The Chaotic Arrival in a Fallen Capital

When Liu Bang’s peasant army entered the imperial capital of Xianyang in 207 BCE, they confronted a challenge far beyond their expectations. The vastness of the Qin Empire’s legacy overwhelmed these simple soldiers from the countryside. The magnificent palaces, sprawling avenues, and staggering wealth of the capital left them disoriented and intoxicated by their sudden conquest.

Despite prior discipline efforts at Wuguan Pass, Liu’s troops quickly dissolved into disorder. Soldiers scattered through the city’s streets and alleys, looting homes and assaulting women. Panic spread among Xianyang’s residents, who fled in droves from the uncontrolled violence. Even Liu Bang himself, though having visited the capital years earlier as a minor official transporting laborers, had never entered the imperial palace complex. His advisors like Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and Lu Jia were equally unfamiliar with the grandeur of the Qin court.

On their first day in Xianyang, Liu abandoned attempts to control his troops and instead led his commanders on an awestruck tour of the palace. After hours of exploration, they had seen less than half of the sprawling complex. Overcome by the scale of their conquest, Liu declared with a laugh: “This palace is boundless, with countless concubines and maids. Let’s stay here tonight and enjoy ourselves!” His soldiers erupted in cheers of “Long live the Emperor!”

Only Zhang Liang’s quiet warning – “My lord, this is most unwise. With Xiang Yu’s army approaching, we cannot lose the hearts of the Qin people” – brought Liu back to reality. The moment revealed both Liu’s peasant origins and his capacity to listen to wise counsel, qualities that would later distinguish him from his rival Xiang Yu.

The Three Laws and the Struggle for Legitimacy

Faced with mounting chaos, Liu Bang convened his commanders for an emergency council. The debate revealed deep divisions – many generals advocated executing the surrendered Qin prince Ziying to complete their “destruction of Qin.” But Liu, demonstrating political acumen, argued that killing a surrendered ruler would only alienate the Guanzhong population and violate their righteous cause. They compromised by placing Ziying under guard while ostensibly awaiting instructions from King Huai of Chu – a diplomatic fiction acknowledging Xiang Yu’s superior military position.

The meeting took a decisive turn when advisor Xiao He arrived late, having spent the day securing Qin’s administrative archives – population records, tax documents, and maps. While others sought immediate spoils, Xiao He recognized these bureaucratic instruments as the true foundation for governance. His foresight earned Liu’s respect and marked the beginning of Han’s administrative continuity with Qin systems.

From these deliberations emerged three key policies:
1. Spare surrendered Qin officials
2. Withdraw troops from Xianyang to camp at Bashang
3. Abolish Qin’s complex legal code in favor of simple “Three Laws”

The famous Three Laws distilled justice to its basics:
– Murderers face execution
– Assault carries punishment
– Theft brings penalty

This radical simplification, while praised by later historians as benevolent, actually represented a legal regression. Within years, the Han dynasty would quietly reinstate most Qin administrative systems, proving the Three Laws an emergency measure rather than sustainable governance.

The Strategic Miscalculation at Hangu Pass

Days after establishing order, Liu Bang made a fateful decision. Advised by a mysterious strategist (known only as “the Ugly Scholar”), he moved to block Xiang Yu at Hangu Pass – the formidable eastern gateway to Qin’s heartland. The advisor’s sixteen-character strategy urged: “Hold Hangu, bar other lords, rule Guanzhong yourself, then conquer the realm.”

This advice played to Liu’s ambitions but dangerously underestimated Xiang Yu’s military superiority. When Zhang Liang and Xiao He returned and learned of the decision, they recognized its peril – Liu’s forces couldn’t possibly withstand Xiang Yu’s battle-hardened veterans. The subsequent battle proved disastrous. Xiang Yu’s army, now equipped with Qin’s advanced siege weapons operated by captured Qin technicians, breached the pass in under an hour. Liu’s commanders fled west, leaving the road to Xianyang open.

