dynasties and history of china
Cultural of the china
It’s difficult to estimate how ancient China’s culture is, but it’s one of the oldest that still exists in the modern world. Legend has claimed that the Xia Kingdom ruled China from 2100 to 1600 B.C. with as the first emperor, although there is scant evidence that the dynasty ever existed. A chronology of one of the world’s great cradles of civilization is shown here.
Dynasty of china
• Shang Dynasty – 1600-1050 B.C. The Shang dynasty was the first Chinese governing dynasty to be formed in recorded history, and it was led by a tribal leader called Tan. The Shang era is distinguished by intellectual advancements in astronomy and mathematics.
Confucius (551–479 B.C.) – The teacher, statesman, and philosopher was reared in poverty by his mother. He joined politics in 501 B.C. becoming town governor after achieving prominence as a teacher, but he went into exile in 498 B.C. to avoid political opponents . When Confucius returned to China in 483 B.C. he spent much of his time teaching followers his concepts
( “Wherever you go, go with all your heart,” and “It does not matter how slowly you move as long as you do not stop.”) Over time,
his views would become essential to Chinese culture and would be supported by the government.
Qing Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) – The Qin Dynasty, from which China gets its name (Qin is pronounced “Chin”), was the country’s first formal empire. The Qing standardized regional written scripts into a single national one, creating an imperial college to monitor the translated writings.
“The Silk Road ” (Paper and Guns)
125 B.C. The Silk Road – After being captured and escaping on a mission for Emperor Wu, Zhang Qian returned 13 years later with a map of the territory he had traversed. His charts were accurate, reaching as far as Afghanistan, and led to the Silk Road, an international trading route.
• 105 A.D. Paper and books – Cai Lun invented paper by crushing bamboo, hemp, bark, and other materials together and spreading the pulp flat. The use of paper expanded swiftly throughout the empire, with the first Chinese dictionary, collected by Xu Shen, and the first book of Chinese history, authored by Sima Qian, emerging shortly after.
• 850 A.D. Gunpowder – Alchemists working with saltpeter for medical purposes combined it with charcoal and sulfur to create gunpowder. The explosive qualities that were produced were utilized in the battle to propel arrows as well as fireworks by the Tang Dynasty.
• 868 A.D. Printing press – During the Tang Dynasty, the oldest known printed book, The Diamond Sutra, was made. Calendars and instructional materials quickly followed.
• 1260 A.D. Kublai Khan – Genghis Khan’s grandson defeated the Song Dynasty and created the Yuan Dynasty, uniting China and incorporating Mongolia, Siberia, portions of the Middle East, and even Europe into the Chinese Empire. Kublai Khan created paper money, visited Marco Polo, imported the country’s first Muslims, and sought to conquer Japan.
• 1557 : World commerce – During the Ming Dynasty, China’s maritime trade grew to include the export of silk and porcelain products. For the first time, a European presence was permitted within the empire, and Chinese merchants emigrated to areas beyond the realm.
• 1683 : Taiwan – This Dutch-controlled island was conquered in 1662 by Ming Dynasty General Koxinga and annexed 21 years later by the Qing Dynasty.
The Opium Wars
• 1840-1842 : The First Opium War – The United Kingdom inundated the nation with opium, resulting in an addiction epidemic. The substance was outlawed under the Qing Dynasty, resulting in a military conflict. British soldiers took control of Chinese ports and handed over Hong Kong to them.
• 1851-1864: The Taiping Rebellion – With his Christian cult, the God Worshipping Society, self-proclaimed prophet Hong Xiuquan revolted against the Qing Dynasty. Spurred on by visions, Hong rampaged across China, capturing Nanjing in 1852 and ruling it for 12 years. In 1864, Hong was discovered poisoned. At least 20 million people died as a result of the battle.
• 1856-1860: The Second Opium War in which Britain and France insisted that China legalize opium, assaulting Guangzhou and pushing into Beijing Desperate to terminate the battle, China accepted a pact that gave the west increased commercial power and control over ports.
• 1894-1894 : The First Sino-Japanese War – The Qing Dynasty battled with Japan for Korea. After losing, China’s regional supremacy fell, influencing a succession of internal disputes over the next 16 years. Taiwan was given to Japan as part of the defeat deal.
