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{{About|the general history of China from prehistoric times to the present|the history of the Republic of China from 1912 to 1949|History of the Republic of China|the history of the People's Republic of China since 1949|History of the People's Republic of China}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{History of China|BC=yes|expanded=all}}

The '''history of China''' spans several millennia across a wide [[Environmental history of China|geographical area]]. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization was traditionally thought to have first emerged in the [[Yellow River|Yellow River or ''Huang He'']] valley, which along with the [[Yangtze River|Yangtze]] basin constitutes the geographic core of the [[Sinosphere|Chinese cultural sphere]]. However, current views have considered the origin to be a simultaneous duality of both the Yellow River and the Yangtze.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sooke|first=Alastair|title=The mysterious ancient figure challenging China’s history|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191009-the-mysterious-ancient-figure-challenging-chinas-history|date=2019-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Denomme|first=Devon|title=Yangtze River - History, Location & Facts|url=https://study.com/learn/lesson/yangtze-river-location-facts.html|date=January 29, 2026}}</ref> China maintains a rich diversity of ethnic and linguistic people groups. The [[Chinese historiography|traditional lens]] for viewing Chinese history is the [[Dynasties of China|dynastic cycle]]: imperial dynasties rise and fall, and are ascribed certain achievements. This lens also tends to assume Chinese civilization can be traced as an unbroken thread [[Five thousand years of Chinese civilization|many thousands of years into the past]], making it one of the [[Cradle of civilization|cradles of civilization]]. At various times, states representative of a dominant Chinese culture have directly controlled areas stretching as far west as the [[Tian Shan]], the [[Tarim Basin]], and the [[Himalayas]], as far north as the [[Sayan Mountains]], and as far south as the [[Red River Delta|delta of the Red River]].

The [[Neolithic China|Neolithic]] period saw increasingly complex polities begin to emerge along the [[Yellow river civilization|Yellow]] and [[Yangtze civilization|Yangtze]] rivers. The [[Erlitou culture]] in the [[Zhongyuan|central plains of China]] is sometimes identified with the [[Xia dynasty]] (3rd millennium&nbsp;BC) of traditional [[Chinese historiography]]. The earliest surviving [[written Chinese]] dates to roughly 1250&nbsp;BC, consisting of divinations inscribed on [[oracle bone]]s in the [[Shang Dynasty]], the oldest confirmed dynasty due to such relics in 1899.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wang Yirong: discoverer of jiaguwen in China|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/shandong/yantai/2021-11/12/content_37548617.htm|date=2021-11-12}}</ref> [[Chinese bronze inscriptions]], ritual texts dedicated to ancestors, form another large corpus of early Chinese writing. The earliest strata of received literature in Chinese include [[Classic of Poetry|poetry]], [[Yi Jing|divination]], and [[Shang Shu|records of official speeches]]. China is believed to be one of a very few loci of independent invention of writing, and the earliest surviving records display an already-mature written language. The [[culture of China|culture]] remembered by the earliest [[Chinese literature|extant literature]] is that of the [[Zhou dynasty]] ({{circa|1046}}{{snd}}256&nbsp;BC), China's [[Axial Age]], during which the [[Mandate of Heaven]] was introduced, and foundations laid for philosophies such as [[Confucianism]], [[Taoism]], [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]], and ''[[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Wuxing]]''.

China was [[Qin's wars of unification|first united]] under a single imperial state by [[Qin Shi Huang]] in 221&nbsp;BC. [[Orthography]], weights, measures, and law were all standardized. Shortly thereafter, China entered its classical era with the [[Han dynasty]] (202&nbsp;BC{{snd}}220&nbsp;AD), marking a critical period. A term for the Chinese language is still "Han language", and the dominant Chinese ethnic group is known as [[Han Chinese]]. The Chinese empire reached some of its farthest geographical extents during this period. Confucianism was officially sanctioned and its [[Four Books and Five Classics|core texts]] were edited into their received forms. Wealthy landholding families independent of the ancient aristocracy began to wield significant power. Han technology can be considered on par with that of the contemporaneous [[Roman Empire]]: mass production of paper aided the proliferation of written documents, and the written language of this period was employed for millennia afterwards. China became known internationally for its [[sericulture]]. When the Han imperial order finally collapsed after four centuries, China entered an equally lengthy period of disunity, during which [[Buddhism]] began to have a significant impact on Chinese culture, while [[Chinese calligraphy|calligraphy]], art, historiography, and storytelling flourished. Wealthy families in some cases became more powerful than the central government. The Yangtze River valley was incorporated into the dominant cultural sphere.

A period of unity began in 581 with the [[Sui dynasty]], which soon gave way to the long-lived [[Tang dynasty]] (608–907), regarded as another Chinese golden age. The Tang dynasty saw flourishing developments in science, technology, poetry, economics, and geographical influence. China's only officially recognized empress, [[Wu Zetian]], reigned during the dynasty's first century. Buddhism was adopted by Tang emperors. "Tang people" is the other common demonym for the Han ethnic group. After the Tang fractured, the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279) saw the maximal extent of imperial Chinese cosmopolitan development. [[History of printing in East Asia|Mechanical printing]] was introduced, and many of the earliest surviving witnesses of certain texts are [[woodblock printing|wood-block prints]] from this era. Song scientific advancement led the world, and the [[imperial examination system]] gave ideological structure to the political bureaucracy. Confucianism and Taoism were fully knit together in [[Neo-Confucianism]].

Eventually, the [[Mongol Empire]] conquered all of China, establishing the [[Yuan dynasty]] in 1271. Contact with Europe began to increase during this time. Achievements under the subsequent [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644) include [[Ming treasure voyages|global exploration]], fine [[Chinese ceramics|porcelain]], and many extant public works projects, such as those restoring the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]] and [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]]. Three of the four [[Classic Chinese Novels]] were written during the Ming. The [[Qing dynasty]] that succeeded the Ming was ruled by ethnic [[Manchu]] people. The [[Qianlong]] emperor ({{reign}} 1735–1796) commissioned [[Siku Quanshu|a complete encyclopaedia]] of imperial libraries, totaling nearly a billion words. Imperial China reached its greatest territorial extent during the Qing, but China came into increasing conflict with European powers, culminating in the [[Opium Wars]] and subsequent [[unequal treaties]].

The 1911 [[Xinhai Revolution]], led by [[Sun Yat-sen]] and others, created the [[Beiyang government|Republic of China]]. From 1927 to 1949, a [[Chinese Civil War|costly civil war]] roiled between the Republican government under [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and the Communist-aligned [[Chinese Red Army]], interrupted by the industrialized [[Empire of Japan]] invading the divided country until its defeat in the Second World War. After the [[Communist Party of China|Communist]] victory, [[Mao Zedong]] proclaimed the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) in 1949, with the ROC retreating to [[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan]]. Both governments still claim sole legitimacy of the entire mainland area. The PRC has slowly accumulated the majority of diplomatic recognition, and Taiwan's status remains disputed to this day. From 1966 to 1976, the [[Cultural Revolution]] in mainland China helped consolidate Mao's power towards the end of his life. After his death, the government began the [[reform and opening up]] under [[Deng Xiaoping]], and became the world's [[List of countries by real GDP growth rate|fastest-growing major economy]].{{when|date=November 2023}} China had been the most populous nation in the world for decades since its unification, until it was surpassed by [[India]] in 2023.

==Prehistory==
{{main|Prehistory of China}}

===Paleolithic (1.7 Ma – 12 ka)===
{{see also|List of Paleolithic sites in China}}
{{Multiple image
| align =right
| perrow = 2/2/2
| total_width = 300
| caption_align = center
| title = Paleolithic
| image1 = Skull pekingman.jpg 
| caption1 = Traditional reconstruction of the Peking Man skull
| image2 = Teeth of Yuanmou Man (Cast) - cropped.png
| caption2 = Casts of the teeth of Yuanmou Man
| image3 = Dali Man Skull, Replica.jpg
| caption3 = Restoration of the skull [[Shaanxi History Museum]]
| image4 = Longlin 1.jpg
| caption4 = LL-1 partials skull
}}

The [[archaic human]] species of ''[[Homo erectus]]'' arrived in [[Eurasia]] sometime between 1.3 and 1.8 [[million years ago]] (Ma) and numerous remains of its subspecies have been found in what is now China.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2018|p=737}} The oldest of these is the southwestern [[Yuanmou Man]] ({{lang|zh-hans|元谋人}}; in [[Yunnan]]), dated to {{c.}} 1.7 Ma, which lived in a mixed [[bushland]]-forest environment alongside [[chalicothere]]s, [[deer]], the elephant ''[[Stegodon]]'', [[rhino]]s, cattle, pigs, and the [[giant short-faced hyena]].{{sfn|Zhu|Potts|Pan|Yao|2008|pp=1077, 1084–1085}} The better-known [[Peking Man]] ({{lang|zh-hans|北京猿人}}; near Beijing) of 700,000–400,000 [[Before Present|BP]],{{sfn|Wilkinson|2018|p=737}} was discovered in the [[Zhoukoudian]] cave alongside [[scraper (archaeology)|scrapers]], [[chopper (archaeology)|choppers]], and, dated slightly later, points, [[burin (lithic flake)|burins]], and awls.{{sfn|Wu|Lin|1983|p=92}} Other ''Homo erectus'' fossils have been found widely throughout the region, including the northwestern [[Lantian Man]] in [[Shaanxi]], as well minor specimens in northeastern [[Liaoning]] and southern [[Guangdong]].{{sfn|Wilkinson|2018|p=737}} The dates of most [[List of Paleolithic sites in China|Paleolithic sites]] were long debated but have been more reliably established based on modern [[magnetostratigraphy]]: Majuangou at 1.66–1.55 Ma, Lanpo at 1.6 Ma, [[Xiaochangliang]] at 1.36 Ma, Xiantai at 1.36 Ma, [[Banshan]] at 1.32 Ma, Feiliang at 1.2 Ma and Donggutuo at 1.1 Ma.{{sfn|Ao|Dekkers|Wei|Qiang|2013|p=1}} Evidence of fire use by ''Homo erectus'' occurred between 1–1.8&nbsp;million years BP at the archaeological site of [[Xihoudu]], Shanxi Province.{{sfn|James|Dennell|Gilbert|Lewis|1989|p=2}}

The circumstances surrounding the [[Human evolution|evolution]] of ''Homo erectus'' to contemporary ''[[H. sapiens]]'' is debated; the three main theories include the dominant [[Recent African origin of modern humans|"Out of Africa" theory]] (OOA), the [[regional continuity model]] and the admixture variant of the OOA hypothesis.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2018|p=737}} Regardless, the earliest modern humans have been dated to China at 120,000–80,000 BP based on fossilized teeth discovered in [[Fuyan Cave]] of [[Dao County]], Hunan.{{sfn|Liu|Martinón-Torres|Cai|Xing|2015|p=696}} The larger animals which lived alongside these humans include the extinct ''[[Ailuropoda baconi]]'' panda, the ''[[Crocuta|Crocuta ultima]]'' hyena, the ''Stegodon'', and the [[giant tapir]].{{sfn|Liu|Martinón-Torres|Cai|Xing|2015|p=696}} Evidence of [[Middle Palaeolithic]] [[Levallois technique|Levallois]] technology has been found in the lithic assemblage of [[Guanyindong]] Cave site in southwest China, dated to approximately 170,000–80,000 years ago.{{sfn|Hu|Marwick|Zhang|Rui|2018|p=82}}

===Neolithic===
{{See also|List of Neolithic cultures of China}}
{{Further|Yellow River civilization|Yangtze civilization|Liao civilization}}
{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| perrow            = 2/2/2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Neolithic
| image1            = National Museum of China 2014.02.01 14-43-38.jpg
| caption1          = 10,000-year-old pottery, [[Xianren Cave]] culture (18,000–7000 BC)
| image2            = Bone Arrowheads, Jiahu site.jpg
| caption2          = Bone Arrowheads, [[Peiligang culture]] (7000–5000 BC)
| image3            = Butterfly-shaped ivory vessel with the pattern of two birds facing the sun(Neolithic) in Zhejiang Museum.JPG
| caption3          = Butterfly-shaped ivory vessel with the pattern of two birds facing the sun, [[Hemudu culture]] (5500–3300 BC)
| image4            = Hemudu Site Museum, 2017-08-12 36.jpg
| caption4          = Pottery artifacts from Hemudu culture (5500–3300 BC)
}}

The [[Neolithic Age]] in China is considered to have begun about 10,000 years ago.<ref name="neolithic period in china">{{cite web|title=Neolithic Period in China|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cneo/hd_cneo.htm|work=Timeline of Art History|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]| date= October 2004|access-date=10 February 2008}}</ref> Because the Neolithic is conventionally defined by the presence of agriculture, it follows that the Neolithic began at different times in the various regions of what is now China. Agriculture in China developed gradually, with initial domestication of a few grains and animals gradually expanding with the addition of many others over subsequent millennia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Lander|first=Brian|title=The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire|date=2021|publisher=Yale University Press|language=en}}</ref> The earliest evidence of cultivated [[rice]], found by the Yangtze River, was carbon-dated to 8,000 years ago.<ref name="Pringle"/> Early evidence for [[millet]] agriculture in the Yellow River valley was [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon-dated]] to about 7000 BC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rice and Early Agriculture in China|url=http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/legacy/banpo/banpo.html|work=Legacy of Human Civilizations|publisher=Mesa Community College|access-date=10 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827184517/http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/legacy/banpo/banpo.html|archive-date=27 August 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Jiahu]] site is one of the best preserved early agricultural villages (7000 to 5800 BC). At [[Damaidi]] in Ningxia, 3,172 [[Neolithic signs in China|cliff carvings]] dating to 6000–5000 BC have been discovered, "featuring 8,453 individual characters such as the sun, moon, stars, gods and scenes of hunting or grazing", according to researcher Li Xiangshi. Written symbols, sometimes called [[proto-writing]], were found at the site of Jiahu, which is dated around 7000 BC,<ref name= "earliest writing">{{cite news |title='Earliest writing' found in China |first=Paul |last=Rincon |date=17 April 2003 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2956925.stm |work=BBC News }}</ref> Damaidi around 6000 BC, [[Dadiwan culture|Dadiwan]] from 5800 BC to 5400 BC,<ref>[[Qiu Xigui]] (2000). ''Chinese Writing''. English translation of 文字學概論 by Gilbert L. Mattos and [[Jerry Norman (sinologist)|Jerry Norman]]. ''Early China Special Monograph Series No. 4.'' Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. {{ISBN|978-1-55729-071-7}}</ref> and [[Banpo]] dating from the 5th millennium BC. With agriculture came increased population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, and the potential to support specialist craftsmen and administrators, which may have existed at late Neolithic sites like [[Taosi]] and the [[Liangzhu culture]] in the Yangtze delta.<ref name="Pringle">{{cite journal|last=Pringle |first=Heather |title=The Slow Birth of Agriculture |url=http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/neolithic_agriculture.htm |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |year=1998 |volume=282 |issue=5393 |page=1446 |doi=10.1126/science.282.5393.1446 |s2cid=128522781 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101201656/http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/neolithic_agriculture.htm |archive-date=1 January 2011   |issn=0036-8075 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The cultures of the middle and late Neolithic in the central Yellow River valley are known, respectively, as the [[Yangshao culture]] (5000 BC to 3000 BC) and the [[Longshan culture]] (3000 BC to 2000 BC). Pigs and dogs were the earliest-domesticated animals in the region, and after about 3000 BC domesticated cattle and sheep arrived from Western Asia. Wheat also arrived at this time but remained a minor crop. Fruit such as [[peaches]], [[cherries]] and [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]], as well as chickens and various vegetables, were also domesticated in Neolithic China.<ref name=":0"/>

