1.
Chinese language
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Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
Chinese language
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The
Tripitaka Koreana, a Korean collection of the
Chinese Buddhist canon
Chinese language
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Hànyǔ (Chinese) written in
traditional (left) and
simplified (right) characters
Chinese language
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"
Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion " by
Wang Xizhi, written in
semi-cursive style
2.
Standard Chinese
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Its pronunciation is based on the Beijing dialect, its vocabulary on the Mandarin dialects, and its grammar is based on written vernacular Chinese. Like other varieties of Chinese, Standard Chinese is a language with topic-prominent organization. It has more initial consonants but fewer vowels, final consonants, Standard Chinese is an analytic language, though with many compound words. There exist two standardised forms of the language, namely Putonghua in Mainland China and Guoyu in Taiwan, aside from a number of differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, Putonghua is written using simplified Chinese characters, while Guoyu is written using traditional Chinese characters. There are many characters that are identical between the two systems, in English, the governments of China and Hong Kong use Putonghua, Putonghua Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, and Mandarin, while those of Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, use Mandarin. The name Putonghua also has a long, albeit unofficial, history and it was used as early as 1906 in writings by Zhu Wenxiong to differentiate a modern, standard Chinese from classical Chinese and other varieties of Chinese. For some linguists of the early 20th century, the Putonghua, or common tongue/speech, was different from the Guoyu. The former was a prestige variety, while the latter was the legal standard. Based on common understandings of the time, the two were, in fact, different, Guoyu was understood as formal vernacular Chinese, which is close to classical Chinese. By contrast, Putonghua was called the speech of the modern man. The use of the term Putonghua by left-leaning intellectuals such as Qu Qiubai, prior to this, the government used both terms interchangeably. In Taiwan, Guoyu continues to be the term for Standard Chinese. The term Putonghua, on the contrary, implies nothing more than the notion of a lingua franca, Huayu, or language of the Chinese nation, originally simply meant Chinese language, and was used in overseas communities to contrast Chinese with foreign languages. Over time, the desire to standardise the variety of Chinese spoken in these communities led to the adoption of the name Huayu to refer to Mandarin and it also incorporates the notion that Mandarin is usually not the national or common language of the areas in which overseas Chinese live. The term Mandarin is a translation of Guānhuà, which referred to the lingua franca of the late Chinese empire, in English, Mandarin may refer to the standard language, the dialect group as a whole, or to historic forms such as the late Imperial lingua franca. The name Modern Standard Mandarin is sometimes used by linguists who wish to distinguish the current state of the language from other northern. Chinese has long had considerable variation, hence prestige dialects have always existed. Confucius, for example, used yǎyán rather than colloquial regional dialects, rime books, which were written since the Northern and Southern dynasties, may also have reflected one or more systems of standard pronunciation during those times
Standard Chinese
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A poster outside of high school in
Yangzhou urges people to speak Putonghua
Standard Chinese
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Zhongguo Guanhua (中国官话/中國官話), or Medii Regni Communis Loquela ("Middle Kingdom's Common Speech"), used on the frontispiece of an early Chinese grammar published by
Étienne Fourmont (with
Arcadio Huang) in 1742
3.
Hanyu Pinyin
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Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
Hanyu Pinyin
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A school slogan asking elementary students to speak
Putonghua is annotated with pinyin, but without tonal marks.
Hanyu Pinyin
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In
Yiling,
Yichang,
Hubei, text on road signs appears both in Chinese characters and in Hanyu Pinyin
4.
History of China
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Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1500 BC under the Shang dynasty. Ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Bamboo Annals describe a Xia dynasty, with thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the worlds oldest civilizations, and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization. Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy developed during the Zhou dynasty. This is one of multiple periods of failed statehood in Chinese history, between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled parts or all of China, in some eras control stretched as far as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang united the warring kingdoms and created for himself the title of emperor of the Qin dynasty. Successive dynasties developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the emperor to control vast territories directly, in the 21 centuries from 206 BC until AD1912, routine administrative tasks were handled by a special elite, the Scholar-officials. Young men were selected through difficult examinations and were well-versed in calligraphy and philosophy. What is now China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than a million years ago, recent study shows that the stone tools found at Xiaochangliang site are magnetostratigraphically dated to 1.36 million years ago. The archaeological site of Xihoudu in Shanxi Province is the earliest recorded use of fire by Homo erectus, the excavations at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Homo erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in 1923–27, fossilised teeth of Homo sapiens dating to 125, 000–80,000 BC have been discovered in Fuyan Cave in Dao County in Hunan. The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to about 10,000 BC, Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC. The earliest evidence of cultivated rice, found by the Yangtze River, is carbon-dated to 8,000 years ago, farming gave rise to the Jiahu culture. At Damaidi in Ningxia,3,172 cliff carvings dating to 6000–5000 BC have been discovered, featuring 8,453 individual characters such as the sun, moon, stars, gods and these pictographs are reputed to be similar to the earliest characters confirmed to be written Chinese. Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 7000 BC, Dadiwan from 5800 BC to 5400 BC, Damaidi around 6000 BC, some scholars have suggested that Jiahu symbols were the earliest Chinese writing system. With agriculture came increased population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, Later, Yangshao culture was superseded by the Longshan culture, which was also centered on the Yellow River from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Bronze artifacts have been found at the Majiayao culture site, The Bronze Age is also represented at the Lower Xiajiadian culture site in northeast China. Sanxingdui located in what is now Sichuan province is believed to be the site of a ancient city. The site was first discovered in 1929 and then re-discovered in 1986, Chinese archaeologists have identified the Sanxingdui culture to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu, linking the artifacts found at the site to its early legendary kings
History of China
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History of China
History of China
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Approximate territories occupied by
the various dynasties and states throughout the history of China
History of China
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Oracle bones found dating from the Shang Dynasty
History of China
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Remnants of advanced,
stratified societies dating back to the Shang found primarily in the Yellow River Valley
5.
List of Neolithic cultures of China
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This is a list of Neolithic cultures of China that have been unearthed by archaeologists. They are sorted in order from earliest to latest and are followed by a schematic visualization of these cultures. It would seem that the definition of Neolithic in China is undergoing changes, the discovery in 2012 of pottery about 20,000 years BP indicates that this measure alone can no longer be used to define the period. It will fall to the difficult task of determining when cereal domestication started. These cultures are brought together schematically for the period 8500 to 1500 BC, Neolithic cultures remain unmarked and Bronze Age cultures are marked with *. Northwest China, Gansu, Qinghai and western part of Shaanxi, north-central China, Shanxi, Hebei, western part of Henan and eastern part of Shaanxi. This is called the North China Plain, until recently seen as where Chinese civilization originated from, eastern China, Shandong, Anhui, northern part of Jiangsu and eastern part Henan. East-south-eastern China, Zhejiang and biggest part of Jiangsu, south-central China, Hubei and northern part of Hunan. Southeast China, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, southern part of Hunan, lower Red River in the part of Vietnam. Loewe, Michael en Edward L. Shaughnessy, The Cambridge History of Ancient China, from the Origins of Civilization to 221 B. C. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-47030-7, trajectories to Early States, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, ISBN 0-521-81184-8. Maisels, Charles Keith, Early Civilizations of the Old World, the Formative Histories of Egypt, The Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China, Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-10976-0. World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies, Thames & Hudson, London 2005, chapter 7, Higham, Charles, East Asian Agriculture and Its Impact, p. 234-264. Chapter 15, Higham, Charles, Complex Societies of East and Southeast Asia, p. 552-594 Media related to Neolithic cultures of China at Wikimedia Commons
List of Neolithic cultures of China
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Map of the Chinese Neolithic
6.
