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Saturday, July 2, 2016
Chronology of China
0. There were many prehistoric cultures in China. The Peligang culture was from 7000 BCE to 5000 BCE. People in this society had a lot of sovereignty. They ate millet and herded pigs, cows, and chickens. They fished and hunted. Cishan culture was created around 6500 BCE. They farmed rice and millet. They were hunters and fisherman. The Xinglongwa culture lasted from 6200-5400 BCE. They created pottery, first to use jade, and farmed. The people lived in pit houses. The Hemudu culture started 5500 BCE. They lived in slit houses. The ate rice and were hunters. They ate fruit and vegetables. They started out matriarchal, then they became patriarchal. Hemudu culture may be the origin of Austronesian people! The Yangshao culture started 5000 BCE. It ended 3000 BCE. They had pigs and dogs. They ate millet and rice. The society may have been matriarchal. Hongshan culture was from 4700-2900BCE. They made dragon statues out of jade and copper rings. They had an underground goddess temple. They did Feng Shui. Some of the people of this culture may have become Koreans. Liangzhu culture was from 3400-2250 BCE. The society was very stratified. Upper-class people were buried with expensive artifacts. This culture may be ancestral to Austronesians as well. The society was mostly destroyed by a meteorite impact. They were land and sea farmers. There was a capital city for this culture. It had clay walls and 6 city gates. Diamond tools were used by this society. They had a fondness for jade and sapphire. Slaves were sacrificed to their deities. The Longshan culture was from 3000-1900 BCE. They were farmers that also ate pigs, sheep, goats, and dogs. They made silk from the silkworm. Animal bones were used for divination and they were into human sacrifice. They may have had a language. The Liangzhu, Hongshan, and Longshan are my favorite cultures because they are the sophisticated. This was just a sampling, there are many more prehistoric ancient Chinese cultures. A lot of the great ideas of dynastic China have their origin in these prehistoric cultures.
1. Xia dynasty was the first dynasty of China. It lasted from 2070 to 1600 BCE. The Yellow Emperor was the first king to introduced civilization to the Chinese. Yu the Great was the first king of the Xia Dynasty. He was able to stop the Yellow River from flooding b4 he became king.
2. The Xia dynasty was overthrown by the Shang Dynasty. A written language was created during the Shang Dynasty. Chinese people were polytheistic at this time. Shangti was the most high god of their religion. He was called the Great Ancestor. He was too far removed from human experience to be approached. He had many children, which the Chinese worshiped. They believed ancestral spirits would help them in times of need. A calendar was invented during this time and it was very accurate. They also had a lunar and solar calendar, which was combined.
3. The Shang Dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty. King Wu started the Zhou Dynasty after his forces defeated the Shang army. This was the longest dynasty in China. It lasted over 800 years!!!! Kings of the Zhou Dynasty believed in the Mandate of Heaven. Kings were selected by God. As long as they rule justly they would have the Mandate of Heaven. When they became unjust they the mandate was taken from them. Then they would be overthrown. That's what they believed. Written language improved during this time. There many Chinese scholars during the Zhou Dynasty. There was a period in Chinese history called 100 Schools of Thought. There were many different philosophies during this time. There was a great philosopher named Mozi (click here) and a great religious leader named Laozi (click here). This was the time the Greeks were philosophizing. Different states under the Zhou asserted their sovereignty and fought each other. A famous strategy book was written at this time called Art of War. The Qin state defeated the other states because it didn't follow the rules of war. They won by any means necessary. The other states followed something like Bushido.
4. The Qin Dynasty succeed the Zhou Dynasty by conquering all the states. It only lasted 15 years from 221-206 BCE. Shi Huangdi was the first king of the Qin Dynasty. He made travel easier, which increased trade. The Great Wall started to be built during his reign. He believed in legalism. It was a philosophy that promoted severe punishment for crime. All other philosophies were suppressed. Scholars were buried alive and a library was burned down.
5. After the Qin Dynasty fell China was split into 2 nations. Chu and Han. The leaders of these were friends, but later on became enemies. The Han army defeated the Chu army and took over. The Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220CE) was established at this time. Liu-Bang founded this dynasty. He promoted Confucianism. The dynasty lasted for 400 years. China became peaceful again. New technology was created during this time. The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine was written during this time. Schools that taught Confucianism were created during this period. The Silk Road was created in 130 BCE. Romans loved silk. After the Han Dynasty fell; 4 kingdoms were created. This period was from 208-618 CE.
6. Sui Dynasty (589-618 CE) united China and reestablished order. They created the best government China ever known. Coins were created during this time. The Great Wall was still being built. China had the largest army at this time.
7. The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) succeed the Sui Dynasty. The governmental structure remained the same as b4. The first Tang ruler was killed by his son. The son wiped out the royal family and became king. He was loved by the populace because he governed well. China was trading with Byzantine at this time. China became the strongest country in the world at this time!!!!!!!! It had the biggest army and population. Chinese Buddhists were going to India to learn more about Buddism during this dynasty. Different regions revolted against the Tang Dynasty. This led to the death of over 30 million Chinese people. After the Tang Dynasty fell, China was broken up into warring kingdoms (907-960 CE).
8. The Sung Dynasty (960-1279) came to power and created a golden age. A lot of technology was created during this period. Fait currency was used for the first time in world history. They also created a navy, and they promoted Neo-Confucianism. They did a lot of maritime trade. Chinese sailors met a lot of different ethnic groups. There were 2 cities on the coast of China that housed many foreigners. The Song Dynasty lost control of Northern China to the Jin Dynasty in the 12th century. The Song retreated south and developed a new military technology. They were the first dynasty to use gunpowder. The Jin Dynasty was conquered by the Mongols.
9. 1276 is when Mongols conquered the Song Dynasty. The Mongols ruled China until 1368 CE. The Mongol dynasty was called Yuan Dynasty. The Mongols promoted Chinese science, literature, and other forms of culture. They embraced the Chinese culture while retaining their own. There were many different religions in China at this time and they all got along. New food crops were introduced. There was drama became important. There were many plays in China. There was a lot of advancement in medicine and printing. The Mongols of China loved Tibetian Buddism and Confucianism.
10. The Ming Dynasty started 1368 and lasted for almost 300 years. To become a government official you had to pass an exam. The emperor handled governmental affairs directly. The office of prime minister was abolished. There was a lot of fighting with the Mongols during this time. China had conflicts with Japan over Korea.
11. The Qing Dynasty(1644-1912 CE) was created by Jurchen Aisin Gioro. He was a Manchurian. This was the last dynasty of China. There were many rebellions during this time. China traded tea for silver with Britain. The Britsh ran out of silver. To get it back they got the Chinese addicted to opium. China was defeated by European nations and Japan.
12. The Republic of China (1912-1949) was created by Sun Yat-sen. The Republic had to fight warlords and Japan several times. They had a constitution. They were friends to the Communists in the beginning then they turned on them. Traditional Chinese Medicine was created @ this time. Classical Chinese Medicine was popular b4 TCM.
13. Communists took over China after a civil war. They came to power in 1949 and have ruled ever since. They killed millions of Chinese people and took over Tibet. The communists don't allow other political parties to challenge their rule. They modernized China, but if the Republic was still in power they probably would have modernized China too. China has the biggest population in the world!!!!!!!!! The Chinese are sweet people.
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