===Bronze Age===
{{see also|List of Bronze Age sites in China}}
[[File:Huang_Di.png|thumb|Map of tribes and tribal unions in Ancient China, including the tribes led by the [[Yellow Emperor]], [[Emperor Yan]] and [[Chiyou]].]]
Bronze artifacts have been found at the [[Majiayao culture]] site (between 3100 and 2700&nbsp;BC).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/landscapessociet00mart |title=Landscapes and Societies: Selected Cases |publisher=Springer |year=2010 |isbn=978-90-481-9412-4 |page=310 |url-access=registration | chapter=Holocene Environmental Changes and the Evolution of the Neolithic Cultures in China |last1=Mo |first1=Duowen |last2=Zhao |first2=Zhijun |last3=Xu |first3=Junjie |last4=Li |first4=Minglin |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-9413-1_19 |editor-first=I. Peter |editor-last=Martini |editor-first2=Ward |editor-last2=Chesworth}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Higham |first=Charles |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations |publisher=Infobase  |year=2004 |isbn=0-8160-4640-9 |page=200 |author-link=Charles Higham (archaeologist)}}</ref> The Bronze Age is also represented at the [[Lower Xiajiadian culture]] (2200–1600&nbsp;BC)<ref>{{Cite book |title=Leadership Strategies, Economic Activity, and Interregional Interaction: Social Complexity in Northeast China|author-link=Gideon Shelach-Lavi| last=Shelach |first=Gideon |page=89 | doi= 10.1007/0-306-47164-7_5 |isbn=978-0-306-47164-3 | publisher=Springer | year=2002}}</ref> site in northeast China. [[Sanxingdui]] located in what is now [[Sichuan]] is believed to be the site of a major ancient city, of a previously unknown Bronze Age culture (between 2000 and 1200&nbsp;BC). The site was first discovered in 1929 and then re-discovered in 1986. Chinese archaeologists have identified the Sanxingdui culture to be part of the [[state of Shu]], linking the artifacts found at the site to its early legendary kings.{{sfn|Bagley|1999|p=135}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rawson |first=Jessica |title=New discoveries from the early dynasties |url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/new-discoveries-from-the-early-dynasties/91579.article |access-date=3 October 2013 |magazine=[[Times Higher Education]]}}</ref> The graves at Mogou revealed a high level of [[Prehistoric warfare|violence]] in the [[Qijia culture]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Skeletal evidence for violent trauma from the bronze age Qijia culture (2,300-1,500 BCE), Gansu Province, China |journal=International Journal of Paleopathology |date=December 2019 |volume=27 |pages=66–79 |doi=10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.08.002 |pmid=31606648 |last1=Dittmar |first1=J. M. |last2=Berger |first2=E. |last3=Zhan |first3=X. |last4=Mao |first4=R. |last5=Wang |first5=H. |last6=Yeh |first6=H. Y. |bibcode=2019IJPal..27...66D |doi-access=free }}</ref>

{{anchor|Iron Age}}
[[Ferrous metallurgy]] begins to appear in the late 6th century in the [[Yangtze]] valley.<ref name="Higham">{{cite book|last=Higham|first=Charles|year=1996|title=The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia|isbn=0521565057|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}{{Page needed|date=November 2011}}</ref> A bronze hatchet with a blade of [[meteoric iron]] excavated near the city of [[Gaocheng District|Gaocheng]] in [[Shijiazhuang]] (now [[Hebei]]) has been dated to the 14th century&nbsp;BC. An Iron Age culture of the [[Tibetan Plateau]] has tentatively been associated with the [[Zhang Zhung culture]] described in early Tibetan writings.

==Ancient China==
<!--'Ancient China' redirects here-->
{{see also|Outline of ancient China}}
{{further|Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors}}

Chinese historians in later periods were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty succeeding another, but the political situation in early China was much more complicated. Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang can refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou existed at the same time as the Shang.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zhang|first=Shanruo Ning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mz-0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA56|title=Confucianism in Contemporary Chinese Politics: An Actionable Account of Authoritarian Political Culture|date=2016|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-8240-6|language=en| page=56}}</ref> This bears similarities to how China, both contemporaneously and later, has been divided into states that were not one region, legally or culturally.<ref>{{Cite book | chapter= Representations of Regional Diversity during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty | last= Goldin | first= Paul R. | pages=31–48 |doi= 10.1163/9789004299337_003 | publisher= Brill | title= Ideology of Power and Power of Ideology in Early China| series= Sinica Leidensia, vol. 124 | editor1= Yuri Pines | editor1-link= Yuri Pines| editor2=Paul R. Goldin | editor3=Martin Kern | date=2015 | isbn= 9789004299337 | chapter-url= https://www.academia.edu/25000203 | chapter-url-access= registration}}</ref>

The earliest period once considered historical was the legendary era of the sage-emperors [[Emperor Yao|Yao]], [[Emperor Shun|Shun]], and [[Yu the Great|Yu]]. Traditionally, the [[abdication system]] was prominent in this period,<ref>{{Cite journal | last= Pines | first= Yuri| author-link=Yuri Pines | journal= T'oung Pao | volume=91 | date=2005 | title= Disputers of Abdication: Zhanguo egalitarianism and the sovereign's power | pages=243–300 | issue=4/5 | jstor= 4529011 | doi= 10.1163/156853205774910098}}</ref> with Yao yielding his throne to Shun, who abdicated to Yu, who founded the Xia dynasty.

===<span class="anchor" id="Xia"></span>Xia dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC)===
{{Main|Xia dynasty}}

[[File:Turquoise-Inlaid Plaque with Stylized Animal-Mask Decoration, 1900-1350 BC, Neolithic to Shang period, Erlitou culture, China, bronze with turquoise inlay - Sackler Museum - DSC02627.JPG|thumb|Decorative plaque from the [[Erlitou culture]]]]

The [[Xia dynasty]] ({{circa|2070|1600 BC}}) is the earliest of the three dynasties described in much later traditional historiography, which includes the ''[[Bamboo Annals]]'' and [[Sima Qian]]'s ''[[Shiji]]'' ({{circa|91&nbsp;BC}}). The Xia is generally considered mythical by Western scholars, but in China it is usually associated with the early Bronze Age site at [[Erlitou]] (1900–1500&nbsp;BC) in Henan that was excavated in 1959. Since no writing was excavated at Erlitou or any other contemporaneous site, there is not enough evidence to prove whether the Xia dynasty ever existed. Some archaeologists claim that the Erlitou site was the capital of the Xia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Xu |first=Hong  |year=2021 |publisher=生活读书新知三联书店 |isbn=978-7-108-07083-8 |script-title=zh:最早的中国：二里头文明的崛起 | author-mask=Xu Hong (许宏) |lang=zh | trans-title= The Earliest China: The Rise of Erlitou Civilization}}</ref> In any case, the site of Erlitou had a level of political organization that would not be incompatible with the legends of Xia recorded in later texts.<ref>{{Cite book|title=China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization|year=2007|publisher=City University of Hong Kong Press|page=25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z-fAxn_9f8wC&pg=PA25 |isbn=978-962-937-140-1}}</ref> More importantly, the Erlitou site has the earliest evidence for an elite who conducted rituals using cast bronze vessels, which would later be adopted by the Shang and Zhou.{{sfn|Bagley|1999|pp=158–159}}

=== <span class="anchor" id="Shang"></span>Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC)===
{{Main|Shang dynasty}}

{{further|Bronze Age#China|Chinese ritual bronzes|Predynastic Shang}}
[[File:HouMuWuDingFullView.jpg|thumb|The 12th-century&nbsp;BC [[Houmuwu ding|Houmuwu ''ding'']], the largest [[Bronze Age]] bronzeware found anywhere in the world]]

Both archaeological evidence like oracle bones and bronzes, as well as transmitted texts attest the historical existence of the Shang dynasty ({{circa|1600|1046&nbsp;BC}}). Findings from the earlier Shang period come from excavations at [[Erligang]] (modern [[Zhengzhou]]). Findings have been found at [[Yinxu]] (near modern [[Anyang]], Henan), the site of the final Shang capital during the [[Late Shang]] period ({{circa|1250–1050&nbsp;BC}}).{{sfn|Wilkinson|2018|p=756}} The findings at Anyang include the earliest written record of the Chinese so far discovered: inscriptions of divination records in ancient Chinese writing on the bones or shells of animals—the [[oracle bone]]s, dating from {{circa|1250|1046&nbsp;BC}}.{{sfn|Boltz|1986|p=436}}

A series of at least twenty-nine kings reigned over the Shang dynasty.{{sfn|Keightley|1999|p=232}} Throughout their reigns, according to the ''Shiji'', the capital city was moved six times.{{sfn|Keightley|1999|p=233}} The final and most important move was to [[Yinxu|Yin]] during the reign of [[Wu Ding]] {{circa|1250&nbsp;BC}}.<ref>{{cite journal
| last= Boileau | first= Gilles 
| date= 2023
| title= Shang Dynasty's "nine generations chaos" and the Reign of Wu Ding: towards a Unilineal Line of Transmission of Royal Power
| journal= Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
| publisher= Cambridge University Press 
| volume= 86 | issue= 2 
| pages= 293–315, esp. 299, 303
| doi= 10.1017/S0041977X23000277
| s2cid= 260994337 
}}</ref> The term Yin dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although it has lately been used to refer specifically to the latter half of the Shang dynasty.{{sfn|Keightley|1999|p=232}}

Although written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cheung |first=Kwong-yue |title=The Origins of Chinese Civilization |pages=235 |year=1983 |editor1-last=Keightley |editor1-first=David N. |chapter=Recent archaeological evidence relating to the origin of Chinese characters |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-04229-2 |editor2-last=Barnard |editor2-first=Noel |translator-last=Barnard |translator-first=Noel}}</ref> Western scholars are often hesitant to associate settlements that are contemporaneous with the Anyang settlement with the Shang dynasty. For example, archaeological findings at [[Sanxingdui]] suggest a technologically advanced civilization culturally unlike Anyang. The evidence is inconclusive in proving how far the Shang realm extended from Anyang. The leading hypothesis is that Anyang, ruled by the same Shang in the official history, coexisted and traded with numerous other culturally diverse settlements in the area that is now referred to as [[China proper]].{{sfn|Bagley|1999|p=158}}

===Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC)===
{{main|Zhou dynasty|Western Zhou}}

{{further|Iron Age China|Predynastic Zhou}}
The Zhou dynasty (1046 BC to about 256 BC) is the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, though its power declined steadily over the almost eight centuries of its existence. In the late 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty arose in the Wei River valley of modern western Shaanxi Province, where they were appointed Western Protectors by the [[Shang]]. A coalition led by the ruler of the Zhou, [[King Wu of Zhou|King Wu]], defeated the Shang at the [[Battle of Muye]]. They took over most of the central and lower Yellow River valley and enfeoffed their relatives and allies in semi-independent states across the region.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |author-last1=Li |author-first1=Feng |title=Landscape and Power in Early China: the Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045–771 BC |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780511489655 |language=en |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511489655 |ref={{sfnref|Li|2006}} |author-link=Li Feng (sinologist)}}</ref> Several of these states eventually became more powerful than the Zhou kings.

The kings of Zhou invoked the concept of the [[Mandate of Heaven]] to legitimize their rule, a concept that was influential for almost every succeeding dynasty.<ref>{{Cite web 
|last= Mark | first= Joshua J.
| year=2012
|title=Ancient China |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/china/ |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> Like Shangdi, Heaven (''tian'') ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Jinfan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOu5BAAAQBAJ&q=tian+China+rulers&pg=PA159 |title=The Tradition and Modern Transition of Chinese Law |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2014 |isbn=978-3642232664 |page=159 |language=en |author-mask=Zhang Jinfan (張晉藩)}}</ref> It was believed that a ruler lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.

The Zhou established two capitals [[Zongzhou]] (near modern [[Xi'an]]) and [[Chengzhou]] ([[Luoyang]]), with the king's court moving between them regularly. The Zhou alliance gradually expanded eastward into Shandong, southeastward into the Huai River valley, and southward into the [[Yangtze River]] valley.<ref name=":2"/>

====Spring and Autumn period (722–476 BC)====
{{main|Spring and Autumn period}}

[[File:Chinese plain 5c. BC-en.svg|thumb|Chinese polities in the late 5th century BC, before the breakup of Jin and the Qin move into Sichuan.]] 
In 771 BC, [[King You of Zhou|King You]] and his forces were defeated in the [[Battle of Mount Li]] by rebel states and [[Quanrong]] barbarians. The rebel aristocrats established a new ruler, [[King Ping of Zhou|King Ping]], in [[Luoyang]],<ref>{{cite journal |author-last1=Chen |author-first1=Minzhen |last2=Pines |first2=Yuri |author2-link=Yuri Pines |date=2018 |title=Where is King Ping? The History and Historiography of the Zhou Dynasty's Eastward Relocation |journal=Asia Major |series=3 |publisher=Academica Sinica |volume=31 |pages=1–27 |jstor=26571325 |number=1}}</ref>{{rp|4}} beginning the second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou period, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The former period is named after the famous ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]''. The sharply reduced political authority of the royal house left a power vacuum at the center of the Zhou culture sphere. The Zhou kings had delegated local political authority to hundreds of [[Ancient Chinese states|settlement states]], some of them only as large as a walled town and surrounding land. These states began to fight against one another and vie for [[hegemony]]. The more powerful states tended to conquer and incorporate the weaker ones, so the number of states declined over time.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hsu|first=Cho-yun|title=Ancient China in Transition: An Analysis of Social Mobility, 722–222 B.C. | author-link= Cho-yun Hsu 
|series= Stanford Studies in the Civilizations of Eastern Asia | url= https://archive.org/details/ancientchinaintr0000hsuc/ | url-access= registration | oclc= 1145777819 |date=1965 |publisher=Stanford University Press |language=en | lccn=65013110 }}</ref> By the 6th century BC most small states had disappeared by being annexed and just a few large and powerful principalities remained. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars against some of them (Wu and Yue). Many new cities were established in this period and society gradually became more urbanized and commercialized. Many famous individuals such as [[Laozi]], [[Confucius]] and [[Sun Tzu]] lived during this chaotic period.

Conflict in this period occurred both between and within states. Warfare between states forced the surviving states to develop better administrations to mobilize more soldiers and resources. Within states there was constant jockeying between elite families. For example, the three most powerful families in the Jin state—Zhao, Wei and Han—eventually overthrew the ruling family and [[Partition of Jin|partitioned the state between them]].

The [[Hundred Schools of Thought]] of [[Chinese philosophy|classical Chinese philosophy]] began blossoming during this period and the subsequent Warring States period. Such influential intellectual movements as [[Confucianism]], [[Taoism]], [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] and [[Mohism]] were founded, partly in response to the changing political world. The first two philosophical thoughts would have an enormous influence on Chinese culture.

====Warring States period (476–221 BC)====
{{main|Warring States period}}

[[File:EN-WarringStatesAll260BCE.jpg|thumb|The Warring States, {{c.}} 260{{nbsp}}BC]]

After further political consolidations, seven prominent states remained during the 5th century{{nbsp}}BC. The years in which these states battled each other is known as the [[Warring States]] period. Though the [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] king nominally remained as such until 256{{nbsp}}BC, he was largely a figurehead that held little real power.

Numerous developments were made during this period in the areas of culture and mathematics—including the ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'' within the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' (a literary work summarizing the preceding Spring and Autumn period), and the bundle of 21 bamboo slips from the [[Tsinghua Bamboo Slips|Tsinghua]] collection, dated to 305{{nbsp}}BC—being the world's earliest known example of a two-digit, base-10 multiplication table. The Tsinghua collection indicates that sophisticated commercial arithmetic was already established during this period.<ref>{{cite news
| doi=10.1038/nature.2014.14482
|last=Qiu | first= Jane
| publisher= Nature
| url= http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-times-table-hidden-in-chinese-bamboo-strips-1.14482  
| title= Ancient times table hidden in Chinese bamboo strips. The 2,300-year-old matrix is the world's oldest decimal multiplication table
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122064930/http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-times-table-hidden-in-chinese-bamboo-strips-1.14482 |archive-date=22 January 2014
| date=7 January 2014
 }}</ref>

As neighboring territories of the seven states were annexed (including areas of modern [[Sichuan]] and [[Liaoning]]), they were now to be governed under an administrative system of [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]] and [[prefectures]]. This system had been in use elsewhere since the Spring and Autumn period, and its influence on administration would prove resilient—its terminology can still be seen in the contemporaneous ''[[Administrative divisions of China|sheng]]'' and ''[[Administrative divisions of China|xian]]'' ("provinces" and "counties") of contemporary China.

