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Definition
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a barrier fortification in northern China running west-to-east 13,171 miles (21,196 km) from the Jiayuguan Pass (in the west) to the Hushan Mountains in Liaoning Province in the east, ending at the Bohai Gulf. It...

Definition
Philosophy
The word philosophy comes from the Greek philo (love) and sophia (wisdom) and so is literally defined as “the love of wisdom”. More broadly understood, it is the study of the most basic and profound matters of human existence. Philosophical...

Definition
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) was a Japanese military leader who reunified Japan at the beginning of the 17th century after a long period of civil war, known as the Warring States or Sengoku period. He created a new government controlled by...

Definition
Sima Qian
Sima Qian (l. 145/135-86 BCE) was a court scribe, astrologer, and historian of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) of ancient China, famous for his historical work Records of the Grand Historian for which he is remembered as the Father of...

Video
An Introduction to the Dynasties of Ancient China
Ancient China produced what has become the oldest extant culture in the world, and this video is just an introduction to the different dynasties and rulers of Ancient China all the way up until the Song Dynasty. The Greeks and Romans knew...

Image
Samurai Armour, Sengoku Period
Samurai facemask and armour from the Sengoku period (Warring States Period), 1467-1568 CE. (Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum, Dallas, USA)

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Banliang Coin
When Qin Shihuang (the First Emperor) unified the Warring States in 221 BCE, he standardized the coinage. He made the banliang (half-ounce) coin of the Qin State standard throughout the Empire, and declared all other coins obsolete. The round...

Image
Eastern Zhou Sword
A bronze, double-edged straight sword from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Decorated with turqoise and gold. Warring States Period, c. early 5th century BCE. China. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute)

Article
Religion in Ancient China
Religious practices in ancient China go back over 7,000 years. Long before the philosophical and spiritual teachings of Confucius and Lao-Tzu developed or before the teachings of the Buddha came to China, the people worshipped personifications...

Article
Crossbows in Ancient Chinese Warfare
The crossbow was introduced into Chinese warfare during the Warring States period (481-221 BCE). Developing over the centuries into a more powerful and accurate weapon, the crossbow also came in versions light enough to be fired with one...