CHINESE CIVILIZATION

HISTORY

•The Yellow River valley is said to be the Cradle of Civilization, as this

is where the earliest Chinese dynasties were based. Chinese civilization
then spread out over a vast area and went to change the entire world.

•The civilisation of ancient China grew up on the river banks of Yang-

Tse-Kiang, Hwang-ho and Si-Kiang. The geography of China separated
it from other countries of the world for a long time. The Pacific Ocean in
the east, the vast Tibetan plateau in the west desert, Tien Shan and
Mongolian plateau in the north and the great Himalayas and the forest of
Brahmadesh in the south had separated China from the outside world for
a long time. The Chinese civilisation flourished being uninfluenced by
any external impact.
2500-1500 BC 1500-1000 BC 100-500 BC

500-200 BC 30-100 BC

750-979 AD
TIMELINE
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
 Chinese Dynasties and Their Achievements
Notable
Dynasties Achievements
Rulers
Xia Dynasty Aryans • Migrated into the area and conquered the locals
2100-1800 B.C.E. • Developed superior weaponry and technology

Shang Dynasty 30 separate • Ruled from a succession of seven different capitals.

1500-1100 B.C.E. kings • Invention of writing

Zhou Dynasty Kings + • Expansion

1122-256 B.C.E. Noblemen • Regional rulers

Qin Dynasty Qin • Centralization of authority

221-206 B.C.E. • Written laws
• Building projects (Great Wall of China)

Han Dynasty Han • 400 year rule

Wudi • Exploration (Zhang Qian)
• Expansion of trade
• Silk Road
• Merit-based appointments
XIA DYNASTY

•The first prehistoric dynasty from about 21st cnetury until 16th century B.C.
•Excavations reveal bronze implements, tombs at same locations cited in chinese hisotrical
text.

SHANG DYNASTY

•Dated back roughly from 1700 to 1027 B.C.

•Founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last Xia ruler.
•Also called Yin dynasty.
•Was based on agriculture, in addition to hunting and animal husbandry.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

•There were 2 classes - Nobels and labourers(chief labour was agriculture)

•The calender system was developed. It was similar to the present system.
•Timber houses were built over rammed earth with walls (wattle and daub method) and roof of
thatch.
•Pottery was made of fired-clay moulds for casting bronze.
•Clay moulds were used to imprint decorations.
•Jade carving became advanced. Ceremonial weapons were made of Jade.
• 3 characters used - Pictographs, Ideograms and Phonograms, the earliest of the writings in
China.
ZHOU DYNASTY

•Zhou dynasty ruled China for almost a millennium. - 1046 - 256 BCE.
•It tool over the rule by defeating the Shang Dynasty.
•Zhou dynasty would become the longest lasting dynasty in the chinese history lasting over
800 years.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

•The Zhou set up a new economy, rearranging the affairs of the kingdom.
•As they did so, the borders of their kingdom swelled and they were able to maintain control
over the people they conquered effectively.

WARRING STATES

•The period of the Warring States (Zhanguo or ChanKuo) refers to

the era of about 475 BCE to 221 BCE.
• It commenced at a time of when the numerous petty citystate kingdoms of the
•Spring and Autumn period had been consolidated into seven major contenders
and a few minor enclaves.
•The Warring States period is usually interpreted as a time of endless
brutal wars that came as a result of friction among the seven states
and that this unfortunate state of affairs could end only with one state
bringing all into one empire
QIN DYNASTY
•(221 B.C. to 206 B.C) the first dynasty to unify the country by
conquering the warring feudal states of the late Chou period
• King Cheng took the title Shih Huang-ti in 221 B.C.
and consolidated a new empire
•Capital located at Xianyang
•Imposed harsh laws, levied heavy taxes,
tolerated no criticism, burned all books except the
useful ones on medicine and agriculture.
•Also called an autocrat
•Qin wanted everything to be under his direct authority
and control.
•Made peasants work as slaves in building roads, bridges,
• canals, buildings, most famous of them beign the Great
• Wall of China,which is an extension of four walls.
•The imperial system intiated in this period lasted for two
• milennia.
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
•Standardized currency,writing and
• language,system of measurement
•Irrigation projects and works
•Terra cotta army
•Road network expanded
•Multiplication table made
HAN DYNASTY
•After a short civil war, Han dynasty emerged.
•Capital was in Chang'an.
•It retained Qin dynast's administrative structure
•Centralized rule was removed.
•This period has China's most famous historian
Sima Qian.
•Peace was made with non chinese local powers but
tributes and intermarriages at ruling level
and periodic exchange of goods and gifts.
•Because of its location amidst high mountains
and surrounded on many sides by water,
China was isolated from much of the rest of the world. As their civilization flourished and
their wealth increased, they were largely unaware of what advancements were taking place
in the nations around them.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS
•Paper and porcelain were invented in this period.
•Silk route,the path of caravan traffic which exported
goods across central Asia, Baghdad etc was
found due to expansion towards the west.
•It was called silk route as it exported Chinese
silk to the Roman Empire.
THE THREE KINGDOMS

