Qin Shi Huang: Did you mean...?

Sima Qian (l. 145/135-86 BCE) was a court scribe, astrologer, and historian of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) of ancient China, famous for his historical work Records of the Grand Historian for which he is remembered as the Father of...

A statue of Shi Huangdi (259-210 BCE, also known as Qin Shi Huang, Qin Shih Huandi, Shih Huan-ti and Shi Huangti) who was the first emperor of a unified China. Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

The Warring States period (c. 475–221 BCE) represents the final and most transformative phase of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE), marked by political fragmentation, sustained interstate warfare, and profound institutional change. As...

The Mandate of Heaven (Tianming), also known as Heaven's Mandate, was the divine source of authority and the right to rule of China's early kings and then emperors. The ancient god or divine force known as Heaven or Sky selected a particular...

Taizong (birth name, Li-Shimin, l. 598-649 CE, r. 626-649 CE) was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty and is considered one of the greatest rulers in Chinese history for his reforms of the government and the laws, his religious tolerance...

Xunzi (pronounced shund-zee, l. c. 310-c. 235 BCE) was a Confucian philosopher of the Warring States Period (c. 481-221 BCE) in China. He is also known as Hun Kuang, Hsun Tzu, Xun Tzu, and Xun Kuang. Xunzi translates as Master Xun and is...

A Qin chariot from the 'terracotta army'. Tomb of Shi Huangdi, 259-210 BCE, Shaanxi Province, China.

The emperors of ancient China had tremendous power and responsibility. Called the 'Son of Heaven', he (and once she) was given a divine right to rule over all people but was expected to promote their best interest and not his own. An absolute...

One of the most famous of all Chinese landscape paintings, 'The Emperor Ming Huang Travelling in Shu'. Painted silk, a later copy of a Tang dynasty original of the 8th century CE. (Palace Museum, Taipei)

No doubt thousands of statues still remain to be unearthed at this archaeological site, which was not discovered until 1974. Qin (d. 210 B.C.), the first unifier of China, is buried, surrounded by the famous terracotta warriors, at the centre...