The Great Burns!!

In 213 B.C., the Chinese emperor Shi Huang-Ti ordered all of China's books to be burnt, except for a few on subjects such as medicine and agriculture. He ordered the burning because people used several of those writings to criticize the emperor, and also because Shi Huang-Ti styled himself as the "First Emperor". A large amount of valuable works were lost, and only through the efforts of a few brave teachers did any of China's earlier literature survive. It was not safe to bring the surviving books from their hiding place for nearly 150 years afterward.