Xia dynasty
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The Xia dynasty is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese history. It is described in ancient historical chronicles such as the Bamboo Annals, the Classic of History, according to tradition, the dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him. The Xia was later succeeded by the Shang dynasty, the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project concluded that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BCE. The first documentary reference to the Xia dates from more than a years later. Therefore, despite efforts by Chinese archaeologists to link the Xia with Bronze Age Erlitou archaeological sites, the Xia dynasty was described in classic texts such as the Classic of History, the Bamboo Annals, and the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian. According to tradition, the Huaxia were the people of the Han Chinese. Traditional histories trace the development of the Xia to the legendary Three Sovereigns, according to ancient Chinese texts, before the Xia dynasty was established, battles were frequent between the Xia tribe and Chi Yous tribe. The Xia tribe slowly developed around the time of Zhuanxu, one of the Five Emperors, based on this, tradition ascribes the ancestry of the Xia clan to Zhuanxu. Gun, the father of Yu the Great, is the earliest recorded member of the Xia clan, when the Yellow River flooded, many tribes united together to control and stop the flooding. Gun was appointed by Emperor Yao to stop the flooding and he ordered the construction of large blockades to block the path of the water. The attempt of Gun to stop the flooding lasted for nine years, after nine years, Yao had already given his throne to Shun. Yu was highly trusted by Shun, so Shun appointed him to finish his fathers work, Yu was dedicated to his work. People praised his perseverance and were inspired, so much so that other tribes joined in the work, yus success in stopping the flooding increased agricultural production. The Xia tribes power increased and Yu became the leader of the surrounding tribes, soon afterwards Shun sent Yu to lead an army to suppress the Sanmiao tribe, which continuously abused the border tribes. After defeating them, he exiled them south to the Han River area and this victory strengthened the Xia tribes power even more. As Shun aged, he thought of a successor and relinquished the throne to Yu, yus succession marks the start of the Xia dynasty. As Yu neared death he passed the throne to his son, Qi, instead of passing it to the most capable candidate, the Xia dynasty began a period of family or clan control. It is believed that Zhenxun was one of the capitals of the dynasty, jie, the last king, was said to be corrupt
Xia dynasty
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History of China
Xia dynasty
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Proposed location of the Xia dynasty
7.
Shang dynasty
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The Shang dynasty or Yin dynasty, according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Zhou dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from such as the Book of Documents, Bamboo Annals. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project dated them from c.1600 to 1046 BC, the Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty of traditional Chinese history supported by archaeological evidence. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone, the Anyang site has yielded the earliest known body of Chinese writing, mostly divinations inscribed on oracle bones – turtle shells, ox scapulae, or other bones. More than 20,000 were discovered in the scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s. The inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics from the politics, economy, many events concerning the Shang dynasty are mentioned in various Chinese classics, including the Book of Documents, the Mencius and the Zuo Zhuan. Working from all the documents, the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian assembled a sequential account of the Shang dynasty as part of his Records of the Grand Historian. His history describes some events in detail, while in other cases only the name of a king is given, a closely related, but slightly different, account is given by the Bamboo Annals. The Annals were interred in 296 BC, but the text has a complex history, the name Yīn is used by Sima Qian for the dynasty, and in the current text version of the Bamboo Annals for both the dynasty and its final capital. It has been a name for the Shang throughout history. Since the Records of Emperors and Kings by Huangfu Mi, it has often used specifically to describe the later half of the Shang dynasty. In Japan and Korea, the Shang are still referred to almost exclusively as the Yin dynasty, however it seems to have been a Zhou name for the earlier dynasty. The word does not appear in the bones, which refer to the state as Shāng. It also does not appear in securely-dated Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, xie is said to have helped Yu the Great to control the Great Flood and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief. Sima Qian relates that the dynasty itself was founded 13 generations later, when Xies descendant Tang overthrew the impious and cruel final Xia ruler in the Battle of Mingtiao. The Records recount events from the reigns of Tang, Tai Jia, Tai Wu, Pan Geng, Wu Ding, Wu Yi and the final king Di Xin. According to the Records, the Shang moved their capital five times, Di Xin, the last Shang king, is said to have committed suicide after his army was defeated by Wu of Zhou. Legends say that his army and his equipped slaves betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in the decisive Battle of Muye, according to the Yi Zhou Shu and Mencius the battle was very bloody
Shang dynasty
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History of China
Shang dynasty
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Remnants of advanced, stratified societies dating back to the Shang period have been found in the Yellow River Valley.
Shang dynasty
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The site of
Yin, the capital (1350–1046 BC) of the Shang dynasty, also called Yin dynasty
Shang dynasty
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Oracle bones pit at Yin
8.
Zhou dynasty
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The Zhou dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang dynasty and preceded the Qin dynasty. This period of Chinese history produced what many consider the zenith of Chinese bronze-ware making, the dynasty also spans the period in which the written script evolved into its almost-modern form with the use of an archaic clerical script that emerged during the late Warring States period. He even received sacrifice as a harvest god, the term Hòujì was probably an hereditary title attached to a lineage. Jus son Liu, however, led his people to prosperity by restoring agriculture and settling them at a place called Bin, tai later led the clan from Bin to Zhou, an area in the Wei River valley of modern-day Qishan County. Taibo and Zhongyong had supposedly fled to the Yangtze delta. Jilis son Wen bribed his way out of imprisonment and moved the Zhou capital to Feng, the Zhou enfeoffed a member of the defeated Shang royal family as the Duke of Song, which was held by descendants of the Shang royal family until its end. This practice was referred to as Two Kings, Three Reverences, according to Nicholas Bodman, the Zhou appear to have spoken a language not basically different in vocabulary and syntax from that of the Shang. A recent study by David McCraw, using lexical statistics, reached the same conclusion, the Zhou emulated extensively Shang cultural practices, perhaps to legitimize their own rule, and became the successors to Shang culture. At the same time, the Zhou may also have connected to the Xirong, a broadly defined cultural group to the west of the Shang. According to the historian Li Feng, the term Rong during the Western Zhou period was used to designate political and military adversaries rather than cultural. The proto-Zhou were first located in the Shaanxi-Shanxi highland, where they absorbed elements from the Guangshe culture, King Liu moved his people to the lower Fen Valley and to the western bank of the Yellow River, where they resumed agriculture. His son Qing Jie, led the Zhou to the valley of the Jing River. They stayed there until Dan Fu moved again to the Wei Valley in order to avoid incursion by the Rongdi nomads. During this period, the Zhou mingled with the Qiang people, in all these stages, the advanced Shang bronze culture constantly imparted its influence on the Zhou. The Qi area was the region in all these influences would come to fruition. The contact among the proto-Zhou, the native Shaanxi Longshan, the Qiang, King Wu maintained the old capital for ceremonial purposes but constructed a new one for his palace and administration nearby at Hao. Although Wus early death left a young and inexperienced heir, the Duke of Zhou assisted his nephew King Cheng in consolidating royal power. Wary of the Duke of Zhous increasing power, the Three Guards, Zhou princes stationed on the eastern plain, to maintain Zhou authority over its greatly expanded territory and prevent other revolts, he set up the fengjian system
Zhou dynasty
–
History of China
Zhou dynasty
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Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty (1050–771 BC) in China
Zhou dynasty
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States of the Western Zhou dynasty
Zhou dynasty
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A Western Zhou bronze gui vessel, c. 1000 BC
9.
Western Zhou
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The Western Zhou period was the first half of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye, the dynasty was successful for about seventy-five years and then slowly lost power. The former Shang lands were divided into fiefs which became increasingly independent of the king. In 771, the Zhou were driven out of the Wei River valley, few records survive from this early period and accounts from the Western Zhou period cover little beyond a list of kings with uncertain dates. King Wu died two or three years after the conquest, because his son, King Cheng of Zhou was young, his brother, the Duke of Zhou assisted the young and inexperienced king as regent. Wus other brothers, concerned about the Duke of Zhous growing power, formed an alliance with other regional rulers, the Duke of Zhou stamped out this rebellion and conquered more territory to bring other people under Zhou rule. The Duke formulated the Mandate of Heaven doctrine to counter Shang claims to a right of rule. With a feudal system, royal relatives and generals were given fiefs in the east, including Luoyang, Jin, Ying, Lu, Qi. While this was designed to maintain Zhou authority as it expanded its rule over an amount of territory. When the Duke of Zhou stepped down as regent, the remainder of Chengs reign, the fourth king, King Zhao of Zhou led an army south against Chu and was killed along with a large part of the Zhou army. The fifth king, King Mu of Zhou is remembered for his visit to the Queen Mother of the West. Territory was lost to the Xu Rong in the southeast, the reigns of the next four kings are poorly documented. The ninth king is said to have boiled the Duke of Qi in a cauldron, the tenth king, King Li of Zhou was forced into exile and power was held for fourteen years by the Gonghe Regency. Lis overthrow may have accompanied by Chinas first recorded peasant rebellion. When Li died in exile, Gonghe retired and power passed to Lis son King Xuan of Zhou, King Xuan worked to restore royal authority, though regional lords became less obedient later in his reign. The twelfth and last king of the Western Zhou period was King You of Zhou, some scholars have surmised that the sack of Haojing might have been connected to a Scythian raid from the Altai before their westward expansion. Most of the Zhou nobles withdrew from the Wei River valley and this was the start of the Eastern Zhou period, which is customarily divided into the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. It is possible that the Zhou kings derived most of their income from lands in the Wei valley
Western Zhou
–
History of China
Western Zhou
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States of the Western Zhou dynasty
10.
