China History | Ancient China History | Modern China History | Recent History of China | Chinese Culture

China is one of the world's oldest civilizations with a 5,000 year history and many periods of fortune and turmoil. China has been ruled by 14 major dynasties and a number of smaller factions (and you thought England had a lot of monarchs). Two of the dynasties are outsiders: the Mongolians during Genghis Khan's reign and the Manchurians during the Ching dynasty. The following timeline offers a snapshot of Chinese history prior to 1949 (which is when the People's Republic of China was founded). We have included a synopsis which will help you better understand Chinese culture to achieve better business results.

One interesting fact is that Beijing has not always been the capital city of China; far from it. There has been over a dozen sites for the capital city through the ages it is important to understanding China. Modern Chinese is often quoted as saying if you want to learn about China in the past 200 years go to Beijing, the past 1000 years go to Xian and throughout history travel the country. During the Three Kingdoms there were three capitals and during Qin Shi Huang (the First Emperor to unite China) he had to consolidate and conquer six other capitals for a total of seven capitals!

People's Republic of China	1949 A.D. to Today	See our Modern History section for more detail or our Travel and China Visa sections to go there today.
Qing Dynasty	1644 - 1911 A.D.	The Manchurians became the second ethnic minority to rule China after the Mongols (there are officially 55 national minority groups recognized today). They established the Qing Dynasty which turns out to be the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history. The Qing dynasty experienced the waning of China's power that ended with the loss of the Opium Wars. China was trying to stop the opium trade instigated by the British. England listed a number of other countries (U.S., Russia, Japan, France, Portugal, and Spain) to invade China and led to the Chinese concessions of Hong Kong, Macao and parts of Shanghai.
Ming Dynasty	1368 - 1644 A.D.	The Ming Dynasty was the last dynasty ruled by ethnic Chinese. It was a period of wealth, ranking third amongst Chinese dynasties behind the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. At the height of the Ming's power, China controlled the Mongols to the North and expanded northeast (into Manchuria) and west. Beijing started its reign as the capital city that has lasted to today. All but one of the Ming emperors are buried in the famous Ming Tombs located just 40 miles north of Beijing, which you can visit the only Ming Tomb open to the public today.
Yuan Dynasty	1271 - 1368 A.D.	Temujin (a.k.a. Genghis Khan) unified the nomadic Mongolian tribes and conquered China along with much of Europe and the Middle East. Genghis Khan established the Yuan Dynasty with the capital city in Dadu. The Yuan Dynasty is noted for its new caste system of three major classes. This was extremely unpopular amongst the ethnic Chinese which brought upon rebellion. The Mongolians that stayed eventually got absorbed into Chinese society.
Jin Dynasty	1115 - 1234 A.D.	The Jin Dynasty was mired in a prolonged economic slump and relatively high frequency of hostilities internally and with externally with the Mongols to the North. The Jin Dynasty alternated its capital with modern day Baicheng and modern day Beijing.
Liao Dynasty	916 - 1125 A.D.	The Liao Dynasty was established by the Khitan tribe who were ancient northern nomads. The Liao Dynasty was the first to locate its capital in modern day Beijing. The Liao is noted for its outward expansion and advancements in the fields of Astronomy, Medicine, and Agriculture.
Song Dynasty	960 - 1279 A.D.	The Song Dynasty reunited China and bring about three centuries relatively uninterrupted economic and cultural growth. The Northern Song had its capital city in present day Kaifeng (960 - 1127 A.D.) and the Southern Song started when the capital city was moved to present day Hangzhou (1127 to 1279 A.D.).
Five Dynasties and 10 States	907 - 960 A.D.	China became fragmented at the end of the Tang dynasty due to excess and corruption. The resulting Five Dynasties period was noted for the continual warring factions. Many of the great civic works such as the Grand Canal and roads were neglected and fell into disrepair.
Tang Dynasty	618 - 907 A.D.	The Tang Dynasty is the most famous dynasty in Chinese history and is marked by a period of prosperity. During this period China became the world's dominant power in technology, economy, military might, art, poetry, and literature. China established the most trade routes and political embassies the world had ever seen in its time.
Sui Dynasty	581 - 618 A.D.	This was a short lived dynasty as Emperor Wen overabused his spending powers. This abuse provoked a rebellion that resulted in the downfall of the dynasty and beheading of the royal family. Emperor Wen did, however, commissioned the Grand Canal in Suzhou (near Shanghai) which connected the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. The Grand Canal turned to be a boon for commerce even today (which you can take a riverboat cruise like we did).
North & South Dynasties	North 385 - 581 A.D. South 420 - 589 A.D.	The North and South Dynasties are so named because turmoil had torn the country into various warring regions, principally the North and the South. There were variuos capitals with Luoyang once again serving as capital city for one of the factions. This period is noted for the explosive growth of Buddhism and Taoism in China which has lasted to modern times. This was marked by Emperor Wudi converting to Buddhism and by 477 A.D. there were over 6,000 Buddhist temples and over 75,000 monks and nuns in China.
Jin Dynasties	265 - 420 A.D.	Jin is divided into two periods: the Western Jin (265 - 316 A.D.) with Luoyang as its capital city and Eastern Jin (316 - 420 A.D.) when the capital city was moved to Jiankang , present day Nanjing. Although short lived the Jin Dynasty is noted for having a large cross section of different ethnic groups rule the country at once with a significant amount of intermarriage.
Three Kingdoms	220 - 280 A.D.	This is a famous period that inspired the novel "The Three Kingdoms", one of the four big novels in Chinese histories (known as "The Big Four"). This is a period of constant warfare when China was divided into three main kingdoms. Famous characters such as the three brothers who fought for one of the factions are admired today. One of them, Guanggong has elevated to the level of "sainthood" as you can see a statue of him in many Chinese restaurants, shops and businesses today.
Han Dynasty	206 B.C. - 220 A.D.	The Zhou dynasty is known for its two periods: the Western Zhou (1100 - 711 B.C.) where the capital city was in Haojing and the Eastern Zhou (770 - 221 B.C.) which started when the capital was moved to present day Luoyang.
Qin Dynasty	221 - 206 B.C.	The Emperor Qin Shihuang is perhaps one of the most famous rulers of Chinese history. He led his army to crush the other six dukes in a ten year period that helped to unify China once and for all. Although it is the shortest lived dynasty, it's legacy includes the start of a 2,000 year imperial history. Furthermore, the territory under Emperor Qin's control is very similar to modern day China. Emperor Qin also commissioned the famous Terracotta warriors in Xian, the capital city during this era.
Zhou Dynasty	1100 - 221 B.C.	The Zhou dynasty is known for its two periods: the Western Zhou (1100 - 711 B.C.) where the capital city was in Haojing and the Eastern Zhou (770 - 221 B.C.) which started when the capital was moved to present day Luoyang. China experienced economic prosperity during this time with relatively little warfare.
Shang Dynasty	1600 - 1100 B.C.	The Shang dynasty was established with the leader Tang led a rebellion to overthrown the emperor Jie, who was the last emperor of the Xia dynasty. The Shang dynasty had 31 emperors during its 500 year rule. Yin was the capital city at this time.
Xia Dynasty	2100 - 1600 B.C.	China's first dynasty. There has been debate to its existence. However, there have been discoveries in the second half of the twentieth century that prove it's existence.