Timeline of Chinese history

The following is a timeline of the history of China. Between the changing of the dynasties, most dates overlap as ruling periods do not transfer immediately. Dates prior to 841 BC (beginning of the Gonghe regency) are provisional and subject to dispute.

Contents 1 Pre-Historic China 2 Ancient China 2.1 Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors 2.2 Xia Dynasty 2.3 Shang Dynasty 2.4 Western Zhou Dynasty 2.5 Eastern Zhou Dynasty 3 Imperial China 3.1 Qin Dynasty 3.2 Western Han Dynasty 3.3 Xin Dynasty 3.4 Eastern Han Dynasty 3.5 Three Kingdoms 3.6 Western Jin Dynasty 3.7 Eastern Jin Dynasty 3.8 Southern and Northern Dynasties 3.9 Sui Dynasty 3.10 Tang Dynasty 3.11 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 3.12 Liao Dynasty 3.13 Northern Song Dynasty 3.14 Southern Song Dynasty 3.15 Western Xia 3.16 Jin Dynasty 3.17 Yuan Dynasty 3.18 Ming Dynasty 3.19 Shun Dynasty 3.20 Qing Dynasty 4 Modern China 4.1 Republic of China 4.2 PRC/ROC 5 Footnotes 6 References 7 See also 7.1 By sources 7.2 By era 7.3 By individual categories 8 External links

Pre-Historic China

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
400,000 BC		Peking Man of Zhoukoudian (est.)
7600 BC		Zhenpiyan Culture	Archaeological evidence on domestication of pig for the first time.[1]
7000 BC		Peiligang Culture and Pengtoushan Culture
6600 BC			Jiahu Script; scholars still debate if it is actual writing or not.
6000 BC		Cishan Culture	Archaeological evidence on domestication of dog and chicken for the first time.[1]
5000 BC		Baijia Culture	Archaeological evidence on domestication of ox and sheep for the first time.[1]
4500 BC		Approximate end of Hemudu culture.
4000 BC			Banpo Script; scholars still debate if it is actual writing or not.
3630 BC			Approximate date of the oldest discovered silk in China, found by archaeologists in what is now Henan province in what was the late Yangshao period.
3000 BC		Longshan Culture	During the Longshan Neolithic period, the buffalo are domesticated for the first time in China, and the plow may have been used.
2570 BC			Approximate date for the silk and other items found at the Liangzhu culture site at Qianshanyang in Wuxing District, Zhejiang; silk items found there included a braided silk belt, silk threads, and woven silk.

Ancient China

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
2852 BC	Fuxi	This period is part of the Chinese mythology
2737 BC	Yan Emperor
2697 BC	Yellow Emperor		The Battle of Banquan, the first battle in Chinese history and the Battle of Zhuolu, the second battle in Chinese history, fought by the Yellow Emperor.
2650 BC			Legend of Cangjie, inventor of the Chinese Character
2597 BC	Shaohao
2514 BC	Zhuanxu
2436 BC	Emperor Ku
2358 BC	Yao
2255 BC	Shun
2205 BC			The End of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

Xia Dynasty

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
2100 BC	Yu	Bronze Age in China
2070 BC		Erlitou Culture
1600 BC

Shang Dynasty

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
1723 BC
1400 BC		Erligang Culture
1398 BC	Pan Geng	Around this time, the capital is moved from Zhengzhou to Yinxu.
1250 BC	Wu Ding
1200 BC		Oracle Bone Script, providing the first evidence for the Chinese calendar system.	Around this time, the militant consort Fu Hao is buried in her tomb at Yinxu.
1122 BC		The Zhou Dynasty is founded on the periphery of the Shang realm.
1101	Di Yi
1075 BC	King Zhou of Shang
1050 BC		King Wen of Zhou dies, making this the alleged latest date for the creation of the mathematical King Wen sequence.
1047 BC		King Zhou of Shang takes Daji as his concubine.
1046		Battle of Muye; last Shang ruler allegedly dies while his palace burns to the ground.

