从人类开始脱离原始生活的旧石器时代蓝田猿人文化算起约有80万年的历史。从标志着文明萌芽的新石器时代磁山文化算起约有10,000年；从盘古、上帝、女娲等不确定的神话时代算起约有「五千年」（这也是传统民间认知上的长度）；从孔子所说的、有着三皇五帝的传说时代算起约有4,700年（前2698年算起）；从考古学上第一个王朝二里头文化算起约有3,700年；从中国第一次成体系甲骨文或陶文的文字出现的商朝中期算起约有3,300年（前1300年算起）。

良渚文化存续之间约为距今5300年至4200年前(3400--2250 BC)，属于新石器时代。该文化遗址最大特色是所出土的玉器。挖掘自墓葬中的玉器包含有璧、琮、钺、璜、冠形器、三叉形玉器、玉镯、玉管、玉珠、玉坠、柱形玉器、锥形玉器、玉带及环等，其中圆盘玉称作「璧」，柱状玉称作「琮」。另外，陶器也相当细致。

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited China between 2.24 million and 250,000 years ago. 

1)The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire, were discovered in a cave at Zhoukoudian near Beijing; they have been dated to between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago. 

2)The fossilized teeth of Homo sapiens (dated to 125,000--80,000 years ago) have been discovered in Fuyan Cave in Dao County, Hunan. 

3)Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 7000 bce, Damaidi around 6000 bce, Dadiwan from 5800--5400 bce, and Banpo dating from the 5th millennium bce. 

4)The Liangzhu culture (3400--2250 BC) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery was more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals. This division of class indicates that the Liangzhu Period was an early state, symbolized by the clear distinction drawn between social classes in funeral structures.

封建王朝的建立

据有文字记载的历史，夏朝已经开始君王世袭，周朝建立完备的礼制，至东周逐渐解构，秦朝统一各国政治和许多民间分歧的文字和丈量制度，并建立中央集权的专制君权统治。自汉朝起则以文官主治国家直至清朝。

夏朝是华夏的第一个朝代。许多中外历史学家认为，河南省偃师市二里头遗址的全期或第一、二期，有可能是夏朝都城的遗迹，不过目前仍在寻找确凿的依据来厘清。

大约在公元前1555年，商汤灭夏，取代了夏朝。在商代，中国开始首次出现青铜文明。

约公元前1046年，武王灭商之后，实施周王朝封建制度。

前770年，周王朝的影响力逐渐减弱，取而代之的是大大小小一百多个小国（诸侯国和附属国），史称春秋时期。春秋时期的大国共有十几个，其中包括晋、秦、郑、齐及楚等。

前546年左右，黄河流域的争霸基本结束，晋、楚两国平分霸权。

前403年，晋国被三个门阀巨卿瓜分，成为韩、赵、魏三个诸侯国，史称「三家分晋」。再加上姜姓的齐国被田氏取代，人称田齐。韩、赵、魏、齐、秦、楚及燕，并称战国七雄，战国时期正式开始。

-----重要出土-----

龙山文化距今约4500～4000年，是中国青铜器文化的形成期。

二里头文化,c. 1900 -- c. 1500 BC,夏朝后期。

Dynasties in Chinese history

According to Chinese tradition, the first dynasty was the Xia, which emerged around 2100 bce. The dynasty was considered mythical by historians until scientific excavations found early Bronze Age sites at Erlitou, Henan in 1959. It remains unclear whether these sites are the remains of the Xia dynasty or of another culture from the same period. 

The succeeding Shang dynasty is the earliest to be confirmed by contemporary records. The Shang ruled the plain of the Yellow River in eastern China from the 17th to the 11th century bce. Their oracle bone script (from c.1500 bce) represents the oldest form of Chinese writing yet found, and is a direct ancestor of modern Chinese characters.

The Shang were conquered by the Zhou, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries bce, though centralized authority was slowly eroded by feudal warlords. 

Many independent states eventually emerged from the weakened Zhou state and continually waged war with each other in the 300-year Spring and Autumn period, only occasionally deferring to the Zhou king. 

By the time of the Warring States period of the 5th-3rd centuries bce, there were seven powerful sovereign states in what is now China, each with its own king, ministry and army.

