NEOLITHIC & EARLIER CULTURES ( 5900 BC - 1368 AD )

Cishan Peiligang ( 5900 BC - 5100 BC )

BeiXin ( 5400 BC - 4500 BC )

Hemudu ( 5000 BC - 4800 BC )

Yangshao Banpo ( 4800 BC - 4200 BC )

Majiayao ( 3300 BC - 2000 BC )

Banshan ( 2700 BC - 2400 BC )

Machang ( 2400 BC - 2000 BC )

Majiabing ( 4750 BC - 3900 BC )

Dawenkou ( 4500 BC - 2300 BC )

Shilingxia ( 4000 BC - 3500 BC )

Daxi ( 4000 BC - 3300 BC )

Miaodigou ( 3900 BC - 3500 BC )

Songze ( 3900 BC - 2700 BC )

Hongshan ( 3500 BC - 2200 BC )

Qingwangzhai ( 3400 BC - 3000 BC )

Henan Longshan ( 2800 BC - 1900 BC )

Qujialing ( 2700 BC - 2600 BC )

Shixia ( 2700 BC - 2500 BC )

Liangzhu ( 2700 BC - 1250 BC )

Shandong Longshan ( 2300 BC - 1700 BC )

Erlitou ( 1900 BC - 1600 BC )

Xia ( 2100 BC - 1600 BC )

Shang ( 1600 BC - 1100 BC )

Western Zhou ( 1100 BC - 771 BC )

Spring & Autumn ( 770 BC - 476 BC )

Warring States ( 475 BC - 221 BC )

Qin ( 221 BC - 207 BC )

Western Han ( 206 BC - 24 AD )

Eastern Han ( 25 AD - 220 AD )

Three Kingdoms ( 221 AD - 265 AD )

Western Jin ( 265 AD - 316 AD )

Eastern Jin ( 317 AD - 420 AD )

Northern Dynasties ( 386 AD - 581 AD )

Southern Dynasties ( 420 AD - 587 AD )

Sui ( 589 AD - 617 AD )

Tang ( 618 AD - 906 AD )

Five Dynasties ( 907 AD - 959 AD )

Liao ( 907 AD - 1125 AD )

Northern Song ( 960 AD - 1126 AD )

Southern Song ( 1127 AD - 1279 AD )

Jin ( 1115 AD - 1234 AD )

YŸan ( 1280 AD - 1368 AD )

 

 

THE MING DYNASTY ( 1368 - 1644 AD )

Hongwu ( 1368 AD - 1399 AD )

Jianwen ( 1399 AD - 1403 AD )

Yongle ( 1403 AD - 1425 AD )

Hongxi ( 1425 AD - 1426 AD )

XŸande ( 1426 AD - 1436 AD )

Zhengtong ( 1436 AD - 1450 AD )

Jingtai ( 1450 AD - 1457 AD )

Tianshun ( 1457 AD - 1465 AD )

Chenghua ( 1465 AD - 1488 AD )

Hongzhi ( 1488 AD - 1506 AD )

Zhengde ( 1506 AD - 1522 AD )

Jiajing ( 1522 AD - 1567 AD )

Longqing ( 1567 AD - 1573 AD )

Wanli ( 1573 AD - 1620 AD )

Taichang ( 1620 AD - 1621 AD )

Tianqi ( 1621 AD - 1628 AD )

Chongzhen ( 1628 AD - 1644 AD )

 

 

THE QING DYNASTY ( 1644 - 1911 AD )

Shunzi ( 1644 AD - 1662 AD )

Kangxi ( 1662 AD - 1723 AD )

Yongzheng ( 1723 AD - 1736 AD )

Qianlong ( 1736 AD - 1796 AD )

Jiaqing ( 1796 AD - 1821 AD )

Daoguang ( 1821 AD - 1851 AD )

Xianfeng ( 1851 AD - 1862 AD )

Tongzhi ( 1862 AD - 1875 AD )

GuangxŸ ( 1875 AD - 1908 AD )

Xiantong ( 1908 AD - 1911 AD )

 

MODERN CHINA ( 1911 AD - TO THE PRESENT TIME )

 

 

MORE DETAILED HISTORICAL INFORMATION :

8000 BC - 2200 BC : > Chinese history dates back to the Neolithic period when the Ice Age ended and artifacts dating back to 8000 BC have been found. These extremely early pieces prove that the Chinese had a highly developed agricultural society compared to the Nomadic hunters and gatherers in Europe. Jade artifacts dating back to the later Neolithic period ( about 3500 BC - 2200 BC ) seem to come from several regions and cultures in including the Liangzhu, the Longshan, and Hongshan. Many of the pieces dating back to this very early period are quite sophisticated and detailed and these give witness to what was probably the most advanced culture of the Neolithic world.

