history+and+events

Ancient China Ancient China was ruled by dynasties. A dynasty was a sequence of rulers from the same family.

Neolithic China The Neolithic era in China lasted from around 12,000 B.C. to 2,000 B.C. Neolithic is defined as settled agricultural communities, but hunter-gatherers were still around. The climate was much different back then, it was much more moist and much better for farming. Most of China was covered in lakes and marshes.



Xia Dynasty For hundreds of years the Xia dynasty was thought to be a myth. It wasn't until 1959 that evidence was found proving that the Xia were real. They lasted from about 2,100 B.C. to about 1,800 B.C. They were an agrarian people that were predecessors to the Shang dynasty. They were a very small empire, with only two cities.

Shang Dynasty The Shang are considered by many to be the first true dynasty in China. They were about four times the size of the Xia empire. Like the Xia, the Shang were originally considered to be a myth. They were discovered because Chinese phamacists were selling oracle bones the Shang had created; the parmacists sold the bones as dragon bones. The Shang had a unique form of descent. Rather than passing from father to son, the Shang form of descent passed from the eldest brother to the youngest. The Shang were a very important people in Chinese history they were the first to develop a form of writing.

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou began as a semi-nomadic tribe that lived to the west of the Shang kingdom. Due to their nomadic ways, they learned how to work with people of different cultures. After a time, they settled in the Wei River valley, where they became part of the Shang. The Zhou eventually became stronger than the Shang, and in about 1040 B.C. they defeated the Shang in a war. They built their capital in Xi'an. Part of their success was the result of gaining the allegiance of disaffected city-states. The Shang were also weakened due to their constant warfare with people to the north. The Zhou had incorporated much of the Shang lifestyle into their own. Most of their towns and villages were based on Shang design.bThe Zhou, despite transporting the Shang to their cities for their skills, did not want to live directly with the Shang. Their capital was divided into two sections, one for the Zhou, that contained the imperial court, and the other half for the transported Shang. Other Zhou cities exhibit this same characteristic. However, this was the only major change in cities from the Shang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty. Otherwise, the houses remained the same as in the Shang Dynasty.The Zhou also brought their religion with them. They banned human sacrifice. They practiced the cult of Heaven. The worship of sun and stars was the most important thing. Some of the popular Shang gods became incorporated into this system. They were lesser gods, and served as feudal lords to the Heaven-god.

Qin Dynasty The Qin came to power in 221 B.C. They were one of the western states that existed during the Warring States Period. They conquered the other warring states[|,] unifying China for the first time. Their leader named himself the First Emperor, or Shi huangdi, thus beginning the tradition of having emperors for rulers. The Qin, while not the most culturally advanced of the Warring States was militarily the strongest. They utilized many new technologies in warfare, especially cavalry. The Qin are sometimes called the Ch'in, which is probably where the name China originated.The achievements of the Qin are numerous. They standardized the language and writing of China, which had varied greatly from area to area. This was done partially out of a need to have a consistent way to communicate across the country; administrators had to be able to read the writing of the commandery to which they were sent. Also, currency became standardized as a circular copper coin with a square hole in the middle. Many public works projects were also undertaken. A Great Wall was built in the north, to protect against invasions. Roads and irrigation canals were built throughout the country. Also, a huge palace was built for Shi huangdi. The Qin are also famous for the terra cotta army that was found at the burial site for Shi huangdi. The army consisted of 6,000 pottery soldiers that protected the tomb. They may be a replacement for the actual people who had previously been buried with the rulers.

Han Dynasty The Han empire began in 206 B.C. when Liu Bang, prince of Han, defeated the Qin army in the valley of Wei. The defeat was part of a larger rebellion that began after the First Emporer's death. The people were dissatisfied with the tyranny of the Qin leaders and their Legalist form of government. However, while traditional Chinese history portrays the Han as implementing immediate changes in government, evidence shows the Han continued to rule in the tradition of the Qin, and only gradually incorporated Confucian ideals into their Legalist form of government. Economic expansion, changing relationships with the people of the steppes, strengthening of the palace at the expense of the civil service, weakening of the state's hold on the peasantry, and the rise of the families of the rich and the gentry were all factors that led to the adoption of Confucian ideals. The Han Dynasty had many rebellions and eventually collapsed into what is known as the Three Kingdoms.

