Xia Dynasty About 1994 BCE - 1766 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1766 BCE - 1027 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1122 BCE -256 BCE plus suppliment
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE - 206 BCE
Early Han Dynasty 206 BCE - 9 AD
Xin Dynasty 9 AD - 24 AD
Later Han Dynasty 25 AD - 220 AD
Three Kingdoms - Period of Disunion 220 AD - 280 AD
Sui Dynasty 589 AD - 618 AD
Tang Dynasty 618 AD - 907 AD
Sung Dynasty 969 AD - 1279 AD
Yuan Dyansty 1279 AD - 1368 AD
Ming Dynasty 1368 AD - 1644 AD
Manchu or Qing Dynasty 1644 AD - 1912 AD

Tang dynasty

(618–907) Chinese dynasty that succeeded the short-lived Sui and became a golden age for poetry, sculpture, and Buddhism. The Tang capital of Chang'an became a great international metropolis, with traders and embassies from Central Asia, Arabia, Persia, Korea, and Japan passing through. A Nestorian Christian community also existed there, while mosques were established in Guangzhou (Canton). The economy flourished in the 8th–9th centuries, with a network of rural market towns growing up to join the metropolitan markets of Chang'an and Luoyang. Buddhism enjoyed great favour, and there were new translations of the Buddhist scriptures and growth of indigenous sects, including Chan (see Zen). Poetry was the greatest glory of the period; nearly 50,000 works by 2,000 poets survive. Foreign music and dance became popular, and ancient orchestras were revived. The Tang government never completely controlled the northern Chinese border, where nomad tribes made constant incursions; periodic rebellions from the mid-8th century onward also weakened its power (see An Lushan Rebellion). In its later years, the government's focus was on eastern and southeastern China rather than Central Asia.

Song dynasty

(960–1279) Chinese dynasty that united the entire country until 1127 and the southern portion until 1279, during which time northern China was controlled by the Juchen tribes. During the Song, commerce flourished, paper currency came into increasing use, and several cities boasted populations exceeding one million people. Wang Anshi worked for more equitable taxation and state-centred solutions for China's problems. Widespread printing brought increased literacy and a broader elite, and private academies and state schools sent increasing numbers of candidates through the Chinese examination system. In the 12th century, Zhu Xi systemized Neo-Confucianism. The Song was also an era of scholarship: groundbreaking treatises on architecture and botany were published, as was the famous history Zizhi tongjian (“Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government”) of Sima Guang. Landscape painting is said to have reached its peak during the Northern Song, which was also famous for its magnificent architecture.

Ming Dynasty

The Míng Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. It was the last ethnic Han-led dynasty in China, supplanting the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty before falling to the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty. The Míng Dynasty ruled over the Empire of the Great Míng, as China was then known. Although the Míng capital, Beijing, fell in 1644, remnants of the Míng throne and power (now collectively called the Southern Míng) survived until 1662.

Under Míng rule, a vast army and navy were built, including four-masted ships of 1,500 tons displacement in the former, and a standing army of 1,000,000 troops. Over 100,000 tons of iron per year were produced in North China (roughly 1 kg per inhabitant), and many books were printed using movable type. There were strong feelings amongst the Han ethnic group against the rule by non-Han ethnic groups during the subsequent Qing Dynasty, and the restoration of the Míng dynasty was used as a rallying cry up until the modern era.

Qing Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty (1644–1912) during which increasing Western influence and trade led to the Opium War (1839–1842) with Britain and the Boxer Rebellion (1898–1900). The dynasty, China's last, was overthrown by nationalist revolutionaries.