Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Qin dynasty
open-in-new
<h2 id="origin-and-development-9th-century--230-bc">Origin and development, 9th century – 230 BC</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Qin_(state)/m2gNbCq7">Qin (state)</a></p> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/Timeline_of_the_Warring_States_and_the_Qin_dynasty/WUko8R3b">Timeline of the Warring States and the Qin dynasty</a></p> <p>According to the <i><a href="/facts/Shiji/S8CJ0at1">Shiji</a></i> (c. 91 BC), during the 9th century BC, <a href="/facts/Feizi/tTjvWCtQ">Feizi</a> – said to be a descendant of the legendary political advisor <a href="/facts/Gao_Yao_(minister)/oP9IkmNo">Gao Yao</a> – was granted rule over the settlement of Qin (秦邑; modern <a href="/facts/Qingshui_County/YC5en5ep">Qingshui County</a>, Gansu). During the rule of <a href="/facts/King_Xiao_of_Zhou/8IHTxAfe">King Xiao of Zhou</a>, this area became known as the state of Qin. In 897 BC, during the <a href="/facts/Gonghe_Regency/o4nrNncC">Gonghe Regency</a>, the area was allocated as a dependency dedicated to raising horses.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> In the late 8th century BC, one of Feizi's descendants, <a href="/facts/Duke_Zhuang_of_Qin/oEy2yfAS">Duke Zhuang of Qin</a>, was summoned by the Zhou to take part in a military campaign against the <a href="/facts/Western_Rong/cHK6xSRr">Western Rong</a>; the effort was successful and Zhuang was rewarded with additional territory. In 770 BC, Zhuang's son <a href="/facts/Duke_Xiang_of_Qin/4mz7jSIn">Duke Xiang</a> helped escort the Zhou court under <a href="/facts/King_Ping_of_Zhou/0epGv2kH">King Ping</a> in their emergency evacuation from <a href="/facts/Fenghao/9bojdCkf">Fenghao</a> to <a href="/facts/Chengzhou/wJC8mfXn">Chengzhou</a> under threat from the Western Rong – marking the divide between the <a href="/facts/Western_Zhou/v0V50ewQ">Western</a> and <a href="/facts/Eastern_Zhou/jF2TIGmb">Eastern Zhou</a> periodisations. As a reward, Duke Xiang was sent as the leader of an expedition against the Western Rong to recapture the territory they had taken, during which he formally established the Qin as a major vassal state, incorporating Fenghao and much of the territory previously under direct Zhou control and thus expanding Qin eastward.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>The state of Qin began military expeditions into central China in 672 BC. They initially refrained from making serious incursions due to the threat still posed by neighbouring tribes; by the 4th century BC, they had all either been subdued or conquered, setting the stage for Qin expansionism.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h3>Warring States period, c. 475 – 230 BC</h3> <p>During the <a href="/facts/Warring_States_period/8P3avwna">Warring States period</a> (c. 475 – 221 BC), the Qin statesman <a href="/facts/Shang_Yang/AC2xDyug">Shang Yang</a> introduced a series of advantageous military reforms between 361 BC and his death in 338. He also helped to construct the Qin capital at <a href="/facts/Xianyang/yjcbVyTu">Xianyang</a> (near modern <a href="/facts/Xi%2527an/yaIdymtu">Xi'an</a>, Shaanxi) on the <a href="/facts/Wei_River/yqGEA5W5">Wei River</a> near the former Zhou capital of Fenghao – a city which ultimately resembled the capitals of the other states.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The Qin maintained a military that was superior in both doctrine and practice to that of the other Warring States. Its army was large, efficient, and staffed with capable generals. Unlike many of their enemies, the Qin utilised contemporary advancements in weapons technology and transportation, the latter of which enabled greater mobility across the different types of terrain throughout China.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>The geography of Qin's core territories – located at the heart of a region known as the <a href="/facts/Guanzhong/bwsntgTP">Guanzhong</a> – provided additional advantages, including fertile farmland, and a strategic position protected by mountains that made it a natural stronghold. The Guanzhong was in contrast with the flat, open <a href="/facts/Yangtze/f9A2h4rQ">Yangtze</a> valley (also known as the "Guandong") to its south-east – during this period, Xiangyang was the only capital city in China that did not require walls to be built around it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> The legacy of Qin society within the Guanzhong inspired a Han-era adage that "Guanzhong produces generals, while Guandong produces ministers."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The Qin's agricultural output, expanded via projects like the Wei River canal built in 246 BC, helped sustain their large army.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>Qin engaged in practical and ruthless warfare. From the preceding <a href="/facts/Spring_and_Autumn_period/H8klKw2P">Spring and Autumn period</a> (c. 770 – c. 481 BC), the prevailing philosophy had dictated war as a gentleman's activity; military commanders were instructed to respect what they perceived to be Heaven's laws in battle. For example, during a war <a href="/facts/Duke_Xiang_of_Song/4S8pNFKF">Duke Xiang of Song</a> was waging against Chu, he declined an opportunity to attack Chu forces that were crossing a river. After allowing them to cross and marshal their forces, he was decisively defeated in the ensuing battle. When he was admonished by his advisors for excessive courtesy to the enemy, he retorted, "The sage does not crush the feeble, nor give the order for attack until the enemy have formed their ranks."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> The Qin disregarded this military tradition, taking advantage of their enemy's weaknesses. A nobleman in the <a href="/facts/State_of_Wei/0ngLnwBb">state of Wei</a> accused Qin of being "avaricious, perverse, eager for profit, and without sincerity. It knows nothing about etiquette, proper relationships, and virtuous conduct, and if there be an opportunity for material gain, it will disregard its relatives as if they were animals."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> This, combined with strong leadership from long-lived rulers, an openness to employ talented men from other states, and a lack of internal opposition, contributed to the Qin's strong political base.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="unification-and-expansion-230210-bc">Unification and expansion, 230–210 BC</h2> <p class="note">Further information: <a href="/facts/Qin%2527s_wars_of_unification/xN1DJX9C">Qin's wars of unification</a></p> <p>During the Warring States period, the <a href="/facts/Seven_Warring_States/QJEGC2SI">seven major states</a> vying for dominance were Qin, <a href="/facts/Yan_(state)/Tgd9gcTu">Yan</a>, <a href="/facts/Zhao_(state)/JswWrr11">Zhao</a>, <a href="/facts/Qi_(state)/8X3ayucK">Qi</a>, <a href="/facts/Chu_(state)/3Ntzc7lj">Chu</a>, <a href="/facts/Han_(Warring_States)/t2RXBgBT">Han</a>, and <a href="/facts/Wei_(state)/0ngLnwBb">Wei</a>. The rulers of these states styled themselves as kings, as opposed to the titles of lower nobility they had previously held. However, none elevated himself to believe that he had the <a href="/facts/Mandate_of_Heaven/MFpKPPEU">Mandate of Heaven</a> as claimed by the kings of Zhou, nor that he had the right to offer sacrifices.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p><p>During the century that preceded the wars of unification, the Qin suffered several setbacks. Shang Yang was executed in 338 BC by <a href="/facts/King_Huiwen_of_Qin/fjFbVXjo">King Huiwen</a> due to a personal grudge harboured from his youth. There was also internal strife over the Qin succession in 307 BC, which decentralised Qin authority somewhat. Qin was defeated by an alliance of the other states in 295 BC; this was soon followed by another defeat inflicted by Zhao, made possible by a majority of the Qin army already being occupied with defending against attacks by Qi. However, the aggressive Fan Sui [zh] became prime minister in 266 BC; after issues with the succession were resolved, Fan pursued an expansionist policy that had its origins in <a href="/facts/Jin_(Chinese_state)/ldCDkTNM">Jin</a> and Qi, in which they endeavoured to conquer the other states.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <p>The Qin first attacked the Han directly to their east, and took their capital city of Xinzheng in 230 BC. They then struck the state of Zhao to their north, who surrendered in 228 BC, followed by the northernmost state of Yan in 226. Next, Qin launched assaults to the east and south; they took the Wei capital of Daliang (modern <a href="/facts/Kaifeng/PR335kbE">Kaifeng</a>) in 225, and forced Chu to surrender in 223. They then deposed the Zhou dynasty's remnants at <a href="/facts/Luoyang/wJC8mfXn">Luoyang</a>; finally, they conquered Qi, taking their capital at <a href="/facts/Ancient_Linzi/eKrdKMyS">Linzi</a> in 221 BC.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p><p>With the completion of Qin's conquests in 221 BC, <a href="/facts/King_Zheng/xmuV0u4l">King Zheng</a> – who had acceded to the throne of Qin at age nine<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> – became the effective ruler of China.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> The subjugation of the six states was done by King Zheng who had used efficient persuasion and exemplary strategy. He solidified his position as sole ruler with the abdication of his prime minister, <a href="/facts/L%25C3%25BC_Buwei/2X0qKYAr">Lü Buwei</a>. The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than place the burden on people from the royal family.