This chapter explores the unification and expansion of China during the Classical age under the Qin and Han dynasties (221 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.). These Chinese dynasties used the political and philosophical ideas developed by Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist scholars during the anarchic Warring States period to develop a powerful and a highly centralized state. Under the Qin and the Han, China experienced

• The building of a centralized bureaucracy staffed with professionals educated in Confucian thought and values
• A prosperous economy based on technological and industrial development and long-distance trade
• The standardization of the written language