6

THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE

his  influence  in  moulding  the  present  civilisation  of  China
has  been  enormous.  For  over  two  thousand  years  he  has
exercised  the  supreme  control  over  the  minds  and  hearts
of  his  countrymen.
Mencius  was  also  a  native  of  the  state  of  Lu,  being  born
B.c.  372.  He  did  much  to  raise  the  teachings  of  Confucius
to  a  position  of  honor.  In  some  ways  he  was  a  more
daring  and  original  thinker  than  the  one  he  delighted  to
call  his  master,  for  Confucius  only  claimed  to  be  a  transmitter ­
  and  not  an  originator.  Nevertheless  Mencius  has
never  superseded  the  great  sage  in  the  estimation  of  his
countrymen,  but  has  always  been  relegated  to  the  second
place  of  honor.
To  return  to  the  political  history  :  in  the  latter  part  of
the  Chow  Dynasty,  the  state  of  Tsin  became  powerful  enough
to  obtain  complete  control  over  the  other  feudatory  states,
and  then  one  of  its  dukes  seized  the  throne  and  established
the  dynasty  known  as
The  Tsin  (b.c.  221)
The  word  China  is  probably  derived  from  the  name  of
this  dynasty.  The  first  Westerners  to  become  acquainted
with  the  Chinese  spoke  of  them  as  the  people  of  the  land  of
Tsin,  and  this  was  later  corrupted  into  “  China.”  The
Chinese  themselves  generally  refer  to  their  country  as  “  the
Middle  Kingdom.”
The  great  ruler  of  the  Tsin  Dynasty  was  Shih  Hwangti
  (b.c.  221-209),  often  called  Tsin  Shih-hwang.  He  was
the  first  sovereign  in  China  to  assume  the  title  Hwang-ti,
or  Emperor,  which  has  always  been  used  since  his  time  to
designate  the  chief  ruler.
The  important  task  accomplished  by  him  was  the  consolidation ­
  of  China,  the  centralisation  of  its  government,
and  the  reform  of  the  currency  and  measures.  He  abolished
the  feudal  system,  and  brought  all  parts  of  the  country
under  his  own  rule.  After  effecting  this  change  he  divided
the  Empire  into  thirty-six  provinces,  setting  over  each  three