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This includes links to many aspects of ancient China

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Ancient China for Kids and Teachers - Ancient China for Kids

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Find out how oracle bones could foretell the future! Meet Confucius, the great teacher. Read ancient stories like Nian, the Monster, Wang the Peddler, and Loawnu the Wise. Discover how paper was invented. Learn about Taoism and the Ugly Duckling. Travel and trade along the dangerous Silk Road! Meet magical creatures.

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What makes the Great Wall of China so extraordinary - Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen

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A great overall history!

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Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion was an immense upheaval which affected a large area of China between 1850 and 1864, cost millions of lives, and had the potential to overthrow the Qing dynasty.

The rebellion was started by a failed civil service exam candidate called Hong Xiuquan, who had come into contact with Christian ideas in his home city of . Hong studied the Bible with Isaachar Roberts, an American missionary from Tennessee. Believing that he was the younger brother of Jesus, Hong developed his own version of Christianity. He set out to establish the 'Taiping Tianguo', the 'Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace', and destroy the Manchu Qing government. Hong walked to the rugged Thistle Mountain region some 250 miles inland. There he found willing converts among the poor, and he built up a disciplined army - including women's combat units which became famous for their ability and ferocity.

In 1851, Hong's Taiping army swept across China towards Nanjing, which fell in 1853 and became the Taiping capital. The Taipings called for a new type of society, with common property and equal status for men and women, and banned footbinding, prostitution and gambling, as well as opium, tobacco and alcohol. By the late 1850s, they controlled a large area of east China, although their radical policies alienated the educated gentry classes. The Qing government finally reconquered Nanjing in 1864, with the help of militia armies established by gentry officials. When the city finally fell, the slaughter was enormous. Many rebels burned themselves to death rather than submit. A senior official said in his report to the emperor: "From ancient times to the present, such a formidable band of rebels has rarely been known."

Self-Strengthening Movement

The Self-Strengthening Movement was a campaign to revitalise China in the late 1800s, through learning from the west.

China's weakness had been demonstrated by internal challenges such as the Taiping Rebellion, as well as by foreign aggression. In 1860, foreign troops had even entered Beijing during the Second Anglo-Chinese War, and ransacked the beautiful Summer Palace built by Emperor Qianlong

Desperate to save their country, a group of exceptional provincial officials - many of whom had been involved in suppressing the Taipings - set up factories and dockyards to modernise the economy and to manufacture western-style armaments. Understanding of the west was increased by the translation into Chinese of western books, and by visits abroad. Anson Burlingame, an American diplomat, accompanied senior representatives from China on a tour to the USA and Europe. A group of 120 Chinese boys were sent in the 1870s to be educated the USA. They lived with families in Connecticut, studied at high school, and even formed their own baseball club. The most prominent advocate of the 'self-strengthening' movement was Li Hongzhang, a general, official and diplomat, who developed railways, telegraph lines, mines, cotton mills and shipping companies, and built up China's northern navy.

But the self-strengthening movement faced many challenges. China could not protect its fledgling industries from overseas competition, because the unequal treaties fixed customs tariffs low. And resistance to change came from people at all social levels. Many people resented the extra taxes they were required to pay for new projects, which they felt would not benefit them. China's new Southern Fleet, based in , was destroyed within an hour in 1884, after China was drawn into a disastrous war with France over Vietnam.

Defeat by Japan and the 'Scramble for Concessions'

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought from 1894 to 1895 between China and Japan, and ended in a disastrous defeat for China.

From the 1850s on, Japan had modernized successfully, and began to expand its influence over areas long claimed by China as tributaries. When a rebellion broke out in Korea in 1894, both China and Japan sent in troops to protect the Korean royal family. After Japan sank a steamer carrying Chinese troops, war broke out. Japanese troops marched overland to take a heavily defended Chinese port from the land side, and took China's own guns and turned them on China's northern fleet lying in the harbour. This was a brilliant manoeuvre, that annihilated China's northern fleet. China sued for peace, and in 1895 signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki.

According to the treaty, China agreed to cede to the Japanese, to open four more treaty ports, and to allow Japan to open factories in China, as well as to pay a huge indemnity. Imperialist Western powers saw how easily China had been defeated, and a 'scramble for concessions' ensued, far more destructive than anything before. Germany seized ; Russia seized the Liaodong peninsula; Britain took the port of Weihaiwei, and the New Territories next to Hong Kong; the French leased Guangzhou Bay near Hainan. Large regions of China were carved out by the foreign nations as their zones of economic influence.

The Hundred Days Reforms

The Hundred Days Reforms were an attempt to modernise China, led by the young Emperor Guangxu and his supporters in the aftermath of China's defeat by Japan.

Emperor Guangxu was 23 years old in 1898. He was interested in reforming China, and had learned English. Beginning in June 1898, Guangxu issued a stream of reform edicts, ordering sweeping changes to government, education, and the economy. The civil service exams would be reformed to include questions on current events and practical government. Central government would take charge of railroad and industrial projects, and local officials were to carry out reforms in trade, industry and agriculture, and increase exports of tea and silk. Footbinding was to be outlawed. There was to be an annual budget for China as a whole.

But in September, Empress Dowager Cixi, a powerful influence at court, suddenly returned from her retreat at the Summer Palace. She had the emperor put under effective house-arrest on an island in the Imperial Park, and his supporters executed. Cixi revoked almost all of the emperor's edicts. The Hundred Days - along with hope for reform from the top - were over.

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-foreign peasant movement, which emerged in 1898 in north China.

The Boxers were members of a secret martial arts society called the 'Harmonious Fists'. They blamed China's problems on foreigners, and especially on Christian missionaries. The Boxer movement attracted people struggling to survive on the edge of society - poor peasant farmers, former soldiers, knife grinders, rickshaw men, canal boat haulers. Women formed Boxer groups such as the Red Lanterns, who were said to be able to throw knives through the air and chop off heads, and the Cooking-Pan Lanterns, who fed Boxer troops from pots that refilled by magic. The Boxer movement expanded rapidly, seizing foreign properties, ripping up railroad tracks, and attacking and sometimes killing foreigners as well as Chinese Christian converts. In June 1900, the Boxers besieged the foreign legation area in .

China's Dowager Empress Cixi a powerful influence at the Qing court, decided to support the Boxers, and declared war on all foreign powers. A combined force of troops from Britain, America, Japan, Russia and France marched on Beijing. They took the city with ease, and the Qing government was forced to sign a peace treaty known as the Boxer Protocol. The Protocol said that foreign powers could station troops permanently in China, and it imposed a gigantic indemnity on China, to be paid over a period of 40 years. As security for the debt, the entire Chinese imperial revenue structure except the land tax was placed under foreign control.

1911 Revolution and Sun Yat-sen

China's 1911 Revolution led to the abdication of the last Qing emperor, and the establishment of the Republic of China.

In the early 1900s, the Qing rulers of China realized that reform was essential. A plan to introduce constitutional government was announced. Provincial assemblies were established, and the old civil service exams were abolished, and new western-style schools set up. But opposition to the Qing rulers grew, and a wide range of reformers and revolutionaries emerged. These included women, of whom the most famous was Qiu Jin who was executed in 1907 for plotting to overthrow the Qing.

Sun Yat-sen - who had been in Denver, Colorado on a fundraising mission - returned to China and became provisional president. But Sun lacked military power. He invited Yuan Shikai to take over the role, and in 1912 Yuan become president of the new Republic of China.

China & World War One

The First World War broke out in Europe in 1914, and distracted the European powers from pursuing further gains in China. But Japan, which was allied to Britain, declared war on Germany and seized the German territories in China, centred on the city of . China decided also to join the war, to help the Allies against Germany. China sent around 140,000 men to serve as the Chinese Labor Corps in France, where they handled munitions and military stores at docks and railway yards, repaired vehicles, dug trenches, and constructed barracks and hospitals. Around 2000 Chinese died in service, and are buried in Europe. The diary of one Chinese laborer contains a letter to the German Kaiser, pleading for an end to the war. He said, 'A virtuous ruler would seize this opportunity to put righteousness before profit ... why not halt your troops and ... create a peace that will last ten thousand years?"

The Chinese Labor Corps's involvement in World War One was China's first experience of taking an active role far from home in global events.

May Fourth Movement

The May Fourth Movement was a period of radical intellectual ferment in China, following demonstrations in 1919 against the treatment of China at the Paris Peace Conference.

At the end of World War One, a Chinese delegation attended the Peace Conference in Versailles, France. After China's contribution to the Allied war effort the Chinese hoped that they would recover the former German territory in China, which Japan had seized. But according to the Treaty of Versailles, all of Germany's claims in China were transferred to Japan.

Chinese people were outraged. A student demonstration was held on 4th May 1919 in , followed by a wave of protests all over China. A period of vibrant political and intellectual debate ensued. Believing that China was on the verge of destruction, many people questioned the value of Chinese culture, and some attacked Confucianism. People looked into many alternative ideas, highlighting science and democracy, and exploring anarchism, liberalism and Marxist socialism. During the May Fourth period, writers began to write Chinese in the way people actually spoke, rather than using the difficult literary Chinese which had been used up till then. The most brilliant writer to use the new vernacular style was Lu Xun (1881-1936). He hoped that his writing would be widely read and spark activism and social change.

Chinese Communist Party founded

Sections of Marx's 'Communist Manifesto' had been translated into Chinese in 1906, but in China there was initially little interest. Marxist theory seemed only very distantly relevant, because the Marxist model said that societies became capitalist before reaching socialism, and China had not yet developed into a capitalist society. But after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution succeeded in seizing power in Russia, interest in China increased. Intellectuals involved in China's May Fourth Movement set up Marxist study groups. The study groups attracted intellectuals, including the young , a teacher and social activist from Hunan province. Agents from the Soviet Union helped the Chinese Marxist groups to organise, and in 1921, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was constituted. The CCP was a tiny organisation, with just 57 members, represented by thirteen delegates at that CCP's first meeting in Shanghai.

The CCP today has 88 million members, and is the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China.

Nationalists reunite China

In 1928, China's Nationalists reunited the country following a period of fragmentation, during which warlords had fought for power and imperial powers extended their influence.

China's Republic, established with so much optimism after the 1911 Revolution, quickly collapsed. From 1916 onwards, control of China was divided amongst regional warlords. Sun Yat-sen's Nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party shared a desire to reunify China. From their base in in south China, they worked together to build up their forces, and in 1926 launched the Northern Expedition, a military campaign to defeat the warlords. In a series of brilliant successes, the Northern Expedition rapidly reached the Yangtze, and in 1928 took . Sun Yat-sen had died of cancer in 1925, and Chiang Kai-shek, a military commander, was now the Nationalist leader.

Chiang was suspicious that the communists aimed to take power for themselves. He suddenly struck against them in Shanghai in 1927, and had thousands of communists rounded up and shot. The communist survivors retreated to the countryside, whilst Chiang consolidated his hold on the cities.

In 1928, Chiang's Nationalists at last united all of China, and established a their capital in Nanjing.

Japan establishes Manchukuo

Manchukuo was a puppet regime set up by the Japanese in 1932 in Northeast China.

Japan had defeated China in a war in 1895, taken , and built up a position in Manchuria. In 1915, Japan had won the right to jointly run huge iron & coal works, and to station Japanese police and economic advisers in north China. Militarists and industrialists in Japan saw China as a source of raw materials for Japanese industry. In May 1928, Japanese officers assassinated the Chinese warlord in Manchuria, hoping to trigger a crisis that would allow Japan to mobilise its troops and expand its power base in China. The move backfired, and Chiang Kai-shek won over the successor Manchurian warlord, thereby in 1928 reunifying China.

But Japanese aggression continued, and by the end of 1931, Manchuria was under complete Japanese control. The following year, Japan declared that Manchuria was a new state, called 'Manchukuo' - which means 'Land of the Manchus'. The last Qing emperor agreed to be its nominal head of state based at the city of . With Japanese investment, the area developed a strong industrial base.

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong (1893-1976) was a communist revolutionary who became leader of the Chinese Communist Party and established the People's Republic of China.

Born into a farming family from village in Hunan province, Mao studied at the Hunan teacher training college, and then moved to , where he joined Marxist study groups. Mao was the Hunan delegate at the first meeting of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921.

After Chiang Kai-shek's brutal purge of the communists in 1927, Mao led several thousand followers into the mountains at the Hunan-Jiangxi border, where they set up the Jiangxi Soviet, promoting land reform. Forced to flee Jiangxi, Mao and other communist leaders in 1934 set out on the Long March, eventually reaching , in north China, where they established a new base. In Yan'an, Mao developed his vision of Marxist revolution led by China's peasants, and he eliminated rivals for power. In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the new People's Republic. Favouring radical and violent solutions to China's problems, Mao instigated the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, both of which were disastrous for China's people. Mao was China's paramount political leader and chief theorist of Chinese communism until his death in 1976.

The Long March

After Chiang Kai-shek turned against the communists in 1927, and other leaders had formed a stronghold in the countryside, known as the Jiangxi Soviet. However, Chiang Kai-shek's 'extermination campaigns' eventually forced the communists to abandon Jiangxi. Under cover of darkness in October 1934, around 80,000 Red Army soldiers and party cadres set off on what would become the historic Long March, in search of a new base area. Most of the women and children of the Jiangxi Soviet were left behind, but there were about 30 women on the Long March, including Mao's wife. The communists faced frequent attacks from Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, and had to deal with appallingly difficult terrain, bad weather, disease and starvation. They covered 6000 miles over 370 days. About 8,000 of the original group from Jiangxi made it to Yan'an, a city in Shaanxi province, where they made a new base. In 1935, Mao Zedong wrote that "the Long March, has proclaimed to the world that the Red Army is an army of heroes". But Yan'an was in one of the poorest parts of north China, with no industrial base, and where homes were often built in caves in the dusty cliffs. It was not clear how the communists would even survive, never mind spread revolution across China.

Nanjing Massacre

The Nanjing Massacre was an episode of mass murder and mass rape carried out by Japanese soldiers in 1937, one of the worst atrocities in the history of modern warfare.

Japan built up a large presence in north China during the 1920s and 30s based on their puppet regime in Manchuria. In 1937, Chiang Kai-shek attacked the Japanese in north China. The Japanese responded by launching a full-scale invasion of China. They took and Tianjin, and then . In December 1937 they conquered Nanjing, where they went on an appalling rampage, killing and raping tens of thousands of people. Many foreign observers witnessed the massacre, and were appalled at the cruelty of the Japanese troops. Japan then overran all of east China. Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the southwest, and set up a new base in the city of .

The Second World War was disastrous for China. Over fourteen million Chinese people died, and China's railroad and industrial infrastructure were destroyed.

The founding of the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China was established in 1949, after the Chinese Communist Party defeated China's Nationalists.

At the end of the Long March, the Communists set up their headquarters in . They carried out guerrilla campaigns against the Japanese, building a support base amongst the people, and increasing the size of their army to nearly a million troops. In 1945, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to Japan's surrender, and Japanese troops left China. The USA tried to persuade China's Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek to work together with the communists to establish a government for China, but the attempts failed, and full-scale civil war broke out between the Nationalists and the Communists. The Communists took control of Manchuria in the wake of the Japanese retreat, and built up their strength for a decisive assault on the Nationalists. Chiang Kai-shek initially had better armaments and a larger army, but his regime was unpopular because of inflation and corruption. In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek's remaining forces disintegrated, and he fled to the island of Taiwan, where the Nationalists continued to call their regime the Republic of China, based in the city of Taipei. The communist Red Army marched triumphantly into Beijing, where in 1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the formation of the People's Republic of China.

Great Leap Forward

The Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) was an attempt by dramatically to increase productivity by remolding society and inspiring revolutionary fervour among China's people.

After the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, China was united under a strong government for the first time for generations. Work began to end inflation and corruption, spread literacy and promote equality for women. A radical wave of land reform organized people into cooperatives, each with 200 to 300 families. Modern hospitals, schools and factories were built, and railroads and reservoirs constructed.

But Mao became disappointed that China did not experience the rapid economic growth that he had expected. In 1958, he launched the hugely ambitious Great Leap Forward, believing that China could be transformed through the sheer hard work of its people all working together. The cooperatives were merged into enormous communes. To release parents from domestic chores, community kindergartens were set up and communal dining halls opened, where free meals were supplied. Men worked on gigantic projects to build bridges, irrigation systems and power stations, whilst women took over farm work in the fields. To increase steel production, communes, factories and schools set up 'backyard furnaces', where even cooking pots were melted down in order to try and meet the steel production targets.

The Great Leap Forward was a catastrophic disaster. Grain harvests shrank, too much grain was shipped from the countryside to the cities, and rural communities were left without enough to survive. At least 20 million people died during the famine that ensued from 1959 to 1961.

Cultural Revolution

The Cultural Revolution was a period of terror and disorder in China, which began as a struggle between and other party leaders, and went on to affect the whole country with its call for 'continuous revolution' to build a socialist society.

After Mao's catastrophic Great Leap Forward, leaders with a more pragmatic approach within China's Communist Party set about reviving China's economy. Mao seems to have felt that he was being sidelined, and he thought China was going in the wrong direction. In 1966, he launched a movement called the Cultural Revolution, to restore his leading role, and because he thought China needed 'continuous revolution' in order to build a socialist society and stop people taking a 'capitalist road'. At huge rallies in , Red Guards - the young people who were the vanguard of the Cultural Revolution - waved the 'Quotations from Chairman Mao', their 'little red books'. Schools and universities were closed, and Red Guards roamed the streets. They destroyed temples, traditional buildings and works of art, and humiliated teachers and people in authority, in their attack on the 'Four Olds' - old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas. Workers and the army also became involved, and chaos spread across China. Eventually, to prevent civil war, in 1968 Mao disbanded the Red Guards, and gradually order was restored. After Mao died in 1976, his wife, who had been one of the main Cultural Revolution leaders, was arrested. She and her 'Gang of Four' supporters were convicted of the violent excesses of the Cultural Revolution at a show trial in 1980-1981.

Nixon visits China

US President Richard Nixon made an official visit to China in 1972, beginning China's reopening to the West.

China's foreign policy during the Cultural Revolution was shaped by the declaration that China and other poor countries would rise up against the world's capitalist nations, and 'strangle' them just as China's communists had surrounded and strangled opposition within China. But by the 1970s, more pragmatic men amongst China's leaders knew that China's isolation policy was not working. China's relationship with the Soviet Union - which had previously provided loans and technical assistance - had broken down. China was worried that the Soviet Union might invade, and wanted America's support as a counterbalance to the Soviet threat.

After behind-the-scenes discussions, in 1971 the US table-tennis team was suddenly invited to visit China on a goodwill mission. Senior Chinese representatives met privately with US President Richard Nixon's national security adviser Henry Kissinger. Nixon flew to China in February 1972, and met China's leader . China and the USA agreed that trade and cultural and sporting exchanges should be increased. The meeting was a major turning point in China's diplomatic history.

Deng Xiaoping and 'Reform & Opening Up'

Deng Xiaoping became paramount leader of the Chinese Communist Party in 1978, and oversaw China's policy of 'Reform and Opening Up' to the world.

Deng Xiaoping was the son of a small-landlord family from western China. He participated in the Chinese communists' epic Long March and fought in the guerrilla war against Japan. But he disagreed with over how to achieve economic growth, and during the Cultural Revolution, Deng was stripped of high office twice. In 1978, two years after Mao's death, Deng became China's paramount leader. He pursued policies to increase prosperity in China through 'Reform and Opening Up' and the 'Four Modernisations' of agriculture, industry, science & technology and defense. Collective farms were dismantled, and rural households were assigned land, and given incentives to increase production. Although most industry remained state-owned, people were allowed to open private businesses again. Deng in 1979 visited the USA in order to encourage greater commercial and cultural ties, and ' Special Economic Zones' were opened up in China, to attract foreign investment. By the late 1980s, foreign manufacturers were pouring in. Rapid economic growth lifted millions of people out of poverty. Although social inequality increased and environmental degradation became a serious issue, living standards improved, especially in China's cities.

Troops fire on demonstrators in Tian'anmen Square

In 1989, a large demonstration in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square was crushed, killing of hundreds of Chinese people.

Then in 1989, demonstrators gathered in huge numbers at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, calling for reforms and more democratic freedoms. Up to a million people filled the square, and several thousand students went on hunger strike. Demonstrations also occurred all across China - the official account says 84 cities were involved. Some leaders in the Chinese government tried to negotiate with the demonstrators in Beijing, but Deng Xiaoping feared anarchy and he authorized the army to clear Tian'anmen Square. On the night of 3rd-4th June, tanks and soldiers crushed the demonstrations in Beijing, and hundreds of people were killed.

Beijing Olympics

In summer 2008, the Olympics were held for the first time in , and China took the opportunity to show the best of modern China to the world.

After the protests at Tian'anmen Square in 1989, some Chinese leaders wanted to stick to a centrally planned economy, and slow down Deng's pro-market reforms. But in 1992, Deng Xiaoping visited Shenzhen and Zhuhai, two of China's 'Special Economic Zones', as well as - in a dramatic 'Southern Tour' designed to give heart to the reformers. Shortly afterwards, China's leadership agreed to continue with Deng's pro-market agenda. The economy boomed, and throughout the 1990s China's GDP grew at around 12% per year. In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organisation, and by 2008 had quadrupled its exports.

In 2008, Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics and the Paralympic Games. China built not only the sports venues - including the new National Stadium, the largest steel structure in the world - but also constructed a new terminal at Beijing airport, a new high-speed railway between Beijing & Tianjin, as well as seven new subway lines and eighty subway stations, which doubled the size of Beijing's underground rail system. To reduce air pollution in Beijing, factories were closed and traffic bans put in place. The Olympic torch relay was disrupted by human rights protesters outside China, and demonstrations in Tibet caused the route to be altered. But to many Chinese people, China's ability to host an impressive and successful global event was a source of enormous pride.

Marco Polo

Marco Polo (1254-1324) was a merchant from Italy who travelled to China. The book which Marco Polo wrote about his experiences was the first detailed description of China available to Europeans. The book was widely read, and shaped Europeans' image of China for centuries.

Born into a merchant family in Venice, Marco Polo set off to China in 1271 when he was seventeen. With his father and uncle, he travelled overland along the Silk Road, visiting cities such as Kashgar along the way.

