简明中国历史介绍（英文）

NeolithicNeolithicNeolithicNeolithic ChinaChinaChinaChina TheTheTheThe YangshaoYangshaoYangshaoYangshao andandandand thethethethe LungshanLungshanLungshanLungshan The Neolithic period began in China about 12 000 B C However good evidence of Neolithic settlements exists from only about 4 000 B C The Neolithic lasted until about 2 000 B C It is defined by a spread of settled agricultural communities but hunting and gathering was still practiced The largest concentration of agriculture was below the southern bend of the Yellow River and millet was the main crop The geography of Neolithic China was different from today It was much wetter with most of Northern China being lakes and marshes and central China covered in an enormous lake The climate was warm and moist rather than the colder arid China of today The mountains were well forested and there was a variety of animals Silk production for which China is famous had already been invented before this time period began The process began in Northern China It involved feeding the silkworms mulberry leaves helping them molt and spin their cocoons and finally boiling the cocoons to produce the raw silk Pottery was also present during this time period The two main types Painted Pottery and Black Pottery belong to the two distinct cultural groups of the Neolithic the Yangshao and the Lungshan These two types of pottery were not for everyday use rather a plain course type of pottery was used that varied between the colors gray black red and white The dwellings of this time were in clusters that suggest kinship was important Clothing was made of hemp and the main domesticated animals were pigs and dogs The Yangshao lived in the mountainous regions of northern and western China in round or rectangular houses that were below ground level and surrounded by little walls of earth They created Painted Pottery that had geometric designs on it The pottery was fired at 1000 1500 C but the potters wheel was not used Axes and arrowheads were made of polished stone and other tools were made of stone chips Millet was the main crop of the Yangshao They domesticated two main animals the dog and the pig with the pig being the more important The Lungshan lived on the plains of eastern China Their villages were similar to those of the Yangshao but evidence of stamped earth fortresses is found in some sites They created Black Pottery This pottery was of exceptional quality It had a polished exterior was never painted and is almost always without decoration This pottery may have been a direct predecessor to later Chinese pottery as the forms of the vessels are typical of Chinese pottery Firing bones for the purpose of divination which continued into the following dynasties also began during this time The Lungshan began to bury their dead facing downwards which is how all bodies were buried during the Bronze Age They used bones for arrowheads and small tools but used polished stones for axes and sickles Their domesticated animals were the pig dog sheep and ox XiaXiaXiaXia DynastyDynastyDynastyDynasty For many years the Xia Dynasty was thought to be a part of a myth that the Chinese tell as part of their history The Xia Dynasty was in oral histories but no archaeological evidence was found of it until 1959 Excavations at Erlitous in the city of Yanshi uncovered what was most likely a capital of the Xia Dynasty The site showed that the people were direct ancestors of the Lungshan and were predecessors of the Shang Radiocarbon dates from this site indicate that they existed from 2100 to 1800 B C Despite this new archaeological evidence of the Xia they are not universally accepted as a true dynasty The Xia were agrarian people with bronze weapons and pottery The ruling families used elaborate and dramatic rituals to confirm their power to govern The rulers often acted as shamans communicating with spirits for help and guidance ShangShangShang DynastyDynastyDynasty The Shang rather than the Xia is considered by most to be the first true dynasty of China Like the Xia the Shang were originally considered to be a myth They were discovered because Chinese phamacists were selling oracle bones the Shang had created the parmacists sold the bones as dragon bones The bones were first noticed in 1899 and by the 1920 s were traced to Anyang where the last Shang capital was found and excavated Excavations were halted in 1937 when Japan attacked China In the 1950 s an earlier Shang capital was found near present day Zhengzhou Traditional Chinese history indicates that the Shang Dynasty consisted of 30 kings and seven different successive capitals The Zhou the dynasty that followed the Shang are responsible for the recordings of the kings and capitals of the Shang Dynasty The center of the Shang capitals had the ruler s palace Surrounding this were houses of artisans These houses were rectangular using a post and beam construction and were built on stamped earth platforms Subterranean pithouses were located near the capital which may have been used for storage and service quarters The Shang people had bronze weapons bronze fittings for chariots and harnesses and bronze vessels connected with worship Everyday vessels were of earthenware rather than bronze because metals were scarce in China The earthenware of this time was almost porcelain only missing the glaze that would have made it porcelain Despite being agriculturalists the Shang had rather primitive implements They did not use ploughs favoring hoes instead and most of the implements were made of wood and stone They grew grains such as millet and some wheat which were harvested with sickles The Shang had a unique form of descent Rather than passing from father to son the Shang form of descent passed from the eldest brother to the youngest brother One of the most important technological developments of the Shang was the invention of writing They are the first group of people from China of which written records are found The most common place these writings are found is on oracle bones used for divination The bones used for this purpose originally came from a number of animals but were eventually done exclusively on turtle shells A question was written on the bone which was then fired and a T shaped crack was produced which was interpreted and the interpretation was then written on the bone After the predicted event occurred the date of the occurrence was also written on the bone Writing is also found on bronze and stone but the majority of the records have decayed as they were recorded on bamboo strips The Shang may also have written on silk The Shang worshipped the Shang Ti This god ruled as a supreme god over lesser gods the sun the moon the wind the rain and other natural forces and places Highly ritualized ancestor worship became a part of the Shang religion Sacrifice to the gods and the ancestors was also a major part of the Shang religion When a king died hundreds of slaves and prisoners were often sacrificed and buried with him People were also sacrificed in lower numbers when important events such as the founding of a palace or temple occurred The Shang king had considerable power over his subjects Public works were built that required many people The capital at Zhengzhou for example had a wall of stamped earth around it that was four miles long and up to 27 feet high in areas Stamped earth walls were made by pounding thin layers of earth within a movable wooden frame The earth then becomes as hard as cement ZhouZhouZhou DynastyDynastyDynasty The Zhou began as a semi nomadic tribe that lived to the west of the Shang kingdom Due to their nomadic ways they learned how to work with people of different cultures After a time they settled in the Wei River valley where they became vassals of the Shang The Zhou eventually became stronger than the Shang and in about 1040 B C they defeated the Shang in warfare They built their capital in Xi an Part of their success was the result of gaining the allegiance of disaffected city states The Shang were also weakened due to their constant warfare with people to the north Traditional Chinese history says that the Zhou were able to take over the Shang because the Shang had degenerated morally Part of this belief may have been caused by the Zhou themselves who are credited with the idea of the Mandate of Heaven The Zhou used this idea to validate their takeover and subsequent ruling of the former Shang kingdom The Mandate of Heaven says that Heaven or tian places the mandate tianming to rule on any family that is morally worthy of the responsibility Also the only way to know if the Mandate of Heaven had been removed from the ruling family was if they were overthrown If the ruler is overthrown then the victors had the Mandate of Heaven The Zhou adopted much of the Shang lifestyle often importing Shang families or communities to new towns they built to utilize the knowledge of the Shang artisans The bronze vessels of the Zhou are nearly identical with those of the Shang The Zhou also adopted much of the Shang writing system rituals and administration techniques The Zhou however began a different form of governing which was basically feudal Land was given to people in elaborate ceremonies The landowners became vassals to the king Descent became patriarchal from father to son rather than from eldest brother to youngest brother as practiced by the Shang The Zhou despite transporting the Shang to their cities for their skills did not want to live directly with the Shang Their capital was divided into two sections one for the Zhou that contained the imperial court and the other half for the transported Shang Other Zhou cities exhibit this same characteristic However this was the only major change in cities from the Shang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty Otherwise the houses remained the same as in the Shang Dynasty The Zhou also brought their religion with them They banned human sacrifice They practiced the cult of Heaven The worship of sun and stars was the most important thing Some of the popular Shang gods became incorporated into this system They were lesser gods and served as feudal lords to the Heaven god The Zhou Dynasty is divided into subperiods The first is the Western Zhou which occurs from the time of their victory over the Shang until about 771 B C when they were forced east by barbarians from the north The king was killed but his son was saved and moved east where a new capital was formed in Loyang This began the period known as the Eastern Zhou The Eastern Zhou is further divided into two time periods the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period The Spring and Autumn Period occurred from about 770 476 B C During this time the Zhou emperor steadily lost power due to the realization by the feudal lords that he was not powerful and could be beaten which had been proven by the defeat in the west The second half the Warring States Period is so named because of the power struggle between the large states of China that were trying to gain control over the entire area It lasted from about 475 221 B C This time period of the Warring States is considered the classical age it was a time of great philosophers This cultural flowering is sometimes called the One Hundred Schools Period Confucianism Taoism and Legalism developed during this time Of these three Legalism had the most immediate effect as it was the philosophy that the Qin the next dynasty used as the basis of their rule Some of the most memorable poetry and prose was also written during this time Other advances included the writing down of the laws an increase in market places and a money economy The development of iron and tools made of iron greatly increased agriculture and thus population exploded QinQinQinQin DynastyDynastyDynastyDynasty The Qin came to power in 221 B C They were one of the western states that existed during the Warring States Period They conquered the other Warring States unifying