Early imperial China Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) of
Qin Shi Huang, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site Ying Zheng's establishment of the Qin dynasty () 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" () later evolving into the Western term "". To emphasise his sole rule, Zheng proclaimed himself (; "First Emperor"); the title, derived from
Chinese mythology, became the standard for subsequent rulers. Based in
Xianyang, the empire was a centralized bureaucratic monarchy, a governing scheme which dominated the future of Imperial China. In an effort to improve the Zhou's perceived failures, this system consisted of more than 36
commanderies (; ), made up of
counties (; ) and progressively smaller divisions, each with a local leader. Many aspects of society were informed by
Legalism, a state ideology promoted by the emperor and his
chancellor Li Si that was introduced at an earlier time by
Shang Yang. 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. Reforms occurred in weights and measures, writing styles (
seal script) and metal currency (
Ban Liang), all of which were standardized. Traditionally, Qin Shi Huang is regarded as ordering a
mass burning of books and the live burial of scholars under the guise of Legalism, though contemporary scholars express considerable doubt on the
historicity of this event. Despite its importance, Legalism was probably supplemented in non-political matters by
Confucianism for social and moral beliefs and the five-element
Wuxing () theories for
cosmological thought. The Qin administration kept exhaustive records on their population, collecting information on their sex, age, social status and residence. Commoners, who made up over 90% of the population, "suffered harsh treatment" according to the historian
Patricia Buckley Ebrey, as they were often conscripted into forced labor for the empire's construction projects. This included a massive system of imperial highways in 220 BC, which ranged around altogether. Other major construction projects were assigned to the general
Meng Tian, who concurrently
led a successful campaign against the northern
Xiongnu peoples (210s BC), reportedly with 300,000 troops. 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 straight highway between northern and southern China. The emperor also oversaw the construction of his
monumental mausoleum, which includes the well known
Terracotta Army. 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.
Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) Western Han The Han dynasty was founded by
Liu Bang, who emerged victorious in the
Chu–Han Contention that followed the fall of the Qin dynasty. A
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
dominant ethnic group in modern China, and had been commonly used to refer to Chinese language and
written characters. After the
initial laissez-faire policies of Emperors
Wen and
Jing, the ambitious
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. As a further step, he extended patronage to Confucianism, which emphasizes stability and order in a well-structured society.
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
with government monopolies.
Major military campaigns were launched to weaken the nomadic
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
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
series of military campaigns against the
Baiyue tribes. The Han annexed
Minyue in 135 BC and 111 BC,
Nanyue in 111 BC, and
Dian in 109 BC. Migration and military expeditions led to the cultural assimilation of the south. It also brought the Han into contact with kingdoms in Southeast Asia, introducing diplomacy and trade. 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 clans exerted increasing control over strings of incompetent emperors and eventually the dynasty was briefly interrupted by the usurpation of
Wang Mang.
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 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
Ming and
Zhang, former glories of the dynasty were reclaimed, with brilliant military and cultural achievements. The
Xiongnu Empire was
decisively defeated. The diplomat and general
Ban Chao further expanded the conquests across the
Pamirs to the shores of the
Caspian Sea, thus reopening the
Silk Road, and bringing trade, foreign cultures, along with the
arrival of Buddhism. With extensive connections with the west, the first of several
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
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) By the 2nd century, the empire declined amidst land acquisitions, invasions, and feuding between
consort clans and
eunuchs. The
Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in AD 184, ushering in an era of
warlords. 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
Wei dynasty. Soon, Wei's rivals
Shu and
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 overthrew the Wei and later unified the country in 280, but this union was short-lived.
Jin dynasty (AD 266–420) The
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
non-Han Chinese settlers rebelled and captured
Luoyang and
Chang'an. In 317, the Jin prince
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) Northern China fragmented into a series of independent states known as the
Sixteen Kingdoms, most of which were founded by
Xiongnu,
Xianbei,
Jie,
Di and
Qiang rulers. These non-Han peoples were ancestors of the
Turks,
Mongols, and
Tibetans. Many had, to some extent, been "
sinicized" long before their ascent to power. In fact, some of them, notably the
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) 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,
Southern Qi,
Liang and finally
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 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
Taoists had become much more tolerant of each other.
Mid-imperial China Sui dynasty (581–618) The short-lived Sui dynasty was a pivotal period in Chinese history. Founded by
Emperor Wen in 581 in succession of the
Northern Zhou, the Sui went on to conquer the
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 examinations 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.
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 was constructed, linking the capitals
Daxing (Chang'an) and
Luoyang to the wealthy
southeast region, and in another route, to the northeast border. The
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
the fall of the dynasty.
Tang dynasty (618–907) The Tang dynasty was a
golden age of Chinese civilization, a prosperous, stable, and creative period with significant developments in culture, art, literature, particularly
poetry, and technology.
Buddhism became the predominant religion for the common people.
