China is one of the world's four ancient civilizations, and the written history of China dates back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), over 3,000 years ago.
Pre-1600 BC China is charted mainly by legend and pre-historic evidence. The ancient China era was c. 1600–221 BC. The imperial era was 221 BC – 1912 AD, from China's unification under Qin rule till the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China era from 1912, and the modern China era from 1949.
