Imperial Chinese History

A Unified China: The Qin Dynasty

The state of Qin was one of the seven major kingdoms during the Warring States Period. Starting in 231 BC, the Qin began a campaign to unite China under one kingdom. One by one each of the other powerful Chinese kingdoms fell until the last, the state of Qi, was absorbed in 221 BC. This marked the beginning of the Qin Dynasty as the ruler of a unified China.

The leader of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi, introduced various reforms into China during this period. A common currency was introduced throughout China. A standardized written language with uniform characters was also put into place. The construction of the Great Wall also began during this dynasty.

However, the Qin emperor was known as a tyrant. He supported Legalist philosophy, which called for a strong ruler and harsh punishments for breaking the law. He persecuted and massacred Confucian scholars and engaged in mass burning of Confucian texts. The emperor ruled through terror and oppression and the dynasty quickly crumbled after his death.

China’s First Golden Age: The Han Dynasty

The warrior-king Liu Bang finished off the failing Qin Dynasty in 206 BC and went to declare the new Han Dynasty in 202 BC. Its capital was the modern-day city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province. The Han Dynasty was a time of economic, cultural and political growth in China.

The Han Dynasty set the pattern for Chinese imperial rule for over two millennia. Han rulers, starting with Liu Bang (also known as Emperor Gaozu) embraced Confucian values and government. This became the norm for subsequent dynasties.

In AD 9 the Han Dynasty was overthrown and the Xin Dynasty was established. The Xin government sought to enact land reform but did not gain the support of the landed nobility. It fell after only 22 years and the Han Dynasty was re-established, this time with its capital in Luoyang.

Near the end of the 2nd century AD famine rocked China and rebellion was common. In AD 220 the dynasty finally crumbled, after years of revolt and weakness.

Disunity and Foreign Invasion: The Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties

In the declining years of the Han Dynasty, three competing states arose that fought for dominance over China. These were the kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu and this period is known as the Three Kingdoms Period. Its early years were marked with violence and war, while the later years were more politically stable.

The Three Kingdoms Period is the setting for the classical Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The novel portrays many historical events and characters while adding in many fictional ones as well.

In 278 the three kingdoms were conquered by various nomadic peoples – including the Xiongnu and ancestors of many of China’s present-day minorities. These nomads established the Jin Dynasty. Political instability later caused further breakdown of authority. This brought the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period, which was a time of war and instability but also the growth of the arts and Buddhism.

Reunification: The Sui Dynasty

After centuries of instability and foreign rule, the Sui Dynasty once again reunified China under a single emperor. Starting in 581 AD, the Sui enacted many reforms to unify the country, such as re-establishing a common currency.

The Sui Dynasty also expanded the Great Wall and constructed a massive canal that ran from the north to the south known as the Grand Canal. However, the Sui’s sometimes brutal and oppressive style of rule, and extended wars with Korea, led to its early downfall in 618 AD.

China’s Second Golden Age: The Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty that replaced the Sui Dynasty in 618 AD was a golden age of philosophy, art, literature and technology in imperial China. Probably no other Chinese dynasty saw the number and speed of advances that the Tang did.

Trade with Western Asia, the Middle East and Europe via the Silk Road flourished during this period. Chinese Buddhism matured and flourished during the Tang as well. Printing, clocks, medicines, cartography, architecture and more all progressed.

The Tang Dynasty was weakened by natural disasters, including famine, and the rise of regional warlords independent of the central government in the 9th century AD. In 907 a regional governor usurped the government and China was once again plunged into chaos. 

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period refers to a period of instability and chaos in China. In northern China, five different dynasties came and went in quick succession.

The first of these northern dynasties was the Liang Dynasty. The Liang was founded by the warlord Zhu Wen after he convinced the Tang boy-emperor, a relative of his, to hand power to him. However, his rule quickly gave way to succeeding dynasties. Stable government was unknown in northern China during this period.

Meanwhile, southern China was controlled by five separate states. These states existed at the same time, unlike the northern dynasties. In 960 AD the Song Dynasty was formed, and began to conquer other states to unify China.

