The Stele of the Qin Dynasty is in Eastern Imperial Residence Courtyard. It is said to be set up in 219 BC by Emperor Qin Shihuang. In 209 BC, the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty ordered an imperial edict to make the stele which had 223 characters written by Li Si, the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty. As time passes by, most of the characters are eroded and disappear, but nine and a half characters are left. It is now a precious reference for study of the evolution of Chinese characters.