Chinese literature

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The Chinese character wn meaning "language", "literature"

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Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic
court archives to the mature vernacular fiction novels that arose during the Ming
Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. The introduction of widespread
woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty (618907) and the invention of
movable type printing by Bi Sheng (9901051) during the Song Dynasty (9601279)
rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China. In more modern times, the
author Lu Xun (18811936) is considered the founder of baihua literature in China.
Pre-classical period[edit]
Formation of the earliest layer of Chinese literature was influenced by oral traditions
of different social and professional provenance: cult and lay musical practices
(Shijing),[1] divination (Yi jing), astronomy, exorcism. An attempt at tracing the

genealogy of Chinese literature to religious spells and incantations (the six zhu ,
as presented in the "Da zhu" chapter of the Rites of Zhou) was made by Liu Shipei.
[2]

Classical texts[edit]
Main articles: Chinese classics and List of Chinese language poets
There is a wealth of early Chinese literature dating from the Hundred Schools of
Thought that occurred during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC). The most
important of these include the Classics of Confucianism, of Daoism, of Mohism, of
Legalism, as well as works of military science and Chinese history. Note that, except
for the books of poems and songs, most of this literature is philosophical and
didactic; there is little in the way of fiction. However, these texts maintained their
significance through both their ideas and their prose style.

The Confucian works in particular have been of key importance to Chinese culture
and history, as a set of works known as the Four Books and Five Classics were, in
the 12th century AD, chosen as the basis for the Imperial examination for any
government post. These nine books therefore became the center of the educational
system. They have been grouped into two categories: the Five Classics, allegedly
commented and edited by Confucius, and the Four Books. The Five Classics include:

The I Ching, or Book of Changes, a divination manual attributed to the mythical

emperor Fu Xi and based on eight trigrams. The I Ching is still used by adherents of
folk religion.
The Classic of Poetry, a collection of poems, folk songs, festival and ceremonial
songs, and hymns and eulogies.
The Classic of Rites or Record of Rites
The Classic of History, a collection of documents and speeches allegedly written by
rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before. It contains the best
examples of early Chinese prose.
The Spring and Autumn Annals, a historical record of Confucius' native state, Lu,
from 722 to 479 BC.
The Four Books include: the Analects of Confucius, a book of pithy sayings
attributed to Confucius and recorded by his disciples; Mencius, a collection of
political dialogues; the Doctrine of the Mean, a book that teaches the path to
Confucian virtue; and the Great Learning, a book about education, self-cultivation
and the Dao.

Other important philosophical works include the Mohist Mozi, which taught
"inclusive love" as both an ethical and social principle, and Hanfeizi, one of the
central Legalist texts.

Important Daoist classics include the Dao De Jing, the Zhuangzi, and the Classic of
the Perfect Emptiness. Later authors combined Daoism with Confucianism and
Legalism, such as Liu An (2nd century BC), whose Huainanzi (The Philosophers of
Huai-nan) also added to the fields of geography and topography.

Among the classics of military science, The Art of War by Sun Tzu (6th century BC)
was perhaps the first to outline guidelines for effective international diplomacy. It
was also the first in a tradition of Chinese military treatises, such as the Wujing
Zongyao (Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques, 1044 AD) and the
Huolongjing (Fire Dragon Manual, 14th century AD).

Historical texts, dictionaries and encyclopedias[edit]

Main article: Chinese historiography
Further information: Category:Chinese encyclopedias and Chinese dictionary

Sima Qian laid the ground for professional Chinese historiography more than 2,000
years ago.
The Chinese kept consistent and accurate court records after the year 841 BC, with
the beginning of the Gonghe Regency of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The earliest
known narrative history of China was the Zuo Zhuan, which was compiled no later
than 389 BC, and attributed to the blind 5th century BC historian Zuo Qiuming. The
Book of Documents is thought to have been compiled as far back as the 6th century
BC, and was certainly compiled by the 4th century BC, the latest date for the writing
of the Guodian Chu Slips unearthed in a Hubei tomb in 1993. The Book of
Documents included early information on geography in the Yu Gong chapter.[3] The
Bamboo Annals found in 281 AD in the tomb of the King of Wei, who was interred in
296 BC, provide another example; however, unlike the Zuo Zhuan, the authenticity
of the early date of the Bamboo Annals is in doubt. Another early text was the
political strategy book of the Zhan Guo Ce, compiled between the 3rd and 1st
centuries BC, with partial amounts of the text found amongst the 2nd century BC
tomb site at Mawangdui. The oldest extant dictionary in China is the Erya, dated to
the 3rd century BC, anonymously written but with later commentary by the
historian Guo Pu (276324). Other early dictionaries include the Fangyan by Yang
Xiong (53 BC 18 AD) and the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen (58147 AD). One of the
largest was the Kangxi Dictionary compiled by 1716 under the auspices of the
Kangxi Emperor (r. 16611722); it provides definitions for over 47,000 characters.

Although court records and other independent records existed beforehand, the
definitive work in early Chinese historical writing was the Shiji, or Records of the
Grand Historian written by Han Dynasty court historian Sima Qian (145 BC-90 BC).
This groundbreaking text laid the foundation for Chinese historiography and the
many official Chinese historical texts compiled for each dynasty thereafter. Sima
Qian is often compared to the Greek Herodotus in scope and method, because he
covered Chinese history from the mythical Xia Dynasty until the contemporary reign
of Emperor Wu of Han while retaining an objective and non-biased standpoint. This
was often difficult for the official dynastic historians, who used historical works to
justify the reign of the current dynasty. He influenced the written works of many
Chinese historians, including the works of Ban Gu and Ban Zhao in the 1st and 2nd
centuries, and even Sima Guang's 11th-century compilation of the Zizhi Tongjian,
presented to Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1084 AD. The overall scope of the
historiographical tradition in China is termed the Twenty-Four Histories, created for
each successive Chinese dynasty up until the Ming Dynasty (13681644); China's
last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (16441911), is not included.

Large encyclopedias were also produced in China through the ages. The Yiwen Leiju
encyclopedia was completed by Ouyang Xun in 624 during the Tang Dynasty, with
aid from scholars Linghu Defen and Chen Shuda. During the Song Dynasty, the
compilation of the Four Great Books of Song (10th century 11th century), begun
by Li Fang and completed by Cefu Yuangui, represented a massive undertaking of
written material covering a wide range of different subjects. This included the
Extensive Records of the Taiping Era (978), the Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era
(983), the Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature (986), and the Prime Tortoise
of the Record Bureau (1013). Although these Song Dynasty Chinese encyclopedias
featured millions of written Chinese characters each, their aggregate size paled in
comparison to the later Yongle Encyclopedia (1408) of the Ming Dynasty, which
contained a total of 50 million Chinese characters.[4] Even this size was trumped by
later Qing Dynasty encyclopedias, such as the printed Gujin Tushu Jicheng (1726),
which featured over 100 million written Chinese characters in over 800,000 pages,
printed in 60 different copies using copper-metal Chinese movable type printing.
Other great encyclopedic writers include the polymath scientist Shen Kuo (1031
1095) and his Dream Pool Essays, the agronomist and inventor Wang Zhen (fl.
12901333) and his Nongshu, and the minor scholar-official Song Yingxing (1587
1666) and his Tiangong Kaiwu.

Classical poetry[edit]
Main article: Classical Chinese poetry

Su Shi (10371101), a famous Song Dynasty poet and statesman.

The rich tradition of Chinese poetry began with two influential collections. In
northern China, the Shijing or Classic of Poetry (approx. 10th-7th century BC)
comprises over 300 poems in a variety of styles ranging from those with a strong
suggestion of folk music to ceremonial hymns.[5] The word shi has the basic
meaning of poem or poetry, as well as its use in criticism to describe one of China's
lyrical poetic genres. Confucius is traditionally credited with editing the Shijing. Its
stately verses are usually composed of couplets with lines of four characters each
(or four syllables, as Chinese characters are monosyllabic), and a formal structure of
end rhymes. Many of these early poems establish the later tradition of starting with
a description of nature that leads into emotionally expressive statements, known as
bi, xing, or sometime bixing.[6] Associated with what was then considered to be
southern China, the Chuci is ascribed to Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 BC) and his follower
Song Yu (fl. 3rd century BC) and is distinguished by its more emotionally intense
affect, often full of despair and descriptions of the fantastic.[7] In some of its
sections, the Chu Ci uses a six-character per line meter, dividing these lines into
couplets separated in the middle by a strong caesura, producing a driving and
dramatic rhythm. Both the Shijing and the Chuci have remained influential
throughout Chinese history.

During the greater part of China's first great period of unification, begun with the
short-lived Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC) and followed by the centuries-long Han
Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), the shi form of poetry underwent little innovation. But a
distinctively descriptive and erudite fu form (not the same fu character as that used
for the bureau of music) developed that has been called "rhyme-prose," a uniquely
Han offshoot of Chinese poetry's tradition.[8] Equally noteworthy is Music Bureau
poetry (yuefu), collected and presumably refined popular lyrics from folk music. The
end of the Han witnesses a resurgence of the shi poetry, with the anonymous 19
Old Poems. This collection reflects the emergence of a distinctive five-character line
that later became shi poetry's most common line length.[9] From the Jian'an reign
period (196 - 220 AD) onward, the five-character line became a focus for
innovations in style and theme.[10] The Cao family,[11] rulers of the Wei Dynasty
(220 - 265 AD) during the post-Han Three Kingdoms period, distinguished
themselves as poets by writing poems filled with sympathy for the day-to-day
struggles of soldiery and the common people. Taoist philosophy became a different,
common theme for other poets, and a genre emphasizing true feeling emerged led
by Ruan Ji (210-263).[12] The landscape genre of Chinese nature poetry emerged
under the brush of Xie Lingyun (385-433), as he innovated distinctively descriptive
and complementary couplets composed of five-character lines.[13] A farmland
genre was born in obscurity by Tao Qian (365-427) also known as Tao Yuanming as
he labored in his fields and then wrote extolling the influence of wine.[14] Toward
the close of this period in which many later-developed themes were first
experimented with, the Xiao family[15] of the Southern Liang Dynasty (502-557)
engaged in highly refined and often denigrated[16] court-style poetry lushly
describing sensual delights as well as the description of objects.

Reunified China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) high culture set a high point for many
things, including poetry. Various schools of Buddhism (a religion from India)
flourished as represented by the Chan (or Zen) beliefs of Wang Wei (701-761).[17]
His quatrains (jueju) describing natural scenes are world-famous examples of
excellence, each couplet conventionally containing about two distinct images or
thoughts per line.[18] Tang poetry's big star is Li Bai (701-762) also pronounced and
written as Li Bo, who worked in all major styles, both the more free old style verse
(gutishi) as well as the tonally regulated new style verse (jintishi).[19] Regardless of
genre, Tang poets notably strove to perfect a style in which poetic subjects are
exposed and evident, often without directly referring to the emotional thrust at
hand.[20] The poet Du Fu (712-770) excelled at regulated verse and use of the
seven-character line, writing denser poems with more allusions as he aged,
experiencing hardship and writing about it.[21] A parade of great Tang poets also
includes Chen Zi'ang (661-702), Wang Zhihuan (688-742), Meng Haoran (689-740),
Bai Juyi (772-846), Li He (790-816), Du Mu (803-852), Wen Tingyun (812-870),
(listed chronologically) and Li Shangyin (813-858), whose poetry delights in
allusions that often remain obscure,[22] and whose emphasis on the sevencharacter line also contributed to the emerging posthumous fame of Du Fu,[23] now
ranked alongside Li Bai. The distinctively different ci poetry form began its
development during the Tang as Central Asian and other musical influences flowed
through its cosmopolitan society.[24]

China's Song Dynasty (960-1279), another reunification era after a brief period of
disunity, initiated a fresh high culture. Several of its greatest poets were capable
government officials as well including Ouyang Xiu (10071072), Su Shi (10371101),
and Wang Anshi (10211086). The ci form flourished as a few hundred songs
became standard templates for poems with distinctive and variously set meters.[25]
The free and expressive style of Song high culture has been contrasted with
majestic Tang poems by centuries of subsequent critics who engage in fierce
arguments over which dynasty had the best poetry.[26] Additional musical
influences contributed to the Yuan Dynasty's (12791368) distinctive qu opera
culture and spawned the sanqu form of individual poems based on it.[27]

Classical Chinese poetry composition became a conventional skill of the welleducated throughout the Ming (13681644) and Qing (16441911) dynasties. Over
a million poems have been preserved, including those by women and by many other
diverse voices.[28] Painter-poets, such as Shen Zhou (14271509), Tang Yin (1470
1524), Wen Zhengming (14701559), and Yun Shouping (16331690), created
worthy conspicuous poems as they combined art, poetry and calligraphy with brush
on paper.[29] Poetry composition competitions were socially common, as depicted
in novels, for example over dessert after a nice dinner.[30] The Song versus Tang
debate continues through the centuries.[31] While China's later imperial period
does not seem to have broken new ground for innovative approaches to poetry,

picking through its vast body of preserved works remains a scholarly challenge, so
new treasures may yet be restored from obscurity.[32]

Classical prose[edit]
Early Chinese prose was deeply influenced by the great philosophical writings of the
Hundred Schools of Thought (770-221 BC). The works of Mo Zi (), Mencius ()
and Zhuang Zi () contain well-reasoned, carefully developed discourses that
reveal much stronger organization and style than their predecessors. Mo Zi's
polemic prose was built on solid and effective methodological reasoning. Mencius
contributed elegant diction and, like Zhuang Zi, relied on comparisons, anecdotes,
and allegories. By the 3rd century BC, these writers had developed a simple,
concise and economical prose style that served as a model of literary form for over
2,000 years. They were written in Classical Chinese, the language spoken during the
Spring and Autumn Period.

Wen Chang, a Chinese deity of literature.

During the Tang period, the ornate, artificial style of prose developed in previous
periods was replaced by a simple, direct, and forceful prose based on examples
from the Hundred Schools (see above) and from the Han period, the period in which
the great historical works of Sima Tan and Sima Qian were published. This
neoclassical style dominated prose writing for the next 800 years. It was
exemplified in the work of Han Yu (768824), a master essayist and strong
advocate of a return to Confucian orthodoxy; Han Yu was later listed as one of the
"Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song."

The Song Dynasty saw the rise in popularity of "travel record literature" (youji
wenxue). Travel literature combined both diary and narrative prose formats, it was
practiced by such seasoned travelers as Fan Chengda (11261193) and Xu Xiake
(15871641) and can be seen in the example of Su Shi's Record of Stone Bell
Mountain.

After the 14th century, vernacular fiction became popular, at least outside of court
circles. Vernacular fiction covered a broader range of subject matter and was longer
and more loosely structured than literary fiction. One of the masterpieces of
Chinese vernacular fiction is the 18th-century domestic novel Dream of the Red
Chamber ().

Some notable contributors[edit]

Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song ()

Han Yu
Liu Zongyuan
Ouyang Xiu
Su Zhe
Su Shi
Su Xun ()
Wang Anshi
Zeng Gong
Two great scientific authors from the Song period:
Shen Kuo (10311095)
Su Song (10201101)
Ming Dynasty
Song Lian (13101381)
Liu Bowen (13111375)
Jiao Yu
Gui Youguang (15061571)
Yuan Hongdao (15681610)
Xu Xiake (15861641)
Gao Qi
Zhang Dai
Tu Long
Wen Zhenheng
Qing Dynasty
Li Yu (16101680)
Yao Nai (17311815)
Yuan Mei (17161798)
Gong Zizhen (17921841)
Wei Yuan (17941857)
Classical fiction and drama[edit]

Chinese fiction was rooted in the official histories and such less formal works as A
New Account of the Tales of the World and Investigations of the Supernatural (4th
and 5th century); Finest Flowers from the World of Letters (a 10th-century
compilation of works from earlier centuries); Great Tang Record of the Western
Regions completed by the pilgrim to India, Xuanzang in 646; Variety Dishes from
Youyang, the best known collection of Classical Chinese Chuanqi (Marvelous Tales)
from the Tang dynasty; and the Taiping Guangji, which preserved the corpus of
these Tang dynasty tales. There was a range of less formal works either oral or
using oral conventions, such as the bianwen (Buddhist tale), pinghua (plain tale),
and huaben (novella), which formed background to the novel as early as the Song
Dynasty. The novel as an extended prose narrative which realistically creates a
believable world of its own evolved in China and in Europe from the 14th-18th
centuries, though a little earlier in China. Chinese audiences were more interested
in history and Chinese authors generally did not present their works as fictional.
Readers appreciated relative optimism, moral humanism, relative emphasis on
group behavior, and welfare of the society.

With the rise of monetary economy and urbanization beginning in the Song
Dynasty, there was a growing professionalization of entertainment fostered by the
spread of printing, the rise of literacy and education. In both China and Western
Europe, the novel gradually became more autobiographical and serious in
exploration of social, moral, and philosophical problems. Chinese fiction of the late
Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty was varied, self-conscious, and experimental.
In China, however, there was no counterpart to the 19th-century European
explosion of revolution and romanticism.[33] The novels of the Ming and early Qing
dynasties, represented a pinnacle of classical Chinese fiction.

The highlights include:

The Four Great Classical Novels:

Dream of the Red Chamber, by Cao Xueqin
Water Margin (also translated as Outlaws of the Marsh), by Shi Naian
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, by Luo Guanzhong
Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en
Other classic long and short fiction:
Cases of Judge Bao (Baogong An) (1594)
Illustrious Words to Instruct the World (Yushi Mingyan), or Stories Old and
New (1620) by Feng Menglong

Stories to Caution the World ( Stories to Caution the World) by Feng

Menglong.
Slapping the Table in Amazement ( Chuke Paian Jingji) by Ling Mengchu
A Supplement to the Journey to the West (; X Yu B) (c. 1640) by Dong Yue
Haoqiu zhuan (The pleasing history or The Fortunate Union) (c. 1683)
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (), by Pu Songling
Jin Ping Mei (, The Plum in the Golden Vase), by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (
)
Flowers in the Mirror (, Jing huayuan) by Li Ruzhen
Fengshen Bang (, The Investiture of the Gods)
Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan ( or The Story of a Marital Fate to
Awaken the World)
The Scholars ( Ru Lin Wai Shi), by Wu Jingzi ()
Dijing Jingwulue ( or Survey of Scenery and Monuments in the Imperial
Capital), by Liu Tong
Dongzhou Lieguo Zhi (Chronicle of the Eastern Zhou States), by Feng Menglong,
edited by Cai Yuanfang ()
The Carnal Prayer Mat (Chinese: ; pinyin: ruptun) an erotic novel by Li Yu
() 1657.
Six Records of a Floating Life ( F Shng Li J) by Shen Fu. Early 19th
century.
Ern Yingxiong Zhuan (The Story of Hero Boys and Hero Girls) by Wen Kang first
published 1878.
The Travels of Lao Can (Lao Can Youji ) by Liu E 1903
Drama:
The Story of the Western Wing (, Xxingj), by Wang Shifu ()
The Injustice to Dou E (, Dou E Yuan), by Guan Hanqing
The Jade Hairpin (Yuzanji ), by Gao Lian ()
Hui Lan Ji (), by Li Xingdao () became the basis for The Caucasian Chalk
Circle
The Peony Pavilion (Mudan Ting ), by Tang Xianzu
The Peach Blossom Fan (Taohua Shan ) by Kong Shangren ()
The Palace of Eternal Life (), by Hong Sheng ()

The Orphan of Zhao (), a 13th-century play by Ji Junxiang (), was the
first Chinese play to have been translated into a European language.[34]
Modern literature[edit]
Late Qing (18951911)[edit]
Scholars now tend to agree that modern Chinese literature did not erupt suddenly in
the New Culture Movement (191723). Instead, they trace its origins back at least to
the late Qing period (18951911). The late Qing was a period of intellectual ferment
sparked by a sense of national crisis. Intellectuals began to seek solutions to China's
problems outside of its own tradition. They translated works of Western expository
writing and literature, which enthralled readers with new ideas and opened up
windows onto new exotic cultures. Most outstanding[by whom?] were the
translations of Yan Fu () (18641921) and Lin Shu () (18521924). In this
climate, a boom in the writing of fiction occurred, especially after the 1905 abolition
of the civil service examination when literati struggled to fill new social and cultural
roles for themselves. Stylistically, this fiction shows signs of both the Chinese
novelistic tradition and Western narrative modes. In subject matter, it is strikingly
concerned with the contemporary: social problems, historical upheaval, changing
ethical values, etc. In this sense, late Qing fiction is modern. Important novelists of
the period include Wu Woyao () (18661910), Li Boyuan () (18671906),
Liu E () (18571909), and Zeng Pu () (18721935).

The late Qing also saw a "revolution in poetry" (), which promoted
experimentation with new forms and the incorporation of new registers of language.
However, the poetry scene was still dominated by the adherents to the Tongguang
School (named after the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns of the Qing), whose leaders
Chen Yan (), Chen Sanli (), Zheng Xiaoxu (), and Shen Zengzhi (
) promoted a Song style in the manner of Huang Tingjian. These poets would
become the objects of scorn by New Culturalists like Hu Shi, who saw their work as
overly allusive, artificial, and divorced from contemporary reality.

In drama, the late Qing saw the emergence of the new "civilized drama" (), a
hybrid of Chinese operatic drama with Western-style spoken drama. Peking opera
and "reformed Peking opera" were also popular at the time.

Republican Era (191249)[edit]

The literary scene in the first few years before the collapse of the Qing in 1911 was
dominated by popular love stories, some written in the classical language and some
in the vernacular. This entertainment fiction would later be labeled "Mandarin Ducks
and Butterfly" fiction by New Culturalists, who despised its lack of social
engagement. Throughout much of the Republican era, Butterfly fiction would reach
many more readers than its "progressive" counterpart.

In the course of the New Culture Movement (191723), the vernacular language
largely displaced the classical in all areas of literature and writing. Literary
reformers Hu Shih (18911962) and Chen Duxiu (18801942) declared the classical
language "dead" and promoted the vibrant vernacular in its stead. Hu Shi once said,
"A dead language can never produce a dead literature."[citation needed] In terms of
literary practice, Lu Xun (18241936) is usually said to be the first major stylist in
the new vernacular prose that Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were promoting.

Though often said to be less successful than their counterparts in fiction writing,
poets also experimented with the vernacular in new poetic forms, such as free verse
and the sonnet. Given that there was no tradition of writing poetry in the
vernacular, these experiments were more radical than those in fiction writing and
also less easily accepted by the reading public.[by whom?] Modern poetry flourished
especially in the 1930s, in the hands of poets like Zhu Xiang (), Dai Wangshu, Li
Jinfa (), Wen Yiduo , and Ge Xiao (). Other poets, even those among the
May Fourth radicals (e.g., Yu Dafu), continued to write poetry in classical styles.

May Fourth radicalism, combined with changes in the education system, made
possible the emergence of a large group of women writers. While there had been
women writers in the late imperial period and the late Qing, they had been few in
number. These writers generally tackled domestic issues, such as relations between
the sexes, family, and friendship, but they were revolutionary in giving direct
expression to female subjectivity. Ding Ling's story Miss Sophia's Diary exposes the
thoughts and feelings of its female diarist in all their complexity.

The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of spoken drama. Most outstanding
among playwrights of the day are Ouyang Yuqian, Hong Shen, Tian Han, and Cao Yu.
[35] More popular than this Western-style drama, however, was Peking opera, raised
to new artistic heights by the likes of Mei Lanfang.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, literary journals and societies espousing various
artistic theories proliferated. Among the major writers of the period were Guo Moruo
(18921978), a poet, historian, essayist, and critic; Mao Dun (18961981), the first
of the novelists to emerge from the League of Left-Wing Writers and one whose
work reflected the revolutionary struggle and disillusionment of the late 1920s;
satirist and novelist Lao She (18991966); and Ba Jin (19042005), a novelist whose
work was influenced by Ivan Turgenev and other Russian writers. In the 1930s Ba Jin
produced a trilogy that depicted the struggle of modern youth against the ageold
dominance of the Confucian family system. Comparison often is made[by whom?]
between Jia (Family), one of the novels in the trilogy, and Dream of the Red

Chamber. Many of these writers became important as administrators of artistic and

literary policy after 1949. Most of those authors who were still alive during the
Cultural Revolution (196676) were either purged or forced to submit to public
humiliation.

The League of Left-Wing Writers founded in 1930 included Lu Xun among its
leadership. By 1932 it had adopted the Soviet doctrine of socialist realism; that is,
the insistence that art must concentrate on contemporary events in a realistic way,
exposing the ills of nonsocialist society and promoting a glorious future under
communism.[36]

Other styles of literature were at odds with the highly-political literature being
promoted by the League. The "New Sensationists" () a group of writers
based in Shanghai who were influenced, to varying degrees, by Western and
Japanese modernismwrote fiction that was more concerned with the unconscious
and with aesthetics than with politics or social problems. Most important among
these writers were Mu Shiying, Liu Na'ou (), and Shi Zhecun.[by whom?] Other
writers, including Shen Congwen and Fei Ming (), balked at the utilitarian role for
literature by writing lyrical, almost nostalgic, depictions of the countryside. Lin
Yutang, who had studied at Harvard and Leipzig, introduced the concept of youmo
(humor), which he used in trenchant criticism of China's political and cultural
situation before leaving for the United States.

The Communist Party of China had established a base after the Long March in
Yan'an. The literary ideals of the League were being simplified and enforced on
writers and "cultural workers." In 1942, Mao Zedong gave a series of lectures called
"Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Art and Literature" that clearly made literature
subservient to politics via the Yan'an Rectification Movement. This document would
become the national guideline for culture after the establishment of the People's
Republic of China.

Maoist Era (194976)[edit]

After coming to power in 1949, the Communists gradually nationalized the
publishing industry, centralized the book distribution system, and brought writers
under institutional control through the Writers Union. A system of strict censorship
was implemented, with Mao's "Yan'an Talks" as the guiding force. Periodic literary
campaigns targeted figures such as Hu Shi and other figures from the New Culture
period, especially Hu Feng, a protege of Lu Xun who did not toe the Party line on
literature. Socialist realism became the uniform style, and many Soviet works were
translated. The ability to satirize and expose the evils in contemporary society that
had made writers useful to the Communist Party of China before its accession to

power was no longer welcomed. Party cultural leaders such as Zhou Yang used
Mao's call to have literature "serve the people" to mount attacks on "petty
bourgeois idealism" " and humanitarianism." This conflict came to a head in the
Hundred Flowers Campaign (195657). Mao Zedong initially encouraged writers to
speak out against problems in the new society. Having learned the lessons of the
anti-Hu Feng campaign, they were reluctant, but then a flurry of newspaper articles,
films, and literary works drew attention to such problems as bureaucratism and
authoritarianism within the ranks of the party. Shocked at the level of discontent,
Mao's Anti-Rightist Movement put large numbers of intellectuals through so-called
"thought reform" or sent them to labor camps. At the time of the Great Leap
Forward (195759), the government increased its insistence on the use of socialist
realism and combined with it so-called revolutionary realism and revolutionary
romanticism.

Despite the literary control and strictures to limit subjects to contemporary China
and the glories of the revolution, writers produced widely read novels of energy and
commitment. Examples of this new socialist literature include The Builder
(Chuangye Shi ) by Liu Qing , The Song of Youth (Qing Chun Zhi Ge
) by Yang Mo, Tracks in the Snowy Forest (Lin Hai Xue Yuan ) by Qu Bo,
Keep the Red Flag Flying (Hong Qi Pu ) by Liang Bin , The Red Sun (Hong
Ri ) by Wu Qiang , and Red Crag by Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan (
).

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Mao's wife, Jiang Qing led the campaign
against "feudal" and "bourgeois" culture. The only stage productions allowed were
her "Eight Model Operas," which combined traditional and western forms, while
great fanfare was given to politically orthodox films and heroic novels, such as those
by Hao Ran ().[37] The period has long been regarded as a cultural wasteland,
but some now suggest that the leading works have an energy which is still of
interest.[38]

Post-Mao (1976present)[edit]
The arrest of Jiang Qing and the other members of the Gang of Four in 1976, and
especially the reforms initiated at the Third Plenum of the Eleventh National Party
Congress Central Committee in December 1978, led writers to take up their pens
again. Much of the literature in what would be called the "new era" ()
discussed the serious abuses of power that had taken place at both the national and
the local levels during the Cultural Revolution. The writers decried the waste of time
and talent during that decade and bemoaned abuses that had held China back. This
literature, often called "scar literature," or "the literature of the wounded,"
discussed the experiences of sent-down youth with great though not complete
frankness and conveyed disquieting views of the party and the political system.

Intensely patriotic, these authors wrote cynically of the political leadership that
gave rise to the extreme chaos and disorder of the Cultural Revolution. Many of
these themes and attitudes were also found in Fifth Generation films of directors
trained after 1978, many of which were based on published novels and short
stories. Some of this fiction and cinema extended the blame to the entire
generation of leaders and to the political system itself. The political authorities were
faced with a serious problem: how could they encourage writers to criticize and
discredit the abuses of the Cultural Revolution without allowing that criticism to go
beyond what they considered tolerable limits?

During this period, the number of literary magazines rose sharply, and many from
before the Cultural Revolution were revived. Poetry also changed in its form and
content. Four "misty poets," Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo and Yang Lian expressed
themselves in deliberately obscure verse which reflected subjective realism rather
than the realism of the sort promoted during the Cultural Revolution. There was a
special interest in foreign works. Recent foreign literature was translated, often
without carefully considering its interest for the Chinese reader. Literary magazines
specializing in translations of foreign short stories became very popular, especially
among the young.

Some leaders in the government, literary and art circles feared change was
happening too fast. The first reaction came in 1980 with calls to combat "bourgeois
liberalism," a campaign that was repeated in 1981. These two difficult periods were
followed by the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign in late 1983.

At the same time, writers remained freer to write in unconventional styles and to
treat sensitive subject matter. A spirit of literary experimentation flourished in the
second half of the 1980s. Fiction writers such as Wang Meng (), Zhang Xinxin (
), and Zong Pu () and dramatists such as Gao Xingjian () experimented
with modernist language and narrative modes. Another group of writers
collectively said to constitute the Roots () movementincluding Han Shaogong
(), Mo Yan, and A Cheng () sought to reconnect literature and culture to
Chinese traditions, from which a century of modernization and cultural and political
iconoclasm had severed them. Other writers (e.g., Yu Hua (), Ge Fei (), Su
Tong () experimented in a more avant-garde () mode of writing that was
daring in form and language and showed a complete loss of faith in ideals of any
sort.[by whom?]

In the wake of the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 and with the intensification of
market reforms, literature and culture turned increasingly commercial and escapist.
Wang Shuo (), the so-called "hooligan" () writer, is the most obvious
manifestation of this commercial shift, though his fiction is not without serious

intent.[by whom?] Some writers, such as Yan Lianke , continue to take

seriously the role of literature in exposing social problems; his novel Dreams of Ding
Village () deals with the plight of HIV-AIDS victims.

As in the May Fourth Movement, women writers came to the fore. Many of them,
such as Chen Ran (), Wei Hui (), Wang Anyi (), and Hong Ying (),
explore female subjectivity in a radically changing society. Neo-realism is another
important current in post-Tiananmen fiction, for instance in the writings of Liu Heng
(), Chi Li (), Fang Fang (), He Dun (), and Zhu Wen ()

China's state-run General Administration of Press and Publication ()

screens all Chinese literature intended to be sold on the open market. The GAPP has
the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet
publication in China. Because all publishers in China are required to be licensed by
the GAPP, that agency also has the power to deny people the right to publish, and
completely shut down any publisher who fails to follow its dictates.[39] As a result,
the ratio of official to pirated books is said to be 2:3.[40] According to a report in
ZonaEuropa, there are more than 4,000 underground publishing factories around
China.[39] The Chinese government continues to hold public book burnings[41] on
unapproved yet popular "spiritual pollution" literature, though critics claim this
spotlight on individual titles only helps fuel booksales.[42] Many new-generation
Chinese authors who were the recipients of such government attention have been
re-published in English and success in the western literary markets, namely Zhou
Weihui's Shanghai Baby, Anchee Min's controversial memoir Red Azalea, Time
Magazine banned-book covergirl Chun Sue's Beijing Doll, and Mian Mian's Candy.
Online bestseller Ghost Blows Out the Light had to be rewritten to remove
references to the supernatural before it could be released in print.[43]

After the liberal 1980s, the 1990s saw a strong commercialization of literature due
to an opening of the book market. According to Martin Woesler trends were 'cult
literature' with Guo Jingming (), Cry me a sad river, vagabond
literature with Xu Zechen (), Peking double quick, Liu Zhenyun
(), The pickpockets, underground literature Mian Mian (),
Panda Sex, 'longing for something' literature, divided in historicizing literature with
Yu Dan , Confucius in your heart, Yi Zhongtian () and in
Tibetan literature with Alai, literature of the mega cities, women's literature with Bi
Shumin (), Womens boxing, The female psychologist, master
narratives by narrators like Mo Yan with Life and Death are Wearing me
out.[44]

However Chinese literature at the beginning of the 21st century shows signs of
overcoming the commercialization of literature of the 1980s and 1990s. An example

is Han Han's () novel His land (2009), which was written in a social critical
surrealistic style against the uncritical mainstream, but ranked 1st in 2009 Chinese
bestseller list.[45] Another example is Yan Ge's novel Family of Joy (2013),
which is written in Sichuanese and won the Chinese Media Group New Talent Award
in 2013.

Translated literature has long played an important role in modern China. Some
writers, such as Lu Xun, Yu Dafu, Ba Jin and others were literary translators
themselves, and many present day writers in China, such as the Nobel laureate Mo
Yan and Wang Xiaobo, listed translated works as sources of enlightenment and
inspiration.

In the new millennium, online literature in China plays a much more important role
than in the United States or in the rest of the world.[46] Almost any book is
available online, novels finding millions of readers, being available at 2 Yuan on
average, a tenth of the average price of a printed book.[47] Online literature stars
are, amongst others, again Han Han and Guo Jingming.[48]

Chinese language literature also flourishes in the diasporain South East Asia, the
United States, and Europe. China is the largest publisher of books, magazines and
newspapers in the world.[citation needed] In book publishing alone, some 128,800
new titles of books were published in 2005, according to the General Administration
of Press and Publication. There are more than 600 literary journals across the
country. Living in France but continuing to write primarily in Chinese, Gao Xingjian
became the first Chinese writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000. In
2012, Mo Yan also received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Book market[edit]

Inside Chongwen Book City, a large bookstore in Wuhan.

China buys many foreign book rights; nearly 16 million copies of the sixth book of
the Harry Potter series were sold in Chinese translation. As China Book Review
reported, the rights to 9,328 foreign titles including many children's books went
to China in 2007. China was nominated as a Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt
Bookfair in 2009.[49][50]

The book market in China traditionally orders books during book fairs, because the
country lacks a national book ordering system. In 2006, 6.8 million titles were sold,
not including an unknown number of banned titles, bootleg copies and underground

publishing factories. Seven percent of all publishers are located in Shanghai.

Because the industry lacks a national distribution system, many titles from
publishers in the provinces can only be found there.

The central publishing houses belonging to ministries or (other) government

institutions have their main seat at Beijing (40 percent of all publishers). Most
regional publishing houses are situated in the capitals of the provinces. Universities
also have associated presses. Private publishing is tolerated. 220,000 books were
published in 2005. Among 579 publishers almost five times more than thirty years
ago 225 are supervised by ministries, commissions or the army; 348 are controlled
by agencies; and six are even more independent. On the other hand 100,000
private bookstores bring in the half of the income of the book industry.[51]

In 2005, the Chinese government started a sponsoring program for translations of

government-approved Chinese works, which has already resulted in more than 200
books being translated from Chinese into another language.

