| 朝代 | cháo dài | dynasty / reign (of a king) |   |
| 王朝 | wáng cháo | dynasty | |
| 朝廷 | cháo tíng | court / imperial household / dynasty | |
| 韩国 | Hán guó | South Korea (Republic of Korea) / Han, one of the Seven Hero States of the Warring States 戰國七雄|战国七雄[zhan4 guo2 qi1 xiong2] / Korea from the fall of the Joseon dynasty in 1897 | |
| 传奇 | chuán qí | legendary / fantasy saga / romance / short stories of the Tang and Song Dynasty | |
| 大汉 | dà hàn | big person / the great Han dynasty | |
| 长安 | Cháng ān | Chang'an (ancient name of Xi'an 西安[Xi1 an1]) capital of China during Tang Dynasty 唐朝[Tang2 chao2] / now 長安區|长安区[Chang2 an1 Qu1], a district of Xi'an | |
| 总监 | zǒng jiān | head / director (of an organizational unit) / (police) commissioner / inspector-general / rank of local governor in Tang dynasty administration | |
| 年间 | nián jiān | in the years of / during those years / period (of dynasty or decade) | |
| 上都 | Shàng dū | Shangdu, also known as Xanadu, summer capital of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) | |
| 大唐 | Dà Táng | the Tang dynasty (618-907) | |
| 中都 | Zhōng dū | Zhongdu, capital of China during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), modern day Beijing | |
| 书院 | shū yuàn | academy of classical learning (Tang Dynasty - Qing Dynasty) | |
| 刘备 | Liú Bèi | Liu Bei (161-223), warlord at the end of the Han dynasty and founder of the Han kingdom of Shu 蜀漢|蜀汉 / (c. 200-263), later the Shu Han dynasty | |
| 清代 | Qīng dài | Qing dynasty (1644-1911) | |
| 清朝 | Qīng cháo | Qing dynasty (1644-1911) | |
| 三国志 | Sān guó zhì | History of the Three Kingdoms, fourth of the 24 dynastic histories 二十四史[Er4 shi2 si4 Shi3], composed by Chen Shou 陳壽|陈寿[Chen2 Shou4] in 289 during Jin Dynasty 晉朝|晋朝[Jin4 chao2], 65 scrolls | |
| 明代 | Míng dài | the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) | |
| 唐朝 | Táng cháo | Tang dynasty (618-907) | |
| 唐代 | Táng dài | Tang dynasty (618-907) | |
| 西域 | Xī yù | Western Regions (Han Dynasty term for regions beyond Yumen Pass 玉門關|玉门关[Yu4 men2 Guan1]) | |
| 明朝 | Míng cháo | Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) | |
| 李白 | Lǐ Bái | Li Bai (701-762), famous Tang Dynasty poet | |
| 换代 | huàn dài | to transition to a new dynasty or regime / to replace an older product with an upgraded, new-generation one | |
| 启蒙 | qǐ méng | to instruct the young / to initiate / to awake sb from ignorance / to free sb from prejudice or superstition / primer / enlightened / the Enlightenment / Western learning from the late Qing dynasty | |
| 宋代 | Sòng dài | Song dynasty (960-1279) | |
| 银两 | yín liǎng | silver currency / currency of the Qing dynasty based on the silver tael 兩|两 | |
| 南宋 | Nán sòng | the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) | |
| 北宋 | Běi Sòng | the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) | |
| 汉代 | Hàn dài | the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) | |
| 东汉 | Dōng hàn | Eastern or later Han dynasty, 25-220 | |
| 朱元璋 | Zhū Yuán zhāng | Zhu Yuanzhang, personal name of first Ming dynasty emperor Hongwu 洪武[Hong2 wu3] | |
| 西汉 | Xī Hàn | Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-8 AD), also called 前漢|前汉[Qian2 Han4], Former Han Dynasty | |
| 五代 | Wǔ dài | Five Dynasties, period of history between the fall of the Tang dynasty (907) and the founding of the Song dynasty (960), when five would-be dynasties were established in quick succession in North China | |
| 岳飞 | Yuè Fēi | Yue Fei (1103-1142), Song dynasty patriot and general | |
| 宋朝 | Sòng cháo | Song Dynasty (960-1279) / also Song of Southern dynasties 南朝宋 / (420-479) | |
| 苏轼 | Sū Shì | Su Shi (1037-1101), also known as Su Dongpo 蘇東坡|苏东坡[Su1 Dong1 po1] northern Song Dynasty writer and calligrapher / one of the Three Su father and sons 三蘇|三苏[San1 Su1] and one of the Eight Giants of Tang and Song Prose 唐宋八大家[Tang2 Song4 Ba1 Da4 jia1] | |
