China: Military History (inc. Wars, Battles, Treaties, etc.) and Notable Events (inc. Natural Disasters, Diseases, Destructions of Cities, Periods of a series of Events, etc.)

687 BCE - Lyrid Meteror Shower (All Facts)

• A popular astronomical event that occurs in April, it was first recorded in China in 687 BCE

679 BCE - Main Events in China (All Facts)

• In this year, the warlords continued to pay ceremonial deference to the Zhou, the dynasty never regained its effective central power

  • As a result, the warlords fought amongst themselves and with the non-Chinese people who still occupy some part of the country

  • Cities have been destroyed and the countryside ravaged

602 BCE - Main Events in China (All Facts)

• In this year, the Yellow River changed course, entering the sea near Tian after a 100-mile move to the east

133 BCE - 188 CE - Han-Xiongnu Wars (All Facts)

• Series of conflicts fought between the agrarian Chinese Han Empire and the nomadic Xiongnu confederacy

81 BCE - Discourses on Salt and Iron (All Facts)

• Series of debates which were later written down that involved the intellectual, political, social, and economic issues of the day during the Han Dynasty under Emperor Zhao and initiated by his regent Huo Guang

  • The record of this debate between the most brilliant minds of the empire reveals a deep split on almost every aspect of life between the supporters of the government and the powerful reform movement

  • Emperor Zhao ordered the debate to look into matters such as the state’s monopoly of the salt and iron industries, a policy of his predecessor, but made it clear that he wanted to examine the suffering of the people more broadly

• On one side were the Reformists / Idealists

  • These were largely Confucian scholars who opposed the policies of Emperor Wu

  • They demanded the abolition of the monopolies on salt and iron

    • In addition, they demanded

      • an end to the state price stabilization schemes

      • huge cuts in government expenditures to reduce the burden on the citizenry

  • They argued that the present government, with its stern rule and profit-seeking, was unfit to uphold the principles of humanitarian rule

• On the other side were the Modernists / Pragmatists

  • These were largely government officials who argued that their duty lay in satisfying the people’s practical needs

  • They supported the continuation of Emperor Wu’s policies

  • This was done in order to appropriate the profits of private merchants into state coffers to fund the government's military and colonization campaigns in the north and west

• The results were mixed with no one side clearly winning but rather with a compromise having been made