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The Qin Dynasty was short, lasting only about 20 years. The first emperor, Qin Shih Huang, was preoccupied with achieving immortality, and died a few years after unifying China. The cause of death is thought to be poisoning by a variety of elixirs which were prescribed for him by his physicians to prolong his life. Many of these contained mercury, arsenic, and other toxic elements.
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The ascendency of the Qin began around the year 361 BCE with a set of economic and political reforms instituted by Duke Hsiao and his Legalist advisor, Shang Yang.1 The military growth of the Qin increased in the year 338 BCE, after the death of Shang Yang.2
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Battle or other event |
Date(s) |
Adversaries |
Description |
| Qin Shi Huang ascends to the throne of Qin |
247 BCE |
Qin Dynasty Rule |
Qin Shi Huang, personal name Ying Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BCE to 221 BCE (officially still under the Zhou Dynasty). |
| Construction begins on tomb of Qin Shih Huang and its terra cotta army |
246-208 BCE |
Qin Dynasty Rule |
Construction of Qin Shih Huang's mausoleum is said to have began in 246 BCE (the first actual evidence of construction is 212 BCE) and is believed to have taken 700,000 workers and craftsmen 38 years to complete. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
241 BCE |
Zhao v Qi |
6th year of King Zheng of Qin: Zhao attacks Qi. |
| Zui, Battle of |
241 BCE |
Alliance of five states v Qin |
6th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle of Zui where aAlliance of five states attack Qin once again. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
240 BCE |
Qin v Wei |
7th year of King Zheng of Qin: Qin attacks Wei. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
239 BCE |
Qin v Shangdang of Zhao |
8th year of King Zheng of Qin: Qin attacks Shangdang of Zhao. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
238 BCE |
Qin v Wei |
9th year of King Zheng of Qin: Qin attacks Wei. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
238 BCE |
Qin v Lao Ai |
9th year of King Zheng of Qin: Qin suppresses Lao Ai. |
| Hejian, Battle of |
236 BCE |
Qin v Shangdang of Zhao |
11th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle of Hejian (Qin versus Shangdang of Zhao). |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
236 BCE |
Zhao v Yan |
11th year of King Zheng of Qin: Zhao attacks Yan. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
235 BCE |
Qin and Wei v Chu |
12th year of King Zheng of Qin: Qin assists Wei in attacking Chu. |
| Pingyang, Battle of |
234 BCE |
Qin v Zhao |
13th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle of Pingyang (Qin versus Zhao). |
| Fei, Battle of |
233 BCE |
Qin v Zhao |
14th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle of Fei (Qin versus Zhao). |
| Panwu, Battle of |
232 BCE |
Qin v Zhao |
15th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle of Panwu (Qin versus Zhao). |
| Unnamed Battle |
230 BCE |
Qin v Han |
17th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle where Qin destroys Han. |
| Unnamed Battle |
229 BCE |
Qin v Zhao |
18th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle where Qin destroys Zhao. |
| Qin conquest of Ch’ao, Han, Wei, Yen, and Ch’i |
228-221 BCE |
Qin v Ch’ao, Han, Wei, Yen, and Ch’i |
Cheng (Qin?) conquers the kingdoms of Ch’ao, Han, Wei, Yen, and Ch’i. |
| Yi River, Battle of the |
227 BCE |
Qin v Yan |
20th year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle of the Yi River (Qin versus Yan). |
| Unnamed Battle |
225 BCE |
Qin v Wei |
22nd year of King Zheng of Qin: The battle where Qin destroys Wei. |
| Chengfu, Battle of |
225 BCE |
Qin v Chu |
22nd year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle of Chengfu (Qin versus Chu). |
| Unnamed Battle |
224 BCE |
Qin v Chu |
23rd year of King Zheng of Qin: The Battle where Qin destroys Chu. |
| Unnamed Battle |
221 BCE |
Qin v Qi |
26th year of King Zheng of Qin: The battle where Qin destroys Qi. |
| Unification of China and establishment of Qin Dynasty |
221-206 BCE |
Qin v ?? |
The Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty ruled from 221 to 206 BCE with their capital at Xianyang 咸陽, in Shaanxi Province. |
| Qin conquest of the Yangtze valley and Northern Korea |
221-214 BCE |
Qin v ?? |
Under the command of the Emperor’s generals Ming T’ien and Chao T’o, the Ch’in dynasty conquers northern Korea and regions south of the Yangtze river. |
| Invasion of the Mongols (Hsiung-nu) |
220 BCE |
Qin v Xiongnu |
Under Mo Du, the barbarian Mongols pierce the Great Wall with an army of over 300,000 men. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
