It was the kingdom of the Qin that emerged victorious among the eight Warring States, after its army had, in 260, conquered and - over the next ten years - annexed the Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qui kingdoms. In 221, the Qin sovereign pro- claimed himself emperor, with the title of Shi Huang-Di (shi = first, huang = August, di = emperor). The reputation of this "bloodthirsty tiger," as he was called at the time, is of an ambiguous nature, inasmuch as he had more dead on his conscience that can be counted (at any rate, 400,000 soldiers, not to mention the inhabitants of a good twenty sacked cities), while at the same time he distinguished himself as a head of state. The first to conceive a global vision of China, he undertook to reorganize the land's administrative structure, to reinforce its northern frontiers by linking parts of the Great Wall, to build roads and canals, and to dry out the marshes. Although it was more out of a fear of death than for cultural reasons, he did bequeath to posterity one of the most fabulous artistic legacies the world has ever known: the famous Xi' an warriors discovered in 1974 near his tomb (a burial mound of 350 meters a side). This treasure is composed of 6000 larger-than-life terra-cotta statues. The cast bodies are all identical, but the hands and heads were crafted separately and are most probably portraits. The bronze chariots driven by horses and complete with passengers, chariot drivers and commanders, discovered in 1981, give even greater proof, if necessary, that theirs was a highly inspired and accomplished, autonomous art.