• 1899 : The Boxer Rebellion – During the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Harmonious Fist, a secret club, began murdering foreigners. When eight European countries supplied troops, they earned Empress Dowager’s support as the Boxers. China was defeated in the war, and the West levied sanctions that severely undermined Qing control.
The devolution of power in china and end of the dynasty
• Republic of China – 1912 The Xinhai Revolution of 1911, headed by western-educated revolutionary Sun Yat-sen, concluded in the Wuchang Uprising, in which 15 provinces proclaimed independence from the Qing Dynasty. Sun assumed power in 1912, declaring the establishment of the republic.
• 1921: The Communist Party of China – The CPC was legally formed in 1919, with its origins in the May Fourth Movement, which opposed the Chinese government’s response to the Treaty of Versailles.”
• 1927: Shanghai Slaughter – thousands of people have executed as Nationalist Party leader Chiang Kai-shek orders the massacre of Communists’ , which intentionally leads to the formation of the opposition Communist Red Army.
• 1928: Reunification – Ascending to the throne, Chiang was able to reunify China by conquering territories under the authority of warlords.
• Civil War: Fighting between the Red Army and the Nationalist Party develops into an 18-year struggle in 1931.
• The Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945 – Tensions began with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, but erupted in 1937. After the Japanese conquered Shanghai and Nanjing, there was a stalemate until World War II and American backing reframed the fight as a theater of war.
• 1945: Taiwan reverts to Chinese control – Following the Japanese surrender in World War II, Taiwan reverted to Chinese authority. Tensions rose between Chinese soldiers and Taiwanese civilians, resulting in riots in 1947 and Chiang’s decision to send more troops.
• People’s Republic of China – Established in 1949. Following a bloody finish to the civil war, the Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China. Two months later, two million soldiers fled with Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan, where he established a temporary government claiming to be China’s rightful ruling authority. Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Communist Party, was elected as China’s new leader.
• 1958-1962: The Great Leap Forward – Chairman Mao’s attempt to convert China’s agricultural basis into an industrial one enforced a communal system that united peasants and prohibited private property. The strategy failed to generate the required output, and hunger ensued.
resulting in 56 million fatalities, 3 million of which were suicides
• 1966: The Cultural Revolution – Chairman Mao launched this effort to eradicate the People’s Republic’s capitalist and traditional Chinese influences and to establish the concept of Maoism to fill ideological voids. Schools were closed, and Chinese youth were encouraged to take the lead in bringing about change, which resulted in juvenile gangs known as the Red Guards assaulting unwanted individuals. Martial law, Communist Party purges, and 1.5 million fatalities resulted from the chaos.
• 1972: Richard Nixon pays a visit to China – Nixon, the first American president to visit China while in office, and the first official encounter between the two nations since 1949, met with Mao and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, addressing a variety of issues, including trade and the withdrawal of US troops from Taiwan.
• Chiang Kai-shek dies on April 5, 1975 – Chiang dies of a heart attack after 26 years of leading Taiwan to legitimacy and seeking to reclaim mainland China.
• September 9, 1976: Mao zedog – Mao’s death after numerous heart attacks essentially ends the Cultural Revolution and elevates Deng Xiaoping to power for the next two decades, evicting The Gang of Four was Mao’s closest group. Mao will preside over the killing of 40 million people by the conclusion of his rule.
• 1989: Protests in Tiananmen Square – These student-led protests came out of the 1989 Democracy Movement, which demanded freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and other rights. They received international prominence as the government forcefully repressed the demonstrations, and photos of tanks rolling into students sparked widespread outrage. At least 300 people were killed during the demonstrations.
• 1993: The building of the world’s biggest hydroelectric dam, the Three Gorges Project, began. The proposal, which was proposed as early as 1920, called for flooding 1,500 towns and villages, displacing up to 1.9 million people, and damaging 1,200 archaeological and historical monuments. The dam will go into operation in 2015.
• July 1, 1997: Hong Kong reverts to Chinese control – After 156 years, Hong Kong was returned to China in a midnight ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. As part of the handover deal, China pledged to protect the island’s capitalist economy.
