This is a timeline of the Warring States period (481 BC – 403 BC) and the Qin state (9th century BC – 221 BC) and dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC).
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
897 BC | Horse breeder Feizi is given the fief of Qin in modern Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County [1] | |
858 BC | Feizi dies and is succeeded by the Marquis of Qin | |
848 BC | The Marquis of Qin dies and is succeeded by Gongbo | |
845 BC | Gongbo dies and is succeeded by Qin Zhong | |
822 BC | Qin Zhong is killed in battle by the Xirong [1] and is succeeded by Duke Zhuang of Qin |
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
778 BC | Duke Zhuang of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Xiang of Qin | |
770 BC | Duke Xiang of Qin sends an army to protect King Ping of Zhou [2] | |
766 BC | Duke Xiang of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Wen of Qin | |
753 BC | Annalists are established in Qin [3] | |
750 BC | Qin defeats the Xirong in battle and annexes the land they occupied [2] | |
716 BC | Duke Wen of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Xian of Qin | |
704 BC | Duke Xian of Qin dies and is succeeded by Chuzi I |
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
698 BC | Chuzi I is assassinated and succeeded by Duke Wu of Qin | |
688 BC | The county (縣 xiàn) is mentioned for the first time in Qin [4] | |
678 BC | Duke Wu of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke De of Qin | |
Qin starts practicing human sacrifice at burials [3] | ||
677 BC | Qin moves its capital to Yong in modern Fengxiang [1] | |
676 BC | Duke De of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Xuan of Qin | |
664 BC | Duke Xuan of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Cheng of Qin | |
660 BC | Duke Cheng of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Mu of Qin | |
650 BC | Earliest archaeological evidence of crossbows [5] | |
645 BC | Qin annexes Jin territory west of the Yellow River [2] | |
623 BC | Qin deals a major defeat to the Xirong and expands further west [1] | |
621 BC | Duke Mu of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Kang of Qin | |
609 BC | Duke Kang of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Gong of Qin | |
604 BC | Duke Gong of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Huan of Qin |
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
577 BC | Duke Huan of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Jing of Qin | |
544 BC | Sunzi is born | |
537 BC | Duke Jing of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Ai of Qin | |
513 BC | Penal laws are inscribed on iron tripod vessels in Qin [6] | |
501 BC | Duke Ai of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Hui I of Qin |
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
500 BC | Cast iron tools [7] | |
496 BC | Sun Tzu dies | |
492 BC | Duke Hui I of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Dao of Qin | |
479 BC | Kongfuzi dies [8] | |
477 BC | Duke Dao of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Ligong of Qin | |
473 BC | Battle of Li River: Goujian of Yue attacks Fuchai of Wu while their forces are out on an expedition against Lu and Qi, resulting in the annexation of Wu [9] | |
470 BC | Mozi is born | |
462 BC | Qin seizes Wangcheng [10] | |
447 BC | Chu (state) conquers Cai | |
443 BC | Duke Ligong of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Zao of Qin | |
440 BC | Wu Qi is born | |
430 BC | The Xirong attack Qin [1] | |
429 BC | Duke Zao of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Huai of Qin | |
425 BC | Duke Huai of Qin kills himself and is succeeded by Duke Ling of Qin | |
418 BC | Qi annexes Xue | |
415 BC | Duke Ling of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Jian of Qin | |
412 BC | Qin goes to war with Wei [11] | |
408 BC | First recorded grain tax in Qin [2] |
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
400 BC | Duke Jian of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Hui II of Qin | |
The commandery (郡 jùn) is mentioned for the first time in Wei [12] | ||
Iron plough [6] | ||
391 BC | Mozi dies | |
390 BC | Shang Yang is born | |
387 BC | Duke Hui II of Qin dies and is succeeded by Chuzi II | |
385 BC | Chuzi II is killed and succeeded by Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC) | |
Wei conquers Qin territory west of the Yellow River [2] | ||
384 BC | Qin officially bans the practice of human sacrifice at burials [3] | |
381 BC | Wu Qi dies | |
375 BC | Han conquers Zheng | |
372 BC | Mencius is born | |
