Chinese dynasties: Did you mean...?

An 18th century CE engraving by Jacques Gabriel Huquier illustrating an audience with a Chinese emperor. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

A Chinese lacquered coffin with dragon and bird decoration from the Chu state. 4th century BCE. (Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan, China)

A Chinese cong of jade, a ritual object commonly found in tombs but of unknown function. Unknown date but probably Neolithic. Height: 12.9 cm. (British Museum, London)

The Buddhist text known as the Diamond Sutra is believed to be the oldest surviving printed book in the world, dated to 868 CE and written in Chinese. This work is one of the most important works of the Buddhist tradition.

Bronze spade money (worth 25 standard coins) with Chinese inscription, minted in China under the rule of Wang Mang, Xin Dynasty, 9-23 CE. Wang Mang's four coinage reforms were not successful and the widely accepted wuzhu were soon reissued...

Limestone figure depicting a Chinese celestial king. Tang dynasty, 7th-8th century CE. (Musée Guimet, Paris)

The Great Wall of China is a barrier fortification in northern China running west-to-east 13,171 miles (21,196 km) from the Jiayuguan Pass (in the west) to the Hushan Mountains in Liaoning Province in the east, ending at the Bohai Gulf. It...

Confucius (Kongzi) was a 6th century BCE Chinese philosopher. His thoughts, expressed in the philosophy of Confucianism, have influenced Chinese culture right up to the present day. Confucius is a larger than life figure and it is difficult...

The Early Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China, from 184 CE to 190 CE for the purposes of this article, was one of the most turbulent in China's history. With an ailing Han government unable to control its empire, brutal localised wars...

Left: A Chinese tea bowl of black glazed stone ware, Song Dynasty, 960-1279 CE. Right: A Chinese lacquered bowl stand, Yuan Dynasty, 13th century CE. (British Museum, London)