Chinese Middle Ages. China (Middle Ages). Interesting facts about Ancient China
Cheboksary College
food and commerce technologies
ABSTRACT
by discipline " The World History»
on the topic: China in the Middle Ages
student group PK-5-17
Guryanova Alexandra
Supervisor:
A.G. Botnikova
Cheboksary
C possession:
Introduction
Tang Dynasty
Song Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
Conclusion
Introduction
China in the Middle Ageswas a huge country, comparable in territory, population, and cultural achievements to all of Europe. Nomads constantly attacked the country from the north, but China each time revived its former power.
In the history of medieval China, there are several periods, named after the dynasties of emperors that ruled at that time.
Tang Dynasty
Tang era (Li Dynasty 李 ) ( 18 June 618 - 4 June 907 , whale. 唐朝 , Tanchao ) - Chinese imperial dynasty , based Li Yuan . His son, the emperor Li Shimin , after the final suppression of the peasant uprisings and separatist feudal forces began to pursue progressive policies. It is the Tang era that is traditionally considered in China to be the period of the country’s greatest power, when it was ahead of other contemporary countries in the world in its development.
The Li dynasty was founded by Li Yuan, a large landowner originally from the northern borderlands of China, inhabited by the Tabgach people - sinicized descendants of the Toba steppe inhabitants, at one time described by the orientalist L. Gumilyov as an ethnic group “equally close to China and the Great Steppe.” Li Yuan, together with his son Li Shi-min, prevailed in the civil war, the reason for which was the harsh and reckless policy of the last Sui emperor Yang-di (“Fair War”), and soon after his death in 618 he ascended the throne in Chang’an under the dynastic name Gaotzu. He was subsequently removed from power by Li Shimin, but the dynasty he founded survived and was in power until 907 with a short break in 690-705 (the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, distinguished during the special era of Zhou).
From the very beginning, the Li dynasty relied on combining the original Chinese and steppe principles. The founder of the dynasty himself, whom L. Gumilev compares in this regard with Alexander the Great, was a man well acquainted with the peoples of the Great Steppe, their morals and customs; so were many people from his circle. The first part of Tang reign saw a period of intense cultural exchange between the two regions; The steppe gave Tang China an advanced army in the form of heavy armored cavalry, in turn, the descendants of the nomads were captivated by its wealth and ancient, sophisticated culture. For the nomads, the Tang emperor simultaneously acted as the khan/khagan of the Tabgach people, their equal; It is precisely this perception, in particular, that is enshrined in the epitaph of the Turkic Khan Kul-Tegin, who refers to himself and his people as “kul” (vassals, slaves) of the Tabgach Kagan and the Tabgach people, and not Chinese subjects.
The imperial idea of unifying China and the Steppe under the rule of the Tang emperor determined the domestic and foreign policy of the state for centuries. At the same time, over time, the Tang (Tabgach) court began to be perceived by the ethnic Chinese (Han), who constituted the numerical majority in the Empire, as something alien, and its policy towards the “barbarians,” in particular, patronage of Buddhism, as unacceptable. According to L. Gumilyov, it was the consistent implementation of this idea of “combining the incongruous” that led the Tang to its rapid rise and prosperity, and to an equally rapid and bloody fall.
Song Dynasty
Song Empire (Chinese ex.宋朝 , pinyin: Sòng Cháo, pal.: Song Chao) - a state in China that existed from 960 to 1279. The ruling dynasty was Zhao (趙 ), after the family name of the sovereigns.
Base empire put an end to the fragmentation of China that had continued since the fall of the Tang Dynasty (唐朝 ) in 907. The emergence of the empire was preceded by the Age of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (五代十国 ). The turning point in the history of the dynasty is the year 1127, when the troops of the Jurchen state of Jin captured the capital of the empire, Bianliang. The imperial house was taken captive to Manchuria, but one of the sons of the abdicated monarch managed to escape south to Jiangnan. He moved the capital to Lin'an, and his commander Yue Fei stopped the further advance of the Jurchens to the south. Thus, Song history is divided into the Northern and Southern periods, respectively, before and after the transfer of the capital.