The Meeting at Hongmen: A Turning Point in History

With Xiang Yu’s massive army camped at Hongmen (just east of Xianyang), tensions reached their climax. Xiang Yu, incensed by reports that Liu Bang intended to make Ziying his chancellor and monopolize Qin’s treasures, planned to annihilate Liu’s forces. The famous Hongmen Banquet nearly became Liu Bang’s last supper.

Liu’s salvation came through an unlikely channel – Xiang Yu’s uncle Xiang Bo, who owed Zhang Liang a life debt. Warned of the impending attack, Liu Bang turned on his considerable charm. He hosted Xiang Bo with elaborate ceremony, proposed a marriage alliance between their families, and professed undying loyalty to Xiang Yu. His performance convinced Xiang Bo to intercede, temporarily staying Xiang Yu’s hand.

At the banquet itself, Liu’s humility and apparent submission disarmed Xiang Yu’s suspicions. When challenged about his ambitions, Liu deftly shifted blame to a minor officer (whom he later executed). Xiang Yu, revealing his political naivete, even admitted his informant’s name – a fatal breach of confidence that would discourage future defectors.

The banquet’s aftermath proved more significant than the event itself:
1. Liu eliminated the traitor Cao Wushang
2. He adopted a strategy of apparent submission to Xiang Yu
3. Xiang Bo became an unwitting Han ally
4. Xiang Yu’s chief advisor Fan Zeng, foreseeing disaster, lamented: “This fool isn’t worth counseling! The man who will take your empire is Liu Bang!”

The Destruction of Xianyang and Qin’s Legacy

With Liu Bang temporarily neutralized, Xiang Yu turned to reshaping China’s political landscape. Rejecting the unitary Qin system, he revived the Warring States order by dividing China among eighteen feudal kings. Liu Bang received the remote territory of Hanzhong as “King of Han” – a calculated insult that would soon backfire.

Xiang Yu’s subsequent actions cemented his reputation for brutality:
– Execution of the surrendered Qin royal family, including Ziying
– Looting and burning of Xianyang’s palaces (fires reportedly burned for three months)
– Mass conscription of Qin’s women and wealth for transport east
– Attempted destruction of the First Emperor’s tomb, halted only by ominous storms

This orgy of destruction completed the physical dismantling of Qin’s capital but couldn’t erase its institutional legacy. As the historian Sima Qian noted, the common people of Qin – having experienced both Qin’s orderly governance and the rebels’ chaos – secretly wished for Liu Bang’s return.

The Historical Reckoning: Beyond “Tyrannical Qin”

The Qin collapse created China’s greatest historical paradox – a short-lived dynasty whose systems endured for millennia. Traditional narratives, heavily influenced by Han-era propaganda and Confucian scholars, reduced Qin to simplistic “tyranny.” Yet modern archaeology and scholarship reveal a more nuanced picture:

1. Administrative Continuity: The Han retained Qin’s bureaucracy, laws, and even many officials. Xiao He’s preservation of Qin records proved crucial for Han governance.

2. Cultural Integration: Qin’s standardization (script, measurements, currency) became permanent features of Chinese civilization.

3. Military Models: The Han adopted Qin’s military organization and frontier defense systems.

The true tragedy of Qin’s fall lay not in its systems’ failure, but in the apocalyptic violence of the rebellion. Xiang Yu’s massacres (like the 200,000 surrendered Qin troops buried alive at Xin’an) far exceeded anything under Qin rule. The subsequent civil war reduced China’s population by half through warfare and famine – a demographic catastrophe unmatched until modern times.

As we reassess this pivotal era, the real question emerges not as “Why did Qin fall?” but “Why did its successors find Qin’s systems indispensable?” The answer lies in Qin’s extraordinary achievement – creating China’s first true unified state, whose institutional framework proved robust enough to survive its creator’s collapse and shape two millennia of imperial history.