many inventions were first developed under the rule of chinese dynasties including
History of science and technology in China Among the earliest inventions were the abacus, the "shadow clock," and the first items such as Kongming lanterns.[1] The Four Great Inventions – the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing – were among the most important technological advances, only known to Europe by the end of the Middle Ages 1000 years later. The Tang Dynasty (AD 618–906) in particular was a time of great innovation.[1] A good deal of exchange occurred between Western and Chinese discoveries up to the Qing Dynasty.
Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇; literally: "First Emperor of Qin",  pronunciation (help·info); 18 February 259 BC – 10 September 210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and was the first emperor of a unified China. He was born Ying Zheng (嬴政) or Zhao Zheng (趙政), a prince of the state of Qin. He became Zheng, the King of Qin (秦王政) when he was thirteen, then China's first emperor when he was 38 after the Qin had conquered all of the other Warring States and unified all of China in 221 BC.[2] Rather than maintain the title of "king" (王 wáng) borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor (始皇帝) of the Qin dynasty from 220 to 210 BC. His self-invented title "emperor" (皇帝  huángdì), as indicated by his use of the word "First", would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia.