China: A History

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A series of at least twenty-nine kings reigned over the Shang dynasty. [28] Throughout their reigns, according to the Shiji, the capital city was moved six times. [29] The final and most important move was to Yin during the reign of Pan Geng, around 1300 BC. [29] 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. [28] Fairbank, J.K.; Goldman, M. (2006). China: A New History (2nded.). Harvard University Press. p.320. ISBN 978-0674018280. EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF: Best of China with Yangtze Cruise 4. Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang Image credit: Penguin Random House

Political and intellectual ferment waxed strong throughout the 1920s and 1930s. According to Patricia Ebrey: Akbar, Arifa (17 September 2010). "Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years' ". The Independent. London . Retrieved 30 October 2010. 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, 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. [32] Several of these states eventually became more powerful than the Zhou kings. 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. Beijing college students rallied during the May Fourth Movement, dissatisfied with Article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles for China ( Shandong Problem).Xu, Pingfang (2005). The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective. Yale University Press. p.281. ISBN 978-0-300-09382-7.

Gernet, Jacques (1996). A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-0-521-49781-7. Xinye, a village noted for its well-preserved Ming and Qing era architecture and ancient residential buildings. This ground-breaking book gives a voice to the silent generation, sharing the untold stories from the 20th century history of China. Renowned author Xinran travels across the country, speaking to grandparents and great-grandparents. These are the people who experienced the astounding changes of China in two key periods; after 1912 when five thousands years of feudal rule ended, and after 1949 when Mao Zedong rose to power. The book’s subjects bravely share their experiences, struggles and dreams, many for the first time. Many also still fear repercussions for speaking out.Foot, Rosemary (2019). "Remembering the past to secure the present: Versailles legacies in a resurgent China". International Affairs. 95 (1): 143–160. doi: 10.1093/ia/iiy211. Until the early 1970s the ROC was recognized as the sole legitimate government of China by the United Nations, the United States and most Western nations, refusing to recognize the PRC on account of the Cold War. This changed in 1971 when the 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. There are also chapters, such as one by Zhang Jishun, that focus on very different kinds of people. Her contribution is a profile of an actress, Shangguan Yunzhu, who was a film star in the late 1940s in Shanghai, where Zhang is based, who later had to be re-educated to become a literary worker in the new China. It talks about the ups and downs of the star’s career and the ways in which she ran afoul of the new government. In the process, it introduces you to the world of film before 1949, and of political struggles after 1949. The Neolithic period saw increasingly complex polities begin to emerge along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The Erlitou culture in the central plains of China is sometimes identified with the Xia dynasty (3rd millennium BCE) of traditional Chinese historiography. The earliest surviving written Chinese dates to roughly 1250 BCE, consisting of divinations inscribed on oracle bones. 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 poetry, divination, and 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 remembered by the earliest extant literature is that of the Zhou dynasty ( c. 1046–256 BCE), China's Axial age, during which the Mandate of Heaven was introduced, and foundations laid for philosophies such as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Wuxing. Roberts, John Morris (1997). A Short History of the World. Oxford University Press. p.272. ISBN 0-19-511504-X. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022.