2205 BC - 1766 BC : > The Hsia ( Xia ) Dynasty unfolded during this period and is considered to have been founded by Yu the Great; however, no archaeological evidence to date has confirmed this. Although it was an autocratic regime and lacked the experience necessary to rule a large country, the rather mysterious Hsia Dynasty represents a huge advancement in China's development.

1766 BC - 1027 BC : > The Shang Dynasty, according to tradition, was the second hereditary dynasty in ancient China. However, it is the first dynasty that we have written evidence for. The Shang people comprised the most advanced bronze-working civilization on the planet at that time and they also left behind the earliest and most complete record of Chinese writing. Western societies were centuries behind the Shang in the field of bronze. For historical comparison, this was the period when Abraham built the tenets of Judaism and when Stonehenge was erected.

1027 BC : > The last Shang ruler, a corrupt man named Chou Hsin, was conquered by Wu-wang, and the Zhou ( Chou ) Dynasty began. It lasted longer than any other dynasty in China and was quite influential in developing basic principles of Chinese culture, such as the father-son succession system. However, the Zhou mostly adopted Shang life and government, so there are few differences between the two dynasties.

While the Zhou did not rule all of modern day China, the Zhou principality was the most powerful and most centrally located of all of the Chinese principalities.Ê It is typically divided into three periods by historians: the Western Chou period ( 1027 - 771 BC ), the Ch'un Ch'iu period ( 722 BC - 481 BC ), and the Warring States period ( 481 BC - 221 AD ).

771 BC : > A coup took place among the nobles and King Yu was killed. The capital was moved to Loyang, thus ending the Western Chou period and reducing the power of the Zhou Dynasty.

770 BC - 476 BC : > The Ch'un Ch'iu period, also known as the Spring and Autumn period, began. It is so called because a history of the period was titled ¡ The Spring and Autumn Annals". This period was generally characterized by the deterioration of the feudal system and a collapse of central authority.

481 BC : > The Warring States period began as the states of Ch'in and Ch'u emerged as the primary competitors in the struggle to found an empire in China. During this period, a four-tiered class structure emerged consisting of the lesser nobility ( including scholars ), the peasant farmers, the artisans, and the merchants, with the merchants occupying the lowest rung in society. During this era, several schools of political philosophy emerged, including the three main schools > Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism.

221 BC - 207 BC : > The Ch'in emerged as victors at the end of the Warring States period. Prince Cheng named himself as the first emperor ( Qin Shihuangdi ) and engaged in a rather ruthless process of unifying China under a central bureaucracy. The Ch'in Dynasty ended in 207 BC, having lasted for only 14 years.

214 BC : > The building of the first Great Wall of China began. It was designed to keep out a destitute and starving people, the nomadic Hsiung Nu. This artifice is not the modern Great Wall of China, which was built about fifteen hundred years later during the Ming Dynasty ( 1368 AD - 1644 AD ).

207 - 195 BC : > Han Kao-tzu ( Liu Ping ), a man of humble origins, was the first ruler of the Former Han Dynasty, which lasted until 9 AD.

9 AD - 23 AD : > Wang Mang usurped the power of the Han Dynasty and instituted the interim Hsin Dynasty. His drastic reform package, which was very unfavorable for the merchant class and forbade the slave trade, along with natural disasters led to the overthrow of his short reign.

24 AD - 220 AD : > The Later Han Dynasty began with the rule of Han Kuang-wu. The Han minority established itself as the core nation of China due to its more advanced culture and this dominance is still evident today. This was the era in which paper and tea were invented.

184 AD : > The Rebellion of the Yellow Turbans, a Taoist initiative directed against the tyrannical Later Han Dynasty effectively ended Han power and the Three Kingdoms era began in 220 AD.

220 - 265 AD : > The Three Kingdoms began, during which China was split into three separate kingdoms > the Shu ( 221 AD - 264 AD ), the Wei ( 220AD - 265 AD ), and the Wu ( 220 AD - 280 AD ). The major developments of the period were the migration of the ethnic Han Chinese to the south and the settlement of Barbarians in the north. This was also the period in which Buddhism flourished in China.

265 AD - 420 AD : > The Jin Dynasty took over following the usurpation of power from a top Wei official.Ê It is often divided into two periods, Western Jin ( 265 AD - 316 AD ) and Eastern Jin, due to the move of the capital from Luoyang to Jiankang ( Nanjing ).

420 AD - 588 AD : > This period is characterized by a lack of unity and several short-lived dynasties including the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou. Many of the dynasties overlapped each other and this shows that China was no longer united and experiencing great political upheaval and turmoil.

