The Capital Cities of ancient Chinese dynasties

Xia (21st-16th century B.C.)
- Yuncheng 運 城, in Shanxi Province

Shang (16th century-1066 B.C.)
- Erlitou 二里头, in Henan Province
- Aodu 隞都, at modern Zhengzhou in Henan Province
- Yin 殷, near modern Anyang

Western Zhou (1066-771 B.C.)
- Zongzhou 宗周 (Hao), near Xi’an in Shaanxi Province

Eastern Zhou (770-256 B.C.)
- Chengzhou 成周, at modern Luoyang

Warring States (475-221 B.C.)
- Various

Qin (221-206 B.C.)
- Xianyang 咸陽, in Shaanxi Province

Western Han (206 B.C.-A.D.220)
- Chang’an 長安, at modern Xi’an in Shaanxi Province

Eastern Han (A.D. 25-220)
- Luoyang 洛陽 (雒), in Henan Province

Three Kingdoms:
Wei (A.D. 220-265)
- Luoyang 洛陽, in Henan Province
Shu (A.D. 221-263)
- Chengdu 成都, in Sichuan Province
Wu (A.D. 222-280)
- Jianye 建業, at modern Nanjing in Jiangsu Province

Western Jin (A.D. 265-316)
- Luoyang 洛陽 (雒), in Henan Province
- Chang’an 長安, at modern Xi’an in Shaanxi Province

Eastern Jin (A.D. 317-420)
- Jiankang 建康, at modern Nanjing in Jiangsu Province Read the rest of this entry »

Basic Ancient Chinese Coin Types

Basic Ancient Chinese Coin Types
(reference: Education Department of the Shanghai Museum)

Money emerged as a form of currency in exchange for commodities. In ancient China, cowries and livestock were used as a mediem of exchangei n the late Neolithic period (21st century BC). This was gradually replaced by unwrought weight metals and cast coins in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (16th century – 770 BC). After the Qin unification of China in 221 BC, the round-with-a-central-square-hole coin superseded all previous types of cast coins and became the de-facto standard right up till the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Cowry -
An early medium of exchange used in the late Xia Dynasty (21st century BC). The cowry of the later Shang Dynasty (16th – 11th century BC) usually featured teeth at one side and a hole for stringing together. As natural cowries were limited in quantity, copies made of stone, seashell, bone and bronze were also used in circulation. Bronze cowries were therefore the first Chinese cast coins.

Weight metals -
Smelted metal pieces without denomination were used as money in commodity exchanges. They were valued by weight and material quality. Gold plates for instance, were used in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC).
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China under the Earlier and Later Han Dynasties

China under the Earlier and Later Han Dynasties, 206 B.C.-220 A.D.

Economic Development under the Earlier Han Dynasty

Economic Development under the Earlier Han Dynasty, ca. 100 B.C.　汉朝早期的经济发展，约公元前100年.

sources:http://map.huhai.net/20.jpg

map of han dynasty