Shanda Literature Ltd. is an online publishing company that claims to publish 8,000
Chinese literary works daily.

Women and Chinese literature[edit]

Early female writers[edit]
Cai, or literary talent, is an attribute describing profound lyricism, deep
intellectuality and analytic skill.[52] Although it was acknowledged that both women
and men possessed cai, the phrase nuren wucai bian shi de (for
women, lack of literary talent is a virtue)[52] summarizes the dominant sentiment
that the literary field was traditionally a domain for men. Despite this belief, works
authored by women play an integral part throughout Chinese history. There were a
number of women writers prior to the 20th century who were respected by the
intelligentsia of their era, even if much of their work was considered less important
than men's work in general.[53] Female writers helped to bring forth themes such
as romance, marriage, gender roles and the politics surrounding women.

The first women recorded in biography and bibliography were poets.[53] The
aesthetic nature of poetry was highly regarded, while fiction was viewed as an
avenue taken because of a failed career or commercial venture.[53] A marked
increase in female literacy took place during the Late Imperial Era. One of the more
notable poets of this time was Mao Xiuhui, a 16th-century poet that used the plight
of her husband's failed attempt at gaining a position as civil servant to write a poem
that draws parallels between the male and female as they suffer hardships in the

political and domestic arenas respectively. Other notable female poets in Chinese
history were Gao Zhixian, Xue Tao, and Li Qingzhao.

20th-century writers and feminism[edit]

The beginning of the century marked a period of growing unrest for women as the
feminist movement took hold. Women of this period were faced with the dilemma of
protesting oppressive ideals stemming from Confucian ideology or remaining true to
their family and maintaining peace and order. Literary discourse at the time was
highly influenced by this social movement. Women writers of the time authored
works reflecting the feminist sentiment and the issues that came with revolution.
[54] Zhang Ailing, Lu Yin, Shi Pingmei and Ding Ling, were four of the most
influential feminist writers of the time. In the 1920s and 1930s, Freudian
psychoanalysis gained favor with Chinese feminists looking to study gender
relationships, thus becoming a topic of many feminist writers throughout the early
and mid portions of the 20th century.[54]

When Mao came to power in 1949, he addressed the issue of women's rights and
tried to establish women's equality through the "iron girls" of national development
ideal.[54] Through this philosophy, long-standing practices such as foot binding,
prostitution and trafficking of women were abolished. Women were given the
opportunity to own land, divorce, and join the military and other employment fields.
[55] The establishment of this ideology, however, did not liberate women; instead, it
undermined the feminine voice by forcing women to take a male-oriented stance on
public and domestic policy.[54] Literature authored during this time reflects the
restrictive and masculine perspective of women writers during this period.[54] This
"Mulanian" style of writing submerged true feminine identity, rendering the female
perspective neglected and hidden in the male dominated political and aesthetic
arenas.[56] There were some exceptions to this rule, such as Yuan Qiongqiong, who
wrote about womens issues and how much women could accomplish without men.

Selected modern Chinese writers[edit]

Wang Tao () (18281897)
Yan Fu () (18531924)
Liu E () (18571909)
Liang Qichao () (18731929)
Wang Guowei () (18771927)
Hu Shi () (18911962)
Su Manshu () (18941918)

Lu Xun () (18811936)
Liang Shiqiu () (19031987)
Xu Dishan () (18931941)
Ye Shengtao () (18941988)
Lin Yutang () (18951976)
Mao Dun () (18961981)
Xu Zhimo () (18961936)
Yu Dafu () (18961945)
Guo Moruo () (18921978)
Lao She () (18971966)
Zhu Ziqing () (18981948)
Tian Han () (18981968)
Feng Zikai () (18981975)
Wen Yiduo () (18991946)
Bing Xin () (19001999)
Ba Jin () (19042005)
Shen Congwen () (19021988)
Cao Yu () (19051996)
Qian Zhongshu () (19101988)
He Qifang () (19121977)
Lin Haiyin () (19182001)
Eileen Chang () (19201995)
Qiu Miaojin () (1969-1995)
Qu Bo (novelist) () (19222002)
Sanmao (author) () (1943-1991)
Wang Xiaobo () (19521997)
Wang Zengqi () (19201997)
Bei Dao () (1949)
Cong Weixi () (1933)
Jin Yong () (1924- ) (Pen name of Louis Cha Leung-yung)

Mo Yan () (1955)
Su Tong () (1963)
Ma Jian () (1953)
Tie Ning () (1957)
Gao Xingjian () (1940-)
Yang Mu () (1940)
Zhang Xianliang () (1936)
Chiung Yao () (1938)
Chen Zhongshi () (1942)
Can Xue (Deng Xiaohua) (1953-)
Zhang Zao () (1962-2010)
Shi Tiesheng () (1951-2010)
Others[edit]
Chinese writers writing in English:

Ha Jin () (1956)
Chiang Yee (19031977)
Chinese writers writing in French:

Chen Jitong () (18521907)

Franois Cheng () (1929)
Dai Sijie () (1954)
Shan Sa () (1972)
Chinese writer writing in Indonesian:

Kho Ping Hoo (19261994)

China possesses one of the world's major literary traditions. Its texts have been
preserved for over 3,000 years. Reverence for the past has influenced the
preservation of these cultural sources, and may have influenced the invention of
woodblock printing in the 9th century and moveable type printing in the 12th
century. The practice of collecting and reproducing libraries has also played a major

role in the transmission of literary tradition. Most important, China can boast an
unbroken cultural tradition based on the Chinese script as a language a written
medium independent of spoken dialectic difference. As literary language became
increasingly removed from spoken language, it became less vital and literature took
a natural turn toward imitation. Indeed, after the formative classical period that
began with Confucius, the literary history of China becomes one of imitation-withvariations of different models. Literature also thus becomes more elitist, for an
understanding or appreciation of a text may require familiarity with the models
being alluded to.

The principal genre of Chinese literature is poetry; early folk songs established the
shi (shih) form that crystallized during the Han dynasty and dominated for the next
1,200 years. Beginning with the simple complaints and longings expressed in
rhymed couplets of folk songs, this form gradually became more and more complex,
or "regulated," until it took years of study to master its formal rules of composition.

The short story, which began to develop during the Tang dynasty, at first
emphasized either historical events or supernatural happenings which could not be
related in a formal historical work. The notion of fiction as connected to history
persisted, yet more imaginative and rationally inexplicable, culminating in China's
greatest novel, The Dream of the Red Chamber or The Story of the Stone, which is
at once autobiographical and realistic, and at the same time imaginative and
mystical.

Drama, one of China's least well-developed genres, had its origins also in popular
entertainment. The high point of elite drama was during the Yuan dynasty, when
intellectuals dispossessed by the Mongol invaders turned to the composition of
drama both to productively employ their taste and erudition and also to covertly
criticize the foreign government. During the following centuries, dramas tended to
become longer, and the opera dominated. Spoken drama was not generally
conspicuous until the 20th century.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the movement to modernize and westernize
China's literature became very popular. The formal classical language, which by
then survived only in written texts, was replaced by the vernacular spoken language
as a literary medium. Experiments with free verse and sonnet forms, short
autobiographical stories and interior monologues, spoken drama and radio or film
scripts were influenced by western models rather than by classical Chinese
tradition. However, the theme of China's plight dominated 20th-century Chinese
literature, and for the past six decades the pendulum has frequently swung back
and forth between western imitation and modernized styles versus Chinese
foundation and conservative techniques. Whereas classical Chinese literature was

often valued for its craft and erudition, post-1919 Chinese literature has been
evaluated largely in terms of its social and political relevance.

Much Chinese literature of the 1920s and 1930s both exposed national social
problems and also expressed writers' doubts about finding viable solutions to these
problems.

In 1942 Mao Zedong, in his "Talks at Yenan on Literature and Art," emphasized to his
fellow communist revolutionaries that the goal of literature was neither to reflect
the dark side of society nor to express the author's own private feelings or artistic
inspirations. Instead, he said, literature and art should inspire the masses by
presenting positive examples of heroism and socialist idealism. It should also be
written in the public voice and style of the workers, peasants, and soldiers, not of
the elite intellectuals.

During the Cultural Revolution period (1966-76), Mao's principle that literature and
art should serve the people and promote socialism was most rigidly adhered to. The
fiction of Hao Ran (Hao Jan) constitutes an excellent example of this tendency.

Literature After 1976

With the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 came the official end of the Cultural
Revolution period, and with it increased freedom for writers. During the subsequent
decade, Chinese fiction tended to fall into the following five (necessarily
overlapping) categories:

1. Literature of the Wounded

The initial impulse of writers was to begin, tentatively at first, to express the
profound suffering of the previous decades. Chen Roxi's stories in The Execution of
Mayor Yin and Other Stories offer an example of very well-crafted fiction which
reveals the physical, psychological and spiritual pain the Chinese people endured
under Mao. But finally, Chen Roxi must be considered a foreigner, though she is
Chinese and she lived in China during the Cultural Revolution era.

Within China, the "literature of the wounded" movement began in the summer of
1977 when Lu Xinhua, a 23-year-old student at Fudan University, presented a story

entitled "The Wounded" as a big-character poster on the walls of the campus. The
story was soon published, and it inspired hundreds of others. Another one which
became equally famous was Liu Xinwu's "Class Counselor," published in November
1977. In Liu's story, the young girl fails to achieve a reconciliation with her mother,
whom she had been forced to denounce during the Cultural Revolution. An openminded class advisor recognizes that there is still hope for the generation of youth
who suffered at the hands of the Gang of Four. For several years, story after story
poured out the guilt, regret, and pain over lost lives and ruined careers, betrayal of
friends and family members, and the need to seek restitution. Within the "wounded"
tradition, though not literature per se, a number of Chinese have written accounts
of this tragic period for Western audiences.

2. Humanistic Literature

A related literary trend which began in the late 1970s and early 1980s was fiction
which treated the problems of recreating the whole person after the constricting
movements of the Cultural Revolution. A large number of women writers
predominate in this category.

Since personal feelings were supposed to be subordinate to political action during

the Cultural Revolution, writers who reacted in the opposite direction after the death
of Mao used the rally cry, "Love Must Not Be Forgotten" the title of one of Zhang
Jie's short stories advocating marriage based only on love and private desire.

3. Social Criticism

Finally allowed once again to treat in fiction the darker side of Chinese society,
many writers composed works which addressed post-Cultural Revolution social
problems: alienated youth, the loneliness of the elderly and the divorced, the
housing shortage, government corruption, dissatisfaction with the system of job
assignments, etc. In a bold social indictment, Bai Hua in his screenplay, "Unrequited
Love," has the protagonist's daughter ask the fundamental question: "Dad, you love
our country. Through bitter frustration you go on loving her . . . But, Dad, does this
country love you?" This script first appeared in 1979, and by 1980 it was banned.

4. Seeking Roots

Some writers, especially those who live outside the main cities, have turned to local
themes and subject matter in their recent fiction. For example, Lu Wenfu describes
the customs of the Suzhou region and Gao Xiaosheng depicts agricultural life in his
native Hunan province. These people are seeking a meaning in life separate from
political movements and urban upward mobility.

5. Reportage

Some writers feel that the most important contribution they can make is to record
the facts of Chinese life in a way that illuminates both the problems and strengths
of the Chinese people. The most famous journalist who exposes corruption in his
sophisticated reporting style is Liu Binyan, whose "People or Monsters?" was
acclaimed for its unflinching honesty in confronting deeply rooted government
corruption.

In a different tone, Chinese Profiles, compiled by Zhang Xinxin and Sang Ye,
presents interviews with 100 Chinese citizens who tell about their lives in a way
similar to people interviewed by Studs Terkel. Their stories are poignant and
surprising as individual accounts. They illuminate the rich social fabric of China and
indirectly point out major social and political issues implicit in the individual
accounts.

Acknowledgment: The consultant for this unit was Dr. Marsha Wagner, Columbia
University.

Discussion Questions

How have poetry, drama, and the short story each been used for purposes other
than entertainment?
How is the literature of the 1920s and 1930s similar to literature after 1976?
During Mao's rule, what was the function of literature?
How did the "literature of the wounded" movement begin?
Can you think of a period or event in the history of America that spawned much
literature? (Hint: the Great Depression, Vietnam, the death of John F. Kennedy, the
Watergate scandal ...)
| back to top |

 2009 Asia for Educators, Columbia U

Main | Other Chinese Web Sites

Chinese Cultural Studies:

CHINESE LITERATURE

Compiled from From Compton's Living Encyclopedia on America Online

(August 1995)
1. INTRODUCTION
China is the only country in the world with a literature written in one language for
more than 3,000 consecutive years. This continuity results largely from the nature of
the written language itself. It is the use of characters, not letters as in Western
languages, that is most important in the Chinese language. The characters stand for
things or ideas and so, unlike groups of letters, they cannot and need never be
sounded. Thus Chinese could be read by people in all parts of the country in spite of
gradual changes in pronunciation, the emergence of regional and local dialects, and
modification of the characters .
The dominance of the written language has had significant effects on the development
of the literature. In handwriting or in print, a piece of literature has visual appeal. This
has given rise to the great respect that calligraphy enjoys in China, where it has been
regarded for at least 16 centuries as a fine art comparable to painting (See
Calligraphy). The main disadvantage of written Chinese is the great number of
characters it contains: Even basic reading and writing require a knowledge of more
than 1,000 characters. This has often made it difficult to spread the skills of reading
and writing into certain areas of the country. But even with this disadvantage, Chinese
has been a potent factor in shaping and maintaining a cultural continuity for millions
of people. Because the written characters tend to keep the language stable, Chinese
never developed into distinctly separate languages as did Latin in southern Europe
with the formation of the several Romance languages.

China has a very old and rich tradition in literature and the dramatic and visual arts.
Early writings generally derived from philosophical or religious essays such as the
works of Confucius (551-479 BC) and Lao-tzu (probably 4th century BC). These
writings were often about how people should act and how the society and political
system should be organized and operated. A strong tradition of historical writing also
evolved. After the fall of a dynasty, for example, a grand history of the late dynasty
was commissioned and written by scholars in the next dynasty.
In addition to philosophical, religious, and historical writings, China also produced
poetry, novels, and dramatic writings from an early date. Poetry became well
established as a literary form during the T'ang Dynasty, from AD 618 to 907. One of
China's greatest poets, Li Po, wrote during this period. This tradition of poetry, often
dealing with the relationship of humans to their natural surroundings, has continued.
Drama is another old and important literary form. Chinese drama usually combines
vernacular language with music and song and thus has been popular with the common
people. A variety of popular and standard themes are presented in Peking Opera,
which is probably the best known of several operatic traditions that developed in
China. Chinese opera is a favorite artistic and cultural medium.
Early Chinese novels often stressed character development and usually centered on an
adventure or supernatural happening; an example is the classic Ming version of `Shuihu chuan' (The Water Margin). Historical themes were also popular, as in the
`Romance of the Three Kingdoms', written in the late Yuan period. There were also
love stories such as the extremely popular
"Dream of the Red Chamber', probably China's most famous novel. Many of the early
novels were written anonymously. Often these works were written in the vernacular,
and many authors felt it was beneath their station to be associated with this type of
writing.
China's literary tradition continues to the present, though much 20th-century writing
has concentrated on efforts to reform or modernize China. Probably the most famous
20th-century writer is Lu Xun, a poet, essayist, and novelist whose work focused on
the need to modernize through revolution. Under Communism, writers have been
expected to uphold the values of the socialist state, though the degree of control over
their output has varied. (See Chinese Literature; Confucius; Lao-tzu; Li Po; Lu Xun)
2. DYNASTIC LITERATURE FROM 221 BC TO AD 960
With the unification of China by the short-lived Ch'in Dynasty (221 to 206 BC), the
singular feature in literary matters was what is called the "Burning of the Books." The

emperor, Shih Huang Ti, was determined to be an absolutist ruler and opposed to
writings on good government such as those in the Classics. In 213, it is believed, he
ordered the burning of all texts that appeared threatening to him. Whether the books
were actually burned or simply kept from the people is uncertain. The result was the
same: It was necessary during the next dynasty to reconstruct the texts of the Classics.
The Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220) actively promoted the restoration and
teaching of the Classics. In 124 BC a national university was opened for the purpose
of teaching Confucianism. Probably at about this time civil-service examinations,
which determined the appointment and promotion of government officials, began to
be based on the Classics. It was also during the Han period that the Classics became
established as the basis of Chinese education.
Literature flowered again during the Han Dynasty. Traditional poetry and prose forms,
especially the fu prose poems, flourished. But the most notable achievement came
with the reactivation of the Yueh Fu, or Music Bureau, in 125 BC. This agency was
founded in the previous century to collect traditional songs. One of its achievements
was the compiling of folk songs and ballads. The most outstanding folk ballad of the
period, about AD 200, was `Southeast the Peacock Flies'. It tells of the tragedy of a
young married couple who committed suicide as the result of the cruelty of the
husband's mother.
The major prose authors of the Han Dynasty were Liu An, Ssu-ma Ch'ien, and Pan
Ku. Liu An was a prince of Huai-nan in the 2nd century BC. The work attributed to
him, but probably done under his patronage, is `The Master of Huai-nan'. It is a
compilation of 21 chapters on cosmology, philosophy, politics, and ethics. Although
the book contains little that is not traditional, its cosmology was highly regarded by
the Taoists and became part of their accepted teaching. The masterpiece of the period
was the `Shih-chi', meaning "Historical Records," of Ssu-ma Ch'ien. It was completed
in about 85 BC and took 18 years to produce. It contains a record of events and
personalities for the previous 2,000 years. The text is divided into 130 chapters with
more than 520,000 words. It was the first attempt at a national history in China, and it
set the pattern for the histories of dynasties in the following centuries.
In the next century Ssu-ma Ch'ien was followed as historian by Pan Ku, who was born
about AD 32 and died about AD 92. He was also a poet, soldier, and the author of
`Han shu', meaning "History of the Former Han Dynasty." Completed after 16 years of
study, the history contains more than 800,000 words. Because he was court historian,
Pan Ku could get all the official records as well as the family histories of the
emperors. In addition to information about the rulers, the author added sections on
geography, natural phenomena, memorable biographies, and a descriptive account of
books in the imperial library.

The Han Dynasty was followed by the period of the Six Dynasties and the Sui
Dynasty (AD 221 to 618). The major poet of this era was T'ao Ch'ien (365-427). In
his 20s he became a government official, but after about ten years he resigned and
with his family went to live in a farming village to contemplate nature and to write
poetry. His verse was in a plain style that was imitated by poets long after. He was a
master of the five-word line and has been called the first of China's great nature poets
because most of his writings deal with rural activities. Although he was essentially a
Taoist, his work also showed elements of Confucianism and Buddhism.
The 3rd and 4th centuries were, for prose writers, a time of individuality and partial
rejection of slavish imitation of past models. Lu Chi (261-303) was a renowned poet
and literary critic who emphasized originality in creative writing. He wrote a great
deal of lyric poetry but is best
remembered for his `Wen fu', an essay on literature.
The revolt against imitative writing was also expressed in a 5th-century style called
"pure conversation," an intellectual discussion on lofty matters. Some of these were
recorded in a collection of anecdotes entitled `Sayings of the World'. In the 6th
century the first book of literary criticism, `Carving of the Literary Dragon', was
published by Liu Hsieh (465-522). It was written in the p'ien wen, or parallel prose,
style. Two other 6th-century prose masters were Yang Hsien-chih, author of `Record
of Buddhist Temples in Lo-yang', and Li Tao-yuan, author of `Commentary on the
Water Classic'. Both of these are outstanding records of not only what was happening
but also of the folklore of the time.
The period from 618 to 960, the time of the T'ang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, is
considered China's golden age of poetry. The works of more than 2,000 poets, totaling
more than 48,900 pieces, have been preserved. The writing adapted traditional verse
forms and created new ones. Among the new and popular forms were lu shih, meaning
"regulated verse"; chueh chu, "truncated verse"; and a song form called tz'u.
Regulated verse consisted of eight lines of five or seven syllables set in accordance
with strict tonal patterns. Truncated verse was an outgrowth of regulated verse: It
omitted four of the lines but maintained the tonal qualities of regulated verse. The tz'u
consisted of lines of irregular length written as lyrics for music. Because the lines
varied from 1 to 11 syllables, they were comparable to the natural rhythms of speech
and were easily understood when sung. The tz'u served as a major style for poetry
during the succeeding Sung Dynasty.
Two of the greatest poets in all Chinese literature lived during the T'ang Dynasty: Li
Po (701-762) and Tu Fu (712-770). Li Po was a romantic who celebrated such things
as drinking, friendship, and nature as well as solitude and the passage of time. His

work showed a great deal of imagination and a fresh approach to old themes. Tu Fu
also celebrated the beauties of nature and bemoaned the passage of time, but he was
also a satirist and critic. In `The Army Carts' he condemned the senselessness of war,
and in `The Beautiful Woman' he made fun of the luxuriousness of the imperial court.
Tu Fu's great reputation in literature comes in part from his expert use of all types of
poetic style. His mastery of the regulated verse form was unmatched.
Chinese prose also underwent a stylistic reform during the T'ang period. The major
change was brought about by Han Yu (768-824). He promoted classic Confucian
doctrines at a time when they had begun to fall into neglect because of the rising
popularity of Buddhism and Taoism. In his writing he advocated a return to the free,
simple prose of the ancient philosophers. His own essays are among the most
beautiful ever written in Chinese and became models for the style of writing he
prized. At his death he was honored with the title "Prince of Letters."
3. SUNG DYNASTY (960-1279)
During the Sung Dynasty, especially in the 11th century, the tz'u form of poetry and
song was brought to its greatest heights, particularly through the efforts of China's
best woman poet, Li Ch'ing-chao (1081-1141). She produced six volumes of poetry
and seven volumes of essays, all of which have been lost except for some poetry
fragments. Her early poems dealt with the joys of love and were intensely personal.
Later in life her writing began to reflect a dark despair, caused by long separations
from her husband and, eventually, by his untimely death.
The prose reform continued under followers of Han Yu, and poetry of the
conventional type continued to be written by members of rival literary schools. The
only real innovation came with the use of everyday speech in local dialects in
storytelling. This literature had its origin in unrecorded oral tales recounted by
individuals to audiences gathered in marketplaces or temple yards. By the 12th
century these tales became fairly lengthy narratives, many dealing with fictionalized
history. This style opened new vistas in prose fiction in later periods, though its use
was at first despised by professional writers.
4. YUAN, OR MONGOL, DYNASTY (1279-1368)
The best-known ruler of the Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty was Kublai Khan. In literature
Chinese drama came to the fore for the first time, and vernacular fiction was firmly
established. (See Kublai Khan; Mongol Empire)
Puppet shows, skits, vaudeville acts, and shadow plays of previous ages had laid the
foundation for a full-fledged drama. Plays in four or five acts, including songs and

dialect in language quite close to that of the common people, became popular. More
than 1,700 musical plays were written, and more than 105 dramatists were recorded.
The first, and probably the greatest, playwright of classical theater was Kuan Hanch'ing (1241?-1320?), author of about 60 plays. He wrote in a simple and
straightforward manner, often about common everyday occurrences. Among his best
works were `Injustice Suffered by Tou-o', `Meeting Enemies Alone', and `Saving a
Prostitute'.
Wang Shih-fu (1250-1337?) wrote one of the best dramas of the period, `Romance of
the Western Chamber', a work that is still popular. It is about the romantic exploits of
the poet Yuan Chen, renamed Chang Chun-jui in the play. It is notable for its length,
two or three times that of the standard Yuan drama.
In vernacular fiction one of the greatest novelists was Lo Kuan-chung (1330-1400),
known for his masterpiece, `The Romance of the Three Kingdoms'. He is also
presumed to be the author of one of China's best-known novels, `The Story of the
Water Margin' (translated by novelist Pearl S. Buck as `All Men Are Brothers'). The
work is a semihistorical collection of stories about a band of enlightened outlaws-social and political dissenters whose exploits were recorded in official dynastic
history. This is one of the few traditional novels approved today by Chinese
Communist authorities and critics.
5. MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
Most Ming literature in both prose and poetry was traditional, imitative, and oldfashioned. Two schools of writing challenged this trend, claiming that literature
should change with the age instead of slavishly imitating the past. The influence of
these schools did not last long, however.
It was in the vernacular literature of the period that writers made significant
contributions. The dramatic form ch'uan-chi (tales of marvels) became popular. Some
examples were full-length dramas with many changes of scene and many subplots,
while others were one-act playlets. This drama form won gradual support from literary
figures, and in the 16th century the influential K'un school, which was to dominate the
theater until the end of the 18th century, was formed.
In fiction there were some novels that are still considered outstanding. Wu Ch'eng-en
(1500?-82?) wrote `Monkey', the adventures of a cunningly resourceful animal that
accompanied the Buddhist monk Hsuan-tsang on a pilgrimage to India. `Adventure to
the Western Ocean' was an expanded tale of the 15th-century explorer Cheng Ho. The
author of `Gold Vase Plum', subtitled "The Adventurous History of Hsi-men and His
Six Wives," is unknown. It was the first realistic social novel to appear in China--the

first fiction work not derived from popular legends or historical events. In a very
naturalistic, somewhat coarse way it describes the life of a well-to-do businessman
who has acquired his wealth largely through dishonest means; his goals in life are
animal pleasures and heavy drinking. Although the novel was banned in China more
than once, and Western translators have occasionally resorted to Latin for offensive
passages, it is one of the most popular Chinese novels.
6. CH'ING, OR MANCHU, DYNASTY (1644-1911)
Ch'ing was the last imperial ruling house of China. During its reign most Chinese
literature tended to be old-fashioned and imitative; genuine creativity was rare.
Toward the end of the period, however, China had its first extensive contacts with
European powers, and ideas from the West began to filter into the literature through
translations of novels and other books.
In native prose fiction two works stand out. P'u Sung-ling (1640-1715) wrote a
collection of supernatural tales entitled `Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'. The
other is one of the great novels in world literature--`Dream of the Red Chamber', by
Ts'ao Chan (1715?-63). Partly autobiographical and written in the vernacular, it
describes in sometimes lengthy detail the decline of a powerful family and the illfated love between two young people.
A much later novel, `The Travels of Lao Ts'an', by Liu E (1857-1909), was significant
because it pointed up the problems inherent in the weakening dynasty, which was
soon to be overthrown by revolution. The book was published in 1904-07.
7. POLITICAL AND LITERARY REVOLUTIONS
The Ch'ing Dynasty was overthrown in the Chinese Revolution of 1911-12, and from
that time China was in almost continual turmoil until the success of the Communist
revolution in 1949. Even then the turmoil did not altogether cease, for the nation was
subject to the whims of the Communist leadership.
The Great Leap Forward, the government program of the 1950s, brought economic
disaster to China, and the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s poisoned the whole
cultural and social environment.
Political revolution was followed by literary revolution. In 1915 Youth Magazine
(later, New Youth) was founded by Ch'en Tu-hsiu (1879-1942), who soon became a
founder of the Chinese Communist party. A leader in developing the intellectual basis
of the revolution, Ch'en published an article about the rebellion against traditional and

classical literary forms and ideas. Hu Shih (1891-1962) was a proponent of a new
national literature in the vernacular (See Hu Shih).
Another significant writer of this period was Lu Hsun, the pen name of Chou Shu-jen
(1881-1936). In 1918 he published a short story, "A Madman's Diary," the first
Western-style short story written in Chinese. He followed it in 1921 with "The True
Story of Ah Q." Both stories criticized and rejected the old order. He is considered a
revolutionary hero.
Political writings and speeches came much into prominence at this time, especially in
the works of Sun Yat-sen, known as the father of modern China; Chiang Kai-shek, the
leader of Nationalist China; and Mao Zedong, the leader of Communist China. Under
Mao's leadership countless literary works were produced, all of which reflected
Communist policies and what in the Soviet nion was called "socialist realism."
One of the prominent writers of the early Communist era was Ting Ling, the pen name
of Chiang Wei-chih (1904-86). He wrote `The Sun Shines over the Sangkan River', a
novel about land reform. Chou Li-po (born 1910), author of the novel `The
Hurricane', about rebellious peasants seizing power from armed landlords, was also a
major writer. So too was Chou Erh-fu (born 1912), the author of `Morning in
Shanghai', a novel about changes in a textile factory after the revolution.
The one 20th-century giant of Chinese literature whose fame spread far beyond his
native land was Lin Yu-tang (1895-1976). The peak of his career in China came with
the establishment in 1932 of the satirical magazine Analects Fortnightly. His work
reached English-speaking readers with `My Country and My People', published in
1935. From 1936 he lived mostly in the United States, writing books on Chinese
history and philosophy, but he returned to Asia ten years before his death in Hong
Kong. He has been acclaimed as one of the most versatile Chinese writers of all time,
producing novels, plays, short stories, and essays in addition to historical and
philosophical works.
Lu Xun (1881-1936).
Although he died 13 years before the Communist party came to power in China, the
writer Lu Xun is considered a revolutionary hero by present-day Chinese
Communists. By the 1930s, when his reputation as a writer was established, he hailed
Communism as the only means of unifying China and solving its social and economic
problems.
Lu Xun was born Chou Shu-jen in Shaoxing in 1881. He attended the School of
Railways and Mines of the Kiangnan Military Academy in Nanjing and later studied

medicine, literature, and philosophy in Japan. He returned home a committed foe of

the Manchu dynasty, and, after the revolution that overthrew the dynasty in 1911, he
joined the new republican government in its ministry of education.
Lu Xun's literary activity began in 1918 when, at the urging of friends, he published a
short story, "A Madman's Diary." The first Western-style short story written in
Chinese, it was a satiric attack on the traditional Confucian culture of China. Its
success laid the foundation for acceptance of the short story as a literary vehicle. "The
True Story of Ah Q," published in 1921, was also a repudiation of China's old order.
In addition to his stories, Lu Xun wrote essays, of which "Outline History of Chinese
Fiction" is by far his best known; made compilations of classical fiction; and
translated literature from Russian to Chinese.
His pessimism about the republican government led him to leave Peking in 1926 and
settle in Shanghai. There he recruited many fellow writers and countrymen for the
Communist party, although he never joined it himself. He died there on Oct. 19, 1936.
Lin Yu-tang (1895-1976)
Chinese philosopher and writer, born in Fukien (now called Fujian) Province; son of
pastor of American Reformed church mission; professor at Peking National University
1923-26; in U.S. 1935-66; returned to Asia 1966; interpreted China with urbane
humor (nonfiction: `My Country and My People', `The Importance of Living', `On the
Wisdom of America', `The Importance of Understanding'; novels: `Moment in
Peking', `A Leaf in the Storm', `Chinatown Family', `Vermilion Gate', `The Secret
Name')

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Top 10 Chinese Writers

Selected by Readers
BY PETER MARCH 17, 2013

My former article lists the top 10 most famous writers in

China according to their influence. However many readers may have
a different list. Below is the top 10 Chinese writers selected by
readers. Its worth noting that four of them are from Taiwan and
Hong Kong, showing that Hong Kong and Taiwan culture had a farreaching influence on China.
1. Lu Xun ()

Lu Xun (1881-1936) is generally considered as

one of the most prominent and influential writers in modern times.
His work promoted significant change through critique of oldfashioned cultural values and repressive social practices. His famous
works include short stories of Diary of a Madman and The True Story
of Ah Q, Kong Yiji and some miscellaneous essays.
2. Jin Yong ()

Jin Yong,also Louis Cha Leung-yung in English

was born in Haining City in 1924. He is the most well-known modern
Chinese wuxia (martial arts) novelist. His fiction enjoys great
popularity in Chinese-speaking world. With more than 100 million
copies of his books sold worldwide, Louis Cha is the best-selling
Chinese author alive. His major works include The Legend of the

Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes, The Heaven

Sword and Dragon Saber and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
3. Chiung Yao ()

Chiung Yao or Qing Yao, born in 1938, is a wellliked romance writer in Taiwan. Many of her works have been made
into films and TV dramas. Huan Zhu Ge Ge is the best-known and
popular of her recent novels.His most popular books include
Romance in the Rain, Outside the Window and Princess Pearl.
4. Ba Jin ()

Ba Jin (1904 2005) is one of Chinas most

prominent modern writers. He wrote numerous short stories,
childrens books and other articles and more than ten novels. His

most famous works are The Love Trilogy including Fog, Rain,
and Lightning and The Torrents Trilogy including The
Family, Spring and Autumn .
5. Bing Xin ()

Bing Xin (1900 1999) is one of the most

productive and prestigious Chinese writers during the 20th Century.
Her literature acheivement is comparable to male literary giants of
her time. Many of her works were written for young readers. Her
most famous work is To Young Readers.
6. Lao She ()

Lao She (1899-1966) is one of the most

beloved modern Chinese writers, he was well-known for his humor
and sympathy with the poor and disadvantaged in his works. His
most famous work is novel Rickshaw Boy (Camel Xiangzi) . He
received the title of Peoples Artist by Peking City Government.
However it is very sad that he was falsely persecuted and finally
committed suicide during the Cultural Revolution.
7. Jia Pingwa ()

Jia Pingwa (Born in 1952) is a famous Chinese

novelist and short story writer. His popular novels includes Shang
State, White Night and Deserted City. His 1993 novel
Deserted City was banned for its explicit sexual content and was

re-released 17 years later. His famous novel Shaanxi Opera helped

him win the Mao Dun Literature Prize.
8. Gu Long ()

Gu Long (1938 1985) was a Chinese novelist.

He is best known for writing wuxia novels including Juedai
Shuangjiao, Xiaoli Feidao Series, Chu Liuxiang Series, Lu
Xiaofeng Series and Xiao Shiyilang. Many of his works have been
adapted into films and television seriess. He is often considered the
most prominent wuxia novelist just after Jin Yong.
9. San Mao ()

Sanmao (1943 1991) was a Taiwanese writer.

Sanmaos books deal mainly with her own experiences studying and
living abroad. From 1976 to the time of her death in 1991, Sanmao
published more than 20 books. Her works such as The Stories of
the Sahara were extremely well received not only in Taiwan but
also in mainland China even today.
10. Wang Shuo ()

Wang Shuo (Born in 1958) is a famous

modern Chinese writer. He has written more than 20
novels, television series and movies. His hooligan style of writing
makes many critics call him spiritual pollutant. His main works
include Please Dont Call Me Human, Playing for Thrills, Could
be Beautiful, Get a Kick and Die and Wild Beast.

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Confucius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Confucius (disambiguation).

Confucius

A portrait of Confucius by the Tang dynastyartist Wu

Daozi (680740)

Born

551 BC
Zou, Lu state

Died

479 BC (aged 7172)

Lu state

Nationality

Lu state, Zhou China

Era

Ancient philosophy

Region

Chinese philosophy

School

Founder of Confucianism

Main

Moral philosophy, Social

interests

Notable

philosophy, Ethics

Confucianism

ideas

Influences[show]

Influenced[show]

Confucius
Chinese

Literal meaning

"Master Kong"

Alternative Chinese name

Chinese

Literal meaning

(given name)

Confucius (/knfjus/; 551479 BC)[1] was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of
the Spring and Autumn periodof Chinese history.
The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social
relationships, justice and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools
during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during
the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's
thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known
as Confucianism.
Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic
texts including all of the Five Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific
assertions to Confucius himself. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects,
but only many years after his death.
Confucius's principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong
family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives.
He also recommended family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known principle
"Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself", an early version of the Golden Rule.
Contents
[hide]

1 Names

2 Family background

3 Biography
o

3.1 Early life

3.2 Political career

3.3 Exile

3.4 Return home

4 Philosophy
o

4.1 Ethics

4.2 Politics

5 Disciples

6 Legacy

7 Visual portraits

8 Death and legacy

o

8.1 Memorials of Confucius

8.2 Descendants

9 See also

10 Notes

11 References

12 Bibliography

13 Further reading

14 External links

Names
Confucius' family and personal name respectively was Kong Qiu ( Kng Qi).[2] His courtesy
name was Zhongni ( Zhngn).[2] In Chinese, he is most often known as Kongzi ( Kng Z,
literally "Master Kong").[3][4] He is also known by the honorific Kong Fuzi ( Kng Fz, literally
"Master Kong").[4] In the WadeGiles system of romanization, the honorific name is rendered as
"K'ung Fu-tzu". The Latinized name "Confucius" is derived from "Kong Fuzi", and was first coined by
16th-century Jesuit missionaries to China, most probably by Matteo Ricci.[4]
Within the Analects, he is often referred to simply as "the Master" ( Z). In 1 AD, Confucius was
given his first posthumous name, the "Laudably Declarable Lord Ni" (). In 1530, he was
declared the "Extremely Sage Departed Teacher" (). He is also known separately as the
"Great Sage" (), "First Teacher" (), and "Model Teacher for Ten Thousand Ages" ().

