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Contemporary Period (1949- ) From September 21 to 30, 1949, the First Plenum of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was held in Beijing, with the participation of vari

New Democratic Revolution PeriodUnder the influence of the October Revolution in Russia, China's May 4th Movement arose. During this great anti-imperialist, anti-feudal revolutionary movement led by p

Modern PeriodThe Opium War of 1840 marked a turning point in Chinese history. From early in the 19th century, Britain smuggled large quantities of opium into China, causing a great outflow of Chinese

Qing DynastyQing (Manchu) (1644 - 1911)In 1644, the Manchus took over China and founded the Qing dynasty. The Qing weren't the worst rulers; under them the arts flowered (China's greatest novel, a wor

Ming Dynasty(1368 - 1644)Then came the Ming. The Ming rulers distinguished themselves by being fatter, lazier, crazier, and nastier than the average Imperial family. After the first Ming Emperor disco

Yuan DynastyYuan (Mongol) (1279 - 1368)While time of Mongol rule is called a dynasty, it was in fact a government of occupation. While the Mongols did use existing governmental structures for the dura

Northern Song (960 - 1125)Southern Song (1127 - 1279)The Song (pronounced Soong) dynasty ranks up there with the Tang and the Han as one of the great dynasties. Fifty years after the official end of t

 Tang Dynasty(618 - 907)The Tang are considered to be one of the great dynasties of Chinese history; many historians rank them right behind the Han. They extended the boundaries of China through

Sui Dynasty(589 - 618)Under the Sui Dynasty (589 AD - 618 AD), China was reunited. Yang Jian, the first Sui emperor, was a military servant who usurped the throne of the non-Chinese Northern Chou in 5

South and North Dynasty (317 - 589)Signaled by the collapse of East Jin Dynasty in 420, China entered the era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Han people managed to survive the military att