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Home The Life ofWu Zetian Structure of the Tang Harem Timelines Pictures Links Bibliography Email Me |
| Year | Events | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| approx BC 2700 to BC 2200 |
Age of the Five Rulers | Chinese recorded history began when Huang Di, along with 4 later emperors, began the period known as the Age of the Five Rulers. A number of great achievements are attributed to this period, including an organized government, a primitive form of writing, systems for recording time and counting numbers, and a 365-day calendar. |
| approx BC 2200 to BC 1600 |
Xia Dynasty | The Xia dynasty was founded by Yu and had 17 rulers. Long regarded as a mythological dynasty by scholars, archaeological evidence of the Xia capital was discovered near Loyang in 1959. During the Xia, China was divided into 9 administrative districts, and a system of land taxes was established. |
| BC 1600 to BC 1066 |
Shang Dynasty | The Shang Dynasty was founded by Shang Tang, a tribal chieftain who overthrew the last ruler of the Xia dynasty. One of the most important technological developments of the Shang was the invention of writing. In the Shang, China was also the most advanced bronze-working civilization in the world. The Shang varied in strength, frequently moving its capital. With the transfer of the capital to Yin during the reign of the 19th ruler, a period of stability was established and the capital remained at Yin until the end of the dynasty. |
| BC 1066 to BC 771 |
Western Zhou Dynasty | The Zhou began as a semi-nomadic tribe that lived to the west of the Shang kingdom. After a while, they settled in the Wei River valley, where they became vassals of the Shang. The Zhou eventually became stronger than the Shang, and eventually defeated the Shang in warfare. The Zhou began a different form of governing, which was basically feudal. Land was given to people in elaborate ceremonies. The landowners became vassals to the king. Descent became patriarchal, from father to son, rather than from eldest brother to youngest brother as in the Shang. |
| BC 770 to BC 221 |
Eastern Zhou Dynasty
(BC 722-481) (BC 403-221) |
In BC 771 the Zhou court was sacked, and its king was killed by invading barbarians. The capital was moved to Loyang. Because of this shift, historians divide the Zhou into Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou. With the royal line broken, the power of the Zhou court gradually diminished. Eastern Zhou divides into 2 subperiods: The Spring and Autumn Period and The Warring States Period. |
| BC 221 to BC 206 |
Qin Dynasty | The kingdom of Qin was the most powerful of the "Big Seven" in the Warring States Period. In BC 221, the remnants of the Zhou dynasty were snuffed out with the successive liquidation of the 6 other rival states. A unified China emerged under the centralized rule of the Qin dynasty. |
| BC 206 to AD 9 |
Western Han Dynasty | Out of several rebel leaders who fought for the overthrow of the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang, a peasant farmer, finally emerged triumphant over his rivals. As founder of the Han dynasty, Liu reunified China and established a new capital at Changan. The Han dynasty held power for 4 centuries and is regarded as one of China's greatest dynasties. |
| AD 25 to AD 220 |
Eastern Han Dynasty | In the years AD 9, Wang Mang, an usurper to the throne held power. The Han dynasty was re-established in AD 25, with its capital at Loyang, and is known as the Eastern Han. |
| AD 220 to AD 280 |
Three Kingdoms
(AD 220-265) (AD 221-263) (AD 229-280) |
Out of the general confusion at the close of the Han, a number of local military leaders emerged. By AD 221 only 3 of the most powerful contestants still remained. With the founding of the Three Kingdoms, the Han dynasty came to an end. In the next few decades, these rival kingdoms of Wei in the north, Shu in the west, and Wu in the east engaged in a triangular fight for supremacy. |
| AD 265 to AD 316 |
Western Jin Dynasty | At the end of the Three Kingdoms Period, the Sima family became prominent in the Wei Kingdom. In AD 265, Sima Yan usurped the power and founded a new dynasty: Jin. |
| AD 317 to AD 420 |
Eastern Jin Dynasty | In 316 AD, a strong detachment of Xiong Nu, a nomadic tribe from the north, attacked and conquered the Jin capital of Luoyang. The Emperor was taken captive, and Chinese living along the Yellow River were persecuted and massacred. By moving the capital to what is now Nanjing, the then-reigning Emperor gave up complete control over the Yellow River valley and contented himself with ruling roughly one half of the country along the Yangtze River valley. This period is called the Eastern Jin. |
| AD 420 to AD 588 |
Southern and Northern Dynasties Southern Dynasties (AD 420-478) (AD 479-501) (AD 502-556) (AD 557-588) Northern Dynasties (AD 386-533) (AD 534-549) (AD 535-557) (AD 550-577) (AD 557-588) |
The Eastern Jin was finally overthrown in AD 420 by Liu Yu,
thereby founding the Song dynasty. There followed a succession of
dynasties: Qi, Liang, and Chen, and these are known as the
"Southern Dynasties".
