China

  • China is a country in East Asia considered to be one of the six Cradles of Civilisation and famous in the Ancient World for its Silk.
  • The Romans referred to it as Serica.

Names for China

  • ‘Serica’ (‘of silk’)
    • Serica to the Romans, and its inhabitants were the Seres (the inhabitants of the land of silk).
  • ‘Empire of Heaven’
    • Or ‘Celestial Empire’, from the Chinese  ‘Tian Chao’. The Emperors were considered to be the sons of Heaven, and born with the Divine Right to Rule.
  • ‘Middle Kingdom’
    • From the Chinese ‘Zhong Guo’, because Ancient China was considered to be the centre (Middle) of the Earth.
  • ‘Cathay’
    • From the Chinese ‘Huaxia’.
    • Possibly derived from ‘Hua’, which was the first Dynasty and ‘Xia’ which means Great, ‘Huaxia’ meant Great First Dynasty’.
  • ‘Formosa’
    • The Roman name for Taiwan.

Chinese Dynasties

  • The Chinese Dynasties span almost 4,000 years, starting with the Xia in c.2,070 BCE and ending with the Qing in 1911.

Chinese Inventions

  • China is noted for having made four great inventions: Paper (1st century CE), the Compass (1st century CE), Printing (7th century CE), first with a woodblock then with moveable type, and Gunpowder (7th century CE).
  • China also produced many other Inventions such as Acupuncture, the Crossbow, the Cannon, Firecrackers, the Kite, Rockets, the Stern mounted Rudder, Paper Lanterns, Sky Lanterns, the Seismometer, Silk, the Stirrup, the drink Tea, the Wheelbarrow and the Wok, to name but a few.
  • Chinese Junk is a wooden ocean going vessel that has been in continuous use for over 2,200 years. It was in use during the Roman Period, and was first written about during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE).

Silk Road

  • China was the source of Silk, brought to Rome via the Silk Road which had two routes, one by land and one by sea.
  • Chinese Junks took the Sea route from China via the South China Sea and went to the Indian Ocean through the Straits of Malacca.
  • The Geographer Ptolemy records that Kattigara was the main port for Roman vessels to China. Kattigara, or Cattigara, is thought to have been Jiaozhi, located near modern Hanoi, in Vietnam.
  • The Land route went north in parallel to the Great Wall of China to Persia and Europe via Afghanistan and Sogdiana.

Great Wall of China

  • The Great Wall of China is a series of connected Walls made of rammed Earth or Mud, Brick and Stone, which run along China’s northern border in an east-west direction. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
  • During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE) the Walls ran for a distance of 5,500 miles (8,800 km). Today the entire length is considered to be 13,171 miles (21,196 km).
  • The Walls were built as a military frontier system against the steppe tribes of Mongolia known as the Xiongnu.

Chinese Delegation sent to Rome (97 CE)

  • In 97 CE the Chinese Emperor He of Han (88-105 CE) sent a Legation to Rome headed by Gan Ying, the emissary of the senior Chinese General, Ban Chao.
  • Gan reached Hecatompylos and the court of the King of Parthia, Pacorus II (78-110 CE). But after leaving Hecatompylos, he only reached as far as  Charax Spasinou, on the Arabian Gulf, known to the Chinese as Tiaozhi.
  • They turned back after being advised by the Parthians it would take too long to get to Rome. They returned to China and handed a complete report, compiled by the Parthians, on the Roman Empire, to the Emperor He of Han (88-105 CE).
  • The Parthians acted as middlemen on the Silk Road and did not intend to be bypassed.

Roman Delegations sent to China (89 – 166 CE)

From the ‘Book of the Later Han’:

  • During the Rule of Emperor He (89-105 CE) and Emperor Huan, the Romans sent several Envoys to the Emperor with Tribute and Gifts. The Roman Envoys arrived in the Rinan Commandery (Vietnam), then continued overland to the Chinese Capital Luoyang.
  • In 89 and 105 CE: Roman envoys arrived during the Rule of Emperor He
  • In 159 and 161 CE: Roman envoys arrived during the Rule of Emperor Huan.
  • In 166 CE: Roman Envoys arrived carrying gifts for the Han Emperor Huan. The Delegation was sent by ‘Andun’ (Marcus Aurelius King of ‘Da Qin’ (the Roman Empire). No response from the Han Emperor is recorded, possibly because the Han Dynasty fell after a series of civil wars during the next 30 years. Also, the Roman Empire itself was distracted by the devastating Antonine Plague (165-180 CE) which had been brought back by soldiers from the Wars in the East.

From the ‘Book of Liang’:

  • In 226 CE a Roman Merchant from ‘Da Quin’ was sent by the Prefect of Tonkin to meet the Wu Emperor Sun Quan.

The Ports used by the Merchants of ‘Da Qin’

The Book of Liang states that the two main ports of call for the Merchants of ‘Da Qin’ (Roman Empire) were:

  • Jiaozhi
    • This was the Land around the Red River Delta, corresponding to the Tonking area of North Vietnam, also known as Annam.
    • The Capital and Port city of Annam (Rinan) or Jiaozhi was ‘Co Loa Citadel’ near Hanoi. It is located in the Red River Delta, Northern Vietnam.
  • Funan in the Mekong Delta, Southern Vietnam.
    • The Port was at Oc Eo, where Chinese, Roman and Indian Goods have been excavated.

Kattigara

  • ‘Kattigara’ is the main port described by the Geographer Ptolemy for the Trade with China, and is thought to be either:
    • The archeological site of Oc Eo on the Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam.
    • Or Jiaozhi, on the Red River Delta near Hanoi in Northern Vietnam.

