Ancient China (c. 2070 BCE – 1912 CE)

Ancient China's civilization, flourishing along the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers from 1600 BCE, revolutionized global technology and governance. The Han and Shang Dynasties pioneered paper, gunpowder, compasses, and advanced metallurgy centuries before other cultures. China's imperial examination system and Confucian philosophy shaped efficient bureaucracy and social harmony ideals. The Great Wall and Terracotta Army testify to its engineering prowess, while the Silk Road connected East and West. China's centralized governance model, agricultural innovations like the iron plow, and literary classics became cultural cornerstones that influenced all neighboring Asian societies and continue resonating in modern administrative systems worldwide.