1. Chinese civilizations
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both theYellow River and the Yangtze
River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. With
[1]
thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations. The
[2]
written history of China can be found as early as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1700–1046 BC), although
ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian (ca. 100 BC) andBamboo
[2][3]
Annals assert the existence of a Xia Dynasty before the Shang. Much of
Chinese culture, literature and philosophy further developed during the Zhou Dynasty (1045–256 BC).
The Zhou Dynasty began to bow to external and internal pressures in the 8th century BC, and the
kingdom eventually broke apart into smaller states, beginning in the Spring and Autumn Period and
reaching full expression in the Warring States period. This is one of multiple periods offailed statehood in
Chinese history (the most recent of which was theChinese Civil War).
In between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled all of China
(minus Xinjiang and Tibet) (and, in some eras, including the present, they have controlled Xinjiang and/or
Tibet as well). This practice began with the Qin Dynasty: in 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang united the various
warring kingdoms and created the first Chinese empire. Successive dynasties in Chinese
history developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor of Chinato directly control vast
territories.
The conventional view of Chinese history is that of alternating periods of political unity and disunity, with
China occasionally being dominated by stepp peoples, most of whom were in turn assimilated into
the Han Chinese population. Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, carried by
successive waves of immigration, expansion, and cultural assimilation, are part of the modern culture of
China.
Contents
[hide]
1 Prehistory
o 1.1 Paleolithic
o 1.2 Neolithic
2 Ancient era
o 2.1 Xia Dynasty (c. 2100 – c. 1600 BC)
o 2.2 Shang Dynasty (c. 1700–1046 BC)
o 2.3 Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC)
o 2.4 Spring and Autumn Period (722–476 BC)
o 2.5 Warring States Period (476–221 BC)
3 Imperial era
o 3.1 Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC)
o 3.2 Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220)
 3.2.1 Western Han

2.  3.2.2 Xin Dynasty
 3.2.3 Eastern Han
o 3.3 Wei and Jin Period (AD 265–420)
o 3.4 Wu Hu Period (AD 304–439)
o 3.5 Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420–589)
o 3.6 Sui Dynasty (AD 589–618)
o 3.7 Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907)
o 3.8 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907–960)
o 3.9 Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia Dynasties (AD 960–1234)
o 3.10 Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271–1368)
o 3.11 Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644)
o 3.12 Qing Dynasty (AD 1644–1911)
4 Modern era
o 4.1 Republic of China
o 4.2 1949 to present
5 See also
6 Notes
7 Bibliography
o 7.1 Surveys
o 7.2 Prehistory
o 7.3 Shang Dynasty
o 7.4 Han Dynasty
o 7.5 Jin, the Sixteen Kingdoms, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties
o 7.6 Sui Dynasty
o 7.7 Tang Dynasty
o 7.8 Song Dynasty
o 7.9 Ming Dynasty
o 7.10 Qing Dynasty
o 7.11 Republican era
o 7.12 Communist era, 1949- present
 7.12.1 Cultural Revolution, 1966-76
o 7.13 Economy and environment
o 7.14 Women and gender
8 Further reading

3. 9 External links
Prehistory
Paleolithic
See also: List of Paleolithic sites in China
[4]
What is now China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than a million years ago. Recent study shows
that the stone tools found at Xiaochangliang site are magnetostratigraphically dated to 1.36 million years
[5]
ago. The archaeological site of Xihoudu inShanxi Province is the earliest recorded use of fire by Homo
[4]
erectus, which is dated 1.27 million years ago. The excavations atYuanmou and later Lantian show
early habitation. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Homo erectus found in China is the so-
called Peking Man discovered in 1923-27.
Neolithic
See also: List of Neolithic cultures of China
[6]
The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to between 12,000 and 10,000 BC. Early evidence for
[7]
proto-Chinese milletagriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC. The Peiligang
[8]
culture of Xinzheng county, Henan was excavated in 1977. With agriculture came increased population,
the ability to store and redistribute crops, and the potential to support specialist craftsmen and
[9]
administrators. In late Neolithic times, the Yellow River valley began to establish itself as a cultural
center, where the first villages were founded; the most archaeologically significant of those was found
[10]
at Banpo, Xi'an. The Yellow River was so named because of loess forming its banks gave a yellowish
[11]
tint to the water.
The early history of China is made obscure by the lack of written documents from this period, coupled
with the existence of accounts written during later time periods that attempted to describe events that had
occurred several centuries previously. In a sense, the problem stems from centuries of introspection on
the part of the Chinese people, which has blurred the distinction between fact and fiction in regards to this
early history.
By 7000 BC, the Chinese were farming millet, giving rise to the Jiahu culture. At Damaidi in Ningxia,
3,172 cliff carvings dating to 6000-5000 BC have been discovered "featuring 8,453 individual characters
such as the sun, moon, stars, gods and scenes of hunting or grazing." These pictographs are reputed to
[12][13]
be similar to the earliest characters confirmed to be written Chinese. Later Yangshao culture was
superseded by the Longshan culture around 2500 BC.
Ancient era
Xia Dynasty (c. 2100 – c. 1600 BC)
Main article: Xia Dynasty
Major site(s): possibly Erlitou
The Xia Dynasty of China (from c. 2100 to c. 1600 BC) is the first dynasty to be described in ancient
[2][3]
historical records such asSima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals.
Although there is disagreement as to whether the dynasty actually existed, there is some archaeological
evidence pointing to its possible existence. Sima Qian, writing in the late 2nd century BC, dated the
founding of the Xia Dynasty to around 2200 BC, but this date has not been corroborated. Most
[14]
archaeologists now connect the Xia to excavations at Erlitou in central Henanprovince, where a bronze

4. smelter from around 2000 BC was unearthed. Early markings from this period found on pottery and shells
[15]
are thought to be ancestral to modern Chinese characters. With few clear records matching the
Shang oracle bones or the Zhou bronze vessel writings, the Xia era remains poorly understood.
According to mythology, the dynasty ended around 1600 BC as a consequence of the Battle of Mingtiao.
Shang Dynasty (c. 1700–1046 BC)
Remnants of advanced, stratifiedsocieties dating back to the Shang found primarily in the Yellow River Valley
Main article: Shang Dynasty
Capital: Yinxu, near Anyang (Yin Dynasty period)
Archaeological findings providing evidence for the existence of the Shang Dynasty, c. 1600–1046 BC, are
divided into two sets. The first set, from the earlier Shang period comes from sources
at Erligang, Zhengzhou and Shangcheng. The second set, from the later Shang or Yin (殷) period
at Anyang, in modern-day Henan, which has been confirmed as the last of the Shang's nine capitals (c.
[citation needed]
1300–1046 BC). The findings at Anyang include the earliest written record of Chinese past so
far discovered, inscriptions of divination records in ancient Chinese writing on the bones or shells of
[16]
animals – the so-called "oracle bones", dating from around 1200 BC.
The Shang Dynasty featured 31 kings, from Tang of Shang to King Zhou of Shang. In this period, the
Chinese worshipped many different gods—weather gods and sky gods—and also a supreme god,
named Shangdi, who ruled over the other gods. Those who lived during the Shang Dynasty also believed
that their ancestors—their parents and grandparents—became like gods when they died, and that their
ancestors wanted to be worshipped too, like gods. Each family worshipped its own ancestors.
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 dynasty's golden age. The term Yin Dynasty has
been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although it has lately been used to specifically refer
to the latter half of the Shang Dynasty.
Chinese historians living in later periods were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty succeeding
another, but the actual political situation in early China is known to have been much more complicated.

5. Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang can possibly refer to political entities
that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou is known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.
Although written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty, Western scholars
are often hesitant to associate settlements that are contemporaneous with the Anyang settlement with the
Shang dynasty. For example, archaeological findings at Sanxingdui suggest a technologically advanced
civilization culturally unlike Anyang. The evidence is inconclusive in proving how far the Shang realm
extended from Anyang. The leading hypothesis is that Anyang, ruled by the same Shang in the official
history, coexisted and traded with numerous other culturally diverse settlements in the area that is now
referred to as China proper.
Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC)
Bronze ritual vessel (You), Western Zhou Dynasty
Main articles: Zhou Dynasty and Iron Age China
Capitals: Xi'an and Luoyang
The Zhou Dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, from 1066 BC to approximately
256 BC. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou Dynasty began to emerge in the Yellow
River valley, overrunning the territory of the Shang. The Zhou appeared to have begun their rule under
a semi-feudal system. The Zhou lived west of the Shang, and the Zhou leader had been appointed
"Western Protector" by the Shang. The ruler of the Zhou, King Wu, with the assistance of his brother,
the Duke of Zhou, as regent, managed to defeat the Shang at the Battle of Muye.
The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his rule, a
concept that would be influential for almost every succeeding dynasty. Like Shangdi, Heaven (tian) ruled
over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China. It was believed that a ruler had lost the
Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the
sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people. In response, the royal house would be
overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhou initially moved their capital west to an area near modern Xi'an, on the Wei River, a tributary of
the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into the Yangtze River valley. This
would be the first of many population migrations from north to south in Chinese history.

