| Highlights Of
Chinese History |
|
Year |
Period |
Development/Event |
| 1.6 Million BCE |
YuanMou Man |
Earliest human findings.
Stone tools and use of fire. |
| 700-500,000 BCE |
LanTian Man, Peking Man |
| 20,000 BCE |
Upper Cave Man |
| 5,000 BCE |
YangShao Culture |
Farming villages in the Yellow River Valleys, Painted pottery. |
| 2,500 BCE |
LongShan Culture |
East China and Central River Valleys. Wheel-made pottery.
Divination and Ancestrial worship. |
| 2852-2205 BCE |
Three Rulers & Five Emperors |
Mythical rulers, credited with inventing
farming, building, medicine, silk culture. |
| 2205-1766 BCE |
Xia Dynasty |
China's legendary first dynasty. Emperor Yu, is credited
with flood control and irrigation systems. |
| 1766-1122 BCE |
Shang Dynasty |
First verifiable dynasty. Ritual bronze vessels and "oracle
bones" calligraphy. Evidence
of a relatively sophisticated medical system using acupuncture
needles and medical observations inscribed. |
| 1122-256 BCE |
Zhou Dynasty |
Western Zhou later cited
as a model period. Capital city near Xian. Confucius born in
551 BCE. Flowering in classical literature, arts, and philosophy;
Confuciansim, Taoism. Lao Tze and Chuang Tze lived around this
period. The first transporation canals were built. Internal alchemy,
meditation, and breathing techniques were developed. |
| 770-256 BCE |
Eastern Zhou |
| 722-481 BCE |
Spring and Autumn |
| 403-221 BCE |
Warring States |
| 221-206 BCE |
Qin Dynasty |
Unification of China. State walls are
joined to form the Great Wall. Palace and mausoleum near Xian,
standardization of weights, measures, calligraphy. |
| 206 BCE-220 CE |
Han Dynasty |
Capitals at Changan and
Luoyang rivals that of Rome. Buddhism enters China from India.
Birth of Confucian civil service. Paper invented. |
| 206 BCE-9 CE |
Western Han |
| 25 CE-220 CE |
Eastern Han |
| 220-280 CE |
Three Kingdoms
Wei, Shu-Han, Wu |
Han generals divide empire. This period
is romanticized as a time of chivalry and heorism in later literature. |
| 265-316 CE |
Western Jin |
China briefly united under one Emperor. Capitals at Luoyang,
Changan. |
| 317-589 CE |
Southern and Northern Dynasties |
Succession of numerous
dynasties, including 24 short-lived ones, on the north and south
sides of the Yangtze. Developing period for Buddhism. Cave temples
at Dunhuang, Yungang, and Longmen. |
| 317-420 CE |
Eastern Jin |
| 386-534 CE |
Northern Wei |
| 386-535 CE |
|
Bohidarma (TaMo) arrives in China. Shaolin Monastery built
and Shaolin boxing develops in the temples |
| |
|
Continued on next page |
Historical Maps