Rise of Chinese Dynasties and Focus on State-Building Rise of Chinese Dynasties

The History of the Chinese dynasties has always been a long history of a hereditary monarchical regime that ruled over China for a prolonged period. The Chinese dynasty was first established by Yu the Great circa 2070 BC. Many successor dynasties continued until 1912 when the last king of the Chinese dynasty Xuantong Emperor was abducted in the wake of the Xinhai Revolution. The ethnic Han, the dominant Chinese ethnic group and the predecessor Huaxia Chinese confederation, were not the only ones who belonged to the Chinese dynasty. Non-Han people established some. 

Dividing the history of the Chinese dynasties into various periods of their ruling time frame is a convenient periodisation method. Thus when a dynasty has regained its position, the time limit of that period can be delimited accordingly. It can also describe events, trends, personalities, artistic compositions, and artefacts of that period. For instance, Ming Porcelain is referred to as porcelain manufactured during the Ming dynasty. 

The orthodox dynasty that is the longest-ruling in China is the Zhou Dynasty. They ruled for more than 789 despite being separated into the Eastern and the Western Zhou in Chinese historiography. But its power was reduced drastically in the latter part of the rule. The largest orthodox dynasty in the territorial area is considered either the Yuan dynasty or the Qing dynasty as per the source of the history.

Rise of Chinese Dynasties

There have been many dynasties that witnessed a rise in the early centuries of ancient China that overall led to the Chinese dynasties. Some of these important dynasties are described below that had the biggest contribution to the rise of the Chinese dynasties:-

• Qing Dynasty: Qing Dynasty, also referred to as the Manchu dynasty or Pinyin Manzu, existed from 1644 to 1911/12. It is the last dynasty of all the imperial dynasties of China. Under the influence of the Qing emperor, the empire expanded three times its size than it under the preceding Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The population of the dynasty grew from 150 million to 450 million. Under this population were many non-Chinese minorities who were sinicised, followed by the establishment of an integrated national economy.

• Qin Dynasty: Qin dynasty, also referred to as the Kin or Chin, was the first great Chinese empire that lasted for a very short period of time, only from 221 to 207 BCE. But this is the empire from which the name of the country, “China”, was derived. The basic administrative system and the boundaries that were set by this empire were then followed by the country for the next two millennia. The Qin city occupied the most strategic Wei river valley in the country's extreme northwest, with the least sinicised population present. It was one of the smallest states but one of the most martial. 

In the middle of the 3rd and the end of the 2nd century, Qin started centralizing the powers by creating a rigid and strict law and order system that was regularised throughout the country. The state was also divided into a series of small commentaries run by the officials. They were the ones who left two big monuments of China, namely, The Great Wall of China, which was the connection of a large number of small walls and the great palace for the first emperor, which is about 1500 square feet in area. The most important artistic contribution was standardising and simplifying the Chinese writing language that was emerging at that period. They also abolished feudal privileges, standardised the length, width and weight of highways and ordered the burning of all books except the utility books like medicines etc. 

• Shang Dynasty: Shang dynasty overthrew the first Xia dynasty and became the second dynasty of China that ruled from the time period of 1600-1064 BCE. They first came into rule when Shang leader Tang defeated Xia Tyrant Jie. The Shang dynasty was the first one in China, and the origin later became known as Chinese culture. For a prolonged time, the country witnessed stability on the social and economic front. This has led to many cultural advancements like the Chinese calendar, writing scripts, industrialised bronze casting, Cultural rituals etc. They created a stable government that ran for over 600 years but slowly declined as they lost the perspective of mandate heaven, which allied them to rule. They are the founder of Chinese culture and civilisation. 

• Zhou Dynasty: Zhou dynasty ruled China for more than eight centuries in ancient times. It is one of the most ancient dynasties that has established distinctive political and cultural characteristics that remained with China for the next millennia. This dynasty has been divided into two segments, namely the Western zhou dynasty, which was established before the time period of 771 BCE, and the other one is called eastern zone dynasty, which was from 770 BC. The significant contribution that the sword dynasty has made that has cultural significance is in agriculture education, military organisation, music, philosophical school of thought, Chinese literature and social stratification, and political and religious innovation.

