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The Chinese civilization is one of the oldest existing civilizations, next to India in the entire world. According to the mythological beliefs, Pangu the creator of universe is said to be the maker of the Chinese civilization also. The dynasty of Xia is considered to be the prehistoric dynasty. The period of the Xia dynasty is said to range from the twenty-first to the sixteenth century B.C.Many archeological excavations discovering the urban sites, bronze implements and tombs

have given ample proof of the existence of the dynasty of Xia. The period of the Xia dynasty is said to be the stage of evolution between the late Neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang dynasty. Abundant evidence for the Shang dynasty was found in the archeological excavations in the Huang He and Henan Valley. The period of the Shang dynasty is marked from1700 B.C to 1027 B.C. The creator of the Shang dynasty is said to be the person who was the leader of the rebels who overthrew the last Xia ruler. The Shang dynasty was based on the agriculture, hunting and the animal husbandry. The two main events of this period were the growth of the writing system and the utilization of the bronze metallurgy. The Shang dynasty ruled over the northern china and was in constant fights with their neighbors.

The end of the Shang dynasty came when a frontier tribe called Zhou overthrew it. The capital of the Zhou was at Hao, near Xian. The priod of the Zhou dynasty was much longer in comparison to the other two dynasties that is from 1027 to 221 B.C. In 771 B.C. the rebels murdered the Zhou king and the capital of the Zhou dynasty was moved to Luoyang. Due to this shift the era of the zhou was divided into Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou. The Eastern zhou period is further sub divided into two sub-periods that is from 770 to 476 B.C. called the Spring and Autumn period and the second period is known as the Warring States Period that is from 475-221 B.C.

Chinawas unified for the first time by the Qin dynasty in the period of 221 B.C. When the ruler of the Qin dynasty came to power, he took the title of Shi Huangdi or the First Emperor, a title preserved earlier for the deities only. Centralization of the state was focused on the standard codes for bureaucratic procedures, the writing and coinage forms and the pattern of scholarship. The Great Wall of China was initiated during this dynasty only. The methods adopted by the Qin ruler were so barbaric that revolts broke put in the entire country in 210 B.C. as soon as he died.

This revolt gave rise to the new dynasty called the Han dynasty whose period of rule ranged from 206 B.C. to AD. 220. Its capital was at the Chang'an. The Han ruler modified many tyrannical methods of the Qin dynasty. During this period the Confucian scholars gained much importance as they formed the core of the civil service. The Han dynasty is also known for the military powers. With the help of these military powers the rule of the Han dynasty expanded till the rim of the Tarim Basin making the path of the caravan traffic across the Central Asia to Antioch more secure. The name of the "silk route" was given to this path as this path was used for transporting silk. The collapse of the Han dynasty came about in A.D. 220. This led to a period of disunity for about four years. This period saw the rise of three kingdoms named Wei, Shu and Wu. Great advancement was made in the field of fiction and drama. Much advancement was made in the fields of medicine, astronomy and cartography. The rule of these three dynasties ranged from A.D. 304 to 589.

Then came the period of short-lived dynasty named Sui dynasty (A.D. 581-617). After that came the period of the Tang dynasty which was from A.D. 618-907. It is regarded as the highest point in the Chinese civilizations. Having contact with countries like India ad the Middle East, the Tang dynasty gave much importance to creativity. Among religions Buddhism flourished during this period. The middle of the eighth century A.D. saw the decline of the Tang power. The next half-century lead to the fragmentation of China into five northern dynasties and ten southern kingdoms.

In 960, song dynasty came into existence, which lead a reunification of china. The Song period has been divided into two periods: the Northern song (960-1127) and the Southern Song (1127-1279). By the mid-thirteenth century, the Mongols had conquered north China, Korea and the Muslim regions of the Central Asia. They led to the establishment of the Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368) - the first alien dynasty to have ruled over China. The Yuan dynasty was overthrown by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which was founded by a Han Chinese peasant and former Buddhist monk turned rebel. The Ming dynasty had its capital at Nanjing and later at Beijing. The Manchus in 1644 took over Beijing and overthrew the Ming dynasty. They established the last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

During the period of 1911-1949, China began to experience the growth of the Republic ofChinain the mainland. This period saw the emergence of the Nationalism and Communalism. Finally on October 1, 1949, the Republic of China was formally established having its capital at Beijing and thus an old civilization covered in a new form emerged on the world map.


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History Of China