Politics The early national political system appeared in China from the Xia Dynasty; The main contents of the early political system in ancient China were: hereditary system of the throne, enfeoffment system and patriarchal clan system (the core of patriarchal clan system is the inheritance system of the eldest son). The hereditary system of the throne and patriarchal clan system decided the smooth handover of the central government, while enfeoffment system was a local political system in this period, with a relatively large decentralization.
Economy
(1) Agriculture: Bronze farm tools appeared in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, but because bronze was more precious, it was used in agricultural production. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, iron farm tools and Niu Geng began to be widely used in production.
(2) Handicraft: Handicraft represented by bronze casting in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties was monopolized by the government, which was called "official handicraft". As early as the primitive society, China people had mastered the technology of copper smelting; During the Shang Dynasty, people were able to burn primitive porcelain and weave a variety of silk fabrics with looms. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, ironware appeared; During the Spring and Autumn Period, private handicrafts appeared.
(3) Commerce: Commerce had made great progress in Shang Dynasty, and shellfish became a kind of physical currency; During the Western Zhou Dynasty, markets appeared in large cities. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the technology of metal coins was used. At this time, the government's control over commerce was broken, and commerce developed and prospered.
Culture
(1) Literature: The Book of Songs, the first poetry collection in China, appeared at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, which laid the foundation for the realism of China's classical literature; During the Warring States Period, Qu Yuan created a new poetic genre of Chu Ci based on southern folk songs. During this period, hundred schools of thought's prose is worthy of praise.
(2) Science: The astronomical observation method of "shadow measurement by standard table" was invented in the Western Zhou Dynasty; In the spring and autumn period, the formula of nine-nine multiplication appeared; At this time, the famous doctor "medical harmony" laid the foundation of TCM etiology; SiNa was made in the Warring States Period, and Huangdi Neijing was published at this time.
(3) Painting: Painted pottery painting was mainly used in ancient times, while silk painting was mainly used in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.
(4) Calligraphy: Chinese characters had formed a complete system in Shang Dynasty, with Oracle Bone Inscriptions as its representative; Bronze inscriptions appeared in the late Shang Dynasty and reached its peak in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the Warring States Period, "Da Zhuan" appeared.
Second, Qin and Han Dynasties:
In the political Qin Dynasty, centralization of authority was founded with the emperor system as the core, and the "county system" was implemented locally; In the Western Han Dynasty, in order to strengthen the autocratic monarchy, the "inner dynasty system" was implemented, with the emperor's cronies as servants and ministers, and participating in military affairs to weaken the relative rights. Locally, the "county-state parallel system" was implemented in the early Western Han Dynasty, that is, the county-state system and enfeoffment coexisted; The local administrative system of "state-county-county" was formally implemented after Emperor Wu's promulgation. In terms of electoral system, the Western Han Dynasty implemented the "inspection system".
Economy
(1) Agriculture: the farming method of "Niu Geng with iron plough" continued to develop, and the sowing tool "the rickshaw" was invented in the Western Han Dynasty.
(2 In the porcelain industry, mature celadon was already fired in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the textile industry, the silk weaving industry in the Western Han Dynasty was developed, in addition to hemp weaving technology.
(3) Commerce: Most of the commerce in the Qin and Han Dynasties was concentrated in cities, and most of the traded goods were enjoyed by nobles and bureaucrats. Because the government implemented the policy of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce", the business development was difficult.
Culture
(1) Literature: In the Han Dynasty, Chu Ci prevailed. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun improved papermaking, using cheap raw materials such as bark to make paper that is easy to write; In the Eastern Han Dynasty, decimal notation appeared in mathematics. In medicine, Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Febrile Diseases laid the theoretical foundation of clinical medicine of traditional Chinese medicine.
(3) Painting: There were many kinds of paintings in Qin and Han Dynasties, including murals, silk paintings, woodcut, woodcut, stone reliefs and brick reliefs.
