Qin - (221 - 207 B.C.)

With the consolidation of the Warring States, the Qin ruler declared himself Qin Shihuangdi - first emperor of the Qin dynasty and established his capital in Xianyang from which he ruled with an iron hand. Aided by his minister Li Si, he strengthened his northern border, expanding the wall which had been begun by the Zhao and Yan into a 1,400 mile long rampart. The feudal aristocracy was dispossessed and moved into Shaanxi. Standards for weights and measures, written language and even wheel axels were enforced. As often happened in subsequent transfers of power, Shihuangdi ordered the obliteration of all remnant of the previous Zhou dynasty, burning records and writings and forbidding the reading of the classics such as the Book of Songs or the Classic of History. These brutally repressive tactics succeeded in unifying the scattered tribes and principalities and for the first time China could be considered a political and cultural entity.

The first Emperor died in 210 B.C. and his entombment has recently been excavated in part. The thousands of full size individually modeled terracotta soldiers, horses and chariots have become famous as one of the most remarkable archeological sites ever found.

Next Dynasty ->Han