Chinese dynasties: Did you mean...?

A portion of the Terracotta Army, the clay life-size army in the tomb of the Qin emperor Shi Huangdi. c. 210 BCE, Shaanxi Province, China.

The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) was the first dynasty of Imperial China (defined as the era of centralized, dynastic government in China between 221 BCE and 1912 CE) which united the separate states following the Warring States Period (c. 481-221...

This jar dates from the 26th century BCE and is made of earthenware with pigments. It was made by the Majiayao Yangshao culture during the Banshan phase (c. 2655-2330 BCE). (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University...

The Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) was a brief one with only two reigning emperors but it managed to unify China following the split of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. As had happened previously in Chinese history, a short-lived dynasty...

Luoyang (aka Loyang) was the capital city of many ancient Chinese dynasties, a position it frequently swapped with Chang'an, usually whenever there was a change of dynasty. Located in the Henan province in the eastern part of China's central...

A mural depicting a group of eunuchs, the slaves and influential advisors of many Chinese emperors. Mural from the tomb of the prince Zhanghuai, 706 CE, Qianling, Shaanxi, China.

A Chinese miniature jade mask. 2nd millennium BCE. Height: 4 cm. (British Museum, London)

A detail of a Chinese warrior from the Terracotta Army buried near the tomb of Qin emperor Shi Huangdi, c. 210 CE. Shaanxi Province, China.

An 1804 print of a Chinese junk ship. The junk was capable of operating in shallow waters or on ocean voyages and was a mainstay of merchant and pirate shipping in Asia for centuries.

An 18th century CE illustration showing a naval battle between Japanese pirates (wako) and Chinese naval ships. (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)