The China At The Times When The World Was Young

At the modern time, for Western cultures, the Far East remains hidden and mysterious. Curiosity, still sustained by human nature, too often trusts the narrations that spread within self-contained bubbles, where each of us encapsulates ourselves rather than relying on rigid, reality-bound, well-tested facts. The authors here, with the mission to build bridges from reality to these bubbles, through steady and regular traffic, will be trickling well-balanced drops of truth — with the hope of replacing myths with facts that, by their very nature, are no less exciting than fairy tales themselves.

This chapter leads the reader through the region now well known as China. Of course, our primary interest is to derive the measurements of the culture, but why lose an opportunity to discover slightly more?..

✏️ The authors propose to our readers small modifications in outlining the cultural background methodology. Based on the great diversity of proto-cultures across the region, we will start from more consolidated, centralised (well-established states), and trace their origins in a descending manner. In our opinion, this approach will make it easier to grasp the complexity of the socio-cultural evolutionary processes, with all their outcomes and relational coherences.

For the reader’s convenience, let us provide several prefaces with tables required for a more accurate perception of contextual data. The first will be dedicated to transcriptions and reading rules, and will be called Pinyin References.

Pinyin Romanization Reference
Pinyin Approx. Pronunciation (IPA/English) Meaning / Context Common Older Spelling Notes
Qin “Cheen” First unified imperial dynasty (221–206 BCE) Ch’in, Tsin, Tsun Source of the word China.
Han “Hahn” Successor dynasty; established Confucian bureaucracy Han Cultural archetype of Chinese ethnicity.
Zhou “Joe” Pre-imperial feudal dynasty Chou Transition from tribal to early state forms.
Shang “Shahng” Bronze-age dynasty before Zhou Shang Known for oracle bones and bronze inscriptions.
Tang “Tahng” Later flourishing dynasty (618–907 CE) T’ang Symbol of classical Chinese culture.
Yuan “Yoo-en” Mongol dynasty (1271–1368 CE) Yüan Established by Kublai Khan.
Ming “Meeng” Dynasty after Mongol rule (1368–1644 CE) Ming Age of maritime exploration.
Qing “Ching” Manchu dynasty (1644–1912 CE) Ch’ing Last imperial dynasty; formalized Mandarin.
Luoyang “Lwoh-yahng” Imperial capital city (various dynasties) Loyang Often paired with Chang’an.
Chang’an “Chahng-ahn” Capital of Han and Tang dynasties Ch’ang-an Modern Xi’an.
Chi / Cun / Li chee / tsun / lee Traditional length units (≈ 23 cm / 3.33 cm / 500 m) chih / ts’un / li Appear in measurement tables.

⛩️ The Qin Empire (Qin Dynasty, 221–206 BCE) — the first unified imperial state in Chinese history. This state will serve as our primary object for descending analysis, tracing the cultural origins of the civilisation. Founded by Qin Shi Huang, who consolidated the Warring States territories, the Qin introduced full centralisation of bureaucracy, and standardised weights, measures, script, and law. Functionally, Qin created the template of what “empire” means in the Chinese context — centralised command from the Emperor through administrative prefectures. ⛩️ The Han Empire (Western Han, 206 BCE – 9 CE; Eastern Han, 25 – 220 CE) — the successor and stabiliser of the Qin model, yet more sustainable and culturally rich. Han governance introduced Confucian bureaucracy, the early roots of civil service examinations, and a balance between imperial central authority and local administration. It expanded territorial control into Central Asia via the Silk Road, making it the second great imperial consolidation in Chinese history.

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