2,000-Year-Old Texts Reveal the First Emperor of Chinas Quest for Eternal Life
Qin Shihuang issued an executive order demanding that his subjects search for an immortality elixir
Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China, may not have discovered an elixir to life but he did achieve his own form of immortality through his teracotta army (Public Domain)
By Brigit Katz
smithsonian.com
December 29, 2017 3:01PM
Ying Zheng, who holds the seminal title of China’s first emperor, reportedly proclaimed that his dynasty would last “10,000 generations.” Apparently, Ying Zheng, who was born in 259 B.C. and declared himself Qin Shihuang or the first emperor of the Qin dynasty at age 38, wanted to be around long enough to see that prediction come true. According to the state news agency Xinhua, recent analysis of 2,000-year-old texts dating to the emperor’s rule reveals his obsessive quest for an elixir that would bring him eternal life.
The documents in question belong to a cache of some 36,000 wooden strips inscribed with ancient calligraphy, which were found in an abandoned well in a county in the western Hunan province in 2002. These wooden strips, commonly used as writing materials in ancient China, date from 259 B.C. to 210 B.C., a period that overlaps with the emperor’s rule; he unified China in 221 B.C. and maintained a firm grip on the throne until 210 B.C.
Zhang Chunlong, a researcher at the Hunan Institute of Archaeology, was studying 48 of the ancient strips when he discovered texts pertaining to an executive order issued by Qin Shihuang, demanding that his subjects search for an immortality elixir that would keep him alive forever. According to the BBC, the writings express “assorted awkward replies from regional governments who had failed to find the key to eternal life,” though officials in one area, Langya, did suggest that an herb from a local mountain might do the trick.
The documents are of particular interest to historians because, as Zhang tells Xinhua, they testify to the strength of Qin Shihuang’s leadership. “It required a highly efficient administration and strong executive force to pass down a government decree in ancient times when transportation and communication facilities were undeveloped,” Zhang explains.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/2000-year-old-texts-reveal-first-emperor-chinas-quest-eternal-life-180967671/#54S7cIm0eEoStxeH.99
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