China is one of the four cradles of the world’s earliest civilizations. She boasts a recorded history of nearly 4,000 years. The whole history is divided into four stages, namely the Primitive Society, the Slave Society, the Feudal Imperial Society and the Modern Period.
The first stage is named as the Primitive Society by historians. Its history was much associated with the presumed the Pre-Xia Dynasty which could be traced back to 5,000 years ago.
The second stage is the Slave Society. It lasted from 21st Century B.C. to the year of 221 B.C., when Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the whole China. The emperor established his powerful empire, the Qin Empire. It was the first centralized monarchy in Chinese history.
The third stage is called the Feudal Imperial Society. Begun with the establishment of China’s centralism, the Feudal Imperial Society extended almost two thousand years in China. It was ended due to the Opium War which broke out in 1840. During the period, dynasties were founded and overthrown one after another.
The Modern Period started in 1840. After the Opium War, China gradually fell into a state of semi-feudal and semi-colonial. From 1840 to 1919, Chinese people suffered a lot and launched numerous revolutionary movements against the rule of feudalism, imperialism and colonialism. In 1912, the Republic of China came into being. A protest against the Norther Warlord’s Government was mounted in Beijing on May 4th of 1919. The protest was named as the May 4th Movement. It was a turning point of Chinese revolutionary history. In the following thirty years, Chinese people kept struggling and fought the three civil wars and the Anti-Japanese War. Finally, the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949.
The Primitive Society
Chinese history began with two legendary figures, Emperor Huang(or the Yellow Emperor) and Emperor Yan(or the Red Emperor). They were chieftains of the two tribes which inhabited in the Yellow River Basin in the years of around 3000 B.C.. The two tribes gradually melted into one in the following centuries. That’s the reason why Chinese people always call themselves “the descendants of Yan and Huang”. The melted tribe was called Hua-xia in Chinese. Therefore, Chinese people are also known as "Hua People" abroad. Hua-xia refers to Hua Mountain and the ancient Xia River. Because the ancient Hua-xia people believed that the land they lived on was the center of the world, they called their land “the Middle State”. As the ruins were discovered and excavated, like Longshan Ruin in Shandong Province and Taosi Ruin in Shanxi Province, the existence of Hua-xia Civilization has been proved. The historians also named Hua-xia Civilization as the Pre-xia State. Three kings ruled the Pre-xia State one after another, namely, King Yao, King Shun and King Yu.
The point is that both King Yao and King Shun did not passed the throne to their own sons, but the worthy and capable successors. In the years around 2200 B.C., a terrible flood struck their land. King Shun sent Gun to control the flood. Gun led people to build dams to block the flood, but failed. King Shun gave an order to kill Gun. Yu was the son of Gun. When he grew up, he undertook his father’s unfinished task. His father’s failure taught him a lesson. He did not build dams, but led people to dig ditches to discharge the water. He worked ceaselessly for thirteen years and succeeded in bringing the flood under control. As the legend has it, so busy was he that “thrice he had gone past his own house without even looking in”. As a reward for his achievement, King Shun passed the throne to Yu. When King Yu died, his son, Xia-Qi seized power and renamed the state as Xia, the first dynasty in China. It was the beginning of hereditary monarchy in Chinese history.
The Xia Dynasty (2100-1600 B.C.) ------ the Beginning of the Slave Society
At the beginning of the Xia Dynasty, a tribe whose name was Youhu rose in rebellion. The tribe inhabited in the west part of the country. King Xia-Qi launched a military expedition to the west and defeated the rebels. They fought in the Gan area, a place in the present Henan Province. It is the first battle recorded in the historical records.
Both farming and stock breeding were well developed in the Xia Dynasty. People were familiar with the phenomena of seasonal variation and arranged their farm work accordingly. Even the Chinese Lunar Calendar is also called the Xia Calendar.
The second king of Xia, King Shaokang used sorghum to brew wine in about 1800 B.C.. It is considered as the beginning of Chinese wine culture. It also tells us how high the agriculture level reached in the Xia Dynasty.