•The period after the Han dynasty was very violent and lead to a lot of boundaries in the
state.
•In the north, the authority passed to a general.
•There was a big fight for power with the two kingdoms – Shu and Wu.
•The battle between these three kingdoms is legendary.
•The kingdom of wei defeated the others but was later itself defeated by Jin.

SUI DYNASTY

•China was once again unified under the Sui dynasty in 580 AD.
•They set up a number of Government Institutions.
•They also planned to build up a unified canal system.
•Rebellions rose in the whole empire and finally the Sui dynasty fell.
 TANG DYNASTY

•The Tang dynasty ruled China for about 3 centuries.

•This period is known as the Golden Age of the Chinese History.
•There were a lot of battles against Barbarians and Tribes.
•By the middle of the eighth century A.D., Tang power had ebbed.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

•A system called three equal field system was established.

•A Golden age for paintings, high poetry, pottery and buddhism.
•Trade along the silk route expanded.
LIAO DYNASTY
•Formed by the nomadic Khitan tribes, (now constitutes the provinces of the Northeast
region (Manchuria) and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China)
•Created a dual government to rule their conquests
-southern government:which ruled the Chinese parts of the empire
-northern government:(set up on a tribal basis)ruled over the nomads of the Inner
Asian steppes
•Had a border war with the Song for control of North China,eventually settled in 1004
with the Song dynasty agreeing to pay an annual tribute to the Liao
•Juchen defeated the Song and, Jin dynasty (1115–1234) established rule over North
China Liao dynasty came to an end.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
•Trade of crops
•Iron industry was developed
•Porcelain wares(most famous among chinese porcelain)
•Commercial activities between cities because of development of handicrafts and
agriculture
SONG DYNASTY

•In 960 a new power, Song (960-1279), reunified most of China Proper. The Song
period divides into two phases: Northern Song (960-1127) and Southern Song (1127-
1279).

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

•The Song dynasty is notable for the development of cities not only for administrative
purposes but also as centers of trade, industry, and maritime commerce.
•Song intellectuals sought answers to all philosophical and political questions in the
Confucian Classics. This renewed interest in the Confucian ideals and society of
ancient times coincided with the decline of Buddhism, which the Chinese regarded as
foreign and offering few practical guidelines for the solution of political and other
mundane problems.
•the southern song built china's first real navy, gun powder evolved.
YUAN DYNASTY

•The Mongols established the Yuan dynasty in china in 1271

•Ganges khan is known as the founder of the dynasty.
•Kublai khan became the emperor of china.
•He also increased contact with the western empires and consolidate the Mongolian
empire.
•expanded grand canal
•expanded trade along the silk route.
•introduced paper money
•rivalries and rebels weakened the dynasty and the mongol dynasty fell.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

•expanded agriculture.
•Buddhism , Taoism and other religions flourished.
•trade flourished
JIN DYNASTY
•In 265A.D. Sima Yan established the Jin dynasty
•Two phases—
-The Xi (Western) Jin:ruled China from ad 265 to 316/317
-The Dong (Eastern) Jin:ruled China from ad 317 to 420.
•Sima Yan's death lead to civil strife due to incompetent successors
•The Dong Jin is considered one of the Six Dynasties,when Jina dynasty collapsed

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
•Buddhism exerted a strong influence in this dynasty
•Development in armed forces
•Reduction in trade barrier-economic prosperity
• For the first time ever silver was used as legal
tender
•Calligraphy,poetry,prose popularized
•Architecture developed (Lugou Bridge-
Completed between 1188 and 1192,oldest
existing multi-arched stone bridge in the Beijing
area)
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
•The Ming dynasty was founded by a Han Chinese peasant and former Buddhist
monk turned rebel army leader
•Capital first at Nanjing and later at Beijing
•The Chinese fleet sailed the China seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising as far as the
east coast of Africa
•Believed by people as the most satisfactory civilization on earth, as it was without
major disruptions in population,economy, arts, society, or politics
•Long wars with the Mongols, incursions by the Japanese into Korea, and harassment
of Chinese coastal cities by the Japanese in the sixteenth century weakened Ming rule
• In 1644 the Manchus took Beijing from the north and became masters of north
China,establishing the last imperial dynasty, the Qing

