China has got one of the richest histories across the globe. The unique history of China revolves around the complicated religious and political systems. The social, cultural, and economic settings of China contributes a great deal in shaping both the history of ancient and modern China. In line with the mentioned historical components is the pre-historic or ancient China. Ancient China was characterized by unlimited political, religious, economic, and social activities. There were a good of warring dynasties originating from various geographical locations in China. As such, the ceaseless war among the Chinese kingdoms divided the present-day China into several distinct states. However, when the Qin dynasty came into being the history of China took a different dimension. The Qin ruler (Qinshinuang) conquered several other authorities leading to the existence of a single authoritative kingdom. It is during the reign of Qin dynasty that Northern and Southern China were united giving birth to the modern-day China.
Based on the unity that brought the other kingdoms together almost each every social, political, religious, and economic concepts of China changed significantly. Previously, each of the dynasties promoted a given religious practice. On the same note, the same Kingdoms had distinct languages that separated each from the other. In short, China’s position in the World history was so much disintegrated that recognizing the ruler proved impossible. There were different cultural and political practices and features. The implication is that if Qin would have failed in uniting the warring states China may have been like Europe with many countries. As a result, this paper identifies and analyzes the political, religious, socio-economic status of ancient China. The factors are compared and contrasted to establish how China would have looked today.
Geographical Location
China was an isolated region from the rest of the world. According to the archeologists, the present-day China remained a lone-ranger and, as a result, detached from civilization. The country was surrounded by mountains (the Himalayan Mountains), seas, plateaus (Tibetan) and deserts. In other words, the Ancient China existed between two rivers; Huang He (the Yellow River) to the north and Yangtze found to the south. Although China bordered both the Indian Ocean and Asia to the north, it lacked routes due to the impassable jungles and vast steppes. In addition, the geographical location of China facilitated agricultural practices. However, it was the Eastern parts of Ancient China that had vast fertile land. In several occasions, the isolation and the surrounding natural phenomena are the sole contributors to the rich Chinese culture (Lloyd and Sivin, 2004).
Political, Religious and Social Characteristics
Archeological evidence shows that the pre-historic China was inhabited and ruled by the Xia Dynasty. However, many scholars in the field of history dispute the existence of a possible political system before the Shang dynasty (771 BC). The proponents of the Xia dynasty make reference to the elaborate social stratification and religious practices. There are evidences of descent burials where the dead were buried with grave goods such as pieces of jade and pots. The Shang, on the other hand, originated from the authoritative Shang community around the 771 BC. The people of Shang developed the bronze metallurgy used in casting the elaborate drinking and ceremonial vessels.
The weapons were also intricately decorated especially with the high-relief designs. In the religious practices, the Shang community used the bronze vessels containing water in memory of their ancestors (Lloyd and Sivin, 2004). During the time of Shang, magic was used more so in balancing nature. Furthermore, Shang was the first political dynasty that developed and used a distinctive writing system. They employed and applied approximately 500 characters, which are still put into practice to date. The words consisted of the pictographs rather than sounds. Politically, the Shang China was ruled and controlled by the hereditary kings. The kings played roles of the priests. The power of kings depended heavily on land ownership. The military system involved the use of expensive chariots of war.
Notably, the Shang kingdom was later conquered by the Zhou Dynasty that divided into (Eastern and Western Zhou) when Zhou king died (Lloyd and Sivin, 2004). It is during the reign of Zhou that a good number of Chinese philosophical schools of thought developed. Some of them include; Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. Legalism is a philosophical perception that believes that human beings are controlled by fear. Confucianism, on the other hand, is a belief that each and every person knows and are aware of their roles within and outside the society. Most of the persons that fell under this school of thought could become crucial advisers to the rulers. Finally, “Doa” is a term used to mean path or way. As such, they held a common stand, which states that a given path may not be the true way. The philosophy of the Daoists was based on mystical powers.
Again, Daoism values love of nature and ritual. Zhou Dynasty was finally defeated by the Qin Dynasty 221 BC. Qin standardized almost everything in China from the width of cart wheels. The wheels improved long-distance trade and war. Qin Shi Huang, the leader of Qin Dynasty could order the burning of books and destroying the scholars., Despite the dramatic cultural, political, economic, and social changes by the Qin Dynasty it was later defeated by the Han Dynasty. Han was followed by the following kingdoms; Sui (581-617), Tang (618-907), Song (960-1276), Yuan (Mongol) (1276-1368), and Ming (1368-1644). Again, Qin (Manchu) people who were nomads conquered China. The kingdom created a social structure just next to the Great wall for defensive purposes. The Qin community brought order and conservative attitude in China. It further contributed to the isolation of China from the outside world. The Qing, on the other hand, facilitated the use of one common language (Mongole) (Lloyd and Sivin, 2004).
In a nutshell, the historical point of view of China explains the existence of several writings and languages such as the Mongole and the Qin language. On the same note, some of the strongest states involved the Qin, Ming, and Yang. However, the warring states could impose their strict rules in accordance to their cultural, political, social, and economic priorities. For this reason, they promoted and facilitated different religious and philosophical practices. For instance, the religious move, Confucianism began as a mere school of thought during the Zhou Dynasty. Other religious forms like Taosim and Buddhism were all the components of different dynasties. Based on the mentioned facts, it is possible that the present-day China would have several states and languages such as the Tibet and Qin respectively. If Qinshihuang did not united China, the entire Chinese society would have different and multifaceted cultural and religious practices (Lloyd and Sivin, 2004).
