Chinese History began when its civilisation was born around 4,000-5,000 years ago on the Yellow River in Gansu and the Wei River in Shaanxi when the “huáxià” (华夏) ethnicity was formed from the merging of the Huángdì and Yándì tribes.

 

“Huáxià” (华夏) means “the prosperity of culture and the vastness of territory”. 

 

The seven key ancient capitals were Xi’an, Luoyang, Nanjing, Beijing, Kaifeng, Anyang, and Hangzhou.

 

China has been an economic superpower at least four times in its iconic, epic history – in the Han, Tang, Yuan, and Qing dynasties – and for the vast majority of world history China has had the leading GDP and levels of development.

 

China's iconic dynastic system spanned over 2,000 years beginning in 2070 BC under the Xi Dynasty and ending in 1912 under Emperor Pǔyí (溥仪), and encompassed in particular ten key periods; the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. 

 

China would pioneer the ‘Four Great’ inventions of paper, printing, compass, and gunpowder while further entrepreneurial advances were made in chemistry, deep-drilling, astronomy, and mathematics to name just a few with many of these taken to the rest of the world. 

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Find out more about Chinese History in Dawn of the Digital Dragon Dynasty: Countdown to the Chinese Century and Dawn of the Digital Dragon Dynasty: Chinese Culture e-books in Shop.