Ancient Chinese Dynasties
Ms. Chou
The Three August Ones and Five Emperors
(Mythological Rulers of China)
2,850 B.C. – 2,205 B.C .
2,575 BC- work begins on the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt.
2,700 BC Egyptians create 365 day calendar with new year starting in June.
The Three August Ones (Huang)
The Three August Ones, were said to be god-kings who used their magical powers to improve the lives of their people.
They lived to a great age and ruled over a period of great peace.
Fuxi(伏羲) - creator
Shennong (神農) - literally
meaning "Divine Farmer", taught the ancients agriculture and
medicine.
Huang Di(黄帝) -is considered to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese over 4,000 years
ago.
The Five Emperors (Di) - All decendent of Huang Di
Shaohao(少昊)
Zhuanxu(顓頊) - Grandson of the Yellow Emperor
Emperor Ku(帝嚳) - Great grandson of the Yellow Emperor;
Yao(堯) - The son of Ku.
Shun(舜) - passed his place as leader of the Huaxia
tribe to Yu the Great (禹).
黃帝 (Huangdi)
The Yellow Emperor
Huangdi was known as the Yellow Emperor in honor for his
contributions to agriculture. Thus, yellow forever became the
imperial color.
Stories said that all Chinese surname were all originated from
his sons. He sent his sons out to different parts of China to
establish settlements, each taking on a surname based on the
geographic location they ruled.
All the noble families of the first three dynasties of China, Xia,
Huangdi was the first rulers of China developed the basis of
civilization, such as domesticating animals and spoken
language.
His historian 倉頡 Chān Gjié
created the first Chinese
characters.
His wife 嫘祖 Lou Zǔ taught the
Chinese how to weave silk from
silkworms.
Chinese Ethnic Groups
Han Chinese - 91%
Other 55 ethnic groups- 9%
Tibeta
Manchu
n
Miao
Mongols
Hu
i
Yao
Yellow River
Yellow River is the second-longest river in China after the Yangtze
River and the 6th longest in the world at the estimated length of
3,395 miles.
Yellow River is extremely prone to flooding. It has flooded 1,593 times
in the last 3,000–4,000 years largely due to the elevated river bed in its
lower course, while its main course changed 12 times.
Yellow River gets its name from the
muddiness of its water, which is a
constant yellow color.
Sediment carried by the river is
deposited in large amounts at the
bottom of the river. In many places, the
bed of the Yellow River is several
meters higher than the surrounding
land, creates a “hanging river”
phenomenon.
The sediment also created very fertile
land. Much of the rice harvested in
China is grown along the bank of the
Yellow River.
The Yellow River’s basin became the
birthplace of the Chinese civilizations
and was the most prosperous region in
The Great Flood and
Yu the Great
Yao led the people in building canals and
levees. After thirteen years, flooding
problems were solved under Yu's
command and he became the Xia
Dynasty's founder.
Xia Dynasty
2100 B.C. - 1700 B.C .
China's first dynasty began in 2,070 BC.
Shang Dynasty
1600 B.C.-1046 B.C.
The most advanced bronze-working civilization in the
world.
1500-1000 B.C.Greeks destroy Troy (c. 1193 B.C.).
Zhou (Chou) Dynasty
1027B.C. - 221 B.C.
It was philosophers of this period who first proclaimed the principles of the
“Mandate of Heaven," the notion that the ruler (the "son of heaven") governed
by divine right but his dethronement would mean that he had lost his mandate.
Agriculture in Zhou Dynasty was very intensive and in many cases directed by the
government. All farming lands were owned by nobles, who then gave their land to their
serfs, similar to European feudalism. Well-Field System was established. A piece
of land was divided into nine squares in the shape of the character jing (井), with the
grain from the middle square taken by the government and that of surrounding squares
kept by individual farmers.
Spring and Autumn Period
770 B.C. -476 B.C.
776 BC-Olympic games started in Greece
In the year 551 B.C., the famous thinker and
educator of ancient China, Confucius, was
born. He had been advocating his political
views and seeking to have his service
accepted by different states. To his
disappointment, no one appreciated his
ideas. So he devote all his energy to
education.