| 封神榜 | Fēng shén Bǎng | Investiture of the Gods, major Ming dynasty vernacular novel of mythology and fantasy, very loosely based on King Wu of Zhou's 周武王[Zhou1 Wu3 wang2] overthrow of the Shang, subsequent material for opera, film, TV series, computer games etc | |
| 高丽 | Gāo lí | Korean Goryeo dynasty, 918-1392 / Korea, esp. in context of art and culture | |
| 大清 | Dà Qīng | Great Qing dynasty (1644-1911) | |
| 清末 | Qīng mò | the final years of the Qing dynasty 清朝[Qing1 chao2] / late Qing | |
| 郑和 | Zhèng Hé | Zheng He (1371-1433), famous early Ming dynasty admiral and explorer | |
| 元代 | Yuán dài | the Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1279-1368) | |
| 西夏 | Xī Xià | Western Xia dynasty 1038-1227 of Tangut people 黨項|党项 / occupying modern Ningxia and parts of Gansu and Shaanxi, overthrown by Mongols | |
| 满清 | Mǎn Qīng | Manchurian Qing (refers to the Qing dynasty, esp. at its decline, or as an anti-Qing slogan) | |
| 建安 | Jiàn ān | reign name (196-219) at the end of the Han dynasty | |
| 白居易 | Bái Jū yì | Bai Juyi (772-846), Tang dynasty poet | |
| 汉朝 | Hàn cháo | Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) | |
| 楔子 | xiē zi | wedge / peg / stopper / prologue (in some modern novels) / prologue or interlude in Yuan dynasty drama | |
| 钱庄 | qián zhuāng | old-style money shop (a type of private bank that first appeared in the Ming dynasty, flourished in the Qing, and was phased out after 1949) / (in recent times) informal financial company, often operating at the edges of what is legal | |
| 北洋 | Běi yáng | the Qing Dynasty name for the coastal provinces of Liaoning, Hebei, and Shandong | |
| 潘金莲 | Pān Jīn lián | Pan Jinlian (name lit. Golden Lotus), heroine of Ming dynasty vernacular novel Jinpingmei or the Golden Lotus 金瓶梅 | |
| 节度使 | jié dù shǐ | Tang and Song dynasty provincial governor, in Tang times having military and civil authority, but only civil authority in Song | |
| 太宗 | Tài zōng | posthumous name given to second emperor of a dynasty / King Taejong of Joseon Korea (1367-1422), reigned 1400-1418 | |
| 李氏 | Lǐ shì | the Korean Yi or Lee Dynasty (1392-1910) | |
| 金瓶梅 | Jīn píng méi | Jinpingmei or the Golden Lotus (1617), Ming dynasty vernacular novel, formerly notorious and banned for its sexual content | |
| 曾国藩 | Zēng Guó fān | Zeng Guofan (1811-1872), Qing dynasty politician and military man | |
| 元朝 | Yuán cháo | Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1279-1368) | |
| 先秦 | xiān Qín | pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC | |
| 山海关 | Shān hǎi guān | Shanhai Pass in Hebei, at the eastern terminus of the Ming dynasty Great Wall / Shanhaiguan district of Qinhuangdao city 秦皇島市|秦皇岛市[Qin2 huang2 dao3 shi4], Hebei | |
| 大秦 | Dà Qín | Han Dynasty term for the Roman Empire 羅馬帝國|罗马帝国[Luo2 ma3 Di4 guo2] | |
| 秦朝 | Qín cháo | Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) | |
| 李鸿章 | Lǐ Hóng zhāng | Li Hung-chang or Li Hongzhang (1823-1901), Qing dynasty general, politician and diplomat | |
| 吐蕃 | Tǔ bō | Tubo or Tufan, old name for Tibet / the Tibetan Tubo dynasty 7th-11th century AD / also pr. [Tu3 fan1] | |
| 辛亥革命 | Xīn hài Gé mìng | Xinhai Revolution (1911), which ended the Qing Dynasty | |
| 近代史 | jìn dài shǐ | modern history (for China, from the Opium Wars until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, i.e. mid-19th to early 20th century) | |
| 军机 | jūn jī | military aircraft / secret plan / Privy Council during the Qing dynasty | |
| 汉书 | Hàn shū | History of the Former Han Dynasty, second of the 24 dynastic histories 二十四史[Er4 shi2 si4 Shi3], composed by Ban Gu 班固[Ban1 Gu4] in 82 during Eastern Han (later Han), 100 scrolls | |
| 李自成 | Lǐ Zì chéng | Li Zicheng (1605-1645), leader of peasant rebellion at the end of the Ming Dynasty | |
| 司马迁 | Sī mǎ Qiān | Sima Qian (145-86 BC), Han Dynasty historian, author of Records of the Grand Historian 史記|史记[Shi3 ji4], known as the father of Chinese historiography | |
