Events of the Qin Dynasty

Qin Dynasty is established

221 BCE

Ying Zheng, king of the Qin, unifies all of China under the mandate of heaven and names himself "Qin Shi Huang" or "The First Emperor". Qin Shi Huang applies the Legalist philosophy of the Qin to China and bans all others. Legalism is a philosophy of brutal pragmatism that strictly follows the word of law.
Picture Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huang#/media/File:Qin_shihuangdi_c01s06i06.jpg

Qin Dynasty

Period: 221 BCE to 206 BCE

The Qin Dynasty, under most circumstances, is just a footnote in most historical documents. Which makes sense, as it only lasted 15 years. But within those 15 years were wrought with monumental human achievements, political intrigue, and an absolutely devastating loss of human life and scholarly documents. The purpose of this timeline is to shed some light on the unmentioned aspects of the Qin Dynasty other than that they "built the great wall", although that's in there too.

Construction of the Great Wall

218 BCE

In order to protect against invaders on the northern border, Qin Shi Huang orders tens of thousands of forced laborers to connect the preexisting walls of the old Zhou states together. At around the same time, he orders old walls dividing his empire to be torn down. The result would ultimately become the 1,400 mile-long Great Wall of China.
Picture Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China#/media/File:20090529_Great_Wall_8185.jpg

Qin Shi Huang Begins Building His Own Tomb

215 BCE

Qin Shi Huang orders General Meng Tian and 300,000 workers to begin building his tomb at the foot of Mount Li. The result of their efforts was a large necropolis containing over 7,000 hand-carved terracotta soldiers. The tomb remained largely undiscovered until 1974, as Qin Shi Huang had the workers killed afterwards to maintain its secret.
Picture Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_the_First_Qin_Emperor#/media/File:Xian_museum.jpg

Southern Expansion of the Qin

214 BCE

Using 500,000 men and the newly built Linqu Canal, Qin Shi Huang expanded southward. The Qin armies proceeded to conquer Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Guilin. Qin Shi Huang then ordered former exiles and criminals in Qin custody to colonize the newly conquered lands.

The Construction of the Linqu Canal

214 BCE

Qin Shi Huang begins the construction of a canal to connect the Yangtze and Pearl River as means to transport supplies between North and South China. The result was the Linqu Canal, of the old Chinese saying, "North is Great Wall and South is Linqu Canal." The creation of this canal is considered one the of the three greatest feats of ancient Chinese engineering.
Picture Source:
http://www.china.org.cn/travel/2013-02/28/content_28073922_3.htm

Qin Shi Huang attacks the Old Schools of Thought

213 BCE

In order to ensure legalist supremacy and solidify his rule, Qin Shi Huang ordered all books with differing ideologies to be burned. The only books spared by the Qin where books considered essential, such as books on agriculture or medicine. Scholars who defied this decree were buried alive.

Qin Shi Huang's Obession with Immortality

213 BCE

Due to his brutal regime and unpopular decrees, several assassination attempts were made on Qin Shi Huang's life. Reminded of his own mortality, Qin Shi Huang became very paranoid and became obsessed with the concept of Immortality.

Conspiracy to Install a Puppet Emperor

210 BCE

Premier Li Si and Chief Eunuch Zhao Gao hear of Qin Shi Huang death's and formulate a plan. They forged Qin Shi Huang's will to have Huhai, Qin Shi Huang's impressionable and incompetent son take the throne. The forged will ordered the older brother Fusu and his favored general to commit suicide, which they both carried out.

The Death of Qin Shi Huang

210 BCE

Qin Shi Huang dies on one of his excursions seeking an elixir of immortality. Ironically, it was caused by one of his many "Immortality Elixirs". The "Immortality Elixir" in question happened to be pills full of mercury.

Zhao Gau's Puppet Ruler

210 BCE

Hahui was named emperor, renamed Qin Er Shi, with the eunuch Zhao Gao controlling him from behind the scenes. Zhao Gao used his new position of power to have many of his political rivals killed, along with any remaining relatives of the emperor. Li Si, Zhao Gao's fellow conspirator, also found his end at the hands of the puppet emperor he helped crown.

The Suicide Of Qin Er Shi

207 BCE

Qin Er Shi began to prove he was more trouble than he was worth, namely beginning to hold Zhao Gao responsible for his own actions and failings. Fearing retribution, Zhao Gao conspired with several soldiers and forced the Emperor to commit suicide. Zhao Gao did not even allow to him to have a royal funeral.
Picture Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Er_Shi#/media/File:Huhai_Tomb.JPG

The Very Short Rule of Ziiying and The Fall of the Qin Dynasty

206 BCE

Shortly after the Suicide of Qin Er Shi, Ziiying, a son of Fusu, was made "King of the Qin State." One of his first acts was to immediately kill Zhao Gao. A year later, his last act as a Qin King was to surrender to Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty.