As the start of the 21st century, China has become major global force— confident and booming economically (as if you didn’t already know). The country’s transformation has been blinding and unprecedented—with worldwide impact since it’s taken place in context of globalization. Side note: I found a great book that summarizes stuff you should know about […]
The Sui Dynasty & The Tang Dynasty
Finally, after three and a half centuries of great turmoil, the empire finally reconvenes—first during the short-lived SUI dynasty, then the more famous and enduring TANG dynasty. The Sui Dynasty [581-618] The Sui dynasty is often compared to the Qin, since they were both short-lived with iron-fisted rulers who forced huge chunks of the population […]
The Yuan Dynasty [1279-1368 ]
Kublai Khan, the first Mongol ruler of a unified China, moves his capital to Dadu (today’s Beijing). Not satisfied with China, he continues aggressive fighting overseas—ruling as far as India and Korea (but wasn’t able to take Japan). Under the Yuan, China controlled the largest territory in their history. Ironically, modern day China’s claim over […]
THE SONG DYNASTY [960-1279 ]
Divided into the Northern Song (960-1127) and Southern Song (1127-1279). During the Song dynasty, China became the most advanced country in the world — attaining a level of development that Europeans found hard to believe at the time (as described by Marco Polo who only saw late remnant of the Song glory). Science & Tech […]
The Dawn of Chinese Civilization [Pre-History – 771 BC]
The origins of China – or any civilization for that matter – reveal a lot about where it is today. In this article I’ll be discussing China’s Pre-History to 771BC. Let’s begin this timeline of Chinese history at, well…the beginning. In a small district southwest of the Chinese capital of Beijing, archaeologist discovered one of […]
The Formation of China [ 771-221 BC ]
Divided into the Spring and Autumn Period (771-475BC) & Warring States Period (475- 221BC) – these were the pivotal years of the development and formation of China. After the Zhou collapses, China sees its first great disruption in history— a long period of turmoil which lasted over 500 years. For half a millennium, rival states […]