See more facts from traveling China
China is an old, beautiful and mysterious Eastern country that can not be ignored in the world.
China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years. What a rich culture and historical heritage it boasts is that it is ancient inventor of compass, paper, gunpowder and printing, and that it has the Great Wall, the Grand Canal and the Karez irrigation systems -- three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago. China has gone over / through a long history of primitive society, slavery society, feudal society and semi-feudal semi-colonial society and the present socialist society.
Chinese Chronology
| Dynasties | Period | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xia (Hsia) | 2205 B.C.-1766 B.C. | |||
| Shang | 1766 B.C.-1122 B.C. | |||
| Zhou (Chow) | Western Zhou (Chow) |
1122 B.C.-770 B.C. | ||
| Eastern Zhou (Chow) | 770 B.C.-256 B.C. | |||
| Spring & Autumn Annals | 770 B.C.-476 B.C. | |||
| Warring States Period | 475 B.C.-221 B.C. | |||
| Qin (Chin) | 221 B.C.-207 B.C. | |||
| Han | Western Han | 206 B.C.- 24 A.D. | ||
| Eastern Han | 25-220 A.D. | |||
| Three Kingdoms Period | Wei | 220-265 A.D. | ||
| Shu | 221-263 A.D. | |||
| Wu | 222-280 A.D. | |||
| Jin (Tsin) | Western Jin (Tsin) | 265-316 A.D. | ||
| Eastern Jin (Tsin) | 317-420 A.D. | |||
| Southern and Northern Dynasties | Southern Dynasty | Song | 420-479 A.D. | |
| Qi | 479-502 A.D. | |||
| Liang | 502-557 A.D. | |||
| Chen | 557-589 A.D. | |||
| Northern Dynasty | Northern Wei | 386-534 A.D. | ||
| Eastern Wei | 534-550 A.D. | |||
| Northern Qi | 550-577 A.D. | |||
| Western Wei | 535-556 A.D. | |||
| Northern Zhou | 557-580 A.D. | |||
| Sui | 581-618 A.D. | |||
| Tang | 618-907 A.D. | |||
| Five Dynasties | Later Liang | 907-923 A.D. | ||
| Later Tang | 923-936 A.D. | |||
| Later Jin | 936-947 A.D. | |||
| Later Han | 947-950 A.D. | |||
| Later Zhou | 951-960 A.D. | |||
| Song (Sung) | Northern Song (Sung) | 960-1127 A.D. | ||
| Southern Song (Sung) | 1127-1280 A.D. | |||
| Liao | 916-1125 A.D. | |||
| Jin | 1115-1234 A.D. | |||
| Yuan | 1271-1368 A.D. | |||
| Ming | 1368-1644 A.D. | |||
| Qing (Ching) | 1644-1911 A.D. | |||
| Republic of China (R. O. C) * | 1911- 1949 (Separated Taiwan in 1949) | |||
| People's Republic of China (P. R. C) | Founded in 1949 | |||
From the Year Dot The earliest Chinese history disappears into the shadows of folklore and legend. The Chinese have traditionally claimed a history of 5000 years, yet the legends tell of both celestial and mortal emperors who ruled China for tens of thousands of years before this. In this pantheon of rulers were the "Three Sovereigns" who were half being, half serpent with human heads and the bodies of snakes. Next came a mortal group known as the "Five Sovereigns' who were credited with inventing writing; establishing the institutions of marriage and family; teaching the people how to rear domestic animals, hunt and fish, till the soil and use herbal medicines.
One of these sovereigns, Yu, founded the Xia Dynasty, a dynasty which remained in power from the 21st to the 16th century BC. But the last Xia sovereign was so tyrannical that his subjects rose in rebellion against him. The leader of this revolt founded a new dynasty known as the Shang who ruled until the 11th century BC. The Shang dynasty was overthrown when one of their despotic rulers was conquered by the king of a subject people in the west known as the Zhou. The latter's successor became the first king in the Zhou Dynasty.
Whether the Xia actually existed is not certain but archaeological evidence has shown the Shang had fully-fledged urban societies which grew up on the sites of evolving rural villages. These in turn had developed on the sites of the even older settlements of prehistoric tribes. Below are some tour packages to learn more about Chinese history and ancient capitals:
Yellow Emperor (Huangdi)
