In the 2nd millennium B.C. a second culture began to emerge in the Huanghe valley, overrunning the Shang, and the existence of the [Chou dynasty]?, instituted in the 11th century B.C., is the first for which there is a reliable historical tradition. Although the [Chou dynasty]? appears to have began as a centralized dynasty, power became decentralized. Some historians have termed this system feudal, while others have objected to the term feudal as it tends to stretch the extent of the term feudalism into meaninglessness, and it implies similarities with European feudalism which may not exist.
This period of decentralization is known as the [Spring and Autumn Period]? from the annals which chronicle it. During the [Spring and Autumn Period]? there was consolidation as larger states defeated and absorbed smaller states. This period was an important one for Chinese philosophy and culture as it marked the era in which Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism? and Mohism? were born. As the political consolidation continued, there remained seven (?) states, and the period in which these few states battled each other is known as the [Period of the Warring States]?. Though there still was a Chou emperor until 256 B.C., he held no power whatsoever.
It was the first dynasty to embrace Confucianism, which became the ideological underpinning of all dynasties until the end of the Qing dynasty. Under the Han dynasty, historiography and arts flourished, inventions made life easier and emperors like Wu Di consolidated and extended the Chinese empire by pushing back the Xiongnu (sometimes identified with the Huns) and subjugating areas in the west. The Silk Road was established and for the first time there were trading connections between China and the occident.
But in the 1st century B.C., the Han rulers' power declined and in A.D. 9 the usurper Wang Mang founded the short-lived [Xin Dynasty]?. In A.D. 25, however, the Han dynasty was restored and lasted until the 3rd century A.D.. Then, there was again a period of turmoil, in which three states tried to gain predominance (the [Period of the Three States]?), followed by a bunch of local dynasties (like the [Jin dynasty]? and the Southern? and [Northern Dynasties]?), until the [Sui Dynasty]? managed to reunite the country.
In 618? A.D., the [Tang Dynasty]? was established and a new age of flourishing began. Buddhism, which had slowly seeped into China in the first centuries A.D., spread over all of China and was finally adopted even by the royal family. Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the then capital, was supposedly the world's biggest city. Finally, however, the Tang dynasty declined as well and another time of political chaos followed, the [Period of the Five Dynasties]?.
In 960? A.D., the [Song Dynasty]? gained power over most of China and established its captial in Kaifeng?. In the 10th century, the Song lost power over Northern China to the [Jin Dynasty]? and moved its capital to Hangzhou?. The Song 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 [Western Xia]? who were ruled by Tanguts?. The [Southern Song]? was a period of great technological development which can be explained in part by the military pressure that it felt from the north.
The [Jin Dynasty]? was defeated and replaced by the [Liao Dynasty]? who were then defeated by the Mongols. The Mongols then proceeded to defeat the Southern Song in a long and bloody war, which was the first war ever in which firearms played an important role, a period of peace began for nearly all of Asia. This so-called [Pax Mongolica]? made it possible for adventurous Westerners, like Marco Polo, to travel the Silk Road all the way to China and to bring the first reports of its wonders to their unbelieving compatriots. In China, the Mongol were divided between those who wanted to remain focused on the steppes? and those who wanted to adopt the customs of those they conquered. [Kubilai Khan]? was one of the latter group and therefore announced the established [Yuan Dynasty]?, the first dynasty to make Beijing its capital.
Among the common people, however, there were strong feelings against the rule of "the foreigners", which finally led to a peasant revolt that overthrew the Yuan dynasty and established the [Ming Dynasty]?. This dynasty started out as a time of renewed cultural blossom: Arts, especially the porcelain industry, reached an unprecedent height, Chinese merchants explored all of the Indic ocean and even reached and circumnavigated South Africa. Some historians, such as [John Fairbanks]? have argued that this renovation turned into stagnation, and that science and philosophy were caught in a tight net of traditions smothering any attempt to venture something new. Others have pointed out that this view of the [Ming Dynasty]? is inconsistent with the growing volume of trade and commerce that was occurring between China and southeast Asia. When the Portuguese reached India, they found a booming trade network which they then followed to China. In the 16th century Europeans started to appear on the eastern shores and founded Macao, the first European colony in China.
In 1644, a peasant revolt brought an end to the Ming dynasty, but a Manchu general seized the opportunity and made himself the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Some historians have viewed the Qing as continuing the decline started in the Ming, while others have argued that the early and mid-Qing were periods of growth rather than decline. The Qian Long emperor commanded the compilation of a catalogue of all important works of Chinese philosophy and literature, under emperor [Kang Xi]?, the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever was put together. The Qing Dynasty also saw the growth of popular literature such as the [Dream of the Red Lantern]? and agricultural advances such as [triple cropping of rice]? which caused the population of China to more than double from between 180 million in 1700 to 400 million in 1800.
The event that is generally considered to be the start of modern Chinese history is the [Opium Wars]? between China and Great Britain. Using its technological superiority Great Britain was able to threaten the Qing Dynasty with the loss of Nanjing and forced the Daoguang? emperor to seek terms. In addition, the Qing Dynasty had other problems. The breakdown of administration caused in part by the growing population led to several major rebellions including the [Taiping Insurrection]? and the [Nien rebellion]? along with rebellions in Yunnan? and Xinjiang?.
With tremendous effort and loss of life, the Qing Dynasty was able to put down these rebellions with the aid of militias formed by the Chinese gentry. The Qing dynasty then proceded to deal with problem of modernization, which it attempted with the [Self-Strengthening Movement]?. In the [Sino-French War]? and the [Sino-Japanese War]?, the [New Armies]? created by the Qing dynasties were defeated, which produced calls for greater and more extensive reform. After the start of the 20th century, the Qing Dynasty was in a dilemma. It could proceed with reform and thereby alienate the conservative gentry or it could stall reform and thereby alienate the revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty tried to follow a middle path, but proceed to alienate everyone.
Sun Yatsen tried to establish a working democracy, but the still dominating Europeans and the powerful warlords prevented this experiment from succeeding. People lost trust in the Guomindang government and the Japanese invasion in the 1930s threatened to finally parcel out China to colonial powers. So when the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong arose, it seemed like a savior to the common people and found many supporters. In the beginning, the Communists made common cause with the Guomindang to expel the Japanese, but after Japan had surrendered to the USA, Mao began fighting the Guomindang government under Chiang Kai-shek and finally managed to drive his troops out of mainland China, and Chiang took shelter on the island of Taiwan.
With the proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October, 1st, 1949. China was divided again, into the PRC and the ROC, with two governments that each regarded themselves as the one true Chinese government and denoucing each other as illegitimate. This remained true until the early 1990's when political changes on Taiwan led it to no longer actively portray itself as the sole Chinese government.
For their respective histories after 1949, see the entries on the history of the PRC and the history of Taiwan.
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