Chinese Time Periods and Dynasties

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  • Period: 2100 BCE to 1600 BCE

    Xia (Hsia) Dynasty

  • Period: 1600 BCE to 1050 BCE

    Shang Dynasty

    Capitals: near present-day Zhengzhou and Anyang One of the Three Dynasties, or San Dai (Xia, Shang, and Zhou), thought to mark the beginning of Chinese civilization: characterized by its writing system, practice of divination, walled cities, bronze technology, and use of horse-drawn chariots.
  • Period: 1046 BCE to 256 BCE

    Zhou (Chou) Dynasty

    Capitals: Hao (near present-day Xi'an) and Luoyang A hierarchical political and social system with Zhou royal house at apex: power bestowed upon aristocratic families as lords of their domains or principalities. Although compared to European "feudalism," what gave the system cohesion was hierarchical order of ancestral cults. System broke down into competition for power between rival semi-autonomous states in Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period. Confucius lived in these times.
  • Period: 1046 BCE to 771 BCE

    Western Zhou

  • Period: 771 BCE to 256 BCE

    Eastern Zhou

  • Period: 770 BCE to 475 BCE

    Spring and Autumn Period

  • Period: 551 BCE to 479 BCE

    Confucius

  • Period: 475 BCE to 221 BCE

    Warring States Period

  • Period: 221 BCE to 206 BCE

    Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty

    Capital: Chang'an, present-day Xi'an Created a unitary state by imposing a centralized administration and by standardizing the writing script, weights and measures. Known for its harsh methods of rule, including the suppression of dissenting thought.
  • 210 BCE

    Qin Shihuangdi Dies

  • Period: 206 BCE to 220 BCE

    Han Dynasty

    Modified and consolidated the foundation of the imperial order. Confucianism was established as orthodoxy and open civil service examinations were introduced. Han power reached Korea and Vietnam. Records of the Historian, which became the model for subsequent official histories, was completed.
  • Period: 206 BCE to 9

    Western/Former Han

    Capital: Chang'an
    Confucianism officially established as basis for Chinese state by Han Wudi
  • Period: 141 BCE to 86 BCE

    Han Wudi

  • Period: 25 to 220

    Eastern/Later Han

    Capital: Luoyang
  • Period: 220 to 589

    Six Dynasties Period or "Period of Disunity"

    Period of disunity and instability following the fall of the Han; Buddhism introduced to China The empire was fragmented. The North was dominated by invaders from the borderland and the steppes. The South was ruled by successive "Chinese" dynasties. Buddhism spread.
  • Period: 220 to 265

    Three Kingdoms

    Cao Wei, Shu Han, Dong Wu
  • Period: 265 to 420

    Jin Dynasty

  • Period: 386 to 589

    Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

  • Period: 581 to Apr 12, 618

    Sui Dynasty

    Capital: Chang'an China reunified
  • Period: Apr 11, 618 to Apr 12, 906

    Tang (T'ang) Dynasty

    Capitals: Chang'an and Luoyang A time of cosmopolitanism and cultural flowering occurred. This period was the height of Buddhist influence in China until its repression around 845. Active territorial expansion until defeated by the Arabs at Talas in 751.
  • Period: Apr 11, 907 to Apr 12, 960

    Five Dynasties Period

  • Period: Apr 11, 960 to Apr 12, 1127

    Northern Song

    Capital: Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng)
  • Period: Apr 11, 960 to Apr 12, 1279

    Song (Sung) Dynasty

    An era of significant economic and social changes: the monetization of the economy; growth in commerce and maritime trade; urban expansion and technological innovations. The examination system for bureaucratic recruitment of neo-Confucianism was to provide the intellectual underpinning for the political and social order of the late imperial period.
  • Period: Apr 11, 1127 to Apr 12, 1279

    Southern Song

    Capital: Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou)
  • Period: Apr 11, 1279 to Apr 12, 1368

    Yuan Dynasty

    The reign of the Mongol empire; Capital: Dadu (present-day Beijing) Founded by the Mongols as part of their conquest of much of the world. Beijing was made the capital. Dramas, such as the famous Story of the Western Wing, flourished.
  • Period: Apr 11, 1368 to

    Ming Dynasty

    Re-establishment of rule by Han ruling house; Capitals: Nanjing and Beijing The first Ming emperor, Hongwu, laid the basis of an authoritarian political culture. Despite early expansion, it was an inward-looking state with an emphasis on its agrarian base. Gradual burgeoning of the commercial sector; important changes in the economy and social relations in the latter part of the dynasty; also a vibrant literary scene as represented by publication of the novel Journey to the West.
  • Period: to

    Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty

    Reign of the Manchus; Capital: Beijing A Manchu dynasty. Continued the economic developments of the late Ming, leading to prosperity but also complacency and a dramatic increase in population. The acclaimed novel Dream of the Red Chamber was written in this period. Strains on the polity were intensified by a rapid incorporation of substantial new territories. Its authoritarian structure was subsequently unable to meet the military and cultural challenge of an expansive West.
  • Period: to

    Republic Period

    Capitals: Beijing, Wuhan, and Nanjing Weak central government following the collapse of the dynastic system in 1911-12; Western influence was shown by the promotion of "science" and "democracy" during the New Culture Movement. The attempt of the Nationalist government (est. 1928) to bring the entire country under its control was thwarted by both domestic revolts and the Japanese occupation (1937-45). The Nationalists fled to Taiwan after defeat by the Communists.
  • Period: to

    People's Republic of China

    Capital: Beijing Communist government. The drive for remaking society ended in disasters such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Economic reform and political retrenchment since around 1978.