Family background
Main article: Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent
According to tradition, three generations before Confucius' time, his ancestors had migrated from
the Song state to the Lu state.[5] Confucius was a descendant of the Shang
dynasty Kings through the Dukes of Song.[6][7][8]

Biography
Early life

Lu can be seen in China's northeast

It is generally thought that Confucius was born in 551 BC.[9] His birthplace was in Zou, Lu state (near
present-day Qufu, ShandongProvince).[9][10] His father Kong He (), also known as Shuliang He (
), was an officer in the Lu military. Kong He died when Confucius was three years old, and
Confucius was raised by his mother Yan Zhengzai () in poverty. At age 19 he married his wife,
surnamed Qiguan (), and a year later the couple had their first child, Kong Li ().
Confucius was born into the class of shi (), between the aristocracy and the common people. He is
said to have worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk, and a book-keeper. When his mother died,
Confucius (aged 23) is said to have mourned for three years as was the tradition.

Political career
The Lu state was headed by a ruling ducal house.[11] Under the duke were three aristocratic families,
whose heads bore the title of viscount and held hereditary positions in the Lu bureaucracy.[12] The Ji
family held the position "Minister over the Masses", who was also the "Prime Minister"; the Meng
family held the position "Minister of Works"; and the Shu family held the position "Minister of War".
[12]
In the winter of 505 BC, Yang Hua retainer of the Ji familyrose up in rebellion and seized
power from the Ji family.[12]However, by the summer of 501 BC, the three hereditary families had
succeeded in expelling Yang Hu from Lu.[12] By then, Confucius had built up a considerable reputation
through his teachings, while the families came to see the value of proper conduct and righteousness,
so they could achieve loyalty to a legitimate government. [13] Thus, that year (501 BC), Confucius
came to be appointed to the minor position of governor of a town. [13] Eventually, he rose to the
position of Minister of Crime.[13]
Confucius desired to return the authority of the state to the duke by dismantling the fortifications of
the city-strongholds belonging to the three families.[14] This way, he could establish a centralized
government.[14] However, Confucius relied solely on diplomacy as he had no military authority
himself.[14] In 500 BC, Hou Fanthe governor of Hourevolted against his lord of the Shu family.
[14]
Although the Meng and Shu families unsuccessfully besieged Hou, a loyalist official rose up with
the people of Hou and forced Hou Fan to flee to the Qi state.[14] The situation may have been in favor
for Confucius as this likely made it possible for Confucius and his disciples to convince the
aristocratic families to dismantle the fortifications of their cities.[14] Eventually, after a year and a half,
Confucius and his disciples succeeded in convincing the Shu family to raze the walls of Hou, the Ji
family in razing the walls of Bi, and the Meng family in razing the walls of Cheng. [14] First, the Shu

family led an army towards their city Hou and tore down its walls in 498 BC. [14]Soon thereafter,
Gongshan Furao[a]a retainer of the Ji familyrevolted and took control of the forces at Bi.[15][16] He
immediately launched an attack and entered the capital Lu. [14]
Earlier, Gongshan had approached Confucius to join him, which Confucius considered. [15] Even
though he disapproved the use of a violent revolution, the Ji family dominated the Lu state force for
generations and had exiled the previous duke.[15] Although he wanted the opportunity to put his
principles in practice, Confucius gave up on this idea in the end.[15] Creel (1949) states that, unlike
the rebel Yang Hu before him, Gongshan may have sought to destroy the three hereditary families
and restore the power of the duke.[17]However, Dubs (1946) is of the view that Gongshan was
encouraged by Viscount Ji Huan to invade the Lu capital in an attempt to avoid dismantling the Bi
fortified walls.[16]Whatever the situation may have been, Gongshan was considered an upright man
who continued to defend the state of Lu, even after he was forced to flee. [17][18]
During the revolt by Gongshan, Zhong You () had managed to keep the duke and the three
viscounts together at the court.[18] Zhong You was one of the disciples of Confucius and Confucius
had arranged for him to be given the position of governor by the Ji family.[19] When Confucius heard
of the raid, he requested that Viscount Ji Huan allow the duke and his court to retreat to a stronghold
on his palace grounds.[20] Thereafter, the heads of the three families and the duke retreated to the Ji's
palace complex and ascended the Wuzi Terrace.[21] Confucius ordered two officers to lead an assault
against the rebels.[21] At least one of the two officers was a retainer of the Ji family, but they were
unable to refuse the orders while in the presence of the duke, viscounts, and court. [20] The rebels
were pursued and defeated at Gu.[21] Immediately after the revolt was defeated, the Ji family razed
the Bi city walls to the ground.[21]
The attackers retreated after realizing that they would have to become rebels against the state and
against their own lord.[20] Through Confucius' actions, the Bi officials had inadvertently revolted
against their own lord, thus forcing Viscount Ji Huan's hand in having to dismantle the walls of Bi (as
it could have harbored such rebels) or confess to instigating the event by going against proper
conduct and righteousness as an official.[20] Dubs (1949) suggests that the incident brought to light
Confucius' foresight, practical political ability and his insight into human character.[20]
When it was time to dismantle the city walls of the Meng family, the governor was reluctant to have
his city walls torn down and convinced the head of the Meng family not to do so. [21] The Zuo
Zhuan recalls that the governor advised against razing the walls to the ground as he said that it
made Cheng vulnerable to the Qi state and cause the destruction of the Meng family.[20] Even though
Viscount Meng Yi gave his word not to interfere with an attempt, he went back on his earlier promise
to dismantle the walls.[20]
Later in 498 BC, Duke Ding personally went with an army to lay siege to Cheng in an attempt to raze
its walls to the ground, but he did not succeed.[22] Thus, Confucius could not achieve the idealistic
reforms that he wanted including restoration of the legitimate rule of the duke. [23] He had made
powerful enemies within the state, especially with Viscount Ji Huan, due to his successes so far.
[24]
According to accounts in the Zuo Zhuan and Shiji, Confucius departed his homeland in 497 BC
after his support for the failed attempt of dismantling the fortified city walls of the powerful Ji, Meng,
and Shu families.[25] He left the state of Lu without resigning, remaining in self-exile and unable to
return as long as Viscount Ji Huan was alive.[24]

Exile
The Shiji states that the neighboring Qi state was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful while
Confucius was involved in the government of the Lu state. According to this account, Qi decided to
sabotage Lu's reforms by sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the Duke of Lu.
The Duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for three days. Confucius
was deeply disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek better opportunities, yet to leave at once
would expose the misbehavior of the Duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler
Confucius was serving. Confucius therefore waited for the Duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon
after, the Duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due
according to custom, and Confucius seized upon this pretext to leave both his post and the Lu state.
After Confucius' resignation, he began a long journey or set of journeys around the small
kingdoms of north-east and central China, traditionally including the states of Wei, Song,Chen,
and Cai. At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them
implemented.

Return home
According to the Zuo Zhuan, Confucius returned home when he was 68. The Analects depict him
spending his last years teaching 72 or 77 disciples and transmitting the old wisdom via a set of texts
called the Five Classics.

Philosophy
Main article: Confucianism

The Dacheng Hall, the main hall of the Temple of Confucius in Qufu.

Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, arguments continue
over whether it is a religion. Confucianism discusses elements of the afterlife and views
concerning Heaven, but it is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters often considered
essential to religious thought, such as the nature of souls. However, Confucius is said to have
believed in astrology saying: "Heaven sends down its good or evil symbols and wise men act
accordingly".[26]

The Analects of Confucius.

In the Analects, Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing". He puts the
greatest emphasis on the importance of study, and it is the Chinese character for study () that
opens the text. Far from trying to build a systematic or formalist theory, he wanted his disciples to
master and internalize the old classics, so that their deep thought and thorough study would allow
them to relate the moral problems of the present to past political events (as recorded in the Annals)
or the past expressions of commoners' feelings and noblemen's reflections (as in the poems of
the Book of Odes).

Ethics
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal
exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation,
emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules.
Confucian ethics may be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned
argument and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed more indirectly, through allusion, innuendo,
and even tautology. His teachings require examination and context in order to be understood. A
good example is found in this famous anecdote:

When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court Confucius said, "Was anyone
hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.
Analects X.11 (tr. Waley), 1013 (tr. Legge), or X-17 (tr. Lau)
By not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrates that the sage values human beings
over property; readers are led to reflect on whether their response would follow Confucius' and
to pursue self-improvement if it would not have. Confucius, as an exemplar of human
excellence, serves as the ultimate model, rather than a deity or a universally true set of abstract
principles. For these reasons, according to many commentators, Confucius' teachings may be
considered a Chinese example of humanism.
One of his teachings was a variant of the Golden Rule sometimes called the "Silver Rule"[citation
needed]
owing to its negative form:

"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."


Zi Gong [a disciple] asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout
life?"
The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on others what you would not
choose for yourself."
Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton
Often overlooked in Confucian ethics are the virtues to the self: sincerity and the
cultivation of knowledge. Virtuous action towards others begins with virtuous and
sincere thought, which begins with knowledge. A virtuous disposition without knowledge
is susceptible to corruption and virtuous action without sincerity is not true
righteousness. Cultivating knowledge and sincerity is also important for one's own sake;
the superior person loves learning for the sake of learning and righteousness for the
sake of righteousness.
The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in L () is based on three important
conceptual aspects of life: ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities
of various types, social and political institutions, and the etiquette of daily behavior. It
was believed by some that l originated from the heavens, but Confucius stressed the
development of l through the actions of sage leaders in human history. His discussions
of l seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the
ideal society, rather than those simply conforming with canonical standards of
ceremony.
In the early Confucian tradition, l was doing the proper thing at the proper time,
balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and
violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the l of past sages
cultivates in people virtues that include ethical judgment about when l must be adapted
in light of situational contexts.
In Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to y (), which is based upon the
idea of reciprocity. Y can be translated as righteousness, though it may simply mean
what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out
of self-interest. While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would
be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following a path
designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of y is doing the right thing for
the right reason.
Just as action according to L should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of
adhering to y, so y is linked to the core value of rn ().Rn consists of 5 basic
virtues: seriousness, generosity, sincerity, diligence and kindness. [27] Rn is the virtue of
perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as
"benevolence" or "humaneness"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a
capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness"
and "selflessness." Confucius' moral system was based upon empathy and
understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous
responses of rn so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living
by the rules of y. Confucius asserts that virtue is a means between extremes. For

example, the properly generous person gives the right amountnot too much and not
too little.[27]

Politics
Confucius' political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argues that the best
government is one that rules through "rites" (l) and people's natural morality, rather than
by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important
analects: "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by
punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they
be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they
will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good." (Translated
by James Legge) in the Great Learning (). This "sense of shame" is an
internalisation of duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of
following it in the form of laws as in Legalism.
Confucius looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly
those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples. In times of division,
chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of
Heaven () that could unify the "world" (, "all under Heaven") and bestow peace
and prosperity on the people. Because his vision of personal and social perfections was
framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered
a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows
that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political
agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to
power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage. These would be rulers
devoted to their people, striving for personal and social perfection, and such a ruler
would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with
laws and rules.
While he supported the idea of government ruling by a virtuous king, his ideas contained
a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for according language
withtruth, and honesty was of paramount importance. Even in facial expression, truth
must always be represented. Confucius believed that if a ruler were to lead correctly, by
action, that orders would be deemed unnecessary in that others will follow the proper
actions of their ruler. In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a
father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This
demanded that the subordinates must give advice to their superiors if the superiors
were considered to be taking the course of action that was wrong. Confucius believed in
ruling by example, if you lead correctly, orders are unnecessary and useless.

Disciples
Main article: Disciples of Confucius
There is not much known of Confucius' disciples and a little over half of them had their
surnames recorded in the Zuo Zhuan.[28] The Analects records 22 names that are most
likely Confucius' disciples, while the Mencius records 24 names, although it is quite
certain that there have been many more disciples whose name were not recorded.

Most of Confucius' disciples were from the Lu state, while others were from
neighboring states.[28] For example, Zigong was from the Wey state and Sima Niu was
from the Song state.[28]Confucius' favorite disciple was Yan Hui, most probably one of the
most impoverished of them all.[28] Sima Niu, in contrast to Yan Hui, was from a hereditary
noble family hailing from the Song state.[28] Under Confucius' teachings, the disciples
became well-learned in the principles and methods of government. [29] He often engaged
in discussion and debate with his students and gave high importance to their studies in
history, poetry, and ritual.[29] Confucius advocated loyalty to principle rather than to
individual in which reform was to be achieved by persuasion rather than violence.
[29]
Even though Confucius denounced them for their practices, the aristocracy was likely
attracted to the idea of having trustworthy officials who were studied in morals as the
circumstances of the time made it desirable.[29] In fact, the disciple Zilu even died
defending his ruler in Wei.[29]
[28]

Yang Hu, who was a subordinate of the Ji family, had dominated the Lu government
from 505 to 502 and even attempted a coup, which narrowly failed. [29] As a likely
consequence, it was after that that the first disciples of Confucius were appointed to
government positions.[29] Few of Confucius' disciples went on to attain official positions of
some importance, some of which were arranged by Confucius.[30] By the time Confucius
was 50 years old, the Ji family had consolidated their power in the Lu state over the
ruling ducal house.[31] Even though the Ji family had practices that Confucius disagreed
and disapproved, they nonetheless gave Confucius' disciples many opportunities for
employment.[31] Confucius continued to remind his disciples to stay true to their principles
and renounced those who did not, while being openly critical of the Ji family.[32]

Legacy
Confucius' teachings were later turned into an elaborate set of rules and practices by his
numerous disciples and followers, who organized his teachings into the Analects.
Confucius' disciples and his only grandson, Zisi, continued his philosophical school after
his death. These efforts spread Confucian ideals to students who then became officials
in many of the royal courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale
test of its dogma.
Two of Confucius' most famous later followers emphasized radically different aspects of
his teachings. In the centuries after his death, Mencius () and Xun Zi () both
composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas
associated with Confucius. Mencius (4th century BC) articulated the innate goodness in
human beings as a source of the ethical intuitions that guide people towards rn, y,
and l, while Xun Zi (3rd century BC) underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects
of Confucian thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition
and in individuals through training. In time, their writings, together with the Analects and
other core texts came to constitute the philosophical corpus of Confucianism.
This realignment in Confucian thought was parallel to the development of Legalism,
which saw filial piety as self-interest and not a useful tool for a ruler to create an
effective state. A disagreement between these two political philosophies came to a head
in 223 BC when the Qin state conquered all of China. Li Si, Prime Minister of the Qin

Dynastyconvinced Qin Shi Huang to abandon the Confucians' recommendation of

awarding fiefs akin to the Zhou Dynasty before them which he saw as counter to the
Legalist idea of centralizing the state around the ruler. When the Confucian advisers
pressed their point, Li Si had many Confucian scholars killed and their books burned
considered a huge blow to the philosophy and Chinese scholarship.
Under the succeeding Han Dynasty and Tang dynasty, Confucian ideas gained even
more widespread prominence. Under Wudi, the works of Confucius were made the
official imperial philosophy and required reading for civil service examinations in 140 BC
which was continued nearly unbroken until the end of the 19th Century. As Moism lost
support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were Legalism, which
Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of Lao-tzu, whose focus on more
mystic ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism, and the
new Buddhist religion, which gained acceptance during the Southern and Northern
Dynasties era. Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in
the Ming Dynasty and even the Yuan Dynasty, although Kublai Khan distrusted handing
over provincial control.
During the Song dynasty, the scholar Zhu Xi (AD 11301200) added ideas
from Daoism and Buddhism into Confucianism. In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored,
but not long after his death his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian
texts actually meant. Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather
different, and call his way of thinking Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism held sway
in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam until the 19th century.

Life and Works of Confucius by Prospero Intorcetta, 1687.

The works of Confucius were translated into European languages through the agency
of Jesuit scholars stationed in China.[b] Matteo Riccistarted to report on the thoughts of
Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta published the life and works of Confucius
into Latin in 1687.[33] It is thought that such works had considerable importance on
European thinkers of the period, particularly among the Deists and other philosophical
groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of
morality of Confucius into Western civilization.[33][34]
In the modern era Confucian movements, such as New Confucianism, still exist but
during the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism was frequently attacked by leading figures

in the Communist Party of China. This was partially a continuation of the condemnations
of Confucianism by intellectuals and activists in the early 20th Century as a cause of the
ethnocentric close-mindedness and refusal of theQing Dynasty to modernize that led to
the tragedies that befell China in the 19th Century.
Confucius' works are studied by scholars in many other Asian countries, particularly
those in the Chinese cultural sphere, such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Many of those
countries still hold the traditional memorial ceremony every year.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes Confucius was a Divine Prophet of God, as
were Lao-Tzu and other eminent Chinese personages.[35]
In modern times, Asteroid 7853, "Confucius", was named after the Chinese thinker.

Visual portraits
No contemporary painting or sculpture of Confucius survives, and it was only during
the Han Dynasty that he was portrayed visually. Carvings often depict his legendary
meeting with Laozi. Since that time there have been many portraits of Confucius as the
ideal philosopher.
In former times, it was customary to have a portrait in Confucius Temples; however,
during the reign of Hongwu Emperor (Taizu) of the Ming dynasty it was decided that the
only proper portrait of Confucius should be in the temple in his home town, Qufu. In
other temples, Confucius is represented by a memorial tablet. In 2006, the China
Confucius Foundation commissioned a standard portrait of Confucius based on
the Tang dynasty portrait by Wu Daozi.

Death and legacy

Tomb of Confucius in Kong Lin cemetery, Qufu, Shandong Province

Confucius Monument in Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines

Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples, he died at the age of 71
or 72. He died from natural causes. Confucius was buried in Kong Lin cemetery which
lies in the historical part of Qufu. The original tomb erected there in memory of
Confucius on the bank of the Sishui River had the shape of an axe. In addition, it has a
raised brick platform at the front of the memorial for offerings such as sandalwood
incense and fruit.

Memorials of Confucius
Soon after Confucius' death, Qufu, his home town became a place of devotion and
remembrance. The Han dynasty Records of the Grand Historian records that it had
already become a place of pilgrimage for ministers. It is still a major destination for
cultural tourism, and many people visit his grave and the surrounding temples. In panChina cultures, there are many temples where representations of the Buddha,Laozi and
Confucius are found together. There are also many temples dedicated to him, which
have been used for Confucianist ceremonies.
The Chinese have a tradition of holding spectacular memorial ceremonies of Confucius
() every year, using ceremonies that supposedly derived from Zhou Li () as
recorded by Confucius, on the date of Confucius' birth. This tradition was interrupted for
several decades in mainland China, where the official stance of the Communist Party
and the State was that Confucius and Confucianism represented
reactionary feudalist beliefs which held that the subservience of the people to
the aristocracy is a part of the natural order. All such ceremonies and rites were
therefore banned. Only after the 1990s did the ceremony resume. As it is now
considered a veneration of Chinese history and tradition, even Communist Party
members may be found in attendance.

In Taiwan, where the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) strongly promoted Confucian

beliefs in ethics and behavior, the tradition of the memorial ceremony of Confucius (
) is supported by the government and has continued without interruption. While not a
national holiday, it does appear on all printed calendars, much as Father's Day does in
the West.

Descendants
See also: Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent
Confucius' descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial
governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of
a marquis thirty-five times since Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, and they were promoted to
the rank of dukeforty-two times from the Tang dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Emperor
Xuanzong of Tang first bestowed the title of "Duke Wenxuan" on Kong Suizhi of the 35th
generation. In 1055, Emperor Renzong of Song first bestowed the title of "Duke
Yansheng" on Kong Zongyuan of the 46th generation.
During the Southern Song dynasty the Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou fled south with
the Song Emperor to Quzhou in Zhejiang, while the newly established Jin dynasty
(11151234) in the north appointed Kong Duanyou's brother Kong Duancao who
remained in Qufu as Duke Yansheng. From that time up until the Yuan dynasty, there
were two Duke Yanshengs, once in the north in Qufu and the other in the south at
Quzhou. During the Yuan dynasty, the Emperor Kublai Khan invited the southern Duke
Yansheng Kong Zhu to returned to Qufu. Kong Zhu refused, and gave up the title, so the
northern branch of the family kept the title of Duke Yansheng. The southern branch still
remained in Quzhou where they lived to this day. Confucius's descendants in Quzhou
alone number 30,000.[36][37]
Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed
upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the Nationalist
Government in 1935. The last holder of the title, Kung Te-cheng of the 77th generation,
was appointed Sacrificial Official to Confucius. Kung Te-cheng died in October 2008,
and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, had died in 1989. Kung Techeng's grandson, Kung Tsui-chang, the 79th lineal descendant, was born in 1975; his
great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on January
1, 2006. Te-cheng's sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book
about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong
Deqi, died as a young woman.[38] Many descendants of Confucius still live in Qufu today.
Confucius' family, the Kongs, have the longest recorded extant pedigree in the world
today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation,[39] has been recorded
since the death of Confucius. According to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation
Committee, he has 2 million known and registered descendants, and there are an
estimated 3 million in all.[40] Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China.
[40]
In the 14th century, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000
descendants of Confucius live today.[40] One of the main lineages fled from the Kong
ancestral home in Qufu during the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s, and eventually
settled in Taiwan.[38]There are also branches of the Kong family who have converted to
Islam after marrying Muslim women, in Dachuan in Gansu province in the 1800s, [41] and

in 1715 in Xuanwei city in Yunnan province.[42] Kong Dejun () is a prominent

Islamic scholar and Arabist from Qinghai province and a 77th generation descendant of
Confucius.
Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China
to test the DNA of known family members.[43] Among other things, this would allow
scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the
descent were truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius' lifetime, the males in the
family would all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight
mutations due to the passage of time.[44] The aim of the genetic test was the help
members of collateral branches in China who lost their genealogical records to prove
their descent. However, in 2009, many of the collateral branches decided not to agree to
DNA testing.[45] Bryan Sykes, professor of genetics at Oxford University, understands this
decision: "The Confucius family tree has an enormous cultural significance," he said.
"It's not just a scientific question."[45] The DNA testing was originally proposed to add new
members, many of whose family record books were lost during 20th-century upheavals,
to the Confucian family tree.[46]
In 2013 a DNA test performed on multiple different families who claimed descent from
Confucius found that they shared the same Y chromosome as reported by Fudan
University.[47]
The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by
the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC).[48][49] It was unveiled in a
ceremony at Qufu on September 24, 2009.[48][49] Women are now included for the first
time.[50]
There is also a "Sacrificial Official to Mencius" for a descendant of Mencius, a
"Sacrificial Official to Zengzi" for a descendant of Zengzi, and a "Sacrificial Official to
Yan Hui" for a descendant of Yan Hui.

See also
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Classic of Poetry

Confucius Institute

Notes
1.

Jump up^ Gongshan Furao is also known as Gongshan Buniu.

2.

Jump up^ The first was Michele Ruggieri who had returned from China to Italy in 1588,
and carried on translating in Latin Chinese classics, while residing in Salerno.

References
1.

Jump up^ Riegel 2012, online.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b Chin 2007, 2.

3.

Jump up^ Rainey 2010, 1.

4.

^ Jump up to:a b c Phan 2012, 170

5.

Jump up^ Creel 1949, 26.

6.

Jump up^ Yao 1997, 29.

7.

Jump up^ Yao 2000, 23.

8.

Jump up^ Rainey 2010, 66.

9.

^ Jump up to:a b Creel 1949, 25.

10. Jump up^ Rainey 2010, 16.

11. Jump up^ Dubs 1946, 274275.
12. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Dubs 1946, 275.
13. ^ Jump up to:a b c Dubs 1946, 275276.
14. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i Dubs 1946, 277.
15. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Creel 1949, 3536.
16. ^ Jump up to:a b Dubs 1946, 277278.
17. ^ Jump up to:a b Creel 1949, 35.
18. ^ Jump up to:a b Dubs 1946, 278.
19. Jump up^ Dubs 1946, 278279.
20. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Dubs 1946, 279.
21. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Chin 2007, 30.

22. Jump up^ Dubs 1946, 280.

23. Jump up^ Dubs 1946, 280281.
24. ^ Jump up to:a b Dubs 1946, 281.
25. Jump up^ Riegel 1986, 13.
26. Jump up^ Parkers (1983)
27. ^ Jump up to:a b Bonevac & Phillips 2009, 40.
28. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Creel 1949, 30.
29. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Creel 1949, 32.
30. Jump up^ Creel 1949, 31.
31. ^ Jump up to:a b Creel 1949, 33.
32. Jump up^ Creel 1949, 3233.
33. ^ Jump up to:a b Parker 1977, 25.
34. Jump up^ Hobson 2004, 194195.
35. Jump up^ Ahmad ???, online.
36. Jump up^ "Nation observes Confucius anniversary". China Daily. 2006-09-29.
37. Jump up^ "Confucius Anniversary Celebrated". China Daily. September 29, 2006.
38. ^ Jump up to:a b Kong, Ke & Roberts 1988.[page needed]
39. Jump up^ China Economic Net 2009, online.
40. ^ Jump up to:a b c Yan 2008, online.
41. Jump up^ Jing, Jun (1998). The Temple of Memories: History, Power, and Morality in a
Chinese Village. Stanford University Press. p. 26. ISBN 0804764921.
42. Jump up^ Zhou, Jing. "New Confucius Genealogy out next year". china.org.cn.
Retrieved2010-06-28.
43. Jump up^ Ministry of Commerce of the PRC 2006, online.
44. Jump up^ China Internet Information Center 2006, online.
45. ^ Jump up to:a b Qiu 2008, online.
46. Jump up^ Bandao 2007, online.

47. Jump up^ Chen, Stephen (13 November 2013). "Study finds single bloodline among
self-claimed Confucius descendants". South China Morning Post.
48. ^ Jump up to:a b China Daily 2009, online.
49. ^ Jump up to:a b Zhou 2008, online.
50. Jump up^ China Daily 2007, online.

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"DNA test to clear up Confucius confusion". Ministry of Commerce of the People's

Republic of China. 18 June 2006.

Riegel, Jeffrey (2012). "Confucius". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Stanford University.

Qiu, Jane (13 August 2008). "Inheriting Confucius". Seed Magazine.

Yan, Liang (16 February 2008). "Updated Confucius family tree has two million
members". Xinhua.

Zhou, Jing (31 October 2008). "New Confucius Genealogy out next year". China
Internet Information Center.

Further reading

Clements, Jonathan (2008). Confucius: A Biography. Stroud, Gloucestershire,

England: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-4775-6.

Confucius (1997). Lun yu, (in English The Analects of Confucius). Translation and
notes by Simon Leys. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04019-4.

Confucius (2003). Confucius: AnalectsWith Selections from Traditional

Commentaries. Translated by E. Slingerland. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing.
(Original work published c. 551479 BC) ISBN 0-87220-635-1.

Creel, Herrlee Glessner (1949). Confucius and the Chinese Way. New York: Harper.

Creel, Herrlee Glessner (1953). Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-tung.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). "Confucianism: An Overview". In Encyclopedia of

Religion (Vol. C, pp 18901905). Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA.

Dawson, Raymond (1982). Confucius. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19287536-1.

Fingarette, Hebert (1998). Confucius : the secular as sacred. Long Grove, Ill.:
Waveland Press. ISBN 1-57766-010-2.

Ssu-ma Ch'ien (1974). Records of the Historian. Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang,
trans. Hong Kong: Commercial Press.

Van Norden, B.W., ed. (2001). Confucius and the Analects: New Essays. New York:
Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513396-X.

Van Norden, B.W., trans. (2006). Mengzi, in Philip J. Ivanhoe & B.W. Van
Norden, Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett
Publishing. ISBN 0-87220-780-3.

External links
Find more about
Confucius
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Confucius entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Confucius on In Our Time at the BBC. (listen now)

Multilingual web site on Confucius and the Analects

The Dao of Kongzi, introduction to the thought of Confucius.

Confucius entry by Jeffrey Riegel in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Works by Confucius at Project Gutenberg

Works by or about Confucius at Internet Archive

Works by Confucius at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

Confucian Analects (Project Gutenberg release of James Legge's Translation)

Core philosophical passages in the Analects of Confucius.

[show]

Chinese philosophy

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History of China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Empire of China" redirects here. For other uses, see Empire of China (191516).

Approximate territories occupied by the various dynasties and states throughout the history of China

This article
contains Chinese text.W
ithout proper rendering
support, you may
see question marks, boxes,
or other symbols instead
ofChinese characters.

History of China
ANCIENT

Neolithic c. 8500 c. 2070 BC

Xia dynasty c. 2070 c. 1600 BC
Shang dynasty c. 1600 c. 1046 BC
Zhou dynasty c. 1046 256 BC
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn
Warring States
IMPERIAL

Qin dynasty 221206 BC

Han dynasty 206 BC 220 AD
Western Han
Xin dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220280

Wei, Shu and Wu

Jin dynasty 265420
Western Jin
Eastern Jin

Sixteen Kingdoms

Southern and Northern Dynasties

420589
Sui dynasty 581618
Tang dynasty 618907
(Wu Zhou interregnum 690705)
Five Dynasties and
Ten Kingdoms

Liao dynasty
9071125

907960
Song dynasty
9601279
Northern Song

W. Xia

Southern Song

Jin

Yuan dynasty 12711368

Ming dynasty 13681644
Qing dynasty 16441911
MODERN

Republic of China 19121949

People's Republic
of China
1949present

Republic of
China on Taiwan
1949present

Related articles [show]

This box:

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talk
edit

Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1200 BC under the Shang
dynasty (c. 16001046 BC).[1] Ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian (ca.
100 BC) and the Bamboo Annalsdescribe a Xia dynasty (c. 20701600 BC), which had no system of
writing on a durable medium, before the Shang.[1][2] The Yellow River is said to be the cradle of
Chinese civilization, although cultures originated at various regional centers along both the Yellow
River and the Yangtze River valleys millennia ago in the Neolithic era. With thousands of years of
continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations.[3]
Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy further developed during the Zhou
dynasty (1046256 BC). The Zhou dynasty began to bow to external and internal pressures in the
8th century BC, and the kingdom eventually broke apart into smaller states, beginning in the Spring
and Autumn period and reaching full expression in the Warring States period. This is one of multiple
periods of failed statehood in Chinese history, the most recent being the Chinese Civil War that
started in 1927.
Between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled parts or all of
China; in some eras control stretched as far as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. In 221 BC Qin Shi
Huang united the various warring kingdoms and created for himself the title of "emperor" (huangdi)
of the Qin dynasty, marking the beginning of imperial China.
Successivedynasties developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the emperor to control vast
territories directly. China's last dynasty was the Qing(16441912), which was replaced by
the Republic of China in 1912, and in the mainland by the People's Republic of China in 1949.
The conventional view of Chinese history is that of alternating periods of political unity and disunity,
with China occasionally being dominated by steppe peoples, most of whom were in turn assimilated
into the Han Chinese population. Cultural and political influences from other parts of Asia and
the Western world, carried by successive waves of immigration, expansion, foreign contact,
and cultural assimilation are part of the modern culture of China.
Contents
[hide]

1 Prehistory
o

1.1 Paleolithic

1.2 Neolithic

2 Ancient China
o

2.1 Xia dynasty (c. 2100 c. 1600 BC)

2.2 Shang dynasty (c. 16001046 BC)

2.3 Zhou dynasty (1046256 BC)

2.4 Spring and Autumn period (722476 BC)

2.5 Warring States period (476221 BC)

3 Imperial China
o

3.1 Qin dynasty (221206 BC)

3.2 Han dynasty (202 BCAD 220)

3.3 Three Kingdoms and Western Jin (AD 265316)

3.4 Sixteen Kingdoms and Eastern Jin (AD 304439)

3.5 Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420589)

3.6 Sui dynasty (AD 589618)

3.7 Tang dynasty (AD 618907)

3.8 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907960)

3.9 Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties (AD 9601234)

3.10 Yuan dynasty (AD 12711368)

3.11 Ming dynasty (AD 13681644)

3.12 Qing dynasty (AD 16441911)

4 Republican China
o

4.1 Republic of China (19121949)

4.2 People's Republic of China (since 1949)

5 See also

6 Notes

7 Bibliography
o

7.1 Surveys

7.2 Prehistory

7.3 Shang dynasty

7.4 Han dynasty

7.5 Jin, the Sixteen Kingdoms, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties

7.6 Sui dynasty

7.7 Tang dynasty

7.8 Song dynasty

7.9 Ming dynasty

7.10 Qing dynasty

7.11 Republic of China era (1912-1949)

7.12 Communist era (1949present)

7.13 Economy and environment

7.14 Women and gender

7.15 Scholarly journals

8 Further reading

9 External links

Prehistory
[show]

Prehistoric cultures of China

Paleolithic
See also: List of Paleolithic sites in China
What is now China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than a million years ago.[4] Recent study
shows that the stone tools found at Xiaochangliang site aremagnetostratigraphically dated to 1.36
million years ago.[5] The archaeological site of Xihoudu in Shanxi Province is the earliest recorded
use of fire by Homo erectus, which is dated 1.27 million years ago.[4] The excavations
at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Homo
erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in 192327.

Neolithic
See also: List of Neolithic cultures of China

The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to about 10,000 BC.[6]
Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC.[7] Farming
gave rise to the Jiahu culture (7000 to 5800 BC). At Damaidi in Ningxia, 3,172 cliff carvings dating to
60005000 BC have been discovered, "featuring 8,453 individual characters such as the sun, moon,
stars, gods and scenes of hunting or grazing." These pictographs are reputed to be similar to the
earliest characters confirmed to be written Chinese. [8][9] Excavation of a Peiligang culture site
in Xinzheng county, Henan, found a community that flourished in 5,5004,900 BC, with evidence of
agriculture, constructed buildings, pottery, and burial of the dead. [10] With agriculture came increased
population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, and the potential to support specialist
craftsmen and administrators.[11] In late Neolithic times, the Yellow River valley began to establish
itself as a center of Yangshao culture (5000 BC to 3000 BC), and the first villages were founded; the
most archaeologically significant of these was found at Banpo,Xi'an.[12] Later, Yangshao culture was
superseded by the Longshan culture, which was also centered on the Yellow River from about 3000
BC to 2000 BC.
The early history of China is obscured by the lack of written documents from this period, coupled
with the existence of later accounts that attempted to describe events that had occurred several
centuries previously. In a sense, the problem stems from centuries of introspection on the part of the
Chinese people, which has blurred the distinction between fact and fiction in regards to this early
history.[citation needed]

Ancient China
Xia dynasty (c. 2100 c. 1600 BC)
Main article: Xia dynasty
The Xia dynasty of China (from c. 2100 to c. 1600 BC) is the first dynasty to be described in ancient
historical records such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian andBamboo Annals.[1][2]
Although there is disagreement as to whether the dynasty actually existed, there is some
archaeological evidence pointing to its possible existence. Sima Qian, writing in the late 2nd century
BC, dated the founding of the Xia dynasty to around 2200 BC, but this date has not been
corroborated. Most archaeologists now connect the Xia to excavations atErlitou in
central Henan province,[13] where a bronze smelter from around 2000 BC was unearthed. Early
markings from this period found on pottery and shells are thought to be ancestral to modern Chinese
characters.[14] With few clear records matching the Shang oracle bones or the Zhou bronze vessel
writings, the Xia era remains poorly understood.
According to mythology, the dynasty ended around 1600 BC as a consequence of the Battle of
Mingtiao.

