Chin China 's History

China during the classical period, a span of time stretching from 1000 B.C.E.-500 C.E., was ruled by many families, each having their own dynasty. The very first dynasty of this period was the Zhou, coming into power after overthrowing the Shang. The last Shang emperor, Di Xin, had essentially abandoned matters of the state in favor of hedonistic activities, using tax money to fund them and therefore becoming very unpopular. This caused the Zhou uprising which led to the establishment of the Mandate of Heaven, a concept that not only allowed the Zhou to gain and maintain cultural power of the Chinese people, but led to widespread notions in Chinese society of the validity of autocracy and a need for extremely centralized government that would

Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220, China declined into an elongated term of division. China was divided and in a time of war, with a lack of leadership. It was only in the Sui Dynasty (589-618) reunited North and South China as one. The Tang (618-906) and Song (960 - 1279) Dynasties that followed created the “Golden Ages of China”. Although the Tang and Song Dynasties existed in a similar time and had a similar economy, there are also many differences between the influential dynasties such as certain aspects of their society and politics.

China has changed in certain ways and remained the same in others from the early Golden Ages to the late 1900s. China has experienced a series of cultural and political transformations, shaping the lives of many Chinese citizens. Culturally, the country’s art and literature hardly changed for almost eight hundred years. Along with their culture, China remained politically the same from the beginning of the Golden Ages all the way until the 1800s. On the other hand, China’s government and society were restructured after new leaders took over. From a monarch to total communism, China’s society had a multitude of new ideas and policies they had to adapt to.

The following are the Chinese dynasties in order from oldest to most recent: Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The legendary dynasty is the Xia, which is believed to be around 2000 BC. The Shang (1700-1000BC) developed the first written Chinese language. The Zhou (1028-221BC) built the first roads, expanded trade contacts and trade routes, and also developed plows and irrigation systems. Trade at this time was expanding in China. The Qin Dynasty (221-207BC) built the famous Great Wall of China as a defense mechanism and also united all of China under one central government. Next is the Han Dynasty (207BC-AD220), which did a lot for China in terms of trading. They developed the Great Silk Road, a trading route that stretched from China all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sui Dynasty (589-618) united almost all of China. Followed in suit by the Tang Dynasty (618-917) discovered one of Chinas' leading exports, porcelain. During the Tang Dynasty, the first block-style printing press was invented. The Song Dynasty (960-1279) came next, which took over all of China and later took the southern rule after being conquered by the Jin. The Song Dynasty is responsible for developing Chinese cuisine as we know it today. During this time period the compass and gunpowder were also discovered. The Jin Dynasty (1127-1234) took rule over Northern China from the Song. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) brought a long period of peace to

China remains a current world super power that has been around for thousands of years. It was one of the first civilizations ever created and it has evolved into an enormous country. China is a large territory, but only 10% of the land can be farmed on. This continues to be a tremendous problem, especially with the large population that mostly lives in rural areas. In the past China was seen as a fragile nation that was still stuck in the past, although after the Four Humiliations this began to change. The Four Humiliations were a group of events that forced China to modernize due to the losses it faced. After the last of the four humiliations and the fall of the dynasty era during 1911, China began to catch up to the westernized world by modernizing their government, military, and education. The Chinese

Despite being the shortest ruling dynasty at fifteen years, the Qin dynasty served a vital role in the development of China’s civilization (51). The Qin dynasty was prefaced by a period of instability caused by an ineffective political system and war between several regions all vying to overtake the others. After the Qin kingdom rose as the victor, King Cheng established for himself the title of Shi huangdi, or emperor, and looked to create a political system that would prevent the empire from fragmenting again. To achieve such a centralized government, Shi Huangdi sacrificed his people’s intellectual freedom and lives and produced a connected and standardized China, whose efficiency and strength still impacts the vision

Within the years of 221-206 BCE, the Qin Dynasty rose as a superpower. During this time period, the Warring States Era, Chinese civilization was impacted tremendously in almost every aspect. These hallmarks in history vary from the spreading of Legalism to the birth of the Great Wall of China. Through these countless contributions, the Qin Dynasty was able to revolutionize the Chinese civilization in such a short period of time.

The first ever knowing emperor of china was Shi Huangdi, His named applied to the country, while in Zhou’s dynasty he created the feudal system Shi abolished it was no more. Shi was a strong emperor and he expanded the country of Vietnam, during his reign he built the Great wall and a lot of different things that china is revolved around. During the Shi dynasty there where strict laws. If you didn’t go to school you were killed.

