Editing Qin dynasty (section)

== Legacy ==
The Qin, despite existing for only 14 years, are credited with inaugurating the Chinese imperial system, which would persist in some form throughout Chinese history until it was ultimately overthrown by the [[Xinhai Revolution]] in 1911.{{sfn|Sanft|2018|p=159}}

During the 2nd and 1st centuries&nbsp;BC, Han dynasty scholars began portraying the Qin as a monolithic, [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|legalist]] tyranny, often invoked as an example of bad governance in contemporary debates about imperial policy.{{sfnm|1a1=Xiong|1a2=Hammond|1y=2019|1p=7|2a1=Pines|2y=2014|2p=231}} In particular, purges in 213 and 212&nbsp;BC collectively known as the [[burning of books and burying of scholars]] are frequently cited to this end; however, the earliest account of these events is contained in the ''Shiji'' ({{circa|91&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}), and its veracity is disputed by some modern scholars.{{sfnm|Korolkov|2022|1p=11|Sanft|2019|2p=21}} The Qin were deliberately contrasted with what was characterised as the virtuous rule of the Han.{{sfnm|Sanft|2019|1p=21|Pines|2014|2pp=231–232}} However, the Han essentially inherited the administrative state built by the Qin, including the household registration system.{{sfn|Sanft|2014|p=127}} Owing to this continuity, medieval and modern historians have often grouped the Qin and Han together,{{sfn|Korolkov|2022|p=170}} with the establishment of the Han treated "mainly as a change in ruling houses rather than a system or method of rule".{{sfn|Sanft|2018|p=159}}

=== Etymology of ''China'' ===
{{Asia in 210 BCE|right|Qin alongside the other major polities of Asia in 221&nbsp;BC, with the capital Xianyang marked [[File:Basic red dot.png|5px|alt=Red dot]]<ref>{{Multiref2 | {{Cite book |last1=Coatsworth |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5vlBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA138 |title=Global Connections: Volume 1, To 1500: Politics, Exchange, and Social Life in World History |last2=Cole |first2=Juan |last3=Hanagan |first3=Michael P. |last4=Perdue |first4=Peter C. |last5=Tilly |first5=Charles |last6=Tilly |first6=Louise |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-316-29777-3 |page=138 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139047913 |via=Google Books |ref=none}} | {{Cite book |title=Atlas of World History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-521921-0 |editor-last=O'Brien |editor-first=Patrick Karl |editor1-link=Patrick K. O'Brien |edition=Concise |page=51 |editor-last2=Humphries |editor-first2=Christian |editor-last3=King |editor-first3=Jannet |editor-last4=Kopp |editor-first4=Petra |editor-last5=Leyton |editor-first5=Martha |editor-last6=Widdows |editor-first6=Richard |display-editors=1 |ol=3671170M |orig-year=2002 |ref=none}} | {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPBIEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA406 |title=European Handbook of Central Asian Studies |publisher=Ibidem |year=2021 |isbn=978-3-8382-1518-1 |editor-last=Van Den Bosch |editor-first=Jeroen |page=403 |editor-last2=Fauve |editor-first2=Adrien |editor-last3=De Cordier |editor-first3=B. J. |via=Google Books |ref=none}} }}</ref>|{{Annotation|0|0|[[File:Continental Asia date mask.png|300px]]}}{{location map~ |Continental Asia |lat=34.3299|N |long=108.7088|E |label=<!-- [[Xi'an]]-->|position=bottom|label_size=50|mark=Basic red dot.png|marksize=4}}|Map of the Qin Empire in 221 BCE.png}}
''Qin'' is the likeliest origin for the modern name ''China'', and its equivalents in many European languages. The term likely first appeared in the [[Indo-Aryan languages]], attested in [[Sanskrit]] as both {{tlit|sa|Cina}} and {{tlit|sa|Sina}}, and subsequently entered Greek as {{tlit|grc|Thinai}} or {{tlit|grc|Sinai}}. From there it entered the vernacular languages of Europe, e.g. as ''China'' in English and {{lang|fr|Chine}} in French. This etymology is questioned by some scholars, who suggest that {{tlit|sa|Sina}} appears in Sanskrit centuries before the Qin dynasty's founding. Other hypothesised origins include the Zhou-era [[Jin (Chinese state)|state of Jin]] that existed prior to the 4th century&nbsp;BC,{{sfn|Keay|2009|p=98}} and ''Jing'' ({{zhi|c=荆}}), another name for the state of Chu.{{sfn|Wade|2009|p=19|loc="This thesis also helps explain the existence of Cīna in the Indic ''Laws of Manu'' and the ''Mahabharata'', likely dating well before Qin Shihuangdi"}}