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221 BCE
Qin Dynasty
The First Emperor united China under the Qin("chin") Dynasty- referring to the name China. The Great Wall was built to protect the empire from Northern nomads. Chinese coins, script, measures, and weights were standardized. -
206 BCE
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty unified northern and southern China. China was called "Zhao Guo" or the "Middle Kingdom" since it was the center of the known "civilzed" world. The emperor was called the "Son of Heaven" this divine choice was known as the "Mandate of Heaven" -
220
Six Dynasties.
A period of divsion and chaos. China was broken into separate kingdoms. Nomadic invaders ruled the north. -
Period: 581 to 618
Sui Dynasty
The renuification of China. They undertook extensive public works projects. Extended military control over large streches of China. -
Period: 618 to 907
Tang Dynasty
Wu Zhao, China's only empress, ruled the geographically extensive Chinese empire. Her goverment was composed of departments. Bureaucrats upheld Confucian ideals by acting as artists and politicians. -
Period: 960 to 1126
Sung Dynasty
The goverment officials came from southern China because the north was under foreign rule. Bureaucrats were selected according to the score they got on civil service exams. Meritocracy was used to make the goverment efficient and reliable. -
Period: 1280 to 1365
Yuan Dynasty
This dynasty was founded by Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, a powerful mongol leader. The Yuan dynasty's bloody wars of conquest led to the destruction of farmland. China's roads and canals were maintained but later, the Yuan emperors let them deteriorate. -
Period: 1368 to
Ming Dynasty
The Civil Service Exam was reintroduced. The emperors were extremely powerful, they were often ruled as despots. Peasant rebellion and civil war was caused by heavy taxation and careless goverment.