When discussing the world we live in today it's impossible not to mention China. The Chinese have made more contributions to society than arguably any other nation, and those innovations and developments would not have happened without a successful lineage of dynasties which ruled over the mainland.
Early Beginnings
China has a long and storied history which goes back thousands of years. The first major dynasty to emerge in mainland China would be the Xia or Hsia dynasty. The Xia dynasty would reign from 2070 - 1600BC, representing the first major government to create order and unity within China. The Xia dynasty was regarded as a mythical construct of later Chinese historians until excavations in the late 20th century CE uncovered sites which corresponded to descriptions in those earlier historians' accounts. While the facts of this time are uncertain, this dynasty set a precedent for all others moving forward by construct and design.
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty is considered by many historians to be the first true dynasty within China, lasting from 1600 to 1050 BC. The Shang Dynasty began in northern China and did not rule over most of proper China. It had a large cultural impact on the area, with actual written evidence which offered views on the world that surrounded them, and has significant archaeological discoveries to support its existence. The Dynasty was ruled by kings such as Tang and Wu Ding who were important not only for their strong military and religious presence, but for creating the first unified nation of China. The stability of the country led to numerous cultural advancements including industrialized bronze casting, the calendar, religious rituals, and writing. The Shang Dynasty was replaced by the Zhou Dynasty in 1046BC after the Battle of Muye. King Wu of the Province of Zhou overthrew the then emperor Zhou of the Shang Dynasty after exposing his weak rule over China
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty was the longest lasting of all ancient Chinese dynasties. It followed the Shang dynasty and lasted from 1046 - 256 BC. The long history of the Zhou dynasty is normally divided in two different periods: Western Zhou (1046-771 BCE) and Eastern Zhou (770-256 BCE). The Zhou people were not invaders; they were Chinese-speaking people descendant from the Longshan neolithic culture. During the course of several centuries, the Zhou moved away from barbarian pressures, migrating towards the westernmost agricultural basin of North China, the lower Wei River valley, present-day Shaanxi province. Here they began to develop Shang-style agriculture, and they also built a city in an area named Plain of Zhou, which gave its name to the state and the dynasty.
The first important historical figure of the Zhou is King Wen (1152-1056 BCE), who is described as a living standard of benevolence and wisdom. King Wen is credited with conceiving the ambitious plan of undermining the authority of the Shang by making alliances with neighboring chiefs that gave the Zhou the military power to make conquest possible. The Zhou justified the change of dynasty and their own authority by claiming that the dispossessed Shang had forfeited the "Mandate of Heaven" by their misrule. It was customary in ancient China to identify the supreme authority of rulers with a higher power. All subsequent dynasty changes in China would be justified with arguments along these same lines.
There are many resemblances between the Zhou system and some of the forms of feudalism in medieval Europe, which is why the Zhou age is sometimes referred to as a feudal age. Even though the Zhou system was indeed feudal, it had many differences from medieval Europe. The most important difference was that the ruling class was mainly unified by kinship ties. Family relations were arranged by marriage where no kinship links existed. In this way, the local lords were expected to accept the authority of the king as the head of a large family. The Zhou Dynasty came to an end during the Warring States period in 256 BCE, when the army of the state of Qin captured the city of Chengzhou and the last Zhou ruler, King Nan, was killed.
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty established the first empire in China, starting with efforts in 230 B.C., during which the Qin leaders engulfed six Zhou Dynasty states. The empire existed only briefly from 221 to 206 B.C., but the Qin Dynasty had a lasting cultural impact on the dynasties that followed. The Qin empire is known for its engineering marvels, including a complex system of over 4,000 miles of road and one superhighway, the Straight Road, which ran for about 500 miles along the Ziwu Mountain range and is the pathway on which materials for the Great Wall of China were transported. The most famous emperor of the time, Qin Shi Huang, is known for being the head of the Terracotta army. In which over 8,000 terracotta warriors and 600 horse statues made up his tomb.
Qin Shi Huang died in 210 B.C. while touring eastern China. In two years time, most of the empire had revolted against the new emperor, creating a constant atmosphere of rebellion and retaliation. Warlord Xiang Yu in quick succession defeated the Qin army in battle, executed the emperor, destroyed the capital and split up the empire into 18 states. Liu Bang, who was given the Han River Valley to rule, quickly rose up against other local kings and then waged a three-year revolt against Xiang Yu. In 202 B.C., Xiang Yu committed suicide, and Liu Bang assumed the title of emperor of the Han Dynasty, adopting many of the Qin dynasty institutions and traditions.
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) was a brief one with only two reigning emperors but it managed to unify China following the split of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. As had happened previously in Chinese history, a short-lived dynasty made important structural changes which paved the way for a more long-lasting successor, where culture and the arts flourished, in this case, the Tang Dynasty. Reforms in government, the civil service administration, laws and land distribution helped restore and centralize imperial authority. At the same time, the regime became infamous for its immorality, huge public spending projects, and military follies, which combined to bring rebellion and, ultimately, its overthrow.
