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History of China

account of past events in the Chinese civilisation

24 dated entries naming History of China, drawn from 24 separate years between 3000 BCE and 1884 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Chinese history, Early Imperial China, Late Imperial China, Mid-Imperial China, Modern Chinese history in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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30th century BC

  • 3000 BCEc. 3000 BC – Knowledge of Ancient Near Eastern grains appears in Ancient China.source

13th century BC

  • 1250 BCEc. 1250 BC—Earliest surviving writing from Ancient China.source

11th century BC

  • 1053 BCE1053 BC—Death of Kang, king of the Zhou of ancient China. In September, a five-planetary alignment occurs.source
  • 1050 BCEc. 1050 BC—The Shang dynasty ends in ancient China and is replaced by the Zhou dynasty.source

9th century BC

  • 841 BCE841 BC—The Compatriots Rebellion in Western Zhou dynasty. The Chinese people riot against King Li of Zhou, who is then sent to exile at a place called Zhi. The Gonghe Regency, begins. Records of the Grand Historian (compiled by historian Sima Qian by 91 BC) regards this year as the first year of consecutive annual dating of Chinese history. Any earlier events in Chinese history cannot be confidently dated by historians.source

8th century BC

  • 720 BCE720 BC—Birth of Guan Zhong, political adviser of Qi in eastern ancient China.source

4th century BC

  • 386 BCEThe Chinese city of Handan is founded by the State of Zhao.source
  • 356 BCEWith his reforms initiated in this year, the Chinese prime minister Shang Yang starts to transform the once marginal and frontier State of Qin to become the most dominant military force amongst the Warring States of China by the 3rd century BC.source

3rd century BC

  • 256 BCELuoyang falls without much resistance to the armies of the Qin, ending the reign of the emperor Zhou Nan Wang. Although a successor was appointed as Dong Zhou Hui Wang, traditionally in Chinese history this is considered the end of the Zhou dynasty.source

2nd century BC

  • 200 BCELost-wax casting is known in China and Mesopotamia (approximate date).source

1st century

  • 88Emperor Han Zhangdi dies at age 31 after a 13-year reign in which Chinese military forces have become powerful enough to march against tribes who threaten their northern and western borders. Having used intrigue as well as armed might to achieve his ends, Zhangdi and his General Ban Chao have reestablished Chinese influence in Inner Asia, but court eunuchs have increased their power during the emperor's reign. Zhangdi is succeeded by his 9-year-old son Zhao, who will reign until 105 as emperor Han Hedi, but he will be a virtual pawn of Empress Dou (adoptive mother) and scheming courtiers who will effectively rule the Chinese Empire.source

5th century

  • 440Northern and Southern dynasties: Northern China is unified by the Northern Wei dynasty. The South is still under the control of the Song (or Liu Song) dynasty.source

6th century

  • 589The Chinese Empire is reunited under the leadership of Emperor Wéndi (Sui dynasty), who defeats the Chen forces at Jiankang (modern Nanjing), ending the Chen dynasty (the last of the Southern dynasties) that has ruled since 557.source

7th century

  • 603Emperor Wéndi stabilises the Chinese Empire; the agricultural acreage increases greatly, and shipbuilding technology reaches a new high level.source
  • 609The Sui dynasty government records a tax census of roughly 9 million registered households in the Chinese Empire, a population size of roughly 50 million people.source
  • 660Emperor Gao Zong suffers from an illness (possibly slow-poisoning). His wife Wu Zetian starts to rule the Chinese Empire.source
  • 683December 27 – Emperor Gaozong dies at Luoyang, age 55, after a 34-year reign in which he expanded the Chinese Empire by acquiring Korea as a vassal state.source
  • 689September 10 – Guo Zhengyi, official of the Chinese Tang dynastysource
  • 690October 16 – Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty, and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire as "Holy and Divine Emperor". She becomes the first and only female "emperor" in 5,000 years of Chinese history. Wu Zetian changes the dynasty's name to the Zhou Dynasty, and begins to murder throne pretendants and ministers who try to oppose her. During her reign she elevates the status of Buddhism above Taoism.source
  • 698July 22 – Wu Chengsi, nephew of Chinese sovereign Wu Zetiansource

8th century

  • 710September 10 – Li Chongfu, imperial prince of the Chinese Tang dynasty (born c. 680)source
  • 731December 22 – Yuan Qianyao, official of the Chinese Tang dynastysource

9th century

  • 845Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution: Emperor Wu Zong begins the persecution of Buddhists and other foreign religions in China, such as Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity and Manichaeism. More than 4,600 monasteries, 40,000 temples and numerous shrines are destroyed. More than 260,000 Buddhist monks and nuns are forced to return to secular life.source

19th century

  • 188423 November – Siege of Tuyên Quang begins in Indochina: The French Foreign Legion is besieged by forces of the Empire of China.source

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