Marco Polo lived in China for twenty years, and probably became an accounting official in the Chinese government. China was at the time ruled by the Yuan dynasty established by Mongol emperor Khubilai Khan, and it was the most advanced society in the world. Marco Polo marvelled at China's wealth and the splendour of its cities. He was amazed at the courier stations with mounted couriers galloping the Khan's commands efficiently across the vast empire. He travelled on the Grand Canal, and went to , which he said was so grand and so beautiful, and so full of abundant delights, it "might lead an inhabitant to think himself in paradise."

Marco Polo returned to Europe in 1295, and wrote a book about his travels. The book became a best-seller, translated into many European languages. In his book, Marco Polo said, "I believe it was God's will that we should come back, so that men might know the things that are in the world".

Marco Polo's book inspired others - including Christopher Columbus - to seek new sea routes for trade with the wealthy and sophisticated peoples that Marco Polo had described.

Neolithic Cultures

Around 5000 BCE, in many of the river valleys of today's China, neolithic cultures emerged. People grew crops, made pottery and textiles, and lived in permanent settled villages. The pots and the textiles made life easier - pots meant people could carry and store food and water; and the clothes and other textiles kept people warm. In the south, the most important food staple that people ate was rice, while in the north, it was millet. Millet was ground into flour and made into flat breads like crackers, or eaten as a kind of porridge. The image is a pot from , a Neolithic settlement in north China. Another very well preserved Neolithic site was found at , in the Shanghai delta.

China's First State

The late Neolithic period (3000-2000 BCE), was a time of increased contact between communities in China. Many walled sites were constructed and society was becoming more complex. Around 2000 BCE, at , in the Yellow River Valley, a civilisation emerged whose people learned how to cast bronze, which they used to make vessels for ritual feasting and drinking. The bronzes found at Erlitou are the earliest in East Asia. Erlitou is often associated with China's semi-mythical Xia dynasty, and Erlitou is considered the urban centre of China's earliest state. The Erlitou bronzes are the first manifestation of what was to become the Shang, a civilisation which would eventually encompass the entire central plain of north China.

Shang China

The Shang state was a Bronze Age civilisation, which emerged around 1600 BCE in the central plain of north China, near the Yellow River. Shang cities had palaces and temples, housing areas for the upper classes and commoners, as well as craft workshops for metal workers, potters and stone carvers, and burial grounds. Several large settlements of the Shang period have been discovered, including Zhengzhou and . It is thought that the first Shang city was near the modern day city of .The people of Shang China engaged in large-scale production of bronze vessels and weapons. The Shang people were brilliant metal workers, and created extraordinarily fine bronze vessels using a piece-mold technique unknown anywhere else in the world. Most of the Shang bronzes that survive are cups, goblets, steamers and cauldrons, which were used to heat wine and food for rituals. The rituals played a central role in ancestral rites, and government. Bronzes came to be a symbol of power.

Bronzes were also made during Shang times at other places, such as Sanxingdui in south-west China, a magnificent site discovered in the 1980s.

Writing - Oracle Bones

Shang kings communicated with their ancestors through sacrificial rituals using bronzes and through divination. The most common technique of divination involved the diviner applying a heated rod to turtle shells or cattle bones. The shells and bones would crack, and the cracks were interpreted as the ancestors' answers to questions posed by the Shang kings. The shells and bones are known as 'oracle bones'. The diviners scratched the questions and answers onto the bones, in a script known as oracle bone script, which is closely related to modern Chinese writing. The oracle bones provide a great deal of information about Shang life - from military activities, harvest, crops, weather, to their families, illnesses, travels, and pastimes such as hunting. Most of the Shang oracle bones date from about 1200 to 1000 BCE.

Lady Hao

Lady Hao, or Fu Hao, who lived around 1200 BCE, was wife of Shang king Wu Ding. Very unusually, she was also a military leader. Most of the information we have about Fu Hao comes from oracle bone inscriptions. There are many inscriptions on the oracle bones showing the king's concern for her when she was ill or pregnant. They also show that Fu Hao was involved in ritual ceremonies and military activities. She led numerous military campaigns against the neighbouring tribes. One oracle bone, for example, asks whether Fu Hao should gather soldiers before an attack. Fu Hao's tomb at is the only Shang tomb that was not robbed before it was excavated.

Di Xin Last King of Shang

The last king of the Shang is supposed to have given himself over to wine, women and wild, cruel behaviour. He is said to have had a pool constructed in the palace, filled with wine, with a small island, where trees were planted with branches hung with meat on skewers. The king, whose name was Di Xin, and his friends and concubines would drift on canoes, reaching out to eat the roasted meat and fill their cups with wine from the pool. The people were said to have suffered from high taxes to pay for extravagances such as these.

Battle of Mu Ye

The Shang campaigned constantly against enemies at their frontiers. To their west were the warlike Qiang, tribespeople whose language may have been a form of Tibetan. Between the Qiang and Shang, along the Wei River in modern-day province of Shaanxi, lived a people called the Zhou.

Conflict between the Zhou people and the Shang increased, until King Wu of Zhou organized an alliance with a number of other states, and in 1046 BCE defeated the Shang at the Battle of Mu Ye. Mu Ye is in central Henan. The battle marked the end of the Shang dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou dynasty.

First Kings of Zhou

Zhou was a state based in the Wei River valley in Northwest China, near today's city of . In early texts, three great Zhou rulers are said to have made the Zhou state strong. The first of the three was King Wen of Zhou, who formed alliances with neighbouring states and tribes. He was imprisoned by Shang King , who feared Zhou's rising power. King Wen was released, but tension grew between Shang and Zhou. The second great ruler was King Wen's son, King Wu who led an army and crushed the Shang at the great battle of Mu Ye. King Wu died only six years later. The third great Zhou ruler was the king's brother the Duke of Zhou, who ruled as regent for his young nephew, and extended the new Zhou territories. He built a new city at modern Luoyang to rule the Zhou dynasty's new eastern lands.

The Zhou kings sent out their relatives and trusted subordinates to establish walled garrisons in their new territories, and by 800 BCE, there were around 200 vassal fiefdoms across the Zhou lands, run by regional lords, with ministers and officers to assist them. Chinese in later periods - including notably Confucius - looked back on the early Zhou as a golden age.

The Zhou is the first period of Chinese history from which texts have been transmitted. The Book of Documents contains speeches made by first Zhou kings. The Book of Changes (or I Ching) was the text of a new divination system that arose in the place of the old oracle bones. The Book of Songs contains odes that would have been sung at court, as well as poems that probably were originally folk songs. These books became part of the set of texts known as the Confucian Classics, and would later be memorized by hundreds of thousands of men studying for the Chinese civil service exams.

Spring & Autumn Period

However as time went by, the regional lords became more powerful. In 771 BC, an alliance of regional lords and barbarian tribesmen killed the Zhou king. The Zhou court moved east to Luoyang, from where the Zhou kings continued to reign, as the 'Eastern Zhou'.

The first half of the Eastern Zhou is known as the Spring & Autumn period, after a chronicle of the times called 'The Spring and Autumn Annals'. The fiefdoms increasingly ignored the Zhou court and acted like independent states, struggling between each other for power. This was an era of instability, violence, and moral crisis. It was during this era that the intellectual foundations of Chinese civilisation were established, as people questioned the basic principles of how people should live. Confucius lived at this time, as well many other advisers, teachers and philosophers.

Laozi and Daoism

Laozi, or Lao Tzu, is a legendary figure, who is thought of as the founder of Daoism. Laozi is usually thought to have lived in the sixth century BCE, in the Spring & Autumn period. According to tradition, Laozi was a wise official at the Zhou court in Luoyang, who grew weary of the lack of morality he witnessed around him. He left for the west, riding a buffalo. When he reached the mountain pass at the edge of China, the guardian of the pass would not let him leave until he had written down his teachings. The text Laozi wrote was said to be the Daodejing (or Tao Te Ching), which became an important Daoist work. People who followed Daoist teachings affirmed the Way, or 'Dao', an indescribable force that is the source of all that exists. A major theme in the Daodejing is that yielding is better than being assertive. They thought that human actions upset the natural order. They felt that rulers should leave people alone, and allow the world to return to a natural state. Today, Daoism is one of the five religions officially recognized in China.

Confucius

During the Spring & Autumn period of the Zhou dynasty, there were many states across China, which were often in conflict. Rulers of the states gathered officials and advisers at their courts. Confucius (traditional dates 551 - 479 BCE) was one of these men. He spent some time at the court of the state of where he was born, in northeast China. He tried to persuade people to do good, and accept the traditional social roles that had existed in the the golden days of the early Zhou when it was thought people had lived in harmony. He encouraged people to learn from Zhou books such as the Book of Songs, and the Book of Documents. He said that if the ruler was virtuous, the people would also be good. Confucius travelled from Lu to other states, in search of a ruler who would listen to him. Confucius was disappointed that he did not succeed in influencing any rulers. But his disciples organized his teachings into the book known as the Analects, and his philosophy would became the most important school of thought in China.

Warring States

The Warring States period is the second half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, from about 475 BCE on. By this time, the Zhou ruled only in name. Many smaller fiefdoms were conquered and amalgamated into bigger states, so that by 300 BCE, China was dominated by just seven strong powers, including Qin in the west, and Chu in the south.

Qin had been a poor state on the western frontiers, considered semi-barbarian by its neighbors to the east. But Qin introduced new 'Legalist' ways of ruling, to strengthen the state. Legalist advisers, such as Shang Yang (390-338 BCE) said that strong government depended not on Confucian virtue, but on effective institutions such as laws and tough discipline. Qin conquered Sichuan to the southwest, which gave it rich new farmland and iron ore mines. The Warring States ended when Qin conquered all the remaining states, and in 221 BCE, Qin Shihuangdi became first emperor of China.

First Emperor of China

One of the most remarkable figures in China's history, Qin Shihuangdi, the First Emperor of Qin, had become king of the state of Qin in 246 BCE at the age of thirteen. He was a brilliant general, under whom Qin armies defeated all the other states. In 221 BCE, he united them in a realm that established China much as we know it today, and declared himself First Emperor. Across the new Chinese empire, the noble houses of the former states were abolished. The government sent its own officials to govern each area, using a great quantity of rules and regulations. Weights and measures were standardized, and even the width of axles was regulated, so that vehicles would run smoothly on the new roads that were built empire-wide. Criticism was not tolerated, and all books were destroyed except manuals on topics like agriculture and medicine. According to tradition, 460 scholars were buried alive as a warning against defiance. Hundreds of thousands of people were conscripted to build the Great Wall, as well as a huge palace at his capital Xianyang, and a gigantic tomb. The tomb was discovered by farmers in 1974, with its thousands of life-size terracotta figures lined up to protect the emperor. Ordinary people suffered from onerous labour service, and from harsh treatment under Qin laws.

Battle of Gaixia

When the First Emperor of Qin, Qin Shihuangdi died in 210 BCE, Qin institutions fell apart. Uprisings broke out. In the lands of the old state of Chu, a group of conscripts marching to do their frontier service were delayed by rain and floods. Rather than face death as punishment for arriving late, they decided to become outlaws. Their uprising was unsuccessful, but other revolts broke out. Qin generals defected, and the former nobles of the old states raised armies again. Out of the chaos, two major powers emerged, Western Chu and Han, and they fought for supremacy over China. After eight years of struggle, Chu was defeated at the Battle of Gaixia in 202 BCE. Not long after, Han leader proclaimed himself first emperor of the Han dynasty.

Liu Bang, First Emperor of Han

Liu Bang was a man from an ordinary background who founded the Han dynasty. He had been in charge of a postal relay station during the Qin dynasty. After the Qin collapsed, Liu Bang took the title King of Han. In 202 BC he defeated his main rival and set up the Han Dynasty.

Han Confucian Rule

China's Han emperors needed to secure order in China, but avoid the harshness of the Qin regime that preceded it. They sent out local officials to govern the regions, as the Qin had done. But instead of the exhaustive and harsh rules that Qin had used to control people, Han rulers adopted Confucian ideas of moral rule. They believed the government should employ people who had learned Confucian ideas about loyalty and concern for others. The court searched out copies of the old books that Qin had attempted to destroy, and reconstructed the wisdom of the past. Under Emperor Han Wudi, an imperial academy was set up to train officials in the Confucian Classics . The prestige of government posts rose, and in order to become government officials men strove to display their learning and Confucian virtue. From these beginnings, China's imperial civil service developed, and the idea that government should be in the hands of educated men, steeped in Confucian learning and morality, would remain important right up until the twentieth century.

Zhang Qian and the Silk Road

Zhang Qian (200-114 BCE) was a Chinese official and diplomat.

In the third century BCE, a great confederation of nomadic tribes persistently raided China. Han Emperor Wudi sent troops to fight these tribes, who are known as the Xiongnu. He also sent an envoy, Zhang Qian, to Central Asia to find allies who might join with China against the Xiongnu. Zhang Qian and a band of 100 Chinese set off in 138 BCE. They were captured by the Xiongnu and held for twelve years. But they were treated well, and Zhang Qian married a Xiongnu wife. Finally they escaped, and continued their mission into Central Asia. There, Zhang Qian saw that people had a different culture. He heard that a conqueror - Alexander the Great - had come there from the west. He saw that the people used Greek coins and script. Zhang Qian's presence was the first recorded contact between the civilizations of China and the Mediterranean. Zhang Qian was surprised to find that people he met used bamboo and cloth products made in China. He was told that the products were brought by merchants from a land to the southeast, which was India. Thus India, as well as Greece, were now known to the Chinese. Zhang Qian travelled home with his wife. He astonished the Chinese at the Han court with his stories. His travels opened up to China many kingdoms then unknown to the Chinese, and are associated with the major route of transcontinental trade, which became known as the Silk Road.

Invention of Paper

Up until the Han period, documents were normally written on bone or bamboo strips, sewn and rolled together into scrolls. These were heavy, awkward, and hard to transport. People also wrote on silk, which was much lighter, but expensive. A Han court official called Cai Lun (around 50-121 CE) is regarded as the inventor of papermaking. He used rags, tree bark, old fishing nets and other plant fibres. Fragments of paper discovered in 2006 in northeast China suggest that paper was actually already in use more than 100 years earlier. Cai Lun's contribution was probably to improve this skill systematically and scientifically. Papermaking technology spread from China to the Arab world, and reached Europe in the eleventh century.

Buddhism Enters China

Towards the end of the Han dynasty around the year 200 CE, traders travelling from India to China along the Silk Road brought Buddhism with them. At first Buddhism was practised only by foreigners. To many Chinese, Buddhism initially seemed to be a variant of Daoism. But Chinese people began to be attracted to Buddhism. A Central Asian monk Kumarajiva (350-413 CE) settled in China and translated texts into Chinese, and some Chinese monks travelled to India to discover the religion for themselves, such as Faxian (337- around 442 CE) who went overland via Xinjiang.

China was at this time divided and in disarray, after the collapse of the Han dynasty. In the chaos of the times, Chinese people were attracted to Buddhism partly because it addressed questions of suffering and death in a way that China's own traditions did not. By the mid 500s, Buddhism had become very popular in China. The Chinese landscape was transformed by the building of Buddhist temples and monasteries.

Disunity and the Six Dynasties

The Han government fell into disarray during the second century. Government revenues shrank, so it could no longer pay its officials. There were plagues of locusts, and devastating floods. Rebellions broke out, and many people became refugees.

In the year 220, Han rule came to an end, and for the next 350 years, China was divided. At first, the famous 'Three Kingdoms' vied for power, (220-265). Then China was briefly reunified by the Western Jin, but Western Jin rule collapsed in 316. In the subsequent years, non-Chinese peoples took the upper hand in north China, including the nomadic Xiongnu people from the steppes, and the Xianbei people from Manchuria. North China became a battleground, and cities were sacked as leaders vied for power. Many who could do so fled south. In South China, refugee aristocrats from the north set up a government based in Nanjing. But none lasted long, and none could establish control over society in the way the Han had done. Without strong government, the wealthy built up huge landed estates and private armies. The number of serfs and slaves increased, sometimes tattooed on the face to make it harder to flee. The whole period of disunity is known as 'The Six Dynasties'. It produced some of China's most beautiful poetry, as men weary of the instability and violence of the age sought refuge in nature, good wine, and friendship.

Emperor Wendi and the Sui Dynasty

After the end of the Han dynasty in 220, China was fragmented. After three centuries of division and instability, in 581 a northern army general managed to reunite China and declared the founding of the Sui Dynasty. As Emperor Wendi, he had ambitious plans to rebuild the country. At first, the Sui empire was stable, and the economy prospered. Emperor Wendi issued a new law code, and introduced written civil service exams to select good officials. These policies had very long term impact - China's legal system in all succeeding dynasties would be based on the Sui code, and the civil service exams were an important aspect of society until the twentieth century. The Sui also constructed the amazing Grand Canal which linked north and south China. But the Sui emperors tried to do too much too soon, and less than forty years after the dynasty was founded, in 617 the Sui was overthrown by rebellion.

Emperor Tang Taizong

Emperor Tang Taizong (ruled 626-649) was one of the founders of the Tang dynasty.

After the Sui dynasty collapsed, many contenders for power emerged. An ambitious nobleman emerged as victor, and founded the Tang dynasty in 618. His second son staged a coup and took power as Emperor Taizong. Taizong along with his father are thought of as co-founders of the Tang. Taizong proved to be a wise and hard-working ruler, who selected good advisers and could listen to criticism. China entered a period of great prosperity. The Turks were a recurring threat along China's northwest borders. Taizong went on the attack, conquering Silk Road cities such as Turfan, and massively expanding the empire. He welcomed a Christian mission to his fabulous capital, . He was fascinated by the news of foreign countries that the monk Xuanzang brought back to China after his travels. The Tang Dynasty had 20 emperors and lasted 290 years. It was the most open, cosmopolitan period in all of China's history.

Buddhism

During the Tang dynasty, Buddhism was a significant part of Chinese life. Buddhism had begun to spread to China from India in the Han dynasty, brought by travellers on the Silk Road. During the period of disunity after the fall of the Han, Buddhism continued to spread, and by the Tang, had become the most popular religion in China. Buddhist stories became woven into Chinese popular culture, Buddhist monasteries were important to Tang China's economy and society, and Buddhist art and architecture became part of China's landscape, creating monuments such as the Longmen Grottoes.

Monasteries owned large landed estates, ran schools, and invested in businesses such as mills.

Xuanzang was a Chinese monk who went to India to seek Buddhist scriptures. And at the request of Emperor Taizong, he also wrote an account of his travels. Xuanzang's book was the inspiration for a novel called Journey to the West, which written about 900 years later during the Ming dynasty, and was later translated into English with the title Monkey.

At the end of the Tang, however, as the confidence of the dynasty waned, opposition to Buddhism arose, and it was criticized as a foreign religion.

Christianity

After the An Lushan Rebellion in the late 700s, Tang power weakened, and society became less open to foreign ideas. In 845 CE the Emperor issued a decree against Buddhism, which also said that 2000 Christian and Zoroastrian men had been ordered to stop 'polluting Chinese customs' and return to lay life. By the tenth century, Christian presence in China was wiped out.

The Nestorian stele is written in Chinese and Syriac.

Expansion West

During the 500s, a new power arose on China's frontiers, the Turks. The Tang rulers at first tried to control the Turks using marriage diplomacy and trade. Then in the mid 600s under Emperor Tang Taizong, China went on the offensive: Tang armies conquered oasis city states along the Silk Road, including cities such as Turfan across what is now Xinjiang province, and for a time extended their control deep into Central Asia. The Silk Road became a busy trade route, extending from the Tang capital, Chang'an to the Mediterranean. Merchants, most of whom were Persians, traded silk and many other products along the route. Technologies such as silk making spread from China to the west, whilst religions such as Zoroastrianism and Christianity spread to China, though none took hold as Buddhism had.

Trade Grows

China's economy grew rapidly during the Tang, stimulated by the Grand Canal, which linked the empire north to south, and by the expansion of international trade on the Silk Road and on sea routes into Southeast Asia. Coastal ports such as prospered as maritime trade expanded. became a great economic centre, where goods from China's interior and from overseas were trans-shipped and sent up the Grand Canal to the cities of the north.

Empress Wu

Empress Wu was the only woman in Chinese history who took the title emperor. The daughter of a former timber trader, she became a palace maid when she was fourteen, and then became a concubine of Emperor Gaozong. Politically capable and ruthless, she had herself installed as Gaozong's empress. After Gaozong became ill in 660, she took charge of the empire herself. After his death, she deposed her two sons and in 690 proclaimed herself emperor of a new dynasty. She improved the examination system, and promoted economic growth. She circulated texts that predicted the reincarnation of the Buddha Maitreya as a woman, under whom the world would be free of all troubles. She sponsored large-scale Buddhist projects, including temples, and an enormous statue at the Longmen Grottoes which is said to bear a likeness of her own face. She was finally deposed in 705, when she was over eighty, and buried at the Tang imperial tomb site at , near Xi'an.

The Sport of Polo

Islam

There were Muslims in China from the 600s, soon after the foundation of Islam. The Muslims in China were mostly traders who came from the Islamic world of West Asia to the ports of China's southern seaboard, such as , Quanzhou and Changzhou. The Tang dynasty's cosmopolitan culture helped the introduction of Islam. The Great Mosque in Xi'an, which was known as , was founded in 742.

Battle of Talas

From the 630s onwards, Tang rulers expanded China's power westwards into Central Asia. In the early 700s, the Arabs were advancing into Central Asia. In 751, an Arab army met a Tang army at Talas, which is in today's Kyrgyzstan. The Tang were defeated, and the Battle of Talas marked the end of Tang China's westward expansion. Only four years later, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out in China, and all Chinese troops in Central Asia were ordered back to the interior to deal with the rebellion. The Battle of Talas was the first and the only time that Arab and Chinese armies met.

An Lushan Rebellion

The An Lushan Rebellion was a massive revolt that seriously weakened the Tang dynasty.

An Lushan was the son of a Persian father and Turkic mother. He was governor of Tang defence forces in the north east, responsible for controlling the nomadic tribes at China's borders. An Lushan was a court favourite, and received gifts and favours from Emperor Xuanzong and with his favourite consort Yang Guifei. In 755, An Lushan heard court enemies were plotting against him, and he rose in revolt. He marched south and the emperor fled. After eight years' struggle during which millions died or went missing, the Tang finally suppressed the rebellion. However, the Tang government never regained its authority. It pardoned rebel leaders and appointed them as military governors, who then acted like rulers of independent states.

The rebellion caused much disorder in north China. Many people fled south, and cities of the Lower Yangtze area such as , and flourished as new people came in. Trade expanded, with markets opening in more and more towns, partly because the government gave up trying to restrict trade to government-supervised markets.

Du Fu and Tang Poetry

Here is a reading of 'Spring Scene', one of Du Fu's poems, in English, and in Chinese.

Printing

Woodblock printing was one of the great inventions of ancient China. There is evidence of woodblock printing in China in the 700s. By the 800s, the technique had been perfected, and within a couple of centuries, the spread of printed books revolutionized the communication of ideas in China. Woodblock printing involves carving the characters onto a wooden board, then brushing ink onto the board, and pressing paper onto it, and smoothing it with a brush. At the same time as printing developed, China stopped using the scroll format for documents, and began to use flat books with folded pages. The oldest surviving printed book in the world is the Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist text in Chinese, which is dated 868 CE.

Suppression of Buddhism

Buddhism was an important aspect of Chinese life during the Tang dynasty. However, after the An Lushan Rebellion, the opposition to Buddhism as a foreign religion strengthened, and Buddhism was also criticised for economic reasons, because Buddhist monasteries owned a lot of land and could avoid paying tax. In 841, the government initiated a massive suppression of Buddhism, as well as other foreign religions. Nearly 5,000 monasteries were demolished or converted to other use, and 250,000 monks and nuns were returned to lay life.

Fall of the Tang

The Tang government never really recovered after the An Lushan Rebellion. Eunuchs took over court affairs. Regional commanders threatened central control. After 860, the government could no longer maintain order, and bandit armies ravaged the countryside and pillaged towns. For example, suffered pillaging and a massacre of foreign inhabitants. Eventually in 907, Tang rule was abandoned. A period began called the Five Dynasties, when China was again fragmented.

Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Song Taizu

Zhao Kuangyin (reigned 960-976) was the founder of the Song dynasty.

After the Tang dynasty disintegrated, there was a series of five short-lived dynasties in north China. The great cities of and were ravaged, and the area was occupied by Khitans, a non-Chinese people. South China meanwhile broke up into many small states.

Zhao Kuangyin was a military commander, from an elite family in north China. He was famous for his horsemanship - it was said that he once hit his head on a city gate while riding an unbroken horse. He fell off, but picked himself up, chased the horse down, remounted, and continued his gallop unperturbed. He launched a coup in 960, and set up the Song dynasty. As Emperor Song Taizu, he subdued most of the warlords of the south, and reunited China after eighty years of fragmentation.

Emperor Taizu made the city of his capital. As Song capital, Kaifeng was a much more commercial city than Tang Chang'an had been. Kaifeng was dominated not by palaces, but by markets that were open all hours. Instead of the walled compounds of Tang Chang'an, Kaifeng had multi-story houses which opened onto the street.

Song China's Neighbors

The Song empire was smaller than the Tang empire had been. Song rulers had no hope of regaining the lands of Central Asia, and could not even dislodge alien regimes from large areas of north China. The area around , was ruled by the Khitan people who set up a state called Liao. Northwest China was ruled by the Tangut people who set up the Western Xia state, with its capital at . The Song tried to conquer Liao, but were badly beaten, and in 1004 they made a treaty with Liao, agreeing to make annual payments in exchange for agreement not to invade. Forty years later, the Song made a similar agreement with the Tanguts. But defence remained a constant concern, and the Song army increased to over a million men.

Education and the Civil Service

The Song government massively expanded China's civil service examination system. By the end of Song dynasty, up to 400,000 men would attempt the prefectural civil service exams each year. Boys and men would study for decades to prepare for the exams, which tested their literary skills and their understanding of the Confucian classics. Those who graduated successfully would then start their first civil service job, perhaps working in a county government office, before a transfer to a post in the capital, travelling widely across China as they moved from one assignment to the next as their careers progressed. The prestige of passing the exams was extremely high, and gave a graduate's family elite status. The exam system created a whole class of educated 'scholar officials' - men selected on merit, steeped in Confucian ideas of duty and public service. They formed an elite that was unlike that of any other major civilisation.

Increase in Use of Books

Woodblock printing had been developed in the 800s, just before the founding of the Song dynasty. Printing meant that books could be mass-produced, so they became cheaper and much more widely available. The Song government printed and circulated standard texts, including not only the Confucian classics, but also practical illustrated handbooks on topics such as mathematics, medicine, agriculture, warfare and architecture, to help spread knowledge of up-to-date techniques and tools. Private printing presses also flourished. Now, instead of relying on experts, ordinary people could use books to establish how to organise their own weddings and funerals, browse for recipes in cookery books, or read advice about how to look after elderly relatives.

In the eleventh century, a system of printing using moveable type was developed, but its use was limited by the nature of Chinese script, which required thousands of pieces of type. Woodblock printing continued to be widely used up until the end of the nineteenth century.

Economic and Industrial Development

The Song dynasty was a period of remarkable industrial development. Ceramics, silk and lacquer reached superb levels of technical perfection. Song potters created exquisite ceramics, and are famous for their technically perfect, sophisticated designs. Silk was produced by many small-scale family businesses, as well as by large government workshops. The city of became famous for silk production and embroidery. Heavy industry such as iron production also grew massively in the Song, helped by the invention of hydraulic machinery to drive bellows, and the use of explosives in mining.

Commerce expanded enormously, as improved transport especially on canals and rivers helped circulate huge quantities of goods within China and overseas. Market towns grew, and new commercial networks connected villages to market towns and cities. Underpinning the Song commercial revolution was a transformation of agriculture. Farmers used new strains of seed, and new irrigation techniques, which massively increased rice crops.

Paper Money

Gunpowder

The use of gunpowder in warfare began in China during the Song dynasty. Song China faced well-organized rival states to the north, and defence was a major preoccupation. The Song had an army of more than a million men, and sophisticated military technology. Gunpowder had been invented in the ninth century by Chinese alchemists. A Song dynasty handbook, Essentials of the Military Arts, records the first true gunpowder formula, and describes how to produce it on a large scale. Song soldiers used gunpowder weapons such as incendiary projectiles, smoke bombs, fire arrows, and grenades.

Wang Anshi's Reforms

Song China was under pressure from rival states, and had a huge defense budget. By the mid eleventh century, the government was running out of money. Officials were divided about how to respond to the difficulties. One camp, led by statesman Sima Guang, thought the government should focus on making sure the civil service was staffed by men of good character with a classical education. He thought that the state's economic activities should be minimal, and wanted government cost cuts and tax reductions.

Su Song and His Clock

Su Song(1020-1101) was a scholar official, who is famous for having built a mechanical clock.

Su Song was born near in south China. He passed the civil service exams and was also an expert on a wide range of technical subjects including pharmaceutical botany, zoology and minerals, as well as calendar science and astronomy. In 1077, he was sent as an ambassador to the to celebrate the winter solstice. But he arrived one day early, because the calendar being used in Song China was wrong. The Liao calendar, however, had been correct. Greatly concerned, the Song emperor ordered Su Song to build a new clock at the Song capital . The clock Su Song built involved a chain-drive mechanism added to a water-powered clock. It told the time of day, as well as the day of the month, and the phases of the moon. Rotating figures dressed in miniature Chinese clothes came out of doors with plaques to announce the time of day, and rang bells and gongs, and beat drums. At the top of the 36-foot tower was an armillary sphere that showed the changing location of the planets and stars.

Su Song was one of several Song dynasty polymaths of astonishingly broad ability and curiosity. The Song period is famous for impressive advances in science and technology.

Maritime Trade and the Compass

The Song government encouraged foreign trade, especially maritime trade. For the first time in history, Chinese foreign trade by sea exceeded trade by land. As overseas demand for China's fabulous porcelain and silk and other goods boomed, Song merchant ships sailed to Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and as far afield as the Arabian peninsula and the east coast of Africa. Wrecks of Song ships have been found with huge cargoes of tens of thousands of pieces of ceramic ware, as well as spices, medicines, copper coins, and bamboo products.

Jin Conquest of Kaifeng

The Jin dynasty was set up in north China by the Jurchen people of Manchuria.

The Jurchens were originally horse breeders and hunters. They developed agriculture, craft industries and commerce, and became a strong power. In 1115, they declared themselves the Jin dynasty. They defeated the and then attacked the Song. In 1127 they took the fabulous Song capital at , sacked and looted it, and forced the captured Song emperor to march into captivity in the Jin capital , along with the imperial family and thousands of others. The Jin then ruled north China for nearly a century.

One of the Song emperor's sons meanwhile fled south, and set up a new Song capital in .

Hangzhou was meant to be a temporary base, but Song attempts to retake the north did not succeed, and Hangzhou remained the Song capital for over 150 years, until the end of the dynasty. The period during which the capital was in Hangzhou is known as the Southern Song. The loss of the north was a huge blow, but the Song Chinese were able to use the extensive waterways of the south, and enjoyed great prosperity as China's commercial revolution continued.

Li Qingzhao

Li Qingzhao (lived 1084 to around 1151) was a Chinese writer and poet. She is considered the greatest woman poet in Chinese history. Li Qingzhao was born into a literary family, and already as a teenager she wrote poetry that was highly regarded. She married a scholar official, and lived in . She and her husband fled their home to avoid the invading Jin armies and travelled south. Li Qingzhao's husband died of malaria during the journey. As a grieving widow, Li Qingzhao reached in 1132. Li Qingzhao's poems drew on her personal experiences, from her happy younger days in Kaifeng, to her sadness in later life. Li Qingzhao's poetry continues to be loved today.

Here is an extract of one of Li Qingzhao's poems.

Yue Fei

Yue Fei (1103-1142) was a Song general who tried to regain north China from the . He is one of China's most famous heroes.

After the Song set up their southern capital in , fighting continued between Song China and the Jin. Yue Fei had been born into a poor family in north China. Yue Fei's mother is supposed to have had characters tattooed on his back saying, 'Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty'. Yue Fei became an army commander, and led several campaigns into Jin territory. Yue Fei was about to attempt to retake itself when the emperor decided to sue for peace instead of continuing the war. Yue Fei was jailed for insubordination. When he was charged, the story goes that he ripped his clothes to reveal the tattoo on his back. He was killed in 1142, at the order of his enemies at court.

China signed a peace agreement with the Jin in the same year, giving up all the northern territory. Some people welcomed the peace with relief, but others thought that the Song should have continued to try to reconquer the north.

Yue Fei has come to represent the idea of noble loyalty, and many myths grew up around him. When Japan invaded China in the twentieth century, a poem that Yue Fei is said to have written was set to music and sung as an anthem to resistance against the invaders.

Neo-Confucianism

One of the leading Neo-Confucian thinkers was Zhu Xi (1130-1200). He stressed 'the investigation of things', to perceive the pattern or principle that underlay everything. He said that the goal of education was not just the pursuit of exam degrees, but moral self cultivation. He taught that people could put their learning into practice though being upstanding members of local society. If they did not get a civil service job, people could still do good works by focussing on their local communities, running their own family affairs properly, setting up charities and schools and looking after the poor. Through to the twentieth century, Chinese governments promoted Zhu Xi's 'School of Principle' as orthodox Confucianism.

Khubilai Khan

Khubilai Khan (lived 1215-1294) was the grandson of Genghis Khan. He conquered China and founded the China's Yuan Dynasty.

Genghis Khan had united the peoples of Mongolia in the 1200s, and begun one of the most amazing campaigns of conquest in world history. His troops sacked the Jin Jurchen capital in in 1215. His grandson Khubilai Khan conquered the rest of China, defeating the last Song loyalists in 1279 at the Battle of Yamen. For the first time in history, the whole of China had been conquered by a foreign people.

The Mongols ruled China for nearly a hundred years. They organized society into different categories, with the Mongols on the top, and the southern Chinese at the bottom. The Mongol capital was in Beijing.

Emperor Hongwu

Zhu Yuanzhang (reigned 1368-1398) was the founder of the Ming dynasty, one of only two commoners who became emperors of China.

Zhu Yuanzhang was born into a very poor family from the Huai River Plain, at a time when the Mongol Yuan dynasty was collapsing and there was increasing chaos across China. His parents having died in an epidemic, Zhu became a beggar monk, and then joined a local rebel army. A big man of striking appearance, with a huge jaw and a pockmarked face, he rose to be a commander. He defeated his rivals and in 1368, proclaimed a new dynasty, the Ming, and took the name Hongwu, which means 'vastly martial'.

Hongwu knew from his own experience how bad ordinary people's lives were if there was no strong government. He tried to keep government costs low and make taxes fair, and he issued a harsh law code to try and make society peaceful. He was obsessed with control, suspicious that people were plotting against him, and executed thousands in cruel purges. He abolished the role of prime minister, and concentrated power in his own hands. He wanted China to be the supreme power in East Asia again, as it had been in the and the , when subordinate foreign states brought tribute to the court. He forbade private foreign trade, as he wanted all exchange to happen through the tribute system.

The Ming dynasty lasted 276 years.

Nanjing becomes Ming capital

The Ming founder Emperor Hongwu took Nanjing and made it his base in the 1350s when he was fighting other warlords. When he became emperor, Hongwu made Nanjing the capital of Ming China. The city was located at the heart of the hugely wealthy Lower Yangtze area, and had a good defensive position. Nanjing had never before been capital of all of China. Hongwu built immense walls around the city to secure it from attack and to reinforce his authority. The Ming walls incorporated sections of earlier walls, and formed an irregular shape because of the hilly terrain. Around 22 miles long, the Ming walls were up to 65 feet high. Emperor Hongwu ordered communities in 188 counties to make bricks for the walls, organising the work through the 'hundreds and tithings' system he set up. Each brick was stamped with the name of the community that had made the brick. It took approximately 350 million bricks to build the walls, over a period of 20 years.

The Yongle emperor moved the capital to in 1421.

Nanjing city walls are amongst the longest city walls in the world, and still stand today.

Hundreds and Tithings

Emperor Hongwu wanted to keep government costs low and did not want tax collectors harassing his people, so he made local communities themselves responsible for tax and government service. Local communities were organized into groups of 110 households, out of which the largest ten households were responsible on behalf of the whole group to collect tax and organise labour for government initiatives - such as making bricks for the city walls. The system was called the 'hundreds and tithings' system. To set it up, a census of every household in the empire was carried out, as well as a land survey to record who owned every piece of land. The census was called the Yellow Register, because of the covers of each record were yellow. The land register became known as the Fishscale Register because the maps of all the small plots of land looked like the scales of a fish.

Hongwu's tax system created difficulties for later Ming administrators. Families that were responsible for tax struggled with the burdens upon them. And because tax was so low, local officials ended up having to demand irregular extra payments, exactly what Hongwu had wanted to avoid.

Emperor Yongle

Emperor Yongle was Hongwu's fourth son. An excellent soldier, he was made Prince of Yan, with responsibility to defend against the Mongols. Yan was a fiefdom around modern-day .

The Prince of Yan rose in revolt, and after a three-year civil war, in 1402 he took the throne for himself, as Emperor Yongle. He had thousands of people who had opposed him executed or imprisoned. One of the most famous was Fang Xiaoru, a senior official, who refused to draft the announcement of Yongle's succession to the throne.

Yongle moved the capital to Beijing, his own former fiefdom, and constructed the fabulous Forbidden City. Aware that people questioned his right to the throne, Yongle had a particularly strong desire to be known as a great ruler. He sponsored the massive treasure voyages led by Admiral to expand the tribute system and display China's power and wealth to the world.

Zheng He

Zheng He (1371 to 1433) was the admiral of seven voyages from China to the Indian Ocean. Zheng He was born into a Muslim family in Yunnan, in southwest China. When he was ten, the Ming army conquered Yunnan, and Zheng He was sent to be a servant at the court of the Prince of Yan. Zheng He was bright and loyal, and gained the Prince's trust. In 1402, the Prince of Yan took the throne as Emperor Yongle. He decided to send out spectacular maritime expeditions to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, and chose Zheng He to lead the voyages. The aim of the voyages was to display China's power and wealth, to extend the tributary system, and satisfy Yongle's desire for glory. The expeditions sailed as far as East Africa and brought back many gifts from other kingdoms, including exotic plants, spices and animals.

The final expedition sailed in 1431. After that the voyages were stopped. Some officials opposed the voyages because of their huge cost. Some felt China should focus resource instead on the northern frontier and the Mongols. In the later part of the Ming, China's naval capability and coastal defence declined, and China became isolated, just at the time European powers were entering the Indian Ocean.

The Tumu Crisis and the Great Wall

When the Ming dynasty took power in 1368, the Mongols, who had been ruling China, fled back to Mongolia. But the Mongols continued to be the foremost threat to Ming China. At first, the Ming emperors tried to control the Mongols using a combination of military attacks and tribute trade. But Mongol raids continued. In 1449, the Ming emperor decided personally to lead a campaign against the Mongols. The campaign was a disaster, and the emperor himself was captured at a courier station called about 80 miles from .

After the Tumu Crisis, the Ming rulers decided to strengthen the wall system along the northern borders, where the Chinese had built defenses from as early as the Zhou period. By the end of the Ming, the Great Wall was thousands of miles long with nearly 25,000 watchtowers.

Wealth, trade and luxury

Although the first Ming emperor's policies had held back the development of commerce, the government's grip loosened, and in the 1500s a new commercial revolution transformed China even more deeply than in the first commercial revolution in the Song. Many farm households now sold much of their produce, and shopped at markets for daily items. Long-distance trade now carried not only luxuries, but bulk products such as cotton, grain and vegetable oils. And despite the government's attempt to control international trade, massive amounts of silver entered China, first from Japan, and then from the New World.

Japanese Pirates

The first Ming emperor banned private foreign trade, because he wanted all foreign exchange to occur in the tribute system: foreign states were to bring gifts as tribute, the emperor would graciously give gifts in return, and trade would be conducted alongside. Foreign tribute embassies were allowed access only at specific ports and at specific intervals, with a limited quota of men and ships. To enroll more states into the tribute system, Emperor Yongle sent out emissaries in the 1400s, including and the famous Ming treasure ships.

But despite the bans on private international trade, through the 1500s, commerce occurred anyway along the China coast. All the merchants doing business outside the official system - Chinese, Japanese and South East Asian traders, as well as Europeans who now appeared on the scene - were technically smugglers. Bands of traders built up large armed fleets, with strongholds such as at Moon Harbour in Fujian to store goods and buy and sell. Pirates were attracted to pillage boats laden with merchandise, and raided communities ashore. There was chaos up and down the coast, as government continued to try and enforce its ban through to the late 1500s.

Macao & the Europeans

In the early 1500s - the great age of European exploration - Portuguese adventurers sailed into the seas around China, and joined in the trading, smuggling and piracy up and down the China coast. The Portuguese wanted a land base to store goods, but all foreigners were kept out of China except the few required to keep the Ming tribute system functioning. In 1557, the Chinese permitted the Portuguese to live on the tiny rocky promontory of Macao, the only exception to the no-foreigners rule. The Portuguese were allowed to attend twice-yearly trade fairs in Canton.

Macao became an important location along the rapidly developing international trade routes. Catholic missionaries built schools, charities and churches in Macao, including St. Paul's Cathedral, built in 1602, and today a famous ruin. The Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci lived in Macao when he first came to China.

In 1999 sovereignty of Macao was returned to China.

Matteo Ricci

Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) was an Italian Jesuit missionary, who was instrumental in introducing Christianity and western scientific ideas to China.

Ricci was born in Italy, and studied in Rome, learning mathematics, cosmology and astronomy alongside his religious studies. He volunteered to travel to East Asia as a missionary. In 1582 he arrived in Macao which was the only place in China that foreigners could freely settle. Ricci learned Chinese and studied Chinese culture. He eventually got permission to enter China, and to travel to . Ricci lived in Beijing from 1601 for the rest of his life, teaching western scientific knowledge and preaching Christianity. He made a European-style map that showed China in relation to other countries of the world, bringing to China a new conception of the earth. Ricci also translated western scientific books into Chinese. Many elite scholar-gentry interacted with Ricci, and some converted to Christianity. Ricci felt that Europe should not be ignorant of China's heritage, and translated the Confucian 'Four Books' for a European audience.

Emperor Wanli

Emperor Wanli (reigned 1572-1620) was the thirteenth Ming emperor.

At the beginning of his reign, Wanli was guided by Zhang Juzheng, a visionary official who aimed to increase state revenue. He ordered a massive new land survey, and combined all the old taxes into one payment, in silver. He cut costs, cutting back things like the hostel service run by the government post system, and reducing the number of students on government grants. Through Zhang Juzheng's efforts, the systems set up by Ming founder worked at their best possible capacity, and government treasuries were full again.

But after Zhang died, central administration deteriorated, and government systems were overwhelmed by the changes that were occurring in society and in the economy. In the last twenty years of his reign, Wanli refused to attend to imperial duties. Frustrated by the difficulties of trying to make the government system work, he refused to read papers and stopped filling vacant jobs. Officials would assemble for daily palace audiences, but the throne was usually empty. By 1604, half of local magistrate jobs and central ministerial posts were vacant. The palace eunuchs - castrated men who supervised life in the palace - filled the gap, taking bribes to carry messages to the emperor, and even collecting taxes. Frustrated officials grouped together to try and influence government. The most famous group was the Donglin Society, which became a major force in politics, pushing for a return to proper Confucian rule.

Xu Xiake

Xu Xiake (1587-1641) was a Chinese travel writer and geographer.

Xu Xiake was admired by his friends for his freedom and detachment - 'Xiake' was a nickname given to him by a friend meaning 'one who is in the sunset clouds'. As a boy, he was interested in books on history and geography. He spent most of his adult years travelling through China, mainly on foot, keeping travel diaries as he walked. Xu's detailed observations meant he could correct errors in existing texts. He corrected a mistake in a book on geography supposed to have been compiled by Confucius by showing how the Jinsha River was actually the headwaters of the Yangtze River. Xu's diaries reveal his great love of landscape. He always wanted to climb as high as possible, not only for the best view and to obtain the most accurate scientific information, but also for a sublime spiritual experience.

