Qin Dynasty

The Qin dynasty became to power in 221 B.C. They were one of the western states that existed during the Warring States Period. They conquered the other Warring States,unifying China for the first time. Their leader named himself the First Emperor, or Shi Huangdi, they began the tradition of having emperors for rulers. The Qin, while was militarily the strongest. They utilized many new technologies in warfare, especially cavalry. The Qin are sometimes called the Ch'in, which is probably where the name China originated.
Qin’s achievements are numerous. They standardized the language and writing of China. This was done partially out of a need to have a consistent way to communicate across the country; administrators had to be able to read the writing of the commandery to which they were sent. Also, currency became standardized as a circular copper coin with a square hole in the middle. Measurements and axle length were also made uniform. Many public works projects were also undertaken. A Great Wall was built in the north, to protect against invasions. Roads and irrigation canals were built throughout the country. Also, a huge palace was built for Shi Huangdi. The Qin are also famous for the terra cotta army that was found at the burial site for Shi Huangdi. The army consisted of 6,000 pottery soldiers that protected the tomb. They may be a replacement for the actual people who had previously been buried with the rulers.
Shi Huangdi was not a popular leader. The public works and taxes were too great a burden to the population. It seemed that Shi Huangdi could not be satisfied. Also, the nobility disliked him because they were deprived of all their power and transplanted. Finally, he banned all books that advocated forms of government other than the current one. The writings of the great philosophers of the one hundread schools time were burned and more than 400 opponents were executed.
The Qin rule came to an end shortly after the First Emperor's death. Shi Huangdi had only ruled for 37 years, when he died suddenly in 210 B.C. His son took the throne as the Second Emperor, but was quickly overthrown and the Han Dynasty began in 206 B.C.

Qin Dynasty

The Qin dynasty became to power in 221 B.C. They were one of the western states that existed during the Warring States Period. They conquered the other Warring States, unifying China for the first time. Their leader named himself the First Emperor, or Shi Huangdi, they began the tradition of having emperors for rulers. The Qin, while was militarily the strongest. They utilized many new technologies in warfare, especially cavalry. The Qin are sometimes called the Ch'in, which is probably where the name China originated.
Qin’s achievements are numerous. They standardized the language and writing of China. This was done partially out of a need to have a consistent way to communicate across the country; administrators had to be able to read the writing of the commandery to which they were sent. Also, currency became standardized as a circular copper coin with a square hole in the middle. Measurements and axle length were also made uniform. Many public works projects were also undertaken. A Great Wall was built in the north, to protect against invasions. Roads and irrigation canals were built throughout the country. Also, a huge palace was built for Shi Huangdi. The Qin are also famous for the terra cotta army that was found at the burial site for Shi Huangdi. The army consisted of 6,000 pottery soldiers that protected the tomb. They may be a replacement for the actual people who had previously been buried with the rulers.
Shi Huangdi was not a popular leader. The public works and taxes were too great a burden to the population. It seemed that Shi Huangdi could not be satisfied. Also, the nobility disliked him because they were deprived of all their power and transplanted. Finally, he banned all books that advocated forms of government other than the current one. The writings of the great philosophers of the One Hundred Schools time were burned and more than 400 opponents were executed.
The Qin rule came to an end shortly after the First Emperor's death. Shi Huangdi had only ruled for 37 years, when he died suddenly in 210 B.C. His son took the throne as the Second Emperor, but was quickly overthrown and the Han dynasty began in 206 B.C.

Han Dynasty

Han empire began in 206 B.C. when Liu Bang, prince of Han, defeated the Qin army in the valley of Wei. The defeat was part of a larger rebellion that began after the First Emporer's death. The people were dissatisfied with the tyranny of the Qin leaders and their Legalist form of government. However, while traditional Chinese history portrays the Han as implementing immediate changes in government, evidence shows the Han continued to rule in the tradition of the Qin, and only gradually incorporated Confucian ideals into their Legalist form of government. Economic expansion, changing relationships with the people of the steppes, strengthening of the palace at the expense of the civil service, weakening of the state's hold on the peasantry, and the rise of the families of the rich and the gentry were all factors that led to the adoption of Confucian ideals..
The expansion also led to trade with the people of inner Asia. Thereafter, the Silk Road was developed. The Silk Road actually consisted of more than one possible route through the mountains that the traders followed. Agriculture grew with the development of better tools. Iron tools were made of better quality, and oxen drawn ploughs were commonly used. Irrigation systems were increased to help develop the areas of North China. Crop rotation was also practiced from 85 B.C. onwards. The state attempted to monopolize the production of iron and salt, which were the two biggest sectors of the economy, but succeeded for less than a century. Silk weaving and copper work were also important activities.

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia Dynasty. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley. The Shang ruled between 1766 BC and 1122 BC.
According to historical tradition the Shang Dynasty followed the Xia Dynasty and preceded the Zhou Dynasty. Direct information about the Shang Dynasty comes from Shang inscriptions on bronze artifacts, but mainly from oracle bones—turtle shells, cattle scapulae or other bones on which were written the first significant corpus of recorded Chinese characters. Other sources on the Shang come from historical records of the later Zhou Dynasty and the Han Dynasty.
One important thing is that they create a system of writing similar to the couney form, and the other very important thing was that they are the first civilization in ancient China.
The inscriptions on the oracle bones are divinations, which can be gleaned for information on the politics, economy, culture, religion, geography, astronomy, calendar, art and medicine of the period and as such provide critical insight into the early stages of the Chinese civilization.
Archaeological work there uncovered 11 major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and remains of human as well as of animal sacrifices. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone and ceramic artifacts have been obtained; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization.

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was a dynasty that ruled China between 1050 a. C. and 256 a. C. The Zhou Dynasty was the last of the dynasties of kings before the imperial dynasties. At this time lived the great Chinese thinkers, and began classical Chinese literature.

The Zhou era was divided into two periods: the Western Zhou to the year 771 BC C., who ruled a strong centralized state and the eastern zhou, between 771 BC C. and 256 a. C., who had a symbolic power, which is divided into two periods: the period of the Spring and fall and Warring States period.

Importance of family in Ancient China

Most people in China thought families were very important. Kids often lived not just with their parents, but also with their grandparents, their aunts and uncles, and their cousins.
In ancient China, the view of the family was very powerful.
Chinese art shows the importance of the family, but the philosophy also shows the importance of the family.
The philosophy, art, and politics of ancient China show how valuable the family was considered to be. Even as new ideas came and went, a substitute for the family never came to the ancient Chinese.

The family was a very important concept, and the Chinese culture shows it in many ways.