The Middle Kingdom: The Centre of the World By graoliv23 551 BCE Birth of the philosopher Confucius 221 BCE Qin Shi Huangdi Becomes the first Emperor of China 221 BCE Work begins on Great Wall of China 210 BCE Death of Qin Shi Huangdi Period: 202 BCE to 220 Rise of the Han Dynasty 750 The Chinese invent block printing 1050 The Chinese invent movable print 1092 The first mechanical clock is built 1271 Marco Polo arrives in China 1279 The Rise of the Yuan Dynasty 1368 The Fall of the Yuan Dynasty 1368 The Rise of the Ming Dynasty 1405 The first voyages of the Great treasure fleet of Admiral Cheng Ho 1644 The Fall of the Ming Dynasty 1974 Discovery of terracotta army guarding the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi