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Qin Dynasty (221BC - 206 BC) He styled himself as the first emperor of China, Shih Huang Ti and the ensuing Qin dynasty is more known for him and his feats - building the 5,000 km Great Wall Of China to ward off invaders and expanding the Chinese domain to Korea, Mongolia and Vietnam. You also know him for the entombed Terracotta Warriors. The eternal question on whether he was a ruthless tyrant (who had repeated assassinations attempts at his life, "The Emperor's Shadow") or great emperor in his brief rule - only 15 years, for all the fuss - you decide...
Han Dynasty (206 BC - 23 AD) The Han Dynasty begins with the triumph of Liu Bang depicted as a cunning strategist over a valiant warrior Xiang Yu in "The Great Warrior's Concubine" - a theme repeated in "Farewell To My Concubine". Great advancements in government and the sciences were made including civil service mandarin examinations and taxation, astronomy, medicine, invention of the abacus - the first computer, compass, sundial, water clock, lunar calendar, the value system, wheelbarrow, water dams and gauges and man-made canals. Great inroads in global commerce were made with the Silk Road trade routes through Northwest China and Persia, across Central Asia to Antioch, Baghdad and Alexandria.
Three Kingdoms (220 AD - 280 AD) The end of Han rule was a chaotic two centuries of disunity popularly known as the Three Kingdoms era with legends of larger than life sworn brothers Liu Bei, Kwan Yu and Chang Fei aided by strategist Kung Ming / Zhuge Liang of Shu battling Cao Cao of Wei (a prominent Han minister) and Sun Quan of Wu all chronicled in "The Romance Of The Three Kingdoms"!!!
Wei Jin Southern/Northern Dynasties (386 AD - 589 AD) The ensuing Northern/Southern dynasties were periods of further battles amongst descendants of the Three Kingdoms period and legends of Dharma, the Indian monk and founder of Shaolin, Wu Yen and the ubiquitous Mulan originated then.
 The
Sui Dynasty (581 AD - 618 AD) heralded
reunification. Achievements include the longest man-made canal in China
documented in the TVB series "The Grand Canal".
This continued onto the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD) initially rocked by a princely struggle documented in TVB's "The Foundation" which firmed into prosperous rule renown as a golden era for Chinese civilization where the teachings of Confucius, Taoism and Buddhism blossomed. The Grand Canal was completed and the Silk Road further expanded as far Central Asia in conjunction with imperial conquests of Tibet, Central Asia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea and Annam. The Tang dynasty in its faltering years saw the resurgence of foreign invasion staunchly defended by the likes of the 13 protectors of "The Heroic Ones", under the rule of Empress Wu.
Sung Dynasty (960 AD - 1127 AD) Preceded by a 70 year, 5 Dynasty era of which not much is written, the Sung dynasty chronicled progress in science (gunpowder was invented) and culture (rich historical literature, landscapes, calligraphy, pictograms and porcelain). Famed for legendary characters like Justice Pao, the warrior woman clan of the Yangs and General Yue Fei, its end saw much foreign invasion by neighbouring Liao, Jin and Xi Xia tribes. This is well documented in Louis Cha's popular wu xia novel "The Legend Of The Condor Heroes".
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movies and TV series that hopefully inform as much as they entertain... Dynastic monarchies
blossomed
and waned repeatedly, giving way to war and chaos as rival kings and warlords
battled for supremacy aided by heavenly warrior gods and chivalrous swordsmen
- many wu xia novels and films have sipped from the font of history and
there is some overlap.
The
Zhou dynasty was the longest, spanning over
9 centuries. Renown as an era of prosperity
and intellectual advancement, the philosophies of Taoism,
Confucius and Mencius that were nurtured went on to influence Chinese culture for the next 25
centuries. Its collapse gave way to the Warring States period - a colourful
time of courtly politics, rival kings and their swordsmen recently satirized
in the excellent time-travelling TVB serial "A Step
Into The Past". The emerging conqueror from the kingdom of Qin
defying many well documented assassination attempts in "