China is the world's oldest civilization, with recorded history from almost 4,000 years ago. In that time it has had many dynasties such as the Qin dynasty, Han dynasty, Sui dynasty, Zhou dynasty, Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty, Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty. For 300 years China was divided into three kingdoms: the Wei, the Shu, and the Wu, but they reunited during the Sui dynasty in 581. The last of the Chinese dynasties was the Qing dynasty which started in 1644.

The Qin and Han dynasties changed many things regarding how China was governed. Like when Qin Shi Huang standardized the units of measurement, currency, and the width of roads to ease trade within his country, strengthening the unity between areas. Another change is the Han dynasty’s usage of education. They let all boys receive an education to a certain extent, however, if they wanted to further their education more they would have to travel to the capital. One of the several changes Qin Shi Huang changed how dictators controlled China in many ways how he distributed his land and power. Many of the changes he implemented were used by Chinese rulers for over 2000 years, these changes created a lasting effect on how China was ruled. The Qin

The Qin and the Han are two equally important dynasties that greatly expanded in their reign, although both the Qin and the Han had its own ideas on expansion. In fifteen years, the Qin Dynasty united the seven warring states. Emperor Qin’s rule resulted in the isolation of China from foreigners and brought upon strict rules and the removal of freedom. Under Emperor Qin’s rule, any action people took which angered the ruler could result in harsh punishment. Consequently, people were unhappy and often suffered from poverty. On the other hand, The Han dynasty lasted 426 years and managed to conquer more land, which gradually expanded and formed what China now is today. While isolation from the outside world was still present

Throughout the course of China’s history, many dynasties were established and each would bring about great changes to the empire. The most important dynasty that stood out would be the Han Dynasty, which became one of the great dynasties of Ancient China. It is deemed to be one of the most successful dynasties and played a major role in the advancement of Chinese civilization. During its time, the Han Dynasty brought upon new cultural and technological advancements and experienced many agricultural, social and military advancements, which helped the Chinese progress tremendously.

In china there has been no central rule in China for 70 years until the Song Dynasty created in 960. Things started to change in China, for example, the government started to aid the poor a lot more than what they have in the past. They were getting this money from the newly introduced income tax. This made a lot of people happy and everyone started to have more patriotism and pride. This pride gave the government a feel of legitimacy. Some of the major things the government is paying for is the roads, food, and education. Pottery at this time helps out the economy in China, because the pottery is so advanced that it was being exported for good money and it also led more people to come to China. Even though China was number one in the world for many things like technology and a sophisticated culture they were weak military wise (Holcombe p.127).

Though the people of Islamic belief are scattered throughout China, the greatest concentration of Muslims reside in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. This region is distinctly non-Han in its ethnic composition, since the Uyghurs account for nearly 75 percent of its population; the cultural makeup of this region is comprised of Turkic language and beliefs in Islam (Clarke and Hayes 3). However, the influx and growth of the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang has created a language barrier in which the Uyghurs have become the regional minority. In the past, the Uyghurs have been continuously oppressed and silenced by their rulers. Even today, the Uyghur are subject to unfair treatment in respect to education and professional opportunities.

The Six Dynasty period in Chinese historiography is often classified with moments of conflict, revolt, strife, famine, disunity, and not innovation. Historians and academics categorize the period as a placeholder between the more significant Han China—206 BCE to 220 CE—and the Tang dynasty—618 to 907 CE. Understandably, Han China’s military, infrastructure, and civil capabilities were rivalled only by that of the Roman Empire, and even then, the Han dynasties administrative capabilities were rivalled by none. The Tang period is widely considered to be the high point of Chinese culture and civilization, where cosmopolitan China emerged with force vastly shaping China for centuries to come. The significance of the Han and Tang dynasties is not in question, it is the lack of importance that historians confer on the Six Dynasties period. Admittedly the Six Dynasty period in Chinese history can be categorized as a warring period, in which China did not develop unilaterally, but separately along fractured lines (split both north-south, and east-west). Much like the European medieval period, there are few accessible sources from early-medieval china, and because of this, China’s six dynasty period is brushed over as a period of little advancement and innovation. The “Dark Ages” in Europe use to receive the same scholarly interpretation as a period of stagnation.