5 Ancient China

  • 2021 BCE

    Prehistory

    Well before the advent of recognizable civilization in the region, the land was occupied by hominids. Peking Man, a skull fossil discovered in 1927 CE near Beijing, lived in the area between 700,000 to 300,000 years ago, and Yuanmou Man, whose remains were found in Yuanmou in 1965 CE, inhabited the land 1.7 million years ago. I found this on https://www.worldhistory.org/china/
  • The First Dynasties

    From these small villages and farming communities grew centralized government; the first of which was the prehistoric Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE). The Xia Dynasty was considered, for many years, more myth than fact until excavations in the 1960s and 1970s CE uncovered sites which argued strongly for its existence. I got this from https://www.worldhistory.org/china/
  • The Qin Dynasty

    Shi Huangdi thus established the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), initiating the period known as the Imperial Era in China (221 BCE-1912 CE) when dynasties ruled the land. He ordered the destruction of the walled fortifications which had separated the different states and commissioned the building of a great wall along the northern border of his kingdom. I got this from https://www.worldhistory.org/china/
  • The Zhou Dynasty

    Around the year 1046 BCE, King Wu (r. 1046-1043 BCE), of the province of Zhou, rebelled against King Zhou of Shang and defeated his forces at the Battle of Muye, establishing the Zhou Dynasty (1046- 256 BCE). 1046-771 BCE marks the Western Zhou Period while 771-256 BCE marks the Eastern Zhou Period. Wu rebelled against the ruling Shang after the king of Shang killed his older brother unjustly. I got this from https://www.worldhistory.org/china/
  • The Han Dynasty

    The resultant peace initiated by Gaozu brought the stability necessary for culture to again thrive and grow. Trade with the west began during this time and arts and technology increased in sophistication. The Han are considered the first dynasty to write their history down but, as Shi Huangdi destroyed so many of the written records of those who came before him, this claim is often disputed. I got this from https://www.worldhistory.org/china/