Ancient Chinese Research Paper

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

One of the most important inventions of all time was the invention of gunpowder. “Imagine their enemy's surprise when the Chinese first demonstrated their newest invention in the eighth century AD. Chinese scientists discovered that an explosive mixture could be produced by combining sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). The military applications were clear. New weapons were rapidly developed, including rockets and others that were launched from a bamboo tube” (Franklin Institute). The Chinese are known for their inventions that still are used in the modern day. Those inventions are paper, gunpowder, books, and much more.

In your opinion, is Qin Shinhuangdi a tyrant or a national hero? Qin Shinhuangdi is considered the founder of China and the builder of the Great Wall Of China. In my opinion, Qin Shinhuangdi is a tyrant because he brought China a lot of money, but spent most of it on palaces and enormous tombs for himself.

During the long era of Chinese Dynasties, three School of Thoughts emerged as philosophers spread their knowledge across the empires. Although each of the three philosophers that founded these School of Thoughts were able to alter the ways of the people’s beliefs, one in particular had ideals that over time, were powerful enough to change the ways of the Chinese culture, and eventually the world. Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, focused on spreading his political and ethical views based on how “humans should act in harmony with the universe” ( World History 91), and the effect of this would allow their society to blossom. As word of the practice of Confucianism spread, the Chinese empires began to adapt to new changes that this school of thought taught, and overtime, the government, and lives of the Chinese began to revolve around the Confucian

An “ancient legend in China, is that tea was discovered accidentally by the Emperor Shen Nong in 2737 B.C.E.” According to the website, www.mightyleaf.com “The emperor was boiling water under a tree and leaves fell into the pot,” and thus the legend of how drinking tea started. According to historical documents, China is the first culture to drink tea or to utilize it in religious or cultural ceremonies. The practice of sharing tea began among family members, neighbors, and friends as a social interaction. In an early Chinese dynasty, the Emperor Song Huizong wrote about the “problems that can degrade the flavor, such as using an inferior product or improperly processed leaf.” (Hinsch 77) Even poems penned in China discussed the growing and drinking of tea.

The Shang Dynasty was the second dynasty of China, which was founded by Cheng Tang. It succeeded the Xia Dynasty. It’s the first period of Ancient China that it’s existence has been proved by archaeology, such as oracle bones which is the oldest documentation of writing. They produced the calendar and were the first to invent writing.

The reign of the Tang dynasty was an extremely successful one. For this reason if given the opportunity to pick one asian dynasty to live in the Tang dynasty should be one’s choice. The dynasty lasted from 618-907 and rose from the ruins of the Sui dynasty. In this 289 year span this dynasty achieved many great accomplishments. First off, being a female it would have been very empowering having a female leader. The Tang dynasty was the only dynasty with a female leader and a great one at that. Wu Zetian rose to power through extreme intelligence and ruthlessness. Yet, when Wu finally achieved the emperor's yellow robe she helped the dynasty in many ways. Economically she developed the civilizations

China began around 1766 B.C. when the Shang Dynasty took place. China is very closed off from other civilizations due to its surrounding geography. To the North of China is the Gobi desert and the Pacific ocean is to the East. Dreadful deserts, giant jungles, and the huge Himalayan mountains surround the western and southern borders of China. China's first civilizations arose around the Yellow river, better known as the Huang river or the “river of sorrows”. The peoples of early China accelerated in agriculture thanks to where the civilizations started.

The Ming dynasty ruled China for 276 years after the fall of the Yuan dynasty. This empire was based in China. During the final years of the Yuan dynasty, it was a time of disaster. There were famines, drought, flooding of the Yellow River, a plague pandemic and other natural disasters; millions of people died. With all the chaos that was going on at the time, people were seeing these disasters as signs that the Yuan Dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven and with that people were starting to rebel. The rebellion lasted for almost 20 years because as much as the Yuan troops tried to end the rebellions, the rebel armies grew in size. They were becoming larger and more powerful.

“Now, I, Vairocana Buddha am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; On a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body.” (passage from the Brahmajala Sutra)

The early agricultural societies of China was one of the most advanced cultures of that time. The effect that China had on the history of the world is phenomenal and its history is just as impressive. There were many technological and sociological innovations that made early China as advanced as it was. One of the reasons for its quick success was its environment.

The Ming Dynasty ruled China for almost 300 years from 1368 to 1644. It was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang, the only Chinese emperor to come from a peasant family, who ruled with a firm hand. The era was a time of cultural expansion, from building , and restoration. In Chinese history, the most powerful and prosperous dynasty was the Ming Dynasty because its cultural legacy in treasured for its unique art, beautiful literature, and amazing architectural projects.

The Chinese empire is by far the empire that impacted the world the most, and it was all because of their amazing innovations.The world’s oldest canal is the Grand Canal. At 1,795 kilometers (1,114 miles), it has 24 locks and 60 bridges, and claim to the third century, BCE during the Qin dynasty with the first emperor, Shi Huangdi. The Grand Canal, connected China, which greatly improved not only defense but administration of China. It was the first Qin emperor in 221 BCE who standardized writing in China. Before this, each area had it’s own particular writing system, but with the help of connections made by the Grand Canal. It connected the empire. In China each area had it’s own specific written language system. The Qin dynasty writing became

Qing Dynasty has been ruled China for over hundred of years. They had been ruling since 1644 until 1911. By the end of 19th century, China was afflict by bankcruptcy and had rising employment. The cause of that was because China has failed a couple of times during the battles with the foreigners and it had resulted in a great humiliation for China. Qing Dynasty has became weaker and weaker over time. And the dynasty had finally fallen in 1911 because of the boxers action in 1900 until 1901 has fatally weakened the dynasty. After the event, the citizen had grown distrustful to the dynasty and believed that the Qing Dynasty was the reason of China’s misery.

Knowing Chinese tea culture thoroughly is a wise way for people to explore the Chinese society and culture. As a traditional drink, it has been planted and consumed for over five thousands years. The climate of China is perfect for growing tea, which leads to large quantities and good quality of tea. According to the line diagram, “Dynamics of manufacture of tea in China, thousand tons” there were about 1,200 thousands tons of tea manufactured in 2008, which made China the biggest tea manufacture country in the world. As we can see, tea has a special position in Chinese society. Due to its popularity, Chinese tea gradually raises international interest, and leads China to be a more influential country in the