In 230 BC, upsetting the political equilibrium of the Central States, Qin conquered Han. Three years later, Qin conquered Wei. One by one, the other states fell to Qin, until in 221 BC, Qi, Qin's last remaining rival, surrendered. For the first time in history, the Central States were united under a single empire. What enabled Qin to break the cycle of the balance of power and emerge victorious? No single factor explains the successes of Qin's conquests, but the answer lies in a combination of transformative state reforms, exploitation of military developments, and shrewd realpolitik.
Qin and the Warring States Period
By the third century BC, 800 years had passed since the first historical Chinese dynasty, the Shang, was conquered by the Zhou. The Zhou state ruled through the enfeoffment of vassals, powerful lineages who retained regional power but acknowledged the ultimate sovereignty of the Zhou King. Qin was one of these vassals, established in 897 BC to raise horses for the Zhou.
A century later, in 771 BC, the Zhou King was killed in an attack by
