| * Boldface
titles indicate works in the anthology. |
TEXTS
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CONTEXTS
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ca. 1700–1020 B.C. Writing used on tortoise shells for
divination and in inscriptions on bronze vessels
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ca. 1700–1020 B.C. Shang Dynasty
1020 Chou Dynasty
overthrows the Shang Dynasty
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| ca. 1000
Earliest portions of The Classic of Poetry.
• Earliest parts of the Book of Changes,
the Yi Ching |
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ca. 820
Reign of King Hsüan and the expansion of the Chou
kingdom south toward the Yangtse River |
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770–256 Steady decline of the power of the Chou royal house and
the rise of feudal states
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722 Beginning of the Spring and Autumn Annals period
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| ca. 600 The Classic
of Poetry reaches its final form |
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551–479 Confucius and the Analects
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403 "Warring States" period begins
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400–250 Period of the "hundred schools" of Chinese thought
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ca. 369–286 Taoist philosopher Chuang Chou and the early
chapters of the Chuang Tzu
340?–278 Ch'¸ Y¸an, poet of the southern state of Ch'u, to whom
was attributed theÝ composition of The Nine Songs
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ca. 390–305 Confucian philosopher Mencius, who taught the
inherent goodness of human nature
350–221 Rise of the state of Ch'in in western China under the
influence of a totalitarian political philosophy known as Legalism
256 Ch'in dethrones the last Chou ruler
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221–206 Under influence of Ch'in Legalism, Confucianism and
other schools of thought suppressed
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221
Ch'in Dynasty unifies China under Ch'in Shih-huang,
the "First Emperor" • Great Wall
extended |
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206 Fall of Ch'in and the founding of the Han Dynasty; Han
sponsors Confucianism
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179-117 Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju, the greatest court poet of the Han and
master of a form of long verse known as fu or "rhapsody"
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140–86 Reign of Emperor Wu of the Han, with Chinese military
conquests in Central Asia
120 The Han court establishes a "Music Bureau," one of whose
functions is to collect popular songs. Some of these lyrics survive
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97 Ssu-ma Ch'ien completes the Shihchi, the Historical
Records, a comprehensive history of China up to the reign of
Emperor Wu
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A.D. 32-92 Pan Ku, author of the Han History and of many
rhapsodies
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A.D. 57 Japan sends envoys to the Han court
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100-200 The rise of anonymous poetry in the five-character line,
which would be the most common poetic form for the rest of the
premodern period
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ca. 100 Earliest introduction of Buddhism into China
105 Earliest paper made
196–220 The breakup of the Han into
competing regions dominated by warlords • Ts'ao
Ts'ao (155–220) is warlord of north China (200–220)
and gathers the most eminent writers of the day to his
court |
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