| 东晋 | Dōng Jìn | Eastern Jin dynasty 317-420 | |
| 三藏 | Sān zàng | Tripitaka (602-664), Tang dynasty Buddhist monk and translator who traveled to India 629-645 / same as 玄奘 | |
| 古风 | gǔ fēng | old style / old custom / a pre-Tang Dynasty genre of poetry aka 古體詩|古体诗[gu3 ti3 shi1] | |
| 济公 | Jì gōng | Jigong or Daoji (1130-1207), Southern Song Dynasty Buddhist monk | |
| 吴三桂 | Wú Sān guì | Wu Sangui (1612-1678), Chinese general who let the Manchus into China and helped them establish the Qing Dynasty, later leading a revolt against Qing in an effort to start his own dynasty | |
| 华佗 | Huà Tuó | Hua Tuo (?-208), famous doctor at the end of Han Dynasty | |
| 夜郎 | Yè láng | small barbarian kingdom in southern China during the Han dynasty | |
| 朱熹 | Zhū Xī | Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi (1130-1200), also known as Master Zhu 朱子[Zhu1 zi3], Song dynasty Confucian writer and propagandist, founder of neo-Confucianism | |
| 女真 | Nu:3 zhēn | Jurchen, a Tungus ethnic group, predecessor of the Manchu ethnic group who founded the Later Jin Dynasty 後金|后金[Hou4 Jin1] and Qing Dynasty | |
| 吕不韦 | Lu:3 Bù wéi | Lü / Buwei (?291-235 BC), merchant and politician of the State of Qin 秦國|秦国[Qin2 guo2], subsequent Qin Dynasty 秦代[Qin2 dai4] Chancellor, allegedly the father of Ying Zheng 嬴政[Ying2 Zheng4], who subsequently became the first emperor Qin Shihuang 秦始皇[Qin2 Shi3 huang2] | |
| 王安石 | Wáng An1 shí | Wang Anshi (1021-1086), Song dynasty politician and writer, one of the Eight Giants 唐宋八大家 | |
| 单于 | chán yú | chanyu (Han Dynasty name for chiefs of Xiongnu Huns 匈奴[Xiong1 nu2]) | |
| 韩愈 | Hán Yù | Han Yu (768-824), Tang dynasty essayist and poet, advocate of the classical writing 古文運動|古文运动[gu3 wen2 yun4 dong4] and neoclassical 復古|复古[fu4 gu3] movements | |
| 陶渊明 | Táo Yuān míng | Tao Yuanming (c. 365-427), Jin dynasty writer and poet | |
| 努尔哈赤 | Nǔ ěr hā chì | Nurhaci (1559-1626), founder and first Khan of the Manchu Later Jin dynasty 後金|后金[Hou4 Jin1] (from 1616) | |
| 司马懿 | Sī mǎ Yì | Sima Yi (179-251), warlord under Cao Cao and subsequently founder of the Jin dynasty | |
| 炎帝 | Yán dì | Flame Emperors (c. 2000 BC), legendary dynasty descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God | |
| 玄奘 | Xuán zàng | Xuanzang (602-664), Tang dynasty Buddhist monk and translator who traveled to India 629-645 | |
| 秦桧 | Qín Huì | Qin Hui (1090-1155 AD), Song Dynasty official said to have betrayed General Yue Fei 岳飛|岳飞[Yue4 Fei1] | |
| 八旗 | bā qí | Eight Banners, military organization of Manchu later Jin dynasty 後金|后金[Hou4 Jin1] from c. 1600, subsequently of the Qing dynasty | |
| 貂蝉 | Diāo Chán | Diaochan (-192), one of the four legendary beauties 四大美女[si4 da4 mei3 nu:3], in fiction a famous beauty at the break-up of Han dynasty, given as concubine to usurping warlord Dong Zhuo 董卓[Dong3 Zhuo2] to ensure his overthrow by fighting hero Lü / Bu 呂布|吕布[Lu:3 Bu4] | |
| 前朝 | qián cháo | the previous dynasty | |
| 福晋 | fú jìn | in Qing dynasty, Manchurian word for wife | |
| 直隶 | Zhí lì | Ming and Qing dynasty province directly administered by Beijing, including Beijing, Tianjin, most of Hebei and Henan and part of Shandong | |
| 欧阳修 | Oū yáng Xiū | Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), Northern Song dynasty prose writer and historian | |
| 九鼎 | jiǔ dǐng | the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, symbol of state power, dating back to the Xia Dynasty | |
| 李斯 | Lǐ Sī | Li Si (c. 280-208 BC), Legalist philosopher, calligrapher and prime minister of Qin kingdom and Qin dynasty from 246 to 208 BC | |
| 湖广 | Hú guǎng | Hubei and Hunan provinces (a Ming dynasty province) | |
| 妲己 | Dá jǐ | Daji (c. 11th century BC), concubine of the last Shang dynasty king Zhou Xin 紂辛|纣辛[Zhou4 Xin1] | |
| 程咬金 | Chéng Yǎo jīn | Cheng Yaojin (589-665), aka 程知節|程知节[Cheng2 Zhi1 jie2], Chinese general of the Tang dynasty | |
