The various warlords and kings of Ancient China were in constant warfare until 220 BCE when the Emperor Qin Shi Huang both consolidated his power over all the warring states and took the title Emperor instead of "King." Qin Shi Huang's Dynsast was short lived, however, as his successors lost their power to the Han Emperor Gaozu in 206 BCE. The Qin Dynasty was immensely influential, not just in uniting China, but in building the Great Wall and possibly by giving their name to the European appellation for the country.

Due to its extreme geographic isolation, ancient China was almost entirely devoid of contact with the rest of the world. Ancient India, on the other hand, was constantly and repeatedly invaded by empires from the West (mostly from the Middle East) and had extensive trade networks with the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. Both regions had a rigid social order, although not perhaps as rigid as is generally assumed. They were both ethnically diverse, although India was much more so. Neither had a unified religion, and historically, neither country has had one.

The Zhou Dynasty emerged in the tweltfh century B.C.E. and lasted in one form or another for several hundred years. Although much of their reign involved the loss of territory in wars and rebellions. The influential Chinese philosophies/religions of Confucianism and Taoism both emerged during the Zhou Dynasty. 

The Zhou Dynasty lasted for some eight hundred years from roughly 1100 B.C.E. to about 250 B.C.E. It was preceded by the Shang Dynasty and followed by the Qin Dynasty (of Qin Shi Huang). The Zhou Dynasty is most notable for its formalization and standardization of the Chinese script language. The Warring States Period, that marked the rise of the Qin Dynasty, also brought about the end of the Zhou Dynasty when the forces of Qin Shi Huang killed the last Zhou Emperor Nan during the invasion of Changzhou. 

The Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang conquered the majority of the opponents to his rule and finally unified China in 221 B.C.E. To fortify his northern position against the Xiongnu people he ordered the construction of a series of walls that would later come to be called the Great Wall of China. 

The political philosophy of Legalism, in China, was established by the Qin Dynasty after the chaotic period of Chinese history known as the Warring States Period. Legalism advocated for complete and absolute state control over all facets of life to prevent the chaotic and destructive tendencies of selfish individuals. As such it can be understood as a means of ensuring state control. 

For much of the time that the Zhou Dynasty was in control of China that control was somewhat tentative. The Zhou Dynasty were challenged constantly by several different factions competing for control of all of China and eventually the Zhou fled eastwards and so began the so-called Warring States Period which would last for two hundred years. The Warring States Period was marked by massive violence and repeated conquest and reconquest and eventually ended in 221 B.C.E. when the Qin finally emerged victorious and unified all of China. They built much of the Great Wall of China and then were promptly replaced themselves a mere 15 years later by the Han Dynasty.