China
Ancient
c. BCE – 500 CE
c. 2070 – 256 BCE
Xia, Shang, Zhou Dynasties
Bronze civilization, oracle bone script, ritual and music culture.
221 BCE – 220 CE
Qin-Han Unification
First imperial unification; Silk Road opens under the Han.
220 – 589
Six Dynasties
Division and fusion; Buddhism spreads; great migrations.
Medieval
500 – 1500
581 – 907
Sui-Tang Golden Age
Civil service exams, Grand Canal, Tang poetry flourishes.
960 – 1368
Song-Yuan Era
Movable type, gunpowder, and Marco Polo's journey east.
1368 – 1644
Ming Dynasty
Zheng He's treasure voyages; the Forbidden City rises.
Early Modern
1500 – 1900
1644 – 1912
Qing Dynasty
Kang-Qian golden age, Opium Wars, Xinhai Revolution.
Modern
1900 – Present
1949
PRC Founded
The People's Republic of China is established.
1978
Reform & Opening Up
Economic transformation and integration into the global economy.
United States
Early Modern
1500 – 1900
1775 – 1783
War of Independence
Thirteen colonies break from British rule.
1861 – 1865
Civil War
Abolition of slavery and preservation of the Union.
Modern
1900 – Present
1929 – 1939
Great Depression
Global economic collapse; Roosevelt's New Deal.
1969
Moon Landing
Apollo 11; humanity's first steps on another world.
1970s – Present
Information Age
Silicon Valley rises; the internet reshapes civilization.
United Kingdom
Ancient
c. BCE – 500 CE
43 – 410
Roman Britain
The Roman Empire's northwestern frontier.
Medieval
500 – 1500
1215
Magna Carta
Limiting royal power; the seed of constitutional government.
1337 – 1453
Hundred Years' War
116-year struggle between England and France.
Early Modern
1500 – 1900
1760 – 1840
Industrial Revolution
Steam, factories, and the transformation of human society.
1837 – 1901
Victorian Era
The empire on which the sun never sets.
Modern
1900 – Present
1939 – 1945
World War II
The Battle of Britain; Churchill leads the resistance.
France
Medieval
500 – 1500
800 – 843
Carolingian Empire
Charlemagne's realm; the foundation of medieval Europe.
Early Modern
1500 – 1900
1789 – 1799
French Revolution
Liberty, equality, fraternity; the overthrow of absolute monarchy.
1799 – 1815
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Code and the reshaping of Europe.
Modern
1900 – Present
1968
May 1968
Student upheaval and cultural transformation.
Germany
Medieval
500 – 1500
962 – 1806
Holy Roman Empire
The First Reich; central pillar of medieval European power.
Early Modern
1500 – 1900
1871
German Unification
Bismarck's iron and blood policy forges a nation.
Modern
1900 – Present
1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Reunification of Germany; symbolic end of the Cold War.
Japan
Ancient
c. BCE – 500 CE
300 BCE – 300 CE
Yayoi Period
Wet-rice agriculture arrives; state formation begins.
592 – 794
Asuka-Nara Period
Taika Reforms; Tang culture flows into Japan.
Medieval
500 – 1500
1185 – 1333
Kamakura Shogunate
The dawn of samurai governance.
1467 – 1615
Sengoku Period
Warring states; Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa.
Early Modern
1500 – 1900
1868 – 1912
Meiji Restoration
Wholesale westernization; Japan joins the great powers.
Modern
1900 – Present
1945 – 1989
Postwar Miracle
Economic rise to the world's second-largest economy.
Russia
Medieval
500 – 1500
882 – 1240
Kievan Rus'
Cradle of East Slavic civilization.
Early Modern
1500 – 1900
1682 – 1725
Peter the Great's Reforms
Westernization drive; Russia emerges as a modern state.
Modern
1900 – Present
1917
October Revolution
Lenin seizes power; the Soviet experiment begins.
1991
Dissolution of the USSR
End of the Cold War; the Russian Federation is born.