The Qin Dynasty

The Warring States period (475-221 BCE) was exactly what it sounds like. Seven major kingdoms — Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han — fought each other for supremacy across two and a half centuries of nearly continuous warfare. Alliances shifted, borders moved, cities burned. Hundreds of thousands died in single campaigns. The era produced some of the most brilliant military and philosophical thinking in human history, and some of the most appalling carnage.

Of the seven states, Qin occupied the western frontier, centered in the Wei River valley near modern Xi'an. Its geographic position was both a disadvantage and an asset. Qin was considered semi-barbarous by the refined states of the east, a rough backwater on the edge of civilization. Its western position gave it a defensible base in the mountains and access to hardy steppe horses. But its perceived cultural backwardness was its greatest strength: Qin had less invested in the old aristocratic order, so it was willing to tear that order down and replace it with something ruthlessly effective.

The results were undeniable. Within a generation, Qin was transformed from a peripheral kingdom into the most formidable military machine in China. Its armies were better organized, better supplied, and more motivated than any rival. Its soldiers fought not for honor or loyalty but for the tangible rewards of rank and land. Qin's generals did not need to inspire devotion. The system did it for them.