History of China: Difference between revisions

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===Paleolithic (3.3 Ma ~ 12 ka)===

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{{main|Xia dynasty}}

 

According to ancient records, the dynasty ended around 1600 BC as a consequence of the [[Battle of Mingtiao]].

 

{{main|Shang dynasty}}

{{further|Chinese Bronze Age}}

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| caption1 = Map of the Shang dynasty

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{{main|Zhou dynasty|Iron Age China}}

 

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The Zhou initially moved their capital west to an area near modern [[Xi'an]], on the [[Wei River]], a tributary of the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into the [[Yangtze River]] valley. This would be the first of many population migrations from north to south in Chinese history.

 

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2018}}

{{main|Spring and Autumn period}}

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The [[Hundred Schools of Thought]] of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period, and such influential intellectual movements as [[Confucianism]], [[Taoism]], [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] and [[Mohism]] were founded, partly in response to the changing political world. The first two philosophical thoughts would have an enormous influence on Chinese culture.

 

{{main|Warring States period}}

 

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{{Redirect2|Empire of China|Chinese Empire|the empire founded by Yuan Shikai|Empire of China (1915–1916)}}

{{see also|Political systems of Imperial China}}

Major events in the Early sub-period include the Qin unification of China and their replacement by the Han, the First Split followed by the Jin unification, and the loss of north China. The Middle sub-period was marked by the Sui unification and their supplementation by the Tang, the Second Split, and the Song unification. The Late sub-period included the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

 

{{main|Qin dynasty}}

 

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{{main|Han dynasty}}

{{further|History of the Han dynasty}}

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The Eastern Han dynasty was one of the [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|most prolific era of science and technology]] in ancient China, notably the historic invention of [[papermaking]] by [[Cai Lun]], and the numerous scientific and mathematical contributions by the famous [[polymath]] [[Zhang Heng]].

 

{{main|Three Kingdoms|}}

 

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| caption1 = Three Kingdoms in 262, on the eve of the conquest of Shu, Wei, and Wu.

In 266, the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Jin dynasty]] overthrew the Wei and later unified the country in 280, but this union was short-lived.

 

{{main|Jin dynasty (266–420)|Sixteen Kingdoms}}

 

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| caption1 = [[Western Jin Dynasty]], c. 280 AD

Northern China fragmented into a series of [[Sixteen Kingdoms|independent kingdoms]], most of which were founded by [[Xiongnu]], [[Xianbei]], [[Jie people|Jie]], [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]] and [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]] rulers. These non-Han peoples were ancestors of the [[Turkic people|Turks]], [[Mongols]], and [[Tibetans]]. Many had, to some extent, been "[[Sinicization|sinicized]]" long before their ascent to power. In fact, some of them, notably the [[Qiang people|Qiang]] and the Xiongnu, had already been allowed to live in the frontier regions within the Great Wall since late Han times. During the period of the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]], warfare ravaged the north and prompted large-scale Han Chinese migration south to the [[Yangtze|Yangtze River]] Basin and Delta.

 

{{main|Northern and Southern dynasties}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2018}}

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| caption1 = Southern and Northern Dynasties, 440 AD

Despite the division of the country, Buddhism spread throughout the land. In southern China, fierce debates about whether [[Buddhism]] should be allowed were held frequently by the royal court and nobles. By the end of the era, Buddhists and [[Taoist]]s had become much more tolerant of each other.

 

{{main|Sui dynasty}}

 

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| caption1 = Sui dynasty c. 609

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{{main|Tang dynasty}}

 

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| caption1 = Tang Dynasty in 669 AD

:Most Chinese regard the Tang dynasty (618–907) as the high point of Imperial China, both politically and culturally. The empire reached its greatest size prior to the Manchu Qing dynasty, becoming the center of an East Asian world linked by religion, script, and many economic and political institutions. Moreover, Tang writers produce the [[Tang poetry|finest poetry]] in China's great lyric tradition.<ref>Mark Edward Lewis, ''China's Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty'' (2012). p. 1</ref>

 

{{main|Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period}}

 

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| caption1 = Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms Period 947 AD

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{{main|Song dynasty|Liao dynasty|Western Xia|Jin dynasty (1115–1234)}}

{{further|History of the Song dynasty}}

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| caption1 = [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]], [[Southern Song]], and [[Western Xia]] in China.

