Sichuan has long been known as the "Province of Abundance"．     1     （history） speaking， Sichuan was the home of the ancient    2    （state） of Ba and Shu． Their conquest by Qin     3    （strength） it and paved the way for the First Emperor's unification（统一） of China under the Qin Dynasty． During the Three Kingdoms era， Liu Bei's Shu    4    （base） in Sichuan． The area became one of China's     5    （productive） areas by the 19th century． The people of Sichuan speak     6     unique form of Mandarin， which took shape during the area's repopulation     7     the rule of the Ming Dynasty． The family of dialects is now spoken by about 120 million people， which would make    8     the 10th most spoken language in the world if counted separately． The area's warm damp climate long caused local people     9    （advocate） spicy dishes． The native Sichuan pepper was supplemented by Mexican chilis during the Columbian Exchange to form modern Sichuan cuisine，    10     Dishes--including Kung Pao Chicken and Mapo Tofu--have become famous around the world．