The Evolution of Chinese Civilization: From Ancient Dynasties to Modern Times, Essays (high school) of History

Download The Evolution of Chinese Civilization: From Ancient Dynasties to Modern Times and more Essays (high school) History in PDF only on Docsity! The first known written documents of China's history date back to 1250 BC, during the rule of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of the monarch Wu Ding. [2] who was also referred to as the twenty-first King of Shang by the same source as the first. [3] [4] Early chapters in the Book of Documents (11th century BC), the Bamboo Annals (c. 296 BC), and the Records of the Grand Historian (c. 91 BC) all mention and describe the Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC), which existed before the Shang. However, no writing from this period has been discovered, and Shang writings do not indicate the existence of the Xia dynasty. Chinese civilisation is often considered to have begun in the Yellow River region, which was governed by the Shang dynasty at the time. In contrast, Neolithic civilizations arose at diverse cultural centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, according to archaeological evidence. There have been civilizations on the Yellow River and the Yangtze for millennia before the Shang. Because of its unbroken history spanning thousands of years, China ranks among the world's oldest civilizations and is considered one of the cradles of civilisation. [5] [6] To defend their reign, the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) overthrew the Shang dynasty and established the notion of the Mandate of Heaven. The central Zhou administration started to deteriorate in the 8th century BC as a result of foreign and internal pressures, and the nation finally broke apart into smaller republics during the Spring and Autumn periods. These nations gained independence and engaged in combat with one another during the Warring States era that followed. During those turbulent years, a great deal of traditional Chinese culture, literature, and philosophy came into being for the first time. It was in 221 BC when Qin Shi Huang overcame the many warring nations and established himself as Huangdi, or "emperor," of the Qin, thereby kicking off the era of imperial China. However, the repressive regime was overthrown shortly after his death and was replaced by the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), which had a longer lifespan. Progressively more sophisticated bureaucratic institutions permitted the emperor to exercise direct control over huge territory under their rule. During the 21 centuries between 206 BC and AD 1912, regular administrative activities were performed by a select elite of scholar-officials who were chosen from among the best and brightest in the world. Through arduous government tests, a group of young men with strong backgrounds in calligraphy, history, literature, and philosophy were carefully chosen for this position. China's final dynasty was the Qing (1644– 1912), which was succeeded by the Republic of China in 1912 and, later, by the People's Republic of China on the mainland in 1949, marking the end of the Qing era. In 1949, the People's Republic of China relocated to the island of Taiwan. Since both the PRC and the Republic of China claim to be China's only legal government, a conflict has erupted that has continued even after the United Nations acknowledged the PRC as the government authorized to represent China at all United Nations conferences in 1971. Hong Kong and Macau were granted special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China in 1997 and 1999, respectively, after relinquishing sovereignty to China from the United Kingdom and Portugal.