He commanded the unification of the Great Wall of China with forced labor, the burning of ancient history books, the persecution of Confucianism, and the murder of any opponent. The problem was that Huang Di was very authoritarian. This dynasty saw China’s first historical emperor, Qi Shi Huang Di, who used legalism and state centralization to control all of China. to 206 B.C., but its importance was enormous. It lasted very little, only from 221 B.C. Be that as it may, it is a transitional dynasty between one era and another. The Qin dynasty was the last dynasty of the Ancient Age, although some historians put it as the first of the Imperial Age. Qin Shi Huang Di was its first ruler and first emperor in the history of China. Its leader also conquered the capital of the Zhou and founded his own dynasty, the Qin. The Terracotta Army was ordered to build by the first emperor of China. These 8 disputed control of all of China, and one of them, the state of Qin, succeeded. Combatant KingdomsĪfter centuries of wars and battles, in the 5th century BC only 8 of the original 170 states remained. The techniques of iron and ploughing were also initiated. Confucianism, legism and Taoism appeared at this time. The territory was divided into 170 independent states that were dedicated to make war between them, but never without attacking the Zhou kings. With time these kinglets disobeyed the central authority Zhou, thus initiating the Period of Spring and Autumn.ĭuring this period the Zhou dynasty controlled only the capital, Chengzhou.
The Zhou created the principle of the Mandate of Heaven, an unwritten rule that regulated dynastic cycles until the 20th century, giving legitimacy to the new dynasties and discrediting the old ones.ĭue to the number of nobles who owned large territories, they gained power and recruited their own armies. In the long run it would end up being their downfall, a typical problem that the following dynasties would manage to solve in the Imperial Age. The Zhou Dynasty (1050-256 B.C.) expanded rapidly, and to control the new territories they relied on the nobility or aristocracy. It is believed that the Zhou were a people west of the Yellow River who defeated the Shang and created their own dynasty. The Shang used to use a multitude of jade objects for rituals and ceremonies. At this time appeared the first dynasties of China, the birth of great philosophers such as Confucius, Mencius and Lao Tse, and the entry of Buddhism in China.
In the history of China the Ancient Age is the basis of its culture. In this enclave is the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia, dating back more than 4,000 years. Its most important site is Taosi, in Shanxi Province. This culture had a hierarchical society of religious cut, exchange of products and constant wars. Longshan Cultureĭuring the Neolithic, all the cultures of the Huang He River would merge and give rise to the Longshan Culture. They were all located on the banks of the Yellow River and its tributaries.
These are the cultures of Peilikan, Cishan, Yangshao, Dawenkou, and Hongshan.
Sedentarization gave rise to China’s first cultures. They also began to domesticate the first animals and use jade. This is a milestone in the history of humanity, because no other human civilization managed to create ceramics so quickly.ġ0,000 years ago they learned to grow rice on the banks of the Yangtse River and millet on the Huang He River. The appearance of the first ceramics is very important, 17,000 years ago, even before becoming sedentary or learning to cultivate. China’s first humans were dedicated to hunting and fishing.