History of China/The Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty (秦朝) was the fourth dynasty in Chinese history, as well as the first imperial dynasty (ruled by an emperor instead of a king) in ancient China. From 221 B.C. to 207 B.C., Qin Dynasty ruled over China for 15 years.
Establishment
[edit | edit source]Developing
[edit | edit source]Before the establishment of Qin Dynasty, Qin was one of the states under the rule of Zhou Dynasty. During the last few centuries' rule (7th century B.C.~ 3rd century B.C.) of Zhou Dynasty, the states had extremely high autonomy, had their own kings, and completely ignored the central government of Zhou (the king of Zhou). Wars always occurred between states. The state of Qin, lying in the west of China, gradually became one of the seven strongest states in 5th~ 3th centuries B.C. through many wars. After the reforms made by the chanceller Shang Yang (396 B.C.~ 338 B.C.) in 356 and 350 B.C., Qin became even sronger.
Conquering other states
[edit | edit source]In 306 B.C., King Zhaoxiang of Qin started his reign and became the 28th ruler of the state of Qin. In 256 B.C., the central government of Zhou, together with the other six states, planned to started a war against Qin. However, the plan didn't work because the six states didn't keep their promise. King Zhaoxiang of Qin was very angry at the news. He then called on his army to invade Luoyang, the capital of Zhou. Zhou's government quickly surrendered. King Nan of Zhou died in the same year. After the death of the king of Zhou, Qin took down Luoyang, ending the 879 years' rule of Zhou Dynasty.
In 230 B.C., Qin invaded Han. The king of Han, Han An, surrendered. Han became the first of the seven states to be conquered by Qin. 229 B.C., Qin attacked Zhao. The next year, the king Zhao Qian surrendered. 226 B.C., Qin took down Ji, the capital of Yan. Yan moved its capital to Liaodong. 225 B.C., Qin attacked Wei, the king Wei Jia surrendered. 224 B.C. Qin attacked Chu. The next year, its capital Shouchun fell, the king Xiong Fuchu was captured. 222 B.C., Yan's temporary capital Liaodong fell, the king Ji Xi was captured. 221 B.C., Qin attacked Qi, the king Tian Jian surrendered. Qi became the last state to be conquered by Qin.