Timeline of the Warring States and the Qin dynasty

See also: Timeline of the Chu–Han Contention

This is a timeline of the Warring States period (481 BC – 403 BC) and the Qin state (9th century BC – 221 BC) and dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC).

Expansion of the Qin dynasty

9th century BC

Year	Date	Event
897 BC		Horse breeder Feizi is given the fief of Qin in modern Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County[1]
858 BC		Feizi dies and is succeeded by the Marquis of Qin
848 BC		The Marquis of Qin dies and is succeeded by Gongbo
845 BC		Gongbo dies and is succeeded by Qin Zhong
822 BC		Qin Zhong is killed in battle by the Xirong[1] and is succeeded by Duke Zhuang of Qin

8th century BC

Year	Date	Event
778 BC		Duke Zhuang of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Xiang of Qin
770 BC		Duke Xiang of Qin sends an army to protect King Ping of Zhou[2]
766 BC		Duke Xiang of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Wen of Qin
753 BC		Annalists are established in Qin[3]
750 BC		Qin defeats the Xirong in battle and annexes the land they occupied[2]
716 BC		Duke Wen of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Xian of Qin
704 BC		Duke Xian of Qin dies and is succeeded by Chuzi I

7th century BC

Year	Date	Event
698 BC		Chuzi I is assassinated and succeeded by Duke Wu of Qin
688 BC		The county (縣 xiàn) is mentioned for the first time in Qin[4]
678 BC		Duke Wu of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke De of Qin
		Qin starts practicing human sacrifice at burials[3]
677 BC		Qin moves its capital to Yong in modern Fengxiang[1]
676 BC		Duke De of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Xuan of Qin
664 BC		Duke Xuan of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Cheng of Qin
660 BC		Duke Cheng of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Mu of Qin
650 BC		Earliest archaeological evidence of crossbows[5]
645 BC		Qin annexes Jin territory west of the Yellow River[2]
623 BC		Qin deals a major defeat to the Xirong and expands further west[1]
621 BC		Duke Mu of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Kang of Qin
609 BC		Duke Kang of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Gong of Qin
604 BC		Duke Gong of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Huan of Qin

6th century BC

Year	Date	Event
577 BC		Duke Huan of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Jing of Qin
544 BC		Sunzi is born
537 BC		Duke Jing of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Ai of Qin
513 BC		Penal laws are inscribed on iron tripod vessels in Qin[6]
501 BC		Duke Ai of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Hui I of Qin

5th century BC

Year	Date	Event
500 BC		Cast iron tools[7]
496 BC		Sun Tzu dies
492 BC		Duke Hui I of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Dao of Qin
479 BC		Kongfuzi dies[8]
477 BC		Duke Dao of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Ligong of Qin
473 BC		Battle of Li River: Goujian of Yue attacks Fuchai of Wu while their forces are out on an expedition against Lu and Qi, resulting in the annexation of Wu[9]
470 BC		Mozi is born
462 BC		Qin seizes Wangcheng[10]
447 BC		Chu (state) conquers Cai
443 BC		Duke Ligong of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Zao of Qin
440 BC		Wu Qi is born
430 BC		The Xirong attack Qin[1]
429 BC		Duke Zao of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Huai of Qin
425 BC		Duke Huai of Qin kills himself and is succeeded by Duke Ling of Qin
418 BC		Qi annexes Xue
415 BC		Duke Ling of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Jian of Qin
412 BC		Qin goes to war with Wei[11]
408 BC		First recorded grain tax in Qin[2]

4th century BC

Year	Date	Event
400 BC		Duke Jian of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Hui II of Qin
		The commandery (郡 jùn) is mentioned for the first time in Wei[12]
		Iron plough[6]
391 BC		Mozi dies
390 BC		Shang Yang is born
387 BC		Duke Hui II of Qin dies and is succeeded by Chuzi II
385 BC		Chuzi II is killed and succeeded by Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC)
		Wei conquers Qin territory west of the Yellow River[2]
384 BC		Qin officially bans the practice of human sacrifice at burials[3]
381 BC		Wu Qi dies
375 BC		Han conquers Zheng
372 BC		Mencius is born
369 BC		Chu conquers Zou
		Zhuang Zhou is born
362 BC		Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC) dies and is succeeded by Duke Xiao of Qin[11]
350 BC		Qin moves its capital to Xianyang[1]
		Qin creates 31 counties to be administered by centrally appointed magistrates[13]
		Qin abolishes the fixed land tenure system[13]
344 BC		Qin standardizes weights and measures[14]
340 BC		Qin retakes territory lost to Wei[11]
338 BC		Duke Xiao of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Huiwen of Qin
		Shang Yang is killed[11]
336 BC		Qin issues its first currency[8]
334 BC		Chu conquers Yue
326 BC		Qin starts celebrating the New Year[3]
317 BC		Qin defeats the coalition army of Han, Zhao, and Wei[15]
316 BC		Qin annexes Shu and Ba[16]
315 BC		Qin captures 25 settlements from the Xirong[1]
313 BC		Xun Kuang is born
312 BC		Qin defeats a Chu army[15]
311 BC		King Huiwen of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Wu of Qin
309 BC		Qin creates the offices of chancellors of the right and left[14]
307 BC		King Wu of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Zhaoxiang of Qin

