# China: dynasties to superpower One of the longest continuous civilizations: the dynasties and the Mandate of Heaven, the inventions that changed the world, the century of humiliation, the revolution, and the return to superpower status. *This story part of: State, law, and coercion* ## c. 2070 BCE — Legendary founding of the Xia dynasty Chinese tradition holds that Yu the Great founded the Xia around 2070 BCE, making it the first hereditary dynasty. No contemporary written records confirm it, so its existence remains debated. ## c. 1900 BCE — Erlitou Bronze Age culture The Erlitou site shows a large urban settlement with palaces, bronze workshops, and social hierarchy. Some scholars link it to the Xia, though the connection is unproven. ## c. 1600 BCE — Founding of the Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty is the first Chinese dynasty confirmed by archaeological and written evidence, beginning around 1600 BCE. It was ruled by a line of kings across the North China Plain. ## c. 1300 BCE — Shang bronze casting and ritual vessels Shang artisans produced elaborate cast bronze vessels used in ancestor worship and state ritual. The pieces show advanced piece-mold casting techniques. ## c. 1250 BCE — Oracle bone script at Anyang Shang diviners inscribed questions to ancestors and gods on turtle shells and ox bones, producing the earliest known Chinese writing. These oracle bones record divination during the reign of King Wu Ding. ## c. 1046 BCE — Zhou conquest of Shang and the Mandate of Heaven At the Battle of Muye around 1046 BCE, King Wu of Zhou defeated the last Shang king and founded the Zhou dynasty. The Zhou justified their rule through the Mandate of Heaven, the idea that Heaven grants authority to just rulers and withdraws it from tyrants. ## c. 1042 BCE — Duke of Zhou and the fengjian order The Duke of Zhou served as regent and helped organize a decentralized system granting land and titles to relatives and allies. This fengjian structure shaped early Zhou governance. ## 771 BCE — Start of the Eastern Zhou and Spring and Autumn period After nomadic attacks destroyed the western capital, the Zhou court moved east to Luoyang in 771 BCE. Royal power weakened and regional states grew more independent during the Spring and Autumn period. ## c. 571 BCE — Laozi and the origins of Daoism Tradition credits Laozi with the Daodejing, the foundational text of Daoism, which teaches harmony with the Dao and effortless action. His historical identity and dates are uncertain. ## 551 BCE — Confucius and the Confucian tradition Confucius, born around 551 BCE, taught a system of ethics centered on virtue, ritual propriety, family duty, and good government. His ideas, collected by disciples in the Analects, became a cornerstone of Chinese thought for over two millennia. ## c. 500 BCE — Hundred Schools of Thought During the late Zhou, competing philosophies flourished, including Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, and Legalism. This intellectual ferment shaped Chinese philosophy and statecraft. ## c. 500 BCE — Iron metallurgy spreads across China Iron tools and weapons came into wider use in the mid first millennium BCE. Iron plows and implements raised agricultural output and reshaped warfare. ## c. 500 BCE — Sunzi and the Art of War The military treatise attributed to Sunzi set out principles of strategy, deception, and adaptation. It became one of the most influential works on warfare in world history. ## 475 BCE — Start of the Warring States period By around 475 BCE the Zhou realm had fractured into rival states that waged large-scale war for supremacy. The era brought mass infantry armies, reforms, and intense competition. ## c. 372 BCE — Mencius develops Confucian thought Mencius argued that human nature is fundamentally good and that rulers must govern benevolently or lose the Mandate of Heaven. He became the most influential Confucian after Confucius himself. ## 356 BCE — Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in Qin The statesman Shang Yang imposed strict laws, rewards, and punishments and reorganized Qin society for military and agricultural strength. These Legalist reforms made Qin the most powerful of the warring states. ## c. 222 BCE — Qin unification of China The state of Qin conquers the last of the Warring States and its king becomes Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor. The unified imperial model he creates endures in China for more than two thousand years. ## 221 BCE — Standardization under Qin Shi Huang The Qin standardized the writing script, currency, weights, measures, and axle widths across the empire. A centralized bureaucracy replaced the old feudal order. ## 214 BCE — Qin construction of the Great Wall The Qin linked and extended earlier walls into a continuous defensive line against northern nomads. The work used forced labor on a vast scale. ## 213 BCE — Burning of books under the Qin To suppress dissent, the Qin court