Ancient China: The Emperors Who Built an Empire of Power

How did a collection of competing kingdoms become one of the world's most influential civilisations? In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang unified China for the first time, creating a centralised empire that would shape East Asia for more than two thousand years. Beneath his tomb near Xi'an, discovered by farmers in 1974, stands an army of some 8,000 life-sized clay soldiers, guarding an emperor whose tomb itself remains unopened. This film follows China's emperors from the Warring States to the Qin, Han, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties: the Great Wall, built and rebuilt by many dynasties over centuries; the Silk Road, carrying silk, porcelain and ideas across continents; and the inventions that changed the world - paper, printing, gunpowder and the compass. It also tells the other side of empire: rebellions, invasions and the rise and fall of dynasties. CHAPTERS 0:00 Hook 0:38 Before the Empire 1:25 The First Emperor 2:23 The Terracotta Army 3:28 The Great Wall 4:21 The Han Dynasty 5:21 The Silk Road 6:14 Inventions That Changed the World 7:28 Powerful Emperors and Dynasties 8:43 Wars and Internal Struggles 9:43 The Legacy 10:39 Ending Footage: stock video and original animated maps - illustration, not ancient footage and not the Terracotta Army site. Narration: synthetic voice. Subscribe to MSK Explainer. mskexplainer.com #AncientChina #history #TerracottaArmy #GreatWall #SilkRoad