Shang dynasty (c. 16001046 BC)

Oracle bones found dating from the Shang Dynasty

Main article: Shang dynasty

Capital: Yin, near Anyang
Archaeological findings providing evidence for the existence of the Shang dynasty, c. 16001046
BC, are divided into two sets. The first set from the earlier Shang period comes from sources
at Erligang, Zhengzhou, and Shangcheng. The second set from the later Shang or Yin ()
period is at Anyang, in modern-day Henan, which has been confirmed as the last of the
Shang's nine capitals (c. 13001046 BC).[citation needed] The findings at Anyang include the earliest
written record of Chinese past so far discovered: inscriptions of divination records in ancient
Chinese writing on the bones or shells of animals the so-called "oracle bones", dating from
around 1200 BC.[15]

Remnants of advanced, stratifiedsocieties dating back to the Shang found primarily in the Yellow River
Valley

31 Kings reined over the Shang dynasty. During their rein, according to the Records of the
Grand Historian, the capital city was moved six times.[citation needed] The final (and most important)
move was to Yin in 1350 BC which led to the dynasty's golden age.[citation needed] The term Yin
dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although it has lately been
used to specifically refer to the latter half of the Shang dynasty.[citation needed]
Chinese historians living in later periods were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty
succeeding another, but the actual political situation in early China is known to have been much
more complicated. Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang can
possibly refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou is known to
have existed at the same time as the Shang.[citation needed]
Although written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty,[citation
needed]
Western scholars are often hesitant to associate settlements that are contemporaneous with
the Anyang settlement with the Shang dynasty. For example, archaeological findings
at Sanxingdui suggest a technologically advanced civilization culturally unlike Anyang. The
evidence is inconclusive in proving how far the Shang realm extended from Anyang. The leading
hypothesis is that Anyang, ruled by the same Shang in the official history, coexisted and traded
with numerous other culturally diverse settlements in the area that is now referred to as China
proper.[citation needed]

Zhou dynasty (1046256 BC)

Bronze ritual vessel (You), Western Zhou dynasty

Main articles: Zhou dynasty and Iron Age China

Capitals: Xi'an, Luoyang
The Zhou dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, from 1066 BC to
approximately 256 BC. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty began to
emerge in the Yellow River valley, overrunning the territory of the Shang. The Zhou
appeared to have begun their rule under a semi-feudal system. The Zhou lived west of
the Shang, and the Zhou leader had been appointed "Western Protector" by the Shang. The
ruler of the Zhou, King Wu, with the assistance of his brother, the Duke of Zhou, as regent,
managed to defeat the Shang at the Battle of Muye.
The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his
rule, a concept that would be influential for almost every succeeding dynasty. Like Shangdi,
Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China. It was

believed that a ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in
great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for
the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule,
having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhou initially moved their capital west to an area near modern Xi'an, on the Wei River, a
tributary of the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into
the Yangtze River valley. This would be the first of many population migrations from north to
south in Chinese history.

Spring and Autumn period (722476 BC)

Chinese pu vessel with interlaceddragon design, Spring and Autumn period

Main article: Spring and Autumn period

Capitals: Beijing (State of Yan); Xi'an (State of Qin)
In the 8th century BC, power became decentralized during the Spring and Autumn
period, named after the influential Spring and Autumn Annals. In this period, local
military leaders used by the Zhou began to assert their power and vie for hegemony.
The situation was aggravated by the invasion of other peoples from the northwest, such
as the Qin, forcing the Zhou to move their capital east to Luoyang. This marks the
second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou. The Spring and Autumn
period is marked by a falling apart of the central Zhou power. In each of the hundreds of
states that eventually arose, local strongmen held most of the political power and
continued their subservience to the Zhou kings in name only. Some local leaders even
started using royal titles for themselves. China now consisted of hundreds of states,
some of them only as large as a village with a fort.
The Hundred Schools of Thought of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period,
and such influential intellectual movements

asConfucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism were founded, partly in response to the
changing political world.

Warring States period (476221 BC)

Main article: Warring States period
Capitals: several (multiple states)
After further political consolidation, seven prominent states remained by the end of
5th century BC, and the years in which these few states battled each other are
known as the Warring States period. Though there remained a nominal Zhou king
until 256 BC, he was largely a figurehead and held little real power.
As neighboring territories of these warring states, including areas of
modern Sichuan and Liaoning, were annexed, they were governed under the new
local administrative system of commandery and prefecture (/). This system
had been in use since the Spring and Autumn period, and parts can still be seen in
the modern system of Sheng & Xian(province and county, /).
The final expansion in this period began during the reign of Ying Zheng, the king of
Qin. His unification of the other six powers, and further annexations in the modern
regions ofZhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi in 214 BC, enabled him to
proclaim himself the First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang).

Imperial China
Qin dynasty (221206 BC)

Qin Shi Huang

Main article: Qin dynasty

Capital: Xianyang
Historians often refer to the period from Qin dynasty to the end of Qing
dynasty as Imperial China. Though the unified reign of the First Qin
Emperor lasted only 12 years, he managed to subdue great parts of what
constitutes the core of the Han Chinese homeland and to unite them under a
tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang (close to
modern Xi'an). The doctrine of Legalism that guided the Qin emphasized strict
adherence to a legal code and the absolute power of the emperor. This
philosophy, while effective for expanding the empire in a military fashion, proved
unworkable for governing it in peacetime. The Qin Emperor[when defined as?] presided
over the brutal silencing of political opposition, including the event known as
the burning of books and burying of scholars. This would be the impetus behind
the later Han synthesis incorporating the more moderate schools of political
governance.

The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang

Construction of the Great Wall of China, still extant and now a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, started during the Qin dynasty; it was later augmented and
improved during the Ming dynasty. The other major contributions of the Qin
include the concept of a centralized government, the unification of the legal
code, development of the written language, measurement, and currency of
China after the tribulations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States
periods. Even something as basic as the length of axles for cartswhich need
to match ruts in the roadshad to be made uniform to ensure a viable trading
system throughout the empire.

Han dynasty (202 BCAD 220)

Main article: Han dynasty
Further information: History of the Han dynasty
Capitals: Chang'an, Luoyang, Liyang, Xuchang

Western Han

A Han dynasty oil lamp, with sliding shutter, in the shape of a kneeling female
servant (2nd century BC)

The Han dynasty was founded by Liu Bang, who emerged victorious in
the civil war that followed the collapse of the unified but short-livedQin
dynasty. A golden age in Chinese history, the Han dynasty's long period of
stability and prosperity consolidated the foundation of China as a unified
state under a central imperial bureaucracy, which was to last intermittently
for most of the next two millennium. During the Han dynasty, territory of
China was extended to most of the China proper and to areas far
west. Confucianism was officially elevated to orthodox status and was to
shape the subsequent Chinese Civilization. Art, culture and science all
advanced to unprecedented heights. With the profound and lasting impacts
of this period of Chinese history, the dynasty name "Han" had been taken
as the name of the Chinese people, now the dominant ethnic group in
modern China, and had been commonly used to refer to Chinese language
and written characters.
After the initial Laissez-faire policies of Emperors Wen and Jing, the
ambitious Emperor Wu brought the empire to its zenith. To consolidate his
power, Confucianism, which emphasizes stability and order in a wellstructured society, was given exclusive patronage to be the guiding
philosophical thoughts and moral principles of the empire. Imperial
Universities were established to support its study and further development,
while other schools of thoughts were discouraged.
Major military campaigns were launched to weaken the nomadic Xiongnu
Empire, limiting their influence north of the Great Wall. Along with the
diplomatic efforts led by Zhang Qian, the sphere of influence of the Han
Empire extended to the states in the Tarim Basin, opened up the Silk
Road that connected China to the west, stimulating bilateral trade and

cultural exchange. To the south, various small kingdoms far beyond

the Yangtze River Valley were formally incorporated into the empire.
Emperor Wu also dispatched a series of military campaigns against
the Baiyue tribes. The Han annexed Minyue in 135 BC and 111 BC,Nanyue
in 111 BC, and Dian in 109 BC.[16] Migration and military expeditions led to
the cultural assimilation of the south.[17] It also brought the Han into contact
with kingdoms in Southeast Asia, introducing diplomacy and trade. [18]
After Emperor Wu, the empire slipped into gradual stagnation and decline.
Economically, the state treasury was strained by excessive campaigns and
projects, while land acquisitions by elite families gradually drained the tax
base. Various consort clans exerted increasing control over strings of
incompetent emperors and eventually the dynasty was briefly interrupted by
the usurpation of Wang Mang.
Xin dynasty
In AD 9, the usurper Wang Mang claimed that the Mandate of
Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and the rise of his own, and
he founded the short-lived Xin ("New") dynasty. Wang Mang started an
extensive program of land and other economic reforms, including the
outlawing of slavery and land nationalization and redistribution. These
programs, however, were never supported by the landholding families,
because they favored the peasants. The instability of power brought about
chaos, uprisings, and loss of territories. This was compounded by mass
flooding of the Yellow River; silt buildup caused it to split into two channels
and displaced large numbers of farmers. Wang Mang was eventually killed
in Weiyang Palace by an enraged peasant mob in AD 23.
Eastern Han
Emperor Guangwu reinstated the Han dynasty with the support of
landholding and merchant families at Luoyang, east of the former
capital Xi'an. Thus, this new era is termed theEastern Han dynasty. With
the capable administrations of Emperors Ming and Zhang, former glories of
the dynasty was reclaimed, with brilliant military and cultural achievements.
The Xiongnu Empire was decisively defeated. The diplomat and
general Ban Chao further expanded the conquests across the Pamirs to the
shores of theCaspian Sea,[19] thus reopening the Silk Road, and bringing
trade, foreign cultures, along with the arrival of Buddhism. With extensive
connections with the west, the first of several Roman embassies to
China were recorded in Chinese sources, coming from the sea route in AD
166, and a second one in AD 284.
The Eastern Han dynasty was one of the most prolific era of science and
technology in ancient China, notably the historic invention
of papermaking by Cai Lun, and the numerous contributions by
the polymath Zhang Heng.

Three Kingdoms and Western Jin (AD 265316)

Main articles: Cao Wei and Jin dynasty (265420)
Capitals: Luoyang (Cao Wei and Western Jin); Chengdu (Shu Han); Jiankang (Eastern Wu and
Eastern Jin); Chang'an (Western Jin)
By the 2nd century, the empire declined amidst land acquisitions,
invasions, and feuding between consort clans and eunuchs. The Yellow
Turban Rebellion broke out in AD 184, ushering in an era of warlords. In
the ensuing turmoil, three states tried to gain predominance in the
period of the Three Kingdoms. This time period has been greatly
romanticized in works such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
After Cao Cao reunified the north in 208, his son proclaimed
the Wei dynasty in 220. Soon, Wei's rivals Shu and Wu proclaimed their
independence, leading China into the Three Kingdoms period. This
period was characterized by a gradual decentralization of the state that
had existed during the Qin and Han dynasties, and an increase in the
power of great families.
In 280, the Jin dynasty reunified the country, but this union was shortlived.

Sixteen Kingdoms and Eastern Jin (AD 304439)

Main article: Sixteen Kingdoms
Capitals: several (multiple states)
The Jin Dynasty was severely weakened by interceine fighting
among imperial princes and lost control of northern China
after non-Han Chinese settlers rebelled and captured Luoyang and
Changan. In 317, a Jin prince in modern-day Nanjing became
emperor and continued the dynasty, now known as the Eastern Jin,
which held southern China for another century. Prior to this move,
historians refer to the Jin dynasty as the Western Jin.
Northern China fragmented into a series of independent kingdoms,
most of which were founded
by Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di and Qiang rulers. These non-Han
peoples were ancestors of the Turks, Mongols, and Tibetans. Many
had, to some extent, been "sinicized" long before their ascent to
power. In fact, some of them, notably the Qiang and the Xiongnu,
had already been allowed to live in the frontier regions within the
Great Wall since late Han times. During the period of the Sixteen
Kingdoms, warfare ravaged the north and prompted large-scale
Han Chinese migration south to the Yangtze Basin and Delta.

A limestone statue of theBodhisattva, from the Northern Qi dynasty, AD

570, made in what is now modern Henanprovince.

Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420589)

Main article: Southern and Northern Dynasties
Capitals: Ye, Chang'an (Northern Dynasties); Jiankang (Southern Dynasties)
In the early 5th century, China entered a period known as
the Southern and Northern Dynasties, in which parallel regimes
ruled the northern and southern halves of the country. In the
south, the Eastern Jin gave way to the Liu Song, Southern
Qi, Liang and finally Chen. Each of these Southen Dynasties
were led by Han Chinese ruling families and
used Jiankang (modern Nanjing) as the capital. They held off
attacks from the north and preserved many aspects of Chinese
civilization, while northern barbarian regimes began to sinify.
In the north, the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms was extinguished
in 439 by the Northern Wei, a kingdom founded by the Xianbei,
a nomadic people who unified northern China. The Northern

Wei eventually split into the Eastern and Western Wei, which
then became the Northern Qi andNorthern Zhou. These
regimes were dominated by Xianbei or Han Chinese who had
married into Xianbei families.
Despite the division of the country, Buddhism spread
throughout the land. In southern China, fierce debates about
whether Buddhism should be allowed were held frequently by
the royal court and nobles. Finally, towards the end of the
Southern and Northern Dynasties era, Buddhists
andTaoists reached a compromise and became more tolerant
of each other.
In 589, the Sui dynasty united China once again, ending a
prolonged period of division in Chinese history. In the nearly
four centuries between the Han and Sui dynasties, the country
was united for only 24 years during the Western Jin.

Sui dynasty (AD 589618)

Main article: Sui dynasty
Capital: Daxing (official); Dongdu (secondary)
The Sui dynasty, which lasted 29 years, played a role more
important than its length of existence would suggest. The
Sui brought China together again and set up many
institutions that were to be adopted by their successors,
the Tang. These included the government system of Three
Departments and Six Ministries, standard coinage,
improved defense and expansion of the Great Wall, and
official support for Buddhism. Like the Qin, however, the
Sui overused their resources and collapsed.

Tang dynasty (AD 618907)

A Chinese Tang dynasty tricoloredglaze porcelain horse (c. AD

700)

Main article: Tang dynasty

Capitals: Chang'an, Luoyang

The Tang dynasty was founded by Emperor Gaozu on
18 June 618. It was a golden age of Chinese
civilization with significant developments in art,
literature, particularly poetry, and technology.
Buddhism became the predominant religion for
common people.Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the national
capital, was the largest city in the world of its time.
The second emperor, Taizong, started military
campaigns to eliminate threats from nomadic tribes,
extend the border, and submit neighboring states into a
tributary system. Military victories in the Tarim
Basin kept the Silk Road open, connecting Chang'an to
Central Asia and areas far to the west. In the south,
lucrative maritime trade routes began from port cities
such as Guangzhou. There was extensive trade with
distant foreign countries, and many foreign merchants
settled in China, encouraging a cosmopolitan culture.
The Tang culture and social systems were observed
and imitated by neighboring countries such as Japan.
Internally the Grand Canal linked the political heartland
in Chang'an to the economic and agricultural centers in
the eastern and southern parts of the empire.
Underlying the prosperity of the early Tang dynasty
was a strong centralized bureaucracy with efficient
policies. The government was organized as "Three
Departments and Six Ministries" to separately draft,
review, and implement policies. These departments
were run by royal family members as well as scholar
officials who were selected by imperial examinations.
These practices, which matured in the Tang dynasty,
were continued by the later dynasties, with some
modifications.
Under the Tang "equal-field system" all land was
owned by the Emperor and granted to people
according to household size. Men granted land were
conscripted for military service for a fixed period each
year, a military policy known as the "Fubing system".
These policies stimulated a rapid growth in productivity
and a significant army without much burden on the
state treasury. By the dynasty's midpoint,
however, standing armies had replaced conscription,
and land was continuously falling into the hands of
private owners.

The dynasty continued to flourish under Empress Wu

Zetian, the only empress regnant in Chinese history,
and reached its zenith during the reign of Emperor
Xuanzong, who oversaw an empire that stretched from
the Pacific to the Aral Sea with at least 50 million
people.
At the zenith of prosperity of the empire, the An
Lushan Rebellion from 755 to 763 was a watershed
event that devastated the population and drastically
weakened the central imperial government. Regional
military governors, known as Jiedushi, gained
increasingly autonomous status while formerly
submissive states raided the empire. Nevertheless,
after the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang civil society
recovered and thrived amidst the weakened imperial
bureaucracy.
From about 860, the Tang dynasty declined due to a
series of rebellions within China itself and in the former
subject Kingdom of Nanzhao to the south. One
warlord, Huang Chao, captured Guangzhou in 879,
killing most of the 200,000 inhabitants, including most
of the large colony of foreign merchant families there. [20]
[21]
In late 880, Luoyangsurrendered to Huang Chao,
and on 5 January 881 he conquered Chang'an. The
emperor Xizong fled to Chengdu, and Huang
established a new temporary regime which was
eventually destroyed by Tang forces. Another time of
political chaos followed.

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907

960)
Main article: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
Capitals: various
The period of political disunity between the Tang
and the Song, known as the Five Dynasties and
Ten Kingdoms period, lasted from 907 to 960.
During this half-century, when China was in all
respects a multi-state system, five regimes rapidly
succeeded one another in control of the old
Imperial heartland in northern China. During this
same time, sections of southern and western
China were occupied by ten, more stable, regimes
so the period is also referred to as the Ten
Kingdoms.

Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia

dynasties (AD 9601234)

Homeward Oxherds in Wind and Rain by Li Di (12th

century)

Main articles: Song dynasty, Liao

dynasty, Western Xia and Jin dynasty (11151234)
Further information: History of the Song dynasty
Capitals: Kaifeng and Lin'an (Song dynasty); Shangjing, Nanjing, Tokmok (Liao
dynasty); Shangjing, Zhongdu, Kaifeng (Jin dynasty);Yinchuan (Western Xia dynasty)
In 960, the Song dynasty gained power over
most of China and established its capital
in Kaifeng (later known as Bianjing), starting a
period of economic prosperity, while
the Khitan Liao dynasty ruled over Manchuria,
present-day Mongolia, and parts of Northern
China. In 1115, the Jurchen Jin
dynasty emerged to prominence, annihilating
the Liao dynasty in 10 years. Meanwhile, in
what are now the northwestern Chinese
provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia,
a Western Xia dynasty emerged from 1032 to
1227, established byTangut tribes.
The Jin dynasty took power and conquered
northern China in the JinSong Wars,
capturing Kaifeng from the Song dynasty,
which moved its capital to Hangzhou ().
The Southern Song dynasty had to
acknowledge the Jin dynasty as formal
overlords. In the ensuing years, China was

divided between the Song dynasty, the Jin

dynasty and the Tangut Western Xia. Southern
Song experienced a period of great
technological development which can be
explained in part by the military pressure that it
felt from the north. This included the use
ofgunpowder weapons, which played a large
role in the Song dynasty naval victories
against the Jin in the Battle of
Tangdao and Battle of Caishi on the Yangtze
River in 1161. China's first permanent standing
navy was assembled and provided
an admiral's office at Dinghai in 1132, under
the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song.
The Song dynasty is considered by many to be
classical China's high point in science and
technology, with innovative scholar-officials
such as Su Song (10201101) and Shen
Kuo (10311095). There was court intrigue
between the political rivals of the Reformers
and Conservatives, led by the
chancellors Wang Anshi and Sima Guang,
respectively. By the mid-to-late 13th century,
the Chinese had adopted the dogma of NeoConfucian philosophy formulated by Zhu Xi.
Enormous literary works were compiled during
the Song dynasty, such as the historical work
of the Zizhi Tongjian ("Comprehensive Mirror
to Aid in Government"). Culture and the arts
flourished, with grandiose artworks such
as Along the River During the Qingming
Festival and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad
Flute, along with great Buddhist painters such
as the prolific Lin Tinggui.

Yuan dynasty (AD 12711368)

Main article: Yuan dynasty

Yang Guifei Mounting a Horse byQian Xuan (1235

1305 AD)

Capitals: Xanadu, Dadu

The Jurchen-founded Jin
dynasty was defeated by the Mongols,
who then proceeded to defeat the
Southern Song in a long and bloody war,
the first war in which firearms played an
important role. During the era after the
war, later called the Pax Mongolica,
adventurous Westerners such as Marco
Polo travelled all the way to China and
brought the first reports of its wonders to
Europe. In the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols
were divided between those who wanted
to remain based in the steppes and those
who wished to adopt the customs of the
Chinese.
Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan,
wanting to adopt the customs of China,
established the Yuan dynasty. This was
the first dynasty to rule the whole of China
from Beijing as the capital. Beijing had
been ceded to Liao in AD 938 with
the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun. Before
that, it had been the capital of the Jin, who
did not rule all of China.
Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese
dynasties reported approximately 120
million inhabitants; after the conquest had
been completed in 1279, the 1300 census
reported roughly 60 million people.[22] This
major decline is not necessarily due only
to Mongol killings. Scholars such as
Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide
drop in numbers reflects an administrative
failure to record rather than an actual
decrease; others such as Timothy
Brook argue that the Mongols created a
system of enserfment among a huge
portion of the Chinese populace, causing
many to disappear from the census
altogether; other historians including
William McNeill and David Morgan
consider that plague was the main factor
behind the demographic decline during
this period.

In the 14th century China suffered

additional depredations from epidemics of
plague, estimated to have killed 25 million
people, 30% of the population of China.[23]

Ming dynasty (AD 13681644)

Court Ladies of the Former Shu by Tang

Yin (14701523)

Main article: Ming dynasty

Further information: History of the Ming
dynasty
Capitals: Nanjing, Beijing, Fuzhou, Zhaoqing

Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming

dynasty

Throughout the Yuan dynasty, which

lasted less than a century, there was
relatively strong sentiment among the
populace against Mongol rule. The
frequent natural disasters since the
1340s finally led to peasant revolts.
The Yuan dynasty was eventually
overthrown by the Ming dynasty in
1368.
Urbanization increased as the
population grew and as the division of
labor grew more complex. Large
urban centers, such as Nanjing and
Beijing, also contributed to the growth
of private industry. In particular, smallscale industries grew up, often
specializing in paper, silk, cotton, and
porcelain goods. For the most part,
however, relatively small urban
centers with markets proliferated
around the country. Town markets
mainly traded food, with some
necessary manufactures such as pins
or oil.
Despite the xenophobia and
intellectual introspection characteristic
of the increasingly popular new school
of neo-Confucianism, China under the
early Ming dynasty was not isolated.
Foreign trade and other contacts with
the outside world, particularly Japan,
increased considerably. Chinese
merchants explored all of the Indian
Ocean, reaching East Africa with
the voyages of Zheng He.
The Hong-wu Emperor Zhu
Yuanzhang, the founder of the
dynasty, laid the foundations for a
state interested less in commerce and
more in extracting revenues from the
agricultural sector. Perhaps because
of the Emperor's background as a
peasant, the Ming economic system
emphasized agriculture, unlike that of
the Song and the Mongolian
dynasties, which relied on traders and

merchants for revenue. Neo-feudal

landholdings of the Song and Mongol
periods were expropriated by the Ming
rulers. Land estates were confiscated
by the government, fragmented, and
rented out. Private slavery was
forbidden. Consequently, after the
death of Emperor Yong-le,
independent peasant landholders
predominated in Chinese agriculture.
These laws might have paved the way
to removing the worst of the poverty
during the previous regimes.

Ming China under the reign of theYongle

Emperor

The dynasty had a strong and

complex central government that
unified and controlled the empire. The
emperor's role became more
autocratic, although Zhu Yuanzhang
necessarily continued to use what he
called the "Grand Secretaries" ()
to assist with the immense paperwork
of the bureaucracy,
including memorials (petitions and
recommendations to the throne),
imperial edicts in reply, reports of
various kinds, and tax records. It was
this same bureaucracy that later

prevented the Ming government from

being able to adapt to changes in
society, and eventually led to its
decline.
The Yong-le Emperor strenuously tried
to extend China's influence beyond its
borders by demanding other rulers
send ambassadors to China to
present tribute. A large navy was built,
including four-masted ships displacing
1,500 tons. A standing army of 1
million troops (some estimate as many
as 1.9 million[who?]) was created. The
Chinese armies conquered
Vietnam for around 20 years, while
the Chinese fleet sailed the China
seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising
as far as the east coast of Africa. The
Chinese gained influence in
easternMoghulistan. Several maritime
Asian nations sent envoys with tribute
for the Chinese emperor.
Domestically, the Grand Canal was
expanded and became a stimulus to
domestic trade. Over 100,000 tons of
iron per year were produced. Many
books were printed using movable
type. The imperial palace in
Beijing's Forbidden City reached its
current splendor. It was also during
these centuries that the potential of
south China came to be fully
exploited. New crops were widely
cultivated and industries such as
those producing porcelain and textiles
flourished.
In 1449 Esen Tayisi led
an Oirat Mongol invasion of northern
China which culminated in the capture
of the Zhengtong Emperor at Tumu.
In 1521, Ming dynasty naval
forces fought and repulsed
Portuguese ships at Tuen Mun and
again fought off the Portuguese in
1522.

In 1542 the Mongol leader, Altan

Khan, began to harass China along
the northern border, reaching the
outskirts of Beijing in 1550. The
empire also had to deal with Japanese
pirates attacking the southeastern
coastline;[24] General Qi Jiguang was
instrumental in their defeat. In 1556,
during the rule of the Ming Jiajing
Emperor, the Shaanxi
earthquakekilled about 830,000
people, the deadliest earthquake of all
time.
During the Ming dynasty the last
construction on the Great Wall was
undertaken to protect China from
foreign invasions. Most of what
remains of the Wall in modern times
was either built or repaired by the
Ming. The brick and granite work was
enlarged, the watch towers were
redesigned, and cannons were placed
along its length.
China defeated the Dutch in the Sino
Dutch conflicts in 16221624 over
the Penghu islands and again
defeated the Dutch at the Battle of
Liaoluo Bay in 1633. The Ming
loyalistKoxinga defeated the Dutch in
the Siege of Fort Zeelandia in Taiwan
in 1662.

Qing dynasty (AD 16441911)

The reception of the Diplomatique

(Macartney) and his suite, at the Court of

Pekin, drawn and engraved byJames

Gillray (published September 1792).

Territory of Qing China in 1892

Main article: Qing dynasty

Capitals: Shenyang, Beijing
The Qing dynasty (16441911)
was the last imperial dynasty in
China. Founded by the Manchus,
it was the second non-Han
Chinese dynasty to rule all over
Chinese territory. The Manchus
were formerly known as Jurchen,
residing in the northeastern part of
the Ming territory outside the
Great Wall. They emerged as the
major threat to the late Ming
dynasty after Nurhaci united all
Jurchen tribes and established an
independent state. However,
the Ming dynasty would be
overthrown by Li Zicheng's
peasants rebellion, with Beijing
captured in 1644 and the last
Ming
EmperorChongzhen committing
suicide. The Manchu allied with
the Ming dynasty general Wu
Sangui to seize Beijing, which was
made the capital of the Qing
dynasty, and then proceeded to
subdue the remaining Ming's

resistance in the south. The

decades of Manchu conquest
caused enormous loss of
lives and the economic scale of
China shrank drastically. In total,
the Manchu conquest of
China (16181683) cost as many
as 25 million lives.[25] Nevertheless,
the Manchus adopted the
Confucian norms of traditional
Chinese government in their rule
and were considered a Chinese
dynasty.
The Manchus enforced a 'queue
order,' forcing the Han Chinese to
adopt the Manchu queue
hairstyle. Officials were required
to wear Manchu-style
clothing Changshan(bannermen d
ress and Tangzhuang), but
ordinary Han civilians were
allowed to wear traditional Han
clothing, or Hanfu. Most Han then
voluntarily shifted to wearing
Qipao anyway. The Kangxi
Emperor ordered the creation of
the Kangxi Dictionary, the most
complete dictionary of Chinese
characters that had been
compiled. The Qing dynasty set
up the "Eight Banners" system
that provided the basic framework
for the Qing military organization.
Bannermen could not undertake
trade or manual labor; they had to
petition to be removed from
banner status. They were
considered a form of nobility and
were given preferential treatment
in terms of annual pensions, land,
and allotments of cloth.

Late-1890s French political cartoon

showing China divided among Britain,
Germany, Russia, France and Japan

Over the next half-century, all

areas previously under the Ming
dynasty were consolidated under
the Qing. Xinjiang, Tibet,
and Mongoliawere also formally
incorporated into Chinese territory.
Between 1673 and 1681, the
Emperor Kangxi suppressed
the Revolt of the Three
Feudatories, an uprising of three
generals in Southern China who
had been denied hereditary rule of
large fiefdoms granted by the
previous emperor. In 1683, the
Qing staged an amphibious
assault on southern Taiwan,
bringing down the rebel Kingdom
of Tungning, which was founded
by the Ming loyalist Koxinga in
1662 after the fall of the Southern
Ming, and had served as a base
for continued Ming resistance in
Southern China. The
Qing defeated the Russians at
Albazin, resulting in the Treaty of
Nerchinsk.

By the end of Qianlong Emperor's

long reign, the Qing Empire was
at its zenith. China ruled more
than one-third of the world's
population, and had the largest
economy in the world. By area it
was one of the largest empires
ever.
In the 19th century the empire
was internally stagnant and
externally threatened by western
powers. The defeat by the British
Empire in the First Opium
War (1840) led to the Treaty of
Nanking (1842), under
which Hong Kong was ceded to
Britain and importation
of opium(produced by British
Empire territories) was allowed.
Subsequent military defeats
and unequal treaties with other
western powers continued even
after the fall of the Qing dynasty.
Internally the Taiping
Rebellion (18511864), a quasiChristian religious movement led
by the "Heavenly King" Hong
Xiuquan, raided roughly a third of
Chinese territory for over a
decade until they were finally
crushed in the Third Battle of
Nanking in 1864. This was one of
the largest wars in the 19th
century in terms of troop
involvement; there was massive
loss of life, with a death toll of
about 20 million.[26] A string of civil
disturbances followed, including
the PuntiHakka Clan Wars, Nian
Rebellion, Dungan Revolt,
and Panthay Rebellion.[27] All
rebellions were ultimately put
down, but at enormous cost and
with many casualties, seriously
weakening the central imperial
authority. The Banner system that
the Manchus had relied upon for

so long failed: Banner forces were

unable to suppress the rebels,
and the government called upon
local officials in the provinces,
who raised "New Armies", which
successfully crushed the
challenges to Qing authority.
China never rebuilt a strong
central army, and many local
officials became warlords who
used military power to effectively
rule independently in their
provinces.[28]

The Empress Dowager Cixi

In response to calamities within

the empire and threats from
imperialism, the SelfStrengthening Movement was an
institutional reform in the second
half of the 1800s. The aim was to
modernize the empire, with prime
emphasis on strengthening the
military. However, the reform was
undermined by corrupt officials,
cynicism, and quarrels within the
imperial family. As a result, the
"Beiyang Fleet" were soundly
defeated in theFirst SinoJapanese War (1894
1895). Guangxu Emperor and the
reformists then launched a more
comprehensive reform effort,

the Hundred Days' Reform (1898),

but it was soon overturned by the
conservatives under Empress
Dowager Cixi in a military coup.
At the turn of the 20th century, the
violent Boxer Rebellion opposed
foreign influence in Northern
China, and attacked Chinese
Christians and missionaries.
When Boxers entered Beijing, the
Imperial Court ordered all
foreigners to leave. But instead
the foreigners and many Chinese
werebesieged in the foreign
legations quarter. The EightNation Alliance sent the Seymour
Expedition of Japanese, Russian,
Italian, German, French,
American, and Austrian troops to
relieve the siege. The Expedition
was stopped by the Boxers at
the Battle of Langfang and forced
to retreat. Due to the Alliance's
attack on the Dagu Forts, the
Imperial Court in response sided
with the Boxers and declared war
on the Alliance. There was fierce
fighting at Tientsin. The Alliance
formed the second, much
larger Gaselee
Expedition and finally reached
Beijing; the Imperial Court
evacuated toXi'an. The Boxer
Protocol ended the war.

Republican China
Republic of China (1912
1949)
Main articles: History of the
Republic of China and Republic of
China (19121949)
Capitals: Nanjing, Beijing, Chongqing, several short-lived wartime capitals, Taipei (after 1949)

Sun Yat-sen, founder and first

president of the Republic of
China

Frustrated by the Qing court's

resistance to reform and by
China's weakness, young
officials, military officers, and
students began to advocate
the overthrow of the Qing
dynasty and the creation of a
republic. They were inspired
by the revolutionary ideas
of Sun Yat-sen. A
revolutionary military uprising,
the Wuchang Uprising, began
on 10 October 1911,
in Wuhan. The provisional
government of the Republic of
China was formed
in Nanjing on 12 March 1912.
The Xinhai Revolution ended
2,000 years of dynastic rule in
China.
After the success of the
overthrow of the Qing
Dynasty, Sun Yat-sen was
declared President, but Sun
was forced to turn power over
to Yuan Shikai, who
commanded the New
Army and was Prime Minister
under the Qing government,
as part of the agreement to let

the last Qing

monarchabdicate (a decision
Sun would later regret). Over
the next few years, Yuan
proceeded to abolish the
national and provincial
assemblies, and declared
himself emperor in late 1915.
Yuan's imperial ambitions
were fiercely opposed by his
subordinates; faced with the
prospect of rebellion, he
abdicated in March 1916, and
died in June of that year.
Yuan's death in 1916 left a
power vacuum in China; the
republican government was
all but shattered. This ushered
in the Warlord Era, during
which much of the country
was ruled by shifting
coalitions of competing
provincial military leaders.
In 1919, the May Fourth
Movement began as a
response to the terms
imposed on China by
the Treaty of Versailles ending
World War I, but quickly
became a nationwide protest
movement about the domestic
situation in China. The
protests were a moral
success as the cabinet fell
and China refused to sign the
Treaty of Versailles, which
had awarded German
holdings to Japan. The New
Culture Movement stimulated
by the May Fourth Movement
waxed strong throughout the
1920s and 1930s. According
to Ebrey:
"Nationalism, patriotism, progress, science, democracy, and freedom were the goals;
imperialism, feudalism, warlordism, autocracy, patriarchy, and blind adherence to tradition

where the enemies. Intellectuals struggled with how to be strong and modern and yet
Chinese, how to preserve China as a political entity in the world of competing nations." [29]

The flag of the Republic of China from 1928 to now.

