A Glimpse of Chinese History
By Jenny [email protected]
4 great ancient civilizations:
1.Egyptian (based on Niles river civilization) 2. Mesopotamia (based on Tigris and
Euphrates civilization) 3. Indian (based on Indus Valley civilization) 4. China (based on Yellow River civilization)
Geographical Locations
The Prehistory Period -----Archaeological Excavations
From Paleolithic to Neolithic Ages “Peking Man” Chinese Ape Man Zhoukoudian 0.4 -0. 5
million years ago The Lantian Man 0.5-0.6 million years ago The Yuanmou Man 1.7 million years ago Maba, Changyang, Liujiang, in the Yellow River Bend r
egion: the Paleolithic Age South of the Yangtze River: Neolithic Ages Unearthed material: specimens of painted pottery (Yan
gshao Culture); specimens of black pottery (Longshan Culture)
Pre- and Early History of China
Several Legendary Characters
Pan Gu split the world into heaven and earth. Nu Wa used soil to create human beings and sa
ved the earth from being drowned by the leaking Heaven.
Cang Jie (仓颉) invented Chinese characters. Shen Nong (神农) invented agriculture. Sui Ren (燧人) found out how to produce fire. You Cao Shi (有巢氏) invented houses and s
helters.
Legendary Emperors in Prehistory China:
* The legendary sovereign of Huaxia( 华夏) Group and the founder of the Chinese “Empire”( pre-historical)
* Fought off Chiyou in the battle of Zhuolu and then defeated the Yan Emperor to assure his reign
* The inventor of “the south-pointing wheeled vehicle”, armour, pottery, etc. and the regulator of sacrificial and religious
The Ancient Dynasties
Prehistoric Times 1.7 million years - the 21st century BC
Xia (2205—1766BC))At minimum, the Xia period marked an evolutionary stage between the late Neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang dynasty
Yao (尧) , the first sage king who chose a talented young man Shun (舜) instead of his own son as new emperor , an action revered as “demise” (禅让) for centuries to come.
Yu the Great (大禹), a hero in taming the flood, the founder of Xia Dynasty , and the terminator of demise system.
The Xia Dynasty (21st --- 17th cn. B.C)
A Dynasty that can only be detected through archeological evidence
An evolutional stage between the late Neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization
The pioneering dynasty
The Dawn of History
商 The Shang dynasty (from 1700 to 1027 B.C also called the Yin
the Huang He Valley --the cradle of Chinese civilization--provide evidence about the Shang Dynasty.
Two important events: the development of a writing system; and the use of bronze metallurgy.
The Shang Dynasty (1766 --- 1100 B.C.)
The first dynasty that left its traces in written word inscribed in archaic Chinese characters on tortoise shells or flat cattle bones (also known as the oracle bones 甲骨文 )
A dynasty that boasts on its bronze metallurgy. Many ceremonial bronze vessels attest to high level of craftsmanship.
The Zhou Period
周 Zhou (1027 to 221 B.C), which had settled in the Wei () Valley in modern Shaanxi ( ) Province. It extended Shang culture through much of China Proper north of the Chang Jiang ( or Yangtze River).
Historians divide the Zhou era into Western Zhou (1027-771 B.C.) and Eastern Zhou (770-221 B.C.). The first, from 770 to 476 B.C., is called the Spring and Autumn Period ( ), the second is known as the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C. ).
The Hundred Schools of Thought诸子百家
the "golden age" of China. So many different philosophies developed during the late Spring and Autumn and early Warring States periods that the era is often known as that of the Hundred Schools of Thought .
Schools of Chinese thought the School of Literati ( 儒 ) Confucius; Mencius ;
Xunzi the School of Law ( 法 ), or Legalism : Han Fei
Zi ; Li Si Taoism ( 道 ): Lao Zi and Zhuangzi the school of yin-yang (yin: dark, cold, female,
negative; yang: light, hot, male, positive) and the five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth).
The doctrine of Mo Zi ( 470-391 B.C.): Advocating that all action must be utilitarian and pacifisms.
The Imperial Era 秦 221 BC - 206 BC The First Imperial Period 汉 Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD) Eastern Han (25 - 220) Era of Disunity Restoration of Empire Three Kingdoms Period 220 – 280 Western Jin (265 - 316)& Eastern Jin (317 - 420) Northern Dynasties (386 - 581)& Southern Dynasties (420 - 589) 隋 581 - 618 唐 Tang 618 – 907 Liao Dynasty 916 --- 1125 Jin Dynasty 1115 --- 1234 宋 Northern Song (960 - 1127) Mongolian Interlude 元 1271 --- 1368 The Chinese Regain Power 明 1368 --- 1644 The Rise of the Manchus 清 1644 --- 1911
Qin Dynasty 221BC-
Qin, Shih Huang-ti or First emperor He established the first united, power-ce
ntralized, multi-nationality and feudal autocratic monarchy
The Silk Route
Emergence of Modern ChinaⅠ
The Western Powers Arrive The Opium War, 1839-42
Emergence Of Modern China: II
The Taiping Rebellion, 1851-64 The Self-Strengthening Movement The Hundred Days' Reform and the After
math
Emergence Of Modern China: Ⅲ
The Republican Revolution of 1911 Republican China Nationalism and Communism Opposing the Warlords
Emergence Of Modern China: Ⅳ
Consolidation under the Guomindang Rise of the Communists Anti-Japanese War Return to Civil War
Emergence Of Modern China: Ⅴ The People's Republic of China The Transition to Socialism, 1953-57 The Great Leap Forward, 1958-60 Readjustment and Recovery, 1961-65 The Cultural Revolution Decade, 1966-76 The Militant Phase, 1966-68 The Ninth National Party Congress to the Demise of Li
n Biao, 1969-71 The Ninth National Party Congress to the Demise of Li
n Biao, 1969-71 The Post-Mao Period, 1976-78 China and the Four Modernizations, 1979-82 Reforms, 1980-88
Review Questions:
1. What makes the Chinese civilization unique in world history ?
2. Try to explain the following terms: Huaxia Civilization & Yan-Huang descendents A Hundred Schools Contending Terra cotta warriors --- the Eighth World Wonder The Three Kingdoms The Opium War Xinhai Revolution The May 4th Movement