China timline

Prehistoric China[edit]

Date		Events
680,000-780,000 BC		Peking Man of Zhoukoudian (est.)
20-19,000 BC			last evidence of creation and use of pottery found in Xianren Cave in Jiangxi province.[1]
7600 BC		Zhenpiyan culture	Archaeological evidence on domestication of pigs for the first time.[2]
7500 BC		Pengtoushan culture	Analysis of Chinese rice residues show that rice had been domesticated by this time.
7000 BC		Peiligang culture
6600 BC			Jiahu script: still under debate whether this can be considered as a form of writing
6000 BC		Cishan culture	Archaeological evidence on domestication of dogs and chickens for the first time.[2]
5000 BC		Baijia culture	Archaeological evidence on domestication of oxen and sheep for the first time.[2]
4500 BC		Approximate end of Hemudu culture.
4000 BC			Banpo script; scholars still debate if it is actual writing or not.
3630 BC			Approximate date of the oldest discovered silk in China, found by archaeologists in what is nowHenan province in what was the late Yangshao period.
3000 BC		Longshan culture	During the Longshan Neolithic period, the buffaloes are domesticated for the first time in China, and the plow may have been used.
2570 BC			Approximate date for the silk and other items found at the Liangzhu culture site at Qianshanyang inWuxing District, Zhejiang; silk items found there included a braided silk belt, silk threads, and woven silk.

Ancient China[edit]

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
2852 BC	Fuxi	This period is part of Chinese mythology
2737 BC	Yan Emperor
2698 BC	Yellow Emperor		The Battle of Banquan, the first battle in Chinese history and the Battle of Zhuolu, the second battle in Chinese history, fought by the Yellow Emperor.
2650 BC			Legend of Cangjie, inventor of the Chinese character
2597 BC	Emperor Shaohao
2514 BC	Emperor Zhuanxu
2436 BC	Emperor Ku
2361 BC	Emperor Zhi		Supposed first Chinese contact with Văn Lang (Viet Nam).[1]
2358 BC	Emperor Yao		Yao ordered Gun to tame the flooding of the rivers.
2255 BC	Emperor Shun		Gun failed in taming the flood and was executed on Shun's orders.
2205 BC			Yu the Great conquers the flood (est.)
2194 BC	King Yu	Nine Tripod Cauldrons	Bronze Age in China
2146 BC	King Qi
2117 BC	King Tai Kang	Erlitou culture
1831 BC	King Fa	Mount Tai earthquake (est.)
1600 BC	King Jie of Xia	Battle of Mingtiao

Shang Dynasty[edit]

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
1675 BC	King Tang of Shang
1400 BC	Erligang Culture
1398 BC	King Pan Geng	Around this time, the capital is moved from Zhengzhou to Yinxu.
1250 BC	King Wu Ding
1200 BC		Oracle bone script, providing the first evidence for the Chinese calendar system.	Around this time, the militant consort Fu Hao is buried in her tomb at Yinxu.
1122 BC		The Zhou Dynasty is founded on the periphery of the Shang realm.
1101 BC	King Di Yi
1075 BC	King Zhou
1050 BC		Ji Chang (posthumously known as King Wen of Zhou) dies, making this the alleged latest date for the creation of the mathematical King Wen sequence.
1047 BC		King Zhou takes Daji as his concubine.
1046 BC		Battle of Muye; King Zhou allegedly dies while his palace burns to the ground.

Western Zhou Dynasty[edit]

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
1034 BC	King Wu	Bronze script in greater use.
103? BC	King Cheng
1026 BC
1020 BC	King Kang
1000 BC		Earliest possible date for the compilation of the Book of Songs
995 BC	King Zhao
976 BC	King Mu	During the 12th year of King Wu's reign, Zhou forces attacked and defeated some branches of the Rong people, allowing for territorial expansion of Zhou. King Mu's critics, including the Duke of Zhai (as recorded in a later 4th century BC discourse of the Biography of King Mu), stated that Mu's expeditions to displace the Rong people were unjustified, as they kept to their own lands and hence abided by their station in the cosmological-political order withChina at the center.
922 BC	King Gong
899 BC	King Yi
891 BC	King Xiao
885 BC	King Yi	When the nomadic Rong people of Taiyuan staged an attack on the Zhou capital at Haojing (present-day Xi'an), King Yi called upon the aid of his nobles, a significant event which demarcated the beginning of the Zhou monarchs' dependence on their regional nobles to defend the kingdom. Under the command of Guo Gong, the Zhou were able to defeat the Rong people in a significant battle c. 854 BCE, reportedly capturing about a thousand horses.
877 BC	King Li	During Li's reign, the Western Rong people launched an invasion deep into Chinese territory before being pushed out.
841 BC	Gonghe regency	First year of concise, consecutive court dating at the beginning of the regency of Gonghe.
827 BC	King Xuan
781 BC	King You
771 BC		After King You had replaced Queen Shen with a favored concubine Baosi, the queen's father, the Marquis of Shen, allied with the Quanrong nomadic tribe to sack the capital. Queen Shen's son Ji Yijiu was then put on the throne, initiating the Eastern Zhou era.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty[edit]

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
770 BC	King Ping
722 BC		Spring and Autumn Period begins, the Lu state begins the chronicle of the Spring and Autumn Annals.	Capital moved from Haojing (present-day Xi'an) toLuoyang.
720 BC	King Huan
707 BC		King Huan led a campaign against Duke Zhuang of Zheng after the latter refused to appear in the capital, angered that Huan had dismissed him from his old post as Left Advisor at court. King Huan was allegedly shamed when he was injured in the shoulder by an arrow in an ensuing battle. Duke Zhuang continued to rule the Zheng state until his death in 701 BC.
697 BC	King Zhuang
685 BC		Duke Huan of Qi began his reign over the Qi state in this year, and was the first of the Five Hegemonswho assumed great autonomy from the Zhou Dynasty monarch, the latter of whom became more or less a figurehead during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
682 BC	King Xi
677 BC	King Hui
651 BC	King Xiang
645 BC		Death of Guan Zhong, the chancellor of the Qi state who was appointed by Duke Huan as recommended by Bao Shuya. Guan initiated centralizing administrative and economic reforms that, for a time, made Qi the most successful and developed state in ancient China.
632 BC		Battle of Chengpu
618 BC	King Qing
612 BC	King Kuang
606 BC	King Ding	Sunshu Ao, China's first known hydraulic engineer.
595 BC		Battle of Bi
585 BC	King Jian
575 BC		Battle of Yanling
571 BC	King Ling
551 BC		Laozi, Confucius
548 BC		Oldest known reference to the weiqi (known as go in Japanese) board game.
544 BC	King Jing		Four occupations (est.)
543 BC		Guided by the aristocratic statesman Zi Chan, the Zheng state creates a formal code of law.
520 BC	King Jing
515 BC		King Liao of Wu is assassinated by Zhuan Zhu, allowing King Helü of Wu to ascend to the throne of theWu state.
506 BC		Battle of Boju
500 BC		Approximate date for the invention of cast iron in China and the earliest possible date for the invention of the iron plough, which by the 3rd century BC, with better casting techniques, would become the heavy moldboard iron plough.	Approximate date for the first use of bronze knife money.
486 BC		King Fuchai of Wu built the Han Canal, a proto-section of the Grand Canal of China
484 BC		Death of Wu Zixu, an official of the Wu state and advisor to King Helü.
482 BC		King Goujian of Yue captures the Wu state capital in a surprise assault while King Fuchai was away at Huangchi.
481 BC		End of Spring and Autumn Period
475 BC	King Yuan
474 BC		The Wu state is annexed by the Yue state.
470 BC		Birth of Mozi
468 BC	King Zhending
465 BC		Death of King Goujian of Yue; his sword was later found in an archaeological site in Hubei in the 1960s.
441 BC	King Ai and King Si
440 BC	King Kao
432 BC		Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng
425 BC	King Weilie
403 BC		The Jin state is partitioned, marking the beginning of the Warring States period. Meanwhile, Marquis Wen of Wei ascends to power, sponsoring Confucianism in the Wei state, and employing able advisors such as the Legalist Li Kui, the militant officer Wu Qi and the hydraulic engineer Ximen Bao.
401 BC	King An
400 BC		Astronomers Gan De and Shi Shen Star catalogue compilation (est.)	Earliest date for the creation of the earliest known maps made in China, from the Qin state.
389 BC		Latest possible date for the Zuo Zhuan historical text.
386 BC		The city of Handan is founded, serving as the capital for the Zhao state.
381 BC		Wu Qi is assassinated at the funeral of King Diao of Chu; his book, Wuzi, is considered to be one of theSeven Military Classics.
375 BC	King Lie	The Zheng state is annexed by the Han state.
370 BC		Zhuangzi is born around this time.
368 BC	King Xian
354 BC		Battle of Guiling
350 BC		Earliest proposed date for the Guodian Chu Slips, containing the oldest known version of the Tao Te Ching, parts of the Book of History, and a chapter from the Book of Rites
342 BC		Battle of Maling	Crossbow used in China.
320 BC	King Shenjing
319 BC		Mencius becomes an official in the Qi state
316 BC		Death of Sun Bin
314 BC	King Nan
310 BC		Birth of Xunzi
307 BC		Imitating the northern nomadic armies, King Wuling of Zhao reforms the Zhao state's military by adopting formal cavalry ranks over charioteers and importing the trouser-pants style of the nomads for soldiers.
305 BC		Birth of Zou Yan, whose school of thought would for the first time systematically combine the two premodern theories of Yin and yang and the Five Elements.
300 BC		Erya, China's oldest known dictionary
293 BC		Battle of Yique
278 BC		Qu Yuan writes the poem Lament for Ying and commits suicide after the fall of the Chu state's capital,Ying, to the Qin state.
260 BC		Battle of Changping
256 BC		King Nan dies. Zhou territory annexed by Qin.	Dujiangyan Irrigation System
250 BC		The repeating crossbow is featured in drawings from the records of the Chu state.
246 BC		The Zhengguo Canal is completed by Zheng Guo of the Qin state.