The state of [[Qin (state)|Qin]] became dominant in the waning decades of the Warring States period, conquering the [[Shu (state)|Shu]] capital of [[Jinsha site|Jinsha]] on the Chengdu Plain; and then eventually driving [[Chu (state)|Chu]] from its place in the Han River valley. Qin imitated the administrative reforms of the other states, thereby becoming a powerhouse.<ref name=":0"/> Its final expansion began during the reign of [[Ying Zheng]], ultimately unifying the other six regional powers, and enabling him to proclaim himself as China's first [[Emperor of China|emperor]]—known to history as [[Qin Shi Huang]].

==Imperial China==
{{About|the ancient dynastic Chinese imperial state|the empire founded by Yuan Shikai|Empire of China (1915–1916)|section=yes}}
{{see also|Chinese Empire|Political systems of Imperial China}}

===Early imperial China===
====Qin dynasty (221–206 BC)====
{{main|Qin dynasty}}

[[File:Terracotta Army-China2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The massive [[Terracotta Army]] of [[Qin Shi Huang]], a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]]]

Ying Zheng's establishment of the Qin dynasty ({{lang|zh-hant|秦朝}}) in 221 BC effectively formalised the region as a true empire for the first time in Chinese history, rather than a state, and its pivotal status probably led to "Qin" ({{lang|zh-hant|秦}}) later evolving into the Western term "{{linktext|China}}".{{sfn|Bodde|1986|p=20}} To emphasise his sole rule, Zheng proclaimed himself {{transliteration|zh|[[Qin Shi Huang|Shi Huangdi]]}} ({{linktext|始|皇|帝}}; "First Emperor"); the {{transliteration|zh|[[Emperor of China|Huangdi]]}} title, derived from [[Chinese mythology]], became the standard for subsequent rulers.{{sfn|Bodde|1986|p=53}}{{efn|In his lifetime, Ying Zheng would have been known as simply {{transliteration|zh|Shi Huangdi}}, but after the Qin's fall it became standard practice to include the dynasty's name when referring to him. In its fullest form, Ying's name would be Qin Shi Huangdi ({{lang|zh-hant|秦始皇帝}}), though it is commonly abbreviated to [[Qin Shi Huang]] ({{lang|zh-hant|秦始皇}}).{{sfn|Wilkinson|2018|p=287}}}} Based in [[Xianyang]], the empire was a centralized bureaucratic monarchy, a governing scheme which dominated the future of Imperial China.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=60}}{{sfn|Sanft|2019|p=15}} In an effort to improve the Zhou's perceived failures, this system consisted of more than 36 [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]] ({{lang|zh-hant|郡}}; {{transliteration|zh|jun}}),{{efn|The ''[[Records of the Grand Historian|Shiji]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s description of the Qin including of 36 [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]] has now been disproven by archaeological evidence indicating more. The exact number is unknown;{{sfn|Sanft|2019|pp=16–17}} The sinologist [[Derk Bodde]] noted that probably "four and possibly as many as half a dozen were added by 210 to the original thirty-six".{{sfn|Bodde|1986|p=55}}}} made up of [[Counties of China|counties]] ({{lang|zh-hant|县}}; {{transliteration|zh|xian}}) and progressively smaller divisions, each with a local leader.{{sfn|Sanft|2019|pp=15–17}}

Many aspects of society were informed by [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]], a state ideology promoted by the emperor and his [[Grand chancellor (China)|chancellor]] [[Li Si]] that was introduced at an earlier time by [[Shang Yang]].{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=58–59}} In legal matters this philosophy emphasised mutual responsibility in disputes and severe punishments for crime, while economic practices included the general encouragement of agriculture and repression of trade.{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=58–59}} Reforms occurred in weights and measures, writing styles ([[seal script]]) and metal currency ([[Ban Liang]]), all of which were standardized.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=61}}{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=56–57, 59–60}} Traditionally, Qin Shi Huang is regarded as ordering a [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|mass burning of books and the live burial of scholars]] under the guise of Legalism, though contemporary scholars express considerable doubt on the [[Burning of books and burying of scholars#Skepticism|historicity of this event]].{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=58–59}} Despite its importance, Legalism was probably supplemented in non-political matters by [[Confucianism]] for social and moral beliefs and the five-element [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Wuxing]] ({{lang|zh-hant|五行}}) theories for [[cosmology|cosmological]] thought.{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=75–78}}

The Qin administration kept exhaustive records on their population, collecting information on their sex, age, social status and residence.{{sfn|Sanft|2019|p=17}} Commoners, who made up over 90% of the population,{{sfn|Lewis|2007|p=102}} "suffered harsh treatment" according to the historian [[Patricia Buckley Ebrey]], as they were often conscripted into forced labor for the empire's construction projects.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=63}} This included a massive system of imperial highways in 220 BC, which ranged around {{convert|4250|mi|km}} altogether.{{sfn|Bodde|1986|p=61}} Other major construction projects were assigned to the general [[Meng Tian]], who concurrently [[Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu|led a successful campaign]] against the northern [[Xiongnu]] peoples (210s BC), reportedly with 300,000 troops.{{sfn|Bodde|1986|p=61}}{{efn|Other tribes of the north, collectively called the [[Five Barbarians|Wu Hu]] by the Qin, were free from Chinese rule during the majority of the dynasty.{{sfn|Lewis|2007|p=129}}}} Under Qin Shi Huang's orders, Meng supervised the combining of numerous ancient walls into what came to be known as the [[Great Wall of China]] and oversaw the building of a {{convert|500|mi|km}} straight highway between northern and southern China.{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=60–61}} The emperor also oversaw the construction of his [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor|monumental mausoleum]], which includes the well known [[Terracotta Army]].{{sfn|Bodde|1986|pp=82–83}}

After Qin Shi Huang's death the Qin government drastically deteriorated and eventually capitulated in 207 BC after the Qin capital was captured and sacked by rebels, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of the Han Empire.{{sfn|Bodde|1986|p=84}}{{sfn|Sanft|2019|pp=22–24}}

====Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220)====
{{main|Han dynasty}}

{{further|History of the Han dynasty}}

=====Western Han=====
[[File:Han Expansion.png|thumb|left|250px|Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC]]

The Han dynasty was founded by [[Emperor Gaozu of Han|Liu Bang]], who emerged victorious in the [[Chu–Han Contention]] that followed the fall of the Qin dynasty. A [[Pax Sinica|golden age]] in Chinese history, the Han dynasty's long period of stability and prosperity consolidated the foundation of China as a unified state under a central imperial bureaucracy, which was to last intermittently for most of the next two millennia. During the Han dynasty, territory of China was extended to most of the [[China proper]] and to areas far west. [[Confucianism]] was officially elevated to orthodox status and was to shape the subsequent Chinese civilization. Art, culture and science all advanced to unprecedented heights. With the profound and lasting impacts of this period of Chinese history, the dynasty name "Han" had been taken as the name of the Chinese people, now the [[Han Chinese|dominant ethnic group]] in modern China, and had been commonly used to refer to Chinese language and [[Chinese characters|written characters]].

After the [[Huang-Lao|initial laissez-faire policies]] of Emperors [[Emperor Wen of Han|Wen]] and [[Emperor Jing of Han|Jing]], the ambitious [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]] brought the empire to its zenith. To consolidate his power, he disenfranchised the majority of imperial relatives, appointing military governors to control their former lands.{{sfnp|Nylan|2016| pages=76–79, 84, 107–108}} As a further step, he extended patronage to Confucianism, which emphasizes stability and order in a well-structured society. [[Taixue|Imperial Universities]] were established to support its study. At the urging of his Legalist advisors, however, he also strengthened the fiscal structure of the dynasty [[Economy of the Han Dynasty#Private manufacture and government monopolies|with government monopolies]].
{{multiple image
| align             = right
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| header            = 
| header_align      = left/right/center
| footer            = '''Left image''': Western-Han painted ceramic jar decorated with raised [[relief]]s of [[Chinese dragon|dragons]], [[Fenghuang|phoenixes]], and ''[[taotie]]''<br/> '''Right image''': Reverse side of a Western-Han [[TLV mirror|bronze mirror]] with painted designs of a flower motif
| footer_align      = left
| image1            = China qing blue.JPG
| width1            = 130
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Bronze mirror with painted designs, Western Han.jpg
| width2            = 120
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}}

[[Han–Xiongnu War|Major military campaigns]] were launched to weaken the nomadic [[Xiongnu|Xiongnu Empire]], limiting their influence north of the Great Wall. Along with the diplomatic efforts led by [[Zhang Qian]], the sphere of influence of the Han Empire extended to the [[Western Regions|states in the Tarim Basin]], opened up the [[Silk Road]] that connected China to the west, stimulating bilateral trade and cultural exchange. To the south, various small kingdoms far beyond the Yangtze River Valley were formally incorporated into the empire.

Emperor Wu also dispatched a [[southward expansion of the Han dynasty|series of military campaigns]] against the [[Baiyue]] tribes. The Han annexed [[Han campaigns against Minyue|Minyue in 135 BC]] and 111 BC, [[Han–Nanyue War|Nanyue in 111 BC]], and [[Han campaign against Dian|Dian in 109 BC]].{{sfn|Yu|1986|pp=455–458}} Migration and military expeditions led to the cultural assimilation of the south.<ref>{{cite book|first=Pingfang|last=Xu|title=The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective|year=2005|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-09382-7|page=281}}</ref> It also brought the Han into contact with kingdoms in Southeast Asia, introducing diplomacy and trade.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jacques|last=Gernet|title=A History of Chinese Civilization|year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-49781-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofchinese00gern_0/page/126 126–127]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchinese00gern_0/page/126}}</ref>

After Emperor Wu the empire slipped into gradual stagnation and decline. Economically, the state treasury was strained by excessive campaigns and projects, while land acquisitions by elite families gradually drained the tax base. Various [[consort clan]]s exerted increasing control over strings of incompetent emperors and eventually the dynasty was briefly interrupted by the usurpation of [[Wang Mang]].

==== Xin dynasty ====
{{main|Xin dynasty}}

In AD 9 the usurper [[Wang Mang]] claimed that the [[Mandate of Heaven]] called for the end of the Han dynasty and the rise of his own, and he founded the short-lived Xin dynasty. Wang Mang started an extensive program of land and other economic reforms, including the outlawing of slavery and land nationalization and redistribution. These programs, however, were never supported by the landholding families, because they favored the peasants. The instability of power brought about chaos, uprisings, and loss of territories. This was compounded by mass flooding of the [[Yellow River]]; silt buildup caused it to split into two channels and displaced large numbers of farmers. Wang Mang was eventually killed in [[Weiyang Palace]] by an enraged peasant mob in AD 23.

==== Eastern Han ====
[[Emperor Guangwu of Han|Emperor Guangwu]] reinstated the Han dynasty with the support of landholding and merchant families at [[Luoyang]], ''east'' of the former capital Xi'an. Thus, this new era is termed the [[Eastern Han dynasty]]. With the capable administrations of Emperors [[Emperor Ming of Han|Ming]] and [[Emperor Zhang of Han|Zhang]], former glories of the dynasty were reclaimed, with brilliant military and cultural achievements. The [[Xiongnu|Xiongnu Empire]] was [[Han–Xiongnu War#Final stages|decisively defeated]]. The diplomat and general [[Ban Chao]] further expanded the conquests across the [[Pamirs]] to the shores of the [[Caspian Sea]],<ref>{{ cite journal
| pages = 165–184
| jstor = 40727536
| journal= Monumenta Serica
| publisher= Taylor & Francis
| volume= 54 | year = 2006
| last = So | first= Francis K.H. (蘇其康)
| title= Travels, contact, and conversion: Chinese rediscovery of the West
| doi = 10.1179/mon.2006.54.1.006
| s2cid = 190841108
}}</ref>{{rp|175}} thus reopening the [[Silk Road]], and bringing trade, foreign cultures, along with the [[Chinese Buddhism#Traditional accounts|arrival of Buddhism]]. With extensive connections with the west, the first of several [[Romano-Chinese relations|Roman embassies to China]] were recorded in Chinese sources, coming from the sea route in AD 166, and a second one in AD 284.

The Eastern Han dynasty was one of the [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|most prolific eras of science and technology]] in ancient China, notably the historic invention of [[papermaking]] by [[Cai Lun]], and the numerous scientific and mathematical contributions by the famous [[polymath]] [[Zhang Heng]].

===Six Dynasties===

====Three Kingdoms (AD 220–280)====
{{main|Three Kingdoms|}}

By the 2nd century, the empire declined amidst land acquisitions, invasions, and feuding between [[consort clan]]s and [[Eunuch#China|eunuchs]]. The [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]] broke out in AD 184, ushering in an era of [[warlord]]s. In the ensuing turmoil, three states emerged, trying to gain predominance and reunify the land, giving this historical period its name. The classic historical novel ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'' dramatizes events of this period.

The warlord [[Cao Cao]] reunified the north in 208, and in 220 his son accepted the abdication of [[Emperor Xian of Han]], thus initiating the [[Cao Wei|Wei]] dynasty. Soon, Wei's rivals [[Shu Han|Shu]] and [[Eastern Wu|Wu]] proclaimed their independence. This period was characterized by a gradual decentralization of the state that had existed during the Qin and Han dynasties, and an increase in the power of great families.

In 266, the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Jin dynasty]] overthrew the Wei and later unified the country in 280, but this union was short-lived.

====Jin dynasty (AD 266–420)====
{{main|Jin dynasty (266–420)}}

{{further|History of the Jin dynasty (266–420)}}

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| perrow            = 2/2/2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Jin dynasty (AD 266–420)
| image1            = Western Jeun Dynasty 280 CE.png
| caption1          = [[Western Jin Dynasty]], {{c.}} 280 AD
| image2            = 2016-12-15 Maijishan Grotten 麥積山石窟 anagoria 11.JPG
| caption2          = View of Maijishan hill caves, grottoes and stairways.
}}

The [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]] reunited China proper for the first time since the end of the [[Han dynasty]], ending the [[Three Kingdoms]] era. However, the Jin dynasty was severely weakened by the [[War of the Eight Princes]] and lost control of northern China after [[Uprising of the Five Barbarians|non-Han Chinese settlers rebelled]] and captured [[Luoyang]] and [[Chang'an]]. In 317, the Jin prince [[Emperor Yuan of Jin|Sima Rui]], based in modern-day [[Nanjing]], became emperor and continued the dynasty, now known as the Eastern Jin, which held southern China for another century. Prior to this move, historians refer to the Jin dynasty as the Western Jin.

====Sixteen Kingdoms (AD 304–439)====
{{Main|Sixteen Kingdoms}}

Northern China fragmented into a series of independent states known as the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]], most of which were founded by [[Xiongnu]], [[Xianbei]], [[Jie people|Jie]], [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]] and [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]] rulers. These non-Han peoples were ancestors of the [[Turkic people|Turks]], [[Mongols]], and [[Tibetans]]. Many had, to some extent, been "[[Sinicization|sinicized]]" long before their ascent to power. In fact, some of them, notably the [[Qiang people|Qiang]] and the Xiongnu, had already been allowed to live in the frontier regions within the [[Great Wall]] since late Han times. During this period, warfare ravaged the north and prompted large-scale Han Chinese migration south to the Yangtze River Basin and Delta.

====Northern and Southern dynasties (AD 420–589)====
{{main|Northern and Southern dynasties}}

{{multiple image
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| title             = Northern and Southern dynasties (AD 420–589)
| image1            = Southern and Northern Dynasties 440 CE.png
| caption1          = Southern and Northern Dynasties, 440 AD
| image2            = Hanging Monastery 02.JPG
| caption2          = [[Hanging Monastery]], a temple with the combination of [[Taoism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Confucianism]].
}}

In the early 5th century China entered a period known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, in which parallel regimes ruled the northern and southern halves of the country. In the south, the Eastern Jin gave way to the [[Liu Song dynasty|Liu Song]], [[Southern Qi]], [[Liang dynasty|Liang]] and finally [[Chen dynasty|Chen]]. Each of these Southern dynasties were led by Han Chinese ruling families and used [[Jiankang]] (modern Nanjing) as the capital. They held off attacks from the north and preserved many aspects of Chinese civilization, while northern barbarian regimes began to [[sinify]].

