1046 BC

There was strong sentiment, among the populace, against the rule of the "foreigner" (known as Dázi 韃子), which finally led to peasant revolts. The Mongolians were pushed back to the steppes and replaced by the Ming Dynasty (明朝) in 1368. During Mongol rule, the population had dropped by 40 percent, to an estimated 60 million. Two centuries later, it had doubled. Urbanization thus increased as the population grew and as the division of labor grew more complex. Large urban centers, such as Nanjing and Beijing, also contributed to ...

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History of China, History of China - Prehistoric times, History of China - Ancient histories, History of China - Xia Dynasty, History of China - Shang Dynasty, History of China - Zhou Dynasty, History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire, History of China - Han Dynasty: A period of prosperity, History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, History of China - Sui Dynasty: Reunification, History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity, History of China - Song Dynasty and its northern neighbors the Liao and the Jin, History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty, History of China - Ming Dynasty: Revival of Chinese culture, History of China - Qing Dynasty, History of China - The Republic of China, History of China - The Present

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The Han Dynasty (漢朝) emerged in 202 BC. It was the first dynasty to embrace the philosophy of Confucianism, which became the ideological underpinning of all regimes until the end of imperial China. Under the Han Dynasty, China made great advances in many areas of the arts and sciences. Emperor Wu (Han Wudi 漢武帝) consolidated and extended the Chinese empire by pushing back the Xiongnu (匈奴)(sometimes identified with the Huns) into the steppes of modern Inner Mongolia (內蒙古), wresting from them the modern areas of Gansu (甘� ...

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History of China, History of China - Prehistoric times, History of China - Ancient histories, History of China - Xia Dynasty, History of China - Shang Dynasty, History of China - Zhou Dynasty, History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire, History of China - Han Dynasty: A period of prosperity, History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, History of China - Sui Dynasty: Reunification, History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity, History of China - Song Dynasty and its northern neighbors the Liao and the Jin, History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty, History of China - Ming Dynasty: Revival of Chinese culture, History of China - Qing Dynasty, History of China - The Republic of China, History of China - The Present

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As discussed above, "civilization" has a number of meanings, and its use can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. However, "civilization" can be a highly connotative word. It might bring to mind qualities such as superiority, humaneness, and refinement. Indeed, many members of civilized societies have seen themselves as superior to the "barbarians" outside their civilization. Many 19th-century anthropologists backed a theory called cultural evolution. They believed that people naturally progress from a simple state to ...

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Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

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Though these three kingdoms were reunited temporarily in 280 by the (Western) Jin Dynasty (晉朝), the contemporary non-Han Chinese (Wu Hu, 五胡) ethnic groups controlled much of the country in the early 4th century and provoked large-scale Han Chinese migrations to south of the Chang Jiang (長江). In 303 the Di (氐) people rebelled and later captured Chengdu (成都). Under Liu Yuan (劉淵) the Xiongnu rebelled near today's Linfen County (山西省臨汾縣). His successor Liu Cong (劉聰) captured and executed the last two Western ...

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History of China, History of China - Prehistoric times, History of China - Ancient histories, History of China - Xia Dynasty, History of China - Shang Dynasty, History of China - Zhou Dynasty, History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire, History of China - Han Dynasty: A period of prosperity, History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, History of China - Sui Dynasty: Reunification, History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity, History of China - Song Dynasty and its northern neighbors the Liao and the Jin, History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty, History of China - Ming Dynasty: Revival of Chinese culture, History of China - Qing Dynasty, History of China - The Republic of China, History of China - The Present

Read more here: » History of China: Encyclopedia II - History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties

The Sui Dynasty (隋朝) managed to reunite the country in 589 after almost 300 years of disjunction. The unification is the second shortest dynasty in the history of China after Qin Dynasty, and during this time, millions laboured on the Grand Canal of China (大運河), still the longest canal in the world to date. ...

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History of China, History of China - Prehistoric times, History of China - Ancient histories, History of China - Xia Dynasty, History of China - Shang Dynasty, History of China - Zhou Dynasty, History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire, History of China - Han Dynasty: A period of prosperity, History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, History of China - Sui Dynasty: Reunification, History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity, History of China - Song Dynasty and its northern neighbors the Liao and the Jin, History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty, History of China - Ming Dynasty: Revival of Chinese culture, History of China - Qing Dynasty, History of China - The Republic of China, History of China - The Present

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The Jin Empire was defeated by the Mongols, who then proceeded to defeat the Southern Song in a long and bloody war, the first war where firearms played an important role. Some scholars estimate that about half the population, 50 million Han Chinese people may have perished in total as a result of the Mongols' invasion and conquest. During the era after the war, later called the Pax Mongolica, adventurous Westerners such as Marco Polo travelled all the way to China and brought the first reports of its wonders to Europe. In China, the Mongols were di ...