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
• Military, political and other systems were reformed
•The repair and completion of the Great Wall and restoration of Grand Canal
•The Forbidden City in Beijing, a great architectural achievement,was constructed
•China’s famous blue and white porcelain was originated
•A monumental compilation of knowledge at the time, this was known as the Yǒnglè
Dàdiǎn, or the Yongle Encyclopedia
QUING DYNASTY
•The Manchus established the last dynasty, the Quing
•They retained many institutions of Ming and earlier Chinese derivation
•Continued the Confucian civil service system
•Measures were put in effect aimed at preventing the absorption of the Manchus into
the dominant Han Chinese population (Intermarriage forbidden)
•In many government positions a system of dual appointments was used-the Chinese
appointee was required to do the substantive work and the Manchu to ensure Han
loyalty to Qing rule
•Gained control of Central Asia as far as the Pamir Mountains and established a
protectorate over the area the Chinese call Xizang
• First dynasty to eliminate successfully all danger to China Proper from across its
land borders.
•The revolution of 1911, led by Sun Yat-sen , broke out and overthrew the Qing
Dynasty.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
•Promoted the collection of knowledge and writing of China
•Ecomony and commerce develop, literature and arts flowered and
culture of various forms thrived.
 Social Stratification Of
China
Scholars/Officals
Shi

Farmers/Peasants
Nong

Artisans
Gong

Merchants
Shang
 Shi – Gentry Scholars
Defining the Shi as Gentry scholars is not wholly accurate. The
early Shi came from the ancient warrior caste, but the make-up of
the Shi gradually evolved until it was mostly made of aristocratic
scholars who studied in order to occupy positions of rank, and then
further into a bureaucratic scholarly elite
where noble lineage was de-emphasized.
Scholars – even those who owned land – were
never very rich, but they were respected
because of their knowledge. Access to
information was very limited in ancient times,
and so scholarly pursuits were very challenging.
 Nong – Peasants Farmers
Peasant farmers were second only to Gentry
scholars in ancient China. Farmers were
landholders like gentry scholars, and
agriculture long played a key role in the rise
of Chinese civilization. Not only did the
farmers produce the food to sustain the society, they
paid land tax, which was a source of state revenue
for the ruling dynasties. Farmers were therefore
valuable members of society even though they
weren’t shi. However, shi families were still
landholders who also produced crops and food
themselves.
 Gong – Artisans & Craftsmen
The Gong were those who had skills to
make useful objects. This was the class
identified by the Chinese character that
stands for “labour.” They were like farmers
in that they produced essential objects,
but most of them did not have land of their own and so did not
generate the revenue. However, they commanded more respect than
merchants because the skills they had were handed down from
father to son. Artisans could be government employed or self
employed, and those that were most successful could become
wealthy enough to hire apprentices or labourers that they could
manage. Besides creating their own enterprises, the artisans also
formed their own guilds.
 Shang – Merchants & Traders
There was not a lot of respect for merchants
and traders in ancient Chinese society. Though
they could achieve significant wealth, they
were held in low esteem because they did not
produce anything, but rather transported and
traded goods made by others. Sometimes merchants bought land in
order to be considered farmers and therefore command more respect
in society. Some would buy a good education for their descendants so
that they could attain the status of scholars. Though traders,
merchants, and peddlers were viewed as essential members of society,
they were lowest on the four rungs of the ladder of ancient Chinese
social hierarchy, due to popular perception of these people as greedy
and immoral.
 CHINESE
PHILOSOPHER
LAO TZU (600 BC)
He is a founder of Taoism .
He said that people should try to live in
harmony with the universe , rather than
fighting it. Instead of living by rigid rules and
laws, people should try to work with natural
way of the world, and in this way their lives
would be easier and happier.
He is best known as the author of Tao- Te –
Ching, the work which exemplifies his thought.
The name by which he is known is not a
personal name but an honorific title meaning
`old man ‘ or ` old teacher ‘.
CONFUCIUS
Confucius who lived about 550 BC,also
under the eastern chou dynasty, taught that
people should recognize their responsibilities
to the larger society , and work uphold laws
and customs of their society.
If everyone was a good citizen, the whole
community would benefits and everyone
would be happier.
Confucius also known as kong zi or master
kong.
He prescribed that Let the ruler be a ruler
and the subject a subject.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF CHINESE
ARCHITECTURE
• There is articulation and bilateral symmetry to create balance.
• There is courtyard in most of the buildings.
• It helps in temperature control and ventilation.
• The projected hierarchy and importance and uses of buildings in traditional Chinese
architecture are based on the strict placement of buildings in a property/complex.
• Classical Chinese buildings, especially those of the wealthy, are built with an
emphasis on breadth and less on height, featuring an enclosed heavy platform and a
large roof that floats over this base, with the vertical walls not well emphasized.
• Chinese architecture from early times used concepts from Chinese cosmology such
as feng shui(geomancy) and Taoism to organize construction and layout from
common residences to imperial and religious structures.
• Temple roofs are curved because they believe they ward off evils.
• studied by:
• Chirag asodaria(3-A)
• Darshit kalathiya(14-A)
• Unnati khadawala(18-A)
• Bhaumik panchal(25-A)
• Visha patel(29-A)
• Jaimin rohit(32-A)
• Niyanta thakkar(40-A)
 PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE
The main characteristics of Chinese architecture which emerged were:

