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Period: 2100 BCE to 1600 BCE
Xia Dynasty
During the late Neolithic period ( 3000-2000 BCE). Around 2000 BCE, at Erlitou, in the Yellow River Valley, a civilization emerged whose people learned how to cast bronze, which they used to make vessels for ritual feasting and drinking. Erlitou is considered the urban centre of China's earliest state. The Erlitou bronzes are the first manifestation of what was to become the Shang, a civilisation whixh would eventually encompass the entire central plain of north China. -
1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty
The Shang state was a Bronze Age civilization, which emerged around 1600 BCE in the central plain of north China, near the Yellow River. They has temples, and housing near the upper classes and commoners. They had metal workers, potters and stone carvers, and burial grounds. It is thought that the first Shang city was near the modern day city of Shangqiu. Bronzes were also made during Shang times at other places, such as Sanxingdui, south-west China, a magnificent site discovered in the 1980s. -
1600 BCE
Daoism
A religious tradition that developed in China in ancient times under the influence of ideas credited to a man named Laozi. The name Laozi means "old master". Like Confucianism, it has deeply influenced Chinese culture. -
1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty
The most remarkable figures in China's History, Qin Shihuangdi, the First Emperor of Qin, had become king of the state of Qin in 246 BCE at the age of thirteen. In 221 BCE, he united them in a realm that established China much as we know it today, and declared himself First Emperor. Hundreds of thousands were building the Great Wall. Capital Xianyang, and a gigantic tomb. -
630 BCE
Battle of Talas
From the 630s onwards, tang ruler expanded China's power westward into Central Asia. The early 7000s, the Arabs were advancing into Central Asia. The Tang, were defeated, and the Battle of Talas marked the end of Tang China's westward expansion. Only four years later, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out in China, and all Chinese troops in the Central Asia were ordered back to Talas was the first and the only time that Arab and Chinese armies met. -
600 BCE
Confucius
During the Spring & Autumn Period of the Zhou dynasty, there were many states across China, which were often in conflict. Confucius was one of the men, he was a officials. He tried to persuade people to do good, and accept the traditional social roles that had existed in the golden days of the early Zhou when it was thought people had lived in harmony. Confucius was disappointed that he did not succed in influencing any rulers. -
600 BCE
Buddhism
Buddhism was a significant part of Chinese life. Buddhism spread to China from India in the Han dynasty. Monasteries owned large landed estates, ran schools, and invested in businesses such as mills. Buddhism monasteries were important to Tang China's economy and society, and Buddhism art and architecture became part of China's landscape, creating monuments such as the Longmen Grottoes. -
600 BCE
Legalism
Like Confucianism, the school of Chinese philosophy called Legalism concerned itself with politics. Legalist's believed in power- not virtue- and in harsh laws. People were by nature selfish and untrustworthy. Peace and prosperity could be achieved only by threatening severe punishment if people did not obey the laws. -
200 BCE
Shang Qian and the silk road
In the third century BCE, a great confederation of nomadic tribes persistently raided China. Zhang Qian and a band of 100 Chinese set off in 138 BCE. He was surprised to find that people he met used bamboo and cloth products made in China. He was told that products were brought by merchants from land to the southeast. -
200 BCE
The Emperor Wendi and the Sui Dynasty
After the end of the Han dynasty in 220, China was fragmented. In 581 a northern army general managed to reunite China and declared the founding of the Sui Dynasty. China's legal system in all succeeding dynasties would be based on the Sui code, and the civil service exams an important aspect of society until the twentieth century. The Sui also constructed the amazing Grand Canal which linked north and south China. -
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