China Everlasting

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

China Everlasting

Author says, its incredible that China was unified by the first Sovereign Emperor, Ch'in Shih-Huang over twenty-two centuries ago. Since we cant write an equivalent of Robert Silverberg's Roma Eternal, we've come up with this idea for China Everlasting based around Shih-Huang's immortality.

In 2488, by the Qin Calendar, the Ch'in dynasty united China, beginning twenty-two centuries of uninterrupted global hegemony.

First Sovereign Emperor

The first Sovereign Emperor, Ch'in Shih-Huang (pictured) was born in north-west China and became ruler of Ch'in at the age of only thirteen.
Despite the tyranny of his autocratic rule, he is still regarded by many today as a pivotal figure in Chinese history. Moving rapidly to consolidate power, he forced all important families to live in his capital Hsien-yang, executing anyone who disagreed with him.
All books except those on farming, medicine and prophecy were burnt to prevent the dissemination of dangerous ideas.
A vast palace was built by a slave army of 700,000 and preparations for the the Great Wall began, absolutely necessary to keep the barbarians out of China.
Towards the end of his natural life, the Emperor built a giant grave guarded by 6,000 terracota warriors. But it was not required and remains empty to this day.
Obsessed with the Taosist idea of immortality, hundreds of magicians were sent on a quest for the Isles of the Blessed where the inhabitants lived forever. 460 were executed, finally a Zhifu islander Xu Fu with ships carrying hundreds of young men and women found Mount Penglai, where the Eight Immortals lived. On their return, they synthetised the elixir of live, enabling Ch'in Shih-Huang to rule in perpetuity.
On a subsequent mission, Xu Fu and the crew settled the modern islands of Nippon extending the Chinese empire into the Pacific islands.
Nevertheless, many attempts have been made to murder the Emperor. After assassinations had been attempted too often for comfort, the Emperor grew paranoid of remaining in one place too long and hired servants to bear him to different buildings in his palace complex to sleep in each night. He also hired several 'doubles' to make it less clear which figure was the emperor.
It is rumoured that one of the books of prophecy that survive predicts the assassination of Ch'in Shih-Huang and his final resting place with the terracota warriors, but this legend is largely dismissed as a fantasy. Yet Xu Fu remains in Nippon, and perhaps one day he will return to Hsien-yang for the undoing.

In 2433, by the Qin Calendar, the court sorceror Xu Fu was born in Qi, near the present day city of Zibo in Shandong Province.

Court Sorceror

In the service of the First Sovereign Emperor Qin Shi Huang (pictured), Xu Fu was sent to the eastern seas twice to look for the elixir of life. The fleet included sixty barques and around five thousand crew members, three thousand virgin boys and girls, and craftsmen of different fields who sailed to Mount Penglai where the Eight Immortals lived. Fortunately, the crew also included archers who Xu Fu was forced to dispatch to kill a giant sea creature that was blocking the path.
On their return to the capital Hsien-yang, Fu synthetised the elixir of live, enabling Ch'in Shih-Huang to rule in perpetuity. Shortly afterwards, and suitably rewarded, the now immortal Xu Fu returned as King to rule Nippon, the modern day Japanese islands. The capital city Kyushu was described by the Records of the Grand Historian as a place with flat plains and wide swamps .
For twenty-two centuries, the two immortals of our world have lived apart and in peaceful co-existence.
Yet many assassinations have been attempted on Qin Shi Huang. The Emperor has grown paranoid of remaining in one place too long and hired servants to bear him to different buildings in his palace complex to sleep in each night. He also hired several 'doubles' to make it less clear which figure was the emperor. It would perhaps be no surprise to many if, in the far recesses of his paranoid mind, the Emperor was to perceive Xu Fu as a future adversary in a final battle for the mastery of the future.

Steve Payne

Editor of Today in Alternate History, a Daily Updating Blog of Important Events In History That Never Occurred Today.

Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting fictional blog.

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