China Timeline & Dynastic Overview PDF

China Timeline and Dynastic Overview Timeline Ancient Era (c. 8500 – 221 BC) Imperial Era (221 BC – 1911 AD) Modern Era (1912 - present) Ancient Era Neolithic (c. 8500 – c. 2070 BC) 夏 Xia Dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC) 商 Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC) 周 Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC) 西周...

China Timeline and Dynastic Overview Timeline Ancient Era (c. 8500 – 221 BC) Imperial Era (221 BC – 1911 AD) Modern Era (1912 - present) Ancient Era Neolithic (c. 8500 – c. 2070 BC) 夏 Xia Dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC) 商 Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC) 周 Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC) 西周 Western Zhou 东周 Eastern Zhou 春秋 Spring and Autumn (722 – 480 BC) 战国 Warring States (480 – 221 BC) Imperial Era 秦 Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC) 汉 Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) 西汉 Western Han 新潮 Xin Dynasty interregnum (9-23 AD) 东汉 Eastern Han ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is where we stop ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 三国 Three Kingdoms (220 – 280 AD) 蜀汉 Shu Han (221 – 264 AD) 曹魏 Cao Wei (220 – 265 AD) 东吴 Dong Wu (222 – 280 AD) 晋 Jin Dynasty (265 – 420 AD) 西晋 Western Jin (265 – 317) 东晋 Eastern Jin (317 – 420) Imperial Era 南北 Northern and Southern Dynasties (420 – 589 AD) Northern Dynasties 北魏 Northern Wei 西魏 Western Wei 东魏 Eastern Wei 北周 Northern Zhou 北齐 Northern Qi Southern Dynasties 刘宋 Liu Song 南齐 Southern Qi 隋 Sui Dynasty (581 – 618 AD) 唐 Tang Dynasty (618 – 906 AD) 梁 Liang 陈 Chen 武周 Wu Zhou interregnum （690 – 705） Imperial Era 五代 Five Dynasties (907 – 960 AD) 宋 后梁 Late Liang (907 – 923 AD) 后唐 Late Tang (923 – 937 AD) 后晋 Late Jin (937 – 947 AD) 后汉 Late Han (947 – 951 AD) 后周 Late Zhou (951 – 960 AD) Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 AD) 西夏Western Xia (1038 – 1227 AD) 北宋 Northern Song (960 – 1126 AD) 南宋 Southern Song (1127 – 1279 AD) 金 Jin Dynasty (Jurchen) (1115 – 1234 AD) Imperial Era 元 Yuan Dynasty (Mongol) (1271 – 1368 AD) 明 Ming (1368 – 1644 AD) 清 Qing (1644 – 1911 AD) Modern Era 中华民国 Republic of China (1912 – 1949 AD) 中华人民共和国 People’s Republic of China (1949 – present) 中华民国 (台湾) Republic of China (Taiwan) (1949 – present) Chinese Dynasties and Their Achievements Dynasties Xia Dynasty 2100-1800 B.C.E. Notable Rulers Aryans Achievements Shang Dynasty 1500-1100 B.C.E. Thirty separate kings Migrated into the area and conquered the local peoples Developed superior weaponry and technology Ruled from a succession of seven different capitals. Invention of writing Zhou Dynasty 1122-256 B.C.E. Kings + Noblemen Qin Dynasty 221-206 B.C.E. Qin Centralization of authority Written laws Building projects (Great Wall of China) Han Dynasty Han Wudi 400 year rule Exploration (Zhang Qian) Expansion of trade Silk Road Pax Sinica Food reserves Merit-based appointments Expansion Regional rulers 2000+ years of common written language The center of the world With vast mountain ranges including the Himalayas to the southwest, the Gobi Desert to the north, and the Pacific Ocean stretching out to the east, the Chinese were in relative isolation from the rest of the world until the 1800s. In fact, because they believed they were in the middle of the world, surrounded by natural barriers on all sides, the Chinese thought of themselves as "Zhong Guo" — the Middle Kingdom. Mythology The oldest surviving civilization: “5000 years of history, 7000 years of culture.” Descendants of the Dragon / The Yellow Emperor (龙的传人) No singular myth of a God creating the universe Multiple myths of entities that have repaired the world and helped restore order to chaos These mythical figures are not godlike, but are rather part of the world they helped to construct. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (三皇五帝) Three Sovereigns (三皇) Pan Gu (盘古) Nu Wa (女娲) / Fu Xi (伏羲) Shen Nong (神农) Five Emperors (五帝) Yellow Emperor (黄帝) Zhuanxu (颛顼) Ku (喾) Yao (尧) Shun (舜) The Three Sovereigns (三皇) Pan Gu (盘古) – The closest to being ‘The Creator’; split heaven and earth and created Yin and Yang. Nu Wa (女娲) – created human beings and mended the sky. (Matriarch) Fu Xi ( 伏 羲 ) – invented the Eight Trigrams, which are related to the Five Elements, and taught humans to use weapons and to hunt and fish. (Patriarch) Shen Nong ( 神 农 ) the ‘Divine Husbandman’ – introduced agriculture, tea and the use of medical herbs. 三皇 Pan Gu (盘古) In the beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos. This chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg for about 18,000 years. Pangu began creating the world: he separated Yin from Yang creating the Earth (Yin) and the Sky (Yang). Hundun Hundun (混沌) – the God of Chaos, or chaos itself, similar to the universal myth of the egg-cosmos. The orphic egg, from which Phanes emerged (Greek) 三皇 Pan Gu (盘古) After Pangu died, his breath became the wind, mist and clouds; his voice, thunder; his left eye, the sun; his right eye, the moon; his head, the mountains and extremes of the world; his blood, rivers; his sweat, rain; and the fleas on his fur carried by the wind became animals. 三皇 Nu Wa (女娲) The figurehead of Matriarchy Creator of men Upholder of the Firmament Round Sky & Square Earth Fu Xi (伏羲) The figurehead of Patriarchy Symbol of awakening from the Dark Ages Consort of Nu Wa (later on to be confused with each other) A stone tablet, dated 160 CE, shows Fu Xi with Nu Wa. Shen Nong(神农) God of Agriculture, Husbandry and Medicine The Divine Farmer‘s Herb-Root Classic ( 神 农 本 草 经 ) – Han dynasty compendium inspired by Shen Nong – earliest Chinese pharmacopoeia. Yellow Emperor (黄帝) Yellow Emperor (黄帝) The ancestor of the Chinese people. Founded the cultures of the Central Plain ( 中 原 ) as basic cultures of Chinese civilization, with a people later named Huaxia or Xia (夏). Yellow Emperor (黄帝) Supposedly, the Yellow Emperor founded China's first dynasty, the Xia 夏. Another descendant of the Yellow Emperor's clan is the Ji (姬) clan, who later founded the Zhou Dynasty 周. Ancestorship of the Yellow Emperor is often invoked to obtain legitimation for rulership. Yellow Emperor (黄帝) In early Chinese thought, every ruler is blessed by one of the Five Elements (五 行): Yellow Emperor’s was the earth (corresponding colour: yellow), hence his designation as "Yellow Emperor". Neolithic period (c. 6000 – c. 1650 BC) The first Chinese people to leave remains of their ceramic objects were farmers who lived in small settlements along China's great rivers, the Yellow, the Wei, and the Yangzi. Peking Man, Homo erectus pekinensis