Exploring China's History and Culture

History of China's Early Dynasties

While many people think of China as "The place with the Great Wall", China's history has changed vastly since it's first recording . The Dynasties, first starting with the Xia, and leading to the People's Rebublic of China, which it is still known as today, present a history filled with culture, wars, and discoveries all contributing to the Sino-centricity of the people and lands of China. While there were many inhabitants of China before written language, the  first recorded Dynasty of China is the Xia Dynasty. This period lasted from 2200 – 1750 bc. This culture originated from the Yellow River Neolithic culture known as the Longshan culture, and they were famous for their black lacquered pottery. They had a primitive writing system that was a precursor of the Shag Dynasty’s “oracle bones”.

Next came along the Shang, who were the most advanced bronze working civilization in the world. They liked human sacrifice. For example, if a king died, his slaves would follow him to his grave. Later, these slaves were replaced with terra cotta statues. In the event that the king died, kingship would be passed from older brother to younger brother, not father and son.
Later the Western Zhou ruled from 1100- 771 BC. Scholars believed this Dynasty, along with the former two mentioned above,  were three different cultures that merged together in different areas of the Yellow River Valley. During this time, China was made up of many different principalities. The most powerful was located in the middle; hence the Chinese called this part of the country the Middle Kingdom.