Spring and Autumn period
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The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 771 to 476 BC which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. The periods name derives from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 479 BC, which associates with Confucius. The gradual Partition of Jin, one of the most powerful states, marked the end of the Spring and Autumn period, in 771 BC, the Quanrong invasion destroyed the Western Zhou and its capital Haojing, forcing the Zhou king to flee to the eastern capital Luoyi. The event ushered in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn, during the Spring and Autumn period, Chinas feudal system of fengjian became largely irrelevant. The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in the Guanzhong region, held nominal power, during the early part of the Zhou dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory. As the power of the Zhou kings waned, these became increasingly independent states. The most important states came together in regular conferences where they decided important matters, during these conferences one vassal ruler was sometimes declared hegemon. As the era continued, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones, by the 6th century BC most small states had disappeared and just a few large and powerful principalities dominated China. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou, in Chengzhou, Prince Yijiu was crowned by his supporters as King Ping. The Zhou court would never regain its authority, instead. Though the king de jure retained the Mandate of Heaven, the title held little actual power, a total of 148 states are mentioned in the chronicles for this period,128 of which were absorbed by the four largest states by the end of the period. The kings prestige legitimized the military leaders of the states, over the next two centuries, the four most powerful states—Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu—struggled for power. These multi-city states often used the pretext of aid and protection to intervene, during this rapid expansion, interstate relations alternated between low-level warfare and complex diplomacy. Duke Yin of Lu ascended the throne in 722 BC, from this year on the state of Lu kept an official chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, which along with its commentaries is the standard source for the Spring and Autumn period. Corresponding chronicles are known to have existed in states as well. In 717 BC, Duke Zhuang of Zheng went to the capital for an audience with King Huan, during the encounter the duke felt he was not treated with the respect and etiquette which would have been appropriate, given that Zheng was now the chief protector of the capital. In 715 BC Zheng also became involved in a dispute with Lu regarding the Fields of Xu. The fields had been put in the care of Lu by the king for the purpose of producing royal sacrifices for the sacred Mount Tai
Spring and Autumn period
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History of China
Spring and Autumn period
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Urbanization during the Spring and Autumn period.
Spring and Autumn period
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Chinese pu vessel with interlaced
dragon design, Spring and Autumn period.
Spring and Autumn period
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A large
bronze tripod vessel from the Spring and Autumn period, now located at the
Henan Museum
11.
Warring States period
–
The Warring States Period derives its name from the Record of the Warring States, a work compiled early in the Han dynasty. The political geography of the era was dominated by the Seven Warring States, namely, Qin, The State of Qin was in the far west, with its core in the Wei River Valley and Guanzhong. This geographical position offered protection from the states of the Central Plains, the Three Jins, Northeast of Qin, on the Shanxi plateau, were the three successor states of Jin. These were, Han, south, along the Yellow River, Zhao, the northernmost of the three. Qi, located in the east of China, centred on the Shandong Peninsula, described as east of Mount Tai, Chu, located in the south of China, with its core territory around the valleys of the Han River and, later, the Yangtze River. Yan, located in the northeast, centred on modern-day Beijing, late in the period Yan pushed northeast and began to occupy the Liaodong Peninsula Besides these seven major states, some minor states also survived into the period. Yue, On the southeast coast near Shanghai was the State of Yue, Sichuan, In the far southwest were the States of Ba and Shu. These were non-Zhou states that were conquered by Qin late in the period, in the Central Plains comprising much of modern-day Henan Province, many smaller city states survived as satellites of the larger states, though they were eventually to be absorbed as well. Zhongshan, Between the states of Zhao and Yan was the state of Zhongshan, the Spring and Autumn period was initiated by the eastward flight of the Zhou court. There is no one single incident or starting point for the Warring States era, some proposed starting points are as follows,481 BC, Proposed by Song-era historian Lü Zuqian, since it is the end of the Spring and Autumn Annals. 476–475 BC, The author, Sima Qian, of Records of the Grand Historian who chose the year of King Yuan of Zhou. 403 BC, The year when Han, Zhao and Wei were officially recognised as states by the Zhou court, author Sima Guang of Zizhi Tongjian tells us that the symbol of eroded Zhou authority should be taken as the start of the Warring States era. The Spring and Autumn period led to a few states gaining power at the expense of many others, during the Warring States period, many rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify their conquest of other states and spread their influence. Other major states also existed, such as Wu and Yue in the southeast, the last decades of the Spring and Autumn era were marked by increased stability, as the result of peace negotiations between Jin and Chu which established their respective spheres of influence. This situation ended with the partition of Jin, whereby the state was divided between the houses of Han, Zhao and Wei, and thus enabled the creation of the seven major warring states. This allowed other clans to gain fiefs and military authority, and decades of struggle led to the establishment of four major families. The Battle of Jinyang saw the allied Han, Zhao and Wei destroy the Zhi family, with this, they became the de facto rulers of most of Jins territory, though this situation would not be officially recognised until half a century later. The Jin division created a vacuum that enabled during the first 50 years expansion of Chu and Yue northward
Warring States period
–
History of China
Warring States period
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Warring States about 350 BC
Warring States period
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Tomb Guardian held at
Birmingham Museum of Art
Warring States period
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A
jade -carved
dragon garment ornament from the Warring States period
12.
Qin dynasty
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The Qin dynasty was the first dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 206 BCE. The strength of the Qin state was increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the fourth century BC. It is also the shortest dynasty in Chinese history, lasting only 15 years with two emperors, Qin administration was by no means purely punitive, and was not harsher than was generally prevalent at the time. Though often anathema to Legalist philosophy, Confucianism and its values too coexisted with Legalism during the reign of the First Emperor, Qin administrative documents considered such matters as filial piety, and one circulated letter reads that The purpose of all standards. Is to teach and lead the people, rid them of dissoluteness and depravity. during its reign over China, the Qin sought to create an imperial state unified by highly structured political power and a stable economy able to support a large military. This allowed for the construction of projects, such as a wall on the northern border. For years, local rulers built walls along Chinas northern border to protect their villages from invaders, Three hundred thousand peasants and convicts were forced to work on this 1,400 mile wall. The Qin dynasty introduced reforms, currency, weights and measures were standardized. The Qins military was revolutionary in that it used the most recently developed weaponry, transportation, an attempt to restrict criticism and purge all traces of old dynasties led to the supposed burning of books and burying of scholars later espoused by Confucians. Despite its military strength, the Qin dynasty did not last long, the advisors squabbled among themselves, however, resulting in both their deaths and that of the second Qin emperor. Popular revolt broke out a few later, and the weakened empire soon fell to a Chu lieutenant. Despite its rapid end, the dynasty influenced future Chinese empires, particularly the Han, in the 9th century BC, Feizi, a supposed descendant of the ancient political advisor Gao Yao, was granted rule over Qin City. The modern city of Tianshui stands where this city once was, during the rule of King Xiao of Zhou, the eighth king of the Zhou dynasty, this area became known as the state of Qin. In 897 BC, under the regency of Gonghe, the became a dependency allotted for the purpose of raising and breeding horses. One of Feizis descendants, Duke Zhuang, became favoured by King Ping of Zhou, as a reward, Zhuangs son, Duke Xiang, was sent eastward as the leader of a war expedition, during which he formally established the Qin. The state of Qin first sent an expedition into central China in 672 BC. By the dawn of the fourth century BC, however, the tribes had all been either subdued or conquered. The resulting city greatly resembled the capitals of other Warring States, notably, Qin Legalism encouraged practical and ruthless warfare
Qin dynasty
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Qin dynasty,
circa 210 BC.
Qin dynasty
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History of China
Qin dynasty
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Marble bust of statesman Shang Yang
Qin dynasty
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Map of the Warring States. Qin is shown in pink
13.
