Fusu (died 210BC) was the eldest son and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

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 ( ...

, the First Emperor of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

Life

After being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life, the First Emperor supposedly ordered more than 460 scholars in the capital to be

buried alive Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of t ...

, though an account given by Wei Hong in the 2nd century added another 700 to the figure. Fusu counselled that, with the country newly unified, and enemies still not pacified, such a harsh measure imposed on those who respect

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

would cause instability.(於是使御史悉案问诸生，诸生传相告引，乃自除犯禁者四百六十馀人，皆阬之咸阳，使天下知之，以惩後。益发谪徙边。始皇长子扶苏谏曰：「天下初定，远方黔首未集，诸生皆诵法孔子，今上皆重法绳之，臣恐天下不安。唯上察之。」) ''Shiji'' vol. 6. However, he was unable to change his father's mind, and instead was sent to guard the frontier, where

Meng Tian Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder brother of Meng Yi. ...

was stationed, in a ''de facto'' exile. Moreover, after the death of the First Emperor, Fusu's youngest brother,

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 ...

, together with two high officials

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

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 ...

, forged his father's decree to rename Huhai as the successor and order Fusu to commit suicide.Sima Qian. Dawson, Raymond Stanley. Brashier, K. E. 007(2007). The First Emperor: Selections from the Historical Records. Oxford University Press. , . pg 15 - 20, pg 82, pg 99. Some aides of Fusu, including Meng Tian, doubted the veracity of the decree, but Fusu either did not believe someone would dare to forge the decree or, with good reason, feared being killed anyway, and he committed suicide.

Legacy

According to ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Fusu had a son,

Ziying Ziying, King of Qin (, died January 206 BC) was the third and last ruler of the Qin dynasty. He ruled over a fragmented Qin Empire for 46 days, from mid-October to early December 207 BC. He is referred to in some sources with t ...

, who was enthroned after Zhao Gao forced Huhai to commit suicide in 207 BCE. By that time, Li Si had already been eliminated by Zhao Gao. Ziying soon killed Zhao Gao. There is no firm consensus on what Ziying's relationship to the Qin royal family really is. Some scholars (among them Professor

Wang Liqun Wang Liqun (; born 1945) is a Chinese historian and a professor in the School of Arts, Henan University. He is best known for conducting lecture series about Chinese history on the CCTV-10 television programme ''Lecture Room''. Life Wang was bor ...

) pointed out that Fusu's son might be too young to plot the demise of Zhao Gao, as two sons of Ziying, also involved in the plot, should have been old enough. Qin Shi Huang only lived to be 49; Fusu might have only lived into his 30s. He sometimes appears as a

door god Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu ( ) and Yulü () under the H ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and

Taoist temple A Taoist temple (, also called ''dàoguàn'' and , is a place where the Tao is observed and cultivated it is a place of worship in Taoism. Structure and function can vary according to the Taoist school the temple belongs to. For example, ''guàn ...

s, usually paired with

Representations

Fusu appeared as the protagonist in the action role-playing game ''

Prince of Qin Qin Wang (秦王, King/Prince of Qin or King/Prince Qin) may refer to: Chinese royalty Zhou dynasty * King Huiwen of Qin, ruled 338 BC – 311 BC, son of Duke Xiao of Qin * King Wu of Qin, ruled 310 BC – 307 BC *King Zhaoxiang of Qin, ruled 306 ...

''. In the game, the plot has been altered such that Fusu did not commit suicide as he was supposed to in history. The game allows the player to explore what Fusu could have done if he did not die. Fusu also appears in the Chinese animated series '' The Legend of Qin'' since the third season. Fusu is a prominent character in Eugie Foster's short story "Mortal Clay, Stone Heart". In the manga series ''

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

'', he is identified as one of Ying Zheng's children. In the

Xiran Jay Zhao Xiran Jay Zhao is a Chinese-born Canadian author, Internet personality, and cosplayer. Their debut novel, '' Iron Widow'', became a 1 ''New York Times'' Best Seller and won the 2021 BSFA Award for Best Book for Younger Readers. Early life Zh ...

's novel ''Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor'', Fusu shows up as the son of Ying Zheng, and an ancestor to Zachary Ying.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Sima, Qian. ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''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 ...

'' (''Shiji''). {{Authority control Executed Qin dynasty people Suicides in the Qin dynasty 210 BC deaths Forced suicides of Chinese people Politicians from Xianyang Year of birth unknown 3rd-century BC executions Executed people from Shaanxi People executed by the Qin dynasty Chinese gods Deified Chinese people Qin Shi Huang Heirs apparent who never acceded Identity theft victims