| Dynasty pinyin | Chinese | Begin | End | ||
| Xia | 夏 | ca. -2200 | bc. | ca. -1800 | bc. |
| Shang | 商 | ca. -1800 | bc. | ca. -1050 | bc. |
| Zhou | 周 | ca. -1050 | bc. | -256 | bc. |
| Qin | 秦 | -221 | bc. | -206 | bc. |
| Han | 漢 | -202 | bc. | 220 | bc. |
| Western Han | 西漢 | -202 | bc. | 9 | ce. |
| Xin (Wang Mang) | 新 | 9 | ce. | 25 | ce. |
| Eastern Han | 東漢 | 25 | ce. | 220 | ce. |
| Three Kingdoms Period | 三國 | 220 | ce. | 265 | ce. |
| Wei (Three Kingdoms) | 三國魏 | 220 | ce. | 265 | ce. |
| Shu (Three Kingdoms) | 三國蜀 | 221 | ce. | 263 | ce. |
| Wu (Three Kingdoms) | 三國吳 | 222 | ce. | 280 | ce. |
| Western Jin | 西晉 | 265 | ce. | 316 | ce. |
| Sixteen Kingdoms | 十六國 | 304 | ce. | 439 | ce. |
| Former Zhao (16 Kingdoms) | 前趙 | 304 | ce. | 329 | ce. |
| Cheng Han (16 Kingdoms) | 成漢 | 304 | ce. | 347 | ce. |
| Eastern Jin | 東晉 | 317 | ce. | 419 | ce. |
| Former Liang (16 Kingdoms) | 前涼 | 317 | ce. | 376 | ce. |
| Later Zhao (16 Kingdoms) | 後趙 | 319 | ce. | 351 | ce. |
| Former Yan (16 Kingdoms) | 前燕 | 337 | ce. | 370 | ce. |
| Former Qin (16 Kingdoms) | 前秦 | 350 | ce. | 394 | ce. |
| Later Qin (16 Kingdoms) | 後秦 | 384 | ce. | 417 | ce. |
| Later Yan (16 Kingdoms) | 後燕 | 384 | ce. | 407 | ce. |
| Western Yan (16 Kingdoms) | 西燕 | 384 | ce. | 394 | ce. |
| Western Qin (16 Kingdoms) | 西秦 | 385 | ce. | 431 | ce. |
| Northern Wei | 北魏 | 386 | ce. | 534 | ce. |
| Later Liang (16 Kingdoms) | 後涼 | 386 | ce. | 403 | ce. |
| Southern Liang (16 Kingdoms) | 南涼 | 397 | ce. | 414 | ce. |
| Southern Yan (16 Kingdoms) | 南燕 | 398 | ce. | 410 | ce. |
| Western Liang (16 Kingdoms) | 西涼 | 400 | ce. | 421 | ce. |
| Northern Liang (16 states) | 北涼 | 401 | ce. | 439 | ce. |
| Northern Yan (16 Kingdoms) | 北燕 | 407 | ce. | 436 | ce. |
| Xia (16 Kingdoms) | 夏 | 407 | ce. | 431 | ce. |
| Northern and Southern dynasties | 南北朝 | 420 | ce. | 589 | ce. |
| Song (Liu) | 宋(劉) | 420 | ce. | 479 | ce. |
| Southern Qi | 南齌 | 479 | ce. | 502 | ce. |
| Southern Liang | 南梁 | 502 | ce. | 557 | ce. |
| Eastern Wei | 東魏 | 534 | ce. | 550 | ce. |
| Western Wei | 西魏 | 535 | ce. | 557 | ce. |
| Northern Qi | 北齊 | 550 | ce. | 578 | ce. |
| Later Liang (North. Dy) | 後梁 | 555 | ce. | 587 | ce. |
| Chen | 陳 | 557 | ce. | 589 | ce. |
| Northern Zhou | 北周 | 557 | ce. | 581 | ce. |
| Sui | 隋 | 581 | ce. | 618 | ce. |
| Tang | 唐 | 618 | ce. | 907 | ce. |
| Zhou (Empress Wu Zetian) | 周 | 684 | ce. | 705 | ce. |
| Former Shu (10 Kingdoms) | 前蜀 | 903 | ce. | 925 | ce. |
| Wu | 吳 | 904 | ce. | 937 | ce. |
| Wu (Yang: 10 Kingdoms) | 吳(楊) | 904 | ce. | 937 | ce. |
| Five Dynasties | 五代 | 907 | ce. | 960 | ce. |
| WuYue (10 Kingdoms) | 吳越 | 907 | ce. | 978 | ce. |
| Later Liang (5 Dynasties) | 後粱 | 907 | ce. | 923 | ce. |
| Chu (Ma:10 Kingdoms) | 楚(馬) | 907 | ce. | 951 | ce. |
| Min (10 Kingdoms) | 閩國 | 909 | ce. | 945 | ce. |
| Liao | 遼 | 916 | ce. | 1124 | ce. |
| Southern Han (10 Kingdoms) | 南漢 | 917 | ce. | 971 | ce. |
| Later Tang (5 Dynasties) | 後唐 | 923 | ce. | 936 | ce. |
| Nanping (10 Kingdoms) | 南平 | 924 | ce. | 963 | ce. |
| Later Shu (10 Kingdoms) | 後蜀 | 933 | ce. | 965 | ce. |
| Later Jin (5 Dynasties) | 後晉 | 936 | ce. | 947 | ce. |
| Southern Tang (10 Kingdoms) | 南唐 | 937 | ce. | 975 | ce. |
| Later Han (5 Dynasties) | 後漢 | 947 | ce. | 951 | ce. |
| Later Zhou (5 Dynasties) | 後周 | 951 | ce. | 960 | ce. |
| Northern Han (10 Kingdoms) | 北漢 | 951 | ce. | 979 | ce. |
| Song | 宋 | 960 | ce. | 1279 | ce. |
| Western Xia | 西夏 | 1032 | ce. | 1227 | ce. |
| Jin | 金 | 1115 | ce. | 1234 | ce. |
| Qi | 齊 | 1130 | ce. | 1137 | ce. |
| Yuan | 元 | 1234 | ce. | 1367 | ce. |
| Ming | 明 | 1368 | ce. | 1644 | ce. |
| Northern Yuan | 北元 | 1371 | ce. | 1387 | ce. |
| Qing | 清 | 1644 | ce. | 1911 | ce. |
| Republic of China | 中華民國 | 1912 | ce. | ||
| People’s Republic of China | 中華人民共和國 | 1949 | ce. |
Source: Peter Bol, William Kirby, ChinaX, edX, HarvardX