China, a History

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An Eastern Han lacquered wooden basket with three-inch figure painting, unearthed at Lolang, North Korea

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Sculptures of maids and servants, 2nd century BC

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A terracotta sitting lady, 2nd-1st century BC

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Jade art work in depiction of Fenghuang, 2nd century BC

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Jade ornament from the Western Han period

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Photo of the traditional site of Chibi, south of Wulin, taken in 2003.

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Chinese Fragrance Burner (Boshan Xianglu)
Han Dynasty

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Emperor Xian of Han (seated) with his wife, Empress Fu Shou. Detail from a Qing Dynasty edition of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

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A bronze-cast horse with a lead saddle, from the Chinese Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD)

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Chinese Wine Vessel with a mountainshaped Lid
Han Dynasty

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Origins of the Chinese pagoda, a Han Dynasty era pottery model of a tower, the real version either used as a watchtower or residential tower. At each story of the tower corbel brackets woodwork supporting balconies and roofs can be seen. The typical Chinese ceramic-tile roof shingles with piped-ends are also seen. This tower was found in a tomb at Wangdu in Hebei, and is dated to the 1st or 2nd century AD.

This picture appears on the Plate CCCXVIII page of Joseph Needham's book Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics.

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Bronze Mirror from westen Han denasty king of chu's tomb
中文 : 出土于西汉楚王墓的铜镜

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Jin Dynasty (265–420)

The Jìn Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 晋朝; traditional Chinese: 晉朝; pinyin: jìn cháo; 265–420), one of the Six Dynasties, followed the Three Kingdoms period and preceded the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. The dynasty was founded by the Sima family (司馬 pinyin: Sīmǎ). Note that there are four periods of Chinese history using the name "Jin" (see clarification here). At its height the Jin Dynasty had a population of about 20 million people.

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The Eastern Jin Dynasty (yellow) and the state of Former Qin in 376 CE

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The first of the two periods, the Western Jìn Dynasty (ch: 西晉, 265–316), was founded by Emperor Wu, better known as Sima Yan. Although providing a brief period of unity after conquering the Kingdom of Wu in AD 280, the Jìn could not contain the invasion and uprising of nomadic peoples after the devastating War of the Eight Princes. The capital was Luoyang until 311 when Emperor Huai was captured by the forces of Han Zhao. Successive reign of Emperor Min lasted four years in Chang'an until its conquest by Han Zhao in 316.

Meanwhile remnants of the Jìn court fled from the north to the south and reestablished the Jìn court at Jiankang, south-east of Luoyang and Chang'an and near modern-day Nanjing, under Prince of Longya. Prominent local families of Zhu, Gan, Lu, Gu and Zhou supported the proclamation of Prince of Langye as Emperor Yuan of the Eastern Jìn Dynasty (ch: 東晉 317–420) when the news of the fall of Chang'an reached the south. (Because the emperors of the Eastern Jìn Dynasty came from the Langye line, the rival Wu Hu states which did not recognize its legitimacy would at times refer to Jìn as "Langye.")

Militaristic authorities and crises plagued the Eastern Jìn court throughout its 104 years of existence. It survived the rebellions of Wang Dun and Su Jun. Huan Wen died in 373 before he could usurp the throne (which he had intended to do). Battle of Fei turned out to be a victory of Jìn under a short-lived cooperation of Huan Chong, brother of Huan Wen and the Prime Minister (or Imperial Secretariat) Xie An. Huan Xuan, son of Huan Wen, usurped and changed the name of the dynasty to Chu. He was toppled by Liu Yu, who ordered the strangulation of the reinstated but retarded Emperor An. The last emperor and brother of Emperor An, Emperor Gong, was installed in 419. Abdication of Emperor Gong in 420 in favor of Liu Yu, then Emperor Wu, ushered in the Liu Song Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties.

Meanwhile North China was ruled by the Sixteen Kingdoms, many of which were founded by the Wu Hu, the non-Han Chinese ethnicities. The conquest of the Northern Liang by the Northern Wei Dynasty in 439 ushered in the Northern Dynasties.