Xu Xiake's writings were compiled after his death in The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake.

Social Problems and Protest

As China became richer through the 1500s, people worried that prosperity was causing society to deteriorate. The well-off flaunted their wealth with fine clothes and elaborate lifestyles, and hostility increased between the rich and the poor. In the 1600s, there were social and economic protests in both town and countryside. Thousands of silk weavers in went on strike in 1601, and in the same year, thousands of workers rioted in the porcelain manufacturing city of Jingdezhen, angry at low wages and increased production quotas. One potter threw himself into a hot kiln and died in protest. In the countryside, bonded labourers rose up against their masters, and tenants refused to pay what they considered unfair rents to their landlords.

Government Bankrupt

Despite the strong economy of the 1500s, by the early 1600s, the Ming state was running out of money. A war in Korea against the Japanese drained the treasury, as did the imperial family, which had tens of thousands of members. The government could not provide local services - flood defences fell into disrepair and relief supplies ran out. International trade patterns changed too. The Dutch joined in the trade in East Asia, and attacked the Spanish and the Portuguese, which resulted in a steep drop in the amount of silver flowing into China. This made the price of silver in China go up. People needed silver to pay their taxes. They now needed many more copper coins to buy silver than before, and the effect on many households was disastrous.

There was bad weather, famine, drought, floods and epidemics. Families were driven into poverty, further reducing the amount of productive land that could be taxed, and reducing government resources.

Li Zicheng's Rebellion

Li Zicheng (1605-45) was a rebel leader, whose revolt helped bring about the end of the Ming dynasty.

Li was born in 1606 in north , not far from the Great Wall. In the 1620s, there was famine in Shaanxi, and gangs roamed the countryside. Li was a poor man who had struggled to make a living, working as shepherd, as an ironworker's apprentice, and at a postal relay station. Laid off due to government shortages, he then joined the army. When promised supplies did not arrive at his unit, disappointed and desperate, Li and other soldiers mutinied. As disorder spread, Li became leader of a large rebel group, one of several that were in the 1630s rampaging across China. This became a terrible time of destruction. In the 1640s, rebels cut the dykes of the Yellow River, and hundreds of thousands of people died in the subsequent floods and famine. Epidemics broke out too, killing people on a massive scale. Li Zicheng announced a new dynasty, and in 1644 marched on . He took the city, and the last Ming emperor committed suicide.

But disorder continued across the country. Li Zicheng was eventually chased out of Beijing by invaders from beyond the Great Wall, the Manchus.

Manchu Invasion

The Manchus were tribes descended from the Jurchen Jin who had ruled north China during the Song period. Known as a tough, straightforward people, the Manchu men shaved the fronts of their heads, and plaited the rest of their hair into a long braid. They had been defeated by Genghis Khan's Mongols in the 1200s and had retreated to the north. But by the 1600s they were again challenging China's frontier.

They reorganized society into eight military units called 'banners', each with its own color flag, and set up Chinese-style government. They declared a new dynasty, the Qing, and they launched raids into China. At the time, the Ming dynasty was crumbling. A rebel leader took in April 1644. The Manchus invaded China, defeated Li Zicheng, and in June 1644, proclaimed their boy emperor the new ruler of China.

Emperor Kangxi

Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty was one of the most admired rulers in Chinese history.

Kangxi became emperor when he was only seven. The government was at first in the hands of regents, but when he was sixteen, Kangxi boldly took power for himself. The Qing rulers had conquered China only 25 years previously. They were Manchus, northerners from beyond the Great Wall. Only four years after Kangxi took control, there was a massive rebellion which could have broken the dynasty, but under the young emperor's strong leadership, Qing armies crushed the rebels. Kangxi extended Qing control over Taiwan and Tibet, he agreed on borders and trade relations with Russia, and he personally led Qing armies against the Zunghar Mongols. Not only an effective military leader, Kangxi was also a highly cultured and sensitive man. He showed great respect for Chinese civilisation, sponsoring arts and cultural projects, and was open also to western learning, interested in math and science. He issued an edict in 1692 tolerating Christianity, although subsequent disagreements between Kangxi and the Pope about whether Chinese Christians could continue ancestor worship led to many missionaries being expelled.

Rebellion of the Three Feudatories

The Rebellion of the Three Feudatories was a massive uprising against Qing rule between 1673 and 1681.

The Manchu Qing rulers had initially appointed three Han Chinese generals to govern south China, because the Manchus did not have the resources to rule directly over the vast distances, diverse communities and difficult terrain involved. The three Han 'feudatories' were given almost complete control of their huge fiefdoms. But by 1672, Emperor Kangxi decided that the generals were a threat to Qing rule, and granted them permission to 'retire'. The generals however began a rebellion, to 'overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming'. The rebels cast cannons using bronze from temple bells, whilst Kangxi had his army's existing cannons refurbished, and 150 new ones cast under the guidance of Jesuit experts at court. At first, the uprising looked as if it might destroy the Qing. Kangxi was at least at risk of losing control of all China south of the Yangtze. But after eight years of fighting, the young emperor's Qing armies defeated the rebellion. Kangxi was ruthless to people in senior positions who had supported the rebels, but lenient to those who had simply been caught up in the war, including the women and children in the rebel camps.

Russia and the Treaty of Nerchinsk

The Treaty of Nerchinsk was a treaty signed in 1689 between China and Russia, setting the north-south border between the two countries.

During the late Ming, Russian hunters and settlers had begun to spread into the areas north of the Great Wall. This was a new challenge to the Chinese empire. Worried about the influence of the Russians on the loyalty of border tribes, Emperor Kangxi attacked Russian outposts at Albazin on the Amur River in 1685 and again in 1686, and the Russians sued for peace. Qing and Russian representatives met at Nerchinsk in 1689, and settled the border in largely the place it is today.

Qing Expansion West

The peoples of Mongolia had been a threat to China for thousands of years. The Manchus had taken control of Inner Mongolia in the 1630s, but the Zunghar Mongols remained a threat. They had built a strong state, expanding trade with Russia and Qing China. The Zunghars used cannon mounted on the backs of camels to create a force of desert tanks. Emperor Kangxi personally led the Qing armies over the desert to fight the Zunghar Mongols, cornering them far north of Beijing at the great battle of Jao Modo in 1696. But the Mongols rose again, and in 1717 marched into Tibet. The Qing responded by also sending troops to Tibet, which they made a protectorate, with a Manchu garrison. During Emperor Qianlong's reign in the 1700s, the Qing also acquired Xinjiang, an enormous area of western territory including Kashgar and other Silk Road cities, which China had last controlled a thousand years previously, during the Tang.

The Qing rulers largely staked out the territory that is China today.

Emperor Yongzheng

Emperor Yongzheng (reigned 1723-1735) was the fourth of sons. Already forty-five when he came to the throne, Yongzheng was pragmatic and effective. He focussed on putting state finances on a secure basis. Yongzheng had found massive shortfalls in government revenues, partly because his father had been more lenient and let some elite families evade tax. Yongzheng sent auditors to carry out on-the-spot assessments and collect arrears. His men were sometimes met with hostility, with roads blocked and bridges broken, and were sometimes even assaulted. But the reforms were successful, especially in north China. Yongzheng also set up the 'ever normal granary system' to control grain prices, and ordered orphanages, poorhouses and elementary schools to be set up in every county. He freed the remaining slaves in China, sending a decree forbidding any sort of servile status.

The suspicion that he was a usurper overshadowed Yongzheng's reign, because his father Kangxi had not named an heir when he died and because it was Yongzheng himself who had announced he was Kangxi's choice. To avoid similar problems affecting his own heir, Yongzheng wrote his successor's name on two scrolls, one locked in a casket the Forbidden City, and one kept on his person. Yongzheng died suddenly in 1735. A popular legend says that he was killed by a female assassin, but it is more likely that Yongzheng died from overdosing on medicine meant to prolong his life.

Emperor Qianlong

Emperor Qianlong ruled China from 1736 to 1799. During his very long reign, traditional China reached the highest level of splendor and prosperity.

Qianlong came to the throne peacefully - his name had been carefully written on a scroll placed in a casket in the palace by his father . Qianlong benefited from his father's economic policies too, and his government was regularly in financial surplus. Qianlong's most important achievement was the expansion of his empire to include the vast new territory of . Qianlong added greatly to the imperial collection of art, patronising not only Chinese painters but western artists too, such as Giuseppe Castiglione. Qianlong enjoyed having himself painted in different costumes, as a Buddhist saint for example, as well as on horseback European-style. He enjoyed 'southern tours' on which no expense was spared, whole areas of Yangzhou being rebuilt to please him.

As an old man, Qianlong's judgment began to fail, and he became taken by a handsome bodyguard called , who embezzled enormous amounts of wealth. Qianlong had also reversed some of his father's financial policies. Problems were emerging in China that would become more severe after Qianlong's death, and these later years of his reign are thought as the beginning of the decline of the dynasty.

Qianlong abdicated in 1795 - a filial act to show that he considered himself less worthy than his grandfather - but the old man retained ultimate power until his death in 1799 at the age of 87, unofficially making him longest ruling emperor in Chinese history.

Culture and Conservatism

During the Qing dynasty, society became more conservative. The Qing rulers promoted a more disciplined social style and supported fundamentalist Confucian family values. Laws against anything considered deviant became more harsh. Novels and plays might be banned, and theatres closed if their productions were considered subversive or licentious. The government launched a program to honor 'chaste widows' - who did not remarry - and wealthy families built arches to celebrate these women's virtue. People turned away from the open society that had emerged in the later Ming. Many scholars rejected the free-thinking ways of the Ming scholar Wang Yangming. They claimed that the spontaneity and individual emotion Wang had advocated had weakened commitment to proper Confucian duty, and helped bring about the collapse of the Ming dynasty. The Qing rulers preferred Zhu Xi's school of Confucian teachings, which emphasized objective principles outside the individual and social conformity.

Trade with the West: the "Canton System"

Since the early 1500s, Europeans had been coming by sea to trade with China. In the early Qing, trade was limited to certain ports and certain intervals, but in the 1680s, Emperor Kangxi ended the restrictions, and trade grew, with Guangzhou (Canton) in south China quickly becoming the most active port for foreign commerce. As growing numbers of foreigners sailed in, the Qianlong emperor proclaimed in 1757 that Canton would be the only place at which Europeans were allowed to trade. Foreigners were only to reside there during the trading season, between October and March.

On both sides, trade was handled by government-recognized monopolies. On the China side was a group of around ten Guangzhou businesses - known as the 'Co-Hong' - who were permitted to trade with foreigners, and responsible for maintaining orderly business. On the western side were the British East India Company, the Dutch East India Company and so on. Merchants from the United States from the 1780s on also began to participate directly in the China trade. Operating within this restrictive 'Canton System', the westerners bought silk, porcelain and other luxury goods, as well as tea, for which the British in particular, as well the Americans, developed a passion.

The Dream of the Red Chamber

The Dream of the Red Chamber, one of China's greatest novels, was written in the mid 1700s during the Qing dynasty.

The author of the novel, Cao Xueqin, was inspired by his own family's experiences. Cao Xueqin was from a Chinese family that had been rich and powerful, but lost favour and went bankrupt. The novel Cao Xueqin wrote whilst living in poverty is a rich portrayal of elite life in mid eighteenth century China. With a huge cast of characters from all walks of life, the book is a story about the search for understanding of human purpose on earth. It has a love story at its heart, and still today is one of China's most well loved novels.

Heshen: Decline and Corruption

Originally a member of the palace guard, Heshen caught the attention of Emperor Qianlong, who became taken with the bright young man towards the end of his reign when his judgment was faltering. Heshen rose very quickly to the highest positions in government, until he enjoyed overwhelming power in Qianlong's court. Heshen enriched himself and his followers, allowing virtually no official job appointment to be made without a 'contribution' to one of his men.

After Emperor Qianlong died, the new emperor immediately prosecuted Heshen for corruption. The investigators confiscated extraordinary amounts of silver - more than half the total imperial revenues collected during his 20 year ascendency - and precious possessions including 24 solid-gold beds inlaid with gemstones, and 460 top quality European clocks. It became clear that the corruption he sponsored had affected almost the entire government bureaucracy.

Macartney Embassy

The Macartney Embassy, which took place in 1793, was the first British diplomatic mission to China.

The restrictions of the ' Canton system' of trading with China particularly irritated the British. They sent an embassy to China under Lord George Macartney to press for the opening of direct trade at other ports for international commerce, the use of a small island on the Chinese coast as depot for storing goods, and the right of diplomatic residence in Beijing. In 1793, Macartney met Emperor Qianlong at the Qing imperial mountain resort at Jehol north of Beijing. Although Macartney supposedly refused to prostrate himself or 'kowtow' in front of the emperor, the meeting seemingly went well - the emperor was delighted that the son of one of the British officials could speak some Chinese, and the British were given the most prestigious seats at that day's banquet.

However, Emperor Qianlong famously said that the British had nothing that China desired. Macartney returned home, his mission having failed.

Population Increases

During the Qing dynasty, the amount of farmland in China doubled, as new areas were opened up. New crops too - sweet potatoes, maize, and peanuts from the New World - helped China's population increase, roughly tripling in size between 1700 and 1850. Whereas in Europe the population was growing most in the industrialising cities, in China population growth was concentrated in the countryside. The amount of land owned by the average family shrank. China became a land of small landholders engaged in highly labour-intensive agriculture.

Eventually, population growth outpaced the growth in resources. During the early 1800s, the economy contracted, and an increasing number of people sank into poverty. The difficulties and frustrations grew. There were not even enough civil service jobs for graduates, because the number of posts was fixed, so that by the 1800s there was just one job for every seventy degree holders.

First Opium War

The First Opium War (1839-1842) was fought between Britain and China, triggered by British outcry against China's confiscation of British opium.

Opium had long been used in China for medicinal purposes. In the 1600s, Chinese people began smoking small amounts of opium with tobacco, and then in the 1700s began to smoke pure opium for its narcotic effects - it relieved pain and made hard work seem less tough, but also made users confused and drowsy. And opium was addictive. Habitual smokers lost weight and strength, and suffered from constipation, impotence and memory loss.

Treaty of Nanjing

The Treaty of Nanjing was signed in 1842 after the First Opium War, in which Britain had defeated China.

British and Qing Chinese representatives negotiated the terms on board the British HMS Cornwallis, anchored on the Yangtze River by the city of Nanjing. According to the terms, the old Canton System of foreign trade was abolished, and China opened up five ports to foreign trade, including Guangzhou and Shanghai. The Chinese had to agree to pay an indemnity, and to confirm British possession of Hong Kong in perpetuity.

The Treaty of Nanjing is considered the most important treaty in the history of modern China. It paved the way for other industrialized countries to covet the same opportunities, and China signed many more 'unequal treaties'. The United States sent Caleb Cushing, a congressman from Massachusetts, to negotiate with China. The resulting Treaty of Wanghia followed the same lines as the British Treaty of Nanjing. The treaty was signed in 1844 at Macao's Kun Iam Temple, which is still there today.

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The Taiping Rebellion was an immense upheaval which affected a large area of China between 1850 and 1864, cost millions of lives, and had the potential to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The rebellion was started by a failed civil service exam candidate called Hong Xiuquan, who had come into contact with Christian ideas in his home city of .

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The Silk Road: Connecting the ancient world through trade - Shannon Harris Castelo

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Unearth the Hidden Origin of China's Terra-Cotta Warriors | National Geographic

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Chinese philosophy is the intellectual tradition of the Chinese culture from their early recorded history to the present day. The main topics of Chinese philosophy were heavily influenced by the ideas of important figures like Lao-Tzu, Confucius, Mencius, and Mo Ti, who all lived during the second half of the Zhou Dynasty (8th - 3rd century BCE). Chinese culture as a whole has been shaped by the influence of these intellectual leaders.

Main Attributes

Humanism has been the chief attribute of Chinese philosophy. The role of humans and their place in society has always been the main focus of Chinese thinkers. Practical, moral, and political concerns have been favoured over metaphysical speculation as Chinese philosophy tends to be concerned with worldly affairs.

The sayings & writings of Chinese philosophers are often vague so that their meaning is almost boundless.

This does not mean that metaphysical ideas are absent from Chinese thought. An example of an important text of metaphysics in the Chinese tradition is the obscure document named Yi Jing (I-Ching), or " Book of Changes". Some Chinese used the Book of Changes as a manual of divination. Those who could understand its message, it was believed, would grasp all the laws of nature.

Rather than expressing their thoughts in logical and systematic prose, Chinese thinkers tended to be more poetical. They do not display a strong concern in providing strict rules; the ideas tend to be guidelines only. Texts on Chinese philosophy are often filled with aphorisms, allusions, and parables. The general tendency is to be suggestive: the more an expression is articulated, the less suggestive it is. The sayings and writings of Chinese philosophers are, therefore, often vague so that their meaning is almost boundless.

Historical Development

The basis of this tradition originated during 800-200 BCE, a time of deep political and social change and intellectual awakening in China. The 500-200 BCE period was the zenith, sometimes referred to as the Classical Age of Chinese philosophy. During this time, China saw the gradual disintegration of the Zhou Dynasty, which ended in 256 BCE, when the Qin army took control of the city of Chengzhou. As the end of the Zhou Dynasty approached, the central authority disintegrated. This scenario encouraged a long struggle known as the Warring States Period when various states competed for the control and unification of China.

During much of the Zhou Dynasty, the political organization of China closely resembled a feudal system, with the king of the royal house of Zhou at the head of the social structure and hundreds of princes under him, each of them ruling a state. The land of these states was also divided into different fiefs, each of them controlled by a feudal lord who reported to a prince. Under the feudal lords were the common people who were not part of the aristocracy. This structure was secured by family relations linking all the different rulers with the royal house of Zhou. If family relationships did not exist, they were arranged by marriage. Ultimately, the local lords were expected to accept the authority of the king as the head of a large family.

Under this system, education was only available to aristocrats. While the common people had no access to formal learning, the houses of the feudal rulers were centres of education. As the Zhou dynasty started to deteriorate, many aristocrats lost their lands and titles. As a result, many former court officials, who had training in different branches of learning and art, became unemployed and dispersed among the population. In order to make a living, they would use their specialized skills and teach in return for a fee. For the first time in Chinese history, we see the birth of the professional teacher, different from the court official.

Main Schools of Thought

The breakdown of the social order produced a diverse set of ideas as Chinese thinkers were trying to address and respond to the challenges that society was experiencing. The mix of ideas was so vast, that some ancient writers refer to this time as the 'Hundred Schools' of thought. Sima Tan (c. 165-110 BCE), the Grand Astrologer of the Han court, wrote a summary classifying the main schools of thought in ancient China. His list presents just a fraction of the schools of thought that were active in ancient China.
Yin & Yang School (Yin-Yang jia)
Also known as the School of Naturalists, the Yin and Yang School derives its name from the Yin-Yang principles, which in Chinese tradition are regarded as the two major principles of Chinese cosmology: Yin, being the female principle, and Yang the male principle. The combination and interaction of these two opposites is believed by the Chinese to cause all universal phenomena.

It is possible that this school had its origin in those court officials who practised occult arts. Some of these obscure practices included astrology, divination, and magic. All aristocratic houses relied on the services of officials trained in several of these occult arts, who were regularly consulted by the rulers.
Confucianism (Ru jia)
Also known as the School of Literati, Confucianism was originally composed of a set of political and moral doctrines with the teachings of Confucius as its basis. Later on, the teachings of Mencius (Meng Zi) and Xunzi (Xun zi) also became part of this school. The humanistic emphasis in Chinese philosophy is largely owed to the enormous influence of Confucianism. During most of Chinese history, Confucianism was seen as the preserver of traditional Chinese values and the guardian of Chinese civilization as such.

It is believed that this school originated with those court officials who specialized in teaching the classics and the execution of traditional ceremony and music. After struggling during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), Confucianism emerged as the final and permanent victor during the later Han period (206 BCE - 220 CE) and, thanks to the patronage of the Han Dynasty rulers, it would dominate Chinese thought ever after.
Mohist School (Mo jia)
Confucius is seen as the keeper, rationalizer & justifier of the old ways, while Mo Ti was its critic.

The leading figure of this school was Mo Ti, also known as Mozi, Mo Tzu or Mo Di, who was the first opponent of Confucius. The followers of this school were organized as a close-knit organization and there was a strict code of discipline in place. The contrast between Confucius and Mo Ti is one of the most interesting in Chinese philosophy. Confucius was very respectful of traditional institutions, rituals, music, and literature of the early Zhou Dynasty, and he tried to rationalize and justify them in ethical terms. Mo Ti, on the other hand, questioned their validity and usefulness and tried to replace them with something that was simpler but, according to his view, more useful. Confucius is seen as the keeper, rationalizer and justifier of the old ways, while Mo Ti was its critic.

The military specialists that were at the service of the royal families during the feudal Zhou Dynasty are believed to be the origin of this movement. The strict discipline practised by the Mohists and the fact that their leaders often had the power to kill school members, might be considered relics of the military origin of the school. As the feudal lords lost their lands, the knights became unemployed, turning into knights-errant. Knights were commonly recruited from the lower class: for this group, the typical values of Confucianism (ritual and music) were meaningless. This could help to explain the negative attitude which the Mohists had for the values of Confucianism.
School of Names (Ming jia)
Sometimes referred to as "sophists" or "logicians", this school focused its attention on the relation between ming (the name) and shi (the actuality), something like the subject and the predicate. Its members were well known for leading any discussion into paradoxical problems, they were ready to dispute with others and purposely affirmed what others denied and denied what others affirmed.

A famous passage in a book written by Gongsun Long (Kung-Sun Lung), a member of the School of Names, describes the kind of paradoxes that are created when the logicians practised their intellectual tricks:

[...] while riding horseback one day he [Gongsun Long] was stopped by a gatekeeper, who told him that horses were not allowed beyond. Kung-sun [Gongsun Long] announced, "This is a white horse, not a horse!"

