Chinese w: Did you mean...?

Confucius (Kongzi) was a 6th century BCE Chinese philosopher. His thoughts, expressed in the philosophy of Confucianism, have influenced Chinese culture right up to the present day. Confucius is a larger than life figure and it is difficult...

The Early Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China, from 184 CE to 190 CE for the purposes of this article, was one of the most turbulent in China's history. With an ailing Han government unable to control its empire, brutal localised wars...

A detail of a 16th century CE painted scroll showing students taking the civil service examinations which were used to select government officials throughout the history of imperial China. (Beijing Palace Museum)

A gold sword hilt decorated with interlaced dragons. Eastern Zhou dynasty, 6th-5th century BCE. The British Museum, London.

Oracle bone from the reign of King Wu Ding (late Shang dynasty).

A Qin chariot from the 'terracotta army'. Tomb of Shi Huangdi, 259-210 BCE, Shaanxi Province, China.

712-779 CE. (Head is a reconstruction). Earthenware with pigments. Excavated from Hansenzhai, (eastern suburb of Xi'an), 1988. From the Xi'an Museum. (Photo taken at the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Australia)

Bronze Lion-Dog (aka Foo-Dog) at the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. They are always placed in pairs; the male has a paw on an ornate ball, representing power and domination over the human affairs of the world while the female has her paw...

Group of earthenware figures thought to be playing a game of "Liu Bo". Found in a Han Dynasty (1st-2nd century CE) burial.

Gold hairpins dating from the Tang Dynasty to the 7th century CE.