MARC ANGELO V.

BANTUG III-BSLM 11/12/10

ASSIGNMENT IN HS 102N-Asian History WF 1:30-3:00pm

The Xia Dynasty - About 1994 BC - 1766 BC

-The Xia dynasty has been called the first dynasty.

-The Xia dynasty was said to have ended only when a Xia ruler mistreated his
people and was overthrown by his people.
-However, there isn't any archaeological record to prove this story; the Shang
dynasty is the first dynasty to be documented with reliable historical
evidence.

The Shang Dynasty - 1766 BC - 1027 BC

-The Shang dynasty ruled parts of northern and central China.

- Its capital city was located at Anyang near the border of Henan from about
1384 BCE.
-This dynasty was based on agriculture; millet, wheat, and barley were the
primary crops grown. In addition to the crops, silkworms, pigs, dogs, sheep,
and oxen were raised.
-Aside from their agricultural prowess, the Shang dynasty was also advanced
in metallurgy. Bronze ships, weapons, and tools were found from that era.

The Zhou Dynasty - 1122 BC - 256 BC

-The Chinese civilization expanded during the time of the Zhou dynasty.
-The massive size that the dynasty covered was too much for the Zhou
leaders to handle due to the poor means of communication.
-Because of this, the leaders decided to appoint people to oversee each of the
territories. The territories started off as walled off cities.
-The leader of each of the territories were the lords, each receiving the title
through inheritance. Next in the hierarchy were the fighting men, followed by
the peasants and the domestic slaves.
- Soon, these territories became more independent, eventually breaking away
from the main Zhou dynasty leaders.

The Qin Dynasty - 221 BC - 206 BC

-The Qin Dynasty was the dynasty that redefined China.

-The emperor of this era wanted to conquer the warring states that the Chou
dynasty had in essence created. This emperor succeeded and China was one
nation once more. Upon conquering all the warring states, the emperor
pronounced himself as the first emperor of China or, Shih Huang Ti. The
unified China was larger than it ever was.
- This was the first time outside forces acknowledged the existance of another
race of people, and aptly named the nation China after the then current
dynasty, the Qin.
-He destroyed the ancient feudal system and changed it into a centralized
bureaucratic administration.
-He also built the Great wall of china in order to protect the empire from the
endroads of Northern Tartars.

HAN DYNASTY (206 B.C.-221 A.D.)

In general:
- Han Dynasty ruler rejected the practice of tyranny and gradually adopted
Confucian ideals as the philosophy of the nations

- Han leaders extended the empire to south Manchuria, Outer Mongolia and
Indochina

- Trade along the silk road flourished

- Paper was invented

- First Official records were written

- Pan Chao, China’s greatest woman historian, completed the history of han,
first dynasty history

- Sima Quian, the father of Chinese history wrote the historical period of
China’s history.

The Early Han Dynasty - 206 BCE - 9 AD

-From the turbulent Ch'in dynasty a rebel leader, Liu Pang, arose to seize control
of the former Ch'in empire.
-He proclaimed himself emperor in 206 BCE. He established the Han dynasty
which would become the most durable dynasty of the imperial age.
-The Han empire was established using what the Ch'in had already set up. The
only difference is that some of the policies were modified, especially those that
had caused the Ch'in collapse. Taxes were also reduced drastically, while the
government played a smaller role in the economic policies.

The Xin Dynasty - 9 AD - 23 AD

-During the revolt, a courtier, Wang Ming, deposed and infant emperor and
established the short Xin dynasty.
-Slavery was abolished in this time and the peasants' lives were improved. State
monopolies on salt, iron, and coinage were strengthened and new monopolies
were created.
-Wang Ming tried to do too much and this lead to his downfall. He tried to pass
legislation on land but it was repealed. A large rebellion, led by a group known as
the Red Eyebrows, succeeded in killing Wang Ming and restoring the Han dynasty.

The Later Han Dynasty - 25 AD - 220 AD

-The weakness of the administration plagued the Later, or Eastern Han dynasty,
from the beginning. -As it was under the Earlier Han dynasty, the central
government was weakened by infant emperors' mothers being appointed to
leadership roles.
-With the help of the court eunuchs, the later emperors were able to get rid of this
problem, but at the price of giving the eunuchs power equal to the mothers.
-This new power of the eunuchs did not sit well with officials, so the government
was again divided by factionalism.