ordered the destruction of many texts, especially Confucian and historical works. Tradition also records the killing of scholars. ## 210 BCE — Terracotta Army and death of the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BCE and was buried with thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers guarding his tomb. The army was rediscovered in 1974. ## 206 BCE — Collapse of the Qin and Chu-Han contention Rebellions broke out soon after the First Emperor's death, and the Qin fell in 206 BCE. Rival leaders Liu Bang and Xiang Yu then fought for control. ## 202 BCE — Founding of the Han dynasty Liu Bang defeated his rivals and founded the Han dynasty in 202 BCE, ruling from Chang'an. The Han became a defining era of Chinese civilization, and Chinese people still call themselves the Han. ## 138 BCE — Zhang Qian's mission and the opening of the Silk Road Emperor Wu sent the envoy Zhang Qian west around 138 BCE to seek allies against the Xiongnu. His journeys opened the overland trade routes later known as the Silk Road, linking China with Central Asia and beyond. ## 136 BCE — Confucianism becomes state ideology Under Emperor Wu, the Han court adopted Confucianism as the guiding philosophy of the state. Officials were increasingly chosen for their knowledge of Confucian classics. ## c. 91 BCE — Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian Sima Qian completed a comprehensive history of China from legendary times to his own era. It set the model for later Chinese official histories. ## 9 — Wang Mang and the Xin interregnum The official Wang Mang seized the throne in 9 CE and founded the short-lived Xin dynasty. His radical reforms failed and rebellion soon toppled him. ## 25 — Restoration of the Eastern Han Emperor Guangwu restored the Han dynasty in 25 CE and moved the capital to Luoyang. This Eastern Han period lasted nearly two centuries. ## c. 67 — Arrival of Buddhism in China Buddhism reached China from India along the Silk Road during the first century CE. Tradition dates its official introduction to Emperor Ming of Han and the founding of the White Horse Temple. ## 105 — Cai Lun and the invention of paper The court official Cai Lun is credited with refining papermaking around 105 CE using bark, hemp, and rags. Paper became one of China's most influential contributions to the world. ## 184 to 205 — Yellow Turban Rebellion A massive peasant revolt led by Taoist sect leaders shakes the Han dynasty. Suppressing it empowers regional warlords and begins the Han collapse. ## 208 — Battle of Red Cliffs Allied southern warlords defeated the much larger army of Cao Cao on the Yangtze in 208 CE. The battle set the stage for the division of China into three states. ## 220 — Fall of the Han and the Three Kingdoms The last Han emperor abdicated in 220 CE, ending four centuries of Han rule. China split into the rival states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. ## 280 — Jin dynasty briefly reunifies China The Jin dynasty conquered the last of the Three Kingdoms in 280 CE. Its unity was short-lived and soon gave way to renewed division. ## c. 304 — Age of division and the Northern and Southern dynasties From the early fourth century, nomadic peoples ruled the north while Chinese dynasties held the south. This long period of disunity lasted until the Sui reunification. ## 399 — Faxian's pilgrimage to India The monk Faxian traveled overland to India from 399 to seek Buddhist scriptures. His written account is a valuable record of Buddhist Asia. ## c. 460 — Buddhist cave temples of Yungang and Longmen Under the Northern Wei, artisans carved monumental Buddha images into cliff faces at Yungang and later Longmen. The grottoes mark the deep rooting of Buddhism in China. ## 589 — Sui reunification of China The Sui dynasty conquered the southern Chen in 589 CE, ending nearly three centuries of division. It rebuilt centralized government across a reunified empire. ## 605 — Construction of the Grand Canal The Sui built a vast canal system linking the Yellow and Yangtze river regions. It moved grain and goods between north and south and became a backbone of the economy. ## 618 — Founding of the Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty was founded in 618 CE after the Sui collapsed. It became one of the most powerful and cosmopolitan eras in Chinese history. ## 626 — Reign of Emperor Taizong and the Zhenguan era Emperor Taizong presided over stable government, legal reform, and expansion. His reign is remembered as a model of good rule. ## 629 — Xuanzang's journey to India The monk Xuanzang traveled to India from 629 and returned with hundreds of Buddhist texts. His translations and travelogue greatly advanced Chinese Buddhism. ## 690 — Reign of Empress Wu Zetian Wu Zetian declared herself emperor in 690 CE, the only woman to rule China in her own name. She promoted officials by merit and patronized Buddhism. ## c. 700 — Invention of woodblock printing Chinese craftsmen