History of China

The earliest known writ t en records of t he history of China dat e from as early as 1250 BC, from
t he Shang dynast y (c. 1600–1046 BC), during t he reign of king Wu Ding,[1][2] referred t o in t he
records as t he t went y-first King of Shang.[3][4] Ancient hist orical t ext s such as t he Book of
Documents (early chapt ers, 11t h cent ury BC), t he Bamboo Annals (c. 296 BC) and t he Records of
the Grand Historian (c. 91 BC) ment ion and describe a Xia dynast y (c. 2070–1600 BC) before t he
Shang, but no writ ing is known from t he period, and Shang writ ings do not indicat e t he exist ence
of t he Xia. The Shang ruled in t he Yellow River valley, which is commonly held t o be t he cradle of
Chinese civilizat ion. However, Neolit hic civilizat ions originat ed at various cult ural cent ers along
bot h t he Yellow River and Yangt ze River. These Yellow River and Yangt ze civilizat ions arose
millennia before t he Shang. Wit h t housands of years of cont inuous hist ory, China is among t he
world's oldest civilizat ions and is regarded as one of t he cradles of civilizat ion.[5][6]
Approximate territories controlled by the various dynasties and states throughout the history of China

The Zhou dynast y (1046–256 BC) supplant ed t he Shang, and int roduced t he concept of t he
Mandat e of Heaven t o just ify t heir rule. The cent ral Zhou government began t o weaken due t o
ext ernal and int ernal pressures in t he 8t h cent ury BC, and t he count ry event ually splint ered int o
smaller st at es during t he Spring and Aut umn period. These st at es became independent and
fought wit h one anot her in t he following Warring St at es period. Much of t radit ional Chinese
cult ure, lit erat ure and philosophy first developed during t hose t roubled t imes.

In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang conquered t he various warring st at es and creat ed for himself t he t it le
of Huangdi or "emperor" of t he Qin, marking t he beginning of imperial China. However, t he
oppressive government fell soon aft er his deat h, and was supplant ed by t he longer-lived Han
dynast y (206 BC – 220 AD). Successive dynast ies developed bureaucrat ic syst ems t hat enabled
t he emperor t o cont rol vast t errit ories direct ly. In t he 21 cent uries from 206 BC unt il AD 1912,
rout ine administ rat ive t asks were handled by a special elit e of scholar-officials. Young men, well-
versed in calligraphy, hist ory, lit erat ure, and philosophy, were carefully select ed t hrough difficult
government examinat ions. China's last dynast y was t he Qing (1636–1912), which was replaced by
t he Republic of China in 1912, and t hen in t he mainland by t he People's Republic of China in 1949.
The Republic of China ret reat ed t o t he island of Taiwan in 1949. Bot h t he PRC and t he ROC
current ly claim t o be t he sole legit imat e government of China, result ing in an ongoing disput e
even aft er t he Unit ed Nat ions recognized t he PRC as t he government t o represent China at all
UN conferences in 1971. Hong Kong and Macau t ransferred sovereignt y t o China in 1997 and
1999 from t he Unit ed Kingdom and Port ugal respect ively, becoming special administ rat ive
regions (SARs) of t he PRC.
Chinese hist ory has alt ernat ed bet ween periods of polit ical unit y and peace, and periods of war
and failed st at ehood—t he most recent being t he Chinese Civil War (1927–1949). China was
occasionally dominat ed by st eppe peoples, especially t he Mongols and Manchus, most of whom
were event ually assimilat ed int o t he Han Chinese cult ure and populat ion. Bet ween eras of
mult iple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynast ies have ruled part s or all of China; in some eras
cont rol st ret ched as far as Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, as at present . Tradit ional cult ure,
and influences from ot her part s of Asia and t he West ern world (carried by waves of immigrat ion,
cult ural assimilat ion, expansion, and foreign cont act ), form t he basis of t he modern cult ure of
China.

Prehistory

Ancient China

Imperial China

Modern China

See also

References

Further reading

External links