Qin dynasty, Qin also spelled Kin or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ch’in, dynasty that established the first great Chinese empire. The Qin—which lasted only from 221 to 207 BCE but from which the name China is derived—established the approximate boundaries and basic administrative system that all subsequent Chinese dynasties were to follow for the next two millennia.
The dynasty was originated by the state of Qin, one of the many small feudal states into which China was divided between 771 and 221 BCE. The Qin, which occupied the strategic Wei River valley in the extreme northwestern area of the country, was one of the least Sinicized of those small states and one of the most martial. Between the middle of the 3rd and the end of the 2nd century BCE, the rulers of Qin began to centralize state power, creating a rigid system of laws that were applicable throughout the country and dividing the state into a series of commanderies and prefectures ruled by officials appointed by the central government. Under those changes, Qin slowly began to conquer its surrounding states, emerging into a major power in China.
Finally, in 246 BCE, the boy king Ying Zheng came to the throne. He, together with his minister Li Si, completed the Qin conquests and in 221 created the Qin empire. Ying Zheng proclaimed himself Qin Shihuangdi (“First Sovereign Emperor of Qin”). To rule the vast territory, the Qin instituted a rigid, authoritarian government; they standardized the writing system, standardized the measurements of length and weight and the width of highways, abolished all feudal privileges, oversaw large-scale construction of what then became the first Great Wall, and in 213, to halt subversive thought, ordered all books burned, except those on such utilitarian subjects as medicine.
