Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: When was the Qin dynasty founded?
The Qin dynasty (Chinese:秦朝; pinyin:Qíncháo; Wade–Giles:Chʻin²-chʻao²) was the first dynasty of Imperial China,[2] lasting from 221 to 206 BC. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), the dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the fourth century BC, during the Warring States period. In the mid and late third century BC, the Qin state carried out a series of swift conquests, first ending the powerless Zhou dynasty, and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States. Its 15 years was the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, consisting of only two emperors, but inaugurated an imperial system that lasted, with interruption and adaptation, until 1912 CE.
Qin Yubo (1295–1374), a seventh-generation descendant of Qin Guan, worked as a government official until he retired to Shanghai in 1354. In the late 1360s, as the Yuan dynasty was disintegrating, the warlord Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly asked for Qin Yubo's services, a request to which Qin very reluctantly agreed. In 1368 Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty and declared himself the Hongwu Emperor. Qin Yubo was named a chief examination official in the Ming capital of Nanjing, and later prefect of Longzhou. After his death, the Hongwu Emperor appointed him the City God of Shanghai.
Song Yi joined Xiang Liang's insurgent Chu kingdom around 209 BC, when rebellions broke out throughout China to overthrow the Qin Dynasty. In 208 BC, Xiang Liang found Xiong Xin, a descendant of the royal family of Chu, and installed him on the throne of Chu as King Huai II.
In 221 BC, after the conquest of Qi, Ying Zheng proclaimed himself "Qin Shi Huang" (秦始皇; literally "First Emperor of Qin") and established the Qin dynasty. The Qin Empire was divided into 36 commanderies, with Xianyang as the imperial capital. Qin Shi Huang created a centralised state and empire that would become the bedrock of future Chinese dynasties. Although the Qin dynasty lasted 15 years only, its influence on Chinese history lasted for centuries to come.
When the first emperor died in 210 BC, two of his advisers placed an heir on the throne in an attempt to influence and control the administration of the dynasty. These advisors squabbled among themselves, resulting in both of their deaths and that of the second Qin Emperor. Popular revolt broke out and the weakened empire soon fell to a Chu general, Xiang Yu, who was proclaimed Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and Liu Bang, who later founded the Han dynasty. Despite its short reign, the dynasty greatly influenced the future of China, particularly the Han, and its name is thought to be the origin of the European name for China.
The Later Qin (; 384-417), also known as Yao Qin (), was a state of Qiang ethnicity of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin dynasty (265-420) in China. The Later Qin is entirely distinct from the Qin dynasty, the Former Qin and the Western Qin.
On one count, from the Qin dynasty to the Qing dynasty, there were 557 emperors including the rulers of minor states. Some, such as Li Zicheng, Huang Chao, and Yuan Shu, declared themselves the Emperors, Son of Heaven and founded their own empires as a rival government to challenge the legitimacy of and overthrow the existing Emperor. Among the most famous emperors were Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, the Emperors Gaozu and Wu of the Han dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty, and the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty.
In 221 BC, Qin conquered the other six Warring States and founded the Qin dynasty; the He Shi Bi was then taken from the last duke of Zhao by Qin Shi Huangdi, who ordered it made into his imperial seal. The words, "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life." (受命於天，既壽永昌) were written by Chancellor Li Si, and carved onto the seal by a man named Sun Shou. When Colonel Liu Bang attacked Xianyang, Ziying handed the jade over as a way of surrendering. The seal was to be passed on even as the dynasties rose and fell, but was lost between the Tang and Ming dynasties.
The Liye Qin Slips () is a large collection of bamboo slips which were unearthed at the ancient town of Liye, Longshan County, Hunan Province, China in 2002. The event is one of the most important archaeological finds of the 21st century in China. The archaeologists found more than 37,000 pieces of bamboo writing slips in 2002 in the Ancient City Ruins of Liye (), on which more than 200,000 Chinese characters recorded the governing state secrets of the Qin dynasty. It was considered as the most important archaeological discovery of the Qin dynasty after the Qin Terracotta Army unearthed in 1973 in an eastern suburb of Xi'an. 