Growth and Re-Unification: The Song Dynasty

Starting soon after its establishment, the Song government began to incorporate other states into a newly unified Chinese state. The Song government established firm central authority and further advanced the civil service examination system to focus on skill and merit.

China’s population exploded during the Song Dynasty due to increased rice cultivation in central and southern areas. The Song was the first Chinese government to establish a standing, permanent navy. Neo-Confucianism flourished as a new update to China’s traditional Confucian philosophy, which included many Buddhist ideas.

In 1127 AD Song Dynasty in the north was conquered by the Jurchens, a tribe from north eastern China. The government fled to the south and continued to rule southern China until the Mongols invaded in the 13th century.

Foreign Rule: The Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty was part of the Mongol Empire that stretched from Korea in the east to Europe in the west. The Yuan Dynasty was just one of four Khanates that Mongol rulers had divided the empire into.

Mongol rulers changed China into a cosmopolitan empire, importing advisors and allies from faraway lands to help govern China. Mongol emperors did not adapt to Chinese culture and retained their own distinct culture. They showed clear favouritism to non-Han peoples within China’s borders, such as Uyghurs and other Central Asians.

While early rulers like Kublai Khan were powerful and effective statesmen, later rulers were inept and weak. Floods and famines were common in the later years of the dynasty and the government was unable to keep the loyalty of the people. In the second half of the 14th century AD rebellion became common. A peasant rebellion led by Zhu Yuanzhang formed the Ming Dynasty in 1368.

Revitalization: The Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang (also known as the Hongwu Emperor). Zhu was a poor peasant that variously lived the life of a monk, wanderer, rebel and eventually emperor of China. His charisma, ruthlessness and leadership allowed the Ming Dynasty to control and unify China.

Zhu’s Ming army drove the Mongols from Beijing in 1368, though fighting continued for decades. The Ming government put into practice many tax and land policies that benefited farmers; this is a reflection of Zhu Yuanzhang’s own peasant background. Zhu also enacted many other reforms, such as forced the relocation of wealthy families, discouragement of trade and commerce, and the limitation of eunuchs in court affairs. However, later emperors reversed some of these changes.

The Ming Dynasty is best known for the fantastic sea voyages of the admiral Zheng He. Zheng was a Chinese Muslim that led a series of sea voyages. He reached far-off locations including modern-day Indonesia, the Persian Gulf and East Africa. Zheng’s voyages brought back a wealth of treasure and information regarding the areas he visited, but the voyages were discontinued after his death.

By the early 1600s, the Ming Dynasty was rocked by peasant rebellions. It was unable to properly defend against the Manchus, a powerful tribal alliance in the northeast. In 1644 the Manchu army captured Beijing and declared the new Qing Dynasty. Ming resistance continued for several decades but by the 1660s the Qing were the masters of China.

Foreign Dominance and the End of Imperial China: The Qing Dynasty

The first part of the Qing Dynasty was period of stability and growth. This period saw rising populations, expansions of territory and foreign policy successes. However, the second half of the dynasty was plagued by domestic revolt, civil war and foreign aggression.

The Qing Dynasty was ruled by the Manchu people, an ethnic group distinct from Han Chinese. While Manchus filled the most important government posts, Qing rulers recognized that it would be necessary for most posts to be filled by Han Chinese. Unlike the Mongols, the Manchus slowly adapted to Chinese culture, learned the Chinese language and adopted Chinese customs. Modern day Manchus are almost indistinguishable from the Han Chinese around them.

The Manchus did demand that Han Chinese men wear their hair in a special ponytail called a queue – failure to do so was punishable by death. This was designed to symbolize Han submission to Manchu authority and to readily identify Han Chinese rebels.

The 19th century was the beginning of the end for the Qing Dynasty. The Opium Wars with England in 1840s and 1850s were humiliating. Worse yet, the Taiping Rebellion sparked a civil war that caused the death of tens of millions of people and crippled vast areas of the country. The Qing was unable to defend against external and internal threats and Han Chinese were increasingly dissatisfied with rule by a foreign people.

In 1895 the Qing lost the First Sino-Japanese War and was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki. This treaty forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan and pay a huge war indemnity. The weakened Qing government continued to rule until 1911, when liberal-minded reformers overthrew the government and established the Republic of China in 1912.