11,000BC - Cultivation of rice and other plants, as well as pottery utilized in Jiangxi, one of the earliest known civilizations in China.

10,000BC – Villages begin to communicate with each other, indicating trade routes and travel, though they remained separate societies, with varying traditions, social norms and political ideas.

7,500BC – Animal domestication begins with dogs, pigs and chicken throughout various civilizations

5,000BC – Yangshao society begins to flourish. Yangshao society influence was seen mainly near the middle of the Yellow River Valley, and was centralized in a village known as Banpo. Terraced farming begins

3,600BC – Silk is created

3,000BC – Marks the downturn of these small independent societies like Banpo, as cross-village conflicts were unmanageable, due to reliance on local governments and not an unifying one

2,200BC – Rise of the Xia Dynasty. One of the first states to try and organize a unifying government. Inhabited roughly the same area as the Yangshao society. Attempted to organize public works projects, and formal political institutions. Put a heightened attention to metallurgy for arming administration. Established a precedent for hereditary monarchal rule.

2,000BC – The Xia dynasty begins to fade away and lose power and prominence, making way for the rise of the next dynasty. During this time period is when early chariots start making their way into China, as well as other wheeled vehicles.

1,700BC – Rise of the Shang Dynasty. The Shang Dynasty was able to take control of copper mines, allowing them to take more complete control from the Xia Dynasty, by creating a sort of metallurgical monopoly where only they could craft better axes, arrowheads, knives and spears.

1,500BC – Appearance of horse-drawn chariots in China, utilized by Shang nobles, and also enhanced with bronze fittings. This along with their monopoly over strong bronze weapons, Shang rulers were able to easily take control of villages, and crush rebels. Earliest evidence of Chinese script is seen during this dynasty, known as oracle bone script.

1,200BC – Begins the decline of the Shang Dynasty. After a time of battle between the Zhou Dynasty and the Shang, they agreed to ally together, and Shang was left ‘King of the East’ and Zhou the ‘King of the West.

1040BC – Defeat of the Shang dynasty by The Zhou Dynasty after the Shang ruler gave into

corruption and failed to accept punishment.

1046BC – Zhou Dynasty begins their rule over China. This begins the use of the Mandate of Heaven to justify ruling power. This beginning period of feudal states with local lords who pledge allegiance to the emperor is known as the Western Zhou. This period also helped to establish some of the well-known Chinese culture, like importance of family, and social order.

771BC – Due to poorly centralized power, and increasing animosity of lords towards the emperor, the Western Zhou began losing power and the capital shifted from Haojing to Luoyi, after an invasion of nomadic people. This also marks the beginning of the Spring and Autumn periods of the Zhou Dynasty. This is a period of further decline of central authority, due to increasing independence of feudal states.

650BC – Coin minting begins throughout various states within the Dynasty.

600BC – As battles between these states continued, different groups took power over smaller groups, basically a time of great war and political unrest.

594BC – Taxation reform is seen, moving to base the system proportionally to the size of the land, ultimately helping peasants and increasing the countries revenue.

551BC – Confucius is born.

c. 500BC – The life of Sun-Tzu (wrote The Art of War)

The life of Lao-Tzu (founder of Taoism)

479BC – Confucius dies.

476BC-221BC – The Warring States Period

475 BC – End of Spring and Autumn Period. Rise of the Warring States Period. The outcome of this time of great political unrest is the rise of the Seven Warring States that continue to fight for power throughout the next 200 years or so.

221-206BC King Ying Zheng

Qin dynasty – Construction of the Northern Frontier Wall (precursor to the Great Wall) by Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of China in 221BC

218BC – Start of construction of the Great Wall

206BC-220AD – Han Dynasty

Chinese ‘Golden Age’ First durable state for entire china. Economic growth Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism

206BC – Shi Huangdi is buried with a terracotta army of more than 8,000 soldiers

129BC – The Parthians take control of the Silk Road

117-100BC – Han emperors extend the western part of the Great Wall

100 AD – China is still cut off from the world. The emperor sends an envoy to the west in search of allies, and the paths he travels becomes the Silk Roads and China comes into contact with the rest of the civilizations

220-585AD – Collapse of Han Dynasty

618-907AD – Tang Dynasty

Chinese sphere of influence reaches Central Asia

712-756AD – Taoism becomes the official religion of China under emperor Xuanzong

937-975AD – First mention of foot-binding in Chinese texts

960-1279AD – Song Dynasty

Literature, scientific innovation, neo-Confucianism as a state ideology.

1271-1368AD – Mongol Era

Yuan Dynasty, Genghis Khan, Marco Polo

1368AD – Ming Dynasty

Sophisticated agricultural economy, centralized bureaucracy, and administration. Great Wall Completed.

1666AD – Qing Dynasty

Zenith of Chinese empire in terms of geography

19th century- Decline of the Qing Dynasty

1899-1901- Boxer Rebellion

Quelled by foreign powers – Britain & Japan.

1911-1912- Military Revolt

Republic of China Sun Yatsen

1931- Japan Invades

1934-1935- Mao Zedong rises as communist leader

~10,000BC China was warmer & Wetter.

SOURCES FOR TIMELINE: