Chinese history is usually told as a chain of dynasties: Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing. That list hides a lot. Some dynasties ruled for four centuries and others for fifteen years; for long stretches China was split into several states at once; and two of the largest dynasties, the Yuan and the Qing, were founded by conquerors from outside, the Mongols and the Manchus.
The table below gives the dynasties in order. On the Panchronia globe you can open each one in its year and see how much territory it actually controlled.
Chinese dynasties in order: dates and capitals
| Dynasty | Years | Capital | Map |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xia (legendary) | c. 2070–1600 BC | — | — |
| Shang | c. 1600–1046 BC | Yin (Anyang) | 1250 BC on the globe |
| Western Zhou | 1046–771 BC | Haojing (near Xi'an) | 900 BC on the globe |
| Eastern Zhou: Spring and Autumn, Warring States | 770–256 BC | Luoyang | 350 BC on the globe |
| Qin | 221–206 BC | Xianyang | 210 BC on the globe |
| Han | 202 BC – 220 AD | Chang'an, later Luoyang | 100 on the globe |
| Three Kingdoms: Wei, Shu, Wu | 220–280 | Luoyang, Chengdu, Jianye | 230 on the globe |
| Jin: Western and Eastern | 266–420 | Luoyang, then Jiankang (Nanjing) | 280 on the globe |
| Northern and Southern dynasties (Northern Wei, Liu Song and others) | 420–589 | Pingcheng and Luoyang; Jiankang | 450 on the globe |
| Sui | 581–618 | Daxing (Chang'an) | 610 on the globe |
| Tang | 618–907 | Chang'an | 750 on the globe |
| Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms | 907–979 | Kaifeng and others | 940 on the globe |
| Song: Northern and Southern | 960–1279 | Kaifeng, then Lin'an (Hangzhou) | 1100 on the globe |
| Yuan (Mongol) | 1271–1368 | Dadu (Beijing) | 1300 on the globe |
| Ming | 1368–1644 | Nanjing, from 1421 Beijing | 1500 on the globe |
| Qing (Manchu) | 1644–1912 | Beijing | 1800 on the globe |
| Republic of China | 1912–1949 | Nanjing, Beijing | 1930 on the globe |
| People's Republic of China | since 1949 | Beijing | 2000 on the globe |
A short way to remember the main line: Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han — Sui, Tang, Song — Yuan, Ming, Qing. For a list of every emperor, see Chinese dynasties.
The first dynasties: Shang and Zhou
The Xia dynasty appears in ancient Chinese histories, but archaeologists have not yet found writing to confirm it. The first dynasty attested by its own records is the Shang: its kings asked their ancestors questions by cracking bones and turtle shells over a fire, and the answers carved on them (Oracle bone inscriptions) are the oldest Chinese writing.
The Zhou who overthrew the Shang ruled longer than any other dynasty, almost 800 years, but for most of that time only in name. After the Fall of the Western Zhou in 771 BC, real power passed to rival states. This was the age of Confucius and Laozi, and later of the Warring States, with ever larger armies: the Battle of Changping in 260 BC was one of the bloodiest battles of the ancient world.
Qin and Han: the first empire
In 221 BC the ruler of Qin conquered the last of his rivals and took a new title: Qin Shi Huang, "First Emperor" (Qin Shi Huang unifies China). In fifteen years the Qin standardised writing, coins, weights and axle widths, joined the northern walls (Qin links the northern walls) and built the emperor a tomb guarded by the Terracotta Army. The dynasty collapsed soon after his death.
The Han dynasty that followed (Founding of the Han dynasty) set the pattern for the next two thousand years: an emperor, officials educated in Confucian texts, and a capital in the Yellow River valley. The Chinese still call themselves "Han" after it. Under Emperor Wu of Han the empire reached Korea, Vietnam and Central Asia, and the Silk Road opened to the West. At the same time, at the other end of Eurasia, the Roman Empire was at its height; a Roman embassy reached the Han court in 166 (Roman envoys at the Han court).