6. Spring and Autumn Period (722–476 BC)
Chinese pu vessel with interlaced dragondesign, Spring and Autumn Period
Main article: Spring and Autumn Period
Capitals: of the State of Yan, Beijing; of the State of Qin, Xi'an
In the 8th century BC, power became decentralized during the Spring and Autumn Period, named after
the influential Spring and Autumn Annals. In this period, local military leaders used by the Zhou began to
assert their power and vie for hegemony. The situation was aggravated by the invasion of other peoples
from the northwest, such as the Qin, forcing the Zhou to move their capital east to Luoyang. This marks
the second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou. In each of the hundreds of states that
eventually arose, local strongmen held most of the political power and continued their subservience to the
Zhou kings in name only. For instance, local leaders started using royal titles for themselves.
The Hundred Schools of Thought of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period, and such
influential intellectual movements asConfucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism were founded, partly in
response to the changing political world. The Spring and Autumn Period is marked by a falling apart of
the central Zhou power. China now consists of hundreds of states, some of them only as large as a
village with a fort.
Warring States Period (476–221 BC)
Main article: Warring States Period
Several capitals, due to there being multiple states
After further political consolidation, seven prominent states remained by the end of 5th century BC, and
the years in which these few states battled each other are known as the Warring States Period. Though
there remained a nominal Zhou king until 256 BC, he was largely a figurehead and held little real power.
As neighboring territories of these warring states, including areas of modernSichuan and Liaoning, were
annexed, they were governed under the new local administrative system
of commandery and prefecture(郡縣/郡县). This system had been in use since the Spring and Autumn
Period, and parts can still be seen in the modern system ofSheng & Xian (province and county,
省縣/省县). The final expansion in this period began during the reign of Ying Zheng, the king of Qin. His

7. unification of the other six powers, and further annexations in the modern regions
of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong andGuangxi in 214 BC, enabled him to proclaim himself the First
Emperor (Qin Shi Huang).
Imperial era
Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC)
Qin Shi Huang
Main article: Qin Dynasty
Capital: Xianyang
Historians often refer to the period from Qin Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty as Imperial China.
Though the unified reign of the First Qin Emperor lasted only 12 years, he managed to subdue great parts
of what constitutes the core of the Han Chinesehomeland and to unite them under a tightly
centralized Legalist government seated atXianyang (close to modern Xi'an). The doctrine of Legalism that
guided the Qin emphasized strict adherence to a legal code and the absolute power of the emperor. This
philosophy, while effective for expanding the empire in a military fashion, proved unworkable for
[when defined as?]
governing it in peacetime. The Qin Emperor presided over the brutal silencing of political
opposition, including the event known as the burning of books and burying of scholars. This would be the
impetus behind the later Han synthesis incorporating the more moderate schools of political governance.

8. The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang.
The Qin Dynasty is well known for beginning the Great Wall of China, which was later augmented and
enhanced during the Ming Dynasty. The other major contributions of the Qin include the concept of a
centralized government, the unification of the legal code, development of the written language,
measurement, and currency of China after the tribulations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States
Periods. Even something as basic as the length of axles for carts had to be made uniform to ensure a
[17]
viable trading system throughout the empire.
Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220)
Main article: Han Dynasty
Further information: History of the Han Dynasty
Capitals: Chang'an, Luoyang, Liyang, Xuchang
Western Han
A Han Dynasty oil lamp with a sliding shutter, in the shape of a kneeling female servant, 2nd century BC
The Han Dynasty (202 BC – AD 220) emerged in 206 BC, with its founder Liu Bangproclaimed emperor
in 202 BC. It was the first dynasty to embrace the philosophy ofConfucianism, which became the
ideological underpinning of all regimes until the end of imperial China. Under the Han Dynasty, China
made great advances in many areas of the arts and sciences. Emperor Wu consolidated and extended
the Chinese empire bypushing back the Xiongnu into the steppes of modern Inner Mongolia, wresting
from them the modern areas of Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai. This enabled the first opening of trading
connections between China and the West, along the Silk Road. Han Dynasty general Ban
[18]
Chao expanded his conquests across the Pamirs to the shores of theCaspian Sea. The first of
several Roman embassies to China is recorded in Chinese sources, coming from the sea route in AD
166, and a second one in AD 284.
Xin Dynasty
Nevertheless, land acquisitions by elite families gradually drained the tax base. In AD 9, the
usurper Wang Mang claimed that the Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and the

9. rise of his own, and founded the short-lived Xin ("New") Dynasty. Wang Mang started an extensive
program of land and other economic reforms, including the outlawing of slavery and land nationalization
and redistribution. These programs, however, were never supported by the landholding families, because
they favored the peasants. The instability brought about chaos and uprisings and loss of territories. This
was compounded by mass flooding resulting from silt buildup in the Yellow River which caused it to split
into two channels and displace large numbers of farmers. Wang Mang was eventually killed in Weiyang
Palace by an enraged peasant mob in AD 23.
Eastern Han
Emperor Guangwu reinstated the Han Dynasty with the support of landholding and merchant families
at Luoyang, east of Xi'an. This new era would be termed the Eastern Han Dynasty. Han power declined
again amidst land acquisitions, invasions, and feuding between consort clans and eunuchs. The Yellow
Turban Rebellion broke out in AD 184, ushering in an era of warlords. In the ensuing turmoil, three states
tried to gain predominance in the period of the Three Kingdoms. This time period has been greatly
romanticized in works such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Wei and Jin Period (AD 265–420)
Main articles: Cao Wei and Jin Dynasty (265-420)
Capitals: of Cao Wei and Western Jin, Luoyang; of Shu Han, Chengdu; of Eastern Wu and Eastern
Jin, Jiankang; of Western Jin,Chang'an
After Cao Cao reunified the north in 208, his son proclaimed the Wei dynasty in 220. Soon, Wei's
rivals Shu and Wu proclaimed their independence, leading China into the Three Kingdoms Period. This
period was characterized by a gradual decentralization of the state that had existed during the Qin and
Han dynasties, and an increase in the power of great families. Although the Three Kingdoms were
reunified by the Jin Dynasty in 280, this structure was essentially the same until the Wu Hu uprising.
Wu Hu Period (AD 304–439)
Main articles: Sixteen Kingdoms and Wu Hu uprising
Several capitals, due to there being several states and warring
Taking advantage of civil war in the Jin Dynasty, the contemporary non-Han Chinese (Wu Hu) ethnic
groups controlled much of the country in the early 4th century and provoked large-scale Han Chinese
migrations to south of the Yangtze River. In 303 the Dipeople rebelled and later captured Chengdu,
establishing the state of Cheng Han. Under Liu Yuan, the Xiongnu rebelled near today's Linfen
County and established the state of Han Zhao. Liu Yuan's successor Liu Cong captured and executed the
last two Western Jin emperors. Sixteen kingdoms were a plethora of short-lived non-Chinese dynasties
that came to rule the whole or parts of northern China in the 4th and 5th centuries. Many ethnic groups
were involved, including ancestors of the Turks, Mongols, andTibetans. Most of these nomadic peoples
had, to some extent, been "sinicized" long before their ascent to power. In fact, some of them, notably
the Qiang and the Xiongnu, had already been allowed to live in the frontier regions within the Great Wall
since late Han times.

10. A limestone statue of theBodhisattva, from the Northern Qi Dynasty, AD 570, made in what is now modern Henan province.
Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420–589)
Main article: Southern and Northern Dynasties
Capitals: of the Northern Dynasties: Ye, Chang'an, of the Southern Dynasties: Jiankang
Signaled by the collapse of East Jin Dynasty in 420, China entered the era of the Southern and Northern
Dynasties. The Han people managed to survive the military attacks from the nomadic tribes of the north,
such as the Xianbei, and their civilization continued to thrive.
In southern China, fierce debates about whether Buddhism should be allowed to exist were held
frequently by the royal court and nobles. Finally, near the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties
era, both Buddhist and Taoist followers compromised and became more tolerant of each other.
In 589, Sui annexed the last Southern Dynasty, Chen, through military force, and put an end to the era of
Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Sui Dynasty (AD 589–618)
Main article: Sui Dynasty
Official capital: Daxing; secondary capital: Dongdu
The Sui Dynasty, which managed to reunite the country in 589 after nearly four centuries of political
fragmentation, played a role more important than its length of existence would suggest. The Sui brought

11. China together again and set up many institutions that were to be adopted by their successors, the Tang.
Like the Qin, however, the Sui overused their resources and collapsed. Also similar to the Qin, traditional
history has judged the Sui somewhat unfairly, as it has stressed the harshness of the Sui regime and the
arrogance of its second emperor, giving little credit for the Dynasty's many positive achievements.
Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907)
A Chinese Tang Dynasty tricolored glazeporcelain horse (ca. AD 700)
Main article: Tang Dynasty
Capitals: Chang'an and Luoyang
Tang Dynasty was founded by Emperor Gaozu on June 18, 618. It was a golden age of Chinese
civilization with significant developments in art, literature, particularly poetry, and
technology. Buddhism became the predominant religion for common people.Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the
national capital, was the largest city in the world of its time.
Since the second emperor Taizong, military campaigns were launched to dissolve threats from nomadic
tribes, extend the border, and submit neighboring states intotributary system. Military victories in
the Tarim Basin kept the Silk Road open, connecting Chang'an to Central Asia and areas far to the west.
In the south, lucrative maritime trade routes began from port cities like Guangzhou. There was extensive
trade with distant foreign countries, and many foreign merchants settled in China, boosting a vibrant
cosmopolitan culture. The Tang culture and social systems were admired and adapted by neighboring
countries like Japan. Internally, the Grand Canal linked the political heartland in Chang'an to the
economic and agricultural centers in the eastern and southern parts of the empire.
Underlying the prosperity of the early Tang Dynasty was a strong centralized government with efficient
policies. The government was organized as "Three Departments and Six Ministries" to separately draft,
review and implement policies. These departments were run by royal family members as well as scholar
officials who were selected from imperial examinations. These practices, which matured in the Tang
Dynasty, were to be inherited by the later dynasties with some modifications.
The land policy, the "Equal-field system" claimed all lands as imperially owned, and were granted evenly
to people according to the size of the households. The associated military policy, the "Fubing System",
conscripted all men in the nation for a fixed period of duties each year in exchange for their land rights.
These policies stimulated rapid growth of productivity, while boosting the army without much burden on
the state treasury. However, lands gradually fell into the hands of private land owners and standing
armieswere to replace conscription towards the middle period of the dynasty.

