Workers digging a well outside the city of Xi'an, China, in 1974 struck upon one of the greatest archaeological ... and took the name of Qin Shi Huang Di—the First Emperor of Qin.

In 221 B.C., Ying Zheng, ruler of the State of Qin and a man of great talent and bold vision, ended the 250-odd years of rivalry among the independent principalities during the Warring States ...