3rd century BC

Year	Date	Event
297 BC		Song conquers Teng
296 BC		Zhao conquers Zhongshan
289 BC		Mencius dies
286 BC		Qi conquers Song
		Zhuang Zhou dies
280 BC		Han Fei is born
278 BC		Qin sacks Ying, the capital of Chu[15]
272 BC		Qin annexes Yiqu
266 BC		According to a noble in Wei, "Qin has the same customs as the Rong and Di [barbarians]. It has the heart of a tiger or a wolf... It knows nothing about traditional mores, proper relationships, and virtuous conduct."[1]
262 BC		Battle of Changping: Qin deals a major defeat to Zhao[17]
256 BC		Qin annexes Eastern Zhou[14]
		Li Bing constructs the Dujiangyan[18]
250 BC		King Zhaoxiang of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Xiaowen of Qin and then King Zhuangxiang of Qin
249 BC		Chu conquers Lu
247 BC	7 May	King Zhuangxiang of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Zheng of Qin
246 BC		The Zhengguo Canal is constructed[19]
238 BC		Xun Kuang dies
233 BC		Han Fei is killed[19]
230 BC		Qin annexes Han[20]
228 BC		Qin annexes Zhao[20]
227 BC		Jing Ke fails to assassinate King Zheng of Qin[20]
225 BC		Qin annexes Wei[20]
223 BC		Qin annexes Chu[20]
222 BC		Qin annexes Yan[20]
221 BC		Qin annexes Qi[20]
		King Zheng of Qin becomes the First Emperor of Qin[21]
		Meng Tian starts construction of the Great Wall of China[22]
220 BC		Construction of imperial highways begins[23]
219 BC		The emperor gets mad at a mountain god, so he orders the mountain to be denuded and painted red[24]
		The Lingqu "magic transport" canal is constructed, linking the Changjiang to Dongting Lake[25]
214 BC		Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu: Meng Tian defeats the Xiongnu and conquers the Ordos region[26]
		Qin's campaign against the Yue tribes: Qin expands into modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian, adding four new commanderies to the empire[26]
		Colonists are sent to Guilin, Xiang, and Nanhai[27]
213 BC		Burning of books and burying of scholars
		Colonists are sent to modern Guangdong and northern Vietnam[27]
212 BC		Construction of the Epang Palace begins[26]
		Construction of the Qin Mausoleum begins[26]
211 BC		An inauspicious comet is sighted, causing the emperor to kill everyone around the area where it fell[28]
		Colonists are sent to Ordos[27]
210 BC		Xu Fu returns from his voyage to find the elixir of life and blames his failure on sea monsters so the emperor goes fishing[28]
	10 September	The First Emperor of Qin dies[29]
	October	Zhao Gao and Li Si enthrone the Second Emperor of Qin; the brother Fusu kills himself and Meng Tian is imprisoned[29]
209 BC		Qin annexes Wey
		Dazexiang uprising: Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebel[30]
208 BC	January	Dazexiang uprising: Chen Sheng and Wu Guang are assassinated but the rebellion continues under other leaders such as Liu Bang and Xiang Yu[31]
	August	Li Si is killed[31]
207 BC	August	Battle of Julu: Qin general Zhang Han surrenders to Xiang Yu[31]
	October	The Second Emperor of Qin kills himself and Zhao Gao replaces him with Ziying, who stabs Zhao to death[31]
	November	Ziying surrenders to Liu Bang; so ends the Qin dynasty[31]

Gallery

• 
  Early Warring States period
• 
  Qin campaigns against the Warring States
• 
  Qin dynasty
• 
  Zhengguo Canal
• 
  Uprisings

See also

• Timeline of the Chu–Han Contention

Citations

1. Twitchett 2008, p. 31.
2. Twitchett 2008, p. 33.
3. Twitchett 2008, p. 32.
4. Twitchett 2008, p. 25.
5. Loades 2018.
6. Twitchett 2008, p. 23.
7. Ebrey 2005, p. 30.
8. Twitchett 2008, p. 29.
9. Whiting 2002, p. 62.
10. Whiting 2002, p. 63.
11. Twitchett 2008, p. 34.
12. Twitchett 2008, p. 26.
13. Twitchett 2008, p. 35.
14. Twitchett 2008, p. 38.
15. Peers 2013, p. 59.
16. Twitchett 2008, p. 40.
17. Twitchett 2008, p. 99.
18. Twitchett 2008, p. 45.
19. Twitchett 2008, p. 44.
20. Twitchett 2008, p. 46.
21. Twitchett 2008, p. 53.
22. Twitchett 2008, p. 62.
23. Twitchett 2008, p. 61.
24. Twitchett 2008, p. 80.
25. Twitchett 2008, p. 65.
26. Twitchett 2008, p. 64.
27. Twitchett 2008, p. 66.
28. Twitchett 2008, p. 79.
29. Twitchett 2008, p. 82.
30. Twitchett 2008, p. 83.
31. Twitchett 2008, p. 84.

Bibliography

• Ebrey, Patricia (2005), China: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Wadsworth Publishing

• Li, Xiaobing, ed. China at War: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2012. online

• Loades, Mike (2018), The Crossbow, Osprey
• Peers, C.J. (2006), Soldiers of the Dragon: Chinese Armies 1500 BC - AD 1840, Osprey Publishing Ltd
• Peers, Chris (2013), Battles of Ancient China, Pen & Sword Military
• Twitchett, Denis (2008), The Cambridge History of China 1, Cambridge University Press
• Whiting, Marvin C. (2002), Imperial Chinese Military History, Writers Club Press