History AT2 Year 7 2025 MHS Key Dates Ancient China

Xia Dynasty

c.2070–1650 BCE, legendary first dynasty, Yu the Great controlled floods, no clear written evidence

Shang Dynasty

c.1650–1050 BCE, oracle bones (first writing), bronze + jade works, Lady Fu Hao’s tomb, early feudalism, harsh punishments

Zhou Dynasty

c.1050–221 BCE, longest dynasty, Mandate of Heaven, strong feudalism, nobles controlled land in exchange for soldiers and taxes

Warring States Period

c.475–221 BCE, chaos and fighting among 150 → 7 states, Qin state emerged strongest with ruthless tactics

Qin Dynasty

c.221–206 BCE, Qin Shi Huangdi first emperor, unification, legalism, central government, Great Wall joined, Terracotta Army

Han Dynasty

c.206 BCE–220 CE, Golden Age, Confucianism adopted, Silk Road trade, invention of paper, strong bureaucracy, split into Western & Eastern Han

Han Wudi

ruled 54 years, expanded empire, based gov on Confucianism, taxed salt and iron, spies to enforce law, weakened people

Wang Mang

ruled 9–23 CE, promised land reform, failed, overthrown by Red Eyebrows

Red Eyebrows

peasant rebels who killed Wang Mang during famine

Yellow Turbans

peasant revolt 184–204 CE, showed Han weakness, added to dynasty’s decline

Fall of Han

220 CE, after eunuch corruption, peasant hardship, and army leader rebellions, empire divided for 400 years

Sui Dynasty

589 CE, reunified China after centuries of division, start of new imperial age

Mandate of Heaven

Zhou idea: rulers had divine approval; loss of it shown by disasters or rebellion

Oracle Bones

Shang religious practice, earliest Chinese writing, used to predict future

Yu the Great

Legendary Xia ruler, controlled Huang River floods with dams and canals

Lady Fu Hao

Shang queen, tomb found with bronzes/jades, evidence of wealth and power

Great Wall

Qin project joining smaller walls for defense from northern tribes

Terracotta Warriors

Army of clay soldiers built to guard Qin Shi Huangdi’s tomb

Silk Road

Began during Han, trade route linking China with the West