China for the first time Their leader named himself the First Emperor or Shi huangdi thus beginning the tradition of having emperors for rulers The Qin while not the most culturally advanced of the Warring States was militarily the strongest They utilized many new technologies in warfare especially cavalry The Qin are sometimes called the Ch in which is probably where the name China originated The Qin made many changes that were meant to unify China and aid in administrative tasks First the Qin implemented a Legalist form of government which was how the former Qin territory had been governed The area was divided up in 36 commanderies which were then subdivided into counties These commanderies had a civil governor a military commander and an imperial inspector The leaders of the commanderies had to report to the Emperor in writing The Legalist form of government involved rewards and punishments to keep order Also the state had absolute control over the people and the former nobility lost all of their power The nobility were also transplanted from their homes to the capital Groups were formed of units of five to ten families which then had a group responsibility for the wrongdoings of any individual within the group The achievements of the Qin are numerous They standardized the language and writing of China which had varied greatly from area to area during the Warring States Period This was done partially out of a need to have a consistent way to communicate across the country administrators had to be able to read the writing of the commandery to which they were sent Also currency became standardized as a circular copper coin with a square hole in the middle Measurements and axle length were also made uniform This was done because the cartwheels made ruts in the road and the ruts had to all be the same width or carts with a different axle length could not travel on them Many public works projects were also undertaken A Great Wall was built in the north to protect against invasions Roads and irrigation canals were built throughout the country Also a huge palace was built for Shi huangdi The Qin are also famous for the terra cotta army that was found at the burial site for Shi huangdi The army consisted of 6 000 pottery soldiers that protected the tomb They may be a replacement for the actual people who had previously been buried with the rulers Despite all of these accomplishments Shi huangdi was not a popular leader The public works and taxes were too great a burden to the population It seemed that Shi huangdi could not be satisfied Also the nobility disliked him because they were deprived of all their power and transplanted Finally he banned all books that advocated forms of government other than the current one The writings of the great philosophers of the One Hundred Schools time were burned and more than 400 opponents were executed The Qin rule came to an end shortly after the First Emperor s death Shi huangdi had only ruled for 37 years when he died suddenly in 210 B C His son took the throne as the Second Emperor but was quickly overthrown and the Han dynasty began in 206 B C HanHanHanHan DynastyDynastyDynastyDynasty The Han empire began in 206 B C when Liu Bang prince of Han defeated the Qin army in the valley of Wei The defeat was part of a larger rebellion that began after the First Emporer s death The people were dissatisfied with the tyranny of the Qin leaders and their Legalist form of government However while traditional Chinese history portrays the Han as implementing immediate changes in government evidence shows the Han continued to rule in the tradition of the Qin and only gradually incorporated Confucian ideals into their Legalist form of government Economic expansion changing relationships with the people of the steppes strengthening of the palace at the expense of the civil service weakening of the state s hold on the peasantry and the rise of the families of the rich and the gentry were all factors that led to the adoption of Confucian ideals Under this new form of Legalism and Confucianism rewards and punishments were still used for common people However the administrators were judged based on Confucian principles with the justification for these different sets of standards as they were educated As a last resort the ruler could use punishment for both the people and the officials It was believed that force alone was not a sufficient way to rule and so the emperor needed the help of the Confucianists to guide him morally Evidence of rulers using their power to punish is found in the records of officials who were beheaded When Liu Bang conquered the Qin he created his capital at Ch ang an He kept most of the laws and regulations by the Qin and made many of his friends nobility and gave them fiefs However the land was still divided up into commanderies and prefectures Even the fiefs given out were treated like commanderies Han power was based on direct control of people by the state Like the Qin before them the main goal of the Han was the unification of China This goal led to the eventual breakup of the fiefs and the downfall of the imperial nobility This process was finally complete during Wu Ti s reign 141 87 B C His reign was a period of great military expansion He expanded the borders into Vietnam and Korea and pushed the Hsiung nu south of the Gobi Wu Ti transplanted an estimated 2 million people to the northwestern region in order to colonize these areas The expansion also led to trade with the people of inner Asia Thereafter the Silk Road was developed The Silk Road actually consisted of more than one possible route through the mountains that the traders followed Agriculture grew with the development of better tools Iron tools were made of better quality and oxen drawn ploughs were commonly used Irrigation systems were increased to help develop the areas of North China Crop rotation was also practiced from 85 B C onwards The state attempted to monopolize the production of i