Qin (state)

This article is about the state of Qin under the Zhou dynasty. For the empire that it controlled after the fall of the Zhou, see Qin dynasty. For other states of this name, see Qin § Dynasties and states.
Qin
  • 秦
  • *Dzin
9th century BC–207 BC
Location of Qin
Capital
  • Quanqiu (犬丘)
  • Qinyi (秦邑)
  • Qian (汧)
  • Pingyang (平陽)
  • Yong (雍)
  • Jingyang (涇陽)
  • Yueyang
  • Xianyang
Common languagesOld Chinese
Religion
GovernmentMonarchy
History 
• Established
9th century BC
• Founded by Feizi
860 BCE?
• Declared empire
221 BC
• defunct
207 BC
Currencyancient Chinese coinage
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Zhou dynasty
Qin dynasty
Eighteen Kingdoms
Today part ofChina
Qin
"Qin" in seal script (top) and regular script (bottom) characters
Chinese秦
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQín
Bopomofoㄑㄧㄣˊ
Wade–GilesCh'in2
Tongyong PinyinCín
IPA[tɕʰǐn]
Wu
SuzhouneseZín
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationChèuhn
JyutpingCeon4
IPA[tsʰɵn˩]
Southern Min
Tâi-lôTsîn
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*[dz]i[n]

Qin (/tʃɪn/, or Ch'in[1]) was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC.[2] The Qin state originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at the western edge of Chinese civilisation allowed for expansion and development that was not available to its rivals in the North China Plain.

After extensive reform during the 4th century BC, Qin emerged as one of the dominant powers among the Seven Warring States. It unified the seven states of China in 221 BC under Qin Shi Huang. This unification established the Qin dynasty, which, despite its short duration, had a significant influence on later Chinese history. Accordingly, the Qin state before the Qin dynasty was established is also referred to as the "predynastic Qin"[3][4] or "proto-Qin".[5]

  1. ^ Joseph Richmond Levenson (1969). China: An Interpretive History. University of California Press. p. 66.
  2. ^ The Cambridge History of China: Volume 1, The Ch'in and Han Empires Google Books
  3. ^ Gideon Shelach-Lavi (2015). The Archaeology of Early China. Cambridge University Press. p. 314. ISBN 9780521196895.
  4. ^ Zhixin Sun (2017). Age of Empires: Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 33. ISBN 9781588396174.
  5. ^ Lothar von Falkenhausen (2006). Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC). Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. p. 235. ISBN 9781938770456.