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 |
|
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Continued on next page |