The Zhou dynasty collapsed in 256 BCE. After that, three main kingdoms were left. The Qui, the Chu, and the Qin all fought each other for control, and the Qin won in 221 BCE.
Their king, Ying Zheng, named himself Shi Huangdi, first emperor of Qin. An emperor rules a large territory made up of different peoples. The Qin dynasty lasted only 11 years, but it gave its name to the modern nation of China. Ch’in is another way of writing Qin. The Qin established the system of government that Chinese dynasties followed for the next two thousand years.