12. The dynasty continued to flourish under Empress Wu Zetian, the only empress regnant in Chinese
history, and reached the zenith during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, who oversaw an empire that
stretched from the Pacific to the Aral Sea with at least 50 million people.
At the zenith of prosperity of the empire, the An Lushan Rebellion was a watershed event that
caused massive loss of lives and drastic weakening of the central imperial government. Regional military
governors, known as Jiedushi, would gain increasingly autonomous status, which eventually led to an era
of division in the 10th century, while formerly submissive states would raid the empire. Nevertheless, after
the rebellion, the Tang civil society would recover and thrive amidst a weakened imperial authority.
From about 860, the Tang Dynasty began to decline due to a series of rebellions within China itself and in
the former subjectKingdom of Nanzhao to the south. One warlord, Huang Chao, captured Guangzhou in
879, killing most of the 200,000 inhabitants, including most of the large colony of foreign merchant
[19]
families there. In late 880, Luoyang surrendered to him, and on 5 January 881 he conquered Chang'an.
The emperor Xizong fled to Chengdu, and Huang established a new temporary regime which was
eventually destroyed by Tang forces. Another time of political chaos followed.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907–960)
Main article: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Several capitals
The period of political disunity between the Tang and the Song, known as the Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms Period, lasted little more than half a century, from 907 to 960. During this brief era, when China
was in all respects a multi-state system, five regimes succeeded one another rapidly in control of the old
Imperial heartland in northern China. During this same time, 10 more stable regimes occupied sections of
southern and western China, so the period is also referred to as that of the Ten Kingdoms.
Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia Dynasties (AD 960–1234)
Homeward Oxherds in Wind and Rain, by Li Di, 12th century
Main articles: Song Dynasty, Liao Dynasty, Western Xia, and Jin Dynasty, 1115-1234
Further information: History of the Song Dynasty
Capitals: of the Song Dynasty, Kaifeng and Lin'an; of the Liao Dynasty, Shangjing,Nanjing, and Tokmok;
of the Jin Dynasty, Shangjing, Zhongdu, and Kaifeng; of the Western Xia Dynasty, Yinchuan

13. In 960, the Song Dynasty gained power over most of China and established its capital inKaifeng (later
known as Bianjing), starting a period of economic prosperity, while theKhitan Liao Dynasty ruled
over Manchuria, present-day Mongolia, and parts of Northern China. In 1115, the Jurchen Jin
Dynasty emerged to prominence, annihilating the Liao Dynasty in 10 years. Meanwhile, in what are now
the northwestern Chinese provinces ofGansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, there emerged a Western Xia
Dynasty from 1032 to 1227, established by Tangut tribes.
The Jin Dynasty took power over northern China and Kaifeng from the Song Dynasty, which moved its
capital to Hangzhou (杭州). The Southern Song Dynasty also suffered the humiliation of having to
acknowledge the Jin Dynasty as formal overlords. In the ensuing years, China was divided between the
Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty and the Tangut Western Xia. Southern Song experienced a period of
great technological development which can be explained in part by the military pressure that it felt from
the north. This included the use of gunpowder weapons, which played a large role in the Song Dynasty
naval victories against the Jin in the Battle of Tangdao and Battle of Caishi on the Yangtze River in 1161.
Furthermore, China's first permanent standing navy was assembled and provided an admiral's office
at Dinghai in 1132, under the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song.
The Song Dynasty is considered by many to be classical China's high point in science and technology,
with innovative scholar-officials such as Su Song (1020–1101) and Shen Kuo (1031–1095). There was
court intrigue between the political rivals of the Reformers and Conservatives, led by the
chancellors Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, respectively. By the mid-to-late 13th century the Chinese had
adopted the dogma of Neo-Confucian philosophy formulated by Zhu Xi. There were enormous literary
works compiled during the Song Dynasty, such as the historical work of the Zizhi Tongjian. Culture and
the arts flourished, with grandiose artworks such as Along the River During the Qingming
Festival and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute, while there were great Buddhist painters such as Lin
Tinggui.
Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271–1368)
Main article: Yuan Dynasty
Yang Guifei Mounting a Horse, by Qian Xuan (1235-1305 AD).
Capitals: Xanadu and Dadu
The Jurchen-founded Jin Dynasty was defeated by the Mongols, who then proceeded to defeat the
Southern Song in a long and bloody war, the first war in which firearms played an important role. During
the era after the war, later called the Pax Mongolica, adventurous Westerners such as Marco
Polo travelled all the way to China and brought the first reports of its wonders to Europe. In the Yuan
Dynasty, the Mongols were divided between those who wanted to remain based in the steppes and those
who wished to adopt the customs of the Chinese.
Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, wanting to adopt the customs of China, established the Yuan
Dynasty. This was the first dynasty to rule the whole of China fromBeijing as the capital. Beijing had been

14. ceded to Liao in AD 938 with the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun. Before that, it had been the capital of
the Jin, who did not rule all of China.
Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after
[20]
the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. While it is
tempting to attribute this major decline solely to Mongol ferocity, scholars today have mixed sentiments
regarding this subject. Scholars such as Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects
an administrative failure to record rather than a de facto decrease whilst others such as Timothy Brook
argue that the Mongols created a system of enserfment among a huge portion of the Chinese populace
causing many to disappear from the census altogether. Other historians like William McNeill and David
Morgan argue that the Bubonic Plague was the main factor behind the demographic decline during this
period. The 14th century epidemics of plague (Black Death) is estimated to have killed 30% of the
[21][22]
population of China.
Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644)
Main article: Ming Dynasty
Further information: History of the Ming Dynasty
Capitals: Nanjing, Beijing, Fuzhou, and Zhaoqing
Court Ladies of the Former Shu, by Ming painter Tang Yin(1470-1523).

15. Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming Dynasty
Throughout the Yuan Dynasty, which lasted less than a century, there was relatively strong sentiment
among the populace against the Mongol rule. The frequent natural disasters since the 1340s finally led to
peasant revolts. The Yuan Dynasty was eventually overthrown by the Ming Dynastyin 1368.
Urbanization increased as the population grew and as the division of labor grew more complex. Large
urban centers, such as Nanjing and Beijing, also contributed to the growth of private industry. In
particular, small-scale industries grew up, often specializing in paper, silk, cotton, and porcelain goods.
For the most part, however, relatively small urban centers with markets proliferated around the country.
Town markets mainly traded food, with some necessary manufactures such as pins or oil.
Despite the xenophobia and intellectual introspection characteristic of the increasingly popular new
school of neo-Confucianism, China under the early Ming Dynasty was not isolated. Foreign trade and
other contacts with the outside world, particularly Japan, increased considerably. Chinese merchants
explored all of the Indian Ocean, reaching East Africa with the voyages of Zheng He.
Zhu Yuanzhang or Hong-wu, the founder of the dynasty, laid the foundations for a state interested less in
commerce and more in extracting revenues from the agricultural sector. Perhaps because of the
Emperor's background as a peasant, the Ming economic system emphasized agriculture, unlike that of
the Song and the Mongolian Dynasties, which relied on traders and merchants for revenue. Neo-feudal
landholdings of the Song and Mongol periods were expropriated by the Ming rulers. Land estates were
confiscated by the government, fragmented, and rented out. Private slavery was forbidden.
Consequently, after the death ofEmperor Yong-le, independent peasant landholders predominated in
Chinese agriculture. These laws might have paved the way to removing the worst of the poverty during
the previous regimes.

16. Ming China under the reign of the Yongle Emperor
The dynasty had a strong and complex central government that unified and controlled the empire. The
emperor's role became more autocratic, although Zhu Yuanzhang necessarily continued to use what he
called the "Grand Secretaries" (内阁) to assist with the immense paperwork of the bureaucracy, including
memorials (petitions and recommendations to the throne), imperial edicts in reply, reports of various
kinds, and tax records. It was this same bureaucracy that later prevented the Ming government from
being able to adapt to changes in society, and eventually led to its decline.
Emperor Yong-le strenuously tried to extend China's influence beyond its borders by demanding other
rulers send ambassadors to China to present tribute. A large navy was built, including four-masted ships
[who?]
displacing 1,500 tons. A standing army of 1 million troops (some estimate as many as 1.9 million )
was created. The Chinese armiesconquered Vietnam for around 20 years, while the Chinese fleet sailed
the China seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising as far as the east coast of Africa. The Chinese gained
influence in eastern Moghulistan. Several maritime Asian nations sent envoys with tribute for the Chinese
emperor. Domestically, the Grand Canal was expanded and proved to be a stimulus to domestic trade.
Over 100,000 tons of iron per year were produced. Many books were printed using movable type. The
imperial palace in Beijing'sForbidden City reached its current splendor. It was also during these centuries
that the potential of south China came to be fully exploited. New crops were widely cultivated and
industries such as those producing porcelain and textiles flourished.
In 1449 Esen Tayisi led an Oirat Mongol invasion of northern China which culminated in the capture of
the Zhengtong Emperor atTumu. In 1542 the Mongol leader Altan Khan began to harass China along the
northern border. In 1550 he even reached the suburbs of Beijing. The empire also had to deal
[23]
with Japanese pirates attacking the southeastern coastline; General Qi Jiguangwas instrumental in
defeating these pirates. The deadliest earthquake of all times, the Shaanxi earthquake of 1556 that killed
approximately 830,000 people, occurred during the Jiajing Emperor's reign.
During the Ming dynasty the last construction on the Great Wall was undertaken to protect China from
foreign invasions. While the Great Wall had been built in earlier times, most of what is seen today was
either built or repaired by the Ming. The brick and granite work was enlarged, the watch towers were
redesigned, and cannons were placed along its length.

17. Qing Dynasty (AD 1644–1911)
"The reception of the Diplomatique (Macartney) and his suite, at the Court of Pekin". Drawn and engraved by James Gillray,
published in September 1792.
Territory of Qing China in 1765
Main article: Qing Dynasty
Capitals: Shenyang and Beijing
The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) was the last imperial dynasty in China. Founded by theManchus, it was
the second non-Han Chinese dynasty. The Manchus were formerly known as Jurchen residing in the
northeastern part of the Ming territory outside the Great Wall. They emerged as the major threat to the
late Ming Dynasty after Nurhaci united all Jurchen tribes and established an independent state. However,
the Ming Dynastywould be overthrown by Li Zicheng's peasants rebel, with Beijing captured in 1644 and
the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide. The Manchu then allied with the Ming Dynasty
general Wu Sangui and seizedBeijing, which was made the capital of the Qing dynasty, and proceeded to
subdue the remaining Ming's resistance in the south. The decades of Manchu conquest
caused enormous loss of lives and the economic scale of China shrank drastically. Nevertheless, the
Manchus adopted the Confucian norms of traditional Chinese government in their rule and was
considered a Chinese dynasty.