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History of China, History of China - Prehistoric times, History of China - Ancient histories, History of China - Xia Dynasty, History of China - Shang Dynasty, History of China - Zhou Dynasty, History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire, History of China - Han Dynasty: A period of prosperity, History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, History of China - Sui Dynasty: Reunification, History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity, History of China - Song Dynasty and its northern neighbors the Liao and the Jin, History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty, History of China - Ming Dynasty: Revival of Chinese culture, History of China - Qing Dynasty, History of China - The Republic of China, History of China - The Present

Read more here: » History of China: Encyclopedia II - History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty

On June 18, 618, Gaozu (唐高祖) took the throne, and the Tang Dynasty (唐朝) was established, opening a new age of prosperity and innovations in arts and technology. Buddhism, which had gradually been established in China from the first century, became the predominant religion and was adopted by the royal family and many of the common people. Chang'an (長安)(modern Xi'an), the national capital, is thought to have been th ...

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History of China, History of China - Prehistoric times, History of China - Ancient histories, History of China - Xia Dynasty, History of China - Shang Dynasty, History of China - Zhou Dynasty, History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire, History of China - Han Dynasty: A period of prosperity, History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, History of China - Sui Dynasty: Reunification, History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity, History of China - Song Dynasty and its northern neighbors the Liao and the Jin, History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty, History of China - Ming Dynasty: Revival of Chinese culture, History of China - Qing Dynasty, History of China - The Republic of China, History of China - The Present

Read more here: » History of China: Encyclopedia II - History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity

Literally, a civilization is a complex society, as distinguished from a simpler society. Everyone lives in a society and a culture, but not everyone lives in a civilization. Historically, civilizations have shared some or all of the following traits: Intensive agricultural techniques, such as the use of human power, crop rotation, and irrigation. This has enabled farmers to produce a surplus of food that is not necessary for their own subsistence. A significant portion of the population that does not devote most of its ...

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Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - What characterizes civilization

Political scientist Samuel P. Huntington has argued that the defining characteristic of the 21st century will be a clash of civilizations. According to Huntington, conflicts between civilizations will supplant the conflicts between nation-states and ideologies that characterized the 19th and 20th centuries. Currently, world civilization is in a stage that has created what may be characterized as an industrial society, superseding the agrarian society that preceded it. Some futurists believe that civilization is undergoing another transformation, ...

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Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - The future of civilizations

There have been many explanations put forwards for the collapse of civilisation. Edward Gibbon's massive work "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" began an interest in the Fall of Civilisations, that had begun with the historical divisions of Petrarch[[1]] between the Classical Period of Ancient Greece and Rome, the succeeding Dark Ages, and the Renaissance. For Gibbon:- "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the cause ...

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Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations

Political scientist Samuel P. Huntington has argued that the defining characteristic of the 21st century will be a clash of civilizations. According to Huntington, conflicts between civilizations will supplant the conflicts between nation-states and ideologies that characterized the 19th and 20th centuries. Currently, world civilization is in a stage that has created what may be characterized as an industrial society, superseding the agrarian society that preceded it. Some futurists believe that civilization is undergoing another transformation, ...

See also:

Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - The future of civilizations

Civilization has been criticized from a variety of viewpoints and for a variety of reasons. However, few critics have objected to all aspects of civilization; rather, most have argued that civilization brings a mixture of good and bad effects, and that the bad outweigh the good. The best known opponents of civilization are people who have voluntarily chosen to live outside it. These include hermits and religious ascetics who, in many different times and places, have attempted to eliminate the influence of civilization over thei ...

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Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - Negative views of civilization

As discussed above, "civilization" has a number of meanings, and its use can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. However, "civilization" can be a highly connotative word. It might bring to mind qualities such as superiority, humaneness, and refinement. Indeed, many members of civilized societies have seen themselves as superior to the "barbarians" outside their civilization. Many 19th-century anthropologists backed a theory called cultural evolution. They believed that people naturally progress from a simple state to ...

