Such a simple question has aroused different views of many scholars and experts. According to historical records, after the opening of the Silk Road, the mainland began to grow grapes. In other words, more than 300 years after Qin Shihuang, the cultivation technology of grapes was developed in mainland China. However, many experts disagree. During the Qin Shihuang period, grapes were not planted in the mainland, so Qin Shihuang must not eat grapes. Although it seems unreasonable, careful taste seems to have some truth. You know, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin had already communicated with the western regions at that time. During the Zhou Dynasty, there was a famous Zhou Muwang who drove eight horses to see the Queen Mother of the West, and a love story happened. Many people think that this is just a legend, but it is clearly recorded in Mu's biography. In the heyday of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Muwang decided to travel around the world to show his national strength. He rode eight carriages and took a huge army on a mighty expedition to the west. After walking for more than nine months, I came to the land of the Queen Mother of the West. Although the Queen Mother of the West was later mythologized, she should be the matriarchal leader of the Western Regions.
It can be seen that during the Western Zhou Dynasty, he communicated with the Western Regions. Maybe Qin Shihuang could eat grapes, maybe it was a tribute from the western regions, or Qin Shihuang bought it with a large sum of money. Another important point is the history of grape cultivation. Of course, if only the western regions had grapes after the opening of the Silk Road, it would be impossible for Qin Shihuang to eat grapes. But turning to the historical facts, there are different opinions about the origin of grapes, and the records in various ancient books are also very different. A convincing statement is that about 1 10,000 years ago, a large number of grape seeds were found in Transcaucasia near the Black Sea in Neolithic Age, that is, in Arato, Georgia and Armenia, which shows that grapes are not only used for food, but also mainly used for juicing and wine making.
Some say it's Greek, others say it's Egyptian. The earliest grape cultivation and wine-making in China was in the Western Han Dynasty. This kind of fruit tree has been mentioned in almost all the historical materials about the ancient kingdom of Gaochang in China literature, but China grape was introduced by Zhang Qian, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, when he went to the Western Regions. Qin Shihuang wants to eat grapes, and there must be grapes in the western regions before Qin Shihuang. In the pre-Qin period, the development of grapes in the western regions was introduced into Turpan in the eastern Xinjiang through northern Xinjiang, or it may be introduced into the oasis of Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang from Central Asia through Pamir. At this time, it is very common to grow grapes and brew wine in Xinjiang.
To sum up, Qin Shihuang probably ate grapes. After all, he was in contact with the western regions, and the western regions could not be too stingy to let Qin Shihuang taste a grape.