18. The Manchus enforced a 'queue order' forcing the Han Chinese to adopt the Manchu queue hairstyle and
Manchu-style clothing. The traditional Han clothing, or Hanfu, was also replaced by Manchu-style
clothing Qipao (bannermen dress and Tangzhuang).Emperor Kangxi ordered the creation of the most
complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever put together at the time. The Qing dynasty set up the
"Eight Banners" system that provided the basic framework for the Qing military organization. The
bannermen were prohibited from participating in trade and manual labour unless they petitioned to be
removed from banner status. They were considered a form of nobility and were given preferential
treatment in terms of annual pensions, land and allotments of cloth.
French political cartoon from the late 1890s. A king cake representing China is being divided between UK, Germany,
Russia, France and Japan.
Over the next half-century, the entire areas originally under the Ming Dynasty, includingYunnan were
consolidated. Also Xinjiang, Tibet and Mongolia were formally incorporated into Chinese territory.
Between 1673 and 1681, the Emperor Kangxi suppressed an uprising of three generals in Southern
China who had been denied hereditary rule to large fiefdoms granted by the previous emperor and a Ming
restorationist invasion from Taiwan, called the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. In 1683, the Qing staged
an amphibious assault on southern Taiwan, bringing down the rebel Grand Duchy of Tungning, which
was founded by the Ming loyalist Koxinga in 1662 after the fall of the Southern Ming, and had served as a
base for continued Ming resistance in Southern China. By the end of Qianlong Emperor's long reign, the
Qing Empire was at its zenith, ruled more than one-third of the world's population, and was the largest
economy in the world. By area of extent, it was one of the largest empires ever existed in history.
In the 19th century, the empire was internally stagnated and externally threatened byimperialism. The
defeat in the First Opium War (1840) by the British Empire led to theTreaty of Nanjing (1842), under
which Hong Kong was ceded and opium import was legitimized. Subsequent military defeats and unequal
treaties with other imperial powers would continue even after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
Internally, the Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864), a quasi-Christian religious movement led by the "Heavenly
King" Hong Xiuquan, would raid roughly a third of Chinese territory for over a decade until they were
finally crushed in the Third Battle of Nanking in 1864. Arguably one of the largest warfares in the 19th
century in terms of troops involvement, there were massive lost of lives, with a death toll of about 20

19. [24]
millions. A string of rebellions would follow, which included Punti-Hakka Clan Wars, Nien
[25]
Rebellion, Muslim Rebellion, Panthay Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion. All rebellions were eventually
put down at enormous cost and casualties, the weakened central imperial authority would gradually give
rise to regional warlordism. Eventually, China would descend into civil war immediately after the 1911
revolution that overthrew the Qing's imperial rule.
The Empress Dowager Cixi
In response to the calamities within the empire and threats from imperialism, the Self-Strengthening
Movement was an institutional reform to modernize the empire with prime emphasis to strengthen the
military. However, the reform was undermined by the corruption of officials, cynicism, and quarrels of the
imperial family. As a result, the "Beiyang Navy" were soundly defeated in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-
1895). Guangxu Emperor and the reformists then launched a more comprehensive reform effort,
the Hundred Day's Reform (1898), but it was shortly overturned by the conservatives under Empress
Dowager Cixi in a military coup.
At the turn of the 20th century, a conservative anti-imperialist movement, the Boxer Rebellionviolently
revolted against foreign suppression over vast areas in Northern China. The Empress Dowager, probably
seeking to ensure her continual grip on power, sided with the Boxers as they advanced on Beijing. In
response, a relief expedition of the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China to rescue the besieged foreign
missions. Consisting of British, Japanese, Russian, Italian, German, French, US and Austrian troops, the
alliance defeated the Boxers and demanded further concessions from the Qing government.
Modern era
Main article: History of the People's Republic of China
Republic of China
Main articles: History of the Republic of China and Republic of China (1912–1949)
Capitals: Nanjing, Beijing, Chongqing, and several short-lived wartime capitals; Taipei after 1949
Frustrated by the Qing court's resistance to reform and by China's weakness, young officials, military
officers, and students began to advocate the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the creation of a
republic. They were inspired by the revolutionary ideas of Sun Yat-sen. When Sun Yat-sen was asked by
one of the leading revolutionary generals to what he ascribed the success, he said, "To Christianity more
than to any other single cause. Along with its ideals of religious freedom, and along with these it

20. inculcates everywhere a doctrine of universal love and peace. These ideals appeal to the Chinese; they
largely caused the Revolution, and they largely determined its peaceful character."
Sun Yat-sen, founder and first president of the Republic of China.
[26]
Slavery in China was abolished in 1910.
A revolutionary military uprising, the Wuchang Uprising, began on October 10, 1911 in Wuhan.
The provisional government of the Republic of China was formed in Nanjing on March 12, 1912 with Sun
Yat-sen as President, but Sun was forced to turn power over to Yuan Shikai, who commanded the New
Army and was Prime Minister under the Qing government, as part of the agreement to let the last Qing
monarch abdicate (a decision Sun would later regret). Over the next few years, Yuan proceeded to
abolish the national and provincial assemblies, and declared himself emperor in late 1915. Yuan's
imperial ambitions were fiercely opposed by his subordinates; faced with the prospect of rebellion, he
abdicated in March 1916, and died in June of that year. His death left a power vacuum in China; the
republican government was all but shattered. This ushered in the warlord era, during which much of the
country was ruled by shifting coalitions of competing provincial military leaders.
In 1919, the May Fourth Movement began as a response to the terms imposed on China by theTreaty of
Versailles ending World War I, but quickly became a protest movement about the domestic situation in
China. The discrediting of liberal Western philosophy amongst Chinese intellectuals was followed by the
adoption of more radical lines of thought. This in turn planted the seeds for the irreconcilable conflict
between the left and right in China that would dominate Chinese history for the rest of the century.
In the 1920s, Sun Yat-Sen established a revolutionary base in south China, and set out to unite the
fragmented nation. With Soviet assistance, he entered into an alliance with the fledgling Communist Party
of China. After Sun's death from cancer in 1925, one of his protégés, Chiang Kai-shek, seized control of
the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party or KMT) and succeeded in bringing most of south and central China
under its rule in a military campaign known as the Northern Expedition. Having defeated the warlords in
south and central China by military force, Chiang was able to secure the nominal allegiance of the
warlords in the North. In 1927, Chiang turned on the CPC and relentlessly chased the CPC armies and its
leaders from their bases in southern and eastern China. In 1934, driven from their mountain bases such
as the Chinese Soviet Republic, the CPC forces embarked on the Long Marchacross China's most
desolate terrain to the northwest, where they established a guerrilla base at Yan'an in Shaanxi Province.
During the Long March, the communists reorganized under a new leader, Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung).
The bitter struggle between the KMT and the CPC continued, openly or clandestinely, through the 14-

21. year long Japanese occupation (1931–1945) of various parts of the country. The two Chinese parties
nominally formed a united front to oppose the Japanese in 1937, during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-
1945), which became a part of World War II. Following the defeat of Japan in 1945, the war between the
KMT and the CPC resumed, after failed attempts at reconciliation and a negotiated settlement. By 1949,
the CPC had established control over most of the country. (see Chinese Civil War)
At the end of WWII in 1945 as part of the overall Japanese surrender, Japanese troops in Taiwan
[27]
surrendered to Republic of China troops giving Chiang Kai-shek effective control of Taiwan. When
Chiang was defeated by CPC forces in mainland China in 1949, he retreated to Taiwan with his
government and his most disciplined troops, along with most of the KMT leadership and a large number
of their supporters.
1949 to present
See also: History of the People's Republic of China, History of the Republic of China, Legal status of
Taiwan, and Political status of Taiwan
Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with Koumintang (KMT) pulling out of the mainland,
with the government relocating to Taipei and maintaining control only over a few island. The Communist
Party of China was left in control of mainland China. On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the
[28]
People's Republic of China. "Communist China" and "Red China" were two common names for the
[29]
PRC.
Chairman Mao Zedong proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949.
The economic and social plan known as the Great Leap Forward resulted in an estimated 45 million
[30]
deaths. In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, which would last until Mao's
death a decade later. The Cultural Revolution, motivated by power struggles within the Party and a fear of
the Soviet Union, led to a major upheaval in Chinese society. In 1972, at the peak of the Sino-Soviet split,
Mao and Zhou Enlai met Richard Nixon in Beijing to establish relations with the United States. In the
same year, the PRC was admitted to the United Nations in place of the Republic of China for China's
membership of the United Nations, and permanent membership of the Security Council.
After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four, blamed for the excesses of the Cultural
Revolution, Deng Xiaoping quickly wrested power from Mao's anointed successor chairman Hua
Guofeng. Although he never became the head of the party or state himself, Deng was in fact
the Paramount Leader of China at that time, his influence within the Party led the country to significant
economic reforms. The Communist Party subsequently loosened governmental control over citizens'
personal lives and the communes were disbanded with many peasants receiving multiple land leases,
which greatly increased incentives and agricultural production. This turn of events marked China's
transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open market environment, a

