Qin State and Empire
The Qin state grew from a western kingdom into the power that unified China in 221 BC. Its ruler, Qin Shi Huang, made himself First Emperor and extended a system of centrally appointed officials, common standards and compulsory labour across the conquered territories. Roads, frontier walls and an enormous imperial burial complex expressed the new state’s ambitions. The dynasty collapsed in 206 BC, but many of its institutions survived under the Han. Qin history therefore connects centuries of rivalry among independent states with the beginnings of imperial government.
Explore Qin sites
The Great Wall links Qin frontier building with earlier state defences and later ramparts. The surviving phases reveal different ways of construction.
Daily life
Daily Life under Qin Rule: Households, Work and Obligations
Qin households produced food and clothing while registration connected family members with state service. Records and objects explain these demands and tasks.
- Artisans and Workshops in Qin Society: Production and State Service
- Food, Farming Routines and Clothing in Qin Communities: Everyday Production and Consumption
- Living with Qin Officials: Household Registration, Service and Disputes
- Qin Homes, Tools and Household Possessions in Everyday Life
- Qin Households, Work and Social Obligations under State Rule
- Ritual, Divination and Household Beliefs in Qin China: Guidance for Daily Decisions
History and society
Qin: The State and Empire That Unified China
Qin grew from a western state into China’s first empire. Appointed officials, agricultural resources and military organisation sustained its conquests.
- Land, Taxation and Labour in the Qin State and Empire: Agriculture and State Mobilisation
- Qin Administration and Law: How Written Records Governed the State
- Qin Armies, Roads and Frontier Construction: Systems of Imperial Warfare and Defense
- Qin Writing and Standardisation: Instruments of Imperial Rule
- Qin: From Western State to China’s First Empire