Ever since Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor in Chinese history, came to power, he embarked on a major cultural reform: the unification of Chinese characters. This initiative has far-reaching implications not only in the political and economic spheres, but also in the socio-cultural and educational spheres.
Qin Shi Huang ordered the destruction of all documents such as bamboo slips and wood chips in various places, and required that all documents be written in a unified script. Although this kind of "book burning and pit Confucianism" is cruel, it also plays a role in eliminating regional differences and promoting the spread of writing. Qin Shi Huang also sent special officials to various parts of the country to promote the new script, which gradually standardized and simplified the originally complex and diverse script.
In order to better manage the country and society, Qin Shi Huang standardized the names of places and people across the country. He stipulated that place names must be named in units of "counties", and that personal names could only be composed of one or two characters. These measures have greatly reduced the confusion of names and made communication easier and faster.
Qin Shi Huang introduced a new monetary system, the copper coin system. In the previous Warring States period, each country had its own monetary system, and it came in a variety of shapes and sizes. This causes great inconvenience to business transactions. Qin Shi Huang greatly promoted the circulation and development of domestic commodities through the form of unified currency.
In addition, Qin Shi Huang also established strict regulations in the law, clearly specifying the scope and manner of the use of various scripts. For example, government documents and official documents must be written in large seals, civil letters can be written in official scripts or small seals, and the art of calligraphy can be freely developed. In this way, not only did the application of the written word become clearer, but it also laid the foundation for later cultural prosperity.
Overall, Qin Shi Huang's work on the unification of the written language was very effective. His various measures not only improved administrative efficiency and promoted the development of commodity exchange, but also laid a solid foundation for the prosperity of ancient Chinese culture. Although some of the practices at that time may have been too harsh, they were undoubtedly a great literary reform in Chinese history, and they were of great significance to the historical process of China and the world.