A brief history of the chinese dynasty

A brief history of the Chinese DynastiesBy Trey Johnson

What is a dynasty? It is a reign or time period controlled by

members of the same family.

Between 5000 and 4000 B.C. is to be believed as the starting point where the Chinese began to start working on weapons made of stone. This is also known as the Neolithic era.

Shang Dynasty1700 – 1027 BCERecord of the first Chinese cities. The start of Chinese writing and was part of the bronze age. Silk was also popular.Established by King Tang in 1675 BC.Ruled by 30 different emperors.Peaceful living up until the 9th emperor. Proxy wars plagued the country.

Zhou Dynasty 1027 – 250 BCE Known as the longest Chinese Dynasty. Science, economy, and trade expanded. King Zhou was known as a treacherous

leader. Was over taken by Zhou Wenwang. It is Estimated that over 400,000 men died.

Divided into two timelines: the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Confucianism and Taoism formed.

Qin Dynasty 221 – 206 BCE Taxation was introduced. The Great Wall of China was built. Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Hu

Hai ruled. Both very cruel rulers. Overthrown during the Chu-Han war

caused by internal conflict between dictating rulers and the peasants.

Lui Bang defeats the Qin army.

Han Dynasty 206 – 220 CE Time of peace and prosperity under Lui

Bang. Interest of art, literature, and technology

were rising. Paper was invented. Buddhism appeared from India. Peace ended under the reign of Lui Xie

(189-220).

The Three Kingdoms 220 – 280 AD Consisted of three kingdoms: The Kingdom of

Wei, the Kingdom of Wu, and the Kingdom of Shu.

Numerous wars between the three kingdoms. Increased Shipbuilding and relations with

foreigners. The Kingdom of Wei overthrew the Kingdom

of Shu. The period ended with the Jin Dynasty defeating the Wu Dynasty.

Jin Dynasty Western Jin Dynasty (265 – 316 AD) and

the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 – 420 AD) Unified the people, until nomads

declared war against the central plains. Relations with foreigners increased

greatly. As well as the rise in Buddhism. Advances in science, medicine, and

drafting also came from this era.

Northern and Southern Dynasties Northern Dynasty (386 – 581 AD) Southern Dynasty (420 – 589 AD) The rapid decline of the Jin Dynasty split the

country. The Northern Dynasty was founded by a minority

group called the Tuoba Xianbei. It again split into the Eastern and Western Wei. This was eventually unified by Yang Jian who unified the north into becoming Sui.

Southern Dynasty consisted of the Song, Chen, Liang, and Qi Dynasties. They were all considered to be incapable or ruling, thus all were short lived reigns. Song being the longest to reign.

Sui Dynasty 581 – 618 AD The end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

left the country with memories of long wars and battles.

Prime Minister Yang Jian suppressed the North and became the Emperor. He would eventually conquer the South and unified the entire country once more.

Society began to increase, increase in agriculture, a new political system and a way to examine those qualified to do a specific job.

Emperor Yang was the last to rule the Sui Dynasty. Due to his cruel intentions and disrespect, Emperor

Yang was strangled by a colleague.

Tang Dynasty 618 – 907 AD Was known as the most advanced and successful time

period. Emperor Li Yuan took over after Yang was killed.

Emperor Taizong Li Shimin would introduce prosperity for all his people. The economy flourished, the society rose to incredible heights, and the rate of violence decreased rapidly.

Various emperors would stabilize order, up until Emperor Xuanzong, who appointed corrupted Chancellors who tried to destroy the political system.

This would bring conflicts such as the An Shi Rebellion, which lasted for 80 years. Such attacks slowly weakened the Tang Dynasty.

The Five Dynasties and the Ten Sates & the Song Dynasty 907 – 960 AD Five Dynasties: Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, Zhou Ten States: Southern Wu, Southern Tang, Wu Yue and Chu, Northern

and Southern Ha, Former Shu, Latter Shu, Southern ping, and Min. The Latter Zhou was the most successful of the five dynasties. The Song Dynasty would form in 960 AD (960 – 1127 AD) by Zhao

Gou. Parts in the North were being destroyed, while the South saw another great time of prosperity.

The Song Dynasty was known to have increased the production of foods, discovered typography and the compass, and had been the time of great poets and scholars.

Zhuxi, Ouyang, Su Shi, Sima Guang, and Shen Kuo are known to have been the created the style and atmosphere of the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty was considered to be weak with military forces because high military officials had jobs that kept them away from combat.

The Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties Liao Dynasty: 916 – 1125 AD ;Jin Dynasty: 1115 – 1234 AD;

Yuan Dynasty 1271 – 1368 AD Continuing on from the very successful Song Dynasty. The Liao

and Jin Dynasties would see the growth of the slavery system. Liao, Jin, and Northern Song would engage in combat. The Jin

Dynasty would conquer Liao and eventually Northern Song. This would result in Southern Song giving in to the Jin Dynasty and incorporating the Feudal System.

The Mongolian Mongol Khubilai Khan would seek to conquer China during the Yang Dynasty.

The country was once again united, yet Chinese customs were ignored and replaced with non-Chinese traditions.

In 1367, a group of soldiers led by Zhu Yuanzhang would end up ending the Yuan Dynasty. This was mainly due to corruption happening within the dynasty itself.

Ming Dynasty 1368 – 1644 AD The Mongols were forced into battle by a peasant militia known

as the “Hongjinjun”. Zhu Yuanzhang would force the remaining forces out of the

country in 1360 to 1367 AD. He would eventually go on to form the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Chengzu would reign after Zhu’s sons. Chengzu would open up travel for the Mind Dynasty; increasing their popularity around Southeast Asia.

Emperor Weizon would go on to end the Ming Dynasty. This was caused by sever hardships from previous Emperor’s (Emperor Shenzong) neglect of political affairs and the hardships caused by natural disasters. As well as corruption in the courts and ruling class.

The Ming Dynasty also saw a defeat by Li Zicheng, leading Emperor Weizong to hang himself. Declaring the end of Ming Dynasty.

Qing Dynasty 1644 – 1911 AD The last Chinese Dynasty. Huang Taiki establishes the Qing Dynasty. The golden age of the three emperors included Emperor

Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng, and Emperor Quianlong. This was a period of knowledge and prosperity.

However; the defeat by the west during the First Opium war in 1842 caused the Qing court to lose control over foreign immigrants entering the country.

Various wars and uprisings such as the Revolution of 1911 (Xinhai) by Sun Yat-sen ended up ending the Chinese feudal monarchy. European and American influences would also see the end to the Chinese Dynasty.

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McDowell, D. (2007). Chinese dynasties overview. Slideshare. Retrieved on February 2, 2012. From

http://www.slideshare.net/dmcdowell/chinese- dynasties-overview

Unknown. (2012). History of china. Travel China Guide. Retrieved on February 1, 2012. From http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/