China in 5000 Years

Ruby Tsao, Chinese American Forum, ???, 羅碧英

• Publisher: EHGBooks
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781625036100
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Chinese History
• Index: History

This book is a collection of articles on China, covering a wide range of topics. Readers will find aspects of China’s history and culture from ancient times to contemporary China, the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, ancient and modern infrastructure, the Three Gorges Dam, agriculture, ancient inventions, science and technology… On cultural topics, this book provides an introduction to the essence of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and Islam, traditional Chinese medicine, Kung Fu, Taiji, Qigong, Sun Zi’s Art of War; comparisons between China and the West as well as outlook for the future by renowned scholars like Henry Kissinger, Martin Jacques, Graham Allison and Wu Jianmin.

Instead of conformity, articles will retain individual styles and variations. Different pinyin systems may be used by different authors. Chinese characters are included when necessary for names or passages not familiar to the public.

History—Articles relating to history are divided in 3 groups in chronological order: 1. Imperial China—from Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) to Qing Dynasty, including the Opium Wars.
2. Modern China—from establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, through Northern Expeditions, War with Japan, bombing of Japan, the Civil Wars, establishment of PRC and the Cultural Revolution; One China Polity; Taiwan; Tibet.
3. Contemporary China—Developments since reform and opening up in 1978; outlook for the future, viewpoints n US-China relation of Western scholars like Henry Kissinger, Martin Jacques, Graham Allison and Chinese scholar and diplomat Wu Jianmin. Civilization—Since the ancient times, China has made important contributions in science and civilization, in agriculture, Traditional Chinese Medicine and infrastructure, including the Great Wall, the Grand Canal and the Three Gorges Dam. Culture—On cultural subjects, the book has introductory essays on these subjects: Confucius and Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Islam, Sun Zi, religions, differences with the West, education, poetry and Kung Fu….. All the authors have contributed their time to write on various aspects of Chinese history and culture. This book will be available on Amazon.com. Sale of this book will benefit Chinese American Forum, a non-profit organization to promote understanding of China for better US-China relation. This book is intended for English-language readers and American Born Chinese (ABC) for better understanding of China, a country of 1.38 billion people with increasing global influence on economy, world trade, international relations, climate change, etc. With understanding of its history and culture, readers can be assured that China is a force for peace and prosperity.

HISTORY

China—Outline of History

Ruby Tsao

China was one of the four ancient civilizations in the world with ancient Egypt, Babylon and India. It is not only one of the oldest civilizations; it is the only civilization that has a continuous record to this day. For millions of years, human ancestors existed in Chinese territories. Fossils of Shu Ape, an early primate were discovered in China in 1994. It was designated the “First Anthropoid” who lived in China 45 million years ago. Homo erectus 直立人existed about 1.7 million years ago. Remains of Peking Man dating back 600,000 years were discovered in Zhoukoudian near Beijing. Use of fire was evident in the cave. The bones were under study in Xiehe Medical College when War with Japan broke out. With imminent Japanese attack on Beijing, an attempt was made to transfer the scalp and bones to the United States for safe-keeping in 1941. In the turmoil of war, the scalp and bones disappeared and have never been found to this day. In 1958, renewed excavations at Zhoukoudian yielded some bones and tools.

Excavations at Yuanmou in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and Hemudu in the Yangtze River area showed early civilization about 8000 years ago in China. Hemudu culture in eastern Zhejiang Province revealed ancient civilization of rice production and pottery of cups, bowls, and pots with floral or geometric designs. Carvings of Jade and ivory were also found. Domestication of pigs and dogs likely began. Animal bones were used as tools. Banpo Museum near Xi’an revealed evidence of rice cultivation and pottery 7000 to 8000 years ago. Further research dated rice cultivation in China back 12,000 years.

Written history began with Huangdi as recorded by Sima Qian in the Han Dynasty. His Shiji (Historical Records), covered nearly 3000 years of history from Huangdi to his time. There have been many great historians after him for objective evaluation of historical events. China is the only country with unbroken record of history for nearly 5000 years not found in any other ancient civilizations. India had one of the ancient civilizations, but without a written language, Indian scholars had to look in Chinese books for history of India. This article presents an outline of 5000 years of Chinese recorded history.

