Section C　History of China

China is a country with a long and rich history and ancient civilization. Anthropologists have uncovered the remains of China's earliest discovered anthropoid, "Yuanmou Man" , who lived in Yunnan Province approximately 1. 7 million years ago. "Peking Man" , who lived in Zhoukoudian, to the southwest of modern Peking, 400,000-500,000 years ago, could walk upright, make and use simple tools, and knew how to make fire. The Neolithic Age started in China about 10,000 years ago, and relics from this period can be found all over the country. Artificially grown rice and millet as well as farming tools have been found in the remains of Hemudu in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, and Banpo, near Xi'an City, shaanxi Province, respectively. These relics date back some 6,000-7,000 years.

1. Ancient times (from antiquity to 1840 A. D.)

The history of China can date back to as early as 4000 B. C.. Chinese civilization began with the legendary sage-emperors Huang Di and Yan Di in the area of the Yellow River Basin. After centuries, the two tribes gradually merged into one by the time of the Xia Dynasty. Chinese people, usually regard themselves as "the descendants of Yan and Huang" .

The Xia Dynasty (2070 B. C.-1600 B. C.)

Chinese generally tell the history from Xia Dynasty, which was founded in 2070 B. C.. The center of its activities was the western section of modern Henan Province and the southern section of modern Shanxi Province, and its sphere of influence reached the northern and southern areas of the Yellow River. With the Xia Dynasty, China entered slave society. People were agrarian, and they were familiar with the phenomena of seasonal changes and arranged their farm activities according to the alterations of the seasons.

The Shang Dynasty (1600 B. C.-1046 B. C.)

The Shang Dynasty controlled the central part of China, extending over much of modern Henan, Hubei, Shangdong, Anhui, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces. The Shang enjoyed the most advanced bronze civilization in the world, and the development of a writing system can be witnessed on the oracles like tortoise shell or animal bones, and these writings were the beginning of the written Chinese language.

The Zhou Dynasty (1046 B. C.-221 B. C.)

The Zhou Dynasty reigned for the longest period of all Chinese dynasties. The Zhou Dynasty fell into several sub-periods: the Western Zhou (1046 B. C.-770 B. C.), the Eastern Zhou which was further divided into the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B. C.-476 B. C.) and the Warring States Period (475 B. C.-221 B. C.). The Zhou Dynasty was a turning point in Chinese history for it evolved into feudal system, and witnessed the territorial expansion, economic prosperity and cultural flourishing. During this period, philosophy and other branches of scholarship were unprecedentedly thriving, with the rise of Confucianism, Daoism and the development of Chinese philosophy. Famous philosophers, Laozi, Confucius, Mencius, Mozi, Zhuangzi, Han Feizi, Xunzi, Sunzi, etc., made huge impact on Chinese culture. The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods are famous for the cultural prosperity with "Hundred Schools of Thought" . During this era, many poets voiced their opinions of criticism and emotions, many of which were preserved in "the Book of Songs" , the first important work of literature in Chinese history.

The Qin Dynasty (221 B. C.-207 B. C.)

Ying Zheng, a man of great talent and bold vision, established the first centralized, unified, multi-ethnic feudal state in Chinese history—the Qin Dynasty, and called himself Shi Huang Di (the first Emperor), historically known as Qin Shi Huang. During his reign, he standardized the written script, currencies, weights and measures; many constructive public projects were undertaken; roads and irrigation canals were built throughout the country. On the other hand, he executed many of his opponents and burned the books written before the Qin Dynasty to wipe out ideas which conflicted with the Emperor. He had worked on his enormous mausoleum started early in his reign. The terracotta warriors of the "underground army" guarding the mausoleum, unearthed in 1974, amazed the world. The 8,000 vivid, life-size pottery figures, horses and chariots have been called "the eighth wonder of the world" . The Qin Dynasty was well-known for beginning the construction of the Great Wall which was later augmented and enhanced during the Ming Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty marks the beginning of a more than 2,000 years long history of a centralized state with an emperor being the head of a state and a comparatively uniformed culture.

