In 210 BC, the man who first unified China died while searching for immortality
After conquering six warring states to become the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang spent his final years desperately chasing a mythical elixir of life only to perish from the very potions he trusted.
Qin Shi Huang transformed China by standardizing weights, measures, and script, but his greatest fear was his own mortality. In 210 BC, the Emperor died while on a journey to the eastern coast, where he hoped to find the mythical 'Islands of the Immortals'. Ironically, historians believe his death was caused by mercury poisoning from pills prescribed by his doctors to grant him eternal life.
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