Imperial China[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
361 BC	Duke Xiao
356 BC		Shang Yang initiates a reform movement in the Qin state, which is outlined in the Book of Lord Shang.
338 BC	King Huiwen	Shang Yang is executed. The rulers of the Qin state begin adopting the title of "King" instead of "Duke".
316 BC		The states of Shu and Ba are conquered by the Qin state
311 BC	King Wu
306 BC	King Zhaoxiang
293 BC		Battle of Yique
255 BC		Emergence of the Seven Warring States
250 BC	King Xiaowen
249 BC	King Zhuangxiang
246 BC	Ying Zheng (as King of Qin)	Ying Zheng becomes king of Qin
230 BC		Qin's wars of unification begin. The Han state is conquered by the Qin state
227 BC		Jing Ke fails to assassinate Ying Zheng.
223 BC		The Chu state is conquered by the Qin state
222 BC		The Yan and Zhao states are conquered by the Qin state.
221 BC	First Emperor of Qin	The Qin state unifies China under the Qin Dynasty with a powerful central government, marking the end of the Warring States period. Ying Zheng proclaims himself "Qin Shi Huang" (means "First Emperor of Qin").	Imperial Seal of China
220 BC		Construction of the Great Wall of China begins	Chancellor Li Si standardizes the writing system with Small Seal Scriptcharacters.
214 BC		The Lingqu Canal is engineered by Shi Lu, and is the oldest contour canal (i.e. follows a contour line) in the world
213 BC		Start of the Burning of books and burying of scholars policy
210 BC		Burial of the Terracotta Army, featuring over 8,000 terracotta statues and the earliest known umbrellas in China.
209 BC	Second Emperor of Qin	Chieftain Modu Chanyu establishes the Xiongnu empire on the northern steppe.	Military officers Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebel against the Qin Dynasty after fear of execution for delay of arriving at a post with newly drafted conscripts; their small revolt initiates a gradual but massive and uncoordinated revolt on several fronts against Qin authority.
208 BC		The chief eunuch Zhao Gao has the chancellor Li Si executed, destabilizing Qin as the rebellions of Xiang Yu and others become widespread.	The Qin army led by Zhang Han defeats Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's rebel force.
207 BC	Ziying	Battle of Julu. Liu Bang's rebel force enters Guanzhong, the heartland of Qin. The last Qin ruler, Ziying, kills Zhao Gao and surrenders to Liu Bang.	The Nanyue state is established in present-day Vietnam by the Qin general Zhao Tuo.
206 BC		In the first month of 206 BC, after Liu Bang occupied the Qin capital of Xianyang, Xiang Yu's rebel force arrives at the city and plunders it, destroying the Epang Palace by fire and killing Ziying and members of the Qin royal family. Although Ziying had already surrendered to Liu Bang in the last month of 207 BC, this event is viewed by historians as the final event of the Qin Dynasty.

Western Han Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
206 BC		Start of the Chu-Han contention, a civil war between the forces of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu after thefall of Qin.	Feast at Hong Gate
205 BC		Battle of Jingxing
202 BC	Emperor Gaozu	Battle of Gaixia
200 BC		Battle of Baideng	Sometime in the 2nd century BC, the multi-tube seed drillis invented and increases agricultural yields as seeds are carefully planted in rows instead of being cast out onto the crop field.
193 BC		Death of Xiao He, the first chancellor of the Han Dynasty
195 BC
190 BC	Emperor Hui	Chang'an becomes the eastern terminus of the Silk Road connecting to Europe
189 BC		Death of Zhang Liang, a key advisor to Emperor Gaozu.
180 BC	Emperor Wen	Rule of Wen and Jing	Lü Clan Disturbance
168 BC		Mawangdui Silk Texts are interred at the tombs of Mawangdui, containing some of the oldest known textual versions of the I Ching.
157 BC	Emperor Jing
141 BC	Emperor Wu
140 BC		Persuaded by Dong Zhongshu's essay in a literary competition, Emperor Wu, or his chancellor Wei Wan, adopts Confucianism at court.
139 BC		Under the patronage of Prince Liu An, the scholars known as the Eight Immortals of Huainanpublish the Huainanzi, a philosophical text that also covered subjects of military strategy as well as geography and cartography.
135 BC		Han–Minyue War	Southward expansion of the Han Dynasty
133 BC		Han–Xiongnu War	Battle of Mayi
130 BC		Sino-Roman relations
125 BC		Zhang Qian returns to China to report on his travels and the kingdoms of Dayuan (Fergana),Kangju (Sogdiana), Daxia (Greco-Bactrian Kingdom), Shendu (Indo-Greek Kingdom), Anxi(Parthia), and Taozhi (Mesopotamia).
119 BC		Battle of Mobei
111 BC		Han–Dongyue War	Han–Nanyue War
109 BC		Han–Dian War
108 BC	Battle of Loulan	Wiman Joseon in Korea falls to Han forces.
102 BC	Emperor Wu's forces besiege Kokand in theFergana Valley
100 BC	Steel in China.
94 BC	Emperor Zhao
91 BC		Sima Qian completes the Records of the Grand Historian, a groundbreaking work in Chinese historiography.
86 BC		Death of Jin Midi, an official of Xiongnu ethnicity who became a regent of the Han Dynasty during the early reign of Emperor Zhao.
74 BC	Emperor Xuan
67 BC		Battle of Jushi
60 BC		Protectorate of the Western Regions is established.
48 BC	Emperor Yuan	Consort Ban, a female poet, is born around this time.
40 BC		The Ji Jiu Pian dictionary records China's first known use of the treadle-operated tilt hammer, while the later book Xinlun by Huan Tan described the first hydraulic-powered trip hammer which would have been operated by a waterwheel.
37 BC		Death of Jing Fang, who was the first in music theory to note that 53 perfect fifths approximates 31 octaves. Like the later Zhang Heng, he was also a proponent of the radiating influence theory, which stated that the light of the moon was merely the reflected light of the sun.
36 BC		Battle of Zhizhi
30 BC		First mention of the wheelbarrow in history.
18 BC		Biographies of Exemplary Women, a book about exemplary women in Chinese history, is compiled by the scholar Liu Xiang.
32 BC	Emperor Cheng
6 BC	Emperor Ai
1 BC	Emperor Ping
1		Sometime from this year until the end of the century, the earliest representation of a stern-mounted rudder for steering ships is made in China, on a tomb model of a sailing junk.
2		Han government census counts 59 million people in the empire.
3		Emperor Ping establishes a nationwide school system on the central, prefectural, and countylevels.
6	Emperor Ruzi
8		Liu Xin completes his star catalogue of 1080 stars, as well as fixing the year at 365.25016 days long (11 minutes longer than the modern year) by calculating the synodic month to be 29 43/81 days long, with a total of 235 synodic months adding up to 19 years. He is also the first Chinese to attempt a more accurate calculation of pi at 3.154, as the Chinese before him simply approximated it to 3. Zhang Heng and Liu Hui would later improve upon Liu's calculation in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, respectively.