----------------excavated------------

The Longshan (or Lung-shan) culture, also sometimes referred to as the Black Pottery Culture, was a late Neolithic culture in the middle and lower Yellow River valley areas of northern China from about 3000 to 1900 BC. The first archaeological find of this culture took place at the Chengziya Archaeological Site in 1928, with the first excavations in 1930 and 1931. The culture is named after the nearby modern town of Longshan (lit. "Dragon Mountain") in Zhangqiu, Shandong. The culture was noted for its highly polished black pottery (or egg-shell pottery). The population expanded dramatically during the 3rd millennium BC, with many settlements having rammed earth walls. It decreased in most areas around 2000 BC until the central area evolved into the Bronze Age Erlitou culture.

The Erlitou culture was an early Bronze Age urban society and archaeological culture that existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately 1900 to 1500 BC. The culture was named after the site discovered at Erlitou. 

Written on bamboo in Qin Dynasty

帝皇王朝时代

前230年至前221年，秦王政陆续攻灭六国而一统天下，建立秦朝，结束战国时期，中国从此进入统一时代。秦王政建立秦朝后自称“始皇帝”（即秦始皇），从此中国有了皇帝的称号，并且发起一系列的改革以巩固帝国。秦始皇推行书同文（以小篆为文字）、车同轨、统一货币（秦半两）与度量衡。

前202年汉高祖刘邦正式称帝，立国号“汉”，西汉建国。汉朝是中国第一个在文治武功与国际声望达到极为辉煌的时代，也是中国历史分野上被视为上古时期转折到中古时期的第一个朝代，具有承先启后的重要关键地位及代表性。

220年正式进入三国时期。曹丕自立为帝，史称曹魏。刘备称帝，国号续为汉，史称蜀汉。孙权至229年才称帝，国号吴，史称孙吴或者东吴。

西晋于280年发动晋灭吴之战，灭亡孙吴，统一中国。至此三国时期结束，进入晋朝。

304年开启了“五胡十六国时期”。范围大致上涵盖华北、蜀地、辽东，最远可达漠北、江淮及西域。在入主中原众多民族，在这个范围内相继建立许多国家，传统史家认为这些外族以匈奴、羯、鲜卑、羌及氐为主，统称五胡。

439年北魏统一华北，进入南北朝时期。

由420年至589年，上承东晋、五胡十六国，下接隋朝。因为南北两势长时间对立，所以称南北朝。南朝（420年─589年）包含宋、齐、梁、陈等四朝；北朝（439年─589年）包含北魏、东魏、西魏、北齐和北周等五朝。

581年，杨坚取代北周建立隋朝，定都长安（今陕西省西安市附近），成为隋文帝。589年隋朝灭南朝陈。隋朝是汉族在重新建立的大一统王朝，结束长达近三百年的分裂局面。

617年，李渊在太原起兵。不久占领隋都大兴城。李渊拥立杨侑为帝，于同年五月迫使隋恭帝禅位，建国唐朝，即唐高祖。唐朝历经统一战争、贞观之治、唐太宗、武则天、神龙革命和开元盛世。随后经安史之乱与地方割据导致唐朝亡，国祚二百九十年，五代十国时期开始。

五代十国：907年－－959年。

959年，后周世宗死后，赵匡胤发动兵变，夺得帝位，建立宋朝，五代结束。宋朝是继唐朝后又一个长达三百年的皇朝，分为北宋和南宋。

在宋朝的同时代，也存在辽国，西夏，金国三个王朝。916年，辽国由契丹族建立。1038年，融合了鲜卑与羌两个民族，建立西夏。公元1115年，女真族建国大金。金国于公元1125年灭辽国。于靖康二年（公元1127年）四月攻宋陷开封，俘虏宋徽钦二帝北去，北宋亡。

蒙古灭西夏后，于公元1211年大举攻金，公元1234年，金亡。

The Warring States period ended in 221 bce after the state of Qin conquered the other six kingdoms and established the first unified Chinese state. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty. He enacted Qin's legalist reforms throughout China, notably the forced standardization of Chinese characters, measurements, road widths (i.e., cart axles' length), and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Vietnam. The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death, as his harsh authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.

Following a widespread civil war during which the imperial library at Xianyang was burned,[q] the Han dynasty emerged to rule China between 206 bce and ce 220, creating a cultural identity among its populace still remembered in the ethnonym of the Han Chinese. The Han expanded the empire's territory considerably, with military campaigns reaching Central Asia, Mongolia, South Korea, and Yunnan, and the recovery of Guangdong and northern Vietnam from Nanyue. Han involvement in Central Asia and Sogdia helped establish the land route of the Silk Road, replacing the earlier path over the Himalayas to India. Han China gradually became the largest economy of the ancient world. Despite the Han's initial decentralization and the official abandonment of the Qin philosophy of Legalism in favor of Confucianism, Qin's legalist institutions and policies continued to be employed by the Han government and its successors.