The discrediting of liberal

Western philosophy
amongst leftist Chinese
intellectuals led to more
radical lines of thought
inspired by the Russian
Revolution, and
supported by agents of
the Comintern sent to
China by Moscow. This
created the seeds for the
irreconcilable conflict
between the left and right
in China that would
dominate Chinese history
for the rest of the century.
In the 1920s, Sun Yat-sen
established a
revolutionary base in
south China, and set out
to unite the fragmented
nation. With assistance
from the Soviet
Union (themselves fresh
from a socialist uprising),
he entered into an
alliance with the
fledgling Communist
Party of China. After
Sun's death from cancer
in 1925, one of his
protgs, Chiang Kaishek, seized control of
the Kuomintang (Nationali
st Party or KMT) and

succeeded in bringing
most of south and central
China under its rule in a
military campaign known
as the Northern
Expedition (19261927).
Having defeated the
warlords in south and
central China by military
force, Chiang was able to
secure the nominal
allegiance of the warlords
in the North. In 1927,
Chiang turned on the
CPC and relentlessly
chased the CPC armies
and its leaders from their
bases in southern and
eastern China. In 1934,
driven from their mountain
bases such as
the Chinese Soviet
Republic, the CPC forces
embarked on the 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 (Mao
Tse-tung).

Chinese civilians buried alive

during the 1937 Nanking
Massacre

The bitter struggle

between the KMT and the
CPC continued, openly or
clandestinely, through the
14-year-long Japanese
occupation of various
parts of the country
(19311945). The two
Chinese parties nominally
formed a united front to
oppose the Japanese in
1937, during the SinoJapanese War (1937
1945), which became a
part of World War II.
Japanese forces
committed numerous war
atrocities against the
civilian population,
including biological
warfare (see Unit 731)
and the Three Alls
Policy (Sank Sakusen),
the three alls being: "Kill
All, Burn All and Loot All".
[30]

Following the defeat of

Japan in 1945, the war
between the Nationalist
government forces and
the CPC resumed, after
failed attempts at
reconciliation and a
negotiated settlement. By
1949, the CPC had
established control over
most of the
country (see Chinese
Civil War). Westad says
the Communists won the
Civil War because they
made fewer military
mistakes than Chiang,

and because in his search

for a powerful centralized
government, Chiang
antagonized too many
interest groups in China.
Furthermore, his party
was weakened in the war
against Japanese.
Meanwhile the
Communists told different
groups, such as
peasants, exactly what
they wanted to hear, and
cloaked themselves in the
cover of Chinese
Nationalism.[31] During the
civil war both the
Nationalist and
Communists carried out
mass atrocities with
millions of noncombatants killed by both
sides during the civil war.
[32]
Atrocities include
deaths from forced
conscription and
massacres.[33]When the
Nationalist government
forces was defeated by
CPC forces in mainland
China in 1949, the
Nationalist government
retreated to Taiwan with
its forces, along with
Chiang and most of the
KMT leadership and a
large number of their
supporters; the Nationalist
government had taken
effective control of Taiwan
at the end of WWII as part
of the overall Japanese
surrender, when
Japanese troops in
Taiwan surrendered to
Republic of China troops.
[34]

People's Republic of
China (since 1949)
Main article: History of
the People's Republic of
China
Major combat in
the Chinese Civil
War ended in 1949
with Kuomintang (KMT)
pulling out of the
mainland, with the
government relocating
to Taipei and maintaining
control only over a few
islands. The Communist
Party of China was left in
control of mainland China.
On 1 October 1949, Mao
Zedong proclaimed the
People's Republic of
China.[35]"Communist
China" and "Red China"
were two common names
for the PRC.[36]

Chairman Mao
Zedong proclaiming the
establishment of
the People's Republic of
China in 1949.

The PRC was shaped by

a series of
campaigns and five-year
plans. The economic and
social plan known as

the Great Leap

Forwardcaused an
estimated 45 million
deaths.[37] Mao's
government carried out
mass executions of
landowners,
instituted collectivisation a
nd implemented
the Laogai camp system.
Execution, deaths from
forced labor and other
atrocities resulted in
millions of deaths under
Mao. In 1966 Mao and his
allies launched
the Cultural Revolution,
which continued until
Mao's death a decade
later. The Cultural
Revolution, motivated by
power struggles within the
Party and a fear of
the Soviet Union, led to a
major upheaval in
Chinese society.
In 1972, at the peak of
the Sino-Soviet split, Mao
and Zhou Enlai met US
president Richard
Nixon in Beijing to
establish relations with
the United States. In the
same year, the PRC was
admitted to the United
Nations in place of the
Republic of China, with
permanent membership
of the Security Council.
A power struggle followed
Mao's death in 1976.
The Gang of Four were
arrested and blamed for
the excesses of the
Cultural Revolution,
marking the end of a
turbulent political era in

China. Deng
Xiaoping outmaneuvered
Mao's anointed successor
chairman Hua Guofeng,
and gradually emerged as
the de facto leader over
the next few years.
Deng Xiaoping was
the Paramount Leader of
China from 1978 to 1992,
although he never
became the head of the
party or state, and his
influence within the Party
led the country
to significant economic
reforms. The Communist
Party subsequently
loosened governmental
control over citizens'
personal lives and
the communes were
disbanded with many
peasants receiving
multiple land leases,
which greatly increased
incentives and agricultural
production. This turn of
events marked China's
transition from a planned
economy to a mixed
economy with an
increasingly open market
environment, a system
termed by some[38] as
"market socialism", and
officially by the
Communist Party of
China as "Socialism with
Chinese characteristics".
The PRC adopted its
current constitution on 4
December 1982.
In 1989 the death of
former general
secretary Hu
Yaobang helped to spark

the Tiananmen Square

protests of 1989, during
which students and others
campaigned for several
months, speaking out
against corruption and in
favour of greater political
reform, including
democratic rights and
freedom of speech.
However, they were
eventually put down on 4
June when PLA troops
and vehicles entered and
forcibly cleared the
square, with many
fatalities. This event was
widely reported, and
brought worldwide
condemnation and
sanctions against the
government.[39][40] A filmed
incident involving the
"tank man" was seen
worldwide.
CPC general secretary
and PRC President Jiang
Zemin and PRC
Premier Zhu Rongji, both
former mayors of
Shanghai, led postTiananmen PRC in the
1990s. Under Jiang and
Zhu's ten years of
administration, the PRC's
economic performance
pulled an estimated
150 million peasants out
of poverty and sustained
an average annual gross
domestic product growth
rate of 11.2%.[41][42] The
country formally joined
the World Trade
Organization in 2001.
Although the PRC needs
economic growth to spur

its development, the

government began to
worry that rapid economic
growth was degrading the
country's resources and
environment. Another
concern is that certain
sectors of society are not
sufficiently benefiting from
the PRC's economic
development; one
example of this is the
wide gap between urban
and rural areas. As a
result, under former CPC
general secretary and
President Hu Jintao and
Premier Wen Jiabao, the
PRC initiated policies to
address issues of
equitable distribution of
resources, but the
outcome was not known
as of 2014.[43] More than
40 million farmers were
displaced from their land,
[44]
usually for economic
development, contributing
to 87,000 demonstrations
and riots across China in
2005.[45] For much of the
PRC's population, living
standards improved very
substantially and freedom
increased, but political
controls remained tight
and rural areas poor.[46]

See also

History of Imperia
China portal

Chinese armour

Chinese exploration

Chinese
historiography

Chinese sovereign

Economic history of
China

Ethnic groups in
Chinese history

Foreign relations of
Imperial China

Four occupations

History of Hong Kong

History of Islam in
China

History of Macau

History of science
and technology in
China

History of the Great

Wall of China

List of Chinese
monarchs

List of Neolithic
cultures of China

List of rebellions in
China

List of recipients of
tribute from China

List of tributaries of
Imperial China

Military history of
China (pre-1911)

Naval history of China

Religion in China

Timeline of Chinese
history

Notes
1.

^ Jump up
to:a b c "Public
Summary Request
Of The People's
Republic Of China
To The Government
Of The United
States Of America
Under Article 9 Of
The 1970 Unesco
Convention".
Bureau of
Educational and
Cultural Affairs,
U.S. State
Department.
Archived from the
original on 15
December 2007.
Retrieved 12
January 2008.[dead link]

2.

^ Jump up
to:a b "The Ancient
Dynasties".
University of
Maryland.
Retrieved 12
January 2008.

3.

Jump up^ "China

country profile".
BBC News. 18
October 2010.
Retrieved 7
November 2010.

4.

^ Jump up
to:a b Rixiang Zhu,
Zhisheng An,
Richard Pott,
Kenneth A.
Hoffman (June
2003)."Magnetostra
tigraphic dating of
early humans of in

China" (PDF). Earth

Science
Reviews61 (34):
191361.
5.

Jump up^ "Earliest

Presence of
Humans in
Northeast
Asia". Smithsonian
Institution. Archived
from the original on
13 August 2007.
Retrieved 4
August 2007.

6.

Jump
up^ "Neolithic
Period in
China". Timeline of
Art
History. Metropolita
n Museum of Art.
October 2004.
Retrieved 10
February 2008.

7.

Jump up^ "Rice

and Early
Agriculture in
China". Legacy of
Human
Civilizations. Mesa
Community
College.
Retrieved 10
February 2008.

8.

Jump
up^ "Chinese
writing '8,000 years
old'". BBC News.
18 May 2007.
Retrieved 4
May 2010.

9.

Jump
up^ "Carvings may
rewrite history of
Chinese
characters". Xinhua
online. 18 May
2007. Retrieved 19
May 2007.

10. Jump
up^ "Peiligang

Site". Ministry of
Culture of the
People's Republic
of China. 2003.
Retrieved10
February 2008.
11. Jump up^ Pringle,
Heather
(1998). "The Slow
Birth of
Agriculture". Scienc
e 282: 1446.
12. Jump up^ Wertz,
Richard R.
(2007). "Neolithic
and Bronze Age
Cultures". Explorin
g Chinese
History. ibiblio.
Retrieved 10
February 2008.
13. Jump up^ Bronze
Age
China at National
Gallery of Art
14. Jump up^ Scripts
found on Erlitou
pottery (written
in Simplified
Chinese)
15. Jump up^ Boltz,
William (1999).
"Language and
Writing". In Loewe,
Michael;
Shaughnessy,
Edward L. The
Cambridge History
of Ancient China.
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University Press.
pp. 74123. ISBN 9
78-0-521-47030-8.
16. Jump up^ Yu,
Yingshi (1986).
Denis Twitchett;
Michael Loewe,
eds. Cambridge
History of China:
Volume I: the Ch'in

and Han Empires,

221 B.C. A.D.
220. University of
Cambridge Press.
pp. 455458. ISBN
978-0-5212-4327-8.
17. Jump up^ Xu,
Pingfang
(2005). The
Formation of
Chinese
Civilization: An
Archaeological
Perspective. Yale
University Press.
p. 281. ISBN 9780-300-09382-7.
18. Jump up^ Gernet,
Jacques (1996). A
History of Chinese
Civilization.
Cambridge
University Press.
pp. 126127. ISBN
978-0-521-49781-7.
19. Jump up^ Ban
Chao, Britannica
Online
Encyclopedia
20. Jump up^ Gabriel
Ferrand, ed.
(1922). Voyage du
marchand arabe
Sulaymn en Inde
et en Chine, rdig
en 851, suivi de
remarques par Ab
Zayd Hasan (vers
916). p. 76.
21. Jump up^ "Kaifung
Jews". University of
Cumbria, Division
of Religion and
Philosophy.
22. Jump up^ Ho,
Ping-ti (1970). "An
Estimate of the
Total Population of
Sung-Chin
China". tudes
Song. 1 (1): 3353.

23. Jump
up^ "Course:
Plague". Archived
from the original on
18 November 2007.
[dead link]

24. Jump up^ "China

> History > The
Ming dynasty >
Political history >
The dynastic
succession",Encycl
opdia Britannica
Online, 2007
25. Jump up^ John M.
Roberts (1997). A
Short History of the
World. Oxford
University Press. p.
272.ISBN 0-19511504-X.
26. Jump up^ White,
Matthew. "Statistics
of Wars,
Oppressions and
Atrocities of the
Nineteenth
Century".
Retrieved 11
April 2007.
27. Jump up^ Harper,
Damsan; Fallon,
Steve; Gaskell,
Katja; Grundvig,
Julie; Heller,
Carolyn; Huhti,
Thomas; Maynew,
Bradley; Pitts,
Christopher
(2005). Lonely
Planet China (9
ed.). ISBN 174059-687-0.
28. Jump up^ Philip
Kuhn, Rebellion
and its Enemies in
Late Imperial
China: Militarization
and Social
Structure, 17961864 (1970) ch 6

29. Jump up^ Patricia

Buckley
Ebrey, Cambridge
Illustrated History
of China (1996) p
271
30. Jump
up^ Fairbank, J. K.;
Goldman, M.
(2006). China: A
New History (2nd
ed.). Harvard
University Press.
p. 320. ISBN 97806
74018280.
31. Jump up^ Odd
Arne
Westad, Restless
Empire: China and
the World Since
1750 (2012) p 291
32. Jump
up^ Rummel,
Rudolph (1994),
Death by
Government.
33. Jump
up^ Valentino,
Benjamin A. Final
solutions: mass
killing and genocide
in the twentieth
century Cornell
University Press.
December 8, 2005.
p88
34. Jump
up^ Surrender
Order of the
Imperial General
Headquarters of
Japan, 2
September 1945,
"(a) The senior
Japanese
commanders and
all ground, sea, air,
and auxiliary forces
within China
(excluding
Manchuria), Formo
sa, and French

Indochina north of
16 degrees north
latitude shall
surrender to
Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek."
35. Jump up^ The
Chinese people
have stood up.
UCLA Center for
East Asian Studies.
Retrieved 16 April
2006.[dead link]
36. Jump up^ Smith,
Joseph; and Davis,
Simon. [2005]
(2005). The A to Z
of the Cold War.
Issue 28
of Historical
dictionaries of war,
revolution, and civil
unrest. Volume 8
of A to Z guides.
Scarecrow Press
publisher. ISBN 08108-5384-1, ISBN
978-0-8108-5384-3.
37. Jump up^ Akbar,
Arifa (17
September
2010). "Mao's
Great Leap
Forward 'killed 45
million in four
years'". London:
The Independent.
Retrieved 30
October 2010.
38. Jump up^ HartLandsberg, Martin;
Burkett, Paul
(March
2010). "China and
Socialism: Market
Reforms and Class
Struggle". Monthly
Review
Press. ISBN 158367-123-4.
Retrieved30
October 2008.

39. Jump up^ Youngs,

R. The European
Union and the
Promotion of
Democracy. Oxford
University Press,
2002. ISBN 978-019-924979-4.
40. Jump up^ Carroll,
J. M. A Concise
History of Hong
Kong. Rowman &
Littlefield,
2007. ISBN 978-07425-3422-3.
41. Jump up^ "Nation
bucks trend of
global
poverty". China
Daily. 11 July 2003.
42. Jump up^ "China's
Average Economic
Growth in 90s
Ranked 1st in
World". People's
Daily. 1 March
2000.
43. Jump up^ "China
worried over pace
of growth". BBC.
Retrieved 16
April 2006.
44. Jump up^ "China:
Migrants, Students,
Taiwan". Migration
News 13 (1).
January 2006.
45. Jump up^ "In Face
of Rural Unrest,
China Rolls Out
Reforms". The
Washington Post.
28 January 2006.
46. Jump
up^ Thomas,
Antony (11 April
2006). "Frontline: T
he Tank
Man transcript". Fr
ontline. PBS.

Retrieved 12
July 2008.

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and focus on how
Manchu rulers sought to
maintain the Manchu
ethnic identity
throughout Qing history.

Republic of China era

(1912-1949)

Bergere, MarieClaire. Sun YatSen (1998), 480pp, the

standard biography

Boorman, Howard L.,

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1979). 600 short
scholarly
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Dreyer, Edward
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Eastman Lloyd. Seeds

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Eastman Lloyd et
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Fairbank, John K.,

ed. The Cambridge
History of China, Vol.
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Fairbank, John K. and

Feuerwerker, Albert,
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History of China. Vol.
13: Republican China,
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Fogel, Joshua A. The

Nanjing Massacre in
History and
Historiography (2000)

Gordon, David M. "The

China-Japan War,
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Journal of Military
History v70#1 (2006)
137182; major
historiographical
overview of all important
books and
interpretations; online

Hsiung, James C. and

Steven I. Levine,
eds. China's Bitter
Victory: The War with
Japan, 1937
1945 (1992), essays by
scholars; online from
Questia;

Hsi-sheng,
Ch'i. Nationalist China
at War: Military Defeats
and Political Collapse,
19371945 (1982)

Hung, Chang-tai. War

and Popular Culture:
Resistance in Modern
China, 1937
1945 (1994) complete
text online free

Lara, Diana. The

Chinese People at War:
Human Suffering and

Social Transformation,
19371945 (2010)

Rubinstein, Murray A.,

ed. Taiwan: A New
History (2006), 560pp

Shiroyama,
Tomoko. China during
the Great Depression:
Market, State, and the
World Economy, 1929
1937 (2008)

Shuyun, Sun. The Long

March: The True History
of Communist China's
Founding Myth (2007)

Taylor, Jay. The

Generalissimo: Chiang
Kai-shek and the
Struggle for Modern
China. (2009) ISBN
978-0-674-03338-2

Westad, Odd
Arne. Decisive
Encounters: The
Chinese Civil War,
19461950. (2003). 413
pp. the standard history

Communist era (1949

present)

Barnouin, Barbara, and

Yu Changgen. Zhou
Enlai: A Political
Life (2005)

Baum, Richard D. "'Red

and Expert': The
Politico-Ideological
Foundations of China's
Great Leap
Forward," Asian
Survey, Vol. 4, No. 9
(Sep. 1964), pp. 1048
1057 in JSTOR

Becker, Jasper. Hungry

Ghosts: China's Secret
Famine (1996), on the

"Great Leap Forward" of

1950s

Chang, Jung and Jon

Halliday. Mao: The
Unknown Story, (2005),
814 pages, ISBN 0-67942271-4

Davin, Delia
(2013). Mao: A Very
Short Introduction.
Oxford UP.

Dittmer, Lowell. China's

Continuous Revolution:
The Post-Liberation
Epoch, 1949
1981 (1989) online free

Dietrich, Craig. People's

China: A Brief
History, 3d ed. (1997),
398pp

Kirby, William C.,

ed. Realms of Freedom
in Modern
China. (2004). 416 pp.

Kirby, William C.; Ross,

Robert S.; and Gong, Li,
eds. Normalization of
U.S.-China Relations:
An International
History. (2005). 376 pp.

Li, Xiaobing. A History

of the Modern Chinese
Army (2007)

MacFarquhar, Roderick
and Fairbank, John K.,
eds. The Cambridge
History of China. Vol.
15: The People's
Republic, Part 2:
Revolutions within the
Chinese Revolution,
19661982. Cambridge
U. Press, 1992. 1108
pp.

Meisner,
Maurice. Mao's China

and After: A History of

the Peoples
Republic, 3rd ed. (Free
Press, 1999), dense
book with theoretical
and political science
approach.

Spence,
Jonatham. Mao
Zedong (1999)

Shuyun, Sun. The Long

March: The True History
of Communist China's
Founding Myth (2007)

Walder, Andrew
G. China under Mao: A
Revolution
Derailed (Harvard
University Press, 2015)
413 pp. online review

Wang, Jing. High

Culture Fever: Politics,
Aesthetics, and
Ideology in Deng's
China (1996) complete
text online free

Wenqian, Gao. Zhou

Enlai: The Last Perfect
Revolutionary (2007)

Cultural Revolution, 1966

76

Clark, Paul. The

Chinese Cultural
Revolution: A
History (2008), a
favorable look at artistic
production excerpt and
text search

Esherick, Joseph W.;

Pickowicz, Paul G.; and
Walder, Andrew G.,
eds. The Chinese
Cultural Revolution as
History. (2006). 382 pp.

Jian, Guo; Song,

Yongyi; and Zhou,
Yuan. Historical

Dictionary of the
Chinese Cultural
Revolution. (2006). 433
pp.

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and Fairbank, John K.,
eds. The Cambridge
History of China. Vol.
15: The People's
Republic, Part 2:
Revolutions within the
Chinese Revolution,
19661982. Cambridge
U. Press, 1992. 1108
pp.

MacFarquhar, Roderick
and Michael
Schoenhals. Mao's Last
Revolution. (2006).

MacFarquhar,
Roderick. The Origins
of the Cultural
Revolution. Vol. 3: The
Coming of the
Cataclysm, 1961
1966. (1998). 733 pp.

Yan, Jiaqi and Gao,

Gao. Turbulent Decade:
A History of the Cultural
Revolution. (1996). 736
pp.

Economy and
environment

Chow, Gregory
C. China's Economic
Transformation (2nd ed.
2007)

Elvin, Mark. Retreat of

the Elephants: An
Environmental History
of China. (2004). 564
pp.

Elvin, Mark and Liu,

Ts'ui-jung,
eds. Sediments of
Time: Environment and
Society in Chinese
History. (1998). 820 pp.

Ji, Zhaojin. A History of

Modern Shanghai
Banking: The Rise and
Decline of China's
Finance
Capitalism. (2003. 325)
pp.

Naughton, Barry. The

Chinese Economy:
Transitions and
Growth (2007)

Rawski, Thomas G. and

Lillian M. Li,
eds. Chinese History in
Economic
Perspective, University
of California Press,
1992 complete text
online free

Sheehan,
Jackie. Chinese
Workers: A New
History. Routledge,
1998. 269 pp.

Stuart-Fox, Martin. A
Short History of China
and Southeast Asia:
Tribute, Trade and
Influence. (2003). 278
pp.

Women and gender

Ebrey, Patricia. The

Inner Quarters:
Marriage and the Lives
of Chinese Women in
the Sung Period (1990)

Hershatter, Gail, and

Wang Zheng. "Chinese
History: A Useful
Category of Gender
Analysis," American
Historical Review, Dec
2008, Vol. 113 Issue 5,
pp 14041421

Hershatter,
Gail. Women in China's
Long Twentieth

Century (2007), full text

online

Hershatter, Gail, Emily

Honig, Susan Mann,
and Lisa Rofel,
eds. Guide to Women's
Studies in China (1998)

Ko, Dorothy. Teachers

of Inner Chambers:
Women and Culture in
China, 1573
1722 (1994)

Mann, Susan. Precious

Records: Women in
China's Long
Eighteenth
Century (1997)

Wang, Shuo. "The 'New

Social History' in China:
The Development of
Women's
History," History
Teacher, May 2006, Vol.
39 Issue 3, pp 315323

Scholarly journals

Central Asian Survey

Chinese Studies in
History[1]

East Asian History[2]

Journal of Modern
Chinese History[3]

Late Imperial China

Modern China: An
International Journal
of History and Social
Science[4]

Sino-Japanese
Studies[5]

T'oung Pao:
International Journal
of Chinese Studies

Further
reading

Classical
Historiography For
Chinese History

Abramson, Marc S.
(2008). Ethnic Identity
in Tang China.
University of
Pennsylvania Press,
Philadelphia. ISBN
978-0-8122-4052-8.

Ankerl, G.
C. Coexisting
Contemporary
Civilizations: AraboMuslim, Bharati,
Chinese, and
Western. INU PRESS
Geneva, 2000. ISBN
2-88155-004-5.

Li, Xiaobing. China at

War: An
Encyclopedia (2012)
in ebrary

Wilkinson,
Endymion, Chinese
History: A New
Manual, Harvard
University, Asia
Center (for the
Harvard-Yenching
Institute), 2013, 1128
(double-column)
p., ISBN 978-0-67406715-8. Supersedes
Wilkinson (2000).

Wilkinson,
Endymion, Chinese
history: a manual,

(revised and
enlarged. Harvard
University, Asia
Center (for the
Harvard-Yenching
Institute), 2000, 1181
p., ISBN 0-67400247-4; ISBN 0-67400249-0; for
specialists.

External links
Wikimedia Commons
has media related
to History of China.

(Chinese) Chinese

Database by Academi
a Sinica.

Modernizing
China from the Dean
Peter Krogh Foreign
Affairs Digital
Archives

(Chinese) Manuscript

and Graphics
Database by
Academia Sinica.

A universal guide for

China studies

Oriental Style

Chinese Text Project,

texts and translations
of historical Chinese
works.
History Forum

Asian History
Chinese Siege Warfare

Yin Yu Tang: A
Chinese Home, an
exploration of

domestic Chinese
architecture during
the Qing dynasty.

Early Medieval China,

an academic journal
devoted to the period
between the end of
the Han and
beginning of the Tang
eras.

Cultural Revolution
Propaganda Poster

China Rediscovers its

Own History, a 100minute lecture on
Chinese history given
by Yu Ying-shih,
Emeritus Professor of
East Asian Studies
and History at
Princeton University.

Resources for Middle

School
students (grades 5
9).

A history of China by
Wolfram Eberhard,
[EBook #17695], ISO8859-1 (7 February
2006).

China from the Inside,

a
2006 PBS documenta
ry.

Ancient Asian World

History of China:
Table of Contents by
the Chaos Group at
the University of
Maryland.

Li (2010). "Evidence
that a West-East
admixed population
lived in the Tarim
Basin as early as the
early Bronze
Age" (PDF). BMC
Biology 8 (1). doi:10.1
186/1741-7007-8-15.
PMC 2838831. PMID
20163704.

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History of China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Empire of China" redirects here. For other uses, see Empire of China (191516).

Approximate territories occupied by the various dynasties and states throughout the history of China

Zhou dynasty c. 1046 256 BC

Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn
Warring States
IMPERIAL

Qin dynasty 221206 BC

Han dynasty 206 BC 220 AD
Western Han
Xin dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220280
Wei, Shu and Wu
Jin dynasty 265420
Western Jin
Eastern Jin

Sixteen Kingdoms

Southern and Northern Dynasties

420589
Sui dynasty 581618
Tang dynasty 618907
(Wu Zhou interregnum 690705)
Five Dynasties and
Ten Kingdoms
907960

Liao dynasty
9071125

Song dynasty
9601279
Northern Song

W. Xia

Southern Song

Jin

Yuan dynasty 12711368

Ming dynasty 13681644
Qing dynasty 16441911
MODERN

Republic of China 19121949

People's Republic
of China
1949present

Republic of
China on Taiwan
1949present

Related articles [show]

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Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1200 BC under the Shang
dynasty (c. 16001046 BC).[1] Ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian (ca.
100 BC) and the Bamboo Annalsdescribe a Xia dynasty (c. 20701600 BC), which had no system of
writing on a durable medium, before the Shang.[1][2] The Yellow River is said to be the cradle of
Chinese civilization, although cultures originated at various regional centers along both the Yellow
River and the Yangtze River valleys millennia ago in the Neolithic era. With thousands of years of
continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations.[3]
Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy further developed during the Zhou
dynasty (1046256 BC). The Zhou dynasty began to bow to external and internal pressures in the
8th century BC, and the kingdom eventually broke apart into smaller states, beginning in the Spring
and Autumn period and reaching full expression in the Warring States period. This is one of multiple
periods of failed statehood in Chinese history, the most recent being the Chinese Civil War that
started in 1927.
Between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled parts or all of
China; in some eras control stretched as far as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. In 221 BC Qin Shi
Huang united the various warring kingdoms and created for himself the title of "emperor" (huangdi)
of the Qin dynasty, marking the beginning of imperial China.
Successivedynasties developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the emperor to control vast
territories directly. China's last dynasty was the Qing(16441912), which was replaced by
the Republic of China in 1912, and in the mainland by the People's Republic of China in 1949.
The conventional view of Chinese history is that of alternating periods of political unity and disunity,
with China occasionally being dominated by steppe peoples, most of whom were in turn assimilated

into the Han Chinese population. Cultural and political influences from other parts of Asia and
the Western world, carried by successive waves of immigration, expansion, foreign contact,
and cultural assimilation are part of the modern culture of China.
Contents
[hide]

1 Prehistory
o

1.1 Paleolithic

1.2 Neolithic

2 Ancient China
o

2.1 Xia dynasty (c. 2100 c. 1600 BC)

2.2 Shang dynasty (c. 16001046 BC)

2.3 Zhou dynasty (1046256 BC)

2.4 Spring and Autumn period (722476 BC)

2.5 Warring States period (476221 BC)

3 Imperial China
o

3.1 Qin dynasty (221206 BC)

3.2 Han dynasty (202 BCAD 220)

3.3 Three Kingdoms and Western Jin (AD 265316)

3.4 Sixteen Kingdoms and Eastern Jin (AD 304439)

3.5 Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420589)

3.6 Sui dynasty (AD 589618)

3.7 Tang dynasty (AD 618907)

3.8 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907960)

3.9 Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties (AD 9601234)

3.10 Yuan dynasty (AD 12711368)

3.11 Ming dynasty (AD 13681644)

3.12 Qing dynasty (AD 16441911)

4 Republican China
o

4.1 Republic of China (19121949)

4.2 People's Republic of China (since 1949)

5 See also

6 Notes

7 Bibliography
o

7.1 Surveys

7.2 Prehistory

7.3 Shang dynasty

7.4 Han dynasty

7.5 Jin, the Sixteen Kingdoms, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties

7.6 Sui dynasty

7.7 Tang dynasty

7.8 Song dynasty

7.9 Ming dynasty

7.10 Qing dynasty

7.11 Republic of China era (1912-1949)

7.12 Communist era (1949present)

7.13 Economy and environment

7.14 Women and gender

7.15 Scholarly journals

8 Further reading

9 External links

Prehistory
[show]

Prehistoric cultures of China

Paleolithic
See also: List of Paleolithic sites in China
What is now China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than a million years ago.[4] Recent study
shows that the stone tools found at Xiaochangliang site aremagnetostratigraphically dated to 1.36
million years ago.[5] The archaeological site of Xihoudu in Shanxi Province is the earliest recorded
use of fire by Homo erectus, which is dated 1.27 million years ago.[4] The excavations
at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Homo
erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in 192327.

Neolithic
See also: List of Neolithic cultures of China
The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to about 10,000 BC.[6]
Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC.[7] Farming
gave rise to the Jiahu culture (7000 to 5800 BC). At Damaidi in Ningxia, 3,172 cliff carvings dating to
60005000 BC have been discovered, "featuring 8,453 individual characters such as the sun, moon,
stars, gods and scenes of hunting or grazing." These pictographs are reputed to be similar to the
earliest characters confirmed to be written Chinese. [8][9] Excavation of a Peiligang culture site
in Xinzheng county, Henan, found a community that flourished in 5,5004,900 BC, with evidence of
agriculture, constructed buildings, pottery, and burial of the dead. [10] With agriculture came increased
population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, and the potential to support specialist
craftsmen and administrators.[11] In late Neolithic times, the Yellow River valley began to establish
itself as a center of Yangshao culture (5000 BC to 3000 BC), and the first villages were founded; the
most archaeologically significant of these was found at Banpo,Xi'an.[12] Later, Yangshao culture was
superseded by the Longshan culture, which was also centered on the Yellow River from about 3000
BC to 2000 BC.
The early history of China is obscured by the lack of written documents from this period, coupled
with the existence of later accounts that attempted to describe events that had occurred several
centuries previously. In a sense, the problem stems from centuries of introspection on the part of the
Chinese people, which has blurred the distinction between fact and fiction in regards to this early
history.[citation needed]

Ancient China
Xia dynasty (c. 2100 c. 1600 BC)
Main article: Xia dynasty
The Xia dynasty of China (from c. 2100 to c. 1600 BC) is the first dynasty to be described in ancient
historical records such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian andBamboo Annals.[1][2]
Although there is disagreement as to whether the dynasty actually existed, there is some
archaeological evidence pointing to its possible existence. Sima Qian, writing in the late 2nd century
BC, dated the founding of the Xia dynasty to around 2200 BC, but this date has not been
corroborated. Most archaeologists now connect the Xia to excavations atErlitou in
central Henan province,[13] where a bronze smelter from around 2000 BC was unearthed. Early
markings from this period found on pottery and shells are thought to be ancestral to modern Chinese
characters.[14] With few clear records matching the Shang oracle bones or the Zhou bronze vessel
writings, the Xia era remains poorly understood.
According to mythology, the dynasty ended around 1600 BC as a consequence of the Battle of
Mingtiao.

Shang dynasty (c. 16001046 BC)

Oracle bones found dating from the Shang Dynasty

Main article: Shang dynasty

Capital: Yin, near Anyang
Archaeological findings providing evidence for the existence of the Shang dynasty, c. 16001046
BC, are divided into two sets. The first set from the earlier Shang period comes from sources
at Erligang, Zhengzhou, and Shangcheng. The second set from the later Shang or Yin ()
period is at Anyang, in modern-day Henan, which has been confirmed as the last of the
Shang's nine capitals (c. 13001046 BC).[citation needed] The findings at Anyang include the earliest
written record of Chinese past so far discovered: inscriptions of divination records in ancient
Chinese writing on the bones or shells of animals the so-called "oracle bones", dating from
around 1200 BC.[15]

Remnants of advanced, stratifiedsocieties dating back to the Shang found primarily in the Yellow River
Valley

31 Kings reined over the Shang dynasty. During their rein, according to the Records of the
Grand Historian, the capital city was moved six times.[citation needed] The final (and most important)
move was to Yin in 1350 BC which led to the dynasty's golden age.[citation needed] The term Yin
dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although it has lately been
used to specifically refer to the latter half of the Shang dynasty.[citation needed]
Chinese historians living in later periods were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty
succeeding another, but the actual political situation in early China is known to have been much
more complicated. Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang can
possibly refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou is known to
have existed at the same time as the Shang.[citation needed]
Although written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty,[citation
needed]
Western scholars are often hesitant to associate settlements that are contemporaneous with
the Anyang settlement with the Shang dynasty. For example, archaeological findings
at Sanxingdui suggest a technologically advanced civilization culturally unlike Anyang. The
evidence is inconclusive in proving how far the Shang realm extended from Anyang. The leading
hypothesis is that Anyang, ruled by the same Shang in the official history, coexisted and traded
with numerous other culturally diverse settlements in the area that is now referred to as China
proper.[citation needed]

Zhou dynasty (1046256 BC)

Bronze ritual vessel (You), Western Zhou dynasty

Main articles: Zhou dynasty and Iron Age China

Capitals: Xi'an, Luoyang
The Zhou dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, from 1066 BC to
approximately 256 BC. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty began to
emerge in the Yellow River valley, overrunning the territory of the Shang. The Zhou
appeared to have begun their rule under a semi-feudal system. The Zhou lived west of
the Shang, and the Zhou leader had been appointed "Western Protector" by the Shang. The
ruler of the Zhou, King Wu, with the assistance of his brother, the Duke of Zhou, as regent,
managed to defeat the Shang at the Battle of Muye.
The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his
rule, a concept that would be influential for almost every succeeding dynasty. Like Shangdi,
Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China. It was
believed that a ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in
great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for
the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule,
having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhou initially moved their capital west to an area near modern Xi'an, on the Wei River, a
tributary of the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into
the Yangtze River valley. This would be the first of many population migrations from north to
south in Chinese history.

Spring and Autumn period (722476 BC)

Chinese pu vessel with interlaceddragon design, Spring and Autumn period

Main article: Spring and Autumn period

Capitals: Beijing (State of Yan); Xi'an (State of Qin)
In the 8th century BC, power became decentralized during the Spring and Autumn
period, named after the influential Spring and Autumn Annals. In this period, local
military leaders used by the Zhou began to assert their power and vie for hegemony.
The situation was aggravated by the invasion of other peoples from the northwest, such
as the Qin, forcing the Zhou to move their capital east to Luoyang. This marks the
second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou. The Spring and Autumn
period is marked by a falling apart of the central Zhou power. In each of the hundreds of
states that eventually arose, local strongmen held most of the political power and
continued their subservience to the Zhou kings in name only. Some local leaders even
started using royal titles for themselves. China now consisted of hundreds of states,
some of them only as large as a village with a fort.
The Hundred Schools of Thought of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period,
and such influential intellectual movements
asConfucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism were founded, partly in response to the
changing political world.

