A Fascinating Timeline of China's Rich History

Written by Apple Updated Mar. 27, 2023

China is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, with more than 4,000 years of written history. China was ruled by different dynasties for much of its history. This table shows the timeline of Chinese history. Read on to find more information.

Timeline of Chinese History

Year Dynasty Founder Capital (Today's  City Area)
1.7 million years ago - the 2100 BC Prehistoric Times Yao, Shun, Yu, etc  
2100 - 1600 BC Xia Dynasty Yu Yangcheng (cities of Dengfeng and Zhengzhou in Henan Province)
1600 - 1046 BC Shang Dynasty Tang Yin (Anyang in Henan Province)
1046 - 256 BC Zhou Dynasty    
1046 - 771 BC Western Zhou Ji Fa (King Wu) Haojing (Xi'an)
770 - 256 BC Eastern Zhou Ji Yiju (King Ping) Luoyi (Luoyang)
770 - 476 BC Spring and Autumn Period    
475 - 221 BC Warring States Period    
221 - 207 BC Qin Dynasty Qin Shi Huang / First Emperor of Qin
(Ying Zheng)
Xianyang (Xi'an)
202 BC - 220 AD Han Dynasty    
206 BC - 9 AD Western Han Liu Bang Chang'an (Xi'an)
9 - 23  Xin Dynasty Wang Mang Chang'an (Xi'an)
25 - 220  Eastern Han Liu Xiu Luoyang
220 - 280  Three Kingdoms    
220 - 265  Kingdom of Wei Cao Pi Luoyang
221 - 263  Kingdom of Shu Liu Bei Chengdu
222 - 280  Kingdom of Wu Sun Quan Jianye (Nanjing)
265 - 420 Jin Dynasty    
265 - 316 Western Jin Sima Yan Luoyang
317 - 420 Eastern Jin Sima Rui Jiankang (Nanjing)
304 - 439 Five Hus and Sixteen States    
420 - 589 Northern and Southern Dynasties    
386 - 581 Northern Dynasties    
386 - 534 Northern Wei Tuoba Gui Pingcheng (Datong), Luoyang
534 - 550 Eastern Wei Yuan Shanjian Yecheng (Handan)
535 - 557 Western Wei Yuan Baoju Chang'an (Xi'an)
550 - 557 Northern Qi Gao Yuan Yecheng (Handan)
557 - 581 Northern Zhou Yuwen Jue Chang'an (Xi'an)
420 - 589 Southern Dynasties    
420 - 479 Song Liu Yu Jiankang (Nanjing)
479 - 502 Qi Xiao Daocheng Jiankang (Nanjing)
502 - 557  Liang Xiao Yan Jiankang (Nanjing)
557 - 589 Chen Chen Baxian Jiankang (Nanjing)
581 - 618 Sui Dynasty Yang Jian Daxing (Xi'an), Luoyang
618 - 907 Tang Dynasty Li Yuan Chang'an (Xi'an), Luoyang
907 - 960 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period    
907 - 923 Later Liang Zhu Wen Kaifeng
923 - 936 Later Tang Li Cunxu Luoyang
936 - 946 Later Jin Shi Jintang Kaifeng
947 - 950 Later Han Liu Zhiyuan Kaifeng
951 - 960 Later Zhou Guo Wei Kaifeng
907 - 1125 Liao Dynasty Yelv Abaoji Shangjing (Chifeng in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region)
960 - 1279 Song Dynasty    
960 - 1127 Northern Song Zhao Kuangyin Bianjing (Kaifeng)
1127 - 1279 Southern Song Zhao Gou Lin'an (Hangzhou)
1038 - 1227 Western Xia Dynasty Liu Yuanhao Xingqing (Yinchuan)
1115 - 1234 Jin Dynasty Wanyan Aguda Huining (Harbin), Zhongdu (Beijing), Bianjing (Kaifeng)
1271 - 1368 Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan Dadu (Beijing)
1368 - 1644 Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang Yingtian (Nanjing), Shuntian (Beijing)
1644 - 1912 Qing Dynasty Huang Taiji Beijing
1912 - 1949 Republic of China Sun Yat-sen Beijing, Wuhan, Nanjing
1949 - present People's Republic of China Mao Zedong Beijing

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