developed woodblock printing during the Tang, allowing texts and images to be reproduced. The Diamond Sutra of 868 CE is the oldest surviving dated printed book. ## c. 750 — Golden age of Tang poetry Poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu produced works regarded as the peak of Chinese verse. Their poems remain central to Chinese literary culture. ## December 755 to 763 — An Lushan Rebellion General An Lushan revolts against the Tang dynasty, seizing both capitals in a war that kills or displaces tens of millions. The Tang survive but never recover their former power. ## 845 — Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution Emperor Wuzong ordered the closure of monasteries and the seizure of Buddhist wealth in 845 CE. The campaign weakened institutional Buddhism, though the faith survived. ## c. 850 — Invention of gunpowder Chinese alchemists discovered gunpowder while seeking elixirs of immortality. It was gradually adapted for weapons and became a transformative technology. ## 907 — Collapse of the Tang and Five Dynasties The Tang dynasty fell in 907 CE, opening a period of fragmentation known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Rival regimes competed until the Song reunified much of China. ## 960 — Founding of the Song dynasty General Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song dynasty in 960 CE and reunified most of China. The Song brought economic growth, urbanization, and a flowering of science and culture. ## 1024 — First government paper money The Song state issued the world's first official paper currency, called jiaozi, in 1024. It grew from private merchant notes into a state-backed system. ## c. 1040 — Bi Sheng invents movable type The artisan Bi Sheng created movable type from baked clay around the 1040s. It was an early form of the technology that would later reshape publishing worldwide. ## c. 1088 — Magnetic compass used for navigation Song texts describe the magnetic compass being used to find direction, including at sea. The instrument later spread across the world and transformed navigation. ## 1127 — Jurchen Jin conquer the north and Southern Song The Jurchen Jin captured the Song capital Kaifeng in 1127 and seized northern China. The Song court fled south and rebuilt at Hangzhou as the Southern Song. ## c. 1175 — Zhu Xi and Neo-Confucianism The scholar Zhu Xi synthesized Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist ideas into a new philosophical system. Neo-Confucianism became the orthodox framework for later Chinese education and examinations. ## 1211 — Mongol invasions of China begin Genghis Khan launched campaigns against the Jin dynasty in 1211. Decades of Mongol warfare followed across northern and central China. ## 1271 — Kublai Khan founds the Yuan dynasty Kublai Khan proclaimed the Yuan dynasty in 1271, establishing Mongol rule over China with its capital at Dadu, modern Beijing. It was the first foreign dynasty to rule all of China. ## c. 1275 — Marco Polo in China The Venetian traveler Marco Polo is said to have served the Yuan court in the late thirteenth century. His account introduced many Europeans to China's wealth and cities. ## 1279 — Fall of the Southern Song At the naval Battle of Yamen in 1279, Mongol forces destroyed the last Song resistance. The Yuan now ruled all of China. ## 1368 — Founding of the Ming dynasty The rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang drove out the Mongols and founded the Ming dynasty in 1368. Ruling as the Hongwu Emperor, he restored native Chinese rule and rebuilt central government. > "with a population of more than 60 million in 1 368" > — The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, p. 310-313 ## 1405 — Zheng He's treasure voyages The admiral Zheng He led seven great naval expeditions from 1405, reaching Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa. The huge treasure fleets projected Ming power and prestige before the voyages were halted. ## 1420 — Forbidden City and the capital at Beijing The Yongle Emperor moved the Ming capital to Beijing and completed the vast palace complex known as the Forbidden City in 1420. It served as the seat of emperors for nearly five centuries. ## c. 1450 — Ming rebuilding of the Great Wall The Ming rebuilt the Great Wall in brick and stone to guard against Mongol raids. Most of the wall standing today dates from this period. ## 1601 — Matteo Ricci and the Jesuit mission The Jesuit Matteo Ricci reached the Ming court in Beijing in 1601. He introduced European science and mathematics while studying Chinese culture, opening a channel of exchange. ## 1644 — Fall of Beijing and end of the Ming The rebel Li Zicheng captured Beijing in 1644 and the last Ming emperor took his own life. The collapse opened the way for the Manchu conquest. ## 1644 — Manchu Qing conquest of China The Manchus seized Beijing in 1644 and established the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China. Decades