焚书坑儒 — “To burn books and bury scholars alive”

In 213 BC, Emperor Qin Shi Huang hosted a grand banquet at Xianyang Palace to celebrate a major victory over various ethnic groups, including the Xiongnu. All civil and military officials attended, along with seventy highly esteemed scholars. During the feast, Zhou Qingchen, the leader of the scholars, raised a toast and praised Qin Shi Huang's achievements. The Emperor was delighted, exclaiming, "Well said! Well said!"

However, this praise angered some scholars clinging to old ideas. Among them, a scholar named Chunyu Yue, who was upset by Zhou Qingchen's critique of the enfeoffment system and praise for the prefecture and county system, hurriedly addressed the Emperor: "Your Majesty! I have heard that the kings of the Yin and Zhou dynasties ruled for over a thousand years, and their system of enfeoffing relatives and meritorious officials as feudal lords was inherently excellent."

Chunyu Yue's reintroduction of the enfeoffment issue greatly displeased Qin Shi Huang. He ordered a further discussion to determine whether the enfeoffment system or the prefecture and county system was superior. At this point, Li Si, who had become prime minister, opposed Chunyu Yue's erroneous views and proposed: all historical records not belonging to the Qin state should be collected and burned; all private collections of "Classic of Poetry" and "Book of Documents" not held by government-appointed scholars should also be burned, to eliminate the root of conflicting ideas.

Consequently, Qin Shi Huang decreed the burning of books. The specific measures were: except for books on medicine, divination, and arboriculture, all historical records not compiled by Qin official historians, and all private collections of "Classic of Poetry," "Book of Documents," and works of the Hundred Schools of Thought were to be submitted to local officials for burning within thirty days of the order.

Qin Shi Huang's book burning decree provoked strong opposition from many scholars. Not only those with old ideas but also some high-ranking scholars in the court secretly criticized his tyranny. Upon learning that scholars were speaking ill of him behind his back, and some had even fled, Qin Shi Huang was furious and resolved to severely punish them. He ordered an investigation into those who slandered him. Without detailed inquiry or verification, he commanded that a large pit be dug outside Xianyang city, and all these scholars were buried alive.

Qin Shi Huang's 'burning of books and burying of scholars' aimed to unify thought and suppress ideas and speeches opposing central authoritarianism. However, his methods were excessively brutal and tyrannical. The burning of books destroyed cultural treasures accumulated over a long period before the Qin dynasty, and the burying of scholars killed many creators of intellectual wealth. Qin Shi Huang was a remarkable emperor who accomplished the great unification, but also a ruler who subjected his people to brutal tyranny.