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1、35Reader B Introductions to Selected Dynasties of ChinaThe Qin DynastyQin Dynasty was the first unified,multi-national and power-centralized state in theChinese history.It lasted from 221 B.C.to 207 B.C.Although surviving only 15years,the dynasty held an important role in Chinese history and it exer
2、ted greatinfluence on the following dynasties.Only two emperors,Yingzheng-Emperor QinShi Huang,the first emperor in the Chinese history,and his son Hu Hai ever ruled thestate,which was finally overthrown by the peoples uprising.A series of effective measures has been taken during the reign of Yingzh
3、eng.Hecontributed much to the development of his country.However,during the late periodof his reign,he was cruel and oppressive to his people,and caused dissatisfaction.After he died,Hu Hai succeeded him.However,he was so fatuous that caused theuprising led by peasants,Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.Later
4、the insurgency was led byXiang Yu and Liu Bang.In 207 B.C.,Xiang Yus army defeated the Army of Qin andLiu Bang swept into the capital which finally ended the Qin Dynasty.At the end of the Qin Dynasty in 207 B.C.,war broke out between Liu bang andXiang Yu.It was known as the Chu-Han war,and it lasted
5、 for four years,ending withthe victory of Liu Bang,who later established the Western Han Dynasty.Tostrengthen the unity of the nation to perpetuate the Qin Dynasty,Emperor Qin carriedout many reforms in politics,economy,military affairs,and culture.In politics,he declared himself the Emperor of the
6、state.All major powers includingpolitics,economy,military affairs were in his hand.Executive organizations both inthe central and local places were systematically reorganized and local counties wererestructured.In his economy,the standardized weights and measures and he stipulatedthat the round coin
7、 with square hole(Ban Liang Coin)should be the coin used in thecountry.In addition,he standardized the written character,making the Qinzhuan the standardfont.He also placed great importance on infrastructure:irrigation works and roadbuilding projects.The miracle of the world,the Great Wall of China,
8、was built underhis order.All that he achieved had promoted the development of Qins economy.Emperor Qin Shi Huang was a tyrant despite his contributions to the country.Toprevent his people to think freely,he burnt many books which he feared would affectpeoples thinking.Worse,in his second year,after
9、he learnt some scholarsdiscussions about his arrogance,he buried 460 of them alive.In history,these twoevents are called“To Burn the Books and Bury the Scholars Alive”.And yet,at thesametime,heorderedtobuildluxuriouspalaces,theGreatWall,thefamous Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses,together with his own
10、 mausoleum,byimposing on the masses,through hard labor,heavy taxes,and rigorous law and36military service,giving the community a difficult and arduous existence.The Han DynastyThe Han Dynasty(206 B.C.-220 A.D.)was one of the longest of Chinas majordynasties.In terms of power and prestige,the Han Dyn
11、asty in the East rivaled itsalmost contemporary Roman Empire in the West.With only minor interruptions itlasted a span of over four centuries and was considered a golden age in Chinesehistory especially in arts,politics and technology.All subsequent Chinese dynastieslooked back to the Han period as
12、an inspiring model of a united empire andself-perpetuating government.In 202 B.C.,Emperor Gaozu,whose given name was Liu Bang,became the first Hanemperor after defeating the last rebellion against him.He had already been king ofHan since 206 B.C.(the formal beginning of the Han dynasty).During the p
13、reviousdynasty,the Qin,Liu Bang had been a minor official.The Qin dynasty(221-206 B.C.)was very short and cruel;by the time it collapsed,Liu Bang had raised an army andclaimed the vacant throne.He was not the only one in the quest for power,and one ofhis most important opponents was a general named
14、Xiang Yu(also known as XiangJi).We are told that Xiang Yu captured Liu Bangs father and sent a final warning toLiu Bang,assuring that his father would be boiled alive unless Liu Bang surrendered.Liu Bangs answer suggests that he did not get along very well with his father:“Sendme a cup of the soup”,
