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SCMP Lifestyle Series

How Chinese culture has been shaped by China’s dynasties

To understand Chinese culture, it is necessary to go back to the very beginning of its civilisation. In this series, we look at the most influential dynasties in Chinese history and how each, with its technological inventions and cultural advancements, helped propel the nation forward.

Updated: 19 Nov, 2025
The Palace Museum in Beijing, China. Photo: Shutterstock
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[1]

How China’s earliest 3 dynasties shaped its society and culture

From 2070BC to 256BC, the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties paved the way for Chinese society with Taoism, written language, music and more.

25 Sep, 2025
A Chinese oracle bone from the Shang dynasty (1600BC-1046BC) at Hong Kong’s Chinese Culture Festival 2025. Inscriptions on these bones are the most ancient form of written Chinese ever found. Photo: Nora Tam
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[2]

How the Qin dynasty forever changed the Chinese nation in just 15 years

From standardising writing and currency to burying scholars alive, Qin Shi Huang ruled China’s first imperial dynasty with might and fury.

10 Oct, 2025
An illustration shows the burning of Confucian letters opposing the Legalism of the Qin dynasty under the rule of Qin Shi Huang. The emperor also ordered the execution of hundreds of Confucian scholars by burying them alive. Photo: Bridgeman via Getty Images
[3]

How China’s Han dynasty forged a unified cultural and national identity

Knowledge spread and the arts flourished during this golden age of Chinese history, as the country opened up to international trade.

13 Oct, 2025
Terracotta statues from the Western Han dynasty (206BC-AD9) that were unearthed in China’s Shaanxi province in 1965 are displayed in an exhibition in 2022, part of a series of special exhibitions launched by the National Museum of China to celebrate its 110th anniversary. Photo: Photo: Robert Ng
[4]

How the prosperous Tang dynasty took Chinese culture to new heights

As China’s influence grew abroad, cultural exchange helped open society, leading to innovations in the arts and the birth of tea culture.

20 Oct, 2025
Tang-dynasty pottery is seen at “Tang Vogue Beyond the Horizons: A Golden Era of Multicultural Integration and Openness”, an exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre, in Kowloon Park, which runs until the end of the year. Photo: Nora Tam
[5]

The Song dynasty was a great time for China. But a terrible one for many women

While the Song dynasty saw huge advancements in culture, commerce and technology, it also gave rise to the horrific practice of foot binding.

27 Oct, 2025
Grand Marshal Zhao Kuangyin is proclaimed Emperor of the Song Dynasty on the battlefield after the Chenqiao mutiny in 960 in an illustration from Hutchinson’s History of the Nations, published in 1915. The coup saw Zhao become leader of one of China’s most prosperous dynasties. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
[6]

How China changed during the Yuan dynasty, when Mongols ruled

Mongol rulers shook up Chinese society as Silk Road trade routes thrived, paper money became common and China’s influence in Eurasia grew.

08 Nov, 2025
A statue of Kublai Khan, China’s first Mongol emperor, in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. The Yuan dynasty brought about big changes in China, but also a big increase in the country’s influence across Eurasia. Photo: AFP
[7]

How China’s Ming dynasty brought us everything from porcelain to novels

The prosperous Ming dynasty restored Han Chinese rule after the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and introduced numerous cultural and social changes.

11 Nov, 2025
The Ming dynasty was a prosperous time of culture and trade. Blue-and-white porcelain made during the Ming dynasty is prized around the world. Photo: Sam Tsang
[8]

Shameful period? How China’s Qing dynasty brought both wealth and humiliation

China’s final dynasty saw the arts and economy thrive under Manchu rule. But internal and external struggles corroded centuries of stability.

19 Nov, 2025
The Qianlong Emperor was the fifth emperor of China’s Qing dynasty, reigning from 1735-1796. Under the Manchus, China’s final dynasty was marked by flourishing arts and economic growth. But in 1912, the imperial system that had survived for centuries collapsed as the country entered the modern era.
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