Chang'an (modern
Xi'an), the national capital, was the
largest city in the world during its time. The first emperor,
Emperor Gaozu, came to the throne on 18 June 618, placed there by his son, Li Shimin, who became the second emperor,
Taizong, one of the greatest
emperors in Chinese history. Combined military conquests and diplomatic maneuvers reduced threats from Central Asian tribes, extended the border, and brought neighboring states into
a tributary system. Military victories in the
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
cosmopolitan culture. The Tang culture and social systems were observed and adapted by neighboring countries, most notably
Japan. Internally the
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
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 officials selected by
imperial examinations, 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. 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 armies had replaced conscription, and land was continuously falling into the hands of private owners and religious institutions granted exemptions. 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, who oversaw an empire that stretched from the
Pacific to the
Aral Sea with at least people. There were vibrant artistic and cultural creations, including works of the greatest Chinese
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
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 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
factional strife and corrupted
eunuchs 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
massacre of most of its inhabitants, especially the large foreign merchant enclaves. By 881, both capitals,
Luoyang and
Chang'an, fell successively. The reliance on ethnic
Han and
Turkic warlords in suppressing the rebellion increased their power and influence. Consequently, the fall of the dynasty following
Zhu Wen's usurpation led to an
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. The Uyghurs also fought against an alliance of Shatuo and Tibetans at Beshbalik. 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. 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.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960) 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)
Liang,
Tang,
Jin,
Han and
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
sinicized 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) were ceded to the emerging
Khitan Liao dynasty, which drastically weakened the defense of
China proper against northern nomadic empires. To the south, Vietnam
gained lasting independence after
being a Chinese prefecture for
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
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) In 960, the Song dynasty was founded by
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
sinicized nomadic empires. The
Khitan Liao dynasty, which lasted from 907 to 1125, ruled over
Manchuria,
Mongolia, and parts of
Northern China. Meanwhile, in what are now the north-western Chinese provinces of
Gansu,
Shaanxi, and
Ningxia, the
Tangut tribes founded the
Western Xia dynasty from 1032 to 1227. Aiming to recover the strategic
sixteen prefectures lost in the
previous dynasty,
campaigns were launched against the
Liao dynasty in the
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
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. Within the Liao Empire the
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'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
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
Jin dynasty in 1234, and finally the
Southern Song dynasty in 1279. Despite its military weakness, the Song dynasty is widely considered to be the high point of classical Chinese civilization. The
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 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
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 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
compasses 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
shipments. With prosperous economic activities, the historically first use of
paper currency emerged in the western city of
Chengdu, as a cheaper supplement to the existing copper
coins. 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
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. The Song dynasty was also a period of major innovation in the
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
firearms and
siege engines 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 warships equipped with
trebuchets could launch
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
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) The
Yuan dynasty was formally proclaimed in 1271, when the
Great Khan of Mongol,
Kublai Khan, one of the grandsons of
Genghis Khan, assumed the additional title of
Emperor of China, and considered
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
Mongol Yuan dynasty became the first
conquest dynasty in Chinese history to rule the entirety of
China proper and
its population as an
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
invasions of Japan and
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 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
capital of the successive regimes of the unified Chinese mainland. A series of
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
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
Venetian,
Marco Polo, would settle in China for decades. Upon his return, his detail
travel record inspired generations of
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. While the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty adopted substantially to Chinese culture, their
sinicization was of lesser extent compared to earlier
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
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 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
poetry style known as
qu. Novels of vernacular style gained unprecedented status and popularity. Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reported approximately inhabitants; after the conquest had been completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly people. 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
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 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. 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
massive naval engagement at Lake Poyang,
Zhu Yuanzhang prevailed over other rebel forces in the south. He proclaimed himself
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
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) 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
voyages of Zheng He. The Hongwu Emperor, being the only founder of a
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 and
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
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 tons. A standing army of 1 million troops was created. The Chinese armies
conquered and
occupied Vietnam for around 20 years, while the
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 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
Oirat Mongol invasion of northern China which culminated in the capture of the
Zhengtong Emperor at
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. 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
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
repulsed by the Ming navy at
Tuen Mun in 1521 and again
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
much military suppression. In addition to raids from Japan by the
wokou, raids from Taiwan and the
Philippines by the Pisheye also ravaged the southern coasts. 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
Spanish at Manila imported large quantities of
Mexican and Peruvian silver from the
Spanish Americas to China. The Dutch entry into the Chinese seas was also met with fierce resistance, with the Dutch being chased off the
Penghu islands in the
Sino-Dutch conflicts of 1622–1624 and were forced to settle in Taiwan instead.
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
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 dynasty, its traditional ally and
tributary state. The
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 (
Jurchen) tribes, under their chieftain
Nurhaci, broke away from Ming's rule, and emerged as a powerful, unified state, which was
later proclaimed as the
Qing dynasty. It went on to subdue the much weakened
Korea as its tributary, conquered
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
peasants uprisings.
Qing dynasty (1644–1912) The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) was the last imperial dynasty in China. Founded by the
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
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
Ming remnants in the south. During the
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 disasters at that time such as those caused by the
Little Ice Age and
epidemics like the
Great Plague during the last decade of the Ming dynasty, caused enormous loss of lives and
significant harm to the economy. In total, these decades saw the loss of as many as lives, but the Qing appeared to have restored China's imperial power and inaugurate another flowering of the arts. 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. A string of civil disturbances followed, including the
Punti–Hakka Clan Wars,
Nian Rebellion,
Dungan Revolt, and
Panthay Rebellion. 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. 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 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
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
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
fierce fighting at Tianjin, the Alliance formed the second, much larger
Gaselee Expedition and
finally reached Beijing; the Empress Dowager evacuated to
Xi'an. The
Boxer Protocol ended the war, exacting a tremendous
indemnity. The Qing court then instituted administrative and legal reforms known as the
late Qing reforms, including abolition of the
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==