Chinese dynasties: Did you mean...?

Artist's impression of the Chinese army marching into battle.

Ancient East Asia was dominated by the three states known today as China, Japan, and Korea. The complex chain of successive kingdoms created a rich web of events that archaeologists have sometimes found difficult to disentangle; a situation...

The English East India Company (EIC) was founded in 1600, and it came to control both trade and territories in India, as well as a trade monopoly with China. Goods the EIC traded included spices, cotton cloth, tea, and opium, all in such...

A portion of the Terracotta Army, the clay life-size army in the tomb of the Qin emperor Shi Huangdi. c. 210 BCE, Shaanxi Province, China.

A glazed ceramic roof tile depicting a dragon. Nanjing, Ming dynasty, 1366-1400. The British Museum, London.

This jar dates from the 26th century BCE and is made of earthenware with pigments. It was made by the Majiayao Yangshao culture during the Banshan phase (c. 2655-2330 BCE). (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University...

A mural depicting a group of eunuchs, the slaves and influential advisors of many Chinese emperors. Mural from the tomb of the prince Zhanghuai, 706 CE, Qianling, Shaanxi, China.

An 1804 print of a Chinese junk ship. The junk was capable of operating in shallow waters or on ocean voyages and was a mainstay of merchant and pirate shipping in Asia for centuries.

The Buddhist text known as the Diamond Sutra is believed to be the oldest surviving printed book in the world, dated to 868 CE and written in Chinese. This work is one of the most important works of the Buddhist tradition.

A detail of a Chinese warrior from the Terracotta Army buried near the tomb of Qin emperor Shi Huangdi, c. 210 CE. Shaanxi Province, China.