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Between the early second millennium BC and 221 BC, three dynasties ruled, one after the other, the region of the Yellow River Basin.
The Xia dynasty is considered the oldest of these dynasties. However, so far no written evidence has been found that tells us about the Xia. Between 1500 and 1050 BC, the Shang people came to rule the area. In 1050 BC, the Zhou, the Shang’s western neighbors, rose up against them and defeated them in battle. In 771 BC, King Zhou was assassinated by an alliance of enemy tribes and some Zhou representatives. The Zhou were finally deposed in 256 BC.
For the next forty years, China was mired in constant warfare. Smaller states fought each other for power. In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huangdi became the victor of these wars. He united all the warring states into one empire. China remained a centralized empire until 1912, the longest it has survived.
What is a dynasty?
A dynasty is the rule of a family over a country or region for a long time. Usually, the head of the family is the ruler of the country, such as an emperor or a king. When this ruler dies, another family member takes over (usually the eldest son). When a new family takes control, a new dynasty begins.
What is a dynastic cycle?
All the dynasties that have ruled China have followed a pattern of rise and fall. It is the so-called dynastic cycle. To better understand it, think in a circle.
When a new family overthrows the old dynasty and seizes the “Mandate of Heaven”, that is the apex of the circle. When the dynasty ruled for the first half of the circle it was good, giving land to peasants and reducing taxes and corruption. This lasted throughout the first half of the dynasty (or circle).
From the lower half of the circle, the emperor isolated himself from the peasants and the Chinese people. Corruption begins in the outer provinces. This would produce small uprisings among the peasants that would be repressed and the lands of the peasants would be confiscated. Taxes increase and become a burden on the people.
Towards the end of the dynasty there was a great natural catastrophe, or a series of catastrophes, that the emperor did not want or could not solve and the people were left to fend for themselves. At that time, one of the noble or wealthy families would launch a great revolution supported by the Chinese people, and the old dynasty would soon be overthrown, which brings us back to the top of the circle. Then the circle would start again with a new dynasty.
This was the dynastic government model in China that has been repeated throughout its history.
Heaven’s Mandate
The Mandate of Heaven created a justification system. This Mandate said or implied three main things:
- The right to rule is granted by the gods. This gave the ruler religious power.
- The right to rule is only granted if the ruler cares for his people more than himself. This gives the ruler secular power, or power over the people, and the right to decide what is good for the people, since the ruler must care about the people, or the gods would remove him from his position as ruler.
- The right to rule is not limited to a dynasty or family. A dynasty can be replaced. This justifies the rebellion. When a new ruler leads a successful rebellion, he must have the support of the gods, otherwise he would not be allowed to rule, as it is the gods who choose the rulers.
This mandate was created during the Zhōu (Chou) dynasty, which we will talk about later.
Main dynasties of ancient China
Although some historians speak of 13 dynasties in ancient China, here we mention the main ones in chronological order:
shang dynasty
The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC) was the second dynasty in China to succeed the Xia Dynasty (c. 2700-1600 BC) following the overthrow of the tyrant Xia Jie by the Shang ruler, Tang. As many historians doubt the actual existence of the Xia dynasty, the Shang dynasty could have been the first in China and the origin of Chinese culture.
The country’s stability during the Shang dynasty allowed for many cultural advances, such as industrialized bronze smelting, the calendar, religious rituals, and writing. The first king, Tang, immediately began working for the people of his country rather than for his own pleasure and luxury, and served as a model for his successors. These men created a stable government that lasted 600 years, but according to Chinese historians, they ended up losing the mandate from heaven that allowed them to rule.
The Shang were overthrown by King Wu of Zhou in 1046 BC, who founded the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BC). The Zhou would be the last before the Qin dynasty (221-210 BC), which unified China and gave it its name. If the Xia is accepted as a historical reality, it was still under the Shang dynasty that the most important aspects of the culture developed.
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BC), divided into two periods Western Zhou (1046-771 BC) and Eastern Zhou (771-256 BC), is one of the most culturally important of the early Chinese dynasties and the longest lasting of the history of this country. It followed the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600-1046 BC) and preceded the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC, pronounced “chin”), which gave China its name.
Among the Shang concepts developed by the Zhou was the Mandate of Heaven – the belief in the divine appointment of the monarch and the ruling house – which would influence Chinese politics for centuries and which the House of Zhou invoked to depose and replace the Shang. .
The Zhou dynasty made important cultural contributions to agriculture, education, military organization, Chinese literature, music, schools of philosophical thought, and social stratification, as well as political and religious innovations. The foundations for many of these developments had been laid by the Shang dynasty, but the way in which they were recognized is attributed entirely to the Zhou.
The culture they established and maintained for nearly 800 years led to the development of the arts, metallurgy, and some of the most famous names in Chinese philosophy, such as Confucius, Mencius, Mo Ti, Lao-Tzu, and Sun-Tzu, all of whom They lived and wrote during the period known as the “Hundred Schools of Thought,” during which each philosopher established his own school. The contributions of the Zhou Dynasty laid the foundation for the development of Chinese culture by subsequent dynasties, including the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), which fully recognized the value of the contributions of the Zhou Dynasty.
the quin dynasty
The Qin dynasty (221-206 BC) was the first dynasty in Imperial China (defined as the time of centralized dynastic rule in China between 221 BC and 1912 BC) to unify the separate states after the Warring States Period ( c.481-221 BC), the almost constant time of warfare resulting from the decline of the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BC).