Han dynasty
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The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered an age in Chinese history. To this day, Chinas majority ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and it was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han, and briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods, the Western Han or Former Han and the Eastern Han or Later Han, the emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas controlled by the central government using an innovation inherited from the Qin known as commanderies. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States, from the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 AD, the Han dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou dynasty. The coinage issued by the government mint in 119 BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang dynasty. The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations, the Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation, defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced the Han to submit as a de facto inferior partner, but continued their raids on the Han borders. Emperor Wu of Han launched several campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries, the territories north of Hans borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Imperial authority was seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, following Liu Bangs victory in the Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. Chinas first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty, the Qin unified the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their empire became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Within four years, the authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a commander, Liu Bang defeated him at Battle of Gaixia. Liu Bang assumed the title emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu, Changan was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han
Han dynasty
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History of China
Han dynasty
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Han dynasty in 1 AD.
Han dynasty
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A
silk banner from
Mawangdui,
Changsha,
Hunan province. It was draped over the coffin of
Lady Dai (d. 168 BC), wife of the Marquess Li Cang (利蒼) (d. 186 BC), chancellor for the Kingdom of Changsha.
Han dynasty
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A
gilded bronze
oil lamp in the shape of a kneeling female servant, dated 2nd century BC, found in the tomb of
Dou Wan, wife of the Han prince
Liu Sheng; its sliding shutter allows for adjustments in the direction and brightness in light while it also traps smoke within the body.
14.
Xin dynasty
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The Xin dynasty was a Chinese dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD. It interrupted the Han dynasty, dividing it into the periods of the Western Han, the sole emperor of the Xin dynasty, Wang Mang, was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. After the death of her step-grandson Emperor Ai in 1 BC, after several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally proclaimed himself emperor in 9 AD. However, while a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler and he died in the siege, and the Han dynasty was restored by descendants of the former imperial clan. Wars With the Xiongnu - A translation from Zizhi tongjian Chapter 13–17 - pp 404–601 ISBN 978-1-4490-0605-1
Xin dynasty
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History of China
Xin dynasty
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Xin dynasty (teal)
Xin dynasty
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History
15.
Three Kingdoms
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The Three Kingdoms was the tripartite division of China between the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu, following the Han dynasty and preceding the Jin dynasty. The term Three Kingdoms itself is something of a mistranslation, since each state was eventually headed not by a king, nevertheless, the term Three Kingdoms has become standard among sinologists. Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 AD and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin dynasty in 280. The earlier, unofficial part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei, the usurpation of Wei by the Jin dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. While the census may not have been particularly accurate due to a multitude of factors of the times, technology advanced significantly during this period. Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox, suggested to be a form of the wheelbarrow. Wei mechanical engineer Ma Jun is considered by many to be the equal of his predecessor Zhang Heng, although relatively short, this historical period has been greatly romanticized in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It has been celebrated and popularized in operas, folk stories, novels and in recent times, films, television. The best known of these is Luo Guanzhongs Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shous Records of the Three Kingdoms, along with Pei Songzhis later annotations of the text. There is no set time period for the era, and many definitions are given. The strictest rule of dating would be to deem the era to be from the point where all three states coexisted as independent states up until the downfall of the Shu-Han states. Mao Zonggang, a commentator on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, mentions in his commentary on Chapter 120 of the novel that, the Han royal house declined when the eunuchs abused the sovereign and officials subverted the government. In doing so, he suggests that the historiography of the Three Kingdoms should begin at the rise of the Ten Eunuchs to power. He further argues that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms defines the end of the era as 280, to end the tale before Hans enemy had itself met its fate would be to leave the reader unsatisfied. The novel could have ended with the fall of Wei, to end the tale before Hans ally had fallen would be to leave the reader with an incomplete picture. So the tale had to end with the fall of Wu, the power of the Eastern Han dynasty went into depression and steadily declined from a variety of political and economic problems after the death in 105 of Emperor He
Three Kingdoms
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History of China
Three Kingdoms
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A Chinese Three Kingdoms era decorated brick taken from the wall of an underground tomb, with miniature paintings depicting people in domestic scenes
Three Kingdoms
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Map of Chinese provinces in the prelude of Three Kingdom period (In the late Han dynasty period, 189 AD).
16.
Cao Wei
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Cao Wei was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. With its capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations laid by his father, Cao Cao, towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Historians often add the prefix Cao to distinguish it from other Chinese states known as Wei, such as Wei of the Warring States period and Northern Wei of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The authority of the ruling Cao family gradually weakened after the death of the second Wei emperor, Cao Rui, and eventually fell into the hands of Sima Yi, a Wei regent, and his family, in 249. Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, northern China came under the control of Cao Cao, in 213, Emperor Xian granted Cao Cao the title of Duke of Wei and gave him ten cities as his dukedom. At that time, the part of China was divided into two areas controlled by two other warlords, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. In 216, Emperor Xian promoted Cao Cao to the status of a vassal king — King of Wei —, Cao Cao died on 15 March 220 and his vassal king title was inherited by his son Cao Pi. Later that year, on 11 December, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate in his favour and took over the throne, however, Liu Bei immediately contested Cao Pis claim to the Han throne and declared himself Emperor of Shu Han a year later. Sun Quan was nominally a vassal king under Wei, but he declared independence in 222, Cao Pi ruled for six years until his death in 226 and was succeeded by his son, Cao Rui, who ruled until his death in 239. Throughout the reigns of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, Wei had been fighting numerous wars with its two rival states — Shu and Wu. The Shu invasions were repelled by the Wei armies led by the generals Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, Zhang He and others, Shu did not make any significant gains in the expeditions. On its southern and eastern borders, Wei engaged Wu in a series of armed conflicts throughout the 220s and 230s, including the battles of Dongkou, however, most of the battles resulted in stalemate and neither side managed to significantly expand its territory. Around that time, as the Korean kingdom Goguryeo consolidated its power, Goguryeo initiated the Goguryeo–Wei Wars in 242, trying to cut off Chinese access to its territories in Korea by attempting to take a Chinese fort. However, Wei responded by invading and defeated Goguryeo, hwando was destroyed in revenge by Wei forces in 244. In 249, during the reign of Cao Ruis successor, Cao Fang and this event marked the collapse of imperial authority in Wei, as Cao Fangs role had been reduced to a puppet ruler while Sima Yi wielded state power firmly in his hands. Sima Yi died in 251 and passed on his authority to his eldest son, Sima Shi, Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang in 254 and replaced him with Cao Mao. After Sima Shi died in the year, his younger brother, Sima Zhao, inherited his power. In 260, Cao Mao attempted to back state power from Sima Zhao in a coup
Cao Wei
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The territories of Cao Wei (in yellow), 262 AD.
17.
Shu Han
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Shu or Shu Han was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. The state was based in the area around present-day Sichuan and Chongqing, towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Liu Bei, a warlord and distant relative of the Han imperial clan, rallied the support of many capable followers. Following the counsel of his advisor, Zhuge Liang, and Zhuges Longzhong Plan, Liu Bei took over Yi Province from the warlord Liu Zhang between 212 and 215 and wrestled control of Hanzhong from his rival Cao Cao in 219. From the territories he gained, Liu Bei established a position for himself in China during the years of the Han dynasty. However, in 219, the alliance between Liu Bei and his ally, Sun Quan, was broken when Sun sent his general Lü Meng to invade Jing Province, Liu Bei lost his territories in Jing Province to Sun Quan. Guan Yu, the general guarding Liu Beis assets in Jing Province, was captured and executed by Sun Quans forces. Cao Cao died in 220 and was succeeded by his son, Cao Pi, Cao Pi then established the state of Cao Wei and declared himself emperor. Liu Bei contested Cao Pis claim to the throne and proclaimed himself Emperor of Shu Han in 221. Although Liu Bei is widely seen as the founder of Shu, he never claimed to be the founder of a new dynasty, rather, Liu Bei ruled as emperor for less than three years. In 222, he launched a campaign against Sun Quan to retake Jing Province and avenge Guan Yu, however, due to grave tactical mistakes, Liu Bei suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Sun Quans general Lu Xun and lost the bulk of his army. He survived the battle and retreated to Baidicheng, where he died from illness a year later, Liu Beis son Liu Shan succeeded his father, making him the youngest of three rulers at only 16. Before his death, Liu Bei also appointed the chancellor Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Liang was the de facto head of the Shu government throughout Liu Shans reign and was responsible for masterminding most of Shus policies during his regency. When Liu Shan succeeded his father, Shu was the weakest of the three major powers, following his fathers defeat in 221, the portion of Jing Province previously held by Shu was now firmly under the control of Wu. This greatly limited Shu in terms of resources and manpower, Zhuge Liang advocated an aggressive foreign policy towards Wei, because he strongly believed it was critical to the survival of Shu and its sovereignty. Between the years of 228 and 234, he launched a series of five military campaigns against Wei, with the aim of conquering Changan, most of the battles were fought around present-day Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. However, aside from gaining Jiang Wei as an officer in 228, the Shu government was then headed by Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and others after Zhuge Liangs death, and Shu temporarily ceased its aggression towards Wei. The Wei regent Cao Shuang launched an invasion of Hanzhong in 244, despite being outnumbered 2-to-1, the Shu forces successfully defeated them at the Battle of Xingshi, with the humiliated Wei forces fleeing. Between 247 and 262, the Shu general Jiang Wei resumed Zhuge Liangs legacy by leading a series of campaigns against Wei
Shu Han
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The territories of Shu Han (in red), 262.
