In 256 BCE, the Zhou dynasty ended. After that, three main kingdoms were left. The Qui, the Chu, and the Qin all fought for control of China.
In 221 BCE, the Qin won. 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. Still, its name lives on in the modern nation of China. Ch’in is another way of writing Qin. The Qin created the system of government that Chinese dynasties followed for the next two thousand years.