Western Zhou Dynasty

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
1034 BC	Wu	Bronzeware script in greater use.
1042 BC	Cheng
1027 BC
1020 BC	Kang
1000 BC		Earliest possible date for the compilation of the Shi Jing (Book of Songs)
995 BC	Zhao
976 BC	Mu	During the 12th year of King Mu's reign, Zhou forces attacked and defeated some branches of the Rong people, allowing for territorial expansion of Zhou. King Mu's critics, including the Duke of Zhai (as recorded in a later 4th century BC discourse of the Mu Tian zizhuan), stated that Mu's expeditions to displace the Rong people were unjustified, as they kept to their own lands and hence abided by their station in the cosmological-political order with China at the center.
922 BC	Gong
899 BC	Yi (Ji Jian)
891 BC	Xiao
885 BC	Yi (Ji Xie)	When the nomadic Rong people of Taiyuan staged an attack on the Zhou capital at Haojing, King Yi called upon the aid of his nobles, a significant event which demarcated the beginning of the Zhou monarchs' dependence on their regional nobles to defend the kingdom. Under the command of Guo Gong, the Zhou were able to defeat the Rong people in a significant battle circa 854 BC, reportedly capturing about a thousand horses.
877 BC	Li	During Li's reign, the Western Rong people launched an invasion deep into Chinese territory before being pushed out.
841 BC	Gonghe Regency	First year of concise, consecutive court dating at the beginning of the regency of Gonghe.
827 BC	Xuan
781 BC	You
771 BC		After King You had replaced Queen Shen with a favored concubine Baosi, the queen's father, the Marquis of Shen, allied with the Quanrong nomadic tribe to sack the capital. Queen Shen's son Ji Yijiu was then put on the throne, initiating the Eastern Zhou era.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty

Date	Ruler	Events	Other people/events
770 BC	Ping
722 BC		Spring and Autumn Period begins, the State of Lu begins the chronicle of the Spring and Autumn Annals.	Capital moved from Xi'an to Luoyang.
720 BC	Huan
707 BC		King Huan of Zhou led a campaign against Duke Zhuang of Zheng after the latter refused to appear in the capital, angered that Huan had dismissed him from his old post as Left Advisor at court. King Huan was allegedly shamed when he was injured in the shoulder by an arrow in an ensuing battle. Duke Zhuang continued to rule Zheng until his death in 701 BC.
697 BC	Zhuang
685 BC		The Duke Huan of Qi began rule over the State of Qi in this year, and was the first of the Five Hegemons who assumed great autonomy from the Zhou Dynasty monarch, the latter whom became more or less a figurehead during the Eastern Zhou.
682 BC	Xi
677 BC	Hui
651 BC	Xiang
645 BC		Death of Guan Zhong, the chancellor of Qi who was appointed by Duke Huan as recommended by Bao Shuya. Guan initiated centralizing administrative and economic reforms that, for a time, made Qi the most successful and developed state in ancient China.
632 BC		Battle of Chengpu
618 BC	Qing
612 BC	Kuang
606 BC	Ding	Sunshu Ao, China's first known hydraulic engineer.
595 BC		Battle of Bi
585 BC	Jian
575 BC		Battle of Yanling
571 BC	Ling
551 BC		Lao Zi, Confucius
548 BC		Oldest known reference to the weiqi or go board game.
544 BC	Jing (Jia Gui)		Four occupation (est.)
543 BC		Guided by the aristocratic statesman Zi Chan, the State of Zheng creates a formal code of law.
520 BC	Jing (Ji Gai)
515 BC		King Liao of Wu is assassinated by Zhuan Zhu, allowing King Helü of Wu to ascend to the throne.
506 BC		Battle of Boju
500 BC		Approximate date for the invention of cast iron in China and the earliest possible date for the invention of the iron plough, which by the 3rd century BC, with better casting techniques, would become the heavy moldboard iron plough.	Approximate date for the first use of bronze knife money.
486 BC		King Fuchai of Wu has the 'Han Gou' built, a proto-section of the Grand Canal of China
484 BC		Death of Wu Zixu, an official of Wu and advisor to King Helü.
482 BC		King Goujian of Yue captures the Wu state capital in a surprise assault while King Fuchai was away at Huangchi.
481 BC		End of Spring and Autumn Period
475 BC	Yuan
473 BC		The State of Wu is annexed by the State of Yue.
470 BC		Birth of Mozi
468 BC	Zhending
465 BC		Death of King Goujian of Yue; his sword was later found in an archaeological site in Hubei in the 1960s.
441 BC	Ai & Si
440 BC	Kao
432 BC		Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng
425 BC	Weilie
403 BC		The State of Jin is partitioned, marking the beginning of the Warring States. Meanwhile, the Marquis Wen of Wei ascends to power, sponsoring Confucianism in Wei, and employing able advisors such as the Legalist Li Kui, the militant officer Wu Qi, and the hydraulic engineer Ximen Bao.
401 BC	An
400 BC		Astronomers Gan De and Shi Shen Star catalogue compilation (est.)	Earliest date for the creation of the earliest known maps made in China, from the State of Qin.
389		Latest possible date for the Zuo Zhuan historical text.
386		The city of Handan is founded, serving as the capital for Zhao.
381 BC		Wu Qi assassinated at the funeral of King Diao of Chu; his book, the Wuzi, is considered one of the Seven Military Classics.
375 BC	Lie	The State of Zheng is annexed by Han.
370 BC		Philosopher Zhuangzi is born around this time.
368 BC	Xian
354 BC		Battle of Guiling