Five thousand years is a long time in human history. To cover 5000 years of history in a few pages is no easy task. We can only briefly list the most important events in a period and contributions of influential people in chronological order of the dynasties. Instead of citing tedious dates, we get the big picture by citing the outstanding developments in each period and achievements of historical figures most influential in China’s history.

Huangdi (Huang—Yellow, the color of earth, Di—Emperor, 2698 BCE—2598BCE) Common ancestor of all Chinese, credited for many inventions—the calendar, the battle chariot, the compass, etc. His wife, Lei Zhu, was credited for making fabric from silk. His half brother Yandi (Shengnong) originated agriculture and herbal medicine. All Chinese refer themselves as Yan-Huang descendants.

Yao, Shun, Yu (Three Sage Kings 2356 BCE—2205 BCE) Ideal models of rulers -- leaving the throne not to blood descendants, but to successors voted by tribal leaders according to merits. It was an early form of democratic meritocracy.

Xia (2205 BCE—1766 BCE) Shun’s successor Yu was called the Great Yu because of his contribution in controlling the great floods. His son Chi also made contribution in fighting the floods alongside Yu. He ousted Yu’s successor and started the tradition of hereditary dynasties.

Shang (1766 BCE –1122 BCE) Chinese written script known as Jiaguwen (script on oracle bones) first appeared in the Shang Dynasty. Although calligraphy and style have changed over the last 4000 years in the general trend of simplification, the characters have retained the same meanings throughout the ages regardless of different oral dialects contributing to a unified culture in China. Unlike oral variations of alphabetical languages, the visual characters have the same meaning even to people in Korea or Japan. Shang Dynasty was also famous for producing the most advanced bronzes of the time. The dynasty ended with a corrupt king, replaced by a series of benevolent kings of the Zhou Dynasty.

Zhou (1122BCE—770 BCE) was a long period of peace and prosperity under benevolent rulers, notably Zhou Wu Wang and Zhou Wen Wang.

Spring and Autumn Annals (770 BCE—476 BCE) was a period of great thinkers: Confucius, Laozi and Sunzi. They ushered in the “One Hundred Schools of Thought” 诸子百家（孟子，荀子，韩非子，莊子，墨子….） in the following Warring States period until establishment of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE. Confucius, Laozi, Sunzi were the most outstanding. They left long-lasting influence in China for 2500 years:

Confucius (551 BCE - 476 BCE)—Originator of Confucianism with “Ren” (benevolence) as its central theme for human behavior. It has profound influence not only in China, but in other Asian countries as well.

Laozi (? Contemporary of Confucius)—His philosophy of “Yin” and “Yang”, with “Harmony with Nature” became the main theme of Daoism (Taoism).

Sunzi (544 BCE—496 BCE) – His “Art of War” has been studied as a military textbook in China for 2500 years. It has been translated into many international languages for studies in military and business strategies. It is even in the curriculum of the West Point Military Academy in the US.

The Warring States (476 BCE—221 BCE) was a period of war among seven states. Qin conquered six states one after another to establish a unified China.

Qin Dynasty (221 BCE--206 BCE) The greatest contributions of Qin Shi Huang (Qin’s first emperor) were to standardize written language, weights and measurements, and carriage width to establish a foundation for a united China. His dynasty lasted a mere 15 years followed by the benevolent rule of Han emperors. This pattern repeated in subsequent historical cycles of tyranny overturned by benevolent rulers.

Han Dynasty (206 BCE—220 AD) Early Han emperors learned from Qin’s example how quickly an empire can disintegrate under tyranny. Emperors Han Wendi and Han Jindi started a period of rest and restoration from the devastation of Qin’s rule. They lowered taxes and government requirements for a period of peace and productivity. The most notable emperor Han Wu Di, adopted Confucianism as state doctrine exerting a lasting influence in society. His generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were quite successful to drive the fierce Xiongnu tribes out of China. He sent Zhang Qian on expeditions to the West establishing trade routes along Central Asia and Europe from today’s Xi’an all the way to Rome, known later as the Silk Road. The peaceful expeditions promoted communication, trade and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.

Buddhism entered China during the 1^st Century in the Han Dynasty from India where it entered into a long decline. It spread to Korea and Japan from China. Its influence on people grew in subsequent dynasties. The three dominant philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism were compatible in promoting benevolence, peace and harmony.

