[I 005 / Qin Shi Huang's] ambitions gave rise to some stories of their own. One of them tells of his desire to go down in history as not only a great builder, but as the founder of the Chinese monarchy.
To this end, he was prepared to go to any lengths. One obstacle, it is said, stood in his way - books detailing the achievements of those who had gone before him. So he ordered all the books and writings throughout China to be destroyed. In the process, many literary figures were put to death for attempting to salvage some of their precious possessions. Several copies of [G 05 / Confucius'] writings, along with a few other works, survived this madness. They were hidden until the emperor died and it was once again safe to bring them out.
