History Made Every Day™

Governments of China

(Until 221 bc and frequently thereafter, China was not a unified state. Where dynastic dates overlap, the rulers or events referred to appeared in different areas of China.)

Hsia

 

1994 bc – c1523 bc

 

Shang

 

c1523 bc – c1028 bc

 

Western Chou

 

c1027 bc – 770 bc

 

Eastern Chou

 

770 bc – 256 bc

 

Warring States

 

403 bc – 222 bc

 

Ch'in (first unified empire)

 

221 bc – 206 bc

 

Han

 

202 bc ad 220

 

Western Han (expanded Chinese state beyond the Yellow and Yangtze River valleys)

 

202 bcad 9

 

Hsin (Wang Mang, usurper)    

 

ad 9 – 23

 

Eastern Han (expanded Chinese state into Indochina and Turkestan)

 

 25 – 220

 

Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu, Wu)

 

220 – 265

 

Chin (western)

 

265 – 317

 

(eastern)

 

317 – 420

 

Northern Dynasties (followed several short-lived governments by Turks, Mongols, etc.)

 

386 – 581

 

Southern Dynasties (capital: Nanjing)

 

420 – 589

 

Sui (reunified China)

 

581 – 618

 

Tang (a golden age of Chinese culture; capital: Xian)

 

618 – 906

 

Five Dynasties (Yellow River basin)

 

902 – 960

 

Ten Kingdoms (southern China)

 

907 – 979

 

Liao (Khitan Mongols; capital at site of Beijing)

 

947 – 1125

 

Sung

 

960 – 1279

 

Northern Sung (reunified central and southern China)

 

960 – 1126

 

Western Hsai (non-Chinese rulers in northwest)

 

990 – 1227

 

Chin (Tatars; drove Sung out of central China)

 

1115 – 1234

 

Yuan (Mongols; Kublai Khan est. capital at site of Beijing, c. 1264)

 

1271 – 1368

 

Ming (China reunified under Chinese rule; capital: Nanjing, then Beijing in 1420)

 

1368 – 1644

 

Ch'ing (Manchus, descendents of Tatars)

 

1644 – 1912

 

Republic (disunity; provincial rulers, warlords)

 

1912 – 1949

 

People's Republic of China

 

1949 –

 

Leaders of China Since 1949

Mao Zedong

 

Chairman, Central People's Administrative Council, Communist Party (CPC), 1949-1976

 

Zhou Enlai

 

Premier, foreign minister, 1949-1976

 

Deng Xiaoping

 

Vice Premier, 1952-1966, 1973-1976, 1977-1980; “paramount leader,” 1978-1997

 

Liu Shaoqi

 

President, 1959-1969

 

Hua Guofeng

 

Premier, 1976-1980; CPC Chairman, 1976-1981

 

Zhao Ziyang

 

Premier, 1980-1988; CPC General Secretary, 1987-1989

 

Hu Yaobang

 

CPC Chairman, 1981-1982; CPC General Secretary, 1982-1987

 

Li Xiannian

 

President, 1983-1988

 

Yang Shangkun

 

President, 1988-1993

 

Li Peng

 

Premier, 1988-98

 

Jiang Zemin

 

CPC General Secretary, 1989-2002; President, 1993-2003

 

Zhu Rongji

 

Premier, 1998-2003

 

Hu Jintao

 

CPC General Secretary, 2002-; President, 2003-

 

Wen Jiabao

 

Premier, 2003-

 

An article from The World Almanac and Book of Facts. © 2006 World Almanac Education Group. A WRC Media Company. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by written agreement, uses of the work inconsistent with U.S. and applicable foreign copyright and related laws are prohibited.

Friday, December 04 at 12 PM EST
Friday, December 04 at 6 PM EST
Friday, November 27 at 8 AM EST
Friday, November 27 at 2 PM EST
Sunday, November 22 at 12 PM EST
Ancient Discoveries: Airborne Assault Friday, December 04 at 12 PM EST
Airborne Assault. Assault from the air didn't begin with the era of the airplane. Take a look back at early methods of airborne attack. The kite bomb was a medieval siege weapon that dropped bombs from a kite over cities. We'll build one and test it
Ancient Discoveries: Airborne Assault Friday, December 04 at 6 PM EST
Airborne Assault. Assault from the air didn't begin with the era of the airplane. Take a look back at early methods of airborne attack. The kite bomb was a medieval siege weapon that dropped bombs from a kite over cities. We'll build one and test it
I Know What I Saw: Friday, November 27 at 8 AM EST
Director and host James Fox assembles the most credible UFO witnesses from around the world to testify on the subject and share their experiences and observations. Air Force generals, astronauts, military and commercial pilots, government
I Know What I Saw: Friday, November 27 at 2 PM EST
Director and host James Fox assembles the most credible UFO witnesses from around the world to testify on the subject and share their experiences and observations. Air Force generals, astronauts, military and commercial pilots, government
How The Earth Was Made: New York Sunday, November 22 at 12 PM EST
New York. It is one of the most man-made spaces on the planet, but everything in New York from the height of the skyscrapers to the way the subway was constructed to the position of the harbor is governed by the extraordinary forces that ultimately
ENCYCLOPEDIA:

CHINA

The People’s Republic of China includes more than 3400 offshore islands, of which Hainan, in the South China Sea, is by far the largest. The total area of China is about 9,572,900 sq km (about 3,696,100 sq mi), not including the Republic of . . .

Read More

ENCYCLOPEDIA: China

ENCYCLOPEDIA: Governments of China

ENCYCLOPEDIA: Waking to China

ENCYCLOPEDIA: JAPAN,

Britain's recognition of People's Republic of China 0:21 min
On January 6, 1950, the British government under Prime Minister Clement Attlee followed the U.S.S.R. and several other nations in recognizing the new Communist government of China.
This Day in History: 07/15/1971 - Nixon Announces China Trip 1:00 min
During a live television and radio broadcast, President Richard Nixon stuns the nation by announcing that he will visit communist China the following year.
Adlai Stevenson Rejects Communist China's U.N. Admission 1:48 min
In 1961, the People's Republic of China, the most populous country in the world, was again denied admission into the United Nations.
"Ping-Pong Deplomacy" in China 1:24 min
In March 1971 the first public breakthrough came when China invited the U.S. table-tennis team to compete in Beijing along with other Western teams.
The Huilongs of China 2:30 min
Is a remote Chinese village home to a group of human-alien hybrids, the result of an ancient alien visitation?