581 AD - 618 AD : > The Sui Dynasty began and reunified China during their short-lived dynasty, which is often compared to the Qin dynasty in both its ruthlessness and accomplishments.

618 AD - 907 AD : > The Tang Dynasty lasted significantly longer than the Sui and it is often favorably compared to the Han epoch. This great society is considered by historians to be the high point in Chinese culture. Buddhism flourished, block printing was invented, and this was the golden age of literature and art. However, the dynasty was in political and military decline by the mid 8th century and the country again split into various kingdoms.

916 AD - 1125 AD : > The Liao Dynasty was a regime established by the nomadic Khitan tribe who had tried to establish their own state on the frontier, but were thwarted by the more powerful Tang Dynasty. As the Tang Dynasty began to decline, the Khitan tribe seized the moment and in 916, the tribal chief established the Khitan Kingdom and proclaimed himself the emperor.

907 AD - 960 AD : > Capitalizing on the weakness of the Tang dynasty, northern invaders effectively ended the Tang Dynasty and broke China into Five Northern Dynasties and Ten Southern Dynasties ( Including the above mentioned Liao Dynasty ).

960 AD - 1279 AD : > The powerful Song Dynasty managed to reunite much of China proper. The Northern Song Dynasty lasted until 1127 AD when the Song Dynasty had to relinquish control of Northern China and it became the Southern Song Dynasty, which lasted until 1279 AD. In this period, cities developed for administrative purposes, trade, industry, and maritime commerce. The emperors consolidated their power and built an effective centralized bureaucracy, but began losing control near the end of their reign.

1279 AD - 1368 AD : > The Northern portion of China was conquered by the Barbarian Mongols already in the 1100's AD and 150 years later, they conquered the rest of China proper and formed the Yuan Dynasty. The official language was changed to Mongol and the government was primarily run by Central Asians, Arabs, and even Marco Polo served as an official ! Fortunately, China was not turned into pasture land as was common practice of Mongol invaders, and it was a period in which culture flowered.

1368 AD - 1644 AD : > The Ming Dynasty followed and it was characterized by fat, lazy, crazy, and tyrannical leaders. Beheadings and executions were common and the Ming emperors were conservative Neo-Confucians. However, the Ming emperors are also responsible for fortifying the Great Wall, building the Forbidden City and giving Macao to the Portuguese.

1644 AD - 1911 AD : > The Manchus took over China and founded the Qing Dynasty. Culture bloomed under the Manchus and they copied traditional Chinese institutions and philosophy much more than the Mongols had. They believed that no other country was equal to China, which created conflicts with the West.

1662 AD - 1722 AD : > Born in the Forbidden City, Kangxi was the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He ascended the throne at age 8 and ruled for 60 years and he was an educated and moral leader who sponsored scholarship. His reign through that of Qianlong's was the most prosperous period in ancient China.

1736 AD - 1796 AD : > The fourth Qing emperor Qianlong reigned for 60 years and he was a great military leader who greatly expanded the borders of the empire. He was an important patron of the arts and he was a painter himself with a passion for collecting antiques.

1840 AD - 1911 AD : > Corruption, decentralization of power, and rebellions characterized this period. The Western powers did their best to undermine restrictive trading laws, as exemplified by the British smuggling opium into southern China. But the Westerners also did their best to save the Qing Dynasty and the U.S. Marines crushed the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. However, after the collapse of the dynasty and the outbreak of WWI, both Europe and China plunged head first into chaos.

1911 AD - 1945 AD : > This was a period of conflict between the Nationalists and the Communists who were subsequently hunted down by the Nationalists in 1934 and what is known as the Long March began. It covered over 2,500 miles and the Communists suffered 150,000 to 170,000 casualties and defections of the approximately 200,000 who had started. At the same time, the Japanese occupied Manchuria and began its invasion of mainland China. Japan quickly occupied the major coastal cities and by 1945, 20 million Chinese had been killed by the Japanese invaders.

1945 AD - TO THE NEAR PRESENT TIME : > The Communists prevailed against the now corrupt and disorganized Nationalists. Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China and reunified the south. Mao began the Great Leap Forward in 1958 to mobilize the peasants to increase crop production and collectivize their farms. This led to the greatest man-made famine in human history. In 1966 the Cultural Revolution began and China collapsed into anarchy. Deng Xiaoping emerged as the new leader in 1978, and is noted for launching an economic reform program and violently quelling the infamous 1989 rebellion at Tiananmen Square, where more than 200 unarmed demonstrators were killed.

SINCE THEN : > Now with free world trade, the Chinese economy has exploded, with many economists believing that the country of CHINA is poised to become the next > ECONOMIC SUPERPOWER.