kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

State of Han

403 BCE – 230 BCE · capital Xinzheng

The smallest of the three states carved from Jin, home of the administrator Shen Buhai and the philosopher Han Fei, and the first state conquered by Qin.

Origins

The Han lineage, ministers of the State of Jin, shared in the destruction of the Zhi clan in 453 BCE and the partition of Jin. In 403 BCE the Zhou king recognised Marquis Jing as a ruler. In 375 BCE Han conquered the State of Zheng and moved its capital to Xinzheng in Henan.

Rule and society

Han held a central but exposed position on the routes from Qin to the eastern plain. Under Marquis Zhao the minister Shen Buhai developed methods for controlling officials, and Han's crossbows and swords were renowned. Its prince Han Fei wrote the classic statement of Legalism. Han's attempt to exhaust Qin by having the engineer Zheng Guo build a canal backfired by enriching Qin.

Decline and legacy

Han was the first of the six states to fall: in 230 BCE the State of Qin captured King An and made his land a commandery. The name Han was later revived for the kingdom granted to a royal descendant in 206 BCE.

Lineage

State of Jin 1033 BCE – 376 BCEState of Han

Connections (2)

State of Zheng was conquered by State of Han375 BCE
State of Han was conquered by State of Qin230 BCE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). State of Han. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-han
MLA: “State of Han.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-han. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “State of Han.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-han.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘State of Han’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-han (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