We know very little about ancient Chinese dynasties. The very first of them is considered to be Xia. These dynasties grew extremely slowly, but their work ranged from working in bronze to developing armies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Later, the first empires appeared. The oldest of them was Quin (221 - 206 BC). The Quin dynasty is considered the first empire, as it was the first to have an emperor. Upon the death of this emperor, came the Han era (206 BC – 220 AD). The Han dynasty plays a very important role in Chinese history. They invented Chinese history as we know it today. They were the first to write it all down. They were unable to cope with two factors: a population shift from the Yellow River in the north to the Yangtze in the south; and they simply couldn't control the barbarian tribal raiders from the north, which was one of the reasons people were moving south. Eventually, by 220 AD, the center had lost so much control to the provinces that it collapsed (a small rebellion in the north contributed), plunging China into 350 years of chaos and disunity. This era (220-259) has no official name, as 5 different groups were in control. During this period, China developed its religious beliefs, basing them on Taoism and Buddhism. Later came the Sui (589 - 618) and the Tang (619 - 907). The first was one of the shortest laser dynasties. The latter is considered one of the greatest in Chinese history. They expanded China's borders through Siberia in the north, Korea in the east, and were in what is now Vietnam in the south. They even extended a corridor of control along the Silk Road to modern-day Afghanistan. Then came the Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), formed by a military regime. The most important development during the Song was agricultural technology. Then came the Mongols and the Ming. The Mongols were held in high esteem, while the Ming had a reputation for being fatter, lazier, crazier, and meaner than the average imperial family. In 1644, the Manchus took over China and founded the Qing dynasty. The Qing (1644 – 1911) were not the worst rulers; under them the arts flourished. In 1911, the Qing dynasty collapsed and China descended into chaos. Then came Republican China. During World War I, the Chinese government, such as it was, sided with the Allies. In 1939, the Second World War broke out. At first this had little effect on the situation in China, as the Japanese were not involved in the war in Europe. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the bulk of the Japanese war effort shifted its focus from fighting the Chinese to fighting the Americans. At the end of the Second World War, the war between nationalists and communists resumed. By October, the nationalists had fled to Taiwan and Mao Zedong proclaimed the creation of the People's Republic of China. And that brings us to the present day.