Southern Song's struggle against the Jin state
After the peace treaty of 1141, the Jin Empire did not give up hope of conquering all of China, and the Song at times dreamed of revenge. In 1161, the Jin ruler Hailing Wang gathered an army of 300,000 and invaded Song, but the Chinese burned the Jin fleet with flamethrowers. The Jurchen ground forces were also defeated. In 1208 the war resumed, the Sun lost several battles and were forced to make peace. In 1217, the Jin invaded the Song, captured many cities, but failed to capture the De'an fortress, defended by the talented military leader Chen Gui. In response, the Chinese captured southern Shandong. In 1234, the Song contingent took part in the siege of Kaifeng. The Jin Empire fell, but as a result, the Song Empire found itself alone with the warlike and merciless Mongols.
Mongol invasion
Mongol conquest of the Southern Song Empire
The first conflicts with the Mongols took place in the 1230s. But decisive action began in 1258 - Khan Mongke launched a large-scale offensive. The Chinese army was defeated, but many cities offered fierce resistance. In 1259, Mongke died and the Mongols retreated. However, Mongke's successor Kublai made the conquest of the Song his main goal. He set out on a campaign in 1267, but his army was shackled by the heroic defense of the cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng, which lasted for five years. In 1275, the Song army was destroyed at Dingjiazhou, and Lin'an fell the following year. In 1279, the remnants of the Song fleet were destroyed in Yaishan, and by 1280 all of China was captured by the Yuan dynasty.
Yuan Dynasty
Empire (in the Chinese tradition - dynasty) Yuan (Ikh Yuan mong. Ikh Yuan Uls, Great Yuan State, Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus. Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus; Chinese ex.元朝 , pinyin: Yuáncháo; Vietnamese Nhà Nguyên (Nguyên triều), House (Dynasty) of Nguyen) was a Mongol state whose main territory was China (1271-1368). Founded by the grandson of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Khan Kublai Khan, who completed the conquest of China in 1279. The dynasty fell as a result of the Red Turban Revolt of 1351-1368. The official Chinese history of this dynasty was recorded during the subsequent Ming Dynasty and is called "Yuan Shi".
Later Yuan
Last years The Yuan dynasty was marked by riots and famine among the population. Over time, the heirs of Kublai Khan lost all their influence on other lands of the former Mongol Empire, and the Mongols outside the Middle Kingdom saw them as Chinese. Gradually they lost influence in China. The reigns of the Yuan emperors during this period were short, filled with intrigue and rivalry. Uninterested in government, they were separated from both the army and the common people. China was torn by strife and unrest; criminals ravaged the country without encountering resistance from the weakened Yuan armies.
Despite the merits of his reign, Shidebala ruled for only two years (1321-1323); his reign ended as a result of a coup d'etat by five princes. They placed Yesun Temur on the throne, and after an unsuccessful attempt to calm the princes, he was also killed. Until the reign of Yesun Temür, China was relatively free from major rebellions following the reign of Kublai Kublai. At the beginning of the 14th century, the number of uprisings grew. The emergence of these uprisings and their subsequent suppression were aggravated by the government's financial difficulties. The government was forced to take some measures to increase revenues, such as selling positions, increasing taxes, and cutting spending on some items.
When Yesun Temur died in Shandu in 1328, Tugh Temur was recalled to Dadu by the commander El-Temur. He was installed as emperor at Dadu, while Yesun Temur's son Rajapika assumed the throne at Shandu with the support of Daulet Shah, a favorite of the late emperor. With the support of princes and officials in Northern China and some other members of the dynasty, Tugh Temür eventually defeated the Rajapika civil war (1329). Then Tug-Temur abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Khoshila, supported by the Chagataid Eljigidey, and announced Dadu's intention to welcome him. However, Khoshila suddenly died 4 days after the banquet with Tugh Temur. Presumably, he was poisoned by El-Temur, and Tug-Temur was returned to the throne. Tug-Temur sent his representatives to the western Mongol khanates - the Golden Horde and the Hulaguid state, so that he would be recognized as the supreme ruler of the Mongol world. However, by and large, in the last three years of his reign, Tugh-Temur was only a puppet of the powerful El-Temur. The latter carried out a purge, eliminating those who supported Xoshila, and transferred power to military leaders whose despotic rule clearly marked the decline of the dynasty.
While the bureaucracy was controlled by El-Temur, Tugh-Temur is known for his cultural contributions. He took a number of measures to promote Confucianism and promote Chinese cultural values. He patronized the Chinese language and founded the Academy of Literature (Chinese:奎章阁 学士院 ). The Academy was responsible for collecting and publishing a number of books, but its most important achievement was the compilation of a huge institutional collection called Jingshi Dadian (Chinese: Jingshi Dadian).经 世大典 ). He supported Zhu Xi's neo-Confucianism and converted to Buddhism.
