Qin dynasty

China's first imperial dynasty 221–206 BC. It was established by Shi Huangdi, ruler of the Qin, the most powerful of the Zhou era warring states. The power of the feudal nobility was curbed and greater central authority exerted over north central China, which was unified through a bureaucratic administrative system.

Writing and measurement systems were standardized, state roads and canals built, and border defence consolidated into what became known as the Great Wall. On the debit side, the dynasty is identified with injustice, oppression, and a literary inquisition which came to be known as ‘the burning of the books’.