Curated category
Former countries in Chinese history
- Yuan dynastyThe Yuan dynasty began with a name drawn from an ancient Chinese text about the origin of the universe. In 1271, Kublai Khan opened his proclamation by…
- Han dynastyThe Han dynasty gave its name to the people who make up the majority of modern China. They call themselves the Han people.
- Zhou dynastyThe Zhou dynasty ruled China for 789 years, from around 1046 BC until 256 BC, making it the longest-reigning dynasty in Chinese history.
- Jin dynasty (1115–1234)The Jin dynasty declared itself the Great Jin in 1115, and its name meant gold. Not gold in a figurative sense, but gold as in the Jurchen word alchun…
- Jin dynasty (266–420)On the 4th of February 266, a man named Sima Yan declared himself emperor of a new dynasty and forced the last ruler of Cao Wei to abdicate.
- Dzungar KhanateThe Dzungar Khanate was the last nomadic empire of Oirat Mongol origin, and at its height it stretched from southern Siberia in the north to Tibet in the…
- Song dynastyThe Song dynasty ruled China from 960 to 1279, and within that span it created the world's first government-issued paper money, built the world's first…
- Tang dynastyOn the 18th of June in the year 618, word reached Li Yuan that Emperor Yang of Sui had been murdered by a general named Yuwen Huaji.
- Mongol EmpireThe Mongol Empire became the largest contiguous empire in history. At its height it stretched from the Sea of Japan to Eastern Europe, reaching north into…
- ManchukuoManchukuo lasted just thirteen years, from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945, yet it carried the grand title of empire and the trappings of a brand new…
- MoghulistanThe Persian name Moghulistan translates directly to Land of the Moghuls. This term refers to the eastern branch of ethnic Mongol Chagatai Khans who ruled the…
- Kingdom of KhotanThe Kingdom of Khotan endured for over a thousand years on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert, one of the most arid places on earth.