Chinese civilization began along the Yellow River in the Shang era, and spread from there when Bronze Age culture reached its peak. Ancient China finally fractured into warring kingdoms for 200 years, and its reunification marked the start of the imperial China age.

The Shang Dynasty was the first to have historical records remaining. Many bronze objects and jade articles, which date back to 1600 BCE, have been found to support these early archaeological records. The earliest form of Chinese writing – oracle bones – was found. The inscriptions on animal bones had pictographic characters. The Shang Dynasty stretched between the lower reaches of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

After the Shang era, the larger Zhou era territory was divided by a network of feudal states and was ruled over by kings. This era was divided into three periods: the Western Zhou Dynasty (1045–771 BCE); the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BCE), and the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE). It marked the transition from tribal society to feudal society. Major philosophies and religions emerged that were the basis of Chinese beliefs in later eras, such as Confucianism and Daoism.

From the first centralized feudal empire, the Qin Dynasty, which was established in 221 BCE, until the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, this period is known as the imperial era of China. The imperial China period makes up the bulk of Chinese history. 

The Qin and Han dynasties were the initial period of the Chinese empire. During this period, a number of institutions were established that laid the foundation of the basic political system for the next 2,000 years. The short-lived Qin Dynasty was the first to unite China as a country under an emperor instead of a ruling clan. A bureaucratic government was introduced, and was continued by the less extreme Han Dynasty.

The First Emperor — Qin Shi Huang was first to use the title of emperor in China. He and his Qin state united China by conquering the other warring states, and he ruled with an iron fist. Qin Shi Huang centralized the power of the empire after he took the throne and set up a system of laws. He standardized units of weight and measurements, as well as the writing system. The Qin Dynasty was the first and shortest imperial dynasty in China. It was famous for great building projects, such as the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, which guarded the First Emperor’s burial objects and was to protect him in his afterlife. During the later period of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang, a peasant leader, overthrew the unpopular Qin regime and established the Han Dynasty.

The longest imperial dynasty, the Han Dynasty, was known for starting the Silk Road trade and connecting China with Central Asia and Europe. In the Han Dynasty, a bureaucratic system in which promotion was based on merit was established and Confucianism was adopted by the state for national governance. Agriculture, handicrafts, and commerce developed rapidly. During the reign of Emperor Wudi (r. 140–87 BCE), the Han regime prospered most. 

When the Han Dynasty fell into decline, it fractured into the Three Kingdoms Period (220–265). After the Three Kingdoms Period came the Jin Dynasty, which then conquered most of China (265–420). Its hold on power was tenuous, however, and China again fractured, this time into the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589). During this messy time, many religions emerged and Buddhism was popular among the barbarian kingdoms in North China. After almost 400 years of chaos ended, the Sui Dynasty eventually unified China again in 581 CE.