The Qin dynasty, or Chin, ruled China in the period between 221 BC and 206 BC. The first king of that dynasty, Zheng, is known to have done great acts, such as the Chinese unification that took place in a very violent way. His government is also known as very cruel due to the several wars of domination that occurred before the Chinese unification, when he was still conquering the kingdoms of Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi. After all these achievements, Zheng, proclaimed himself the “First Emperor” (Shi Huangdi).
Such a dynasty was due to the fact that the king's vassals, the lords, grew in a frightening way politically and economically, becoming more influential than the king himself, who then became purely symbolic. Around 403 BC to 221 BC, a period called the "Period of the Fighting States" began, which was marked by the war between these lords, whose aim was to accumulate small territories to expand their areas of influence. Over time, the more powerful kingdoms incorporated the less influential kingdoms. At the end of this period the kingdoms of Chu (in the South) and Qin (in the West) were the most powerful, and much of this Qin power is due to the fact that there was a young king with a great military gift, Zheng, who was acclaimed king just nine years old.
All this centralizing policy provided by the Qin dynasty over Emperor Zheng, worked only with him. With his death in 210 BC China is going through a very difficult time in imperial succession. Zheng's legitimate successor was murdered by his younger brother, and the second emperor Qin Er Shi was also murdered, only now by one of his ministers, Li Si, in 208 BC Li Si was also killed, in 207 BC, and the peasantry, tired of all this instability, together with some nobles, participated in several rebellions against the government. Until in 202 BC, Liu Bang, an official of the Empire, overthrew the Qin government and declared himself king under the Han dynasty. From then on, a new phase in China began, governed by a new dynasty: the “Han dynasty”.
