Essay on Chinese Dynasties

The following are the Chinese dynasties in order from oldest to most recent: Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The legendary dynasty is the Xia, which is believed to be around 2000 BC. The Shang (1700-1000BC) developed the first written Chinese language. The Zhou (1028-221BC) built the first roads, expanded trade contacts and trade routes, and also developed plows and irrigation systems. Trade at this time was expanding in China. The Qin Dynasty (221-207BC) built the famous Great Wall of China as a defense mechanism and also united all of China under one central government. Next is the Han Dynasty (207BC-AD220), which did a lot for China in terms of trading. They developed the Great Silk Road, a trading route that stretched from China all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sui Dynasty (589-618) united almost all of China. Followed in suit by the Tang Dynasty (618-917) discovered one of Chinas' leading exports, porcelain. During the Tang Dynasty, the first block-style printing press was invented. The Song Dynasty (960-1279) came next, which took over all of China and later took the southern rule after being conquered by the Jin. The Song Dynasty is responsible for developing Chinese cuisine as we know it today. During this time period the compass and gunpowder were also discovered. The Jin Dynasty (1127-1234) took rule over Northern China from the Song. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) brought a long period of peace to

The region of China is extensive and profound. “In China lay people did not belong to an institutionalized sect, nor did their religious life have anything to do with signing articles of faint. Religion in China was so woven into the broad fabric of family and social life that there was not even a special word for it until modern times, when one was coined to match the Western term” (Thompson, 1). In China, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are all blended. In the earliest period, Shang Dynasty (2000 BC), people in China had worshipped a lot of different gods (polytheism) such as weather god, river god. People in the Shang Dynasty believed that their ancestors become like gods after they died, so people worshipped their

China has had many dynasties, but there are two which stand out; which, are the Qin and the Han. Ancient China has had one of the oldest and longest civilizations in the history of the world. Throughout China’s history, China was ruled by powerful families called dynasties. Because of Qin and Han significance and impact on China, both dynasties sites are influential to Chinese history, but the Han dynasty had a greater impact on the history of China due to their significant rise to power, impact, and their influence to Chinese history.

The Shang king had power over everyone in the land. He had a council of officials that formulated and ran the government. Their last king, Di Xin, committed suicide when his army was defeated by the Zhou. His army had betrayed him by joining the Zhou in the Battle of Muye.

The Shang dynasty spanned from 1500BCE to 1045 BCE in the Yellow River region of modern day China. The dynasty not only lived in the region of the Yellow River, but it was the first dynasty to have any written record. Throughout the dynasty, the kings ruled from five different cities, the best-known city was Anyang. The dynasty was a warrior dynasty that had the advantage of having bronze-tipped weapons and an ideal region to grow crops. The Shang Dynasty’s advancements of having sustainable crops and bronze weapons and allowed them to develop a written language, which created the foundation of Chinese civilization.

Thanks to Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty, China has the Mandate of Heaven, the Dynastic Cycle, and a feudalism form of government. China had a hierarchy setup for their social

“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”- Vince Lombardi.  The Shang Dynasty was one of the most powerful and ancient Dynasties that have ever existed. This dominant civilization started in the year 1600 B.C.E after conquering the Xia Dynasty, then fell in the year 1046. B.C.E.  This Dynasty deserves to be classified as civilized because of their vast variety of cities, organized government, impactful literature, organized religion, wide variety of specialized jobs along with astounding technology.

Before the Qin Dynasty, China was composed of a network of city states that were loyal to the Chinese king. The seven Warring States had their own institutions that were run by aristocrats. The Qin Dynasty took initiative to expand their territory and to unite the Chinese empire together. Through their ruthless military techniques the Qin Dynasty was able to conquer the city states in China. The Qin Dynasty ruled from 221 BCE – 206 BCE; during their regime, Emperor Qin’s primary goal was to unify the Chinese people. Even though the Qin Dynasty was a short-lived empire, it played a major role in unifying the Chinese empire and provided a foundation for succeeding regimes through a centralized government, standardized systems, and through infrastructure.

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 Shang civilization was the first dynasty of ancient China which confirmed its existence by archeological artifacts.

Often referred to as the Last Great Dynasty, The Qing Dynasty ruled China for over three centuries. The Qing were a proud dynasty and relied little upon foreign trade and influences to grow their economy. This was partly because The Qing were a self-sufficient society. Another reason for the denial of Western influences was due to The Qing’s great pride of their own culture. Any acceptance of Western influences would dilute the values and traditions of The Qing. That being said, The Qing did allow a trivial amount of foreign trade to take place in the Port of Canton. The refusal to allow Western influences, the lack of knowledge of the importance of foreign relations and the continued reliance of Confucian teachings all played a part in the demise of The Qing Dynasty. The modernization of China would not be possible without the rebellion of 1911.

Let’s begin with history in China. In the Prehistoric Times original humans began activity in the Paleolithic Times, and early culture and society forming. The Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty made, and was established by Qi (son of Yu the Great). It was a country made up of different tribes. The Shang Dynasty was established by the leader Tang, was also ruled by 31 rulers. Then, it became a society based on slavery. The Zhou Dynasty originated from the Zhou clan. By the 11th Century BC, this clan had become very powerful and had extended throughout the present Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces. Lasting from the 11th century BC to 771 BC, the Western Zhou was established by King Wu. This dynasty included the reigns of 13 emperors and played a very important role in Chinese history. With the death of King You, the last king of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began. Xuan Jiu, the son of King You, established the dynasty in 770 BC. The Western Han (206BC - 24AD) was regarded as the first unified and powerful empire in Chinese history. Lasting from 206 BC to 24 AD, it was established by Liu Bang. Regarded as a continuation of the Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD), the Eastern Han (25 AD - 220 AD) was established by Liu

The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.

The Shang dynasty was one of the first dynasties ever to exist in China. They developed near the Yangtze and Yellow river. This area and dynasty served as a starter point for the Chinese empire. The next dynasty to take power was the Zhou dynasty. This dynasty lasted for a tremendous period of time. They developed a system called a “mandate from Heaven”. Through this system, a monarch would be considered an “intermediary” between Earth and heaven. This worked for almost a century! The reason they were so held together during this time was through their religion. China’s religion was different than most cultures. It was called Confucianism and wasn’t so much a religion rather it was a way of life. This stressed merit and it also challenged the idea of aristocracy running everyone. He had a book of teachings called “Analects”. Confucianism and the ideas that the philosopher Confucius brought to have stayed with it since ancient times. Towards the end of the empire, Confucianism still played a big role in Chinese

Around 1650 b.c, the Shang dynasty began and lasted until 1027 b.c. During this time the beginning of Chinese civilization began to take form. Created a form of government, their government Like many other ancient civilizations, they had a social pyramid, with kings on the top and peasants on the bottom. It is also thought that kings only ruled small areas while loyal nobles governed most of the land. Truly though the only way to know what class a person was, is to look at how they were buried. While kings were given huge tombs filled with objects that showed their