| Dynasties / Periods | Dates | Antiquities | |||
| The New Stone Age | The early years | Ca.7000-5000.BC | Stone tool | "Zhang" | |
| The middle years | Ca.5000-2100.BC | Stone axe | |||
| The late years (Xia dynasty ?) |
Ca.2100-1600.BC | "Ge" | |||
| "Bi" | |||||
| Shang | Ca.1600-1027.BC | ||||
| Yin | Ca.1400/1300-1027.BC | ||||
| Zhou | Western Zhou | Ca.1027-771.BC | Food grain vessel "Xu" | ||
| Eastern Zhou | Spring and autumn (Qi, Jin, Chu, Wu, Yue) |
770-476.BC | |||
| Warring states (Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Han, Wei, Zhao) |
475-221.BC | Cup with two grips "Bei" | |||
| Bronze wedge "Xia" | |||||
| Qin | 221-206.BC | ||||
| Western Han | 206.BC-AD 8 | Mirror of Western Han | |||
| Xin | AD 8-23 | Mirror of Xin | |||
| Eastern Han | AD 25-220 | Mirror of Eastern Han | |||
| Three kingdoms | Wei | AD 220-265 | Mirror of three kingdoms | ||
| Wu | AD 222-280 | ||||
| Shu | AD 221-263 | ||||
| Jin | Western Jin | AD 265-316 | |||
| Eastern Jin | AD 317-420 | ||||
| Five tribes and sixteen kingdoms | AD 304-439 | ||||
| Southern and northern dynasties | Southern dynasties | Song | AD 420-479 | ||
| Qi | AD 479-502 | ||||
| Liang | AD 502-557 | ||||
| Chen | AD 557-589 | ||||
| Northern dynasties | Northern Wei | AD 386-534 | |||
| Eastern Wei | AD 534-550 | ||||
| Northern Qi | AD 550-577 | ||||
| Western Wei | AD 535-557 | ||||
| Northern Zhou | AD 557-581 | ||||
| Sui | AD 581-618 | ||||
| Tang | AD 618-907 | Mirror of Tang | |||
| Five dynasties ten kingdoms | Five dynasties | Late Liang | AD 907-923 | ||
| Late Tang | AD 923-936 | ||||
| Late Jin | AD 936-946 | ||||
| Late Han | AD 947-950 | ||||
| Late Zhou | AD 951-960 | ||||
| Ten kingdoms | AD 902-979 | ||||
| Song | Northern Song | AD 960-1127 | |||
| Southern Song | AD 1127-1279 | ||||
| Liao | AD 907-1125 | ||||
| Western Xia | AD 1032-1227 | ||||
| Jin | AD 1115-1234 | ||||
| Yuan | AD 1279-1368 | ||||
| Ming | AD 1368-1644 | ||||
| Qing | AD 1644-1911 | ||||
| The Republic of China | AD 1912- | ||||
| The People's Republic of China | AD 1949- | ||||