Chinese Events that Influenced Literature

  • Shang Dynasty
    1700 BCE

    Shang Dynasty

    The Shang Dynasty is the first dynasty where there is archaeological evidence about. Archaeological objects were found, writing was found on bronze and bones.
  • Ming Dynasty
    1368 BCE

    Ming Dynasty

    In the beginning the Chinese had rebelled against the Moguls, then the Ming Dynasty started in 1268 BCE. During that time discovery and traveling were very popular and many novels were written during that era.
  • Yuan Dynasty
    1279 BCE

    Yuan Dynasty

    The Yuan Dynasty had written novels during that era, which was considered a great accomplishment. Two well known novels that are very famous are "The Water Margin" and "The Romance of Three Kingdoms".
  • Song Dynasty
    960 BCE

    Song Dynasty

    The Song Dynasty was a very weak dynasty and was often invaded. However, their dynasty influenced literature greatly in various ways. In fact, they created woodblock printing and travel literature.
  • Zhou Dynasty
    771 BCE

    Zhou Dynasty

    In 771 BCE the Zhou capital was captured and because of that, battles and invasions occurred. This led to poets writing more about war poems.
  • Tang Dynasty
    618 BCE

    Tang Dynasty

    The Tang Dynasty shined light on poetry in Chinese literature.The poems cast back the hard times during war and the death of others. However, more than 1,400 poems have survived, and some are very well known to this this day.
  • Shih Huang Ti
    213 BCE

    Shih Huang Ti

    The former Chinese Emperor, Shih Huang Ti, killed scholars and had burned all their writings and books. Soon after, he had attempted to rewrite all the burned books from famous scholars.
  • Han Dynasty
    206 BCE

    Han Dynasty

    The Han Dynasty was an era where Confucianism was revived, and text were written and published. It was mixed with legalism and and philosophy and a major contribution to this were historical and scientific texts.