South China Sea

  • The South China Sea is located in the western Pacific Ocean. Its northern boundary is southern China and its southern boundary is Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Banka Belitung Islands.
  • Its western boundary is the Indochinese Peninsular and in the east it is bounded by Taiwan and the Phillipines.
  • The Sea is accessed by several Straits, the Taiwan strait connecting to the East China Sea, the Luzon Strait connecting to the Phillipine Sea, the Mindoro and Nanlac Straits connecting to the Sulu Sea, the Singapore Strait connecting to the Straits of Malacca and the Karimata and Banka Strait connecting to the Java Sea.

Qin Dynasty

  • The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) was the first dynasty after the Unification of China in 221 BCE, named after the Qin State.
  • Qin Shi Huang, (221-210 BCE) was the first Emperor of China, founder of the Qin Dynasty and the man who united China. Although the Dynasty only lasted 15 years, the imperial system it founded lasted until 1912 CE.
  • The Terracotta Army was his Funerary Monument.

Terracotta Army

  • The Terracotta Army is an army of terracotta warriors, horses and chariots, found buried in pits in the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China (221-210 BCE) and founder of the Qin Dynasty. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
  • The Army is located in a larger Necropolis which occupies 38 square miles (98 square km).
  • There are approximately 8,000 Warriors, 520 Horses, 130 Chariots and 150 Cavalry Horses.

Luoyang: Capital of Ancient China

  • Luoyang was the Capital of China under the Eastern Han Dynasty, from 27 November 25 CE.
  • It was considered to be in a Sacred Area, and also considered to be the geographical centre of China. Luoyang had the first Buddhist Temple built in China in 68 CE, the White Horse Temple.

Civil Unrest and the end of the Han Dynasty (166-c.220 CE)

  • The Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions (166 and 169 ACE):
    • Confucian scholars who acted as Officials in the Han Government opposed the Authority of the Imperial Eunuchs. They were supported by the University students. However, the Eunuchs were too powerful and had the Leaders executed or removed.
  • Zhang Jue and the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184-205 CE):
    • Zhang Jue was the Leader of a Taoist Sect and was determined to bring down the Han Dynasty.
    • In 184 CE an unsuccessful Rebellion by the Yellow Turbans triggered a series of civil wars, resulting in Luoyang being burnt in 189 CE.
  • The Han Dynasty then fell, and China disintegrated into the three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu by the 220’s CE.

The Rise of Cao Cao (175-220 CE)

  • Cao Cao, (155-220 CE) was a Warlord and Imperial Chancellor under the Han Emperors, who rose to Power and fame during this period of civil wars. He brilliantly defeated his opponents and eventually founded the Kingdom of Wei.
  • Cao Cao adopted Taoism in his Kingdom, instead of Confucianism, which had been the official state religion of the Han Dynasty.
  • In 216 CE Cao Cao became King of Wei, a kingdom which lasted until 260 CE. The other two rival Kingdoms being Shu, under Liu Bei, and Wu, under Sun Quan.
  • In 317 CE Northern China fell to the Huns. Luoyang later returned to being the Capital of Wei under Cao Cao, and of several subsequent Chinese Dynasties. Luoyang was sacked in 311 CE by the Army of thed Xiongnu, a nomadic people from the Steppes of Mongolia.

‘The Romance of the Three Kingdoms’

  • Luo Guanzhong (1330-1400 CE) wrote this historical novel which describes the Rebellion that led to the establishment of the three separate Kingdoms, including the rise of Cao Cao. It deals with the Period from 169 to 280 CE.

Chinese Classical Works

    • Paper for writing replaced Bamboo and Silk by the second century CE.
  • The Four Books and the Five Classics (c.300 BCE)
    • They form the basis and main beliefs of Confucianism.
      • The Great Learning.
      • The Doctrine of the Mean.
      • Confucian Analects.
      • The Works of Mencius.
    • The Five Classics:
      • The Book of Poetry:
        • 305 Poems dating from c.1000 to 476 BCE.
      • The Book of History:
        • A collection of speeches by Rulers and Officials of the early Zhou period, possibly dating from the sixth century BCE.
      • The Book of Rites.
      • The Book of Changes (I Ching):
        • This Book acts like an Oracle to be consulted. It contains 64 Hexagrams which produce answers to the questions posed.
      • The Spring and Autumn Annals.
  • The Art of War
    • A Treatise on Military Strategy by Sun Tzu (544-496 BCE).
  • Tao Te Ching
    • The Classic Text of Taoism by Lao Tzu.
  • Shan Hai Jing
    •  ‘The Classic of Mountains and Seas’ (4th century BCE)
      • is a compilation of Chinese mythical geography and legends.
  • Twenty Four Histories or ‘Standard Histories’ (3,000 BCE-1,664 CE)
      • These are the official Chinese history books.
      • They are a collection of 3,213 volumes covering Chinese history from 3,000 BCE to the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

  • Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the belief that a life force known as Qi circulates along channels in the body called meridians. Qi is thought to flow from the primary organs to the muscles, joints and bones through these meridians.
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine believes disease and ailments are caused by the blocking of the life force, Qi, and that the cure can be achieved by restoring the balance between opposing forces described as the Eight Principles.
  • Treatment is based on the identification and transformation of ailments using the Eight Principles which are: Interior and exterior, hot and cold, empty and full, yin and yang.
  • The cure is then applied through the use of diet, physical exercise, meditation, herbal therapy, massage and Acupuncture.
  • There are strong similarities between Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine which was based on the Theory of the Four Humours, and continued in practice right up until the 1800’s in the west.

Acupuncture

  • Acupuncture is the practice of inserting small needles into the skin and forms part of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Festivals

 

Luoyang

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