Han, 206 BC–220 AD

The empire of Qin did not last long. A well-known Chinese classical essay examining the fault of Qin attributes its downfall to its authoritarian rule and failure to treat the people with kindness. After the death of the First Emperor, his son, the second emperor to be, was unable to rule. There came two powerful leaders of the states of Chu and Han. Their contention for the throne was so well remembered in China that the two sides of a Chinese chessboard are named after them. Chu started out as the much stronger of the two but finally lost to Han, which became the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). The Chu leader was in a position to eliminate the leader of Han. In fact one evening he invited the Han leader for dinner with a plan to kill him. Dancing was staged at the dinner. Once the Chu host gave the signal, the dancer with a sword would kill the Han leader. There were only four persons at the dinner, with one advisor or assistant for each leader. When the dance advanced to the point for the Chu leader to give the signal, he made no movement. His advisor who helped stage the dinner was greatly disappointed, sighing that the kingdom was lost!