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2100 BCE
Xia dynasty
Many historians debate if the xia dynasty even was real
Was the founded by Yu the great
Yu build his name by by making canals to control the flooding of the yellow river
The xia grew under his reign and that lasted 45 years
His son QI took over after he passed away. This was the start of the dynasty were the leaders were not chosen by ability but came from the family of the leader before
The last ruler of the xia dynasty was King Jie and he was considered evil.
* bronze casting -
1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty
*considered the first dynasty with written records
*first Chinese Dynasty to create writing and have a recorded history
*They had many different levels of leaders starting with the king. Most of the high level people were related to the king
*Warlords owned and ruled some land but owed alliance and if the king needed soliders they gave him some.
* They developed bronze technology
*They worshiped their dead ancestors
*Wu ding was one of the most famous kings he ruled 58 years -
Period: 1045 BCE to 256 BCE
Zhou Dynasty
*The leaders gained their authority to rule from the gods this was called the "mandate from heaven" *was based on the Fuedal system, he divided the land and his relatives ruled them *the beginning of two major philosophies the Confucianism and Taoism *Technology advances occurred such as the invention of the cast iron and Crop Rotation
* The Zhou dynasty is often divided into Western and Eastern by the end of this period only 7 states were left -
Period: 475 BCE to 221 BCE
Warring States Period
this period began around 475 BC till 221 BC which was the end of the Zhou Dynasty. The leader of the Qin State conquered the other six states and declared himself the first emperor of a united china -
Period: 221 BCE to 206 BCE
Qin Dynasty
qin was the first leader to control all of china. He also developed a system of bureaucracy. Developed a spy system. He created a law code.Qin Dynasty enjoyed increased trade, agriculture, and military security -
Period: 221 BCE to 206
Han Dynasty
led by Liu Bang, the Han dynasty was started by peasant revolt which started a war lasting 4 years. Liu Bang won the war and became emperor and changed his name to Han Gaozu. The Han dynasty used the same imperialist government that the former Qin dynasty used.
Han created a civil service which consisted of educated men who would help him run the empire.
Some of the important inventions of the Han Dynasty include, Paper and there were advancements in medicine like acupuncture. -
Period: 220 to 589
Period of Disunity (six dynasties period)
Consists six dynasties- Chen, Liang, Southern Qi, Liu Song, and eastern Jin with the addition of the wu dynasty.
After the fall of the Han dynasty china was no longer controlled by just one emperor. Three warlords rose to power.
The the Jin became the most powerfull dynasty, controlling most of southern China. Government was not very organized and unstable. -
Period: 581 to 618
Sui Dynasty
Since the fall of the Han Dynasty, China had been divided. controlled by different warlords all fighting for power. by 500 CE China was only divided into 2 parts. The Northern and Southern Dynasties. a man named Yang Jian Established control over the north. With a large army at his disposal he captured the south, reuniting china under leader once again.
The Sui Dynasty did not last long however because yang would make peasants work on large projects causing a revolt ending the Sui dynasty -
Period: 618 to 906
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty was another time of peace in China. This dynasty came to power after the previous emperor Yang, had been assassinated and the child emperor Li Yuan rose to power.
Many religions were tolerated with Buddhism being one of the most popular.
Some of the major inventions of the time included woodblock printing and gunpowder which was used in fireworks.
As all good things must come to an end, the Tang dynasty collapsed because of corrupt government and over taxing. -
Period: 907 to 960
Five Dynasties period
once again china was divided into parts much like in the period of disunion. China was divided into 12 states known as the 10 kingdoms. This was a time of political disturbance. with states fighting over power. -
Period: 960 to 1270
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was created by Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao reunited a large portion of China making the government more stable which led to many technological advances such as, the movable type, and the magnetic compass. Gunpowder finally found it's way onto the battlefield
Zhao ruled the north part of China forming the northern song. Jin invaded the north forcing Zhao south. once the southern song was formed Jin invaded the south capturing all of China. -
Period: 1279 to 1368
Yuan Dynasty
This was a time when China was ruled by the mongol empire. Mongols swept across northern China fighting and destroying cities under the leadership of Genghis Khan until Kublai Khan took control officially declaring the Yuan dynasty.
Though the Khan were excellent fighters, they had no idea how to run a large empire. Kublai used Chinese officials to run the government.
After Khan died, his dynasty fell apart with the people meant to inherit his power made the government corrupt. -
Period: 1368 to
Ming Dynasty
Known as one of the last great Chinese Dynasties the ming dynasty was declared after a peasant uprising, overthrowing the mongols who had previously ruled China. The dynasty was led by a man named Zhu Yaunzhang.
The government was run by the civil service. Men had to take difficult exams to be a civil service member.
Zhu helped strengthen China by rebuilding the great wall, the grand canal and moving the capital to Beijing and creating the forbidden city. -
Period: to
Qing Dynasty
This was the last dynasty in china. The first emperor was a five year old boy.
At this time China remained isolated from the outside world. They banned Christianity to keep away European influence
In the 1800's China fought a war because the Brittish were selling opium to the Chinese. Getting the people addicted to the drug. -
Period: to
Republic of China
This was a time when China began to open up trade with the world unlike before where they would remain as isolated as possible.
It was the start of industrialization and modernization for china -
Period: to
Peoples republic of China
Modern day China.
Founded by the victory of Mao Zendong's communist forces on october 1st 1949.
Responsible for a estimated 20% literacy increase in China and essentially all of modern day China's way of life.