Warring States period (476221 BC)

Main article: Warring States period
Capitals: several (multiple states)
After further political consolidation, seven prominent states remained by the end of
5th century BC, and the years in which these few states battled each other are

known as the Warring States period. Though there remained a nominal Zhou king
until 256 BC, he was largely a figurehead and held little real power.
As neighboring territories of these warring states, including areas of
modern Sichuan and Liaoning, were annexed, they were governed under the new
local administrative system of commandery and prefecture (/). This system
had been in use since the Spring and Autumn period, and parts can still be seen in
the modern system of Sheng & Xian(province and county, /).
The final expansion in this period began during the reign of Ying Zheng, the king of
Qin. His unification of the other six powers, and further annexations in the modern
regions ofZhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi in 214 BC, enabled him to
proclaim himself the First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang).

Imperial China
Qin dynasty (221206 BC)

Qin Shi Huang

Main article: Qin dynasty

Capital: Xianyang
Historians often refer to the period from Qin dynasty to the end of Qing
dynasty as Imperial China. Though the unified reign of the First Qin
Emperor lasted only 12 years, he managed to subdue great parts of what
constitutes the core of the Han Chinese homeland and to unite them under a
tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang (close to
modern Xi'an). The doctrine of Legalism that guided the Qin emphasized strict
adherence to a legal code and the absolute power of the emperor. This
philosophy, while effective for expanding the empire in a military fashion, proved

unworkable for governing it in peacetime. The Qin Emperor[when defined as?] presided
over the brutal silencing of political opposition, including the event known as
the burning of books and burying of scholars. This would be the impetus behind
the later Han synthesis incorporating the more moderate schools of political
governance.

The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang

Construction of the Great Wall of China, still extant and now a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, started during the Qin dynasty; it was later augmented and
improved during the Ming dynasty. The other major contributions of the Qin
include the concept of a centralized government, the unification of the legal
code, development of the written language, measurement, and currency of
China after the tribulations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States
periods. Even something as basic as the length of axles for cartswhich need
to match ruts in the roadshad to be made uniform to ensure a viable trading
system throughout the empire.

Han dynasty (202 BCAD 220)

Main article: Han dynasty
Further information: History of the Han dynasty
Capitals: Chang'an, Luoyang, Liyang, Xuchang

Western Han

A Han dynasty oil lamp, with sliding shutter, in the shape of a kneeling female
servant (2nd century BC)

The Han dynasty was founded by Liu Bang, who emerged victorious in
the civil war that followed the collapse of the unified but short-livedQin
dynasty. A golden age in Chinese history, the Han dynasty's long period of
stability and prosperity consolidated the foundation of China as a unified
state under a central imperial bureaucracy, which was to last intermittently
for most of the next two millennium. During the Han dynasty, territory of
China was extended to most of the China proper and to areas far
west. Confucianism was officially elevated to orthodox status and was to
shape the subsequent Chinese Civilization. Art, culture and science all
advanced to unprecedented heights. With the profound and lasting impacts
of this period of Chinese history, the dynasty name "Han" had been taken
as the name of the Chinese people, now the dominant ethnic group in
modern China, and had been commonly used to refer to Chinese language
and written characters.
After the initial Laissez-faire policies of Emperors Wen and Jing, the
ambitious Emperor Wu brought the empire to its zenith. To consolidate his
power, Confucianism, which emphasizes stability and order in a wellstructured society, was given exclusive patronage to be the guiding
philosophical thoughts and moral principles of the empire. Imperial
Universities were established to support its study and further development,
while other schools of thoughts were discouraged.
Major military campaigns were launched to weaken the nomadic Xiongnu
Empire, limiting their influence north of the Great Wall. Along with the
diplomatic efforts led by Zhang Qian, the sphere of influence of the Han
Empire extended to the states in the Tarim Basin, opened up the Silk
Road that connected China to the west, stimulating bilateral trade and

cultural exchange. To the south, various small kingdoms far beyond

the Yangtze River Valley were formally incorporated into the empire.
Emperor Wu also dispatched a series of military campaigns against
the Baiyue tribes. The Han annexed Minyue in 135 BC and 111 BC,Nanyue
in 111 BC, and Dian in 109 BC.[16] Migration and military expeditions led to
the cultural assimilation of the south.[17] It also brought the Han into contact
with kingdoms in Southeast Asia, introducing diplomacy and trade. [18]
After Emperor Wu, the empire slipped into gradual stagnation and decline.
Economically, the state treasury was strained by excessive campaigns and
projects, while land acquisitions by elite families gradually drained the tax
base. Various consort clans exerted increasing control over strings of
incompetent emperors and eventually the dynasty was briefly interrupted by
the usurpation of Wang Mang.
Xin dynasty
In AD 9, the usurper Wang Mang claimed that the Mandate of
Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and the rise of his own, and
he founded the short-lived Xin ("New") dynasty. Wang Mang started an
extensive program of land and other economic reforms, including the
outlawing of slavery and land nationalization and redistribution. These
programs, however, were never supported by the landholding families,
because they favored the peasants. The instability of power brought about
chaos, uprisings, and loss of territories. This was compounded by mass
flooding of the Yellow River; silt buildup caused it to split into two channels
and displaced large numbers of farmers. Wang Mang was eventually killed
in Weiyang Palace by an enraged peasant mob in AD 23.
Eastern Han
Emperor Guangwu reinstated the Han dynasty with the support of
landholding and merchant families at Luoyang, east of the former
capital Xi'an. Thus, this new era is termed theEastern Han dynasty. With
the capable administrations of Emperors Ming and Zhang, former glories of
the dynasty was reclaimed, with brilliant military and cultural achievements.
The Xiongnu Empire was decisively defeated. The diplomat and
general Ban Chao further expanded the conquests across the Pamirs to the
shores of theCaspian Sea,[19] thus reopening the Silk Road, and bringing
trade, foreign cultures, along with the arrival of Buddhism. With extensive
connections with the west, the first of several Roman embassies to
China were recorded in Chinese sources, coming from the sea route in AD
166, and a second one in AD 284.
The Eastern Han dynasty was one of the most prolific era of science and
technology in ancient China, notably the historic invention
of papermaking by Cai Lun, and the numerous contributions by
the polymath Zhang Heng.

Three Kingdoms and Western Jin (AD 265316)

Main articles: Cao Wei and Jin dynasty (265420)
Capitals: Luoyang (Cao Wei and Western Jin); Chengdu (Shu Han); Jiankang (Eastern Wu and
Eastern Jin); Chang'an (Western Jin)
By the 2nd century, the empire declined amidst land acquisitions,
invasions, and feuding between consort clans and eunuchs. The Yellow
Turban Rebellion broke out in AD 184, ushering in an era of warlords. In
the ensuing turmoil, three states tried to gain predominance in the
period of the Three Kingdoms. This time period has been greatly
romanticized in works such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
After Cao Cao reunified the north in 208, his son proclaimed
the Wei dynasty in 220. Soon, Wei's rivals Shu and Wu proclaimed their
independence, leading China into the Three Kingdoms period. This
period was characterized by a gradual decentralization of the state that
had existed during the Qin and Han dynasties, and an increase in the
power of great families.
In 280, the Jin dynasty reunified the country, but this union was shortlived.

Sixteen Kingdoms and Eastern Jin (AD 304439)

Main article: Sixteen Kingdoms
Capitals: several (multiple states)
The Jin Dynasty was severely weakened by interceine fighting
among imperial princes and lost control of northern China
after non-Han Chinese settlers rebelled and captured Luoyang and
Changan. In 317, a Jin prince in modern-day Nanjing became
emperor and continued the dynasty, now known as the Eastern Jin,
which held southern China for another century. Prior to this move,
historians refer to the Jin dynasty as the Western Jin.
Northern China fragmented into a series of independent kingdoms,
most of which were founded
by Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di and Qiang rulers. These non-Han
peoples were ancestors of the Turks, Mongols, and Tibetans. Many
had, to some extent, been "sinicized" long before their ascent to
power. In fact, some of them, notably the Qiang and the Xiongnu,
had already been allowed to live in the frontier regions within the
Great Wall since late Han times. During the period of the Sixteen
Kingdoms, warfare ravaged the north and prompted large-scale
Han Chinese migration south to the Yangtze Basin and Delta.

A limestone statue of theBodhisattva, from the Northern Qi dynasty, AD

570, made in what is now modern Henanprovince.

Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420589)

Main article: Southern and Northern Dynasties
Capitals: Ye, Chang'an (Northern Dynasties); Jiankang (Southern Dynasties)
In the early 5th century, China entered a period known as
the Southern and Northern Dynasties, in which parallel regimes
ruled the northern and southern halves of the country. In the
south, the Eastern Jin gave way to the Liu Song, Southern
Qi, Liang and finally Chen. Each of these Southen Dynasties
were led by Han Chinese ruling families and
used Jiankang (modern Nanjing) as the capital. They held off
attacks from the north and preserved many aspects of Chinese
civilization, while northern barbarian regimes began to sinify.
In the north, the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms was extinguished
in 439 by the Northern Wei, a kingdom founded by the Xianbei,
a nomadic people who unified northern China. The Northern

Wei eventually split into the Eastern and Western Wei, which
then became the Northern Qi andNorthern Zhou. These
regimes were dominated by Xianbei or Han Chinese who had
married into Xianbei families.
Despite the division of the country, Buddhism spread
throughout the land. In southern China, fierce debates about
whether Buddhism should be allowed were held frequently by
the royal court and nobles. Finally, towards the end of the
Southern and Northern Dynasties era, Buddhists
andTaoists reached a compromise and became more tolerant
of each other.
In 589, the Sui dynasty united China once again, ending a
prolonged period of division in Chinese history. In the nearly
four centuries between the Han and Sui dynasties, the country
was united for only 24 years during the Western Jin.

Sui dynasty (AD 589618)

Main article: Sui dynasty
Capital: Daxing (official); Dongdu (secondary)
The Sui dynasty, which lasted 29 years, played a role more
important than its length of existence would suggest. The
Sui brought China together again and set up many
institutions that were to be adopted by their successors,
the Tang. These included the government system of Three
Departments and Six Ministries, standard coinage,
improved defense and expansion of the Great Wall, and
official support for Buddhism. Like the Qin, however, the
Sui overused their resources and collapsed.

Tang dynasty (AD 618907)

A Chinese Tang dynasty tricoloredglaze porcelain horse (c. AD

700)

Main article: Tang dynasty

Capitals: Chang'an, Luoyang

The Tang dynasty was founded by Emperor Gaozu on
18 June 618. It was a golden age of Chinese
civilization with significant developments in art,
literature, particularly poetry, and technology.
Buddhism became the predominant religion for
common people.Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the national
capital, was the largest city in the world of its time.
The second emperor, Taizong, started military
campaigns to eliminate threats from nomadic tribes,
extend the border, and submit neighboring states into a
tributary system. Military victories in the Tarim
Basin kept the Silk Road open, connecting Chang'an to
Central Asia and areas far to the west. In the south,
lucrative maritime trade routes began from port cities
such as Guangzhou. There was extensive trade with
distant foreign countries, and many foreign merchants
settled in China, encouraging a cosmopolitan culture.
The Tang culture and social systems were observed
and imitated by neighboring countries such as Japan.
Internally the Grand Canal linked the political heartland
in Chang'an to the economic and agricultural centers in
the eastern and southern parts of the empire.
Underlying the prosperity of the early Tang dynasty
was a strong centralized bureaucracy with efficient
policies. The government was organized as "Three
Departments and Six Ministries" to separately draft,
review, and implement policies. These departments
were run by royal family members as well as scholar
officials who were selected by imperial examinations.
These practices, which matured in the Tang dynasty,
were continued by the later dynasties, with some
modifications.
Under the Tang "equal-field system" all land was
owned by the Emperor and granted to people
according to household size. Men granted land were
conscripted for military service for a fixed period each
year, a military policy known as the "Fubing system".
These policies stimulated a rapid growth in productivity
and a significant army without much burden on the
state treasury. By the dynasty's midpoint,
however, standing armies had replaced conscription,
and land was continuously falling into the hands of
private owners.

The dynasty continued to flourish under Empress Wu

Zetian, the only empress regnant in Chinese history,
and reached its zenith during the reign of Emperor
Xuanzong, who oversaw an empire that stretched from
the Pacific to the Aral Sea with at least 50 million
people.
At the zenith of prosperity of the empire, the An
Lushan Rebellion from 755 to 763 was a watershed
event that devastated the population and drastically
weakened the central imperial government. Regional
military governors, known as Jiedushi, gained
increasingly autonomous status while formerly
submissive states raided the empire. Nevertheless,
after the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang civil society
recovered and thrived amidst the weakened imperial
bureaucracy.
From about 860, the Tang dynasty declined due to a
series of rebellions within China itself and in the former
subject Kingdom of Nanzhao to the south. One
warlord, Huang Chao, captured Guangzhou in 879,
killing most of the 200,000 inhabitants, including most
of the large colony of foreign merchant families there. [20]
[21]
In late 880, Luoyangsurrendered to Huang Chao,
and on 5 January 881 he conquered Chang'an. The
emperor Xizong fled to Chengdu, and Huang
established a new temporary regime which was
eventually destroyed by Tang forces. Another time of
political chaos followed.

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907

960)
Main article: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
Capitals: various
The period of political disunity between the Tang
and the Song, known as the Five Dynasties and
Ten Kingdoms period, lasted from 907 to 960.
During this half-century, when China was in all
respects a multi-state system, five regimes rapidly
succeeded one another in control of the old
Imperial heartland in northern China. During this
same time, sections of southern and western
China were occupied by ten, more stable, regimes
so the period is also referred to as the Ten
Kingdoms.

Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia

dynasties (AD 9601234)

Homeward Oxherds in Wind and Rain by Li Di (12th

century)

Main articles: Song dynasty, Liao

dynasty, Western Xia and Jin dynasty (11151234)
Further information: History of the Song dynasty
Capitals: Kaifeng and Lin'an (Song dynasty); Shangjing, Nanjing, Tokmok (Liao
dynasty); Shangjing, Zhongdu, Kaifeng (Jin dynasty);Yinchuan (Western Xia dynasty)
In 960, the Song dynasty gained power over
most of China and established its capital
in Kaifeng (later known as Bianjing), starting a
period of economic prosperity, while
the Khitan Liao dynasty ruled over Manchuria,
present-day Mongolia, and parts of Northern
China. In 1115, the Jurchen Jin
dynasty emerged to prominence, annihilating
the Liao dynasty in 10 years. Meanwhile, in
what are now the northwestern Chinese
provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia,
a Western Xia dynasty emerged from 1032 to
1227, established byTangut tribes.
The Jin dynasty took power and conquered
northern China in the JinSong Wars,
capturing Kaifeng from the Song dynasty,
which moved its capital to Hangzhou ().
The Southern Song dynasty had to
acknowledge the Jin dynasty as formal
overlords. In the ensuing years, China was

divided between the Song dynasty, the Jin

dynasty and the Tangut Western Xia. Southern
Song experienced a period of great
technological development which can be
explained in part by the military pressure that it
felt from the north. This included the use
ofgunpowder weapons, which played a large
role in the Song dynasty naval victories
against the Jin in the Battle of
Tangdao and Battle of Caishi on the Yangtze
River in 1161. China's first permanent standing
navy was assembled and provided
an admiral's office at Dinghai in 1132, under
the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song.
The Song dynasty is considered by many to be
classical China's high point in science and
technology, with innovative scholar-officials
such as Su Song (10201101) and Shen
Kuo (10311095). There was court intrigue
between the political rivals of the Reformers
and Conservatives, led by the
chancellors Wang Anshi and Sima Guang,
respectively. By the mid-to-late 13th century,
the Chinese had adopted the dogma of NeoConfucian philosophy formulated by Zhu Xi.
Enormous literary works were compiled during
the Song dynasty, such as the historical work
of the Zizhi Tongjian ("Comprehensive Mirror
to Aid in Government"). Culture and the arts
flourished, with grandiose artworks such
as Along the River During the Qingming
Festival and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad
Flute, along with great Buddhist painters such
as the prolific Lin Tinggui.

Yuan dynasty (AD 12711368)

Main article: Yuan dynasty

Yang Guifei Mounting a Horse byQian Xuan (1235

1305 AD)

Capitals: Xanadu, Dadu

The Jurchen-founded Jin
dynasty was defeated by the Mongols,
who then proceeded to defeat the
Southern Song in a long and bloody war,
the first war in which firearms played an
important role. During the era after the
war, later called the Pax Mongolica,
adventurous Westerners such as Marco
Polo travelled all the way to China and
brought the first reports of its wonders to
Europe. In the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols
were divided between those who wanted
to remain based in the steppes and those
who wished to adopt the customs of the
Chinese.
Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan,
wanting to adopt the customs of China,
established the Yuan dynasty. This was
the first dynasty to rule the whole of China
from Beijing as the capital. Beijing had
been ceded to Liao in AD 938 with
the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun. Before
that, it had been the capital of the Jin, who
did not rule all of China.
Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese
dynasties reported approximately 120
million inhabitants; after the conquest had
been completed in 1279, the 1300 census
reported roughly 60 million people.[22] This
major decline is not necessarily due only
to Mongol killings. Scholars such as
Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide
drop in numbers reflects an administrative
failure to record rather than an actual
decrease; others such as Timothy
Brook argue that the Mongols created a
system of enserfment among a huge
portion of the Chinese populace, causing
many to disappear from the census
altogether; other historians including
William McNeill and David Morgan
consider that plague was the main factor
behind the demographic decline during
this period.

In the 14th century China suffered

additional depredations from epidemics of
plague, estimated to have killed 25 million
people, 30% of the population of China.[23]

Ming dynasty (AD 13681644)

Court Ladies of the Former Shu by Tang

Yin (14701523)

Main article: Ming dynasty

Further information: History of the Ming
dynasty
Capitals: Nanjing, Beijing, Fuzhou, Zhaoqing

Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming

dynasty

Throughout the Yuan dynasty, which

lasted less than a century, there was
relatively strong sentiment among the
populace against Mongol rule. The
frequent natural disasters since the
1340s finally led to peasant revolts.
The Yuan dynasty was eventually
overthrown by the Ming dynasty in
1368.
Urbanization increased as the
population grew and as the division of
labor grew more complex. Large
urban centers, such as Nanjing and
Beijing, also contributed to the growth
of private industry. In particular, smallscale industries grew up, often
specializing in paper, silk, cotton, and
porcelain goods. For the most part,
however, relatively small urban
centers with markets proliferated
around the country. Town markets
mainly traded food, with some
necessary manufactures such as pins
or oil.
Despite the xenophobia and
intellectual introspection characteristic
of the increasingly popular new school
of neo-Confucianism, China under the
early Ming dynasty was not isolated.
Foreign trade and other contacts with
the outside world, particularly Japan,
increased considerably. Chinese
merchants explored all of the Indian
Ocean, reaching East Africa with
the voyages of Zheng He.
The Hong-wu Emperor Zhu
Yuanzhang, the founder of the
dynasty, laid the foundations for a
state interested less in commerce and
more in extracting revenues from the
agricultural sector. Perhaps because
of the Emperor's background as a
peasant, the Ming economic system
emphasized agriculture, unlike that of
the Song and the Mongolian
dynasties, which relied on traders and

merchants for revenue. Neo-feudal

landholdings of the Song and Mongol
periods were expropriated by the Ming
rulers. Land estates were confiscated
by the government, fragmented, and
rented out. Private slavery was
forbidden. Consequently, after the
death of Emperor Yong-le,
independent peasant landholders
predominated in Chinese agriculture.
These laws might have paved the way
to removing the worst of the poverty
during the previous regimes.

Ming China under the reign of theYongle

Emperor

The dynasty had a strong and

complex central government that
unified and controlled the empire. The
emperor's role became more
autocratic, although Zhu Yuanzhang
necessarily continued to use what he
called the "Grand Secretaries" ()
to assist with the immense paperwork
of the bureaucracy,
including memorials (petitions and
recommendations to the throne),
imperial edicts in reply, reports of
various kinds, and tax records. It was
this same bureaucracy that later

prevented the Ming government from

being able to adapt to changes in
society, and eventually led to its
decline.
The Yong-le Emperor strenuously tried
to extend China's influence beyond its
borders by demanding other rulers
send ambassadors to China to
present tribute. A large navy was built,
including four-masted ships displacing
1,500 tons. A standing army of 1
million troops (some estimate as many
as 1.9 million[who?]) was created. The
Chinese armies conquered
Vietnam for around 20 years, while
the Chinese fleet sailed the China
seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising
as far as the east coast of Africa. The
Chinese gained influence in
easternMoghulistan. Several maritime
Asian nations sent envoys with tribute
for the Chinese emperor.
Domestically, the Grand Canal was
expanded and became a stimulus to
domestic trade. Over 100,000 tons of
iron per year were produced. Many
books were printed using movable
type. The imperial palace in
Beijing's Forbidden City reached its
current splendor. It was also during
these centuries that the potential of
south China came to be fully
exploited. New crops were widely
cultivated and industries such as
those producing porcelain and textiles
flourished.
In 1449 Esen Tayisi led
an Oirat Mongol invasion of northern
China which culminated in the capture
of the Zhengtong Emperor at Tumu.
In 1521, Ming dynasty naval
forces fought and repulsed
Portuguese ships at Tuen Mun and
again fought off the Portuguese in
1522.

In 1542 the Mongol leader, Altan

Khan, began to harass China along
the northern border, reaching the
outskirts of Beijing in 1550. The
empire also had to deal with Japanese
pirates attacking the southeastern
coastline;[24] General Qi Jiguang was
instrumental in their defeat. In 1556,
during the rule of the Ming Jiajing
Emperor, the Shaanxi
earthquakekilled about 830,000
people, the deadliest earthquake of all
time.
During the Ming dynasty the last
construction on the Great Wall was
undertaken to protect China from
foreign invasions. Most of what
remains of the Wall in modern times
was either built or repaired by the
Ming. The brick and granite work was
enlarged, the watch towers were
redesigned, and cannons were placed
along its length.
China defeated the Dutch in the Sino
Dutch conflicts in 16221624 over
the Penghu islands and again
defeated the Dutch at the Battle of
Liaoluo Bay in 1633. The Ming
loyalistKoxinga defeated the Dutch in
the Siege of Fort Zeelandia in Taiwan
in 1662.

Qing dynasty (AD 16441911)

The reception of the Diplomatique

(Macartney) and his suite, at the Court of

Pekin, drawn and engraved byJames

Gillray (published September 1792).

Territory of Qing China in 1892

Main article: Qing dynasty

Capitals: Shenyang, Beijing
The Qing dynasty (16441911)
was the last imperial dynasty in
China. Founded by the Manchus,
it was the second non-Han
Chinese dynasty to rule all over
Chinese territory. The Manchus
were formerly known as Jurchen,
residing in the northeastern part of
the Ming territory outside the
Great Wall. They emerged as the
major threat to the late Ming
dynasty after Nurhaci united all
Jurchen tribes and established an
independent state. However,
the Ming dynasty would be
overthrown by Li Zicheng's
peasants rebellion, with Beijing
captured in 1644 and the last
Ming
EmperorChongzhen committing
suicide. The Manchu allied with
the Ming dynasty general Wu
Sangui to seize Beijing, which was
made the capital of the Qing
dynasty, and then proceeded to
subdue the remaining Ming's

resistance in the south. The

decades of Manchu conquest
caused enormous loss of
lives and the economic scale of
China shrank drastically. In total,
the Manchu conquest of
China (16181683) cost as many
as 25 million lives.[25] Nevertheless,
the Manchus adopted the
Confucian norms of traditional
Chinese government in their rule
and were considered a Chinese
dynasty.
The Manchus enforced a 'queue
order,' forcing the Han Chinese to
adopt the Manchu queue
hairstyle. Officials were required
to wear Manchu-style
clothing Changshan(bannermen d
ress and Tangzhuang), but
ordinary Han civilians were
allowed to wear traditional Han
clothing, or Hanfu. Most Han then
voluntarily shifted to wearing
Qipao anyway. The Kangxi
Emperor ordered the creation of
the Kangxi Dictionary, the most
complete dictionary of Chinese
characters that had been
compiled. The Qing dynasty set
up the "Eight Banners" system
that provided the basic framework
for the Qing military organization.
Bannermen could not undertake
trade or manual labor; they had to
petition to be removed from
banner status. They were
considered a form of nobility and
were given preferential treatment
in terms of annual pensions, land,
and allotments of cloth.

Late-1890s French political cartoon

showing China divided among Britain,
Germany, Russia, France and Japan

Over the next half-century, all

areas previously under the Ming
dynasty were consolidated under
the Qing. Xinjiang, Tibet,
and Mongoliawere also formally
incorporated into Chinese territory.
Between 1673 and 1681, the
Emperor Kangxi suppressed
the Revolt of the Three
Feudatories, an uprising of three
generals in Southern China who
had been denied hereditary rule of
large fiefdoms granted by the
previous emperor. In 1683, the
Qing staged an amphibious
assault on southern Taiwan,
bringing down the rebel Kingdom
of Tungning, which was founded
by the Ming loyalist Koxinga in
1662 after the fall of the Southern
Ming, and had served as a base
for continued Ming resistance in
Southern China. The
Qing defeated the Russians at
Albazin, resulting in the Treaty of
Nerchinsk.

By the end of Qianlong Emperor's

long reign, the Qing Empire was
at its zenith. China ruled more
than one-third of the world's
population, and had the largest
economy in the world. By area it
was one of the largest empires
ever.
In the 19th century the empire
was internally stagnant and
externally threatened by western
powers. The defeat by the British
Empire in the First Opium
War (1840) led to the Treaty of
Nanking (1842), under
which Hong Kong was ceded to
Britain and importation
of opium(produced by British
Empire territories) was allowed.
Subsequent military defeats
and unequal treaties with other
western powers continued even
after the fall of the Qing dynasty.
Internally the Taiping
Rebellion (18511864), a quasiChristian religious movement led
by the "Heavenly King" Hong
Xiuquan, raided roughly a third of
Chinese territory for over a
decade until they were finally
crushed in the Third Battle of
Nanking in 1864. This was one of
the largest wars in the 19th
century in terms of troop
involvement; there was massive
loss of life, with a death toll of
about 20 million.[26] A string of civil
disturbances followed, including
the PuntiHakka Clan Wars, Nian
Rebellion, Dungan Revolt,
and Panthay Rebellion.[27] All
rebellions were ultimately put
down, but at enormous cost and
with many casualties, seriously
weakening the central imperial
authority. The Banner system that
the Manchus had relied upon for

so long failed: Banner forces were

unable to suppress the rebels,
and the government called upon
local officials in the provinces,
who raised "New Armies", which
successfully crushed the
challenges to Qing authority.
China never rebuilt a strong
central army, and many local
officials became warlords who
used military power to effectively
rule independently in their
provinces.[28]

The Empress Dowager Cixi

In response to calamities within

the empire and threats from
imperialism, the SelfStrengthening Movement was an
institutional reform in the second
half of the 1800s. The aim was to
modernize the empire, with prime
emphasis on strengthening the
military. However, the reform was
undermined by corrupt officials,
cynicism, and quarrels within the
imperial family. As a result, the
"Beiyang Fleet" were soundly
defeated in theFirst SinoJapanese War (1894
1895). Guangxu Emperor and the
reformists then launched a more
comprehensive reform effort,

the Hundred Days' Reform (1898),

but it was soon overturned by the
conservatives under Empress
Dowager Cixi in a military coup.
At the turn of the 20th century, the
violent Boxer Rebellion opposed
foreign influence in Northern
China, and attacked Chinese
Christians and missionaries.
When Boxers entered Beijing, the
Imperial Court ordered all
foreigners to leave. But instead
the foreigners and many Chinese
werebesieged in the foreign
legations quarter. The EightNation Alliance sent the Seymour
Expedition of Japanese, Russian,
Italian, German, French,
American, and Austrian troops to
relieve the siege. The Expedition
was stopped by the Boxers at
the Battle of Langfang and forced
to retreat. Due to the Alliance's
attack on the Dagu Forts, the
Imperial Court in response sided
with the Boxers and declared war
on the Alliance. There was fierce
fighting at Tientsin. The Alliance
formed the second, much
larger Gaselee
Expedition and finally reached
Beijing; the Imperial Court
evacuated toXi'an. The Boxer
Protocol ended the war.

Republican China
Republic of China (1912
1949)
Main articles: History of the
Republic of China and Republic of
China (19121949)
Capitals: Nanjing, Beijing, Chongqing, several short-lived wartime capitals, Taipei (after 1949)

Sun Yat-sen, founder and first

president of the Republic of
China

Frustrated by the Qing court's

resistance to reform and by
China's weakness, young
officials, military officers, and
students began to advocate
the overthrow of the Qing
dynasty and the creation of a
republic. They were inspired
by the revolutionary ideas
of Sun Yat-sen. A
revolutionary military uprising,
the Wuchang Uprising, began
on 10 October 1911,
in Wuhan. The provisional
government of the Republic of
China was formed
in Nanjing on 12 March 1912.
The Xinhai Revolution ended
2,000 years of dynastic rule in
China.
After the success of the
overthrow of the Qing
Dynasty, Sun Yat-sen was
declared President, but Sun
was forced to turn power over
to Yuan Shikai, who
commanded the New
Army and was Prime Minister
under the Qing government,
as part of the agreement to let

the last Qing

monarchabdicate (a decision
Sun would later regret). Over
the next few years, Yuan
proceeded to abolish the
national and provincial
assemblies, and declared
himself emperor in late 1915.
Yuan's imperial ambitions
were fiercely opposed by his
subordinates; faced with the
prospect of rebellion, he
abdicated in March 1916, and
died in June of that year.
Yuan's death in 1916 left a
power vacuum in China; the
republican government was
all but shattered. This ushered
in the Warlord Era, during
which much of the country
was ruled by shifting
coalitions of competing
provincial military leaders.
In 1919, the May Fourth
Movement began as a
response to the terms
imposed on China by
the Treaty of Versailles ending
World War I, but quickly
became a nationwide protest
movement about the domestic
situation in China. The
protests were a moral
success as the cabinet fell
and China refused to sign the
Treaty of Versailles, which
had awarded German
holdings to Japan. The New
Culture Movement stimulated
by the May Fourth Movement
waxed strong throughout the
1920s and 1930s. According
to Ebrey:
"Nationalism, patriotism, progress, science, democracy, and freedom were the goals;
imperialism, feudalism, warlordism, autocracy, patriarchy, and blind adherence to tradition

where the enemies. Intellectuals struggled with how to be strong and modern and yet
Chinese, how to preserve China as a political entity in the world of competing nations." [29]

The flag of the Republic of China from 1928 to now.

The discrediting of liberal

Western philosophy
amongst leftist Chinese
intellectuals led to more
radical lines of thought
inspired by the Russian
Revolution, and
supported by agents of
the Comintern sent to
China by Moscow. This
created the seeds for the
irreconcilable conflict
between the left and right
in China that would
dominate Chinese history
for the rest of the century.
In the 1920s, Sun Yat-sen
established a
revolutionary base in
south China, and set out
to unite the fragmented
nation. With assistance
from the Soviet
Union (themselves fresh
from a socialist uprising),
he entered into an
alliance with the
fledgling Communist
Party of China. After
Sun's death from cancer
in 1925, one of his
protgs, Chiang Kaishek, seized control of
the Kuomintang (Nationali
st Party or KMT) and

succeeded in bringing
most of south and central
China under its rule in a
military campaign known
as the Northern
Expedition (19261927).
Having defeated the
warlords in south and
central China by military
force, Chiang was able to
secure the nominal
allegiance of the warlords
in the North. In 1927,
Chiang turned on the
CPC and relentlessly
chased the CPC armies
and its leaders from their
bases in southern and
eastern China. In 1934,
driven from their mountain
bases such as
the Chinese Soviet
Republic, the CPC forces
embarked on the 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 (Mao
Tse-tung).

Chinese civilians buried alive

during the 1937 Nanking
Massacre

The bitter struggle

between the KMT and the
CPC continued, openly or
clandestinely, through the
14-year-long Japanese
occupation of various
parts of the country
(19311945). The two
Chinese parties nominally
formed a united front to
oppose the Japanese in
1937, during the SinoJapanese War (1937
1945), which became a
part of World War II.
Japanese forces
committed numerous war
atrocities against the
civilian population,
including biological
warfare (see Unit 731)
and the Three Alls
Policy (Sank Sakusen),
the three alls being: "Kill
All, Burn All and Loot All".
[30]

Following the defeat of

Japan in 1945, the war
between the Nationalist
government forces and
the CPC resumed, after
failed attempts at
reconciliation and a
negotiated settlement. By
1949, the CPC had
established control over
most of the
country (see Chinese
Civil War). Westad says
the Communists won the
Civil War because they
made fewer military
mistakes than Chiang,

and because in his search

for a powerful centralized
government, Chiang
antagonized too many
interest groups in China.
Furthermore, his party
was weakened in the war
against Japanese.
Meanwhile the
Communists told different
groups, such as
peasants, exactly what
they wanted to hear, and
cloaked themselves in the
cover of Chinese
Nationalism.[31] During the
civil war both the
Nationalist and
Communists carried out
mass atrocities with
millions of noncombatants killed by both
sides during the civil war.
[32]
Atrocities include
deaths from forced
conscription and
massacres.[33]When the
Nationalist government
forces was defeated by
CPC forces in mainland
China in 1949, the
Nationalist government
retreated to Taiwan with
its forces, along with
Chiang and most of the
KMT leadership and a
large number of their
supporters; the Nationalist
government had taken
effective control of Taiwan
at the end of WWII as part
of the overall Japanese
surrender, when
Japanese troops in
Taiwan surrendered to
Republic of China troops.
[34]

People's Republic of
China (since 1949)
Main article: History of
the People's Republic of
China
Major combat in
the Chinese Civil
War ended in 1949
with Kuomintang (KMT)
pulling out of the
mainland, with the
government relocating
to Taipei and maintaining
control only over a few
islands. The Communist
Party of China was left in
control of mainland China.
On 1 October 1949, Mao
Zedong proclaimed the
People's Republic of
China.[35]"Communist
China" and "Red China"
were two common names
for the PRC.[36]

Chairman Mao
Zedong proclaiming the
establishment of
the People's Republic of
China in 1949.

