In fact Ronald E. Dolan goes as far as to say " After the 8th century city-states seemed like independent countries isolated from each other" (Dolan, 45). This shows the severe difficulties the Chinese were having in keeping the nation together. The fallowing Dynasty to the Zhou is the Qin Dynasty.
The start of the Qin Dynasty was in 256 BCE, although the unification of China did not happen until 221 BCE. By 256 BCE, the Qin had become the most powerful state in China, and in 246 BCE a thirteen-year old boy, Cheng, later to be known as Qin Shi-Huang-Di, began his rule. As a young man, he surrounded himself with smart advisors. His most powerful and trusted advisor was Li Su. Under his advice, in 232 BCE, Emperor Cheng, at the age of twenty-seven, began a campaign to unify and centralize all the northern areas of China. The surrounding areas in China were no match for the wealth and military power of the Qin, and by 221 BCE, Cheng conquered all of the northern kingdoms. He gave himself the title, Qin shih-huang-ti, or "The First Exalted Emperor of the Qin". Under his guidance, and the advice of Li Su, created the form of government that served as the model for all of the future Chinese dynasties. First, the government was centralized around the emperor and his ministers. Then, in order to break the power of the nobles, he gave their lands to the peasants. To make the taxation process fair, the taxes were taken directly from the peasants rather than passing through the hands of the noble. Only 4 years after Cheng died, the empire collapsed. The peasants could no longer afford to pay and the nobles wanted their lands back. This caused widespread rebellion in China. The dynasty after the Qin is the well-known Han. .
The Han Dynasty was one of the most famous dynasties. The new Han Dynasty retained much of the Qin's governmental structure, but retreated from centralized rule by establishing central houses for the sake of political convenience (Kuan 192).