350 BC		Earliest proposed date for the Guodian Chu Slips, containing the oldest known version of the Tao Te Ching, parts of the Classic of History, and a chapter from the Classic of Rites
342 BC		Battle of Maling	Crossbow used in China.
320 BC	Shenjing
319 BC		Philosopher Mencius becomes an official in the State of Qi
316 BC		Death of Sun Bin
314 BC	Nan
310 BC		Birth of Xunzi
307 BC		Imitating the northern nomadic armies, King Wuling of Zhao reforms the Zhao state's military by adopting formal cavalry ranks over charioteers and importing the trouser-pants style of the nomads for soldiers.
305 BC		Birth of Zou Yan, whose school of thought would for the first time systematically combine the two premodern theories of Yin and yang and the Five Elements.
300 BC		Erya, China's oldest known dictionary
293 BC		Battle of Yique
278 BC		The poem "Lament for Ying" is written by Qu Yuan after discovering that the capital of Chu had been captured by Qin.
260 BC		Battle of Changping
256 BC		Last king of Zhou dies, marking the end of the dynasty.	Dujiangyan Irrigation System
250 BC		Repeating crossbow featured in drawings from the records of Chu.
246 BC		The Zhengguo Canal is completed by Zheng Guo of Qin.

Imperial China

Qin Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
361 BC	Xiao
356 BC		Shang Yang initiates a reform movement in the Qin state, which is outlined in the Book of Lord Shang.
338 BC	Huiwen	Shang Yang is executed.
316 BC		Shu and Ba are conquered by Qin
311 BC	King Wu
306 BC	Zhaoxiang
293 BC		Battle of Yique
255 BC		Seven Warring States
250 BC	Xiaowen
249 BC	Zhuangxiang
246 BC	Ying Zheng	Ying Zheng becomes King of Qin
230 BC		Han is conquered by Qin
227 BC		Jing Ke fails to assassinate the King of Qin.
223 BC		Chu is conquered by Qin
222 BC		Yan and Zhao are conquered by Qin.
221 BC	Qin Shihuang (First Emperor)	Qin state emerges victorious, as the warring states of China are unified under a single empire with a powerful central government.	Imperial Seal of China
220 BC		Great Wall construction begins	Li Si standardizes the writing system with Small Seal Script characters.
214 BC		The Lingqu Canal is engineered by Shi Lu, and is the oldest contour canal (i.e. follows a contour line) in the world
213 BC		Start of the Book Burning policy
210 BC		Burial of the Terracotta Army, featuring over 8,000 terracotta statues and the earliest known umbrellas in China.
209 BC	Qin Er Shi	Chieftain Modu Shanyu establishes the Xiongnu Empire on the northern steppe.	Low-ranking officers Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebel against Qin after fear of execution for delay of arriving at a post with newly-drafted conscripts; their small revolt initiates a gradual but massive and uncoordinated revolt on several fronts against Qin authority.
208 BC		Chief eunuch Zhao Gao has the Chancellor Li Si executed, destabilizing Qin as the rebellions of Xiang Yu and others become widespread.	Qin General Zhang Han defeats Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.
207 BC	Ziying	Xiang Yu forces the surrender of Qin general Zhang Han, but Liu Bang captures Hanzhong, the heart of Qin. Qin leader Ziying executes his chief eunuch Zhao Gao and formally submits to Liu Bang	Nanyue is established in Vietnam by Qin general Zhao Tuo.
206 BC		In the first month of 206 BC, after Liu Bang occupied the Qin capital of Xianyang, his rival Xiang Yu arrives at the city and allegedly plunders and burns it to the ground, killing Ziying and the remnants of the Qin royal family. Although Ziying had already submitted to Liu Bang in the last month of 207 BC, this event is viewed by historians as the final event of the Qin Dynasty.

