China

Agent, let's move on to China, where we'll begin our exploration with the earliest settlers.

People have been living in China for 20,000 years. Many of these people settled along the banks of the Hwang Ho River around 4000 BC. They began to dwell in the valley on the banks of the Hwang Ho River. The lands in the Hwang Ho River Valley were fertile, and settlers began growing rice around 2000 BC, using water from the Hwang Ho River to irrigate their fields.

The Hwang Ho people of the valley were very good at creating pottery, and they learned to make cloth from the silk thread spun by silkworms.

They had their own written language which was made up of little pictures called pictographs.

'Like ancient Egypt, China was run by dynasties, or ruling families, who passed the title of emperor on from generation to generation. Let's look at some of the Chinese dynasties, Agent.'

The first ruling family, or dynasty, of China began in the 18th century BC. It was the Shang Dynasty, and it ruled China until 1122 BC.

Chou Dynasty and Confucius
The second was the Chou Dynasty, which ruled from 1027-256 BC. A philosopher known as Confucius lived in China during the Chou Dynasty, from about 551 to 479 BC. Confucius believed that people are inspired by a leader who lives out his life by setting a good moral example for those around him.

An important part of his philosophy was the idea that people should respect and honor their history and their ancestors.

Although Confucius didn't write his philosophy and teachings, others did. Today these teachings are known as Confucianism.

Ch'in Dynasty and the Great Wall
After the Chou Dynasty came the Ch'in Dynasty, which is where the name China comes from. It ruled from 221-206 BC.

The emperor Shih Huang Ti had his subjects begin building an enormous wall across northern China beginning in 221 BC. The Great Wall, as it is now called, was finished in about 204 BC, but it was later added on to during the Ming Dynasty, until it reached a length of about 1500 miles. The base of the wall averaged six meters (about twenty feet) in thickness.

Shih Huang Ti wanted the wall to serve as a defense against nomadic raiders. It stretched from Shanhaikwan in the east to the Kansu Province in the west. There is also in inner wall which runs south from around Beijing to Handan.

T'ang Dynasty
Let's skip ahead a bit to the T'ang Dynasty, which ruled from 618 - 906. During this dynasty, the only woman to rule China came to power. She was known as Empress Wu Hou. She began her rule in 683, and ruled until she was 80 years old in 705. During her rule, she oversaw the Chinese conquest of Korea.

Genghis and Kublai Khan
Believe it or not, not all of China's dynasties were Chinese. In fact, one of China's most famous rulers was born in Mongolia near the middle of the 12th century. His name was Temujin.

At age 13, Temujin became a tribal chief of the Mongols, who were fierce nomadic warriors. He was a natural leader, and by 1206 he controlled most of Mongolia.

You probably know Temujin as Genghis Khan, which means "precious warrior lord." The name was given to him by the tribes of Mongolia.

Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, the Mongols conquered Korea, and invaded Turkey, Iraq, Iran, India, and Pakistan. They also invaded Russia in 1222, and plundered the land all the way from the Persian Gulf to the Arctic Ocean.

Genghis Khan began an invasion of China as well, conquering all but the southern part of the country. His grandson, Kublai Khan, finished the conquest of China in 1279, and started his own dynasty. It was known as the Yuan Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty
Finally, let's explore the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from 1368 to 1644. What's important to remember about this period of Chinese history is that contact with the West by sea increased greatly, and the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and others all began large-scale trading of goods and setting up colonies within China at this time.

Additional Research
To find out more about Chinese history, Agent, look up the following topics in your local library:
 * 1) Genghis and Kublai Khan
 * 2) Ming Dynasty
 * 3) Great Wall of China