Shiji by Sima Qian provides invaluable insight into the history of the Qin dynasty, while the movie Hero directed by Zhang Yimou presents a modern interpretation of Qin’s successful unification of China. Therefore, Shiji and Hero reflect historians’ different attitudes toward government power: Shiji demonstrates the importance of centralizing government power in Qin’s reforms as well as the danger of abusing power shown in Qin’s totalitarian governance, while Hero conveys the necessity and legitimacy of utilizing strong government power to achieve long-term peace through military expansion.
In Shiji, Sima Qian illustrated the benefits of centralizing government power to establish a unified empire, but at the same time he revealed the problems of abusing government power to impose totalitarian rules. On one hand, Sima Qian recognized that government power played an important role in Qin’s successful unification of China. In Shiji, Sima enumerated the First
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Sima depicted the legalist Qin as a notorious authoritarian regime that implemented inhumane punishments and suppressed freedom of thought. For instance, through Master Lu and Master Hou’s criticism, Sima characterized the First Emperor as a dictator, who abused the government power and “‘delight[ed] in showing his authority by punishing and killing.’” Sima further illustrated the problematic consequence by pointing out “‘the emperor never learn[ed] of his mistakes and hence [grew] daily more arrogant, while his underlings, prostrate[d] with fear, flatter[ed] and deceive[d] him in order to curry favor. (57-58)’” In sum, Sima Qian’s records about the Qin dynasty reflect his attitude toward government power: he recognized the contribution of centralized government to Qin’s successful unification, but at the same time he identified the danger of abuse of government