All Questions
Tagged with china ancient-china
24 questions
3
votes
3
answers
472
views
Did Diaochan really love Lü Bu?
I am watching a series on Three kingdoms (2010), were it is shown that, Diaochan was really in love with Lü Bu, it was only Wang Yun, who schemed an act of proposing her daughter as a bride to Dong ...
1
vote
1
answer
181
views
How did the Ten Attendants gain power in the imperial palace?
How did the Ten Attendants group became powerful?
My reasoning as follows:-
Eunuchs were used as a servants for royal family. So, they don't have any power other than that, neither being respected by ...
15
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How did the First Emperor of Qin "burn the books" prior to the invention of paper?
The first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, is recorded as burning books (among other things). At the same time, the invention of paper is generally ascribed to the Han Dynasty, i.e., the dynasty after ...
- 1,173
0
votes
1
answer
593
views
How fast and how far could one travel, by means of horse relay posts, in ancient China in 1500CE?
I'm trying to find out how people used to travel by horse, when they had to go to a very distant territory.
I have done research on horseback riding, horses and relay stations.
I found out that the ...
- 9
4
votes
1
answer
518
views
Why is it said that the Qin dynasty was the first to unite China?
I have often heard that the Qin dynasty was the first to unite China. For example, Wikipedia says:
Qin Shi Huang, or Shihuangdi, was the founder of the Qin dynasty, and first emperor of a unified ...
- 149
6
votes
1
answer
361
views
How was the term "Mandate of Heaven" used during the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties?
The Mandate of Heaven (Chinese: 天命; pinyin: Tiānmìng; Wade–Giles: T'ien-ming; lit. 'Heaven's will') is a Chinese political philosophy that was used in ancient and imperial China to justify the rule of ...
- 1,173
1
vote
0
answers
202
views
Why did China not become a democracy to cure involution? [closed]
I am new to politics-related questions, then please be kind if I am not asking a good question here(from your perspective). To get rid of being caught and involved in trouble I cannot not post this ...
- 369
1
vote
0
answers
53
views
Book (and/or podcast) recommendations for providing a historical & cultural context for Sichuan?
A couple friends and I plan on taking a tour in the southwestern region of China, specifically Sichuan & Yunan, around spring of next year. I find that it always makes the trip more engaging and ...
- 111
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How much (area) territory did Chinese dynasties control?
I am looking for the area of the territories controlled by the different Chinese dynasties since Zhou all the way to the Qing. There are maps available of the different territories but I haven't found ...
- 143
8
votes
2
answers
881
views
What was the de facto rule by which the imperial title was transmitted in various Chinese dynasties?
I seek to find information about which rules or trends - if any - applied in Chinese imperial succession during different dynasties.
I found this source, but I can’t get access and what I see in the ...
- 2,590
4
votes
1
answer
506
views
Where is an image of the oracle bone that describes the nova?
(Related to my previous question)
Does anyone have a link to an image of the oracle bone that has this specific inscription:
The inscriptions include the oldest observation of a nova (1300BCE) ‘A ...
- 1,259
6
votes
1
answer
908
views
What are the best resources for studying oracle bone inscriptions?
Can someone please recommend the best resources for studying Chinese oracle bone inscriptions?
Rather than general or specific information about oracle bones, I'm looking for collections or catalogs ...
- 1,259
41
votes
1
answer
22k
views
Did Chinese emperors wear a rectangular hat with suspended gems?
The mythical Jade Emperor is sometimes depicted as wearing a mortarboard hat with strings of jewels suspended from its edges:
According to Shen Yun's post:
Hanging from the front and back of the ...
user18968
6
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Did the first emperor of China die of mercury poisoning?
Did the first emperor Qin Shi Huang die of mercury poisoning? If so, how do we know? I've seen lots of claims that he did (and claims that he didn't), but no citation explaining what primary source ...
- 292
2
votes
2
answers
307
views
What was the role of state sacrifices and music in Ming China?
I don't understand what is the role of music in their lives and what is the relevance between sacrifices and music?
As a historical ethnomusicologist, I wish I could do fieldwork in the Ming court, ...
- 23
3
votes
3
answers
808
views
Were there ever Taoist missionaries?
Taoism is not generally known as a proselytizing religion these days, but was there ever a time when Taoist missionaries were found?
- 10.4k
15
votes
2
answers
8k
views
How did the ancient Chinese coordinate armies of tens and hundreds of thousands?
According to what I've read, during the Warring States period and also later during the Three Kingdoms period there were armies of the magnitude of (a few) hundred thousands.
How could they ...
- 803
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What is the oldest excavated/discovered piece of silk textile made for clothing or writing?
Chu manuscript dating back to circa 300 B.C., middle of the Warring States era.
Mawangdui robe's dating back to ~ 200..150 B.C., beginning of the Western Han.
Do you know any older examples of silk ...
- 685
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What are the oldest primary sources of recorded history in China?
There is for instance Sima Qian, according to Wikipedia the first Chinese historian, who wrote the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) in 109 BCE.
But does this primary source still exist, or do ...
- 525
12
votes
1
answer
12k
views
How were Chinese Dynasties named?
What were the rules or conventions for choosing the name of a new dynasty chosen? Was there a single method for naming all of the Chinese dynasties?
- 525
18
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Does Chinese history really span the past 5000 years?
Chinese kids the world over are frequently taught that there is "5000 years of Chinese history". What basis is there for this claim?
user3521
11
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Battle of Xiaoting: was Shu's invasion doomed from the start?
The Battle of Xiaoting was one of the three major battles of China's Three Kingdoms period; after the kingdom of Wu invaded Jing province a few years earlier, the state of Shu amassed an army to ...
- 14.5k
6
votes
4
answers
10k
views
How has Chinese GDP as a percentage of world GDP changed over time and why?
I've heard it's 33% during the Qing dinasty. 4% during cultural revolution. Now it's climbing up steadily to 11%.
Where can I see the table of those actually tracking those numbers?
What were the ...
- 5,531
20
votes
5
answers
30k
views
What events led to the fall of the Zhou Dynasty during the Warring States period?
The title above is fairly broad, so more specifically, what specific events led to the Warring States period experienced towards the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty in ancient China? As the lineage ...
- 1,228