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In 260 BC, the armies of Qin and Zhao met at Changping—and one of ancient history’s most staggering numbers entered the record. A later chronicle says 400,000 Zhao prisoners were killed after surrendering. But what can the bones beneath the valley actually tell us? The Battle of Changping was fought during China’s Warring States period, when rival kingdoms competed for territory, food, soldiers, and ultimately survival. Qin had built a formidable system of household registration, military rewards, and mass mobilization. Zhao possessed a powerful army of its own, but a long confrontation in the highlands placed immense pressure on its supplies. What began as a struggle over the Shangdang region became a contest between two states—and between two very different capacities to sustain a war. For years, the Zhao general Lian Po avoided a decisive battle. His replacement, Zhao Kuo, advanced against a Qin army now secretly commanded by Bai Qi. The Zhao force was cut off from its supplies and remained trapped for 46 days. Zhao Kuo died during an attempted breakout. The surviving soldiers surrendered. According to the *Records of the Grand Historian*, compiled by Sima Qian roughly 160 years later, Bai Qi ordered the prisoners killed. The same account gives their number as 400,000 and says 240 younger captives were sent home. That passage has shaped how Changping has been remembered for more than two thousand years. Yet its enormous, rounded figure raises difficult questions. How was it obtained? What did the ancient wording mean? And how much of the account can independent evidence confirm? In 1995, a farmer near modern Gaoping uncovered human remains while working his land. Archaeologists excavated a pit containing more than 130 individuals, along with objects including arrowheads, a belt hook, and knife-shaped coins. Other discoveries in the Changping area indicate that the known pit is not the whole site. The remains provide compelling evidence of violent death and mass disposal. They do not, however, establish a total for the entire campaign. That distinction matters. One excavated pit cannot disprove a far larger loss across a valley that has been farmed and altered for centuries. Nor can scattered discoveries verify a figure of 400,000. Evidence from the remains also complicates the familiar claim that the prisoners were buried alive: the physical record is more consistent with people killed and then covered, although it cannot resolve every question about every death. This documentary follows the Qin–Zhao war from the political decision over Shangdang to the siege at Changping, then examines the written account against archaeology, population, logistics, and the limits of ancient numbers. It is a story about Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo, but also about food, administration, historical memory, and the difference between a catastrophe and the figure later used to describe it. What do you think the evidence can establish—and where should historians leave the question open? *Comment your opinion* below. If you value evidence-led documentaries about ancient China and world history, *Subscribe* to China Untold6 and *Like* this video. *Chapters* 00:00 A Farmer’s Discovery 01:04 Changping and the Number 400,000 03:43 The Warring States World 04:47 How Qin Built Its War Machine 06:50 The Dispute Over Shangdang 09:06 Lian Po’s Defensive Strategy 12:08 Rumors and a Change of Command 14:34 Bai Qi’s Trap 16:41 Forty-Six Days Without Supplies 17:19 What Happened to the Prisoners? 19:19 Bai Qi’s Fate 20:48 Who Recorded the Number? 23:51 What Did “Buried” Mean? 24:52 What the Bones Reveal 25:41 Could the Numbers Work? 29:03 How Archaeology Counts 31:13 More Remains Beneath the Fields 32:41 Was Changping the Deadliest? 33:43 The Counting Has Barely Begun Battle of Changping, Changping, Changping battle, Qin vs Zhao, Warring States period, ancient China, Chinese history, Bai Qi, Zhao Kuo, Lian Po