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> He then combined the titles of the earlier <a href="/facts/Three_Sovereigns_and_Five_Emperors/uj3Y7Mdk">Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors</a> into the new name "Shi Huangdi", meaning 'First Emperor'. The newly declared emperor ordered all weapons not in the possession of the Qin to be confiscated and melted down. The resulting metal was sufficient to build twelve large ornamental statues at the Qin's newly declared capital at <a href="/facts/Xianyang/yjcbVyTu">Xianyang</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p> <h3>Southward expansion, 214–206 BC</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Qin_campaign_against_the_Baiyue/1ogEoCSV">Qin campaign against the Baiyue</a></p> <p>In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang secured his boundaries to the north with a fraction (roughly 100,000 men) of his large army, and sent the majority (500,000 men) of his army to <a href="/facts/Qin_campaign_against_the_Baiyue/1ogEoCSV">conquer the territory</a> to their south, which was inhabited by the <a href="/facts/Baiyue/x5CMWWyA">Baiyue</a> peoples. Prior to Qin's campaigns unifying the former Zhou territories, the Baiyue had gained possession of much of <a href="/facts/Sichuan/e65P53aD">Sichuan</a> to their southwest. The Qin army was unfamiliar with the jungle terrain, and it was defeated by the southern tribes' guerrilla warfare tactics with over 100,000 men lost. However, in the defeat Qin was successful in building a canal to the south, which they used heavily for supplying and reinforcing their troops during their second attack to the south. Building on these gains, the Qin armies conquered the coastal lands surrounding <a href="/facts/Guangzhou/9hxfmEjq">Guangzhou</a>, and took the provinces of <a href="/facts/Fuzhou/Hu8D8xh1">Fuzhou</a> and <a href="/facts/Guilin/3RVWu8oB">Guilin</a>. They may have struck as far south as <a href="/facts/Hanoi/0W2xfMQN">Hanoi</a>. After these victories in the south, Qin Shi Huang moved over 100,000 prisoners and exiles to colonise the newly conquered area. In terms of extending the boundaries of his empire, Qin Shi Huang was extremely successful in the south.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p> <h3>Campaign against the Xiongnu, 215 BC</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Qin%2527s_campaign_against_the_Xiongnu/nL4uHLCL">Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu</a></p> <p>The Qin collectively referred to the peoples living on their northern border as the <a href="/facts/Five_Barbarians/t2aBhGbN">Five Barbarians</a>; while sporadically subject to imperial rule, they remained free from it for the majority of the Qin's existence.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> Prohibited from engaging in trade with local Qin peasantry, the <a href="/facts/Xiongnu/wdxyuWQl">Xiongnu</a> inhabiting the <a href="/facts/Ordos_Desert/gTPsTwf6">Ordos Desert</a> to the Qin's north-west frequently raided them instead. In retaliation, <a href="/facts/Qin%2527s_campaign_against_the_Xiongnu/nL4uHLCL">a military campaign</a> was led by the Qin general Meng Tian. The region was conquered in 215 BC, and agriculture was established; however, the local peasants were discontented and later revolted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="collapse-and-aftermath-210202-bc">Collapse and aftermath, 210–202 BC</h2> <p>In total, three assassination attempts were made on Qin Shi Huang – one in 227 BC by <a href="/facts/Jing_Ke/1tPvlyVb">Jing Ke</a>, and the other two around 218 BC.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a> Owing in part to these incidents, the emperor became paranoid and obsessed with immortality. While on a trip to the eastern frontiers in 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died in an attempt to procure an elixir of immortality from <a href="/facts/Taoist/Bk79rd9J">Taoist</a> magicians, who claimed the elixir was stuck on an island guarded by a sea monster. The chief <a href="/facts/Eunuch/qGwjh0wH">eunuch</a>, <a href="/facts/Zhao_Gao/GzDDlLkx">Zhao Gao</a>, and the prime minister, <a href="/facts/Li_Si/REXhQrR9">Li Si</a>, hid the news of his death upon their return until they were able to alter his will. It is understood that his eldest son <a href="/facts/Fusu/39xeYjQv">Fusu</a> was intended to inherit the throne; however, Li and Zhao conspired to transmit a fabricated order for Fusu to commit suicide,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a> and instead elevated the former emperor's son Huhai to the throne, taking the name of <a href="/facts/Qin_Er_Shi/z0czSKbK">Qin Er Shi</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a> They believed that they would be able to manipulate Huhai to their own ends, effectively allowing them to exert control over the empire. As expected, Qin Er Shi proved inept: he executed many ministers and imperial princes, continued massive building projects – one of the most extravagant was the lacquering of the city's walls – enlarged the army, increased taxes, and arrested messengers who delivered bad news. As a result, men from all over China revolted, attacking officials, raising armies, and declaring themselves kings of seized territories.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a> </p><p>During this time, Li Si and Zhao Gao came into conflict with one another, which culminated in Zhao persuading Qi Er Shi to put Li on trial, where he was ultimately executed. The worsening military situation then caused the emperor to blame Zhao for the rebellion; this pivot frightened Zhao, who engineered another conspiracy to deceive Qin Er Shi into believing hostile forces had arrived at the capital. The emperor's quarters were invaded, and Qin Er Shi was forced to commit suicide for his incompetence after being cornered by Zhao's co-conspirator and son-in-law Yan Le [zh].<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Ziying/xM0W4FRD">Ziying</a>, a son of Fusu, ascended to the throne, and immediately executed Zhao Gao.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a> Unrest continued to spread among the people – caused in large part by regional differences, which had persisted despite Qin's attempts to impose uniformity – and many local officials had declared themselves kings. In this climate, Ziying attempted to cling to his throne by declaring himself as merely one king among all the others.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a> He was undermined by his ineptitude, and popular revolt broke out in 209 BC. When Chu rebels under the lieutenant <a href="/facts/Liu_Bang/nNvXYAt3">Liu Bang</a> attacked, a state in such turmoil could not hold for long. Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang upon the latter's arrival in Xianyang in 207 BC; while initially spared by Liu, he was executed shortly thereafter by the Chu leader <a href="/facts/Xiang_Yu/yGQCsQ3N">Xiang Yu</a>. In 206 BC, Xianyang was destroyed, marking what historians consider to be the end of the imperial Qin dynasty.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34"><sup>34</sup></a> With the former Qin territories temporarily divided into the <a href="/facts/Eighteen_Kingdoms/BDjBCKj0">Eighteen Kingdoms</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35"><sup>35</sup></a> Liu Bang then betrayed Xiang Yu, beginning the <a href="/facts/Chu%25E2%2580%2593Han_Contention/UoELS0FG">Chu–Han Contention</a> from which he ultimately emerged victorious atop a reunited realm – on 28 February 202 BC, he declared himself emperor of the newly founded <a href="/facts/Han_dynasty/hanfxS9D">Han dynasty</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36"><sup>36</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="culture-and-society">Culture and society</h2> <p>The Qin ruled over territories roughly corresponding to the extent at the time of <a href="/facts/Chinese_culture/tetHMHsK">Chinese culture</a>, as well as that of what would later be understood as the <a href="/facts/Han_Chinese/gMl0sKy0">Han Chinese</a> ethnic group.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37"><sup>37</sup></a> On the empire's frontiers were diverse groups with cultures foreign to the Qin; even areas under the control of the Qin military remained culturally distinct.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38"><sup>38</sup></a> </p><p>The Qin aristocracy were largely similar to the Zhou in culture and daily life, with regional variation generally considered a symbol of the lower classes – and ultimately as contrary to the unification that the government strove to achieve.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39"><sup>39</sup></a> </p><p>Commoners and rural villagers, who comprised more than 90% of the population,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40"><sup>40</sup></a> rarely left the villages or farmsteads where they were born. While various other forms of employment existed depending on the region, as with other settled peoples in antiquity the overwhelming majority of people throughout Qin were engaged predominately in agriculture.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41"><sup>41</sup></a> Other professions were hereditary; a father's employment was passed to his eldest son after he died.