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Period: 1666 BCE to 1111 BCE
Shang Dynasty
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Period: 1111 BCE to 221 BCE
Chou Dynasty
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Period: 403 BCE to 221 BCE
Warring States Period
During this time leaders from different areas were constantly fighting for control. -
221 BCE
Qin Shi Huangdi becomes the first Emperor of China
He has the Great Wall of China built by extending and connecting existing walls to protect the people from the Mongols. -
Period: 221 BCE to 206 BCE
Chi'in Dynasty
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220 BCE
Writing System is Standardized by Government
Unified the people to an extent. -
210 BCE
Terra Cotta Army is buried with Emperor Qin
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Period: 206 BCE to 221
Han Dynasty
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Period: 217 to 580
Era of Division
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250
Buddhism is introduced in China
Buddhism played a hugely important role in China. It gave people hope and a way to move on from their grief. -
Period: 581 to 618
Sui Dynasty
Emperors:
Yang Jian (r. 581-604) reigned as Wendi
Yang Guang (r. 605-617) reigned as Yangdi Besides the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, Yangdi built roads, palaces, and other public works projects costing tons of of money and lives. The peasants were heavily taxed. To make it worse, Yangdi planned and launched 3 expeditions against northern Korea. Huge revolts broke out throughout northern China. Yangdi fled to his southern capital at Jiangdu where he was assassinated a year later. -
Period: 581 to 604
Rule of Wendi
Yang Jian ruled, and established the “Three Department” system with Six Ministries:Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Public Works.
He was a Buddhist with a wealthy scholar's education and military training. He worked hard to reunify China. -
583
Chang'an became capital
Wendi moved the capital to the newly built Chang’an named for a previous Han capital city to the northwest. It became the largest city in the world for its day as well as the largest in area of any walled Chinese city. Under the Tang Dynasty it was the most cosmopolitan city -
589
China is reunified
Wendi established the “Three Department” system with Six Ministries
Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Public Works -
Period: 605 to 617
Rule of Yangdi
Acquired throne after assassinating brother and father. He embarked on costly programs, having lots construction done, but not all of it necessary. He built lavish palaces and grandiose public work buildings. He spent too much money and taxed the people too much, so the people revolted, and he was eventually assassinated. -
608
Great Canal
During Yandi's reign, he built a great canal between the rice-producing areas in the south and the Beijing area in the north. Yangdi extended this transportation system in 610, beginning the Grand Canal network that was later used to supply the capital and northern border armies with food from the south -
Period: 618 to 906
T'ang Dynasty
Emperors:
Gaozu (r. 618-616) born and known as Li Yuan in his lifetime; name of Gaozu given after his death.
Taizong (r. 626-649) born Li Shimin Gaozong (r. 649-683)
Zhonzong and Ruizong (r. 683-690 sequentially)
Wu Zhao (Empress Wu) (r. 690-700)
Xuanzong (r. 712-756),called Ming huang, Brilliant Monarch Considered one of the most important dynasties, T'ang dynasty made a huge difference with its inventions, trading, construction, politics, and religion- very influential in modern China. -
Period: 618 to 626
Rule of Emperor Gaozu (T'ang Dynasty)
Born Li Yuan, and named Gaozu after his death, Emperor Gaozu was an official of the Sui dynasty, and was expected to suppress peasant revolts and prevent incursions of Turkish nomads into North China. With the Sui dynasty about to fall, he and his ambitious second son, aided by Turkish allies, captured the capital at Chang’an. The next year, he proclaimed the Tang dynasty. Thereafter, he worked to reform taxation and coinage, while Li Shimin finished eliminating rival claimants to the throne. -
Period: 625 to 705
Rule of Empress Wu
Only female ruler of China
Cruel but effective ruler
Had to fight the Confucian social belief that women should serve men
Encouraged women to be more vocal and demand better treatment from their family -
Period: 626 to 649
Rule of Taizong
Born Li Shimin, Taizong was the second son of Gaozu. He was known to be a great force for the uprising and a great military general. His image would be revered for more than a millennium.
It took most of Taizong’s reign to restore normal civil administration and to create a unified civil service. Even so, by the end of his reign, his local administrations had succeeded in registering only about a third of those who had registered under the Sui. -
Period: 649 to 683
Rule of Gaozong
In 649 Gaozong succeeded his father, the Taizong emperor. He continued his father’s foreign campaigns, conquering the Korean peninsula and making Korea a vassal state in 668. In domestic affairs he ended the lavish expenditure on palace construction carried out by his father. But he proved to be a weak ruler and in his later years was dominated by his consort, Wu Zhao (the future empress Wuhou), a former concubine of his father. -
Period: 683 to 690
Rule of Zhonzong and Ruizong (sequentially)
Empress Wu held power as regent through the reigns of
her two sons: Zhonzong and Ruizong. -
690
Empress Wu usurped power
Became the only female emperor in Chinese history using ruthless tactics and acting previously as regent while the previous emperor was sick. -
Period: 712 to 756
Rule of Xuanzong
His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early half of his reign he was a diligent and astute ruler. ... Emperor Xuanzong, however, was blamed for over-trusting Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan during his late reign, with Tang's golden age ending in the Anshi Rebellion -
Period: 907 to 960
Five Dynasties
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Period: 907 to 1128
Liao Dynasty
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Period: 960 to 1279
Song Dynasty
Emperors:
Zhao Kuangyin (r. 960-976) reigned as Taizu
Zhou Kuangyi (r. 976-997) reigned as Taizong
Zhao Ji (r. 1101-1126) reigned as Huizong
Gaozong (r. 1127-1162) Known by its defensive policies. Constant incursions from various nomadic empires to the north threatened the stability of the dynasty.
In spite of military instability, it was a time of prosperity: era of
entrepreneurship, development of new crops and technologies, creation of new careers and lifestyles in commercial centers. -
Period: 960 to 976
Rule of Taizu
At the time of his birth, China was in chaos. The once-great Tang dynasty, fragmented by rebellions, had been extinguished. He lived during the time of chaos and rebellion, and was kind of thrown into being emperor. Despite this, he placed the foundations for a successful dynasty. -
Period: 976 to 997
Rule of Taizong (Song Dynasty)
He took over the 2 remaining independent states in South China, nearly unifying China. But when he attempted to regain former North Chinese territory between Beijing and the Great Wall, he suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of the Khitan tribes that had occupied the area.
In civil administration Taizong focused on education, and further developed the civil-service examination system. He centralized control better than ever before in Chinese history. He divided China into 15 provinces. -
Period: 1260 to 1368
Yuan Dynasty
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Period: 1368 to
Ming Dynasty
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1405
Chinese explorer Zheng He begins his first journey to India and Africa.
He will establish trade relationships and bring back news of the outside world. . -
Period: to
Chi'ing Dynasty
