Fusu (died August or September 210BC) was the eldest son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...

, the First Emperor of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

Life

After being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life,

supposedly ordered more than 460 scholars in the capital to be buried alive, 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 (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

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 was instead sent to guard the frontier, where Meng Tian was stationed, in a ''de facto'' exile. After the death of Qin Shi Huang, Fusu's youngest brother, Huhai, together with high officials Zhao Gao and Li Si, 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 thus committed suicide.

Legacy

According to ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Fusu had a son, Ziying, 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 (such as Wang Liqun) 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 in Chinese and Taoist temples, usually paired with Meng Tian.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Sima, Qian. ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'' (''Shiji''). {{Authority control 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 men Qin Shi Huang Chinese crown princes who never acceded