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China's Empires
Shang Dynasty
The Shang dynasty began about 1750 B.C. Shang built the first cities in China. Among these cities was the royal capital of Anyang. A palace and temple stood at the center of the city. Public buildings and homes of government officials surrounded this central area. Outside the cities were workshops and other homes. In Shang, the king was the most powerful person, serving as the political, religious, and military leader. In the beginning, Shang's kings controlled only a small area of northern China. Later in time, Shang conquered neighboring areas. They controlled most of the Huang He valley. As the Shang kingdom grew, the kings sent out armies to defend the kingdom's borders. Shang kings relied on the military commanders to stay in power. Then in their last war they lost and Shang ended in 1045 B.C.
Shang dynasty
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Zhou Dynasty
Legend says that the last of the Shang rulers was a wicked tyrant. The Chinese turned against them. In 1045 B.C., rebels led by an aristocrat named Wu Wang brought down the Shang government. When his victory was completed, Wu declared a new dynasty called Zhou. The Zhou is the longest dynasty that has ever lived in China's history. Zhou has lived for more than 800 years. Zhou kings led the government, ruling with the help of non-elected government officials. The king also developed a strong army to bring weaker kingdoms under Zhou's rule. Soon the Zhou kingdom was larger than Shang could ever be. The king divided the kingdom into territories in order to govern effectively. Loyal aristocrats were chosen to govern each of the territories by the king. Over time the aristocrats territories grew larger and more powerful. Then that's when they started to ignore the king's commands and took control of the territory. The aristocrats began fighting one another for power. The wars started around 400 B.C. and this went on for nearly 200 years. Because this went on for so long in China history, this is what they would call "Period of the Warring States." Also this time was when the aristocrats forced farmers to serve as soldiers. Chinese soldiers were armed with swords, spears, and crossbows. As the wars continued through the years, Chinese started using horses to get around the battlefield while throwing spears and shooting crossbows. That's when the Zhou dynasty ended in 221 B.C. because this would result in a new dynasty.
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Qin Dynasty
During the Period of the Warring States, in the last war one of the states was called "Qin."The ruler of Qin sent out large portions of their armies to defeat other states and end the Zhou Dynasty. That's when Qin started in 221 B.C. Qin controlled China from the Huang He to the Chang Jiang valley. The Qin ruler declared himself Qin Shihuangdi, which means "the First Qin Emperor", to mark a new beginning for China. Qin brought changes to the Chinese government that would last for many centuries. Qin wanted to unify and strengthen China. To do that, he took control of China's provinces. The governors of the provinces had passed on their positions to sons or relatives. Only Qin had the power to choose the governors now. When Qin ruled China, anyone who disagreed with the king was punished with absolute control, swift, and harsh punishment. They'd either be severely punished or killed. Qin also increased the power of his government by choosing officers. These officers would make sure government workers did their work. Qin then developed other policies and projects to unify the empire. He created a type of money, that everyone had to use. Qin also undertook building projects, including the construction on the great wall of China. The great wall of China was built to keep intruders and invaders out. The Qin dynasty soon came to an end when Qin's death came. And Qin ended in 206 B.C.
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Han Dynasty
In 202 B.C., a new dynasty arose known as the Han dynasty. The founder was Liu Bang, a farmer turned soldier. His family began the powerful Han dynasty that would rule China for more than 400 years. The first emperor of the Han dynasty was Han Wudi, who ruled from 141 B.C. to 87 B.C. Han Wudi took very important steps to improve China's government. In the past the emperor chose family members and loyal aristocrats to help them run the government. Han Wudi wanted to end this method. He chose dedicated and talented people for civil service. He got more of the rich people because the wealthy families can afford to educate their sons for the difficult civil service tests. Students prepared for the exams by studying law, history, and the ideas of Confucius. And when they passed their tests, they also won great respect in society. China's population went up to about 60 million, during the years of Han rule. To meet the needs of China's growing population, farmers needed to produce more food. But China's farmers faced a lot of special challenges. When farmers died, their land was divided into smaller pieces among their sons. By the middle of the Han dynasty, farmers lands were so small they only owned about an acre of land. Sometimes it was so bad that farmers had to sell the land to landlords. And the farmers had to work as tenant farmers. So they can feed their families. Eventually, wealthy landlords owned thousands of acres. And the tenant farmers remained poor. As China's population grew, the Han Empire took control of more land. Han's armies conquered north, south, and west. After pushing back the nomads to the north, the people of China lived in peace for almost 150 years. Armies destroyed the Han capital, in A.D.190. By A.D. 220, civil war broke out and divided China. For the next 400 years, China was still separated into small kingdoms.
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