In the north the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms was extinguished in 439 by the [[Northern Wei]], a kingdom founded by the [[Xianbei]], a nomadic people who unified northern China. The Northern Wei eventually split into the [[Eastern Wei|Eastern]] and [[Western Wei]], which then became the [[Northern Qi]] and [[Northern Zhou]]. These regimes were dominated by Xianbei or Han Chinese who had married into Xianbei families. During this period most Xianbei people adopted Han surnames, eventually leading to complete assimilation into the Han.

Despite the division of the country, Buddhism spread throughout the land. In southern China, fierce debates about whether [[Buddhism]] should be allowed were held frequently by the royal court and nobles. By the end of the era, Buddhists and [[Taoist]]s had become much more tolerant of each other.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=He |first1=Ziquan |title=Wei Jin Nan Bei chao shi = A history of the Wei Jin, and Southern and Northern dynasties |last2=Zhang |first2=Guo'an |date=2013 |publisher=Renmin Chubanshe |isbn=978-7-01-011139-1 |edition=1st |location=Beijing |script-title=zh:魏晉南北朝史 |oclc=872462398 |author-mask=He Ziquan (何兹全) |author-mask2=Zhang Guo'an (张国安)}}</ref>

===Mid-imperial China===
====Sui dynasty (581–618)====
{{main|Sui dynasty}}

{{multiple image
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| title             = Sui dynasty (AD 581–618)
| image1            = Cheui Dynasty 581 CE.png
| caption1          = Sui dynasty {{c.}} 609
| image4            = Sui Yangdi Tang.jpg
| caption4          = Yang Guang depicted as Emperor Yang of Sui
| direction         = 
| width             = 
}}

The short-lived Sui dynasty was a pivotal period in Chinese history. Founded by [[Emperor Wen of Sui|Emperor Wen]] in 581 in succession of the [[Northern Zhou]], the Sui went on to conquer the [[Chen dynasty|Southern Chen]] in 589 to reunify China, ending three centuries of political division. The Sui pioneered many new institutions, including the government system of [[Three Departments and Six Ministries]], [[imperial examination]]s for selecting officials from commoners, while improved on the systems of [[fubing system]] of the army conscription and the [[equal-field system]] of land distributions. These policies, which were adopted by later dynasties, brought enormous population growth, and amassed excessive wealth to the state. [[Ancient Chinese coinage|Standardized coinage]] was enforced throughout the unified empire. Buddhism took root as a prominent religion and was supported officially. Sui China was known for its numerous mega-construction projects. Intended for grains shipment and transporting troops, the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]] was constructed, linking the capitals [[Chang'an|Daxing (Chang'an)]] and [[Luoyang]] to the wealthy [[Southeastern China|southeast region]], and in another route, to the northeast border. The [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]] was also expanded, while series of military conquests and diplomatic maneuvers further pacified its borders. However, the massive invasions of the [[Korean Peninsula]] during the [[Goguryeo–Sui War]] failed disastrously, triggering widespread revolts that led to [[transition from Sui to Tang|the fall of the dynasty]].

====Tang dynasty (618–907)====
{{main|Tang dynasty}}

{{see also|Wu Zhou}}

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| perrow            = 2/2/2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Tang dynasty (AD 618–907)
| image1            = China, 742.svg
| caption1          = Tang Dynasty in 742 AD
| image2            = 河南 洛阳 龙门石窟 - panoramio.jpg
| caption2          = The Fengxian cave ({{c.}} 675 AD) of the [[Longmen Grottoes]], commissioned by [[Wu Zetian]].
| image3            = 洛阳龙门石窟，Luo Yang Dragon Gate Grottoes - panoramio (9).jpg
| caption3          = Inside a cave of [[Longmen Grottoes]], a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]].
| image4            = Dunhuang star map.jpg
| caption4          = The [[Dunhuang map]] is to date the world's oldest complete preserved star atlas.
}}

The Tang dynasty was a [[Pax Sinica|golden age of Chinese civilization]], a prosperous, stable, and creative period with significant developments in culture, art, literature, particularly [[Tang poetry|poetry]], and technology. [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhism]] became the predominant religion for the common people. [[Chang'an]] (modern [[Xi'an]]), the national capital, was the [[List of largest cities throughout history|largest city in the world during its time]].<ref>{{ cite book
|isbn =  9780674064010
| author-link= Mark Edward Lewis 
| first = Mark Edward | last= Lewis
| title=China's Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty
| year = 2012 | publisher=Belknap Press
| series = History of Imperial China 3
}}{{page needed|date=May 2023}}</ref>

The first emperor, [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Emperor Gaozu]], came to the throne on 18 June 618, placed there by his son, Li Shimin, who became the second emperor, [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Taizong]], one of the greatest [[Emperor of China|emperors in Chinese history]]. Combined military conquests and diplomatic maneuvers reduced threats from Central Asian tribes, extended the border, and brought neighboring states into [[Imperial Chinese tributary system|a tributary system]]. Military victories in the [[Tang dynasty in Inner Asia|Tarim Basin]] kept the Silk Road open, connecting Chang'an to Central Asia and areas far to the west. In the south, lucrative maritime trade routes from port cities such as [[Guangzhou]] connected with distant countries, and foreign merchants settled in China, encouraging a [[Cosmopolitanism|cosmopolitan]] culture. The Tang culture and social systems were observed and adapted by neighboring countries, most notably [[Nara period|Japan]]. Internally the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]] linked the political heartland in Chang'an to the agricultural and economic centers in the eastern and southern parts of the empire. [[Xuanzang]], a Chinese [[Bhikkhu|Buddhist monk]], scholar, traveller, and translator travelled to India on his own and returned with "over six hundred Mahayana and Hinayana texts, seven statues of the Buddha and more than a hundred [[sarira]] relics."

The prosperity of the early Tang dynasty was abetted by a centralized bureaucracy. The government was organized as "[[Three Departments and Six Ministries]]" to separately draft, review, and implement policies. These departments were run by royal family members and landed aristocrats, but as the dynasty wore on, were joined or replaced by [[Scholar-bureaucrats|scholar officials]] selected by [[imperial examination]]s, setting patterns for later dynasties.

Under the Tang "[[equal-field system]]" all land was owned by the Emperor and granted to each family according to household size. Men granted land were conscripted for military service for a fixed period each year, a military policy known as the ''[[Fubing system|fubing]]'' system. These policies stimulated a rapid growth in productivity and a significant army without much burden on the state treasury. By the dynasty's midpoint, however, [[Standing army|standing armies]] had replaced conscription, and land was continuously falling into the hands of private owners and religious institutions granted exemptions.

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 250
| image_style       = border:none;
| image1            = Freer SacklerDSCF8036.JPG
| caption1          = [[Western Regions|Central Asian]] influence can also be seen in the shape of this cup. The metropolitan and multicultural influences of this era can also be seen in the myriad depictions of foreigners in Tang [[Sancai]] ceramics and wall murals.
| image2            = Gilt silver jar with pattern of dancing horses.jpg
| caption2          = A Tang period [[gilding|gilt]]-silver jar, shaped in the style of northern [[nomad]]'s leather bag decorated with a [[domestication of the horse|horse]] dancing with a cup of wine in its mouth, as the horses of [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Emperor Xuanzong]] were trained to do.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=127}}
}}

The dynasty continued to flourish under the rule of Empress [[Wu Zetian]], the only official [[empress regnant]] in Chinese history, and reached its zenith during the long reign of [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Emperor Xuanzong]], who oversaw an empire that stretched from the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] to the [[Aral Sea]] with at least {{nowrap|50 million}} people. There were vibrant artistic and cultural creations, including works of the greatest Chinese [[Tang poetry|poets]], [[Li Bai]] and [[Du Fu]].

At the zenith of prosperity of the empire, the [[An Lushan Rebellion]] from 755 to 763 was a watershed event. War, disease, and economic disruption [[An Lushan Rebellion#Death toll|devastated the population]] and drastically weakened the central imperial government. Upon suppression of the rebellion, regional military governors, known as ''[[jiedushi]]'', gained increasingly autonomous status as the central government lost its ability to control them. With loss of revenue from land tax, the central imperial government came to rely heavily on its [[Salt in Chinese history|salt monopoly]]. Externally, former submissive states raided the empire and the vast border territories were lost for centuries. Nevertheless, civil society recovered and thrived amidst the weakened imperial bureaucracy.

In the late Tang period the empire was worn out by recurring revolts of the regional military governors, while scholar-officials engaged in fierce [[Niu–Li factional strife|factional strife]] and corrupted [[eunuchs]] [[Sweet Dew incident|amassed immense power]]. Catastrophically, the [[Huang Chao Rebellion]], from 874 to 884, devastated the entire empire for a decade. The sack of the southern port [[Guangzhou]] in 879 was followed by the [[Guangzhou massacre|massacre]] of most of its inhabitants, especially the large foreign merchant enclaves.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/voyagedumarchand00sirauoft |title=Voyage du marchand arabe Sulaymân en Inde et en Chine, rédigé en 851, suivi de remarques par Abû Zayd Hasan (vers 916) |publisher=Paris Éditions Bossard |year=1922 |editor=Ferrand |editor-first=Gabriel |editor-link=Gabriel Ferrand |page=[https://archive.org/details/voyagedumarchand00sirauoft/page/76 76] |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/judaism/kaifung.html |title=Kaifung Jews |publisher=University of Cumbria, Division of Religion and Philosophy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028113532/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/judaism/kaifung.html |archive-date=28 October 2008  }}</ref> By 881, both capitals, [[Luoyang]] and [[Chang'an]], fell successively. The reliance on ethnic [[Han Chinese|Han]] and [[Shatuo|Turkic]] [[Jiedushi|warlords]] in suppressing the rebellion increased their power and influence. Consequently, the fall of the dynasty following [[Zhu Wen]]'s usurpation led to an [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period|era of division]].

In 808, 30,000 Shatuo under Zhuye Jinzhong defected from the Tibetans to Tang China and the Tibetans punished them by killing Zhuye Jinzhong as they were chasing them.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mm-cEAAAQBAJ&dq=843+shatuo&pg=PT248 | title=From the Khitans to the Jurchens & Mongols: A History of Barbarians in Triangle Wars & Quartet Conflicts | isbn=9781663242587 | last1=Yuan | first1=Hong | date=14 November 2022 | publisher=iUniverse }}</ref> The Uyghurs also fought against an alliance of Shatuo and Tibetans at Beshbalik.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhiWDwAAQBAJ&dq=843+shatuo&pg=RA1-PA310 | title=History of Central Asia, the: 4-volume set | isbn=9781838608682 | last1=Baumer | first1=Christoph | date=18 April 2018 | publisher=Bloomsbury }}</ref> The Shatuo Turks under Zhuye Chixin ([[Li Guochang]]) served the Tang dynasty in fighting against their fellow Turkic people in the [[Uyghur Khaganate]]. In 839, when the Uyghur khaganate (Huigu) general Jueluowu (掘羅勿) rose against the rule of then-reigning [[Zhangxin Khan]], he elicited the help from Zhuye Chixin by giving Zhuye 300 horses, and together, they defeated Zhangxin Khan, who then committed suicide, precipitating the subsequent collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate. In the next few years, when Uyghur Khaganate remnants tried to raid Tang borders, the Shatuo participated extensively in counterattacking the Uyghur Khaganate with other tribes loyal to Tang.<ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷246|vol. 246]].</ref> In 843, Zhuye Chixin, under the command of the Han Chinese officer [[Shi Xiong]] with Tuyuhun, Tangut and Han Chinese troops, participated in a raid against the Uyghur khaganate that led to the slaughter of Uyghur forces at Shahu mountain.<ref>{{multiref2|''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷247|vol. 247]].|{{cite book | last= Twitchett | first= Denis | author-link = Denis Twitchett | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSk7EAAAQBAJ&dq=843+shatuo&pg=PA173 | title=Warfare in Chinese History | isbn=9789004482944 | editor=Hans van de Ven | date=2000 | publisher=Brill | page=173 | series= Sinica Leidensia, vol. 47 | doi=10.1163/9789004482944_006 | chapter= Tibet in Tang's Grand Strategy }}|{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzEUAgAAQBAJ&dq=843+shatuo&pg=PA32 | title=Governing China: 150–1850 | isbn=9781603844475 | last1=Dardess | first1=John W. | date= 2010 | publisher=Hackett | page=32 }}}}</ref>

====Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960)====
{{main|Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period}}

{{multiple image
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| perrow            = 2/2/2
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| title             = Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907–960)
| image1            = Later Han.png
| caption1          = Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms Period 947 AD
| image2            = YunYanSiPagoda.jpg
| caption2          = [[Yunyan Pagoda]] in Jiangsu Province of Eastern China.
| image3            = 096 20100911 bt shanghai museum (4986578699).jpg
| caption3          = Coins of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
| image4            = Gu Hongzhong 15.jpg
| caption4          = Section and detail of ''Night Revels of [[Han Xizai]]'', by [[Gu Hongzhong]]
}}

The period of political disunity between the Tang and the Song, known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, lasted from 907 to 960. During this half-century, China was in all respects a multi-state system. Five regimes, namely, (Later) [[Later Liang (Five Dynasties)|Liang]], [[Later Tang|Tang]], [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Jin]], [[Later Han (Five Dynasties)|Han]] and [[Later Zhou|Zhou]], rapidly succeeded one another in control of the traditional Imperial heartland in northern China. Among the regimes, rulers of (Later) Tang, Jin and Han were [[Sinicization|sinicized]] [[Shatuo|Shatuo Turks]], which ruled over an ethnic majority of [[Han Chinese]] in the north. More stable and smaller regimes of mostly ethnic Han rulers coexisted in south and western China over the period, cumulatively constituted the "Ten Kingdoms".

Amidst political chaos in the north, the strategic [[Sixteen Prefectures]] (region along today's [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]]) were ceded to the emerging [[Liao dynasty|Khitan Liao dynasty]], which drastically weakened the defense of [[China proper]] against northern nomadic empires. To the south, Vietnam [[Battle of Bạch Đằng (938)|gained lasting independence]] after [[Third Chinese domination of Vietnam|being a Chinese prefecture]] for [[Chinese domination of Vietnam|many centuries]]. With wars dominating in Northern China, there were mass southward migrations of population, which further enhanced the southward shift of cultural and economic centers in China. The era ended with the coup of [[Later Zhou]] general [[Emperor Taizu of Song|Zhao Kuangyin]], and the establishment of the [[Song dynasty]] in 960, which eventually annihilated the remains of the "Ten Kingdoms" and reunified China.

===Late imperial China===
====Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties (960–1279)====
{{main|Song dynasty|Liao dynasty|Western Xia|Jin dynasty (1115–1234)}}

{{further|History of the Song dynasty}}
{{see also|Dali Kingdom|Qara Khitai}}

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2/2/2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties (AD 960–1279)
| image1            = 
| caption1          = [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]], [[Southern Song]], and [[Western Xia]] in China.
| image2            = Song-Bodhisattva1.jpg
| caption2          = A wooden [[Bodhisattva]] from the Song dynasty.
| image3            = Chinese Gunpowder Formula.JPG
| caption3          = Earliest known [[History of gunpowder|written formula]] for [[gunpowder]], from the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' of 1044 AD.
| image4            = 
| caption4          = A giant "squatting-tiger fire [[trebuchet]]" located at the Wolongtai Great Wall section, Xinyang, Henan, China.
}}

In 960, the Song dynasty was founded by [[Emperor Taizu of Song|Emperor Taizu]], with its capital established in [[Kaifeng]] (then known as [[Bianjing]]). In 979, the Song dynasty reunified most of [[China proper]], while large swaths of the outer territories were occupied by [[Sinicization|sinicized]] [[nomadic empire]]s. The [[Khitan people|Khitan]] Liao dynasty, which lasted from 907 to 1125, ruled over [[Manchuria]], [[Mongolia]], and parts of [[North China|Northern China]]. Meanwhile, in what are now the north-western Chinese provinces of [[Gansu]], [[Shaanxi]], and [[Ningxia]], the [[Tangut people|Tangut]] tribes founded the [[Western Xia|Western Xia dynasty]] from 1032 to 1227.