The PRC was shaped by

a series of
campaigns and five-year
plans. The economic and
social plan known as

the Great Leap

Forwardcaused an
estimated 45 million
deaths.[37] Mao's
government carried out
mass executions of
landowners,
instituted collectivisation a
nd implemented
the Laogai camp system.
Execution, deaths from
forced labor and other
atrocities resulted in
millions of deaths under
Mao. In 1966 Mao and his
allies launched
the Cultural Revolution,
which continued until
Mao's death a decade
later. The Cultural
Revolution, motivated by
power struggles within the
Party and a fear of
the Soviet Union, led to a
major upheaval in
Chinese society.
In 1972, at the peak of
the Sino-Soviet split, Mao
and Zhou Enlai met US
president Richard
Nixon in Beijing to
establish relations with
the United States. In the
same year, the PRC was
admitted to the United
Nations in place of the
Republic of China, with
permanent membership
of the Security Council.
A power struggle followed
Mao's death in 1976.
The Gang of Four were
arrested and blamed for
the excesses of the
Cultural Revolution,
marking the end of a
turbulent political era in

China. Deng
Xiaoping outmaneuvered
Mao's anointed successor
chairman Hua Guofeng,
and gradually emerged as
the de facto leader over
the next few years.
Deng Xiaoping was
the Paramount Leader of
China from 1978 to 1992,
although he never
became the head of the
party or state, and his
influence within the Party
led the country
to significant economic
reforms. The Communist
Party subsequently
loosened governmental
control over citizens'
personal lives and
the communes were
disbanded with many
peasants receiving
multiple land leases,
which greatly increased
incentives and agricultural
production. This turn of
events marked China's
transition from a planned
economy to a mixed
economy with an
increasingly open market
environment, a system
termed by some[38] as
"market socialism", and
officially by the
Communist Party of
China as "Socialism with
Chinese characteristics".
The PRC adopted its
current constitution on 4
December 1982.
In 1989 the death of
former general
secretary Hu
Yaobang helped to spark

the Tiananmen Square

protests of 1989, during
which students and others
campaigned for several
months, speaking out
against corruption and in
favour of greater political
reform, including
democratic rights and
freedom of speech.
However, they were
eventually put down on 4
June when PLA troops
and vehicles entered and
forcibly cleared the
square, with many
fatalities. This event was
widely reported, and
brought worldwide
condemnation and
sanctions against the
government.[39][40] A filmed
incident involving the
"tank man" was seen
worldwide.
CPC general secretary
and PRC President Jiang
Zemin and PRC
Premier Zhu Rongji, both
former mayors of
Shanghai, led postTiananmen PRC in the
1990s. Under Jiang and
Zhu's ten years of
administration, the PRC's
economic performance
pulled an estimated
150 million peasants out
of poverty and sustained
an average annual gross
domestic product growth
rate of 11.2%.[41][42] The
country formally joined
the World Trade
Organization in 2001.
Although the PRC needs
economic growth to spur

its development, the

government began to
worry that rapid economic
growth was degrading the
country's resources and
environment. Another
concern is that certain
sectors of society are not
sufficiently benefiting from
the PRC's economic
development; one
example of this is the
wide gap between urban
and rural areas. As a
result, under former CPC
general secretary and
President Hu Jintao and
Premier Wen Jiabao, the
PRC initiated policies to
address issues of
equitable distribution of
resources, but the
outcome was not known
as of 2014.[43] More than
40 million farmers were
displaced from their land,
[44]
usually for economic
development, contributing
to 87,000 demonstrations
and riots across China in
2005.[45] For much of the
PRC's population, living
standards improved very
substantially and freedom
increased, but political
controls remained tight
and rural areas poor.[46]

See also

History of Imperia
China portal

Chinese armour

Chinese exploration

Chinese
historiography

Chinese sovereign

Economic history of
China

Ethnic groups in
Chinese history

Foreign relations of
Imperial China

Four occupations

History of Hong Kong

History of Islam in
China

History of Macau

History of science
and technology in
China

History of the Great

Wall of China

List of Chinese
monarchs

List of Neolithic
cultures of China

List of rebellions in
China

List of recipients of
tribute from China

List of tributaries of
Imperial China

Military history of
China (pre-1911)

Naval history of China

Religion in China

Timeline of Chinese
history

Notes
1.

^ Jump up
to:a b c "Public
Summary Request
Of The People's
Republic Of China
To The Government
Of The United
States Of America
Under Article 9 Of
The 1970 Unesco
Convention".
Bureau of
Educational and
Cultural Affairs,
U.S. State
Department.
Archived from the
original on 15
December 2007.
Retrieved 12
January 2008.[dead link]

2.

^ Jump up
to:a b "The Ancient
Dynasties".
University of
Maryland.
Retrieved 12
January 2008.

3.

Jump up^ "China

country profile".
BBC News. 18
October 2010.
Retrieved 7
November 2010.

4.

^ Jump up
to:a b Rixiang Zhu,
Zhisheng An,
Richard Pott,
Kenneth A.
Hoffman (June
2003)."Magnetostra
tigraphic dating of
early humans of in

China" (PDF). Earth

Science
Reviews61 (34):
191361.
5.

Jump up^ "Earliest

Presence of
Humans in
Northeast
Asia". Smithsonian
Institution. Archived
from the original on
13 August 2007.
Retrieved 4
August 2007.

6.

Jump
up^ "Neolithic
Period in
China". Timeline of
Art
History. Metropolita
n Museum of Art.
October 2004.
Retrieved 10
February 2008.

7.

Jump up^ "Rice

and Early
Agriculture in
China". Legacy of
Human
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Community
College.
Retrieved 10
February 2008.

8.

Jump
up^ "Chinese
writing '8,000 years
old'". BBC News.
18 May 2007.
Retrieved 4
May 2010.

9.

Jump
up^ "Carvings may
rewrite history of
Chinese
characters". Xinhua
online. 18 May
2007. Retrieved 19
May 2007.

10. Jump
up^ "Peiligang

Site". Ministry of
Culture of the
People's Republic
of China. 2003.
Retrieved10
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11. Jump up^ Pringle,
Heather
(1998). "The Slow
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12. Jump up^ Wertz,
Richard R.
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g Chinese
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Retrieved 10
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13. Jump up^ Bronze
Age
China at National
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found on Erlitou
pottery (written
in Simplified
Chinese)
15. Jump up^ Boltz,
William (1999).
"Language and
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19. Jump up^ Ban
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Sulaymn en Inde
et en Chine, rdig
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21. Jump up^ "Kaifung
Jews". University of
Cumbria, Division
of Religion and
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22. Jump up^ Ho,
Ping-ti (1970). "An
Estimate of the
Total Population of
Sung-Chin
China". tudes
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23. Jump
up^ "Course:
Plague". Archived
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18 November 2007.
[dead link]

24. Jump up^ "China

> History > The
Ming dynasty >
Political history >
The dynastic
succession",Encycl
opdia Britannica
Online, 2007
25. Jump up^ John M.
Roberts (1997). A
Short History of the
World. Oxford
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272.ISBN 0-19511504-X.
26. Jump up^ White,
Matthew. "Statistics
of Wars,
Oppressions and
Atrocities of the
Nineteenth
Century".
Retrieved 11
April 2007.
27. Jump up^ Harper,
Damsan; Fallon,
Steve; Gaskell,
Katja; Grundvig,
Julie; Heller,
Carolyn; Huhti,
Thomas; Maynew,
Bradley; Pitts,
Christopher
(2005). Lonely
Planet China (9
ed.). ISBN 174059-687-0.
28. Jump up^ Philip
Kuhn, Rebellion
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Late Imperial
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and Social
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29. Jump up^ Patricia

Buckley
Ebrey, Cambridge
Illustrated History
of China (1996) p
271
30. Jump
up^ Fairbank, J. K.;
Goldman, M.
(2006). China: A
New History (2nd
ed.). Harvard
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p. 320. ISBN 97806
74018280.
31. Jump up^ Odd
Arne
Westad, Restless
Empire: China and
the World Since
1750 (2012) p 291
32. Jump
up^ Rummel,
Rudolph (1994),
Death by
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33. Jump
up^ Valentino,
Benjamin A. Final
solutions: mass
killing and genocide
in the twentieth
century Cornell
University Press.
December 8, 2005.
p88
34. Jump
up^ Surrender
Order of the
Imperial General
Headquarters of
Japan, 2
September 1945,
"(a) The senior
Japanese
commanders and
all ground, sea, air,
and auxiliary forces
within China
(excluding
Manchuria), Formo
sa, and French

Indochina north of
16 degrees north
latitude shall
surrender to
Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek."
35. Jump up^ The
Chinese people
have stood up.
UCLA Center for
East Asian Studies.
Retrieved 16 April
2006.[dead link]
36. Jump up^ Smith,
Joseph; and Davis,
Simon. [2005]
(2005). The A to Z
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Issue 28
of Historical
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Arifa (17
September
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Forward 'killed 45
million in four
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2010). "China and
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39. Jump up^ Youngs,

R. The European
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Promotion of
Democracy. Oxford
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2002. ISBN 978-019-924979-4.
40. Jump up^ Carroll,
J. M. A Concise
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2007. ISBN 978-07425-3422-3.
41. Jump up^ "Nation
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global
poverty". China
Daily. 11 July 2003.
42. Jump up^ "China's
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2000.
43. Jump up^ "China
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44. Jump up^ "China:
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45. Jump up^ "In Face
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46. Jump
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Scholarly journals

Central Asian Survey

Chinese Studies in
History[1]

East Asian History[2]

Journal of Modern
Chinese History[3]

Late Imperial China

Modern China: An
International Journal
of History and Social
Science[4]

Sino-Japanese
Studies[5]

T'oung Pao:
International Journal
of Chinese Studies

Further
reading

Classical
Historiography For
Chinese History

Abramson, Marc S.
(2008). Ethnic Identity
in Tang China.
University of
Pennsylvania Press,
Philadelphia. ISBN
978-0-8122-4052-8.

Ankerl, G.
C. Coexisting
Contemporary
Civilizations: AraboMuslim, Bharati,
Chinese, and
Western. INU PRESS
Geneva, 2000. ISBN
2-88155-004-5.

Li, Xiaobing. China at

War: An
Encyclopedia (2012)
in ebrary

Wilkinson,
Endymion, Chinese
History: A New
Manual, Harvard
University, Asia
Center (for the
Harvard-Yenching
Institute), 2013, 1128
(double-column)
p., ISBN 978-0-67406715-8. Supersedes
Wilkinson (2000).

Wilkinson,
Endymion, Chinese
history: a manual,

(revised and
enlarged. Harvard
University, Asia
Center (for the
Harvard-Yenching
Institute), 2000, 1181
p., ISBN 0-67400247-4; ISBN 0-67400249-0; for
specialists.

External links
Wikimedia Commons
has media related
to History of China.

(Chinese) Chinese

Database by Academi
a Sinica.

Modernizing
China from the Dean
Peter Krogh Foreign
Affairs Digital
Archives

(Chinese) Manuscript

and Graphics
Database by
Academia Sinica.

A universal guide for

China studies

Oriental Style

Chinese Text Project,

texts and translations
of historical Chinese
works.
History Forum

Asian History
Chinese Siege Warfare

Yin Yu Tang: A
Chinese Home, an
exploration of

domestic Chinese
architecture during
the Qing dynasty.

Early Medieval China,

an academic journal
devoted to the period
between the end of
the Han and
beginning of the Tang
eras.

Cultural Revolution
Propaganda Poster

China Rediscovers its

Own History, a 100minute lecture on
Chinese history given
by Yu Ying-shih,
Emeritus Professor of
East Asian Studies
and History at
Princeton University.

Resources for Middle

School
students (grades 5
9).

A history of China by
Wolfram Eberhard,
[EBook #17695], ISO8859-1 (7 February
2006).

China from the Inside,

a
2006 PBS documenta
ry.

Ancient Asian World

History of China:
Table of Contents by
the Chaos Group at
the University of
Maryland.

Li (2010). "Evidence
that a West-East
admixed population
lived in the Tarim
Basin as early as the
early Bronze
Age" (PDF). BMC
Biology 8 (1). doi:10.1
186/1741-7007-8-15.
PMC 2838831. PMID
20163704.

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HISTORY OF CHINA
The long perspective

China's unbroken story

The Shang dynasty
Sacrifice, silk and bronze
The roots of Chinese culture

Zhou and Qin

Han
Intermediate times
T'ang
Song
Yan
Ming
Qing
To be completed

HISTORY OF CHINA Timeline

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China's unbroken story: from 500,000 years ago

Northern China, in the plains around the Huang Ho (or Yellow
River), bears evidence of more continuous human development
than any other region on earth.
500,000 years ago Peking man lives in the caves at
Zhoukoudian, about 30 miles (48km) southwest of the modern
city of Beijing. This is the farthest north that Homo
erectushas been found, and hearths in the caves are probably
the earliest evidence of the human use of fire. The same caves
are occupied 20,000 years ago by modern man, Homo
sapiens sapiens, during the Stone Age. And 3500 years ago a

nearby river valley becomes the site of one of the first great
civilizations.
The Shang dynasty: 1600 - 1100 BC
The city of An-yang, rediscovered in the 20th century, is an
important centre of the first Chinese civilization - that of the
Shang dynasty, which lasts from about 1600 to 1100 BC.
Known to its occupants as the Great City Shang, its buildings
are on both banks of the Huan river, to the north of the Yellow
River.
An-yang is at the heart of a society in which human sacrifice
plays a significant role. Archaeology reveals this, as does an
extraordinary archive of written records - stored on what the
peasants of this area, in modern times, have believed to be
dragon bones.
The dragon bones are the records, kept by the priests, of the
questions asked of the oracle by the Shang rulers. The answer
is found by the method of divination known as scapulimancy.
The priest takes a polished strip of bone, usually from the
shoulder blade of an ox, and cuts in it a groove to which he
applies a heated bronze point. The answer to the question (in
most cases just yes or no) is revealed by the pattern of the
cracks which appear in the bone. With the bureaucratic
thoroughness of civil servants, the priests then write on the
bone the question that was asked, and sometimes the answer
that was given, before filing the bone away in an archive
(seeQuestions and answers on oracle bones).

Sacrifice, silk and bronze: 1600 - 1100 BC

Several of the inscriptions on the oracle bones mention
sacrifices, sometimes of prisoners of war, which are to be made
to a silkworm goddess. There is even a Shang court official
called Nu Cang, meaning Mistress of the Silkworms.
Silk, China's first great contribution to civilization, has been an
important product of the region for at least 1000 years before
the Shang dynasty and the beginning of recorded history. The
earliest silk fragments unearthed by archaeologists date from
around 2850 BC.
The writing on the Shang oracle bones is in pictorial
characters which evolve, often with only minor modifications,
into the characters used in written Chinese today - 3500 years
later. There can be no better example of the continuity
underpinning Chinese civilization.

The excavations at An-yang demonstrate that Shang craftsmen

have reached an astonishing level of skill in the casting
ofbronze. And they reveal a reckless attitude to human life. A
building cannot be consecrated at An-yang, or a ruler buried,
without extensive human sacrifice (see the Sacrificial
guardians of An-yang).

The roots of Chinese culture: 1600 - 1100 BC

The area controlled by the Shang rulers is relatively small, but
Shang cultural influence spreads through a large part of central
China. In addition to their writing of Chinese characters, the
Shang introduce many elements which have remained
characteristic of this most ancient surviving culture. Bronze
chopsticks, for example, have been found in a Shang tomb.
The Shang use a supremely confident name for their own small
territory; it too has stood the test of time. They call An-yang
and the surrounding region Chung-kuo, meaning 'the Central
Country'. It is still the Chinese name for China. And the Shang
practise another lasting Chinese tradition - the worship of
ancestors.

Most of the elaborate bronze vessels made in

Shang times are for use in temples or shrines to ancestors.
The richly decorated urns are for cooking the meat of the
sacrificed animals. The most characteristic design is theli, with
its curved base extended into three hollow protuberances enabling maximum heat to reach the sacrificial stew.
The bronze jugs, often fantastically shaped into weird animals
and birds, are for pouring a liquid offering to the ancestor usually a hot alcoholic concoction brewed from millet.

In Shang society ancestor worship is limited to the king and

a few noble families. The good will of the king's ancestors is
crucial to the whole of society, because they are the
community's link with the gods. Over the centuries the king
becomes known as the Son of Heaven. The shrine to his
ancestors - the Temple of Heaven in Beijing - is the focal
point of the national religion.
In subsequent dynasties, and particularly after the time
ofConfucius, ancestor worship spreads downwards through
the Chinese community. It becomes a crucial part of the

culture of the Confucian civil servants, the mandarins.

The Zhou dynasty: c.1100 - 256 BC

In about 1050 BC (the date is disputed among scholars by several decades in either
direction), a new power is established in China. This is the Zhou dynasty, deriving
from a frontier kingdom between civilization and marauding tribes, westward of Anyang, up towards the mountains. After forming a confederation of other
neighbouring states, the Zhou overwhelm the Shang rulers. The new capital is at
Ch'ang-an (now known as Xi'an), close to the Wei river.
From here the Zhou control the entire area of central China, from the Huang Ho to
the Yangtze. They do so through a network of numerous subordinate kingdoms, in a
system akin tofeudalism.

In 771 BC the Zhou are driven east from Xi'an, by a combination of barbarian tribes
and some of their own dependent kingdoms. They re-establish themselves at
Loyang, where they remain the nominal rulers of China (known as the Eastern Zhou)
until 256 BC. During this long period their status is largely ceremonial and religious.
Their main role is to continue the sacrifices to their royal ancestors - from whom the
rulers of most of the other rival kingdoms also claim descent.
In the 8th century there are hundreds of small kingdoms in central China. By the
end of the 5th there are only seven. Tension and constant warfare give the period its
character.

Confucius and Confucianism: from the 6th century BC

A lasting result of these troubled centuries is the adoption of the ideas of K'ung Fu
Tzu, known to the west as Confucius. Like other spiritual leaders of this same period
(Zoroaster,Mahavira,Gautama Buddha), Confucius is essentially a teacher. As with

them, his ideas are spread by his disciples. But Confucius teaches more worldly
principles than his great contemporaries.
The unrest of his times prompts him to define a pattern of correct behaviour. The
purpose is to achieve a just and peaceful society, but the necessary first step is
within each individual. Confucius lays constant emphasis on two forms of harmony.
Music is good because it suggests a harmonious state of mind. Ritual is good
because it defines a harmonious society.

The Confucian ideals are deeply conservative, based on an unchanging pattern of

respect upwards, to those higher in rank (older members of a family, senior
members of a community), which brings with it a corresponding obligation
downwards. The pattern is extended outside this immediate world, with the highest
respect accorded to the dead - in the form of ancestor worship.
This concept of mutual obligation shares something with feudalism, but it gives less
honour to military prowess. It is more like a utopian bureaucracy, with responsible
Confucians on hand at every level to oil the machinery of state.

Confucius runs a school in his later years, proclaiming it open to talent regardless of
wealth. His young graduates, more intellectually agile than their contemporaries,
are much in demand as advisers in the competing kingdoms of China. So the
master's ideas are spread at a practical level, and his disciples begin as they will
continue - as civil servants. Known in China as scholar officials, they acquire the
name 'mandarin' in western languages from a Portuguese corruption of a Sanskrit
word.
The idea of a career open to talent becomes a basic characteristic of Chinese
society. By the 2nd century BC China's famous examination system has been
adopted, launching the world's first meritocracy (see Chinese examinations).

Daoism: from the 4th century BC

Confucianism is so practical a creed that it can scarcely be called a religion. It is illequipped to satisfy the human need for something more mysterious. China provides
this in the form of Daoism.
Laozi, the supposed founder of Daoism, is traditionally believed to have been an
older contemporary of Confucius. It is more likely that he is an entirely mythical
figure. The small book which he is supposed to have written dates from no earlier
than the 4th century BC. It is an anthology of short passages, collected under the
titleDaodejing. Immensely influential over the centuries, it is the basis for China's
alternative religion.

Daodejing means 'The Way and its Power'. The way is the way of nature, and the
power is that of the man who gives up ambition and surrenders his whole being to
nature. How this is achieved is a subtle mystery. But the Daodejingsuggests that
theWay of water(the humblest and most irresistible of substances) is something
which a wise man should imitate.
In the late 20th century, an era of ecology and New Age philosophies, the
'alternative' quality of Daoism has given it considerable appeal in the west. In
Chinese history it is indeed alternative, but in a different sense. In the lives of
educated Chinese, Daoism has literally alternated with Confucianism.

Confucianism and Daoism are like two sides of the same Chinese coin.
They are opposite and complementary. They represent town and country, the
practical and the spiritual, the rational and the romantic. A Chinese official is a
Confucian while he goes about the business of government; if he loses his job, he
will retire to the country as a Daoist; but a new offer of employment may rapidly
restore his Confucianism.
The same natural cycle of opposites is reflected in the Chinese theory
ofYin and yang, which also becomes formulated during the long Zhou dynasty.

Legalism: from the 4th century BC

Although the Zhou dynasty is the cradle of the two most lasting schools of Chinese
thought, Confucianism and Daoism, it is brought to an end by a more brutal
philosophy usually described as Legalism. Expressed in a work of the 4th century
BC, theBook of Lord Shang, it responds to the lawlessness of the age by demanding
more teeth for the law. A strict system of rewards and punishments is to be imposed
upon society. But the ratio is to be one reward to every nine punishments.
Punishment produces force, force produces strength, strength produces awe, awe
produces virtue. Virtue has its origin in punishments', proclaims theBook of Lord
Shang.It is read with attention by the ruler of the Qin.

The Qin dynasty: 221 - 206 BC

By the 4th century BC the numerous Zhou kingdoms have been reduced, by warfare
and conquest, to just seven. The most vigorous of these is the Qin kingdom,
occupying the Wei valley. This region, as when the Zhou were here centuries earlier,

is a buffer state between the civlized China of the plains and the barbaric tribal
regions in the mountains.
The Qin have learnt from their tribal neighbours how to fight from the saddle,
instead of in the cumbersome war chariots used by the Zhou kingdoms. And
Legalism gives them a healthy disregard for the Confucian pretensions of the more
sophisticated kingdoms. In particular they are unimpressed by the claims to
preeminence of the feeble state of Zhou.

In 256 the Qin overrun Zhou, bringing to an abrupt end a dynasty which has lasted
on paper more than 800 years. In the following decades they conquer and annexe
each of the other five kingdoms. The last is subdued in 221 BC.
The whole of central China is now for the first time under a single unified control, in
effect creating a Chinese empire. The Qin ruler who has achieved it gives himself an
appropriate new title, Shi Huangdi, the 'first sovereign emperor'. His Qin kingdom
(pronounced 'chin') provides the name which most of the world has used ever since
for this whole region of the earth - China.

Shi Huangdi rapidly sets in place a dictatorship of uniformity, based on terror. Much
use is made of a scale of five standard punishments - branding on the forehead,
cutting off the nose, cutting off the feet, castration and death.
The only approved commodities in this empire are items of practical use. These do
not include books orConfucians. In 213 BC it is ordered that all books (except those
on medicine, agriculture and divination) are to be burnt (see Bamboo books). A year
later it is reported that 460 Confucian scholars have been executed.

The collapse of the first empire: 210-206 BC

Like other megalomaniacs, Shi Huangdi predicts that his empire will last almost to
eternity. 11,000 generations is his claim. In the event it lasts less than one
generation - from 221 to 206 BC.
When the emperor dies, in 210, the arrangement of his tomb reflects both his
paranoia and his power. In his determination that no thief shall discover and
desecrate his resting place, the workmen who construct it are buried with him - or
so Chinese tradition has always maintained, adding that the tomb has crossbows
permanently cocked to impale any intruder. When the tomb is eventually
discovered, in 1975, it reveals an even more amazing secret - the famous Terracotta
armyof Xi'an.

Turmoil follows the death of the Qin emperor. During it his chief minister, Li Ssu,
receives his own dose of Legalist medicine.
His downfall is engineered by a palace eunuch, who arranges for him to suffer each
of the first four punishments in turn and then, without nose, feet or genitals, to be
flogged and cut in two at the waist.

A series of peasant rebellions, resulting from the brutality of the regime,

accompanies the rapid collapse of the Qin dynasty. From the chaos there emerges
the first undeniably great Chinese dynasty, the Han.
But the centralizing effort of the Qin ruler does bequeath some lasting benefits to
China. The Chinese will never again forget a political ideal deriving from this time that the natural condition of their great and isolated land mass is to be a single

entity. A practical token of this ideal is left by the Qin emperor in the form of
the Great Wall of China - a boundary which securely defines the nation on the only
side where nature does not already do so by mountain, jungle or sea.

The Han dynasty: 206 BC - AD 220

The Han is the first of the five great Chinese dynasties, each of them controlling the
entire area of China for a span of several centuries. The others are the T'ang (7th10th centuries), Song (10th-13th), Ming (14th-17th) and Qing (17th-20th).
The Han is a great deal earlier than any of these, and it lasts - with one minor
interruption - longer than any other. At its peak the imperial power stretches from
the Pamir Mountains in the west to Korea in the east and to Vietnam in the south.
With justification the Han dynasty comes to seem a golden age, and the Chinese
have often described themselves as the 'sons of Han'.

The Han kingdom was one of the five states engulfed between 230 and 221 BC by
the Qin emperor. During the rebellions which follow his death, the Han throne is
seized in 206 by a man of peasant origin. After four years of warfare he is strong
enough to claim the Qin empire. As founder of a great dynasty he is later given the
title Kaozi - 'exalted ancestor'.
As befits his origins, Kaozi is a rough character, with little respect for the Chinese
official classes. The first great Chinese historian, Sima Qian, writing a century later,
gives a vivid but improbable glimpse of the man. 'Whenever a visitor wearing a
Confucian hat comes to see the emperor, he immediately snatches the hat from the
visitor's head and pisses in it'.

Confronted by the practical problems of running the empire, Kaozi overcomes his

aversion to the Confucians. He even commissions a Confucian work on the

principles of good government. And his successors make the Confucians the scholarofficials of the state.
Under the most powerful of the Han emperors, Wudi (the 'martial emperor'),
scholars of other disciplines are banned from court. The Confucian examination
system is made a cornerstone of the administrative system (see Chinese
examinations). And an imperial academy is set up to study the supposed works of
the master (most of them, in reality, written or compiled by his disciples).

The Chinese architectural tradition: from the 1st c. BC

No architecture survives in China from the early dynasties (with the spectacular
exception of theGreat Wall) because the Chinese have always built in wood, which
decays. On the other hand, wood is easily repaired.
When timbers of a wooden structure are replaced and repainted, the building is as
good as new - or as good as old. The conservative tendency in Chinese culture
means that styles, even in entirely new buildings, seem to have changed little in the
2000 years since the Han dynasty.

Documents of the time suggest that Han imperial architecture is already of a kind
familiar today in Beijing's Forbidden City, the vast palace built in the 15th century
for the Ming emperors. Carved and painted wooden columns and beams support
roofs with elaborate ornamented eaves.
The painting of buildings provides ample opportunity for the Chinese love of rank
and hierarchy. The Li Chi, a Confucian book of ritual complied in the Han dynasty,
declares that the pillars of the emperor's buildings are red, those of princes are
black, those of high officials blue-green, and those of other members of the gentry
yellow.

Minor improvements are introduced with the advance of technology.

The colourful ceramic roof tiles of Chinese pavilions are an innovation in the Song
dynasty in the 11th century. But in broad terms the civic buildings of China retain
their appearance through the ages.
A good example is the magnificent Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Its colours,
frequently restored, are so fresh that the building looks new. But the structure dates
from the early 15th century, in the Ming dynasty, and its appearance on its marble
platform is almost identical to Marco Polo's description of its predecessor in the 13th
century.

The reign of the emperor Wudi: 142 - 87 BC

At the peak of the Han dynasty, under the emperor Wudi, the Chinese empire
stretches to its greatest expanse and seems to need for nothing. Even the valuable
commodities which previously have been acquired from beyond the empire's
northern boundary - horses and jade - are now regarded as home produce. They
come from the steppes to the north of the Himalayas, where the
nomadicXiongnu are now increasingly brought under Chinese control.
Sima Qian,

writing during Wudi's reign, depicts the empire as Proudly self-sufficient, in

his list of what is available and in which regions.

Wudi employs military force more effectively than his predecessors against
theXiongnu, who are constantly pressing from the north. Searching for allies against
these ferocious neighbours, he is intrigued by reports that there are other nomadic
tribes, the Yueqi, enemies of the Xiongnu, living to the west of them.
In 138 Wudi sends an envoy on a dangerous mission to make contact with these
potential allies. The 13-year adventure of the envoy, Zhang Qian, is one of the great
early travel stories (see theJourney of Zhang Qian). It is also the first fully
documented contact between China and the west, and a significant step towards
the opening of theSilk Road.

The contribution of the Han

Several important technical advances are made in China during the Han dynasty. In
warfare, the Chinese skill in working bronze is applied to the invention of
thecrossbow.
In the story of communication there are two major turning points. Paper is invented,
with a traditional date of AD 105. And although true printing must wait a few more
centuries, an initiative of AD 175 proves an important stepping stone towards the
first printed texts in Chinese.

Engraved texts: 2nd - 8th century AD

The emperor of China commands, in AD 175, that the six main classics of
Confucianism be carved in stone. His purpose is to preserve them for posterity in
what is held to be authentic version of the text. But his enterprise has an
unexpected result.
Confucian scholars are eager to own these important texts. Now, instead of having

them expensively written out, they can make their own copies. Simply by laying
sheets of paper on the engraved slabs and rubbing all over with charcoal or
graphite, they can take away a text in white letters on a black ground - a technique
more familiar in recent centuries in the form of brass-rubbing.

Subsequent emperors engrave other texts, until quite an extensive white-on-black

library can be acquired. It is a natural next step to carve the letters in a raised form
(and in mirror writing) and then to apply ink to the surface of the letters. When this
ink is transferred to paper, the letters appear in black (or in a colour) against the
white of the paper - much more pleasant to the eye than white on black.
This process isprinting. But it is the Buddhists, rather than the Confucians, who
make the breakthrough.

Western and Eastern Han: 206 BC - AD 221

For the first 200 years of the dynasty, the Han capital is in the Wei valley - at Xi'an
(the same site as Ch'ang-An, the first capital of the Zhou dynasty). During a brief
interlude the throne is seized by a usurper, who forms the Hsin or 'new' dynasty (AD
8-23). The imperial family then recovers the throne and moves the capital further
east into the plains. The emperors re-establish themselves at Loyang - again the very
place to which the Zhou dynasty moved from Xi'an, nearly eight centuries earlier.
At Loyang the Han survive for another 200 years, until eventually toppled in 221
after several decades of peasant uprisings - a pattern of events which has been
common at the end of Chinese dynasties.

Period of Disunion: 3rd - 6th century AD

The centuries after the collapse of the Han dynasty are a time
of chaos. The Chinese Standard Histories identify no fewer

than ten dynasties and nineteen separate kingdoms during this

period. It is often known now as the Six Dynasties (from six in
succession which had their capital at Nanjing), or more
accurately as the Period of Disunion. As in many chaotic times,
much is achieved. One such achievement is the flourishing of
Chinese Buddhism.
The first Buddhists have reached China, along the Silk Road,
in the 1st century AD. They flourish partly because they are
warmly welcomed by a well-established indigenous
religion,Daoism.
The Daoists see the Buddhists as kindred souls, and with good
reason. Both religions have priests, monasteries and some
form of religious hierarchy. Both believe in a withdrawal from
the everyday business of life. Both differ profoundly from the
Chinese alternative to Daoism - the practical, commonsense,
worldly philosophy of Confucianism.
Soon the two religions become so closely linked that a new
Daoist theory evolves. The Buddha is actually Lao-Tzu, who
was given this other name when he made a secret journey to
bring the truth to India.

Centuries later, when Buddhism is favoured above Daoism by

Chinese rulers and when the great wealth of Buddhist
monasteries provokes jealousy, the Daoist legend becomes
neatly reversed. If the Buddhists are Daoists under another
name, why should they enjoy any special treatment and such
spectacular success? Such arguments underlie the
eventualpersecution of Buddhists, in the 9th century.
Meanwhile their success is indeed astonishing. Buddhist
carving in China stands as visible proof of their wealth and
energy.

In sheer quantity, if in nothing else, Buddhist carving in China

would be a phemonenon in the history of sculpture. One site
near the ancient capital of Loyang, at the eastern end of the
Silk Road, makes the point very effectively. Any visitor to Longmen will be struck by the profusion of Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas and Arhats and their guardians. But exactly how
many statues are there?
In 1916 a local magistrate attempts to count them. He arrives
at a total of 97,306 separate figures. A more recent study
suggests that 142,289 may be nearer the mark.

The Sui dynasty: 589-618

The man who reunites China in 589, forming

the Sui dynasty, is an enthusiastic patron of Buddhism. He
takes as his title Wen Ti, meaning the Cultured Emperor, and
devotes much effort to building Buddhist stupas throughout the
land. The local version of a stupa develops into a specifically
Chinese form, that of the pagoda.
His son, Yang Ti (the Emblazoned Emperor), undertakes an
even more ambitious project, requiring so much forced labour
that it contributes to the rapid end of this brief dynasty. But it
has economic value and is a stupendous achievement. Yang Ti
constructs the Grand Canal, linking the Yangtze to the Yellow
River and thus to the twin capitals of Loyang and Xi'an.

The T'ang dynasty: 618-907

Rebellion breaks out against the second Sui emperor in 613, partly provoked by the
burden of constructing his Grand Canal. In 616, fleeing from his capital at Xi'an, he
and his court are towed down the canal to temporary safety in his specially
designed barges. Two years later he is assassinated by his own troops.
Meanwhile one of the emperor's high officials has seized power in Xi'an. By 618 he
is in a position to declare himself the founder of a new dynasty, the T'ang. China
enters its most dynamic era, a period rivalled only by the first two centuries of the
Han dynasty.

Chinese culture under the T'ang reaches new heights in ceramics andliterature. The
Chinese style influences Korea and Japan, and the two younger civilizations also
give an increasingly warm welcome to Chinese Buddhism. Imperial control now
extends once again from desert oases along the Silk Road in the northwest to parts
of Manchuria in the northeast and to Vietnam in the south.
Beyond China's borders to the west, the might of the emperor reaches further than

at any previous time. Princes as far away as Bukhara and Samarkand recognize his
sovereignty.

Imperial science and a great map of China: 721-801

The extent of the imperial Chinese bureaucracy under the T'ang dynasty makes
possible an unusually thorough scientific project (echoing, for a different purpose,
the brave amateur experiment ofEratosthenes1000 years earlier). In 721 the
emperor sets up nine research stations, across a span of more than 2000 miles,
from Hue in the south to the Great Wall in the north.
For four years each station measures the sun's shadow at noon on the summer and
winter solstice. It is an elegant experiment in that no difficult synchronization is
required. The shortest and longest shadows at each place are the correct answers,
providing invaluable information for cartographers.

A famous map of 801 - a landmark in cartography - no doubt makes use of the nine
points of latitude scientifically established in the experiment of 721-5. It is a map of
the Chinese world, produced for the T'ang emperor by Chia Tan.
Chia Tan's map is on an ambitious scale, measuring about 10 by 11 yards. It charts
the entire T'ang empire and extends its range into the barbarian world beyond
China's borders, showing the seven main trade routes with other parts of Asia.

T'ang pottery: 7th - 9th century

T'ang is the first dynasty from which sufficient pottery survives for a
Chinese style to become widely known in modern times. The surviving pieces are
almost exclusively ceramic figures found in tombs. They represent the animals
(particularly horses, but also camels) and the servants and attendants needed by
the dead man in the next life.
The eclectic nature of Chinese religion is well suggested in the range of attendants
considered helpful. A general by the name of Liu Tingxun, buried at Loyang in 728,
is accompanied by two Confucian officials, two Buddhist guardians and two
ferocious-looking earth spirits of a more Daoist disposition.

Vigorously realistic in style, with bright and often dappled glazes,

T'ang horses and tomb figures are among the most delightful and recognizable of
styles of pottery.
But the T'ang potters make another contribution of much greater significance in
ceramic history. They discover the technique of the thin white translucent ware
known as porcelain. There is much argument about the date of the first porcelain,
for there is no precise agreement on how to define it (it is most commonly described
as white china so thin that it is translucent and makes a ringing sound when struck).
Other definitions involve the relative proportions of ingredients such as kaolin and
porcelain stone.

Wares produced in north China during the T'ang dynasty, from as early as the 7th
century, have the characteristics of porcelain. From the start they are widely
appreciated. In a summer palace of the 9th century, far away on the Tigris at
Samarra, broken fragments of T'ang porcelain have been found. The earliest known
example of a foreigner marvelling at this delicate Chinese ware derives from the
same century and region.
In 851 a merchant by the name of Suleiman is recorded in Basra, at the mouth of
the Tigris, as saying that the Chinese have 'pottery of excellent quality, of which
bowls are made as fine as glass drinking cups; the sparkle of water can be seen
through it, although it is pottery.