After the end of the Han dynasty, a period of strife known as Three Kingdoms followed, whose central figures were later immortalized in one of the Four Classics of Chinese literature. At its end, Wei was swiftly overthrown by the Jin dynasty. The Jin fell to civil war upon the ascension of a developmentally-disabled emperor; the Five Barbarians then invaded and ruled northern China as the Sixteen States. The Xianbei unified them as the Northern Wei, whose Emperor Xiaowen reversed his predecessors' apartheid policies and enforced a drastic signification on his subjects, largely integrating them into Chinese culture. In the south, the general Liu Yu secured the abdication of the Jin in favor of the Liu Song. The various successors of these states became known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, with the two areas finally reunited by the Sui in 581. 

The Sui restored the Han to power through China, reformed its agriculture and economy, constructed the Grand Canal, and patronized Buddhism. However, they fell quickly when their conscription for public works and a failed war with Korea provoked widespread unrest.

Under the succeeding Tang dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age. The Tang Empire returned control of the Western Regions and the Silk Road, and made the capital Chang'an a cosmopolitan urban center. However, it was devastated and weakened by the An Shi Rebellion in the 8th century. In 907, the Tang disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. 

The Song dynasty ended the separatist situation in 960, leading to a balance of power between the Song and Khitan Liao. The Song was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy which was supported by the developed shipbuilding industry along with the sea trade. Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size to around 100 million people, mostly because of the expansion of rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song dynasty also saw a revival of Confucianism, in response to the growth of Buddhism during the Tang, and a flourishing of philosophy and the arts, as landscape art and porcelain were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity. However, the military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchen Jin dynasty. In 1127, Emperor Huizong of Song and the capital Bianjing were captured during the Jin-Song Wars. The remnants of the Song retreated to southern China.

1368年正月，朱元璋于南京称帝，即明太祖，年号洪武，明朝建立。继洪武之治，明成祖、明仁宗与明宣宗相继兴起永乐盛世与仁宣之治，这是明朝的兴盛时期之一。自1405年开始派宦官郑和下西洋，向各国交往、宣示威德以及建立朝贡体制，郑和下西洋前后七次，郑和船队足迹遍布东南亚与南亚地区。其规模空前，扩大明朝对南洋、西洋各国的影响力。

The 13th century brought the Mongol conquest of China. In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty; the Yuan conquered the last remnant of the Song dynasty in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, the population of Song China was 120 million citizens; this was reduced to 60 million by the time of the census in 1300. 

A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan in 1368 and founded the Ming dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor. Under the Ming dynasty, China enjoyed another golden age, developing one of the strongest navies in the world and a rich and prosperous economy amid a flourishing of art and culture. It was during this period that Zheng He led the Ming treasure voyages throughout the world, reaching as far as Africa.

Blue White vase made in Yuan dynasty

1405年明成祖将北平改名北京，1421年迁都。因为永乐年间天下大治，并且大力开拓海外交流，所以有学者将这段时期称为永乐盛世。

由于明朝末年行政混乱及严重自然灾害，明末民变终于爆发。1644年，起义首领李自成攻克北京，明思宗自缢身亡，历二百七十七年的明朝灭亡。

早期：洪武，建文，永乐，洪熙，宣德。

中期：正统，景泰，天顺，成化，弘治，正德。

晚期：嘉靖，隆庆，万历，泰昌，天启，崇祯。

明朝晚期，居住在东北地区的女真人（后来的满族）在努尔哈赤与皇太极父子带领下开始兴盛起来，与明朝抗衡。

In the early years of the Ming dynasty, China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. With the budding of capitalism, philosophers such as Wang Yangming further critiqued and expanded Neo-Confucianism with concepts of individualism and equality of four occupations. The scholar-official stratum became a supporting force of industry and commerce in the tax boycott movements, which, together with the famines and defense against Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598) and Manchu invasions led to an exhausted treasury.

In 1644, Beijing was captured by a coalition of peasant rebel forces led by Li Zicheng. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu Qing dynasty, then allied with Ming dynasty general Wu Sangui, overthrew Li's short-lived Shun dynasty and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty.