Aiming to recover the strategic [[sixteen prefectures]] lost in the [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|previous dynasty]], [[Battle of Gaoliang River|campaigns]] were launched against the [[Liao dynasty]] in the [[Emperor Taizong of Song|early Song period]], which all ended in failure. Then in 1004, the Liao [[cavalry]] swept over the exposed [[North China Plain]] and reached the outskirts of Kaifeng, forcing the Song's submission and then agreement to the [[Chanyuan Treaty]], which imposed heavy annual tributes from the Song treasury. The treaty was a significant reversal of Chinese dominance of the traditional [[imperial Chinese tributary system|tributary system]]. Yet the annual outflow of Song's silver to the Liao was paid back through the purchase of Chinese goods and products, which expanded the Song economy, and replenished its treasury. This dampened the incentive for the Song to further campaign against the Liao. Meanwhile, this cross-border trade and contact induced further sinicization within the Liao Empire, at the expense of its military might which was derived from its nomadic lifestyle. Similar treaties and social-economical consequences occurred in Song's relations with the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]].

Within the Liao Empire the [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]] tribes revolted against their overlords to establish the Jin dynasty in 1115. In 1125, the devastating Jin [[cataphract]] annihilated the Liao dynasty, while remnants of Liao court members fled to Central Asia to found the [[Qara Khitai]] Empire (Western Liao dynasty). [[Jin–Song Wars|Jin's invasion of the Song dynasty]] followed swiftly. In 1127, Kaifeng was sacked, a massive catastrophe known as the [[Jingkang Incident]], ending the [[Northern Song dynasty]]. Later the [[Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty|entire north of China was conquered]]. The surviving members of the Song court regrouped in the new capital city of [[Hangzhou]], and initiated the [[Southern Song dynasty]], which ruled territories south of the [[Huai River]]. In the ensuing years, the territory and population of China were divided between the Song dynasty, the Jin dynasty and the Western Xia dynasty. The era ended with the [[Mongol conquest]], as Western Xia fell in 1227, the [[Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty|Jin dynasty in 1234]], and finally the [[Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty|Southern Song dynasty in 1279]].

{{multiple image
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| image_style       = border:none;
| perrow            = 2
| image1            = Dingzhou Liaodi Pagoda 3.jpg
| caption1          = [[Liaodi Pagoda]], Song dynasty
| image2            = People's Republic of China Beijing Tianningsi Tianing Temple David McBride Photography-0045 02.jpg
| caption2          = The Pagoda of [[Tianning Temple (Beijing)|Tianing Temple]], [[Liao dynasty]]
}}

Despite its military weakness, the Song dynasty is widely considered to be the high point of classical Chinese civilization. The [[Economy of the Song dynasty|Song economy]], facilitated by technological advancement, had reached a level of sophistication probably unseen in world history before its time. The population soared to over {{nowrap|100 million}} and the living standards of common people improved tremendously due to improvements in rice cultivation and the wide availability of coal for production. The capital cities of Kaifeng and subsequently Hangzhou were both the [[List of largest cities throughout history|most populous cities]] in the world for their time, and encouraged vibrant civil societies unmatched by previous Chinese dynasties. Although land trading routes to the far west were blocked by nomadic empires, there was extensive [[Maritime Silk Route|maritime trade]] with neighbouring states, such as in [[South-east Asia]], which facilitated the use of Song coinage as the de facto currency of exchange. Giant wooden vessels equipped with [[compass]]es traveled throughout the [[China Seas]] and northern Indian Ocean. The concept of insurance was practised by merchants to hedge the risks of such long-haul maritime [[shipment]]s. With prosperous economic activities, the historically first use of [[Jiaozi (currency)|paper currency]] emerged in the western city of [[Chengdu]], as a cheaper supplement to the existing copper [[coin]]s.

The Song dynasty was considered to be the golden age of great advancements in science and technology of China, thanks to innovative scholar-officials such as [[Su Song]] (1020–1101) and [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095). Inventions such as the hydro-mechanical astronomical clock, the first continuous and endless power-transmitting chain, [[woodblock printing]] and [[paper money]] were all invented during the Song dynasty, further cementing its status.

There was court intrigue between the political reformers and conservatives, led by the chancellors [[Wang Anshi]] and [[Sima Guang]], respectively. By the mid-to-late 13th century, the Chinese had adopted the dogma of [[Neo-Confucian]] philosophy formulated by [[Zhu Xi]]. Enormous literary works were compiled during the Song dynasty, such as the innovative historical narrative ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'' ("Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government"). The invention of [[Woodblock print|movable-type printing]] further facilitated the spread of knowledge. Culture and the arts flourished, with grandiose artworks such as ''[[Along the River During the Qingming Festival]]'' and ''[[Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute]]'', along with great Buddhist painters such as the prolific [[Lin Tinggui]].

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 500
| align             = center
| image1            = Song Dynasty Hydraulic Mill for Grain.JPG
| image2            = 清明上河图.jpg
| image3            = Along the River During the Qingming Festival (detail of original).jpg
| image4            = Leifeng Pagoda in the Southern Song Dynasty by Li Song.jpg
| footer            = City views of Song dynasty from paintings. Clockwise from upper left: A Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127) era Chinese painting of a water-powered mill for grain, with surrounding river transport. The bridge scene from [[Zhang Zeduan]]'s (1085–1145) painting ''[[Along the River During Qingming Festival]]''. [[Junk (ship)|Chinese boats]] from ''[[Along the River During Qingming Festival]]''. [[Leifeng Pagoda]] in the Southern Song Dynasty by [[Li Song (painter)|Li Song]].
}}

The Song dynasty was also a period of major innovation in the [[Military history|history of warfare]]. [[Gunpowder]], while invented in the [[Tang dynasty]], was first put into practical use on the battlefield by the Song army, inspiring a succession of new [[firearm]]s and [[siege engine]]s designs. During the Southern Song dynasty, as its survival hinged decisively on guarding the [[Yangtze]] and [[Huai River]] against the cavalry forces from the north, the first standing navy in China was assembled in 1132, with its admiral's headquarters established at [[Dinghai]]. [[Paddle wheel|Paddle-wheel]] warships equipped with [[trebuchet]]s could launch [[Incendiary device|incendiary bombs]] made of gunpowder and lime to effect, as recorded in Song's victory over the invading Jin forces at the [[Battle of Tangdao]] in the [[East China Sea]], and the [[Battle of Caishi]] on the Yangtze River in 1161.

The advances in civilisation during the Song dynasty came to an abrupt end following the devastating Mongol conquest of the North and subsequently other areas of the empire, during which the population sharply dwindled, with a marked contraction in economy. Despite viciously [[Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty|halting Mongol advances]] for more than three decades, the Southern Song capital Hangzhou fell in 1276, followed by the final annihilation of the Song standing navy at the [[Battle of Yamen]] in 1279.

====Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)====
{{main|Yuan dynasty}}

{{further|History of the Yuan dynasty}}
{{see also|Mongol Empire|Northern Yuan}}

{{multiple image
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| perrow            = 2/2/2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Yuan dynasty (AD 1271–1368)
| image1            = Miaoyingsi baita.jpg
| caption1          = The White Stupa of [[Miaoying Temple]] in Beijing.
| image2            = Deva King of the East.jpg
| caption2          = [[Four Heavenly Kings|Deva King of the East]] on the east wall of the [[Cloud Platform at Juyong Pass]].
| image3            = Bronze cannon of 1332.jpg
| caption3          = Yuan period [[firearm]] with inscription dated the 3rd year of the Zhiyuan era (1332). Yuan Dynasty (1206–1368). Discovered at the Yunju Temple, Fangshan, Beijing, 1935.
| image4            = Yuan dynasty banknote with its printing plate 1287.jpg
| caption4          = Yuan dynasty banknote with its printing wood plate, 1287 AD.
}}

[[File:MongolMap.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|Mongol successor khanates]]

The [[Yuan dynasty]] was formally proclaimed in 1271, when the [[List of Mongol rulers|Great Khan of Mongol]], [[Kublai Khan]], one of the grandsons of [[Genghis Khan]], assumed the additional title of [[Emperor of China]], and considered [[Division of the Mongol Empire|his inherited part]] of the Mongol Empire as a [[Chinese dynasty]]. In the preceding decades, the Mongols had conquered the Jin dynasty in Northern China, and the Southern Song dynasty fell in 1279 after a protracted and bloody war. The [[Mongols|Mongol]] Yuan dynasty became the first [[conquest dynasty]] in Chinese history to rule the entirety of [[China proper]] and [[List of ethnic groups in China|its population]] as an [[Mongols in China|ethnic minority]]. The dynasty also directly controlled the [[Mongol heartland]] and other regions, inheriting the largest share of territory of the eastern Mongol empire, which roughly coincided with the modern area of China and nearby regions in East Asia. Further expansion of the empire was halted after defeats in the [[Mongol invasions of Japan|invasions of Japan]] and [[Mongol invasions of Vietnam|Vietnam]]. Following the previous Jin dynasty, the capital of Yuan dynasty was established at [[Khanbaliq]] (also known as Dadu, modern-day Beijing). The [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]] was reconstructed to connect the remote capital city to lively economic hubs in southern part of China, setting the precedence and foundation for Beijing to largely remain as the [[Historical capitals of China|capital]] of the successive regimes of the unified Chinese mainland.

A series of [[Division of the Mongol Empire#Civil war|Mongol civil wars]] in the late 13th century led to the [[division of the Mongol Empire]]. In 1304 the emperors of the Yuan dynasty were upheld as the nominal [[Khagan]] over western khanates (the [[Chagatai Khanate]], the [[Golden Horde]] and the [[Ilkhanate]]), which nonetheless remained ''de facto'' autonomous. The era was known as ''[[Pax Mongolica]]'', when much of the Asian continent was ruled by the Mongols. For the first and only time in history, the [[Silk Road]] was controlled entirely by a single state, facilitating the flow of people, trade, and cultural exchange. A network of roads and a [[Yam (route)|postal system]] were established to connect the vast empire. Lucrative maritime trade, developed from the previous Song dynasty, continued to flourish, with [[Quanzhou]] and [[Hangzhou]] emerging as the largest ports in the world. Adventurous travelers from the far west, most notably the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]], [[Marco Polo]], would settle in China for decades. Upon his return, his detail [[The Travels of Marco Polo|travel record]] inspired generations of [[High Middle Ages|medieval Europeans]] with the splendors of the far East. The Yuan dynasty was the first ancient economy, where [[paper currency]], known at the time as ''[[Jiaochao]]'', was used as the predominant medium of exchange. Its unrestricted issuance in the late Yuan dynasty inflicted [[hyperinflation]], which eventually brought the downfall of the dynasty.

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| total_width       = 250
| image_style       = border:none;
| image1            = The Observatory, Dengfeng, 2015-09-24 08.jpg
| caption1          = [[Dengfeng Observatory]], the first in a series of 27 astronomical observatories built in the early Yuan dynasty.
| image2            = 柏林禅寺舍利塔 - panoramio.jpg
| caption2          = The Pagoda of Bailin Temple, an octagonal-based brick pagoda built in 1330 during the reign of [[Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür|Emperor Wenzong]], ruler of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).
}}

While the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty adopted substantially to Chinese culture, their [[sinicization]] was of lesser extent compared to earlier [[Conquest dynasty|conquest dynasties]] in Chinese history. For preserving racial superiority as the conqueror and ruling class, traditional nomadic customs and heritage from the [[Mongolian Steppe]] were held in high regard. On the other hand, the Mongol rulers also adopted flexibly to a variety of cultures from many advanced civilizations within the vast empire. Traditional social structure and culture in China underwent immense transform during the Mongol dominance. Large groups of [[Semu|foreign migrants]] settled in China, who enjoyed elevated social status over the majority Han Chinese, while enriching Chinese culture with foreign elements. The class of [[Scholar-official|scholar officials]] and intellectuals, traditional bearers of elite Chinese culture, lost substantial social status. This stimulated the development of culture of the common folks. There were prolific works in ''[[zaju]]'' variety shows and literary songs (''[[sanqu]]''), which were written in a distinctive [[Yuan poetry|poetry style]] known as ''[[Qu (poetry)|qu]]''. Novels of vernacular style gained unprecedented status and popularity.

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 250
| image_style       = border:none;
| image1            = 代县阿育王塔.jpg
| caption1          = The [[Ayuwang Pagoda|Ayuwang Stupa]] in northern [[Shanxi]], China.
| image2            = Zhao guan Tower 2011-10.JPG
| caption2          = A [[stupa]] on top of an arch (''crossing street tower''), is a common form of architecture during Yuan period.
}}

Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reported approximately {{nowrap|120 million}} inhabitants; after the conquest had been completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly {{nowrap|60 million}} people.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Ping-ti |last= Ho | author-link= Ping-ti Ho | title=An Estimate of the Total Population of Sung-Chin China | journal = Études Song | series= 1 | issue=1 | year=1970 | pages=33–53}}</ref> This major decline is not necessarily due only to Mongol killings. Scholars such as Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to record rather than an actual decrease; others such as [[Timothy Brook]] argue that the Mongols created a system of [[serfdom|enserfment]] among a huge portion of the Chinese populace, causing many to disappear from the census altogether; other historians including William McNeill and David Morgan consider that [[Plague (disease)|plague]] was the main factor behind the demographic decline during this period. In the 14th century China suffered additional depredations from epidemics of plague, estimated to have killed around a quarter of the population of China.<ref>{{cite journal
| pages =319–355
| jstor = 44452010
| journal= Bulletin of the History of Medicine
| publisher= The Johns Hopkins University Press
| volume= 85 | number= 3 | year = 2011
| title=Was the Black Death in India and China?
| last = Sussman | first=George D.
| doi = 10.1353/bhm.2011.0054
| pmid = 22080795
| s2cid = 41772477
| url = https://academicworks.cuny.edu/lg_pubs/52
| url-access = subscription
}}</ref>{{rp|348–351}}

Throughout the Yuan dynasty, there was some general sentiment among the populace against the Mongol dominance. Yet rather than the nationalist cause, it was mainly strings of natural disasters and incompetent, corrupt governance that triggered widespread peasant uprisings since the 1340s. After the [[Largest naval battle in history|massive naval engagement]] [[Battle of Lake Poyang|at Lake Poyang]], [[Hongwu Emperor|Zhu Yuanzhang]] prevailed over other rebel forces in the south. He proclaimed himself [[Emperor of China|emperor]] and founded the [[Ming dynasty]] in 1368. The same year his northern expedition army captured the capital Khanbaliq. The Yuan remnants fled back to Mongolia and [[Northern Yuan dynasty|sustained the regime]], but the period of Yuan dominance was effectively over for good. Other Mongol Khanates in Central Asia continued to exist after the fall of Yuan dynasty in China.

====Ming dynasty (1368–1644)====
{{main|Ming dynasty}}

{{further|History of the Ming dynasty}}
{{see also|Southern Ming}}

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| perrow            = 2/2/2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Ming dynasty (AD 1368–1644)
| image1            = Haihui Temple (Shanxi).JPG
| caption1          = Haihui Temple Pagodas, built in the Ming period.
| image2            = 200 Cash (貳佰文) - Da-Ming Tongxing Baochao (大明通行寶鈔) KKNews 01.jpg
| caption2          = [[Da Ming Baochao]], a series of banknotes issued by the Ming government.
| image3            = Nieuhof-Ambassade-vers-la-Chine-1665 0789.tif
| caption3          = [[Porcelain Tower of Nanjing|Porcelain Tower]], from ''[[An embassy from the East-India Company]]'' (1665) by Johan Nieuhof. It was first discovered by the Western world when travelers like [[Johan Nieuhof]] visited it, sometimes listing it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
| image4            = Jining Chongjue Si Tieta 2015.08.13 17-18-45.jpg
| caption4          = Pagoda of Chongjue Temple, dated to the Song dynasty. The onion-shaped [[Sōrin]] was a Ming dynasty addition.
}}

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 180
| header            = 
| image1            = Dongyang Luzhai 2015.05.24 15-53-48.jpg
| alt1              = Dongyang Luzhai
| caption1          = Residence of the Lu Family in Dongyang, built in the Ming period.
| image2            = XiAn CityWall DiLou.jpg
| alt2              = XiAn CityWall DiLou
| caption2          = [[Fortifications of Xi'an|City wall of Xi'an]], a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] built during the early Ming dynasty
| image3            = Fenghuang old town.JPG
| alt3              = Fenghuang old town
| caption3          = [[Fenghuang County]], an ancient town that harbors many architectural remains of Ming and Qing styles.
| image4            = Yixian Hongcun 2016.09.09 17-27-03.jpg
| alt4              = Yixian Hongcun
| caption4          = [[Hongcun]], a village in Yi County in the historical Huizhou region of southern Anhui Province.
| image5            = Xinye-9.jpg
| alt5              = Xinye
| caption5          = [[Xinye Village|Xinye]], a village noted for its well-preserved Ming and Qing era architecture and ancient residential buildings.
}}

The [[Ming dynasty]] was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368, who proclaimed himself as the [[Hongwu Emperor]]. The capital was initially set at [[Nanjing]], and was later moved to [[Beijing]] from [[Yongle Emperor]]'s reign onward.

