A census counted fifty-nine million people in the Han empire.

Ping of Han established a national school system.

Ping died after being poisoned by Wang Mang, who became acting emperor.

Liu Xin completed a star catalogue and calculated the length of the year.

Wang Mang declared himself emperor of the Xin dynasty.

Wang Mang introduced an income tax of ten percent for professionals and skilled laborers.

Mother Lü initiated a rebellion against a county magistrate in Haiqu County, near modern Rizhao.

Lülin forces broke the siege of Kunyang, in modern Ye County, by a vastly superior Xin army.

Lülin rebels stormed the Weiyang Palace and killed Wang. The Gengshi Emperor ascended the throne, restoring the Han dynasty.

The Gengshi Emperor was executed.

The Red Eyebrows appointed Liu Penzi their emperor.

The Han warlord Emperor Guangwu of Han took the title emperor.

The Red Eyebrows surrendered to the Han dynasty.

Ban Gu, the co-author of the Book of Han, is born.

Vietnam fell into Han control.

Guangwu died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Ming of Han.

The Buddhist White Horse Temple was established in Luoyang.

A punitive Han expedition against the Xiongnu captured territory in the area of modern Hami City.

Ming died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Zhang of Han.

Wang Chong correctly theorized the nature of the water cycle.

Jin Midi died.

Zhang died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor He of Han.

Han and allied forces defeated the army of the Northern Chanyu and accepted the surrender of two hundred thousand Xiongnu soldiers in the Altai Mountains.

Xu Shen completed the Shuowen Jiezi.

He of Han died.

He's infant son Emperor Shang of Han was made emperor of Han with empress dowager Deng Sui acting as regent.

Cai Lun invented papermaking.

Shang died.

Shang's young cousin Emperor An of Han became emperor, with Deng Sui continuing to act as regent.

An died.

The Marquess of Beixiang became emperor of the Han dynasty.

The Marquess of Beixiang died.

An's son Emperor Shun of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.

Zhang Heng invented a seismometer capable of indicating the direction of earthquakes.

The Cantong qi was published.

Shun died. He was succeeded by his infant son Emperor Chong of Han, with empress dowager Liang Na and her brother Liang Ji acting as regents.

Chong of Han died.

Chong's young third cousin Emperor Zhi of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty, with Liang Na acting as regent.

Liang Ji poisoned Zhi, killing him.

Emperor Huan of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.

Lokaksema was born.

A Roman envoy arrived at the Han capital Luoyang.

Several ministers and some two hundred university students, who had opposed the influence of corrupt eunuchs at the royal court, were arrested.

Emperor Ling of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.

Huan of Han died.

Cai Wenji was born.

The earliest known reference to The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art appeared.

Ding Huan invented the rotary fan.

The Taoist sect leader Zhang Jue called on his followers in the Han provinces to rebel against the government.

The Qiang people launched a rebellion against Han authority in the area of modern Wuwei.

Zhi Yao first translated Buddhist texts into Chinese.

Ling of Han died.

Ling's son Liu Bian became emperor of the Han dynasty.

Forces loyal to the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu massacred some two thousand eunuchs in the Han capital Luoyang.

The Han general Dong Zhuo deposed Liu Bian as emperor and appointed his brother Emperor Xian of Han in his stead.

A coalition led by Yuan Shao gathered at Hangu Pass in anticipation of an expedition against Dong.

Dong was assassinated by his foster son Lü Bu.

The warlord Sun Ce attacked and conquered territory administered by Lu Kang.

War between Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu almost take Cao Cao's life. Cao Cao's oldest son perished in the battle, but Zhang Xiu later (199) surrendered to Cao Cao to face Yuan Shao together.

The allied forces of the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeated an army loyal to Lü Bu in Xuzhou.

Forces loyal to Cao Cao dealt a bloody defeat to Yuan Shao near the confluence of the Bian and Yellow Rivers.

The warlord Gongsun Kang established the Daifang Commandery on the Korean Peninsula.

Forces loyal to the warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan decisively repelled Cao Cao in an attempted invasion across the Yangtze River.

Cao Cao defeated an alliance of anti-Han rebels in modern Tongguan County, securing his control over Guanzhong.

Liu Zhang, the governor of Yi Province in modern Sichuan and Chongqing, surrendered Chengdu to Liu Bei.

A plague outbreak forced Sun Quan to abandon the attempted conquest from Cao Cao of a fortress at Hefei.

Liu Bei ambushed and dealt a bloody defeat to Cao Cao's army in Hanzhong.

Cao Cao repelled an attack by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu in modern Fancheng District, at great cost to both sides.

Liu Bei's generals Shi Ren and Mi Fang defected to Sun Quan, surrendering to his general Lü Meng the main defense posts of Jingzhou.

Cao Cao's son Cao Pi forced Xian to abdicate the throne and declared himself emperor of Cao Wei.

Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han.

The Warring States period ended in 221 BCE after the state of Qin conquered the other six kingdoms, reunited China, and established the dominant order of autocracy. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty.