Western Han Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
206 BC		Chu-Han contention begins, a civil war between the forces of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu after the fall of Qin that lasts until 202 BC	Feast at Hong Gate
205 BC		Battle of Jingxing
202 BC	Gaozu	Battle of Gaixia
200 BC		Battle of Baideng	Sometime in the 2nd century BC, the multi-tube seed drill is invented and increases agricultural yields as seeds are carefully planted in rows instead of being cast out onto the crop field.
193 BC		Death of Xiao He, the Prime Minister of Han
195 BC
190 BC	Hui	Chang'an becomes the eastern terminus of the Silk Road connecting to Europe
189 BC		Death of Zhang Liang, a former marquis of the State of Han and key advisor to Liu Bang who helped found the Han Dynasty.
180 BC	Wen	Rule of Wen and Jing	Lü Clan Disturbance
168 BC		Mawangdui Silk Texts are interred at the tombs of Mawangdui, containing some of the oldest known textual versions of the Book of Changes.
157 BC	Jing
141 BC	Wu
140 BC		Persuaded by Dong Zhongshu's essay in a literary competition, Emperor Wu, or his Prime Minister Wei Wan, adopts Confucianism at court.
139 BC		Under the patronage of Prince Liu An, the scholars known as the Eight Immortals of Huainan publish the Huainanzi, a philosophical text that also covered subjects of military strategy as well as geography and cartography.
133 BC		Sino-Xiongnu War	Battle of Mayi
130 BC		Sino-Roman relations
125 BC		Zhang Qian returns to China to report on his travels and the kingdoms of Dayuan (Fergana), Kangju (Sogdiana), Daxia (Greco-Bactrian Kingdom), Shendu (Indo-Greek Kingdom), Anxi (Parthia), and Taozhi (Mesopotamia).
119 BC		Battle of Mobei
108 BC		Battle of Loulan	Wiman Joseon in Korea falls to Han forces.
102 BC		Emperor Wu's forces besiege Kokand in the Fergana Valley
100 BC		Steel in China.
94 BC	Zhao
91 BC		Sima Qian completes the Records of the Grand Historian, a groundbreaking work in Chinese historiography.
86 BC		Death of Jin Midi, an official of Xiongnu ethnicity who became a regent of the Han Dynasty during the early reign of Zhao.
74 BC	Xuan
67 BC		Battle of Jushi
60 BC		Protectorate of the Western Regions is established.
48 BC	Yuan	Consort Ban, a famous female poet, is born around this time.
40 BC		The Ji Jiu Pian dictionary records China's first known use of the treadle-operated tilt hammer, while the later book Xinlun by Huan Tan (d. 28 AD) described the first hydrualic-powered trip hammer which would have been operated by a waterwheel.
37 BC		Death of Jing Fang, who was the first in music theory to note that 53 just fifths approximates 31 octaves. Like the later Zhang Heng, he was also a proponent of the 'radiating influence' theory, which stated that the light of the moon was merely the reflected light of the sun.
36 BC		Battle of Zhizhi
30 BC		First mention of the wheelbarrow in history.
18 BC		Lienü zhuan, a book about exemplary women in Chinese history, is compiled by the scholar Liu Xiang.
32 BC	Cheng
6 BC	Ai
1 BC	Ping
1 AD		Sometime from this year until the end of the century, the earliest representation of a stern-mounted rudder for steering ships is made in China, on a tomb model of a sailing junk.
2		Han government census counts 59 million people in the empire.
3		Emperor Ping establishes a nationwide school system on the central, prefectural, and county levels.
6	Ruzi
8		Liu Xin completes his star catalogue of 1080 stars, as well as fixing the year at 365.25016 days long (11 minutes longer than the modern year) by calculating the synodic month to be 29 43/81 days long, with a total of 235 synodic months adding up to 19 years. He is also the first Chinese to attempt a more accurate calculation of pi at 3.154, as the Chinese before him simply approximated it to 3. Zhang Heng and Liu Hui would later improve upon Liu's calculation in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, respectively.