of campaigns followed to subdue the rest of the country. ## 1661 — Reign of the Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor ruled from 1661 to 1722, one of the longest reigns in Chinese history. He consolidated Qing power, expanded the empire, and patronized scholarship. ## 1683 — Qing conquest of Taiwan Qing forces defeated the Ming loyalist regime on Taiwan in 1683. The island was incorporated into the empire. ## 1689 — Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia The Qing and Russia signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 to fix their border in the Amur region. It was China's first treaty with a European power. ## 1735 — Reign of the Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor ruled from 1735 to 1796 during the height of Qing wealth and territorial reach. His later years saw growing corruption and strain. ## c. 1760 — Qing territorial peak and the Ten Great Campaigns Through a series of military campaigns, the Qing brought Xinjiang, Tibet, and Mongolia under its control. The empire reached its greatest extent in the later eighteenth century. ## 1793 — Macartney Embassy to the Qing court A British mission led by Lord Macartney sought expanded trade in 1793 but was rebuffed by the Qianlong court. The failure highlighted the gap in outlook between China and the industrializing West. ## September 1839 to 29 August 1842 — First Opium War Britain defeats Qing China in a war triggered by China's suppression of the opium trade. The Treaty of Nanking cedes Hong Kong and opens treaty ports, beginning China's century of humiliation. ## 1842 — Treaty of Nanjing and the century of humiliation The 1842 Treaty of Nanjing ceded Hong Kong to Britain, opened treaty ports, and imposed indemnities. It was the first of the unequal treaties that Chinese later called the century of humiliation. ## December 1850 to August 1864 — Taiping Rebellion Hong Xiuquan, claiming to be Christ's younger brother, leads a vast rebellion that seizes Nanjing and much of southern China. Its suppression costs an estimated 20 to 30 million lives, making it the deadliest civil war in history. ## October 1856 to October 1860 — Second Opium War Britain and France renew war on Qing China, occupying Beijing and burning the Summer Palace. The treaties legalize opium and force China further open to foreign trade and missionaries. ## 1861 — Self-Strengthening Movement Reformist officials tried to modernize the military and industry by adopting Western technology while keeping Confucian institutions. The effort produced arsenals and shipyards but did not save the dynasty. ## 25 July 1894 to 17 April 1895 — First Sino-Japanese War Japan defeats Qing China over influence in Korea, taking Taiwan and forcing recognition of Korean independence. The result reveals Qing weakness and announces Japan as a modern power. ## 1898 — Hundred Days' Reform In 1898 the Guangxu Emperor launched sweeping reforms to modernize government and education. Conservatives led by the Empress Dowager Cixi crushed the movement after about one hundred days. ## November 1899 to 7 September 1901 — Boxer Rebellion An anti-foreign, anti-Christian movement besieges the foreign legations in Beijing with Qing backing. An eight-nation alliance crushes the rising and imposes a crushing indemnity on China. ## 1905 — Abolition of the imperial examination system In 1905 the Qing ended the civil service examinations that had selected officials for more than a thousand years. The reform swept away a central institution of imperial China. ## 1911 — Xinhai Revolution and fall of the Qing An uprising at Wuchang in October 1911 sparked a revolution that spread across China. It ended more than two thousand years of imperial rule. ## 1912 — Founding of the Republic of China The Republic of China was proclaimed in 1912 with Sun Yat-sen as provisional president, and the boy emperor Puyi abdicated. China became a republic for the first time. ## 1916 — Warlord Era After the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916, central authority collapsed and regional military leaders ruled by force. China fragmented into competing warlord domains. ## 4 May 1919 — May Fourth Movement Student protests erupted on 4 May 1919 against the Versailles settlement that granted German holdings in Shandong to Japan. The movement fueled new currents of nationalism, science, and cultural reform. ## 23 July 1921 — Founding of the Chinese Communist Party About a dozen delegates, among them Mao Zedong, hold the first congress of the Chinese Communist Party in the Shanghai French Concession. The small group grows into the party that rules China from 1949. ## 1926 — Northern Expedition The Nationalist army launched the Northern Expedition in 1926 to defeat the warlords and unify China. It brought much of the country under a Nationalist government based in Nanjing. ## 1927 — Start of the Chinese Civil War In 1927 the Nationalists violently purged their Communist