Urbanization increased as the population grew and as the division of labor grew more complex. Large urban centers, such as Nanjing and Beijing, also contributed to the growth of private industry. In particular, small-scale industries grew up, often specializing in paper, silk, cotton, and porcelain goods. For the most part, however, relatively small urban centers with markets proliferated around the country. Town markets mainly traded food, with some necessary manufactures such as pins or oil.

Despite the [[xenophobia]] and intellectual introspection characteristic of the increasingly popular new school of [[neo-Confucianism]], China under the early Ming dynasty was not isolated. Foreign trade and other contacts with the outside world, particularly Japan, increased considerably. Chinese merchants explored all of the Indian Ocean, reaching East Africa with the [[Treasure voyages|voyages of Zheng He]].

The Hongwu Emperor, being the only founder of a [[Dynasties of China|Chinese dynasty]] who was also of peasant origin, had laid the foundation of a state that relied fundamentally in agriculture. Commerce and trade, which flourished in the previous [[Song dynasty|Song]] and [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] dynasties, were less emphasized. Neo-feudal landholdings of the Song and Mongol periods were expropriated by the Ming rulers. Land estates were confiscated by the government, fragmented, and rented out. Private slavery was forbidden. Consequently, after the death of the Yongle Emperor, independent peasant landholders predominated in Chinese agriculture. These laws might have paved the way to removing the worst of the poverty during the previous regimes. Towards later era of the Ming dynasty, with declining government control, commerce, trade and private industries revived.

The dynasty had a strong and complex central government that unified and controlled the empire. The emperor's role became more autocratic, although Hongwu Emperor necessarily continued to use what he called the "[[Grand Secretariat]]" to assist with the immense paperwork of the bureaucracy, including [[memorial to the throne|memorials]] (petitions and recommendations to the throne), imperial edicts in reply, reports of various kinds, and tax records. It was this same bureaucracy that later prevented the Ming government from being able to adapt to changes in society, and eventually led to its decline.

The Yongle Emperor strenuously tried to extend China's influence beyond its borders by demanding other rulers send ambassadors to China to present tribute. A large navy was built, including four-masted ships displacing 1,500&nbsp;tons. A standing army of 1&nbsp;million troops was created. The Chinese armies [[Ming–Hồ War|conquered]] and [[Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam|occupied Vietnam]] for around 20 years, while the [[Treasure voyages|Chinese fleet sailed]] the China seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising as far as the east coast of Africa. The Chinese gained influence in eastern [[Moghulistan]]. Several maritime Asian nations sent envoys with tribute for the Chinese emperor. Domestically, the Grand Canal was expanded and became a stimulus to domestic trade. Over 100,000&nbsp;tons of iron per year were produced. Many books were printed using movable type. The imperial palace in Beijing's [[Forbidden City]] reached its current splendor. It was also during these centuries that the potential of south China came to be fully exploited. New crops were widely cultivated and industries such as those producing porcelain and textiles flourished.

In 1449 [[Esen Tayisi]] led an [[Oirats|Oirat]] Mongol invasion of northern China which culminated in the capture of the [[Emperor Yingzong of Ming|Zhengtong Emperor]] at [[Tumu Crisis|Tumu]]. Since then, the Ming became on the defensive on the northern frontier, which led to the [[Ming Great Wall]] being built. Most of what remains of the Great Wall of China today was either built or repaired by the Ming. The brick and granite work was enlarged, the watchtowers were redesigned, and cannons were placed along its length.

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| total_width       = 250
| image_style       = border:none;
| image1            = Lin Liang-Eagles.jpg
| alt1              = A donkey
| caption1          = ''Eagles'' by [[Lin Liang]] ({{c.}} 1424 – 1500). Located at the [[National Palace Museum]].
| image2            = Bian Jingzhao-Snow Plum and Twin Cranes.jpg
| alt2              = A trout
| caption2          = ''Snow Plums and Twin Cranes'' by [[Bian Jingzhao]] ({{Circa|1355|1428}}). Located at the [[Guangdong Museum]].
| direction         = 
| width             = 
}}

At sea the Ming became increasingly isolationist after the death of the Yongle Emperor. The treasure voyages which sailed the Indian Ocean were discontinued, and the [[Haijin|maritime prohibition]] laws were set in place banning the Chinese from sailing abroad. European traders who reached China in the midst of the [[Age of Discovery]] were repeatedly rebuked in their requests for trade, with the Portuguese being [[Battle of Tunmen|repulsed by the Ming navy]] at [[Tuen Mun]] in 1521 and again [[Second Battle of Tamao|in 1522]]. Domestic and foreign demands for overseas trade, deemed illegal by the state, led to widespread ''[[wokou]]'' piracy attacking the southeastern coastline during the rule of the [[Jiajing Emperor]] (1507–1567), which only subsided after the opening of ports in [[Guangdong]] and [[Fujian]] and [[Jiajing wokou raids|much military suppression]].<ref>{{ cite encyclopedia | entry-url=https://www.britannica.com/place/China/The-dynastic-succession | last= Hucker | first= Charles O. | author-link= Charles Hucker | entry= China > History > The Ming dynasty > Political history > The dynastic succession |title= Encyclopædia Britannica Online |date= 2007}}</ref> In addition to raids from Japan by the ''wokou'', raids from Taiwan and the [[Military history of the Philippines#Pre-colonial period (900 AD to 1565)|Philippines by the Pisheye]] also ravaged the southern coasts.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Isorena |first=Efren B. |title=The Visayan Raiders of the China Coast, 1174–1190 Ad |journal=Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society |date=2004 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=73–95 |jstor=29792550 |quote=Chau Ju-Kua, writing in the thirteenth century, probably was the first to mention that certain ferocious raiders of China's [[Fujian|Fukien]] coast probably came by way of the southern portion of the island of [[Formosa]], He referred to them as the Pi-sho-ye. }}</ref> The Portuguese were allowed to settle in [[Macau]] in 1557 for trade, which remained in Portuguese hands until 1999. After the Spanish invasion of the Philippines, trade with the [[Manila Galleon|Spanish at Manila]] imported large quantities of [[Global silver trade from the 16th to 19th centuries|Mexican and Peruvian silver]] from the [[Spanish Americas]] to China.<ref>{{ cite journal| url= https://www.academia.edu/44625493 |title=Connecting China with the Pacific World? |first= Angela | last= Schottenhammer |date=2019 | journal= Orientierungen | volume= 31 | pages= 111–171 | publisher=Ostasien | place=Gossenberg | issn=  0936-4099 }}</ref>{{rp|144–145}} The Dutch entry into the Chinese seas was also met with fierce resistance, with the Dutch being chased off the [[Penghu|Penghu islands]] in the [[Sino-Dutch conflicts]] of 1622–1624 and were forced to settle in Taiwan instead. [[Dutch Formosa|The Dutch in Taiwan]] fought with the Ming in the [[Battle of Liaoluo Bay]] in 1633 and lost, and eventually surrendered to the Ming loyalist [[Koxinga]] in 1662, after the fall of the Ming dynasty.

In 1556, during the rule of the [[Jiajing Emperor]], the [[1556 Shaanxi earthquake|Shaanxi earthquake]] killed about 830,000 people, the deadliest earthquake of all time.

The Ming dynasty intervened deeply in the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)]], which ended with the withdrawal of all invading Japanese forces in Korea, and the restoration of the [[Joseon|Joseon dynasty]], its traditional ally and [[List of tributaries of Imperial China|tributary state]]. The [[Imperial Chinese tributary system|regional hegemony]] of the Ming dynasty was preserved at a toll on its resources. Coincidentally, with Ming's control in [[Manchuria]] in decline, the [[Manchu people|Manchu]] ([[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]) tribes, under their chieftain [[Nurhaci]], broke away from Ming's rule, and emerged as a powerful, unified state, which was [[Hong Taiji|later proclaimed]] as the [[Qing dynasty]]. It went on to subdue the much weakened [[Joseon dynasty|Korea]] as its tributary, conquered [[Northern Yuan dynasty|Mongolia]], and expanded its territory to the outskirt of the Great Wall. The most elite army of the Ming dynasty was to station at the [[Shanhai Pass]] to guard the last stronghold against the Manchus, which weakened its suppression of internal [[Li Zicheng|peasants uprisings]].

====Qing dynasty (1644–1912)====
{{main|Qing dynasty}}

{{further|History of the Qing dynasty}}
{{see also|Later Jin (1616–1636)|High Qing era|Century of humiliation|Self-Strengthening Movement}}

{{multiple image
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| perrow            = 2/2/2
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| caption_align     = center
| title             = Qing dynasty (AD 1644–1912)
| image1            = Carte generale de l'Empire Chinois et du Japon (1836).jpg
| caption1          = 1836 map of China published by C. Picque.
| image2            = Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 041.jpg
| caption2          = Pilgrim flask, [[porcelain]] with underglaze blue and iron-red decoration.
| image3            = MilitaryCostumeEmperorKienLong1736-1796.jpg
| caption3          = A military attire of the Qianlong Emperor
| image4            = Chinese Geomantic Compass c. 1760, National Maritime Museum.JPG
| caption4          = A Qing period geomantic compass ({{c.}} 1760)
}}

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 180
| header            = 
| image1            = 颐和园万寿山佛香阁.jpg
| alt1              = Dongyang Luzhai
| caption1          = [[Summer Palace]], an imperial garden in Qing dynasty.
| image2            = Putuo Zongcheng Temple.jpg
| alt2              = XiAn CityWall DiLou
| caption2          = [[Putuo Zongcheng Temple]], a Buddhist temple complex built between 1767 and 1771. The temple was modeled after the [[Potala Palace]] of [[Tibet]].
| image3            = 晋城皇城相府 - panoramio (14).jpg
| alt3              = 
| caption3          = The [[House of the Huangcheng Chancellor]], a 10-hectare walled estate on Phoenix Hill in southeastern [[Shanxi]], China.
| image4            = 花戏楼 山门 副本.jpg
| caption4          = Flower Theatre, a Qing period guildhall.
| image5            = 会芳.jpg
| alt5              = 
| caption5          = A residential building of [[Qiao Family Compound]], built in the Qing period.
}}

The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) was the last imperial dynasty in China. Founded by the [[Manchu people|Manchus]], it was the second [[conquest dynasty]] to rule the entirety of [[China proper]], and roughly doubled the territory controlled by the Ming. The Manchus were formerly known as [[Jurchen people|Jurchens]], residing in the northeastern part of the Ming territory outside the Great Wall. They emerged as the major threat to the late Ming dynasty after [[Nurhaci]] united all Jurchen tribes and his son, [[Hong Taiji]], declared the founding of the Qing dynasty in 1636. The Qing dynasty set up the [[Eight Banners]] system that provided the basic framework for the Qing military conquest. [[Li Zicheng]]'s peasant rebellion captured Beijing in 1644 and the [[Chongzhen Emperor]], the last Ming emperor, committed suicide. The Manchus allied with the Ming general [[Wu Sangui]] to seize Beijing, which was made the capital of the Qing dynasty, and then proceeded to subdue the [[Southern Ming dynasty|Ming remnants in the south]]. During the [[Transition from Ming to Qing|Ming-Qing transition]], when the Ming dynasty and later the Southern Ming, the emerging Qing dynasty, and several other factions like the [[Shun dynasty]] and [[Xi dynasty]] founded by peasant revolt leaders fought against each another, which, along with innumerable [[natural disaster]]s at that time such as those caused by the [[Little Ice Age]]<ref>{{cite journal | journal=Climate | date=March 2023 |volume= 11|issue=3|at= 71 |doi= 10.3390/cli11030071 | last=Fan |first=Ka-wai | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369343464 | title = The Little Ice Age and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty: A Review | bibcode=2023Clim...11...71F | access-date = September 3, 2023 | doi-access=free | hdl=2031/3fdffd02-1c16-4a80-940a-72ceb85df9c4 | hdl-access=free }} {{open access}}</ref> and [[epidemic]]s like the [[Great Plague in the late Ming dynasty|Great Plague during the last decade of the Ming dynasty]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=邱 |first=仲麟 |author-mask=Ch'iu Chung-lin (邱仲麟) |date=June 2004 |script-title=zh:明代北京的瘟疫與帝國醫療體系的應變 |trans-title=The Epidemics in Ming Beijing and the Responses from the Empire's Public Health System |url=https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/3028acXZKHg.pdf |journal= |language=zh |volume=75 |issue=2 |pages=331–388 |script-work=zh:中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊 |trans-work=Journal of the Institute of History and Philology, Academica Sinica}}</ref> caused enormous loss of lives and [[Economic history of China before 1912#Qing dynasty (1644–1912)|significant harm to the economy]]. In total, these decades saw the loss of as many as {{nowrap|25 million}} lives, but the Qing appeared to have restored China's imperial power and inaugurate another flowering of the arts.<ref>{{ cite book
| first = John Morris | last = Roberts 
| year = 1997 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3QZXvUhGwhAC 
| title=A Short History of the World
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125053756/https://books.google.com/books?id=3QZXvUhGwhAC |archive-date=25 November 2022 | publisher= Oxford University Press | page =  272
| isbn =0-19-511504-X}}</ref> The early Manchu emperors combined traditions of [[Inner Asia]]n rule with Confucian norms of traditional Chinese government and were considered a Chinese dynasty.

The Manchus enforced a queue order, forcing Han Chinese men to adopt the Manchu [[Queue (hairstyle)|queue hairstyle]]. Officials were required to wear Manchu-style clothing ''[[Changshan]]'' ([[Eight Banners|bannermen]] dress and ''[[Tangzhuang]]''), but ordinary Han civilians were allowed to wear [[Ancient Chinese clothing|traditional Han clothing]]. Bannermen could not undertake trade or manual labor; they had to petition to be removed from banner status. They were considered aristocracy and were given annual pensions, land, and allotments of cloth. The [[Kangxi Emperor]] ordered the creation of the ''[[Kangxi Dictionary]]'', the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters that had been compiled.

Over the next half-century, all areas previously under the Ming dynasty were consolidated under the Qing. [[Ten Great Campaigns|Conquests in Central Asia]] in the eighteenth century extended territorial control. Between 1673 and 1681, the Kangxi Emperor suppressed the [[Revolt of the Three Feudatories]], an uprising of three generals in Southern China who had been denied hereditary rule of large fiefdoms granted by the [[Shunzhi Emperor|previous emperor]]. In 1683, the Qing staged an amphibious assault on southern Taiwan, bringing down the rebel [[Kingdom of Tungning]], which was founded by the Ming loyalist [[Koxinga]] (Zheng Chenggong) in 1662 after the fall of the Southern Ming, and had served as a base for continued Ming resistance in Southern China. The Qing [[Sino-Russian border conflicts|defeated the Russians at Albazin]], resulting in the [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]].

By the end of [[Qianlong Emperor]]'s long reign in 1796, the Qing Empire was at [[High Qing era|its zenith]]. The Qing ruled more than [[List of largest empires#Empires at their greatest extent|one-third of the world's population]], and had the largest economy in the world. By area, it was one of the largest empires ever.
[[File:Qing Empire circa 1820 EN.svg|thumb|250px|A map of the [[Qing dynasty]], {{c.}} 1820]]
[[File:Da qing di guo quan tu - btv1b531099163 (06 of 37).jpg|thumb|250px|Official map of the Qing Empire published in 1905]]
In the 19th century the empire was internally restive and externally threatened by western powers. The defeat by the [[British Empire]] in the [[First Opium War]] (1840) led to the [[Treaty of Nanking]] (1842), under which [[History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)|Hong Kong]] was ceded to Britain and importation of [[opium]] (produced by British Empire territories) was allowed. Opium usage continued to grow in China, adversely affecting societal stability. Subsequent military defeats and [[unequal treaties]] with other western powers continued even after the fall of the Qing dynasty.

