TIMELINE

China in the Ancient Times

1600 BC – 220 AD

 

1. The fading legend of the age of “the Three Majesties and the Five Emperors”

(According to tradition it lasted from 2800 BC to 2070 BC).

 

– Meanwhile:

Middle East: the period of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, when the pyramids were built

Mediterranean region: the foundation of Troy

Carpathian Basin: the emergence of bronze, the beginning of the Early Bronze Age

 

During the Han dynasty, the oldest myths, legends and descriptions of religious events that survived only partially were collected and put in chronological order, making them officially part of Chinese history. Thus was born the age of the Three Majesties and the Five Emperors, the earliest period in Chinese history, still shrouded in legend, well before the time of the actual dynasties.

This was the age of mythical rulers, the so-called culture heroes. [A culture hero is a mythological hero or demigod who creates or acquires cultural assets for mankind, even from the gods themselves. Such was Prometheus in Greek mythology, who stole fire for the people.]

The early Chinese sources mention different names when writing about the legendary „three majesties” and the „five emperors”, but they certainly include Fuxi, who is credited with the discovery of writing, fishing and hunting, and Shen-nung, who is associated with the „invention” of agriculture.

The most famous figure of this mythical era, however, was the Yellow Emperor, or Huangdi, who is associated with the discovery of clothing, means of transport (chariots, boats) or the calendar. He was later regarded as the archetype of all Chinese emperors. (The founder of unified China and its first emperor, Qin Shi Huang also named himself after the Yellow Emperor).

 

 

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2. The age of the mythical Xia dynasty

(Traditionally from 2070 BC to 1600 BC).

 

– Meanwhile:

Middle East: the period of the Old Babylonian Empire, the reign of Hammurabi

Mediterranean region: the golden age of Cretan civilisation

Carpathian Basin: the Middle Bronze Age

 

According to Chinese tradition, the first Chinese dynasty was the Xia dynasty. However, the authenticity of this information has not yet been confirmed either historically or archaeologically. It is not mentioned in the earliest Chinese sources that can be considered authentic, it only appears later. Its first emperor, Yu, is said to have been a descendant of the Yellow Emperor and to have been the first to control one of China’s most important rivers, the Yellow River, the Huang He.

Excavations in Honan Province since the 1960s have unearthed the remains of a culture dating to this period, known as the Erlitou culture, and some researchers believe that this culture, which shows advanced signs of urbanisation, may be linked to the legendary Xia dynasty.

 

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3. The age of the Shang dynasty, the first dynasty firmly supported by historical evidence

(1600 BC to 1046 BC)

 

– Meanwhile:

Middle East: the New Kingdom of Egypt, the reign of Ramesses II

Mediterranean region: the heyday of Mycenae, the Trojan War

Carpathian Basin: the Late Bronze Age

 

The first Chinese dynasty to exist beyond any doubt was the Shang dynasty. With their emergence, in fact, begins a long period of Chinese antiquity. Although far from being politically unified, the state founded by a tribe of a similar name marked a new era in China’s history, both economically and culturally. Not only did this cycle mark the beginning of the Bronze Age in China (a whole series of magnificent bronzeware date from this period), but it also provides us with the first evidence of Chinese literacy. Most of the latter are so-called oracle bones, one of which bears the name of Wu Ding, the first ruler of the dynasty known from archaeological finds from the same period (1250-1192 BC).

In the last decades of the Shang dynasty, the Zhou dynasty grew more powerful, and by the mid-11^th century BC its army had defeated the forces of the last, weak ruler of the Shang dynasty.

 

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4. The early (Western) Zhou period

(1046 BC to 771 BC)

 

– Meanwhile:

Middle East: the reign of David and Solomon in Jerusalem

Mediterranean region: The first Olympic Games

Carpathian Basin: the appearance of iron, the beginning of the Iron Age

 

The new dynasty that came to power after the fall of the Shang can be divided into two longer periods, the early and late Zhou period, lasting nearly 800 years. China at this time still consisted of smaller states and city-states of various kings, princes and warlords, over which the reigning monarch exercised only nominal authority. At the same time, China’s economy and handicrafts continued to develop, and urbanisation became more substantial. In 771 BC, the last emperor of the early (western) Zhou period, following a barbarian attack from the north, abandoned the western capital of Chang’an and moved his court to the eastern capital of Luoyang.

 

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5. The late (Eastern) Zhou period

(771 BC to 221 BC)

It meant a further decline in the power of the late Zhou rulers, which in time extended only to the area around the city of Luoyang, although the rest of the small states continued to recognise their sacral role. The first three hundred years of this nearly half-millennium were named after a historical work on the period, entitled “The Spring and Autumn Annals”.