Division and reunion: from the Three Kingdoms to Tang
After the fall of the Han in 220, China was divided for most of the next 370 years: first the Three Kingdoms, whose division was sealed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208, then the Jin, then rival dynasties in the north and the south. The Sui reunited the country in 589 (Sui dynasty reunifies China) and dug the Grand Canal of China, but fell after only 37 years.
The Tang is often called China's golden age. Its capital Chang'an was the largest city in the world, its armies reached Central Asia, and its poets, such as Li Bai, are still learned by heart. The only woman to rule China in her own name, Wu Zetian, interrupted it in 690 with her own Zhou dynasty. The An Lushan Rebellion of 755 broke the Tang's power, and in 907 it fell.
Song, Yuan and Ming
The Song never ruled as much land as the Tang: in the north it bordered the Khitan Liao and Tangut Western Xia, and in 1127 it lost the whole north to the Jurchen Jin. But it was the richest and most inventive state of its time: printed books, the first paper money, the first written gunpowder formulas, the compass at sea.
The Mongols took all of China, and Kublai Khan proclaimed the Yuan dynasty in 1271 (Kublai Khan founds the Yuan dynasty). Less than a century later the Red Turban Rebellions drove them out, and a former monk and peasant founded the Ming (Founding of the Ming dynasty). The Ming moved the capital to Beijing, built the Forbidden City and the brick Great Wall that tourists see today, and sent Zheng He's fleets as far as Africa (Voyages of Zheng He).
Qing: the last dynasty
In 1644 rebels took Beijing, and the Manchus who came to put them down stayed and founded the Qing (Fall of the Ming, rise of the Qing). Under the Kangxi Emperor and Qianlong Emperor the Qing doubled China's territory, adding Tibet, Xinjiang and Mongolia; the borders of modern China are essentially those of the Qing. In the nineteenth century the dynasty was weakened by the First Opium War, the Taiping Rebellion and foreign intervention, and the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 ended more than two thousand years of imperial rule. The last emperor, Puyi, abdicated in February 1912 at the age of six.
Who ruled elsewhere at the same time
The table below shows the dynasties of the last seven centuries alongside the rulers of England, France, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
| Ruler | Years | Ruling elsewhere at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Yuan | 1271 – 1368 | Rus and Russia: Daniel of Moscow, Yury of Moscow, Ivan Kalita England and Britain: Henry III, Edward I Longshanks, Edward II Franks and France: Philip III the Bold, Philip IV the Fair, Louis X the Quarreller Ottoman Empire: Osman I, Orhan, Murad I |
| Ming | 1368 – 1644 | Rus and Russia: Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily I, Vasily II the Blind England and Britain: Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV Franks and France: Charles V the Wise, Charles VI the Mad, Charles VII Ottoman Empire: Murad I, Bayezid I the Thunderbolt, Interregnum |
| Qing | 1644 – 1912 | Rus and Russia: Michael I, Alexis the Most Quiet, Feodor III England and Britain: Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II Franks and France: Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI Ottoman Empire: Ibrahim the Mad, Mehmed IV the Hunter, Suleiman II |
| Republic of China | 1912 – 1949 | Rus and Russia: Nicholas II, Provisional Government, Vladimir Lenin England and Britain: George V, George VI Franks and France: Third Republic, Vichy France, Fourth Republic Ottoman Empire: Mehmed V Reşad, Mehmed VI, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
| People's Republic | since 1949 | Rus and Russia: Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev England and Britain: George VI, Elizabeth II Franks and France: Fourth Republic, Fifth Republic |
Questions
What are the Chinese dynasties in order?
Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, Jin, the Northern and Southern dynasties, Sui, Tang, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing. Before the Shang, traditional histories place the Xia dynasty.
What was the longest Chinese dynasty?
The Zhou: from 1046 to 256 BC, almost 800 years, although after 771 BC its kings had little real power. Of the dynasties that actually ruled a unified China, the longest was the Han, about 400 years with a short break.
What was the largest Chinese dynasty?
The Yuan, as part of the Mongol Empire, and the Qing, which around 1800 ruled about 13 million km², including Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang.
What was the last dynasty of China?
The Qing (1644–1912), founded by the Manchus. It ended with the Xinhai Revolution, and the Republic of China was proclaimed in 1912.