Xin Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
9	Wang Mang	Ruzi Ying is dethroned; Wang Mang initiates the short-lived Xin Dynasty	Wang Mang introduces the well-field system of land distribution and agricultural production.
10		Wang Mang introduces an income tax of 10% for professionals and skilled laborers.	Wang Mang outlaws the private use of crossbows. Despite this, Liu Xiu (the later Emperor Guangwu of Han) purchases them on the black market to aid the rebellion of his brother Liu Yan and rebel leader Li Tong in early winter of 22.
12		With pressure from aristocrats, Wang is forced to rescind the well-field system.
17		Wang Mang imposes government monopolies on liquor, salt, iron, coinage, forestry, and fishing.	Mother Lü initiates rebellion against a county magistrate in Shandong province.
18		Death of Yang Xiong, a poet, Daoist, and author who wrote the first dialect dictionary of China, the Fangyan.
23		Battle of Kunyang	Storming of Weiyang Palace, Wang Mang is killed, Gengshi restores the Han Dynasty.

Eastern Han Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
23	Gengshi
25	Guangwu
27		Chimei rebels surrender to Han authority after defeat
31		Prefect Du Shi invents waterwheel-powered bellows for the blast furnace in making cast iron.
33		Rebellion of Gongsun Shu; Gongsun blockades the width of the Yangzi River with a fortified floating pontoon bridge, but his defenses give in once Han General Cen Peng employs 'castle ships' to ram and attack Gongsun's rebel navy
43		Second Chinese domination of Vietnam
52		The first known gazetteer of China, the Yuejue Shu, is written.
57		Sino-Japanese relations
58		Death of Deng Yu, the Prime Minister of Han and military officer.
65		Liu Ying, son of Emperor Guangwu, sponsors Buddhism.
68		White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, is founded.
73		Battle of Yiwulu
83		Wang Chong correctly theorizes the nature of the water cycle; he is also the first in Chinese history to mention use of the chain pump.
87		Yuan An, an advocate of marriage alliance policies with the Xiongnu, is promoted to the position of Minister over the Masses.
88	He
89		Battle of Ikh Bayan
97		Ban Chao reaches the Caspian Sea with his army, sends envoy Gan Ying to the outskirts of the Roman Empire.
100		The Shuowen Jiezi dictionary is completed by Xu Shen.
105		Cai Lun invents papermaking	Goguryeo-Han Wars
106	Shang
111		Ban Zhao completes the Book of Han, which was begun by her father Ban Biao and continued by her elder brother Ban Gu.
120		Zhang Heng completes his star catalogue, documenting 2,500 stars in over 100 constellations, writes a new formula for pi, corrected mistakes in the Chinese calendar, gave reasoning for a spherical moon that reflects light, and noted that lunar eclipse occurred when the earth obstructed the sunlight reaching the moon, while a solar eclipse was the moon's obstruction of sunlight reaching earth.
125		Zhang Heng invents the first hydraulic-powered armillary sphere, given motive power by a waterwheel and incorporating an inflow water clock, the latter of which he improved by adding a compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel.	The earliest known Chinese depiction of a mechanical distance-marking odometer is drawn on a mural of the Xiao Tang Shan Tomb.
132		Zhang Heng invents a seismometer device that, with a pendulum and complex set of gears and cranks, is able to discern the cardinal direction of earthquakes by the dropping of bronze balls into wrought toad's mouths indicating the direction.	Birth of Cai Yong, a mathematician, astronomer, musician, calligrapher, and father of Cai Wenji.
142	Shun	The Kinship of the Three
147		Birth of Lokaksema, a Yuezhi monk from Kushan who translated Mahayana Buddhist texts into Chinese.
148		An Shigao, a Persian prince from Parthia, arrives in China in this year to translate Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist texts into Chinese.
166		Roman embassy reaches China.	Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions
168	Ling
177		Birth of Cai Wenji, a famous female poet and musical composer.
179		Earliest known reference to the The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art
180		Ding Huan invents the manual-powered rotary fan, which is recorded in the Hou Han Shu as being able to make halls cool enough for people to shiver during the summer. During the Tang Dynasty, hydraulics were applied to power the rotary fan first innovated by Ding.
184		Yellow Turban Rebellion
185		Zhi Yao, a Yuezhi monk from Kushan, translates Buddhist texts into Chinese.
189	Prince of Hongnong	Dong Zhuo poisons the Prince of Hongnong	Massacre of Eunuchs
190	Xian	Campaign against Dong Zhuo	Battle of Hulao Pass, Battle of Sishui Pass, Battle of Xingyang
191		Battle of Jieqiao	Battle of Yangcheng, Battle of Xiangyang
192		Lü Bu murders his tyrannical stepfather Dong Zhuo, an assassination plot whose main architect was Wang Yun.
193		Battle of Fengqiu
194		Sun Ce's conquest of Wu Territory	Battle of Yan Province
197		Battle of Wancheng
198		Battle of Xiapi	Battle of Yijing
199		Campaign against Yuan Shu
200		Battle of Guandu
202		Battle of Bowang
204		Gongsun Kang, a Chinese warlord of Liaodong, establishes the Daifang Commandery in northern Korea.
208		Battle of Red Cliffs	Battle of Changban, Battle of Xiakou, Battle of Yiling, Battle of Jiangling
211		Battle of Tong Pass
213		Siege of Jicheng	Battle of Licheng
214		Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province	Battle of Jiameng Pass
215		Battle of Yangping	Battle of Baxi
217		Battle of Hefei	Battle of Ruxukou
218		Battle of Mount Dingjun
219		Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province	Battle of Han River, Battle of Fancheng
220		Cao Pi forces the last Han emperor to abdicate.

Three Kingdoms

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
221	(Cao Pi-Wei) (Liu Bei-Shu) (Sun Quan-Wu)	Battle of Xiaoting
222		Battle of Yiling
225		Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign
227		Battle of Xincheng
228		Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions	Battle of Tianshui, Battle of Jieting, Battle of Shiting, Siege of Chencang
232			Death of Cao Zhi, a famous poet and son of Cao Cao.
234		Battle of Wuzhang Plains
244		Battle of Xingshi
247		Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions
248			The rebellion of Triệu Thị Trinh in Vietnam is defeated by Wu.
249		Incident at Gaoping Tombs
250		Introduction of Buddhism in China
255		Ma Jun invents the South Pointing Chariot, a mechanical directional pathfinder that acts like a compass in that it always points north; this device employed a differential gear system, the same found in modern automobiles.	Battle of Didao
263		Conquest of Shu by Wei	Liu Hui publishes the revised version of The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, with Liu's commentary.
265		Nine-rank system
280		Conquest of Wu by Jin

