Author Topic: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization  (Read 2553 times)

Lorenzo

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This thread will be for the study of the dynamic growth and development of the Chinese civilization(s). Enjoy this study !

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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2013, 02:00:42 PM »
The Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝; pinyin: Xià Cháo; c. 2070 – c. 1600 BCE)is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles.

According to the traditional chronology based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Xia ruled between 2205 and 1766 BCE; according to the chronology based upon the Bamboo Annals, it ruled between 1989 and 1558 BCE. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project concluded that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BCE. The tradition of tracing Chinese political history from heroic early emperors to the Xia to succeeding dynasties comes from the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, in which only one legitimate dynasty can exist at any given time, and was promoted by the Confucian school in the Eastern Zhou period, later becoming the basic position of imperial historiography and ideology. Although the Xia is an important element in early Chinese history, reliable information on the history of China before 13th century BCE can only come from archaeological evidence since China's first established written system on a durable medium, the oracle bone script, did not exist until then.


Proposed location of the Xia Dynasty



Source: Wiki

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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2013, 02:03:38 PM »

An illustration of Emperor Yu, Sovereign of the Xia Dynasty.
He reigned some 4,000 years ago.
The picture is over 4,000 years ago.

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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2013, 02:53:10 PM »
The Shang Dynasty according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, succeeding the Xia Dynasty and followed by the Zhou Dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from texts such as the Classic of History, Bamboo Annals and Records of the Grand Historian. According to the traditional chronology based upon calculations made approximately 2,000 years ago by Liu Xin, the Shang ruled from 1766 BC to 1122 BC, but according to the chronology based upon the "current text" of Bamboo Annals, they ruled from 1556 BC to 1046 BC. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project dated them from c. 1600 BC to 1046 BC.

Archaeological work at the Ruins of Yin (near modern day Anyang), which has been identified as the last Shang capital, uncovered eleven major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and remains from both animal and human sacrifices. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone, and ceramic artifacts have been obtained. The workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization.

The Anyang site has yielded the earliest known body of Chinese writing, mostly divinations inscribed on oracle bones – turtle shells, ox scapulae, or other bones. More than 20,000 were discovered in the initial scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s, and over four times as many have been found since. The inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics from the politics, economy, and religious practices to the art and medicine of this early stage of Chinese civilization.


Lands ruled by the Shang Dynasty




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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2013, 02:55:20 PM »

Illustrated painting of the Yellow Emperor, one of the greatest sovereigns of the Shang Dynasty


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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2013, 03:02:48 PM »
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history (from 1046 BC to 256 BC).

During the Zhou Dynasty, the use of iron was introduced to China, though this period of Chinese history produced what many consider the zenith of Chinese bronze-ware making. The dynasty also spans the period in which the written script evolved into its modern form with the use of an archaic clerical script that emerged during the late Warring States period.

Mandate of Heaven

In the Chinese historical tradition, the Zhou defeated the Shang and oriented the Shang system of ancestor worship towards a universalized worship, away from the worship of Shangdi and to that of Tian or "heaven". They legitimized their rule by invoking the "Mandate of Heaven," the notion that the ruler (the "Son of Heaven") governed by divine right and that his dethronement would prove that he had lost the Mandate. Disasters and successful rebellions would thus show that the ruling family had lost this Mandate.

The doctrine explained and justified the demise of the Xia and Shang dynasties and, at the same time, supported the legitimacy of present and future rulers.

Philosophy

During the Zhou Dynasty, the origins of native Chinese philosophy developed, its initial stages beginning in the 6th century BC. The greatest Chinese philosophers, those who made the greatest impact on later generations of Chinese, were Confucius, founder of Confucianism, and Laozi, founder of Taoism. Other philosophers, theorists, and schools of thought in this era were Mozi, founder of Mohism; Mencius, a famous Confucian who expanded upon Confucius' legacy; Shang Yang and Han Fei, responsible for the development of ancient Chinese Legalism (the core philosophy of the Qin Dynasty); and Xun Zi, who was arguably the center of ancient Chinese intellectual life during his time, even more so than iconic intellectual figures such as Mencius.

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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2013, 03:14:18 PM »

The Emperor of Zhou, with ministers.


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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2013, 01:46:02 PM »
The unique character of Dynastic change is a constant in Chinese history. For thousands of years, the change of dynasties was legitimized as the former losing the "Mandate of Heaven". For this reason, the Emperors of China were known as "Son of Heaven".

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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2013, 01:48:25 PM »
Spring and Autumn Period (722–476 BC)

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. The Spring and Autumn Period is marked by a falling apart of the central Zhou power. 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. Some local leaders even started using royal titles for themselves. China now consisted of hundreds of states, some of them only as large as a village with a fort.

The Hundred Schools of Thought of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period, and such influential intellectual movements as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism were founded, partly in response to the changing political world.



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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2013, 01:50:18 PM »
Warring States Period (476–221 BC)


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 modern Sichuan 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 of Sheng & 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 unification of the other six powers, and further annexations in the modern regions of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi in 214 BC, enabled him to proclaim himself the First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang).



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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2013, 01:57:47 PM »
The Rise of Imperial China : The 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 Chinese homeland and to unite them under a tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang (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 governing it in peacetime.

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 viable trading system throughout the empire.



Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of a unified China



The territorial expanse of China at the time of the Qin Dynasty

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Lorenzo

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Re: The dynamic growth and development of the Chinese Civilization
« Reply #12 on: July 30, 2013, 02:03:50 PM »
The Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD)

was an imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BC) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD). It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 AD) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD) and Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history.

To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people" and the Chinese script is referred to as "Han characters".

The Han Empire was divided into areas directly controlled by the central government, known as commanderies, and a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States.

The Han Dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC). The coinage issued by the central government mint in 119 BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD). To pay for its military campaigns and the settlement of newly conquered frontier territories, the government nationalized the private salt and iron industries in 117 BC. These government monopolies were repealed during the Eastern Han period, and the lost revenue was recouped through heavily taxing private entrepreneurs. The emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the scholarly gentry class. From the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 AD. Science and technology during the Han period saw significant advances, including papermaking, the nautical steering rudder, the use of negative numbers in mathematics, the raised-relief map, the hydraulic-powered armillary sphere for astronomy, and a seismometer employing an inverted pendulum.



The Chinese Empire during the Han Dynasty




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