The Time, Measures and Historical Significance of Qin Shihuang's Establishment of centralization of authority

1. The time when centralization of authority was established by Qin Shihuang: 221 BC

2. Measures taken by centralization of authority:

Establishment: In order to effectively control the new situation of unification, the rulers of the Qin Dynasty established a set of centralized state machines:

(Central) ① The supreme ruler of the empire was the emperor, and Ying Zheng called himself the "first emperor". (2) The highest office of the central government is the Prime Minister, the Imperial Adviser and Qiu, under which there are Tingwei, Zhisu Neishi and other ministers, who are responsible for judicial and financial affairs. (3) the prime minister is a hundred officials, "assistant", all military affairs are decided by the emperor.

(local) ① The local government in the Qin Dynasty was at the county and county levels. There are several counties under the jurisdiction of the county, and there are also organizations such as townships and villages under the county. The township is set up to discipline the three elders, and the husband is in charge of hearing the lawsuit and collecting taxes. (2) the chief of the county is directly appointed by the court, and the subordinate officials of the county are chosen by the chief and county magistrate. (3) in the Qin and Han dynasties, the grass-roots subordinate officials had a heavy authority, and the local people still knew the miser but did not know the county.

In order to consolidate the newly-built centralized system, Qin Shihuang also unified currency, weights and measures, writing, etc.

In addition, he took a series of measures: ② building a thoroughfare and a straightway to ensure the smooth implementation of government decrees; ③ Building the Great Wall to resist the invasion of Xiongnu; (4) emigrating from the border areas to enrich the strength of the border areas; ⑤ Burn books to bury Confucianism, so as to unify thoughts and public opinion.

3. Significance: Although Qin died short-lived, the centralized system established by Qin became the blueprint of the political system of successive dynasties in China.