The Han Dynasty (206 B. C.-220 A. D.)

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang, a peasant leader, overthrew the Qin regime in cooperation with Xiang Yu. A few years later, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and established the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty fell into three periods: Western Han (206 B. C.-8 A. D.), Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty (8 A. D.-23 A. D.), and Eastern Han (25 A. D.-220 A. D.). During Emperor Wudi's reign, the most prosperous period of the Han Dynasty, the territory of the empire was expanded from the Central Plain to the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia). Emperor Wudi dispatched Zhang Qian twice as his envoy to the Western Regions, and in the process a trade route was forged known as "the Silk Road" from Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shanxi Province), through Xinjiang and Central Asia, and on to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. As contacts between the East and West increased, Buddhism spread to China in the first century.

In Han Dynasty, science and technology made remarkable achievements. Paper, the compass, and the seismograph were invented, steel was manufactured, and advances in medicine, astronomy, and cartography were also noteworthy in history. The Han regime existed for a total of 426 years and its agriculture, handicrafts and commerce were well developed.

Three Kingdoms (220-265), Jin (265-420), Southern and Northern Dynasty (420-589)

The collapse of the Han Dynasty was followed by the Three Kingdoms Period of Wei, Shu and Wu. Continuous wars among the three states developed various wise political and military thoughts, and produced talented persons, such as Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, etc., who demonstrated their special ability not only in military and political affairs but also in literature.

The Three Kingdoms was followed by the Western Jin with Luoyang as its capital city, and Eastern Jin with Jiankang (Nanjing) as its capital city. The Jin Dynasty did not last long with a lot of confrontations and conflicts.

After the Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasty appeared, and it was an age of civil war and political disunity. On the other hand, it was an era of the quick and wide spread of Buddhism, and the flourishing in poetry, music, calligraphy, painting with representatives like the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi and the outstanding painter Gu Kaizhi. It also enjoyed the great advancement in technology. For instance, Zu Chongzhi introduced the approximation to π which is correct to 7 decimal places, and made unique contribution to mathematics.

The Sui Dynasty (581-618)

China was reunified by the Sui Dynasty founded by Emperor Sui Wendi. The Sui Dynasty was short-lived, lasting for 38 years. However, the social economy in this period underwent rapid recovery and development; the system of "Three Departments and Six Ministries" was set up to strengthen the central authorities; the privilege of the noble families was abolished; the Imperial Examination System for the selection and appointment of civil servants was adopted, which was later used for over 1,300 years. Besides, the Sui Dynasty witnessed various reforms and achievements such as the construction of engineering feats like the Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou and Zhaozhou Bridge. Confucianism began to regain popularity, and Buddhism was further spread and encouraged throughout the empire to reunite the people of different regions.

The Tang Dynasty (618-907)

Li Yuan founded the Tang Dynasty with its capital at Chang'an. Li Shimin, or Emperor Taizong, the son of Li Yuan, was one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history. He adopted a series of policies known as the Zhenguan reign period reforms, pushing the prosperity of China's feudal society to its peak. The boundaries of China were extended to Siberia in the North, Korea peninsula in the east, Vietnam in the south, and west in Aral Sea in mid-Asia. At that time, China ranked among the most advanced countries in the world.

During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism flourished and gradually became localized as an important part of Chinese traditional culture. A Buddhist monk Xuan Zang traveled from Chang'an through Gansu, Xinjiang and central Asia to India for the furtherance of Buddhist classics. It was also the golden age of literature and art, which produced the most brilliant poetry of the country. The best-known poets in the Tang Dynasty were Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi.

The "An Lushan and Shi Siming Rebellion" brought about the political disturbance and weakened the empire, and began to push the mighty Tang Dynasty to an end. After the Tang Dynasty, there came the Five Dynasty and Ten Kindoms (907-960).

The Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Zhao Kuangyin, General of the Later Zhou Dynasty, rose in mutiny and founded the Song Dynasty. It was divided into two phases: Northern Song and Southern Song. During the Song Dynasty, agriculture, handicraft industry, shipbuilding industry and commerce flourished, and science and technology made impressive advancements. There was a great development in calligraphy, painting, sculpture and weaving art; achievements in porcelain manufacture surpassed all previous dynasties; gunpowder were widely used for military purposes; the compass was employed for navigation; and the invention of movable printing by Bi Sheng was a great revolution in printing history. Song poetry was a new and popular literary form, and there were many famous poets at that time, such as Su Shi, Xin Qiji, Li Qingzhao, etc.. Shen Kuo's "Dream Pool Essays" covers many fields like astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, medicine and so on. The Song Dynasty was considered to be another period of prime time in Chinese history after the glorious Tang Dynasty.

The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)

In 1206, Genghis Khan unified all the tribes in Mongolia. Later, his grandson Kublai Khan founded the Yuan Dynasty in 1271 and made Dadu (Beijing) the capital. Due to the reunification, the economy, science and culture were boosted, and contacts and communications with foreign nations were also increased. For instance, Marco Polo's trip to China aroused the interest and awe of the world. A new kind of literature form Yuan Drama emerged, and the most influential works are Wang Shifu's Romance of the Western Chamber and Guan Hanqing's Dou E Yuan. The Yuan Drama was one of the greatest Chinese literary heritages.

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, a peasant uprising leader, founded the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing. In 1421, his son Zhu Di officially made Beijing the capital. In 1644, the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the peasant armies led by Li Zicheng. In Ming Dynasty, many enormous constructive projects were undertaken, such as the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall, and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing. With the growth of shipbuilding industry and the navigation technology, a eunuch named Zheng He led a fleet of many ships to make seven far-ranging voyages. Passing the Southeast Asian countries, the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Maldives Islands, Zheng He explored as far as Somalia and Kenya on the eastern coast of Africa. These were the largest-scale and longest voyages in the world before the age of Columbus. The literature in Ming Dynasty was also noticeable. There were many classic fictional novels, such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Pilgrim to the West, and The Golden Lotus. Besides, The Peony Pavilion written by the famous playwright Tang Xianzu was one of the most famous plays in Chinese history.

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

In the late Ming Dynasty, the Manchus in northern China grew in strength and invaded the central plain for three generations in succession. Finally the Qing Dynasty was founded. The two most famous emperors of this period were Emperor Kang Xi and Emperor Qian Long, and the Qing Dynasty reached its peak during their reigns, which was known as the "times of prosperity" (Kang Qian Sheng Shi). Its territory was extensive; economy and commerce developed; culture of various forms thrived. However, the late years of the Qing Dynasty began to decline with the massive social strife, economic stagnation, and western penetration and invasion. After the Opium War, the Qing court was confronted with crisis both at home and abroad.

2. Modern Period (1840-1919)

The Opium Wars lasted from 1840 to 1842 and 1856 to 1860 respectively. From then on, China was reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country. After the Opium Wars, the Qing court succumbed to the west invaders, and humiliatingly signed the unequal treaties, which brought about the tragic consequences for the development of China. To oppose feudal oppression and foreign aggression, the Chinese people waged heroic struggles. The Revolution of 1911, a bourgeois-democratic revolution led by Sun Yat-sen, ended the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The revolution was of great significance in modern Chinese history. The monarchical system that had been in place in China for more than 2,000 years was discarded with the founding of the provisional government of the Republic of China. But the fruits of victory were soon compromised by concessions on the part of the Chinese bourgeoisie, and the country entered a period of domination by the Northern Warlords headed by Yuan Shih-kai.

3. New Democratic Revolution Period (1919-1949)

Under the influence of the October Revolution in Russia, China's May 4th Movement broke out. It was an anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism movement, and it brought out a drastic change in Chinese society. In 1921, the Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded. In 1924, Sun Yat-sen worked together with the CPC to organize workers and peasants for the Northern Expedition. After Sun Yat-sen passed away, Chiang Kai-shek founded the Kuomintang regime in Nanjing, and in 1927 Chiang began to relentlessly chase the CPC armies and leaders from their bases in southern and eastern China. In 1934, the CPC forces were compelled to start the tough Long March across China's most desolate terrain to the northwest, where they established a guerrilla base at Yan'an in shaanxi Province. During the Long March, the communists reorganized under a new leader, Mao Zedong. In July 1937, Japan launched the all-out aggression against China. In August 1945, Chinese people won the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan. From June 1946, the Kuomintang launched an all-round attack on the Liberated Areas led by the CPC, and an unprecedented large-scale civil war started. Three years later, the CPC overthrew the rule of the Kuomintang and won a great victory in the new democratic revolution in 1949.

4. Contemporary Period (1949-　)

On October 1st, 1949, a grand ceremony inaugurating the People's Republic of China was witnessed by 3,000,000 people in Beijing Tian'anmen Square. Chairman Mao Zedong solemnly proclaimed the formal establishment of the People's Republic of China. The early days of New China were a period of economic recovery. While developing production, China gradually established socialist public ownership of the means of production.

The Cultural Revolution lasted for 10 years from 1966 to 1976. During this period, the new China underwent disastrous experiences in every area. This "revolution" did not come to a close until the CPC smashed the Jiang Qing clique in October 1976. A new era of development unfolded in Chinese history.

In 1977, the CPC reinstated Deng Xiaoping in all the party and government posts he had been dismissed from during "the Culture Revolution" . Deng Xiaoping took up a policy slogan "the Four Modernizations" , originally invented by Premier Zhou Enlai. The party's task would be to set China on the right path in four areas: agriculture, industry, science and technology, and national defense. The Third Plenary Session of the CPC 11th Central Committee held at the end of 1978 represented a great turning point of profound significance in the history of New China. In 1979, China instituted a guiding policy of "reform and opening to the outside world" under Deng Xiaoping's leadership, and the focus was shifted to modernization. Great changes have come about in China from then on. As part of the encouragement of entrepreneurship, Deng Xiaoping designated four areas on China's coast as Special Economic Zones, which would be particularly attractive to foreign investors. He indicated that the economic policies of reform were not going to be abandoned, and the massive growth rates that the Chinese economy has posted ever since have justified his decision. In the first decade of the 21st century, annual growth has run at a historically unprecedented rate of about 10%. The situation in the country is the best ever, and the people are enjoying more material benefits than ever before.

In 1989, Jiang Zeming, taking office as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, led Chinese people to carry out Deng Xiaoping's theory. During this period, the PRC gained sovereignty of Hong Kong and Macao in 1997 and 1999 respectively, and witnessed the PRC's accession into the World Trade Organization after 15 years of negotiations, and that Beijing was awarded to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In November 2002, Hu Jintao took the office, and persisted in and continued the policies and principles of "reform and opening to the outside world" , making the country stable, economy developed and foreign relations promoted. China's cultural impact grows as well. The country is building Confucius Institutes, Chinese-language teaching institutes around the world, in an attempt to familiarize a far-wider range of people with Chinese language. And in fine art, China is making a dramatic impact. In 2007, the works of the artist Feng Xiaogang earned nearly $57 million, making him the second highest-earning artist in the world. On October 11th 2012, Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and he was the first Nobel Prize winner in Chinese history.

Xi Jinping was elected to be the General Secretary of the Chinese Community Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission at the first plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee on November 15th, 2013, who is the first top Party leader born after 1949. He now leads the 91-year-old CPC, the world largest political party with more than 82 million members, and sums up the CPC's mission as comprising three responsibilities: to the nation, the people and the Party. Besides, he points out that realizing the great renewal of the Chinese nation is the Chinese nation's greatest dream in modern history. To achieve this sacred "China Dream" , he has clarified his positions on various aspects of the country's development.