---
node: qin_shi_huang
type: person
slug: qin_shi_huang
title: "Qin Shi Huang"
lead: "Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC) completed the conquest of the six rival states in 221 BC and ruled as China's self-proclaimed First Emperor. His centralized imperial model endured for two millennia."
published: 2026-07-09
updated: 2026-07-09
---

## Who they were

Born Ying Zheng, he became king of Qin in 246 BC as a boy of 13. After unifying China he took the new title Shi Huangdi, "First Emperor".

## What they did

He built a centralized bureaucratic empire of commanderies and counties, standardized the script, currency, and weights and measures, laid out a road network, and connected northern walls into an early Great Wall. Traditional accounts in the Shiji describe the burning of books and execution of scholars in 213–212 BC, and his obsessive search for elixirs of immortality.

## Legacy

He died in 210 BC on an inspection tour, and the dynasty collapsed within four years — yet his centralized model lasted two thousand years. His mausoleum near modern Xi'an is guarded by the Terracotta Army, discovered in 1974.