History of Ancient China Essay

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

At the top of the social structure was the emperor. If any person was caught calling the emperor by name, they would have been punished by treason. Nobles were the class below the emperor. These are the only people who could get a government position. People with government positions could make clans and have more power than emperor. Nobles could not be arrested for anything unless the emperor’s permission was granted. Scholars were also the same tier as nobles, but only so many people could gain the positions. As such, scholars taught in private schools, supervised community projects, helped negotiate minor legal disputes, maintained local law and order, assisted in the government's collection of taxes

“Floodwater dashed up against the skies... God issued a command allowing Yu to spread out the self-replacing soil so as to quell the foods in the Nine Provinces.” This myth from China’s remote past may reflect stories about the efforts of early rulers to control the flood waters of the Huang River- the mighty river that has been central to Chinese civilization since the earliest of times.” (Holt, World History textbook, 76). China is located in the far east side of Asia. They have very rugged mountains in the west, some of the tallest in the world. In the south there are many plateaus, moving north; there are semi-deserts. The heart of China, the China Proper, has been significant though it’s early years. China has three major rivers that they used for transportation, crops, and ect. they are

The economy of ancient China was based on agriculture. China was made up of farming villages along its rivers. Manufacturing and trade were carried out by merchants and artisans in walled towns.

Despite being the shortest ruling dynasty at fifteen years, the Qin dynasty served a vital role in the development of China’s civilization (51). The Qin dynasty was prefaced by a period of instability caused by an ineffective political system and war between several regions all vying to overtake the others. After the Qin kingdom rose as the victor, King Cheng established for himself the title of Shi huangdi, or emperor, and looked to create a political system that would prevent the empire from fragmenting again. To achieve such a centralized government, Shi Huangdi sacrificed his people’s intellectual freedom and lives and produced a connected and standardized China, whose efficiency and strength still impacts the vision

China is located in Eastern Asia. Some of these natural land barriers included India, The South China Sea, The Yellow Sea, The Huang He Desert, The East China Sea, and The Gobi Desert. Although these natural land barriers had positive impacts, they also had negative impacts. The positive impacts were it kept out enemies from trying to invade China. It stopped the enemies from trying to take over China.

Tracing back the history of China, Xia Dynasty of the second millennium BCE was the earliest dynasty in China, which was centered along the Yellow River. Before China was unified, it was the time during which most of China's cultural tradition arose. Chinese civilization ascended and developed in a vast area, one-third larger than the United States if such dependencies as Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet are included. For centuries China was almost completely isolated from the other centers of civilization by mountains, deserts, and seas. This isolation helps explain the great originality of China's culture. China has many mountain ranges and three river systems that rise close together on the high Tibetan plateau and flow eastward to

China is divided into two regions: the eastern zone, which has much better agriculture, and the various deserts on the west. The Eastern side itself is also divided into two regions, separated by various mountain ranges.

The capital of China is Beijing, which is located in the north eastern part of China. The city has 15, 5 million citizens and is the political center of China.

1. China is divided into two major geographical regions: the steppe, desert, and high plateau west and northwest; and the eastern zone, more suitable for settled agriculture.

China has a long and mysterious history of almost five thousand years. China can trace her culture back to a blend of small original tribes which have expanded until they became the great country we have today. Each rise and fall of a dynasty created new leaders, new laws, new rules, and usually new expansion. Chinese history is that of alternating periods of political unity and disunity. The rise and fall of many dynasties created a rocky path in Chinas

Ancient China is one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations in the world. The Ancient Chinese have thrived for thousands of years because of the geography, their skills, and their talents. Throughout history, rivers such as the Yangtze and Huang He rivers made China thrive for thousands of years. While other features such as deserts and mountains like the Gobi, Himalayas, and the Taklimakan isolated the Chinese and kept other civilizations from culturally diffusing into Chinese lifestyle and culture.

Chinese Dynasties: 1. Shang: Also called Yin, dynasty that was China's earliest historically verifiable state 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C. A. Reason's for Rise: Unlike the early accounts of history by the Chinese, there is archaeological evidence of the Shang, who built their cities in northern China around the eastern parts of the Yellow River. For this reason they are called the Yellow River civilization. They were a bronze age people; bronze-working seems to have entered China around 2000 BC (about one thousand years after its invention in Mesopotamia). B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The Shang ruled the area from the North China Plain northward into present-day Shantung Province and westward to the tip of Honan

In china there has been no central rule in China for 70 years until the Song Dynasty created in 960. Things started to change in China, for example, the government started to aid the poor a lot more than what they have in the past. They were getting this money from the newly introduced income tax. This made a lot of people happy and everyone started to have more patriotism and pride. This pride gave the government a feel of legitimacy. Some of the major things the government is paying for is the roads, food, and education. Pottery at this time helps out the economy in China, because the pottery is so advanced that it was being exported for good money and it also led more people to come to China. Even though China was number one in the world for many things like technology and a sophisticated culture they were weak military wise (Holcombe p.127).

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.