The Xia dynasty has never been definitively proven historically, although excavations have revealed signs of a ruling dynasty dating back to the 21st century B.C.E. For example, bronze vessels were found in Erlitou (northern China) in 1975. Inscriptions indicated a culture predating the Shang dynasty.
The origins of the Shang dynasty lie in the province Henan, on the Yellow River. This dynasty is also called the Yin dynasty. In contrast to the Xia dynasty, it is well investigated.
King Tang founded the Shang dynasty by overthrowing the last king of the Xia dynasty, who had lost the mandate of heaven by his dissipate lifestyle.
For students of Chinese philosophy, the Zhou dynasty is one of the most exciting one, since the most famous Chinese philosophers lived during this dynasty - if mostly during the era when the Zhou reign was well along its descent and many small states were fighting for power.
The Qin were one of the Seven Kingdoms (Han, Wei, Chao, Qi, Yan, Qin, and Chu) that carried out a power struggle for mastery of the empire around 300 B.C.E. The king of the Zhou dynasty was still the imperial spiritual leader, but could not undertake anything against the independent princedoms.
The first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang Di, died in 210 B.C.E. during an inspection trip. His second son, who took the name Er Shi Huang Di (“second emperor”), inherited the throne. In 207 he was murdered by the eunuch Chao Gao. The stern penal system, the grim forced labor (building of the Great Wall)
Wang Mang was a nephew of Emperor Yuan Di’s consort and from 1 C.E. was the underage Emperor’s regent. In 9 C.E. he took the imperial title himself and founded the Xin dynastie (xin = renewal). He tried to curb the rising power and wealth of the landowners by nationalizing all estates and serfs. He wished to divide the land among the peasants.
The eastern Han dynasty received its name because of the capital city’s move to the east, from Chang’an to Luoyang. The restored dynasty was never able to match the glitter and polish of the earlier Han dynasty; from the beginning, the emperors always had to fight with landowners.
The time of the Three Empires was immortalized in San Guo Yanyi, the famous novel The Three Empires, which treats the confusion following the demise of the late Han dynasty and the struggle over dominance in China.
The Jin dynasty is also divided into the western and eastern Jin dynasty. The western Jin dynasty lasted from 265 to 316 n. Chr, starting from 280 n Chr., the unity of China was restored for a short time.The eastern Jin dynasty lasted from 316 to 420 n Chr.
China was actually divided into one southern and numerous northern empires from 316 C.E., the year the Huns took over Chang’an. With the fall of the eastern Jin dynasty in 420, a period of fragmentation into many empires broke out in the south, lasting more than 150 years until 589 C.E.
The Sui dynasty arose from the northern Zhou empire, one of the three smaller empires that stemmed from the Toba’s Wei dynasty, one of sixteen dynasties in north China. In 577 C.E., the ruler of the northern Zhou dynasty was able to unite north China when he conquered the state Qi.
The Tang dynasty was one of China’s cultural and political apexes. China expanded politically during this time all the way to Korea, Vietnam, and inner Asia. In the Tang era, Buddhist monasteries were especially susceptible to growth in power and wealth. Foreign religions like Islam, Judaism, and Christianity were able to take their first steps in China during the reign of the second emperor Tang Gao Zong.
The time from 907 to 960 is known as the time of the five dynasties. The five dynasties allude to the five northern dynasties. Liang dynasty (907 – 923) Later Tang dynasty (923 – 936) Later Jin dynasty (936 – 947) Later Han dynasty (947 - 950) Later Zhou dynasty (950 - 960).
Founder of the Song-dynasty was General Zhao Kuangyin. He was proclaimed emperor by his troops in Kaifeng in 960. Kaifeng became capital of the Song-empire, which was able to unite whole of China during the following 20 years. The first emperor got the emperor name Taizu.
During the Song dynasty the Mongols of the north had already strengthened their power, and developed more and more into a serious threat for the Song. Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongols, led several campaigns until he finally captured Lin’an, capital of the southern Song, in 1279.
Zhu Yuanzhong was the first emperor of the Ming-Dynasty. He was later on iven the emperor name Ming Taizu (Great ancestor of the Ming). His devise for ruling was hongwu (outrageously belligerent). He came from the people, and he could put himself on top of a national uprising against the reigning Yuan-dynasty, which has been a foreign rule exerted by the Mongols over China.
The fall of the Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) was ushered by power struggles and intrigues, leading altogether to political instability, which was primarily caused, on one hand by regencies of several minor and weak emperors, and on the other hand by an increasing threat coming from the north:
On October 1st 1949 the People’s Republic of China was formally established with its national capital at Beijing. “The Chinese people have stood up!” declared Mao announcing the creation of a “peoples democratic dictatorship”
The “Great Wall of China” extends over more than 6700 kilometers leading from the Shanhaiguan pass at the east coast up to the Jiayuguan pass in the Gobi Desert.
The History of the caravan route, whose name is connected still today with one of the most precious fabrics of the world, goes back to over 5000 years. At that time, long before the foundation of Rome, and long before Marco Polo put his feet on the Silk Road, the Chinese began to produce silk for the first time.
