Xia Dynasty free essay sample

So Yao executed Gun and recruited Yu. Instead of relying on dikes, Yu had canals dug to divert the water. Digging the canals meant removing a mountain. He did this, and though his hard work his body became unusual. The place where the mountain was removed was called Yus Doorway (PYQ). The people seeing his hard work and success at controlling the canal respected him highly, and he became the ruler of the Xia tribe. Even if this story is a myth, it points toa basic idea in Chinese culture that monumental hard work in obedience to authority pays off. It gives people a doorway to respect and position. The rest of the account about the Xia Dynasty is likewise full of morals. Perhaps these are fables or even parables that were circulated in ancient times such as during the Warring States Period before the Bamboo Annals were written. We will write a custom essay sample on Xia Dynasty or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Another story continues that Yu was called Yu the Great after this feat. Because of greater harvests, the Xia tribe grew stronger. They were able to defeat a rival tribe. Yao gave his rulership to Shun. Shun executed Gun who was Yus father. Obviously, there is a contradiction here. The Bamboo Annals says that Shun rebelled against Yao and imprisoned him there. So the sage King died there. It is fairly obvious that there are different accounts and legends even about the how the Xia Dynasty began. Shun passed the kingdom to Yu the Great and not to his own son. This Xia Dynasty is said to have continued for hundreds of years. The kingdom had up and downs and it expanded. The last emperor, who was named Jie was very extravagant and dissipated. Jie constructed a palace for his favourite concubine and drank all night long. He killed his loyal ministers who criticized him. Then Tang who joined him and defeated lie. Jie then died, and Tang became the leader of the Shang Empire. Even if this story isnt true either, it is reminiscent of the lives of many emperors. For example, the Sui Empire fell to the Li clan who founded the Tang Dynasty because the ruler was said to have lived overly luxuriously, and his rule was harsh, and he killed too many of the people so that the people rebelled. Cixi who was considered the last ruler of the Qing Dynasty squandered a lot of the imperial wealth on luxuries and building palaces and buildings, instead of helping the people of the empire For a long time, a great part of the Western Xia economy was still based on nomad economy with large cattle herds on the wide grassland plains within and west of the great Yellow River bend. More to the south of modern Shaanxi area, where the part of the Chinese population was greater than in the west, agriculture was the main economical tradition. The largest part of the territory was owned by the state or he emperor and was given to farming peasants who in turn had to pay taxes. Most other parts belonged to the Tangut aristocracy and to state officials, but also to Buddhist and Daoist monasteries. Only few peasants and private persons owned larger parts of land, but it was allowed to open up and to new land in mountainous and remote areas. The rulers Li Jiqian and Li Deming supported the construction of irrigation canals that were crucial for the development of a qualified agriculture in arid areas, especially around the capital Xingqing (modern Yinchuan WII/Ningxia). One of these cannels is called Royal cannel of the Li clan] (Liwang qu *Ek). The produced grain was stored in imperial granaries (yucang n). Although far the greatest part of the peasants were Chinese, in the course of time more and more Tangut or other Non-Chinese engaged in farming instead of cattle breeding. A very important and successful economical sphere was the production of woolen products, basing on the large herds. Wall paintings in stone caves depict scenes of daily life and of artisanry and craftsmenship. Iron production was well developed partially due to the permanent warfare with the neighboring countries as well as pottery. Western Xia porcelain did not have the same quality as Song porcelain, but it shows a unique type of decoration. Warfare activities were never an earnest impediment for international trade between the Tangut empire and its neighbors. There existed special frontiers markets (quechang smaller markets called heshi to supply the needs of the own country and to export national products. A special kind of exchange of goods were the so-called tributary presents that the Western Xia presented to the mightier neighbors, either the Liao, Jin, or Song. In turn, the Xia embassadors and tradepeople obtained goods from China, like silk, gauze, incense and medicine, porcelain, lacquerware, ginger, and so on. Except of kettle and depending products like wool, fabric, felt, and leather, the Xia empire exported salt (later prohibited for Chinese import), Jade, honey, rhubarb (daihuang *E), musk, and herbs. Although barter trade was common an wide areas, the Xia emperors had casted (not minted! ) their own coins (god) (of) 7k (water) (Yu) (the great controller) Chinese civilization started around 10,000 BCE, when a group called the Yangshao (yahng show) settled near the Huang He River. Archaeologists have uncovered many Yangshao villages in northern China. In one village, they found the remains of farmhouses, built partly BCE, another farming group appeared, the Lungshan people. The Lungshan were very advanced for their time.