After the death of Tugh Temur in 1332 and the subsequent death of Irinjibal at the end of the same year, the 13-year-old Tughon Temur, the last of Kublai's nine heirs, was recalled from Guangxi and assumed the throne. Bayan eliminated opposition to the young emperor, then closed the Hanlin Academy and canceled exams for the position, and in 1340 he was executed as a result of intrigue. Then he showed himself as an active politician: he resumed examinations, lowered taxes and continued the construction of the Grand Canal. When he was also executed in 1355 as a result of court intrigue, the central government lost control of the country. A number of Mongol commanders in the north pursued an independent policy (including Bolod Temur, Tsagan Temur and Khukh Temur).
In the second half of Togon-Temur's reign, the country suffered a series of floods, mass famine, epidemics, and in the area of public policy, dissatisfaction with inflation and forced labor (including on the construction of a canal). This contributed to the rise of the national liberation movement based on eschatological sentiments. In 1351 it resulted in the so-called. Rise of the Red Turbans. In 1356, one of the rebel leaders, Zhu Yuanzhang (the future Hongwu Emperor), occupied Nanjing and created a state apparatus, extending his power to southern China and eliminating competitors. After this, civil strife among the Mongol rulers in northern China in the 1360s attracted the attention of Zhu Yuanzhang, and in 1368, Beijing fell under the blows of his troops, and Toghon Temur with his wife and court fled to the northern capital of the dynasty, Shangdu. That same year, Zhu Yuanzhang moved his capital from Nanjing to Beijing and proclaimed himself Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The next year he took Shandu, and Togan Temur fled to Inchan (Chinese).应 昌 ), where he died in 1370. His son Ayushiridara ascended the throne and proclaimed the Northern Yuan era.
Basalavarmi, the Prince of Liang, created a separate pocket of resistance against the Ming forces in the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, but his forces were finally defeated by the Ming in 1381.
Conclusion
The end of the Middle Ages came in the 15th century. At this time, important events took place: the Byzantine Empire, which had existed for almost a thousand years, fell under the blows of the Ottoman Turks, the formation of unified states in England and France was completed, the Reconquista ended, the Renaissance began in Italy, Spanish and Portuguese sailors set off in search of new, unknown lands . These travelers had no idea that outside Europe there were strong states with a high culture, which were also part of the medieval world - China, India, Japan, the states of pre-Columbian America. The Middle Ages were becoming a thing of the past. The world was entering the era of modern times.
The Middle Ages were a difficult time. It was a time of terrible wars, terrible epidemics, blazing fires of the Inquisition. But at the same time, it is to the Middle Ages that we owe the appearance of parliament and jury trials, schools and universities, paper and mechanical watches. It was at that time that outstanding literary works were created - “The Elder Edda”, “The Song of Cid”, “The Song of Roland”, “The Divine Comedy”, Chinese and Japanese poetry. We never cease to be amazed by the Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, American pyramid temples, Chinese pagodas, and Muslim mosques built in the Middle Ages, striking with their beauty, grandeur and grace.
The Middle Ages passed, but did not disappear without a trace. It left a deep mark on human culture and created the foundation on which the modern world stands.
Chapter XI. The peoples of Asia, America and Africa in the Middle Ages.
1. Tang Empire. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Tang dynasty established itself in China, ruling the country for about 300 years. The unified state was headed by an emperor with unlimited power: he was considered the “Son of Heaven.” He had a large army and many officials at his disposal.
The Tang Empire sought to subjugate its neighbors. Korea and Vietnam temporarily became dependent on China, and the Chinese army captured the Great Silk Road all the way to Central Asia. After defeat by the Arabs in the mid-8th century, China lost complete control over it. But trade along this route with Iran, Central Asia and Byzantium continued.
China also conducted maritime trade with countries located along the shores of the Indian Ocean. Arabs and Persians created their permanent settlements in the coastal cities of China. To facilitate transportation within the country, the Grand Canal, 1,700 km long, was built. It connected the mighty Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, connected them with the southeastern sea coast, and later it was extended far to the north. The canal was also used to irrigate fields.
