Ancient China

China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, dating back thousands of years with its continuous history. The Yangtze River is considered to be the 'cradle' of Chinese civilization. Ancient historical texts have provided some proof of the possible existence of the Xia Dynasty that existed even before the Shang Dynasty of 1700-1046BC. The first period in ancient China was the Neolithic Period, followed by the Xia Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty, and Western Zhou. The last time period considered to be included in the Ancient China time-period was Eastern Zhou. Imperial China followed Ancient China beginning with the Qin Dynasty. 

We cooked a very traditional Barbecue Pork Ribs dish with a Ginger Chili Garlic Spicy Black Bean sauce. We seared the ribs first in sesame oil then slowly braised them with fresh Ginger, Scallions, Red Chilies, Garlic, Star Anise, Chinese Five Spice, and Black Bean sauce for 4 hours. They were so tender and delicious! The entire house smelled amazing.

Here are some fun facts we learned about China this week.

 

The Xia Dynasty ruled from the 21st to 17th century BC. Its founder was Yu the Great. 

The Shang Dynasty ruled from the 17th century BC to 1046 BC. They ruled a lot of the area along the Yellow River. Its founder was Tang. 

The Zhou Dynasty ruled from 1046 to 256 BC. This was the longest ruling dynasty in China's history. 

The Western Zhou, the first part of the Zhou Dynasty ruled from 1046 to 771 BC. Its founder was King Wu. 

The Eastern Zhou, the second part of the Zhou Dynasty ruled from 770 to 256 BC. 

 

 

The 'Peking Man' that was discovered in 1923-1927 is the most famous Homo erectus specimen of Paleolithic man in ancient China. 

Chinese people have been using chopsticks as utensils for more than 4,000 years. 

The last Emperor of China became the ruler when he was only three years old. His name was Puyi. 

Emperors in China have often used the dragon as their symbol as it signifies strength, power and good luck. 

Ancient Chinese were the first people to drink tea and its use was often medicinal. 

The first known Chinese calendar was called the Oracle Bone Calendar, dating back to 1200 BC. 

 

The earliest writing example of human writing that has been found was a scroll that was unearthed by archaeologists in 1969 near Feng To in China. It is called 'The Ancient Chinese Secret'. 

The Great Wall of China was built during the Chang Dynasty. The Emperor at the time was Tsu. 

The three main Chinese religions include Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. 

Giant pandas are considered to be a symbol of bravery and clout and have existed in China for as long as three million years. 

The royal physicians of Ancient China were not permitted to touch the emperor. This was forbidden. 

 

Natural barriers protected Ancient China from being invaded. These natural barriers include the Himalayas, the Yellow Sea and the Chinese Sea. 

Many ancient Chinese people referred to rivers as 'The Great Sorrow', because of the fact that they would flood the area around them and cause great destruction. 

There were more than 100,000 rivers in Ancient China. 

Bamboo strips were used by writers as paper in Ancient China before paper itself was invented. 

The Chinese were responsible for the invention of paper and for the science of printing. 

It was Chinese astronomers who first spotted Halley's Comet, in 240 BC.