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42"><sup>42</sup></a> The <i><a href="/facts/L%25C3%25BCshi_Chunqiu/fScvIS51">Lüshi Chunqiu</a></i> (c. 239 BC) – a text named for <a href="/facts/L%25C3%25BC_Buwei/2X0qKYAr">Lü Buwei</a>, the prime minister who sponsored it – gave examples of how, when commoners are obsessed with material wealth, instead of the idealism of a man who "makes things serve him", they were "reduced to the service of things".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43"><sup>43</sup></a> </p> <h3>Agriculture</h3> <p>Qin agriculture was mainly based on <a href="/facts/Cereal/ao2WcFdM">cereal</a> cultivation, with millet, wheat, and barley being the <a href="/facts/Staple_crop/GNo3putV">staple crops</a> that comprised most of peasants' diets. The amount of land available for use as pasture was limited, with livestock raised mostly for household use of byproducts like milk.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44"><sup>44</sup></a> Consumption of meat was generally restricted to the wealthy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45"><sup>45</sup></a> The state of Qin under Shang Yang pioneered a policy of maximising the area of land under cultivation, resulting in states clearing most of the forest in the Yellow River valley and converting it into farmland. This land was divided into household-sized allotments, and inhabitants were forcibly relocated to work them. Another emphasis of Shang Yang's agricultural policy was the use of hoes to weed the soil, which improved its ability to retain moisture and provide nutrients to crops.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46"><sup>46</sup></a> </p> <h3>Religion</h3> <p>The predominant form of religious belief in China during the early imperial period focused on <i><a href="/facts/Shen_(Chinese_religion)/g7p8Pcan">shen</a></i> (roughly meaning 'spirits'), <i>yin</i> (陰; 阴; 'shadows'), and the realm they were understood to inhabit. Spirits were classified as one of three types: 'human dead' (人鬼; <i>rénguǐ</i>), 'heavenly spirits' (天神; <i>tiānshén</i>) such as <a href="/facts/Shangdi/qWxsV8Lb">Shangdi</a>, and 'earthly spirits' (地示; <i>dìshì</i>) corresponding to natural features like mountains and rivers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47"><sup>47</sup></a> The spirit world was believed to be parallel to the earthly one: animal sacrifices were offered in order to make contact with it, and the spirits of people were thought to move there upon death. In general, ritual served two purposes: to receive blessings from the spirit realm, and to ensure the dead journeyed to and stayed there.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48"><sup>48</sup></a> </p><p>A ritual concept introduced under the Qin that would be continued by the Han was the official touring of ritual sites across the realm by the emperor, which served to reinforce notions of the emperor as a semi-divine figure.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49"><sup>49</sup></a> </p><p>The Qin also practised forms of divination – including that previously used by the Shang, where bones and turtle shells were heated in order to divine knowledge of the future from the cracks that formed. Observation of astronomical and weather phenomena were also common, with comets, eclipses, and droughts commonly considered omens.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50"><sup>50</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="government-and-military">Government and military</h2> <p>The Qin government was highly <a href="/facts/Bureaucratic/V9oFPCuG">bureaucratic</a>, and was administered by a hierarchy of officials serving the emperor. The Qin put into practice the teachings of <a href="/facts/Han_Fei/rxqa5FHH">Han Fei</a>, allowing the state to administer all of its territories, including those recently conquered. All aspects of life were standardised, from measurements and language to more practical details, such as the length of chariot <a href="/facts/Axle/Eo5jWI3f">axles</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51"><sup>51</sup></a> </p><p>The empire was divided into 36 <a href="/facts/Commandery_(China)/MNVSrpgD">commanderies</a>, which were further subdivided into more than 1000 districts.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52"><sup>52</sup></a> The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than placing the burden on people from the royal family. Zheng and his advisors also introduced new laws and practices that ended <a href="/facts/Fengjian/cfQISSRe">aristocratic rule</a> in China, fully replacing it with a centralised, bureaucratic government. A supervisory system, the <a href="/facts/Censorate/LFS8fKGT">Censorate</a> was introduced to monitor and check the powers of administrators and officials at each level of government.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53"><sup>53</sup></a> The Qin instituted a permanent system of ranks and rewards, consisting of twenty ranks based on the number of enemies killed in battle or commanding victorious units. Ranks were not hereditary unless a soldier died heroically in battle, whereby the soldier's rank will be inherited by his family. Each rank was assigned a specific allotment of dwellings, slaves and land, and ranks could be used to remit judicial punishments.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54"><sup>54</sup></a> </p><p>Instances of abuse were recorded. In one example from the <i>Records of Officialdom</i>, a commander named Hu ordered his men to attack peasants in an attempt to increase the number of "bandits" he had killed; his superiors, likely eager to inflate their records as well, allowed this.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55"><sup>55</sup></a> </p> <h3>Economy</h3> <p>The Qin conception of <a href="/facts/Political_economy/P753k3It">political economy</a> reflected the ideas of Shang Yang and <a href="/facts/Li_Kui_(legalist)/jHC1tbKp">Li Kui</a>: labour was identified as the realm's primary resource, and commerce was understood in general to be "inherently sterile".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56"><sup>56</sup></a> The merchant class that had emerged during the Warring States period was considered a direct threat to the state, due to merchants' incentives to pursue individual profits and self-aggrandisement. After unification, the imperial state targeted their wealth and political power; a 214 BC law allowed for merchants to be impressed into the military and deported for service on the realm's frontiers. Reinforced by its distinct legal status, the merchant profession became increasingly hereditary in nature.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57"><sup>57</sup></a> </p> <p>During the 330s BC, the state of Qin began minting <i><a href="/facts/Banliang/zbsKubo8">banliang</a></i> coins, which were round, made mostly of <a href="/facts/Bronze/YCYCVIKt">bronze</a>, and marked to indicate a nominal weight of around 8 g (5⁄16 oz) – though the actual weight varied in reality. After unification, <i>banliang</i> were given official status across the empire, replacing previous regional currencies like <a href="/facts/Spade_money/RkxkCzyU">spade money</a> and <a href="/facts/Knife_money/dDqvdkY0">knife money</a> to become the first standardised currency used throughout all of China.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:58" href="#fn:58"><sup>58</sup></a> Unlike the Han, who initially continued the use of <i>banliang</i>, the Qin did not allow additional coins to be minted by the private sector, and considered those that were to be counterfeit.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:59" href="#fn:59"><sup>59</sup></a> </p> <h3>Construction projects</h3> <p>Qin Shi Huang developed plans to fortify Qin's northern border, to protect against nomadic invasions. The resulting construction formed the base of what later became the <a href="/facts/Great_Wall_of_China/aXVq4FrH">Great Wall of China</a>, which joined and strengthened the walls made by feudal lords. Another project built during his rule was the <a href="/facts/Terracotta_Army/bnd6yBGz">Terracotta Army</a>, intended to protect the emperor after his death.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:60" href="#fn:60"><sup>60</sup></a> The Terracotta Army was inconspicuous due to its underground location, and was not discovered until 1974.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:61" href="#fn:61"><sup>61</sup></a> </p> <h3>Registration system</h3> <p>During the 4th century BC, the state of Qin introduced a registration system for its population, which initially collated the names of individuals, and later began keeping track of entire households. The system, unique in its scope among Qin's contemporaries, is thought to have been established in 375 BC. It was expanded later in the century at the direction of Shang Yang, with passages of <i><a href="/facts/The_Book_of_Lord_Shang/kThM6eY3">The Book of Lord Shang</a></i> referencing the system likely reflecting the words of Shang Yang himself. The oldest lists to be discovered, excavated at <a href="/facts/Shuihudi/o13jRGQK">Shuihudi</a> in <a href="/facts/Hubei/7JDg0AYg">Hubei</a> and <a href="/facts/Liye_Ancient_City/dT5rNKGq">Liye</a> in <a href="/facts/Hunan/1lbDstf7">Hunan</a>, date to the late 3rd century BC.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:62" href="#fn:62"><sup>62</sup></a> Adapting a concept originally used within the military to society at-large, Qin households were organised into 'groups of five' (五; <i>wǔ</i>), wherein the heads of each household were made mutually responsible for reporting any wrongdoing committed by other members of the group.