Before the Liye slips were found, there were only about 2,000 slips on the Qin dynasty and fewer than 1,000 words of official Qin records. The event was considered as the most important archaeological discovery of the Qin dynasty after the Qin Terracotta Army unearthed in 1973, and has been referred to as one of the great discoveries of Chinese archaeology in the 21st century. The bamboo slips and other cultural relics unearthed are regarded as encyclopedias of the Qin dynasty and displayed in the museum.
Liye is an ancient town with a history of over 2300 years old, it was established by Chu State in the late Warring States period (403 BC - 221 BC). An archaeological site of ancient humans belonged to Longshan culture (3000 BC - 1900 BC) was found near a bridge in the northeast of the seat of the town in May 1982, lots of stone axes, stone chips and red clay potteries was discovered. The Ancient City Ruins of the Warring States period and many precious cultural relics were excavated in the schoolyard of Liye Primary School in April 2002. More than 36,000 pieces of Bamboo Slips of the Qin dynasty in the Ancient City Ruins of Liye () were unearthed in June 2002, before the Liye slips were found, there were only about 2,000 slips on the Qin dynasty and fewer than 1,000 words of official Qin records. The event was considered the most important archaeological discovery of the Qin dynasty after the Qin Terracotta Army unearthed in 1973.
Some have even associated Sin with China. Sinim resembles "Sinae", the Latinization of "Qin", after the Qin (state), founded 778 BC and the Qin dynasty, founded in 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang-Di. At the time of the prophecy there was no one Chinese nation, but many small states. 
The Chinese associate the origin of their civilization with the capital of Shensi, namely, Siang-fu (translated Father Sin). In Assyrian records, Siang-fu appears as Sianu.
Dong Yi (died 204 BC) was a military general of the Qin dynasty. He surrendered to Xiang Yu after the Battle of Julu in 207 BC. In 206 BC, following the collapse of the Qin dynasty, he was conferred the title of "King of Di" (翟王) by Xiang Yu and given part of the lands in Guanzhong as his fief when the latter split the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms.
Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after unifying China in 221 BC. That year is therefore generally taken by Western historians to be the start of the "Qin dynasty" which lasted for fifteen years until 207 when it was cut short by civil wars.[53]
After Qin's wars of unification, the Qin Dynasty was established by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. ‘Houqiu County ()’ was founded for administrating the region and the governments of later dynasties generally follow this pattern.
Born in what is now Tengzhou, Shandong Province, he founded the school of Mohism that argued strongly against Confucianism and Taoism. His philosophy emphasized self-restraint, self-reflection and authenticity rather than obedience to ritual. During the Warring States period, Mohism was actively developed and practiced in many states but fell out of favour when the legalist Qin dynasty came to power. During that period, many Mohist classics are by many believed to have been ruined when the emperor Qin Shi Huang supposedly carried out the burning of books and burying of scholars. The importance of Mohism further declined when Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty, until mostly disappearing by the middle of the Western Han dynasty.
The Qin bamboo slips of Liye are important for the research of the unification of the Qin Empire and the cultural expansion of the Qin. The slips belong to a model of the local authorities in the Qin dynasty. They also filled in the blank pages of the "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Book of Han" on the Qin and Han dynasties, and fundamentally changed the face of the academic history of thousands of years on warring States, Qin and Han dynasties. The slips contain thousands of pieces of bamboo slips without words, which takes on a very high research value.
The second figure Ching describes is Qin Hui (1090–1155) a man almost universally hated as a traitor to the Chinese people. In 1127 the Northern Song dynasty collapsed when the Jurchens captured Kaifeng. Remnants of the Song court founded the Southern Song dynasty in the city of Hangzhou, under Emperor Gaozong. In the years following the formation of the Southern Song dynasty, the Song general Yue Fei led successful military campaigns against the Jurchens. However, Song government officials, including Qin Hui, believed an ultimate military victory was impossible and feared that Yue's successes made a peaceful coexistence with the Jurchens unlikely. Yue Fei was recalled to Hangzhou, imprisoned, and murdered on Qin Hui's orders. Frank Ching argues that Qin Hui was probably neither a relative of Qin Guan, nor an ancestor of the modern Qin clan. He also cautions against excessively demonizing Qin, noting that some objective historians have called Qin a "scapegoat" for Emperor Gaozong, whom many Chinese historians have been reluctant to criticize directly.
