Construct a timeline on the historic points of development of ancient China.

Pre-1600 BC China's Dark Ages (220– Medieval China (581–1368) Modern China (1949–Now)
581)
China is charted China went from having four Since the founding of the
mainly by legends Many religions emerged warring kingdoms to being People's Republic of China in
and prehistoric and Buddhism was the most culturally 1949, China has entered a
evidence. popular among the sophisticated and Communist era of stability,
barbarian kingdoms in technologically developed with the Reform and Opening
North China. nation. Finally, it was Up policy of 1978 bringing in
consumed by the rise and fall China's phenomenal economic
of the phenomenal Mongol growth.
Empire, which stretched to
Europe.
The Xia Dynasty (c.
2070–1600 BC) — Early
Bronze Age China
The Han Dynasty (206 BC –
Possibly the first 220 AD)
dynasty in ancient The Republic of China Era
China. There was a The Sui Dynasty (581–618) (1912–1949)
Bronze Age Yellow River The longest imperial dynasty,
civilization at this time the Han Dynasty, was known Western influence was shown
at Erlitou in Henan. for starting the Silk Road It was a short, intense by the promotion of "science"
trade and connecting China dynasty, with great conquests
and achievements, such as the and "democracy" during the
with Central Asia and Europe. New Culture Movement.
Grand Canal and the
rebuilding of the Great Wall.

Ancient China (c. 1600–

221 BC)
The Qin Dynasty (221–206 The Qing Dynasty (1644–
BC) 1912)
Traditional Chinese The Tang Dynasty (618-907)
philosophies, such as
Confucianism and Qin Shi Huang centralized the China was reduced to being a
power of the empire after he It ruled for three centuries, semi-colonial, semi-imperial
Daoism, developed in and it was also the golden
the feudal Zhou era as took the throne and set up a country after the First Opium
system of laws. He age for poetry, painting, War, which began in 1839.
China expanded in tricolored glazed pottery, and
territory and population. standardized units of weight
and measurements, as well woodblock printing.
as the writing system.

The Ming Dynasty (1368–

1644)
The Shang Dynasty (c.
1600–1046 BC) It was an era of native
The Song Dynasty (960–1297)
Chinese strength and
Was the first to have The Qin and Han Dynasties prosperity, which faltered
historical records (221BC –220 AD) • The Song era was a period of due to natural disasters and
remaining. Many bronze technological advances and
objects and jade articles. prosperity. During the Song greedy leadership, as had so
The Qin and Han dynasties Dynasty, the handicraft industry as many dynasties before it.
The earliest form of were the initial period of the
Chinese writing – oracle well as domestic and foreign trade
bones – was found. The Chinese empire. During this boomed.
inscriptions on animal period, a number of
bones had pictographic institutions were established • The "four great inventions" of the
characters. that laid the foundation of Chinese people in ancient times
the basic political system for (paper, printing, the compass, and
the next 2,000 years. gunpowder) were further
developed in the Song Dynasty. The Final Dynasties
(1368–1912) —
Renaissance and More
Foreign Rule
The Zhou Dynasty
(1045-221 BC) Imperial China (221 BC – In the Ming and Qing
The Yuan Dynasty (1279–
1912 AD) 1368) — Mongol Rule dynasties, the imperial
Major philosophies and social structure (the
religions emerged that With the cyclical rise and
were the basis of fall of dynasties, Chinese Trade, technological royal/rich class, the
Chinese beliefs in later civilization was cultivated development, and China’s scholarly class, the working
eras, such as and prospered in times of introduction to foreign
Confucianism and countries continued under class, and the slaves) and
peace, then reformed after
Daoism. rebellions and conquests. Mongol rule. imperial examinations
continued.
 Make a retrieval chart on the contributions of ancient China to the world’s civilization.

CON TRIBUTIONS DESCRIPTIONS

PAPER MAKING • China was the first nation to invent paper. Before its invention, words were written
on various natural materials by ancient peoples-on grass stalks by the Egyptians, on
earthen plates by the Mesopotamians, on tree leaves by the Indians, on sheepskin by
the Europeans and strangest of all, even inscribed on bamboo or wooden strips,
tortoise shells or shoulder blades of an ox by the early Chinese.

• This invention has not only made our life simple but it played a huge role in the
cultural advancement of China and the World in terms of literature & literacy.

GUN POWDER China primarily used gun powder which is a chemical combination of Potassium Nitrate,
Sulphur, and Charcoal to prepare fireworks.

PRINTING • One of the remarkable inventions of China is Printing. Bi Sheng invented this for the
first time in 1040 AD which was made of baked clay.

• It is this effort of China which is helping us today to produce, exchange, and share the
information in the most effective way.

COMPASS This invention is significant as it aided to explore the oceans of the world and make
trades possible. It is the same compass which was used to discover the new worlds
(America in 1492, and others).

SEISMOGRAPH China witnessed the discovery of the first machine to identify and measure the
earthquake and the possibilities of it. The first seismograph had a container with eight
dragons and a metal ball placed below.

TEA It is said that Chinese have been cultivating tea from centuries. By the 18th century,
Europeans had developed the quench for Chinese tea and they have loved it so much
that they started exporting it from China by spending thousands of pounds of silver.

SILK It is said that for more than 2000 years the Chinese had kept this secret of silk and this
is one of the most guarded secrets in the world history.

PORCELAIN Around 2000 years ago, Chinese developed this ceramic material called Porcelain which
then spread to other Easter Asian Countries, Europe, and to the rest of the world.

BLAST AND During the rule of Han Dynasty of China (1st century AD) there was the usage of extant
FURNACE blast furnaces. In 31AD an Engineer by name Du Shi enhanced it and applied the power
of waterwheels to piston bellows to produce cast iron.

FIREWORKS Chinese used Gunpowder to make these firework materials. The history dates back to
some 2000 years and the story behind this quite interesting. The invention of fireworks
was a beautiful accident when a Chinese cook happened to mix charcoal, sulfur,
saltpeter to see an explosion.

- ETHEL KHAE D. COGTAS