Chinese Civilization Has A Rich History

China is a nation with a rich and vibrant culture and a colorful past that dates back to the Xia Dynasty. The Chinese Civilization has a rich history.

We will highlight parts of the history of China beginning with the Xia dating 2200-1750 BC, descended from the Yellow River valley Neolithic culture.

The Shang 1750-1040 BC, which was the most advanced bronze working civilization in the entire word. This was an era of human sacrifice.

The Western Zhou 1100-771 BC was an era where human sacrifice was very unpopular. The Zhou did not rule all of China but they were the most powerful and they were able to maintain peace for hundreds of years until the capital was overrun with barbarians from the west.

The Eastern Zhou 771-256 BC - After the barbarians took over the capital the Zhou moved east and saw a decline in power but a growth in new philosophies and ideas with Daoism, Legalism, and Confucianism the three most important.

The Qin Dynasty 221 – 206 BC saw the first Emperor Qin Shihuangdi. He was a man of many accomplishments including the linking together of the packed earth defense walls and the conquering of the rest of China. However upon his death in 210 BC the dynasty quickly fell apart.

The Han 206 BC to 8 AD played an important role in the history of Chinese civilization by invented the administrative model based on the Confucian classic which every dynasty from then on used. This system allowed Han emperors to rule China efficiently.

From Ad 8 to AD 25 a commoner Wang Mang ruled China. He had no royal blood but was a member of the Han royal household appointed Emperor after a power struggle occurred in the Han house. He was a poor ruler and after his death the Han royal family regained control.

The later Han Dynasty ruled for 200 years but towards the end they unable to control barbarians. By 220 total control of the provinces had been lost and China plunged into chaos for 350 years.

From 220 to 265 the Han Chinese continued to move south while barbarians moved north. Buddhism developed and it competed strongly against Confucianism then merging with Daoism and becoming a very popular religion.

The Sui Dynasty 589 – 618 was very short but it did a good job of reuniting China.

The Tang Dynasty 618 – 907 was one of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history with boundaries expanded to include Siberia, Korea, and Vietnam and Afghanistan. Empress Wu was the only women to hold the title of Emperor and she was vicious and ruthless, but also brilliant.

The An Lushan Rebellion marked the beginning to the end of the Tang dynasty. XuanZong had been a great ruler fell in love with a Yang Guifei who put him under her spell while helping An Lushan gain power launching a civil war that lasted 8 years and forcing the emperor to flee. The rebellion shattered the Tang control and the next 150 years saw China in chaos.

50 years after the end of the Tang dynasty the army was able to reunify China and establish the Song dynasty dating 960 to 1125. It was also a great dynasty, a time of technological advancement, cultural change, and economic gain. There was food for all, agriculture grew strong. The system remained unchanged until the 20th century.

China became economically self sufficient and their social structure reinforced. Society as a whole remained static until the collapse of the dynasty system. The northern part of China was conquered by barbarians who forced the abandonment of the capital then the Mongols invaded and occupied China.

The Yuan period 1279 -1368 saw the Mongol occupation in China. Because the Mongols would not hire educated Chinese in government positions a remarkable cultural change occurred.

The Ming Dynasty 1368 – 1644 was a very different dynasty with fat, lazy, nasty rulers. The Ming Emperor was known for throwing fits and beheading was a common practice. The Ming dynasty did move the capital to Beijing and repaired and strengthened the Great Wall.

The Qing Dynasty 1644 – 1911, saw Manchus take over China. It was an interesting time in the world. The western world wanted to make contact with China who had no interest because they were unable to grasp the community of nations concept.

There were other problems. Corruption was rampant, power continued to become decentralized, rebels were everywhere, and reformers could not agree resulting in the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911 sending the Chinese civilization into chaos.

The Republican of China 1911 to 1949, joined with the Allies because to return the Shangdong province back to the Chinese Government at the end of the war. But it wasn’t and it resulted in the May Fourth Movement the first nationalist movement ever in China an inspiration to other Chinese patriots.

In 1937 Japan launched a full scale war against China occupying the major coastal cities. By the time the war ended in 1945 more than 20 million Chinese had died.

In 1950 China intervened in the Korean War to stop the killing of the Korean people. In 1958 Mao launched the Great Leap Forward to mobilize peasants to produce collective farming. By 1960 more than 30 million people had starved to death and China had created the largest man made famine in human history.

By 1962 China had completely broken away from the Soviets and was busy positioning itself as the next superpower. In 1966 Mao launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which caused China to collapse into anarchy. The Cultural Revolution officially ended in 1969 but the politically destructive atmosphere remained until 1976 when Mao died.

In 1978 Deng Xiaoping became leader and launched the economic reform program. In 1984 Margret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping signed the Joint Declaration that saw Hong Kong turned over to China. Many of the citizens had gone to Hong Kong fleeing communism only to be returned to communist power.

1989 saw unrest in Tiananmen Square where hundreds of unarmed students died while gathered in the name of political reform. After the attacks progress and reform came to a halt until 1993 when Deng Xiaoping gave his approval of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. Suddenly the economy of China exploded and it has been growing by leaps and bounds ever since.

Jiang Zemin had actually been in power several years before he was “officially” seen in the capacity. The next few decades are going to be interesting times for China. It is entirely likely that China will become the leading industrial power. It is also predicted that by 2020 China will have the largest economy in the world.

However if there is anything to learn from the history of Chinese civilization it is that the only thing that is for certain is the unpredictable nature of this country. Only time will tell what the future China will bring.

This article has been provided by www.articleclick.com.

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