Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇; Pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huáng; Wade-Giles: Ch'in Shih-huang) (November / December 260 BCE – September 10, 210 BCE), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BCE to 221 BCE, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BCE to 210 BCE, ruling under the name First Emperor.

Having unified China, he and his prime minister Lǐ Sī passed a series of major reforms aimed at cementing the unification, and they undertook some gigantic construction projects, most notably the precursor version of the current Great Wall of China. For all the tyranny of his autocratic rule, Qin Shi Huang is still regarded by many today as the founding father in Chinese history whose unification of China has endured for more than two millennia (with interruptions).