China Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands

The land of today's China appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 52 different states, among them Manchu Empire, Tibet, China, Qing Empire, Xinjiang.

Map of Asia in 1700, showing the lands of today's China — Border map for 1700. See the world in 1700.

Explore the history of China in the interactive map

Embed this interactive map on your site

Free to use on blogs, school pages and course sites. Copy the code below; please keep the credit line.

<iframe src="https://chronicamaps.com/?embed=1#y1700-r-asia-l-en" width="100%" height="520" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="China Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:13px;margin:4px 0 0">Interactive map: <a href="https://chronicamaps.com/en/country/china">China Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands</a> · Chronica Maps</p>

Compare 1000 with today · China as a state on the map

Who ruled the land of China, map by map

Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.

Map	Main states on this land
500 BC	Zhou states 21%
400 BC	Zhou states 21% · Xiongnu 17% · Zhangzhung Kingdom 4%
323 BC	Zhou states 19% · Qin 4% · Zhangzhung Kingdom 4%
300 BC	Zhou states 19% · Qin 4% · Zhangzhung Kingdom 4%
200 BC	Yuezhi 40% · Han Empire 25% · Thai 19%
100 BC	Han Empire 25% · Xiongnu 6% · Kushan Empire 4%
1 BC	Han 31% · Xiongnu 8%
AD 100	Han 31% · Kushan Empire 4%
AD 200	Han 31%
AD 300	Jin 31%
AD 400	Jin 27% · Ruanruan 13% · Sixteen Kingdoms 2%
AD 500	Jin Empire 19% · Ruanruan 13% · Toba Wei 10%
AD 600	Sui Empire 29% · Göktürks 8%
AD 700	Tufan Empire 38% · Tang Empire 27% · Uyghurs 8%
AD 800	Tibetan Empire 60% · Tang Empire 27% · Uyghurs 8%
AD 900	Tibetan Empire 56% · Tang Empire 27% · Uyghurs 8%
1000	Tibet 38% · Song Empire 25% · Xixia 8%
1100	Tibet 35% · Song Empire 25% · Cuman-Kipchak confederation 15%
1200	Tibet 35% · Song Empire 25% · Kara Khitai Khaganate 19%
1300	Great Khanate 46% · Tibet 27% · Chagatai Khanate 25%
1400	Ming Empire 31% · Tibet 27% · Chagatai Khanate 25%
1492	Chagatai Khanate 40% · Ming Empire 31% · Tibet 27%
1500	Chagatai Khanate 40% · Ming Chinese Empire 31% · Tibet 27%
1600	central Asian khanates 35% · Ming Chinese Empire 31% · Tibet 31%
1650	central Asian khanates 35% · Tibet 31% · Manchu Empire 27%
1700	central Asian khanates 35% · Tibet 31% · Manchu Empire 27%
1783	Qing Empire 96% · central Asian khanates 4%
1800	Qing Empire 96% · central Asian khanates 4%
1815	Manchu Empire 100%
1880	Manchu Empire 100%
1900	Manchu Empire 100%
1914	Manchu Empire 52% · Xinjiang 33% · Tibet 15%
1920	Chinese Warlords 52% · Xinjiang 33% · Tibet 15%
1930	Chinese Warlords 52% · Xinjiang 33% · Tibet 15%
1938	Chinese warlords 52% · Xinjiang 33% · Tibet 15%
1945	China 52% · Xinjiang 33% · Tibet 15%
1960	China 85% · Tibet 15%
1994	China 100%
2010	China 100%

Historic cities in China

Famous people of China

Lived	Person
551 BC – 479 BC	Confucius	Philosopher and teacher
259 BC – 210 BC	Qin Shi Huang	First Emperor of China
256 BC – 195 BC	Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han)	Founder of the Han dynasty
c. 164 BC – 113 BC	Zhang Qian	Envoy and explorer
156 BC – 87 BC	Emperor Wu of Han	Han emperor
c. 145 BC – 86 BC	Sima Qian	Historian
AD 155 – AD 220	Cao Cao	Warlord and poet
AD 161 – AD 223	Liu Bei	Founder of Shu Han
AD 181 – AD 234	Zhuge Liang	Chancellor of Shu Han
AD 303 – AD 361	Wang Xizhi	Calligrapher
AD 598 – AD 649	Emperor Taizong of Tang	Tang emperor
AD 602 – AD 664	Xuanzang	Buddhist monk and translator
AD 624 – AD 705	Wu Zetian	China’s only empress regnant
AD 701 – AD 762	Li Bai	Poet
AD 712 – AD 770	Du Fu	Poet
AD 927 – AD 976	Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu of Song)	Founder of the Song dynasty

All 202 people

Battles and historic sites

Year	Battle or site
260 BC	Battle of Changping
202 BC	Battle of Gaixia
AD 208	Battle of Red Cliffs
AD 383	Battle of Fei River
1279	Battle of Yamen
1449	Battle of Tumu Fortress
1644	Battle of Shanhai Pass
1905	Battle of Mukden
1935	Zunyi Conference

Landmarks

Great Wall at BadalingStanding · 1505
Forbidden CityStanding · 1420
Terracotta ArmyRuins · 210 BC
Old Summer PalaceRuins · 1709
Potala PalaceStanding · 1649
Mogao CavesStanding · AD 366

Questions

Which empires and states ruled the territory of China?

On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern China belonged to Manchu Empire, Tibet, China, Qing Empire, Xinjiang, Chagatai Khanate, along with 46 other states.

What was China part of in 1000?

On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's China lay within Tibet.

What was China part of in 1500?

On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's China lay within Chagatai Khanate.

What was China part of in 1900?

On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's China lay within Manchu Empire.