Tag: Culture

  Tang (618 – 907) After the unified two Han dynasty, China underwent the warring and scattered Three Kingdom Period, Western Jin Dynasty, Eastern Jin Dynasty, Southern and Northern Dynasties and Sui Dynasty successively for about 400 years. In 618 AD, Li Yuan (Emperor Tanggaozu) established the Tang Dynasty, which is commonly seen as the most puissant and flourishing dynasty in Chinese history. His son Li Shimin (Emperor Tangtaizong), who led the country to the summit of Chinese feudalism, adopted series of enlightened policies and further developed agriculture, handicraft industry, commerce, weaving, tintage, ceramics, metal smelting, shipbuilding and many other technologies at that time. In 760s, Tang Dynasty had ruled the Tarim Basin, Junggar Basin, regions along the Ili River and even made influence in many cities of Central Asia. Meanwhile, communications in economy and culture with Japan, Korean, India, Persia, Arab and other countries and regions made China known to more and more countries in the world.

  Han (206 BC – 220 AD)

The powerful Qin Dynasty was pulled down due to its tyrannical rule and Liu Bang (Emperor Hangaozu) founded the Western Han Dynasty in 206 BC. The Western Han Dynasty was also one of the strongest dynasties that had developed much in regime, agriculture, handicraft industry, commerce and many other fields, with a population of some 50 millions. It is during the reign of Liu Che (Emperor Hanwudi) that the dynasty achieved its peak, with Confucius becoming the national belief and its control area stretching from the Central Plains (heartland of ancient China) to the Western Regions (known as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China and Central Asia today). This great emperor had also sent Zhang Qian (a famous ambassador) to the Western Region, opening the way connecting Chang’an (known as Xi’an today), Xinjiang, Central Asia and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, which is now worldwide known as “Silk Road”. With the accessing of the Silk Road, various Chinese silk fabrics were transported to the West and contact between the West and China became more frequent. In the 1st century, Buddhism was introduced into China.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the country sank into wars again because of the sharp social contradictions between farmers and the ruling class. In 25 AD, Liu Xiu (Emperor Hanguangwudi), who is the descendants of the royal family of Western Han dynasty, founded a new Han dynasty, choosing Luoyang (known as Luoyang City of Henan Province today) as the capital. Luoyang is geographically located east to Chang’an (known as Xi’an today), the capital of the previous Western Han Dynasty. For this reason the dynasty Liu Xiu set up was called Eastern Han Dynasty. In 105 AD, Cai Lun, an official of the dynasty, invented the papermaking technology, which is listed as one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China together with compass (invented during Warring States Period), gunpowder (invented during Sui and Tang dynasties) and typography (invented during Northern Song Dynasty).

Old Town of Pingyao(平遥Píngyáo) is in Pingyao County, in the center of Shanxi Province. It was constructed during the reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (C.1100-771B.C.) and has been the county seat ever since the establishment of the prefecture-and-county system in L'ancienne Chine. At present, Pingyao looks much the same as it did during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and is the best-preserved historic town in the regions populated by the Han ethnic group.

Location: in Kanuo Village, 12 kilometers southeast to the Chamdo county town, the Ruins are at longitude 97°2′east, latitude 31°1′north, with an altitude of 3,100 meters.