# Timeline of the Warring States and the Qin dynasty

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).

## 9th century BC

| Year | Event |
| 897 BC | Horse breeder Feizi is given the fief of Qin in modern Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County |
| 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 and is succeeded by Duke Zhuang of Qin |

## 8th century BC

| Year | 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 |
| 766 BC | Duke Xiang of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Wen of Qin |
| 753 BC | Annalists are established in Qin |
| 750 BC | Qin defeats the Xirong in battle and annexes the land they occupied |
| 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 | 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 |
| 678 BC | Duke Wu of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke De of Qin |
| 678 BC | Qin starts practicing human sacrifice at burials |
| 677 BC | Qin moves its capital to Yong in modern Fengxiang |
| 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 |
| 645 BC | Qin annexes Jin territory west of the Yellow River |
| 623 BC | Qin deals a major defeat to the Xirong and expands further west |
| 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 | 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 |
| 501 BC | Duke Ai of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Hui I of Qin |

## 5th century BC

| Year | Event |
| 500 BC | Cast iron tools |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 470 BC | Mozi is born |
| 462 BC | Qin seizes Wangcheng |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 408 BC | First recorded grain tax in Qin |

## 4th century BC

| Year | Event |
| 400 BC | Duke Jian of Qin dies and is succeeded by Duke Hui II of Qin |
| 400 BC | The commandery (郡 jùn) is mentioned for the first time in Wei |
| 400 BC | Iron plough |
| 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) |
| 385 BC | Wei conquers Qin territory west of the Yellow River |
| 384 BC | Qin officially bans the practice of human sacrifice at burials |
| 381 BC | Wu Qi dies |
| 375 BC | Han conquers Zheng |
| 372 BC | Mencius is born |
| 369 BC | Chu conquers Zou |
| 369 BC | Zhuang Zhou is born |
| 362 BC | Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC) dies and is succeeded by Duke Xiao of Qin |
| 350 BC | Qin moves its capital to Xianyang |
| 350 BC | Qin creates 31 counties to be administered by centrally appointed magistrates |
| 350 BC | Qin abolishes the fixed land tenure system |
| 344 BC | Qin standardizes weights and measures |
| 340 BC | Qin retakes territory lost to Wei |
| 338 BC | Duke Xiao of Qin dies and is succeeded by King Huiwen of Qin |
| 338 BC | Shang Yang is killed |
| 336 BC | Qin issues its first currency |
| 334 BC | Chu conquers Yue |
| 326 BC | Qin starts celebrating the New Year |
| 317 BC | Qin defeats the coalition army of Han, Zhao, and Wei |
| 316 BC | Qin annexes Shu and Ba |
| 315 BC | Qin captures 25 settlements from the Xirong |
| 313 BC | Xun Kuang is born |
| 312 BC | Qin defeats a Chu army |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 286 BC | | 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 |
| 256 BC | | 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 |
| 221 BC | | King Zheng of Qin becomes the First Emperor of Qin |
| 221 BC | | 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 |
| 219 BC | | 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 |
| 214 BC | | Qin's campaign against the Yue tribes: Qin expands into modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian, adding four new commanderies to the empire |
| 214 BC | | Colonists are sent to Guilin, Xiang, and Nanhai |
| 213 BC | | Burning of books and burying of scholars |
| 213 BC | | Colonists are sent to modern Guangdong and northern Vietnam |
| 212 BC | | Construction of the Epang Palace begins |
| 212 BC | | 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 |
| 211 BC | | 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 |
| 210 BC | 10 September | The First Emperor of Qin dies |
| 210 BC | 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 |
| 209 BC | | 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 |
| 208 BC | August | Li Si is killed |
| 207 BC | August | Battle of Julu: Qin general Zhang Han surrenders to Xiang Yu |
| 207 BC | October | The Second Emperor of Qin kills himself and Zhao Gao replaces him with Ziying, who stabs Zhao to death |
| 207 BC | November | Ziying surrenders to Liu Bang; so ends the Qin dynasty |

## Gallery

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