Historical periods
“Five thousand years” is a common way of pointing from the legendary Yan and Huang emperors to the present. This page lists the main periods and the dates usually taught, so an overseas reader can place them. It does not retell stories, and it is not a copy of the book Five Thousand Years of Chinese History. The opening years for Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou follow the suggestions in the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project’s 2000 report. Those suggestions are still debated. Dates after the Qin are the ones common in textbooks.
| Period | Usual dates | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Legendary age (传说时代) | No fixed years | Yan, Huang, Yao, and Shun appear in later writings. There is no year that can be checked, so they are not given dates. |
| Xia (夏) | about 2070–1600 BCE | Suggested span from the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project. Archaeologists and historians do not all accept it. |
| Shang (商) | about 1600–1046 BCE | Oracle bones survive from the later reigns. 1046 BCE is that project’s date for the Zhou conquest. |
| Western Zhou (西周) | 1046–771 BCE | In 771 BCE the capital Haojing fell, and King Ping moved the court east to Luoyi. |
| Spring and Autumn (春秋) | 770–476 BCE | The first half of the Eastern Zhou. Confucius lived in this period. |
| Warring States (战国) | 475–221 BCE | The second half of the Eastern Zhou, up to Qin unification. |
| Qin (秦) | 221–207 BCE | In 221 BCE the king took the title emperor and unified script, weights, and measures. Ziying surrendered in 207 BCE. |
| Western Han (西汉) | 202 BCE–8 CE | Liu Bang was king of Han from 206 BCE and emperor from 202 BCE. Wang Mang replaced the Han in 8 CE. |
| Xin (新) | 8–23 CE | Wang Mang’s dynasty. It failed quickly. |
| Eastern Han (东汉) | 25–220 | Cao Pi replaced the Han in 220. |
| Three Kingdoms (三国) | 220–280 | Wei (220), Shu (221), and Wu (229). Jin took Wu in 280. |
| Western Jin (西晋) | 265–316 | Sima Yan took the throne in 265. Chang’an fell in 316. Some tables put the accession in 266. |
| Eastern Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties (东晋与南北朝) | 317–589 | Eastern Jin was founded at Jiankang in 317. North and south split from 420. Sui took Chen in 589. |
| Sui (隋) | 581–618 | Yang Jian replaced Northern Zhou in 581, unified the country in 589, and the dynasty ended in 618. |
| Tang (唐) | 618–907 | Li Yuan became emperor in 618. Zhu Wen replaced the Tang in 907. |
| Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (五代十国) | 907–960 | Five northern dynasties through 960. Some southern kingdoms lasted into the early Song. |
| Northern Song (北宋) | 960–1127 | Zhao Kuangyin replaced Later Zhou in 960. Kaifeng fell in 1127. |
| Southern Song (南宋) | 1127–1279 | The court moved south. The Song ended after the battle of Yashan in 1279. |
| Yuan (元) | 1271–1368 | Kublai named the dynasty Yuan in 1271. Ming troops entered Dadu in 1368. |
| Ming (明) | 1368–1644 | Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor in 1368. Li Zicheng entered Beijing in 1644. |
| Qing (清) | 1644–1912 | Qing troops entered Beijing in 1644. The Xuantong emperor abdicated in 1912. The name Qing was already in use before 1644. |
| Republic of China (中华民国) | from 1912 | Founded in 1912. After the People’s Republic was established in 1949, the Republican government left the mainland. |
| People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国) | from 1949 | The founding ceremony was held in Beijing on 1 October 1949. |
These pages are cultural references. They are not a basis for feng shui, ancestral rites, or a visa decision.