The Humiliation of the 19th Century Chinese Qing Empire
The first British visitors to Shanghai in 1832, some East India Company officers, demanded the Chinese lift restrictions on Sino-European trade.
In 1839, British gunboats...
Taiping Rebellion in 19th Century China
During the middle of the 19th century, China was faced with the destructive capacity and decisiveness of civil war. This conflict became known as...
Chinese Philosophy: An Idiom of Hard Work and Patience
In the century of Confucius, Lao Tzu and Sun Tzu, some of the states in Zhou Dynasty (about 1,000B.C.–221B.C.) became strong and tried to...
Tai Chi Chuan: Kung Fu of Taoist and I Ching Philosophies
Tai Chi Chuan is a martial arts system based on ancient Chinese Taoist and I Ching philosophies. In Chinese language, Tai Chi literally means...
Drinking in the Tang Dynasty
Perhaps one of the most evocative images of Tang Dynasty China is that of the wine-drinking party, conducted by the light of moon and...
Causes of Chinas Economic Growth
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping introduced began a series of reforms known as gaige kaifang, or “reform and opening up.” These were intended to jumpstart...
A Guide to the Imperial Worship of Heaven at the Temple of Heaven
Worshipping the God of Heaven at the Temple of Heaven is the most important national and imperial ceremony for the Ming and Qing emperors...
Shang – The First Dynasty of China
Analysing the nature of the magic and sexual freedom of China's first recognised dynasty.
The Shang Dynasty (1765-1123 BCE) is recognised as being the first...
Gaozong
The life and reign of the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty - and the consort who was to become China's only female emperor.
Gaozong...
Classical China The Shang and Zhou Dynasties
The first known civilisations from earliest Chinese history were the Shang and Zhou dynasties (c.1650-771 BC). Learn about how they came to power.
The Shang...