Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇, pronunciation ⓘ; February 259 [e] - 12 July 210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. [9] Rather than maintain the title of "king" (wáng 王) borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he assumed the invented title of "emperor" (huángdì 皇帝), which would see continuous use by monarchs in China for the next two ...