Introduction

China was ruled by dynasties for 4,000 years. The same form of government existed from the Shang Dynasty to the Qing. The Shang began in 1600 BCE. The Qing was the last dynasty and ended in 1911. The Republic of China was created after its fall. Under the dynasty system, the emperor had complete control. Chinese territory was divided into different provinces. Officials governed the country. Most people were farmers. Each dynasty began and thrived. Then they declined and fell. Some dynasties ruled over China for hundreds of years. Others failed after only a few decades.

The rise of the Tang

The Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) unified China. Eventually, people rebelled against the Sui. The next dynasty was the Tang. Li Yuan (Emperor Gaozu¹) was its first emperor. He claimed to be descended from the founder of the philosophy of Daoism. His son was Taizong. Taizong forced his father off the throne, killed his two brothers, and became emperor. Then he spread Buddhism throughout China. Now China had three belief systems: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.

Empress Wu and China’s “Golden Age”

After Taizong died, his son became emperor. He was Emperor Gaozong. Yet, Gaozong became ill. A woman named Wu Zetian from his concubine ruled for him. She declared herself emperor in 690 CE. She was the only woman to ever be emperor in all of Chinese history. She named her dynasty the Zhou. It was named after the famous Zhou Dynasty that had ruled China from 1046-256 BCE. However, her new Zhou Dynasty ended in 705. After, the rule of the Tang continued.

Some historians say Wu ignored Confucian traditions and promoted Buddhism instead. However, she did use the ideas of Confucius in her changes. Wu reformed the education system. Teachers were now trained. Military officers had to take exams to make sure they knew what they were doing.

Wu also reopened the Silk Road trade routes. They had been closed because of diseases and invasions. Trade increased under the Zhou Dynasty. Foreign goods and ideas flowed into China. Chinese goods and ideas spread to other areas. Buddhism thrived. It spread as monks made pilgrimages to India.

The population grew due to the rising economy. The Chinese population went from 50 million to 100 million. Some say this was a “golden age”, but it was not golden for everyone.

Decline and fall

The dynasty began to lose control. People became worried about the power and influence of foreigners. Tang leaders cut down on trade. Buddhist monks and nuns were mistreated. The Tang Dynasty fell. The Five Dynasties (907-960 CE) came next. Warlords battled for control.

The creation of the Ming Dynasty

China faced more ups and downs. The Song Dynasty came into power in 960 CE. In 1269 CE, they were defeated by Mongols. Mongol leader Kublai Khan started the Yuan Dynasty. Some historians see the Mongols as invaders and outsiders. Other historians say the Mongols brought diversity to the country. In 1368, the Mongols were defeated by the Ming. The Ming lasted until 1644.

Under the Ming, ocean trade was greatly expanded with the Yongle Emperor’s support. The ships of Chinese explorer Zheng He were much larger than those of Christopher Columbus. One ship carried 500 people along with goods for trade. Zheng He even reached the east coast of Africa in the 1400s. Chinese explorers wanted to improve trade, not to conquer new colonies.

Expansion of agriculture and trade

Ming emperors wrote laws and made the government stronger. Officials were hired because of their abilities, instead of who their family was. The Ming began large irrigation projects. They produced iron for tools and weapons at an amazing rate. Under the Ming, construction was completed on the Great Wall. The Great Wall of China protected the border.

The first Ming emperor was Hongwu. He rebelled against the Mongols. He took land from the wealthy and gave it to the poor. Hongwu also gave soldiers land. More food was grown. The population of China went from 65 million to 160 million. Hongwu believed that farming should be the basis of the economy. He limited trade with other countries. Later, Europeans introduced new crops and goods from the Americas into China, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. Europeans wanted to sell even more.

At first, the Chinese were not interested in what the Europeans were selling. Then, the Spanish found silver in the Americas. The Chinese began depending on Spanish silver. The Spanish reduced the amount of silver. It created economic problems and famines. The Ming emperors struggled to maintain control. The people rebelled and the Ming Dynasty came to an end.

¹ You may catch that this guy had the same name, “Gaozu” as the founder of the Han Dynasty. This was on purpose. Neither one was originally named Gaozu. It was a Dynastic name that they took, upon becoming emperor. The Tang Gaozu chose it specifically to make people connect him to the Han Dynasty founder, who was well respected.