Timeline of the Warring States and the Qin dynasty

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

9th century BC[edit]

8th century BC[edit]

7th century BC[edit]

6th century BC[edit]

5th century BC[edit]

4th century BC[edit]

3rd century BC[edit]

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
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.”
262 BC		Battle of Changping: Qin deals a major defeat to Zhao
256 BC		Qin annexes Eastern Zhou
		Li Bing constructs the Dujiangyan
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
238 BC		Xun Kuang dies
233 BC		Han Fei is killed
230 BC		Qin annexes Han
228 BC		Qin annexes Zhao
227 BC		Jing Ke fails to assassinate King Zheng of Qin
225 BC		Qin annexes Wei
223 BC		Qin annexes Chu
222 BC		Qin annexes Yan
221 BC		Qin annexes Qi
		King Zheng of Qin becomes the First Emperor of Qin
		Meng Tian starts construction of the Great Wall of China
220 BC		Construction of imperial highways begins
219 BC		The emperor gets mad at a mountain god, so he orders the mountain to be denuded and painted red
		The Lingqu “magic transport” canal is constructed, linking the Changjiang to Dongting Lake
214 BC		Qin’s campaign against the Xiongnu: Meng Tian defeats the Xiongnu and conquers the Ordos region
		Qin’s campaign against the Yue tribes: Qin expands into modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian, adding four new commanderies to the empire
		Colonists are sent to Guilin, Xiang, and Nanhai
213 BC		Burning of books and burying of scholars
		Colonists are sent to modern Guangdong and northern Vietnam
212 BC		Construction of the Epang Palace begins
		Construction of the Qin Mausoleum begins
211 BC		An inauspicious comet is sighted, causing the emperor to kill everyone around the area where it fell
		Colonists are sent to Ordos
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
	10 September	The First Emperor of Qin dies
	October	Zhao Gao and Li Si enthrone the Second Emperor of Qin; the brother Fusu kills himself and Meng Tian is imprisoned
209 BC		Qin annexes Wey
		Dazexiang uprising: Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebel
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
	August	Li Si is killed
207 BC	August	Battle of Julu: Qin general Zhang Han surrenders to Xiang Yu
	October	The Second Emperor of Qin kills himself and Zhao Gao replaces him with Ziying, who stabs Zhao to death
	November	Ziying surrenders to Liu Bang; so ends the Qin dynasty

Gallery[edit]

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  Early Warring States period

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  Qin campaigns against the Warring States

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See also[edit]

Citations[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• 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