Revision as of 13:46, 20 November 2012

Emblem of the People's Republic of China

China (locally known as 中国-Zhongguo (The Middle Kingdom in Mandarin)) is an eastern Eurasian civilization. China is notable for having a major influence on surrounding civilizations in Eastern Asia and being the oldest continuous nation on Earth, existing as as a political entity in some form or another more or less consistently since 221 BCE, after being unified by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi despite the rise and fall of various dynasties. Between 476 and 1600, Chinese civilization was the most technologically advanced civilization on earth, having developed chemical explosives, movable type printing, the compass, civil service examinations, paper and Paper Money well before european civilization did. The most recent incarnation of China is the People's Republicof China, a Communist Regieme founded by Mao Zedong in 1949 which is rising power undergoing massive economic growth.

Periods in Chinese History

Various neolithic and bronze age agricultural cultures starting around 8000BCE, the first major Chinese cultivar is millet.

Zhou Dynasty (1046 BCE to 475 BCE): Loose feudal society, created concept of Mandate of Heaven. Power gradually weakened over time. Beginning of the iron age.

Warring States Period (475 BCE to 221 BCE): Zhou State fails, china divided into several armed camps based around old Zhou feudal territories, emergence of Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism.

Qin Dynasty (221 BCE to 207 BCE): China unified under the banner of Qin, Qin Shi Huangdi creates a Legalist centralized state notable for major projects (the Great Wall being the most notable), standardization of written language, destruction