Skip to content
Χρονικόν
EL · Ελληνικά

Chronicle II of X

The Qin & Han Empire

秦漢 · Qin-Han

The First Emperor and the Terracotta Army, the Han and the Silk Road.

Span
221 BC – 220 AD
Entries
10
Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of a united China, in a 19th-century portrait
Frontispiece · Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of a united China, in a 19th-century portraitVia Wikimedia Commons
  1. 221 BC

    The Qin DynastyPolitical

    The First Emperor forges an empire

    Qin Shi Huang standardizes the script, coinage, weights and axle-widths, and divides China into centrally governed commanderies.

    Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of a united China, in a 19th-century portrait
    Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of a united China, in a 19th-century portrait · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  2. 214 BC

    The Qin DynastyMilitary

    The Great Wall and the northern frontier

    Qin armies drive back the Xiongnu nomads and link older ramparts into a single long wall along the steppe frontier.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  3. 210 BC

    The Qin DynastyCultural

    The Terracotta Army and the death of the emperor

    The First Emperor dies seeking immortality and is buried with an army of thousands of life-sized terracotta soldiers.

    The Terracotta Army guarding the tomb of the First Emperor near Xi'an
    The Terracotta Army guarding the tomb of the First Emperor near Xi'an · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  4. 206 BC

    Founding of the HanPolitical

    The peasant who founded the Han

    The Qin collapses in revolt; the commoner Liu Bang triumphs in civil war and founds the Han dynasty as Emperor Gaozu.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  5. 141 BC

    The Western HanPolitical

    Emperor Wu and the height of the Han

    Emperor Wu expands the empire in every direction and makes Confucianism the doctrine of the state.

    Emperor Wu of Han, under whom the dynasty reached its height
    Emperor Wu of Han, under whom the dynasty reached its height · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  6. 138 BC

    The Western HanCultural

    Zhang Qian and the opening of the Silk Road

    The envoy Zhang Qian journeys into Central Asia, opening the trade routes that would carry Chinese silk to Rome.

    Map of the Silk Road trade routes opened under the Han
    Map of the Silk Road trade routes opened under the Han · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  7. 100 BC

    The Western HanCultural

    Sima Qian and the Records of the Grand Historian

    The court historian Sima Qian completes the Shiji, the model for two thousand years of Chinese history-writing.

    Sima Qian, the Grand Historian and father of Chinese historiography
    Sima Qian, the Grand Historian and father of Chinese historiography · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3

  8. The Wang Mang InterregnumPolitical

    Wang Mang usurps the throne

    The regent Wang Mang seizes power and founds the short-lived Xin dynasty, attempting sweeping and disastrous reforms.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3

  9. 2 more entries, to AD 184