Blue White vase made in Ming dynasty

女真人终于在1644年李自成攻克北京后不久，驱逐李自成，进入北京，建立清朝。

皇太极更改女真族名为满族，1636年在盛京称帝，改年号为崇德，国号为大清。1644年，吴三桂引清兵入关，清朝将首都迁到北京，清朝入主中原。1681年清军攻入云南后结束三藩之乱，也进入康雍乾时期，这段时期是清朝发展的高峰时期，称为康雍乾盛世。

1）顺治，2）康熙，3）雍正，4）乾隆，5）嘉庆，6）道光，7）咸丰，9）光绪，10）宣统。

1912年1月1日，亚洲第一个共和国中华民国在南京宣告成立，孙文正式就任首任临时大总统。2月12日，清宣统帝溥仪宣布退位，清朝正式走进历史，中国两千多年的帝王专制制度也基本结束。

The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. Its conquest of the Ming (1618--1683) cost 25 million lives and the economy of China shrank drastically. After the Southern Ming ended, the further conquest of the Dzungar Khanate added Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang to the empire. The centralized autocracy was strengthened to crack down on anti-Qing sentiment with the policy of valuing agriculture and restraining commerce, the Haijin ("sea ban"), and ideological control as represented by the literary inquisition, causing social and technological stagnation. In the mid-19th century, the dynasty experienced Western imperialism in the Opium Wars with Britain and France. China was forced to pay compensation, open treaty ports, allow extraterritoriality for foreign nationals, and cede Hong Kong to the British under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, the first of the Unequal Treaties. The First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) resulted in Qing China's loss of influence in the Korean Peninsula, as well as the cession of Taiwan to Japan.

The Qing dynasty also began experiencing internal unrest in which tens of millions of people died, especially in the failed Taiping Rebellion that ravaged southern China in the 1850s and 1860s and the Dungan Revolt (1862ǔ77) in the northwest. The initial success of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s was frustrated by a series of military defeats in the 1880s and 1890s.

End of dynastic rule

In the 19th century, the great Chinese diaspora began. Losses due to emigration were added to by conflicts and catastrophes such as the Northern Chinese Famine of 1876--1879, in which between 9 and 13 million people died. The Guangxu Emperor drafted a reform plan in 1898 to establish a modern constitutional monarchy, but these plans were thwarted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The ill-fated anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1899--1901 further weakened the dynasty. Although Cixi sponsored a program of reforms, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911--1912 brought an end to the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China.

 Blue vase made in Qing dynasty (early)

Colorful porcelains made in Qing dynasty

Republic of China (1912--1949)

People's Republic of China (1949--present)

三星堆遗址证明，它应是中国夏商时期前后，甚至更早的一个重要的文化中心，并与中原文化有着一定的联系。验证了古代文献中对古蜀国记载的真实性。

三星堆的发现将古蜀国的历史推前到5000年前，证明了长江流域与黄河流域一样同是中华民族的发祥地，证明了长江流域地区存在过不亚于黄河流域地区的古文明。

三星堆古遗址位于四川省广汉市西北的鸭子河南岸，分布面积12平方千米，距今已有5000至3000年历史，是迄今在西南地区发现的范围最大、延续时间最长、文化内涵最丰富的古城、古国、古蜀文化遗址。其中出土的文物是宝贵的人类文化遗产，在中国的文物群体中，属最具历史、科学、文化、艺术价值和最富观赏性的文物群体之一。在这批古蜀秘宝中，有高2.62米的青铜大立人、有宽1.38米的青铜面具、更有高达3.95米的青铜神树等，均堪称独一无二的旷世神品。而以金杖为代表的金器，以满饰图案的边璋为代表的玉石器，亦多属前所未见的稀世之珍。

两个祭祀坑坑出土的青铜器，除青铜容器具有中原殷商文化和长江中游地区的青铜文化风格外，其余的器物种类和造型都具有极为强烈的本地特征，它们的出土，首次向世人展示商代中晚期蜀国青铜文明的高度发达和独具一格的面貌。在青铜器冶铸方面，范铸法和分铸法的使用，以铅锡铜为主的三元合金的冶炼，表明在商周时期，三星堆古蜀国即已有高度发达的青铜文明，有力地驳斥了传统史学关于中原周边文化滞后的谬误。

三星堆文物是具有世界影响的文物，属世界文化遗产范畴。

国家宝藏

清朝  清朝２