(4) Calligraphy: the common character in Qin Dynasty was "Xiao Zhuan"; Later, "official script" appeared, and it became a common font in the early Western Han Dynasty.
During the period of March, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties,
Politics, during this period, the system of three provinces and six departments began to take shape gradually. First, Shangshu Province held the real power, and then there were Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province. The official selection system in this period was called "Nine Grades System", and "Nine Grades" referred to nine grades that divided talents into good and bad. In terms of porcelain making, the Northern Dynasties were able to burn mature white porcelain.
(3) Commerce: During the Jin Dynasty, China's economic center began to move southward gradually, and some cities in the south gradually became the most prosperous metropolis at that time.
Culture
(1) Literature: Tao Yuanming in the Eastern Jin Dynasty started the pastoral school; During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Xie Lingyun initiated the School of Landscape Poetry. During this period, mystery novels were very popular, and Gan Bao's Searching for the Gods was its representative.
(2) Science: Zu Chongzhi further refined the value of pi and formulated Daming Calendar; Jia Sixie wrote Qi Min Yao Shu, one of the earliest masterpieces in the world agricultural history.
(3) Painting: Scholar-officials and painters in Wei and Jin Dynasties summed up many incisive painting theories, which promoted the development of painting art, such as the painting method of "writing the spirit with form" proposed by Gu Kaizhi, a painter in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
(4) Calligraphy: Wei and Jin Dynasties, The regular script, running script and cursive script derived from official script are all mature. Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting is called "the first running script in the world". Since Wei and Jin Dynasties, China's calligraphy art has entered a "conscious stage" of development.
During the political Sui and Tang Dynasties, the six-part system in three provinces has matured, with Shangshu, Zhongshu and Xiamen. At the local level, the government of the Tang Dynasty set up our time, which caused a serious separatist situation in the late Tang Dynasty. In the system of selecting officials, Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty abolished the nine-grade system and began to select officials by means of "examination by subjects". The imperial examination system was formally formed when Emperor Yangdi set up the "Jinshi Branch".
Economy
(1) Agriculture: In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a "Quyuan Plow" appeared in Jiangdong, which could adapt to the cultivation requirements of various soils and different fields; In the Tang Dynasty, the "tube car" was created for irrigation.
(2) Handicraft industry: In the aspect of porcelain making, two porcelain making systems of "south green and north white" were formed in the Tang Dynasty; As for the silk weaving industry, the silk weaving technology in the Tang Dynasty was "light and exquisite", which absorbed the Persian weaving method and pattern style.
(3) Commerce: During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, rural market trade developed, and cabinets and flying money for business came out one after another.
Culture
(1) Literature: In the Tang Dynasty, poetry entered a golden age of development; Ci, as another form of poetry, also appeared in the Tang Dynasty.
(2) Science: during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, block printing appeared; At the end of the Tang Dynasty, gunpowder had been used in the military. With Sun Simiao's "Thousand Golden Formulas" as the representative, medicine has also made brilliant achievements.
(3) Painting: painters in Sui and Tang Dynasties absorbed the styles of Indian and Persian foreign art to create; Wang Wei, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, pioneered the technique of ink-and-wash landscape painting.
(4) Calligraphy: Yan Zhenqing created Yan-style calligraphy, which is square and solemn, and has a far-reaching influence. Liu Gongquan founded the "Liugu" calligraphy with tall and straight style; In addition, there are outstanding calligraphers such as Zhang Xu, a cursive calligrapher known as "Cao Sheng".
During the May, Song and Yuan Dynasties,
In the political Song Dynasty, "Zhongshumen" was set as the highest administrative organ, and the highest official exercised the functions and powers of prime minister. Later, it was set up to "participate in political affairs" to divide the executive power of the prime minister, to set up "Tang envoys" to divide the military power of the prime minister, and to set up "three secretaries" to divide the financial power of the prime minister; The Yuan Dynasty set up "Zhongshu Province" as the highest administrative organ in the central government. Locally, the Yuan Dynasty initiated the "provincial system", which has influenced it to this day. In the system of selecting officials, the imperial examination system is still adopted.
