The Dawn of Chinese Civilization
Archaeological evidence suggests that early people lived in China between 2.24 million and 250,000 years ago. According to the Chinese tradition, the first dynasty was the Xia, which emerged around 2100 BC. It was considered mythical by historians until scientific excavations found early Bronze Age sites in Henan Province in 1959. The succeeding Shang Dynasty is the earliest to be confirmed by written records. Their oracle bone script (from c. 1500 BC) represents the oldest form of Chinese writing yet found and is a direct ancestor of modern Chinese characters.
Dynastic Successions and Developments
The Shang Dynasty was conquered by the Zhou Dynasty, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries BC. The Warring States Period ended in 221 BC after the Qin State conquered the other six kingdoms and reunited China. Following a widespread civil war, the Han Dynasty emerged to rule China between 202 BC and 220, creating a cultural identity among its populace. The Han China gradually became the largest economy of the ancient world. After the end of the Han Dynasty, a period known as Three Kingdoms followed. At its end, the Wei State was swiftly overthrown by the Jin Dynasty, which again fell to civil war. After the Jin Dynasty, the North China was ruled by the states known as the Northern Dynasties and at the same time the South China was ruled by four states successively known as the Southern Dynasties. The two areas were finally reunited by the Sui Dynasty in 581.
The Golden Ages and Declines
Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age. The Tang Empire returned to control of the Western Regions and the Silk Road and made the capital a cosmopolitan urban center. However, it was weakened by the rebellion in the 8th century. In 907, the Tang Dynasty disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. The Song Dynasty ended the separatist situation in 960. It was the first government in the world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy.
The Mongol Rule and the Last Imperial Dynasties
In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty. Before the Mongol invasion, the population of Song China was 120 million citizens; this was reduced to 60 million by the time of the census in 1300. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty, which enjoyed another golden age, developing one of the strongest navies in the world and a rich and prosperous economy amid a flourishing of art and culture. Towards its end, the first missionaries from European countries came to China, opening the first age of large- scale cultural exchanges between the East and the West, which has lasted for around four hundred years. In 1644 when the capital of the Ming Dynasty was captured by rebel forces, the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the Qing Dynasty, which was the last imperial dynasty of China. In the mid-19th century, the dynasty experienced Western aggression in the Opium Wars with Britain and France. According to Chinese historians, modern history began from that time in 1840.