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:63" href="#fn:63"><sup>63</sup></a> Under the orders of King Ying Zheng, the state began recording the ages of adult men in 231 BC.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:64" href="#fn:64"><sup>64</sup></a> </p> <h3>Writing reform</h3> <p>The Zhou inherited the <a href="/facts/Writing_system/ABG251A0">writing system</a> of <a href="/facts/Chinese_characters/5pn1PFvj">Chinese characters</a> used by the preceding <a href="/facts/Shang_dynasty/6JYKH4wP">Shang dynasty</a> (c. 1600 – c. 1056 BC) and first attested in <a href="/facts/Oracle_bone_inscriptions/xj9TSlNq">oracle bone inscriptions</a> c. 1250 BC. Writing was adopted throughout the Zhou cultural sphere during the first half of the 1st millennium BC, with the shapes and forms of characters in the script gradually evolving over time. With the Warring States period, distinct regional writing styles began to diverge from one another;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:65" href="#fn:65"><sup>65</sup></a> compared to that of other Zhou states, the script used in Qin generally changed the least during this time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:66" href="#fn:66"><sup>66</sup></a> The standard writing style in the state of Qin was consolidated under Qin Shi Huang into what is known as <i><a href="/facts/Small_seal_script/Ktv6xbYK">small seal script</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:67" href="#fn:67"><sup>67</sup></a> While the <i><a href="/facts/Book_of_Han/A62EbeBK">Book of Han</a></i> (111 AD) states that Li Si distributed detailed instructions for writing in small seal script to scribes in 221 BC, these instructions have been lost. However, many contemporary inscriptions on monuments meant to demonstrate small seal character forms have survived.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:68" href="#fn:68"><sup>68</sup></a> While the regional divergences across China were reduced considerably, the use of <a href="/facts/Variant_characters/uPAYDJES">variant characters</a> remained frequent among Qin scribes; the traditional idea of a strict standardisation of small seal script appears to be a later notion introduced by the Han.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:69" href="#fn:69"><sup>69</sup></a> </p> <h3>Penal policy</h3> <p>Qin law was primarily administrative,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:70" href="#fn:70"><sup>70</sup></a> and like most ancient societies, the early imperial Chinese state did not have separate structures of administration and jurisprudence.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:71" href="#fn:71"><sup>71</sup></a> Articulated alongside <a href="/facts/Li_(Confucianism)/fQvPN7QP">ritual practice</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:72" href="#fn:72"><sup>72</sup></a> Qin penal practice included concepts such as intent, defendant rights, judicial procedure, requests for retrials, and the distinction between <a href="/facts/Common_law/vGVcW4Kf">common</a> and <a href="/facts/Statutory_law/UCL1ARYE">statutory law</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:73" href="#fn:73"><sup>73</sup></a> Comparative model manuals guided penal legal procedures based on real-life situations, with publicly named wrongs linked to punishments.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:74" href="#fn:74"><sup>74</sup></a> Shang Yang's code likely drew on Li Kui's <i><a href="/facts/Canon_of_Laws/faXPAqhA">Canon of Laws</a></i>, which considered dealing with thieves and robbers the most urgent legal matter of its time. Qin dynasty penal code primarily focuses on theft, though there were certain statutes dealing specifically with infanticide and other unsanctioned harm against children.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:75" href="#fn:75"><sup>75</sup></a> </p><p>In the period prior to unification, Qin laws had already diverged significantly from ideas espoused in <i>The Book of Lord Shang</i>:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:76" href="#fn:76"><sup>76</sup></a> while retaining Shang Yang's reforms, the Qin abandoned his anti-Confucianism and strict, harsh penal policy, and ultimately his heavy emphasis on agriculture. After Shang Yang, the <a href="/facts/Lushi_Chunqiu/fScvIS51">Lushi Chunqiu</a> attests <a href="/facts/King_Huiwen_of_Qin/fjFbVXjo">King Huiwen of Qin</a> as having pardoned the death penalty in a case involving murder, based on Confucian ethics.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:77" href="#fn:77"><sup>77</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:78" href="#fn:78"><sup>78</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Sima_Qian/sjCNSloA">Sima Qian</a> depicts Qin Shi Huang as emphasising law and order, praising himself as a "sage ruler of benevolence and righteousness ... who cares for and pities the common people".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:79" href="#fn:79"><sup>79</sup></a> Recovered Qin dynasty law does not emphasize group responsibility as was more common in Shang Yang's time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:80" href="#fn:80"><sup>80</sup></a> </p><p>While generally considered harsh by modern standards, Qin punishments were "not extraordinarily severe for their time".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:81" href="#fn:81"><sup>81</sup></a> Though including mutilating punishments, nose cutting or foot amputation is only mentioned three of four times. Punishment most frequently consisted of hard labour. Those sentenced to hard labour generally performed public works inside the country, mainly in road and canal construction.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:82" href="#fn:82"><sup>82</sup></a> Punishment often went unenforced. Criminals were sometimes given amnesties, only incurring punishment upon <a href="/facts/Recidivism/FXHxFokI">recidivism</a>, and were often pardoned in exchange for fines, labour, or a demotion in aristocratic rank, even for capital offences. While <i>The Book of Lord Shang</i> recommended harsh punishments, it also "laments" insufficient population for its territories, and the Qin attempted to limit emigration out of the country. Rather than physically punish criminals, they were frequently resettled in frontier colonies. Those sentenced to hard labour were sometimes sent to join frontier defences if given amnesty. Men in the colonies sentenced to death were then recruited for expeditionary armies.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:83" href="#fn:83"><sup>83</sup></a> </p><p>The Han-era writer <a href="/facts/Dong_Zhongshu/KxKPALme">Dong Zhongshu</a> (179–104 BC) considered Qin officials and taxes severe, but did not characterise punishments as such; in fact, Dong criticised the Qin system for its inability to punish criminals;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:84" href="#fn:84"><sup>84</sup></a> though exile as a heavy punishment in China dates to at least the Spring and Autumn period.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:85" href="#fn:85"><sup>85</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="legacy">Legacy</h2> <p>The Qin, despite existing for only 14 years, are credited with inaugurating the Chinese imperial system, which would persist in some form throughout Chinese history until it was ultimately overthrown by the <a href="/facts/Xinhai_Revolution/lCnPzBWo">Xinhai Revolution</a> in 1911.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:86" href="#fn:86"><sup>86</sup></a> </p><p>During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Han dynasty scholars began portraying the Qin as a monolithic, <a href="/facts/Legalism_(Chinese_philosophy)/vAmCUPdg">legalist</a> tyranny, often invoked as an example of bad governance in contemporary debates about imperial policy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:87" href="#fn:87"><sup>87</sup></a> In particular, purges in 213 and 212 BC collectively known as the <a href="/facts/Burning_of_books_and_burying_of_scholars/oEWGyYuc">burning of books and burying of scholars</a> are frequently cited to this end; however, the earliest account of these events is contained in the <i>Shiji</i> (c. 91 BC), and its veracity is disputed by some modern scholars.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:88" href="#fn:88"><sup>88</sup></a> The Qin were deliberately contrasted with what was characterised as the virtuous rule of the Han.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:89" href="#fn:89"><sup>89</sup></a> However, the Han essentially inherited the administrative state built by the Qin, including the household registration system.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:90" href="#fn:90"><sup>90</sup></a> Owing to this continuity, medieval and modern historians have often grouped the Qin and Han together,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:91" href="#fn:91"><sup>91</sup></a> with the establishment of the Han treated "mainly as a change in ruling houses rather than a system or method of rule".