Shankar Vedantam
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Hidden Brain is produced by Hidden Brain Media.
Our audio production team includes Annie Murphy-Paul, Kristen Wong, Laura Querell, Ryan Katz, Autumn Barnes, Andrew Chadwick, and Nick Woodbury.
Tara Boyle is our executive producer.
I'm Hidden Brain's executive editor.
If you love Hidden Brain, please check out our new YouTube channel.
We have episodes for you about courage, choking under pressure, an overlooked tool to simplify your life, and so much more.
You can find us at youtube.com slash at Hidden Brain, or just click the link in our show notes for today's episode.
In the 3rd century BC, China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, made a bold proclamation.
His dynasty would last 10,000 generations.
He launched an obsessive quest for immortality.
He ordered expeditions to the eastern sea, demanded his subjects search for an elixir of life, and even welcomed mystics into his court.
His obsession came at a cost, putting him at odds with Confucian scholars at the time.
Historians have pieced together parts of Qin Shi Huang's story from thousands of wooden strips unearthed in Hunan province.
The strips documented his correspondence.
These writings included responses from the emperor's minions who were too afraid to tell their boss what they really thought.
According to the BBC, the notes featured, quote, assorted awkward replies from regional governments who had failed to find the key to eternal life.