Xin Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
9	Wang Mang	Emperor Ruzi is dethroned; Wang Mang initiates the short-lived Xin Dynasty	Wang Mang introduces the well-field system of land distribution and agricultural production.
10		Wang Mang introduces an income tax of 10% for professionals and skilled laborers.	Wang Mang outlaws the private use of crossbows. Despite this, Liu Xiu (later Emperor Guangwu of Han) purchases them on the black market to aid the rebellion of his brother Liu Yan and rebel leader Li Tong in early winter of 22.
12		With pressure from aristocrats, Wang is forced to rescind thewell-field system.
17		Wang Mang imposes government monopolies on liquor, salt, iron, coinage, forestry, and fishing.	Mother Lü initiates rebellion against a county magistrate in Shandong province.
18		Death of Yang Xiong, a poet, Taoist and author who wrote the first dialect dictionary of China, the Fangyan.
23		Battle of Kunyang	Storming of Weiyang Palace, Wang Mang is killed, Emperor Gengshi restores the Han Dynasty.

Eastern Han Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
23	Emperor Gengshi
25	Emperor Guangwu
27		Chimei rebels surrender to Han authority after defeat
31		Prefect Du Shi invents waterwheel-powered bellows for the blast furnace in making cast iron.
33		Rebellion of Gongsun Shu; Gongsun blockades the width of the Yangtze River with a fortified floatingpontoon bridge, but his defenses give in once Han general Cen Peng employs "castle ships" to ram and attack Gongsun's rebel navy
43		Second Chinese domination of Vietnam
52		The first known gazetteer of China, the Yuejue Shu, is written.
57		Sino-Japanese relations
58		Death of chancellor Deng Yu.
65		Liu Ying, son of Emperor Guangwu, sponsors Buddhism.
68		White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, is founded.
73		Battle of Yiwulu
83		Wang Chong correctly theorizes the nature of the water cycle; he is also the first in Chinese history to mention the use of the chain pump.
87		Yuan An, an advocate of marriage alliance policies with the Xiongnu, is promoted to the position of Minister over the Masses.
88	Emperor He
89		Battle of Ikh Bayan
97		Ban Chao sends envoy Gan Ying to the outskirts of the Roman Empire.
100		The Shuowen Jiezi dictionary is completed by Xu Shen.
105		Cai Lun invents papermaking	Goguryeo—Han War
106	Emperor Shang
111		Ban Zhao completes the Book of Han, which was begun by her father Ban Biao and continued by her older brother Ban Gu.
120		Zhang Heng completes his star catalogue, documenting 2,500 stars in over 100 constellations, writes a new formula for pi, corrected mistakes in the Chinese calendar, gave reasoning for a spherical moon that reflects light, and noted that lunar eclipse occurred when the earth obstructed the sunlight reaching the moon, while a solar eclipse was the moon's obstruction of sunlight reaching earth.
125		Zhang Heng invents the first hydraulic-powered armillary sphere, given motive power by a waterwheel and incorporating an inflow water clock, the latter of which he improved by adding a compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel.	The earliest known Chinese depiction of a mechanical distance-marking odometer is drawn on a mural of the Xiaotangshan Tomb.
132		Zhang Heng invents a seismometer device that, with a pendulum and complex set of gears and cranks, is able to discern the cardinal direction of earthquakes by the dropping of bronze balls into wrought toad's mouths indicating the direction.	Birth of Cai Yong, a mathematician, astronomer, musician and calligrapher.
142	Emperor Shun	The Kinship of the Three
147		Birth of Lokaksema, a Yuezhi monk from Kushan who translated Mahayana Buddhist texts into Chinese.
148		An Shigao, a Persian prince from Parthia, arrives in China in this year to translate Theravada andMahayana Buddhist texts into Chinese.
166		Roman embassy reaches China.	Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions
168	Emperor Ling
177		Birth of Cai Wenji, a female poet and music composer.
179		Earliest known reference to The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art
180		Ding Huan invents the manual-powered rotary fan, which is recorded in the Book of the Later Han as being able to make halls cool enough for people to shiver during the summer. During the Tang Dynasty,hydraulics were applied to power the rotary fan first innovated by Ding.
184		Yellow Turban Rebellion	Liang Province Rebellion
185		Zhi Yao, a Yuezhi monk from Kushan, translates Buddhist texts into Chinese.
189	Emperor Shao	Dong Zhuo deposes Emperor Shao (demoted to the status of Prince of Hongnong)	Massacre of eunuchs
190	Emperor Xian	Campaign against Dong Zhuo	Battle of Xingyang
191		Battle of Jieqiao	Battle of Yangcheng, Battle of Xiangyang
192		Lü Bu murders Dong Zhuo in an assassination plot masterminded by minister Wang Yun.
192		Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei fights against Lu Bu.
193		Battle of Fengqiu
194		Sun Ce's conquests in Jiangdong	Battle of Yan Province
197		Battle of Wancheng
198		Battle of Xiapi	Battle of Yijing
199		Campaign against Yuan Shu
200		Battle of Guandu
202		Battle of Bowang
204		Gongsun Kang, a Chinese warlord of Liaodong, establishes the Daifang Commandery in northern Korea.
208		Battle of Red Cliffs - - Cao Cao loses war with 840,000 troops against Liu Bei and Sun Quan's 50,000.Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, and Pang Tong came up with the interlock of strategies, which included the Ruse of Pain strategy and many others. Zhuge Liang uses fire the third time after predicting the unusual direction of the wind blow (which at that time during the winter the wind usually blew from west to east, but he predicted that for three days the wind will blow the opposite direction) and burned down Cao's ships with most of his troops in it	Battle of Changban Zhuge Liang uses fire first time,Battle of Xiakou Zhuge Liang uses fire second time,Battle of Yiling, Battle of Jiangling
211		Battle of Tong Pass
213		Siege of Jicheng	Battle of Lucheng
214		Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province	Battle of Jiameng Pass
215		Battle of Yangping	Battle of Baxi
217		Battle of Xiaoyao Ford	Battle of Ruxu
218		Battle of Mount Dingjun
219		Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province	Battle of Han River, Battle of Fancheng
220		Cao Pi forces Emperor Xian to abdicate and proclaims himself Emperor of Cao Wei

Three Kingdoms[edit]

Date	Emperor (Cao Wei)	Emperor (Shu Han)	Emperor (Eastern Wu)	Events	Other people/events
221	Cao Pi	Liu Bei		Battle of Xiaoting
222			Sun Quan	Battle of Yiling
225		Liu Shan		Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign
227	Cao Rui			Xincheng Rebellion
228				Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions	Battle of Tianshui, Battle of Jieting, Battle of Shiting?, Siege of Chencang
232					Death of Cao Zhi, a famous poet, author of the Seven Paces Poem (Written While Taking Seven Paces: "Pods burned to cook peas, Peas weep in the pot:'Grown from the same trees, Why boil us so hot?'" - It was for his brother, who was trying to find an excuse to execute him, his brother lost the bargain of telling him to make a poem in seven steps or be executed for his fraud educations), and son of Cao Cao.
234				Battle of Wuzhang Plains
244	Cao Fang			Battle of Xingshi
247				Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions
248					The rebellion of Triệu Thị Trinh in Vietnam is crushed by Eastern Wu.
249				Incident at Gaoping Tombs
250				Introduction of Buddhism in China
255	Cao Mao		Sun Liang	Ma Jun invents the south-pointing chariot, a mechanical directional pathfinder that acts like a compass in that it always points south. This device may have employed adifferential gear system, the same found in modern automobiles.	Battle of Didao, Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin start a rebellion in Shouchun
263	Cao Huan		Sun Xiu	Conquest of Shu by Wei	Liu Hui publishes the revised version of The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, with Liu's commentary.
265			Sun Hao	Nine-rank system
280	Emperor Wu of Jin			Conquest of Wu by Jin (Si Ma, descendant of Cao's general of the army)

