The term "medieval China" is not so well known when compared with Western Europe, since in the history of the country there was no clear division into epochs as such. It is conventionally assumed that it began in the third century BC with the reign of the Qin Dynasty and lasted more than two thousand years until the end of the reign of the Qing Dynasty.
The kingdom of Qin, which was a small state located in the north-west of the country, annexed the territories of several kingdoms on the southern and western borders, pursuing clear political goals aimed at consolidating power. In 221 BC , the unification of the country took place, before this consisting of many scattered feudal possessions and in historiography referred to as "ancient China." History from this time went on a different path - the development of a new united Chinese world.
Qin was the most culturally advanced among the Warring States and the most militarily strong. Ying Zheng, known as the first emperor Qin Shihuangdi, was able to unite China and turn it into the first
centralized state with the capital Xianyang (near the modern city of Siyan), putting an end to the era of the Warring Kingdoms, which lasted several centuries. The name that the emperor took was consonant with the name of one of the main and very important characters in mythological and national history - Huangdi or the Yellow Emperor. Having thus formalized his title, Ying Zheng highly raised his prestige. “We are the First Emperor, and our heirs will be known as the Second Emperor, Third Emperor and so on in an endless series of generations,” he announced majestically. In historiography, medieval China is commonly called the "imperial era."
During his reign, Qin Shi Huang continued to expand his empire into
east and south, eventually reaching the borders of Vietnam. The vast empire was divided into thirty-six juns (military districts), which were jointly ruled by civilian governors and military commandants who controlled each other. This system served as a model for all dynastic governments in China until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.
The first emperor not only united medieval China. He reformed Chinese writing, approving its new form as the official writing system (many historians believe that this is the most important reform of all), standardized the system of weights and measures throughout the state. This was an important condition for strengthening the internal trade of the united kingdoms, each of which had its own standards.
During the period of the reign of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), many philosophical schools, whose teachings to one degree or another contradicted imperial ideology, were outlawed. In 213 BC, all works containing such thoughts, including the works of Confucius, were burned with the exception of copies that were stored in the imperial library. Many researchers agree with the statement that it was during the era of the Qin dynasty that the name of the empire appeared - China.
Sights of that period are known throughout the world. During archaeological excavations at the burial place of the first Chinese emperor (near Xi'an), begun in 1974, more than six thousand terracotta figures (warriors, horses) were discovered. They represented the vast army that guarded the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. The terracotta army has become one of the greatest and most exciting archaeological discoveries in China. In chronological records, the emperor’s burial was described as a microversion of his empire with constellations painted on the ceiling, flowing rivers created from mercury. Qin Shihuandi is credited with creating the Great Wall of China. During the Qin era, several defensive walls were built on the northern border.
Medieval China began to decline with the expansion of European opium trade, which caused destabilization in society and ultimately led to opium wars (1840-1842; 1856-1860).