Western Jin Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
265	Wu	Sometime between this year and 271, the Jin Dynasty cartographer and geographer Pei Xiu noted a groundbreaking development in Chinese cartography, as he was the first to describe the grid reference and graduated scale of measurement for Chinese maps; however, it is known that grids and familiarity with scaled distance on maps existing beforehand, while scholars point to evidence that it might have been an original innovation of Zhang Heng.
271
280		Unification of China, defeat of Wu	Records of Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou.
290	Hui
291		War of the Eight Princes
304		Sixteen Kingdoms (Han Zhao, Later Zhao, Cheng Han, Former Liang, Later Liang, Northern Liang, Western Liáng, Southern Liang, Former Yan, Later Yan, Northern Yan, Southern Yan, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Qin, Xia)
306
307	Huai
311	Min		Emperor Huai is captured by Han Zhao forces, the capital is moved from Luoyang to Chang'an.
313		The state of Goguryeo in Manchuria and Korea conquers the Jin-Chinese Lelang Commandery.
316		Chang'an is captured, Emperor Min of Jin surrenders to Liu Yao, a general of the Xiongnu state Han Zhao. The Jin court flees south to Jiankang, what is now Nanjing, the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
318		Former Emperor Min is executed by Liu Cong, emperor of Han Zhao.

Eastern Jin Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
317	Yuan	Sixteen Kingdoms and Six Dynasties
322			First accurate tomb depiction of stirrups.
323	Ming
324			The sick and ailing rebel Wang Dun dies while his forces are being repelled by Emperor Ming's troops.
325	Cheng
328			Su Jun, who had waged war against the regent Yu Liang, is defeated by generals Tao Kan and Wen Jiao.
342	Kang
344	Mu
353			Famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi writes the Lantingji Xu in semi-cursive script.
361	Ai
365	Fei
366			Famous painter Gu Kaizhi becomes an officer of Jin.
369			Jin general Huan Wen is defeated by Murong Chui, a general of the ethnic Xianbei state Former Yan.
372	Xiaowu
383			Battle of Fei River
396	An
399			Faxian sails to Sri Lanka and India to recover Buddhist texts.
405			Famous poet Tao Qian goes into retirement for the next 22 years, until his death.
419	Gong
420			The regent Liu Yu seizes the throne from Emperor Gong, initiating the Liu Song Dynasty.

Southern and Northern Dynasties

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
386
404		Huiyuan, founder of Pure Land Buddhism, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings, where he argues that Buddhist clergy should stay out of politics but Buddhist laypeople make good subjects because of belief in karma.
439
475		Bodhidharma arrives in China
477		Oldest known painted depiction of a horse collar, on a cave mural of Dunhuang, Northern Wei Dynasty.
485		After the well-field system had fallen out of use, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei introduces the equal-field system.
496		Change of Xianbei names to Han names
501		Cui Hong begins compiling the Shiliuguo Chunqiu
523		Songyue Pagoda is built, the earliest known fully brick pagoda in China, in departure from the fully timber tradition. It still stands at a height of 40 m (131 ft).
543		The Chinese dictionary Yupian is completed by Gu Yewang.
581		Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou is forced to step down from the throne by his regent Yang Jian, who assumes power as Emperor Wen of Sui, initiating the Sui Dynasty.

Sui Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
581	Wen
582		Compilation begins on the Jingdian Shiwen dictionary.
589		Yan Zhitui makes the first reference to toilet paper in history.
598		Goguryeo-Sui Wars begin in what is now North Korea.
600		First of the Japanese embassies to China.
601		Lu Fayan publishes the rime dictionary Qieyun.
602		Third Chinese domination of Vietnam
604	Yang
605		Imperial examinations are instituted, beginning a long bureaucratic tradition of scholar-officialdom in China.	Zhaozhou Bridge completed.
607		Japanese emissary Ono no Imoko arrives in China.
609		Grand Canal of China completed.
610		Engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai improve the clepsydra clock model when they provided a steelyard balance that allowed seasonal adjusment in the pressure head of the compensating tank and could then control the rate of flow for different lengths of day and night. The earlier Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty was the first to add the compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel.	Emperor Yang collaborates a huge effort for all the commanderies of China to submit gazetteers describing their local areas and providing maps to the central government, in an effort to maintain control and provide better security.
611		Four Gates Pagoda is completed.
612		Battle of Salsu
617		After capturing Chang'an, the rebel-turned-emperor Li Yuan demotes Emperor Yang to the status of a Taishang Huang (Retired Emperor).