According to the "Shuowen Jiezi", the character for Qin is a compound ideogram which combined two characters: "chong" 舂 "to pound", and "he" 禾 "grain". The character originally refers to Qin Valley (秦谷) in Longxi near Tianshui, Gansu and became the name of that area. The area was granted to Feizi, a descendants of Gao Tao, by King Xiao of Zhou as a fief in the 9th century BC, which then grew into the state of Qin. In the 3rd century BC, the state of Qin unified China and became the first imperial dynasty under Qin Shi Huang. After the fall of the dynasty in 206 BC, the descendants of Qin royalty, whose ancestral name was Ying (), was said to have adopted the surname Qin. Many people sought to identify themselves with the Qin long since the fall of the Qin dynasty; in Japan, the Hata clan of Japan claims descent from a branch of the Qin royal family, "Hata" being the native Japanese reading for the character "Qin".
Han Chinese migration into Vietnam dates back to the 2nd Century BC when the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang first placed Tonkin under Qin rule, an influx of Qin Chinese soldiers and fugitives from Central China settled en masse into Tonkin from this time onwards, and introduced Chinese influences to the ancient Viet people. The Chinese military leader Zhao Tuo founded the Trieu dynasty which ruled Nanyue in southern China and northern Vietnam. The Qin Governor of Canton advisted Zhao to found his own independent Kingdom since the area was remote and there were many Chinese settlers in the area. A century later, the powerful Han dynasty conquered and annexed Nanyue (which in Chinese translates to "land of the southern barbarians") into the Han Empire and was ruled as a province of China for the next several hundred years. Han imperial control proceeded to expand further southwestward by military means after the conquest.
During the Qin dynasty, Confucianism—along with all other non-Legalist philosophies, such as Daoism—were suppressed by the First Emperor; early Han dynasty emperors did the same. Legalism denounced the feudal system and encouraged severe punishments, particularly when the emperor was disobeyed. Individuals' rights were devalued when they conflicted with the government's or the ruler's wishes, and merchants and scholars were considered unproductive, fit for elimination.[38]
During this time, Li Si and Zhao Gao fell out, and Li Si was executed. Zhao Gao decided to force Qin Er Shi to commit suicide due to Qin Er Shi's incompetence. Upon this, Ziying, a nephew of Qin Er Shi, ascended the throne, and immediately executed Zhao Gao.[26] Ziying, seeing that increasing unrest was growing among the people[note 6] and that many local officials had declared themselves kings, attempted to cling to his throne by declaring himself one king among all the others.[15] He was undermined by his ineptitude, however, and popular revolt broke out in 209 BC. When Chu rebels under the lieutenant Liu Bang attacked, a state in such turmoil could not hold for long. Ziying was defeated near the Wei River in 207 BC and surrendered shortly after; he was executed by the Chu leader Xiang Yu. The Qin capital was destroyed the next year, and this is considered by historians to be the end of the Qin Empire.[27][note 7] Liu Bang then betrayed and defeated Xiang Yu, declaring himself Emperor Gaozu[note 8] of the new Han dynasty on 28 February 202 BC.[28] Despite the short duration of the Qin dynasty, it was very influential on the structure of future dynasties.
Note: King Zhaoxiang of Qin (秦昭襄王) had already been ruling Qin for 51 years when Qin annihilated the Zhou dynasty; however the other six warring states were still independent regimes. Some Chinese historiographers thus used the next year (the 52nd year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin) as the official succession from the Zhou dynasty.
Despite its military strength, the Qin Dynasty did not last long. When the first emperor died in 210 BC, his son was placed on the throne by two of the previous emperor's advisers, in an attempt to influence and control the administration of the entire country through him. The advisors squabbled among themselves, however, which resulted in both their deaths and that of the second Qin emperor. Popular revolt broke out a few years later, and the weakened empire soon fell to a Chu lieutenant, who went on to found the Han Dynasty. Despite its rapid end, the Qin Dynasty influenced future Chinese regimes, particularly the Han, and the European name for China is derived from it.
Zhao Gao (died 207 BC) was an official of the Qin dynasty of China. Allegedly a eunuch, he served as a close aide to all three emperors of the Qin dynasty – Qin Shi Huang, Qin Er Shi and Ziying – and was regarded as having played an instrumental role in the downfall of the dynasty.