22. [31]
system termed by some "market socialism", and officially by the Communist Party of China "Socialism
with Chinese characteristics". The PRC adopted its current constitutionon 4 December 1982.
In 1989, the death of former general secretary Hu Yaobang helped to spark the Tiananmen Square
protests of 1989, during which students and others campaigned for several months, speaking out against
corruption and in favour of greater political reform, including democratic rights and freedom of speech.
However, they were eventually put down on 4 June when PLA troops and vehicles entered and forcibly
cleared the square, resulting in numerous casualties. This event was widely reported and brought
[32][33]
worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the government. The "Tank Man" incident in
particular became famous.
CPC General Secretary, President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of
Shanghai, led post-Tiananmen PRC in the 1990s. Under Jiang and Zhu's ten years of administration, the
PRC's economic performance pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an
[34][35]
average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%. The country formally joined the World
Trade Organization in 2001.
Although the PRC needs economic growth to spur its development, the government has begun to worry
that rapid economic growth has negatively impacted the country's resources and environment. Another
concern is that certain sectors of society are not sufficiently benefiting from the PRC's economic
development; one example of this is the wide gap between urban and rural areas. As a result, under
current CPC General Secretary, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, the PRC has initiated
policies to address these issues of equitable distribution of resources, but the outcome remains to be
[36] [37]
seen. More than 40 million farmers have been displaced from their land, usually for economic
[38]
development, contributing to the 87,000 demonstrations and riots across China in 2005. For much of
the PRC's population, living standards have seen extremely large improvements, and freedom continues
[39]
to expand, but political controls remain tight and rural areas poor.
HISTORY OF CHINA
The long perspective
China's unbroken story
The Shang dynasty
Sacrifice, silk and bronze
The roots of Chinese culture
Zhou and Qin
Han
Intermediate times
T'ang
Song
Yüan
Ming
Qing
To be completed
HISTORY OF CHINA Timeline
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China's unbroken story: from 500,000 years ago
Northern China, in the plains around the Huang Ho (or Yellow
River), bears evidence of more continuous human development
than any other region on earth.
500,000 years ago Peking man lives in the caves at
Zhoukoudian, about 30 miles (48km) southwest of the modern
city of Beijing. This is the farthest north that Homo
erectus has been found, and hearths in the caves are
probably the earliest evidence of the human use of fire. The
same caves are occupied 20,000 years ago by modern
man,Homo sapiens sapiens, during the Stone Age. And 3500
years ago a nearby river valley becomes the site of one of the
first great civilizations.
The Shang dynasty: 1600 - 1100 BC
The city of An-yang, rediscovered in the 20th century, is an
important centre of the first Chinese civilization - that of the
Shang dynasty, which lasts from about 1600 to 1100 BC.
Known to its occupants as the Great City Shang, its buildings
are on both banks of the Huan river, to the north of the Yellow
River.
An-yang is at the heart of a society in which human sacrifice
plays a significant role. Archaeology reveals this, as does an
extraordinary archive of written records - stored on what the
peasants of this area, in modern times, have believed to be
dragon bones.
The dragon bones are the records, kept by the priests, of the
questions asked of the oracle by the Shang rulers. The answer
is found by the method of divination known as scapulimancy.
The priest takes a polished strip of bone, usually from the
shoulder blade of an ox, and cuts in it a groove to which he
applies a heated bronze point. The answer to the question (in
most cases just yes or no) is revealed by the pattern of the
cracks which appear in the bone. With the bureaucratic
thoroughness of civil servants, the priests then write on the
bone the question that was asked, and sometimes the answer
that was given, before filing the bone away in an archive

24. (see Questions and answers on oracle bones).
Sacrifice, silk and bronze: 1600 - 1100 BC
Several of the inscriptions on the oracle bones mention
sacrifices, sometimes of prisoners of war, which are to be
made to a silkworm goddess. There is even a Shang court
official called Nu Cang, meaning Mistress of the Silkworms.
Silk, China's first great contribution to civilization, has been an
important product of the region for at least 1000 years before
the Shang dynasty and the beginning of recorded history. The
earliest silk fragments unearthed by archaeologists date from
around 2850 BC.
The writing on the Shang oracle bones is in pictorial
characters which evolve, often with only minor modifications,
into the characters used in written Chinese today - 3500 years
later. There can be no better example of the continuity
underpinning Chinese civilization.
The excavations at An-yang demonstrate that Shang craftsmen
have reached an astonishing level of skill in the casting
of bronze. And they reveal a reckless attitude to human life. A
building cannot be consecrated at An-yang, or a ruler buried,
without extensive human sacrifice (see theSacrificial
guardians of An-yang).
The roots of Chinese culture: 1600 - 1100 BC
The area controlled by the Shang rulers is relatively small, but
Shang cultural influence spreads through a large part of central
China. In addition to their writing of Chinese characters, the
Shang introduce many elements which have remained
characteristic of this most ancient surviving culture. Bronze
chopsticks, for example, have been found in a Shang tomb.
The Shang use a supremely confident name for their own small
territory; it too has stood the test of time. They call An-yang
and the surrounding region Chung-kuo, meaning 'the Central
Country'. It is still the Chinese name for China. And the Shang
practise another lasting Chinese tradition - the worship of
ancestors.
Most of the elaborate bronze vessels made in
Shang times are for use in temples or shrines to ancestors.
The richly decorated urns are for cooking the meat of the
sacrificed animals. The most characteristic design is the li, with
its curved base extended into three hollow protuberances -
enabling maximum heat to reach the sacrificial stew.
The bronze jugs, often fantastically shaped into weird animals
and birds, are for pouring a liquid offering to the ancestor -
usually a hot alcoholic concoction brewed from millet.
In Shang society ancestor worship is limited to the king and
a few noble families. The good will of the king's ancestors is
crucial to the whole of society, because they are the

25. community's link with the gods. Over the centuries the king
becomes known as the Son of Heaven. The shrine to his
ancestors - the Temple of Heaven in Beijing - is the focal
point of the national religion.
In subsequent dynasties, and particularly after the time
ofConfucius, ancestor worship spreads downwards through
the Chinese community. It becomes a crucial part of the
culture of the Confucian civil servants, the mandarins.
The Zhou dynasty: c.1100 - 256 BC
In about 1050 BC (the date is disputed among scholars by
several decades in either direction), a new power is established
in China. This is the Zhou dynasty, deriving from a frontier
kingdom between civilization and marauding tribes, westward
of An-yang, up towards the mountains. After forming a
confederation of other neighbouring states, the Zhou
overwhelm the Shang rulers. The new capital is at Ch'ang-an
(now known as Xi'an), close to the Wei river.
From here the Zhou control the entire area of central China,
from the Huang Ho to the Yangtze. They do so through a
network of numerous subordinate kingdoms, in a system akin
to feudalism.
In 771 BC the Zhou are driven east from Xi'an, by a
combination of barbarian tribes and some of their own
dependent kingdoms. They re-establish themselves at Loyang,
where they remain the nominal rulers of China (known as the
Eastern Zhou) until 256 BC. During this long period their status
is largely ceremonial and religious. Their main role is to
continue the sacrifices to their royal ancestors - from whom the
rulers of most of the other rival kingdoms also claim descent.
In the 8th century there are hundreds of small kingdoms in
central China. By the end of the 5th there are only seven.
Tension and constant warfare give the period its character.
Confucius and Confucianism: from the 6th century BC
A lasting result of these troubled centuries is the adoption of
the ideas of K'ung Fu Tzu, known to the west as Confucius.
Like other spiritual leaders of this same period
(Zoroaster,Mahavira, Gautama Buddha), Confucius is
essentially a teacher. As with them, his ideas are spread by his
disciples. But Confucius teaches more worldly principles than
his great contemporaries.
The unrest of his times prompts him to define a pattern of
correct behaviour. The purpose is to achieve a just and
peaceful society, but the necessary first step is within each
individual. Confucius lays constant emphasis on two forms of
harmony. Music is good because it suggests a harmonious
state of mind. Ritual is good because it defines a harmonious
society.
The Confucian ideals are deeply conservative, based on an
unchanging pattern of respect upwards, to those higher in rank
(older members of a family, senior members of a community),
which brings with it a corresponding obligation downwards. The

26. pattern is extended outside this immediate world, with the
highest respect accorded to the dead - in the form of ancestor
worship.
This concept of mutual obligation shares something with
feudalism, but it gives less honour to military prowess. It is
more like a utopian bureaucracy, with responsible Confucians
on hand at every level to oil the machinery of state.
Confucius runs a school in his later years, proclaiming it open
to talent regardless of wealth. His young graduates, more
intellectually agile than their contemporaries, are much in
demand as advisers in the competing kingdoms of China. So
the master's ideas are spread at a practical level, and his
disciples begin as they will continue - as civil servants. Known
in China as scholar officials, they acquire the name 'mandarin'
in western languages from a Portuguese corruption of a
Sanskrit word.
The idea of a career open to talent becomes a basic
characteristic of Chinese society. By the 2nd century BC
China's famous examination system has been adopted,
launching the world's first meritocracy (see Chinese
examinations).
Daoism: from the 4th century BC
Confucianism is so practical a creed that it can scarcely be
called a religion. It is ill-equipped to satisfy the human need for
something more mysterious. China provides this in the form of
Daoism.
Laozi, the supposed founder of Daoism, is traditionally believed
to have been an older contemporary of Confucius. It is more
likely that he is an entirely mythical figure. The small book
which he is supposed to have written dates from no earlier
than the 4th century BC. It is an anthology of short passages,
collected under the title Daodejing. Immensely influential over
the centuries, it is the basis for China's alternative religion.
Daodejing means 'The Way and its Power'. The way is the way
of nature, and the power is that of the man who gives up
ambition and surrenders his whole being to nature. How this is
achieved is a subtle mystery. But the Daodejingsuggests that
the Way of water (the humblest and most irresistible of
substances) is something which a wise man should imitate.
In the late 20th century, an era of ecology and New Age
philosophies, the 'alternative' quality of Daoism has given it
considerable appeal in the west. In Chinese history it is indeed
alternative, but in a different sense. In the lives of educated
Chinese, Daoism has literally alternated with Confucianism.
Confucianism and Daoism are like two sides of
the same Chinese coin. They are opposite and complementary.
They represent town and country, the practical and the
spiritual, the rational and the romantic. A Chinese official is a
Confucian while he goes about the business of government; if
he loses his job, he will retire to the country as a Daoist; but a