The 426 years of Han Dynasty was a long period of assimilation of people and integration of culture, a melting pot of all tribes identified as Han Chinese. Actually, “Han” was not a race in the genetic sense. Han Chinese population was defined, not by ethnicity, but by Han culture. Ethnic groups adopted Han language and Confucian philosophy to become Han people. After 2000 years of integration and inter-marriage, Han Chinese has remained the dominant group with 95% of population in China.

China’s Han Dynasty was contemporary with the Roman Empire, both with high technical, military and political achievements. The difference is: the Roman Empire disintegrated into individual nations in Europe while China has remained a united country since the Han Dynasty. In spite of brief periods of disunion, the Han Chinese as one people, have a tendency of gravitating towards a united nation.

Three Kingdoms (220—265 AD) This period was made famous by a book “Romance of Three Kingdoms”, a historical novel written by Luo Guanzhong in the 16^th Century. The main character Zhuge Liang was the most respected politician in history with consummate Confucian qualities. He became a symbol of wisdom in Chinese history. Stories of “Romance of Three Kingdoms”, written largely based on history, became popular folklore with its literary embellishments.

Jin (265-420) China entered a period of disunion and unrest among Han Chinese and northern minority tribes.

Southern and Northern Dynasties Northern Wei (386-535) was established by Xianbei (Siberia) tribes who invaded from the north. A complete assimilation in Han culture with names changed to Han surnames left no traces of foreign origin.

Sui Dynasty (581 - 618) Xianbei descendents united China; extended and repaired the Great Wall. Two events had long-lasting influence: the building of the Grand Canal still in use today and establishment of Keju (civil service examination — a democratic merit system used since the 6^th Century in imperial China to compete for government positions until replaced by modern schools in the 20th Century). With lifetime study on Confucian classics, winners achieved high moral standards. Keju required the use of Han written language which had a unifying effect in sharing the same culture. Minorities were largely assimilated in Han culture.

Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) Li Yuan who was related to Sui royal family, founded the Tang Dynasty. Tang Taizhong was an exemplary ruler, a model for later emperors. Succeeding her husband Tang Gaozhong, Wu Zetian (624-705) became the only female empress (not only wife of emperor, but ruler of country in her own right) in Chinese history.

During Tang Taizhong’s reign, Xuanzang traveled to India to bring Buddhist scriptures to China. A history book “Great Tang Records of the Western Regions” recorded history and conditions of countries he traveled, including India. This was the inspiration for a Ming novel “Journey to the West” written by Wu Cheng’en that became popular folklore.

Buddhism flourished in China before its spread to Korea and Japan. Scholars embraced Han culture and brought it to new literary and cultural heights, especially in poetry, producing such great poets as Li Bai and Dufu. During the Tang Dynasty, the magnificent capital Chang-an (today’s Xi’an) was the most cosmopolitan city in the world attracting hordes of foreign visitors and scholars from Japan, Persia, etc. It was a period of cultural exchange with the outside world.

Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) In spite of material abundance and cultural advances in this period, the Song Dynasty was lax in military defense which allowed Liao and Jin to take over vast areas of territory in the north. Song Huizhong was a great artist, but a poor ruler who died as a captive of Jin. The Southern Song retreated to the south and established the capital in today’s Hangzhou.

Yuan Dynasty (1280 - 1368) Genghis Khan created the greatest empire covering the continents of Europe and Asia. The Great Wall was no barrier to his conquest. He came from the west after his conquests in Europe. After he settled down, he began to admire the refined lifestyle of Han people. His Han counselor advised him to adopt the benevolent rule to manage the overwhelming majority of Han population with these words: “You can conquer the world on horseback, but you cannot rule the world on horseback.”

His grandson Kublai Khan received a Confucian education with other royal members. He was influenced by Han culture and with the help of Han officials, established the Yuan Dynasty with the capital in Beijing. Han culture transformed fierce Mongol warriors to become peaceful people. In the end, China gained territory the invaders brought with them to become part of China.

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Table of contents

• PREFACE
• INTRODUCTION
• HISTORY
• CIVILIZATION
• CULTURE
• ADDENDUM: Photographs On Book Cover