Ancient China Timeline

The Xia Dynasty

2000 BCE

Late in The Neolithic period contact between communities increased in China. Many walled sites were constructed and society was becoming complex. Around 2000 BC at Erlitou a civilization emerged whose people learned how to cast bronze used to make vessels for ritual feasting and drinking.

Legalism

2000 BCE

Legalism was a philosophy of administration in ancient China. Upon first acquaintance with this system it seems no more than a rationalization by political administrators for their having total political control of their societies. Punishments were harsh and cruel.

Shang Dynasty

1600 BCE

The Shang was a Bronze Age civilization that emerged around 1600 BCE, in the Central plain of North China near the Yellow River. The Shang had palaces and temples. The palaces and temples housed upper class and commoners they also had craft workshops, they had burial grounds too.Several large settlements of the Shang period have been discovered, including Zhengzhou, and Anyang. Some think that the first Shang city was near the modern day city of Shangqiu.

Oracle Bones

1200 BCE

Shang Kings communicated with their ancestors by using bronzes and through divination though sacrificial rituals. The most common technique of divination involved the diviner applying a heated rod to cattle bones and turtle shells. The shells or bones would crack and the cracks varied as the ancestors answers to the questions the kings asked. The bones and shells were known as Oracle Bones.

Lady Hao

1200 BCE

Lady Hao or Fu Hao lived around 1200 BC she was the wife of Shang King Wu Ding. It was very unusual but she was a military leader. Information on Oracle Bones tells us that the king was very worried about her when she was ill or pregnant, oracle bones also tell us that she was in ritual ceremonies and military activities. One oracle bone, for example, asks whether Fu Hao should gather soldiers before an attack. Fu Hao's tomb at Anyang is the only Shang tomb that wasn't robbed before excavated.

Zhou Dynasty

1046 BCE

Zhou was a state based in the Wei River valley in Northwest China, near today's city of Xi'an. Three great Zhou rulers are said to have made the Zhou state strong. The first of the three was King Wen of Zhou, who formed alliances with neighboring states. The second was King Wu, King Wen's son, King Wu led an army and crushed the Shang at the great battle of Mu Ye. The third was King Wu's brother the Duke of Zhou, who ruled as regent for his young nephew, and extended the new Zhou territories.

Confucius

1046 BCE

Confucius was a man born in the state of Lu, he spent some time in Lu trying to persuade people to do good, and accept the traditional social roles that had existed in the the golden days of the early Zhou when it was thought people had lived in harmony.

Daoism

750 BCE

Laozi or Lao Tzu is thought to be the founder of Daoism. Most people think he lived in the sixth century BCE, in the spring or autumn period. He was a wise official at the Zhou court, he grew weary of the lack of morality he saw around him.So he left for the west, riding a buffalo. He reached a mountain pass at the edge of China, The pass guardian would not let him leave until he had wrote down his teachings.What he wrote is said to be the Daodejing, which became an important Daoist work.

Buddhism

618 BCE

During The Tang Dynasty Buddhism was a significant of Chinese culture. Buddhism spread from India to China in the Han Dynasty, brought by travelers on the Silk Road. Buddhism continued to spread and had become the most popular religion in China.

Zhang Qian and the Silk Road

150 BCE

In the third century BCE, a great confederation of nomadic tribes raided china. Emperor Wudi sent troops to fight these tribes, known as the Xiongnu. He also sent an envoy, Zhang Qian, to Central Asia to find allies who might join the chinese. Zhang Qian and a band of 100 Chinese set off in 138 BCE. They were captured by the Xiongnu and held for twelve years. But they were treated well, and Zhang Qian married a Xiongnu wife. Finally they escaped and continued their mission