Editing Han Chinese (section)

==== Qin dynasty ====
{{Main|Qin dynasty}}
The chaotic Warring States period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty came to an end with the unification of China by the western state of [[Qin (state)|Qin]] after its [[Qin's wars of unification|conquest of all other rival states]]{{when|date=February 2015}} under King [[Ying Zheng]]. King Zheng then gave himself a new title "[[First Emperor of Qin]]" ({{lang-zh|c=秦始皇帝|p=Qín Shǐ Huángdì}}), setting the precedent for the next two millennia. To consolidate administrative control over the newly conquered parts of the country, the First Emperor decreed a nationwide standardization of currency, writing scripts and measurement units, to unify the country economically and culturally. He also ordered large-scale infrastructure projects such as the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]], the [[Lingqu Canal]] and the Qin road system to militarily fortify the frontiers. In effect, he established a centralized bureaucratic state to replace the old feudal confederation system of preceding dynasties, making Qin the first [[Qin dynasty|imperial dynasty]] in Chinese history.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

This dynasty, sometimes phonetically spelt as the "Ch'in dynasty", has been proposed in the 17th century by [[Martino Martini]] and supported by later scholars such as [[Paul Pelliot]] and [[Berthold Laufer]] to be the etymological origin of the modern English word "China".{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}