Huhai

Huhai (胡亥, Hồ Hợi; 230–207 BC; posthumously Qin Er Shi 秦二世 — The Second Emperor of Qin), was the disastrous, cruel, and manipulated second monarch of the Qin Dynasty, eighteenth son of Qin Shi Huang.

Accompanying Qin Shi Huang on his fifth inspection tour in 210 BC, Huhai colluded with treacherous eunuch Zhao Gao and chancellor Li Si following the First Emperor’s sudden death at Shaqiu. Forging an imperial decree that forced his virtuous elder brother Crown Prince Fusu (Fusu) and General Meng Tian to commit suicide, Huhai ascended the throne at age twenty-one. To eliminate all potential rivals, Huhai unleashed a horrific bloodbath, executing twelve of his brothers in the market of Du, crushing six brothers in deadfall traps, and torturing ten imperial sisters to death in Jiujiang, totally eradicating the royal family.

Extravagant and oblivious to the empire’s suffering, Huhai expanded the construction of Epang Palace and the Mount Li Mausoleum, imposing draconian taxes and tortures. He was immortalized by the chilling historical idiom ‘Calling a deer a horse’ (指鹿为马): Zhao Gao presented a deer to Huhai at court, calling it a horse; when Huhai laughed, Zhao Gao tested the assembled ministers, executing every official who spoke the truth that it was a deer, completely subordinating the court to terror. In 207 BC, as rebel armies led by Liu Bang and Xiang Yu swept toward Xianyang, Zhao Gao orchestrated a palace coup; Zhao Gao’s son-in-law Yan Le stormed the Wangyi Palace, forcing the twenty-three-year-old Huhai to cut his throat with his sword, ending his three-year reign of terror.

Role in History (Shiji)

Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji, vol. 6, Annals of Qin Shi Huang): “Zhao Gao brought a deer before Er Shi, saying: ‘This is a horse.’ Er Shi laughed: ‘The Chancellor is mistaken; why call a deer a horse?’ Zhao Gao asked the courtiers; some fell silent, some agreed with Zhao Gao, and some said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly executed all who said it was a deer; from then on, all ministers trembled.”

Shiji (vol. 87, Biography of Li Si): “Huhai slaughtered twenty-two of his royal siblings in the marketplace, heaping their bones in common pits, while Epang Palace echoed with his flute.”

Huhai — Historical & Literary Timeline

Key Relationships

Family

• Father Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, Tần Thủy Hoàng): First Emperor who unified China.
• Elder Brother & Victim Fusu (扶苏, Phù Tô): Rightful heir murdered by forged decree.
• Brothers Prince Gao, Prince Jianglü: Royal brothers driven to suicide and butchered in purges.
• Nephew / Successor Ziying (子婴 – Qin San Shi): Successor who executed Zhao Gao.

Friends

• Manipulating Eunuch Zhao Gao (赵高, Triệu Cao): Eunuch chancellor who manipulated him and forced his suicide.
• Accomplice Chancellor Li Si (李斯): Collaborated at Shaqiu, later executed by Zhao Gao with waist-bisection.

Enemies

• Rebel Leaders Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Liu Bang, Xiang Yu: Rebels who destroyed the Qin Empire.
• Palace Coup Officer Yan Le (阎乐): Zhao Gao’s son-in-law who cornered Huhai in Wangyi Palace.

Other

• Imperial General Zhang Han (Zhang Han): Commander whom Huhai and Zhao Gao betrayed at Julu.