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Ancient China
Chinese civilisation grew up along the Yellow River. Shang kings questioned their ancestors on bones, Zhou kings claimed the Mandate of Heaven, and philosophers such as Confucius argued about how to govern well. In 221 BCE the state of Qin united China under its First Emperor, and the Han dynasty that followed set patterns of state and culture that lasted two thousand years.
Bronze and oracle bones
THEME ONE
The Shang kings ruled from their capital near today's Anyang and cast magnificent bronze vessels for offerings to their ancestors. To learn the will of the ancestors, diviners heated ox shoulder blades and turtle shells until they cracked, read the cracks and carved the question and answer on the bone. These inscriptions, from about 1250 BCE, are the oldest Chinese writing - and the direct ancestor of the characters used today.
The Zhou and the Hundred Schools
THEME TWO
Around 1046 BCE the Zhou overthrew the Shang, claiming that Heaven had withdrawn its mandate from an unworthy ruler - an idea used to justify every later change of dynasty. After 771 BCE royal power faded, and rival states fought for centuries. Out of this disorder came the "Hundred Schools of Thought": Confucius taught duty, ritual and good government by virtuous men, the Daoists harmony with nature, the Legalists strict laws and punishments.
The First Emperor
THEME THREE
In 221 BCE King Zheng of Qin conquered the last of the rival states and took a new title: Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor. He standardised the script, weights, measures, coins and even the width of cart axles, and joined earlier walls into a defence line in the north. He was buried near Xi'an, guarded by an army of thousands of life-size clay soldiers, found by farmers digging a well in 1974.
The Han and the Silk Road
THEME FOUR
The Qin dynasty collapsed soon after the First Emperor's death, and in 206 BCE the Han took power. They made Confucian learning the doctrine of the state and began to choose officials partly by knowledge. From 138 BCE the envoy Zhang Qian travelled to Central Asia, opening the routes later called the Silk Road. Paper, improved by the official Cai Lun around 105 CE, began its long journey to the rest of the world.
Periods
Shang
C. 1600 – 1046 BCE
The first dynasty confirmed by written records and excavations: bronze casting, walled cities, royal tombs and divination on oracle bones.
Zhou
1046 – 256 BCE
The longest-ruling dynasty in Chinese history. After 771 BCE its kings lose real power, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods follow.
Qin and Han
221 BCE – 220 CE
The short-lived Qin unifies China, the Han rule for four centuries with a brief break under Wang Mang (9 – 23 CE), and the empire then splits into three kingdoms.
Key dates
- c. 1250 BCEThe first inscriptions on oracle bones at the Shang capital near Anyang.
- c. 1046 BCEThe Zhou defeat the last Shang king.
- 551 BCETraditional date of the birth of Confucius.
- 221 BCEQin unites China, and its king becomes the First Emperor.
- 138 BCEZhang Qian sets out for Central Asia.
- 220 CEThe last Han emperor abdicates, and the Three Kingdoms period begins.
Questions and answers
Who was the first emperor of China?
Qin Shi Huang (259 – 210 BCE). Born Ying Zheng, he became king of Qin in 246 BCE, united China in 221 BCE and created the title huangdi, "emperor", used by Chinese rulers until 1912. His dynasty collapsed four years after his death.
Was the Great Wall built in ancient times?
Partly. Earthen walls were built by the Warring States, and the First Emperor and the Han extended them. But most of the brick and stone wall that visitors see today was built by the Ming dynasty in the 15th and 16th centuries.