| Dynasty | Characteristics and History |
| Hsia c.1994–c.1523 B.C. | Semilegendary Emperor Yu built irrigation channels, reclaimed land. Bronze weapons, chariots, domestic animals used. Wheat, millet cultivated. First use of written symbols. |
| Shang or Yin c.1523–c.1027 B.C. | First historic dynasty. Complex agricultural society with a bureaucracy and defined social classes. Well-developed writing, first Chinese calendar. Great age of bronze casting. |
| Chou c.1027–256 B.C. | Classical age (Confucius Confucius (kənfy ..... Click the link for more information. , Lao Tzu Lao Tzu (lou dzə), fl. 6th cent. B.C., Chinese philosopher, reputedly the founder of Taoism . It is uncertain that Lao Tzu [Ch. ..... Click the link for more information. , Mencius Mencius (mĕn`shəs), Mandarin Meng-tzu, 371?–288? B.C., Chinese Confucian philosopher. ..... Click the link for more information. ) despite political disorder. Written laws, money economy. Iron implements and ox-drawn plow in use. Followed by Warring States period, 403–221 B.C. |
| Ch'in 221–206 B.C. | Unification of China under harsh rule of Shih Huang-ti. Feudalism feudalism (fy ..... Click the link for more information. replaced by pyramidal bureaucratic government. Written language standardized. Roads, canals, much of the Great Wall Great Wall of China, fortifications, c.1,500 mi (2,400 km) long, winding across N China from Gansu prov. to Hebei prov. on the Yellow Sea. The wall, running mostly along the southern edge of the Mongolian plain, was erected to protect China from northern nomads. ..... Click the link for more information. built. |
| Han 202 B.C.–A.D. 220 | Unification furthered, but harshness lessened and Confucianism Confucianism (kənfy ..... Click the link for more information. made basis for bureaucratic state. Buddhism Buddhism (b  d`ĭzəm), religion and philosophy founded in India c.525 B...... Click the link for more information. introduced. Encyclopedic history, dictionary compiled; porcelain produced. |
| Three Kingdoms A.D. 220–265 | Division into three states: Wei, Shu, Wu. Wei gradually dominant. Confucianism eclipsed; increased importance of Taoism Taoism (däu`ĭzəm) ..... Click the link for more information. and Buddhism. Many scientific advances adopted from India. |
| Tsin or Chin 265–420 | Founded by a Wei general; gradual expansion to the southeast. Series of barbarian dynasties ruled N China. Continued growth of Buddhism. |
| Sui 581–618 | Reunification; centralized government reestablished. Buddhism, Taoism favored. Great Wall refortified; canal system established. |
| T'ang 618–907 | Territorial expansion. Buddhism temporarily suppressed. Civil service civil service, entire body of those employed in the civil administration as distinct from the military and excluding elected officials. The term was used in designating the British administration of India, and its first application elsewhere was in 1854 in England. ..... Click the link for more information. examinations based on Confucianism. Age of great achievements in poetry (Li Po Li Po (lē bô), Li Pai ..... Click the link for more information. , Po Chü-i Po Chü-i (bô jü-ē), 772–846, Chinese poet. ..... Click the link for more information. , Tu Fu Tu Fu (d  f..... Click the link for more information. ), sculpture, painting. |
| Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 907–960 | Period of warfare, official corruption, general hardship. Widespread development of printing (see type type, for printing , was invented in China (c.1040), using woodblocks. Related devices, such as seals and stamps for making impressions in clay, had been used in ancient times in Babylon and elsewhere. ..... Click the link for more information. ); paper money first printed. |
| Sung 960–1279 | Period of great social and intellectual change. Neo-Confucianism attains supremacy over Taoism and Buddhism; central bureaucracy reestablished. Widespread cultivation of tea and cotton; gunpowder first used militarily. |
| Yüan 1271–1368 | Mongol Mongols (mŏng`gəlz, –gōlz) ..... Click the link for more information. dynasty founded by Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (k ..... Click the link for more information. . Growing contact with West. Confucian ideals discouraged. Great age of Chinese playwriting. Revolts in Mongolia and S China end dynasty. |
| Ming 1368–1644 | Mongols expelled. Confucianism, civil service examinations, reinstated. Contact with European traders, missionaries. Porcelain, architecture (see Chinese architecture Chinese architecture, the buildings and other structures created in China from prehistoric times to the present day.
Early ArchitectureAs a result of wars and invasions, there are few existing buildings in China predating the Ming dynasty ..... Click the link for more information. ), the novel and drama flourish. |
| Ch'ing or Manchu 1644–1912 | Established by the Manchus Manchu (măn`ch ..... Click the link for more information. . Territorial expansion but gradual weakening of Chinese power; decline of central authority. Increasing European trade; foreign powers divide China into spheres of influence. Opium War Opium Wars, 1839–42 and 1856–60, two wars between China and Western countries. The first was between Great Britain and China. Early in the 19th cent. ..... Click the link for more information. ; Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. ..... Click the link for more information. ceded; Boxer Uprising Boxer Uprising, 1898–1900, antiforeign movement in China, culminating in a desperate uprising against Westerners and Western influence. By the end of the 19th cent. the Western powers and Japan had established wide interests in China. ..... Click the link for more information. . Last Chinese monarchy. |
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