ancient China By lcoky2321 2100 BCE the legendary Xia dynasty is established 1044 BCE the western Zhou dynasty begins 770 BCE the eastern Zhou dynasty begins 551 BCE confucius lives 500 BCE iron working begins in china 475 BCE the warring states period 475-221 BCE 221 BCE the qin dynasty creates the Chinese empire 221-206 BCE 65 Buddhism arrives in China from India