This man's school of thought was suppressed during the Qin Dynasty, but adopted in legal codes by the Han. This philosopher is the most famous from China and taught morality in personal life, government and society.
Confucius
This man unified China during the Warring States Period and became the first true Chinese emperor. He started the Great Wall, burned books, built the Terracotta Army for his tomb and was obsessed with finding an elixir of life.
Qin Shi Huang
Known as Emperor Gaozu of Han, he was born a peasant, but defeated the Qin and started the Han Dynasty. He relaxed the laws of the Qin Dynasty, reformed the legal system and promoted Confucianism.
Liu bang
This woman was the de facto ruler of the Tang Dynasty and became the only woman to hold title as Empress during the Zhou Dynasty. She used her smarts to defeat her rivals before becoming empress, then massively expanded Chinese territory.
Wu Zetian
This non-Han Dynasty was founded by this man, a descendant of Genghis Khan. He defeated what was left of the Song Dynasty, moved the capital to modern day Beijing and issues the first paper currency in China
Kublai Khan
This invention was created in China sometime in the first millennium AD and forever changed warfare. It was originally used for fire arrows and rockets, but was probably transferred to the rest of the world by the Mongols.
Gunpowder
The creation of the modern form of this important invention happened during the Han Dynasty. Before, history was recorded by painting or carving on rocks or clay.
Paper
This route was started in the Han Dynasty and connected China to central Asia to the Roman Empire. It's primary importance was the product its named after, but also things like spices, inventions and ideas.
The Silk Road
This period of conflict in China started after the Zhou Dynasty lost power. After more than 250 years of war, the first Chinese emperor would conquer the states and start the Qin Dynasty.
The Warring States Period
This dynasty was considered the golden age of Chinese power and culture. Important leaders include Li Yuan, We Zetian, and Li Shimin.
The Tang Dynasty
This Mongolian ruler was abandoned as a child, but united the steppe tribes through warfare. He defeated the Manchurian Jurchen kingdom, then the Chinese Jin at modern day Beijing before annihilating the Middle East.
Genghis Khan
This religion spread through the Silk Road to China in the Tang Dynasty and later spread from there to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Its teaching promote finding the middle way to end suffering.
Buddhism