The last king of Xia, King Xia-Jie, is notorious in Chinese history for his debauchery. He built his palace to entertain himself and his concubines which was well-known as “the Pond of Wine and the Forest of Meat”. All he did resulted in the fall of his country.
The Shang Dynasty (1600-1100 B.C.)
The Shang Dynasty is renowned for its highly developed bronze smelting and casting technology, which brought about the division of labor in society. People were separated into urban and rural dwellers. Members of the nobility lived with their craftsmen in the towns, serfs were forced to work in the surrounding countryside.
Religious rites were regularly staged by the nobles. In addition to the god, they also worshiped their ancestors. Many sacrifices were offered in the ceremonies, like livestock, poultry and preys. Archaeologists discovered a large number of objects buried with the nobles in their tombs, such as jade wares, gold wares and bronze articles. In many cases, slaves were also forced to be killed and buried together with their deceased masters.
The Shang Dynasty became known not only from the historical records, but also the excavations. The archaeologists found many inscriptions on oracle bones and tortoise shells. In the Shang period, a popular divination was to carve some dots on a tortoise shell, put it over a flame, and find a diviner to interpret what the cracks appeared on the shell told. It is considered as the earliest Chinese writing language.
The last ruler of Shang, King Xin was fatuous and self-indulgent. His dissoluteness and extravagance led to both the revolts staged by people and the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty.
The Zhou Dynasty (1100-256 B.C.)
The Zhou Dynasty lasted for nearly 800 years. It comprises three stages, the Western Zhou, the Spring and Autumn Period of the Eastern Zhou and the Warring States period of Eastern Zhou. The Zhou Dynasty takes a significant role in the whole Chinese history. On the one hand, it was the transitional period between the Slave Society and the Feudal Imperial Society; and on the other hand, it was the pregnancy period for Chinese philosophy and culture.
Zhou was originally a vassal state under the suzerainty of Shang. It lied in the west part of Shang Kingdom. As King Xin, the last ruler of Shang, indulged himself in his extravagant life, his Kingdom gradually declined. Meanwhile, the Zhou State thrived owing to the efforts made by its wise ruler, King Zhou-Wen. Gradually, the Zhou state gained influence among the vassal states. Both the reputation and influence which King Zhou-Wen gained made King Xin jealous. King Zhou-Wen was once summoned by the suzerain, King Xin. When King Zhou-Wen arrived at the capital of Shang, he was arrested and thrown into prison by King Xin. King Zhou-Wen was tortured in the prison for seven years. During his stay in the prison, he composed the Book of Changes. He integrated the thought of Fuxi with the theory of Yin-yang in his work. Fuxi was the earliest ancestor of Chinese people. He was a sage who created the principle of Eight Diagrams. Yin-yang indicates the balance between the opposites. King Zhou-Wen created the Sixty-four Diagrams in his book. The Sixty-four Diagrams resemble the diversification of phenomena and help to foretell what result from a certain phenomenon. He hoped that the book might be helpful for his successor to rule his state in case that he was not able to return to his homeland. However, he was released by King Xin, after his people offered the suzerain beautiful women and treasures. He went home and determined to launch a war against King Xin not only for revenge, but also for all the people suffering. He found a wise man whose name was Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya was requested to be the prime minister of Zhou. After the King Zhou-Wen passed away, the prime minister helped the successor of Zhou in the war against King Xin. King Zhou-Wu, the successor convened a meeting of the vassal states for alliance at Mengjin, the present Luoyang, Henan Province. The allies launched the war against King Xin and eventually defeated the Shang’s troops at Muye, the present Nanqi County, Henan Province.
In the year of 1100 B.C., King Zhou-Wu, established Zhou Dynasty with its capital at Haojing, the present Xi’an. The historians named his dynasty as the Western Zhou. The allies became vassal states under the suzerainty of the Zhou Kingdom. The prime minster was appointed as the King of Qi State. In the year of 771 B.C., King You of Zhou was attacked and killed by the king of Shen State for revenge.
In 770 B.C., King Zhou-Ping, was enthroned and moved his capital to Luoyang. His dynasty was named as the Eastern Zhou. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty became weaker and weaker. The vassal states struggled for the supreme power. The history of the Eastern Zhou is divided into two stages, namely the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
The Spring and Autumn Period lasted from 770 B.C. to 476 B.C.. It is the time when Chinese philosophy and culture germinated. Many of philosophy schools were initiated and formed, like Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism.
