The Emperor's Tomb

TIMELINE OF RELEVANT

EVENTS OF CHINESE HISTORY

1765–1027 BCE

Shang Dynasty (earliest known)

770–481 BCE

Spring and Autumn Period

551–479 BCE

Confucius lives

535 BCE

Origin of the eunuch system

481–221 BCE

Warring States Period and emergence of Legalism

200 BCE

Chinese first drill for oil

221 BCE

Qin Shi unifies the warring states into China and becomes First Emperor

210 BCE

Qin Shi dies; terra-cotta army is completed and interred with First Emperor in Imperial tomb mound

146 BCE – 67 CE

Eunuch system expands into a political force

89 BCE

Sima Qian completes

Records of the Historian (Shiji)

202 CE –1912 CE

Dynastic rule of China flourishes

1912 CE

Last emperor is forced from throne; dynastic rule ends; eunuch system is abolished; Republic of China is formed

1949 CE

Communist Revolution; People’s Republic of China is formed

1974 CE

Terracotta army is rediscovered

1976 CE

Mao Zedong dies