Dates |
Events |
770-256 BCE |
Eastern Zhou Dynasty. |
551-479 BCE |
Life of Confucius. |
3rd century BCE (?) |
Composition of Laozi, the classic text of Daoism. |
221-207 BCE |
Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty, whose emperor was buried near capital of Ch'ang-an (Xian) with famous army of terracotta soldiers. |
206 BCE-220 CE |
Han Dynasty, with division into Former or Western Han (to 9 CE), capital at Ch'ang-an, and Later or Eastern Han (from 25 CE), capital at Luoyang. Beginning of "Silk Road." |
209-174 BCE |
Rise of Xiong-nu (Hsiung-nu) under their Shan-yü Mao-tun. |
198-134 BCE |
Ho-ch'in treaty arrangements between the Xiong-nu and the Han--negotiated as equals, although in fact the Xiong-nu seem to have had the upper hand. |
140-87 BCE |
Han Emperor Wu-ti. |
139-126, 115- BCE |
Missions of Zhang Qian (Chang Ch'ien) to West. |
121-101 BCE |
Campaigns leading to Han control of Hexi Corridor and victories as far west as Ferghana. |
60- BCE |
Han protectorate general and military colonization in west; fortifications built in Dunhuang region. |
ca. 60 BCE |
Civil war among Xiong-nu. |
53-51 BCE |
Southern Xiong-nu accept tributary status. |
1st decades CE |
Brief Xiong-nu revival. |
ca. 40s |
Xiong-nu civil war leading to permanent division into northern and southern Xiong-nu. |
2nd half of 1st century CE |
Buddhism arrives in China. |
73-102 |
Han reassert control over Tarim Basin |
87 |
Hsien-pi (a Manchurian tribe) defeat northern Xiong-nu. |
107- |
Han withdrawal from western regions for fiscal reasons. |
155 |
Last mention of northern Xiong-nu in Han sources. |
220 CE-589 |
"Age of Division" (i.e., no unified Chinese state); includes rule by non-Chinese northern dynasties. |
311, 316 |
Fall of capitals Luoyang and Ch'ang-an to Xiong-nu. |
366 |
Earliest documentation of a Buddhist cave at Dunhuang. |
386-534 |
Northern Wei Dynasty (of Xsien-pi origin). |
beg. mid-6th century |
First Turkish empire. |
581-618 |
Unification of China under Chinese Sui Dynasty. |
618-906 |
T'ang Dynasty |