ANCIENT
CHINA

China's story runs along two great rivers, the muddy Yellow River in the north, where millet farming began thousands of years ago, and the long Yangtze in the south, rich with rice and trade. Early dynasties like the Shang left oracle bones carved with some of China's first writing; the Zhou kings ruled loosely through feudal lords until warlords tore the land apart in the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). Philosophers wandered from court to court: Confucius taught respect for ancestors and good government; Daoists sought harmony with nature; Legalists argued for strict laws. When one northwestern state called Qin proved toughest, it would swallow all rivals and forge the first Chinese empire.