Chinese dynasties: Did you mean...?

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.

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

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

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)

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

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...

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.

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

This Chinese bronze mirror with a phoenix motif dates from the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE). The phoenix was the female counterpart to the male dragon in mythology, and it was also a symbol of Chinese empresses. (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto)

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)