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→Early history: subdivide
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. Historians working in China identify Erlitou with the Xia dynasty.<ref>The official view of ancient chronology is given by the [http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/17161 Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project] (2001), which refines the traditional timeline.</ref> Other states and cultures existed at the same time, and the focus on the traditional dynastic sequence 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 the exile of King Li of the Zhou dynasty in 841 BC, still the earliest securely dated event in Chinese history.
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. Historians working in China identify Erlitou with the Xia dynasty.<ref>The official view of ancient chronology is given by the [http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/17161 Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project] (2001), which refines the traditional timeline.</ref> Other states and cultures existed at the same time, and the focus on the traditional dynastic sequence 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 the exile of King Li of the Zhou dynasty in 841 BC, still the earliest securely dated event in Chinese history.
==Early history==
==Xia dynasty (2070–c. 1600 BC) ==
The Shang, found in 1600 BC, was China's first fully historical dynasty. It was a Bronze Age culture. Iron replaced bronze around 600 BC, during the Zhou dynasty. 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 Xia dynasty is thought to be a legend invented by the Zhou to justify their conquest of the Shang. That is it to say, it allowed the Zhou to claim that the Shang, too, were conquers. (This can be compared to the King Arthur legend in England, which Medieval writers developed to justify the Norman conquest.) The traditional list of kings and the existence of a unified Chinese state at this time are problematic. Nonetheless, the term "Xia dynasty" is used by historians in China to describe archaeological finds from this period. There are classified as Calcolithic, i.e. they show a mixture of copper and bronze technology. Calcolithic is a transitional stage between the neolithic and the Bronze Age. These existence of a transitional period suggests that China developed bronze independently
==Shang dynasty (1600-c. 1046 BC) ==
The Shang, found in 1600 BC, was China's first fully historical dynasty. It was a Bronze Age culture.
==Zhou dynasty (c. 1045–256 BC)==
Iron replaced bronze around 600 BC, during the Zhou dynasty.
==Imperial China==
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.
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.