All About: Mighty Middle Chinese Dynasties

By P S Quick

This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for people living in the ancient China during the Middle Dynasty period of the Imperial era.

It covers the Six Dynasty period, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties Period, the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, with information about the emperors who ruled as well as inventions and achievements in science, technology, engineering, literature, trade and much more.

An in-depth account is given of everyday life in each dynasty, including the doctrines of the time and the way they influenced the people and their art.

The ‘All About’ series is an educational collection of books by P S Quick, and is targeted to interest ages 9 to 12+ but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Acorn Books
• Release date: Oct 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781785382932

Book preview

Title Page

ALL ABOUT

Mighty Middle Chinese Dynasties

P S Quick

Publisher Information

Published in 2015 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The right of P S Quick to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright © 2015 P S Quick

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Introduction

This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for people living in the ancient China during the Middle Dynasty period of the Imperial era.

It covers the Six Dynasty period, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties Period, the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, with information about the emperors who ruled as well as inventions and achievements in science, technology, engineering, literature, trade and much more.

An in-depth account is given of everyday life in each dynasty, including the doctrines of the time and the way they influenced the people and their art.

The ‘All About’ series is an educational collection of books by P S Quick, and is targeted to interest ages 9 to 12+ but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

The Early Dynasties of Ancient China

Much of early ancient Chinese history is shrouded in myth and mystery but archaeological evidence has shown that the period from the Xia dynasty up to the end of the Han dynasty had been one of varying fortunes, great change and also exceptional achievements. Great building projects such as the Terracotta Army and the Great Wall of China are still standing today.

The opening of the Great Silk Road during the Han dynasty had enabled not only trade to be exchanged but also inventions, doctrines and culture. China was no longer isolated by its geographical features as it had been in the earliest times.

China had experienced many wars and life was often challenging for the common people. The ability to rule by kings and emperors was varied and often reflected upon the prosperity of the country at the time. There were periods when the country was fragmented into many separate kingdoms as well as times when the whole country was unified.

The Han dynasty was one of the greatest dynasties of Ancient China and lasted for four hundred years from 202 BC until 220 AD. It was founded by Liu Bang after a peasant revolt against the Qin emperor Ziying. Due to effective measures taken by its rulers it was a time of prosperity and peace.

Many emperors ruled during this era but towards the end they lacked the ability to rule well and gradually later emperors lost their powers so that the courts fell into chaos. The governments began to divide and fail. It was a time of natural disasters, uprisings and warfare.

The Han dynasty came to its end when Cao Pi, the son of Cao Cao forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and China became divided into three kingdoms, each with its own emperor. The period known as the Middle Dynasties of China then began.

The Middle Dynasties of Ancient China

The Six Dynasties or Period of Disunity

The Six dynasties period is a collective name given to the six dynasties that existed between 220 and 589 AD and included the Three Kingdoms, the Jin dynasty and the Southern and Northern dynasties. It was a time of fragmentation.

During this period Buddhism began to grow in popularity and became the main religion. Philosophy, art, calligraphy and literature also flourished.

The Three Kingdoms

The Han dynasty came to an end after the abdication of Emperor Xian and was followed by a disastrous period of conflict, uncertainty and warfare. The empire was divided into three big kingdoms and lasted for sixty years from 220-280 when the Jin Empire controlled the region.

The Three Kingdoms were Wei (220-265), Shu (221-263) and Wu (222-280). During this time five emperors ruled Wei. They were Cao Pi, Cao Rui, Cao Fang, Cao Mao and Cao Huan. Shu was ruled by two emperors who were Liu Bei and Liu Chan. Wu was ruled by four emperors. They were Sun Quan, Sun Liang, Sun Xiu and Sun Hao.

Cao Pi and his Ministers

The Three Kingdoms period was one of the bloodiest periods in the whole of Chinese history. A census taken in 280 AD showed the population was only around sixteen million compared to the sixty million alive in 2 AD.

After Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian of the Han to abdicate in 220 he made himself emperor of a new state Wei in the north. He called himself Emperor Wen but only lived for six years after becoming emperor. Wei was not a strong kingdom and was constantly attacked by invaders from the north. In time some of these invaders known as the Tuoba became the rulers.

In 221 Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu in the south west. Then in 229 Sun Quan declared himself emperor of Wu in the south east. Although these states were known as kingdoms they were not ruled by kings but by emperors who each claimed to be the legitimate successor of Emperor Xian from the Han dynasty.

In the fourteenth century a Chinese writer, Luo Guanzhong wrote a historical novel that was partly historical, partly legend and partly mythical about this period of Chinese history. It was called Romance of the Three Kingdoms and is considered to be one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.

This period was one of constant battles between the three kingdoms. Gradually each kingdom declined. The Wei state and the Shu state gradually lost their strength. After forty-three years the end of the Shu state came when the Wei conquered the