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Period: 10,000 BCE to 7000 BCE
Early settlements appear in the Yellow River Valley of northern China
The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to about 10,000 BC. -
7000 BCE
Evidence of the first stages of simple farming
Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC. -
Period: 2205 BCE to 1767 BCE
Xia dynasty
Transition from stone-age to bronze-age tools and weapons. The Xia Dynasty was an early Chinese dynasty mentioned in legends. According to legend, the founder was Yu, who was credited with having engineered the draining of the waters of a great flood (and who was later identified as a deified lord of the harvest). -
Period: 1766 BCE to 1122 BCE
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC and was the earliest dynasty of traditional Chinese history supported by archaeological evidence. Excavation at the Ruins of Yin (near modern-day Anyang), which has been identified as the last Shang capital. The Anyang site has yielded the earliest known body of Chinese writing, mostly divinations inscribed on oracle bones – turtle shells, ox scapulae, or other bones. -
Period: 1122 BCE to 221 BCE
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history. Centralized power decreased throughout the Spring and Autumn period until the Warring States period in the last two centuries of the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou court had little control over its constituent states that were at war with each other. The zenith of Chinese bronze-ware making and spans the period in which the written script evolved into its almost-modern form. -
Period: 481 BCE to 221 BCE
Warring States period
An era of division in ancient China. It was the last of three periods of the Zhou Dynasty era (1046–221 BC): Western Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period (771–476 BC), Warring States Period. States declared independence from the Zhou Dynasty. By 334 BC there were 7 warring states: Qin, Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han, Yan, and Qi. -
Period: 221 BCE to 206
Qin dynasty
The dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang. Its 15 years was the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, consisting of only two emperors, but inaugurated an imperial system that lasted, with interruption and adaptation, until 1912. -
Period: 206 BCE to 220
Han dynasty
The Han period is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people" and the Chinese script is referred to as "Han characters". It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang. development of paper and porcelain, and trade established on the Silk Road. -
Period: 220 to 280
Three kingdoms period
The tripartite division of China between the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. Each state was eventually headed not by a king, but by an emperor who claimed legitimate succession from the Han dynasty. It was one of the bloodiest in Chinese history and romanticised. Technology advanced significantly during this period, wherein an early form of the wheelbarrow and a non-magnetic compass was invented. -
Period: 589 to 618
Sui dynasty
The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties and reinstalled the rule of ethnic Han Chinese in the entirety of China proper, along with sinicization of former nomadic ethnic minorities (the 5 Barbarians). Various centralised reforms intended to reduce economic inequality and improve agricultural productivity. Buddhism spread. By the mid-dynasty, entered a golden age of prosperity with vast agricultural surplus that supported rapid population growth -
Period: 618 to 907
Tang dynasty
Generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture where poetry and painting reached their creative peaks. Cities and trade grew and Buddhism became an important religion -
Period: 960 to 1279
Song Dynasty
Re-unification of China after Tang Dynasty rebellion. With a prosperous economy and radiant culture, this period was considered as another period of 'golden age'. The Song government was the first in world history to issue banknotes nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass. -
Period: 1279 to 1368
Yuan Dynasty
Song Dynasty is overthrown by Kublai Khan, leader of Mongols. The first foreign dynasty to rule all of China. Achievements were the development of drama and the novel, and the invention of the teapot. -
Period: 1368 to
Ming Dynasty
China was a global superpower, influencing the known world in trade, culture and might. At its height, the Ming dynasty had a population of 160 million people and saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of 1 million troops.There were enormous projects of construction, including the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall as it is seen today, and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. -
Period: to
Qing Dynasty
China's last imperial dynasty under Manchu rule. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state.