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Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project
The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project () was a multi-disciplinary project commissioned by the People's Republic of China in 1996 to determine with accuracy the location and time frame of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The project was directed by professor Li Xueqin of Tsinghua University in Beijing, and involved around 200 experts. It used radiocarbon dating, archaeological dating methods, historical textual analysis, astronomy, and other methods to achieve greater temporal and geographic accuracy. Preliminary results were released in November 2000. However, several of the project's methods and conclusions have been disputed by other scholars. Background The traditional account of ancient China, represented by the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' written by Sima Qian in the Han dynasty, begins with the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, leading through a sequence of dynasties, the Xia, Shang and Zhou. Sima Qian felt able to give a year-by-year chronology back to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People's Republic Of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world, tied with Russia. Covering an area of approximately , it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai. Modern Chinese trace their origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the well-attested Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a bureaucratic political system to serve hereditary monarchies, or dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the ChuHan contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people", the Sinitic language is known as "Han language", and the written Chinese is referred to as "Han characters". The emperor was at the pinnacle of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National Central Cities in China, the centre of Central Plains area, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. The Zhengzhou metropolitan area (including Zhengzhou and Kaifeng) is the core area of the Central Plains Economic Zone. The city lies on the southern bank of the Yellow River. Zhengzhou is a major hub of China's national transportation network, with railways connecting Zhengzhou to Europe and an international airport. Zhengzhou is a and a State-list Famous Historical and Culture City. As of 2020, there are two World Cultural Heritage Sites in Zhengzhou. The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) is China's first futures exchange. Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone is China's first Airport E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erligang Culture
The Erligang culture () is a Bronze Age urban civilization and archaeological culture in China that existed from approximately 1600 to 1400 BC. The primary site, Zhengzhou Shang City, was discovered at Erligang, within the modern city of Zhengzhou, Henan, in 1951. Major sites The culture was centered in the Yellow River valley. In its early years, it expanded rapidly, reaching the Yangtze River. The culture then gradually shrank from its early peak. Zhengzhou Later investigations showed that the Erligang site was part of an ancient city surrounded by a roughly rectangular wall with a perimeter of about . The walls were of rammed earth construction, a technique dating back to Chinese Neolithic sites of the Longshan culture (c. 3000–1900 BC). It has been estimated that the walls would have been wide at the base, rising to a height of . Large workshops were located outside the city walls, including a bone workshop, a pottery workshop and two bronze vessel workshops. The modern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Ding
Wu Ding (); personal name Zi Zhao, was a king of the Shang dynasty who ruled China around 1200s BC. He is the earliest figure in Chinese history mentioned in contemporary records. The annals of the Shang dynasty compiled by later historians were once thought to be little more than legends until oracle script inscriptions on bones dating from his reign were unearthed at the ruins of his capital Yin (near modern Anyang) in 1899. Oracle bone inscriptions from his reign have been radiocarbon dated to 1254–1197 BC. History Dating Because Wu Ding is the earliest Chinese ruler whose reign is confirmed by contemporary material, dating his reign is a matter of significant historical interest. According to the traditional chronology, he reigned from 1324–1266 BC. ''Cambridge History'' gives 1189 BC as the end date of his reign. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project (2000), sponsored by the Chinese government, gives his reign as 1250–1192 BC. Inscriptions from twenty-six oracl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is also applied to the entirety of China proper. Henan is a birthplace of Han Chinese civilization, with over 3,200 years of recorded history and remained China's cultural, economic and political center until approximately 1,000 years ago. Henan Province is home to many heritage sites, including the ruins of Shang dynasty capital city Yin and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, are in Henan. The practice of tai chi also began here in Chen Jia Gou Village (Chen style), as did the later Yang and Wu styles. Although the name of the province () means "south of the ellowriver.", approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River, also