At first, land in China was considered the property of the emperor. Peasants received small plots from the state. They paid taxes to the treasury and worked on the construction of palaces, fortresses and temples. Later, military leaders and officials began to appropriate the lands with the peasants living on them and imposed heavy taxes on them. Estates with hundreds of peasant households arose. Many peasants fled from their native villages to the mountains and forests, where they gathered in large detachments.
2. Peasant war at the end of the 9th century. In 874, an uprising began in northeast China. The peasant detachments united into a large army led by the salt merchant, the brave and decisive Huang Chao. An army of peasants crossed the country from north to south and stormed the large trading port of Guangzhou (Canton), where bloody clashes between the rebels and foreigners living in the port took place.
From here the rebels headed to the capital of China - the city of Chang'an. Their army reached 500 thousand people. As she approached, the imperial troops fled, and the emperor and his court left the capital. Having entered Chang'an, the rebels declared Huang Chao emperor. He abolished heavy taxes and ordered the distribution of bread from the imperial barns to the poor. The rebels killed noble people and high officials, and divided their wealth and valuables among the poor.
The emperor managed to gather an army, and it besieged Chang'an. Famine began in the city, and the rebels had to leave the capital. The authorities called in cruel nomads from the north to help them; People called them “black crows.”
Only in 884 were the rebels defeated. They were scattered, and their leader committed suicide. But even after this, for many years, the peasants continued the guerrilla war in various parts of the empire, defending their rights to the land.
3. Song Empire. Conquests of the Mongols. For half a century, civil strife did not stop in the country. Weakened by uprisings and warriors, the Tang dynasty was overthrown. Five dynasties succeeded in northern China: this time was called the “Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.” In 960, the Song Dynasty established itself in China. Her reign was spent in struggle with neighbors and popular uprisings.
IN early XIII centuries, Mongol tribes appeared on the northern border of China. The Mongols first lived in the territory of what is now Mongolia. They were nomadic herders, engaged in hunting and fishing. The Mongols were divided into tribes and clans. Among their relatives, nobles rose to prominence. At the head of the tribe was a khan - a military leader who transferred power by inheritance in his family.
In 1206, a congress of representatives of the Mongol tribes elected Genghis Khan as ruler of all Mongols. He was a skilled commander and found many talented military leaders in his circle. Genghis Khan created a large, disciplined army, mostly cavalry, which he sent on long campaigns of conquest. The army was clearly organized: it was divided into units of 10 thousand warriors (“darkness” - led by a “temnik”), each of which was divided into thousands (with “tysyatsky”), hundreds (with “centurion”) and tens. This division, in a certain sense reminiscent of the Roman army, made the Mongol army well-controlled and mobile (mobile).
An Arab historian wrote about the conquests of the Mongols: “Since the creation of the world there has not been a catastrophe more terrible for humanity, and there will be nothing like it until the end of time.” And in fact, invading countries with ancient culture, Mongol horsemen trampled cultivated fields, plundered and destroyed cities. Everyone who resisted was exterminated; masses of people, especially artisans, were turned into slaves. The Mongols took children, especially boys, into their families to raise them in their traditions and to fill the number of warriors, of whom they needed a lot.
In 1211, Genghis Khan's army attacked Northern China. Within four years, it captured part of the Jin Empire, along with the capital Beijing. The Mongols adopted siege weapons from the Chinese and learned to storm fortresses. In the following years, Genghis Khan and his commanders made a campaign to the west: Central Asia, the Volga region, the North Caucasus and part of Transcaucasia, and part of Iran were conquered. In all the conquered territories, Genghis Khan forced able-bodied men to join his army, which became numerous and multilingual. But the commanders were only Mongols, and the most militant and loyal detachments to the khan consisted of them. After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongols conquered Eastern Europe and moved west, but, having already exhausted their strength and encountering stubborn resistance, retreated. The Mongols continued their conquest of China for about 70 years. They occupied the capital of the Song Empire and from the end of the 13th century China became the main part of the Mongol state with its capital in Beijing. The Mongolian nobility captured many lands in China. Gradually, the great khans adopted Chinese customs and allowed educated Chinese to govern.
In the middle of the 13th century, the Mongol state broke up into four states - uluses. They were ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan - the Genghis-sids. They stopped recognizing the power of the Great Khan.