 

            “The Spring and Autumn Period”

            (771 BC to 476 BC)

 

            – Meanwhile:

            Middle East: the golden age of the Old Persian Empire (the reign of Darius I)

            Mediterranean region: the founding of Rome

            Carpathian Basin: the appearance of the Scythians

 

            At that time, China was already home to more than a hundred small states rivalling with each other. The resulting permanent precariousness and anarchy gave rise to new religious and philosophical trends, most of which promised order and security. The best known of these are perhaps Taoism, founded by Laozi, or Confucianism, named after Confucius. For the next two thousand years or more, these philosophies were to have a profound influence not only on the mindset of the Chinese people, but also on the ideology of the state, the functioning of the administration, etc. It was also during this period that laws were committed to writing in some states. Towards the end of the “Spring and Autumn Period”, the political situation seemed to be becoming somewhat clearer, with some of the larger principalities gradually gaining the upper hand over others. The spread of iron, a new metal that allowed the making of better and more efficient weapons, helped them a great deal.

 

               “Warring States” period

            (476 BC to 221 BC)     

 

            – Meanwhile:

            Middle East: the reign of Alexander the Great

            Mediterranean region: the Roman Republic

            Carpathian Basin: the Celtic invasion

 

            The second period of the late Zhou age, the „Warring States”, which lasted for about 250 years, also took its name from the title of a historical work: “Record of the Warring States”. By the last decades of the period, first seven and then only three major states remained: the Qin, the Qi and the Chu. By this time, the ultimate goal of the dukes of all three states had become clear: to conquer the other states and unite China under one rule. To this end, they all proclaimed themselves with the title of wang, or ‘king’, previously used only by the Chou dukes. Moreover, they also introduced a series of administrative, social and economic reforms to enable them to deal most effectively with their rivals. This was ultimately best achieved by the immensely talented king of the state Qin, Ying Zheng, who, after nearly a thousand years of fragmentation and anarchy, unified the entire territory of China in one hand, and ushered in the era of the Qin dynasty.

 

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6. The Qin period

(221 BC – 206 BC)

 

– Meanwhile:

Middle East: the rise of the Parthian Empire

Mediterranean region: The Second Punic War, the defeat of Hannibal

Carpathian Basin: the heyday of Celtic culture in the Carpathian Basin

 

After conquering the last of the resistance states, Ying Zheng chose a self-invented title: huángdi. With this he referred to his mythical predecessor, the Yellow Emperor, whose cult was very popular in the Warring Stated period. Thus, his regnal name became Qin Si Huángdi. [Si means ‘first’].  Following his victory, he extended the reforms he had begun earlier to the newly conquered territories. He sought to unify the administrative systems of the various regions of China, the units of weights and measures, and even writing.

He demolished the centuries-old sections of walls that served as defence lines between the former small states and initiated the construction of a new unified defence system along the northern borders, with the purpose of preventing incursions by the nomadic barbarian tribes of the north and thus ensuring China’s security. This was the basis for the Great Wall of China that would later become world famous.  To make a symbol of his achievements and power, and out of his desire for immortality, he ordered the construction of a vast complex of tombs decades before his death. At the centre of this structure was an underground mausoleum, in which, according to later sources, many extraordinary treasures were brought together. In order to “protect” his tomb, he created a replica of his army out of clay, which counted as the finest of all craftsmanship, weaponry, and art of the time, and is known today as the Terracotta Army.

 

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7. The Han period

(206 BC – 220 AD)

 

After the death of the first emperor, a series of large uprisings broke out, which overthrew the Qin dynasty but did not abolish its accomplishments. The new leader, Liu Bang, coming from a peasant family, founded the Han dynasty and kept the reforms of his predecessor, which his successors carried forward, creating perhaps the most glorious time of ancient China, the Han period. Not only did China expand its territory over the next 400 years or so, but the whole Chinese civilisation – literacy, literature, agriculture, industry, foreign relations and trade – reached a new level during this period. The new emperor made Chang’an his capital, marking the beginning of the early or Western Han dynasty.

 

            The early (Western) Han period

 

            – Meanwhile:

            Middle East: the death of Cleopatra

            The Mediterranean region: The crisis of the Roman Republic, the reign of Augustus

            Carpathian Basin: the appearance of the Romans in the Transdanubian region

 

            The early Han dynasty flourished under Liu Bang’s great-grandson Wu of Han (141-87 BC). He succeeded in reasserting central power, partly by making Confucianism the state ideology.  He reformed the administration and introduced competitive exams for civil servants, which determined the future of the Chinese administration for two millennia. Along the Great Wall, he successfully fought the nomadic barbarians of the north, the Xiongnu, also known as the Asian Huns, and through his outstanding generals expanded the territory of the Chinese Empire towards Inner Asia to a great extent. After his death, his successors proved to be weak rulers and their failed politics inevitably led to a great uprising that ended the Western Han period in 9 AD.

