Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di and the Giant Fish,Qin Shi Huangdi is famous for being the first Emperor of

Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di and the Giant Fish,Qin Shi Huangdi is famous for being the first Emperor of a unified China.  While emperor he created a common writing system, system of currency, an imperial bureaucracy based on merit, a codified system of laws, and a unified Chinese Emperor.  He is also famous for expending much blood and treasure on the Great Wall of China as well as building a massive elaborate tomb complex complete with 8,000 terracotta warriors.However, what Qin Shi Huangdi is most famous for was his quest for the elixir of life, a potion or concoction that could magically grant him immortality.  Qin Shi Huagdi commissioned hundreds of alchemists and mystics to create the elixir.  Many of the elixirs the Emperor favored contained mercury as a main ingredient.  A poisonous substance, mercury is now known to cause madness. After many years of drinking dubious elixirs, potions, and concoctions, the first Emperor of China was beginning to lose grip on reality.His alchemists never were able to find the right concoction, and the Emperor, growing more desperate and mentally unstable, order the execution of those who failed to provide him with a working elixir of life.  One day the Emperor commissioned an expedition of several ships crewed by hundreds of young men and women to find the elixir of life.  The expedition was led by Xu Fu, the court sorcerer of the Emperor.  According to the Emperor Xu Fu was to find the mystical land of Penglai Island, where a 1,000 year old sorcerer named Anqi Sheng lived, a man who knew the secret of the elixir of life.  According to the Emperor he had once met Anqi Sheng who had invited him to the island.  Xu Fu and his crew knew that the story told by the Emperor was nonsense, but they had to return with something or they would all surely be executed.  What Xu Fu came up with was an excuse, an excuse that took advantage of the Emperor’s failing mental health.  After a short sail, Xu Fu reported to the Emperor that the fleet was unable to sail to Penglai Island due to a large number of giant fish on the coast, terrible sea monsters that hampered his fleet at every turn.  The Emperor believed the story, but not willing to let giant fish get in his way, he grabbed his bow and traveled for the Chinese coast.With Xu Fu, his eunuchs, and courtiers, Chin Shi Huangdi traveled to the coast intent on doing battle with the giant fish.  Once on the beach he grabbed his bow and began to randomly fire arrows into the ocean.  After a few shots he exclaimed, “look, I killed a giant fish!”.  With successive shots he exclaimed again and again, “look, another fish!”.  His courtiers, unwilling to offend an Emperor who executed people on a whim, did nothing but applaud each shot.The Emperor declared that he had killed the giant fish, it was quite apparent that Xu Fu’s plan had backfired.  He was once again ordered to set sail with his expedition and find Penglai Island.  This time the expedition never returned, instead opting to settle in Japan rather than return home to certain death.Chin Shi Huangdi’s search for the elixir of life would be fruitless.  For the remainder of his life the Emperor continued to ingest harmful potions in hopes of gaining immortality.  He died in 210 BC after ingesting a number of pills containing mercury. -- source link

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