| History of China |
|---|
|
Early Imperial
Related topics
|
Early Imperial China begins in the Iron Age with the unification of China by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC. It ended five centuries of feudal warfare, similar to that of Western Europe, that plagued the Eastern Zhou dynasty. The short-lived Qin introduced centralized government under the absolute monarchy of the emperor of China. The Qin standardized measurements and script and linked up the Great Wall. Their structure of government, the Three Lords and Nine Ministers, characterized this period. The Qin were overthrown in 206 BC and were replaced by the Han Dynasty which ruled for four centuries and made Confucianism the state ideology. This period ended in 220 CE, followed by the Six Dynasties, a four hundred year period of warfare which lasted until the Sui dynasty defeated its rivals in 589.