Qin Er Shi

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Qin Er Shi (秦二世)
Ancestral name (姓):	{{{ances-name}}}
Given name (名):	Huhai (胡亥)
Emperor of Qin Dynasty
Dates of reign:	Oct. 210 BC–beg. Oct. 207 BC
Official title:	Second Emperor (二世皇帝)
Temple name:	None³.
Posthumous name:	None4
Dates are in the proleptic Julian calendar
——— 1. This clan name appears in the Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian. Apparently, the First Emperor being born in the State of Zhao where his father was a hostage, he later adopted Zhao as his clan name (in ancient China clan names often changed from generation to generation), but this is not completely certain. 2. Based on ancient Chinese naming patterns, we can infer that Qin was the clan name of the 3. The royal house of Qin did not carry the practice of , the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, so the First Emperor does not have a temple name per se. However, his official name "First Emperor" can somehow be assimilated to a templehonored in the temple of the ancestors of the dynasty. 4. Posthumous names were

Qin Er Shi (229 BC - beginning October 207 BC), literally Second Emperor of Qin Dynasty, personal name Huhai, was emperor of the Qin Dynasty in China from 210 BC until 207 BC. }}

Qin Er Shi was the son of Qin Shi Huang (the First Emperor of Qin), but he was not the original crown prince. In 210 BC, he accompanied his father on a trip to Eastern China, during which trip his father died suddenly. Under the advice of the chief eunuch Zhao Gao and prime minister Li Si, he forged a fake decree of his father, which ordered his brother, the heir Fusu, to commit suicide and appointed himself to be the heir.

As emperor, he was not able to contend with nationwide rebels. He depended on Zhao Gao so much that he himself acted like a puppet emperor. In 207 BC, the Qin dynasty was on the brink of collapse and Zhao Gao was afraid that Qin Er Shi would ask him to take the blame. Therefore, Zhao Gao conspired with others to force the emperor to commit suicide.

A son of Fusu, Ziying, was made king of Qin by Zhao Gao. Ziying soon killed Zhao Gao and surrendered to Liu Bang one year later.

[edit] Popular Culture

The name of the emperor, Er Shi, is included in popular Cantonese as "二世祖". The phrase is a negative term describing spoiled children raised by wealthy parents, growing up with little or no moral values.

Preceded by Qin Shi Huang	Emperor of China 210 BCE–207 BCE	Succeeded by Liu Bang of the Han dynasty
Preceded by Qin Shi Huang	King of Qin 210 BCE–207 BCE	Succeeded by Ziying