Shu Han
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A
Qing dynasty illustration of a battle between Wei and Shu at the banks of the
Wei River. Many battles were fought between Shu and Wei in the Three Kingdoms period.
18.
Eastern Wu
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Wu, commonly known as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. It previously existed from 220–222 as a vassal kingdom nominally under Cao Wei, its rival state and it became an empire in 229 after its founding ruler, Sun Quan, declared himself Emperor. Its name was derived from the place it was based in — the Jiangnan region and it was called Eastern Wu because it occupied most of eastern China in the Three Kingdoms period, and Sun Wu because the family name of its rulers was Sun. During its existence, Wus capital was at Jianye, but at times it was also at Wuchang. Sun Ce broke off relations with Yuan Shu around 196-197 after the latter declared himself emperor — an act deemed as treason against Emperor Xian, the figurehead ruler of the Han dynasty. The warlord Cao Cao, who was the de facto head of government in the Han imperial court, Sun Ce was assassinated in the summer of 200 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sun Quan. Sun Quan, like his brother, also paid nominal allegiance to Emperor Xian while maintaining autonomous rule over the Wu territories. In 208, Sun Quan allied with the warlord Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Liu Bei maintained their alliance against Cao Cao after the battle for the next ten years or so, despite having some territorial disputes over Jing Province. In 219, Sun Quan severed ties with Liu Bei when he sent his general Lü Meng to invade Lius territories in Jing Province, Guan Yu, who was defending Liu Beis assets in Jing Province, was captured and executed by Sun Quans forces. After that, the boundaries of Sun Quans domain extended from beyond the Jiangdong region to include the part of Jing Province. In 220, Cao Caos son and successor, Cao Pi, ended the Han dynasty by forcing Emperor Xian to abdicate in his favour, Sun Quan agreed to submit to Wei and was granted the title of a vassal king, King of Wu, by Cao Pi. A year later, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and founded the state of Shu Han, in 222, Liu Bei launched a military campaign against Sun Quan to take back Jing Province and avenge Guan Yu, leading to the Battle of Xiaoting. However, Liu Bei suffered a defeat at the hands of Sun Quans general Lu Xun and was forced to retreat to Baidicheng. Liu Beis successor, Liu Shan, and his regent, Zhuge Liang, made peace with Sun Quan later, Sun Quan declared independence from Wei in 222, but continued to rule as King of Wu until 229, when he declared himself Emperor of Wu. His legitimacy was recognised by Shu, Sun Quan ruled for over 30 years and his long reign resulted in stability in southern China. During his reign, Wu engaged Wei in numerous wars, including the battles of Ruxu, Shiting, however, Wu never managed to gain any territory north of the Yangtze River while Wei also never succeeded in conquering the lands south of the Yangtze. The conflict resulted in the emergence of two rivalling factions, each supporting either Sun He or Sun Ba, in Sun Quans imperial court. Sun Quan eventually deposed Sun He and forced Sun Ba to commit suicide, while Lu Xun, Sun Quan appointed his youngest son, Sun Liang, as the crown prince after the incident
Eastern Wu
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The territories of Eastern Wu (in green), 262.
Eastern Wu
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A jar made in Eastern Wu dating to the
Three Kingdoms period.
Eastern Wu
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Before the dynasty of Eastern Wu was established, the territory was defended by the Sun clan in the
Battle of Red Cliffs.
Eastern Wu
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Shu Han imported cotton into Eastern Wu.
19.
Sixteen Kingdoms
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The period ended with the unification of northern China by the Northern Wei in the early 5th century. Cui Hong did not count several other kingdoms that appeared at the time including the Ran Wei, Zhai Wei, nor did he include the Northern Wei and its predecessor Dai, because the Northern Wei eventually became the ruling dynasty of northern China. Among the handful of the states founded by Han Chinese, several founders had close relations with ethnic minorities, the father of Ran Min, the founder of the Ran Wei, was adopted into a Jie ruling family. Feng Ba, who is considered by historians to be the founder of the Northern Yan, had been assimilated into Xianbei culture. Gao Yun, considered by historians to be the Northern Yan founder, was an ethnic Korean who had been adopted by Xianbei nobility. Due to fierce competition among the states and internal political instability, from 376 to 383, the Former Qin briefly unified northern China, but its collapse led to even greater political fragmentation. The Sixteen Kingdoms is considered to be one of the most chaotic periods in Chinese history, from the late Han Dynasty to the early Jin dynasty, large numbers of non-Han Chinese peoples living along Chinas northern periphery settled in northern China. Some of these such as the Xiongnu and Xianbei had been pastoralist nomads from the northern steppes. Others such as the Di and Qiang were farmers and herders from the mountains of western Sichuan, as migrants, they lived among Han Chinese and were sinified to varying degrees. Some attained official positions in the court and military and they also faced discrimination and retained clan and tribal affiliations. The War of the Eight Princes during the reign of the second Jin ruler Emperor Hui severely divided and weakened imperial authority, hundreds of thousands were killed and millions were uprooted by the internecine fighting. Popular rebellions against heavy taxation and repression erupted throughout the country, in Sichuan, Li Xiong, a Di chieftain, led a successful rebellion and founded Cheng Han kingdom in 304. Thus began the creation of independent kingdoms in northern China as Jin authority crumbled, most of these kingdoms were founded by ethnic minority leaders who took on Chinese reign names. Jin princes and military governors often recruited ethnic minorities into their armies in their suppression of rebellions and his regime, later renamed Zhao, is designated by historians as the Han Zhao or Former Zhao. After Liu Yuan died in 310, his son Liu Cong killed older brother Liu He, Liu Cong captured the Jin capital Luoyang and Emperor Hui in 311. In 316, Liu Congs uncle Liu Yao seized Changan and the Emperor Min, Sima Rui, a Jin prince who had moved to the South, continued the dynasty as the Eastern Jin from Jiankang. The collapse of Jin authority in the North led other leaders to declare independence, in 313, Zhang Gui, the ethnic Han governor of Liangzhou founded the Former Liang in modern-day Gansu. In 315, Tuoba Yilu, a Xianbei chieftain, founded the Dai in modern-day Inner Mongolia, after Liu Congs death, the kingdom was split between Liu Yao and General Shi Le
Sixteen Kingdoms
–
History of China
Sixteen Kingdoms
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Territory of the Former Qin kingdom and the
Jin dynasty in 376.
Sixteen Kingdoms
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The
White Horse Pagoda, Dunhuang, commemorating
Kumarajiva 's white horse which carried the scriptures to China, c. 384 CE.
20.
