When we talk about Chinese history, we cannot do without knowing the origin of the Chinese people, and the geography of the country, as they were changing and renewed in the long processes of historical development. This is how Ahmed Muhammad Al-Rubaie begins his book “The Story of China’s History,” explaining that if we see Chinese geography from the perspective of historical analysis, we will find that the territory of China was not vast in the beginning, and Chinese culture was not ancient either, but rather they began to expand and develop gradually over the course of long history. .
What we call “China today” was not a country with clear borders, but rather a natural geographical region that nourished China’s basic culture in light of continuous changes. Although the boundaries of this region have changed from time to time, we can determine its scope, which is a vast area in East Asia: north to the Mongol Desert, south to the sea, west to the Himalayas on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and east to the Pacific Ocean, Geospatial space in China appears to be a somewhat closed space, as the seas surround its east and south, and mountains stand in front of its west and north. The terrain in this vast region is diverse: there are plains, meadows, deserts, mountains, lakes, islands, and hills.
The author believes that this is why China enjoyed relative isolation from its neighbors, which led to adherence to its customs and traditions, and made all differences melt in one crucible, making them one people, which prompted them to look at everything around them with a view with a meaning of their own, and this view stems from their own vision. For themselves, it is what prompted them to give this country more than one name.
The reason for the multiplicity of these names is due to the human being who inhabited these areas since ancient times, as he derived these names through his vision of the multiple natural landscapes that characterize the land on which he lives. For nearly nine thousand years, people in the north of the Yellow River Basin knew about the domestication of cows. And fishing, and methods of producing food began to multiply. At the same time, the Chinese began cultivating rice in the Yangtze River Basin in southern China, which is the longest river in China. The agricultural revolution led to the establishment of the most complex systems in primitive tribes, and in line with it, the division of labor in society and division appeared. class and the dramatic improvement in productivity.
Excavations reveal their traces in Beijing, where the remains of a human were found dating back about 50 thousand years. Scientists called him “Peking Man.” He was able to make simple tools from stone, such as the ax used for hunting, and used bone needles to sew animal skins for clothing. He lived by hunting animals, fish, and fruits, and he was able to make fire, which he likely obtained first from natural forest fires.
As for the Neolithic Age, human society developed to a great extent, as modern man not only learned to polish and develop new stone tools, but also mastered agricultural techniques, and gradually learned to care for others and domesticate creatures. With the development of production techniques, the human way of life underwent tremendous changes. Before Seven thousand years ago, agricultural villages arose in different parts of China, and humans began to form social relationships and live collectively, which led to the emergence of their division of labor, and they knew how to build fences, houses, and produce.
This book is a brief review of the history of China from prehistory to the present day. It is distinguished by its comprehensiveness and historical traceability of its geographical expansion and gradual civilizational development. It extrapolates the epic journey of the Chinese people in overcoming the difficulties they faced during their transformation from a clan society to the emergence of social blocs, through the establishment of the first kingdom in China, then the disintegration of the slave society, to be replaced by a new society based on feudalism, the spread of schools of thought, and the emergence of six political great powers in the form of warring states, which were soon unified into one empire, which was established through bureaucratic organization, the division of the country into regions and provinces, and the implementation of a network Roads extending from the capital to the farthest borders of the empire.