The Warring States Period extended until the Qin State unified the whole China in the year of 221 B.C.. At the beginning of the Warring States Period, the vassal states kept staging wars against one another. The seven strongest survivors included Qin, Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han, Qi and Yan. Eventually, the winner was the Qin State. The Qin State started to the feudalism into practice in 356 B.C.. Shang Yang, the deputy prime minister launched the great reform of social, legal and economic system. The serfdom was abolished and replaced with feudalism. It led the Qin State to the fast and long-term enhancement of social productivity.
Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.)
Owing to the implementation of reform, the Qin State became the most powerful one among the vassal states during the Warring States Period. In the year of 221 B.C., Emperor Qin Shi Huang succeeded in unifying the whole China, and established the first centralized monarchy in Chinese history. He granted himself the title of emperor and claimed that he was the first emperor under heaven. Huang means emperor, and Shi means to start. In fact, the title of emperor was brought into use by Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
Though the Qin Dynasty lasted only 15 years, its significance in Chinese history is tremendous. The empire ushered in a highly united and centralized feudal China. The monarch divided the whole country into prefectures and counties. Each was under the administration of the central government. The written language was simplified and made uniform. The weights, measures and coinages were standardized. A network of roads was built, stretching from the capital to the furthest limits of the empire, while the wheel-base dimensions of all carriages and carts were standardized. Land reclamation, cultivation, and weaving industry were encouraged.
On the one hand, Emperor Qin Shi Huang made a great contribution to China’s civilization, and on the other hand, he was also criticized by the historians for his tyranny and cruelty. Hundreds and thousands of peasants were forced to extend the defending walls of the former northern vassal states with an attempt to safeguard the empire from the attack of northern nomads. A large number of people died during the construction of the Great Wall. In order to steamroller the oppositions, the monarch gave an order to arrest Confucian scholars and burn their books. Over 400 scholars were buried alive in the political purge.
The emperor passed away in 210 B.C.. The successor was more cruel to people. He murdered his brother and killed loyal men served for the empire. He kept forcing his people to finish the Great Wall. In 209 B.C. a rebellion broke out. It was the first peasant uprising in Chinese history. The rebels were led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. The empire collapsed and eventually overthrown in the year of 206 B.C.
The Han Dynasty (206 B.C-220 A.D.)
Though the uprising launched by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang was defeated by the Qin army, it brought about more violent rebellions against the monarch of Qin. Liu Bang’s force took over the capital of Qin, the present Xi’an, and destroyed another rebel force which was led by Xiang Yu. Liu Bang established his empire in Chang’an, the present Xi’an, and named the empire as Han. The majority of China is named after the Han Dynasty. The monarchs of Han strengthened the centralism and feudalism. The founding emperor of Han witnessed the decline of Qin. It must be a lesson to him for ruling the country. He and his successors focused on the recovery of productivity. Agriculture, handicraft and trade were highly enhanced. The silk weaving industry flourished in the city of Chengdu. The invention of seismograph by Zhang Heng was a great achievement in science. The Records of Historians was composed by Sima Qian during the reign of Emperor Han-Wu(140-87 B.C.). It was the most notable work in both literature and historical study. Confucianism had become the leading philosophy since the Han Dynasty. Cai Lun was the inventor of paper, who served Emperor Han-Ming(28-75) of the Eastern Han as an official. The invention of paper might be China’s greatest contribution to all the cultures around the world. Emperor Han-Wu staged battles against the northern nomads, and safeguarded his empire. He sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions for exploration, making friends, and opening the Silk Road. Buddhism spread to China during the reign of Emperor Han-Ming. By the end of Eastern Han, the religion of Taoism was founded by Zhang Dao Lin(34-156) in the present Sichuan Province.
