Ziying of Qin
third and last ruler of the Qin dynasty during 207 BC
Ying Ziying, also known as Ziying, King of Qin (Chinese: 秦王子嬰; pinyin: Qín-wáng Zǐyīng, died c. January 206 BC), was the third and last ruler of the Qin dynasty of China. He ruled over a fragmented Qin Empire for 46 days, from mid-October to early December 207 BC. Unlike his predecessor, he ruled as a king instead of emperor. He is referred to in some sources with the posthumous name Emperor Shang of Qin (秦殤帝) although the Qin dynasty had abolished the tradition of according posthumous names to deceased monarchs.
Identity
There is no firm consensus as to what Ziying's relationship to the Qin royal family really was.
He is mentioned in historical records as either:
A son of Qin Er Shi's elder brother (who, according to Yan Shigu's commentaries, was Fusu);二世三年，趙高殺二世後，立二世之兄子公子嬰為秦王。In the third year of [Qin] Er Shi (207 BCE), Zhao Gao, after killing [Qin] Er Shi, installed [Qin] Er Shi's elder brother's son Prince Ying as the King of Qin.
An elder brother of Qin Er Shi;三趙高反，二世自殺，高立二世兄子嬰。In the third year [of Qin Er Shi], [Zhao] Gao made a coup d'etat, [Qin] Er Shi committed suicide, and [Zhao] Gao crowned [Qin] Er Shi's elder brother Ziying.
A younger brother of Qin Shi Huang; or敘述趙高殺二世後，引皇帝璽自佩，有篡位的意圖，左右百官都不跟從，于是高自知天弗與，群臣弗許，乃召始皇弟，授之璽。
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Ziying of Qin” is third and last ruler of the Qin dynasty during 207 BC. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Ziying, third and last, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “third and last ruler of the Qin dynasty during 207 BC” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7203. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ziying of Qin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ziying of Qin primary sources, Ziying of Qin archive and Ziying research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ziying of Qin”?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
- Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ziying of Qin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.