T'ang poetry: 7th - 9th century

Chinese poetry achieves its golden age during the T'ang dynasty. The ability to turn
an elegant verse is so much part of civilized life that almost 50,000 poems (by some
2300 poets) survive from the period.
Poetry is a social activity. Friends write stanzas for each other to commemorate an
occasion, and competitive improvization is a favourite game at a party or on a
picnic. Early in the dynasty news of a child prodigy, a girl of seven, reaches the
court. She is brought before the empress and is asked to improvize on the theme of
bidding farewell to her brothers. The Resulting poem, delivered in this alarming
context, is brilliant - though no doubt polished in the telling.

Chinese scholar officials, pleasantly torn between Confucianismand Daoism, write

poetry when they are in their Daoist vein. Verses are composed when the official is
on a journey with friends, or on holiday, or in temporary retirement in a thatched
cottage in some delighful landscape.

Most of the leading poets, though their inspiration lies among friends in the
countryside, are also on the fringes of imperial court life. In this balance they echo
to some extent the experience ofHorace in imperial Rome. Like his short odes, the
favourite T'ang form known as l-shih('regulated verse') is distinguished by its finely
honed elegance.

Wang Wei, Li Po and Tu Fu: 8th century

The three greatest T'ang poets are exact contemporaries in the early 8th century.
One of them, Wang Wei, begins his career with a brilliant success in the official
examinations but he rarely holds the high positions which this would normally imply
(ssee Chinese examinations). More important to him is his villa in the mountains
south of the capital city, at Wang-ch'uan.
The beauty of the landscape inspires Wang Wei both as painter and poet. None of
his paintings survive, but later Chinese landscapes reveal the closely related
influence of the countryside in both art forms. A poet of the next dynasty writes of
Wang Wei that there are pictures in his poems and poems in his pictures.

The other two leading T'ang poets, Li Po and Tu Fu, are unsuccessful in the
examinations (see Chinese examinations). Instead they regularly present poems to
the imperial court in the hope of finding preferment. Occasionally they are
successful. But both men, for much of their lives, lead a nomadic existence supporting themselves on small farms, or lodging in Daoist monasteries.
Nevertheless they are able to acquire great fame in their lifetime as poets, thanks
to the extensive network of educated Chinese officialdom. In 744 (when Li is 43 and
Tu 32) their paths cross for the first time, and the two poets become firm friends.
Friendship and Chinese poetry are closely linked.

The first printed book: 868

The earliest known printed book is Chinese, from the end of the T'ang dynasty.
Discovered in acave at Dunhuang in 1899, it is a precisely dated document which
brings the circumstances of its creation vividly to life.
It is a scroll, 16 feet long and a foot high, formed of sheets of paper glued together
at their edges. The text is that of the Diamond Sutra, and the first sheet in the scroll
has an added distinction. It is the world's first printed illustration, depicting an
enthroned Buddha surrounded by holy attendants. In a tradition later familiar in
religious art of the west, a small figure kneels and prays in the foreground. He is
presumably the donor who has paid for this holy book.

The name of the donor, Wang Chieh, is revealed in another device which later
becomes traditional in early printed books in the west. The details of publication are
given in a colophon (Greek for 'finishing stroke') at the end of the text. This reveals
that the scroll is a work of Buddhist piety, combined with the filial obligations of
good Confucian ideals: 'Printed on 11 May 868 by Wang Chieh, for free general
distribution, in order in deep reverence to perpetuate the memory of his parents.'
The printing of Wang Chieh's scroll is of a high standard, so it must have had many
predecessors. But the lucky accident of the cave at Dunhuang has given his parents a
memorial more lasting than he could have imagined possible.

The T'ang in decline: 751-906

With the exception of printing, the great T'ang achievements take place in the first
half of the dynasty. This is a repetitive pattern of Chinese history, for the vigour of

the founding emperor of a dynasty - a self-made man - can rarely be matched by

descendants who grow up in a palace environment, pampered by eunuchs and
shielded from practical experience.
The T'ang are also unfortunate in their neighbours. For the first time since
communication with the west is established, during the Han dynasty, there is an
expansionist new power beyond the Himalayas. The Arabs, with their Muslim faith,
have the vitality traditionally considered in China to be characteristic of a new
dynasty.

The Arabs and the Chinese: 751-758

By the mid-8th century, with the Arabs firmly in control of central Asia and the
Chinese pressing further west than ever before, a clash is sooner or later inevitable.
It comes, in 751, at the Talas river. The result is a shattering defeat for the Chinese.
For the Arabs an interesting fringe benefit of victory is the valuable secret of how to
make paper.
Seven years later the Arabs again demonstrate their strength with an impertinent
gesture at the opposite extreme of the Chinese empire. Arriving in 758 along the
trade route of the south China coast, they loot and burn Canton.

The rebellion of An Lu-shan: 755

Between the two Arab incursions, the T'ang administration is gravely weakened by
the rebellion of an army commander serving on the northwest frontier. In 755 An Lushan marches east and captures both the western and eastern capitals, at Xi'an and
Loyang. The emperor flees ignominiously.
Two years later An Lu-shan is murdered by his own son. But the weakened condition
of the empire is soon demonstrated again. In 763 the emperor is unable to prevent

an invading Tibetan force from briefly capturing Xi'an.

Eunuchs and warlords, Daoists and Buddhists

The T'ang dynasty never again recovers its former strength. The next century and a
half is characterized by violent struggles between powerful groups. One such clash
is between the eunuchs who run the imperial palace, and who are now increasingly
given command over the palace armies, and the regional governors controlling
troops in the provinces.
Another clash is between Daoists and Buddhists. In recent centuries the Buddhists
have been the more favoured of the Daoists, an older indigenous sect by now
jealous of the foreign upstarts, seek to influence the emperors against their rivals.

In 845 the Daoist campaign is finally and decisively successful. The emperor
initiates a purge in which 4000 Buddhist monasteries are destroyed, together with
many more shrines and temples. A quarter of a million monks and nuns are forced
back into secular life.
Soon lawless provincial armies and popular unrest combine to make the country
ungovernable. Rebellious peasants occupy Xi'an in 881. In 903 a surviving leader of
that peasant uprising captures the emperor and kills him with all his eunuchs. Three
years later he sets up a dynasty of his own with his capital at Kaifeng. A succession
of similar warlords follow his example in a chaotic 50-year span known as the Five
Dynasties.

Zhou and Qin

Han
Intermediate times
T'ang
Song
The Song empire
Northern Song
Southern Song
Paper money in China
Chinese publishing
Skills of a Chinese gentleman
Pottery of the Song dynasty
A tower clock in China
The Chinese junk

Yan
Ming
Qing
To be completed

HISTORY OF CHINA Timeline

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The Song empire: 960-1279

The rapid succession of the Five Dynasties is brought to an end
by a warlord who wins power in960. He establishes the sixth in
the sequence on a more firm footing, as the Song dynasty. He
does so by reducing the power of regional commanders
(keeping the best regiments under his own command at the
centre) and by giving greater authority to the civilian
administration.
As a result this is the heyday of the Confucians. Ever since
the Han dynasty, scholar officials have supposedly been
selected by merit in the civil-service exams (see Chinese
examinations). But heredity and corruption have often
frustrated this intention, reserving the jade insignia of office for
the families of the powerful rather than the talented.
Now, under the Song emperors, the search for talent becomes
rigorous. As an early Song ruler puts it, 'bosoms clothed in
coarse fabrics may carry qualities of jade', and he is
determined that such bosoms shall not 'remain unknown'.
The result is a China weaker in military terms than its
predecessors but of greater sophistication. The territory
controlled by the Song emperors is gradually reduced under
pressure from less civilized intruders, particularly from the
north. But enough remains to be the basis of a strong economy
and a rich urban culture.

Northern Song:960-1127
For the first half of the dynasty, known as Northern Song, the
capital is at Kaifeng - an important centre where the Grand
Canal joins the Yellow River. The city includes 16 square miles
within its walls and has an estimated population of more than a
million people. It is not the only one of its kind. By the end of
the dynasty Soozhou, Hangzhou and Canton (already the port
for foreign merchants) are all of this size.
In these great cities the Chinese enjoy the fruits of trade (now
carried in exceptionally large merchant ships, and often
negotiated in paper money), the benefits of technology (such
as printing) and the aesthetic delights of pottery, painting
and poetry.
These pleasures are interrupted from time to time by the
demands of the Khitan, a tribe from eastern Mongolia who
have settled in north China and have established their own
version of a Chinese dynasty (the Liao, 907-1125). The Khitan
are the first to make a capital city in what is now Beijing. They
are such troublesome neighbours that the Song regularly make
large payments to them (of silk, grain, copper and silver) in

return for peace.

A more drastic interruption occurs when another aggressive
group from the northern steppes, the Jurchen, overwhelm the
Liao dynasty in 1125. Two years later they capture the Song
capital, Kaifeng, and carry off the Song emperor and 3000 of
his court. But even this disaster proves only a dislocation.

Southern Song: 1127-1279

A prince of the imperial family, avoiding capture at Kaifeng,
establishes a new administration at the other end of the Grand
Canal, at Hangzhou. Here the Southern Song continue for
another 150 years, in territory reduced to a mere fraction of
the China of the T'ang empire.
But civilized Chinese life thrives in the exceptionally beautiful
city of Hangzhou, at the heart of China's richest agricultural
region - the rice fields of the south. It will continue to thrive
until the arrival of another intruder, of a different calibre from
all previous northern barbarians. Though not Chinese, he
becomes emperor of China. He is perhaps the only emperor in
Chinese history whose name is widely known - Kublai Khan.
Paper money in China: 10th - 15th century
Paper money is first experimented with in China in about910,
during the Five Dynasties period. It is a familiar currency by
the end of the century under the Song dynasty. Another three
centuries later it is one of the things about China which most
astonishes Marco Polo (see Bank notes in China).
He describes in great detail how the notes are authenticated,
and then unwittingly touches on the danger lurking within the
delightful freedom to print money. He says that the emperor of
China makes so many notes each year that he could buy the
whole treasure of the world, 'though it costs him nothing'. By
the early 15th century inflation has become such a problem
that paper currency is abolished in the Ming empire.
Chinese publishing: 10th - 11th century
Printing from wood blocks, as in the Diamond Sutra, is a
laborious process. Yet the Chinese printers work wonders. In
the 10th and 11th centuries all the Confucian classics are
published for the use of scholar officials, together with huge
numbers of Buddhist and Daoist works (amounting to around
5000 scrolls of each) and the complete Standard
Historiessince the time of Sima Qian.
The carving of so many characters in reverse on wood blocks is
an enormous investment of labour, but the task is unavoidable

until the introduction of movable type. This innovation, once

again, seems to have been pioneered in China but achieved in
Korea.
Chinese arts: in the Song dynasty
In the heyday of classical Chinese culture, a civilized
gentleman - meaning a Confucian official - should be adept in
three different artistic fields. When he settles down before a
fresh sheet of paper and dips his brush in the ink (ground from
a block of pigment by a servant), no one can be certain
whether he is about to pen an impromptu poem, paint a quick
impression of a romantic landscape or fashion some traditional
phrase in exquisite Chinese characters.
The three skills, all expressed in the beauty of brush strokes,
are closely linked. A 'soundless poem' is a conventional
Chinese term for a picture. And a typical poem by the Song
master Ou-yang Hsiu Sounds like a painting.
Poetry and painting in Song China (960-1279) are largely
social activities, both in the creation and in the appreciation of
the work. On a convivial occasion, with wine flowing,
Confucians will compete with each other in writing or painting.
In more sober vein, among connoisseurs, a collector will bring
the scrolls from their boxes and will unroll them to be admired
and discussed.
China's past is also now a theme for conoisseurs, in a fashion
pioneered by Ou-yang Hsiu (and echoed centuries later in Italy
during the Renaissance). Ou-yang Hsiu clambers 'on
precarious cliffs and inaccessible gorges, in wild forests and
abandoned tombs' to make rubbings which he publishes, in
about 1000 portfolios, as his Collection of Ancient
Inscriptions'.

Inevitably much of the painting done by enthusiastic amateurs

is dull and conventional. This is particularly true during the
reign of the emperor Hui Tsung. Himself a talented painter, of a
carefully exact kind, he sets up an official academy of
painting.
Those who want to get on at court are unlikely to disagree with
the emperor on matters of artistic style. Others, opting out of
the system, come under the influence of Chan or Zen
Buddhism with its emphasis on freedom of expression. The
Chan painters of the Song dynasty, using a few quick
brushstrokes to capture a fleeting visual moment, provide one
of the most brilliant interludes in the story of Chinese art.

Pottery of the Song dynasty: 10th - 13th century

Of the many arts which thrive in China at this

time, Song ceramics are outstanding. The simple shapes of the
pottery and porcelain of this dynasty, and the elegance of the
glazes (usually monochrome), have set standards of
refinement admired in subsequent centuries throughout the
world.
Among the best known of these wares are the celadons, with
their thick transparent green glazes, which are made at
Longquan, near the southern Song capital of Hangzhou. Also
influential are the black wares known as temmoku, popular
with Buddhist monks for the tea ceremony and exported in
large quantities for this purpose to Japan.
A tower clock in China: 1094
After six years' work, a Buddhist monk by the name of Su Song
completes a great tower, some thirty feet high, which is
designed to reveal the movement of the stars and the hours of
the day. Figures pop out of doors and strike bells to signify the
hours.
The power comes from a water wheel occupying the lower part
of the tower. Su Song has designed a device which stops the
water wheel except for a brief spell, once every quarter of an
hour, when the weight of the water (accumulated in vessels on
the rim) is sufficient to trip a mechanism. The wheel, lurching
forward, drives the machinery of the tower to the next
stationary point in a continuing cycle.
This device (which in Su Sung's tower must feel like a minor
earthquake every time it slams the machinery into action) is an
early example of an escapement - a concept essential to
mechanical clockwork. In any form of clock based on
machinery, power must be delivered to the mechanism in
intermittent bursts which can be precisely regulated. The
rationing of power is the function of the escapement. The real
birth of mechanical clockwork awaits a reliable version,
developed in Europe in the 13th century.
Meanwhile Su Sung's tower clock, ready for inspection by the
emperor in 1094, is destroyed shortly afterwards by
maraudingbarbarians from the north.

The Chinese junk: 12th century - 15th century

The design of the Chinese junk (a western word from the
Malayan djong, meaning 'boat') is perfected during the later
part of the Song dynasty, when the loss of the northern
empire increases the importance of overseas trade. A merchant
fleet, and a navy to defend it, become essential. The resulting
junk is an ideal craft for the South China seas.
The region suffers violent typhoons, so a strong hull is
essential. The Chinese achieve this by means of the bulkhead a partition across the interior of the hull, and sometimes along
its length as well. Bulkheads make the hull rigid and also
provide watertight compartments - invaluable when a leak at
sea needs repair.
The Chinese junk has other pioneering features later copied
elsewhere. Traditionally built without a keel (allowing access to
shallow waters), the junk is ill-equipped to sail a straight
course until an important innovation of the Song period - the
addition of the sternpost rudder. This is a large heavy board
which can be lowered on a sternpost when the junk moves into
deep water. Coming below the bottom of the boat, and capable
of hinging on its post, it fulfils the function both of keel and
rudder.
Until this time, throughout the world, the conventional method
of steering a boat has been by means of a long oar projecting
from the stern.

Another important innovation on the Chinese junk is multiple

masts. Marco Polo describes sea-going junks as having four
masts, with a further two which can be raised when required.
Each mast has square-rigged sails. They concertina on
themselves, when reefed, in the manner of a Venetian blind.
These ships are huge. Marco Polo claims that sixty private
cabins for merchants can be built on the deck, and
archaeological evidence suggests that by the 15th century a
large merchant junk is about 450 feet from the bow to the high
poop in the stern - six times the length of the contemporary
Portuguese caravel. In 1973 the discovery of a junk of the
13th-century confirms much of what Marco Polo reports from
the time of Kublai Khan.

Page 6 of 9

Kublai Khan and the Yan dynasty of China: 1252-79

From 1252 Kublai presses south through the mountainous
western regions of China, into Szechwan and Ynnan. His
attention is distracted by the death of his brother, the great

khan Mangu, in 1259. Kublai is elected khan in his place by

the Mongol nobles campaigning with him in China. But the
same position is claimed by a younger brother, Ariq Bge,
atKarakorum.
Kublai defeats his brother in 1264. As Kublai Khan, ruler of the
Mongol empire, he is now free to give his full attention to
China. In 1267 he reveals the seriousness of his ambitions
when he moves the imperial capital south from Karakorum to
Beijing - a town severely damaged by his
grandfather, Genghis Khan, in 1215.
Kublai Khan builds himself a magnificent city at Beijing. Its
walls are 24 miles in circumference and some 50 feet high. The
Mongols call it Khanbaliq, the 'city of the Khan'; and under a
version of this name, as Cambaluc, it becomes famous even in
Europe.
From this base in the north he sets about overwhelming
theSong dynasty. As early as 1271 he makes it plain that he
sees himself not as an invading barbarian but as the Chinese
emperor of a new dynasty. In that year he announces a
Chinese name for his dynasty - Ta Yan, meaning 'Great
Origin'. Ancestors are vital in China, so his
grandfather Genghis Khanis given a posthumous Chinese
title: T'ai Tsu, 'Grand Progenitor'.

Kublai soon makes good these Chinese pretensions. In 1276

Hangzhou, the capital of the surviving Song dynasty, falls to
his armies. The young emperor and his mother are brought to
Kublai's court and are treated with civility. By 1279 there is no
further Song resistance. The Chinese chroniclers record, from
that year, the start of a new dynasty - the Yan, the first in the
empire's history to be ruled by an outsider.
But Kublai Khan is determined not to be an outsider. He even
adopts the adminstrative system of the Chinese
bureaucracy. The only difference is that he employs more
foreigners than a Chinese emperor would. One of them, Marco
Polo, has left a vivid (if one-sided) glimpse of Mongol China.

Kublai Khan is sovereign over regions more extensive than any

previous Chinese empire. Even allowing for the fact that his
authority in the Mongol territories in the west is only nominal
(as the great khan), he has under his direct control
Mongolia,Tibet, Manchuria, Korea and the whole of China
down to the South China Sea.
Only one great prize escapes him, frustrating his clean sweep
of the region. Two expeditions against Japan are costly
disasters - in 1274 and again in 1281, during Marco Polo's

years in China.

Marco Polo in China: 1275-1292

Marco spends seventeen years in China, fulfilling a wide variety
of tasks in Kublai Khan's administration. He is in effect a
member of an occupying force, speaking Mongolian but not
Chinese, so his understanding of the people is limited. But he
travels a great deal, often trading on his own account as well
as serving the emperor, and he describes many cities.
Hangzhou is his favourite. He pretends not to be certain which
is more impressive - the number of its bridges or the number
of its prostitutes. His interests seem more with the latter.
Those who sample these women, he says (as if speaking of
someone else), 'are so much taken with their sweetness and
charms that they can never forget them'.
Marco has often been criticised for failing to mention one
peculiarity of China - the drinking of tea, which is already by
this time a Chinese addiction. The two oddities which strike
him most forcibly are a marvellous black stone, useless for
building with, which the Chinese dig up and burn (one of the
earliest references to coal); and their use of bank notes
(see Bank notes in China).
Paper money is not a Mongol innovation, being in use already
in the Song dynasty, but Marco gives a fascinating description
of government officials stamping the notes with a cinnabar
seal.

The Ming dynasty: 1368-1644

Kublai Khan's grandson and successor, Timur, contrives to keep

order in the empire for a few years after the great khan's death in
1294. But a series of disasters in the early 14th century unsettles
the dynasty. A civil war between rival Mongol princes breaks out in
1328. There is widespread famine. Disastrous floods cause armies of
peasants to be press-ganged into heavy work on the river defences.
Rebel bands begin to wreak havoc, demanding the ejection of the
foreigners and the restoration of a Chinese dynasty.

The leader of one such band is a Buddhist monk, of peasant origin,

by the name of Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1356 Zhu succeeds in capturing a
town which he renames Nanjing, 'southern capital'.

In 1368 Zhu marches to seize the northern capital, Beijing. The

Mongols flee north to the steppes, and Zhu announces the start of a
new dynasty with himself as emperor. Like the Mongols, with their
choice of Ta Yan, he gives his dynasty a glorious name - Ming,
meaning 'brilliant'.

Zhu inaugurates a custom of a similar kind which survives to the

end of the Chinese empire. He chooses a congenial name for his
reign - in this case Hung Wu, 'vast military power'. Chinese emperors
from this time onwards are known by the title of their reign. Zhu, the
founder of the new dynasty, becomes the Hung Wu emperor though the phrase is often now used as though Hung Wu were his
own name.

The new emperor turns out to be a strict disciplinarian. His officials

must invariably run when in his presence, and misdemeanors are
punished with public canings. Officials in Ming China are treated like
prefects at an old-fashioned boarding school; the button on a
mandarin's cap changes through nine different colours as he rises in
the strict hierarchy of the civil service. It makes for a well-behaved
but unenterprising society.

One exception to the otherwise undynamic nature of the Ming

dynasty is an expansion of China's maritime trade.

Chinese sea trade: 15th century

The greatest extent of Chinese trade is achieved in the early 15th

century when Zheng He, a Muslim eunuch, sails far and wide with a
fleet of large junks. At various times between 1405 and 1433 he
reaches the Persian Gulf, the coast of Africa (returning with a giraffe
on board) and possibly even Australia.

Typical Chinese exports are now porcelain, lacquer, silks, items of

gold and silver, and medicinal preparations. The junks return with
herbs, spices, ivory, rhinoceros horn, rare varieties of wood, jewels,
cotton and ingredients for making dyes.

The Jesuits in China: from1583

The China which first becomes known to the west, in full and
accurate detail, is that of the Ming empire. In 1421 the third Ming
emperor moves the capital north from Nanjing to Beijing, laying out
the great palace and administrative complex known now as the
Forbidden City. Here one of his successors is visited by the first
European to make a systematic study of China and the Chinese.

He is Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit missionary. He arrives in China in 1583

from the Portuguese trading post on Macao. It is his intention to
seek an interview with the emperor, for whom he has brought
presents from Europe. It takes eighteen years before Ricci succeeds
in reaching the emperor. But during that time he has become a
fascinated student of China.

Ricci learns the Chinese language, studies the Chinese classics and
translates them into Latin. He even writes Chinese books himself so
as to bring Christian truth to these very civilized infidels.

Of all the pagans in history, Ricci soon concludes, these are the
wisest. He particularly admires the ancient philosopher K'ung Fu
Tzu, and it is through Ricci that Europe first hears of the Chinese
sage (under the name by which the Jesuit transliterates him into
Latin, Confucius). Ricci, settling into the environment, wears the
robes of a mandarin. He even attends a ritual in honour of Confucius
in the Temple of Heaven in Nanjing, convincing himself that the
occasion is one of reverence rather than worship.

Ricci's example establishes a strong and sympathetic Jesuit

presence in China which lasts into the Qing dynasty, in the early
18th century. Reports of Jesuit flexibility, in the Ricci tradition, are illreceived in Rome - provoking the so-called rites controversy. But the
Jesuits have provided the first reliable reports of this ancient
civilization. Europe is greatly impressed.

Chinese rationalism chimes perfectly with the ideas of the

Enlightenment. The Chinese style is imitated in the chinoiserie which
becomes the fashion in European furniture and interior decoration.
And the Chinese secret of porcelain is desperately sought by
European potters, in a race won in 1709 in Meissen.

The Qing dynasty: 1644-1912

Manchuria, the region north of Korea, has never been included within China. Its
inhabitants, barbarians to the Chinese, are racially closer to their western
neighbours, the Mongols. Nevertheless the Manchus themselves imitate and adopt
many of the more sophisticated Chinese ways. So their eventual intervention in
China brings no very abrupt change.
By the mid-17th century the Ming empire, nearly three centuries old, is enfeebled
and decadent. Pampered emperors, rarely seen in public, leave practical matters in
the hands of much-hated palace eunuchs. Peasant uprisings, characteristic of the
end of Chinese dynasties, become frequent.

In 1644 a rebel band captures Beijing. The Ming emperor hangs himself in a pavilion
on a private hill overlooking his great palace, the Forbidden City. The Ming
commander in the north invites the neighbouring barbarians, the Manchus, to help
him in recovering the imperial city. They do so, and then keep it for themselves.

The Manchu hereditary chieftain is a boy of six. His people now establish him as
the Son of Heaven (the official title of a Chinese emperor). But it is evident that this is
a development planned during his father's reign. The Manchus, already the
conquerors of Korea, have declared the start of a new Chinese-style dynasty in
1636. They have chosen the name Qing, meaning 'pure'.

The Qing conquest of the whole of China is complete by 1683. The conquerors insist
on one change emphasizing the dominance of a new group. All Chinese men are
now required to shave part of the head, leaving a long pigtail (known as a queue)
hanging down behind.
The first century of the Qing dynasty is a time of prosperity and expansion. Chinese
rule extends north of the Great Wall from Turkestan in the west to Manchuria in the
east. Tibetis brought under Chinese protection. Taiwan is colonized. This great
empire, in its wealth and sophistication, is now of great interest to Europe. But it is
the west which eventually causes the downfall of the Qing, China's last imperial
dynasty.

Western barbarians: 18th-19th century

In Chinese tradition people from outside the empire are classed together as one
group - barbarians. If they are allowed into China, it is only for the single purpose of
bringing tribute to the emperor.
By complying with local tradition theJesuits, during the 17th century, disarm the
Chinese in their distrust of foreign ways. They also impress them with western
technology (Ricciparticularly delights the emperor with a striking clock). But the
Jesuits are followed by other Europeans, including unruly merchants. In 1703 the
Qing emperor Kangxi, on a tour of the southern provinces, is alarmed to discover
how many westerners are 'Wandering at will over China'.

Kangxi, foreseeing trouble, imposes restrictions on Europeans entering the empire.

But the 18th century is a period when the sea-going nations of the west are in an
expansive mood. Prosperous and self-confident Europeans, masters of the oceans
and eager to trade, are perplexed to find their advances rejected by the Chinese.
An intriguing glimpse of the frustration of the Europeans, in their baffled inability to
make any headway in China, can be seen in the experience of the British and Dutch
embassies which are briefly received, in 1793 and 1794, at the court of Kangxi's
grandson, the Qianlong emperor.

The kowtow and a taste for tea: 1793-1794

In July 1793 two British ships reach the China coast. The first carries Lord Macartney
and his retinue, sent by George III as an embassy to the Chinese emperor Qianlong.
Macartney has a specific task - to win trading concessions and, if possible, a British
offshore base similar to Portugal'sMacao.
The second ship carries presents for the emperor, of the kind which have proved
most popular in the past. There are scientific instruments, clocks and watches, a
planetarium and even (the latest western marvel) a hot-air balloon. The embassy
and the presents are loaded into splendid barges and are dragged up the Grand
Canaltowards Beijing.

A pretty banner flutters at the masthead of the leading barge. Its Chinese
characters, when translated, are discovered to say 'The English Ambassador
bringing tribute to the Emperor of China'.

This is not the relationship which Lord Macartney has in mind. Much time is now
spent negotiating with mandarin officials who try to insist on the ambassador
kowtowing (touching his forehead three times to the ground) when coming into the
imperial presence. He refuses to do so, agreeing merely to kneel on one knee and
bow his head. This, according to the English account, is accepted. The audience and
the accompanying banquet go well, but the emperor refuses to discuss practical
matters of trade.

Three weeks later a letter for George III is brought with much solemnity to the
ambassador. It explains that there is no need for any trading agreement, since the
nations of the world have always brought precious commodities as tribute to China.
'Consequently there is nothing we lack, as your principlal envoy has himself
observed. We have never set much store on strange or ingenious objects, nor do we
need any more of your country's manufactures.'
Some in Europe blame Macartney's failure on his refusal to kowtow, so in 1794
Holland tries the opposite tack. The Dutch ambassador is calculated to have
kowtowed thirty times (once to some dried grapes sent as a present by the
emperor). He too returns home without a trading agreement.

The truth is that the need for reciprocal trade is all on the European side because
the west, and especially Britain, has developed a passion for one particular Chinese
product - tea. The Chinese are happy to sell their tea to British merchants, but they
want only hard currency in exchange. Precious silver is draining away to the east,
just as gold flowed from Rome along the Silk Road.
Eventually the British solve their trade balance by encouraging a Chinese addiction
greater even than the English thirst for tea. The East India Company grows opium in
India for the Chinese market. And the British will go to any length to ensure that the
Chinese enjoy it.

Thoughts in the Silent Night

By Li Bai
Translated by Yang Xianyi & Dai Naidie

Beside my bed a pool of light

Is it hoarfrost on the ground?
I lift my eyes and see the moon,
I bend my head and think of home.

Thoughts in the Silent Night is one of the most well-known Chinese poems written
by Li Bai. This short poem uses only a few words and is quite concise in wordage,
but it is endowed with the passion that stimulates the bottom of ones heart and
arouses an intense feeling of nostalgia very naturally.

2. A Poem By A Leaving Son by Meng Jiao

A Travellers Song
By Meng Jiao
Translated by Liu Jianxun

The thread in the hands of a fond-hearted mother

Makes clothes for the body of her wayward boy;

Carefully she sews and thoroughly she mends,

Dreading the delays that will keep him late from home.
But how much love has the inch-long grass
For three spring months of the light of the sun?

A Travellers Song is one of the most famous classical Chinese poems. The poem
was written when 50-year-old poet Meng Jiao was appointed as a county official in
Liyang, Jiangsu Province. He then brought his mother to live in the county. This
poem presents people how mighty the love of a mother is and at the same time
expresses his gratitude to mothers sincere love. This poem has been passed down
from one generation to another and almost every Chinese knows this poem.
Especially the last two verses are now a common metaphor of motherly love.

3. Grasses Bai Juyi

Grasses
By Bai Juyi

Boundless grasses over the plain

Come and go with every season;
Wildfire never quite consumes them

They are tall once more in the spring wind.

Sweet they press on the old high- road
And reach the crumbling city-gate.
O Prince of Friends, you are gone again.
I hear them sighing after you.

Bai Juyi is one of the most prolific and popular poet of all Chinese poets. Bai wrote
this famous poem in an examination at the age of 16. The first four sentences focus
on the beauty of resisting grass life; the last four sentences praises the sincere
friendship. The poet combined the occasion of departure with natural surroundings
to create an extended metaphor to describe profound friendship.

4. Quatrain of Seven Steps By Cao Zhi

Quatrain of Seven Steps

By Cao Zhi

People burn the beanstalk to boil beans,

The beans in the pot cry out.
We are born of the selfsame root,
Why should you torment me so much?

The poem was written during the Three Kingdom Period when Cao Pi (brother of Cao
Zhi), the Emperor of Wei, was in power. Cao Pi suspected that his brother Cao Zhi
was trying to usurp his throne. Consequently, Cao Zhi was summoned to the court
and ordered to compose a poem within seven strides so that Cao Pi was convinced

of his innocence. Cao Zhi made it, and Cao Pi became so flustered that he spared
his brother.

This poem compares relation of beans and beanstalk to relationship of the two
brothers, and likens burning the beanstalk to boil beans to elder brother maiming
younger brother, reflecting the brutal struggle within the feudal ruling group and the
poets difficult situation and gloomy cynical feelings.

5. On The Stork Tower - By Wang Zhihuan

On The Stork Tower

By Wang Zhihuan

The sun beyond the mountains glows;

The Yellow River seawards flows.
You can enjoy a grander sight
By climbing to a greater height.

This poem was written by famous Tang Dynasty poet Wang Zhihuan. It describes
what the poet sees and feels about when he ascends the Stork Tower. In the first
two lines, he shifts his eyes from the sunset beyond the mountains to the Yellow
River, which flows out of sight eastwards towards the sea. Then he writes the
famous line You can enjoy a grander sight, By climbing to a greater height. which
blends landscape, emotion and philosophical thinking in the short verse.

6. On The Mountain Holiday Thinking of My Brothers In Shandong by Wang Wei

On The Mountain Holiday Thinking of My Brothers In Shandong

By Wang Wei

All alone in a foreign land,

I am twice as homesick on this day
When brothers carry dogwood up the mountain,
Each of them a branch-and my branch missing.

This poem is one of the masterpieces of the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei. It
describes the an intense feeling of homesickness of a distant wanderer. In the first
two lines, the poet shows how lonely he is in a foreign land, especially on festive
occasions he thinks of his family far away more than ever. Then he shifts his focus
to his hometown, thinking that when his brothers at home step to high places and
collect the dogwood, they will miss him too.

7. Guan! Guan! Cry The Fish Hawks from Shijing

Guan! Guan! Cry The Fish Hawks

Guan! Guan! Cry the fish hawks

on sandbars in the river:
a mild-mannered good girl,
fine match for the gentleman.

A ragged fringe is the floating-heart,

left and right we trail it:
that mild-mannered good girl,
awake, asleep, I search for her.

I search but cannot find her,

awake, asleep, thinking of her,
endlessly, endlessly,

turning, tossing from side to side.

A ragged fringe is the floating-heart,

left and right we pick it:
the mild-mannered good girl,
harp and lute make friends with her.

A ragged fringe is the floating-heart,

left and right we sort it:
the mild-mannered good girl,
bell and drum delight her.

This poem is the first poem of ancient anthology Shijing, the earliest collection of
Chinese poems comprising 305 works of the Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 B.C.). It is a
love poem describing that a young noble falls in love with a good and fair maiden
collecting edible water plants, and hopes to marry her.

8. A Quatrain in Summer by Li Qingzha

A Quatrain in Summer
By Li Qingzhao

To be, one should be a rare fellow.

Not to be, one should be a ghost hero.

We have revered Xiangyu till today,

For he rejected alive as a loser way.

This poem was written by Li Qingzhao, a famous poetess who lived in the Southern
Song dynasty (1127- 1279). The poem proposes her own viewpoint clearly in the
first two lines: One as a human being should be an outstanding talent and make
contributions to the country; if one has to die, he should make sacrifices for his
country, becoming a ghost hero after death. The poetess felt very disappointed
when the rulers of Southern Song just fled as the country was invaded aliens,
disregard for common people. The poetess also used Xiangyu, a hero who refused
to flee and committed suicide with dignity, to satirize the rulers, and at the same
time she hoped heroic figures could recover the countrys lost territory.

9. Farewell To Vice-Prefect Du Setting Out For His Official Post In Shu by Wang Bo

Farewell To Vice-Prefect Du Setting Out For His Official Post In Shu

By Wang Bo

By this wall that surrounds the three Qin districts,

Through a mist that makes five rivers one,
We bid each other a sad farewell,
We two officials going opposite ways.

And yet, while China holds our friendship,

And heaven remains our neighbourhood,
Why should you linger at the fork of the road,
Wiping your eyes like a heart-broken child?

This poem was written by Wang Bo in Changan City when his friend surnamed Du
was leaving to take office as a county official in Sichuan province, the poet saw him
off in Changan City and presented his friend this farewell poem. The poem
describes their profound friendship and also expresses his sincerity and
encouragement to his friend.

10. Toiling Farmers by Li Shen

Toiling Farmers
By Li Shen

Farmers weeding at noon,

Sweat down the field soon.
Who knows food on a tray
Thanks to their toiling day?

This poem was written by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shen who is known for
expressing in-depth coverage of the rural life in his poems. The poem talks about
farmers hard work for every single grain. The first two lines describe farmers keep
toiling away despite the blazing heat at noon. The following two lines connect food

in plate with farmers hard work. If they dont toil, then who knows what you would
eat.