Internally the [[Taiping Rebellion]] (1851–1864), a Christian religious movement led by the "Heavenly King" [[Hong Xiuquan]] swept from the south to establish the [[Taiping Heavenly Kingdom]] and controlled roughly a third of China proper for over a decade. The court in desperation empowered Han Chinese officials such as [[Zeng Guofan]] to raise local armies. After initial defeats, Zeng crushed the rebels in the [[Third Battle of Nanking]] in 1864.<ref name="Kuhn">{{ cite book
| isbn = 9780674749511
| first = Phillip | last = Kuhn
| title= Rebellion and its Enemies in Late Imperial China: Militarization and Social Structure, 1796–1864
| year = 1970
| publisher= Harvard University Press
| at = Chapter 6
| series=Harvard East Asian series
| volume = 49 
}}</ref> This was one of the largest wars in the 19th century in troop involvement; there was massive loss of life, with a death toll of about 20 million.<ref>{{cite web | first=Matthew | last=White |url = http://necrometrics.com/wars19c.htm | title = Statistics of Wars, Oppressions and Atrocities of the Nineteenth Century |access-date=11 April 2007}}</ref> A string of civil disturbances followed, including the [[Punti–Hakka Clan Wars]], [[Nian Rebellion]], [[Dungan revolt (1862–1877)|Dungan Revolt]], and [[Panthay Rebellion]].<ref>{{cite book | first1=Damsan |last1=Harper | first2=Steve |last2=Fallon |first3=Katja |last3=Gaskell |first4=Julie |last4=Grundvig |first5= Carolyn |last5=Heller | first6=Thomas |last6=Huhti |first7=Bradley |last7=Maynew |first8=Christopher | last8=Pitts | title=Lonely Planet China | url=https://archive.org/details/lonelyplanetchin00dami_1 | url-access=registration | edition=9 | year=2005 |publisher=Lonely Planet | isbn=1-74059-687-0}}</ref> All rebellions were ultimately put down, but at enormous cost and with millions dead, seriously weakening the central imperial authority. China never rebuilt a strong central army, and many local officials used their military power to effectively rule independently in their provinces.<ref name="Kuhn"/>
[[File:Regaining the Provincial Capital of Ruizhou.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A scene of the [[Taiping Rebellion]]]]
Yet the dynasty appeared to recover in the [[Tongzhi Restoration]] (1860–1872), led by Manchu royal family reformers and Han Chinese officials such as Zeng Guofan and his proteges [[Li Hongzhang]] and [[Zuo Zongtang]]. Their [[Self-Strengthening Movement]] made effective institutional reforms, imported Western factories and communications technology, with prime emphasis on strengthening the military. However, the reform was undermined by official rivalries, cynicism, and quarrels within the imperial family. The defeat of [[Yuan Shikai]]'s modernized "[[Beiyang Fleet]]" in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] (1894–1895) led to the formation of the [[New Army]]. The [[Guangxu Emperor]], advised by [[Kang Youwei]], then launched a comprehensive reform effort, the [[Hundred Days' Reform]] (1898). [[Empress Dowager Cixi]], however, feared that precipitous change would lead to bureaucratic opposition and foreign intervention and quickly suppressed it.

In the summer of 1900, the [[Boxer Rebellion|Boxer Uprising]] opposed foreign influence and murdered Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries. When Boxers entered Beijing, the Qing government ordered all foreigners to leave, but they and many Chinese Christians were [[Siege of the International Legations|besieged in the foreign legations quarter]]. An [[Eight-Nation Alliance]] sent the [[Seymour Expedition]] of Japanese, Russian, British, Italian, German, French, American, and Austrian troops to relieve the siege, but they were routed and forced to retreat by Boxer and Qing troops at the [[Battle of Langfang]]. After [[Battle of Dagu Forts (1900)|the Alliance's attack on the Dagu Forts]], the court declared war on the Alliance and authorised the Boxers to join with imperial armies. After [[Battle of Tientsin|fierce fighting at Tianjin]], the Alliance formed the second, much larger [[Gaselee Expedition]] and [[Battle of Peking (1900)|finally reached Beijing]]; the Empress Dowager evacuated to [[Xi'an]]. The [[Boxer Protocol]] ended the war, exacting a tremendous [[Boxer Indemnity|indemnity]].

{{Clear}}[[File:1903 emperors-2.JPG|thumb|180px|right|{{center|Rulers of the world at the beginning of the 20th century}}]]

The Qing court then instituted administrative and legal reforms known as the [[late Qing reforms]], including abolition of the [[imperial examinations|examination system]]. But young officials, military officers, and students debated reform, perhaps a [[constitutional monarchy]], or the overthrow of the dynasty and the creation of a republic. They were inspired by an emerging public opinion formed by intellectuals such as [[Liang Qichao]] and the revolutionary ideas of [[Sun Yat-sen]]. A localised military uprising, the [[Wuchang uprising]], began on 10 October 1911, in [[Wuchang]] (today part of [[Wuhan]]), and soon spread. The Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 January 1912, ending 2,000 years of dynastic rule.

==Modern period==
===Republic of China (1912–present)===
{{Main|1911 Revolution|History of the Republic of China|Republic of China (1912–1949)|Beiyang government|Nationalist government}}

{{See also|History of Taiwan|History of Taiwan (1945–present)|Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan}}
[[File:Naval Jack of the Republic of China.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Flag of the [[First Guangzhou uprising]]]]
[[File:Xinhai Revolution in Shanghai.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Nanjing Road]] during [[Xinhai Revolution]], 1911]]

The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912)|provisional government of the Republic of China]] was formed in [[Nanjing]] on 12 March 1912. Sun Yat-sen became [[President of the Republic of China]], but he turned power over to [[Yuan Shikai]], who commanded the [[New Army]]. 

In December 1912 to February 1913 [[1912–13 Chinese National Assembly election|elections were held nation-wide]] for each provincial assemblies, which chose their legal delegates for the first [[National Assembly (Beiyang government)|National Assembly]] of the republic. The [[Kuomintang]] emerged as the formal political party that replaced the revolutionary organization [[Tongmenghui]], and at these elections it won the largest share of seats in both houses of the National Assembly and in some provincial assemblies. 

But Kuomintang leader [[Song Jiaoren]] was assassinated on 20 March 1913. After the [[Second Revolution (Republic of China)|failed 1913 revolt by the governors of several southern Chinese provinces and supporters of Kuomintang]], Yuan Shikai dissolved the Kuomintang,
proceeded to abolish the national and provincial assemblies, and declared himself as the emperor of [[Empire of China (1915–1916)|Empire of China]] in late 1915, in the style of an [[absolute monarchy]]. Yuan's changes to government caused many provinces to [[National Protection War|declare independence]] and become [[Warlord Era|warlord]] states. Yuan's imperial ambitions were fiercely opposed by his subordinates; faced with the rapidly growing prospect of violent rebellion, he abdicated in March 1916 and died of natural causes in June.

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| image1            = Sunyatsen1.jpg
| width1            = 100
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = [[Sun Yat-sen]], the intellectual leader of the Revolution
| image2            = Yuan Shikai2.jpg
| width2            = 95
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = [[Yuan Shikai]], the first official president of the Republic of China
| footer            = 
}}

Yuan's death in 1916 left a power vacuum; the republican government, which had been nearly brought to its knees by his policies, was all but shattered. This opened the way for the [[Warlord Era]], during which much of China was ruled by shifting coalitions of competing provincial military leaders and the [[Beiyang government]]. 

After Yuan Shikai's death, [[Li Yuanhong]] became the President and [[Duan Qirui]] became the Premier. The Provisional Constitution was reinstated and the parliament convened. However, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui had many conflicts, the most glaring of which was over China's entry into [[World War I]]. Since the outbreak of the war, China had remained neutral until the United States urged all neutral countries to join the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]], as a condemnation of Germany's use of [[unrestricted submarine warfare]]. 

In May 1917, Li Yuanhong dismissed Duan Qirui from his government. This led provincial military governors loyal to Duan to declare independence and to call for Li Yuanhong to step down as president. Li Yuanhong summoned  general [[Zhang Xun (Qing loyalist)|Zhang Xun]] to mediate the situation. On 1 July 1917, Zhang, who had his mind on restoring [[Puyi]] (Xuantong Emperor) to the imperial throne and was supplied with funds and weapons through the German legation, which was eager to keep China neutral officially [[Manchu Restoration|proclaimed the restoration of Qing dynasty]] and requested that Li Yuanhong give up his presidency, which Li promptly rejected. Duan Qirui led his army and defeated Zhang Xun's restoration forces in Beijing. On July 12 Zhang's forces disintegrated and Duan returned to Beijing.

The Beiyang government struggled to hold onto power, and an open and wide-ranging debate evolved regarding how China should confront the West. Intellectuals, disappointed in the failure of the Republic, launched the [[New Culture Movement]].

[[File:Beijing students protesting the Treaty of Versailles (May 4, 1919).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Beijing college students rallied during the [[May Fourth Movement]], dissatisfied with Article 156 of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] for China ([[Shandong Problem]]).]]

In 1919, the [[May Fourth Movement]] began as a response to the pro-Japanese terms imposed on China by the [[Treaty of Versailles]] following World War I. It quickly became a nationwide protest movement. The protests were a moral success as the cabinet fell and China refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which had awarded German holdings of [[Shandong]] to Japan. Memory of the mistreatment at Versailles fuels resentment into the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Foot |first=Rosemary |date=2019 |title=Remembering the past to secure the present: Versailles legacies in a resurgent China |journal=[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]] |volume=95 |issue=1 |pages=143–160|doi=10.1093/ia/iiy211 }}</ref>

Political and intellectual ferment waxed strong throughout the 1920s and 1930s. According to Patricia Ebrey:

<blockquote>Nationalism, patriotism, progress, science, democracy, and freedom were the goals; imperialism, feudalism, warlordism, autocracy, patriarchy, and blind adherence to tradition were the enemies. Intellectuals struggled with how to be strong and modern and yet Chinese, how to preserve China as a political entity in the world of competing nations.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=271}}</blockquote>

[[File:Flag of China (1912–1928).svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Flag of the Republic of China from 1912 to 1928]]
[[File:Flag of the Republic of China.svg|alt=Blue Sky White Sun Wholly Red Earth|thumb|upright=0.8|Flag of the Republic of China; 1928–present]]

In the 1920s [[Sun Yat-sen]] established a revolutionary base in [[Guangzhou]] and set out to unite the fragmented nation. He welcomed assistance from the [[Soviet Union]] (itself fresh from Lenin's Communist takeover) and he entered into an alliance with the fledgling [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP). After Sun's death from cancer in 1925, one of his protégés, [[Chiang Kai-shek]], seized control of the [[Kuomintang|Nationalist Party]] (KMT) and succeeded in bringing most of south and central China under its rule in the [[Northern Expedition]] (1926–1927). Having defeated the warlords in the south and central China by [[National Revolutionary Army|military force]], Chiang was able to secure the nominal allegiance of the warlords in the North and establish the [[Nationalist government]] in Nanjing. In 1927, Chiang turned on the CCP and relentlessly purged the Communists elements in his NRA. In 1934, driven from their mountain bases such as the [[Chinese Soviet Republic]], the CCP forces embarked on the [[Long March]] across China's most desolate terrain to the northwest, a feat transformed into legend, where they established a guerrilla base at [[Yan'an]] in Shaanxi. During the Long March, the communists reorganised under a new leader, [[Mao Zedong]] (Mao Tse-tung).

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| perrow            = 2/2/2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| title             = [[World War II]]<br/>([[Second Sino-Japanese War]])
| image1            = 轟炸重慶.jpg
| caption1          = [[Bombing of Chongqing]] in 1940
| image2            = Taierzhuang.jpg
| caption2          = Chinese soldiers in house-to-house fighting in the Battle of Tai'erzhuang
| image3            = Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces in Battle of Shanghai 1937.jpg
| caption3          = The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Special Naval Landing Forces troops in gas masks prepare for an advance in the rubble of Shanghai, China.
| image4            = Jiangjieshi-declare.jpg
| caption4          = Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek announced the Kuomintang policy of resistance against Japan at Lushan on 10 July 1937, three days after the [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident|Seventy-seven Incident]].
}}

The bitter [[Chinese Civil War]] between the Nationalists and the Communists continued, openly or clandestinely, through the 14-year-long Japanese occupation of various parts of the country (1931–1945). The two Chinese parties nominally formed a United Front to oppose the Japanese in 1937, during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937–1945), which became a part of [[World War II]], although this alliance was tenuous at best and disagreements, sometimes violent, between the forces were still common. Japanese forces committed numerous [[Japanese war crimes|war atrocities]] against the civilian population, including biological warfare (see [[Unit 731]]) and the [[Three Alls Policy]] (''Sankō Sakusen''), namely being: "Kill All, Burn All and Loot All".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fairbank |first1=John King |author-link= John King Fairbank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBDC2cqb6I0C&pg=PA320 |title=China: A New History |last2=Goldman |first2=Merle |author2-link=Merle Goldman |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0674018280 |edition=2nd |page=320}}</ref> During the war, China was recognized as one of the Allied "[[Four Policemen|Big Four]]" in the [[Declaration by United Nations]], as a tribute to its enduring struggle against the invading Japanese.<ref>{{multiref2|{{cite book|title=Yearbook of the United Nations 1946–1947|date=1947|publisher=United Nations|location=Lake Success, NY|oclc=243471225|page=3|chapter-url=http://www.unmultimedia.org/searchers/yearbook/page.jsp?volume=1946-47&page=38|access-date=25 April 2015|chapter=The Moscow Declaration on general security}}|{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un/preparatory-years|title=1942 Declaration by United Nations|publisher=United Nations|access-date=20 June 2015}} }}</ref> China was one of the four major [[Allies of World War II]], and was later considered one of the primary victors in the war.<ref>{{ multiref2|{{cite book |last1=Hoopes|first1=Townsend|first2=Douglas|last2=Brinkley |title=FDR and the Creation of the U.N.|publisher=Yale University Press|date= 1997}}|{{cite book|first=John Lewis|last=Gaddis|title=The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941–1947|url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesorig0000gadd|url-access=registration|year=1972|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12239-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesorig0000gadd/page/24 24]–25}} }}</ref>

Following the defeat of Japan in 1945, the war between the Nationalist government forces and the CCP resumed, after failed attempts at reconciliation and a negotiated settlement. By 1949, the CCP had established control over most of the country. [[Odd Arne Westad]] says the Communists won the Civil War because they made fewer military mistakes than Chiang, and because in his search for a powerful centralized government, Chiang antagonised too many interest groups in China. Furthermore, his party was weakened in the war against the Japanese. Meanwhile, the Communists told different groups, such as peasants, exactly what they wanted to hear, and cloaked themselves in the cover of Chinese Nationalism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Westad |first=Odd Arne |title=Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 |date=2012 |page=291 |author-link=Odd Arne Westad}}</ref> During the civil war both the Nationalists and Communists carried out mass atrocities, with millions of non-combatants killed by both sides.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rummel |first=Rudolph |title=Death by Government |date=1994}}</ref> These included deaths from forced conscription and massacres.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Valentino |first=Benjamin A. |title=Final solutions: mass killing and genocide in the twentieth century |date=2005 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |page=88}}</ref>

The Nationalists were slowly routed towards the South. When the Nationalist government forces were defeated by CCP forces in mainland China in 1949, the Nationalist government fled to [[Taiwan]] with its forces, along with Chiang and a large number of their supporters; the Nationalist government had taken effective control of Taiwan at the end of WWII as part of the overall Japanese surrender, when Japanese troops in Taiwan surrendered to the Republic of China troops there.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 September 1945 |title=Surrender Order of the Imperial General Headquarters of Japan |url=http://www.taiwandocuments.org/ghq.htm}}, "(a) The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air, and auxiliary forces within China (excluding Manchuria), [[Formosa]], and [[French Indochina]] north of 16 degrees north latitude shall surrender to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek."</ref>

Until the early 1970s the ROC was recognised as the [[China and the United Nations|sole legitimate government of China]] by the United Nations, the United States and most Western nations, refusing to recognise the PRC on account of its status as a communist nation during the Cold War. This changed in 1971 when the [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|PRC was seated in the United Nations]], replacing the ROC. The KMT ruled Taiwan under martial law until 1987, with the stated goal of being vigilant against Communist infiltration and preparing to retake mainland China. Therefore, political dissent was not tolerated during that period, and crackdowns against dissidents were common.

