Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of unified China. He built a powerful army, standardized weights, measures, currency, language and handwriting. He united parts of old walls to create the
Great Wall, and built roads to the farthest reaches of his empire. Searching for drugs to make him immortal, he ingested mercury which killed him about age 50.
His tomb was built while he was still alive. 700,000 people worked on it for 36 years. The terra cotta warriors and horses are only a small part. Included in the 56 square kilometers are chambers
with acrobats, armor, and treasure. So many farmers were drafted to work on building projects that there were not enough people left to work on farms. Agriculture suffered.
Qin's empire lasted only a few years after his death before a peasant uprising brought new leaders to power.