Talk:History of China

No link to "Five thousand years of Chinese civilization"?

Whether China really has a 5000 year of history of not, the expression "Five thousand years of Chinese civilization" (or "5000 years of Chinese history") is a common expression, both in China and outside China. I believe that the said should be linked from this article in some way. --Wengier (talk) 18:52, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

I think it's unduly recentist given the scope of this article in particular. On the others you've added it to, it seems less undue. Remsense诉 18:52, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

The concept or expression "5000 years of Chinese history" has appeared for over 100 years, at least since the early 20th century (so not really a recent event). Clearly the expression appeared much earlier than expressions like Century of humiliation, which only appeared after 1940. How come "Century of humiliation" is linked from this article but "5000 years of Chinese history" is not? --Wengier (talk) 19:00, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

Feel free to put it back, but I'm curious what other editors think. Remsense诉 19:02, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

The "China" section of the Manchu–Mongolian–Chinese Interlinear Trilingual Textbook published in 1909

Just to give a concrete example that the concept "Five thousand years of Chinese civilization" already appeared by the early 20th century - the Manchu–Mongolian–Chinese Interlinear Trilingual Textbook in 1909 stated in three languages that “我中國居亞洲之東，氣候溫和，土地廣博，人民繁夥。五千年前，文化已開，地球上最有名之古國也...” (see picture on the right), among others. The concept certainly predates both the ROC and PRC, rather than a more recent construction. --Wengier (talk) 19:16, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

This would work in the see also of Chinese historiography, but probably not here. The see also section in this page is too general for such a recent conceptual-model. I'm not sure how 1909 is sufficiently "not-recent" compared to the 5000 year history in question. Aza24 (talk) 23:04, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

Why not add to Chinese historiography? This is a good suggestion (EDIT: just done it). As for whether 1909 is considered "recent", I previously added the link to the "See also" section of this article partially considering articles such as Century of humiliation (certainly appeared later than 1909) are also linked from this article. --Wengier (talk) 23:10, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

Meanwhile, I notice the following sentence in the current lead of this article: "Throughout pervades the narrative that Chinese civilization can be traced as an unbroken thread many thousands of years into the past...". Perhaps the said article can actually be linked from here. After all, this part of the article is already talking about exactly the same thing, and the link will provide more information about this for readers. No need to place it in the "See also" section of the article anyway any more. This is probably the ultimate solution in terms of this article. --Wengier (talk) 00:44, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 December 2024

KellykiM123 (talk) 21:12, 12 December 2024 (UTC)The Mongol Empire eventually conquered all of China, establishing the Yuan dynasty in 1271. This period marked an increase in contact with Europe, particularly through trade along the Silk Road. Under the succeeding Ming dynasty (1368–1644), China saw significant achievements, including global maritime exploration, the production of exquisite porcelain, and numerous large-scale public works projects. These included the restoration of the Grand Canal and the expansion of the Great Wall. Additionally, three of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature were written during the Ming period, contributing to the cultural legacy of the time.

The Qing dynasty, which followed the Ming, was ruled by the ethnically Manchu people. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong (r. 1735–1796), the Qing court commissioned a vast encyclopedia of imperial knowledge, which eventually contained nearly a billion words. This era marked the peak of Imperial China's territorial expansion, with the empire reaching its greatest extent. However, this period also saw increasing conflict with European powers, particularly over trade and diplomatic relations. This culminated in the Opium Wars, resulting in the signing of the unequal treaties, which ceded significant territories to European powers and marked the beginning of a period of foreign influence and internal unrest.

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Remsense ‥ 论 21:13, 12 December 2024 (UTC)