The Western Qin was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Qifu clan of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. All rulers of the Western Qin declared themselves "wang", translatable as either "king" or "prince." They ruled an area corresponding to modern-day southwestern Gansu in Northwest China.

For most of its history, China was organized into various dynastic states under the rule of hereditary monarchs. Beginning with the establishment of dynastic rule by Yu the Great c. 2070 BC, and ending with the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor in AD 1912, Chinese historiography came to organize itself around the succession of monarchical dynasties. Besides those established by the dominant Han ethnic group or its spiritual Huaxia predecessors, dynasties throughout Chinese history were also founded by non-Han peoples.