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Primary sourceArtifact221 BCE

Qin Iron Weight with Imperial Edict

221 BCE

An iron weight inscribed with Qin Shi Huang's 221 BCE edict standardising weights and measures across his new empire.

This weight bears Qin Shi Huang's own edict standardising measures, physical proof of his unification policy.

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A rough, brownish stone-like weight with a knob on top, displayed in a glass case on a white base. A green patina inscription plaque with carved characters is set into its front face.
Qin-dynasty iron weight bearing imperial edict, 221 BCE. Excavated in Wendeng, Shandong.

About this source

What it is

This iron weight, unearthed in Shandong, carries an inscription recording Qin Shi Huang's edict from the twenty-sixth year of his rule (221 BCE), announcing that he had unified all the warring states and taken the title of emperor, and ordering his chancellors to standardise weights and measures across the empire.

Why it matters

This object is direct physical evidence, in the emperor's own proclaimed words, of one of his most lasting policies: standardising measurement across a newly unified China. It shows how Qin Shi Huang used inscribed objects to spread imperial authority into everyday economic life, down to the tools used in markets and taxation.

Look closer

  • Why would an emperor bother to standardise something as ordinary as weights?
  • What does carving the edict directly onto a tool used in daily life tell you about how the government wanted its rules enforced?
  • What questions does this object leave unanswered about how well the policy actually worked across the empire?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Emperor Qin Shi Huang on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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