Western Jin Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
265	Emperor Wu	Sometime between this year and 271, the Jin Dynasty cartographer and geographer Pei Xiu noted a groundbreaking development in Chinese cartography, as he was the first to describe the grid reference andgraduated scale of measurement for Chinese maps; however, it is known that grids and familiarity with scaled distance on maps existing beforehand, while scholars point to evidence that it might have been an original innovation of Zhang Heng.
271
280		Unification of China, Conquest of Wu by Jin	Records of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou
290	Emperor Hui
291		War of the Eight Princes
304		Sixteen Kingdoms (Han Zhao, Later Zhao, Cheng Han, Former Liang, Later Liang, Northern Liang, Western Liang, Southern Liang, Former Yan, Later Yan, Northern Yan, Southern Yan, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Qin, Xia)
306
307	Emperor Huai
311	Emperor Min		Emperor Huai is captured by Han Zhao forces, the capital is moved from Luoyang to Chang'an.
313		The state of Goguryeo in Manchuria and Korea conquers the Jin-Chinese Lelang Commandery.
316		Chang'an falls, Emperor Min surrenders to Liu Yao, a general of the Xiongnu state Han Zhao. The Eastern Jin Dynasty's capital is established in Jiankang (present-day Nanjing).
318		Emperor Min is executed by Liu Cong, emperor of Han Zhao.

Eastern Jin Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
317	Emperor Yuan	Sixteen Kingdoms and Six Dynasties
322			First accurate tomb depiction of stirrups.
323	Emperor Ming
324			The sick and ailing rebel Wang Dun dies while his forces are defeated by Emperor Ming's troops.
325	Emperor Cheng
328			Su Jun, who waged war against the regent Yu Liang, is defeated by generalsTao Kan and Wen Jiao.
342	Emperor Kang
344	Emperor Mu
353			Calligrapher Wang Xizhi writes the Lantingji Xu in semi-cursive script.
361	Emperor Ai
365	Emperor Fei
366			Painter Gu Kaizhi becomes an officer of Jin.
369			Jin general Huan Wen is defeated by Murong Chui, a general of the ethnicXianbei state of Former Yan.
372	Emperor Xiaowu
383			Battle of Fei River
396	Emperor An
399			Faxian sails to Sri Lanka and India to recover Buddhist texts.
405			Poet Tao Qian goes into retirement for the next 22 years, until his death.
419	Emperor Gong
420			The regent Liu Yu seizes the throne from Emperor Gong, initiating the Liu Song Dynasty.

Southern and Northern Dynasties[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
386
404		Huiyuan, founder of Pure Land Buddhism, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings, where he argues that Buddhist clergy should stay out of politics but Buddhist laypeople make good subjects because of belief in karma.
439
475		Bodhidharma arrives in China
477		Oldest known painted depiction of a horse collar, on a cave mural of Dunhuang, Northern Wei.
485		After the well-field system had fallen out of use, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei introduces the equal-field system.
496		Change of Xianbei names to Han names
501		Cui Hong begins compiling the Shiliuguo Chunqiu
523		Songyue Pagoda is built, the earliest known fully brick pagoda in China, in departure from the fully timber tradition. It still stands at a height of 40 m (131 ft).
543		The Chinese dictionary Yupian is completed by Gu Yewang.
581		Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou is forced to step down from the throne by his regent Yang Jian, who assumes power as Emperor Wen of Sui, initiating the Sui Dynasty.

Sui Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
581	Emperor Wen
582		Compilation begins on the Jingdian Shiwen dictionary.
589		Yan Zhitui makes the first reference to toilet paper in history.
598		Goguryeo–Sui War begins in what is now North Korea.
600		First of the Japanese embassies to China.
601		Lu Fayan publishes the rime dictionary Qieyun.
602		Third Chinese domination of Vietnam
604	Emperor Yang
605		Imperial examinations are instituted, beginning a long bureaucratic tradition of scholar-officialdom in China.	Zhaozhou Bridge completed.
607		Japanese emissary Ono no Imoko arrives in China.
609		Grand Canal of China completed.
610		Engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai improve the clepsydra clock model when they provided asteelyard balance that allowed seasonal adjustment in the pressure head of the compensating tank and could then control the rate of flow for different lengths of day and night. The earlier Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty was the first to add the compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel.	Emperor Yang collaborates a huge effort for all the commanderies of China to submit gazetteers describing their local areas and providing maps to the central government, in an effort to maintain control and provide better security.
611		Four Gates Pagoda is completed.
612		Battle of Salsu
617		After capturing Chang'an, the rebel-turned-emperor Li Yuan demotes Emperor Yang to the status of a Taishang Huang (retired emperor).

