Asia was settled in multiple waves of migration, DNA study suggests An international team of researchers studying DNA patterns from modern and archaic humans has uncovered new clues about the movement and intermixing of populations more than 40,000 years ago in Asia. Using state-of-the-art genome analysis methods, scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have found that Denisovans -- a recently identified group of archaic humans whose DNA was extracted last year from a finger bone excavated in Siberia -- contributed DNA not just to present-day New Guineans, but also to aboriginal Australian and Philippine populations. The study demonstrates that contrary to the findings of the largest previous genetic studies, modern humans settled Asia in more than one migration. According to David Reich, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, "Denisova DNA is like a medical imaging dye that traces a person's blood vessels. Genetic footprints The researchers concluded that:
China History: Chronology, Dynasty Qin Han Tang Song Yuan Ming Qing China, one of the countries that can boast of an ancient civilization, has a long and mysterious history - almost 5,000 years of it! Like most other great civilizations of the world, China can trace her culture back to a blend of small original tribes which have expanded till they became the great country we have today. It is recorded that Yuanmou man is the oldest hominoid in China and the oldest dynasty is Xia Dynasty. From the long history of China, there emerge many eminent people that have contributed a lot to the development of the whole country and to the enrichment of her history. Chinese society has progressed through five major stages - Primitive Society, Slave Society, Feudal Society, Semi-feudal and Semi-colonial Society, and Socialist Society. Chinese History Chronology
China: Surviving the Camps by Zha Jianying | NYR Daily By now, it has been nearly forty years since the Cultural Revolution officially ended, yet in China, considering the magnitude and significance of the event, it has remained a poorly examined, under-documented subject. Official archives are off-limits. Serious books on the period, whether comprehensive histories, in-depth analyses, or detailed personal memoirs, are remarkably few. Ji Xianlin’s The Cowshed: Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which has just been released in English for the first time, is something of an anomaly. At the center of the book is the cowshed, the popular term for makeshift detention centers that had sprung up in many Chinese cities at the time. This one was set up at the heart of the Peking University campus, where the author was locked up for nine months with throngs of other fallen professors and school officials, doing manual labor and reciting tracts of Mao’s writing. Being a political drifter, however, was no longer an option.
History of China Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations.[1] The written history of China can be found as early as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1700–1046 BC),[2] although ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian (ca. 100 BC) and Bamboo Annals assert the existence of a Xia Dynasty before the Shang.[2][3] Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy further developed during the Zhou Dynasty (1045–256 BC). The Zhou Dynasty began to bow to external and internal pressures in the 8th century BC, and the kingdom eventually broke apart into smaller states, beginning in the Spring and Autumn Period and reaching full expression in the Warring States period. Prehistory Paleolithic Neolithic Ancient China Capital: Yin, near Anyang
East India Company - Once world’s most powerful corporation 2 clicks It was the most powerful multinational corporation the world had ever seen. Founded in 1600, the English East India Company’s power stretched across the globe from Cape Horn to China. The company was established for trading, with a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth I granting it a monopoly over business with Asia. Imagine a company with the influence of Google or Amazon, granted a state-sanctioned monopoly and the right to levy taxes abroad But the Company’s influence went further. Imagine a company with the influence of Google or Amazon, granted a state-sanctioned monopoly and the right to levy taxes abroad – and with MI6 and the army at its disposal. From its establishment by royal charter to its ability to raise armies, the East India Company was a product of its time. “In its financing, structures of governance and business dynamics, the Company was undeniably modern,” writes Nick Robins in his book The Corporation that Changed the World. Acing the interview Unpaid internships Meal ticket
Ancient China - Ancient Civilizations for Kids East Asia also has dry areas. The Gobi Desert is found along the border between Mongolia and China. The Gobi is the 5th largest desert in the world and is also the coldest. It is common to see frost or even snow on the sand and gravel dunes. Most of western China is very dry because of the rain shadow created by the Himalaya Mountains. Despite the dry and mountainous terrain of East Asia, there are some low plains suitable for early civilization. Heavy summer rains and snowmelt support 2 large river systems in East Asia. East Asia has many different climate types. Early History Humans probably reached East Asia between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago. Ancient China It is difficult to be sure about China’s early ancient history. The Zhou Dynasty (1046 BCE-256 BCE) lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history. Agriculture was usually directed by the government. Dynasty. By 475 BCE the provinces/states of the Zhou kingdom were more powerful than the Zhou central government.
