Ancient China Timeline Jeremiah By Jeremiah2009 1600 BCE King Jie of the Xia Dynasty dies, ending the dynasty Period: 1600 BCE to 1100 BCE Shang Dynasty The Shang Dynasty is the earliest ruling dynasty of China to be established in recorded history Period: 1250 BCE to 1192 BCE Reign of Emperor Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty 1046 BCE The start of the Zhou Dynasty Period: 551 BCE to 479 BCE Confucius 544 BCE birth of Sun Tzu Period: 476 BCE to 221 BCE Warring States Period Period: 221 BCE to 206 BCE The Qin dynasty Period: 210 BCE to 209 BCE The Terracotta Army is buried Period: 206 BCE to 220 Han Dynasty Period: 45 BCE to 23 Reign of Emperor Wang Mang 105 Invention of paper 1066 The crossbow is used for the first time in battle