Imperial China

Gunpowder, papermaking, great walls, and terracotta armies; just about every aspect of Chinese history before the 20th century was the history of Imperial China. Predating the Roman Empire by a thousand years, the dynasties of Imperial China shaped the very outlook of our modern world, filling the years with an impressive and complex history of isolationism, expansion, commerce, stability, corruption, and tradition. Born from tales of myth, Imperial China tells an authentic history of the people of East Asia.

Imperial China Definition

But what does Imperial China mean? Imperial refers to empire, and medieval empires required two ingredients:

• A singular central authority rules a large area of land and/or disparate states.

• Continued growth and expansion to sustain the empire.

Yet that definition is still not entirely satisfactory in representing the colorful history of Imperial China. Continuing with our definition of Imperial China, we must add:

• Dynastical rule (established during Shang Dynasty) is described as familial succession in which a son inherits power from his Emperor's father.

• The Mandate of Heaven (created in the Zhou Dynasty) prescribed a divine right to rule and the consequences of weak emperorship.

• Incredible inventions include papermaking (created in Han Dynasty) and gunpowder (discovered in Tang Dynasty).

• Trends of northern invasion and political corruption, and instability led to rebellion.

• Brief periods of instability and war between dynastic reigns.

• A focus on Han Chinese ethnic culture.

• Underlying beliefs in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism within culture and politics.

• The all-encompassing Dynastic Cycle is a generic model depicting the rise and fall of the Imperial Chinese dynasties (depicted below).

Imperial China Timeline

Imperial China is at least 3,500 years old. The timeline below provides a brief progression of major dynasties and other periods in Imperial Chinese history:

• 2100--1600 BC: Xia Dynasty^*

• 1600--1046 BC: Shang Dynasty

• 1046--256 BC: Zhou Dynasty

• 770--475 BC: Spring and Autumn Period

• 475--221 BC: Warring States Period

• 221--206 BC: Qin Dynasty

• 206 BC--220 CE: Han Dynasty

• 220--265 CE: Three Kingdoms Period

• 581--618 CE: Sui Dynasty

• 618--907 CE: Tang Dynasty

• 907--960 CE: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period

• 960--1279 CE: Song Dynasty

• 1271--1368 CE: Yuan Dynasty

• 1368--1644 CE: Ming Dynasty

• 1644--1912 CE: Qing Dynasty

First Dynasty of Imperial China

If Chinese history is a cycle, it has to begin somewhere, right? Well, even historians debate when Imperial China was established. Early Chinese history and some historical evidence point to the existence of the ancient Xia Dynasty, but other historians argue that the Zhou Dynasty claimed themselves as the descendants of the mythical Xia Dynasty to solidify their rule when overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. Debatably, either the Xia or Shang were the first dynasties in China, introducing familial succession, relative political stability, and writing systems.

Imperial China Map

To represent the history of Imperial China in map form would require hundreds of maps. Focusing on the Medieval Era, we'll examine three maps: the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty.

The map below depicts the Song Dynasty and its neighbors during the early Northern Song Period. The Jin Dynasty would rise in the 12th century, taking the north and dividing China in two. Starting in the early 13th century, the Mongols under Genghis Khan began invading China and would conquer it entirely by 1279.

Fig. 2- Map depicting the Northern Song Dynasty.

The map below depicts the Yuan Dynasty, established by the Mongols under Kublai Khan. China was its largest under the Yuan Dynasty, which lasted until 1368, when an opposing rebel faction under Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty.

Fig. 3- Map depicting the Yuan Dynasty.

Lastly, the map below details the Ming Dynasty, the latest and last Medieval dynasty in Imperial China. From 1368 to 1644, the Ming Emperors ruled over China, either driving it towards prosperity and growth or continued strife.

Fig. 4- Map depicting the Ming Dynasty.

Imperialism in China

Imperial China was ruled by many different dynasties, each building upon similar historical traditions. Early Chinese history, from the Zhou Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, tells the tale of imperial expansionism within East Asia. During the Han Dynasty, Confucianism became the official state religion, and the Silk Road was established across Eurasia, globalizing the ancient world. The Qin Dynasty (221--206 BC) before it, though short-lived, was infamous for beginning the Great Wall, constructing the Terracotta Army, and the origins of true Chinese authoritarian emperorship.

Through conquest and commerce, Imperial China was expanding its boundaries. But the Han Dynasty fell, continuing the Dynastic Cycle of rising dynasties and periods of instability. From 220 CE to 581 CE, China was divided, waiting to be united again.

Medieval Imperial China

The Sui Dynasty (581--618 CE) was the first Medieval Imperial Chinese Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty succeeded it, notable for the discovery of gunpowder, the Battle of Talas against the Abbasid Caliphate, which introduced papermaking to the west, and the only woman emperor in Chinese history, Wu Zetian.

Fig. 5- The Great Wall of China.

The Song Dynasty (960--1279 CE) came to define Medieval China through its enforcement of Confucianism-based civil service examinations, the introduction of paper money, the booming population and economy, and rampant political corruption. Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism flourished as religions and philosophies shaping Imperial China's social and political structures.

The Yuan Dynasty (1279--1368 CE) saw a brief century of foreign Mongol rule in China. Conquering the north, the court of Kublai Khan willingly undertook sinicization to become accepted by the Chinese people. Under Kublai Khan's reign, China became it's most globalized to date, deeply connected with the west and surrounding regions of the east.

The Ming Dynasty (1368--1644 CE), the last Han Chinese dynasty, attempted to cast away its Mongol influences and reestablish traditional Chinese prosperity. Its founder, the Hongwu Emperor, called for the completion of the Great Wall and closed China's open borders from trade, isolating the country. His successor, the Yongle Emperor, oversaw one of Imperial China's most impressive acts of globalization through Ming admiral Zheng He's seven voyages.

Effects of Imperialism in China

For every imperialistic effort of Dynastical China, other rising forces were waiting to match its might. From the Mongols of the Yuan Dynasty to the Manchurians who established the Qing Dynasty in 1644 to the Europeans, imperialism was as much a force against China as it was for the country. The Qing Dynasty was China's last dynasty, ending the reign of the Han Chinese dynasties in East Asia. The Qing Dynasty's history culminated in the Opium Wars, 19th-century conflicts against intrusive European powers.

Fig. 6- Art depicting the Opium Wars in China.

Eventually, the weakened state of Imperial China could not last in the 20th century. The technological and colonial might of the European powers had outpaced the east while the Qing diminished, leading to its eventual collapse in 1912. China was reborn as a republic, only subjugated to further imperialistic pressures from foreign powers, such as the Japanese, in the World Wars.

Imperial China Collapses

Imperial China collapsed at the beginning of the 20th century after over 3,500 years of non-consecutive reign in East Asia. The Dynastic Cycle ended with the Xinhai Revolution, establishing the Republic of China and later the People's Republic of China in 1949. Between the rise and fall of dynasties within Imperial China is a tale of ancestral tradition wracked by political instability and beautiful cultural advancements in poetry, art, and calligraphy juxtaposing vicious wars and rebellions.