The Real Reason America Used Nuclear Weapons Against Japan. It Was Not To End the War Or Save Lives. Like all Americans, I was taught that the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to end WWII and save both American and Japanese lives. But most of the top American military officials at the time said otherwise. The U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey group, assigned by President Truman to study the air attacks on Japan, produced a report in July of 1946 that concluded (52-56): Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey’s opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945 and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated. General (and later president) Dwight Eisenhower – then Supreme Commander of all Allied Forces, and the officer who created most of America’s WWII military plans for Europe and Japan – said:
History: Ancient China for Kids Back to History for Kids Ancient China was one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations in the history of the world. The history of Ancient China can be traced back over 4,000 years. Located on the eastern part of the continent of Asia, today China is the largest country in the world. Great Wall of China by Mark Grant Dynasties Throughout most of China's history it was ruled by powerful families called dynasties. Empire Ancient China also boasts the longest lasting empire in history. Government In early times the lands were ruled by the feudal system where lords owned the lands and farmers tended the fields. Art, Culture, and Religion Art, culture, and religion were often tied together. Mongols The great enemy of the Chinese was the Mongols who lived to the north. Fun Facts about Ancient China The Last Emperor of China, Puyi, became ruler when he was only 3 years old. For more information: Go here to test your knowledge with a Ancient China crossword puzzle or word search.
Ancient Chinese Civilization 1 click Chinese Historical Accounts the Forbidden City, the home of the Chinese emperors until the last dynasty was overthrown in the 20th century Chinese history, until the twentieth century, was written mostly by members of the ruling scholar-official class and was meant to provide the ruler with precedents to guide or justify his policies. These accounts focused on dynastic politics and colorful court histories and included developments among the commoners only as backdrops. The historians described a Chinese political pattern of dynasties, one following another in a cycle of ascent, achievement, decay, and rebirth under a new family. Of the consistent traits identified by independent historians, a salient one has been the capacity of the Chinese to absorb the people of surrounding areas into their own civilization. Sun-Tzu, the realist writer of the the influential "Art of War" The first prehistoric dynasty is said to be Xia , from about the twenty-first to the sixteenth century B.C.
This Japanese Scroll Was Re-Printed a Million Times—700 Years Before Gutenberg - Atlas Obscura Empress Shōtoku occupied the Japanese throne twice. She ruled first from 749 to 758 C.E. as Empress Kōken, abdicating because she fell into a depression. In 761, following her mother’s death, a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō was brought in to help her. The two grew close, and Shōtoku soon promoted him to high levels of government far out of step with his nominal political experience. Her cousin Fujiwara no Nakamaro questioned her judgment, and a battle ensued that ended in the cousin’s death and Shōtoku’s renewed claim to the throne. With Dōkyō at her side, she ruled as Empress Shōtoku from 764 to 770. So Empress Shōtoku did something that would reverberate throughout world history: she ordered the printing of one million dhāranī texts. The one million figure was, in the words of John Bidwell, Astor Curator of Printed Books and Bindings at the Morgan Library & Museum, “a notional number” meant to exemplify Shōtoku’s power. In fact, printing has existed since at least the early 700s.
Two minutes to midnight: did the US miss its chance to stop North Korea’s nuclear programme? | News Pyongyang International is one of the world’s quieter airports. The country’s chronic isolation means that there are not many places to fly, and few foreigners keen on visiting. At least until a new terminal was built in 2012, many of the flights on the departure boards were just for show, giving the appearance of connection with the outside world. They never actually took off. Against this melancholy backdrop, one day in late May 1999, something quite extraordinary happened. The flightpath followed by Perry’s plane, which had taken off in Japan, had not been used since the Korean war. Perry was arriving at a moment of high tension. By the time the US delegation arrived in Pyongyang, a 1994 agreement between Washington and Pyongyang, intended to prevent North Korea from ever becoming a nuclear weapons state, was fraying. And potatoes. By this stage in his life, Perry could reasonably claim to know the risks of failure in nuclear diplomacy. That hunch proved right, eventually.
How Long-Unpublished Press Photos Bring Life to Chinese History This is the fourth article in a series on “Old Photos,” a Chinese-language publication that collects images of the country’s modern history. Parts one, two, and three can be found here. In the 1990s, the Xinhua News Agency — China’s state newswire — began opening its photographic archives to the public. It was a paid service: In 1996, for example, a 5-inch black-and-white photograph cost 55 yuan (then around $6.60) to reprint and use. Back then, it was fairly easy to access the archives, as long as you had a letter of introduction from your employer. I visited the Xinhua archives in Beijing several times, sending staff scurrying off to the storeroom to retrieve albums for me to peruse. I vividly remember the faint musty smell that came off the yellowed pages of those albums as I flicked through them, glancing back and forth between the photos and the typewritten captions beneath them. The photograph is dated to Oct. 23, 1951, and was taken in Beijing.
War, Hardship, and Separation: Portraits of a Changing China The art of photography was introduced into China in the latter half of the 19th century. Soon afterward, photo studios first popped up in the country’s colonial treaty ports and later in cities further inland. The mysterious new trade allowed many curious Chinese to examine everyday life across the country. Many of us feel self-conscious in front of the camera. As late as the 1970s, many Chinese people, especially those living in remote regions, refused to be photographed out of superstition. Traveling deep into eastern China’s Shandong province at the end of the ’70s, a journalist for the provincial pictorial magazine was surprised to find that his interviewees flatly refused to have their pictures taken, for fear that the camera would bewitch them and suck their blood. Nevertheless, photography soon found a place in people’s lives. Since 1996, my magazine — simply titled “Old Photos” — has published countless family portraits taken during the 19th and 20th centuries.