The Han Dynasty is divided into two stages, the Western Han(206 B.C.-8 A.D.) and the Eastern Han(25-220). In the year of 9, a senior official, Wang Mang staged a coup, seized the power and claimed the crown. He renamed the empire as Xin, which means the new in English. The Han’s princes and governors revolted against the usurper. The civil war lasted for fifteen years. In the year of 25, Liu Xiu restored the Han Empire with its capital in Luoyang. The historians named it as the Eastern Han. By the end of the Eastern Han, a turbulent peasant uprising broke out, which was called “the Yellow Ribbon Rebellion”. The country fell in chaos. Many of the regional governors suppressed the rebellion and took the opportunity to build up their own political and military power. They became warlords. Finally, the Han Empire was carved into three, the State of Wei, the State of Shu Han, and the State of Wu. The State of Wei was established by the son of Cao Cao with its capital in Luoyan. It ruled the northern China. Cao Cao used to be the prime minister of the Eastern Han Empire. The State of Shu Han was founded by Liu Bei with its capital in Chengdu, occupying the southwestern China. Liu Bei claimed that he was one of the descendants of Han emperors. The State of Wu took over the Yangtze River Basin, controlled the southeastern China. The founder, Sun Quan made Nanjing his capital. The Shu Han Kingdom was destroyed by the State of Wei in the year of 263. Sima Yan was a usurper. He wrested the power from the king of Wei and established Jin Dynasty. The State of Wu surrendered to the Jin Emperor in 280.
The Jin Dynasty (265-420)
The Jin Dynasty is divided into the Western Jin Period(256-316) and the Eastern Jin Period(317-420). By the end of the Western Jin Period, eight princes revolted against the central government. It resulted in the collapse of the kingdom. The nomads took this opportunity to take over the northern China. People suffered a lot from the chaos. In the year of 317, Sima Rui, a member of the royal family, reestablished the kingdom in Nanjing. The historians named it as the Eastern Jin. It occupied the south part of China. Liu Yu was a general of the Eastern Jin. He staged a coup and established the Liu Song Kingdom in 420. In the following one and a half century, the power was seized by usurpers one after another. The southern China was successively controlled the Kingdom of Qi, the Kingdom of Liang, and the Kingdom of Chen. Meanwhile the north part of China was taken over by sixteen warlords. The warlords fought against one another. However, as a survivor in the chaos, the Northern Wei destroyed all the other opponents in the northern China. However, it was carved into two independent states in 534. In the following decades, four powers existed in the northern China, including the Eastern Wei, the Western Wei, the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou. The historians named the chaos as the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period. In the year of 581, the Kingdom of Sui rose up and unified the whole China.
In the period from the Three Kingdoms to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the contributions made by some celebrities were worth being mentioned. Hua Tuo(145-208) was one of the noted doctors in Chinese history. According to the record, he was the first one in the history who performed operations after giving the patients anaesthetic. Zu Chongzhi was a famous mathematician. His accurate calculation of the Pi(the RATIO of CIRCUMFERENCE of a circle to its DIAMETER) was a tremendous contribution to the development of science.
The Sui Dynasty (581-618)
The founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty was Yang Jian. He was a senior general of the Northern Zhou State. In the year of 581, Yang Jian mounted a coup in the capital of the Northern Zhou, Luoyang. He proclaimed himself emperor and vowed to stop the chaos. His posthumous title was Emperor Sui-Wen. The emperor reunified the whole China in the year of 589. He was a wise emperor. Taxation and conscription were reduced. The reform of governmental structure was launched. The central government comprised three departments and six ministries. The Imperial Examination System was implemented. The construction of the Grand Canal was the most outstanding achievement. Linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the Grand Canal greatly improved the transport by water between the north and the south. But the Sui emperors also squandered a huge amount of money and manpower resources on the construction of their palace and the wars against the neighboring states. Rebels revolted all over the county. The ruler, Emperor Sui-Yang was assassinated in 618, then the Sui Empire collapsed. Li Yuan, was a duke, whose title was granted by the founding emperor of Sui. He led his army to fight against the succeeding emperor, defeated all other rebels and established his Tang Empire with its capital in Xi’an.
