Chinese — The Middle Kingdom
One of the world's oldest unbroken civilizations — four thousand years of dynasties, sages, and inventions, bound by the veneration of ancestors.
Origin
From the banks of the Yellow River rose one of the oldest continuous civilizations on Earth — more than four thousand years unbroken. Through the Shang and Zhou dynasties and the unification under Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor, in 221 BCE, China became the Middle Kingdom, the center of the world. It gave humanity paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass — the Four Great Inventions — the Great Wall, and the Silk Road.
The Heroes
- Qin Shi Huang — the first emperor, who unified China and was buried with the Terracotta Army.
- Confucius — the great sage whose teachings shaped East Asia for two millennia.
- Sun Tzu — the strategist who wrote The Art of War.
- Zheng He — the admiral whose treasure fleets reached Africa a century before Columbus sailed.
Symbols of the Lineage
The dragon, emblem of the emperor and of power itself. The phoenix. The yin and yang in balance. The Great Wall winding across the mountains. The red lantern, jade, and the carved seal.
Beliefs & Worldview
Three teachings shaped the Chinese soul: Confucianism — filial piety, harmony, and the honoring of ancestors; Daoism — the Way, balance, and effortless action; and Buddhism. At the heart of it all is reverence for the ancestors — the family altar, the sweeping of the graves at Qingming — and the Mandate of Heaven that gave, and took, the right to rule.
Timeline — Major Events
- c. 1600 BCE — The Shang dynasty: bronze, and the first Chinese writing.
- 221 BCE — Qin Shi Huang unifies China and becomes its first emperor.
- Han dynasty — A golden age; the Silk Road opens to the West.
- Tang & Song — The flowering of poetry, art, and invention.
- Ming — The Great Wall as we know it, and the treasure fleets of Zheng He.
Cultural Artifacts
The Terracotta Army, standing guard for two thousand years. The oracle bones of the Shang. The poetry of the Tang. The Art of War, porcelain, and jade carved finer than anywhere on Earth.
The Living Lineage
One in five people alive is Chinese, and a vast diaspora carries the culture to every continent. Confucian values, the veneration of ancestors, and the Lunar New Year are honored the world over. To claim Chinese heritage is to claim the Middle Kingdom's unbroken line.
Recommended Reading
Confucius, The Analects; Sun Tzu, The Art of War; Laozi, Tao Te Ching.
The Middle Kingdom
Four thousand years of unbroken lineage deserve an heirloom worthy of it. Each piece in the Chinese Collection renders the imperial dragon, the Great Wall, and the balance of yin and yang in black and gold — the Middle Kingdom, fixed for the wall. Explore the collection →