Major Chinese dynasties with years, capitals, founders and key events.
Dynasty
Period
Duration
Capital
Founder
Key events
Horizontal bars in the timeline are sized by each dynasty's duration (BC years on the left, AD on the right). Click a bar or a table row to see full details. Search by dynasty name, capital or founder. Years before 841 BC are approximate (the conventional dates used in Chinese textbooks); dynasty boundaries reflect the new Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project where applicable.