Confucius’ Five Principal Relationships(1) ruler and subject; (2) father and son; (3)
elder brother and younger brother; (4)
husband and wife; and (5) friend and friend.
"To know your faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue."
"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."
Sun Tzu, an ancient
Chinese military general
and strategist is said to
have written The Art of
War at this time.
“If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred
battles without a single loss. “
“All warfare is based on deception. “
Warring States Period
475B.C.-220 B.C.
After further political consolidation, seven prominent states
remained by the end of 5th century B.C., and the years in which
these few states battled each other are known as the Warring
States Period.
Qin Dynasty
221B.C.-207 B.C.
When Qin Shi Huang Di (chin surehwang-dee). united China in 221
BC, he felt that his achievements
had surpassed those of all the
rulers who have gone before him.
So he combined the ancient titles
of Huang (皇) and Di (帝) to create
a new title, Huangdi (皇帝),
usually translated as Emperor.
He relied heavily on strict legal
codes. To silence criticism of
imperial rule, he banished or put
to death many dissenting
Confucian scholars and
confiscated and burned their
books.
Qin Shi Huang Di
standardized Chinese
characters, as well as
weights and measures.
To fend off nomad invation, the fortification walls built by various Warring
States were connected to make a 3,107 miles Great Wall.
The Great Wall is actually four great walls rebuilt or extended during the
Western Han, Sui, Jin and Ming periods.
The terra cotta army was discovered by
accident in 1974 at Xian, when local farmers
digging wells about a mile west of the
mausoleum broke into a pit containing 6,000
life-size terracotta figures.
Altogether over 7,000 terra cotta soldiers,
horses, chariots, and even weapons have
been unearthed from these pits. It is believed
that an army of more than 8,000 terra cotta
soldiers were buried fifteen to twenty feet
beneath the earth not far from the tomb where
Emperor Qin is believed to be buried .
Terracotta Army
The workers who made the soldiers may have modeled
after the real soldiers of Emperor’s army. Each soldier
appears to have his own individual personality. Some
are almost smiling; some look very stern. Some look like
they are middle aged, and some are very young. Each
has his own mustache and different hairstyles. The
soldiers were set up in real battle formation. Each man
held an actual weapon. They are as sharp today as they
were twenty-two centuries ago.
The ancient Chinese had a very strong belief in the
afterlife. The army was meant to protect Emperor Qin in
death, that’s why there were such incredible efforts to be
realistic. The more lifelike the soldiers looked, the more
effective they would be in guarding the Emperor against
his enemies in the afterlife. He was a ruthless leader
who ordered people to work on his huge projects.
Historians believe that during Qin’s rule, one out of every
ten Chinese was put to work creating not only Qin’s
terra-cotta army but also 270 magnificent palaces.
Archeologists are convinced that Qin is buried in a
spectacular tomb located inside a tomb pyramid in the
center of the field where the terra-cotta army was found.
In ancient Chinese history books, the tomb is called
Han Dynasty
206 B.C. -220 A.D.
After a short civil war, Liu Bang seized power
and a new dynasty called Han emerged with its
capital at Chang'an.
The Han rulers modified some of the harsher
aspects of the previous dynasty. Technological
advances also marked this period with two
inventions, paper and porcelain.
At the end of Han Dynasty, riddled with
corruption, by 220 A.D. the Han Empire
Three Kingdoms
220 A.D.- 265 A.D.
After the collapse of the Later Han Dynasty in 220, without a strong
central government, warlords begin to rise and fight each other for
land, plunging China into a state of anarchy, establishing their
boundaries from their conquered lands. China split into three
kingdoms- Wei, Shu, and Wu.
It was militarily unstable configuration and Inner China was
reunited in AD 265 by the Western Jin Dynasty, the successors of
the Wei.