(Hucker, 74)

The origin of this group is difficult to identify. Even the school itself is hard to distinguish from other schools: the legacy of its ideas had little impact on Chinese history, and the opinions of its members do not have a homogeneous basis. Some scholars believe that this school originated with the 'debaters', who were officials specialized in the art of speaking.
Legalist School (Fa jia)
The word fa means pattern or law. This school was solely concerned with what must be done and how people should and should not behave in order to ensure the flourishing of the state. Because this school is not interested in moral considerations, it is sometimes seen as the opposite thought to Confucianism, which is based on moral principles. From the Legalist standpoint, moral institutions are not a good guide for society and good government should be based entirely on a fixed code of law and practices.

During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), Legalism became the official state policy, reaching its peak of influence. The bad reputation that later Chinese historians gave to the Qin rulers and the many brutalities that they were accused of ended up undermining the respectability of the Legalist school.

Before the Zhou dynasty began its decline, the feudal society had in place two different principles of conduct: an unwritten code of honour regulating the behaviour of the aristocrats and another code of punishments which applied to the common people. Punishments were used by the rulers to ensure the obedience of their subjects. The origin of the Legalists is believed to be in those ministers responsible for managing these principles of conduct.
Taoism (also Daoism or Dao jia)
As the Zhou Dynasty began to collapse, there were those who became so sceptical of the aptitude of rulers and society itself to put an end to the growing chaos and restore order, that they became hermits and recluses, withdrawing from society, and leading a simple life in solitude. The offshoot of this escapist attitude, some scholars believe, resulted in the development of Taoism. It challenges many of the ideas of Confucianism by focusing on individual life over social duty and spirituality over worldliness. In fact, Confucian texts describe many episodes where recluses would mock Confucius and his useless efforts (in the recluses' views) in trying to improve society. The Taoist way of life follows simplicity, spontaneity, and non-action or inactivity (letting nature do her job).

Taoist philosophy is centred around a concept hard to define, the Tao (Dao) or Way, described by Wing-tsit Chan as "the One, which is natural, eternal, spontaneous, nameless and indescribable".

The number one work of this tradition is the Laozi (Lao Tzu) or Daodejing (Tao Te Ching), sometimes translated as Classic of the Way and of Virtue. Taoist tradition credits the creation of this text to Lao Tzu, an older contemporary of Confucius, but scholars today believe that the work had multiple authors.

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Chinese philosophy is the intellectual tradition of the Chinese culture from their early recorded history to the present day. The main topics of Chinese philosophy were heavily influenced by the ideas of important figures like Lao-Tzu, Confucius, Mencius, and Mo Ti, who all lived during the second half of the Zhou Dynasty (8th - 3rd century BCE).

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Chinese Religion

China is one of the ancient civilizations on earth. China is a country with diverse religious beliefs. Three main religions formed part of ancient Chinese history.

They are as follows:

1. Taoism
2. Confucianism
3. Buddhism

Shang dynasty was one of the historical Chinese dynasties, where foretelling played a major role. It was in the Shang dynasty (about 2000 BC), where people followed different gods, such as the weather gods and sky gods. People greatly believed that above all gods was Shang Ti who ruled over the lesser gods.

Great emphasis was also given in worshipping earth's composition, i.e. land, river, sea, star, wind, moon, sun as they believed that country's prosperity comes from factors that are above and beyond. People living during this dynasty also believed that their parents and grandparents became gods when they died and they wanted to be worshipped as gods.

It was during the rule of Chou dynasty when the concept of T'ien (meaning Heaven) similar to the concept of Shang Ti emerged. Like Shang Ti; T'ien also ruled over all other gods. Lot many different views emerged during the period 600 BC to the coming 200 years.

It was during this time when the Chinese philosopher named Lao Tzu came up with the philosophy of Taoism which gained popularity among the masses. This philosophy believed that people should not attain anything by force but should compromise and use natural forces in their favor.
1. Taoism:
This philosophy further states that there is a universal force which flows through all living beings and respecting that force will lead them to a happy life.

Soon after Taoism, came another philosophy called Confucianism. Founder of this philosophy was Confucius. His philosophy holds that one should treat others with respect, politeness and kindness. This philosophy emphasized on two main qualities, i.e. honor and morality

Confucius is known today for many of his sayings. Here are a few of them:

* Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
* It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
* Our greatest glory is not, in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.
* When anger rises, think of the consequences.
* Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
2. Confucianism
There were two other important philosophical schools of this period. One was started by Mo Tzu, which states that the way to happiness was by treating everyone the same as they were treating their own families.

The other was Legalism (a kind of Confucianism), which believed that all people were basically bad, and were required to be kept in line by strict laws and harsh punishments in order to maintain order and peace.

It was around 500 AD, during the rule of Three Kingdoms when Buddhism first came to China from India. Siddhartha Gautama who is commonly known as the Buddha(the enlightened one)was the founder of Buddhism.

Buddhism came into China during the rule of Emperor Ming of Han dynasty. He had seen a dream of a golden man wearing a shining halo. He questioned about his dream to his advisors. One of his advisors mentioned about existence of Buddha.

Emperor Ming then sent a representative to Southern India to inquire about Buddhist preaching. Later these scriptures were sent to China on the back of white horses, after which the White Horse temple got named. When Buddhism entered China, Taoism and Confucianism were the two major religions in China.

In its early stages, Buddhism did not find many followers. However it was during 200 AD, when Buddhism got a firm position in China. Buddhism emphasizes that the world is transient and is constantly changing. It further states that world is soulless and there is nothing eternal in it.
3. Buddhism
In this transient world, sorrow is bound to come. By following the path of moderation, humans can raise above these worldly troubles.

Buddha's teachings have been summarized under the category of Four Noble Truths.

They are as follows:
a. Suffering is common i.e. birth, sickness, old age and death
b. Cause of Suffering is due to ignorance and greed
c. End of Suffering is by cutting off the greed and ignorance
d. Path to end suffering is by the following the eightfold path

The Eight parts of the eightfold path are as follows:

1. Right View
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Conduct
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

Under the rule of Ming dynasty around 1368 AD, Confucianism was again the main religion of emperors, while Buddhism and Taoism were popular among the ordinary people.

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Ancient Chinese Religion - Ancient China for kids

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China is one of the ancient civilizations on earth. China is a country with diverse religious beliefs. Three main religions formed part of ancient Chinese history. They are as follows: 1. Taoism 2. Confucianism 3. Buddhism Shang dynasty was one of the historical Chinese dynasties, where foretelling played a major role.

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© Tsuji-iStock Unreleased/Getty Images

In Chinese the word dao means "way," indicating a way of thought or life. There have been several such ways in China's long history, including Confucianism and Buddhism. Daoism (also spelled Taoism) is a philosophical and religious tradition that developed in China in ancient times under the influence of ideas credited to a man named Laozi. Like Confucianism, it has deeply influenced Chinese culture. Daoism began as a complex system of philosophical thought. In later centuries it also emerged as a communal religion and was integrated into popular folk religion as well.

The fundamental text of Daoism is the Daodejing (Classic of the Way of Power), traditionally attributed to Laozi. It was written sometime between the 8th and 3rd century bc. Another important Daoist work is the Zhuangzi, which is named after the sage who wrote the core of the text, in about the late 4th century bc.

Daoist philosophy speaks of a universal Dao, which is nameless and unknowable, the essential unifying element of all that is. Everything is basically one despite the appearance of differences. Matters of good and evil and of true or false, as well as differing opinions, can only arise when people lose sight of the oneness and think that their private beliefs are absolutely true. This can be likened to a person looking out a small window and thinking he sees the whole world, when all he sees is one small portion of it. Because all is one, life and death are not in opposition to one another but are only two aspects of a single reality. The life of the individual comes from the one and goes back into it.

The goal of life for a Daoist is to cultivate a mystical relationship to the Dao and to act only in harmony with it. Civilization is considered a degradation of the natural order, and the ideal is the return to an original purity. Adherents therefore avoid dispersing their energies through the pursuit of wealth, power, or knowledge. By shunning such distractions, Daoist are able to strengthen the life force within themselves. The longer an adherent lives, the more of a sage the person is presumed to have become. Eventually the hope is to become immortal.

Religious Daoism emphasizes moral teachings and collective ceremonies. Good moral conduct is rewarded with health and long life, while bad conduct results in disease, death, and suffering in the afterlife. There is an array of gods who are administrators of the universe, of which they are a part. From these gods come revelations of sacred texts. Daoist priests perform exorcisms and complex rituals in the communities they serve.

In the more folk-oriented form of Daoism, the religion is part of the everyday lives of the people. The gods are intimately connected with each individual's life as bringers of calamities or givers of bountiful gifts. Each object of daily life has its presiding spirit that must be consulted and appeased.

All types of Daoism have in common the quest for harmony with the universe. They emphasize the individual's and the group's need for unity through mysticism, magic, and ceremony.

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In Chinese the word dao means "way," indicating a way of thought or life. There have been several such ways in China's long history, including Confucianism and Buddhism. Daoism (also spelled Taoism) is a philosophical and religious tradition that developed in China in ancient times under the influence of ideas credited to a man named Laozi.

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Legalism -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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Kids learn about the religions of Ancient China. The three ways Confucius, Taoism, and Buddhism.

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A great student made video about writing!

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Ancient Chinese writing evolved from the practice of divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Some theories suggest that images and markings on pottery shards found at Ban Po Village are evidence of an early writing system but this claim has been challenged repeatedly.

Ban Po was occupied c. 4500-3750 BCE and was discovered by workmen digging a foundation for a factory in 1953 CE. Ceramic shards uncovered at the site have been classified into 27 distinct categories of image/sign which suggest to some scholars an early language. The opposing view is that these images are simply marks of ownership, comparable to making an X on a document to sign one's name, and cannot be considered an actual written language. The majority of recent scholarship agrees that writing evolved during the Shang Dynasty and developed from there. Scholar Patricia Buckley Ebrey expresses the consensus on this:

Exactly when writing was first used in China is not known since most writing would have been done on perishable materials like wood, bamboo, or silk. Symbols or emblems inscribed on late neolithic pots may be early forms of Chinese graphs. Early Shang bronzes sometimes have similar symbols cast into them. The earliest evidence of full sentences is found on the oracle bones of the late Shang. From these divinatory inscriptions, there can be no doubt that the Shang used a language directly ancestral to modern Chinese and moreover used a written script that evolved into the standard Chinese logographic writing system still in use today. (26-27)

Once writing was developed by the Chinese it had a significant impact on the culture. Ebrey writes, "In China, as elsewhere, writing once adopted has profound effects on social and cultural processes(26)." The bureaucracy of China came to rely on written records and, culturally, expression of personal thoughts and feelings was made possible through poetry and prose, creating some of the greatest literature in the world.

Oracle Bones

Oracle bones were the shoulder blades of oxen or the plastrons of turtles, scraped and cleaned, which were inscribed with marks for divination. The ancient Chinese were very concerned with knowing the future and would go to diviners for guidance on making decisions. The diviner (someone who today would be called a 'psychic' or a 'medium') would carve the person's question into the bone and then heat it with a hot poker or place it near a fire. When the bone would crack, the lines formed would be interpreted to answer the person's question.

An example of this might be whether the king should go hunting on a certain day. The diviner would carve the name of the king asking the question and the date it was asked. They would then carve the topic of the question (Hunting) and the specific question (Should king ___ go hunting tomorrow). The bone would then be heated, crack, and interpreted. Afterward, the prognostication would be inscribed (Yes, the king should go hunting tomorrow) and, later, the verification that the prediction was correct (King went hunting and was successful). Oracle bones were consulted by everyone in the Shang period from the lowest class to the highest.

Oracle bones continued in use through the Zhou Dynasty (1046-226 BCE) when they were replaced by another form of divination known as the I-Ching (The Book of Changes) which relied on a written text of hexagrams to interpret the meaning of a pattern made by the questioner throwing yarrow sticks onto a table. With both oracle bones and the I-Ching, the spirits of one's ancestors were thought to be influencing the divination and communicating directly with the diviner.

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Evolution of Script

From these early beginnings, Chinese script evolved. These scripts were:

Jiaguwen - the earliest form of writing on Oracle bones used c. 1600-1000 BCE. This script was pictographic, meaning the inscription represented an object linked to a concept. Example: if one wanted to write "Should the king go hunting tomorrow?" one would carve an image of the king with his bow and sunrise.

Dazhuan - known as Greater Seal script, developed c. 1000-700 BCE. This was also a pictographic script but had many more characters and was more refined. The images were inscribed on bronze and probably wood.

Xiaozhuan, known as Lesser Seal script, developed c. 700 BCE & is still in use today.

Xiaozhuan - known as Lesser Seal script, developed c. 700 BCE and is still in use today. This script was less pictographic and more logographic, meaning the symbols represented concepts themselves, not objects. Example: if one now wanted to write "Should the king go hunting tomorrow?" one would inscribe the image for the king and the sign which represented 'hunting' and 'tomorrow'.

Lishu - known as Clerky Script, was developed c. 500 BCE and used during the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE) and Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) extensively. Lishu grew out of the need for complete documentation of government affairs and, as the name indicates, was used by clerks in their work in governmental bureaucracy. Sentences were written on bamboo scrolls tied together with string. When one reads about emperor Shi Huangti (259-210 BCE) of the Qin Dynasty burning books, these are the kinds of books he destroyed. Paper was not invented until the Han Dynasty in 105 CE.

In addition to these scripts there also developed the cursive scripts used in poetry and calligraphy. These are: Kaishu (Standard Script) Xingshu (Running Script), and Caoshu (Grass Script). Caoshu developed during the Qin Dynasty while Kaishu and Xing during the Han period.

Legacy

As one can see, Chinese writing developed from pictures of objects which represented concepts to signs representing the concepts themselves. This development changed Chinese society and culture dramatically and also affected the way it would develop in the future. Ebrey explains:

It is essentially accidental that the Shang developed a logographic script rather than a phonetic script like most of those that became dominant elsewhere in Eurasia. This accident, however, had momentous consequences for the way Chinese civilization developed. It shaped the nature of the elite: the difficulty of mastering this script made those expert in it an elite possessed of rare but essential skills. (28)

On the positive side, this meant that as Chinese writing became more and more a part of Chinese trade, the culture spread to neighboring regions. As Ebrey notes:

Because the Chinese logographic script did not change to reflect differences in pronunciation, the literate elite easily identified with others whose writings they could read, including predecessors who lived many centuries earlier and contemporaries whose spoken languages they could not comprehend. Just as crucially, this script also affected the processes of cultural expansion and assimilation. People on the fringes of Chinese culture who learned to read Chinese for pragmatic reasons of advancing or defending their interests were more effectively drawn into Chinese culture than they would have been if China had had a phonetic script. Reading and writing for them could not be easily detached from the body of Chinese texts imbued with Chinese values, making it difficult for them to use their literacy to articulate the vision of a local population defined in opposition to China. (28)

The logographic script made a much more dramatic impression on readers than a phonetic script because people were not just reading words on a page but absorbing concepts directly as they read. On the negative side, the creation of a literate elite meant class divisions where those who could read and write were considered more valuable members of society than those who could not. This class distinction characterized Chinese society and history up until 1949 CE when Mao Tse Tung established the People's Republic of China largely in an effort to remedy social inequality.

Chinese script was adopted by Japan, Korea, Vietnam, became the basis for Khitan Script (Mongolia), Jurchen Script (of the Manchus), and the Yi Script of the indigenous people of Yunnan Province which differs from traditional Chinese script. It further influenced other nations of the region as seen in the Tangut Script of Tibet. Script enabled the Chinese, and then those of other nations, not only to communicate and keep records but also to create some of the most memorable works in world literature.

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Ancient Chinese writing evolved from the practice of divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Some theories suggest that images and markings on pottery shards found at Ban Po Village are evidence of an early writing system but this claim has been challenged repeatedly. Ban Po was occupied c.

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Interesting Facts about Daily Life in Ancient China

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Polo is known as the "sport of kings," a challenging equestrian pastime that has amused aristocrats for centuries. But well-heeled polo players didn't always ride horses. New research confirms that an ancient Chinese noblewoman likely played the game on donkeys instead-and enjoyed the pursuit so much, she was buried with her prized charges.

Researchers from China and the United States describe the find in the latest issue of the archaeological journal Antiquity. It's the first physical evidence for this species-specific variation of the sport known as ljvu that has been described in contemporary chronicles and portrayed in art, but never confirmed in the archaeological record until now.

Polo is thought to have evolved from equestrian games developed by nomads in central Asia. Though there is archaeological evidence for a predecessor of the sport in China from approximately 2,400 years ago, the game, in which teams of horse-mounted riders compete to knock a ball into a goal, skyrocketed in popularity a millennium later during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907).

References to horse polo abound in Tang Dynasty art and literature, and many Tang-era tombs feature polo-related artifacts and art, including mausoleum murals and ceramic figurines. But scholars of the period have always been curious about a subset of ancient polo depictions that seemingly show donkeys, not horses, on the field in a game called ljvu.

"There are many examples of Chinese artwork depicting women, that one would assume were of higher status, playing polo on donkeys," says Brenda Lynn, a spokesperson for the Museum of Polo.

Beasts of burden?

The first archaeological evidence for Tang-era donkey polo comes from the tomb of Cui Shi, a noblewoman who died in 878 in Xi'an in central China. When archaeologists recently opened the tomb, they discovered that it had been looted sometime over the past 1,150 years. The looters took most things of value, but left some objects behind, including a stone epitaph, a lead stirrup, and a variety of seemingly worthless animal skeletons. Using mitochondrial DNA analysis, the researchers determined at least three of the animals buried with Cui Shi were donkeys.

To understand whether the donkeys lived their lives as beasts of burden or as polo mounts, the research team analyzed their bones. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the animals had been buried along with Cui Shi and not left behind by later looters; isotopic analysis revealed the donkeys were well fed with large quantities of plants, likely millet.

Finally, a biomechanical analysis confirmed that they likely hadn't been used as pack animals: When researchers compared the buried donkeys' bones to those of wild asses and pack donkeys, they found that they didn't amble or trek like their cousins. Instead, the donkeys seemed to have sprinted and turned often-just like a polo mount.

"Donkeys have seldom been used for display and sports like horses," says Fiona Marshall, an archaeologist and donkey expert at Washington University in St. Louis who helped study the bones. "This find shows that donkeys also had a place as high-status rather than low-status animals."

A risky game

But why did Cui Shi choose donkeys-an animal not necessarily known for its speed and agility? Tang-era polo matches could involve high stakes and high risk, and researchers suspect donkeys were thought to be safer and sturdier than horses.

Cui Shi's husband, Bao Gao, learned that lesson himself. According to the Xin Tangshu, the official chronicle of the Tang Dynasty, the high-ranking subject of Emperor Xizong had his own passion for polo, viewing the sport as a road to military prestige and a chance to keep his equestrian skills sharp. Bao Gao did indeed benefit, gaining a coveted generalship based on his polo skills, but not before losing an eye in a polo match.

Lynn of the Museum of Polo says that artwork has long been considered a reliable indication of the existence of the sport by polo historians, but that in the absence of archaeological confirmation, "trying to speak to the exact origins and traditions practiced in earlier times is often subject to speculation."

"It is always thrilling to get more details to help confirm when, how, and by whom polo was played."

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Archaeologists discover first evidence for polo-on donkeys

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Polo is known as the "sport of kings," a challenging equestrian pastime that has amused aristocrats for centuries. But well-heeled polo players didn't always ride horses. New research confirms that an ancient Chinese noblewoman likely played the game on donkeys instead-and enjoyed the pursuit so much, she was buried with her prized charges.

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Religious practices in ancient China go back over 7,000 years. Long before the philosophical and spiritual teachings of Confucius and Lao-Tzu developed or before the teachings of the Buddha came to China, the people worshipped personifications of nature and then of concepts like "wealth" or "fortune" which developed into a religion. These beliefs still influence religious practices today. For example, the Tao te Ching of Taoism maintains that there is a universal force known as the Tao which flows through all things and binds all things but makes no mention of specific gods to be worshipped; still, modern Taoists in China (and elsewhere) worship many gods at private altars and in public ceremonies which originated in the country's ancient past.

Scholar Harold M. Tanner writes, "The gods, spirits, and ancestors could affect crops, the weather, childbirth, the king's health, warfare, and so on. It was, therefore, important to sacrifice to them" (43). The gods grew out of people's observance of natural phenomena which either frightened them and caused uncertainty or assured them of a benevolent world, which would protect them and help them succeed. As time passed, these beliefs became standardized and the gods were given names and personalities, and rituals developed to honor the deities. All of these practices were eventually standardized as "religion" in China just as similar beliefs and rituals were everywhere else in the ancient world.

Early Evidence of Religious Practice

In China, religious beliefs are evident in the Yangshao Culture of the Yellow River Valley, which prospered between 5000-3000 BCE. At the Neolithic site of Banpo Village in modern Shaanxi Province (dated to between c. 4500-3750 BCE) 250 tombs were found containing grave goods, which point to a belief in life after death. There is also a ritualistic pattern to how the dead were buried with tombs oriented west to east to symbolize death and rebirth. Grave goods provide evidence of specific people in the village who acted as priests and presided over some kind of divination and religious observance.

The Yangshao Culture was matrilineal, meaning women were dominant, so this religious figure would have been a woman based on the grave goods found. There is no evidence of any high-ranking males in the burials but a significant amount of females. Scholars believe that the early religious practices were also matrilineal and most likely animistic, where people worship personifications of nature, and usually feminine deities were benevolent and male deities malevolent, or at least more to be feared.

These practices continued with the Qijia Culture (c. 2200-1600 BCE) who inhabited the Upper Yellow River Valley but whose culture could have been patriarchal. Examinations of the Bronze Age site of Lajia Village in modern-day Qinghai Province (and elsewhere) have uncovered evidence of religious practices. Lajia Village is often referred to as the "Chinese Pompeii" because it was destroyed by an earthquake which caused a flood and the resulting mudslides buried the village intact. Among the artifacts uncovered was a bowl of noodles which scientists have examined and believe to be the oldest noodles in the world and precursors to China's staple dish "Long-Life Noodles". Even though not all scholars or archaeologists agree on China as the creator of the noodle, the finds at Lajia support the claim of religious practices there as early as c. 2200 BCE. There is evidence that the people worshipped a supreme god who was king of many other lesser deities.