Construction of imperial highways begins.

Chancellor Li Si standardized the Chinese writing system with the creation of the "Small Seal Script".

The Lingqu Canal was built.

Burning of books and burying of scholars: All copies of the Classic of Poetry, the Book of Documents, and works of the Hundred Schools of Thought were ordered burned.

Qin Shi Huang's son Qin Er Shi succeeded him as emperor of China.

Qin Shi Huang was buried with the Terracotta Army in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.

Qin Shi Huang died from mercury pills made by his alchemists and court physicians; ironically these pills were meant to make Qin Shi Huang immortal.

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were assassinated by their own men.

Military officers Chen Sheng and Wu Guang began a rebellion for fear of being executed after failing to arrive at their posts.

The Xiongnu chanyu Modu Chanyu established the Xiongnu Empire on the Eurasian Steppe.

Li was executed on charges of treason. Zhao Gao, who had framed him, was appointed chancellor in his stead.

Ziying surrendered to Gaozu.

Ziying killed Zhao.

The Chu general Emperor Gaozu of Han entered the Qin capital Xianyang.

Zhao Gao had Qin Er Shi killed. Qin Er Shi's nephew Ziying succeeded him.

Chu forces led by the warlord Xiang Yu defeated a numerically superior Qin force, killing a large fraction of the Qin army.

Xiang led an army into Xianyang, burned the Epang Palace, and killed Ziying and the royal family.

Gaozu fled a banquet after it became clear that Xiang had invited him there to be killed. Xiang Yu or Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynasty and became a prominent warlord. He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公) by King Huai II of the restoring Chu state in 208 BC. The following year, he led the Chu forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han. After the fall of Qin, Xiang Yu was enthroned as the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (西楚霸王) and ruled a vast area covering modern-day central and eastern China, with Pengcheng as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, in a long struggle for power, known as the Chu–Han Contention, which concluded with his eventual defeat at the Battle of Gaixia and his suicide. Xiang Yu is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.

Han forces dealt a decisive defeat to a numerically superior Zhao army at Jingxing Pass.

Gaozu's Han forces destroyed the Western Chu army led by Xiang in modern Suzhou.

The Qin general Zhao Tuo established the state of Nanyue.

Gaozu took the title emperor and established his capital in Luoyang.

The Xiongnu encircled and besieged a superior Han force.

Gaozu died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Hui of Han.

The Han chancellor Xiao He died.

Chang'an became the eastern terminus of the Silk Road to Europe.

Hui died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Qianshao of Han.

Zhang Liang died.

Qianshao was deposed and killed on the orders of the empress dowager Empress Lü Zhi. He was succeeded by his brother Emperor Houshao of Han.

Houshao was deposed by imperial officials led by Chen Ping and Zhou Bo. He was succeeded by his uncle, Gaozu's son Emperor Wen of Han.

Wen died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Jing of Han.

Jing died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Wu of Han.

Wu adopted Confucianism.

The Han dynasty invaded Minyue after a plea for assistance from its vassal state Nanyue.

A Han deception failed to lure the Xiongnu into an ambush at Mayi.

Zhang Qian returned to the Han court to report on his travels to the kingdoms of Dayuan, Kangju, the Greco-Bactrian, and Indo-Greek Kingdoms, Parthia and Mesopotamia.

A Han expedition into the Orkhon Valley began which would deal a decisive and bloody defeat to the Xiongnu.

The Han dynasty conquered and annexed Nanyue.

The Minyue rump state of Dongyue was invaded and annexed by the Han dynasty.

The Han dynasty invaded and annexed the Dian Kingdom.

Han forces attacked the Loulan Kingdom at Lop Nur.

Han forces laid siege to Kokand.

Sima Qian completed the Records of the Grand Historian.

Wu died. He was succeeded by his young son Emperor Zhao of Han, with Huo Guang, Jin Midi, and Shangguang Jie acting as regents.

Huo appointed Wu's great-grandson, then a commoner, Emperor Xuan of Han.

The Prince of Changyi was deposed.

The Prince of Changyi was appointed emperor of Han by Huo Guang.

Zhao "Emperor Zhao of Han" died.

Han forces defeated the people of the Gushi culture, at that time subject to the Xiongnu, at Jiaohe in modern Turpan.

The Protectorate of the Western Regions was established.

Consort Ban was born.

Xuan's son Emperor Yuan of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.

Xuan "Emperor Xuan of Han" died.

Jing Fang died.

A Han force breached and destroyed a fortress occupied by the Xiongnu chanyu Zhizhi Chanyu at Taraz, killing him.

Yuan died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Cheng of Han.

Liu Xiang compiled the Biographies of Exemplary Women.

Cheng died. He was succeeded by his nephew Emperor Ai of Han.

Ai's young cousin Emperor Ping of Han was appointed emperor of the Han dynasty, with Wang Mang acting as regent.

Ai "Emperor Ai of Han" died.