Warlord Sun Jian found the Imperial Seal and
kept it secretly for himself, further weakening royal
authority. Warlord Cao Cao and Liu Bei were also
starting to build up power. Liu Bei, along with his
sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, pledge
to do their best for the country. Liu Bei later
recruits the genius strategist Zhu Ge Liang and
builds up his forces against Cao Cao.
“The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it
has ever been.”
~ 羅貫中 Luo, Guanzhong
The Battle of the Red Cliff
Jin Dynasty
265 A.D.– 420 A.D.
The Jìn Dynasty, was founded by the Wanyan (完顏
Wányán) clan of the Jurchens, the ancestors of the
Manchus who established the Qing Dynasty some 500
years later.
Sixteen Kingdoms (Wu Hu Period)
304 A.D.- 443 A.D.
This was one of the most devastating periods in Chinese history. Following a
long period of Chinese dominance since the Qin Dynasty. five northern tribes
(Wu Hu) had been established in North China (匈奴 Xiongnu/Hun, 鲜卑
Xianbe, 羯 Jie, 羌 Qiang, 氐 Di). The Wu Hu uprising took over much of the
Chinese heartland. It did not end until Jin reclaimed much of central China
while Northern Wei took over the areas north of the Yellow River.
Southern and Northern Dynasties
420 A.D. – 589 A.D.
The Southern and Northern Dynasties was an age of civil war
and political disunity. However it was also a time of flourishing in
the arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spread
of Buddhism and native Daoism.
Sui Dynasty
581 A.D. – 618 A.D.
The Sui Dynasty held its capital
at Luoyang. It was marked by
the reunification of Southern and
Northern China. The EqualField system was initiated to
reduce the rich-poor social gap.
The system worked on the basis
that all land was owned by the
government, which would then
assign it to individual families.
Tang Dynasty
618 A.D.- 907 A.D.
At the end of Sui Dynasty, the whole
country fell into chaos due to the tyranny
of Emperor. Rebellions roused by
peasants were everywhere. One of the
generals, Li Shih-min, took over ruling the
empire, and established Tang Dynasty.
Historians regard the Tang Dynasty as a
high point in Chinese civilization. The
Tang period was the golden age of
literature and art. Tang rule perfected a
government system supported by a large
class of Confucian literati selected
through civil service examinations.
The Tang Dynasty (618-907) is the second great dynasty (of Chinese history
that was able to unify a vast territory, to spread its culture and to absorb the
cultures of surrounding states and peoples. Tang set it’s capital in Chang'an
長安 (modern Xian 西安). Trade stretched to the South East Asian
archipelago, and the religion of Buddhism spread to Korea and Japan.
Five Dynasties
Ten Kingdoms
907 A.D. – 960 A.D.
920 A.D. - 979 A.D.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was an era of political upheaval in
China, between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the founding of the Song
Dynasty. During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one another
in the north, and more than 10 independent states were established,
mainly in the south.
Song Dynasty
960 to 1,279 A.D.
In 960 A.D., the Song Dynasty came to power. This was the first government in
world history to issue paper money. This dynasty also saw the first known use
of gunpowder, as well as first discernment of true north using a compass.
As a means to make
multiple impressions,
woodblock printing has a
long history in China and
was already well
developed in the Tang
Dynasty. By the time of
the Song Dynasty,
woodblock art was
thriving.
Yuan Dynasty
1,271 – 1,368 A.D.
In 1206, Genghis Khan united the entire Mongol
tribes and extended his power over all of North
China.
The conquest of the Southern Song was not
completed until 1279, after Kublai Khan, his
grandson, had succeeded to Mongol
leadership.
Genghis Khan
Kublai moved the capital to Beijing, adopted
much of the Chinese administrative system.
The Central Asian trade routes were secured.
Traffic from West to East increased.
Missionaries and traders came to China,
bringing new ideas, techniques, foods, and
medicines.
Marco Polo arrives to write about the splendor
of the Mongol Empire. He wrote of his
extensive travels throughout Asia on behalf of the
Khan, and their eventual return after 15,000 miles
and 24 years of adventures.
