East Asia in the classical world (800 BC – AD 500). Greece, Rome, Persia, the Qin and Han, the Maya: the age of the great classical states and the written histories that describe them. These articles cover their rise, their wars and the everyday lives their ruins preserve.
In 227 BC Jing Ke unrolled a map of Dukang before the king of Qin and seized the poisoned dagger inside. A doctor's medicine bag bought the king time.
· 227 BCIn 2002 a well at Liye, Hunan, gave up the Qin archive of Qianling county, 222 BC to 208 or 210 BC, naming a commandery missing from the Shiji.
· 222 BCBorn in Handan to a Qin hostage prince and king at thirteen, Zheng of Qin took six kingdoms by 221 BC and named himself huangdi, the First Emperor.
· 221 BCTrapped for seven days at Baideng, Emperor Gaozu of Han escaped through the chanyu's consort; Han then sent a princess and yearly silk, wine and food.
· 200 BCTomb 3 at Mawangdui, buried in 168 BC and opened in 1973, held a lacquer box of silk and bamboo texts, among them two Laozi editions and medical works.
· 168 BCSent by Emperor Wu to find the Yuezhi, Zhang Qian was held by the Xiongnu for over ten years; of more than 100 men, two came home 13 years later.
· 138 BCFor defending the general Li Ling, Sima Qian was condemned; his letter to Ren An explains why he chose to live and finish the 130 chapters of the Shiji.
· 99 BC