The first Sui emperor, Yang Jian, known by his posthumous name Wendi, was a high official of the Bei (Northern) Zhou dynasty (557–581), and, when that reign dissolved in a storm of plots and murders, he managed to seize the throne and take firm control of North China; by the end of the 580s he had won the West and South and ruled over a unified China. The Wendi emperor established uniform institutions of government throughout the country and raised a corps of skilled and pragmatic administrators. He reestablished Confucian rituals last used in government by the Han dynasty. He sought and won the support of men of letters, and he fostered Buddhism. He promulgated a penal code and administrative laws that were simpler, fairer, and more lenient than those of the predecessor Bei Zhou.
The defeat to Goguryeo and the hardships endured by the Chinese peasantry led to widespread rebellion in 613 CE, which was only fueled by more military losses, this time to the Eastern Turks. The rebellions rumbled on until 617 CE. When Yangdi was assassinated by the son of one of his own generals, the Sui dynasty fell and the government was taken over by one Li Yuan, later to be known as Gaozu and founder of the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Dynasty
The rise of the Tang dynasty in China mirrored the rise of the Han over 800 years earlier. Like the Han dynasty before them, the Tang dynasty was created after the fall of a ruthless leadership. And like the Han before them, the Tang dynasty had their own powerful leader, Emperor Tai-tsung. Tai-tsung maintained many of the political policies already in place. He shrank the government at both the central and state levels. The money saved by using a smaller government enabled Tai-tsung to save food as surplus in case of famine and to provide economic relief for farmers in case of flooding or other disasters. Civil exams based on merit were used once again and resulted in wise court officials.
The capital cities of the Tang dynasty, Ch'ang-an and Loyang, became melting pots to many cultures and a large number of beliefs such as Zoroastrianism and Islam. Buddhist missionaries had begun the difficult journey from northern India to China as early as the 1st century AD. However, during the late Tang period the economy was suffering. The emperor Wu-tsung, a devout Taoist, attempted to eliminate Buddhism from 843 to 845 C.E. by closing thousands of temples in order to take control of their wealth. Although the attempt to destroy Buddhism lasted only a short time, the religion never recovered, instead beginning a steady decline in China. The decline of Buddhism and conflicts between the Chinese and foreign traders marked the beginning of a change in Chinese attitudes. After hundreds of years of cultural exchange, by 836 C.E. no foreigners would be welcome in China.
A quote summarizing the fall of the Tang dynasty perfectly, “The Tang dynasty is famous for its territorial expansion, its great cities and palaces, its flourishing foreign trade, its art, literature, and religious life, and for the luxurious lives of its aristocrats. This power and glory was possible only because the imperial government controlled grain production, labor, and armies. When the Tang state lost control of these things its power declined and it was less able to deal with internal and external crises”. China remained divided among these kingdoms until the rise of the Sung Dynasty (960-1234 CE) which united the country under central rule again.
Song Dynasty
The Song (aka Sung) dynasty ruled China from 960 to 1279 CE with the reign split into two periods: the Northern Song (960-1125 CE) and Southern Song (1125-1279 CE). The Northern Song ruled a largely united China from their capital at Kaifeng, but when the northern part of the state was invaded by the Jin state in the first quarter of the 12th century CE, the Song moved their capital south to Hangzhou. Despite the relative modernization of China and its great economic wealth during the period, the Song court was so plagued with political factions and conservatism that the state could not withstand the challenge of the Mongol invasion and collapsed in 1279 CE, replaced by the Yuan dynasty.
The Song dynasty is where many Chinese traditions and well known lifestyles that are practiced today were born. This includes the consumption of rice and tea, which before the Song dynasty the Chinese were much more well known for consuming wheat, millet, and wine. The first population boom in China occurred during the Song dynasty. the kind of Confucianism that served as government orthodoxy throughout late-imperial times was a Song reinvention. Chinese women, we may know, bound their feet; but they did not bind them until the Song. And even the “Chinese” roof with its turned-up corners is by origin a Song Chinese roof. The Song dynasty would collapse in 1279, with no major ruling class to be established for hundreds of years.
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty in China, lasting from 1644 to 1912. It was a time where China was led by the Manchurians. It was an era noted for its initial prosperity and tumultuous final years, and for being only the second time that China was not ruled by the Han people. The Qing capital was Beijing, where emperors continued to rule from the Forbidden City. In the age of exploration/colonialization, China remained isolated and expanded its borders and population during the Qing dynasty. While also remaining traditional and undeveloped during the age of industrialization. Both of which were critical errors for the progress that China was looking to make.
The Qing Dynasty fell in 1911, overthrown by a revolution brewing since 1894, when western-educated revolutionary Sun Zhongshan formed the Revive China Society in Hawaii, then Hong Kong. In 1911, the Nationalist Party of China held an uprising in Wuchang, helped by Qing soldiers, and 15 provinces declared their independence from the empire. Within weeks the Qing court agreed to the creation of a republic with its top general, Yuan Shikai, as president. Xuantog abdicated in 1912, with Sun creating a provisional constitution for the new country, which ushered in years of political unrest centered around Yuan.
Comments