27. new offer of employment may rapidly restore his
Confucianism.
The same natural cycle of opposites is reflected in the Chinese
theory of Yin and yang, which also becomes formulated
during the long Zhou dynasty.
Legalism: from the 4th century BC
Although the Zhou dynasty is the cradle of the two most lasting
schools of Chinese thought, Confucianism and Daoism, it is
brought to an end by a more brutal philosophy usually
described as Legalism. Expressed in a work of the 4th century
BC, the Book of Lord Shang, it responds to the lawlessness of
the age by demanding more teeth for the law. A strict system
of rewards and punishments is to be imposed upon society. But
the ratio is to be one reward to every nine punishments.
Punishment produces force, force produces strength, strength
produces awe, awe produces virtue. Virtue has its origin in
punishments', proclaims the Book of Lord Shang.It is read with
attention by the ruler of the Qin.
The Qin dynasty: 221 - 206 BC
By the 4th century BC the numerous Zhou kingdoms have
been reduced, by warfare and conquest, to just seven. The
most vigorous of these is the Qin kingdom, occupying the Wei
valley. This region, as when the Zhou were here centuries
earlier, is a buffer state between the civlized China of the
plains and the barbaric tribal regions in the mountains.
The Qin have learnt from their tribal neighbours how to fight
from the saddle, instead of in the cumbersome war chariots
used by the Zhou kingdoms. And Legalism gives them a
healthy disregard for the Confucian pretensions of the more
sophisticated kingdoms. In particular they are unimpressed by
the claims to preeminence of the feeble state of Zhou.
In 256 the Qin overrun Zhou, bringing to an abrupt end a
dynasty which has lasted on paper more than 800 years. In the
following decades they conquer and annexe each of the other
five kingdoms. The last is subdued in 221 BC.
The whole of central China is now for the first time under a
single unified control, in effect creating a Chinese empire. The
Qin ruler who has achieved it gives himself an appropriate new
title, Shi Huangdi, the 'first sovereign emperor'. His Qin
kingdom (pronounced 'chin') provides the name which most of
the world has used ever since for this whole region of the earth
- China.
Shi Huangdi rapidly sets in place a dictatorship of uniformity,
based on terror. Much use is made of a scale of five standard
punishments - branding on the forehead, cutting off the nose,
cutting off the feet, castration and death.
The only approved commodities in this empire are items of
practical use. These do not include books or Confucians. In
213 BC it is ordered that all books (except those on medicine,
agriculture and divination) are to be burnt (seeBamboo
books). A year later it is reported that 460 Confucian scholars
have been executed.

28. The collapse of the first empire: 210-206 BC
Like other megalomaniacs, Shi Huangdi predicts that his
empire will last almost to eternity. 11,000 generations is his
claim. In the event it lasts less than one generation - from 221
to 206 BC.
When the emperor dies, in 210, the arrangement of his tomb
reflects both his paranoia and his power. In his determination
that no thief shall discover and desecrate his resting place, the
workmen who construct it are buried with him - or so Chinese
tradition has always maintained, adding that the tomb has
crossbows permanently cocked to impale any intruder. When
the tomb is eventually discovered, in 1975, it reveals an even
more amazing secret - the famousTerracotta army of Xi'an.
Turmoil follows the death of the Qin emperor. During it his
chief minister, Li Ssu, receives his own dose of Legalist
medicine.
His downfall is engineered by a palace eunuch, who arranges
for him to suffer each of the first four punishments in turn and
then, without nose, feet or genitals, to be flogged and cut in
two at the waist.
A series of peasant rebellions, resulting from the brutality of
the regime, accompanies the rapid collapse of the Qin dynasty.
From the chaos there emerges the first undeniably great
Chinese dynasty, the Han.
But the centralizing effort of the Qin ruler does bequeath some
lasting benefits to China. The Chinese will never again forget a
political ideal deriving from this time - that the natural
condition of their great and isolated land mass is to be a single
entity. A practical token of this ideal is left by the Qin emperor
in the form of the Great Wall of China - a boundary which
securely defines the nation on the only side where nature does
not already do so by mountain, jungle or sea.
The Han dynasty: 206 BC - AD 220
The Han is the first of the five great Chinese dynasties, each of
them controlling the entire area of China for a span of several
centuries. The others are the T'ang (7th-10th centuries), Song
(10th-13th), Ming (14th-17th) and Qing (17th-20th).
The Han is a great deal earlier than any of these, and it lasts -
with one minor interruption - longer than any other. At its peak
the imperial power stretches from the Pamir Mountains in the
west to Korea in the east and to Vietnam in the south. With
justification the Han dynasty comes to seem a golden age, and
the Chinese have often described themselves as the 'sons of
Han'.
The Han kingdom was one of the five states engulfed between
230 and 221 BC by the Qin emperor. During the rebellions
which follow his death, the Han throne is seized in 206 by a
man of peasant origin. After four years of warfare he is strong
enough to claim the Qin empire. As founder of a great
dynasty he is later given the title Kaozi - 'exalted ancestor'.

29. As befits his origins, Kaozi is a rough character, with little
respect for the Chinese official classes. The first great Chinese
historian, Sima Qian, writing a century later, gives a vivid but
improbable glimpse of the man. 'Whenever a visitor wearing a
Confucian hat comes to see the emperor, he immediately
snatches the hat from the visitor's head and pisses in it'.
Confronted by the practical problems of running the empire,
Kaozi overcomes his aversion to the Confucians. He even
commissions a Confucian work on the principles of good
government. And his successors make the Confucians the
scholar-officials of the state.
Under the most powerful of the Han emperors, Wudi (the
'martial emperor'), scholars of other disciplines are banned
from court. The Confucian examination system is made a
cornerstone of the administrative system (see Chinese
examinations). And an imperial academy is set up to study
the supposed works of the master (most of them, in reality,
written or compiled by his disciples).
The Chinese architectural tradition: from the 1st c. BC
No architecture survives in China from the early dynasties
(with the spectacular exception of the Great Wall) because
the Chinese have always built in wood, which decays. On the
other hand, wood is easily repaired.
When timbers of a wooden structure are replaced and
repainted, the building is as good as new - or as good as old.
The conservative tendency in Chinese culture means that
styles, even in entirely new buildings, seem to have changed
little in the 2000 years since the Han dynasty.
Documents of the time suggest that Han imperial architecture
is already of a kind familiar today in Beijing's Forbidden City,
the vast palace built in the 15th century for the Ming
emperors. Carved and painted wooden columns and beams
support roofs with elaborate ornamented eaves.
The painting of buildings provides ample opportunity for the
Chinese love of rank and hierarchy. The Li Chi, a Confucian
book of ritual complied in the Han dynasty, declares that the
pillars of the emperor's buildings are red, those of princes are
black, those of high officials blue-green, and those of other
members of the gentry yellow.
Minor improvements are introduced with the
advance of technology. The colourful ceramic roof tiles of
Chinese pavilions are an innovation in the Song dynasty in the
11th century. But in broad terms the civic buildings of China
retain their appearance through the ages.
A good example is the magnificent Temple of Heaven in
Beijing. Its colours, frequently restored, are so fresh that the
building looks new. But the structure dates from the early 15th
century, in the Ming dynasty, and its appearance on its marble
platform is almost identical to Marco Polo's description of its
predecessor in the 13th century.

30. The reign of the emperor Wudi: 142 - 87 BC
At the peak of the Han dynasty, under the emperor Wudi, the
Chinese empire stretches to its greatest expanse and seems to
need for nothing. Even the valuable commodities which
previously have been acquired from beyond the empire's
northern boundary - horses and jade - are now regarded as
home produce. They come from the steppes to the north of the
Himalayas, where the nomadic Xiongnu are now increasingly
brought under Chinese control.
Sima Qian, writing during Wudi's reign, depicts the empire
as Proudly self-sufficient, in his list of what is available and
in which regions.
Wudi employs military force more effectively than his
predecessors against the Xiongnu, who are constantly
pressing from the north. Searching for allies against these
ferocious neighbours, he is intrigued by reports that there are
other nomadic tribes, the Yueqi, enemies of the Xiongnu,
living to the west of them.
In 138 Wudi sends an envoy on a dangerous mission to make
contact with these potential allies. The 13-year adventure of
the envoy, Zhang Qian, is one of the great early travel stories
(see the Journey of Zhang Qian). It is also the first fully
documented contact between China and the west, and a
significant step towards the opening of theSilk Road.
The contribution of the Han
Several important technical advances are made in China during
the Han dynasty. In warfare, the Chinese skill in working
bronze is applied to the invention of the crossbow.
In the story of communication there are two major turning
points. Paper is invented, with a traditional date of AD 105.
And although true printing must wait a few more centuries, an
initiative of AD 175 proves an important stepping stone
towards the first printed texts in Chinese.
Engraved texts: 2nd - 8th century AD
The emperor of China commands, in AD 175, that the six main
classics of Confucianism be carved in stone. His purpose is to
preserve them for posterity in what is held to be authentic
version of the text. But his enterprise has an unexpected
result.
Confucian scholars are eager to own these important texts.
Now, instead of having them expensively written out, they can
make their own copies. Simply by laying sheets of paper on the
engraved slabs and rubbing all over with charcoal or graphite,
they can take away a text in white letters on a black ground -
a technique more familiar in recent centuries in the form of
brass-rubbing.
Subsequent emperors engrave other texts, until quite an
extensive white-on-black library can be acquired. It is a natural
next step to carve the letters in a raised form (and in mirror
writing) and then to apply ink to the surface of the letters.
When this ink is transferred to paper, the letters appear in
black (or in a colour) against the white of the paper - much
more pleasant to the eye than white on black.

