Curated playlist
Dynasties of China
- Yuan dynastyKublai Khan named his dynasty Yuan in 1271 using a line from a Chinese classic.
- Han dynastyThe Han dynasty began with a prince of a tiny fief beside the Han River. Liu Bang went on to rule China from 202 BC.
- Zhou dynastyThe Zhou dynasty ruled China for 789 years while slowly losing real power. It was China's longest-reigning dynasty.
- Jin dynasty (1115–1234)In 1127, Jin armies broke into Kaifeng and captured two Song emperors. The Jurchen dynasty then pushed the Song south.
- Jin dynasty (266–420)In 383, a heavily outnumbered Eastern Jin force beat Former Qin at the Battle of Fei River.
- Song dynastyChina's Song dynasty created the world's first government-issued paper money. It also built a permanent standing navy.
- Tang dynastyWu Zetian entered court as a lowly consort and became China's only legitimate female emperor.
- Qin dynastyThe Qin dynasty ruled China for only 14 years, yet its system outlasted it by over 2,000 years.
- Ming dynastyOn the 25th of April 1644, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty slipped out of the Forbidden City with a single eunuch servant for company. He hanged himself from a tree in the imperial garden, just outside the palace walls. Behind him,…
- Qing dynastyOn the 12th of February 1912, Empress Dowager Longyu issued the abdication of the child emperor Puyi. With that order, the Qing dynasty came to an end. It was the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. The Qing were not Han Chinese, who…