• Period: 189 BCE to 220

    Han Dynasty

    The Han Dynasty The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D. and was the second imperial dynasty of China. Han Dynasty art and inventions like paper still influence the world today
  • Period: 14 BCE to 16

    Ming Dynasty

    two dynasties governed China: the Ming and the Qing. Both dynasties took power during times of upheaval.
  • 9 BCE

    Han overthrown by a young emporor

    Han rule had been interrupted by the overthrow of a young emperor. The Han later regained control over the land.
  • 1300

    Ming Rivalry

    By the mid-1300s, China was in turmoil. The Mongols didn't have that much power anymore. Additionally, fights broke out in the government, leaving the countryside unprotected against bandits and rebels.
  • Qing Dynasty

    Ming rule went for almost 3 centuries. By the early 1600s, The Ming dynasty had grown weak and corrupt. Hunger and peasant rebellions ravaged the country.
  • Isolation and Decline

    Emperor Qianlong wrote to King George III of England “Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in abundance". We have no need for barbarian products.
  • European Influence

    The Great Rebellion broke out in 1857 among soldiers of the British-led Indian army. After the rebellion, the British remained to manage the Indian economy.
  • Chinese CIvil War

    In October 1919, Sun Yat-sen restarted the Nationalist Party. He hoped that a democratic political party in the south would weaken the warlords in Beijing, which the West recognized as China’s legal government.
  • Comunism

    Mao Zedong became emperor and he was a communist. With the Communists in power, American officials had initially held out hope that China would reject Soviet influence and remain neutral in the Cold War. Communist states now ruled a vast portion of Eurasia, from Eastern Europe to the East China Sea. This made the United States and its Western allies very nervous.
  • Modern China

    Now China is a democratic country with a president. In the spring of 1989, Chinese students began demonstrations that called for a more democratic government. These demonstrations were a response to the death of Hu Yaobang, a Chinese official who promoted liberal reforms.