4. Liberation of China from the rule of the Mongols.
In the middle of the 14th century, a rebellion broke out against the Mongols in China. It was named after the insignia of the rebels, the Red Turban Rebellion. The peasants began the struggle, and the townspeople joined them. A liberation war began, which lasted about 20 years.
The rebels marched north and occupied Beijing. The last Mongol emperor with the remnants of his army fled to the northern steppes. In 1368, China achieved independence.
After the liberation of the Mongols from power, China experienced an economic boom. Destroyed cities were rebuilt. The lands taken from the Mongol nobility were divided into plots and given to the peasants for use. Everyone who cultivated abandoned lands was exempt from duties for three years.
5. Artistic crafts. China was famous for its silk production. Clothes and sails were made from silk, umbrellas and strings of musical instruments were made. Scenes from fairy tales and pictures of native nature were embroidered on silk.
The Chinese learned to make porcelain from a mixture of special types of clay. Chinese masters said that porcelain dishes should be “shiny like a mirror, thin like paper, ringing like a gong, smooth and shining like a lake on a sunny day.” The production of porcelain required a lot of experience, knowledge and skill, and, like the production of silk, it was kept strictly secret. China exported many porcelain products to distant countries: Byzantium, the Baghdad Caliphate, and European states, where they were highly valued.
The master made wonderful works from bronze, ivory, precious stones and wood. Vases and boxes were covered with carvings, varnish, drawings, and mother-of-pearl.
6. Inventions. The Chinese learned to print books before the Europeans: craftsmen made them by cutting text on wooden boards (see § 30), and each new text had to be cut out on a new board. In the 11th century, a collapsible font was invented, consisting of individual hieroglyphs. But this invention did not find widespread use in China and in the countries of the Far East in general, since thousands of hieroglyphs were required to print books.
In the 8th century, the daily newspaper “Capital Bulletin” began to be published in the capital of China. It contained the emperor's decrees and messages about the most important events. The newspaper was reproduced from text cut out on boards.
Gunpowder was invented in China. At first it was used for fireworks, and then in military affairs. Incendiary shells were filled with gunpowder. In the 13th century, guns in the form of bamboo tubes were invented, and in the 14th century, metal cannons that were loaded with stone and iron cannonballs were invented.
Chinese sailors, earlier than others, began to use a compass in navigation, which was invented in ancient times. The Arabs took the compass from China to the west, and the Europeans borrowed it from them.
7. Education and scientific knowledge. To govern a huge country, many competent people were needed. Only those who passed difficult exams could become officials and enter a special class of service nobles. Officials were trained in the cities in special schools.
Medieval China advanced further than Europeans in a number of branches of science. Astronomers measured the length of the meridian degree. Long before the Europeans, they discovered sunspots, and in the 13th century they created a calendar in which the length of the year diverged from the true value by only 27 seconds. The Chinese imagined the universe as an egg, with the Earth resembling the yolk and the sky a shell rotating around it; The sun, moon and stars are attached to the sky. Astronomers knew the causes of solar and lunar eclipses and knew how to predict them.
The doctors knew well medicinal properties plants. They have long used ginseng root to treat fatigue and debility. A great achievement of Chinese medicine was vaccination against smallpox. Acupuncture and moxibustion were used to treat many diseases.
The Chinese carefully studied the history of their country. They said: “Don’t forget the past, it is the teacher of the future.” During the reign of each emperor, his decrees and other documents were collected and stored in order to facilitate the work of historians in the future. Scientists compiled a detailed, multi-volume history of the reign of the former dynasty.
Chinese travelers visited Central Asia, India and Indonesia, and described the life and customs of many peoples.
The Chinese wanted to seize the sea route along the southern coast of Asia. At the beginning of the 15th century, the emperor equipped 7 expeditions led by the experienced navigator Zheng He. The Chinese fleet of 50-60 ships with 30 thousand sailors, warriors and merchants visited the Sunda and Moluccas Islands, India, Iran, and southern Arabia. During one of the voyages, the ships reached the eastern coast of Africa. Detailed maps of the sea coasts of Southeast and South Asia were compiled.
8. Literature and art. The 8th-9th centuries were the “golden age” of Chinese poetry: about 2 thousand poets worked at that time.
The art of the historical novel flourished in the 14th century. The novels “The Three Kingdoms” and “River Backwaters” were especially famous and loved. They are still read today.
