The Former Qin (351-394) was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than the Qin Dynasty which ruled all of China during the 3rd century BCE. The adjective "former" is used to distinguish it from the "Later Qin" state (384-417).

The defeat of the Former Qin in the Battle of Fei River and the subsequent uprisings split the Former Qin territory into two noncontiguous pieces after the death of Fu Jiān: one located at present day Taiyuan, Shanxi and was soon overwhelmed in 386 by the Xianbei under the Later Yan and the Dingling. The other struggled in its greatly reduced territories around the border of present day Shaanxi and Gansu until disintegration in 394 under years of invasions by the Western Qin and the Later Qin.

In 327, the Gaochang commandery was created by the Former Liang under the Han chinese ruler Zhang Gui. After this, significant Han chinese settlement occurred, a major, large part of the population becoming Chinese. In 383 The General Lu Guang of the Former Qin seized control of the region.

Du Xian (杜暹) (died 740), formally Marquess Zhenxiao of Wei County (魏縣貞孝侯), was an official and general of the Chinese dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.

It is not known when Du Xian was born. His family was from Pu Prefecture (濮州, roughly modern Heze, Shandong) and claimed its ancestry from the Qin Dynasty general Du He (杜赫), and traced itself to a line of officials during Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty. It was said that the clan's members were on such good terms that it did not divide for five generations down to Du Xian. Both Du Xian's grandfather Du Yikuan (杜義寬) and father Du Chengzhi (杜承志) were low level officials.

The xiao (simplified Chinese: 箫; traditional Chinese: 簫; pinyin: xiāo; Wade–Giles: hsiao, pronounced [ɕi̯ɑ́ʊ̯]) is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of dark brown bamboo (called "purple bamboo" in Chinese). It is also sometimes (particularly in Taiwan) called dòngxiāo (simplified Chinese: 洞箫; traditional Chinese: 洞簫), dòng meaning "hole." An ancient name for the xiāo is shùdí (豎笛, lit. "vertical bamboo flute", [ʂûtǐ]) but the name xiāo in ancient times also included the side-blown bamboo flute, dizi.

The xiāo is a very ancient Chinese instrument usually thought to have developed from a simple end-blown flute used by the Qiang people of Southwest China. The modern six-hole form of the instrument goes back to the Ming Dynasty.

Xiao are today most often pitched in the key of G (with the D above middle C being the lowest note, with all fingers covered), although xiao in other less common keys are also available, most commonly in the key of F. More traditional xiao have six finger holes, while most modern ones have eight; the additional holes do not extend the instrument's range but instead make it easier to play notes such as F natural. There are a further four (sometimes two or six) sound holes situated at the bottom third of the length of the xiao. The blowing hole is at the top end, it may be cut into a 'U' shape, a "V" shape, or at an angle (with or without bone/ivory inlay.) Some xiao have the blowing end entirely cut off, so the player must use the space between their chin and lips to cover the hole fully. There may be a metal joint between the blow hole and the top finger hole for tuning purposes and sometimes also between the last finger hole and the end. The length of the xiao ranges from around 45 cm to over 1.25 m but is usually around 75–85 cm. Usually, shorter xiaos are more difficult to play because of the need to control one's breath more accurately. The angle to play the xiao is around 45 degrees from the body.

Xiang Yu (232 BC – 202 BC) was a prominent military leader and political figure during the late Qin Dynasty.

Xiang Yu was a native of Xiaxiang (下相; present-day Suqian, Jiangsu). He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公) by King Huai II of Chu in 208 BC. The following year, Xiang Yu led the Chu rebel forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han. After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu proclaimed himself "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (Chinese: 西楚霸王; pinyin: Xī Chǔ Bà Wáng) and ruled a vast area of land covering parts of present-day Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangsu, with Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou) as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang, founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, in a long struggle for power, known as the Chu–Han Contention, that concluded with his eventual defeat and suicide at the bank of the Wu River.

There are two accounts of Xiang Yu's family background. The first claimed that Xiang Yu was from the house of Mi (羋), the royal family of the Chu state. His ancestors were granted the land of Xiang (項) by the king of Chu and had since adopted "Xiang" as their family name. The other account claimed that Xiang Yu was a descendant of a noble clan from the Lu state and his family had served the Chu rulers as military commanders for generations. Xiang Yu's grandfather, Xiang Yan, was a well known general who led the Chu army in resisting the Qin invaders led by Wang Jian, and was killed in action when Qin conquered Chu in 223 BC.

Qin He (born December 14, 1984 in Guangxi) is a male Chinese freestyle wrestler who wil compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

He personal best was coming 5th at the 2007 World Championships - 60kg freestyle.