Up and down five thousand years have been counted since ancient times, because the history of the first two thousand years is not recorded, only legends. So in detail, it started from Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, not from Qin Shihuang. But this is just a traditional saying. In fact, Chinese civilization is more than five thousand years old. Generally speaking, these five thousand years are counted from the time when Dayu was in charge of water conservancy. According to the current research, the time of Dayu's flood control should be above 2200 BC. There are thirty dynasties. It ended in the Qing Dynasty.

Extended data:

Xia Shang Zhou is the abbreviation of Xia Shang Zhou in China. Xia Dynasty was the first hereditary dynasty in China.

Shang Dynasty (about 1600 BC-about 1046 BC) is the second dynasty in China history, and it is also the first dynasty with direct written records of the same period in China.

The Zhou Dynasty (65438 BC+0046 BC-256 BC) is the third dynasty in the history of China after the Shang Dynasty. Zhou is also the creator and original referent of the word "Huaxia".

The historical period of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is a period of great turmoil. The princes fought endlessly for hegemony and were finally unified by Qin. There are five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period and seven chivalrous men in the Warring States Period in history.

Historically, people used to compare Ying Zheng, the first Qin Emperor, with Liu Che, the emperor of the Han Dynasty. The reason is that what Qin Huang and Hanwu did was groundbreaking and unprecedented, which had a far-reaching impact on later generations.

References:

Encyclopedia of China-Five Thousand Years in China