allies, opening a long civil war. The two sides fought, paused, and fought again over the next two decades. ## October 1934 to 1935 — The Long March Chinese communist forces retreat some 9,000 kilometers from Jiangxi to Shaanxi under Nationalist attack. The march secures Mao Zedong's leadership and becomes the founding legend of Chinese communism. ## 1937 — Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre Full-scale war with Japan began in 1937 after a clash at the Marco Polo Bridge. Japanese forces committed atrocities including the mass killing and rape at Nanjing. ## 1945 — End of World War II and Japanese surrender Japan surrendered in 1945, ending eight years of war that devastated China. Fighting soon resumed between Nationalists and Communists. ## 1 October 1949 — Founding of the People's Republic of China Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949 after the Communists won the civil war. The Nationalists retreated to Taiwan. ## 1950 — Chinese intervention in the Korean War China sent hundreds of thousands of troops into Korea in 1950 to fight United Nations forces. The war ended in stalemate in 1953. ## c. 1950 — Land reform and official atheism The new state redistributed land from landlords to peasants and asserted an officially atheist ideology. Religious institutions came under tight state control and much of their property was seized. ## 1958 — Great Leap Forward and famine Mao's campaign to rapidly industrialize and collectivize agriculture from 1958 caused economic chaos. The resulting famine killed tens of millions of people. ## c. July 1960 — Sino-Soviet split The alliance between the Soviet Union and China breaks down over ideology and leadership of the communist world, and Khrushchev withdraws Soviet advisers from China in 1960. Open polemics follow and the two powers become rivals. ## 1966 — Cultural Revolution Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to purge rivals and revive radical ideology. A decade of political turmoil followed, with mass persecution and attacks on traditional culture and religion. ## February 1972 — Nixon's visit to China United States President Richard Nixon visited China in February 1972 and met Mao Zedong. The trip began the normalization of relations between the two countries. ## September 1976 — Death of Mao and end of the Cultural Revolution Mao Zedong died in September 1976, and the Cultural Revolution ended soon after. His successors arrested the radical Gang of Four and opened the way to change. ## 1978 — Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening In 1978 Deng Xiaoping launched market reforms and opened China to foreign trade and investment. The policy transformed China into one of the world's fastest growing economies. ## 1980 — Shenzhen Special Economic Zone China established special economic zones in 1980, with Shenzhen as the flagship. The former fishing town grew into a major manufacturing and technology hub. ## c. 1982 — Revival and regulation of religion After the Cultural Revolution, the state allowed limited religious practice within official channels in the early 1980s. Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, and Christianity revived under close government supervision. ## 4 June 1989 — Tiananmen Square protests Student-led demonstrations for reform filled Tiananmen Square in spring 1989. The government declared martial law and used troops to end the protests with many deaths on 4 June. ## 1 July 1997 — Hong Kong handover Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on 1 July 1997 under a one country, two systems framework. The transfer ended more than a century and a half of British rule. ## December 2001 — China joins the World Trade Organization China acceded to the World Trade Organization in December 2001. Membership accelerated its integration into the global economy and its rise as a manufacturing power. ## August 2008 — Beijing Summer Olympics China hosted the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008 with an elaborate opening ceremony. The games showcased the country's growing wealth and global standing. ## 2010 — China becomes the world's second largest economy In 2010 China surpassed Japan to become the second largest economy after the United States. Decades of rapid growth had reshaped the global order. ## November 2012 — Xi Jinping takes power Xi Jinping became leader of the Communist Party in 2012 and later consolidated broad authority. He pursued an anti-corruption drive and a more assertive foreign policy. ## 2013 — Belt and Road Initiative China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 to fund infrastructure and trade links across Asia, Africa, and Europe. It became a central instrument of Chinese economic diplomacy. ## c. 2017 — Rise to superpower status By the late 2010s China stood as a leading global power in economics, technology, and military strength. It positioned itself as a rival to the United States on the world stage.