Northern and Southern dynasties
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The Northern and Southern dynasties was a period in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Wu Hu states. It is sometimes considered as the part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties. Though an age of war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology. The period saw large-scale migration of Han Chinese to the south of the Yangtze. The period came to an end with the unification of all of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, during this period, the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the indigenous people in the south. Notable technological advances occurred during this period, the invention of the stirrup during the earlier Jin dynasty helped spur the development of heavy cavalry as a combat standard. Historians also note advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, intellectuals of the period include the mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi. After the collapse of a united China under the Han dynasty in 220 due in part to the Yellow Turban. Of these, Cao Wei was the strongest, followed by Eastern Wu and Shu Han, after a 249 coup by Sima Yi, the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and the conquest of Shu by Wei rapidly followed. Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima family, Sima Yan then founded the Jin Dynasty as Emperor Wu of Jin and the conquest of Wu by Jin occurred in 280, ending the Three Kingdoms period and reuniting China. The Jin dynasty was weakened after the War of the Eight Princes from 291-306. During the reigns of Emperor Huai and Emperor Min, the country was put into danger with the uprising of the northern non-Han people collectively known as the Five Barbarians. Invading non-Han armies almost destroyed the dynasty in the Disaster of Yongjia of 311, changan met a similar fate in 316. However, a scion of the house, Sima Rui, Prince of Langya, fled south of the Huai River to salvage what was left in order to sustain the empire. In the north, the Five Barbarians established numerous kingdoms, leading to the period being known as the Sixteen Kingdoms, eventually, the Northern Wei conquered the rest of the northern states in 386. The designation of specific households for military service in the system eventually led to a falling out in their social status. Faced with shortage of numbers, Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture non-Chinese people in the south in order to draft them into the military. The Northern dynasties began in 439 when the Northern Wei conquered the Northern Liang to unite northern China and it can be divided into three time periods, Northern Wei, Eastern and Western Weis, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou
Northern and Southern dynasties
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Southern and Northern Dynasties 南北朝
Northern and Southern dynasties
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A scene of two horseback riders from a wall painting in the tomb of Lou Rui at Taiyuan, Shanxi,
Northern Qi dynasty (550–577)
Northern and Southern dynasties
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Emperor Wu of Liang's portrait
Northern and Southern dynasties
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Emperor Wu of Chen's portrait
21.
Sui dynasty
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The Sui Dynasty was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China of pivotal significance. It was succeeded by the Tang dynasty, which inherited its foundation. Founded by Emperor Wen of Sui, the Sui dynasty capital was Changan and they also spread and encouraged Buddhism throughout the empire. By the middle of the dynasty, the unified empire entered a golden age of prosperity with vast agricultural surplus that supported rapid population growth. A lasting legacy of the Sui dynasty was the Grand Canal, the dynasty, which lasted only thirty-seven years, was undermined by ambitious wars and construction projects, which overstretched its resources. Particularly, under Emperor Yang, heavy taxation and compulsory labor duties would eventually induce widespread revolts, the dynasty is often compared to the earlier Qin dynasty for unifying China after prolonged division. Wide-ranging reforms and construction projects were undertaken to consolidate the newly unified state, after crushing an army in the eastern provinces, Yang Jian usurped the throne to become Emperor Wen of Sui. In a bloody purge, he had fifty-nine princes of the Zhou royal family eliminated, Emperor Wen abolished the anti-Han policies of Zhou and reclaimed his Han surname of Yang. In his campaign for southern conquest, Emperor Wen assembled thousands of boats to confront the forces of the Chen dynasty on the Yangtze River. The largest of ships were very tall, having five layered decks. They were outfitted with six 50-foot-long booms that were used to swing and damage enemy ships, besides employing Xianbei and other Chinese ethnic groups for the fight against Chen, Emperor Wen also employed the service of people from southeastern Sichuan, which Sui had recently conquered. In 588, the Sui had amassed 518,000 troops along the bank of the Yangtze River. The Chen dynasty could not withstand such an assault, by 589, Sui troops entered Jiankang and the last emperor of Chen surrendered. Although Emperor Wen was famous for bankrupting the treasury with warfare and construction projects. He established granaries as sources of food and as a means to market prices from the taxation of crops. The large agricultural surplus supported rapid growth of population to historical peak, the state capital of Changan, while situated in a military-secured heartland of Guanzhong, was remote from the economic centers to the east and south of the empire. Emperor Wen initiated the construction of the Grand Canal, with completion of the first route that directly linked Changan to the Yellow River, Later Emperor Yang would enormously enlarge the scale of the Grand Canal construction. Externally, the emerging nomadic Turkic Khaganate in the north posed a threat to the newly founded dynasty
Sui dynasty
–
History of China
Sui dynasty
–
Sui dynasty circa 609 AD
Sui dynasty
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Sui dynasty
Bodhisattva, sandstone, Tianlongshan Grottoes,
Shanxi, 6th century.
Sui dynasty
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A Sui dynasty pilgrim flask made of
stoneware.
22.
Tang dynasty
–
The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is generally regarded as a point in Chinese civilization. Its territory, acquired through the campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The dynasty was founded by the Lǐ family, who seized power during the decline, the dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Second Zhou dynasty and becoming the only Chinese empress regnant. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty maintained a service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century. Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era, it is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Two of Chinas most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, there was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works. The adoption of the title Tängri Qaghan by the Tang Emperor Taizong in addition to his title as emperor was eastern Asias first simultaneous kingship, there were many notable innovations during the Tang, including the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became an influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state, subsequently declining in influence, although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage, which includes the Tang poet Li Bai, the Tang Emperors also had Xianbei maternal ancestry, from Emperor Gaozu of Tangs Xianbei mother Duchess Dugu. He had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan rose in rebellion in 617, along with his son and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang, who raised and commanded her own troops. In winter 617, Li Yuan occupied Changan, relegated Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang or retired emperor, and acted as regent to the puppet child-emperor, Emperor Gong of Sui. On the news of Emperor Yangs murder by General Yuwen Huaji on June 18,618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang
Tang dynasty
–
History of China
Tang dynasty
–
Tang dynasty circa 700
Tang dynasty
–
Portrait painting of
Emperor Yang of Sui, commissioned in 643 by
Taizong, painted by
Yan Liben (600–673)
Tang dynasty
–
Emperor Taizong (r. 626–649) receives
Gar Tongtsen Yülsung, ambassador of
Tibet, at his court; painted in 641 AD by
Yan Liben (600–673)
23.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
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The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, also called Five Dynasties, was an era of political upheaval in 10th-century imperial China. During this period, five states quickly succeeded one another in the Chinese Central Plain, while more than a dozen concurrent states were established elsewhere, mainly in south China. Traditionally, the era started with the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907 AD, many states were de facto independent kingdoms long before 907. After the Tang had collapsed, the kings who controlled the central plain crowned themselves as emperor, war between kingdoms occurred frequently to gain control of the central plain for legitimacy, and then over whole China. The last of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms states, Northern Han, was not vanquished until 979, the Five Dynasties were, Later Liang Later Tang Later Jin Later Han Later Zhou. The Ten Kingdoms were, Wu Wuyue Min Chu Southern Han Former Shu Later Shu Jingnan Southern Tang Northern Han and this era also led to the founding of the Liao dynasty in the north. Other regimes during this period were Yan, Qi, Zhao, Yiwu Jiedushi, Dingnan Jiedushi, Wuping Jiedushi, Qingyuan Jiedushi, Yin, Ganzhou, Shazhou, towards the end of the Tang, the imperial government granted increased powers to the jiedushi, the regional military governors. The Huang Chao Rebellion weakened the government, and by the early 10th century the jiedushi commanded de facto independence from its authority. Thus ensued the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, although he was originally a member of Huang Chaos rebel army, he took on a crucial role in suppressing the Huang Chao Rebellion. For this function, he was awarded the Xuanwu Jiedushi title, within a few years, he had consolidated his power by destroying neighbours and forcing the move of the imperial capital to Luoyang, which was within his region of influence. In 904, he executed Emperor Zhaozong of Tang and made his 13-year-old son a subordinate ruler, three years later, he induced the boy emperor to abdicate in his favour. He then proclaimed emperor, thus beginning the Later Liang. During the final years of the Tang Dynasty, rival warlords declared independence in their governing provinces — not all of whom recognized the emperors authority, Li Cunxu and Liu Shouguang fiercely fought the regime forces to conquer northern China, Li Cunxu succeeded. He defeated Liu Shouguang in 915, and declared himself emperor in 923, within a few months, thus began the Shatuo Later Tang — the first in a long line of conquest dynasties. After reuniting much of northern China, Cunxu conquered Former Shu in 925, the Later Tang had a few years of relative calm, followed by unrest. In 934, Sichuan again asserted independence, in 936, Shi Jingtang, a Shatuo jiedushi from Taiyuan, was aided by the Liao dynasty in a rebellion against the Later Tang. In return for their aid, Shi Jingtang promised annual tribute, the rebellion succeeded, Shi Jingtang became emperor in this same year. Not long after the founding of the Later Jin, the Khitans regarded the emperor as a ruler for China proper
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
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History of China
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
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The Later Liang (yellow) and contemporary kingdoms
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
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Night Revels of Han Xizai, by
Gu Hongzhong, 10th century (read right-to-left).
