Chinese History 历 史
Most countries can look back at a few hundred years of continuous recorded history; China looks back at thousands of years. From earliest times an accurate account of events has been treasured by the Chinese, this is embodied in the character 史 history ’ which also has the meaning ‘impartial’ . Chinese people know their heritage well and have a long tradition of revering their ancestors . A good knowledge of Chinese history is essential to understanding and relating to its people.
We include pages on all the main dynasties (click on time chart) as well as significant events in Chinese history, up to the foundation of the Republic separate section Taiping Rebellion railways Imperial system Hanlin Academy Imperial officials kowtow Mandate of Heaven Opium Wars Early contacts with Britain 18th century UK-China contacts Leibniz Treaty port system Chinoiserie Lay-Osborn debacle General Charles ‘Chinese’ Gordon Chinese coolies
Click on the time chart on the left to go to a particular time period.
General 'Chinese' Gordon In a very unusual event in world history a British soldier served for the Qing dynasty in their fight against the Taiping rebels in southern China. He was instrumental in bringing modern military training to the Chinese army and was renowned as an austere but brave and uncorruptible officer. Read more…
Yuan or Mongol dynasty The great Mongol hordes took northern China in 1215 but the south held out until 1279. Kublai khan established the capital of the Great Khan at Dadu, present day Beijing . Their brief period of rule (90 years) saw the Mongols take to Chinese ways, using existing administration and traditions rather than imposing their own. It was China's most cosmopolitan era with the famous visit of Marco Polo . Read more…
First British contacts with China A survey of all the first British contacts to China up until 1700. These include 'pirates' like John Weddell who sought to force China into trading with England down the barrel of a cannon and John Webb a committed fan of everything about China. Regrettably this honeymoon period of relations was not to last. Read more…
Chinese characters Some Chinese characters have their origin 10,000 years ago. The very old forms are simplified pictures of objects and animals. Later more abstract notions were represented in a simple way. Now there are a total of 200,000 distinct characters but fortunately only 2,000 are needed for everyday life. Read more…
Traditional medicine in China Thousands of years of seeking cures to illness in China has led to a wide range of traditional medicines and procedures being discovered. Nowadays traditional medicine is used for minor ailments and when western medicine offers no cure. Read more…
The Republic of China 1912-1949 The years 1912-49 marked the difficult transition from centuries of Imperial dynastic rule to that of a Republic. Sun Yatsen's dream of a democratic Republic was never achieved amidst the turmoil of the Japanese Occupation and then the Civil War with the Communists. Read more…
Han Dynasty After the trauma of the Qin dynasty it was the succeeding Han dynasty that established China as a stable nation. Many Imperial institutions inaugurated at this time lasted for the next two thousand years. Together with the Tang and Ming it is considered one of the great periods of Chinese history. Read more…
Ancient states and kingdoms within China Before the Qin empire was formed China was split into several distinct kingdoms or states. These names are often mentioned in old tales and histories. There are also other kingdoms that split off from China for brief periods. Read more…
Imperial servants - the eunuchs For over two thousand years the Chinese Emperor was served by a large number of Imperial servants who had been castrated as young boys. With no possibility of having children themselves they were seen as having more loyalty to the Emperor than the, often scheming, Imperial family. Some eunuchs became fabulously rich as a result of their control of access to the Emperor. Read more…
The 13 Ming Tombs The tombs of the 13 Ming Emperors is one of the largest and most lavish burial complexes anywhere in the world. Like the Valley of the Kings in Egypt the tombs are scattered around a valley of 17 square miles but here only one tomb has been excavated and was found to be completely intact. Read more…
The Peoples of China China although predominately populated with the Han Chinese , has over 100 million people identified as belonging to other ethnic minorities. However these people are concentrated in the less densely populated 'fringes' of China so may form the majority in some regions. Read more…
The standing of women in China Attitudes to women have changed greatly in China over the centuries. The traditional subservient position of women in society was removed in only the last sixty years but there yet to be a woman appointed to the top rung of government. Our section describes the role of women down the centuries including the role of concubines and how some Imperial women bucked the trend. Read more…
Peony The peony is a frequent art motif in China. It is considered one of the best flowers of spring and was much loved by Empress Wu Zetian . Read more…