However,
discontent was
growing in China.
The Chinese
resented Mongol’s
restriction against
the Chinese
holding important
offices. By the
1350s several
major rebel leaders
had emerged.
Ming Dynasty
1368 – 1644 AD
In the 1360s, a former Buddhist
monk Zhu Yuan Zhang successfully
extended his power throughout the
Yangtze Valley. In 1371, while the
Mongol commanders were
paralyzed by internal rivalries, he
marched north and seized Beijing.
The Mongols withdrew to Mongolia
and from there continued to harass
the Chinese.
Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming
government sponsored seven naval
expeditions. Ming’s Emperor Yongle
intended to establish a Chinese
presence and impose imperial control
over trade.
During the first quarter of
the 15th century, the
Chinese fleet sailed the
China seas and the Indian
Ocean, reached as far as
the east coast of Africa.
Toward the late Ming
Dynasty, long wars with
the Mongols, incursions
by the Japanese into
Korea, weakened Ming
rule, which result in alien
takeover. In 1644 the
Manchu tribe took Beijing
and establishing the last
Qing Dynasty
1644 –Although
1911 AD
the Manchus were not
Han Chinese, they realized that to
dominate the empire they would
have to do things the Chinese way
and so they retained many of the
institutions of the Ming and earlier
dynasties.
Ever suspicious of Han Chinese,
the Qing rulers put into effect
measures aimed at preventing the
absorption of the Manchu into the
dominant Han Chinese population.
Han Chinese were prohibited from
migrating into the Manchu
homeland, and Manchu were
forbidden to engage in trade or
manual labor. Intermarriage
The Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字
典 Kāngxī zìdiǎn) was the standard
Chinese dictionary during the 18th
and 19th centuries. The Kangxi
Emperor ordered its compilation in
1710 and it was published in 1716.
It contains more than 47,000
characters (including obscure,
variant, and rare characters). Less
than a quarter of these characters
are now in common use.
By the time of the Xian Fong
Emperor's death in 1861, his
wife Cixi became the first and
only Qing Dynasty Empress to
rule from "behind the curtains" (
垂簾聽政).
In 1900, the Boxer Uprising broke out
in northern China. The Boxers
believed that they could perform
extraordinary flight and become
immune to swords and bullets through
training, diet, martial arts and prayer.
They also claimed that millions of
spirit soldiers would descend from the
heavens and assist them in purifying
China from foreign influences.
Boxers recruited local farmers and
other workers made desperate by
disastrous floods, and focused blame
on both Christian missionaries and
Chinese Christians. They wanted to
expel all foreigners from China.
Fearing further foreign intervention, the Qing leaders began to secretly
support the Boxers and a formal declaration of war on the European
powers. When the Westerners responded by dispatching the Eight-Nation
Alliance (Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, France, United States,
Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary), the Chinese military was unable to
prevent the Allied Army from marching on Beijing and seizing the Forbidden
City. The Chinese military was under equipped and under funded partly
because the Empress Cixi had earlier consumed precious funds to build
Imperial Summer Palace.
Republic of China
1911Failure of reform from the top and the fiasco of the Boxer Uprising
convinced many Chinese that the only real solution lay in outright
revolution. The revolutionary leader, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, centered on the
Three Principles of the People: "nationalism, democracy, and public
welfare." On January 1, 1912, Sun was inaugurated in Nanjing as the
provisional president of the new Chinese republic-Republic of China.
The Chinese Civil War was fought
between the Kuomintang (KMT,Chinese
Nationalist Party) and the Communist
Party of China. The war began in 1927,
represented a split between the
Western-supported Nationalist KMT and
the Soviet-supported Communist CPC.
In 1945, Japan was defeated, marking
the end of World War II, and China's
full-scale civil war resumed in 1946.
After a further four years, the newly
founded People's Republic of China
controlling mainland China, in 1949,
Chiang Kai-Shek took his KMT army
and retreated to Taiwan.