Li Si (280 BC-October 208 BC) was the Prime Minister of the Qin dynasty from 256 to 208 BC under Qin Shi Huang and Qin Er Shi.
Biography[]
Li Si was born in the State of Chu in southern China, but he later moved to the State of Qin to the north after failing to advance his career with Chu. He was made the Prime Minister under Qin Shi Huang, and his beliefs in legalism brought him into conflict with Confucianism. During the reign of Shi Huangdi, Li Si persuaded him that th escholars were subverting the goals of the regime, as the Confucian expectations of benevolent and nonviolent conduct from the rulers as a check on the absolute power of the government. Also, Confucians appealed to the past, stopping the Qin from establishing a new order. Qin Shi Huang had books burnt and scholars brutally executed thanks to Li Si. After Shi Huangdi's death in 210 BC, Li Si and eunuch Zhao Gao forced the heir Fusu to commit suicide and installed Qin Er Shi as emperor, dominating him due to his stupidity. However, Zhao Gao betrayed Li Si by accusing him of treason and torturing him into admitting his "guilt"; he then had him executed alongside his whole family.
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