Episode #110- Who Was The First Emperor of China? (Part I)

Our Fake History

PodcastOne

History, Education, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2020

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you were going to make a list of the most historically influential people to have have ever lived, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, should probably be in the top 10. In the mid 2nd century BC, the ruler of the State of Qin embarked on series of conquests that would unite China after centuries of discord. But despite this impressive achievement, the first emperor has been saddled with a particularly nasty historical reputation. Even the ancient Chinese historians did not remember him fondly. Does he really deserve this vicious reputation, or has he been the victim of fake history? Tune-in and find out how a scheming merchant, a castrated historian, and 8000 clay soldiers all play a role in the story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 1974, the Chinese province of Shang-Zi was in the grips of a devastating drought.
0:15.0	Most years, the countryside would be fed by streams flowing from the nearby Mount Li.
0:20.6	It was an area known for lush orchids of pomegranate and persimmon, but not in 1974.
0:28.5	The land was parched and the local farmers started to worry that if rain didn't come soon,
0:34.6	this summer drought might give way to a winter famine.
0:39.3	So six brothers decided that they best dig a new well.
0:44.6	These were the Yang brothers, six unassuming farmers who were about to become the accidental
0:51.2	discoverers of one of the most significant archaeological finds in history.
0:58.7	The brothers picked a spot on a nearby ridge that seemed likely to have some water, and
1:04.5	they said about digging a pretty sizable hole.
1:08.2	This was going to be a big well, and the brothers knew that they were going to have to dig
1:12.6	deep.
1:13.6	So, it was decided that the hole should be four meters across.
1:19.5	The brothers got digging.
1:22.5	After hours of work, the Yang brothers were suddenly stopped short by something very heavy
1:29.2	and seemingly metallic.
1:32.0	One of the Yang brothers would even see Sparks fly as he hit this obstruction with his
1:36.8	spade.
1:38.8	Perhaps this was some ancient kiln.
1:42.2	It wouldn't be out of the question.
1:43.8	People found ancient baked bricks in this area all the time.
1:48.5	Either way, the Yang brothers were not overly sentimental about this find.
	...

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