Who's Who in Ancient China (cheat sheet)

Ancient China covers 11,000 years of history! Fortunately, it's divided into big blocks of time.

Still, it can be frustrating sometimes because different people refer to the same blocks of time by different names. That's not very helpful.

For example, someone might say "in Shang times" or "in Han times", or they might say "in the Bronze Age" or "in the Age of Division".

They might say in the Chou Dynasty (when the Chou family ruled) or in the Zhou Dynasty (when the Zhou family ruled). But, the Chou and Zhou Dynasties were the same dynasty, only spelled differently.

You can see why this might be confusing!

So, before we get into daily life, we need a cheat sheet of who's who in ancient China.

Cheat Sheet: Who's Who in Ancient China

Time Period

Dynasty

Quick Glimpse

Early
10,000-1500 BCE

Xia(Hsia)

Lungshan people, the great engineers
Silk, potters wheel, baked brick houses, flood control, irrigation

Bronze Age
1500-600 BCE

Shang

Chou(Zhou)

Rich Nobles & Poor Farmers
Oracle Bones (Shang)
Mandate of Heaven (Chou)
Ancestor Worship
Chariots, bowmen, great royal hunts, bronze candlesticks, feudal lords, jade carvings, Chinese writing (pictographs), calligraphy

Classical Age
600 BCE-
200 CE

Late Chou

Ch'in(Qin)

Han

Building the Great Wall
First Emperor (Qin)

Confucius & Taoism (Chou)
Silk Road (Han)
Central government, public schools, mirrors, oil lamps,
fancy shoes, fireplaces, window frames with colored glass,
marble staircases
Chinese New Year & Lantern Festival
Chinese Zodiac

Age of Division
200-600 CE

A bunch of
dynasties

Hu the Tiger (who reminds me of Jaba the Hut in Star Wars!)
Invention of gunpowder
Tea! (Confucius probably never tasted tea, and it really didn't become popular until T'ang times, but this era is when it first started to be enjoyed.)

Early Medieval Period
600-900 CE

T'ang

The Golden Age!
Furniture, ceramics, spoons, amber, turquoise, gold, silver, goblets, teacups, sports, games, music, dancing, even a kind of football, and a neat form of air-conditioning. Fancy hats, silk robes, jade belts, Buddhism

Tea was used as barter with areas in Mongolia for horses in an exchange called the "Tea and Horse" Policy.

OTHER KEY TOPICS