These four dynasties which succeeded each other in controlling the area of central China, each made significant but slightly different contributions to Chinese unification and culture.
The Shang dynasty oversaw significant advances in technology. Especially in the areas of bronze working and pottery. Various musical instruments were invented in this period and advances in astronomy led to significant observations of Mars and passing comets. The Shang dynasty was always under threat from all sides, and, although it aggressively and successfully defended its territory, it could not extend it authority over neighbouring rebellious tribes such as the \fang in the south and the nomadic tribes of the eastern Eurasian steppe. The Shang dynasty was hampered by a rudimentary military bureaucracy who made the mobilization of its warriors slow and cumbersome.
Under the succeeding Zhou dynasty iron technology reached China. This and the introduction of chariots led the Zhou dynasty to boast a strong army – when it could be mobilized. Socially, the Zhou dynasty introduced the system of Fengjnu – which is close to the European feudal system. This system was intended to keep Zhou authority over distant areas while it used its strong army to make territorial gains. However, it did not work and what happened was that peasants tended to see their allegiance to their local leader and not to the Zhou dynasty itself and regions near the frontiers gradually acquired too much freedom from central government. There was a backlash against this, as we shall see in the next dynasty. In the arts and philosophy this was a time of great achievement. Confucius lived under the Zhou dynasty and his ideas were to influence Chinese thought and contributed to a national culture.
The Qin dynasty is recognized as the first to bring a form of larger national unity to China, although they were short-lived. Many of their innovations would be built upon by the succeeding Han dynasty. The Qin dynasty effectively abolished the feudal system , thus putting the mass of the population under the direct control of the government this lead to the capacity to mobilize huge armies very quickly – which was useful in the dynasty’s attempts to establish hegemony on its frontiers. Secondly, it allowed the construction of importnat public works such as the \Great wall of China. There were military innovations which helped subdue enemies: iron swords and the crossbow. More importantly, the Qin dynasty introduced a new approach to military tactics, using ruthless, inhuman tactics which had previously been eschewed by the Zhou dynasty, who saw war as an entertainment between the members of the upper classes. Although Qin armies were ultimately unsuccessful in completely subduing the northern tribes, their campaigns against them did lead to a reduction of border raids. Similarly in the south, the Qin army penetrated as far as Hanoi in present-day Vietnam, but never won full control of the rebellious s south.
Nonetheless, a canal was constructed to the south which would prove useful to the Han dynasty which followed. Unification was aided by the Qin dynasty because they changed the fabric of everyday life: the Chinese currency, the length of chariot axle wheels, and weights and measures in markets were all standardized, as was the writing system at the insistence of Li Si, the First Minister. All in all, the government control of the masses and the military powers were crucial Qin achievements as well as public construction works like the Great Wall and the canal to the south. The Qin dynasty was highly bureaucratic and organized – it had to be in order to stand any chance of ruling such huge country.
The Han dynasty lasted four centuries, and, to a certain extent building on the foundations laid by the Qin dynasty, can be seen as the first genuinely national Chinese regime. They extended Han authority to the north, to the south and managed to subdue the tribes of the eastern steppe.
This was crucial in Chinese national development because it led to the development of the Silk Road – the great trading route from China all the way to the Mediterranean. This mercantile contact with the European world would, in turn and in the course of time, lead to changes in technology and the spreading of ideas which helped Chinese civilization advance. In keeping with the centralized control established by the Qin dynasty and reacting against the discredited Fengjnu system, the Han dynasty nationalized the salt making industry and the iron industry. Developments in cheaper and volume production of paper led to a flourishing of the arts – especially painting and poetry.
