In 221 BC, King Zheng of the Qin State renamed himself as emperor, and made Xianyang City of Shaanxi Province as the capital. He announced that he was the first emperor of China, and the later generations should inherit the respectful title from him. That is, they should name themselves the second Qin Emperor, the third Qin Emperor and so on. At the same time, he stipulated that the emperor should name himself 'Zhen', and he made a set of court rituals and a records management system to strengthen the emperor's dignity and to control the conduct and power of the ministers. In addition, the first Qin Emperor adopted a series of measures in politics, economy and culture to consolidate his sovereign and to let his family's rule over China last
