Chinese dynasties: Did you mean...?

A detail of a 16th century CE painted scroll showing students taking the civil service examinations which were used to select government officials throughout the history of imperial China. (Beijing Palace Museum)

Oracle bone from the reign of King Wu Ding (late Shang dynasty).

712-779 CE. (Head is a reconstruction). Earthenware with pigments. Excavated from Hansenzhai, (eastern suburb of Xi'an), 1988. From the Xi'an Museum. (Photo taken at the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Australia)

A gold sword hilt decorated with interlaced dragons. Eastern Zhou dynasty, 6th-5th century BCE. The British Museum, London.

A Qin chariot from the 'terracotta army'. Tomb of Shi Huangdi, 259-210 BCE, Shaanxi Province, China.

Gold hairpins dating from the Tang Dynasty to the 7th century CE.

Bronze Lion-Dog (aka Foo-Dog) at the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. They are always placed in pairs; the male has a paw on an ornate ball, representing power and domination over the human affairs of the world while the female has her paw...

Jade Zodiac, Imperial Palace, Beijing, China

In China gods (menshen) were often painted on either side of a doorway to guard against evil demons or ghosts.

A photo of a boatwoman from Canton (Guangzhou), Kwangtung province, China. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869. Wellcome Collection, London.