Zodiac Notes

| Intro | Dynasties | Patterns? |
Xia Dynasty: (2205 to 1766 BCE)
Prehistoric dynasty. Founded by Yu, who was said to have stopped a great flood. However, he was more selfish than those before him (Yao and Shun), so he passed his leadership on to his son.
Shang Dynasty (1766 to 1027 BCE)
"Shang" means "trade", so they were good traders. The earliest bronze and writing unearthed were from this dynasty. Feng Shen Yan Yi, which the Japanese adopted to become "Houshin Engi", was about the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty by the Zhou vassal.
Zhou Dynasty (1027 to 221 BCE)
Longest dynasty, 800 years. Promoted idea of the Emperor's "heavenly mandate" to rule. Dropped Shang's "Tao Tie" creatures and took up dragons as the symbol of luck. Kept the Shang organization of many vassal states/kingdoms, which became a problem later.

Spring and Autumn Period (770 to 473 BCE)
Fighting between the hundreds of vassal states. "Hundred Schools of Thought", the precedent to philosophical greats such as Confucious, Lao Tsu, and Mencious.
The Warring States (475 to 221 BCE)
The seven strongest states have conquered the smaller ones. Now they battle amongst themselves.

The Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 BCE)
Qin, through a series of coalitions and trickeries, have united China. The first official "Emperor", Shi Huang Di, unifies the money system, the writing system, and the transportation system. He also buried scholars alive and burned literature. The Dynasty collapsed in the hands of his second son.
Chaos
brief struggle between the self-proclaimed kings of "Han" (Liu Bang) and "Chu" (Xiang Yu). Liu Bang wins because he is better at using men.
The Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE)
Beginning the establishment of the Han identity and culture that is dominant in mainland China henceforth.
Chaos
Period of chaos, where China was first split into three: Shu, Wu, and Wei. Events of the Three Warring States. Briefly united by the Jin Dynasty, then divided again into a series of northern and southern dynasties. United once again by Sui, but then there was a coup by one of the vassal states that lead to the formation of the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 CE)
Silk road, poetry, and other massive flourishing of culture. There as a brief interlude in the middle where an empress ousted her emperor and ruled for 30-odd years before the emperor was able to reclaim the throne. Events of Journey to the West
Chaos
Tang breaks up into several small kingdoms. Age of the "Five Eras and Ten Kingdoms." Much fighting amongst tiny kingdoms. Finally General Zhao of North Zhou executed a coup, took over the country, then proceded to conquer the rest of the kingdoms
Song ("sown!") Dynasty
Overall period of flourishing culture. Some stagnation. Development of verses. Events of Shui Hu.
North Song (979 to 1127 CE)
Strong, led with relatively bright emperors. Events of Yang Jia Jiang. Ends when Emperors got kidnapped by the Jin from the north.
South Song (1127 to 1279 CE)
New capital set up in Jin Ling. Practially everythng north of the Yangtze is under Jin's control. Ends when Kublai Khan conquers Song.

The Yuan Dynasty (1279 to 1368 CE)
Ruled by the Mongols. Cultural stagnation. Marco Polo paid a visit, opens up to West. Development of operas.
The Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644 CE)
Zhu YuanZhang ousted the Mongols and proclaimed himself king. A series of unremarkable emperors, then finally some horrible ones. General over-reliance on eunuchs, granting them too much power. Development of the novel. Events of Hong Lou Meng
The Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911 CE)
Wu ShanGui opened up the fort to let the Manchus in. Besides making everyone shave their heads and wear pigtails, they actually did a pretty good job ruling China. Two really good emperors (Kang Xi and Qian Long), and the rest weren't bad. Unfortunately for them, the West was stronger.