The Tang Dynasty (618-907)
The development of Chinese feudal society reached its climax in the Tang Dynasty. During the period of Tang, the economy prospered, the achievement in both culture and science were tremendous, the productivity of both agriculture and handicraft was enhanced, the relations with neighboring countries were strengthened, the Silk Road was reopened. The Tang Empire made a marked impact on the development of the world. Even today, the towns resided by the overseas Chinese are still named after the Tang Dynasty.
The Chinese Classic Literature was experiencing a renaissance in the Tang period. The poets in the Tang period handed down nearly 5,000 poems to the modern Chinese people. The most celebrated poets in the Tang Dynasty were Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi.
Xuan Zang, a Buddhist scholar went to India for pilgrimage. In the year of 628, he started his long journey from the Tang’s capital, Chang’an, the present Xi’an. The scholar traveled along the Silk Road to the Central Asia and reached India. It was one of the hardest adventures in history. Xuan Zang stayed in India for 15 years, visited many Buddhist Monasteries and studied Buddhism from the local scholars. He returned to his homeland and arrived at the capital in 645. Then, the scholar began to translate the Buddhist scriptures which he took back. He also wrote a travel log, which was entitled the Records of the Western Travels. It is a very important reference for researchers to study both the history and geography of ancient India, as well as the Central Asia. The novel Journey to the West is a mythological account of his adventure to India. It depicts the untold hardship Xuan Zang experienced on the way to India for his pilgrimage. He is accompanied by some mythological figures, such as the Monkey King. The Monkey King is called Sun Wukong, is one of Xuan Zang’s disciples. Sun Wukong has strong magic power and always rescues his master from the lairs of ghosts and monsters.
In order to spread Buddhism to the further places, Jian Zhen(688-763), another Buddhist scholar of the Tang Dynasty, tried five times to sail from Yangzhou to Japan. Each time he failed and he eventually became blind. Accompanied by 24 disciples, he succeeded in the year of 754. In the next year, he started to preach in Nara, the capital of Japan at that time. He became the founder of the Ritsugku Buddhism of Japan. The disciples accompanied him to Japan were monks, architects, artists, doctors and pharmacists. They worked together and greatly enhanced the cultural exchange between the two countries. The magnificent Tang-styled Toshodai Monastery in Nara was designed by Jian Zhen.
Known as “the King of Doctors and Pharmacists”, Sun Simiao was a distinguished doctor of the Tang Dynasty. He composed the Collection of Prescriptions. It was a remarkable achievement in Chinese traditional medical science.
Princess Wen-Cheng was sent to Tibet by Emperor Tang-Taizong. She married the leader of Tibetan people, King Songtsen Gampo. She was accompanied to Tibet by a group of people from the Tang Empire. Her companions included guardians, servants, doctors, artists, farmers, craftsmen and monks. She taught Tibetan people to farm their land. Thangka painting became a traditional artwork of Tibetans. The Mahayana Buddhism spread to Tibet due to the marriage between the Tang princess and the Tibetan king. The world famous Potala Palace was built by King Songtsen Gampo for the Tang princess.
Wu Zetian(624-705) was born in Lizhou Prefecture, the current Guangyuan, Sichuan Province. Her father was a general, and she was a pretty and smart girl. When the girl was fourteen, She was summoned by Emperor Tang-Taizong to the palace, and became one of the emperor’s concubines. However she fell in love with one of the emperor’s sons, Li Zhi, who became the successor of the empire. Emperor Tang-Taizong passed away in 649. Wu Zetian was forced to live in a Buddhist convent near the capital. Two years later, she was taken back to the successor, Emperor Tang-Gaozong, and gained his favour. Eventually, she became the wife of Emperor Tang-Gaozong. She lived with her husband for 32 years. During this period, she assisted her husband in the state affairs. After Emperor Tang-Gaozong died, she proclaimed herself empress and ruled the country for 22 years. Wu Zetian is the only empress in Chinese history who claimed the crown.
The empire declined due to rebellions. In the year of 907, the Tang Empire was overthrown by a warlord, Zhu Wen. The warlord established his Later Liang State. After the Tang Empire collapsed, the whole country fell into chaos. In the following 53 years, the central China was controlled by five states one after another, namely, the Later Liang, the Later Tang, the Later Jin, the Later Han, and the Later Zhou. The other parts of China was occupied by ten regional warlords. The historians named the chaos period as the Five Dynasties and Ten States.