The Three Kingdoms The end of the Han Dynasty was followed by a long period of disunity and civil war. It began with the Three Kingdoms. These kingdoms grew out of the three chief economic areas of the Han Dynasty The leaders of the kingdoms strove to reunite the empire and were therefore at constant warfare. These three kingdoms were the Wei, in northern China, the Shu to the west, and the Wu in the east. The Three Kingdoms existed from 220-265 A.D. The kingdom of Wei was ruled by Ts'ao Ts'ao. This was the strongest of the kingdoms, and he had power over the valley of Wei even during the time of the Han rule. Ts'ao Ts'ao attempted to unify all of China under his rule, but was defeated in the battle of the Red Cliff. This defeat was the beginning of the division into three kingdoms. The Wei and Shu kingdoms were both centralized, legalist kingdoms, while the Wu kingdom was ruled by a confederation of the most powerful families of the area. The Wei kingdom eventually captured the Shu kingdom in 263 A.D. Ts'ao Ts'ao instituted many military changes that would have a great impact on the future of China. His army consisted of both Chinese and people that were considered barbarians, the Hsiung-nu, the Hsien-pei, Wu-huan and the Ch'iang. The members of his army who provided the best troops were the former nomadic herdsmen of the steppes. The use of people from different groups resulted in an assimilation among the people which had not occurred in the past. In the future, these assimilated nomads would form independent kingdoms in North China. The Ssu-ma was a militant family that rose to power very quickly, and one of its members, Ssu-ma Yen founded the new Chin Dynasty in 265 A.D.

Chin Dynasty Ssu-ma Yen began the Chin Dynasty; he ruled from 265-289A.D. As an emperor, he was called Wu Ti. The Chin managed to reunify China when, in 280 A.D., they conquered the Wu Kingdom, thus ending the period of The Three Kingdoms. Despite this success, they were not a stable empire. After defeating the Wu, there was no longer a serious danger of being invaded. Therefore, the emperor declared the armies should be disbanded, and all the arms returned. However, this did not occur in every region. The princes, most of whom had been given their titles because of their relationship with the emperor, declared they needed personal guards. The discharged soldiers belonged mainly to the state and didn't give up their weapons either. Instead, they sold them, mainly to the Hsiung-nu and the Hsien-pi. This was a big mistake of the Chin government, as it made them virtually powerless, while all their rivals and enemies gained power. After the death of Ssu-ma Yen, there was never again a strong leader. The leaders and princes were often assassinated in the struggle for power. During this time, the Chinese people surrounding the capital suffered due to the fighting and began a migration out from the center of the empire to the more peaceful frontier regions.The Chin were eventually defeated by the Huns, who claimed they were descendents of the Han Dynasty because of the Han princesses given to them in marriage. However, they never succeeded in forming a true dynasty and uniting China. Rather, the disunity continued with the The Northern and Southern Dynasties. The defeated Chin fled and from 317-420 A.D. they ruled as the Eastern Chin in Nanking.

The Northern and Southern Dynasties The Dynasties of the North and South were another lengthy period of disunity and internal strife for China. It lasted from 317-589A.D. During this time period, the north and south were split and two separate successions of dynasties formed. In both the north and the south, there were different groups of rulers. Many of the dynasties overlapped each other in terms of time. In the north especially, Buddism flourished. This was due partly to the fact that the nobles who had been the main followers of Confucianism moved south. The tenets of Buddhism appealed to the country people for a number of reasons, but especially because of Buddhism's promise of an afterlife, which is nonexistent in Confucianism. The poor who had suffered under the wealthy were offered hope in Buddhism's reincarnation to a better life if one lived their current life well. This meant the nobles who had oppressed them would come back to a harder life and they would come back to a better life.

Sui and Tang Dynasties The T’ang are closely associated with the Sui, and are often thought of as the same dynasty. Their dynasty lasted from 618-907 A.D. Much of their power was made possible through the canals built by the Sui. These canals allowed for communications to all parts of the empire. Also, the granaries the Sui built alongside the canals helped the T’ang to transport goods from the south to the north. This especially was important in the transfer of rice to the north in times of famine. These canals were important in the economic development of the T’ang empire. The Tang were the first to develope an administrative system in China. They also developed the Tang Code, which consists of a scale of penalties that are applied based on both the crime and the degree of relation between the criminal and the offended person. The degree of the punishment was based on the amount of time that would be spent in mourning by the family if the person died. It was basically the Tang version of laws. The Tang wanted to expand thier borders, and eventually expanded into Korea. Soon the Tang were the most powerful country in all of Asia. In 860 A.D. a series of wars and uprisings led to the fall of the Tang empire. This led to an era known as the Five Dynasties.

Creative Question What does neolithic mean? Settled agricultural communities