It was founded by Shi Huangdi (r. 221-210 BC), who realized that the Zhou government’s decentralized policies had contributed to its downfall, so he established a centralized state that reduced the power of the aristocracy, eliminated borders between the different states and functioned according to the precepts of the philosophy of legalism. It arose from the state of Qin (pronounced “chin”), which gave China its name because it was the westernmost state and thus the one with which Western traders mainly dealt.
It was during this dynasty that the construction of the Great Wall of China began. Fortified barrier stretching west to east for 21,196 km from the Jiayuguan Pass in the west to the Hushan Mountains in Liaoning Province in the east, ending at the Bohai Gulf. The last Qin ruler was assassinated in 206 BC, and after a bloody civil war over the succession, the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) was founded, fully adopting the achievements of earlier dynasties that the Qin had rejected.
the han dynasty
The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) was the second dynasty of Imperial China (the era of centralized, dynastic rule, 221 BC – 1912 AD) that set the tone for all subsequent dynasties until 1912. It succeeded the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC) and was followed by the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD).
It was founded by the commoner Liu Bang (lc 256-195 BC; throne name: Gaozu r. 202-195 BC), who tried to repair the damage caused by the repressive Qin regime by adopting more benevolent laws and serving the people. The dynasty is divided into two periods:
- Western Han (or Old Han) . 202 BC – 9 CE.
- Eastern Han (or Later Han). 25-220 CE.
The separation was caused by the rise of the regent Wang Mang (l. 45 BC – AD 23), who declared the end of the Han Dynasty and established the Xin Dynasty (AD 9-23). Wang’s idealistic form of government failed, and after a brief period of turmoil, the Han dynasty resumed. The Han restored the cultural values of the Zhou dynasty, which had been discarded by the Qin, and encouraged literacy and the study of the history.
The Three Kingdoms period
The first period of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China, between the years 184 and 190 of the Christian era, was one of the most turbulent in Chinese history. With a Han government ailing and unable to control its empire, localized brutal warfare, rebellions and uprisings abounded. This capital soon fell, followed by the Han dynasty itself, divided by rival dynastic factions at court, scheming eunuchs, and recalcitrant Confucian scholars.
the sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (581-618 AD) was brief, with only two reigning emperors, but succeeded in unifying China after the separation of the Northern and Southern dynasties. As had happened before in Chinese history, a short-lived dynasty brought about major structural changes that paved the way for a more enduring successor, in which culture and the arts flourished, in this case the Tang dynasty.
Reforms in government, civil service, law, and land distribution helped restore and centralize imperial authority. At the same time, the regime became infamous for its immorality, its huge public spending projects, and its military follies, which combined to incite rebellion and eventually its overthrow.
tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) was one of the greatest in the history of imperial China. It was a golden age of reform and cultural progress that laid the foundations for the policies still observed in China today. The second emperor, Taizong (r. 626-649 AD), was an exemplary ruler who reformed the government, social structure, military, education, and religious practices.
Many of the most impressive inventions and advances in Chinese history—gunpowder, air conditioning, gas stoves, printing, advances in medicine, science, technology, architecture, and literature—come from the Tang dynasty.
the yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty was established by the Mongols and ruled China from 1271 to 1368. Its first emperor was Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1279 AD), who eventually defeated the Song dynasty, which had ruled China since 960 AD Stability and Peace in China brought economic prosperity for some, as Kublai and his successors encouraged international trade, allowing the now unified country to open up to the rest of the world.
While peace reigned in the western part of the Mongol empire, Kublai launched two unsuccessful invasions of Japan and several others in Southeast Asia. Peasant revolts broke out throughout the 14th century, until the Red Turban Movement overthrew the Yuan and installed a new regime, the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
Ming dynasty
The Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644 and replaced the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, which had been in place since the 13th century. Despite internal and external challenges to the country, the dynasty oversaw unprecedented growth in the Chinese population and overall economic prosperity. The Qing dynasty (1644-1911) succeeded the Ming.
Among the achievements of the Ming are the construction of the Forbidden City, the imperial residence of Beijing, the repair of the Great Wall of China, the flourishing of literature and the arts, the distant explorations of Zheng He, and the production of timeless blue porcelain. and white from the Ming. However, the Ming emperors ended up facing the same problems as previous regimes: factions at court, infighting and corruption, excessive government spending, and a disillusioned peasantry that fueled rebellions.
As a result, the Ming, economically and politically (and some would say morally) impoverished, were unable to resist the invasion of the Manchus who established the Qing dynasty beginning in 1644.
the qing dynasty
At the end of the Ming dynasty, the Manchus in Northeast China grew stronger. The Manchus attacked China for three consecutive generations, eventually founding the Qing dynasty. This was the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history.
The two most famous emperors of the Qing dynasty were the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661-1772) and the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735-96). Their reigns constituted a “golden age of prosperity.” However, the last Chinese dynasty is embarrassingly remembered for the forced trade of the late Qing era. China was reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-imperial country after the First Opium War, which began in 1839.
Sources
- Botton Beja, F. (2000). China : its history and culture to 1800.
- Mark, J. (2012). Ancient China . World History Encyclopedia
