A brief history of China per asianhistory.about.com (VERY Brief we're talking 5000 years!)
History of China:
Chinese historical records reach back into the realm of legend, 5,000 years ago. It is impossible to cover even the major events of this ancient culture in a short space, but here are some highlights.
The first non-mythical dynasty to rule China was the Xia (2200- 1700 BCE), founded by Emperor Yu. It was succeeded by the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), and then the Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE). Historical records are scanty for these ancient dynastic times.
In 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huangdi assumed the throne, conquering neighboring city-states, and unifying China. He founded the Qin Dynasty, which lasted only until 206 BCE. Today, he is best-known for his tomb complex in Xian (formerly Chang'an), which houses the incredible army of terracotta warriors.
Qin Shi Huang's inept heir was overthrown by the army of commoner Liu Bang in 207 BCE. Liu then founded the Han Dynasty, which lasted until 220 CE. In the Han era, China expanded west as far as India, opening trade along what would later become the Silk Road.
When the Han Empire collapsed in 220 CE, China was thrown into a period of anarchy and turmoil. For the next four centuries, dozens of kingdoms and fiefdoms competed for power. This era is called the "Three Kingdoms," after the three most powerful of the rival realms (Wei, Shu, and Wu), but that is a gross simplification.
By 589 CE, the Western branch of the Wei kings had accumulated enough wealth and power to defeat their rivals, and unite China once more. The Sui Dynasty was founded by Wei general Yang Jian, and ruled until 618 CE. It built the legal, governmental, and societal framework for the powerful Tang Empire to follow.
The Tang Dynasty was founded by a general called Li Yuan, who had the Sui emperor assassinated in 618. The Tang ruled from 618 to 907 CE, and Chinese art and culture flourished. At the end of the Tang, China descended into chaos again in the "5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms" period.
In 959, a palace guard named Zhao Kuangyin took power and defeated the other small kingdoms. He established the Song Dynasty (960-1279), known for its intricate bureaucracy and Confucian learning.
In 1271, the Mongolian ruler Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis) established the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The Mongols subjugated other ethnic groups including the Han Chinese, and eventually were overthrown by the ethnic-Han Ming.
China flowered again under the Ming (1368-1644), creating great art and exploring as far as Africa.
The final Chinese dynasty, the Qing, ruled from 1644 to 1911, when the Last Emperor was overthrown. Power struggles between warlords such as Sun Yat-Sentouched off the Chinese Civil War. Although the war was interrupted for a decade by the Japanese invasion and World War II, it picked up again once Japan was defeated. Mao Zedong and the Communist Peoples Liberation Army won the Chinese Civil War, and China became the Peoples' Republic of China in 1949. Chiang Kai Shek, leader of the losing Nationalist forces, fled to Taiwan.