Qin Shi Huang's imperial tours () refer to the trips that China's first emperor

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

undertook between the years 220 BC and 210 BC. In total, Qin Shi Huang made five inspection trips, and he died on the last one. During the travels, the emperor climbed sacred mountains, performed sacrifices, and erected a total of seven stelas with texts about the new regime and his own exploits. None of the stones have been found, but the texts that are supposed to be engraved on them are preserved because these were also written down by

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

in the historical chronicle

Shiji ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

The journeys

First trip

Qin Shi Huang made his first inspection trip in 220 BC westward into eastern

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

where he visited ''Longxi'' (by

Mount Liupan Mount Liupan ( zh, c=六盘山, p=Lìupán Shān) is a mountain range in northwestern China, located mostly in southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It marks the southwestern boundary of the Ordos Basin. Its southern section is known as Mount ...

), ''Beidi'' (by the

Jing River The Jing River () or Jing He (Pinyin: ''Jīng Hé''), also called Jing Shui (), is a tributary of the Wei River (), which in turn is the largest tributary of the Yellow River. The Jing River flows for , with a basin area of . The river's flow v ...

) and ''Jitou Mountain'' (鷄頭山). The entire journey took place within

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

's former territory.

Second trip

Year 219 BC the emperor traveled east through the previously conquered states to the

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea () is a marginal sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects to the east via the Bohai Strait. It has a mean depth of a ...

. On the way, he erected three steles, one at

Mount Yi Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, one at

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the '' Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...

, and one at Mount Langya in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

. He also performed sacrifices at the mountains. On his way back, he traveled south, and by the

Si River The Si River is a river in Shandong Province, China. It also ran through the area of modern Jiangsu Province until floods in 1194. Course The Si rises in the southern foothills of the Mengshan Mountains (蒙山), then flows through Sishui County ...

he searched (unsuccessfully) for the

Nine Tripod Cauldrons The Nine Tripod Cauldrons () were a collection of ding cast by the legendary Yu the Great of the Xia dynasty of ancient China. They were viewed as symbols of the authority given to the ruler by the mandate of heaven. At the time of the Shang dyna ...

of the kings of the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

. He continued southwest, crossing the

Hui River Hui River (also pronounced as Kuai River), traditionally known as Huan River or Baohui River, was a major tributary of Huai River in northern China. Currently, it flows into the Huai-Hong New Canal , a constructed flood control waterway connecting ...

and sailing back east on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

, then on home to the capital

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

(near present-day

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

Third trip

The third inspection journey went east in the spring of 218 BC. At ''Bolangsha'' (博狼沙) in

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, Qin Shi Huang was the victim of a failed assassination attempt by a former

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

loyalist,

Zhang Liang Zhang Liang is the romanization of common names like 張良, 張亮 and 張梁. 張良 * Zhang Liang (Western Han) (died 189 BC), early Han dynasty strategist ** Zhang Liang, an animation character from the animated TV series ''The Legend of Qin'', ...

. The emperor continued east and visited Mount Zhifu in Shandong (which he had also visited the year before) where he now erected two stelae. He also revisited ''Mount Langya'' after which he returned via ''Shangdang'' (上黨) (in

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

) to the capital.

Fourth trip

The fourth inspection trip was made in 215 BC to the north-eastern part of the country. At the fortified palace of Jiangnüshi (姜女石) (on the Bohai Coast just north of the

Shanhai Pass Shanhai Pass or Shanhaiguan () is one of the major passes in the Great Wall of China, being the easternmost stronghold along the Ming Great Wall, and commands the narrowest choke point in the Liaoxi Corridor. It is located in Shanhaiguan Di ...

), the emperor erected a stele at the city gate. He toured the northeastern borderlands and also visited Jicheng (present-day

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) before returning to the capital Xianyang. Jiangnvshi Historic Site 03 2011-04

Fifth trip

At the end of 211 BC Qin Shi Huang set out on his fifth and final inspection trip. Along for the trip were (among many others)

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Li Si Li Si (Mandarin: ; BCSeptember or October 208 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and calligrapher of the Qin dynasty. He served as Chancellor (or Prime Minister) from 246 to 208 BC under two rulers: Qin Shi Huang, the king of the Qin ...

, the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Zhao Gao Zhao Gao (died 207 BC) was a Chinese politician and calligrapher. He was an official of the Qin dynasty of China. Allegedly a eunuch, he served as a close aide to all three rulers of the Qin dynasty – Qin Shi Huang, Qin Er Shi and Ziying – ...

, and the emperor's younger son

Ying Huhai Qin Er Shi (; (230–October 207 BCE) was the second emperor of the Qin dynasty from 210 to 207 BCE. The son of Qin Shi Huang, he was born as Ying Huhai. He was put on the throne by Li Si and Zhao Gao, circumventing Fusu, Ying's brother an ...

. Qin Shi Huang began the journey by making a sacrifice to the mythological

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition a ...

(who was one of the

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were two groups of mythological rulers in ancient north China. The Three Sovereigns supposedly lived long before The Five Emperors, who have been assigned dates in a period from 3162 BC to 2070 BC. Today ...

) at ''Yunmeng'' (雲夢) near

Anlu Anlu () is a county-level city in east-central Hubei province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xiaogan. The siege of De'an took place here during the Song-Jin Wars. Administrative divisions Two subdistricts ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

). They traveled further east on the

Kuaiji Mountains The Kuaiji Mountains ( or ''Guìjī Shān''), formerly romanized as the K'uai-chi Mountains, are a long mountain range in China's Zhejiang province. They are named for Mount Kuaiji (also ''Kuàijī Shān'' in Chinese), the peak just southeast of ...

(會稽山) (at

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

) where the ancient

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...

is buried. The emperor climbed the mountain and erected a stele. They continued north to Mount Langya. There they met the magician Xu Shi, who for many years had unsuccessfully searched the seas for the elixir of immortality for the emperor, and he blamed his failures on large sharks. The emperor's entourage then headed north by boat around the

Shandong Peninsula The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou. G ...

. At Mount Zhifu they managed to kill a large fish after which they continued west. The emperor fell ill during the journey home and died in 210 BC in

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

. The emperor's death was kept secret, and a conspiracy between Zhao Gao, Li Si, and Ying Huhai changed the succession, making Ying Huhai Emperor

Qin Er Shi Qin Er Shi (; (230–October 207 BCE) was the second emperor of the Qin dynasty from 210 to 207 BCE. The son of Qin Shi Huang, he was born as Ying Huhai. He was put on the throne by Li Si and Zhao Gao, circumventing Fusu, Ying's brother an ...

when they returned to the capital.

References

{{cite book , last=Haw , first= Stephen G. , date=2006 , title=Beijing - A Concise History , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8J8AgAAQBAJ&dq=Linyi%20capital%20Yan&pg=PA19 , language= , location= , publisher=Routledge , isbn=0415399068 , page=23 , chapter=Yan and Ji China expeditions Qin Shi Huang 3rd century BC in China