China

Neolithic China

c. 3500 - 1600 B.C.E.

• View all content

Neolithic artists in China perfected the same techniques that are still used to carve jade today.

Shang dynasty

c. 1600 - 1046 B.C.E.

Objects from the Shang dynasty give us clues to the concerns of people more than 3,000 years ago.

Western Zhou dynasty

1046 - 771 B.C.E.

Thunder, dragon tails, wisps of clouds—the decorations on bronze vessels of this period connect the earthly and the divine.

Han dynasty

206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.

The elite men and women of China’s second imperial dynasty enjoyed an opulent lifestyle that continued into the afterlife.

Northern Wei dynasty

386 - 351 C.E.

The Northern Wei was the most enduring and powerful of the northern Chinese dynasties that ruled before the reunification of China under the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Northern Qi dynasty

550 - 577 C.E.

Styles abounded and mixed during this politically turbulent period in China.

Tang dynasty

618 - 907 C.E.

• View all content

Under the Tang dynasty, China expanded its borders and diplomatic relations, becoming one of the greatest powers in the medieval world.

Song dynasty

960 - 1279

• View all content

The Song dynasty saw the flowering of Chinese culture still recognizable today.

Yuan dynasty

1271 - 1368

• View all content

During this period, China became subject to foreign rule—by the great Mongol empire.

Ming dynasty

1368 - 1644

The Ming dynasty reestablished independent rule in China, along with Chinese artistic and architectural traditions.

People's Republic of China

1949 - present

• View all content

Twentieth-century China successfully fought off foreign powers, adopted communism and became a world leader once again.