King Cheng of Ch'in unites north China by 221 BC and establishes a centralized, autocratic system of government, based on Confucian principles, that would survive various foreign conquests and last to 1911 AD. Cheng ruled under the title "Ch'in Shih Huang-ti", or First Emperor of the Ch'in.

Iron replaces bronze as main metal in use in China.

In 119 BC, the emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty defeats the Hsiung Nu after lengthy campaigns. Hsiung Nu empire falls into civil war and collapses completely by 58 BC. The Han Chinese empire rivalled the Roman empire in the west in power and culture.

First Japanese kingdom, Yamoto, founded about 120 BC.