skip to Main Content

DigMandarin Community Forums The Chinese Dynasty Song

Viewing 1 reply thread
  • Author
    Posts
    • #1706
      Joe Varadi
      Participant

      The Chinese Dynasty Song

      Chinese history
      is shrouded in mystery,
      more myth than fact
      if you go further back
      than two millennia, BC …

      Shang (~1600 to 1046 BC)

      The first “real” dynasty of Bronze Age clang,
      Inscribed on Oracle bones, they called it Shang

      Zhou (1046 to 256 BC)

      Zhou lasted longest, some eight hundred years,
      Central power’s decline into Warring States and tears

      Qin (221 to 206 BC)

      Unified empire, script and currency,
      Brief, but long-lasting imperial legacy

      Han (206 BC to 220 AD)

      Prosperity, Golden Age
      Confucianism — all the rage

      Three Kingdoms (220 to 280 AD)

      WeiShuWu — a divided nation
      Bloodshed, technologic innovation

      Jin (266 to 420 AD)

      A million square miles and more at its peak
      Forced to retreat south by a barbarian streak

      Sui (581 to 618 AD)

      North-South reunited, nomad tribes demoted,
      Grand Canal built, Buddhism imported

      Tang (618 to 907 AD)

      The dynasty that gave us powdered drinks?
      Please forgive me – that joke stinks

      Song (960 to 1279 AD)

      Gunpowder invented, stood up a naval force,
      Not enough to repel Yuan’s Mongolian hordes

      Yuan (1279 to 1368 AD)

      Nearly a century of non-Han rule
      Paper money — commerce’s great tool

      Ming (1368 to 1644 AD)

      Trade, porcelain, Great Wall fortification
      Natural disasters, Manchu invasion

      Qing (1644 to 1911 AD)

      Opium Wars, Dowager, Europeans at the door
      Hail the Republic — the old Empire is no more

       


      Published originally on Medium.com

      © 2020 – Joe Varadi

    • #1721
      Allenge
      Participant

      There is a dynasty “Xia” before Shang dynasty, but it is a good job.

       

Viewing 1 reply thread
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Back To Top