They were masters of producing high-quality Bolts of silk and were expert mentions jewellers and metallurgists who created masterpieces from bronze and jade. Along with the concept of ancestor worship, they also developed the calendar music and musical instrument possum and the concept of the mandate of heaven in a religious framework.

• Han Dynasty: China's second-biggest imperial dynasty continued its rule from 206 BCE to 220 CE after the zone dynasty. It was the successor of the queen dynasty, which ruled from about 221 to 207 BC. Thus to identify someone technically Chinese, the word “Han” became the Chinese word to denote the same. It reunified China in 202 BC by putting an end to the civil war. Thus, it is considered the golden age of peace and prosperity. It is when China has witnessed the maximum progression and cultural development in society.

• Ming Dynasty: Ming dynasty ruled over China by replacing the Mongolian dynasty that was there in ruling power since the 13 century CE. The rule of the Ming dynasty lasted from 1368 to 1644 CE. Even after many challenges from abroad and within the country, the dynasty witnessed unprecedented growth in the Chinese population and successfully achieved economic prosperity. The reasons for the rise of the Ming dynasty are the successful achievements that include the construction of the forbidden city, which is today known as the imperial residence in Beijing, the blooming of literature and art in the society and the far-flung exploration of zheng He along with the development of the blue and white porcelain that is considered as timeless. 

• Sui Dynasty: Sui dynasty 2 was a very short-living dynasty with only two successive emperors established in 581 CE and continued until 618 CE. But one of its greatest achievements was to unify China in the 6th century following the split of the Northern and Southern dynasty periods. The reasons for the rise of the Sui dynasty were the governmental reforms, administration, civil services law, and land distributions that helped restore and centralise imperial authority. It also built a strong and widespread transportation network that included a great grand canal that was used to join the two rivers, namely, Huang and Chang. Gunpowder was also invented during this era. 

• Tang Dynasty: The Tang dynasty was in power from the time period of 618 to 906 A.D and is considered the golden period of Chinese art and culture. During its rule, the dynasty attracted a lot of international reputation that went beyond its cities due to the widespread practice of Buddhism that had spread its culture across much of Asia. The other reason for the rise of the Tang Dynasty is its extended control over the neighbouring states and the height of silk route trading that followed over the next few centuries.

Rise and fall of Chinese Dynasties

Focus on the state-building rise of Chinese dynasties or the Dynasty cycle is an important concept in Chinese history. According to this theory, each of the Chinese dynasties at the beginning of the ruling climbed up to the top of the political, cultural, and economic peak and then with the continuation of the various successors with the passing generation, the emperors and the court gets morally corrupt and loses the mandate of heaven. This leads to the replacement of the old dynasty with the new one. Under the surface pattern of repetitive motifs, the cycle continues as such for all the dynasties. 

There has been very little change in the social and economic structure considering the succession of empires or dynasties; it sees a continuity in Chinese history from early times to the present. The cycle proceeds as follows:-

• The new ruler found a new dynasty, achieving the mandate to heaven.

• China archives prosperity under the new dynasty.

• In the imperial court, the corruption of the officials becomes rampant, due to which the empire starts losing its stability.

• Natural disasters like floods or earthquakes wipe out the land. The corruption, along with the overpopulation, then leads to famine. 

• The famine led to the civil war as the people rebelled against the royal court. 

• The ruler then loses the mandate of heaven.

• There is a sharp decrease in population because of the outbreak of famine followed by war. 

• China is undergoing a warring state period.

• One of the states witnessed victory.

• The new empire gains the mandate of heaven, and the cycle continues. 

Conclusion

We have understood about the Chinese dynasty and the rule of many kings who played an important role in the rise of the Chinese empire and the boom in their economy.