Tang Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
618	Emperor Gaozu	Transition from Sui to Tang
621		Battle of Hulao
624		The Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia is completed by Ouyang Xun.
626	Emperor Taizong	Emperor Taizong's campaign against Eastern Tujue	Incident at Xuanwu Gate
635		First Christian missionaries arrive in China: Nestorian monks from Asia Minor and Persia, buildingDaqin Pagoda. Alopen, a Persia bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, also writes the Jesus Sutras.	Emperor Taizong's campaign against Tuyuhun; also, Book of Liang is published.
636		Xumi Pagoda is completed.	Compilations of the Book of Chen, Book of Northern Qi,Book of Zhou, and the Book of Sui.
638		Emperor Taizong's campaign against Tufan
639		Emperor Taizong's campaign against Xueyantuo
640		Protectorate General to Pacify the West	Emperor Taizong's campaign against Xiyu states includingKarakhoja, beginning a series of campaigns against the Western Turks
643		Emperor Taizong commissions artist Yan Liben to paint the portraits of 24 different emperors and 18 noted scholars for the Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion.
644		Emperor Taizong's campaign against Goguryeo, Tang allies with Korean Silla during the Goguryeo–Tang War	First Tang campaign against Karasahr
646		Great Tang Records on the Western Regions is compiled by Bianji, documenting the travels of Buddhist monk Xuanzang through the Gobi Desert, Kucha, Tashkent, Samarkand, Gandhara, and finally to India where he studied at Nalanda.
647		Protectorate General to Pacify the North
648		Book of Jin is compiled.	Second Tang campaign against Karasahr and campaign against Kucha
649	Emperor Gaozong	Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar (est.)
650		The Records of the Tang Dynasty describes a landmark visit to China by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, one of the sahaba, in 650. This event is considered to be the birth of Islam in China.
657		Emperor Gaozong commissions the compilation of a large materia medica documenting the use of 833 medicinal drugs.	Conquest of the Western Turks
659		Compilations for the History of Southern Dynasties and History of Northern Dynasties is completed.
663		Battle of Baekgang, Silla-Tang forces defeat Japanese-Baekje navy.
666		Two Chinese Buddhist monks, Zhi Yu and Zhi You, craft a mechanical south-pointing chariot for Japanese Emperor Tenji.
668		Protectorate General to Pacify the East
684	Wu Zetian	Qianling Mausoleum is completed.	Death of poet Luo Binwang.
699		Chinese troops retake the Four Garrisons of Anxi from the Tibetans.
700		Approximate date for the creation of the Dunhuang map, an astronomical chart.
704		Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is rebuilt.
709	Emperor Zhongzong	Small Wild Goose Pagoda is completed.
710	Emperor Ruizong	The Shitong, a history of Chinese historiography up until the late 8th century, is compiled by Liu Zhiji.	Death of Shangguan Wan'er, a female writer, government official, and concubine.
712	Emperor Xuanzong	Pear Garden, an Academy of Music that trained acting troupes.
713		Kaiyuan newspaper
725		Yi Xing invents a water-powered celestial globe featuring an escapement mechanism and striking clock.
729		Gautama Siddha completes the compilation of the Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era.
740		This year marks the death of the painter Wu Daozi and poet Meng Haoran.
744		Poets Du Fu and Li Bai meet for the first time.
751		Battle of Talas; this battle marks the beginning of the westward transmission of the ancient Chinesepapermaking process.
755		An Lushan Rebellion	Death of the painter Zhang Xuan.
756	Emperor Suzong	Battle of Yongqiu
758		Arab and Persian pirates loot and burn the seaport of Guangzhou, causing Chinese officials to virtually shut down the port for five decades while foreign vessels from the Indian Ocean came mostly to Hanoiin Chinese-controlled Vietnam to trade there instead.
757		Battle of Suiyang
760		Earliest date for The Classic of Tea by Lu Yu.
761		Death of Wang Wei, a painter, musician, poet, scholar and official.
762	Emperor Daizong	The Jingxingji is written by Du Huan, which described several major foreign countries including theAbbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire.
763		Shi Siming is killed by his son. The An Lushan Rebellion ends.
781	Emperor Dezong	Nestorian Stone is composed.
783		Death of the famous painter Han Gan.
785		Official Jia Dan begins a monumental work of cartography and geography. In it he describes many foreign places, including present-day Japan, Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Arabian Peninsula, the Euphrates River and Baghdad of present-day Iraq, and minaret lighthouses in the Persian Gulf that were later described by Al-Masudi and Al-Muqaddasi.
794		Prince Li Gao has the first Chinese paddle-wheel ships made.
798		The Army of Divine Strategy, staffed by eunuch officers, reaches 240,000 troops, thanks largely to the revenues of the salt commission.
799		The lucrative trade of the salt commission, a government monopoly, accounts for half of the government's incoming revenues by this year.
801		Compilation of the Tongdian history and encyclopedia by Du You is complete.
806	Emperor Xianzong	With a renewed military, Emperor Xianzong begins a series of seven major military campaigns in which he quells all remaining rebelling provinces except for two.
824	Emperor Jingzong	Death of Han Yu, an essayist and poet who was an early proponent of the Classical Prose Movement, while his works are considered foundations for later Neo-Confucianism. He was also an early polemecist and advocate against Buddhism.
831	Emperor Wenzong	A Uyghur Turk sues the son of a Tang grand general who had failed to repay a debt of 11 million government-issued copper coins. Emperor Wenzong hears the news and is so upset that he not only banishes the general, but also attempts to ban all trade between Chinese and foreigners except for trade in livestock. This ban is unsuccessful and trade with foreigners resumes, especially in maritime affairs overseas.
843	Emperor Wuzong	Chang'an, a large fire consumes 4,000 homes, warehouses, and other buildings in the East Market, yet the rest of the city is at a safe distance from the blaze (which is largely quarantined in East Central Chang'an thanks to the large width of roads in Chang'an that produce fire breaks).
845		Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution
846	Emperor Xuānzong	Death of Bai Juyi, a poet who penned over 2,800 poems in his lifetime.
851		Arab merchant Suleiman al-Tajir visits Guangzhou seaport and describes Chinese porcelainmanufacture, tea consumption, granaries and the Islamic mosque of the city. He notes that the Chinese use toilet paper instead of washing with water.
852		Death of Du Mu, a famous poet renowned for his vivid and realistic style.
853		Duan Chengshi publishes his Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang.
858		An enormous flood along the Grand Canal and on the North China Plain kills tens of thousands of people.
863	Emperor Yizong	Duan Chengshi describes the slave trade, ivory trade, and ambergris trade in Berbera, Somalia, East Africa.
868		Woodblock printing of the Diamond Sutra
874	Emperor Xizong	Huang Chao Rebellion
879		Huang Chao burns and loots the international seaport at Guangzhou, killing thousands of native Chinese and foreign merchants from all over the Asian continent.
884		The Huang Chao Rebellion is crushed by Tang troops.
907	Emperor Ai	Zhu Wen overthrows the Tang Dynasty and initiates the Later Liang	Ten thousand years (est.)

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period[edit]

Date	5 Dynasties	10 Kingdoms	Events
907	Later Liang	Wu Wuyue Min Chu Southern Han Former Shu Later Shu Jingnan Southern Tang Northern Han
917			Earliest known description in China of Greek fire.
919			Earliest known description of a flamethrower in China.
923	Later Tang
936	Later Jin
947	Later Han
950			The earliest known depiction of a fire lance (proto gun) and lobbed grenade.
960			Around this time, Gu Hongzhong paints the classicNight Revels of Han Xizai.
951	Later Zhou
960
961			Huqiu Tower is built.
979

Five Dynasties[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
907	Emperor Taizu
926	Emperor Taizong
947	Emperor Shizong
951	Emperor Muzong
969	Emperor Jingzong
993	Emperor Shengzong	The First Goryeo–Khitan War, marking the beginning of theGoryeo–Khitan Wars
997		The Chinese dictionary Longkan Shoujian is compiled by the monk Xingjun.
1005		Shanyuan Treaty
1010		Second Goryeo–Khitan War
1018		Third Goryeo–Khitan War	Battle of Gwiju
1031	Emperor Xingzong
1056	Emperor Daozong	Pagoda of Fogong Temple is completed.
1120	Emperor Tianzuo	Pagoda of Tianning Temple is completed.
1124		Kara-Khitan Khanate
1125		Song and Jin conquest of hua . ||

