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- Confucius (551 BC-479 BC) Name in Chinese: 孔子 (Kǒng Zǐ) Famous as: Philosopher. For many people, their introduction to Chinese culture starts with Confucius.
- Qin Shi Huang (259 BC-210 BC) Name in Chinese: 秦始皇 (Qín Shǐ Huáng) Famous as: The First Emperor of China. Qin Shi Huang was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China.
- Li Bai (701-762) Name in Chinese: 李白 (Lǐ Bái) Famous as: Poet. Li Bai, who lived during the Tang dynasty in the 8th century – an era known for its openness, commerce, and thriving literary scene, is regarded by most Chinese people as China’s greatest poet of all time.
- Du Fu (712-770) Name in Chinese: 杜甫 (Dù Fǔ) Famous as: Poet. Du Fu is another prominent historical figure in China, a country devoted to poetry. Unlike his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai, who lived as a superstar poet showered with honors for his genius, Du Fu was not greatly appreciated in his lifetime for his “extremely daring and bizarre writing style” and constant criticism of the regime.
- Gan De. Gan De was an astrologer and astronomer. He observed Jupiter and its four moons long before Galileo saw it through his telescope. This was in 364 BC when there were no telescopes or technology to help him, leading us to the conclusion that he must have observed it with the naked eye.
- Zhang Heng. Zhang Heng lived during the Han dynasty and was an expert in subjects like astronomy, mathematics, hydraulics, and science. Zhang was not from a royal family but he was taught Confucianism and after educating himself in various fields he served as chief astronomer and later as a palace attendant at the imperial court.
- Zu Chongzhi. Zu Chongzhi was known for his precision in calculations, his understanding of mathematics, and astronomy. He came from a family of astronomers, and this is probably where his interest began as he was taught all his astronomical and mathematical skills by his grandfather.
- Gongsun Long. Gongsun Long was a logician who wrote many paradoxical essays. These essays only consisted of about 300 characters each but had deep meaning and offered many useful lessons.
- Qin Shi Huangdi (秦始皇; Qín Shǐhuáng - 259 BC – 210 BC) King of the Qin state. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC. Over several millennia, China absorbed the people of surrounding areas into its own civilization while adopting the more useful institutions and innovations of the conquered people.
- Puyi (溥仪; 溥儀; Pǔyí - 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967) the Xuantong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty wearing the imperial Dragon Robe. He was the last Emperor of China.
- Sun Yat-sen (孫中山; 孫逸仙; Sūn Yìxiān - 1866–1925) Sun Yat-sen (whereas 'Sun' is the family name) was a Chinese statesman; provisional president of the Republic of China 1911–12 and president of the Southern Chinese Republic 1923–25.
- Jiang Jieshi known to the west as Chiang Kai-shek - The Generalissimo (蔣中正, 蔣介石; Jiǎng Jièshí - 31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975) Chinese statesman and general; president of China 1928–31 and 1943–49 and of Taiwan 1950–75.
- Qin Shi Huang. 10 4. Famous As: King. Birthdate: 0259 BC. Birthplace: Handan. Died: 0210 BC. Qin Shi Huang is credited with founding the Qin dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China.
- Qianlong Emperor. 4 0. Famous As: Emperor of China. Birthdate: September 25, 1711. Sun Sign: Libra. Birthplace: Lama Temple, Beijing, China. Died: February 7, 1799.
- Wu Zetian. 9 7. Famous As: Chinese Empress. Birthdate: February 17, 0624. Sun Sign: Aquarius. Birthplace: Lizhou, Tang Dynasty. Died: December 16, 0705. Wu Zetian was a Chinese empress regnant who ruled the Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705.
- Empress Dowager Cixi. 2 0. Famous As: Chinese Empress Dowager. Birthdate: November 29, 1835. Sun Sign: Sagittarius. Birthplace: Beijing, China. Died: November 15, 1908.
- Qin Shi Huang
- Kublai Khan
- Sun Yat-Sen
- Mao Zedong
- Deng Xiaoping
China was unified in 221 B.C. when the Qin people came out of the west to prevail militarily over a number of rival states. Their leader, who declared himself Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor of Qin), established a strong centralized government, in part by stripping feudal lords of their lands. He also standardized weights and measures, the currency an...
Mongol leader Genghis Khan began launching raids into present-day China almost immediately after uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plateau in 1206. His grandson Kublai Khan completed the conquest in 1279, bringing all of China under foreign rule for the first time. Kublai, who founded the Yuan Dynasty, deemed the Chinese legally inferior ...
China lost a series of wars in the 19th century that forced it to make territorial concessions to Britain, Russia and Japan. These humiliations, along with the halfhearted pace of reform in their aftermath, drove a doctor named Sun Yat-sen to begin plotting armed revolution. Sun hoped to replace the ruling Qing Dynasty with a government based on th...
A founding member of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong broke with Marxist-Leninist thought by building up a “Red Army” of peasants rather than relying on industrial workers. He fought a guerrilla campaign from the countryside following the outbreak of civil war between the Communists and Nationalists in 1927, gaining fame—and leadership over ...
Deng Xiaoping joined Mao’s inner circle in the 1950s, only to be banished during the Cultural Revolution and forced to work in a tractor repair station. His first political comeback ended just before Mao’s death, when he was again stripped of his posts. But a second political comeback proved more long lasting when he outmaneuvered Mao’s chosen succ...
- Jesse Greenspan
Timeline. Dynasties. Historiography. Prehistoric. Paleolithic. Neolithic (c. 8500 – c. 2000 BC) Yellow, Yangtze, and Liao civilization. Ancient. Xia (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC) Shang (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC) Zhou (c. 1046 – c. 256 BC) Western Zhou (1046–771 BC) Eastern Zhou (771–256 BC) Spring and Autumn (c. 770 – c. 476 BC) Warring States (475–221 BC)
Feb 6, 2024 · history of China, a survey of important events and people in the history of China from ancient times to the present. Occupying nearly the entire East Asian landmass, China covers approximately one-fourteenth of the land area of Earth , and it is almost as large as the whole of Europe .