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HISTORY OF CHINA
China is one of the world’s four ancient civilizations. China has four eras that shaped it into one of the successors for many products globally. China started off with The Ancient China era (1600-221 BC.) After that, it shifted to The Imperial Era (221 BC – 1912 AD). During the imperial era, China went through a few stages before it became a republic country; China’s Dark Ages (220-581), Medieval China (581-1368) and The Final Dynasties (1368-1312).
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Right after that, the Republic of China era started from the year 1912 until 1949. Later, the Modern China era was shaped from the year 1949 until present. Prehistoric China happened way long before Ancient China; where it includes the ages of Palaeolithic, Neolithic and the Bronze Age. However, insufficient evidence from Prehistoric China leads to human’s theories and geologists’ research as sources of evidence.
Storyboard of China's History
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The name ‘China’ was originated from the Sanskrit word ‘Cina’, which was derived
from the name of the Chinese Qin Dynasty pronounced as ‘Chin’.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
ANCIENT CHINA
Ancient China period started in the Shang Era along the Yellow river. Divided into two dynasties; Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty, both of the dynasties brought impact to the next era. In Zhou Dynasty, traditional Chinese Philosophies such as Confucianism and Daoism were developed.
Shang Dynasty started off in 1600-1046 BC. During the dynasty, Oracle Bone was formed. It was the earliest form of writing during the period. Shang Dynasty’s capital was Yin (Anyang). While Zhou Dynasty started in 105-221 BC. The Feudal Zhou Era was divided into 3 eras which are: The Western Zhou (1045-771 BC), Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), and Warring States Period (475-221 BC), which was the last 3 periods of the Zhou Dynasty. Basic Chinese beliefs during both dynasty are Confucianism and Daoism.
CHINESE IMPERIALISM
The era of imperialism in China is the mark of Chinese History. During the imperial ruling, the cycle of rising and falling keep on repeating for each dynasty, which later formed a better Chinese civilization of modern China. Imperial China begins in the year 221 BC until 1912 AD. The first two dynasties of this era are The Qin and Han Dynasties.
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Qin Dynasty
Qin dynasty is the initial period of Chinese Imperialism. The first ruler, Qin Shi Huang was the first to use the title ‘emperor’ which then followed by other dynasties and it became a history of China today. Qin Dynasty was the first and the shortest imperial dynasty according to Chinese history. This dynasty was most popular for the building of The Great Wall. Today, the wall is well known as ‘The Great Wall of China’ and listed as a World Heritage by the UNESCO in 1978.
Han Dynasty
Han dynasty is the initial period of Chinese Imperialism, similar to the Qin Dynasty. Compared to the Qin Dynasty, it is the longest imperial dynasty and one of the most powerful and important dynasties in Chinese history. It is known for starting the Silk Road trade that connected China with Central Asia and Europe. During this dynasty, agriculture, handicrafts and commerce were rapidly developed. During this dynasty, the many ethnics in China were united under a nation, which later leads to China having almost 200 spoken languages and home to 56 ethnic groups.
CHINA'S DARK AGE
​The Han Empire ended with natural disaster and rebellions. A conflict occurred that lead to the killing of royal clans, imperials eunuchs, officials, staffs, and guards. After that, the Three Kingdoms started the ruling, replacing the Han Dynasty. The three kingdoms includes;
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The Cao-Wei Kingdom, the strongest kingdom (220-266 AD).
The Shu Han Kingdom, the southwest kingdom (221-263 AD).
The Dong Wu Kingdom, the last kingdom (229-280).
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After the 3 kingdoms’ periods, came the Jin Dynasty (265-420) which conquered most of China. After almost 400 years of chaos, The Sui Dynasty eventually unified China again in 581 AD.
MEDIEVAL CHINA
The growth of China started from the year 581 AD until 1368 BC. It is known too as The Middle Age of China. During this period, China had a steady growth in terms of technology development and culturally sophisticated. There are four dynasties under Middle Age of China’s period which are:
The Sui Dynasty, a short and intense dynasty with great achievements. (581-618).
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The Tang Dynasty, a great Chinese era and golden age for Chinese arts. (618-907).
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The Song Dynasty, a period of technological advances and prosperity. (960-1297).
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The Yuan Dynasty, also known as Mongol Rule as part of Mongolian khanate ruled China during that period. (1276-1368).
THE FINAL DYNASTIES, THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND MODERN CHINA
After the growth of China during the middle age period, China was under steady ruling during The Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was an era of prosperity that lead to China’s Republic Revolution in 1911. However, civil war happened for decades starting in the year 1949. China had entered the communist era of stability, with the Reform and Opening Up policy of 1978 bringing in China's phenomenal economic growth.