We know very little about ancient Chinese dynasties. The first of these is considered to be Xia. These dynasties developed very slowly, but their works ranged from bronze working to the development of armies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayLater the first empires arose. The first of these was Quin (221-206 BC). The Quin dynasty is considered the first empire, as it was the first to have an emperor. When that emperor died, the Han era (206 BC - 220 AD) arrived. 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 everything down. They were unable to cope with two factors: a population shift from the Yellow River in the north to the Yangzi in the south; and they simply couldn't control the barbaric tribal raiders from the north, which is why people were moving south. Finally, in 220 AD, the center lost so much control over the provinces that it collapsed (a small rebellion in the north helped), plunging China into 350 years of chaos and disunity. That time (220-259) has no official name, as 5 different groups were in control. During this period, China developed its own religious beliefs, basing them on Daoism and Buddhism. Subsequently 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 largest in Chinese history. They extended China's borders through Siberia to the north, Korea to the east, and found themselves in what is now Vietnam to the south. They even extended a control corridor along the Silk Road to present-day Afghanistan. Then came the Song Dynasty (1127-1279), formed by military rule. The most important development during the Song was that of agricultural technology. Then came the Mongols and the Ming. The Mongols were held in high regard, while the Ming have a reputation for being fatter, lazier, crazier, and nastier than the average imperial family. In 1644, the Manchus conquered 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. This initially 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 main focus of the Japanese war effort shifted from fighting the Chinese to fighting the Americans. At the end of the Second World War the war between nationalists and communists began again. By October the Nationalists had fled to Taiwan and Mao Zedong had proclaimed the creation of the People's Republic of China. And this brings us to the present day.