Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - China's Imperial Dynasties

Starting point is 00:00:00 China has a long and rich history. For over 4,000 years China, or at least parts of what we would recognize as China, was ruled by a series of dynasties. These dynasties shaped the history of China and represented distinct eras in Chinese history, characterized by their unique political, cultural, and social systems. The transition from one dynasty to another often resulted in wars and chaos. Learn more about the dynasties of China on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now.

Starting point is 00:00:58 Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. What I'm hoping to cover in this episode is a very broad overview of Chinese history, as seen through the very as dynasties that ruled China. The subject of Chinese history could easily take up an entire lifetime of study. Within each dynasty, there were multiple rulers, each of whom was different and had separate personalities. A dynasty was nothing more than a hereditary monarchy where rule was passed down, usually from father to son, but sometimes to some other relative. Dynasties sort of serve as chapters for Chinese history. They're convenient ways of dividing historical periods from each other. A few things to note before I begin.

Starting point is 00:01:44 The historic borders of China are not the same as the modern borders of the People's Republic of China. There is a lot of similarity, but during certain periods it was larger and smaller than it is today. The dates of various dynesies do not match up perfectly. Sometimes there's an overlap as one dynasty was growing in power at the expense of another, and sometimes there's a gap between dynasties when China was splintered into smaller states. Within dynasties there were sometimes multiple rulers, with one claimant from the same family ruling in one region, while another relative ruled someplace else. In some of the very early dynasties, the ruler may have only controlled a relatively small area compared to contemporary China. So with those caveats, let's get started by going way back into Chinese history to the Shah dynasty.

Starting point is 00:02:33 If you look at the list of Chinese dynasties, you will sometimes see the Shah listed, and you will sometimes see the Shah listed, and sometimes not. The reason is that historians aren't even sure if it really existed. If it existed, it would have existed approximately from 270 BC to 1600 BC. There are no contemporary records from the Shah dynasty, and most of what we know comes from legends and mythology. Supposedly, the first emperor was You the Great, who's remembered for his efforts to control flooding.

Starting point is 00:03:03 The next dynasty, which existed from 1600 BC to 1046 BC, was the Shang Dynasty. The Shang Dynasty existed at roughly the same time as the Assyrian Empire existed in Mesopotamia. We have plenty of evidence of the Shang Dynasty in the archaeological record. It was during the Shang period that Chinese writing was developed. Geographically, the Shang Dynasty was centered around the Yellow River Valley.

Starting point is 00:03:27 The Shang Dynasty had developed a very rigid social hierarchy with the king at the top, followed by aristocrats, peasants, and then slaves. They also developed a complex religious system based on ancestor worship. It's also sometimes known as the Yin Dynasty, but it appears that they referred to their own state as Shang. The next dynasty was the Zhao Dynasty, which reigned from 1046 to 256 BC. The almost 800-year reign of the Zhao dynasty makes it the longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history. The Zhao was contemporary with much of ancient Greece, Persia, Babylon, and the early years of the Roman Republic. The Zhao largely spoke the same language and adopted the same cultural

Starting point is 00:04:06 practices as the Shang. The Zhao dynasty is known as the period when Confucianism and Taoism were developed. The concept of the Mandate of Heaven, which was used to justify the rule of Chinese leaders, was developed during this period. It was originally created to justify taking control from the Shang Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty consisted of a Western period and an Eastern period. The Western period went from 1046 to 771 BC, and the Eastern period went from 771 to 256 BC. The court's the end of the dynasty had began to fragment and ushered in a period known as the warring states period with seven warring kingdoms. There is one word that I have not used so far to describe any of these early dynasties, and that word is empire. That's because these early dynasties were more kingdoms than empires.

Starting point is 00:04:55 The first Chinese empire and the first Chinese emperor arose from the warring states period. The leader of the Chin kingdom was Chin Shi Huang, the fact that the first Chinese emperor, and the first Chinese emperor, arose. of the Chin dynasty. Chin systematically conquered all of the warring states and unified them under his rule. Chin is from where the word China is derived. The terracotta warriors in Xi'an were built by Chin. Shin began construction of the Great Wall of China and also removed all the walls between the various states. He also adopted a new title. Previously, kings of regions used the title, Wang, which would be similar to the English word king. He adopted the title of Huang Di. which we would translate as emperor.

Starting point is 00:05:39 The story of Chin Shi Huang, I will leave for another episode to explore it more fully because he is a fascinating character with a fascinating story. The Chin dynasty didn't last very long. For all practical purposes, it was defined by a single ruler, albeit a very important ruler. After Chin died, the empire fragmented and eventually two claimants vied for power. The one who came up in top was Liu Bang from the kingdom of Han. He took the title of Huang Di and established the Han Dynasty, which lasted from 206 BC to the year 220. The Han Dynasty was concurrent with the last years of the Roman Republic and the best years of the Roman Empire.

Starting point is 00:06:18 The Han Dynasty is considered to be a golden age in Chinese history. Confucianism became the state religion of China during this period. Between the years 9 and 23, there was an interregnum when the Sheen dynasty ruled, but things reverted back to Han control and the period is often not counted on the list of of Chinese dynasties. The Han Dynasty saw the rise of the Silk Road trade and the expansion of their territorial claims into Central Asia. When the Han dynasty fell, China saw itself drift into a period of disunity in warring states. In particular, there was a 60-year period known as the Three Kingdoms period, the kingdoms of Wei, Shue, and Wu all vied for control.