See also:

Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - Problems with the term civilization

Though the unified reign of the Qin (秦) Emperor lasted only twelve years, he managed to subdue great parts of what constitutes the core of the Han Chinese homeland and to unite them under a tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang (咸陽)(in modern Xi'an). His sons, however, were not as successful; as soon as the Qin reign ended, the Qin imperial structure collapsed. The Qin Dynast ...

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History of China, History of China - Prehistoric times, History of China - Ancient histories, History of China - Xia Dynasty, History of China - Shang Dynasty, History of China - Zhou Dynasty, History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire, History of China - Han Dynasty: A period of prosperity, History of China - Jin the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, History of China - Sui Dynasty: Reunification, History of China - Tang Dynasty: Return to prosperity, History of China - Song Dynasty and its northern neighbors the Liao and the Jin, History of China - Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty, History of China - Ming Dynasty: Revival of Chinese culture, History of China - Qing Dynasty, History of China - The Republic of China, History of China - The Present

Read more here: » History of China: Encyclopedia II - History of China - Qin Dynasty: The first Chinese Empire

Another group of theorists, making use of systems theory, look at civilizations as complex systems or networks of cities that emerge from pre-urban cultures, and are defined by the economic, political, military, diplomatic, and cultural interactions between them. For example, urbanist Jane Jacobs defines cities as the economic engines that work to create large networks of people. The main process that creates these city networks, she says, is "import replacement". Import replacement is the process by which peripheral cities begin to r ...

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Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems

"Civilization" can also describe the culture of a complex society, not just the society itself. Every society, civilization or not, has a specific set of ideas and customs, and a certain set of items and arts, that make it unique. Civilizations have even more intricate cultures, including literature, professional art, architecture, organized religion, and complex customs associated with the elite. Civilization is such in nature that it seeks to spread ...

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Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilisations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity

Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions. By the most minimal, literal definition, a civilization is a complex society. Technically, anthropologists distinguish civilizations in which many of the people live in cities and get their food from agriculture, from band and tribal societies in which people live in small settlements or nomadic groups and subsist by foraging, hunting, or working small horticultural gardens. When used in this sense, civilization is an exclusive term, applied to some human groups and not others.

Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - Senses of the word

Another group of theorists, making use of systems theory, look at civilizations as complex systems or networks of cities that emerge from pre-urban cultures, and are defined by the economic, political, military, diplomatic, and cultural interactions between them. For example, urbanist Jane Jacobs defines cities as the economic engines that work to create large networks of people. The main process that creates these city networks, she says, is "import replacement". Import replacement is the process by which peripheral cities begin to r ...

See also:

Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems

"Civilization" can also describe the culture of a complex society, not just the society itself. Every society, civilization or not, has a specific set of ideas and customs, and a certain set of items and arts, that make it unique. Civilizations have even more intricate cultures, including literature, professional art, architecture, organized religion, and complex customs associated with the elite. Civilization is such in nature that it seeks to spread ...

See also:

Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity

Literally, a civilization is a complex society, as distinguished from a simpler society. Everyone lives in a society and a culture, but not everyone lives in a civilization. Historically, civilizations have shared some or all of the following traits: Intensive agricultural techniques, such as the use of human power, crop rotation, and irrigation. This has enabled farmers to produce a surplus of food that is not necessary for their own subsistence. A significant portion of the population that does not devote most of its ...

See also:

Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - What characterizes civilization

There have been many explanations put forwards for the collapse of civilization. Edward Gibbon's massive work "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" began an interest in the Fall of Civilizations, that had begun with the historical divisions of Petrarch[[1]] between the Classical Period of Ancient Greece and Rome, the succeeding Dark Ages, and the Renaissance. For Gibbon:- "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the cause ...

See also:

Civilization, Civilization - Senses of the word, Civilization - 1: Literal and technical definitions, Civilization - 2: Broader sense, Civilization - 3: Human society as a whole, Civilization - 4: A standard of behavior, Civilization - 5: Superior vs. less complex societies, Civilization - What characterizes civilization, Civilization - Civilization as a cultural identity, Civilization - Civilizations as complex systems, Civilization - The future of civilizations, Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations, Civilization - Negative views of civilization, Civilization - Problems with the term civilization, Civilization - Early civilizations, Civilization - Mesopotamia, Civilization - Egypt, Civilization - India, Civilization - China

Read more here: » Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Civilization - The Fall of Civilizations