Cycles of Chinese Empires and Steppe Confederation
|
Cycle |
Chinese Dynasty |
Foreign Dynasty |
Steppe Empire |
Bentley's Eras |
|
|
1. Ch'in and Han 221 BC - 220 AD |
|
Hsiung-Nu 209 BC - 155 AD |
200 BC |
|
Cycle 1 |
2. Disruption 220 - 581 |
Ancient Silk Roads |
||
|
|
3. T'o-pa Wei (and others) 386 - 556 |
|
400 AD |
|
|
4. Sui and T'ang 581 - 907 |
1 st Turkish 552 - 630 2 nd Turkish 683 - 734 |
500 AD
Sea lanes open |
||
|
5. Sung 960 - 1279 |
6. Liao (Khitan) 907 - 1125 |
Uighur 745 - 840 |
|
|
|
Cycle 2 |
7. Chin (Jurchen) 1115 - 1234 |
1000 AD Major changes and Mongol Era |
||
|
|
8. Yuan (Mongol) 1206 - 1368 |
Mongol Oirats Eastern Mongols Zunghars |
|
|
|
Cycle 3 |
9. Ming 1368 - 1644 |
10. Ch'ing 1616 - 1912 |
1350 AD 1500 AD Recent 1900 AD |
Sources: Thomas Barfield's table, from Chase-Dunn C. & Hall Th. D. "Rise and Demise: comparing world-systems", Westview Press, 1997.