From Early Dynasties to a Unified China

People have lived in communities along the rivers of what is now China for thousands of years. Chinese tradition describes the Xia as the earliest dynasty, although historians continue to study archaeological evidence about this period. Clearer evidence survives from the Shang Dynasty, which ruled parts of the Yellow River region beginning around 1600 BCE. Shang rulers governed cities, commanded armies, practiced bronze working, and used an early form of Chinese writing.

The Shang did not control all of the land that is now China. Their kingdom was one of several societies that developed in the region. Still, their writing, bronze technology, religious practices, and political organization influenced later Chinese societies.

Around 1046 BCE, the Zhou defeated the Shang and established a new dynasty. Zhou rulers explained their victory through an idea later called the Mandate of Heaven. According to this belief, a ruler had the right to govern as long as the ruler governed properly. A ruler who became unjust or failed to maintain order could lose that right.

The Zhou controlled a large territory by allowing local rulers to govern different areas. Over time, however, the central Zhou rulers became weaker and local states gained more independence. Powerful states increasingly competed for land and political control.

By the fifth century BCE, China had entered a period historians call the Warring States period. Several large states fought repeatedly for territory and power. Warfare became larger and more organized as rulers developed stronger armies and governments capable of collecting taxes and directing resources.

Competition also encouraged technological and economic changes. Iron tools became more common, agricultural production increased, and rulers developed irrigation systems and roads. Larger populations and stronger governments allowed states to support armies containing many thousands of soldiers.

The disorder of this era also led thinkers to ask how society should be governed. Confucius taught that good government depended on moral leadership, proper relationships, education, and responsible behavior. Other thinkers developed different explanations for creating order.

One influential approach later called Legalism argued that rulers needed clear laws, strict enforcement, and strong central authority. Legalist ideas became especially important in the state of Qin, where rulers strengthened government control and organized resources for warfare.

Qin was one of the states competing for power during the Warring States period. Its rulers created a highly organized government and strengthened the army. They were able to direct large amounts of land, labor, and resources toward expanding Qin power.

One Qin ruler, Ying Zheng, eventually defeated the remaining rival states. In 221 BCE, he declared himself Qin Shi Huangdi, meaning the First Emperor of Qin. For the first time, a large part of the region was brought together under one centralized imperial government.

The conquest ended the Warring States period, but it created a new challenge. Qin Shi Huangdi now had to govern territories that had previously followed different rulers and systems. The decisions he made to strengthen and organize the new empire would shape Chinese history long after the Qin Dynasty itself ended.