1. Unit of structure with architectural art:

•This was achieved by beautifying the structural components themselves
instead of applying additional ornament.
•For example, A pillar might be shuttle - shaped and a beam formed as
an arc so that, when used with a concave roof, they achieved harmony
of design with construction.
2. Good anti-seismic function
•The structural components of a wooden building were connected by mortises and tenons and
were thus able to move under earthquake conditions without causing the buildings to collapse.

•Similar techniques were applied to the connections of columns to plinth. Chinese wooden
buildings have no deep foundations for columns, so that columns can shift when an earthquake
occurs, and many ancient structures still stand even after exposure to many earthquakes.

3. A high degree of standardization:

•A building is composed of a group of beams carried on columns with curved corbel brackets
forming a kind of roof truss , or is supported on a series of vertical frames serving the same
purpose. The space between two beam is called jian (a bay).

•These two construction technique were used in most of the building with rectangular plan.
4. Bright colors:

•The practice of painting wooden buildings to prevent weathering and insect infestation to
achieve decorative effects began in the Early spring and Autumn period (722-481 BC).
• Gradually the Chinese learned to employ colors appropriate to the nature of building, or the
element on which it was used.
•For example, in palaces or temples, walls, pillars, doors and window frames were painted red,
while the roof was yellow. Cool colors, often blue and green, were applied under the eaves.
 CHINESE TOWNPLANNING

• Town planning originated during the urbanization of the yellow

river valley in the Neolithic Age.
• The cities were planned to maintain harmony (Feng shui) and
balance between man, state, nature and heaven.
• There main aim was, use of open space, the merging of agricultural
and commercial facilities, integration of commercial and residential
needs and aesthetic consideration.
• Courtyards were used as common public space, gardening and
natural landscape combined with bodies of water to enrich
environment.
• Unity was reflected at all levels
 CHINESE PAVILION
• Chinese pavilions are covered structures without surrounding walls.
• they can be round, square, triangular.
PRACTICAL FUNCTION:
• used for military and governmental purposes.
• as a place for rest
• as a roof to a stone tablet
AESTHETIC FUNCTION:
• Pavilions provided a place to sit and enjoy the scenery, an they also became part of the
scenery itself, being attractive structures.
 TERRACES

• As an ancient architectural structure of chinese, the tai was a very much elevated
terrace with a flat top, generally built of earth and stone and surfaced with brick.
FUNCTIONS OF TERRACE:
• as an observatory
• as beacon towers along the great wall
• in honor of the sincere friendship.
 STOREYED PAVILIONS

• storeyed pavilions were like simple pavilions stacked on top of each other.
FUNCTIONS OF STOREYED PAVILIONS:
• used in ancient times of the storage of important articles and documents.
• a place where educated men used to gather to write articles and hold
banquets
• used for enjoying the sights.
 PRIVATE ARCHITECTURE

POOR PEOPLE’S HOUSING

• most of the people in ancient china were not very wealthy.
• they did not live in fully furnished extravagant homes.
• the homes were made of mud bricks which is simply rammed earth.
• these houses had thatched roofs and had a fire pit in the middle of the floor
 PRIVATE ARCHITECTURE
• wealthy people have bigger house and had lots of slave.
• house built around a courtyard.
• they fireplaces.
• they have high wall surround homes with only one gateway.