 

            The Later (Eastern) Han period, the end of Chinese antiquity

            (25 BC – 220 BC)

 

            – Meanwhile:

            Middle East: the rise of the Persian Sassanid dynasty

            Mediterranean region: the peak of the Roman Empire

            Carpathian Basin: the heyday of the province of Pannonia

 

            Wang Mang, who led the uprising in 9 AD, was only able to establish a short-lived dynasty called Xin, which fell after his death. The peasant uprising that swept away the House of Xin was led by Liu Xiu of the Han dynasty, who essentially restored the Han Empire to power, except that he moved his capital to Luoyang in the east. The once again strengthening Han successfully defeated the Xiongnu, who were no longer a serious threat to China. (Of course, new nomadic groups would emerge in their wake, meaning problems for later Chinese emperors.)

At the two ends of the fully functional Silk Road, linking the Mediterranean with China, were two empires at the height of their powers, the Roman and the Chinese, and this created a unique situation in terms of trade, diplomacy, and cultural relations.

However, the steady increase in the burden on the peasants and the bad politics of successive weak emperors gradually undermined the power of the Han. Growing discontent culminated in the Taoist Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184. This eventually led to the end of the Han dynasty in 220 AD, which also marked the end of the unity of the Chinese empire. Then began the Three Kingdoms, which lies beyond the period of Chinese antiquity…

 

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8. Transcription of Chinese names and words

 

European academics (first of all the Jesuit missionaries who travelled to China) showed a keen interest in Chinese language, culture and history from the 16^th century. Those who learned Chinese and then returned to the old continent tried to make the words of the Chinese language readable for the people here, and so they transcribed them. However, the various European languages and scripts are not exactly suitable to accurately reproduce the original Chinese words and expressions. In addition, for many centuries there was no linguistic/spelling principle that laid down the rules for the exact transcription. As a result, for a long time, almost everyone transcribed Chinese names and words in any way they liked.

Over time, of course, national languages (English, French, German, Russian, etc.) developed their own set of rules, which the authors publishing in these languages tried to apply. However, due to the specific characteristics of the language, there were significant differences between European translations of the same Chinese expression, which often led to misunderstandings. For example, shuang (English transcription) = chouang (French transcription); hsiung (English transcription) = hiong (French transcription); chui (English transcription) = tchouei (French transcription).

To remedy this, in 1958 the Committee for the Reform of Chinese established the so-called pinyin transcription, which aimed to standardize the rules for transcribing Chinese at an international level with a writing system using letters of the Latin alphabet. In recent decades, the use of pinyin has become dominant in many language areas (the Anglo-Saxon world included).

For those interested, the table below lists the pinyin equivalents of the Chinese words and names in the exhibition:

 

Chinese                                          Pinyin

 

長安                                                     Chang’an

赵康民                                                 Zhao Kangmin

氣                                                         Qi

秦朝                                                     Qin chao

秦始皇                                                 Qin Shi Huang

周                                                         Zhou

楚國                                                     Chuguo

二里頭文化                                         Erlitou wenhua

風水                                                     Feng shui

伏羲                                                     Fuxi

汉朝                                                     Hanchao (朝 – dynasty)

河南                                                     Henan

香港                                                     Xiang gang

河北                                                     Hebei

夏                                                         Xia

西安                                                     Xi’an

新朝                                                     Xin chao

匈奴                                                     Xiongnu

黄河                                                     Huang He

皇帝                                                     Huangdi

杨志发                                                 Yang Zhifa

嬴政                                                     Ying Zheng

甬江                                                     Yonghe

云南                                                     Yunnan

甘伯宗                                                 Gan Bozong

甘肃                                                     Gansu

孔子                                                     Kong zi

昆明                                                     Kunming        

郭詡                                                     Guo Xu

蘭州                                                     Lanzhou

老子                                                     Laozi

禮記                                                     Liji

临潼区                                                 Lintongqu (区 – district)

骊山                                                     Lishan

漢光武帝                                             Han guang wudi

劉邦                                                     Liu Bang

劉勝                                                     Liu Sheng

洛阳市                                                 Luoyangshi (市 – city)

馬麟                                                     Ma Lin

毛泽东                                                 Mao Zedong

商朝                                                     Shang

陕西                                                     Shaanxi

神農                                                     Shennong

石家莊                                                 Shijiazhuang

司馬遷                                                 Sima Qian

臺北市                                                 Taibeishi

大禹                                                     Da Yu

中華民國                                             Taiwan

道教                                                     Daojiao (Taoism)

王                                                         Wang

王莽                                                     Wang Mang

文徵明                                                 Wen Zhengming

武帝                                                     Wudi

武丁                                                     Wu Ding