Ghosts & Religion

By the time of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) these religious beliefs had developed so that now there was a definite "king of the gods" named Shangti and many lesser gods of other names. Shangti presided over all the important matters of state and was a very busy god. He was rarely sacrificed to because people were encouraged not to bother him with their problems. Ancestor worship may have begun at this time but, more likely, started much earlier.

Evidence of a strong belief in ghosts, in the form of amulets and charms, goes back to at least the Shang Dynasty and ghost stories are among the earliest form of Chinese literature. Ghosts (known as guei or kuei) were the spirits of deceased persons who had not been buried correctly with due honors or were still attached to the earth for other reasons. They were called by a number of names but in one form, jiangshi ("stiff body"), they appear as zombies. Ghosts played a very important role in Chinese religion and culture and still do. The ritual still practiced in China today known as Tomb Sweeping Day (usually around 4 April) is observed to honor the dead and make sure they are happy in the afterlife. If they are not, they are thought to return to haunt the living. The Chinese visit the graves of their ancestors on Tomb Sweeping Day during the Festival of Qingming, even if they never do at any other time of the year, to tend the graves and pay their respects.

When someone died naturally or was buried with the proper honors, there was no fear of them returning as a ghost. The Chinese believed that, if the person had lived a good life, they went to live with the gods after death. These spirits of one's ancestors were prayed to so they could approach Shangti with the problems and praise of those on earth. Tanner writes:

Ancestors were represented by a physical symbol such as a spirit tablet engraved or painted with the ancestor's honorific name. Rituals were held to honor these ancestors, and sacrifices of millet ale, cattle, dogs, sheep, and humans were offered. The scale of the sacrifices varied, but at important rituals, hundreds of animals and/or human sacrifices would be slaughtered. Believing that the spirits of the dead continued to exist and to take an interest in the world of the living, the Shang elite buried their dead in elaborate and well-furnished tombs (43).

The spirits of these ancestors could help a person in life by revealing the future to them. Divination became a significant part of Chinese religious beliefs and was performed by people with mystical powers (what one would call a "psychic" in the modern day) one would pay to tell one's future through oracle bones. It is through these oracle bones that writing developed in China. The mystic would write the question on the shoulder bone of an ox or turtle shell and apply heat until it cracked; whichever way the crack went would determine the answer. It was not the mystic or the bone which gave the answer but one's ancestors who the mystic communed with. These ancestors were in touch with eternal spirits, the gods, who controlled and maintained the universe.

The Gods

There were over 200 gods in the Chinese pantheon whose names were recorded during and after the Shang Dynasty. The early gods, before Shangti, were spirits of a place known as Tudi Gong ("Lord of the Place" or "Earth God"). These were earth spirits who inhabited a specific place and only had power in that locale. The Tudi Gong were sometimes thought to be an important member of the community who had died but remained in spirit as a guardian but, more often, they were ancient spirits who inhabited a certain area of land. These spirits were helpful if people acknowledged and honored them, and vengeful if they were ignored or neglected. The Chinese concept of Feng Shui comes from the belief in the Tudi Gong.

These local earth spirits continued to be venerated even after gods developed who were more universal. One of the first deities acknowledged who probably began as a local spirit was the dragon. The dragon is one of the oldest gods of China. Dragon images have been found on the Neolithic pottery at Banpo Village and other sites. The Dragon King known as Yinglong was god of rain, both gentle rain for the crops and terrible storms, also as Lord of the Sea and protector of heroes, kings, and those who fought for right. Dragon statuary and imagery is routinely used in Chinese art and architecture to symbolize protection and success.

There were over 200 gods in the Chinese pantheon whose names were recorded during and after the Shang Dynasty. Above all was Shangti, the god of law, order, justice, and life, known as "The Lord on High".

Some form of Nuwa, goddess of humankind, existed as early as the Shang Dynasty. Nuwa was a goddess part woman and part dragon who molded human beings from the mud of the Yellow River and blew her breath into them to bring them to life. She continued making people and bringing them to life over and over again but grew tired of it finally and invented marriage so people could reproduce without her. She saw that people did not know how to do anything, though, so she asked her friend Fuxi for help.

Fuxi is the god of fire and the teacher of human beings. He brought fire to people and taught them how to control it to cook food, bring light, and keep warm. Fuxi also wove the first fishing nets for the people and taught them how to get food from the sea. Once their basic needs were taken care of, he gave them the gifts of music, writing, and divination. Nuwa and Fuxi were considered the mother and father of human beings and always were called on for protection.

Sun Wukong was the monkey god of mischief who caused so much trouble he was killed by the other gods and sent to the underworld. Once he got there, he erased his name from the book of the king of the underworld and not only came back to life but could never die again. His name did not develop until later but a mischevious monkey god appears on bronze inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty who appears to be this same deity.

Lei Shen was the god of thunder who was very unpleasant and beat on a large drum with a hammer whenever he became irritated. He could not tolerate anyone who wasted food and would hurl thunderbolts at them, killing them instantly. One time, he saw a woman who seemed about to throw out a bowl of rice and killed her with his thunderbolt. The gods determined that he had acted too quickly and so the woman, Dian Mu, was raised from death and became the goddess of lightning. She would flash her light to show Lei Shen where he should throw his thunderbolts so he would not make the same mistake again.

Above these gods and all the others was Shangti, the god of law, order, justice, and life known as "The Lord on High". Shangti decreed how the universe would run and the lives of all the people were under his constant watch. He was especially mindful of those who ruled over others and decided who should rule, how long, and who should succeed them.

Worship & Clergy

Chinese temples and shrines were cared for by priests and monks who were always male. Women were allowed to enter monasteries to devote themselves to the work of the gods but could not hold spiritual authority over men. Different types of religious services were held in temples for different religious beliefs. These services all had in common the sound of music, most often bells. The monastic prayers were said three times a day, at morning, noon, and night, to the sound of a small bell. Incense was burned regularly at services to cleanse the place of evil spirits and negative energies.

An important aspect of Chinese religion, whether Taoism, Confucianism, or Buddhism, was known as "hygiene schools" which instructed people on how to take care of themselves to live longer lives or even achieve immortality. Hygiene schools were part of the temple or monastery. The priests taught people how to eat healthy, exercise (the practice of Tai Chi developed through these schools), and perform rituals honoring the gods so the gods would bless them with a healthy long life.

Further Religious Developments

In the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046-226 BCE) the concept of the Mandate of Heaven was developed. The Mandate of Heaven was the belief that Shangti ordained a certain emperor or dynasty to rule and allowed them to rule as long as they pleased him. When the rulers were no longer taking care of the people responsibly, they were said to have lost the Mandate of Heaven and were replaced by another. Modern scholars have seen this simply as a justification for changing a regime but the people at the time believed in the concept. The gods were thought to watch over the people and would pay special attention to the emperor. People continued a practice, which began toward the end of the Shang Dynasty, of wearing charms and amulets of their god of choice or their ancestors for protection or in the hope of blessings, and the emperor did this as well. Religious practices changed during the latter part of the Zhou Dynasty owing to its decline and eventual fall but the practice of wearing religious jewelry continued.

The Zhou Dynasty is divided into two periods: Western Zhou (1046-771 BCE) and Eastern Zhou (771-226 BCE). Chinese culture and religious practices flourished during the Western Zhou period but began to break apart during the Eastern Zhou. Religious practices of divination, ancestor worship, and veneration for the gods continued, but during the Spring and Autumn Period (772-476 BCE) philosophical ideas began to challenge the ancient beliefs.

Confucius (c. 551-479 BCE) encouraged ancestor worship as a way of remembering and honoring one's past but emphasized people's individual responsibility in making choices and criticized an over-reliance on supernatural powers. Mencius (c. 372-289 BCE) developed the ideas of Confucius, and his work resulted in a more rational and restrained view of the world. The work of Lao-Tzu (c. 500 BCE) and the development of Taoism might be seen as a reaction to Confucian principles if not for the fact that Taoism developed many centuries before the traditonal date assigned to Lao-Tzu. It is much more probable that Taoism developed from the original nature/folk religion of the people of China than that it was created by a 6th-century BCE philosopher. Therefore, it is more accurate to say that the rationalism of Confucianism probably developed as a reaction to the emotionalism and spiritualism of those earlier beliefs.

Religious beliefs developed further during the next period in China's history, The Warring States Period (476-221 BCE), which was very chaotic. The seven states of China were all independent now that the Zhou had lost the Mandate of Heaven, and each one fought the others for control of the country. Confucianism was the most popular belief during this time, but there was another which was growing stronger. A statesman named Shang Yang (died 338 BCE) from the region of Qin developed a philosophy called Legalism which maintained that people were only motivated by self-interest, were inherently evil, and had to be controlled by law. Shang Yang's philosophy helped the State of Qin overpower the six other states and the Qin Dynasty was founded by the first emperor, Shi Huangti, in 221 BCE.

Religion Banned and Revived

During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), Shi Huangti banned religion and burned philosophical and religious works. Legalism became the official philosophy of the Qin government and the people were subject to harsh penalties for breaking even minor laws. Shi Huangti outlawed any books which did not deal with his family line, his dynasty, or Legalism, even though he was personally obsessed with immortality and the afterlife, and his private library was full of books on these subjects. Confucian scholars hid books as best as they could and people would worship their gods in secret but were no longer allowed to carry amulets or wear religious charms.

Shi Huangti died in 210 BCE while searching for immortality on a tour through his kingdom. The Qin Dynasty fell soon after, in 206 BCE, and the Han Dynasty took its place. The Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) at first continued the policy of Legalism but abandoned it under Emperor Wu (141-87 BCE). Confucianism became the state religion and grew more and more popular even though other religions, like Taoism, were also practiced.

During the Han Dynasty, the emperor became distinctly identified as the mediator between the gods and the people. The position of the emperor had been seen as linked to the gods through the Mandate of Heaven from the early Zhou Dynasty but now it was his express responsibility to behave so that heaven would bless the people. Mount Tai became an important sacred site during this time and ancient rituals and festivals were revised. An example of this would be the Festival of the Five Elements which honored earth, fire, metal, water, and wood which was changed to the Festival of Heaven and Earth, honoring the people's relationship with the gods.

An important religious sect which gained popularity during this time was the cult of the Queen Mother of the West, Xi Wang Mu, goddess of immortality. She lived in the mountains of Kunlun, like the other gods, but in a castle of gold, with a moat around it, so sensitive that anything, even a hair, which fell upon it would sink. She walked every day in her Imperial Peach Orchard whose fruit held the divine juices of immortality. Scholar Patricia Buckley Ebrey comments on this cult:

During the Han period, the hope for deathlessness or immortality found expression in the cult of a goddess called the Queen Mother of the West. Her paradise was portrayed as a land of marvels where trees of deathlessness grew and rivers of immortality flowed...People of all social levels expressed their devotion to her, and shrines were erected under government sponsorship throughout the country (71).

The Queen Mother of the West was sometimes represented as an old, unattractive woman with sharp teeth like a tiger's and a hunched back, and at other times as a beautiful woman with long hair. She jealously guarded the secrets of immortality in her garden and struck down people who tried to find their way in. She was kind to her followers, though, and blessed them as long as they pleased her.

The Arrival of Buddhism

In the 1st century CE, Buddhism arrived in China via trade through the Silk Road. According to the legend, the Han emperor Ming (28-75 CE) had a vision of a golden god flying through the air and asked his secretary who that could be. The assistant told him he had heard of a god in India who shone like the sun and flew in the air, and so Ming sent emissaries to bring Buddhist teachings to China. Buddhism quickly combined with the earlier folk religion and incorporated ancestor worship and veneration of Buddha as a god.

Buddhism was welcomed in China and took its place alongside Confucianism, Taoism, and the blended folk religion as a major influence on the spiritual lives of the people. When the Han Dynasty fell, China entered a period known as The Three Kingdoms (220-263 CE) which was similar to the Warring States Period in bloodshed, violence, and disorder. The brutality and uncertainty of the period influenced Buddhism in China which struggled to meet the spiritual needs of the people at the time by developing rituals and practices of transcendence. The Buddhist schools of Ch'an (better known as Zen), Pure Land, and others took on form at this time.

Buddhism introduced a new kind of ghost to China, the e gui("Hungry Ghost"), which became one of the most feared. The modern day Ghost Festival in China (also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival) grew out of this belief. Hungry ghosts were spirits of those who had been murdered, improperly buried, or had sinned and not been forgiven. They could also be people who had never been satisfied with anything in life and were no happier in death. People would leave food out for them during Ghost Month to appease them and went to the graves of their ancestors to sacrifice food so they would not become hungry ghosts.

The major religious influences on Chinese culture were in place by the time of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) but there were more to come. The second emperor, Taizong (626-649 CE), was a Buddhist who believed in toleration of other faiths and allowed Manichaeism, Christianity, and others to set up communities of faith in China. His successor, Wu Zeitian (690-704 CE), elevated Buddhism and presented herself as a Maitreya (a future Buddha) while her successor, Xuanzong (712-756 CE), rejected Buddhism as divisive and made Taoism the state religion.

Although Xuanzong allowed and encouraged all faiths to practice in the country, by 817 CE Buddhism was condemned as a dividing force which undermined traditional values. Between 842-845 CE Buddhist nuns and priests were persecuted and murdered and temples were closed. Any religion other than Taoism was prohibited, and persecutions affected communities of Jews, Christians, and any other faith. The emperor Xuanzong II (846-859 CE) ended these persecutions and restored religious tolerance. The dynasties which followed the Tang up to the present day all had their own experiences with the development of religion and the benefits and drawbacks which come with it, but the basic form of what they dealt with was in place by the end of the Tang Dynasty.

Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and the early folk religion combined to form the basis of Chinese culture. Other religions have added their own influences but these four belief structures had the most impact on the country and the culture. Religious beliefs have always been very important to the Chinese people even though the People's Republic of China originally outlawed religion when it took power in 1949 CE. The People's Republic saw religion as unnecessary and divisive, and during the Cultural Revolution temples were destroyed, churches burned, or converted to secular uses. In the 1970's CE the People's Republic relaxed its stand on religion and since then has worked to encourage organized religion as "psychologically hygienic" and a stabilizing influence in the lives of its citizens.

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Religious practices in ancient China go back over 7,000 years. Long before the philosophical and spiritual teachings of Confucius and Lao-Tzu developed or before the teachings of the Buddha came to China, the people worshipped personifications of nature and then of concepts like "wealth" or "fortune" which developed into a religion.

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Tomb with the "Huang Chang Ti Cou" Structure

Underground Palace of King Guangling's Tomb

Originally situated in Tianshan village, Gaoyou county, about 45 kilometres northwest of Yangzhou, the Han tombs in Shenju hills was first discovered in 1979 when a group of people were quarrying for stones. The four stone-wooden-chambered tombs so far unearthed date from the West Han Dynasty more than two thousand years ago.

The Queen's Living Palace

The queen's tomb, originally located 50 meters to the east of the king's tomb, was unearthed and moved to Yangzhou at the same time with the latter. Also applying a "Huang Chang Ti Cou" structure, the queen's tomb lied in a different pit but within the same mausoleum with the king's tomb. Among the more than 300 pieces of cultural relics excavated from the queen's tomb, the wooden stele with the inscription of "the 62th year" and the seal of "privately owned by members of Guangling's family", etc., served as reliable materials for the identification of the tomb occupant.

Museum of the Tomb of Han Guangling King

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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Underground Palace of King Guangling's Tomb - Google Arts & Culture

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Tomb with the "Huang Chang Ti Cou" Structure Underground Palace of King Guangling's Tomb Originally situated in Tianshan village, Gaoyou county, about 45 kilometres northwest of Yangzhou, the Han tombs in Shenju hills was first discovered in 1979 when a group of people were quarrying for stones.

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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Whether imaginary or real, animals are a recurring decorative and symbolic element of ancient Chinese art. Animal symbols contain a wealth of meaning in both social and religious contexts. Various animal forms have multiple psychological meanings and their powerful symbolism taps into the unconscious realm.

The rich and varied animal motifs of China can be divided into three major categories, each with its own symbolic connotations: domestic animals, wild animals, and mythical beasts:

Domestic animals are indicative of conscious cooperation with nature through positive interrelationships between man and animals. Wild animals depict untamed nature and man's own untamed desires.

· Mythical beasts exist in the realm of the imagination and are especially compelling in their graphic representation of future potential and magical, unlimited resources (Using Chinese Animal Symbols).

This Gallery presents depictions of mythical beasts in Chinese art to explore their symbolism and how they are used in art and life. The mythical beasts of China are exciting because they give access to the boundless realms of power inherent in the imagination. The five mythical creatures represented in this collection are the Taotie, the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Fu Lion-Dog, and the Bixie.

TAOTIES in this exhibition:

· Fitting in the form of a taotie. ca. 1100-1000 B.C.E., Late Shang dynasty or Western Zhou dynasty. Bronze. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

· Square lidded wine ewer (fangguang) with taotie, dragons, and birds. ca. 1050-975 B.C.E., Early Western Zhou dynasty. Bronze. Freer Gallery of Art.

DRAGONS in this exhibition:

· Ritual Disc (Bi). 771 B.C.E. - 256 B.C.E., Late Warring States (475-221 B.C.E.) or early Western Han (206 B.C.E. -9 C.E). Jade (nephrite), 165.1 cm wide. Nelson-Atkins Museum.

· · Painting on Silk. Western Han Dynasty (ca. 206 B.C.-ca.9 A.D.). Hunan Provincial Museum.

· The PHOENIXES in this exhibition:

· Woman's informal coat (changfu) with phoenix and peonies. ca 1890-1900. Reign of Guangxu (1875-1908), Qing dynasty. Embroidery on silk satin. Royal Ontario Museum.

· Box (He) with Dragon and Phoenix. Middle Qing dynasty, ca. 1700-1800. Red, green, and yellow lacquer on wood core with incised gold decoration (diaotian). Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The FOO GUARDIAN LIONS in this exhibition:

· Chinese Buddhist stele. Ca. Late 5th century, Northern Wei Dynasty. Sandstone.

Art Gallery of New South Wales.

· Lion (fu dog). ca. 1 BCE-1 AD. Ivory with applied patina. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

The BIXIES in this exhibition:

Funerary Sculpture of a Chimera (Bixie). Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220. Molded earthenware with traces applied decoration and paint. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.Fitting (Shi) in the Form of a Chimera (Bixie). Six Dynasties period, 317-581. Cast bronze with gilding. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

References

· "Chinese Guardian Lions." - Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http: / /www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com /en /index.php /chinese_guardian_lions>.

· "Animals in Bronze." Ancient Chinese Bronzes:. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http: / /www.asia.si.edu /explore /china /bronzes /animals.asp>.

· "Animals in Bronze." Ancient Chinese Bronzes:. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http: / /www.asia.si.edu /explore /china /bronzes /animals.asp>.

· "Taotie | Mask Motif." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http: / /www.britannica.com /art /taotie>.

· "Bixie." Learn and Talk about Chinese Legendary Creatures, Chinese Mythology. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http: / /www.digplanet.com /wiki /bixie>.

· "Dragons of Fame." Taotie. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http: / /www.blackdrago.com /fame /taotieh.htm>.

· "Using Chinese Animal Symbols & Symbol Meaning to Enhance Your Life." Using Chinese Animal Symbols & Symbol Meaning to Enhance Your Life. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http: / /livingartsoriginals.com /infoanimalchinese.html>.

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Mythical Animals as Symbols in Chinese Art - Google Arts & Culture

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Whether imaginary or real, animals are a recurring decorative and symbolic element of ancient Chinese art. Animal symbols contain a wealth of meaning in both social and religious contexts. Various animal forms have multiple psychological meanings and their powerful symbolism taps into the unconscious realm.

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A. A Myriad of Features

B. Isolation

Beginnings of Civilization

A. Yellow River Civilization

Around 6000 B.C. agriculture began to appear around the Yellow River (Huang He - hwahng huh) floodplain. Around 5000 B.C. rice cultivation began to appear.

B. Banpo Village - An Early Yellow River Community

Xia Dynasty

A. The Xia (shee YAH) Legend

Shang Dynasty 1500-1050 B.C.

According to legend, a rebel Shang leader overthrew the last Xia ruler. Thirty Shang kings would rule, and succession was passed from brother to brother, or father to son.

Shang Society

A. Social levels

Video: Bones Used to Predict the Future Video: Communication with the Spirit World

C. Elite Culture and Religion

Video: Fu Hao and Sacrificial Victims
Video: Road to the Afterlife

The Shang captured people in warfare for the purpose of sacrificing them to the Shang ancestors. Sometimes Shang warriors went out on missions just to capture victims to sacrifice. A prisoner would be beheaded with a decorated ceremonial axe. The Shang believed these sacrifices would bring them victory in battle.

D. The End of the Shang

Zhou Dynasty 1050-771 B.C.?

A. A New God in Town

The Zhou justified their conquest over the Shang by developing a concept called the Mandate of Heaven. "Heaven" (Tian) replaced the Lord on High as the supreme deity. The Mandate of Heaven stated that "Heaven" only allows rulers who are just and moral to rule. If the ruler becomes corrupt, "Heaven" will find it acceptable for rebellion to occur.

B. Government - Feudalism

C. Economics - Manorialism

Roles for men and women in Zhou society were the typical sort found in most ancient societies. Men dominated all aspects of society. From the Zhou dysnasty comes one of China's earliest books of poetry, the Book of Songs. In it, there is one court song expressing deep distrust of women in politics. Here's an excerpt:

Clever men build cities
Clever women topple them
Beautiful, these clever women may be
But they are owls and kites,
Women have long tongues
That lead to ruin.
Disorder does not come down from heaven;
It is produced by women.

E. Technology: Metallurgy

Since the fabled Xia dynasty, Chinese artisans worked with bronze. By the late Zhou dynasty, artisans in China were working with iron. Moulds were produced to create iron weapons and farming tools. This process is called casting. The Chinese were well ahead of Europe in casting iron.

The Demise of the Zhou?

A. Weak Central Control

The Warring States Period 403-221 B.C.

A. What a Mess!

During this era most of what would become modern China was in conflict. By 250 B.C. there were seven main states (kingdoms) struggling to become number one. These kingdoms were the: Zhao (not Zhou), Qin, Yen, Qi, Wei, Han, and Qu.

B. Changes in Technology, Agriculture, Population, and Society

1. Bronze and iron farming tools along with the use of fertilizer enabled farmers to grow more food than before.

2. Huge water projects to bring water to farmland were undertaken. The state of Qin (CHIN) built a huge canal to provide water for irrigation.