Economy
(1) Agriculture: After the Song Dynasty, China's economic focus gradually shifted to Jiangsu and Zhejiang; In the Song Dynasty, a high-powered rotary drum truck was also used as an irrigation tool.
(2) Handicraft industry: In the porcelain industry, five famous kilns, Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun and Ding, appeared in the Song Dynasty; There are many kinds of silk fabrics in the Song Dynasty, and the brocade absorbs the realistic style of flower-and-bird paintings, and the patterns are lively; At this time, a large number of coal began to be mined and widely used as fuel in the Central Plains. In the Yuan Dynasty, folk handicrafts began to surpass the development of government-run handicrafts.
(3) Commerce: In the Song Dynasty, the boundary between "city" and "square" was broken, and trading activities were no longer directly supervised by official uniforms; The foreign trade in the Song Dynasty was also very developed. In the Song Dynasty, the "cross" of paper money appeared. Usury prevailed in the Yuan Dynasty.
Culture
(1) Literature: Ci, which appeared in the Tang Dynasty, reached its peak in the Song Dynasty and was mainly divided into "bold school" and "graceful school"; At this time, a new form of poetry-Sanqu rose among the people. In the Yuan Dynasty, the creation of Sanqu entered a prosperous stage, and it was called "Yuanqu" together with Yuan Zaju. In addition, in the Song Dynasty, the literary form of "Hua Ben" was also very popular.
(2) Science: Bi Sheng in the Song Dynasty invented clay movable type printing; At this time, the compass was also used in navigation.
(3) Painting: In the Song Dynasty, the Palace Painting Academy entered the most active stage, and painting began to rise. Genre painting was the highlight of the painting world at that time, represented by Zhang Zeduan's "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival". In the Yuan Dynasty, literati painting was the most outstanding achievement, and freehand painting was popular for a while.
(4) Calligraphy. The calligraphy in Yuan Dynasty was represented by Zhao Mengfu, who advocated that "calligraphy and painting should be the same as calligraphy".
During the sixth Ming and Qing Dynasties,
At the beginning of the political Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system and set up a "Dian Ge Da Xue" as an attendant consultant. During the reign of Zhu Di, "Cabinet" began to appear; In order to strengthen the imperial power, Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty set up a "south study room" in the palace. In Yong Zhengdi, the "military department" was set up to strengthen the imperial power. Locally, the provincial system was implemented in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Economy
(1) Agriculture: wind turbines appeared as irrigation tools at this time.
(2) Handicraft industry: porcelain making, blue and white porcelain, colored porcelain, enamel and other forms of porcelain varieties; In the textile industry, the cotton textile industry developed rapidly in the Ming Dynasty. Exquisite satin became the representative of silk fabrics in the Qing Dynasty. At this time, the most important point is that in the textile industry in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, capitalist relations of production began to appear (the relationship between employment and being employed), and capitalist buds began to rise.
(3) Commerce: During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, agricultural and sideline products entered the market in large quantities and became commodities, and long-distance trafficking trade between regions developed rapidly, and money played a great role. As a regional group of businessmen, "business gangs" also appeared, such as "Shanxi merchants" and "Huizhou merchants".
Culture
(1) Literature: novels entered a stage of vigorous development in this period, represented by "Four Great Classical Novels".
(2) Science: Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica is called "Compendium of Materia Medica" Song Yingxing's Heavenly Creations and Xu Guangqi's Encyclopedia of Agriculture became achievements in the scientific field during this period.
(3) Painting: At this time, literati paintings dominated by freehand brushwork still occupied the mainstream of painting in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
(4) Calligraphy: The calligraphy in the Ming Dynasty was represented by Wen Zhiming's running script.