Starting point is 00:06:58 This is actually one of the most celebrated periods in Chinese history, largely due to the classical book, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There have been many TV shows and movies set during this period, including one of my favorite Chinese films, the 2008 film by John Wu, The Red Cliffs, which tells the story of the Battle of the Red Cliffs, which took place in the last days of the Han Dynasty, just prior to the start of the Three Kingdoms period. Sima Yan, the leader of the Jin, overthrew the Kingdom of Wei, and then proceeded to defeat the Shu and Wu kingdoms to create the Jin Dynasty from 265 to 420. This is one of the lesser-known dynasties because their unification of China was to be short-lived.

Starting point is 00:07:38 The Jin Empire itself became divided, which resulted in a period where China was divided between north and south from 420 to 589. China was eventually reunified under the Sway dynasty. The Sway dynasty was another short-lived dynasty that only ruled from 581 to 618. In addition to unifying northern and southern China, the Grand Canal was also built during this period. When the Sway dynasty fell, Li, Yuan, the Duke of Tang, assumed power and established the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty is largely considered to be the peak of ancient Chinese civilization.

Starting point is 00:08:12 There was a brief 15-year interregnum when China's only female emperor, Wu Zetian, rose to power and attempted to establish her own dynasty, a story that I've covered in a previous episode. During the Tang Dynasty, foreign trade flourished, and China saw many advances in art, poetry, and technology. It was arguably the peak of Chinese poetry and literature, and it was during this period that Buddhism was introduced to China. The Tang Dynasty lasted for almost 300 years, and when it fell, in part due to attacks from outside of China, it was once again replaced with a period of disunity known as the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms period.

Starting point is 00:08:49 The Five Dynasties were located in the north of China, and the Ten kingdoms were in the south. In the Far North, where much of Mongolia is today, the Liao Dynasty was established, from 916 to 1125. It was established by nomadic tribesmen who adopted Chinese customs and culture, and is usually not on the list of Chinese dynasties. The Song Dynasty was eventually able to unify most of China, save for the far north and the kingdom of Shi Shah in the far west. The song reigned from 960 to 1279.

Starting point is 00:09:20 Their period of rule corresponded with continued technical development, including many of the great inventions of China, paper, gunpowder, and the printing press. All of the dynasties I've mentioned so far, for the most part, consisted of rulers who were ethnically Han Chinese. The fall of the Song dynasty was due to the rise of an unstoppable force from the north, the Mongol Empire. The Mongols conquered all of China and established the Yuan Dynasty, an empire whose rulers were ethnically Mongol, not Chinese. This was the dynasty that ruled when Marco Polo visited China. Kubla Khan, the grandson of Gingas Khan, established the dynasty in 12th. 1771. The Mongols ruled China for a little under a century until 1368, as with the rest of the Mongol Empire, it eventually fell apart due to infighting.

Starting point is 00:10:07 After 100 years of Mongol rule, China was once again unified under Han Chinese rule. The new emperor was Tai Zhu of Ming, also known as the Hong Wu Emperor, who established the Ming dynasty. The Ming ruled for over 300 years, and it was during the Ming that much of the Great Wall of China that exists today was actually built. Admiral Zheng He sailed to India, Persia, Arabia, and the east coast of Africa on his treasure ships, something that I covered in a previous episode. It was also the period that saw China turn inward and stop engaging with the outside world, a decision that would have enormous ramifications in the coming centuries. The Ming dynasty lasted until the 17th century.

Starting point is 00:10:49 For decades, there had been a conflict between the Ming and an upstart dynasty from Manchuria, known as the Qing. There are multiple dates given for the end of the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Qing, but 1644 is usually given as the date when the Ming dynasty ended and the Qing dynasty began. However, there was fighting for another 40 years after that. The Qing dynasty was the last dynasty in Chinese history. They expanded the territory of China into Tibet, but they also had to deal with the problem of European traders who began showing up. The Europeans had little to trade that the Qing wanted,

Starting point is 00:11:23 but the Chinese had a great deal that the Europeans wanted. In the 19th century, there was a series of lopsided deals that allowed Europeans to set up trading colonies on the periphery of China, as well as increased their influence over the country. A series of weak emperors and greater demand for Western-style democracy eventually resulted in the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. The last Chinese emperor and the last ruler of the Qing dynasty was the Shantong Emperor, also known as Pui, who was dethroned at the age of six. He was briefly returned to power for two weeks in 1917, and the Japanese established him as a puppet ruler for the state of Manchu Coe, which they controlled. He died in 1967 at the age of 61.

Starting point is 00:12:06 The Qing Dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China, which existed from 1912 to 1949, and it was then replaced by a communist revolution that established the People's Republic of China, which of course still exists today. What I've covered in this episode is Chinese history when you zoom all the world. way out to maximum range. Within each of these dynasties are stories and battles and rulers and court intrigue that I couldn't cover in this episode, but I hope to do in the future. However, I wanted to give everyone an overview of the basic divisions of Chinese history as a reference point, so I'll be able to refer to them in future episodes. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Peter Bennett and Cameron Kiefer. Today's review comes from listener Uzair from Pakistan who sent me an email. They write, Hi, Gary. I don't know if this is the

Starting point is 00:12:59 right channel for the podcast review since I don't have an Apple account and or an iPhone. I'm Uzair from Pakistan, and I've been listening to you for about four months, and guess what? I was recommended your show by Curiosity Daily, which you are promoting these days. I've been listening to Curiosity Daily for more than three years, from the time of Cody Gao and Ashley Hammer as its hosts. Nate and Callie are doing a good job handling the podcast. About your podcast, I absolutely enjoy it. I can still recall your episode about earthquakes in Alaska since I listened to you on my way to my office while driving my bike. Still,

Starting point is 00:13:29 that episode sticks in my mind. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Uzair. Always glad to hear from listeners in Pakistan. Keep a lookout for future episodes that will deal with the history of your region and of Pakistan itself. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostagram, you two

Starting point is 00:13:45 can have it read on the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - China's Imperial Dynasties

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.