The Song Dynasty (960-1279)
The Song Dynasty is divided into two stages, the Northern Song(960-1127) and the Southern Song(1127-1279). Zhao Kuangyin was originally a senior general of the Later Zhou State. In the year of 959, the king of the Later Zhou died, and the successor was only 7 years old. Zhao Kuangyin mounted a coup and established the Song Dynasty. He succeeded in reuniting the greater part of the country. His posthumous title was Emperor Song-Taizu. However, the northeast part of the country was ruled by a group of Tartar nomads, known as the Khitan, whose state was named as the Kingdom of Liao. The northwest part of the country remained under control of the West Xia Kingdom(1038-1227), which was founded by another group of Tartars. The Song emperors tried to retake these regions, but failed. The failure of the Song Dynasty was a direct result of military weakness. The Song emperors restricted the power of generals so that none of the generals could stage a coup and seize the power in the same way the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty did. The Song’s monarchs allied his country with the Jurchen nomads to wage a war against the Khitan. In the year of 1115, the Jurchen people established their own realm, the Jurchen’s Jin Kingdom(1115-1234). After they destroyed the Khitan in 1125, the Jurchen’s army moved on the way to attack the Song Kingdom. They took over the Song’s capital in the year of 1127, and captured the emperors of the Song, Emperor Song-Huizong and Emperor Song-Qinzhong. It was the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. The remnants of the Song followers moved to the south and reestablished their kingdom in Nanjing. Zhao Gou was one of the Song’s princes, whose posthumous title was Emperor Song-Gaozong. He proclaimed himself emperor, and moved his capital to Hangzhou. The Southern Song Kingdom only occupied the Yangtze River Valley and the southern China. Led by Temujin, the Mongolians rose up against the Jurchen’s rulers in the north. Temujin’s title was Genghis Khan. He founded the Mongol Empire. His cavalry swept away all the enemies in the northern China. In the year of 1271, Kublai Khan, one of the Genghis Khan’s grandsons, renamed the kingdom as the Yuan Empire. He moved his capital to Beijing in the next year. The Song was finally conquered in 1279.
Due to the chaos in the northern China, many wealthy people migrated to the south in the Tenth Century. When the Northern Song fell, the economy in the south had been much developed. Though half of the land was captured by the nomads, the Song’s rulers and the gentry still lived an extravagant and easy life. During this period, the custom of foot-binding became popular among the girls of wealthy families. They believed that the small feet would make women more graceful and sexy. If the women were caught by enemies, they would not be taken away because their small feet disabled themselves to walk far. Like the custom of waist-girdling which was popular in Europe in the Nineteenth Century, the foot-binding served as a yoke for women to emphasize their inferior position in the society.
In ancient China, the Song Dynasty was one of the weakest in terms of its military power. But its social productivity was greatly enhanced, economy rapidly prospered, science steadily developed, and culture highly flourished. The maritime commerce between China and other countries was started. The silk products and porcelains were shipped to India, the Middle East and the East Africa from Hangzhou and Conton. Paper money was issued. It led to the acceleration of trade. The earliest banknote was found in Chengdu, which was called Jiaozi. The invention of Movable-typed Letterpress Printing by Bi Sheng stimulated the literary creation. Many men of letters expressed their sorrows over the country’s misfortunes and their frustration of ambitions. They created a new form of poetry, Song-Ci Lyric Poem. It was recited with music. Unlike the Regular Tang Poem, the Song-Ci Poem comprises verses or lines in unequal length. The representative poets in the Song Dynasty were Su Dongpo and Xin Qiji. According to the subject, the traditional Chinese painting is classified into the landscape painting, the figure painting and the flower-and-bird painting. The painters in the Song Dynasty pushed the Chinese traditional painting to a higher level. Emperor Song-Huizong was one of outstanding painters. The porcelains produced in the Song Dynasty are renowned for its craftsmanship and elegance. The compass which had been invented by Chinese at a much earlier date, was widely utilized in navigation during the Song period. The gunpowder was also invented, when some Taoists were making their elixirs. The top four Chinese inventions are the Paper, the Movable-typed Letterpress Printing, the Compass and the Gunpowder. In fact, the Song Dynasty thrived in both culture and science.