Chinese buildings were closely related to the surrounding landscape. Architects built pagodas - Buddhist temples in the form of tall multi-story towers made of wood, stone, bronze and iron, decorated with skillful carvings. The upward curved edges of the roofs created the impression of lightness and upward direction; they seemed to reproduce the silhouettes of the surrounding hills and trees.
After China was liberated from Mongol rule, Beijing was completely rebuilt. The Temple of Heaven was erected in the center of the square territory. This building, which has a circle in plan - a sign of the Sun or the sky, with blue pointed roofs in the shape of cones, recalls the continuous movement of natural elements.
Statues and reliefs - images of deities - were placed in pagodas. The images of the Buddha, his disciples and followers are distinguished by clarity and purity, they represent the beauty of the sage man in his greatness and tranquility.
In medieval China, the main form of art was painting. Artists were educated in special schools, and a painting academy was opened in the capital. Exhibitions of paintings by the best artists were often held here.
Painters painted pictures with paints or ink on long silk or paper scrolls. They depicted landscapes - views of nature that the Chinese called “mountains and waters.” In Tang times, nature was represented as a fairy-tale world, colorful, festive and bright. The upheavals experienced by the country during the Song era brought aching sadness into the landscapes, chanting of peace and quiet. Nature appears as the only reliable refuge for man in a world of wars, rebellions and disasters.
The landscape has always been closely connected with man, expressing his feelings; The mood of the master was also conveyed through the state of nature. In addition to landscapes, artists also painted fruits, delicate flowers and leaves, animals and birds. Such paintings were called “flowers and birds.” Beautifully written and arranged hieroglyphs played an important role in the paintings.
In the Middle Ages, Chinese culture was very high. She had a great influence on the culture of Korea, Indochina, and Japan.
The term " medieval China"is not so well known when compared with Western Europe, since in the history of the country there was no clear division into eras as such. It is generally accepted that it began in the third century BC with the reign of the Qin dynasty and continued for more than two thousand years until the end of the Qing dynasty.
The Kingdom of Qin, which was a small state located in the northwest of the country, annexed the territories of several kingdoms on the southern and western borders, pursuing clear political goals aimed at consolidating power. In 221, the unification of the country took place, previously consisting of many disparate feudal possessions and in historiography referred to as “ancient China”. History from that time on took a different path - the development of a new united Chinese world.
Qin was the most culturally advanced among the Warring States and the most powerful militarily. Ying Zheng, known as the first emperor Qin Shi Huang, was able to unify China and turn it into the first with its capital Xianyang (near modern city Xiyan), putting an end to the Warring States era, which lasted for several centuries. The name that the emperor took for himself was consonant with the name of one of the main and very important characters in mythological and national history - Huangdi or Yellow Emperor. By formalizing his title in this way, Ying Zheng raised his prestige high. “We are the First Emperor, and our heirs will be known as the Second Emperor, the Third Emperor, and so on in an endless series of generations,” he declared majestically. Medieval China in historiography is usually called the “imperial era.”
During his reign, Qin Shi Huang continued to expand the empire into
East and south, eventually reaching the borders of Vietnam. The vast empire was divided into thirty-six jun (military regions), which were jointly administered by civilian governors and military commandants, who controlled each other. This system served as the model for all dynastic governments in China until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
The first emperor not only unified medieval China. He reformed, approving its new form as the official writing system (many historians believe that this is the most important reform of all), and standardized the system of weights and measures throughout the state. This was an important condition for strengthening the internal trade of the united kingdoms, each of which had its own standards.
During the reign of the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC), many philosophical schools whose teachings were in varying degrees contrary to imperial ideology were outlawed. In 213 BC, all works containing such thoughts, including those of Confucius, were burned, except for copies that were kept in the imperial library. Many researchers agree with the statement that it was during the reign of the Qin dynasty that the name of the empire appeared - China.
The sights of that period are known all over the world. During archaeological excavations at the burial site of the first (near Xi'an), begun in 1974, more than six thousand terracotta figures (warriors, horses) were discovered. They represented a vast army that guarded the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. became one of the greatest and most exciting archaeological discoveries in China. Chronological records described the emperor's burial as a micro-version of his empire, with constellations painted on the ceiling, flowing rivers created from mercury. Qin Shi Huang is credited with creating several defensive walls along the northern border during the Qin era.
Medieval China began to decline with the expansion of the European opium trade, which caused destabilization in society and ultimately led to (1840-1842; 1856-1860).
