them some self-rule under Qin's overall authority. Keeping the State of Wei intact in the central plains served as a perfect model or example of this policy, demonstrating to other regions the benefits of submission and helping to stabilize the new empire. In fact, Wei was already a weak vassal state, so letting it exist was more of a symbolic political move.
 

After unifying China, Qin Shi Huang ordered all weapons from the conquered states melted down and cast into twelve enormous bronze statues in the capital, which were then placed in the palace. His main goals were clear: first, to remove the weapons of rebellion from the people to reduce the risk of uprising; second, to use these grand, exquisitely crafted statues as powerful symbols of the Qin Dynasty's strength and his supreme authority. 

However, these colossal statues later disappeared. What happened to them? One theory says they were destroyed in the fires when rebels sacked the Qin capital at the end of the dynasty. But bronze has a high melting point, and such fires would likely have left fragments, which archaeologists have never found. Another historical account states that during the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD - 220 AD), a ruthless minister ordered most of them melted down to mint coins to solve a financial crisis. Another possibility is that they were used as burial objects in Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum, but since the tomb is unexcavated, there's no evidence for this.

The alleged "burying scholars alive" stands as a stark example of Qin Shi Huang's notorious cruelty. However, this phrase may be historically misleading. According to primary historical sources, the emperor was obsessed with finding the secret to immortality and was repeatedly deceived by alchemists. Enraged by their tricks, he ordered the execution of these fraudsters and their associates. While some of these people might have also been Confucian scholars, the main target was the group of deceivers, not scholars as a whole. Later Confucian historians, who strongly disliked Qin Shi Huang for his policies against Confucianism, likely exaggerated the story over time, transforming the "execution of alchemists" into the more general and infamous "burying of Confucian scholars alive". 
 

The exact cause of Qin Shi Huang's death remains uncertain. Historical texts say he fell ill and died during his final inspection tour, but several theories exist about what happened. 

The first is exhaustion and illness: he worked extremely hard, handling all government affairs personally, and took several long, difficult tours across the country. This grueling pace likely wore down his health, leading to a fatal illness. The second is poisoning from long-term use of elixirs of immortality: desperate for eternal life, he regularly consumed immortality pills made by alchemists. Unfortunately, long-term use of these pills, which contained toxic metals, would have caused chronic poisoning, severely damaging his organs and leading to his death. The third is assassination: some believe his youngest son, Hu Hai, and the powerful eunuch Zhao Gao conspired to kill him when he fell sick, seizing power by forging an imperial decree, but this lacks solid evidence. Considering his known habits, the most plausible explanation is that his health, already weakened by years of ingesting toxic pills, failed under the physical strain of his final journey.
 

Bronze Chariot and Horses for Inspection Tour

Side View of the Bronze Chariot and Horses

It is almost universally accepted that Qin Shi Huang was buried in the grand mausoleum built for him, located in the present-day Lintong District, Xi'an City. However, an alternative theory suggests that he might have been buried in a hurry in or near Xingtai City in Hebei Province, where he died during his tour in midsummer, as preserving his body for the long journey back to the capital would have been very difficult. Nevertheless, this lacks reliable historical or archaeological evidence. Considering the immense effort put into building his tomb complex over decades, the strict state rituals of the time, and the need for a proper succession ceremony, it is far more possible that his officials would have done everything possible to preserve and transport his body back to the capital, Xianyang, for burial in the prepared, magnificent mausoleum we know today.          
 

Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang

Stone Tablet in Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum

Further Reading:

• Who Built the Terracotta Army?
• Why was the Terracotta Army Built?
• Who's the Real Owner of the Terracotta Army?
• 10 Mysteries about Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum 
• 10 Facts about Emperor Qin Shi Huang You May Not Know
• Why Does Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Remain Unexcavated?
• What is the Terracotta Army? 10 Things You should Know