Qin Dynasty

The? Qin Dynasty, also known as the Ch'in Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, actually giving it's name to China. It combined the large majority of what would become Chinese lands, exceeding the traditional borders of the later Han Dynasty. The dynasty came from the Qin State in modern-day Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The Qin were a heavily Legalist state.

Qin State
The State of Qin was a feudal power in China that developed in the Spring and Autumn Period, being created as a sovereign state in the Zhou Dynasty for being an ally of it's leadership. This legacy went back to Feizi, the first Qin man given leadership of Qin City.

Lord Shang Yang brought forth powerful military and civil reforms based on Legalism which empowered and strengthened the Qin into a military machine. This would prepare them for an eventual fight to unify China during the Warring States Period.

Warring States Period
The Qin became a major power during the fall of the Zhou Dynasty, this time becoming known as the Warring States Period. China as we would now know it was split into eight states; countries onto themselves. The Qin were joined by the countries of Han State, Zhao State, Dai State, Yan State, Wei State, Chu State, and Qi State.

Ying Zheng was the Lord of Qin who led the massive military campaigns throughout China which conquered or annexed all the states in that order. Upon unification of the many states under the Qin Dynasty, the nation of China was developed in Qin's name; and Ying Zheng became Emperor Qin Shi Huang. As the first emperor, he established a powerful and centralized imperial court; building the Great Wall to keep out the invaders often coming from the North from Mongolia and Manchuria.

First Unified Empire in China
The Qin Dynasty developed the Great Wall of China at it's northern borders, in order to help keep out the timeless rivals to the north in Mongolia and Manchuria; nomadic tribesmen and cavalry known for brutality and swiftness.

The Great Wall was one of many grand projects which were undertaken with brutality and efficiency. The Qin developed the first form of the Chinese nation, with China taking the dynasty's name and the prime minister's initiation of the standardizing of written Chinese.

The Qin Dynasty eventually folded in upon itself due to intrigues in the court, falling after only a few monarchs due to civil strife. China would again splinter into warring states, with the next major dynasty eventually arriving which would create the legacy of the main ethnicity of China; the Han, with the development of the Han Dynasty.