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:92" href="#fn:92"><sup>92</sup></a> </p> <h3>Etymology of <i>China</i></h3> <p><i>Qin</i> is the likeliest origin for the modern name <i>China</i>, and its equivalents in many European languages. The term likely first appeared in the <a href="/facts/Indo-Aryan_languages/hm2N7fYp">Indo-Aryan languages</a>, attested in <a href="/facts/Sanskrit/ychfjhlx">Sanskrit</a> as both <i>Cina</i> and <i>Sina</i>, and subsequently entered Greek as <i>Thinai</i> or <i>Sinai</i>. From there it entered the vernacular languages of Europe, e.g. as <i>China</i> in English and <i>Chine</i> in French. This etymology is questioned by some scholars, who suggest that <i>Sina</i> appears in Sanskrit centuries before the Qin dynasty's founding. Other hypothesised origins include the Zhou-era <a href="/facts/Jin_(Chinese_state)/ldCDkTNM">state of Jin</a> that existed prior to the 4th century BC,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:93" href="#fn:93"><sup>93</sup></a> and <i>Jing</i> (荆), another name for the state of Chu.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:94" href="#fn:94"><sup>94</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="sovereigns">Sovereigns</h2> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/Qin_(state)/m2gNbCq7">Qin (state) § Rulers</a></p> <table><tbody><tr><th scope="col">No. </th><th scope="col"><a href="/facts/Posthumous_name/tDI9rJFX">Posthumous name</a></th><th scope="col">Personal name</th><th scope="col">Reign</th></tr><tr><th scope="row">1</th><td><a href="/facts/Shi_Huangdi/xmuV0u4l">Shi Huangdi</a></td><td>Zheng (政)</td><td>221–210 BC</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">2</th><td><a href="/facts/Er_Shi_Huangdi/z0czSKbK">Er Shi Huangdi</a></td><td>Huhai (胡亥)</td><td>210–207 BC</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">3</th><td>—</td><td><a href="/facts/Ziying/xM0W4FRD">Ziying</a> (子嬰)</td><td>207 BC</td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>Imperial family tree</h3> <table><tbody><tr><th>Qin dynasty</th></tr><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2"><i>See <a href="/facts/Family_tree_of_Chinese_monarchs_(Warring_States_period)/vvGWU1hU">Family tree of Qin</a></i></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2"></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2">Zheng 政259–210 BCKing of Qin 秦王r. 247–221 BC<a href="/facts/Qin_Shi_Huang/xmuV0u4l">Qin Shi Huang</a> 秦始皇r. 221–210 BC</td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td></td><td></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td></td><td></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td></td><td rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" rowspan="2">1</td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2">18 or 25 (disputed)</td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td colspan="6" rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Fusu/39xeYjQv">Fusu</a> 扶蘇d. 210 BC</td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2">Huhai 胡亥229–207 BC<a href="/facts/Qin_Er_Shi/z0czSKbK">Qin Er Shi</a> 秦二世r. 210–207 BC</td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2"></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td colspan="6" rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Ziying/xM0W4FRD">Ziying</a> 子嬰d. 206 BCKing of Qinr. 207 BC</td></tr><tr></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h3>Citations</h3> <h3>Works cited</h3> <ul><li>Barbieri-Low, Anthony J.; <a href="/facts/Robin_D._S._Yates/N2lgXWsQ">Yates, Robin D. S.</a> (2015). <i>Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China</i>. Sinica Leidensia. Vol. 126. Brill. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004300538">10.1163/9789004300538</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-90-04-30053-8.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Bo_Yang/mjUeakTv">Bo, Yang</a> (2008). 中国帝王皇后亲王公主世系录 [<i>Records of the Genealogy of Chinese Emperors, Empresses, and Their Descendants</i>] (in Chinese). Vol. 1. Taiyuan: Zhongguo youyi chubangongsi.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Derk_Bodde/6sXckcEB">Bodde, Derk</a> (1967) [1938]. <i>China's First Unifier: A Study of the Chʻin Dynasty as Seen in the Life of Li Ssŭ 李斯 280?–208 B.C</i>. Sinica Leidensia. Vol. 3. Brill. <a href="/facts/OL_(identifier)/A13NLNNh">OL</a> <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5588381M">5588381M</a>. <ul><li>Translated from <a href="/facts/Sima_Qian/sjCNSloA">Sima Qian</a>; <a href="/facts/Sima_Tan/ryCUACbj">Sima Tan</a> (1739) [90s BC]. "44: hereditary house of Wei". <a href="/facts/Shiji/S8CJ0at1"><i>Shiji</i> 史記</a> [<i>Records of the Grand Historian</i>] (in Literary Chinese) (punctuated ed.). Beijing: <a href="/facts/Imperial_Household_Department/fnoJGSRL">Imperial Household Department</a>.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Bökset, Roar (2006). <a href="https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:200810/FULLTEXT01"><i>Long Story of Short Forms: The Evolution of Simplified Chinese Characters</i></a> (PDF). Stockholm East Asian Monographs. Vol. 11. Stockholm University. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-91-628-6832-1<a href="/facts/Open_access/r7rLYN6C"></a>.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)</li> <li>Chen, Guidi; Wu, Chuntao (2007). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=gFEK1pLNqqMC"><i>Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants</i></a>. Translated by Zhu, Hong. PublicAffairs. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-58648-441-5 – via Google Books.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Chung-ying_Cheng/wj8k9lbw">Cheng, Chung-ying</a> (2008). "The <i>Yi-jing</i> and <i>Yin-Yang</i> way of thinking". In Mou, Bo (ed.). <i>The Routledge History of Chinese Philosophy</i>. Routledge. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-134-24937-4.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Imre_Galambos/AxCIsBLl">Galambos, Imre</a> (2004). <a href="https://real.mtak.hu/46320/1/aorient.57.2004.2.2.pdf">"The Myth of the Qin Unification of Writing in Han Sources"</a> (PDF). <i>Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae</i>. 57 (2): 181–203. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1556%2FAOrient.57.2004.2.2">10.1556/AOrient.57.2004.2.2</a>. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0001-6446">0001-6446</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23658631">23658631</a>.</li> <li>Goldin, Paul R. (2005). <i>After Confucius: Studies in Early Chinese Philosophy</i>. University of Hawaiʻi Press. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.26530%2Foapen_625891">10.26530/oapen_625891</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8248-2842-4.</li> <li>———, ed. (2018). <i>The Routledge Handbook of Early Chinese History</i>. Routledge. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-138-77591-6. <ul><li>Guo, Jue. "The spirit world". In Goldin (2018), pp. 229–260.</li> <li>Leung, Vincent S. "The former Han empire". In Goldin (2018), pp. 160–179.</li> <li>Sanft, Charles. "The Qin dynasty". In Goldin (2018), pp. 146–159.</li> <li>Shen, Chen. "The age of territorial lords". In Goldin (2018), pp. 108–145.</li> <li>Tavor, Ori. "Religious thought". In Goldin (2018), pp. 261–279.</li> <li>Sterckx, Roel. "Food and agriculture". In Goldin (2018), pp. 300–318.</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/K._C._Hsiao/nWo6mqhn">Hsiao, Kung-chuan</a> (1979). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Wn7PxQEACAAJ"><i>A History of Chinese Political Thought</i></a>. <a href="/facts/University_of_Chicago_Press/6se0Ezfb">University of Chicago Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-691-61289-8.</li> <li>Hui, Victoria Tin-bor (2005). <i>War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe</i>. Cambridge University Press. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9780511614545.002">10.1017/CBO9780511614545.002</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-139-44356-2.</li> <li>Jiang, Tao (2021). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qXo_EAAAQBAJ"><i>Origins of Moral-political Philosophy in Early China</i></a>. <a href="/facts/Oxford_University_Press/CYyTzzWG">Oxford University Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-19-760347-5 – via Google Books.</li> <li><a href="/facts/John_Keay/fRuMfExq">Keay, John</a> (2009). <i>China: A History</i>. Harper. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-00-722178-3.</li> <li>Kinney, Anne Behnke; Hardy, Grant (2005). <i>The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China</i>. Westport, CT: Greenwood. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-313-32588-5.</li> <li>Korolkov, Maxim (2022). <i>The Imperial Network in Ancient China: The Foundation of Sinitic Empire in Southern East Asia</i>. Routledge. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-367-65428-3.</li> <li>Lander, Brian (2021). <i>The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire</i>. Yale University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-300-25508-9.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Mark_Edward_Lewis/0VBEGz9y">Lewis, Mark Edward</a> (1999). <i>Writing and Authority in Early China</i>. <a href="/facts/State_University_of_New_York_Press/EuEWW1KJ">State University of New York Press</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fpew.2001.0006">10.1353/pew.2001.0006</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-7914-4114-5.</li> <li>——— (2007). <i>The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han</i>. London: Belknap. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-674-02477-9.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Li_Feng_(sinologist)/kW5zI2SG">Li, Feng</a> (2006). "The eastward migration: reconfiguring the Western Zhou state". <i>Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045–771 BC</i>. Cambridge University Press. pp. 233–278. