Ancient Chinese History

Chinese history records dates back over 5,000 years. China has the oldest known surviving civilization in the world. Since then China created a culture rich in philosophy and arts. The dynasties absorbed culture, economy and government structures one from the other. These were the foundation of the civilization that was born and which makes China’s history one the marvels it is. Much like other civilizations, China’s history shows it’s endurance for its heritage and the preservation of its society. Throughout these years China fought hundreds of wars. It conquered its neighbors and was conquered by them as well. A major part of ancient Chinese civilization recorded is that it shared a common background that is longer than any other ethnic group

The Han dynasty was founded by a man of humble birth who led the revolt against the Qin dynasty. He was the first Chinese emperor who was a commoner. The dynasty followed the structure of the Qin dynasty dividing the country into administrative areas ruled by centrally appointed officials (Violatti 2013). They developed a salaried bureaucracy and promoted persons based on merit. The Han dynasty adopted the Confucian ideology which was about virtue, respect, obedience (filial piety), and moderation in all things. This ideology was able to cover some of the authoritarian ways and policies of the previous dynasty. Although the Qin regime tried to destroy and repress history and documents by burning, their short reign did not allow complete destruction but it greatly affected the cultural expression that was built by the dynasties before (Fercility 2017). However, the Han regime was able to revive the culture and vestiges. The Han were very good record keepers and noted even the music, rituals, techniques, songs and instruments used. Dance was also very important and the movements of bands and dancers in performances and private dance entertainment were also recorded (Britannica 2016). Pulleys and wheelbarrows were used to move goods, pulverized ores and grain, water powered trip hammers and bellows to pump air into furnaces. The innovation of this dynasty that would be invaluable to

Although much is not mentioned about these women they have contributed in great measure in the background. One such woman was Liang Hongyu. She was trained by her father in martial arts at an early age and married Han although she was a relative of disgraced soldiers. It is reported that she was very brave and assisted in advising the emperor about a planned ambush. She participated personally in the battles boosting the moral of the soldiers and drumming commands. She also assisted with gathering and finding food and shelter for the soldiers and the people in the village where it was short which caused the army to be able to defeat their opponents. She died in the battle against the Jin and was honored by the Song dynasty as Huguo Furen (Madam Nation-Protecting) for her bravery and contributions (Joyce Dong 2017). Another woman in China’s history that stands out is Wu Zetian. She is the only female emperor in Chinese history. She contributed to politics and literature during the Tang dynasty. She was born to a noble family and moved into the position after working as the personal assistant to the empress. She was said to be a very good poet and of all her writings only 32 of her poems have been preserved to date (Joyce Dong 2017).

Chinese have seen the invention of many amazing technologies like silk, paper, the compass, paper currency, pottery, gunpowder among a vast number of other things. These technological advancements