The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
The Yuan Dynasty was the first highly united and centralized feudal monarchy dominated by a minority in Chinese history. It lasted for 97 years. The biggest problem of the Yuan Empire was the succession to the throne, which led to its internal struggle and strife. From 1280 to 1368, the crown was handed to the successors ten times. The empire was weakened due to the wars with an attempt to expand its territory. Most of the rulers restrained the Han people from state affairs. All of the above factors resulted in the fall of the empire. In 1360s, Zhu Yuanzhang staged a revolt with his followers. He captured Nanjing, and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368. The remnants of the Yuan’s army were driven away to the far north.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the country was divided into provinces. The Mongols believed in Lamaism, and Master Phags-pa was conferred by Kublai Khan with the title of National Religious Leader. In the year of 1264, Kublai Khan set up a government agency in Tibet. Since then, Tibet has officially become under direct administration of the central government of China.
The Zaju Play (or drama) was the greatest achievement in literature during the Yuan Dynasty. Three hundred and forty five plays have been handed down by the dramatists. Among those playwrights, Guan Hanqing and Wang Shifu were the most distinguished. The masterpieces of plays are the Snow in Midsummer and the Romance of the West Chamber. The former was written by Guan Hanqing, and the latter was the work of Wang Shifu.
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty was Zhu Yuanzhang. He was a very smart and diligent ruler. The social productivity and economy recovered during his reign. In the year of 1398, the emperor passed the throne to his grandson, before he passed away. In the next year, Zhu Di, one of the founding emperor’s sons, waged a war against his nephew, the new successor. In 1402, Zhu Di’s troops captured the capital, Nanjing. The loser fled and the winner proclaimed himself emperor. The usurper’s title was Emperor Yongle. In order to strengthen the defence in the north, he moved his capital to Beijing and rebuilt the Great Wall. The project of the Forbidden City was started in 1406 and completed in 1420. Zheng-He was sent by Emperor Yongle to voyage to Indian Ocean seven times. His fleet reached to the East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The Grand Canon of Yongle was compiled and accomplished during the reign of Emperor Yongle. In fact, Emperor Yongle also made a great contribution to the development of the Ming Empire.
The major achievement in literature during the Ming Dynasty and the succeeding Qing Dynasty was the creation of novels. The top four classic novels of China are Revolt at Lake-shore by Shi Nai’an(1296-1370), Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong(1330-1400), Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en(1500-1583), and A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqing(1715-1763).
Li Shizhen was an accomplished doctor in the Ming Dynasty. He composed a book on herbal medicines, which was entitled as Compendium of Materia Medica.
Xu Xiake was the first person who devoted his life to traveling. With in 30 years, he traveled around Mainland China. He left his footprints more than half of the country and composed a book entitled as the Travel Records of Xu Xiake. The book is a remarkable work of geography, history and ethnology. The Yangtze River rises on the Qinghai-Tibet High Plateau. It is a great discovery achieved by Xu Xiake.
The Ming Empire declined due to its eunuch politics and corrupt regime. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, people were under the pressure of unbearable taxation and suffering from famine. Li Zicheng and his followers revolted and overthrew the empire in the year of 1644. The Jurchen nomads led by Nurhaci took this opportunity to rise up and succeeded in controlling the whole China. Hong-Taiji was the eighth son of Nurhaci. In 1635, he changed the name of his Jurchen group to Manchu. He also renamed the country as the Qing Kingdom.