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fcbo9780511489655.010">10.1017/cbo9780511489655.010</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-521-85272-2.</li> <li>——— (2013). <i>Early China: A Social and Cultural History</i>. New Approaches to Asian History. Vol. 12. Cambridge University Press. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781139034395">10.1017/CBO9781139034395</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-521-89552-1.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Michael_Loewe/zsYh11GS">Loewe, Michael</a>; <a href="/facts/Edward_L._Shaughnessy/W7RXlfMf">Shaughnessy, Edward L.</a>, eds. (1999). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=cHA7Ey0-pbEC"><i>The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC</i></a>. <a href="/facts/Cambridge_University_Press/fgEBSSRq">Cambridge University Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-521-47030-8. <ul><li>———. "The heritage left to the empires". In Loewe & Shaughnessy (1999), pp. 967–1032. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCHOL9780521470308.016">10.1017/CHOL9780521470308.016</a></li></ul></li> <li>——— (9 September 2007). <a href="http://www.historytoday.com/michael-loewe/china%E2%80%99s-first-empire">"China's First Empire"</a>. <i>History Today</i>. Vol. 57, no. 9. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0018-2753">0018-2753</a>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170417235658/http://www.historytoday.com/michael-loewe/china%E2%80%99s-first-empire">Archived</a> from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.</li> <li>——— (2011). <i>Dong Zhongshu, a 'Confucian' Heritage and the </i>Chunqiu fanlu<i></i>. China Studies. Vol. 20. Leiden: Brill. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1163%2Fej.9789004194656.i-370.15">10.1163/ej.9789004194656.i-370.15</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-90-04-21486-6.</li> <li>Ma, Debin; von Glahn, Richard, eds. (2022). <i>The Cambridge Economic History of China</i>. Vol. 1: To 1800. Cambridge University Press. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2F9781108587334">10.1017/9781108587334</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-108-42557-5. <ul><li>Hara, Motoko. "Agriculture and its environmental impact". In Ma & von Glahn (2022), pp. 52–91.</li> <li>Kakinuma, Yōhei. "Money, markets, and merchants". In Ma & von Glahn (2022), pp. 131–165.</li> <li>von Falkenhausen, Lothar. "The economy of late pre-imperial China". In Ma & von Glahn (2022), pp. 15–51.</li> <li>von Glahn, Richard. "Economic philosophy and political economy". In Ma & von Glahn (2022), pp. 166–202.</li></ul></li> <li>Morton, W. Scott (1995). <i>China: Its History and Culture</i> (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-07-043424-0. <a href="/facts/OL_(identifier)/A13NLNNh">OL</a> <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M">9250588M</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Yuri_Pines/n2hINGB4">Pines, Yuri</a>; <a href="/facts/Gideon_Shelach-Lavi/TrjvJCVb">Shelach-Lavi, Gideon</a>; Falkenhausen, Lothar von; <a href="/facts/Robin_D._S._Yates/N2lgXWsQ">Yates, Robin D. S.</a>, eds. (2014). <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4h74v49p"><i>Birth of an Empire: The State of Qin Revisited</i></a>. New Perspectives on Chinese Culture and Society. Vol. 5. Berkeley: University of California Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-520-28974-1 – via eScholarship<a href="/facts/Open_access/r7rLYN6C"></a>.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)</li> <li>——— (Summer 2023). <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2023/entries/chinese-legalism/">"Legalism in Chinese Philosophy"</a>. In <a href="/facts/Edward_N._Zalta/U8JxHaaA">Zalta, Edward N.</a>; Nodelman, Uri (eds.). <i><a href="/facts/Stanford_Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy/LDuL5HW4">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</a></i>.</li> <li>———, ed. (2024). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=L24aBQAAQBAJ"><i>Dao Companion to China's </i>fa<i> Tradition</i></a>. Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy. Vol. 19. Springer. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-3-031-53629-8. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2211-0275">2211-0275</a>. <ul><li>Wang, Pei. "Laozi, Huang-Lao and the <i>fa</i> tradition: thinking through the term <i>xingming</i> 刑名". In Pines (2024), pp. 575–594.</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Qiu_Xigui/EUtmV8X7">Qiu, Xigui</a> (2000) [1988]. <i>Chinese Writing</i>. Early China Special Monograph Series. Vol. 4. Translated by Mattos, Gilbert L.; Norman, Jerry. Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, University of California. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-55729-071-7.</li> <li>Sanft, Charles (2014) [2013]. <i>Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty</i>. Albany: State University of New York Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-4384-5037-7.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Rein_Taagepera/xC5JpSy1">Taagepera, Rein</a> (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". <i>Social Science History</i>. 3 (3/4): 121. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1170959">10.2307/1170959</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1170959">1170959</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Denis_Twitchett/wVv0ShX1">Twitchett, Dennis</a>; <a href="/facts/Michael_Loewe/zsYh11GS">Loewe, Michael</a>, eds. (1986). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=A2HKxK5N2sAC"><i>The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220</i></a>. Cambridge: <a href="/facts/Cambridge_University_Press/fgEBSSRq">Cambridge University Press</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCHOL9780521243278">10.1017/CHOL9780521243278</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-521-24327-8. <ul><li><a href="/facts/Derk_Bodde/6sXckcEB">Bodde, Derk</a>. "The state and empire of Chʻin". In Cambridge History of China(1986), pp. 20–102.</li> <li><a href="/facts/A._F._P._Hulsew%25C3%25A9/r6g7eR26">Hulsewé, A. F. P.</a> "Chʻin and Han law". In Cambridge History of China(1986), pp. 520–544.</li></ul></li> <li>Wade, Geoff (May 2009). <a href="http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf">"The Polity of Yelang (夜郎) and the Origin of the Name 'China'"</a> (PDF). <i><a href="/facts/Sino-Platonic_Papers/0N8EL98a">Sino-Platonic Papers</a></i>. 188. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110930070227/http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf">Archived</a> (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.</li> <li>Wilkinson, Endymion, ed. (2015). <i>Chinese History A New Manual</i>. Harvard. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-674-08846-7.</li> <li>Xiong, Victor Cunrui; Hammond, Kenneth James, eds. (2019). <i>The Routledge Handbook of Imperial Chinese History</i>. Routledge. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-138-84728-6. <ul><li>Sanft, Charles. "The Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE)". In Xiong & Hammond (2019), pp. 12–24.</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Burton_Watson/fNgxw9Iz">Watson, Burton</a> (1962). <i>Early Chinese Literature</i>. <a href="/facts/Columbia_University_Press/5dVrKLey">Columbia University Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-231-08671-4. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)</li> <li>Xue, Deshu; Qi, Xiuqian (May 2019). <a href="https://doi.org/10.2991%2Fichssr-19.2019.79">"Research on Supervision System in Ancient China and Its Contemporary Reference"</a>. <i>Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research</i>. 319 (79): 414–419. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2991%2Fichssr-19.2019.79">10.2991/ichssr-19.2019.79</a>. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2352-5398">2352-5398</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Philip_J._Ivanhoe/NebVorR3">Ivanhoe, Philip J.</a>; Van Norden, Bryan W., eds. (2005). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=5PL9hSUiVEoC"><i>Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy</i></a>. Hackett. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-87220-780-6 – via Google Books.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Yuri_Pines/n2hINGB4">Pines, Yuri</a> (2009). <i>Envisioning Eternal Empire</i>. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8248-3275-9.</li> <li>——— (2017). "Confucius' Elitism: The Concepts of <i>junzi</i> and <i>xiaoren</i> Revisited". In Goldin, Paul R. (ed.). <i>A Concise Companion to Confucius</i>. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Vol. 65. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 164–184. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002%2F9781118783863.ch8">10.1002/9781118783863.ch8</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-118-78387-0.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li> Media related to Qin Dynasty at Wikimedia Commons</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Qin". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/Qin" target="_blank">https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/Qin</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Li 2013, p. 6. - ——— (2013). Early China: A Social and Cultural History. New Approaches to Asian History. Vol. 12. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139034395. ISBN 978-0-521-89552-1. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781139034395" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781139034395</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 17. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Li 2006, pp. 262–264, 273–276. - Li, Feng (2006). "The eastward migration: reconfiguring the Western Zhou state". Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045–771 BC. Cambridge University Press. pp. 233–278. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489655.010. ISBN 978-0-521-85272-2. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fcbo9780511489655.010" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fcbo9780511489655.010</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Shen 2018, p. 117. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Lewis 2007, pp. 17–18. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 88. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Morton 1995, p. 45. - Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. OL 9250588M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Lander 2021, p. 115. - Lander, Brian (2021). The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-25508-9. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 17. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Kinney & Hardy 2005, p. 10. - Kinney, Anne Behnke; Hardy, Grant (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Lewis 2007, pp. 18–19. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Morton 1995, pp. 26, 45. - Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. OL 9250588M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Bodde 1967, p. 3. - Bodde, Derk (1967) [1938]. China's First Unifier: A Study of the Chʻin Dynasty as Seen in the Life of Li Ssŭ 李斯 280?–208 B.C. Sinica Leidensia. Vol. 3. Brill. OL 5588381M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5588381M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5588381M</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Kinney & Hardy 2005, p. 10. - Kinney, Anne Behnke; Hardy, Grant (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Morton 1995, p. 25. - Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. OL 9250588M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Lewis 2007, pp. 38–39. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 10. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Bo 2008, pp. 134–135. - Bo, Yang (2008). 中国帝王皇后亲王公主世系录 [Records of the Genealogy of Chinese Emperors, Empresses, and Their Descendants] (in Chinese). Vol. 1. Taiyuan: Zhongguo youyi chubangongsi. <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Loewe 2007. - ——— (9 September 2007). "China's First Empire". History Today. Vol. 57, no. 9. ISSN 0018-2753. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017. <a href="http://www.historytoday.com/michael-loewe/china%E2%80%99s-first-empire" target="_blank">http://www.historytoday.com/michael-loewe/china%E2%80%99s-first-empire</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Loewe 2007. - ——— (9 September 2007). "China's First Empire". History Today. Vol. 57, no. 9. ISSN 0018-2753. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017. <a href="http://www.historytoday.com/michael-loewe/china%E2%80%99s-first-empire" target="_blank">http://www.historytoday.com/michael-loewe/china%E2%80%99s-first-empire</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Morton 1995, p. 47. - Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. OL 9250588M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>Morton 1995, p. 47. - Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. OL 9250588M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 129. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 5. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:26"><p>Bodde 1986, p. 45. <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:27"><p>Sanft 2018, p. 155. <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:28"><p>Bo 2008, pp. 134–135. - Bo, Yang (2008). 中国帝王皇后亲王公主世系录 [Records of the Genealogy of Chinese Emperors, Empresses, and Their Descendants] (in Chinese). Vol. 1. Taiyuan: Zhongguo youyi chubangongsi. <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:29"><p>Kinney & Hardy 2005, pp. 13–15. - Kinney, Anne Behnke; Hardy, Grant (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5. <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:30"><p>Sanft 2018, pp. 157–158. <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:31"><p>Kinney & Hardy 2005, pp. 13–15. - Kinney, Anne Behnke; Hardy, Grant (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5. <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:32"><p>Lewis 2007, pp. 18–19. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:33"><p>Bodde 1986, p. 84. <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:34"><p>Qin Shi Huang stated that the dynasty would last 10,000 generations; it lasted less than 15 years.[29] <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:35"><p>Leung 2018, p. 163. <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:36"><p>Morton 1995, pp. 49–50. - Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. OL 9250588M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:37"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 128. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:38"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 5. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:39"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 11. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:39" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:40"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 102. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:41"><p>von Falkenhausen 2022, p. 16. <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:42"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 15. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:43"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 16. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:44"><p>Sterckx 2018, pp. 306–308. <a href="#fnref:44" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:45"><p>Sterckx 2018, p. 301. <a href="#fnref:45" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:46"><p>Hara 2022, pp. 69–71. <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:47"><p>Guo 2018, p. 242. <a href="#fnref:47" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:48"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 186. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:48" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:49"><p>Tavor 2018, p. 273. <a href="#fnref:49" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:50"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 181. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:50" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:51"><p>Lewis 2007, pp. 53–54. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:51" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:52"><p>Lewis 2007, p. 18. - ——— (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. London: Belknap. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. <a href="#fnref:52" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:53"><p>Xue & Qi 2019, p. 415. - Xue, Deshu; Qi, Xiuqian (May 2019). "Research on Supervision System in Ancient China and Its Contemporary Reference". Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research. 319 (79): 414–419. doi:10.2991/ichssr-19.2019.79. ISSN 2352-5398. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2991%2Fichssr-19.2019.79" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2991%2Fichssr-19.2019.79</a> <a href="#fnref:53" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:54"><p>Hui 2005, p. 81. - Hui, Victoria Tin-bor (2005). War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511614545.002. ISBN 978-1-139-44356-2. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9780511614545.002" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9780511614545.002</a> <a href="#fnref:54" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:55"><p>Chen & Wu 2007, pp. 180–181. - Chen, Guidi; Wu, Chuntao (2007). Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants. Translated by Zhu, Hong. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-441-5 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=gFEK1pLNqqMC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=gFEK1pLNqqMC</a> <a href="#fnref:55" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:56"><p>von Glahn 2022, p. 182. <a href="#fnref:56" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:57"><p>von Glahn 2022, pp. 175, 182–183. <a href="#fnref:57" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:58"><p>Kakinuma 2022, pp. 132–133. <a href="#fnref:58" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:59"><p>Kakinuma 2022, p. 133. <a href="#fnref:59" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:60"><p>Li 2013, pp. 255–256. - ——— (2013). Early China: A Social and Cultural History. New Approaches to Asian History. Vol. 12. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139034395. ISBN 978-0-521-89552-1. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781139034395" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781139034395</a> <a href="#fnref:60" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:61"><p>Morton 1995, p. 49. - Morton, W. Scott (1995). China: Its History and Culture (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-043424-0. OL 9250588M. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M" target="_blank">https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9250588M</a> <a href="#fnref:61" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:62"><p>Sanft 2014, pp. 127–128. - Sanft, Charles (2014) [2013]. Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-5037-7. <a href="#fnref:62" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:63"><p>Barbieri-Low & Yates 2015, pp. 111–112; Sanft 2014, pp. 127–129. - Barbieri-Low, Anthony J.; Yates, Robin D. S. (2015). Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China. Sinica Leidensia. Vol. 126. Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004300538. ISBN 978-90-04-30053-8. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004300538" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004300538</a> <a href="#fnref:63" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:64"><p>Sanft 2014, p. 129. - Sanft, Charles (2014) [2013]. Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-5037-7. <a href="#fnref:64" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:65"><p>Qiu 1988, pp. 70–71. - Qiu, Xigui (2000) [1988]. Chinese Writing. Early China Special Monograph Series. Vol. 4. Translated by Mattos, Gilbert L.; Norman, Jerry. Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, University of California. ISBN 978-1-55729-071-7. <a href="#fnref:65" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:66"><p>Qiu 1988, p. 78. - Qiu, Xigui (2000) [1988]. Chinese Writing. Early China Special Monograph Series. Vol. 4. Translated by Mattos, Gilbert L.; Norman, Jerry. Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, University of California. ISBN 978-1-55729-071-7. <a href="#fnref:66" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:67"><p>Qiu 1988, p. 100. - Qiu, Xigui (2000) [1988]. Chinese Writing. Early China Special Monograph Series. Vol. 4. Translated by Mattos, Gilbert L.; Norman, Jerry. Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, University of California. ISBN 978-1-55729-071-7. <a href="#fnref:67" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:68"><p>Bökset 2006, pp. 17, 19. - Bökset, Roar (2006). Long Story of Short Forms: The Evolution of Simplified Chinese Characters (PDF). Stockholm East Asian Monographs. Vol. 11. Stockholm University. ISBN 978-91-628-6832-1. <a href="https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:200810/FULLTEXT01" target="_blank">https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:200810/FULLTEXT01</a> <a href="#fnref:68" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:69"><p>Galambos 2004, pp. 181–182; Bökset 2006, pp. 18–19. - Galambos, Imre (2004). "The Myth of the Qin Unification of Writing in Han Sources" (PDF). Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 57 (2): 181–203. doi:10.1556/AOrient.57.2004.2.2. ISSN 0001-6446. JSTOR 23658631. <a href="https://real.mtak.hu/46320/1/aorient.57.2004.2.2.pdf" target="_blank">https://real.mtak.hu/46320/1/aorient.57.2004.2.2.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:69" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:70"><p>Hulsewé 1986, p. 539; Bodde 1986, p. 60. <a href="#fnref:70" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:71"><p>Hulsewé 1986, p. 528. <a href="#fnref:71" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:72"><p>Cheng 2008, p. 208. - Cheng, Chung-ying (2008). "The Yi-jing and Yin-Yang way of thinking". In Mou, Bo (ed.). The Routledge History of Chinese Philosophy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-24937-4. <a href="#fnref:72" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:73"><p>Goldin 2005, pp. 5–6. - Goldin, Paul R. (2005). After Confucius: Studies in Early Chinese Philosophy. University of Hawaiʻi Press. doi:10.26530/oapen_625891. ISBN 978-0-8248-2842-4. <a href="https://doi.org/10.26530%2Foapen_625891" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.26530%2Foapen_625891</a> <a href="#fnref:73" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:74"><p>Wilkinson 2015, p. 307; Cheng 2008, p. 208. - Wilkinson, Endymion, ed. (2015). Chinese History A New Manual. Harvard. ISBN 978-0-674-08846-7. <a href="#fnref:74" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:75"><p>Wang 2024, p. 588. <a href="#fnref:75" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:76"><p>Wilkinson 2015, p. 307. - Wilkinson, Endymion, ed. (2015). Chinese History A New Manual. Harvard. ISBN 978-0-674-08846-7. <a href="#fnref:76" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:77"><p>Pines 2023. - ——— (Summer 2023). "Legalism in Chinese Philosophy". In Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2023/entries/chinese-legalism/" target="_blank">https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2023/entries/chinese-legalism/</a> <a href="#fnref:77" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:78"><p>Jiang 2021, p. 213; Hsiao 1979, p. 470. - Jiang, Tao (2021). Origins of Moral-political Philosophy in Early China. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-760347-5 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qXo_EAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=qXo_EAAAQBAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:78" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:79"><p>Watson 1962, p. 174. - Watson, Burton (1962). Early Chinese Literature. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-08671-4. <a href="#fnref:79" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:80"><p>Bodde 1986, pp. 50. <a href="#fnref:80" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:81"><p>Goldin 2005, p. 5. - Goldin, Paul R. (2005). After Confucius: Studies in Early Chinese Philosophy. University of Hawaiʻi Press. doi:10.26530/oapen_625891. ISBN 978-0-8248-2842-4. <a href="https://doi.org/10.26530%2Foapen_625891" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.26530%2Foapen_625891</a> <a href="#fnref:81" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:82"><p>Hulsewé 1986, p. 50,533. <a href="#fnref:82" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:83"><p>Pines 2014, pp. 21, 213; Hulsewé 1986, pp. 533–535. - Pines, Yuri; Shelach-Lavi, Gideon; Falkenhausen, Lothar von; Yates, Robin D. S., eds. (2014). Birth of an Empire: The State of Qin Revisited. New Perspectives on Chinese Culture and Society. Vol. 5. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-28974-1 – via eScholarship. <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4h74v49p" target="_blank">https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4h74v49p</a> <a href="#fnref:83" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:84"><p>Loewe 2011, pp. 93–94. - ——— (2011). Dong Zhongshu, a 'Confucian' Heritage and the Chunqiu fanlu. China Studies. Vol. 20. Leiden: Brill. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004194656.i-370.15. ISBN 978-90-04-21486-6. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163%2Fej.9789004194656.i-370.15" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1163%2Fej.9789004194656.i-370.15</a> <a href="#fnref:84" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:85"><p>Lewis 1999, p. 19. - Lewis, Mark Edward (1999). Writing and Authority in Early China. State University of New York Press. doi:10.1353/pew.2001.0006. ISBN 978-0-7914-4114-5. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fpew.2001.0006" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fpew.2001.0006</a> <a href="#fnref:85" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:86"><p>Sanft 2018, p. 159. <a href="#fnref:86" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:87"><p>Xiong & Hammond 2019, p. 7; Pines 2014, p. 231. - Xiong, Victor Cunrui; Hammond, Kenneth James, eds. (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Imperial Chinese History. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-84728-6. <a href="#fnref:87" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:88"><p>Korolkov 2022, p. 11; Sanft 2019, p. 21. - Korolkov, Maxim (2022). The Imperial Network in Ancient China: The Foundation of Sinitic Empire in Southern East Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-65428-3. <a href="#fnref:88" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:89"><p>Sanft 2019, p. 21; Pines 2014, pp. 231–232. <a href="#fnref:89" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:90"><p>Sanft 2014, p. 127. - Sanft, Charles (2014) [2013]. Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-5037-7. <a href="#fnref:90" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:91"><p>Korolkov 2022, p. 170. - Korolkov, Maxim (2022). The Imperial Network in Ancient China: The Foundation of Sinitic Empire in Southern East Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-65428-3. <a href="#fnref:91" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:92"><p>Sanft 2018, p. 159. <a href="#fnref:92" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:93"><p>Keay 2009, p. 98. - Keay, John (2009). China: A History. Harper. ISBN 978-0-00-722178-3. <a href="#fnref:93" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:94"><p>Wade 2009, p. 19, "This thesis also helps explain the existence of Cīna in the Indic Laws of Manu and the Mahabharata, likely dating well before Qin Shihuangdi". - Wade, Geoff (May 2009). "The Polity of Yelang (夜郎) and the Origin of the Name 'China'" (PDF). Sino-Platonic Papers. 188. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011. <a href="http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:94" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>