31. This process is printing. But it is the Buddhists, rather than
the Confucians, who make the breakthrough.
Western and Eastern Han: 206 BC - AD 221
For the first 200 years of the dynasty, the Han capital is in the
Wei valley - at Xi'an (the same site as Ch'ang-An, the first
capital of the Zhou dynasty). During a brief interlude the
throne is seized by a usurper, who forms the Hsin or 'new'
dynasty (AD 8-23). The imperial family then recovers the
throne and moves the capital further east into the plains. The
emperors re-establish themselves at Loyang - again the very
place to which the Zhou dynasty moved from Xi'an, nearly
eight centuries earlier.
At Loyang the Han survive for another 200 years, until
eventually toppled in 221 after several decades of peasant
uprisings - a pattern of events which has been common at the
end of Chinese dynasties.
Period of Disunion: 3rd - 6th century AD
The centuries after the collapse of the Han dynasty
are a time of chaos. The Chinese Standard
Histories identify no fewer than ten dynasties and
nineteen separate kingdoms during this period. It is
often known now as the Six Dynasties (from six in
succession which had their capital at Nanjing), or
more accurately as the Period of Disunion. As in
many chaotic times, much is achieved. One such
achievement is the flourishing of
Chinese Buddhism.
The first Buddhists have reached China, along
the Silk Road, in the 1st century AD. They flourish
partly because they are warmly welcomed by a well-
established indigenous religion, Daoism.
The Daoists see the Buddhists as kindred souls, and
with good reason. Both religions have priests,
monasteries and some form of religious hierarchy.
Both believe in a withdrawal from the everyday
business of life. Both differ profoundly from the
Chinese alternative to Daoism - the practical,
commonsense, worldly philosophy of Confucianism.
Soon the two religions become so closely linked that
a new Daoist theory evolves. The Buddha is
actually Lao-Tzu, who was given this other name
when he made a secret journey to bring the truth to
India.
Centuries later, when Buddhism is favoured above
Daoism by Chinese rulers and when the great wealth
of Buddhist monasteries provokes jealousy, the
Daoist legend becomes neatly reversed. If the
Buddhists are Daoists under another name, why
should they enjoy any special treatment and such
spectacular success? Such arguments underlie the
eventual persecution of Buddhists, in the 9th
century.
Meanwhile their success is indeed astonishing.

32. Buddhist carving in China stands as visible proof of
their wealth and energy.
In sheer quantity, if in nothing else, Buddhist carving
in China would be a phemonenon in the history of
sculpture. One site near the ancient capital of
Loyang, at the eastern end of the Silk Road, makes
the point very effectively. Any visitor to Long-men
will be struck by the profusion of Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas and Arhats and their guardians. But
exactly how many statues are there?
In 1916 a local magistrate attempts to count them.
He arrives at a total of 97,306 separate figures. A
more recent study suggests that 142,289 may be
nearer the mark.
The Sui dynasty: AD 589-618
The man who reunites China in 589,
forming the Sui dynasty, is an enthusiastic patron of
Buddhism. He takes as his title Wen Ti, meaning the
Cultured Emperor, and devotes much effort to
building Buddhist stupas throughout the land. The
local version of a stupa develops into a specifically
Chinese form, that of thepagoda.
His son, Yang Ti (the Emblazoned Emperor),
undertakes an even more ambitious project,
requiring so much forced labour that it contributes to
the rapid end of this brief dynasty. But it has
economic value and is a stupendous achievement.
Yang Ti constructs the Grand Canal, linking the
Yangtze to the Yellow River and thus to the twin
capitals of Loyang and Xi'an.
The T'ang dynasty: AD 618-907
Rebellion breaks out against the second Sui emperor in 613, partly provoked by the burden of
constructing his Grand Canal. In 616, fleeing from his capital at Xi'an, he and his court are towed down
the canal to temporary safety in his specially designed barges. Two years later he is assassinated by his
own troops.
Meanwhile one of the emperor's high officials has seized power in Xi'an. By 618 he is in a position to
declare himself the founder of a new dynasty, the T'ang. China enters its most dynamic era, a period
rivalled only by the first two centuries of the Han dynasty.

33. Chinese culture under the T'ang reaches new heights inceramics andliterature. The Chinese style influences
Korea and Japan, and the two younger civilizations also give an increasingly warm welcome to
ChineseBuddhism. Imperial control now extends once again from desert oases along the Silk Road in the
northwest to parts of Manchuria in the northeast and to Vietnam in the south.
Beyond China's borders to the west, the might of the emperor reaches further than at any previous
time. Princes as far away as Bukhara and Samarkand recognize his sovereignty.
Imperial science and a great map of China: AD 721-801
The extent of the imperial Chinese bureaucracy under the T'ang dynasty makes possible an unusually
thorough scientific project (echoing, for a different purpose, the brave amateur experiment
ofEratosthenes1000 years earlier). In 721 the emperor sets up nine research stations, across a span of
more than 2000 miles, from Hue in the south to the Great Wall in the north.
For four years each station measures the sun's shadow at noon on the summer and winter solstice. It is
an elegant experiment in that no difficult synchronization is required. The shortest and longest shadows
at each place are the correct answers, providing invaluable information for cartographers.
A famous map of 801 - a landmark in cartography - no doubt makes use of the nine points of latitude
scientifically established in the experiment of 721-5. It is a map of the Chinese world, produced for the
T'ang emperor by Chia Tan.
Chia Tan's map is on an ambitious scale, measuring about 10 by 11 yards. It charts the entire T'ang

34. empire and extends its range into the barbarian world beyond China's borders, showing the seven main
trade routes with other parts of Asia.
T'ang pottery: 7th - 9th century AD
T'ang is the first dynasty from which sufficient pottery survives for a Chinese style to
become widely known in modern times. The surviving pieces are almost exclusively ceramic figures
found in tombs. They represent the animals (particularly horses, but also camels) and the servants and
attendants needed by the dead man in the next life.
The eclectic nature of Chinese religion is well suggested in the range of attendants considered helpful. A
general by the name of Liu Tingxun, buried at Loyang in 728, is accompanied by two Confucian officials,
two Buddhist guardians and two ferocious-looking earth spirits of a more Daoist disposition.
Vigorously realistic in style, with bright and often dappled glazes, T'ang horses and
tomb figures are among the most delightful and recognizable of styles of pottery.
But the T'ang potters make another contribution of much greater significance in ceramic history. They
discover the technique of the thin white translucent ware known as porcelain. There is much argument
about the date of the first porcelain, for there is no precise agreement on how to define it (it is most
commonly described as white china so thin that it is translucent and makes a ringing sound when

35. struck). Other definitions involve the relative proportions of ingredients such as kaolin and porcelain
stone.
Wares produced in north China during the T'ang dynasty, from as early as the 7th century, have the
characteristics of porcelain. From the start they are widely appreciated. In a summer palace of the 9th
century, far away on the Tigris at Samarra, broken fragments of T'ang porcelain have been found. The
earliest known example of a foreigner marvelling at this delicate Chinese ware derives from the same
century and region.
In 851 a merchant by the name of Suleiman is recorded in Basra, at the mouth of the Tigris, as saying
that the Chinese have 'pottery of excellent quality, of which bowls are made as fine as glass drinking
cups; the sparkle of water can be seen through it, although it is pottery.
T'ang poetry: 7th - 9th century AD
Chinese poetry achieves its golden age during the T'ang dynasty. The ability to turn an elegant verse is
so much part of civilized life that almost 50,000 poems (by some 2300 poets) survive from the period.
Poetry is a social activity. Friends write stanzas for each other to commemorate an occasion, and
competitive improvization is a favourite game at a party or on a picnic. Early in the dynasty news of a
child prodigy, a girl of seven, reaches the court. She is brought before the empress and is asked to
improvize on the theme of bidding farewell to her brothers. TheResulting poem, delivered in this alarming
context, is brilliant - though no doubt polished in the telling.

36. Chinese scholar officials, pleasantly torn betweenConfucianismand Daoism, write poetry when they are in
their Daoist vein. Verses are composed when the official is on a journey with friends, or on holiday, or in
temporary retirement in a thatched cottage in some delighful landscape.
Most of the leading poets, though their inspiration lies among friends in the countryside, are also on the
fringes of imperial court life. In this balance they echo to some extent the experience ofHorace in imperial
Rome. Like his short odes, the favourite T'ang form known aslü-shih('regulated verse') is distinguished by
its finely honed elegance.
Wang Wei, Li Po and Tu Fu: 8th century AD
The three greatest T'ang poets are exact contemporaries in the early 8th century. One of them, Wang
Wei, begins his career with a brilliant success in the official examinations but he rarely holds the high
positions which this would normally imply (ssee Chinese examinations). More important to him is his villa in
the mountains south of the capital city, at Wang-ch'uan.
The beauty of the landscape inspires Wang Wei both as painter and poet. None of his paintings survive,
but later Chinese landscapes reveal the closely related influence of the countryside in both art forms. A
poet of the next dynasty writes of Wang Wei that there are pictures in his poems and poems in his
pictures.
The other two leading T'ang poets, Li Po and Tu Fu, are unsuccessful in the examinations (see Chinese
examinations). Instead they regularly present poems to the imperial court in the hope of finding
preferment. Occasionally they are successful. But both men, for much of their lives, lead a nomadic
existence - supporting themselves on small farms, or lodging in Daoist monasteries.
Nevertheless they are able to acquire great fame in their lifetime as poets, thanks to the extensive

37. network of educated Chinese officialdom. In 744 (when Li is 43 and Tu 32) their paths cross for the first
time, and the two poets become firm friends. Friendship and Chinese poetry are closely linked.
The first printed book: AD 868
The earliest known printed book is Chinese, from the end of the T'ang dynasty. Discovered in acave at
Dunhuang in 1899, it is a precisely dated document which brings the circumstances of its creation vividly
to life.
It is a scroll, 16 feet long and a foot high, formed of sheets of paper glued together at their edges. The
text is that of the Diamond Sutra, and the first sheet in the scroll has an added distinction. It is the
world's first printed illustration, depicting an enthroned Buddha surrounded by holy attendants. In a
tradition later familiar in religious art of the west, a small figure kneels and prays in the foreground. He
is presumably the donor who has paid for this holy book.
The name of the donor, Wang Chieh, is revealed in another device which later becomes traditional in
early printed books in the west. The details of publication are given in a colophon (Greek for 'finishing
stroke') at the end of the text. This reveals that the scroll is a work of Buddhist piety, combined with the
filial obligations of good Confucian ideals: 'Printed on 11 May 868 by Wang Chieh, for free general
distribution, in order in deep reverence to perpetuate the memory of his parents.'
The printing of Wang Chieh's scroll is of a high standard, so it must have had many predecessors. But the
lucky accident of thecave at Dunhuang has given his parents a memorial more lasting than he could have
imagined possible.