Three Kingdoms - The end of the Han dynasty was marked by the separation of
the large families of that dynasty. The families took advantage of the weakened
state of the government and started to establish their own private armies. Many
dynasties were established during this time.
 * Wei Dynasty (220 AD - 265 AD)
* Shu Dynasty (221 AD - 263 AD)
* Wu Dynasty (222 AD - 280 AD)

Sui Dynasty - 589 AD - 618 AD

-Under the Sui Dynasty (589 AD - 618 AD), China was reunited. Yang Chien,
the first Sui emperor, was a military servant who usurped the throne of the
non-Chinese Northern Chou in 581. In the next eight years, Yang Chien
successfully reconquered the Chinese territory.
-The Sui dynasty re-established the centralized administrative system of the
Han and reinstated the competitive tests that were once taken to measure a
bureaucrat's competency.

The Tang Dynasty - 618 AD - 907 AD

-The Tang dynasty was a dynasty that was characterized by such strength and
brilliance that it is unprecidented by any other.
-The civil service examination was so refined, that the test's basic form was
used in the 20th century.
-The role of the imperial and local government was amplified so that it
centralized administration and enacted an elaborate code of administrative
and penal laws.
-The Tang dynasty was vast, with its control ranging from Korea, southern
Manchuria, and Northern Vietnam. In the west, the Tang influence was felt as
far away as present-day Afghanistan.
-Greatest dynasty to rule china
-Under the Tangs, China became the mightiest empire in the world while
Europe was in the Dark Ages.
-A renaissance brought printing by movable blocks; public schools and
colleges; and the world’s oldest printed book, Diamond Sutra.
-This was the Golden Age of Chinese Poetry
-Tu Fu(God of Poetry), China’s greatest poet, became an idol of the
people
-Li Po wrote Love Lyrics

The Northen Sung Dynasty - 969 AD - 1126 AD

-To avoid the problems the Tang government faced, the Northern Sung made
the military subordinate to the civil government. Every aspect of government
and society was dominated by the civil government.
-The civil service test was expanded so that the government would have a
constant flow of young talent
-The Sung re-organized the imperial government, centralizing the control of
the dynasty at the capital.
-The local government was left pretty much the same.
-Education flourished and the economy also continued to expand. The
literature that was being created in the late Tang dynasty continued to
flourish as well.
-However, even with such improvements, there was one major flaw, a weak
military.
-China’s exports of silk, tea, and ceramics were prized possessions in Europe,
The middle east, and the rest of Asia.

The Yuan Dynasty - 1279 AD - 1368 AD

 -Kublai moved the Mongol capital from Karakorum to somewhere near Beijing.
The mongol empire was vast. It stretched from eastern Europe to Korea and
from northern Siberia to the northern rim of India.
-Instead of being tribal lords, the mongols ruled as if they were chinese. That
is why they adopted the the dynasty name, Yuan. During this time, the traffic
from West to East were greatly increased.
-Many missionaries and merchants influenced the Chinese.
-The most notable foreigner that visited during this time was Marco Polo.
There was resentment towards the mongols by the Chinese. They accepted
them as rulers but resented the fact that they held back able Chinese due to
the Confucianism tests.

-Eventually, the mongol control of China was started to deteriorate. Uprisings

sprung up in every province of China and, in the 1360s, Chu Yuan-chang was
successful in exerting control throughout the Yellow River Valley. In 1371, Chu
was successful in pushing the mongols back into Mongolia.

The Ming Dynasty - 1368 AD - 1644 AD

-The Ming Dynasty was founded by Chu Yuan-chang, the rebel leader that was
successful in removing the mongols from the throne.
-Chinese control was re-asserted in China and eastern Asia. Literature became
more important, schools were created, and the justice system was reformed.
-The Great Wall and the Grand Canal were also improved. The dynasty was
divided into 15 provinces and three commisioners were assigned to each
province: one for finances, one for military, and one for judicial matters.
-The financial commisioner was over-ruled by a governor in the later years of
the dynasty.
-During this Period, China became the mistress of Oriental seas and their
fleets patrolled the seas of South east asia and Indian ocean

The Manchu or Qing Dynasty - 1644 AD - 1912 AD

-Under Manchu rule, China reached the highest point in its 2000-year history
and collapsed from internal pressure along with pressures exerted by the
West.
-As with previous invaders of China, the Manchus started to absorb the
Chinese culture. The government was based on that of the Ming and was
more centralized. The central administration was regulated by a new
institution called the Grand Council. This council regulated the military and
political affairs guided by the emperor.
-The chief bureaus in the capital had both a Chinese and a Manchu leader. The
traditional bureaucracy and civil service examination was generally the same
as with previous Chinese dynasties.