Northern Song Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
960	Emperor Taizu	Chenqiao Mutiny	In the Wuli Xiaoshi (1630), Fang Yizhi states that Song Taizu was presented with gunpowder-impregnated fire arrows in this year.Hundred Family Surnames (est.)
971		Song troops defeat the war elephants of Southern Han.
974		Song troops construct and defend a floating pontoon bridge across the Yangtze River in order to secure supply lines while fighting against the Southern Tang forces.
976	Emperor Taizong	Yuelu Academy founded.
977		Longhua Pagoda is built.
978		Extensive Records of the Taiping Era is completed. It is the first of the Four Great Books of Song.
981		Battle of Bach Dang
983		Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era is completed.
984		Canal pound lock invented by Qiao Weiyo
986		Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature is completed.
990		Famous painter Fan Kuan is born around this time.
1000	Emperor Zhenzong	Sometime between this year and the end of the century, the Chinese discovered how to usebituminous coke instead of charcoal for blast furnaces in casting iron, sparing thousands of acres of prime timberland from deforestation.
1005		The Shanyuan Treaty is signed between Liao and Song.
1010		After 39 years in the making, the enormous atlas of China commissioned by the emperor and drawn by a team of scholars under Lu Duosun and Song Zhun is completed in 1556 chapters, including maps for individual towns, districts, counties, prefectures, circuits (provinces), and a map of the whole of China.
1011		The Guangyun rime dictionary is completed by Chen Pengnian and Qiu Yong.
1013		Prime Tortoise of the Record Bureau is completed.
1037	Emperor Renzong	Ding Du publishes the Jiyun rime dictionary.
1041		Bi Sheng invents the earliest movable type printing.
1043		Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu introduce the Qingli Reforms, which would soon be rescinded in 1045.
1044		Wujing Zongyao, first book with written gunpowder formula; the book also describes the double-piston flamethrower.
1045		Lingxiao Pagoda is completed.
1049		Iron Pagoda is completed.
1055		Liaodi Pagoda is completed.
1060		The compilation of the New Book of Tang, edited by Ouyang Xiu, is presented to the emperor.
1063	Emperor Yingzong	Pizhi Pagoda is completed.
1068	Emperor Shenzong	First use of the drydock in China
1069		Chancellor Wang Anshi introduces the reforms of the New Policies, which included the Baojia system, his policies breed factionalism at court while the later chancellor Sima Guang would lead the conservatives against his party.
1070		Su Song publishes the Bencao Tujing, an interdisciplinary pharmaceutical treatise incorporating information on botany, zoology and mineralogy.
1072		Guo Xi paints Early Spring.
1075		Diplomat Shen Kuo asserts Song's rightful borders by using court archives against the bluff ofEmperor Daozong of Liao.	Shen Kuo travels to Cizhou, and describes a forging process ofcast iron under a cool blast that is considered by historians Needham and Hartwell as a predecessor to the metallurgicBessemer process.
1076		Wang Anshi resigns as chancellor.
1077		Su Song is sent on a diplomatic mission to the Liao Dynasty, discovers that the Khitan peoplecalendar is more mathematically accurate than the Song; Emperor Zhezong later sponsors Su Song's clock tower in order to compete with Liao astronomers.
1078		According to the research of Robert Hartwell, China was producing on annual average 127,000,000 kg (125,000 t) of cast iron by this year, a sixfold increase since the year 806 during the Tang.
1080		Song forces inflict defeats on the Western Xia Dynasty, Shen Kuo takes up defense at Yan'an.
1081		An officer disobeys commands and his army is destroyed by the Tanguts; although he successfully defended Yan'an, Shen Kuo is blamed for the fiasco and impeached.	Su Song publishes a 200 volume work on Liao-Song relations.
1084		Sima Guang completes the compilation of Zizhi Tongjian, a universal history text of 294 volumes with 3 million Chinese characters.	The female poet Li Qingzhao is born.
1085	Emperor Zhezong	The New Policies Group, a political faction once led by Wang Anshi, is ousted from power as the new Empress dowager and regent overrule the young Emperor Zhezong with the political faction led by Sima Guang.
1088		Dream Pool Essays by Shen Kuo, first book to describe the magnetic compass; Shen also postulates theories in early geomorphology and paleoclimatology, describes Bi Sheng'smovable type printing, atmospheric refraction, problems of calculus and trigonometry, methods of archaeology, and is the first in China to describe camera obscura (after Ibn al-Haytham) and the concept of true north.
1090		First known description of the mechanical belt drive is found in the Book of Sericulture by Qin Guan.
1094		Clock tower of Su Song is completed in Kaifeng, featuring an escapement mechanism andchain drive to rotate an armillary sphere and sound an intricate striking clock.
1094		Dongpo Academy is established on the island of Hainan, on the same spot where famous poet and official Su Shi was exiled by the New Policies court faction.
1103	Emperor Huizong	Yingzao Fashi architectural treatise is published by Li Jie and is promoted by Huizong's government as a standard manual for construction and building.
1107		Death of the painter, calligrapher and poet Mi Fu.
1111		Donglin Academy is founded.
1119		Zhu Yu publishes his Pingzhou Table Talks, confirming Shen Kuo's description of the magnetic compass by stating its use in seafaring.
1125		Song Dynasty forces ally with rebel Jurchens to topple the Khitan Liao Dynasty.
1125		Jin Dynasty declares war against the Song Dynasty.
1127	Emperor Qinzong	Jingkang Incident, the northern third of China is conquered by the Jurchens under the Jin Dynasty, the capital of Song Dynasty is moved south from Kaifeng to Hangzhou.

Southern Song Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
1132	Emperor Gaozong	China's first permanent standing navy is established, with Song naval headquarters at Dinghai.	A fire destroys over 13,000 homes in the new capital at Hangzhou
1135		Yue Fei defeats the rebels under Yang Yao by first entangling his paddle-wheel ships in rotten logs and other floating debris.
1141		The Treaty of Shaoxing is signed between Jin and Song.
1142		Yue Fei is accused of alleged treason by the chancellor Qin Hui and put to death on Emperor Gaozong's orders.
1161		Battle of Tangdao and Battle of Caishi, Song naval victories over Jin after the latter attempted to conquer southern China.	The Yunjing rime dictionary is compiled by Zhang Linzhi.
1162	Emperor Xiaozong	Beisi Pagoda is completed.
1165		Liuhe Pagoda is completed
1179		White Deer Grotto Academy is rebuilt by Zhu Xi.
1215	Emperor Ningzong	Battle of Zhongdu
1241	Emperor Lizong	Emperor Lizong sponsors Zhu Xi's Four Books and Neo-Confucianism.
1247		Qin Jiushao writes his Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections, which included use of the Horner scheme hundreds of years before it was discovered independently byWilliam George Horner.
1259		Möngke Khan dies in Chongqing during the Battle of Fishing Town.
1260		The Toluid Civil War begins between Ariq Böke and Kublai Khan, forcing Kublai to retreat north as Song chancellor Jia Sidao pushes Mongol troops north of theYangtze River in an opportune assault.
1261	Emperor Duzong	Although written of around 1100, Yang Hui draws the first known Chinese diagram of the Pascal's triangle.	From this year until the conquest of Song, Kublai Khan attempts to gain southern Chinese acceptance in benevolent displays of releasing large bands of Southern Song merchants after short periods of capture and detainment at the border.
1265		The Mongols, under Kublai Khan's leadership, invade Sichuan and capture 146 Song naval ships as war booty.
1267		Battle of Xiangyang begins
1269		In this year, and every consecutive year until 1272, the Song navy attempts to break the enormous Mongol and Northern Chinese naval blockade on the Han River. All attempts are unsuccessful, as thousands of men and hundreds of ships are lost in the process.
1271		Voyage of Marco Polo begins
1273		Battle of Xiangyang concludes with Yuan victory.
1275		Turkish general Bayan defeats Song chancellor Jia Sidao's army of 130,000 troops; Jia is impeached from court and killed by one of his own guards.
1276	Emperor Duanzong	Unlike his contemporary and fellow painter Zhao Mengfu, the scholar-official Qian Xuan declines the offer to serve the Yuan government and spends the rest of his life creating works of art.
1278		Scholar-general Wen Tianxiang leads Song forces to resist the Mongol invaders. Wen is captured and refuses to surrender to the Yuan government. He spends four years in prison before being executed on Kublai Khan's orders in 1283.
1279	Emperor Bing	Battle of Yamen; the Yuan general Zhang Hongfan crushes the last resistance of Southern Song.

Western Xia[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
1038	Emperor Jingzong
1048	Emperor Yizong
1067	Emperor Huizong
1086	Emperor Chongzong
1139	Emperor Renzong
1193	Emperor Huanzong
1206	Emperor Xiangzong
1211	Emperor Shenzong
1223	Emperor Xianzong
1226	Emperor Mozhu
1227		Genghis Khan dies during the siege on the final Western Xia stronghold. His successor, Ögedei Khan, conquers Western Xia and resumes the war against the Jurchen Jin Dynasty.

Jin Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
1115	Emperor Taizu	Wanyan Aguda (Emperor Taizu) leads the Jurchens to attack the Liao Dynasty.
1125	Emperor Taizong	The Jin invades the Northern Song, beginning the Jin–Song wars
1127		Jingkang Incident
1153	Emperor Hailingwang	The Jin capital is moved from Huining Fu to Zhongdu (present-day Beijing)
1157		The capital is moved again, this time from Beijing to Kaifeng.
1161	Emperor Shizong	Hailingwang attempts to invade and conquer the Southern Song Dynasty, but their naval forces are destroyed at the Battle of Tangdao and Battle of Caishi
1164		The Treaty of Longxing between Song and Jin ushers in four decades of peace.
1189		Chengling Pagoda is built.
1211	Emperor Weishaowang	The Mongol leader Genghis Khan launches a military campaign against the Jin Dynasty.
1214	Emperor Xuanzong	In the terms of a treaty with Genghis Khan, the Jin Dynasty becomes a vassal state of the expandingMongol Empire.
1215		When the Jin court moves their capital from Beijing to Kaifeng once more, Genghis Khan sees this as open revolt and sacks the former capital Beijing, burning the city to the ground.
1216		The Song Dynasty attacks Jin from the south and again in 1223 while the Jin empire was collapsing.
1227	Emperor Aizong	Genghis Khan died during the siege of the final Western Xia stronghold in 1227. His successor, Ögedei Khan, resumes the war against Jin in the same year.
1233		The Jin capital is captured in the Mongol siege of Kaifeng by Ögedei Khan's forces.
1234	Emperor Modi	Emperor Modi is killed by Mongol forces at the siege of Caizhou in present-day Runan County ofHenan.