Tang Dynasty

Date	Emperor	Events	Other people/events
618	Gaozu	Transition from Sui to Tang
621		Battle of Hulao
624		The Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia is completed by Ouyang Xun.
626	Taizong	Emperor Taizong's campaign against Eastern Tujue	Incident at Xuanwu Gate
635		First Christian missionaries arrive in China: Nestorian monks from Asia Minor and Persia, building Daqin Pagoda. Alopen, a Persia bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, also writes the Jesus Sutras.	Emperor Taizong's campaign against Tuyuhun; also, Book of Liang is published.
636		Xumi Pagoda is completed.	Compilations of the Book of Chen, Book of Northern Qi, Book of Zhou, and the Book of Sui.
638		Emperor Taizong's campaign against Tufan
639		Emperor Taizong's campaign against Xueyantuo
640		Protectorate General to Pacify the West	Emperor Taizong's campaign against Xiyu states
643		Emperor Taizong commissions artist Yan Liben to paint the portraits of 24 different emperors and 18 noted scholars for the Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion.
644		Emperor Taizong's campaign against Goguryeo, Tang allies with Korean Silla during the Goguryeo-Tang Wars
646		Great Tang Records on the Western Regions is compiled by Bianji, documenting the travels of Buddhist monk Xuanzang through the Gobi Desert, Kucha, Tashkent, Samarkand, Gandhara, and finally to India where he studied at Nalanda.
647		Protectorate General to Pacify the North
648		Book of Jin is compiled.
649	Gaozong	Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar (est.)
650		The Records of the Tang Dynasty describes a landmark visit to China by Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, one of the sahaba, in 650 C.E. This event is considered to be the birth of Islam in China.
657		Emperor Gaozong commissions the compilation of a large materia medica documenting the use of 833 medicinal drugs.
659		Compilations for the History of Southern Dynasties and History of Northern Dynasties is completed.
663		Battle of Baekgang, Silla-Tang forces defeat Japanese-Baekje navy.
666		Two Chinese Buddhist monks, Zhi Yu and Zhi You, craft a mechanical South Pointing Chariot for Japanese Emperor Tenji.
668		Protectorate General to Pacify the East
684	Wu Zetian	Qianling Mausoleum is completed.	Death of poet Luo Binwang.
699		Chinese troops retake the Four Garrisons of Anxi from the Tibetans.
700		Approximate date for the creation of the Dunhuang map, an astronomical chart.
704		Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is rebuilt.
705	Zhongzong
709		Small Wild Goose Pagoda is completed.
710	Ruizong	The Shitong, a history of Chinese historiography up until the late 8th century, is compiled by Liu Zhiji.	Death of Shangguan Wan'er, a female writer, government official, and concubine.
712	Xuanzong	Pear Garden, an Academy of Music that trained acting troupes.
713		Kai yuan newspaper
725		Yi Xing invents a water-powered celestial globe featuring an escapement mechanism and striking clock.
729		Gautama Siddha completes the compilation of the Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era.
740		This year marks the death of both Wu Daozi, a renowned Tang painter, and Meng Haoran, a renowned Tang poet.
744		Famous poets Du Fu and Li Bai meet for the first time.
751		Battle of Talas; this battle marks the beginning of the westward transmission of the ancient Chinese papermaking process.
755		An Lushan Rebellion	Death of Zhang Xuan, a renowned painter.
756	Suzong	Battle of Yongqiu
758		Arab and Persian pirates loot and burn the seaport of Guangzhou, causing Chinese officials to virtually shut down the port for five decades while foreign vessels from the Indian Ocean came mostly to Hanoi in Chinese-controlled Vietnam to trade there instead.
757		Battle of Suiyang
760		Earliest date for the Classic of Tea by Lu Yu.
761		Death of Wang Wei, a renowned painter, musician, poet, scholar, and official.
762	Daizong	The Jingxingji is written by Du Huan, which described several major foreign countries including the Abbasid Empire and the Byzantine Empire.
763		Shi Siming is killed by his own son, putting an end to the An Lushan Rebellion
779	Dezong
781		Nestorian