Neolithic China

c. 3500 - 1600 B.C.E.

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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.

Eastern Zhou dynasty

770–256 B.C.E.

From massive burial chambers and lacquerwares to grand bronze vessels and chime bells, we find splendid and sophisticated evidence of elite life in the Warring States period.

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.

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

Liao dynasty

907 - 1125 C.E.

The Liao dynasty was formed of the nomadic Khitan people in northern China, and blended both their own cultural traditions with those of Tang and Song dynasties.

Song dynasty

960 - 1279

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

Yuan dynasty

1271 - 1368

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

Ming dynasty

1368 - 1644

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

Qing dynasty

1644-1912

The Manchu ruled during the final imperial dynasty of China, a time of foreign influence and challenge.

Republic of China

1912–1949

The Republic of China (ROC) was established after the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China.

People's Republic of China

1949 - present

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