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
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Painting by Chinese artist
Li Cheng (c. 919–967)
24.
Liao dynasty
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The Liao dynasty was founded by Abaoji, Khagan of the Khitan people around the time of the collapse of Tang China. It was the first state to all of Manchuria. Almost immediately after its founding, the Liao dynasty began a process of territorial expansion, tension between traditional Khitan social and political practices and Chinese influence and customs was a defining feature of the dynasty. So different were Khitan and Chinese practices that Abaoji set up two parallel governments, Khitan women were taught to hunt, managed family property, and held military posts. Many marriages were not arranged, women were not required to be virgins at their first marriage, the Liao dynasty was destroyed by the Jurchen people of the Jin dynasty in 1125 with the capture of Emperor Tianzuo of Liao. However, the remnant Khitan, led by Yelü Dashi, established the Qara Khitai, the Liao dynasty was officially known as the Khitan（now known as Cathay） or Khitan state in 916. The name Great Liao began to appear as the name between 936 and 947. The dynasty name Liao means iron, but it refers to the Liao River in southern Manchuria. Since 983 the state became known as the Khitan, but Great Liao reappeared as the country name in 1066. Neither the origins, ethnic makeup, nor early history of the Khitans are well documented in historical records, the earliest reference to a Khitan state is found in the Book of Wei, a history of the Northern Wei Dynasty that was completed in 554. Several books written after 554 mention the Khitans as being active during the late third, the Book of Jin, a history of the Jin dynasty, refers to the Khitans in the section covering the reign of Murong Sheng. Samguk Sagi, a history of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Twitchett and Klaus-Peter Tietze, it is generally held that the Khitans emerged from the Yuwen branch of the Xianbei people. Following a defeat at the hands of another branch of the Xianbei in 345, in 388 the Kumo Xi itself split, with one group remaining under the name Kumo Xi and the other group becoming the Khitans. This view is backed up by the Book of Wei. There are also several competing theories on the origin of the Khitans, beginning in the Song dynasty, some Chinese scholars suggested that the Khitans might have descended from the Xiongnu people. While modern historians have rejected the idea that the Khitan were solely Xiongnu in origin, there is support for the claim that they are of mixed Xianbei. By the time the Book of Wei was written in 554, the Khitans suffered a series of military defeats to other nomadic groups in the region, as well as to the Chinese Northern Qi and Sui Dynasties. Khitan tribes at various times fell under the influence of Turkic tribes such as the Uighurs and Chinese dynasties such as the Sui and this influence would significantly shape Khitan language and culture
Liao dynasty
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History of China
Liao dynasty
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遼朝
Liao dynasty
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Khitan man in tomb painting in Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia
Liao dynasty
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This painting, titled Horse and Archer, is believed to have been painted by Yelü Bei.
25.
Song dynasty
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The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, coincided with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties and it was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass, the Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods, Northern and Southern. During the Northern Song, the Song capital was in the city of Bianjing. The Southern Song refers to the period after the Song lost control of its half to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze, the Southern Song dynasty considerably bolstered its naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad. To repel the Jin, and later the Mongols, the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder, in 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and his younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan, though his claim was only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west. In 1271, Kublai Khan was proclaimed the Emperor of China, after two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khans armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279. The Mongol invasion led to a reunification under the Yuan dynasty, the population of China doubled in size during the 10th and 11th centuries. The Northern Song census recorded a population of roughly 50 million, much like the Han and this data is found in the Standard Histories. However, it is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of some 100 million people and this dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China. The expansion of the population, growth of cities, and the emergence of a national economy led to the withdrawal of the central government from direct involvement in economic affairs. The lower gentry assumed a role in grassroots administration and local affairs. Appointed officials in county and provincial centers relied upon the gentry for their services, sponsorship. Social life during the Song was vibrant, citizens gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the expansion of woodblock printing. Technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished over the course of the Song, although the institution of the civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty, it became much more prominent in the Song period
Song dynasty
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History of China
Song dynasty
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Northern Song in 1111
Song dynasty
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Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976), a court portrait painting
Song dynasty
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Pillow, sandstone with white and brown slip black, incised decoration, Northern Song dynasty, 12th century
26.
Western Xia
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The early capital was established at Ningxia. Therefore, its founders and history remained obscure until 20th-century research in the West, the Western Xia occupied the area round the Hexi Corridor, a stretch of the Silk Road, the most important trade route between North China and Central Asia. They made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, the region was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak. Western Xia is the translation of the states Chinese name. It is derived from its location on the side of the Yellow River, in contrast to the Liao and Jin dynasties on its east. The English term Tangut comes from the Mongolian name for the country, Tangghut, the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei of Tuyuhun founded the Western Xia. After the Tibetans destroyed the Tuyuhun in 670, its famous prince, Tuoba Chici, who controlled the Dangxiang Qiang submitted to the Tang, which bestowed upon him the imperial surname of Li. Towards the end of the Tang, the Tuoba brought troops to suppress the Huang Chao Rebellion on behalf of the Tang court and took control of the Xia State, or Xia Zhou, in northern Shaanxi in 881. After the Tang fell in 907, the Tuoba descendants formally declared resistance against the expanding Northern Song in 982, the foundation of Western Xia goes back to the year 982 under Li Jiqian. However, only in 1038 did the Tangut chieftain Li Yuanhao named himself emperor of Da Xia, the Song court recognised Li Yuanhao as governor but not as emperor, a title it regarded as exclusive to the Song emperor. After Jingzongs death, Yizong became the emperor at the age of two and his mother became the regent and during Yizongs reign, the Liao dynasty launched an invasion of Western Xia, causing Western Xia to submit to the Liao dynasty as a vassal state. After Yizongs death, Huizong was put under house arrest by his mother, the invasion was a failure, and Huizong took back power from his mother. After Chongzong became emperor, his grandmother became regent again and launched invasions of the Liao dynasty, again, both campaigns ended in defeat and Chongzong took direct control of Western Xia. He ended wars with both Liao and Song and focused on domestic reform, in 1115, the Jürchen Jin dynasty was established and the Liao emperor fled to Western Xia in 1123. Chongzong submitted to the Jin demand of the Liao emperor and Western Xia became a state of Jin. Immediately following Renzongs coronation, many natural disasters occurred, yet Renzong worked to stabilize the economy, the kingdom developed a Tangut script to write its own Tibeto-Burman language. Tibetans, Uyghurs, Han Chinese, and Tanguts served as officials in Western Xia, the practice of Tantric Buddhism in Western Xia led to the spread of some sexually related customs. After Renzongs death, Emperor Huanzong of Western Xia came into power, after Genghis Khan unified the northern grasslands of Mongolia, the Xianbei who resided near Mt. Yin self-proclaimed to be White Mongols and joined them
Western Xia
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History of China
Western Xia
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Location of Western Xia in 1111 (green in north west)
Western Xia
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450 years after the destruction of the Tangut empire, the "Kingdom of Tenduc or Tangut" was still shown on some European maps as China's northwestern neighbor
27.
Yuan dynasty
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The Yuan dynasty, officially the Great Yuan, was the empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan. His realm was, by point, isolated from the other khanates and controlled most of present-day China and its surrounding areas. Some of the Mongolian Emperors of the Yuan mastered the Chinese language, while others used their native language. The Yuan dynasty is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty and it was the khanate ruled by the successors of Möngke Khan after the division of the Mongol Empire. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song dynasty, the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, yet he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu. In addition to Emperor of China, Kublai Khan also claimed the title of Great Khan, supreme over the other khanates, the Chagatai, the Golden Horde. As such, the Yuan was also referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan. However, while the claim of supremacy by the Yuan emperors was at times recognized by the khans, their subservience was nominal. In 1271, Kublai Khan imposed the name Great Yuan, establishing the Yuan dynasty, dà Yuán is from the clause 大哉乾元 in the Commentaries on the Classic of Changes section regarding Qián. The counterpart in Mongolian language was Dai Ön Ulus, also rendered as Ikh Yuan Üls or Yekhe Yuan Ulus, in Mongolian, Dai Ön is often used in conjunction with the Yeke Mongghul Ulus, resulting in Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus, meaning Great Mongol State. Nevertheless, both terms can refer to the khanate within the Mongol Empire directly ruled by Great Khans before the actual establishment of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1271. Genghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and he and his successors expanded the Mongol empire across Asia. Under the reign of Genghis third son, Ögedei Khan, the Mongols destroyed the weakened Jin dynasty in 1234, Ögedei offered his nephew Kublai a position in Xingzhou, Hebei. Kublai was unable to read Chinese but had several Han Chinese teachers attached to him since his early years by his mother Sorghaghtani and he sought the counsel of Chinese Buddhist and Confucian advisers. Möngke Khan succeeded Ögedeis son, Güyük, as Great Khan in 1251 and he granted his brother Kublai control over Mongol held territories in China. Kublai built schools for Confucian scholars, issued paper money, revived Chinese rituals and he adopted as his capital city Kaiping in Inner Mongolia, later renamed Shangdu. Many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols to fight against the Jin, two Han Chinese leaders, Shi Tianze, Liu Heima, and the Khitan Xiao Zhala defected and commanded the 3 Tumens in the Mongol army. Liu Heima and Shi Tianze served Ogödei Khan, Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led armies against Western Xia for the Mongols
Yuan dynasty
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History of China
Yuan dynasty
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Yuan dynasty circa 1294
Yuan dynasty
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Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan dynasty
Yuan dynasty
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Painting of a 14th-century Yuan dynasty
junk
28.
Ming dynasty
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The Ming dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China – then known as the Empire of the Great Ming – for 276 years following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming, described by some as one of the greatest eras of orderly government, although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1683. He rewarded his supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. One, Zheng He, led seven enormous voyages of exploration into the Indian Ocean as far as Arabia, the rise of new emperors and new factions diminished such extravagances, the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor during the 1449 Tumu Crisis ended them completely. The imperial navy was allowed to fall into disrepair while forced labor constructed the Liaodong palisade, haijin laws intended to protect the coasts from Japanese pirates instead turned many into smugglers and pirates themselves. The growth of Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch trade created new demand for Chinese products and produced an influx of Japanese. This abundance of specie remonetized the Ming economy, whose money had suffered repeated hyperinflation and was no longer trusted. While traditional Confucians opposed such a prominent role for commerce and the newly rich it created, combined with crop failure, floods, and epidemic, the dynasty collapsed before the rebel leader Li Zicheng, who was defeated by the Manchu-led Eight Banner armies who founded the Qing dynasty. The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty ruled before the establishment of the Ming dynasty, consequently, agriculture and the economy were in shambles, and rebellion broke out among the hundreds of thousands of peasants called upon to work on repairing the dykes of the Yellow River. A number of Han Chinese groups revolted, including the Red Turbans in 1351, the Red Turbans were affiliated with the White Lotus, a Buddhist secret society. Zhu Yuanzhang was a peasant and Buddhist monk who joined the Red Turbans in 1352. In 1356, Zhus rebel force captured the city of Nanjing, with the Yuan dynasty crumbling, competing rebel groups began fighting for control of the country and thus the right to establish a new dynasty. In 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated his archrival and leader of the rebel Han faction, Chen Youliang, in the Battle of Lake Poyang, arguably the largest naval battle in history. Known for its ambitious use of ships, Zhus force of 200,000 Ming sailors were able to defeat a Han rebel force over triple their size, claimed to be 650. The victory destroyed the last opposing rebel faction, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang in uncontested control of the bountiful Yangtze River Valley, Zhu Yuanzhang took Hongwu, or Vastly Martial, as his era name. Hongwu made an effort to rebuild state infrastructure. He built a 48 km long wall around Nanjing, as well as new palaces, Hongwu organized a military system known as the weisuo, which was similar to the fubing system of the Tang dynasty. With a growing suspicion of his ministers and subjects, Hongwu established the Jinyiwei, some 100,000 people were executed in a series of purges during his rule
Ming dynasty
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History of China
Ming dynasty
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Ming China around 1580
Ming dynasty
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A
cannon from the
Huolongjing, compiled by
Jiao Yu and
Liu Bowen before the latter's death in 1375.
Ming dynasty
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Portrait of the
Hongwu Emperor (ruled in 1368–98)
29.
Qing dynasty
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It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the base for the modern Chinese state. The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria, in the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing Banners, military-social units that included Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Jurchen clans into an entity, which he renamed as the Manchus. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, in 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital, Beijing. The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia, the early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their title was Emperor, they used khan to the Mongols and they were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the system in dealing with neighboring territories. The Qianlong reign saw the apogee and initial decline in prosperity. The population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, corruption set in, rebels tested government legitimacy, and ruling elites did not change their mindsets in the face of changes in the world system. Following the Opium War, European powers imposed unequal treaties, free trade, the Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in Central Asia led to the deaths of some 20 million people, most of them due to famines caused by war. In spite of disasters, in the Tongzhi Restoration of the 1860s, Han Chinese elites rallied to the defense of the Confucian order. The initial gains in the Self-Strengthening Movement were destroyed in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, in which the Qing lost its influence over Korea, New Armies were organized, but the ambitious Hundred Days Reform of 1898 was turned back by Empress Dowager Cixi, a conservative leader. Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries competed with reformist monarchists such as Kang Youwei, after the deaths of Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in 1908, the hardline Manchu court alienated reformers and local elites alike. The Wuchang Uprising on October 11,1911, led to the Xinhai Revolution, General Yuan Shikai negotiated the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor, on February 12,1912. Nurhaci declared himself the Bright Khan of the Later Jin state in both of the 12–13th century Jurchen Jin dynasty and of his Aisin Gioro clan. His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing in 1636, there are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng. The character Qīng is composed of water and azure, both associated with the water element and this association would justify the Qing conquest as defeat of fire by water
Qing dynasty
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History of China
Qing dynasty
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Flag (1889–1912)
Qing dynasty
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An Italian map showing the "Kingdom of the
Nüzhen " or the "
Jin Tartars", who "have occupied and are at present ruling China", north of
Liaodong and
Korea, published in 1682
Qing dynasty
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Qing era brush container
30.
Chinese historiography
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Chinese historiography is the study of the techniques and sources used by historians to develop the recorded history of China. The recording of Chinese history dates back to the Shang dynasty, although they are not literature as such, many written examples survive of ceremonial inscriptions, divinations and records of family names, which were carved or painted onto tortoise shell or bones. The oldest surviving texts of China were compiled in the Shujing. The Chunqiu, the chronicle of the State of Lu, cover the period from 722 to 481 BC. The compilations of both of these works are ascribed to Confucius. The Zuo Zhuan, attributed to Zuo Qiuming in the 5th century BC, is the earliest Chinese work of narrative history, the anonymous Zhan Guo Ce was a renowned ancient Chinese historical work composed of sporadic materials on the Warring States period between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. The first systematic Chinese historical text, the Shiji, was written by Sima Qian based on work by his father and it covers the period from the time of the Yellow Emperor until the authors own lifetime. Because of this highly praised and frequently copied work, Sima Qian is often regarded as the father of Chinese historiography, the Twenty-Four Histories, the official histories of the dynasties considered legitimate by imperial Chinese historians, all copied Sima Qians format. Typically, rulers initiating a new dynasty would employ scholars to compile a history from the annals. The Shitong was the first Chinese work about historiography and it was compiled by Liu Zhiji between 708 and 710 AD. The Zizhi Tongjian was a reference work of Chinese historiography. Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered Sima Guang and other scholars to begin compiling this universal history of China in 1065 and it contains 294 volumes and about three million characters, and it narrates the history of China from 403 BC to the beginning of the Song dynasty in 959. This style broke the tradition of Sima Qian, which employed annals for imperial reigns. The more consistent style of the Zizhi Tongjian was not followed by official histories. In the mid 13th century, Ouyang Xiu was heavily influenced by the work of Xue Juzheng and this led to the creation of the Xin Wudai Shi, which covered five dynasties in over 70 chapters. Toward the end of the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century, scholars looked to Japan and this next generation became professional historians, training and teaching in universities. Other historians, such as Qian Mu, who was trained largely through independent study, were more conservative but remained innovative in their response to world trends. In the 1920s, wide-ranging scholars, such as Guo Moruo, adapted Marxism in order to portray China as a nation among nations, rather than having an exotic, the ensuing years saw historians such as Wu Han master both Western theories, including Marxism, and Chinese learning
Chinese historiography
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History of China
