Years are numbers too, and history is full of them. Each country, each civilization, has years of great(er) significance, and students around the world burdened with the responsibility to memorize the most memorable ones. Exactly which dates you have to remember, depends on the country and society you live in. If you study Chinese history, there is no escaping the dynasties. Nothing is more embarrassing for me—somebody who studied Chinese, and is supposed to know this kind of thing—than having to draw a blank on dates (even rough estimates) of the dynasties, but I shamefully admit that it does happen from time to time. So for me, and all other students of Chinese history out there, here is a list of the Chinese dynasties, including dates (although some dates are not agreed upon by all experts, we use these numbers throughout our publications). And if you really want to silence that uncle that always knows best at every birthday party, or impress your soon-to-be boy/girlfriend who is all into mixed martial arts, we’ve included one or two must-know characteristics of each period.
Statue of Confucius at the Confucius temple in Beijing
- 2100–1766 bce: Xia 夏Dynasty (Legendary or real? Opinions vary)
- 1766–1045 bce: Shang 商 Dynasty (Oracle bones)
- 1045–256 bce: Zhou 周 Dynasty (Confucius)
- 221–206 bce: Qin 秦 Dynasty (First emperor (Qinshi Huangdi 秦始皇帝))
- 206 bce–220 ce: Han 汉 Dynasty (Silk road)
- 220 ce–589 ce: Southern and Northern 南北朝 Dynasties (“Dark ages”)
- 581 ce–618 ce: Sui 隋 Dynasty (Unifying China again)
- 618–907 ce: Tang 唐 Dynasty (Golden age of poetry & literature)
- 907–960 ce: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 五代十国 (Short-lived reigns)
- 960–1279: Song 宋 Dynasty (Abacus & paper money)
- 1125–1234: Jurchen Jin 女真金 Dynasty (Cavalry warfare)
- 1279–1368: Yuan 元 Dynasty (Mongol rule)
- 1368–1644: Ming 明 Dynasty (Finishing of the Great Wall)
- 1644–1911/12: Qing 青 Dynasty (Manchu rule)
- 1911/12–1949: Republic of China (War with Japan & civil war)
- 1949–present: People’s Republic of China (Communism & Mao Zedong)
Mnemonic devices are an age-old technique to help memorize a lot of information, or long sequences of information. And nothing has proven to stick better in our minds than songs. Just think about it, how many poems can you recite by heart? And then think about how easily we sing along with songs on the radio. So put two and two together, and you have yourself a “Dynasty Song”! It won’t help you with remembering the actual dates, but at least you’ll get the chronological order right. On the melody of “Frere Jacques,” one, two, three, four, all together now!
Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han
Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han
Sui, Tang, Song
Sui, Tang, Song
Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic
Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Source: Courtesy of the teachers on the college Board AP-World History Listserv
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