Yuan Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
1260		Kublai Khan makes the Tibetan lama Drogön Chögyal Phagpa State Preceptor and grants him power overTibet, his Sakya regime lasted until its overthrow in the 1350s by the Phagmodru myriarchy.
1270		Sambyeolcho Rebellion in Korea against Mongol-dominated Goryeo.
1271	Emperor Shizu (Kublai Khan)	Kublai Khan founds the Yuan Dynasty.
1273		Battle of Xiangyang
1274			Mongol invasions of Japan
1276		Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory is built.
1279		Battle of Yamen
1287		Rabban Bar Sauma, a Nestorian Uyghur Turk from Beijing, travels to Europe in this year and hosted byAndronikos II Palaiologos of the Byzantine Empire, Philip IV of France, and Edward I of England in hopes of forming an alliance to seize Jerusalem, then under the Muslim Mamluk Bahri dynasty.	Battle of Pagan, end of Pagan Kingdom
1288		Battle of Bạch Đằng
1289		Franciscan friars begin mission work in China
1298	Emperor Chengzong	Wang Zhen improves the movable type printing of Bi Sheng by introducing the first successful wooden type characters; he also experiments with tin metal type characters.
1316	Emperor Renzong	Guo Shoujing dies; among his life achievements were fixing the calendar year at 365.2425 (same as theGregorian Calendar), building upon Shen Kuo's mathematical work on trigonometry by introducing spherical trigonometry, and engineered an artificial Kunming Lake in Beijing.
1324	Emperor Taiding	The rime dictionary Zhongyuan Yinyun is published by Zhou Deqing.
1330	Emperor Wenzong	Pagoda of Bailin Temple is completed
1334	Emperor Huizong	Wang Dayuan ventures to North Africa.
1352		Zhu Yuanzhang joins the Red Turban Rebellion
1356		Zhu Yuanzhang's rebel force captures Nanjing.
1363		Battle of Lake Poyang, one of the largest naval battles in world history in terms of personnel.
1368		Rebel general Xu Da defeats Yuan forces, while Emperor Huizong flees from Dadu (present-day Beijing). Zhu Yuanzhang establishes the Ming Dynasty and becomes the Hongwu Emperor.

Ming Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
1368	Hongwu Emperor	Zhu Yuanzhang overthrows the Yuan Dynasty and founds the Ming Dynasty. He adopts the reign title of "Hongwu".
1371		Haijin (maritime trade ban)
1373		Emperor Hongwu bans the Imperial examinations in favor of a recommendation system.	The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is rebuilt.
1375		Latest possible date for the writing of the Huolongjing treatise on gunpowder weapons, as its co-editor Liu Ji dies on May 16.
1380		Hongwu abolishes the Chancellery of China, taking over direct responsibility of theThree Departments and Six Ministries, although the later Grand Secretariat would aid the emperor in managing the state.
1381		The Ming Dynasty annexes land from the Kingdom of Dali, in present-day Yunnan andGuizhou, spurring a Chinese migration of hundreds of thousands.
1382		The Jinyiwei, a secret police organization, is established.
1384		Imperial examinations are reinstated by Hongwu, but he had the chief examiner executed on charges of corruption.
1397		The Ming Code of Law is completed, yet drawing much of its clauses from the earlierTang Code of 653.
1402	Yongle Emperor	Yongle takes the throne after a three-year long civil war with his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor.
1405		The overseas voyages of admiral Zheng He begin, sailing around Southeast Asia, throughout the Indian Ocean, and as far as East Africa to reestablish tributary relations of foreign countries with China.	Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is completed.
1406		Construction of the Forbidden City begins, as well as new Beijing city fortifications
1407		Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam, although Chinese troops were pushed out two decades later by Lê Lợi of the Lê Dynasty.	Deshin Shekpa, the fifth Karmapa of Tibet, visits the court of Yongle.
1408		The massive Yongle Encyclopedia is completed.
1415		Restoration work on the Grand Canal is completed.
1420		After 13 years of a massive construction project for a new capital and Forbidden City, the Yongle Emperor declares Beijing the new capital, while Nanjing is demoted.	Ming Dynasty Tombs are built.
1427	Xuande Emperor	Famous painter Shen Zhou is born.
1431		The Lê Dynasty of Vietnam is recognized by the Ming court as a tribute state.
1443	Zhengtong Emperor	The Zhihua Temple is built.
1446		The Precious Belt Bridge is rebuilt.
1449	Jingtai Emperor	Tumu Crisis; the Zhengtong Emperor is captured by the Mongols after losing the battle and is released a year later
1457	Tianshun Emperor	Zhu Qizhen (former Zhengtong Emperor) seizes power from the Jingtai Emperor in a palace coup and begins his second reign as the "Tianshun Emperor".
1461		Rebellion of Cao Qin
1464	Chenghua Emperor	The Miao people and Yao people of Guangxi rebel against Ming authority; a combined Ming force of 190,000 (including 1,000 Mongols) crushes the rebellion within two years.
1473		Zhenjue Temple is completed.
1488	Hongzhi Emperor	The Korean official Choe Bu shipwrecks along Zhejiang coast of China. Travels the entire length of the Grand Canal to repatriate back to Joseon Korea. He later wrote a famous book on his travels, which was printed in both Korea and Japan in the latter half of the 16th century.
1510	Zhengde Emperor	Prince of Anhua Rebellion
1516		First Portuguese contact by Jorge Álvares in Macau, followed up by Rafael Perestrelloin Guangzhou.
1517		Fernão Pires de Andrade and Tomé Pires are sent as ambassadors to China byManuel I of Portugal; they land at Guangzhou.
1519		Prince of Ning rebellion
1521	Jiajing Emperor	Events, such as the Portuguese conquest of Malacca, lead to the rejection of the Portuguese embassy and the new Jiajing Emperor calling upon the Portuguese to return power of Malacca to the loyal Ming vassal Mahmud Shah; Chinese and Portuguese ships fight at Tuen Mun, but relations are eventually smoothed out later by Leonel de Sousa and others determined to repair the reputation that the Portuguese initially won in China.
1529		Death of philosopher Wang Yangming
1530		Around this time, mechanical engineer Zhou Shuxue improves Zhan Xiyuan's 14th century sand-driven mechanical clock by adding a fourth large gear wheel, revising gear teeth ratios, and widening the orifice which collected sand in Zhan's clock, since Zhou complained that the device clogged up too often. Although lacking the essentialescapement mechanism of earlier Chinese clocks, this sand-driven clock of Zhan and Zhou featured a stationary dial face over which a pointer circulated by mechanical timing.
1549		Portuguese ships make continuous annual trade stops to Shangchuan Island from now on.
1550		Altan Khan breaches the Great Wall, besieges Beijing, and burns down its suburbs after looting it.
1553		Outer City of Beijing to the south is completed, which brought the overall size of the city to 4 by 4½ miles.
1556		Shaanxi Earthquake. 850,000 casualties
1557		The Portuguese establish permanent settlement in Macau.
1558		Ming forces led by Qi Jiguang defeat Japanese pirates at Cengang.
1567	Longqing Emperor	Haijin laws are formally repealed; government allows private foreign maritime trade, although the state had conducted all foreign trade during the ban.
1573	Wanli Emperor	After the Spanish establish a permanent base at Manila in the Philippines, theirAmerican-mined silver trade with China trumps the Portuguese-Japanese silver trade.
1574		Qin Liangyu, a later female military officer of Miao heritage, is born.
1576		Pagoda of Cishou Temple is built.
1577		Wanshou Temple is built.
1581		Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng implements the Single Whip Reform, allowing the land tax to be paid entirely in silver due to inflated paper currency and widespread counterfeit coinage.
1582		Jesuits begin mission work in China	First reference is made about the publishing of private newspapers in Beijing.
1584		Abraham Ortelius, in his atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, is the first known European to feature an illustration of the Chinese invention known as the 'sailing carriage', essentially a wheelbarrow with a ship's mast and a sail.
1587		Physician and pharmacologist Li Shizhen publishes the Bencao Gangmu, detailing the use of over 1,800 medicinal drugs.
1590		Wu Cheng'en writes Journey to the West.
1592		When Japan invades Korea in the Imjin War, Ming China aids Korea with troops and supplies.
1593		Siege of Pyongyang
1597		Siege of Ulsan
1598		Battle of Sacheon	Battle of Noryang; the theatrical drama The Peony Pavilion, written by playwright Tang Xianzu, is performed at the Pavilion of Prince Teng.
1602		From this year until 1682, the Dutch East India Company ships some six millionChinese porcelain items to Europe.
1604		Donglin movement
1607		The Greek mathematical treatise Euclid's Elements is translated into Chinese by Xu Guangqi, Sabatino de Ursis, and Matteo Ricci.
1609		Sancai Tuhui encyclopedia is published.
1610		Plum in the Golden Vase is published.
1615		The Chinese dictionary Zihui is compiled by Mei Yingzuo.
1616		Nurhaci found the Later Jin Dynasty (later renamed to Qing Dynasty) in Manchuria	The Nanjing Religious Incident begins in this year, when all foreign Jesuitswere expelled from the Ming court and the astronomy bureau; this was a temporary triumph of traditionalist Confucian officials who rejected Western science in favor of Chinese science; by 1622 this policy was reversed, and the astronomy burea was once again staffed by European Jesuits and Chinese supportive of Western science.
1619		Battle of Sarhu	Chinese philosopher Wang Fuzhi is born.
1624	Tianqi Emperor	Headquartered in Jakarta, the Dutch East India Company establishes Dutch rule of Taiwan.
1626		Johann Adam Schall von Bell writes the first treatise on the telescope into the Chinese language.	Jesuit Nicolas Trigault writes the Xiru Ermu Zi, establishing the first system of Chinese Romanization.
1627	Chongzhen Emperor	First Manchu invasion of Korea; downfall of eunuch Wei Zhongxian, who ruled as a virtual dictator for seven years; Zhang Zilie publishes the Chinese dictionaryZhengzitong.	Polish Jesuit Michał Boym first introduces the heliocentric model of the Solar System into Chinese astronomy.
1628		Battle of Ningyuan
1632		By this time, the Manchus have conquered much of Inner Mongolia.
1634		Chongzhen Emperor acquires the telescope of the late Johann Schreck.
1635		Liu Tong adds his preface to the Dijing Jingwulue, a Chinese prose classic.
1637		Second Manchu invasion of Korea	Song Yingxing publishes the Tiangong Kaiwu encyclopedia; due to his scholarly and encyclopedic achievements, scientist and sinologist Joseph Needham calls him the "Diderot of China".
1638		The Beijing Gazette switches its production method from woodblock printing tomovable type printing in this year.
1639		The Nongzheng Quanshu agricultural treatise of Xu Guangqi is published.	Painter Chen Hongshou travels to Beijing and earns instant acclaim by the court.
1641		Death of Xu Xiake, whose published travel diary of some 404,000 Chinese charactersincludes notes on regional geography, climate, and mineralogy.
1642		Kaifeng flood	With new additional Han Chinese banners, the full Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing Dynasty are established.
1644		Battle of Shanhai Pass; the Chongzhen Emperor hangs himself from the Guilty Chinese Scholartree, after hearing that rebels under Li Zicheng breached the gates of Beijing	Ming general Wu Sangui and the Manchu prince Dorgon occupy Beijing; soon after, the Shunzhi Emperor is proclaimed ruler of China under the Qing Dynasty.

