China

:This article is about Chinese civilization. For the modern-day state commonly referred to as "China", see People's Republic of China. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation).

History

Main articles: History of China, History of the Republic of China (1912-1949; 1949-Present on Taiwan), History of People's Republic of China (1949-Present)

Related Topics:
History of China - History of the Republic of China - Taiwan - History of People's Republic of China

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China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. The Chinese language was also one of the few languages to invent writing independently, the other languages being that of ancient Mesopotamia (Sumerians), India (Indus Valley Civilization), the Mayans, and Egypt.

Related Topics:
Civilization - Language - Sumer - India - Indus Valley Civilization - Mayans - Egypt

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The first dynasty according to Chinese historical sources was the Xia dynasty; however there is no archaeological evidence definitively attesting a Xia dynasty (although some neolithic sites have been suggested to be such). The first confirmed dynasty is the Shang, who settled along the Huang He river, dating from the 18th to the 12th centuries BC. The Shang were in turn invaded by the Zhou (12th to 5th centuries BC), whose centralized authority was slowly eroded by the ceding of state-like authority to warlords ruling small states; eventually, in the Spring and Autumn period, many strong independent states, in continuous war, paid but nominal deference to the Zhou state as the Imperial centre. They were all unified under one emperor in 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang, ushering in the Qin Dynasty, the first unified centralized Chinese state.

Related Topics:
Dynasty - Xia dynasty - Shang - Huang He - Zhou - Spring and Autumn period - Zhou state - Emperor - 221 BC - Qin Shi Huang - Qin Dynasty

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After the fall of authoritarian Qin Dynasty in 207 BC came the Han Dynasty which lasted until 220 AD. A period of disunion followed again. In 580, China was reunited under the Sui. Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, China reached its golden age. For a long period of time, especially between the 7th and 14th centuries, China was one of the most advanced civilizations in the world in technology, literature, and art. The Song Dynasty fell to the invading Mongols in 1279. The Mongols, under Kublai Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty, which lasted until 1644. After the Ming dynasty, came the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, which lasted until the overthrow of Puyi in 1911.

Related Topics:
Han Dynasty - Tang - Song - Civilization - Mongols - Kublai Khan - Yuan Dynasty - Zhu Yuanzhang - Ming Dynasty - Qing - Puyi

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Often times regime change was violent and strongly opposed and the ruler class needed to take special measures to ensure their rule and the loyalty of the overthrown dynasty. For example, after the foreign Qing (Manchus) conquered China, because they were ever suspicious of Han Chinese, the Qing rulers put into effect measures aimed at preventing the absorption of the Manchus into the dominant Han Chinese population. However, these restrictions proved ineffective against the assimilation of Manchus into the Chinese identity and culture.

Related Topics:
Qing - Manchus - Han Chinese

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In the 18th century, China achieved a decisive technological advantage over the peoples of Central Asia, which it had been at war with for several decades, while simultaneously falling behind Europe in that respect. This set the stage for the 19th century, in which China adopted a defensive posture against European imperialism while itself engaging in imperialistic expansion into Central Asia. See Imperialism in Asia.

Related Topics:
Central Asia - Imperialism - Imperialism in Asia

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However the primary cause of the decline of the Chinese empire was not European and American interference, as the ethnocentric Western historians would lead many to believe. On the contrary it was a series of internal upheavals. Most prominent of these was the Taiping Civil War which lasted from 1851 to 1862. The civil war was started by an extremist believer in a school of thought partly influenced by Christianity who believed himself to be the son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. Although the imperial forces were eventually victorious, the civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history - costing at least twenty million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the First World War). Prior to this conflict a number of Islamic Rebellions, especially in Central Asia, had occurred. Later, a second major rebellion took place, although this latter uprising was considerably smaller than the cataclysmic Taiping Civil War. This second conflict was the Boxer Rebellion which aimed to repel Westerners. Although secretly supporting the rebels, the Empress, Ci Xi, aided foreign forces in suppressing the uprising.

Related Topics:
Ethnocentric - Taiping Civil War - 1851 - 1862 - God - Jesus - First World War - Boxer Rebellion - Ci Xi

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In 1912, after a prolonged period of decline, the institution of the Emperor of China disappeared and the Republic of China was established. The following three decades were a period of disunion — the Warlord Era, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Chinese Civil War. The latter ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in control of mainland China. The CPC established a communist state—the People's Republic of China—that laid claim to be the successor state of the Republic of China. Meanwhile, the ROC government of the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, where it continued to be recognized as the legitimate government of all China by the Western bloc and the United Nations until the 1970s, when most nations and the UN switched recognition to the PRC.

Related Topics:
1912 - Emperor of China - Republic of China - Sino-Japanese War - Chinese Civil War - Communist Party of China - Mainland China - Communist state - Kuomintang - Western bloc - United Nations - 1970s

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See also:

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• Timeline of Chinese history
• Dynasties in Chinese history
• History of Hong Kong
• History of Macau
• History of Taiwan