Credited with both unifying China and tormenting its citizenry, Qin Shi Huangdi, the "first emperor of China," is one of the most controversial leaders in the nation's history. His reign brought advances such as standardized currencies, weights, and measures, unified written and spoken language and transportation systems. In battle, too, he was centuries ahead of his time--creating assembly lines to mass-produce precision-crafted swords, arrows and other weapons. This documentary examines this ruler's complex legacy, from the brilliant military strategies that created an empire to his plans for the original Great Wall. Bonus disc, China's Wall of Doom, features the discovery of the emperor's 7,000 life-size army of terra-cotta statues and the Great Wall of China.

Bonus disc entitled "China's Wall of Doom," produced by Film Roos, Inc., for A & E, Network, c1996.