| Dynasty |
Dates |
Types of Art Produced |
| Neolithic Period (Pre-Dynastic) |
c. 7000–2250 B.C.E. |
Large-scale architecture; painted pottery; jade carving |
| Xia Dynasty (debated) |
c. 2205–1700 B.C.E. |
Monumental architecture; tombs; earliest bronze work |
| Shang Dynasty |
c. 1700–1045 B.C.E. |
Bronze vessels made using piece-mold technique; jade and lacquer objects; carved bones |
| Zhou Dynasty |
c. 1045–480 B.C.E. |
Bronze bells made using lost-wax casting technique; monumental tombs |
| Period of Warring States |
480–221 B.C.E. |
Highly decorative bronze and jade; lacquered wood; silk textiles |
| Qin Dynasty |
221–206 B.C.E. |
Monumental tombs; naturalistic clay sculpture |
| Han Dynasty |
206 B.C.E.–220 C.E. |
Painted silk; jade carvings; metalwork; Buddhism takes root in China |
| Period of Disunity (also known as Six Dynasties or Northern and Southern Dynasties) |
220–589 C.E. |
Wall paintings; ceramics; painted screens; stone carving; Buddhist art; secular art; calligraphy |
