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FIND OUT MORE. China’s First Empire 378 • Revolutionary China 429

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Imperial China

For more than 2,000 years, from 221 BCE until 1912 CE,

China was ruled by emperors. In that time, the capital

city and the imperial dynasty (ruling family) changed.

There were periods of unrest and of invasion by fierce

tribes, including the Mongols, but the same system of

government continued.

Imperial China was a

remarkably stable civilization,

which led the world in art and

technology, with inventions

including paper,. PORCELAIN,

and gunpowder.

1 GREAT WALL OF CHINA
The Great Wall snakes across the mountains north of Beijing. Defensive
walls were being built since ancient times, but most of the Great Wall as
it still stands was built under the Ming emperors.

WHY WERE EXAMS IMPORTANT IN CHINA?

The first Han emperor set up a civil service to run

China. Before getting a job in the civil service,

officials had to pass a series of difficult exams. Those

who passed the top exams could expect jobs as

government ministers, and marriage to princesses.

HOW DID BEIJING BECOME CHINA’S CAPITAL?

After invading China in 1279, the Mongol (Yuan)

emperors established their capital at Beijing, which

was just inside the Great Wall, in what was then the

far north of China. In 1368, a new dynasty, the Ming,

came to power. They kept Beijing as the capital,

rebuilding and expanding the city.

WHO LIVED IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY?

The imperial palace at Beijing is called the Forbidden

City. Enclosed by a moat and high brick walls, this

complex of palaces, halls, gardens, offices, and

storehouses was built under the Ming dynasty.

The imperial family lived there,

along with nobles, servants,

and officials.

THE FORBIDDEN CITY 1

A Ming painting on silk of the Forbidden

City. The compound was closed, forbidden

to ordinary people, and the emperors

hardly ever left it.

An official greets

others outside

the gates

A red-robed senior

official of the

imperial household

Palaces and halls

were surrounded

by gardens

221 BCE Qin dynasty

206 BCE Han dynasty

221 CE Time of disunity

581 Sui dynasty

618 Tang dynasty

907 China divided

into five

dynasties

960 Song dynasty

1279 Yuan dynasty

(Mongol)

1368 Ming dynasty

(last Chinese

dynasty)

1644 Qing dynasty

1912 (Manchu

dynasty from

Manchuria)

CHINA’S RULERS

Porcelain is a translucent (semi-transparent)

ceramic material, made of fine white clay

mixed with crushed stone. It can be shaped on a

potter’s wheel, or moulded by hand. When fired

(baked) at extremely high temperatures it becomes

waterproof, and so hard that steel cannot scratch it.

WHY WAS PORCELAIN SO PRECIOUS?

Porcelain was first made by Chinese potters during the

Tang dynasty. It was a luxury product, for the use of

nobles and emperors, and for centuries no one but the

Chinese knew how to make it. Seventeenth-century

Dutch sailors brought the first porcelain “china” to

Europe, where it was a prized commodity.

PORCELAIN

Dragon design is

painted with brush

over smooth surface

4 PORCELAIN BOWL

This delicate bowl was made

during the Ming dynasty. Designs

like this, in blue and white,

became very popular. Millions of

porcelain items were specially

made to be sold overseas.

Imperial

China