known as the Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai province of Western China, it flows through nine provinces, and it empties into the Bohai Sea near the city of Dongying in Shandong province. The Yellow River basin has an east–west extent of about and a north–south extent of about . Its total drainage area is about . The Yellow River's basin was the Yellow River civilization, birthplace of ancient Chinese, and, by extension, Far East, Far Eastern civilization, and it was the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. There are frequent devastating natural disasters in China, floods and course changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, sometimes above the level of its surrounding farm fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It had a total population of 5,477,614 as of the 2020 census, 2,675,523 of whom lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of four urban districts and Anyang and Tangyin counties, now largely agglomerated with the city proper. Anyang is the location of the ancient city of Yin, which was the capital of the Shang dynasty and the first stable capital of China. Henan once had the largest population in China. History Early history Xiaonanhai, on the far western edge of the city, was home to prehistoric cavemen during the Stone Age. Over 7,000 artifacts (including stone tools and animal bone fossils) have been unearthed here, representing what has been dubbed the Xiaonanhai culture. Around 2000 BC, the legendary sage-kings Zhuanxu and Emperor Ku ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Yirong
Wang Yirong (; 1845–1900) was a director of the Chinese Guozijian, Imperial Academy, best known as the first to recognize that the symbols inscribed on oracle bones were an early form of Chinese writing. His work on the oracle bone script was curtailed when he accepted a local command during the Boxer Rebellion, despite his belief that the cause was futile. When an international force Battle of Peking (1900), occupied Beijing in August 1900, Wang committed suicide, together with his wife and daughter-in-law. A museum devoted to Wang is located in his birthplace of Yantai, Shandong. References * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Yirong Qing dynasty politicians from Shandong 1845 births 1900 deaths Qing dynasty generals Politicians from Yantai Suicides in the Qing dynasty Suicides by poison Writers from Yantai Scientists from Shandong Generals from Shandong Chinese epigraphers 1900 suicides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shang Dynasty Inscribed Scapula
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from texts such as the ''Book of Documents'', ''Bamboo Annals'' and ''Records of the Grand Historian''. According to the traditional chronology based on calculations made approximately 2,000 years ago by Liu Xin, the Shang ruled from 1766 to 1122 BC, but according to the chronology based upon the "current text" of ''Bamboo Annals'', they ruled from 1556 to 1046 BC. Comparing the same text with dates of five-planet conjunctions, David Pankenier, supported by David Nivison, proposed dates of the establishment of the dynasty to 1554 BC. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project dated the establishment to c. 1600 BC based on the carbon-14 dates of the Erl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandate Of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven () is a Chinese political philosophy that was used in ancient and imperial China to legitimize the rule of the King or Emperor of China. According to this doctrine, heaven (天, ''Tian'') – which embodies the natural order and will of the universe – bestows the mandate on a just ruler of China, the " Son of Heaven". If a ruler was overthrown, this was interpreted as an indication that the ruler was unworthy and had lost the mandate. It was also a common belief that natural disasters such as famine and flood were divine retributions bearing signs of Heaven's displeasure with the ruler, so there would often be revolts following major disasters as the people saw these calamities as signs that the Mandate of Heaven had been withdrawn. The Mandate of Heaven does not require a legitimate ruler to be of noble birth, depending instead on how well that person can rule. Chinese dynasties such as the Han and Ming were founded by men of common origins, but t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doubting Antiquity School
The Doubting Antiquity School or Yigupai ( Wilkinson, Endymion (2000). ''Chinese History: A Manual''. Harvard Univ Asia Center. . Page 345, see/ref>Loewe, Michael and Edward L. Shaughnessy (1999). ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China'' Cambridge University Press. . Page 72, see/ref>) refers to a group of scholars and writers in Chinese language, Chinese academia, starting during the New Culture Movement (mid-1910s to 1920s), who applied a critical historiographical approach to Chinese historical sources. They put forward theories doubting the authenticity of texts and narratives that, in traditional Chinese historiography, were often accepted as authentic. Hu Shih studied in the West and was deeply influenced by Western thought. He then argued in Peking University that Chinese written history was not credible before Eastern Zhou without critical examination. This view was accepted by his students Fu Sinian and especially Gu Jiegang, who further advanced "our traditional knowle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