3. Populations swelled, and social status changed for many people with the end of feudalism and Manorialism.

4. Education began challenging social status. Intelligent and talented officials became more important to rulers than officials with merely a noble birth. The best qualified for administrations, regardless of birth, were sought after.

5. A new, low-ranking elite of educated men emerged called the Shi. The Shi often replaced noble officials of government. An intellectual culture sprang up among the Shi, and from this culture, Chinese philosophies developed.

C. Changes Within the State of Qin

Three Philosophies: Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism

A. Confucius and Confucianism

Confucianism is the philosophy founded by Confucius 551-479 B.C. Confucius lived during the beginning stages of the Warring States Period. His dream was to transform the corruptions of his state (Lu) by teaching his philosophy.

B. Confucianism in a Nutshell

C. Li: Customs and Manners Bring Order

D. Social Relationships

1. Confucius believed that people HAD to be loyal. Subjects had to obey their rulers, subordinates their superiors, and especially children had to be loyal and obey their parents (filial piety).

2. Over time, Confucians elaborated the concept of loyalty and obedience into a system of FIVE relationships:Confucius was rather indifferent toward women. He oddly had nothing to mention about marriage, spoke poorly about women, and frequently remarked about how hard it was to handle women.

a. ruler - subject

b. parent - child

c. husband - wife

d. elder sibling - younger sibling

e. elder friend - younger friend

The person on the left dominated the person on the right.

E. Mencius (Circa 370 - 300 B.C.)

Confucius' greatest student/disciple was Mencius. Mencius traveled from state to state during the Warring States Period, telling rulers to their faces that if they did not rule well, they would lose the Mandate of Heaven. He was a great defender of the commoner, and believed that people, in general, were good. Here's an excerpt of Mencius admonishing a king of one of the warring states:Dogs and pigs in your realm feed on the food of your subjects, but you do not restrain them. People are starving on your roads, but you do not open your granaries. When people die as a result, you say, "It is not my fault; it is a bad year." How is this different from stabbing a man and saying, "It is not my fault; it is the sword." If your majesty would stop putting blame on the year, people from throughout the empire would come to you.

1. Legalism was a branch of philosophy identified with Legalists - philosophers and officials who believed to obtain order, government must be powerful militarily and economically. The most notable Legalist theorists were Shang Yang (390-338 B.C.) and Han Feizi (280-233 B.C.). Both men worked for the state of Qin and encouraged people to be farmers or soldiers. They discouraged careers such as merchants, entrepreneurs, scholars, educators, philosophers, poets, and artists since those lines of work did not make the state stronger. They stressed the need for severe laws and harsh punishments.Han Feizi strongly advocated the dispensing of useless traditions. He wanted an effective, stream-lined government that would be so efficient, its enemies could not compete. They would be stuck in the mire of their own rituals and traditions while the Qin forged ahead. Here's an example of his thinking:There was a plowman in whose field was a tree stump. When a rabbit ran into the stump and broke its neck, he left his plow and watched over the stump, hoping to pick up more rabbits. But he got no more and became the laughing stock of the whole kingdom. Wanting to apply the policies of former kings to govern people in these times belongs in the same class as watching over that stump.Both men had many enemies. Shang Yang's enemies had him executed, his body mutilated, and his family destroyed. Han Feizi's greatest enemy was Li Ssu, Shi huangdi's chief advisor. Apparently, Li Ssu felt threatened by Han Feizi's growing influence over the Qin royal court, and he had Han Feizi poisoned.

2. Survival, according to Legalists, demanded harsh laws, enforced by harsh punishments.

3. Legalists believed people behaved badly and needed to be kept under strict control.

4. Legalists tended to dislike scholars, believing they had nothing better to do than complain about government.

G. Taoism (or Daoism)

1. Taoist philosophy was much different than Confucianism and Legalism. Unlike Confucianism and Legalism, Taoism did not come into being out of a need to bring order to the chaos of the Warring States Period, although it was popular then.

2. The founder of Taoism was the legendary Lao Tzu (or Lao Zi). Some legends have him living the same time as Confucius, but if Lao Tzu ever did exist, he probably lived before Confucius.

3. At the center of Taoist philosophy is the Tao, or the Way. It represents everything in the universe, and it is the origin of all things ? the one reality. By tradition, Taoist philosophy was first written down in Lao Tzu's book, The Tao Te Ching. The story goes that Lao Tzu became tired of the human world and traveled west. As he left China, a gatekeeper begged Lao Tzu to leave behind something of value. In response, he wrote the Tao Te Ching, and wandered off, riding a water buffalo, never to be seen again.

4. It was the goal of the Taoist to be in harmony with the Tao. Taoism is nature friendly, and the Taoist seeks harmony with nature.

5. People were perceived as unimportant in the grand design of the universe. People were merely part of the Tao and no more important that the trees and the bees. To try to struggle for high office, or grand social position was silly to the Taoist. People should be humble and non-aggressive.

6. Taoists believed the world was made of contending forces (cold, hot, light, dark) - opposites that are in harmony with each other. The opposites balance one another perfectly. It is only when they get out of balance that harm can occur.

7. The YIN/YANG symbol represents these opposing forces in nature that balance each other in harmonious perfection. To make sense of the yin/yang, think about a battery. A battery has a negative end and a positive end. Both the positive and negative are necessary for a working battery. Remove one of the charges, and the balance is lost. Your battery will not work.

8. It is important to understand the opposing forces aren't in a power struggle. They merely exist to complement each other. So, one force isn't bad, and the other good. Taoists took this one step further by pointing out how occurrences in one's life tend to balance each other out, and what one considers good or bad is relative. Here's an example:There was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.
"Maybe," the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.
"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.
"Maybe," replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
"Maybe," answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
"Maybe," said the farmer.Moral: misfortune and fortune tend to cancel/balance each other in a person's life, and you never can tell what really is bad or good. It's all relative.

The Qin Dynasty 221-207 B.C.

A. End of the Warring States Period

The Warring States Period ended when the state of Qin conquered the other states. King Zheng 259-210 B.C., was the Qin king. After conquering the other states in the wars of unification, Zheng asked his advisors to give him a name suitable for his amazing achievements. In response, his advisors named him Shi huangdi (emperor). Shi huangdi became China's first emperor.

B. A Structured Empire

1. Shi huangdi divided his empire into commandaries - large administrative districts. Three officials ran the commandaries: a military commander, a civil official, and a royal inspector who reported to Shi huangdi.

2. Officials standardized weights and measures, money, written characters, and laws.

3. Shi huangdi favored Legalist philosophy. Therefore, he extended his laws everywhere in the empire, and abolished local laws and customs. Hundreds of thousands of prominent or wealthy families were forced to leave their homes and move to the capital, Xianyang. This way they could be watched closely and prevented from rebelling.

4. Shi Huangdi heavily taxed his people and conscripted people to work on his public works projects. The most famous public work was the Great Wall. However, the Great Wall we see today was built in the 15th century A.D.

C. The Hated Emperor

Video: Early History of the Great Wall Video: The Tale of Meng

D. If You Got it, Flaunt it!

1. After ruling for 37 years Shi huangdi suddenly died of illness. He was in constant terror of being assassinated, and took great pains to thwart any attempt. He did like to tour his empire, though, and it was on one of his tours that he "succumbed" to illness.

2. Before his death, Shi huangdi began having his royal tomb built. He knew how to go out in style. Archaeologists have discovered his famous terra-cotta soldier tomb. ?More that seven-thousand terra-cotta soldiers modeled on the elite-guard were buried along with Shi huangdi to offer him protection in the afterlife.

E. The End of the Qin

Video: Qin's Abuse of Power

Shi huangdi's legitimate heir was murdered by his younger brother soon after Shi huangdi's death. This younger brother did not rule for long. In 209 B.C. a group of conscripted peasants delayed by rain decided to become outlaws rather than face execution for arriving late for their frontier service. They were surprised to have thousands of disgruntled peasants join them. Uprisings sprang up in spots inside the empire. Liu Bang (LYOH BONG), also known as Gaozu, was the eventual winner of these uprisings. Liu Bang came from a modest background. He had served the Qin empire as a minor official in charge of a postal relay station. In 206 B.C. he took the title King of the Han. By then the Qin were no longer in power. In 202 B.C. Liu Bang defeated his rivals, and the Han dynasty had begun.

The Han Empire 202 B.C.- 220 A.D.

B. Emperor Wudi

C. Culture and Asian Dominance

The Han Empire was important for creating a Chinese culture that would be copied, with only slight refinements, by all the Chinese empires to come. The Han military conquered Korea and Vietnam. Han culture greatly influenced both of these civilizations.

D. The Xiongnu

E. Filial Piety and Dutiful Women

1. During the Han dynasty, ambitious men wanting to be appointed to an official position sometimes went to ridiculous lengths in following Confucius' teachings on filial piety. For example, some men whose parents passed away would refuse to end their mourning for years.

2. Even before the time of Confucius, very few scholars took the time to write about women. One exception during the Han time was a writer named Liu Xiang (79 - 8 B.C.). He wrote a book called the Biographies of Heroic Women. The book contained accounts of 125 different women. Liu Xiang praised these women for their loyalty to their ruler, their wise advice to their husband or father, and their chastity.

3. Admonitions for Girls was also a very influential book about and for women. It was written by the lady Ban Zhao, a widower who took a job in the Han palace as instructor to the girls there. Here's her advice for women:Humility means yielding and acting respectful, putting others first and oneself last, never mentioning one's own good deeds or denying one's own faults, enduring insults and bearing mistreatment, all with due trepidation. Industriousness means going to bed late, getting up early, never shirking work morning or night, never refusing to take on domestic work, and completing everything that needs to be done neatly and carefully. Continuing the sacrifices means serving one's husband-master with appropriate demeanor, keeping oneself clean and pure, never joking or laughing, and preparing pure wine and food to offer the ancestors. There has never been a woman who had these three traits and yet ruined her reputation or fell into disgrace. On the other hand, if a woman lacks these three traits, she will have no name to preserve and will not be able to avoid shame.What do you think about that, girls?

A. The Yellow Turban Revolt

1. Han power began to dimish starting in the second century AD. Court politics turned nasty. Palace eunuchs fought each other to influence the empress and gain power. Weak emperors leaned heavily on palace eunuchs to help run the empire.

2. The Han became increasingly inefficient at collecting taxes. The empire grew poorer. In 153 A.D. swarms of locusts and a terrible flooding of the Yellow River caused several hundreds of thousands of people to be homeless. They took to the roads in search of food. The government could only afford to give away 30% of its stored grain.

3. On the heels of these disasters came a religious/rebellious cult called the Yellow Turbans or the Way of Great Peace. Followers of this cult were easily recognizable by the yellow scarves they wore on their heads. The Yellow Turbans offered the poor mystical faith healing and social welfare. In 184 A.D. hundreds of thousands of their followers attacked several parts of the empire. The Han sent its army against them and within a year the rebellion was contained.

4. The military commanders who had eventually defeated the Way of Great Peace became warlords. They ignored Han authority, and for decades fought each other for control over the empire. By 189 A.D., the Han empire was essentially broken. The Han struggled to regain control, but failed. In 220 A.D. the last Han emperor gave up his throne. China would not be reunited under one ruling family again until around 589 A.D. under the Tang dynasty.

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A. A Myriad of Features B. Isolation A. Yellow River Civilization Around 6000 B.C. agriculture began to appear around the Yellow River (Huang He - hwahng huh) floodplain. Around 5000 B.C. rice cultivation began to appear. B. Banpo Village - An Early Yellow River Community A.

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Main Idea: Rivers, mountains, and deserts helped shape China's civilization.

The Huang He (HWAHNG HUH), or Yellow River, flows across China for more than 2,900 miles (4,666 km). It gets its name
from the rich yellow soil it carries from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean. Like rivers in early Mesopotamia and Egypt, China's
Huang He regularly flooded the land. These floods destroyed homes and drowned many people. As a result, the Chinese called the Huang He "China's sorrow."

The river, however, also brought a gift. The Huang He is the muddiest river in the world. When the river floods, it leaves
behind rich silt in the Huang He valley, nearly 57 pounds for every cubic yard of topsoil. By comparison, the Nile River in
Egypt only leaves 2 pounds of silt per cubic yard. The soil is so rich that farmers can grow large amounts of food on very small
farms.

China also has another great river, called the Chang Jiang (CHAHNG JYAHNG), or the Yangtze River. The Chang Jiang flows
for about 3,400 miles (5,471 km) east across central China where it empties into the Yellow Sea. Like the Huang He valley, the
Chang Jiang valley also has rich soil for farming.

Even though China has rich soil along its rivers, only a little more than one-tenth of its land can be farmed. That is because
mountains and deserts cover most of the land. The towering Himalaya close off China to the southwest. The Kunlun Shan
and Tian Shan are mountain ranges on China's western border. The Gobi, a vast, cold, rocky desert, spreads east from the
mountains. These mountains and deserts shaped much of Chinese history. They were like a wall around the Chinese, separating them from most other peoples.

Over time, the Chinese people united to form one kingdom. They called their homeland "the Middle Kingdom." To them, it
was the world's center and its leading civilization. The Chinese developed a way of life that lasted into modern times.

Main Idea: Rulers known as the Shang became powerful because they controlled land and had strong armies.

Little is known about how Chinese civilization began. Archaeologists, however, have found pottery in the Huang He valley
dating back thousands of years. These artifacts show that the Huang He valley was the first center of Chinese civilization.
Archaeologists think that people stayed in the valley and farmed the land because of rich soil. As their numbers expanded, they began building towns, and soon after, the first Chinese civilization began.

China's first rulers were probably part of the Xia (SYAH) dynasty. A dynasty (DY* nuh*stee) is a line of rulers who belong to the same family. Little is known about the Xia. We know more about the next dynasty, the Shang. The Shang kings ruled from about 1750 B.C. to 1045 B.C.

Who Were the Shang? Archaeologists have found huge walls, royal palaces, and royal tombs from the time of the Shang.
These remains show that the Shang may have built the first Chinese cities. One of these cities was Anyang (AHN* YAHNG) in
northern China. Anyang was China's first capital. From there, the Shang kings ruled the early Chinese people.

The people of the Shang dynasty were divided into groups. The most powerful group was the king and his family. The first
Shang king ruled over a small area in northern China. His armies used chariots and bronze weapons to take over nearby areas. In time, the Shang kings ruled over most of the Huang He valley.

Later, Shang kings chose warlords to govern the kingdom's territories. Warlords are military leaders who command their
own armies. However, the king controlled even larger armies who defended the kingdom's borders. The king's armies helped
him stay in power.

Under the king, the warlords and other royal officials made up the upper class. They were aristocrats (uh * RIHS * tuh * KRATS), nobles whose wealth came from the land they owned. Aristocrats passed their land and their power from one generation to the next.In Shang China, a few people were traders and artisans. Most Chinese, however, were farmers. They worked the land

that belonged to the aristocrats. They grew grains, such as millet, wheat, and rice, and raised cattle, sheep, and chickens. A small number of enslaved people captured in war also lived in Shang China.

Spirits and Ancestors People in Shang China worshiped gods and spirits. Spirits were believed to live in mountains, rivers,
and seas. The people believed that they had to keep the gods and spirits happy by making offerings of food and other goods. They believed that the gods and spirits would be angry if they were not treated well. Angry gods and spirits might cause farmers to have a poor harvest or armies to lose a battle.

People also honored their ancestors, or departed family members. Offerings were made in the hope that ancestors would help
in times of need and bring good luck. To this day, many Chinese still remember their ancestors by going to temples and burning small paper copies of food and clothing. These copies represent things that their departed relatives need in the afterlife.

Telling the Future Shang kings believed that they received power and wisdom from the gods, the spirits, and their ancestors. Shang religion and government were closely linked, just as they were in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. An important duty of Shang kings was to contact the gods, the spirits, and ancestors before making important decisions.

The kings asked for the gods' help by using oracle (AWR* uh * kuhl) bones. They had priests scratch questions on the bones,
such as "Will I win the battle?" and "Will I recover from my illness?" Then the priests placed hot metal rods inside the bones,
causing them to crack. They believed that the pattern of the cracks formed answers from the gods. The priests interpreted the answers and wrote them down for the kings. In this way, kings could make decisions that they believed were guided by the
gods and their ancestors. Scratches on oracle bones are the earliest known examples of Chinese writing.

The Chinese Language The scratches on oracle bones show how today's Chinese writing began. However, the modern
Chinese language is much more complex.

Like many other ancient languages, early Chinese writing used pictographs and ideographs. Pictographs (PIHK * tuh * GRAFS)
are characters that stand for objects. For example, the Chinese characters for a mountain, the sun, and the moon are pictographs. Ideographs (IH * dee * uh * GRAFS) are another kind of character used in Chinese writing. They join two or more
pictographs to represent an idea. For example, the ideograph for "east" relates to the idea of the sun rising in the east. It is a combination of pictographs that show the sun coming up behind trees.

Unlike Chinese, English and many other languages have writing systems based on an alphabet. An alphabet uses characters
that stand for sounds. The Chinese use some characters to stand for sounds, but most characters still represent whole words.

Shang Artists The people in Shang China developed many skills. Farmers produced silk, which weavers used to make colorful clothes. Artisans made vases and dishes from fine white clay. They also carved statues from ivory and a green stone called jade.

The Shang are best known for their works of bronze. To make bronze objects, artisans made clay molds in several sections. Next, they carved detailed designs into the clay. Then, they fit the pieces of the mold tightly together and poured in melted bronze. When the bronze cooled, the mold was removed. A beautifully decorated work of art remained.

Shang bronze objects included sculptures, vases, drinking cups, and containers called urns. The Shang used bronze urns to
prepare and serve food for rituals honoring ancestors.

Main Idea: Chinese rulers claimed that the Mandate of Heaven gave them the right to rule.

During the rule of the Shang, a great gap existed between the rich and the poor. Shang kings lived in luxury and began to
treat people cruelly. As a result, they lost the support of the people in their kingdom. In 1045 B.C. an aristocrat named Wu Wang (WOO WAHNG) led a rebellion against the Shang. After defeating the Shang, Wu began a new dynasty called the Zhou (JOH).

The Zhou Government The Zhou dynasty ruled for more than 800 years-longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history.

Zhou kings ruled much like Shang rulers. The Zhou king was at the head of the government. Under him was a large bureaucracy (byu*RAH* kruh* see). A bureaucracy is made up of appointed officials who are responsible for different areas of government. Like the Shang rulers, the Zhou king was in charge of defending the kingdom.

The Zhou kings copied the Shang system of dividing the kingdom into smaller territories. The kings put aristocrats they
trusted in charge of each territory. The positions the aristocrats held were hereditary. That meant that when an aristocrat died, his son or another relative would take over as ruler of the territory.

The Chinese considered the king their link between heaven and earth. His chief duty was to carry out religious rituals. The
Chinese believed these rituals strengthened the link between them and the gods. This belief paved the way for a new idea that
the Zhou kings introduced to government. They claimed that kings ruled China because they had the Mandate of Heaven.

What Was the Mandate of Heaven? According to Zhou rulers, a heavenly law gave the Zhou king the power to rule. This
mandate (MAN* DAYT), or formal order, was called the Mandate of Heaven. Based on the mandate, the king was chosen by heavenly order because of his talent and virtue. Therefore, he would rule the people with goodness and wisdom.

The Mandate of Heaven worked in two ways. First, the people expected the king to rule according to the proper "Way," called the Dao (DOW). His duty was to keep the gods happy. A natural disaster or a bad harvest was a sign that he had failed in his duty. People then had the right to overthrow and replace the king.

The Mandate of Heaven also worked another way. It gave the people, as well as the king, important rights. For example, people had the right to overthrow a dishonest or evil ruler. It also made clear that the king was not a god himself. Of course, each new dynasty claimed it had the Mandate of Heaven. The only way people could question the claim was by overthrowing the dynasty.

New Tools and Trade For thousands of years, Chinese farmers depended on rain to water their crops. During the Zhou dynasty, the Chinese developed irrigation and flood control systems. As a result, farmers could grow more crops than ever before.

Improvements in farming tools also helped farmers produce more crops. By 550 B.C., the Chinese were using iron plows.
These sturdy plows broke up land that had been too hard to farm with wooden plows. As a result, the Chinese could plow more and produce more crops. Because more food could support more people, the population increased. During the late Zhou dynasty, China's population had expanded to about 50 million people.

Trade and manufacturing grew along with farming. An important trade item during the Zhou dynasty was silk. Pieces of
Chinese silk have been found throughout central Asia and as far away as Greece. This suggests that the Chinese traded far
and wide.

The Zhou Empire Falls Over time, the local rulers of the Zhou territories became powerful. They stopped obeying the Zhou kings and set up their own states. In 403 B.C. fighting broke out. For almost 200 years, the states battled each other. Historians call this time the "Period of the Warring States."

Instead of nobles driving chariots, the warring states used large armies of foot soldiers. To get enough soldiers, they issued laws forcing peasants to serve in the army. The armies fought with swords, spears, and crossbows. A crossbow uses a crank to pull the string and shoots arrows with great force.As the fighting went on, the Chinese invented the saddle and stirrup. These let soldiers ride horses and use spears and crossbows while riding. In 221 B.C. the ruler of Qin (CHIHN), one of the warring states, used a large cavalry force to defeat the other states and set up a new dynasty.

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Main Idea: Rivers, mountains, and deserts helped shape China's civilization. The Huang He (HWAHNG HUH), or Yellow River, flows across China for more than 2,900 miles (4,666 km). It gets its namefrom the rich yellow soil it carries from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean.

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Why was the Silk Road important?

The Silk Road was important because it helped to generate trade and commerce between a number of different kingdoms and empires. This helped for ideas, culture, inventions, and unique products to spread across much of the settled world.

Why is it called the Silk Road?

It was called the Silk Road because one of the major products traded was silk cloth from China. People throughout Asia and Europe prized Chinese silk for its softness and luxury. The Chinese sold silk for thousands of years and even the Romans called China the "land of silk".

What goods did the Chinese trade?