The advances in civilization during the Song dynasty came to an abrupt end following the devastating [[Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty|Mongol conquest]], during which the population sharply dwindled, with a marked contraction in economy. Despite viciously [[Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty|halting Mongol advance]] for more than three decades, the Southern Song capital [[Hangzhou]] fell in 1276, followed by the final annihilation of the Song standing navy at the [[Battle of Yamen]] in 1279.

 

{{main|Yuan dynasty}}

{{see also|Ikh Mongol Uls}}

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| caption1 = The White Stupa of [[Miaoying Temple]] in [[Beijing]].

Throughout the Yuan dynasty, there was some general sentiment among the populace against the Mongol dominance. Yet rather than the nationalist cause, it was mainly strings of natural disasters and incompetent governance that triggered widespread peasant uprisings since the 1340s. After the [[Largest naval battle in history|massive naval engagement]] [[Battle of Lake Poyang|at Lake Poyang]], [[Hongwu Emperor|Zhu Yuanzhang]] prevailed over other rebel forces in the south. He proclaimed himself [[Hongwu Emperor|emperor]] and founded the [[Ming dynasty]] in 1368. The same year his northern expedition army captured the capital [[Khanbaliq]]. The Yuan remnants fled back to [[Mongolia]] and [[Northern Yuan dynasty|sustained the regime]]. Other [[Mongol Empire|Mongol Khanates]] in [[Central Asia]] continued to exist after the fall of [[Yuan dynasty]] in China.

 

{{main|Ming dynasty}}

{{further|History of the Ming dynasty}}

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| caption1 = Haihui Temple Pagodas, built in the Ming period.

The [[Ming dynasty]] intervened deeply in the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)]], which ended with the withdrawal of all invading Japanese forces in [[Korea]], and the restoration of the [[Joseon|Joseon dynasty]], its traditional ally and [[List of tributaries of Imperial China|tributary state]]. The [[Imperial Chinese tributary system|regional hegemony]] of the Ming dynasty was preserved at a toll on its resources. Coincidentally, with [[Ming dynasty|Ming]]'s control in [[Manchuria]] in decline, the [[Manchu people|Manchu]] ([[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]) tribes, under their chieftain [[Nurhaci]], broke away from Ming's rule, and emerged as a powerful, unified state, which was [[Hong Taiji|later proclaimed]] as the [[Qing dynasty]]. It went on to subdue the much weakened [[Joseon dynasty|Korea]] as its [[List of tributaries of Imperial China|tributary]], conquered [[Northern Yuan dynasty|Mongolia]], and expanded its territory to the outskirt of the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]]. The most elite army of the [[Ming dynasty]] was to station at the [[Shanhai Pass]] to guard the last stronghold against the [[Manchu people|Manchus]], which weakened its suppression of internal [[Li Zicheng|peasants uprisings]].

 

{{main|Qing dynasty}}

{{see also|Century of humiliation}}

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| image1 = Carte generale de l'Empire Chinois et du Japon (1836).jpg

| caption1 = 1836 map of China published by C. Picque.

The Qing court then instituted "[[New Policies]]" of administrative and legal reform, including abolition of the [[imperial examinations|examination system]]. But young officials, military officers, and students debated reform, perhaps a constitutional monarchy, or the overthrow of the dynasty and the creation of a republic. They were inspired by an emerging public opinion formed by intellectuals such as [[Liang Qichao]] and the revolutionary ideas of [[Sun Yat-sen]]. A localised military uprising, the [[Wuchang Uprising]], began on 10 October 1911, in [[Wuchang]] (Today part of [[Wuhan]]), and soon spread. The Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 January 1912, ending 2,000 years of dynastic rule.

 

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