How appalling and terrifying to read, in your article on book bans in US schools and elsewhere, of Qin Shi Huang, the Chinese emperor who had scholars buried alive and books burned to control how history would remember him (‘It’s a culture war that’s totally out of control’: the authors whose books are being banned in US schools, 22 March).
Qin, of course, played an important part in the development of the Great Wall of China. He clearly wanted this seen as a rip-roaring success, especially after the long years to “get the wall done”. He obviously didn’t want a lot of pesky scholars pointing out that the wall was colossally expensive, had virtually no benefits and was an enormous impediment to trade.
