Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang. Say it a second time to get your head prepped for this assassin-killing, Great Wall building, unifying and creating the first real China, powerhouse. He did it all so well that his enemies spent centuries trying—and failing—to tear down his reputation. At just 13, in 247 BCE, Qin Shi Huang was already dealing with deception, greed, and nepotism in his kingdom. For eight years, he watched his mother have an affair with the corrupt prime minister, who monopolized military power. By age 21, Qin took control, put his mom under house arrest, broke the prime minister’s monopoly, and scared him into suicide. This steamroller was just getting started.

 Qin Shi Huang toured his kingdom to crush corruption and boost efficiency, probably more than any other Chinese Emperor. While he was out righting wrongs, his mother disguised a new lover as a servant and had sons with him. Lao Ai, the lover, bragged about being the king’s step-dad, stole the Queen dowager’s seal, and tried to stage a coup. Qin’s army crushed the rebellion, executed Lao Ai and his supporters, and wiped out three generations of his family to make a point to any other potential traitors.

 Next, Qin Shi Huang turned his ferocity to the other six Chinese kingdoms, conquering and absorbing them. He replaced nepotism with a merit-based system and Legalism—break the law, get punished, no matter who you are. In just ten years, he unified China and declared himself the first Emperor. He standardized currency, weights, measures, and government, built canals and expressways, and connected the northern walls to create the Great Wall. Many of these achievements still exist today.

 All this empire-building made enemies. At least three assassination attempts targeted him: a poisoned dagger hidden in a map, a blind musician with a weaponized lute, and a strongman who hurled a massive metal hammer at his carriage. Qin survived them all, sometimes by vigilance and sometimes by luck.

 Obsessed with immortality, Qin Shi Huang sent expeditions searching for the secret to eternal life. The fear of death led him to create the Terracotta Army—eight thousand warriors, chariots, horses, officials, and entertainers buried near his mausoleum, which is rumored to contain rivers of mercury. Whatever he thought the afterlife would be, he made sure he’d meet it as a force of nature.