In the 1990s the ROC underwent a major democratic reform, beginning with the 1991 resignation of the members of the [[Legislative Yuan]] and [[National Assembly]] elected in 1947. These groups were originally created to represent mainland China constituencies. Also lifted were the restrictions on the use of Taiwanese languages in the broadcast media and in schools. In 1996, the ROC held [[1996 Taiwanese presidential election|its first direct presidential election]], and the incumbent president, KMT candidate [[Lee Teng-hui]], was elected. In 2000, the KMT status as the ruling party ended when the DPP took power, only to regain its status in the [[2008 Taiwan presidential election|2008 election]] by [[Ma Ying-jeou]].

Due to the controversial nature of [[Political status of Taiwan|Taiwan's political status]], the ROC is currently recognised by [[Foreign relations of Taiwan|merely 12 UN member states and the Holy See]] {{as of|lc=y|2024}} as the legitimate government of "China".

===People's Republic of China (1949–present)===
{{Main|History of the People's Republic of China|China}}

{{See also|Proclamation of the People's Republic of China}}
[[File:Guèrra Civila Chinesa (1946-1950).png|thumb|240px|Map of the [[Chinese Civil War]]]]
Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the KMT pulling out of the mainland, with the government relocating to [[Taipei]] and maintaining control only over a few islands. The CCP was left in control of [[mainland China]]. On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China.<ref name="Ref_c">[http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/documents/mao490921.htm The Chinese people have stood up]. UCLA Center for East Asian Studies. Retrieved 16 April 2006. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906133423/http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/documents/mao490921.htm |date=6 September 2015 }}</ref> "Communist China" and "Red China" were two common names for the PRC.<ref name="Ref_d">{{Cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Joseph |title=The A to Z of the Cold War |last2=Davis |first2=Simon |date=2005 |volume=Historical dictionaries of war, revolution, and civil unrest volume 8 no. 28|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-5384-3 |series=A to Z guides }}</ref>

The PRC was shaped by a [[List of campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party|series of campaigns]] and [[Five-year plans of the People's Republic of China|five-year plans]]. The [[Great Leap Forward]], a radical campaign that encompassed numerous attempted economic and social reforms, resulted in tens of millions of deaths.<ref name="Akbar2010">{{Cite news |last=Akbar |first=Arifa |date=17 September 2010 |title=Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years' |work=The Independent |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/maos-great-leap-forward-killed-45-million-in-four-years-2081630.html |access-date=30 October 2010}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2024}} Mao's government carried out mass executions of landowners, instituted [[collectivisation]] and implemented the [[Laogai]] camp system. Execution, deaths from forced labor and other atrocities resulted in millions of deaths under Mao. In 1966 Mao and his allies launched the [[Cultural Revolution]], which continued until Mao's death a decade later. The Cultural Revolution, motivated by power struggles within the Party and a fear of the [[Soviet Union]], led to a major upheaval in Chinese society.

Following the [[Sino-Soviet split]] and motivated by concerns of invasion by either the Soviet Union or the United States, China initiated the [[Third Front (China)|Third Front campaign]] to develop national defense and industrial infrastructure in its rugged interior.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Marquis |url= |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26883-6 |location=New Haven |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k |jstor=j.ctv3006z6k |oclc=1348572572 |s2cid=253067190}}</ref>{{Rp|page=44}} Through its distribution of infrastructure, industry, and human capital around the country, the Third Front created favorable conditions for subsequent market development and private enterprise.<ref name=":9" />{{Rp|page=177}}

In 1972, at the peak of the Sino-Soviet split, Mao and [[Zhou Enlai]] met U.S. president [[Richard Nixon]] in Beijing to establish relations with the US. In the same year, the [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|PRC was admitted to the United Nations]] in place of the Republic of China, with permanent membership of the Security Council.

A power struggle followed Mao's death in 1976. The [[Gang of Four]] were arrested and blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, marking the end of a turbulent political era in China. [[Deng Xiaoping]] outmaneuvered Mao's anointed successor chairman [[Hua Guofeng]], and gradually emerged as the ''de facto'' leader over the next few years.

Deng Xiaoping was the [[Paramount Leader]] of China from 1978 to 1992, although he never became the head of the party or state, and his influence within the Party led the country to the [[reform and opening up]]. The CCP subsequently loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives and the [[People's commune|communes]] were disbanded with many peasants receiving multiple land leases, which greatly increased incentives and agricultural production. In addition, there were many free market areas opened. The most successful free market area was Shenzhen. It is located in Guangdong and the property tax free area still exists today. This turn of events marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open market environment, a system termed by some<ref name="Ref_e">{{Cite book |last1=Hart-Landsberg |first1=Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/chinasocialismma00mart |title=China and Socialism: Market Reforms and Class Struggle |last2=Burkett |first2=Paul |date=2010 |publisher=Monthly Review Press |isbn=978-1-58367-123-8 |access-date=30 October 2008 |url-access=registration}}</ref> as [[market socialism]], and officially by the CCP as [[Socialism with Chinese characteristics]]. The PRC adopted its current [[Constitution of China|constitution]] on 4 December 1982.

In 1989 the death of former general secretary [[Hu Yaobang]] helped to spark the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|Tiananmen Square protests]] of that year, during which students and others campaigned for several months, speaking out against corruption and in favour of greater political reform, including democratic rights and freedom of speech. However, they were eventually put down on 4 June when [[People's Liberation Army|Army]] troops and vehicles entered and forcibly cleared the square, resulting in [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests#Death toll|considerable numbers of fatalities]]. This event was widely reported, and brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the communist government.<ref name="Ref_f">{{Cite book |last=Youngs |first=R. |title=The European Union and the Promotion of Democracy |date=2002 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-924979-4}}.</ref><ref name="Ref_g">{{Cite book |last=Carroll |first=J. M. |title=A Concise History of Hong Kong |date=2007 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-0-7425-3422-3}}.</ref>

CCP general secretary and PRC president [[Jiang Zemin]] and PRC premier [[Zhu Rongji]], both former mayors of Shanghai, led post-Tiananmen PRC in the 1990s. Under Jiang and Zhu's ten years of administration, the PRC's economic performance pulled an estimated 150&nbsp;million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.<ref name="Ref_i">{{Cite news |date=1 March 2000 |title=China's Average Economic Growth in 90s Ranked 1st in World |work=People's Daily |url=http://english.people.com.cn/english/200003/01/eng20000301X115.html}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2021}} The country formally joined the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2001. By [[Handover of Hong Kong|1997]] and [[Transfer of sovereignty over Macau|1999]], former European colonies of [[British Hong Kong]] and [[Portuguese Macau]] became the Hong Kong and Macau [[special administrative regions of China|special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China]], respectively.

Although the PRC needed economic growth to spur its development, the government began to worry that rapid economic growth was degrading the country's natural resources and environment. Another concern was that certain sectors of society were not sufficiently benefiting from the PRC's economic development; one example of this was the wide gap between urban and rural areas in terms of development and prevalence of updated infrastructure. As a result, under former CCP general secretary and President [[Hu Jintao]] and Premier [[Wen Jiabao]], the PRC initiated policies to address issues of equitable distribution of resources, but the outcome was not known {{As of|2014|lc=y}}.<ref name="Ref_j">{{Cite news |title=China worried over pace of growth |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4913622.stm |access-date=16 April 2006}}</ref> More than 40&nbsp;million farmers were displaced from their land,<ref name="Ref_k">{{Cite journal |date=January 2006 |title=China: Migrants, Students, Taiwan |url=http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=3166_0_3_0 |journal=Migration News |volume=13 |issue=1}}</ref> usually for economic development, contributing to 87,000 demonstrations and riots across China in 2005.<ref name="Ref_l">{{Cite news |date=28 January 2006 |title=In Face of Rural Unrest, China Rolls Out Reforms |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701588.html}}</ref> For much of the PRC's population, living standards improved very substantially and freedom increased, but political controls remained tight and rural areas poor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Antony |date=11 April 2006 |title=''Frontline'': ''The Tank Man'' transcript |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/etc/transcript.html |access-date=12 July 2008 |website=Frontline |publisher=PBS}}</ref>

Since 2017, the Chinese government has been engaged in a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang, with around one million [[Uyghurs]] and other ethnic and religion minorities being detained in [[Xinjiang internment camps|internment camps]] aimed at changing the political thinking of detainees, their identities, and their religious beliefs,<ref name="Graham-Harrison-2019">{{Cite news |last1=Graham-Harrison |first1=Emma |last2=Garside |first2=Juliette |date=24 November 2019 |title='Allow no escapes': leak exposes reality of China's vast prison camp network |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/china-cables-leak-no-escapes-reality-china-uighur-prison-camp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314114513/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/china-cables-leak-no-escapes-reality-china-uighur-prison-camp |archive-date=14 March 2024 |access-date=18 January 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> in what some described as a genocide or [[crimes against humanity]].<ref name="BBC News-2021">{{Cite news |date=8 February 2021 |title=Uighurs: 'Credible case' China carrying out genocide |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55973215 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210208184814/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55973215 |archive-date=8 February 2021 |access-date=8 February 2021 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 July 2020 |title=China Suppression Of Uighur Minorities Meets U.N. Definition Of Genocide, Report Says |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/04/887239225/china-suppression-of-uighur-minorities-meets-u-n-definition-of-genocide-report-s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019141640/https://www.npr.org/2020/07/04/887239225/china-suppression-of-uighur-minorities-meets-u-n-definition-of-genocide-report-s |archive-date=19 October 2020 |access-date=28 September 2020 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref name="Cumming-Bruce-2022">{{Cite news |last1=Cumming-Bruce |first1=Nick |last2=Ramzy |first2=Austin |date=31 August 2022 |title=U.N. Says China May Have Committed 'Crimes Against Humanity' in Xinjiang |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/world/asia/un-china-xinjiang-uyghurs.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901014137/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/world/asia/un-china-xinjiang-uyghurs.html |archive-date=1 September 2022 |access-date=1 September 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> According to reports, political indoctrination, torture, [[Physical abuse|physical]] and [[Psychological abuse|psychological]] abuse, [[Compulsory sterilization|forced sterilization]], [[sexual abuse]], and [[Forced labour|forced labor]] are common in these facilities.<ref name="Khatchadourian-2021">{{Cite magazine |last=Khatchadourian |first=Raffi |date=5 April 2021 |title=Surviving the Crackdown in Xinjiang |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/12/surviving-the-crackdown-in-xinjiang |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210410193233/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/12/surviving-the-crackdown-in-xinjiang |archive-date=10 April 2021 |access-date=19 March 2023 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> The use of these centers appears to have ended in 2019 following international pressure.<ref name="Dou-2022">{{Cite news |date=2022-09-23 |title=As crackdown eases, China's Xinjiang faces long road to rehabilitation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/23/china-xinjiang-crackdown-uyghurs-surveillance/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en}}</ref> Academic [[Kerry Brown (historian)|Kerry Brown]] attributes their closures beginning in late 2019 to the expense required to operate them.<ref name=":1022">{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Kerry |author-link=Kerry Brown (historian) |title=China Incorporated: The Politics of a World Where China is Number One |date=2023 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn=978-1-350-26724-4 |location=London}}</ref>{{Rp|page=138}} China has repeatedly denied this, asserting that the West has never been able to produce reliably-sourced satellite footage of any such detainment or resulting detention of minority groups. Although no comprehensive independent surveys of such centres have been performed as of June 2024, spot checks by journalists have found such sites converted or abandoned.<ref name="Dou-2022" /> In 2023, [[Amnesty International]] said that they were "witnessing more and more arbitrary detention", but that detained individuals were being moved from the camps into the [[Penal system in China|formal prison system]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willemyns |first=Alex |date=September 19, 2023 |title=Uyghur event in NY goes ahead despite Beijing's warning |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/china-transnational-repression-09192023172318.html |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=[[Radio Free Asia]] |language=en}}</ref>

The novel coronavirus [[SARS-CoV-2]], which causes the disease [[COVID-19]], was first detected in [[Wuhan]], Hubei in 2019 and led to a [[COVID-19 pandemic|global pandemic]], causing the majority of the world to enter a period of lockdown for at least a year following.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:PLA Enters Peking.jpg|The [[People's Liberation Army]] enters Beijing in the [[Pingjin Campaign]]
File:China 10th Anniversary Parade in Beijing 01.jpg|People's Republic of China 10th Anniversary Parade in Beijing
File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg|alt=Blue Sky White Sun Wholly Red Earth|The flag of the People's Republic of China since 1949.
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* [[Family tree of Chinese monarchs (ancient)|Chinese emperors family tree]]
** [[Family tree of Chinese monarchs (ancient)|Ancient]] – [[Family tree of Chinese monarchs (early)|Early]] – [[Family tree of Chinese monarchs (middle)|Middle]] – [[Family tree of Chinese monarchs (late)|Late]]
* [[Chinese exploration]]
* [[Chinese historiography]]
* [[Christianity in China]]
* [[Economic history of China]]
* [[Ethnic groups in Chinese history]]
* [[Foreign relations of imperial China]]
* [[Golden ages of China]]
* [[History of canals in China]]
* [[History of Islam in China]]
* [[History of science and technology in China]]
* [[History of Taiwan]]
* [[History of the Great Wall of China]]
* [[List of Chinese monarchs]]
* [[List of rebellions in China]]
* [[List of recipients of tribute from China]]
* [[List of tributary states of China]]
* [[Military history of China before 1912]]
* [[Naval history of China]]
* [[Population history of China]]
* [[Timeline of Chinese history]]
* [[Women in ancient and imperial China]]{{div col end}}

== References ==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

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** {{Cite Cambridge History of China|last=Bagley |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Bagley |volume=ancient |chapter=Shang Archaeology }}
** {{Cite Cambridge History of China|last=Keightley |first=David N. |volume=ancient |chapter=The Shang: China's First Historical Dynasty }}
** {{Cite Cambridge History of China|last=Bodde |first=Derk |volume=1 |chapter=The State and Empire of Ch'in }}
** {{Cite Cambridge History of China|last=Yu |first=Ying-shih |author-link=Yu Ying-shih |volume=1 |chapter=Han Foreign Relations }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Main list|Bibliography of Chinese history
}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=John W. |last=Dardess |title=Governing China, 150–1850 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpXzmOuqiegC&q=john+dardess |year=2010 |publisher=Hackett Publishing |isbn=978-1-60384-311-9}}
* [[John K. Fairbank|Fairbank, John King]] and Goldman, Merle. ''China: A New History.'' 2nd ed. (Harvard UP, 2006). 640 pp.
* Gernet, Jacques. ''A History of Chinese Civilization'' (1996). One-volume survey.
* Li, Xiaobing, ed. [https://archive.org/details/chinaatwaranencyclopedia ''China at War: An Encyclopedia'']. (ABC-CLIO, 2012).
* Mote, Frederick W. ''Imperial China, 900–1800'' (Harvard UP, 1999), 1,136 pp. Authoritative treatment of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and early Qing dynasties.
* Perkins, Dorothy. [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofch00perk_0 ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''] (Facts on File, 1999). 662 pp.
* Roberts, J. A. G. ''A Concise History of China'' (Harvard U. Press, 1999). 341 pp.
* Stanford, Edward. [https://archive.org/details/cu31924023258241/page/n4 ''Atlas of the Chinese Empire, containing separate maps of the eighteen provinces of China''] (2nd ed., 1917). Legible color maps.
* Wright, David Curtis. ''History of China'' (2001) 257 pp.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Library resources box |about=yes |by=no }}
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* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20121129203455/http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/history.htm China Knowledge]'', a [[Chinaknowledge|comprehensive online encyclopedia]] of China from Ulrich Theobald
* The ''[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780190622671.001.0001/acref-9780190622671 Berkshire Encyclopedia of China]'' on [[Oxford Reference]] {{subscription required}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4043 China Rediscovers its Own History], a lengthy lecture on Chinese history given by [[Yu Ying-shih]]

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