15、he replied.In the end,Liu Bangs father was not turned intosoup,and Xiang Yu decided to end his own life by committing suicide in 202 B.C.Some accounts say he was defeated in battle,while others tells us he was neverdefeated in battle but was gradually undermined by the popular support for Liu Bang;L
16、iu Bang was the first Chinese emperor who was originally a commoner.Liu Bang established the imperial capital in the city of Changan,located 3 kmnorthwest of modern Xian,which was chosen due to its strategic importance:it notonly had a central position(all major roads converged in Changan),but it wo
17、uld alsobecome the eastern end of the Silk Road.The city turned into the political,economic,military,and cultural centre of China and by 2ndcentury its population was nearly250,000.In 195 B.C.,upon Liu Bangs death,his empress L Zhi(also known as LHou)tried to confiscate the empire for her own family
18、.Her methods show a firmdetermination:she murdered several of Liu Bangs sons born to concubines,mutilatedhis favourite mistress and had her thrown into a latrine.She also replaced with herown relatives many of the loyal generals and members of Liu Bangs family whoruled the fiefdoms.The conflict last
19、ed for 15 years,until finally the Liu Bang clanregained control of the empire:Emperor Wen,a surviving Liu Bang son,was finallyenthroned re-establishing the broken lineage.The imperial wrath was ruthless:theLius killed every single member of L Zhis clan they managed to find.37The Tang DynastyViewing
20、the Chinese history record,you will find the Tang Dynasty was the mostglistening historic period in Chinas history.Founded in 618 and ending in 907,thestate,under the ruling of the Tang Emperors,became the most powerful andprosperous country in the world.Particularly,in this glorious period,the econ
21、omy,politics,culture and military strength reached an unparalleled advanced level.At the end of Sui Dynasty(581-618),the whole country fell into chaos due to thetyranny of Emperor Yang;rebellions roused by peasants were everywhere.ResentingEmperor Yangs ruling,the chief officer of Taiyuan-Li Yuan,wh
22、o was also knownas Tangguo Gong(a vassal in Sui Court)raised an army in Taiyuan from May 617.InNovember of the same year,Li Yuans army captured the capital city Changan(currently Xian)and put a new monarch,Yang You,on the throne as Emperor Gong.Meanwhile,Li Yuan proclaimed himself Da Chengxiang(prim
23、e minister)and TangWang(King of Tang).In 618 after Emperor Yang was killed by his chancellor,Yuwen Huaji,Li Yuan seized the chance to proclaim himself emperor and changedthe state title into Tang,still with Changan as the capital city.The first glorious period was from 627 to 649 when the Tang Dynas
24、ty was just set upand its national strength was recovering from the previous weak condition.Under Emperor Taizong Li Shimins wise governing,the national strength and socialdevelopment reached an unparalleled prosperity-economy and commerce flourished,the social order was stable,corruption never exis
25、ted in the court and the nationalboundaries were even open to foreign countries.After Li Shimin died,the throne passed to his ninth son Li Zhi who was later crownedas Emperor Gaozong and married Li Shimins imperial concubine Wu Meiniang.WuMeiniang was officially named Wu Zetian and afterwards became
26、 the empress.Actually it was Wu Zetian who had the real power during Emperor Gaozongs reignsince the emperor suffered from bad health.After Li Zhi died,Wu successivelyenthroned and dethroned her two sons-Li Xian and Li Dan.In 690,disregarding theobjections and criticisms of all chancellors,Wu Zetian
27、 proclaimed herself EmperorShengshen and established a new dynasty-Zhou,which lasted for 15 years.Duringher reign,the state economy continued to develop rapidly.In 705,a coup broke out which brought one of the former emperors,Li Xian,to thethrone as Emperor Zhongzong.However,EmperorZhongzongs ruling
28、 wasmanipulated by his wife,Empress Wei.In 710,plotting to be the second womanemperor,Empress Wei along with Princess Anle poisoned Zhongzong.At that time,Li Longji(son of Li Dan)launched a coup with the assistance of his parental auntPrincess Taiping,killing Empress Wei and Princess Anle.After that