38. The T'ang in decline: AD 751-906
With the exception of printing, the great T'ang achievements take place in the first half of the dynasty.
This is a repetitive pattern of Chinese history, for the vigour of the founding emperor of a dynasty - a
self-made man - can rarely be matched by descendants who grow up in a palace environment,
pampered by eunuchs and shielded from practical experience.
The T'ang are also unfortunate in their neighbours. For the first time since communication with the west
is established, during the Han dynasty, there is an expansionist new power beyond the Himalayas. The
Arabs, with their Muslim faith, have the vitality traditionally considered in China to be characteristic of a
new dynasty.
The Arabs and the Chinese: AD 751-758
By the mid-8th century, with the Arabs firmly in control of central Asia and the Chinese pressing further
west than ever before, a clash is sooner or later inevitable. It comes, in 751, at the Talas river. The result
is a shattering defeat for the Chinese. For the Arabs an interesting fringe benefit of victory is the
valuable secret of how to make paper.
Seven years later the Arabs again demonstrate their strength with an impertinent gesture at the
opposite extreme of the Chinese empire. Arriving in 758 along the trade route of the south China coast,
they loot and burn Canton.
The rebellion of An Lu-shan: AD 755
Between the two Arab incursions, the T'ang administration is gravely weakened by the rebellion of an

39. army commander serving on the northwest frontier. In 755 An Lu-shan marches east and captures both
the western and eastern capitals, at Xi'an and Loyang. The emperor flees ignominiously.
Two years later An Lu-shan is murdered by his own son. But the weakened condition of the empire is
soon demonstrated again. In 763 the emperor is unable to prevent an invading Tibetan force from
briefly capturing Xi'an.
Eunuchs and warlords, Daoists and Buddhists
The T'ang dynasty never again recovers its former strength. The next century and a half is characterized
by violent struggles between powerful groups. One such clash is between the eunuchs who run the
imperial palace, and who are now increasingly given command over the palace armies, and the regional
governors controlling troops in the provinces.
Another clash is between Daoists and Buddhists. In recent centuries the Buddhists have been the more
favoured of the Daoists, an older indigenous sect by now jealous of the foreign upstarts, seek to
influence the emperors against their rivals.
In 845 the Daoist campaign is finally and decisively successful. The emperor initiates a purge in which
4000 Buddhist monasteries are destroyed, together with many more shrines and temples. A quarter of a
million monks and nuns are forced back into secular life.
Soon lawless provincial armies and popular unrest combine to make the country ungovernable.
Rebellious peasants occupy Xi'an in 881. In 903 a surviving leader of that peasant uprising captures the
emperor and kills him with all his eunuchs. Three years later he sets up a dynasty of his own with his
capital at Kaifeng. A succession of similar warlords follow his example in a chaotic 50-year span known
as the Five Dynasties.

40. The Song empire: AD 960-1279
The rapid succession of the Five Dynasties is brought to an end
by a warlord who wins power in AD 960. He establishes the
sixth in the sequence on a more firm footing, as the Song
dynasty. He does so by reducing the power of regional
commanders (keeping the best regiments under his own
command at the centre) and by giving greater authority to the
civilian administration.
As a result this is the heyday of the Confucians. Ever since
the Han dynasty, scholar officials have supposedly been
selected by merit in the civil-service exams (see Chinese
examinations). But heredity and corruption have often
frustrated this intention, reserving the jade insignia of office for
the families of the powerful rather than the talented.
Now, under the Song emperors, the search for talent becomes
rigorous. As an early Song ruler puts it, 'bosoms clothed in
coarse fabrics may carry qualities of jade', and he is
determined that such bosoms shall not 'remain unknown'.
The result is a China weaker in military terms than its
predecessors but of greater sophistication. The territory
controlled by the Song emperors is gradually reduced under
pressure from less civilized intruders, particularly from the
north. But enough remains to be the basis of a strong economy
and a rich urban culture.
Northern Song: AD 960-1127
For the first half of the dynasty, known as Northern Song, the
capital is at Kaifeng - an important centre where the Grand
Canal joins the Yellow River. The city includes 16 square miles
within its walls and has an estimated population of more than a
million people. It is not the only one of its kind. By the end of
the dynasty Soozhou, Hangzhou and Canton (already the port
for foreign merchants) are all of this size.
In these great cities the Chinese enjoy the fruits of trade (now
carried in exceptionally large merchant ships, and often
negotiated in paper money), the benefits of technology (such
as printing) and the aesthetic delights ofpottery, painting
and poetry.
These pleasures are interrupted from time to time by the
demands of the Khitan, a tribe from eastern Mongolia who
have settled in north China and have established their own
version of a Chinese dynasty (the Liao, 907-1125). The Khitan
are the first to make a capital city in what is now Beijing. They
are such troublesome neighbours that the Song regularly make
large payments to them (of silk, grain, copper and silver) in
return for peace.
A more drastic interruption occurs when another aggressive
group from the northern steppes, the Jurchen, overwhelm the
Liao dynasty in 1125. Two years later they capture the Song
capital, Kaifeng, and carry off the Song emperor and 3000 of
his court. But even this disaster proves only a dislocation.

41. Southern Song: 1127-1279
A prince of the imperial family, avoiding capture at Kaifeng,
establishes a new administration at the other end of the Grand
Canal, at Hangzhou. Here the Southern Song continue for
another 150 years, in territory reduced to a mere fraction of
the China of the T'ang empire.
But civilized Chinese life thrives in the exceptionally beautiful
city of Hangzhou, at the heart of China's richest agricultural
region - the rice fields of the south. It will continue to thrive
until the arrival of another intruder, of a different calibre from
all previous northern barbarians. Though not Chinese, he
becomes emperor of China. He is perhaps the only emperor in
Chinese history whose name is widely known -Kublai Khan.
Paper money in China: 10th - 15th century AD
Paper money is first experimented with in China in about AD
910, during the Five Dynasties period. It is a familiar currency
by the end of the century under the Song dynasty. Another
three centuries later it is one of the things about China which
most astonishes Marco Polo (see Bank notes in China).
He describes in great detail how the notes are authenticated,
and then unwittingly touches on the danger lurking within the
delightful freedom to print money. He says that the emperor of
China makes so many notes each year that he could buy the
whole treasure of the world, 'though it costs him nothing'. By
the early 15th century inflation has become such a problem
that paper currency is abolished in the Ming empire.
Chinese publishing: 10th - 11th century
Printing from wood blocks, as in the Diamond Sutra, is a
laborious process. Yet the Chinese printers work wonders. In
the 10th and 11th centuries all the Confucian classics are
published for the use of scholar officials, together with huge
numbers of Buddhist and Daoist works (amounting to around
5000 scrolls of each) and the complete Standard
Histories since the time of Sima Qian.
The carving of so many characters in reverse on wood blocks is
an enormous investment of labour, but the task is unavoidable
until the introduction of movable type. This innovation, once
again, seems to have been pioneered in China but achieved in
Korea.
Chinese arts: in the Song dynasty
In the heyday of classical Chinese culture, a civilized
gentleman - meaning a Confucian official - should be adept in
three different artistic fields. When he settles down before a
fresh sheet of paper and dips his brush in the ink (ground from
a block of pigment by a servant), no one can be certain
whether he is about to pen an impromptu poem, paint a quick
impression of a romantic landscape or fashion some traditional
phrase in exquisite Chinese characters.
The three skills, all expressed in the beauty of brush strokes,
are closely linked. A 'soundless poem' is a conventional
Chinese term for a picture. And a typical poem by the Song
master Ou-yang Hsiu Sounds like a painting.

42. Poetry and painting in Song China (960-1279) are largely
social activities, both in the creation and in the appreciation of
the work. On a convivial occasion, with wine flowing,
Confucians will compete with each other in writing or painting.
In more sober vein, among connoisseurs, a collector will bring
the scrolls from their boxes and will unroll them to be admired
and discussed.
China's past is also now a theme for conoisseurs, in a fashion
pioneered by Ou-yang Hsiu (and echoed centuries later in Italy
during the Renaissance). Ou-yang Hsiu clambers 'on
precarious cliffs and inaccessible gorges, in wild forests and
abandoned tombs' to make rubbings which he publishes, in
about 1000 portfolios, as his Collection of Ancient
Inscriptions'.
Inevitably much of the painting done by enthusiastic amateurs
is dull and conventional. This is particularly true during the
reign of the emperor Hui Tsung. Himself a talented painter, of
a carefully exact kind, he sets up an official academy of
painting.
Those who want to get on at court are unlikely to disagree with
the emperor on matters of artistic style. Others, opting out of
the system, come under the influence of Chan or Zen
Buddhism with its emphasis on freedom of expression. The
Chan painters of the Song dynasty, using a few quick
brushstrokes to capture a fleeting visual moment, provide one
of the most brilliant interludes in the story of Chinese art.
Pottery of the Song dynasty: 10th - 13th century AD
Of the many arts which thrive in China at this
time, Song ceramics are outstanding. The simple shapes of the
pottery and porcelain of this dynasty, and the elegance of the
glazes (usually monochrome), have set standards of
refinement admired in subsequent centuries throughout the
world.
Among the best known of these wares are the celadons, with
their thick transparent green glazes, which are made at
Longquan, near the southern Song capital of Hangzhou. Also
influential are the black wares known as temmoku, popular
with Buddhist monks for the tea ceremony and exported in
large quantities for this purpose to Japan.
A tower clock in China: AD 1094
After six years' work, a Buddhist monk by the name of Su
Song completes a great tower, some thirty feet high, which is
designed to reveal the movement of the stars and the hours of
the day. Figures pop out of doors and strike bells to signify the
hours.
The power comes from a water wheel occupying the lower part
of the tower. Su Song has designed a device which stops the
water wheel except for a brief spell, once every quarter of an