Accomplishments of the Ancient Chinese

Neolithic

The Neolithic (neo='new' lithic='stone') Period of Ancient China lasted from about 12,000 until about 2000 BCE.

Named Neolithic cultures (known by pottery style):

• Yang-Shao
• Longshan
• Qinglian
• Dapenkeng

Kings:

1. Fu Xi (r. from 2850) may have been the first king
2. Shennong (the farmer king)
3. Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor (r. 2696-2598)
4. Yao (first of the Sage Kings)
5. Shun (second of the Sage Kings)

Accomplishments of Interest:

• The silkworm was cultivated to produce silk (Sericulture).
• Cultivation of rice and millet
• Invention of wet rice (paddy) agriculture
• Pig domestication
• Pottery
• Decorative jade
• Copper and bronze tools
• India ink
• The beginning of urban organization

The Neolithic people in ancient China may have had ancestor worship.

Bronze Age Xia Dynasty

The Xia Dynasty ran from c. 2100 to c. 1800 BCE. Legend attributes the founding of the Xia dynasty to Yu, the third Sage King. There were said to be 17 rulers. Rule became hereditary.

Technology:

• Pasturage and agriculture
• Irrigation
• Pottery
• Ships
• Lacquer
• Silk
• Spinning/weaving
• Carving

Bronze Age - Shang Dynasty (Yin Dynasty)

The Shang Dynasty ran from c. 1800–c.1100 BCE. Tang took control of the Xia kingdom.

• There is evidence of human sacrifice.

Accomplishments:

• Bronze vessels, weapons, and tools
• Carved jade and turtle shells for divination
• Glazed pottery
• Lacquerware
• Tombs
• Calendar
• Script
• Diviniation (Oracle Bones)
• War chariots drawn by horses probably brought to China by Steppe residents

Zhou Dynasty (Chou Dynasty)

The Zhou Dynasty, from c. 1027–c. 221 BCE, is divided into periods:

1. Western Zhou 1027–771
2. Eastern Zhou 770–221
   1. 770–476 Spring and Autumn
   2. 475–221 Warring States

The Zhou were originally semi-nomadic and had co-existed with the Shang. The dynasty was begun by Kings Wen (Ji Chang) and Zhou Wuwang (Ji Fa) who were considered ideal rulers, patrons of the arts, and descendants of the Yellow Emperor. This was the period of the great philosophers, including Confucius (551–479 BCE) and Lao Tzu (7th century BCE).

Technological accomplishments and inventions:

• Cire perdue 'Lost wax' method
• Inlay
• Iron casting
• Iron weapons
• Chariots
• Dye
• Glass
• Astronomy
• Magnetism
• Arithmetic
• Fractions
• Geometry
• Plowing
• Pesticides
• Fertilizers
• Acupuncture

In addition, human sacrifice appears to have disappeared.

Qin Dynasty

The Qin Dynasty ran from 221–206 BCE. The first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, founded the Qin Dynasty, and the first unification of China. He built the Great Wall to keep out northern invaders and centralized the Chinese government. His tomb contained 6,000 terracotta figurines commonly believed to be models of soldiers.

The Qin accomplishments:

• Standardized weights, measures, coinage—the bronze round coin with a square hole in the center
• Relief Map (possibly)
• Zoetrope (possibly)
• Standardized writing
• Standardized chariot axle widths
• Compass

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty, which was founded by Liu Bang (Han Gaozu), lasted for four centuries (206 BCE–8, 25–220 CE). During this period, Confucianism became state doctrine. China had contact with the west via the Silk Road. Under Emperor Han Wudi, the empire expanded into Asia.

Han Dynasty accomplishments:

• Civil Service competitive exams
• State Academy
• Seismograph invented to detect earthquakes
• Iron plows led by oxen became common; coal to smelt iron
• Water-power mills
• Censuses
• Paper invented
• Probably gunpowder

Three Kingdoms

After the Han Dynasty of ancient China there was a period of constant civil war during which the three leading economic centers of the Han Dynasty tried to unify the land:

1. The Cao-Wei Empire (220–265) from northern China
2. The Shu-Han Empire (221–263) from the west, and
3. The Wu Empire (222–280) from the east.

Accomplishments from this period and the next two:

• Sugar
• Pagodas
• Private parks and gardens
• Glazed earthenware
• Porcelain
• Parallax
• Pi

Of Interest:

• During this period, tea may have been discovered.

Chin Dynasty (Jin Dynasty)

Lasting from CE 265–420, the Chin Dynasty was started by Ssu-ma Yen (Sima Yan), who ruled as Emperor Wu Ti from CE 265–289. Ssu-ma Yen reunified China in 280 by conquering the Wu kingdom. After reuniting, he ordered the disbanding of the armies, but this order was not uniformly obeyed.

Northern and Southern Dynasties

Another period of disunity, the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties lasted from 317–589. The Northern Dynasties were:

1. The Northern Wei (386–533)
2. The Eastern Wei (534–540)
3. The Western Wei (535–557)
4. The Northern Qi (550–577)
5. The Northern Zhou (557–588)

The Southern Dynasties were

1. The Song (420–478)
2. The Qi (479–501)
3. The Liang (502–556)
4. The Chen (557–588)

References and Further Reading

• Loewe, Michael, and Edward L. Shaughnessy. "The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999
• Perkins, Dorothy. "Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture." London: Routledge, 1999.
• Yang, Xiaoneng, ed. "Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past." New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.