In 230 BC, Qin Shi Huang launched the War to Destroy the Six Kingdoms, and in just ten years, he established the first unified dynasty in Chinese history, the Qin Dynasty. The reason why Qin Shi Huang was known as "the emperor of the ages" is not only because of this, but more importantly, he implemented the system of "books with the same text, the same track as the car", so that China can really be unified, even if the internal strife is fought fiercely in the future, it will eventually come together.
Therefore, many people wonder, if Qin Shi Huang did not unify the six kingdoms, would China be as small as Europe? They may think that China will still be in the situation of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, or the Six Heroes, or the Eight Heroes. Because the Zhou Dynasty had collapsed, after a few years, these princely states gradually became truly independent kingdoms. As a result, China will be as small as Europe. In fact, this is not the case, and there are three main reasons.
1. Cultural factors
Although the system of "book and text" formulated by Qin Shi Huang accelerated the unification of Chinese culture, as early as the Yellow Emperor period, China had a trend of unification. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, almost all the princely states were divided into Zhou Tianzi, even the Chu State, known as the "Southern Barbarians", also boasted of being the descendants of the Yellow Emperor, and all countries called themselves Huaxia or Zhuxia, although their history and mythology were different, but they were within a system, which showed that a unified consciousness had been formed at that time.
When Guan Zhong proposed "honoring the king and destroying the yi", why did all countries respond? In addition to fearing the strength of the State of Qi, it was also because when facing foreign enemies such as "Xi Rong, Nan Man, Bei Di, and Dong Yi", the princely states felt that everyone was a family. The writing used by the various princely states is almost identical, from oracle bones to gold to seals. Therefore, state-to-state interactions rarely require an interpreter. The system of "books and texts" formulated by Qin Shi Huang only accelerated the pace of unification.
2. Lifestyle
Europe is surrounded by the sea on all sides, civilization originated from coastal port cities, the main wealth comes from fisheries and trade, which also determines that their contradictions will not come from the robbery between fishermen, because the resources of the sea can be said to be unlimited, so the conflict of interests between countries is not very large. In contrast, China has been an agrarian country since ancient times, the amount of arable land is always limited, when the field is not enough, people will compete for cultivated land, so there is a change of dynasty.
3. Geographical factors
To the west of Europe was the mighty United Kingdom, to the south was Persian and Arabia, and to the east was Russia. These countries are holding each other back, and they don't want a strong country, and once there is a sign, these countries will intervene. More critically, none of these countries had a unified script and language, so Europe could not be unified. China is different because the north is a powerful nomadic people, and as an agrarian people, they must be united in order to resist the invasion of the north, otherwise they will perish.
From a certain point of view, China's reunification is very stable, no matter how it is fought internally, it will eventually be reunited. Although there are no frequent major wars in Europe, the situation is quite stable. Therefore, even if qin shi huang did not unify the six kingdoms, after a few years, there would definitely be Chu Shi Huang or Zhao Shi Huang or Qi Shi Huang, because this is a historical trend, it is only a matter of time and time.
Reference: Chronicle of History