Besides silk, the Chinese also exported (sold) teas, salt, sugar, porcelain, and spices. Most of what was traded was expensive luxury goods. This was because it was a long trip and merchants didn't have a lot of room for goods. They imported, or bought, goods like cotton, ivory, wool, gold, and silver.

How did they travel?

Merchants and tradesmen traveled in large caravans. They would have many guards with them. Traveling in a big group like a caravan helped in defending from bandits. Camels were popular animals for transport because much of the road was through dry and harsh land.

History

Although there was some trade between China and the rest of the world for some time, the silk trade was significantly expanded and promoted by the Han Dynasty which ruled from 206 BC to 220 AD.

Later, under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty set up by Kublai Khan of the Mongols, trade from China along the Silk Road would reach its peak. During this time the Mongols controlled a significant portion of the trade route, enabling Chinese merchants to travel safely. Also, merchants were granted more social status during the Mongol rule.

Fun facts about the Silk Road

It was over 4,000 miles long.

Marco Polo traveled to China along the Silk Road.

Not all that was traded along the Silk Road was good. It is thought that the bubonic plague, or Black Death, traveled to Europe from the Silk Road.

Very few merchants traveled along the entire route. Goods were traded at many cities and trade posts along the way.

There wasn't just one route, but many routes. Some were shorter, but more dangerous. Others took longer, but were safer.

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Why was the Silk Road important? The Silk Road was important because it helped to generate trade and commerce between a number of different kingdoms and empires. This helped for ideas, culture, inventions, and unique products to spread across much of the settled world. Why is it called the Silk Road?

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History Of Ancient China | Dynasties, Confucius, And The First Emperor

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Oracle Bones were bones that the Chinese would carve or scratch their questions on. Then the priests would burn the oracle bone until it would crack. Then the priest read these cracks to the Chinese people for their answer. The Chinese people believed their answer as from the gods. This was also known as the first stages of Chinese writing. These were very important to the Chinese.

Images for kids

In this Shang dynasty oracle bone (which is incomplete), a diviner asks the Shang king if there would be misfortune over the next ten days; the king replied that he had consulted the ancestor Xiaojia in a worship ceremony.

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Oracle Bones were bones that the Chinese would carve or scratch their questions on. Then the priests would burn the oracle bone until it would crack. Then the priest read these cracks to the Chinese people for their answer. The Chinese people believed their answer as from the gods.

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Oracle Bones (also known as Dragon’s Bones) were the shoulder blades of oxen or plastrons of turtles (the flat, underside of the turtle’s shell) which were used in the Shang Dynasty of China (c. 1600-1046...

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From Academic Kids

Shang Dynasty ( Chinese: 商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) ( 1600 BC - 1046 BC) followed the legendary Xia Dynasty and preceded the Zhou Dynasty ( 1122 BC - 256 BC) in China. Information about the Shang Dynasty comes from bronze artifacts and oracle bones, were turtle shells or cattle scapula on which were written the first recorded Chinese characters, found in the Huang He valley. These bones typically had three sections: a question for the oracle (charge), the oracle's answer (prognostication), and whether the oracle later proved to be correct (Verification). The bones are often from cattle, oxen or monkeys, but never from cats or dogs.

The Yin 殷 (latter half of Shang) left written historic records containing information on the politics, economy, culture, religion, geography, astronomy, calendar, art and medicine of the period, and as such provides critical insight toward the early stages of the Chinese civilization. The site of the Yin capital, later historically called the Ruins of Yin 殷墟, is near modern day Anyang 安陽. Archaeological work there uncovered 11 major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palace and ritual sites, all of them containing weapons of war. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone and ceramic artifacts have been obtained; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization. In terms of inscribed oracle bones alone, more than 20,000 were discovered. Many Chinese characters found in the inscriptions at the Ruins of Yin are still in use today.

The Shang dynasty is believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last (still legendary) Xia ruler. Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. The Records of the Grand Historian states that the Shang Dynasty moved its capital six times. The final and most important move to Yin in 1350 BC led to the golden age of the dynasty. The term Yin Dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although lately it has been used specifically in reference to the latter half of the Shang.

A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled over much of northern China, and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighboring settlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. The capitals, particularly in Yin, were centers of glittering court life. Court rituals to propitiate spirits and to honor sacred ancestors were highly developed. In addition to his secular position, the king was the head of the ancestor- and spirit-worship cult. Evidence from the royal tombs indicates that royal personages were buried with articles of value, presumably for use in the afterlife. Perhaps for the same reason, hundreds of commoners, who may have been slaves, were buried alive with the royal corpse.

Shang Zhou, the last Yin king, committed suicide after his army was defeated by the Zhou people. Legends say that his army betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in a decisive battle. A classical novel Fengshen Yanyi is about the war between that of Yin and Zhou, in which each was supported by one group of gods.

After the Yin's collapse, the surviving Yin ruling family collectively changed their surname from their royal 子 ( pinyin: zi; Wade-Giles: tzu) to the name of their fallen dynasty, Yin 殷. The family remained aristocratic and often provided needed administrative services to the succeeding Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou King Cheng 周成王 through the Regent, his uncle the Duke of Zhou Dan 周公旦, enfeoffed the Shang King Zhou's brother the Viscount of Wei, WeiZi 微子 in the old Shang capital at Shang 商 with the territory becoming the state of Song 宋. The State of Song and the royal Shang descendants maintained rites to the dead Shang kings and lasted until 286BC. (Source: Records of the Grand Historian).

Both Korean and Chinese legends state that a disgruntled Yin prince named 箕子 Jizi (Kija), who refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with his garrison and founded Gija Joseon near modern day Pyongyang to what would become one of the early Korean states (Go-, Gija-, and Wiman-Joseon). Though Jizi is mentioned only a few times in Shiji, it is thought that the story of his going to Joseon is but a myth.

Sovereigns of the Shang Dynasty

Convention: posthumous name or King + posthumous name

Order

Reign

Chinese

Hanyu Pinyin

Notes

19

28

盤庚

Shang finally settled down at Yin (殷 yin1). The period starting from Pan Geng is also called the Yin Dynasty, beginning the golden age of the Shang dynasty. Oracle bone inscriptions are thought to date at least to Pan Geng's era.

Note:

1. all dates are approximate up to 841 BC. Refer to Zhou dynasty for more info.

2. Personal names of most of the Shang sovereigns were unknown. The following names were most likely posthumous owing to frequent appearances of the Heavenly Stems.

See also

eo:Shang Dinastio fr:Dynastie Shang ja:殷fi:Shang-dynastia nl:Shang-dynastie no:Shang-dynastiet pt:Dinastia Shang zh:商朝

External link

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Shang Dynasty ( Chinese: 商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) ( 1600 BC - 1046 BC) followed the legendary Xia Dynasty and preceded the Zhou Dynasty ( 1122 BC - 256 BC) in China. Information about the Shang Dynasty comes from bronze artifacts and oracle bones, were turtle shells or cattle scapula on which were written the first recorded Chinese characters, found in the Huang He valley.

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Great Wall of China Facts

Check out our fun Great Wall of China facts for kids. Learn how long the Great Wall of China is, why it was built, what kind of materials it's made from and lots more.

Read on and enjoy learning about the Great Wall of China with our range of interesting trivia and information for kids.

Rather than being one long continuous wall, the Great Wall of China is made up of a number of different sections. These sections were built by various dynasties over a long period of time from stone and other materials.

Its main purpose was protection against attacks and invasions from the north.

The Great Wall of China stretches around 6300 kilometres (3915 miles) in length. If you measure the length of all the different sections of wall, the distance is more like 22000 kilometres (13670 miles).

The Great Wall of China is the longest structure ever built by humans.

The widest section of the wall is around 9 metres (30 ft).

The highest point of the wall is around 8 metres (26 ft)

The first parts of the wall were built over 2000 years ago.

A large number of workers have lost their lives while building the wall.

Major rebuilding of the Great Wall of China took place during the Ming Dynasty that began in the 14th century. Construction during this time was strong due to the use of stone and brick.

Earlier sections of the wall were made from stone, wood and compacted earth.

Some of the well maintained areas of the wall, such as those near Beijing, are popular tourist destinations.

While some parts of the wall have been preserved or renovated, other parts have been vandalised or destroyed to make way for construction.

Rumours that astronauts can see the Great Wall of China from the Moon with the naked eye are untrue.

Great Wall of China Facts

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Great Wall of China Facts Check out our fun Great Wall of China facts for kids. Learn how long the Great Wall of China is, why it was built, what kind of materials it's made from and lots more. Read on and enjoy learning about the Great Wall of China with our range of interesting trivia and information for kids.

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Great Wall of China Facts and Information for Kids

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Great Wall Of China Facts For Kids - Great Wall Of China Information

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Complete Great Wall Of China Facts For Kids that will answer all the questions that you might wonder about this wall. Learn about its location, dimensions, length, its material, history, construction, purpose, cost, myths and other interesting Great Wall Of China Information along with maps, pictures and videos.

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The Great Wall of China is one of the oldest, largest, and most celebrated achievements of human ingenuity, but there are still a few things you might not have known about China's ancient landmark.

1. BUILDING THE WALL TOOK MORE THAN 1800 YEARS.

The Great Wall wasn't the first fortification erected in Chinese territory to protect citizens from foreign invaders. As far back as the 8th century BCE, barriers were going up to repel nomadic armies. When Qin Shi Huang seized power of a collection of neighboring principalities in 221 BCE and kicked off the Qin Dynasty, he began construction on a 5000-kilometer wall to safeguard his territory. Later dynasties continued this work and added their own flourishes. While construction began under the Qin Dynasty, the recognizable segments that we think of when we visualize the Great Wall were largely the handiwork of the Ming Dynasty, which created these facets between the 14th and 17th centuries CE.

2. THE STRUCTURE ISN'T ONE CONSISTENT WALL, BUT A COLLECTION OF WALLS.

There's a pervasive misconception that the Great Wall of China is one long uninterrupted structure. In fact, the Wall is more accurately described as a 20,000-kilometer network of walls spanning the northern border of Ancient and Imperial Chinese territories.

3. A SURPRISING INGREDIENT CAN BE FOUND IN THE WALL.

The Great Wall is largely crafted from unremarkable building materials like earth and stone. More interestingly, glutinous rice-known colloquially as "sticky rice"-was incorporated into the mortar recipe thanks to its cohesive properties. Modern studies have indicated that the amylopectin of the rice (the same substance that makes it sticky) helps explain the wall's strength and endurance.

4. WALL CONSTRUCTION WAS A COMMON PUNISHMENT FOR CHINESE CONVICTS.

In a particularly extreme version of modern community service, Great Wall construction, maintenance, and surveillance were regular duties of convicted criminals during the Qin Dynasty. To distinguish outlaw laborers from their civilian colleagues, authorities shaved working convicts' heads, blackened their faces, and bound their limbs in chains. Transgressions ranging from homicide to tax evasion were all punishable with Wall duty. The work was dangerous-some estimates state that 400,000 workers perished while building the wall.

5. ROOSTERS WERE BROUGHT TO THE GREAT WALL TO HONOR THE DEAD.

With so many lives lost during construction, grieving family members feared that the spirits of their loved ones would be forever trapped within the structure that cost them their lives. In an effort to grant deceased laborers spiritual emancipation, a mourner would cross over the Wall with a rooster in tow. This tradition was believed to help guide a soul away from the fortification.

6. AN ANCIENT POEM PREDICTS CONSTRUCTION OF THE GREAT WALL.

The Shijing, a collection of Ancient Chinese poems written between the 11th and 7th centuries BCE, predicts proper construction of the Great Wall of China with an entry describing a king's efforts to fend off military invaders via development of a defensive barrier.

7. THE WALL PAYS TRIBUTE TO MYTHICAL AND HISTORICAL FIGURES.

Lining the Great Wall are shrines and tributes to figures from Chinese history. Guan Yu, a third-century general who served during the Han dynasty, is honored with temples built on the Wall. Additionally, various points on the Wall pay homage to Tiānwáng, the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhism.

8. THE WALL WAS NOT THAT GREAT AT KEEPING OUT INVADING FORCES.

Despite all the effort that went into making Great Wall the premiere component of China's military defense system, many of the country's varied enemies throughout history managed passage across the barrier. Manchurian invasion through the Wall in the 17th century resulted in the fall of the Ming dynasty.

9. HISTORICALLY, OTHER CULTURES HAVE BEEN FONDER OF THE GREAT WALL THAN CHINA HAS.

China's celebration of the Great Wall as a tourist draw and landmark is a relatively recent phenomenon, having only blossomed in the 20th century as a result of international interest. China first took note of the Wall's wide appeal in the 19th century, following its engagement in relations with other Asian and European countries. Travelers and merchants returned to their home countries with stories they translated into art and print, creating an enchantment with the Great Wall that helped spark Chinese appreciation for the structure.

10. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXAGGERATING FOR CENTURIES ABOUT THE WALL'S VISIBILITY FROM SPACE.

Despite numerous accounts to the contrary, the Great Wall of China's reputation for extraterrestrial visibility stands strong to this day. One good sign that this claim is specious lies in the fact that it dates back two centuries before mankind mastered space travel. English scholar William Stukeley outlined the idea in his Family Memoirs, written in 1754. The myth got a boost from journalist Henry Norman's 1895 book The Peoples and Politics of the Far East, as well as in a 1932 Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon strip. More reliable sources-astronaut Neil Armstrong among them-assert that the Great Wall is by no means visible from space, much less the moon. At best, the Wall can be spotted from a low orbit, sunlight and weather permitting.

11. THOUSANDS OF MILES OF THE ORIGINAL GREAT WALL HAVE DISAPPEARED.

Today, the surviving elements of the Great Wall of China stretch to a whopping 13,171 miles. Impressive though the measurement may be, it's quite a decrease from what is believed to be the Wall's peak length during the Ming dynasty. More than 1200 miles' worth, or approximately one third, of the construction from this period no longer stands.

12. PIECES OF THE GREAT WALL WERE RECYCLED TO BUILD CIVILIAN HOMES IN THE 1960s AND 1970s.

During the 20th century sociopolitical movement known as Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government did quite a bit of damage to the Great Wall. Mao Zedong and the Red Guard recognized the Wall as little more than a relic whose materials would better serve in the development of contemporaneous housing. Between 1966 and 1976, miles of the Wall were stripped of bricks and repurposed to build civilian homes.

13. CERTAIN STANDING PORTIONS OF THE WALL MIGHT VANISH BEFORE 2040.

Predictions about the Great Wall's fortitude have grown increasingly dire during the 21st century. Natural weathering and human-imparted erosion may result in the disappearance of certain parts of the Wall before 2040. Portions of the Wall in the Gansu province are thought to be in particular jeopardy.

14. NEW SECTIONS OF THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA ARE STILL BEING DISCOVERED.

Previously unknown stretches of the Great Wall have been discovered as recently as 2012. In the past decade, archaeologists have located some of the northernmost sections yet to be identified, standing in and on the border of present day Mongolia.

15. THE GREAT WALL GOES BY MANY NAMES AROUND THE WORLD.

"The Great Wall of China" is a nickname commonly used by Americans, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, while other Western nations prefer a humbler designation: "The Chinese Wall." Within China, the Wall has known a number of monikers, having been introduced in its inceptive days as "The 10,000-Li-Long Wall" (as in the first century BCE publication Records of the Grand Historian) and "The Long Wall of 10,000 Li" (as in Book of Song, published during the fifth century CE), a Li being about a third of a mile. Over time, the Wall earned some more ostentatious handles, including "The Purple Frontier" and "The Earth Dragon." Ultimately, China christened its manmade wonder with a simple but appropriate name: "The Long Wall."
All images courtesy of iStock

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15 Colossal Facts About the Great Wall of China

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The Great Wall of China is one of the oldest, largest, and most celebrated achievements of human ingenuity, but there are still a few things you might not have known about China's ancient landmark. 1. BUILDING THE WALL TOOK MORE THAN 1800 YEARS.

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Researchers have uncovered the remains of donkeys in the tomb of an ancient Chinese noblewoman who died in Xi'an in A.D. 878.

According to a study published in the journal Antiquity, the woman-known as Cui Shi-was buried with the donkeys so that she could play polo in the afterlife.

While ancient Chinese texts from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) indicate that noblewomen played polo riding donkeys, the authors say the latest discovery represents the first archaeological evidence of this practice, highlighting the significance of these animals for the elite of imperial China.

Donkeys were widely used across the ancient world as beasts of burden, facilitating trade and transport. But unlike horses, it was uncommon for the animals to be used in warfare, or for elite entertainment, leisure activities and transport. Thus, the latest study broadens our understanding of their role at this point in history.

"Donkeys were the first pack animal, the steam engines of their day in Africa and western Eurasia, but we know almost nothing about their use in eastern Asia," Fiona Marshall, an author of the study from Washington University in St. Louis, said in a statement.

"Donkey skeletons just have not been found-this is probably because they died along trade routes and were not preserved," she said. "The donkeys buried in the Tang Dynasty noble tomb in Xi'an provided a first opportunity-and a very rare one-to understand donkeys' roles in East Asian societies."

Experts think that polo-a game traditionally played on horseback-originated in ancient Iran, spreading across the territories of the Parthian Empire (c. 247 B.C.-A.D. 224.) By the seventh century A.D., the game was being played on the Tibetan Plateau and central China.

At the time, it was considered a prestigious sport, played by the military and the nobility of the Tang Dynasty, which was centered around the cosmopolitan city of Xi'an, located at the starting point of the Silk Road.

So important was the sport that one Tang Dynasty ruler, Emperor Xizong, even used a polo competition to select military generals. In fact, one of the winners of this competition was the husband of Cui Shi. Nevertheless, the game was dangerous to play when large horses were used and sometimes resulted in fatalities.

A similar sport known as "Lvju" using donkeys-smaller and steadier animals than horses-became popular among elite women and older individuals. But while Lvju is mentioned in the historical literature, it had only previously been documented in artworks and artifacts.

For their study, the researchers carried out radiocarbon dating and analyzed the donkey bones of Cui Shi's tomb, which was first excavated in 2012.

According to the team, the stresses they observed on the bones indicate that the donkeys buried in the tomb were used for tasks other than burden carrying, with the presence of a stirrup in the tomb-in addition to the owner's status-making it likely the animal was used for polo. At this time in Chinese history, animals were often placed in tombs so that they could be used for specific purposed in the afterlife.

"There was no reason for a lady such as Cui Shi to use a donkey, let alone sacrifice it for her afterlife," Songmei Hu, another author of the study from the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, said in a statement. "This is the first time such a burial has been found."

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Ancient Chinese noblewoman was buried with her donkeys so she could play polo in the afterlife

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Researchers have uncovered the remains of donkeys in the tomb of an ancient Chinese noblewoman who died in Xi'an in A.D. 878. According to a study published in the journal Antiquity, the woman-known as Cui Shi-was buried with the donkeys so that she could play polo in the afterlife.

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What's your sign? In Western astrology, it's a constellation determined by when your birthday falls in the calendar. But according to the Chinese zodiac, or shēngxiào, it's your shǔxiàng, meaning the animal assigned to your birth year. And of the many myths explaining these animal signs and their arrangement, the most enduring one is that of the Great Race. As the story goes, Yù Dì, or Jade Emperor, Ruler of the Heavens, wanted to devise a way to measure time, so he organized a race. The first twelve animals to make it across the river would earn a spot on the zodiac calendar in the order they arrived. The rat rose with the sun to get an early start, but on the way to the river, he met the horse, the tiger, and the ox. Because the rat was small and couldn't swim very well, he asked the bigger animals for help. While the tiger and horse refused, the kind-hearted ox agreed to carry the rat across. Yet, just as they were about to reach the other side, the rat jumped off the ox's head and secured first place. The ox came in second, with the powerful tiger right behind him. The rabbit, too small to battle the current, nimbly hopped across stones and logs to come in fourth. Next came the dragon, who could have flown directly across, but stopped to help some creatures she had encountered on the way. After her came the horse, galloping across the river. But just as she got across, the snake slithered by. The startled horse reared back, letting the snake sneak into sixth place. The Jade Emperor looked out at the river and spotted the sheep, the monkey, and the rooster all atop a raft, working together to push it through the weeds. When they made it across, the trio agreed to give eighth place to the sheep, who had been the most comforting and harmonious of them, followed by the monkey and the rooster. Next came the dog, scrambling onto the shore. He was a great swimmer, but frolicked in the water for so long that he only managed to come in eleventh. The final spot was claimed by the pig, who had gotten hungry and stopped to eat and nap before finally waddling across the finish line. And so, each year is associated with one of the animals in this order, with the cycle starting over every 60 years. Why 60 and not twelve? Well, the traditional Chinese calendar is made up of two overlapping systems. The animals of the zodiac are associated with what's called the Twelve Earthly Branches, or shí'èrzhī. Another system, the Ten Heavenly Stems, or tiāngān, is linked with the five classical elements of metal, xīn, wood, mù, water, shuǐ, fire, huǒ, and earth, tǔ. Each element is assigned yīn or yáng, creating a ten-year cycle. When the twelve animals of the Earthly Branches are matched with the five elements plus the yīn or the yáng of the Heavenly Stems, it creates 60 years of different combinations, known as a sexagenary cycle, or gānzhī. So someone born in 1980 would have the sign of yáng metal monkey, while someone born in 2007 would be yīn fire pig. In fact, you can also have an inner animal based on your birth month, a true animal based on your birth date, and a secret animal based on your birth hour. It was the great race that supposedly determined which animals were enshrined in the Chinese zodiac, but as the system spread through Asia, other cultures made changes to reflect their communities. So if you consult the Vietnamese zodiac, you may discover that you're a cat, not a rabbit, and if you're in Thailand, a mythical snake called a Naga replaces the dragon. So whether or not you place stock in what the zodiac says about you as an individual, it certainly reveals much about the culture it comes from.

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Transcript of "The myth behind the Chinese zodiac"

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TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript: What's your sign? In Western astrology, it's a constellation determined by when your birthday falls in the calendar. But according to the Chinese zodiac (生肖), it's your shuxiang, meaning the animal assigned to your birth year.

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Transcript of "The Chinese myth of the immortal white snake"

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TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript: The talented herbalist Xu Xian had just started his own medicine shop where he created remedies with the help of his wife, Bai Su Zhen. One day a monk named Fa Hai approached him, warning him that there was a demon in his house.