215 BCE |
Qin v Xiongnu |
32nd year of Qin Shi Huang: The Qin Northern Strike against the Xiongnu. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
214 BCE |
Qin v Bai Yue |
33rd year of Qin Shi Huang: The Qin Attack on the Bai Yue. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
214 BCE |
Qin v Xiongnu |
Qin’s General Meng Tian ( 蒙恬) defeated the XiongNu (匈奴) and recovered He Tao region. |
| Great Wall construction begins |
214 BCE |
Qin Dynasty Rule |
(Re?) Construction of the Great Wall of China begins. |
| Confucian books burned |
213 BCE |
Qin Dynasty Rule |
Qin Shi Huang ordered the burning of Confucian and other books. |
| Confucian scholars purged |
212 BCE |
Qin Dynasty Rule |
Qin Shi Huang prosecuted and buried alive 460 confucian scholars. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
210 BCE |
Zhao Tuo v Au Lac |
37th year of Qin Shi Huang: Zhao Tuo Attacks the Au Lac (supposed ancestors of the Vietnamese). |
| Death of Emperor Qin Shih Huang Ti |
September 10, 210 BCE |
Qin Dynasty Rule |
Emperor Shih Huang Ti dies and his inept son Hu Hai (胡亥) assumes the throne. He is to be known as “Qin Ershi” (秦二世). The new empire breaks into rebellion. |
| Uprising in Ch'u |
209 BCE |
Ch'u v ?? |
Xiangyu (项羽) rebelled at Wu. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
209 BCE |
Liu Bang v Qin |
1st year of Qin Ershi: Liu Bang raises an army against the Qin government. |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
July, 209 BCE |
Peasants led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang v Qin |
1st year of Qin Ershi: Peasants led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang revolt. Chen Sheng (陈胜) and Wu Guang (吴广) began their rebellion at Daze (大泽乡). |
| Linji, Battle of |
208 BCE |
Qin v Chu |
2nd year of Qin Ershi: The Battles of Linji and Dingtao between Qin and Chu (Xiang Yu). |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
208 BCE |
Zhao Tuo v Au Lac |
2nd year of Qin Ershi: Zhao Tuo's second attack on the Au Lac. |
| Dingtao, Battle of |
208 BCE |
Qin v Chu |
2nd year of Qin Ershi: The Battles of Linji and Dingtao between Qin and Chu (Xiang Yu). |
| Unnamed Battle(s) |
207 BCE |
Liu Bang v ?? |
3rd year of Qin Ershi: Liu Pang's battle to enter the Guanzhong region. |
| Julu, Battle of |
207 BCE |
Qin v Chu |
3rd year of Qin Ershi: The Battle of Julu between Qin (Han) and Chu.The major Qin forces were eliminated in this battle, thus sealing the fate of the Qin dynasty. |
| Power struggles between Hsiang Yu of Ch’u and Liu Pang |
207 BCE |
Hsiang Yu of Ch’u v Liu Pang |
Hu Hai is murdered, setting off a series of power struggles between Hsiang Yu of Ch’u and Liu Pang, a popular revolutionary leader. |
| Liu Pang captures Xianyang |
206 BCE |
Liu Pang v Xianyang |
Liu Pang captures Xianyang (咸阳), the capital of Qin. |
| War between Qin and Chu |
205 BCE |
Qin v Chu |
Liu Pang, together with other feudal lords, attacked Chu, victorious at first, Liu was later defeated. |
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Notes
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1 Derek Bodde, “The state and empire of Ch'in,” in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1, The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.-A.D. 220, Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe, ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 34-35.
2 Bodde, “The state and empire of Ch'in,” 38-40.
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Bodde, Derek. “The state and empire of Ch'in,” in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1, The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.- A.D. 220, Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Di Cosmo, Nicola. Ancient China and its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Elvin, Mark. “The Environmental Legacy of Imperial China,” in The China Quarterly, no. 156, Special Issue: China's Environment (December, 1998), 733-756.
Elvin, Mark. The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.
Hui, Victoria Tin-Bor. War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Kiser, Edgar, and Youn Cai. “War and Bureaucratization in Qin China: An Anomalous Case,” in American Sociological Review, Vol. 68 (August, 2003), 511-539.
Loewe, Michael. The Government of the Qin and Han Empires 221 BCE - 220 CE. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2006.
Peers, C.J. Soldiers of the Dragon: Chinese Armies 1500 BC - AD 1840. Westminster, MD: Osprey Publishing, 2006.
“Zhongguo lidai zhanzheng nianbiao” editorial board. Zhongguo lidai zhanzheng nianbiao 《中国历代战争年表》 (Chronology of Wars in China Through Successive Dynasties.) Beijing: Jiefangjun chubanshe (People's Liberation Army Press), 2003. [Non-English]
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