369 BC | Chu conquers Zou | |
Zhuang Zhou is born | ||
362 BC | Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC) dies and is succeeded by Duke Xiao of Qin [11] | |
350 BC | Qin moves its capital to Xianyang [1] | |
Qin creates 31 counties to be administered by centrally appointed magistrates [13] | ||
Qin abolishes the fixed land tenure system [13] | ||
344 BC | Qin standardizes weights and measures [14] | |
340 BC | Qin retakes territory lost to Wei [11] | |
338 BC | Duke Xiao of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Huiwen of Qin | |
Shang Yang is killed [11] | ||
336 BC | Qin issues its first currency [8] | |
334 BC | Chu conquers Yue | |
326 BC | Qin starts celebrating the New Year [3] | |
317 BC | Qin defeats the coalition army of Han, Zhao, and Wei [15] | |
316 BC | Qin annexes Shu and Ba [16] | |
315 BC | Qin captures 25 settlements from the Xirong [1] | |
313 BC | Xun Kuang is born | |
312 BC | Qin defeats a Chu army [15] | |
311 BC | King Huiwen of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Wu of Qin | |
309 BC | Qin creates the offices of chancellors of the right and left [14] | |
307 BC | King Wu of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Zhaoxiang of Qin |
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
297 BC | Song conquers Teng | |
296 BC | Zhao conquers Zhongshan | |
289 BC | Mencius dies | |
286 BC | Qi conquers Song | |
Zhuang Zhou dies | ||
280 BC | Han Fei is born | |
278 BC | Qin sacks Ying, the capital of Chu [15] | |
272 BC | Qin annexes Yiqu | |
266 BC | According to a noble in Wei, "Qin has the same customs as the Rong and Di [barbarians]. It has the heart of a tiger or a wolf... It knows nothing about traditional mores, proper relationships, and virtuous conduct." [1] | |
262 BC | Battle of Changping: Qin deals a major defeat to Zhao [17] | |
256 BC | Qin annexes Eastern Zhou [14] | |
Li Bing constructs the Dujiangyan [18] | ||
250 BC | King Zhaoxiang of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Xiaowen of Qin and then King Zhuangxiang of Qin | |
249 BC | Chu conquers Lu | |
247 BC | 7 May | King Zhuangxiang of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Zheng of Qin |
246 BC | The Zhengguo Canal is constructed [19] | |
238 BC | Xun Kuang dies | |
233 BC | Han Fei is killed [19] | |
230 BC | Qin annexes Han [20] | |
228 BC | Qin annexes Zhao [20] | |
227 BC | Jing Ke fails to assassinate King Zheng of Qin [20] | |
225 BC | Qin annexes Wei [20] | |
223 BC | Qin annexes Chu [20] | |
222 BC | Qin annexes Yan [20] | |
221 BC | Qin annexes Qi [20] | |
King Zheng of Qin becomes the First Emperor of Qin [21] | ||
Meng Tian starts construction of the Great Wall of China [22] | ||
220 BC | Construction of imperial highways begins [23] | |
219 BC | The emperor gets mad at a mountain god, so he orders the mountain to be denuded and painted red [24] | |
The Lingqu "magic transport" canal is constructed, linking the Changjiang to Dongting Lake [25] | ||
214 BC | Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu: Meng Tian defeats the Xiongnu and conquers the Ordos region [26] | |
Qin's campaign against the Yue tribes: Qin expands into modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian, adding four new commanderies to the empire [26] | ||
Colonists are sent to Guilin, Xiang, and Nanhai [27] | ||
213 BC | Burning of books and burying of scholars | |
Colonists are sent to modern Guangdong and northern Vietnam [27] | ||
212 BC | Construction of the Epang Palace begins [26] | |
Construction of the Qin Mausoleum begins [26] | ||
211 BC | An inauspicious comet is sighted, causing the emperor to kill everyone around the area where it fell [28] | |
Colonists are sent to Ordos [27] | ||
210 BC | Xu Fu returns from his voyage to find the elixir of life and blames his failure on sea monsters so the emperor goes fishing [28] | |
10 September | The First Emperor of Qin dies [29] | |
October | Zhao Gao and Li Si enthrone the Second Emperor of Qin; the brother Fusu kills himself and Meng Tian is imprisoned [29] | |
209 BC | Qin annexes Wey | |
Dazexiang uprising: Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebel [30] | ||
208 BC | January | Dazexiang uprising: Chen Sheng and Wu Guang are assassinated but the rebellion continues under other leaders such as Liu Bang and Xiang Yu [31] |
August | Li Si is killed [31] | |
207 BC | August | Battle of Julu: Qin general Zhang Han surrenders to Xiang Yu [31] |
October | The Second Emperor of Qin kills himself and Zhao Gao replaces him with Ziying, who stabs Zhao to death [31] | |
November | Ziying surrenders to Liu Bang; so ends the Qin dynasty [31] |