Meanwhile, the tribal invasion of China ended with the founding in the north of the Wei dynasty. Also known as the Northern Wei, this dynasty was briefly strong and powerful, but was later convulsed with internal disturbances, causing it to be split into Eastern and Western Wei. Overthrown by usurpers, the Eastern Wei became the Northern Qi, and the Western Wei became the Northern Zhou. In the final contest for supremacy in the north, Northern Zhou emerged victorious over Northern Qi. |
| AD 581 to AD 617 |
Sui Dynasty | Eventually, Yang Jian overthrew the Northern Zhou and established the Sui dynasty, giving himself the title of Sui Wen-Di. He began land reform and administrative reform, modeling much of it on the earlier Han institutions. The Sui went into rapid decline under the rule of Wen-Di's son, Yang-Di. His massive public works, his expensive palaces, and his costly campaign against Korea (which ended in defeat) put an enormous burden on the people. The Sui fell in 617 to many rebels who established small kingdoms for themselves all over China. |
| AD 618 to AD 907 |
Tang Dynasty Click for Tang Dynasty Timeline |
Li Yuan was persuaded by his son Li Shi-Min to rebel against the Sui and established a kingdom named Tang. The Tang eventually defeated or incorporated the other rival kingdoms, and became the Tang Dynasty, commonly regarded, along with the Han, as one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of China. The Tang is often associated with its developments in the arts, poetry, and music. Freedom of thought and belief was also respected. As a result of this high degree of cultural development and freedom of thought, many foreign students came to China to study during the Tang dynasty. The civilizations of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam were profoundly influenced by the Tang dynasty, and took many aspects of the Chinese culture back home with them. |
| AD 907 to AD 979 |
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Five Dynasties (North) Ten Kingdoms (South) |
Eventually, corruption by officials, loss of imperial control, and anarchy throughout the countryside led to a breakup of the Tang. In northern China, 5 dynastic changes occurred along the Yellow River valley in the 53-year period from 907 to 960, and 10 local rulers established themselves as kings in the South from 907-979. |
| AD 960 to AD 1127 |
Northern Song Dynasty | The turmoil ended with reunification and the founding of the Song dynasty. The Song was culturally and intellectually rich, producing some of China's greatest artworks and philosophical writings. However, it also suffered from military weakness, political infighting, and ultimately, an invasion by a group called the Jin split the country in 1126. |
| AD 1127 to AD 1279 |
Southern Song Dynasty | A brother of the Song emperor fled south, and declared himself emperor. His dynasty is known as the Southern Song. The Southern Song experienced a temporary return to peace, and culturally they too flourished. However, the power was mainly held by the nobles, and many emperors were forced by the nobles to abdicate. This period did not last long, as in 1210 A.D. the Mongols began to assault the Song, and in 1279, the Yuan, or Mongol empire began. |
| AD 1279 to AD 1368 |
Yuan Dynasty | The Yuan Dynasty was the first Dynasty in which the rulers were not Han Chinese. They were, at that time, one of the strongest military forces in the world, and expanded the empire into one of the largest the world has ever seen. (See map) . It extended West to as far as Poland and extended North and South, from Russia to Vietnam. This expansion allowed for an inflow of foreign culture. Westerners also came to China in the Yuan, the most famous of them being Marco Polo, who briefly served in the Mongol government. However, harsh rule and oppressive measures caused deep resentment and hatred by the Chinese towards the Mongols. Added to this was the difficulty of governing such a wide empire, rivalries among heirs, natural disasters, and peasant uprisings which caused the Yuan to fall in 1368. |
| AD 1368 to AD 1644 |
Ming Dynasty | The Ming Dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuan-Zhang, a Chinese farmer who was one of the rebels who overthrew the Mongols. The Ming rulers were not only despotic but also incompetent. They lacked the vision to push trade, feeling that agriculture should be the country's source of wealth. They did not understand inflation either, and gave out so much paper money as rewards that by 1425 AD, the currency was worth 1/70 of its original value. This led to a return to the use of copper coins. But they did not make enough coins and counterfeiting became a problem. During the Ming, corrupt administration and excessive taxation made survival increasingly difficult for the common people. These conditions led to the rise of large bands of bandits, who finally took Beijing by storm and forced the last Ming Emperor to hang himself in 1644. |
| AD 1644 to AD 1911 |
Qing Dynasty | The Manchus took advantage of the chaos at the end of the Ming to occupy Beijing and take over government, thus establishing the Qing Dynasty. The reigns of the earlier emperors KangXi, YongZheng, and QianLong were a time of peace and prosperity for China. Thereafter the Qing became weak and foreign countries attacked China. Near the end of the Qing, the person who held power was the Empress Dowager Cixi (Tzu Hsi). She was selfish and cruel, spending taxpayer's money to build palaces and hold parties for herself, while the population was starving and the country was being invaded. She was also opposed to any type of reform that might have helped China. Reformers who felt that China had to change were executed. The weakness and incompetence of the Manchu court stimulated many Chinese activists, and on Feb 12, 1912, the last emperor abdicated. |
| AD 1911 to AD 1949 |
Republic of China (Guomindang) |
Toward the end of the Qing, many Chinese began to take a keen interest in the revolutionary movement of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Educated in Hawaii and Hong Kong, Sun worked briefly as a doctor of medicine before becoming involved in politics. The political philosophy Sun developed was called the 3 Principles of the People: Nationalism (freeing China of foreign control), Democracy (ending the Manchu rule and establishing democratic government), and People's Livelihood (economic prosperity). His political party, the Guomindang (the Nationalist Party), later became the ruling party of the Republic of China. |
| AD 1949 to now |
People's Republic of China |