The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
The Qing Dynasty lasted from 1644 to 1911. The rulers drew a lesson from the failure of the Yuan Dynasty. The scholars from the Han Group were allowed to be appointed to the top government posts. During the reign of both Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Yongzheng, the empire reached its climax of development. However, the monarchs were quiet arrogant. They thought that the Qing Empire was the most powerful one in the world. They restricted the international commerce and closed the eyes of China to the rapidly developing world after the Industrial Revolution. The corruption was also corroding the Qing Empire. In the year of 1840, the Opium War broke out. It accelerated the fall of the Qing Dynasty. The war was a turning point which marked the close of the Ancient China and the beginning of the modern society. China fell into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. From 1851 to 1864, the peasant rebels led by Hong Xiuquan rose up against the government. They established their Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and controlled the south part of country. Though, the rebellion was crushed and failed, Chinese people never stopped their struggle for freedom and democracy. In 1894, the Beiyang Fleet of the Qing’s Navy was defeated by Japanese invaders in the Sino-Japanese War. After the war, Emperor Guangxu and his subordinates realized the urgent need of change for the county. They launched a reform in 1898, which might lead China to a constitutional monarchy. However, the reform was just an ephemeral hope of the empire which vanished like a bubble. It was abolished by the conservatives led by Queen Cixi, the dowager of Emperor Daoguang, who was the authentic power-holder of the country. The historians named it as Hundred-day Political Reform, because the reform only lasted for 103 days.
An uprising broke out in Wuhan on October 10th, 1911. It brought about the collapse of the Qing Empire. The uprising was staged by the Chinese Revolutionary League, the predecessor of Kuomintang(KMT). In the next year, the Republic of China was founded, and Sun Yet-sen, the leader of the Republican Revolution, was chosen to be the President of the interim government. But Yuan Shikai, a leader of the junta, seized the power from the revolutionaries and established his Beiyang Military Government.
The Republic of China (1912-1949)
In the year of 1915, Yuan Shikai planed to proclaim himself emperor. It led to the revolt staged by the republicans in the southern provinces. One of them was General Cai E. Owning to the efforts made by republican revolutionaries, Yuan Shikai’s ambition faded. The dictator died in 1916. Then, China fell into chaos again. The warlords fought against each other year in and year out. In 1919, the Paris Peace Conference was held after World War One. As a winner of the war, China’s delegation requested to retake those land occupied by the foreign colonialists, but the request was refused by the League of Nations. It caused a violent protest against both the colonialists and the Beiyang Military Government. The strike was led by Li Dazhao, one of the founders of the CPC. The protest was a very important turning point in the Chinese revolutionary history. It was called the May-fourth Movement. In 1925, the CPC and the KMT were united together in the war against the Beiyang Military Government. The war is called the First Revolutionary Civil War. On April 12th of 1927, Chiang Kaishek mounted a coup and slaughtered the members of the CPC. On August 1st of 1927, an uprising was launched by Zhu De and some other members of the CPC. Another notable uprising was led by Mao Zedong. It broke out on September 9th of 1927. The two forces moved to Jinggang Mountain and established the Red Army. The KMT’s troops tried ceaselessly to destroy the Red Army from 1927 to 1936. It is called the Second Revolutionary Civil War. On September 18th of 1931, the Japanese invaders assassinated Zhang Zuolin, who was the warlord of the northeastern China. The Northeastern Chinese Army led by General Zhang Xueliang left their homeland and retreated to Xi’an. The provinces in the northeast were taken over by the Japanese invaders. By the end of 1934, the Red Army launched the Long March. In October 1936, the three major troops of the Red Army joined forces in Gansu Province. General Zhang Xueliang was the successor of the warlord assassinated by the Japanese invaders. He garrisoned his troops in Shaanxi Province. General Yang Hucheng was the chief commander of the Northwestern Chinese Army. On December 12th of 1936, General Zhang Xueliang and General Yang Hucheng mounted a coup and captured Chiang Kaishek in Xi’an. They requested Chiang Kaishek to stop the civil war. After the negotiation, the two parties united together again and the Second Revolutionary War ended. On July 7th of 1937, the Japanese invaders staged an attack against the Chinese Army at Lugou Bridge in Beijing. The bridge is also known as Macro Polo Bridge. It was the place where the Anti-Japanese War broke out. In the following eight years, Chinese people waged prolonged and arduous struggles against the invaders. On August 15th of 1945, the Mikado of Japan announced the unconditional surrender to the Allies. In June 1946, the Third Revolutionary Civil War broke out. It is also known as the People’s Liberation War. On October 1st of 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded.
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Author: Tina Luo
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