Historical polities of China
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| Historical polities of China | |
|---|---|
| Conventional long name | Historical polities of China |
| Common name | China (historical polities) |
| Era | Antiquity to Modern era |
| Government type | various: imperial dynasties, kingdoms, republics, warlord states, protectorates |
| Year start | c. 2070 BC (traditional) |
| Year end | 1949 AD (formation of the People's Republic) |
| Capital | Anyang, Luoyang, Chang'an, Nanjing, Beijing |
| Common languages | Old Chinese, Middle Chinese, Classical Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese |
| Religion | Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Islam in China |
Historical polities of China The term covers sovereign states, dynasties, kingdoms, protectorates, and regimes that ruled territories within the geographical and cultural space commonly associated with China from the legendary Xia dynasty through the Qing dynasty and the Republican period ending with the People's Republic of China. These polities include recognized dynasties like the Han dynasty, Tang dynasty, and Song dynasty, as well as contemporaneous states such as the Nanyue kingdom, Liao dynasty, and Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Scholarship draws on sources including the Shiji, Book of Han, Zizhi Tongjian, and archaeological finds from sites like Yinxu.
Definition and scope
Scholars delineate polities by rulership over the North China Plain and adjacent regions, citing events like the Battle of Muye, establishment of the Qin dynasty, and the Xinhai Revolution as boundary markers; this scope includes polities recognized in the Twenty-Four Histories and peripheral states influencing imperial politics, such as the Xiongnu confederation, Rouran Khaganate, and Mongol Empire. Debates over inclusion reference the Tributary system, the Treaty of Nerchinsk, and the status of entities like the Ryukyu Kingdom and Dali Kingdom. Periodization relies on frameworks exemplified by Sima Qian and later historians including Zhang Xuecheng and John King Fairbank.
Chronological list of major dynasties and regimes
This list follows conventional Chinese periodization: legendary/early states (Xia dynasty, Shang dynasty, Zhou dynasty), imperial unification under the Qin dynasty and consolidation in the Han dynasty, division and reunification across the Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei, Shu Han, Eastern Wu), reunification under the Jin dynasty (266–420), fragmentation during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, reunification under the Sui dynasty, golden age of the Tang dynasty, division in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (e.g., Later Liang (Five Dynasties), Wu (Ten Kingdoms)), reunification in the Song dynasty, conquest by the Yuan dynasty, restoration under the Ming dynasty, and final imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, followed by the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. Specific regimes within eras include the Northern Wei, Sui–Tang transition, Southern Song, Western Xia, and the Ming–Qing transition events such as the Shanhai Pass engagements.
Regional and non-Han polities
Peripheral and non-Han polities exerted major influence: the Nanzhao Kingdom, Dali Kingdom, Khitan people who founded the Liao dynasty, the Jurchen who founded the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), the Mongol Empire and its Yuan dynasty, the Xianbei states, and Turkic polities like the Göktürks and Uyghur Khaganate. Southern and maritime polities include the Nanyue, Min Kingdom, Chu (Ten Kingdoms), and Maritime trade networks connecting Quanzhou and Guangzhou with the Arab world and Southeast Asia polities such as Srivijaya and Majapahit. Frontier interactions involved the Tibetan Empire, Khwarezmian Empire contacts, and later Russian Empire incursions culminating in treaties like the Convention of Peking.
Political organization and institutions
Imperial institutions evolved from early offices recorded in the Zhouli and Rites of Zhou to the centralized bureaucracy of the Qin dynasty and the Han dynasty's examination and prefectural systems later formalized by the Song dynasty's civil service examinations influenced by Confucianism and commentaries by Zhu Xi. Administrative units—commanderies, prefectures, counties—interacted with military institutions exemplified by the fubing system, yunjun, and later the Eight Banners of the Manchu state. Legal codes such as the Tang Code, Great Ming Code, and Qing Code structured judicial practice, while institutions like the Imperial Ancestral Temple and Grand Secretariat shaped ritual and policy. Dynastic succession crises featured figures like Emperor Wu of Han, Empress Wu Zetian, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Yongle Emperor, and events like the An Lushan Rebellion.
Territorial changes and frontier administration
Territorial expansion and contraction are marked by campaigns such as the Han–Xiongnu Wars, the Tang–Goguryeo War, the Mongol conquests, and naval encounters like the Battle of Lake Poyang. Treaties and administrative reforms—Nine Provinces conceptions, the Tusi system, and Xinjiang administration under the Qing dynasty—altered boundaries. Colonization and settlement initiatives included the Han colonization of Nanyang, Great Wall construction phases, Kangxi Emperor's consolidation, and the Russian treaties after the Amur Annexation; these intersected with demographic movements such as the Hakka migrations and the Boundaries of China negotiations in the nineteenth century.
Cultural identity, ethnicity, and legitimacy
Legitimacy claims invoked the Mandate of Heaven, dynastic histories compiled in works like the Book of Later Han, and rhetoric by statesmen such as Sima Guang and reformers like Kang Youwei. Ethnic identity was negotiated among Han Chinese, Manchu, Mongols, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Zhuang people, evident in policies from sinicization campaigns to multiethnic institutions like the Five Races Under One Union flag. Religious and intellectual currents—Neo-Confucianism, Chan Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Islam in China communities, and Christianity in China missions—shaped claims to cultural authority alongside material culture exemplified by Song ceramics, Ming porcelain, and Qing dynasty palace arts.
Legacy and historiography
Modern scholarship evaluates dynastic legitimacy, state formation, and continuity in works by historians including Derk Bodde, John K. Fairbank, Wang Gungwu, and Ray Huang. Debates engage sources like the Bamboo Annals, archaeological finds from Sanxingdui, and epigraphic evidence from the Oracle bones. Contemporary political narratives invoke dynastic models in discussions about Chinese nationalism, territorial integrity, and international relations involving the Republic of China (Taiwan), People's Republic of China, and cross-strait relations. The historiographical record continues to be revised by discoveries at sites such as Mawangdui and reinterpretations of texts like the Zuo Zhuan.