Emperor Qin Shihuang Emperor Qin Shihuang - Scene 5 In 220 BC, Chin began building the Great Wall of China, the ancient world's greatest engineering project, designed as a barrier to seal the empire. And by 215 BC, the massive tomb he designed to protect him after death was near completion. It is around this time that the emperor, spurred by distrust and paranoia, began to take repeated doses of mercury in an attempt to extend his life (it was believed at the time that mercury increased longevity).

By 213 BC, his prime minister, Li Su expanded the totalitarian state by burning entire libraries of bamboo scrolls in an attempt to control free thought. The whole of Chinese history and all philosophical thought were removed, with only legal, medical and agricultural texts spared.

Seven years after Emperor Chin began his quest for immortality, the mercury began to poison his body and mind. His kidneys almost certainly began to fail. In the seventh month of 210 BC, at the age of 50, the first emperor of China died. His dynasty did not last. A coup attempt was made soon after he died and revolution swept away his dynasty just a few years later, but China lived on.
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