29、,Li Dan wascrowned as Emperor Ruizong.38The second glorious period was during Emperor Xuanzongs reign.In 712,EmperorRuizong abdicated and Li Longji was enthroned as Emperor Xuanzong.Under hisruling,the national economy,politics and culture all developed rapidly and the socialdevelopment entered a ne
30、w heyday.In that period,Changan City was the largest andthe most prosperous metropolis in the world.Since the title of Xuanzongs reign wasKaiyuan,that period was called the Heyday of Kaiyuan,in which the dynasty reachedits summit of prosperity.In his old age,Emperor Xuanzong was complacent and indif
31、ferent to state affairs.Hopelessly,he indulged himself in the beauty of his concubine Yang Yuhuan.Besides,he also appointed some wicked chancellors who corrupted the political order.Meanwhile,troops on the frontiers gradually gathered together and formed a powerfulmilitary force.In 755,An Lushan ali
32、gned with Shi Siming and launched a rebellion,called the An Shi Rebellion which lasted for eight years and heavily knocked theTang regime.From then on,the national strength was weakened daily by separatistforces in local areas.Because of the incompetence of the emperors the dominance ofthe eunuchs a
33、nd power struggles between chancellors became increasingly intense.Hence the Tang Dynasty declined from generation to generation.In 859,a large-scalepeasant uprising launched by Huang Chao again severely attacked the Tang regime.In 907,the last Tang emperor,Emperor Ai was forced to abdicate by Chanc
34、ellor ZhuQuanzhong,who afterwards changed the state title into Liang,finally putting the everpowerful and mighty dynasty to an end.The Qing DynastyBefore Qings establishment,there was a regime called“Latter Jin”that had been setup by Nurhachu,leader of the Man Ethnic Minority.Actually,Man people wer
35、e theoffspring of the Nuzhen people who had always been living in Northeast China.Afterreunifying all the Nuzhen tribes,Nurhachu proclaimed himself emperor in 1616.Thusa new regime called Latter Jin was founded in Hetu Ala(in current Liaoning Province)during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming
36、 Dynasty(1368-1644).In 1636,Huang Taiji,son of Nurhachu moved the capital to Shenyang(currently thecapital city of Liaoning Province)and changed the regime title into“Qing”.In 1644when peasants uprising leader Li Zicheng ended Ming and set up a new regime inBeijing,the Qing army seduced a general na
37、med Wu Sangui to rebel against LiZicheng.With Wus help,the Qing army successfully captured Beijing and rootedtheir regime there.At the beginning,the Qing court carried out a series of policies to revive the socialeconomy and alleviate the class contradiction.In politics,following Mings rulingpattern
38、,the imperial rulers continued to strengthen the centralized system.Meanwhile,39the court resumed the“Sheng”administrative system that established by Yuan(1271-1368).Especially,in the frontiers like Tibet,Xinjiang,Mongol and Taiwan Island,thecourt set out to enhance the power of the imperial ruling.
39、By the middle of the 18th century,the feudal economy of the Qing Dynasty reached azenith,spanning the reign of Emperor Kangxi,Emperor Yongzheng and EmperorQianlong.So that period was usually called“the golden age of three emperors”.Inthat period,both culture and science were much more prosperous tha
40、n any otherperiods.The notable book,The Imperial Collection of Four,was edited in that period.Also,a group of scholars and artists such as Cao Xueqin(writer of A Dream of RedMansions),Wu Jingzi(writer of The Scholars)and Kong Shangren(writer of ThePeach Blossom Fan)gradually appeared.In the field of
41、 science,the achievements inarchitecture were outstanding.After the middle period,all kinds of social contradictions increasingly surfaced andQing began to decline.Under the corrupt ruling of the later rulers,various rebellionsand uprisings broke out.In 1840 when the Opium War broke out,the Qing cou
42、rt wasfaced with troubles at home and aggression from abroad.During that period,measureswere adopted by imperial rulers and some radical peasants to bolster their power.TheWesternization Movement,the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Taiping Rebellionwere the most influential ones,but none of them had ever succeeded in saving thedying Qing Dynasty.Finally,the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen broke out and overthrew theEmpire of Qing,bringing two thousand years of Chinese feudal monarchy to an end.