Shun Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
1644	Li Zicheng

Qing Dynasty[edit]

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
1644	Shunzhi Emperor	The Qing Dynasty is established in China.
1652		The 5th Dalai Lama of Tibet visits the court of Shunzhi in Beijing.
1659		Jesuits Martino Martini and Ferdinand Verbiest arrive in China, the former for the second time.
1661		On the death of the Shunzhi Emperor, his confidant Johann Adam Schall von Bell is thrown into prison, eventually released, but dies shortly after.
1662	Kangxi Emperor	The Siege of Fort Zeelandia ends with the Dutch East India Company's surrender of Taiwan to Koxinga.
1674		Revolt of the Three Feudatories
1682		Belgian Jesuit Antoine Thomasarrives in China.
1683		Battle of Penghu, surrender of theKingdom of Tungning
1689		Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia
1690		Death of Yun Shouping, a painter who was considered one of the "Six Masters" of the Qing era.
1698		Lugou Bridge is reconstructed.
1705		Papal legate Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon arrives in China.
1700		Thirteen Factories
1711		British East India Companyestablishes a trading post inGuangzhou	The Peiwen Yunfu rime dictionary is completed.
1716		Publication of the Kangxi Dictionary
1720		In opposition to the Dzungars, Qing troops conquer and occupy Lhasa inTibet.
1721		In a culmination of the Chinese Rites controversy, the Kangxi Emperor delivers a decree banning Christian preaching in China in response to apapal bull by Pope Clement XI.
1725	Yongzheng Emperor	The Gujin Tushu Jichengencyclopedia is completed.
1732		Death of Jiang Tingxi, a painter, calligrapher, and encyclopedist
1750	Qianlong Emperor	French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot is sent to China.
1755		Ten Great Campaigns	Puning Temple is built in commemoration of the defeat of theDzungars.
1760		Initiation of the Canton System.
1771		Putuo Zongcheng Temple is completed.
1774		The Wenjin Chamber is built.
1780		Fragrant Hills Pagoda is built.
1782		Imperial collection of Fourencyclopedia is completed.
1791		Dream of the Red Chamber is published.
1793		Anglo-Chinese relations and theMacartney Embassy; Lord Macartney, the first British envoy toBeijing, is hosted by Qianlong's confidant Heshen.
1796	Jiaqing Emperor	White Lotus Rebellion
1807		Robert Morrison, first Protestant missionary arrives
1820	Daoguang Emperor
1823			Publication of the Bible in Chinese
1839		First Opium War
1842		First of the Unequal Treaties, Treaty of Nanjing
1844		Wei Yuan publishes his Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, agazetteer inspired by the desire to learn more of the West and the threat it posed to Qing China.	Treaty of Wanghia between the Qing Empire and the United States, with the first United States Ambassador to China.
1850		Ten Tigers of Canton
1851	Xianfeng Emperor	Taiping Rebellion	Jintian Uprising
1855		Third Pandemic of Bubonic plague	Punti–Hakka Clan Wars
1856		Second Opium War
1858		Battle of Sanhe	Treaty of Aigun, Treaty of Tianjin
1860		Burning of Old Summer palace	Beijing Convention
1861		Following the Convention of Peking,Prince Gong establishes the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Office).
1862	Tongzhi Emperor	Dungan revolt	The Tongwen Guan, or School of Combined Learning, is established to teach Chinese students Western languages.
1864		After fighting the Taiping rebels for four years, the Ever Victorious Armyis disbanded; it was the first Chinese army that employed a Europeanofficer corps and as well as tactics, strategy, and techniques.
1868		Yangzhou riot	End of the Nien Rebellion
1870		Tianjin Massacre
1871		The famous general Li Hongzhang is appointed to the position of Viceroy of Zhili, an office he would hold until 1895, serving again in the same post from 1900 to 1901, until replaced byYuan Shikai.
1873		End of the Panthay Rebellion
1876	Guangxu Emperor	After the murder of Augustus Raymond Margary in the 'Margary Affair', the Chefoo Convention is held to resolve the issue but turns into an excuse for the British to press for additional concessions.
1884		Sino-French War
1885		Battle of Fuzhou
1891		Founding of Shanghai Sharebrokers Association
1894		First Sino-Japanese War (Battle of Pungdo, Battle of Seonghwan, Battle of Pyongyang, Battle of Yalu River, Battle of Jiuliancheng, Battle of Lushunkou, Battle of Weihaiwei, Battle of Yingkou)
1895			Treaty of Shimonoseki
1898		Hundred Days' Reform	Coup led by Empress Dowager Cixi
1900		Boxer Rebellion
1901		Boxer Protocol
1910	Xuantong Emperor	Huanghuagang Uprising
1911		Xinhai Revolution	Wuchang Uprising