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Traditional history begins with Pangu, the first living being. When Pangu died, his left eye became the Sun. Various parts of his body became different parts of the Earth. There followed a succession of Three Sovereigns, or demigod rulers. The first and best known of these was Fu Xi. After the Three Sovereigns, there were the Five Emperors. During the reign of Emperor Yao (c. 2356 – 2255 BC), a great and terrible flood began.<ref>The Biblical flood may be dated as  2304 BC.("[http://creation.com/the-date-of-noahs-flood The Date of Noah’s Flood]" by Dr John Osgood)</ref> The waters overtopped hills and mountains, threatening heaven itself. Yao appointed Gun to control the food. To build dikes, Gun stole soil that expanded magically from the Supreme Deity. This angered the Supreme Deity, and the flood raged on. Yao consulted the Four Mountains, who advised him to appoint Shun as his successor. Shun (r. 2255 – 2195 BC) was only a distant relative of Yao, but he was known throughout the kingdom as a dutiful son. Shun's father had repeatedly tried to murder him, so being a dutiful son was not as easy as it might sound. Shun was later singled out by [[Confucius]] as an example of outstanding filial piety. Yet he too proved helpless before the flood. Shun's successor, Yu the Great (c. 2200 - 2100 BC), was finally able to control the raging waters by building embankments made of non-magical soil. Yu's son succeeded him, making Yu the founder of the legendary [[Xia dynasty]] (2070 – c. 1600 BC).

Traditional history begins with Pangu, the first living being. When Pangu died, his left eye became the Sun. Various parts of his body became different parts of the Earth. There followed a succession of Three Sovereigns, or demigod rulers. The first and best known of these was Fu Xi. After the Three Sovereigns, there were the Five Emperors. During the reign of Emperor Yao (c. 2356 – 2255 BC), a great and terrible flood began.<ref>The Biblical flood may be dated as  2304 BC.("[http://creation.com/the-date-of-noahs-flood The Date of Noah’s Flood]" by Dr John Osgood)</ref> The waters overtopped hills and mountains, threatening heaven itself. Yao appointed Gun to control the food. To build dikes, Gun stole soil that expanded magically from the Supreme Deity. This angered the Supreme Deity, and the flood raged on. Yao consulted the Four Mountains, who advised him to appoint Shun as his successor. Shun (r. 2255 – 2195 BC) was only a distant relative of Yao, but he was known throughout the kingdom as a dutiful son. Shun's father had repeatedly tried to murder him, so being a dutiful son was not as easy as it might sound. Shun was later singled out by [[Confucius]] as an example of outstanding filial piety. Yet he too proved helpless before the flood. Shun's successor, Yu the Great (c. 2200 - 2100 BC), was finally able to control the raging waters by building embankments made of non-magical soil. Yu's son succeeded him, making Yu the founder of the legendary [[Xia dynasty]] (2070 – c. 1600 BC).

==Dynastic period==

==Pre-history and early history==

China's first historic dynasty is the Shang. It was founded about 1500 BC and had a [[Bronze Age]] culture. Successive dynasties developed a system of bureaucratic control that gave the agrarian-based Chinese an advantage over neighboring nomadic and hill cultures. Chinese civilization was further strengthened by the development of a Confucian state ideology and a common written language that bridged the gaps among the country's many local languages and dialects. Whenever China was conquered by nomadic tribes, as it was by the Mongols in the 13th century, the conquerors sooner or later adopted the ways of the "higher" Chinese civilization and staffed the bureaucracy with Chinese.  

The neolithic site of Yangshao in Henan Province was excavated by Swedish archaeologist Johan Gunnar Andersson in 1921. The Yangshao culture thrived along Yellow River and cultivated millet from about 4900 to 3000 BC. Silk was produced and pottery was fired in kilns dug into the ground. The bones of domesticated dogs, cattle, sheep and goats have been found.<ref>Vasey, Daniel E., ''[http://books.google.com.tw/books?id=XcrrGBbT9eEC&dq= An Ecological History of Agriculture 10,000 BD to AD 10,000]'', p. 157 (2002)</ref> As of 1999, a total of 31 Yangshao sites have been located.<ref>Xiaolin Ma, "''[http://books.google.com.tw/books?ei=F6LwUtb6IsmckAWyyYD4AQ&id=ytxnAAAAMAAJ&dq= Emergent Social Complexity in the Yangshao Culture: Analyses of Settlement Patterns and Faunal Remains from Lingbao, Western Henan, China C. 4900-3000 Bc]''</ref> A second neolithic site was uncovered by C.T. Wu at Longshan in Shandong in 1928. Black pottery is a characteristic find at Longshan archaeological sites. Longshan is now considered an example of the second phase of a Yangshao-Longshan culture, one that lasted from 3000 to 2000 BC. Copper was introduced around 2000 BC, and China entered the [[Bronze Age]] around 1700 BC.

The discovery of silk from the silkworm occurred around 2700 BC. Sericulture, the cultivation of the silkworm to produce silk, spread through China, making silk a highly valued commodity. It was considered to be the domain of women; while men worked in the fields, women reared silkworms and tended mulberry plantations.  This is reflected in the modern Chinese character for the English meaning "tired", "累"，lei, which is a picture of a field - the work of men - above a picture of a coil of silk - the work of women.  

The traditional view of ancient Chinese history, still promoted by the Chinese government, is of a succession of dynasties from Xia to Shang to Zhou going back 5,000 years.<ref>Some 200 experts contributed to the [http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/17161 Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project] (2001), which refines the traditional timeline.</ref> However, other states and cultures existed at this time and the focus on these three may reflect the basis of dynasty-oriented historians. Among the first historians to carefully separate myth from history was [[Sima Qian]]. His history begins with with the exile of King Li of the Zhou dynasty in 841 BC, still the earliest securely dated event in Chinese history.

When the Chinese discovered [[gunpowder]] they had no intention of using it as a weapon. Instead, it was developed in the Tang dynasty as a formula for immortality by religious Daoist alchemists.  It was discovered to be a powerful explosive, and when lit, gunpowder in a bamboo stick made a colorful explosion. This loud explosion was used to chase away evil spirits and to celebrate weddings, victories in battles, and religious ceremonies. However, contrary to popular belief, the first depiction of gunpowder in pictorial form shows it in military use. Similarly, it is also known that before the arrival of Westerners in China, Chinese troops were equipped with firearms.

 

When the Chinese discovered [[gunpowder]] they had no intention of using it as a weapon. Instead, it was developed in the Tang dynasty as a formula for immortality by religious Daoist alchemists.  It was discovered to be a powerful explosive, and when lit, gunpowder in a bamboo stick made a colorful explosion. This loud explosion was used to chase away evil spirits and to celebrate weddings, victories in battles, and religious ceremonies. However, contrary to popular belief, the first depiction of gunpowder in pictorial form shows it in military use. Similarly, it is also known that before the arrival of Westerners in China, Chinese troops were equipped with firearms.

===Great Wall===

===Great Wall===