The Qin Empire III is a 2017 Chinese television series based on Sun Haohui's novel of the same Chinese title, which romanticizes the events in China during the Warring States period primarily from the perspective of the Qin state under King Zhaoxiang. It was first aired on CCTV-1 in mainland China in 2017. It was preceded by The Qin Empire (2009) and The Qin Empire II: Alliance (2012) and followed by The Qin Empire IV (2019), which were also based on Sun Haohui's novels.
The series is set in the late fourth century BC to the mid-third century BC during the Warring States period of China. In 305 BC, a young Ying Ji (King Zhaoxiang) becomes the ruler of the Qin state in western China after the sudden death of his brother, Ying Dang (King Wu). As he is still underage then, his mother Queen Dowager Xuan and maternal uncle Wei Ran rule on his behalf as regents until he comes to of age.
With the aid of the minister Fan Ju and general Bai Qi, King Zhaoxiang starts making aggressive advances against the other six states in the east. Under his rule, the Qin state destroys the Yiqu state, builds a section of the Great Wall, defeats the Qi and Chu states in battle, forces the Wei and Han states into submission, and inflicts a devastating defeat on the Zhao state at the Battle of Changping. After demonstrating its military power through its victories, in 256 BC the Qin state finally puts an end to the Eastern Zhou dynasty, the nominal suzerain power over the warring states. These events paved the way for the Qin state's eventual unification of China under the Qin dynasty within the next half-century.