East Asian History at a Glance

Books are part of the flow of history. But it is not only about Japanese history. Many books travel over the seas from time to time for several reasons, and a lot of knowledge and information come and go with books.

In this course, you wi’ll see books published in Japan as well as ones that came from China and Korea. Let’s take a quick look at the history of East Asia. You do not have to remember all the names of the historical periods mentioned, but please refer to this page as you progress through the course.

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The PDF version of the timelines on this page is available in the DOWNLOADS section below, which also includes some helpful maps. Please check it out!

Japanese History Overview

This is a list of the main periods of Japanese history. This may be a useful reference as we proceed in the course.

Period	Name of Era	Name of Era
– mid-3rd c. CE	Yayoi	弥生
mid-3rd c. CE – 7th c. CE	Kofun (Tomb period)	古墳
592 – 710	Asuka	飛鳥
710-794	Nara	奈良
794 – 1185	Heian	平安
1185 – 1333	Kamakura	鎌倉
1333 – 1392	Nanboku-chō (Southern and Northern Courts period)	南北朝
1392 – 1573	Muromachi	室町
1573 – 1603	Azuchi-Momoyama	安土桃山
1603 – 1868	Edo	江戸
1868 – 1912	Meiji	明治

Era names (Nengō) in Edo Period

There were several era names (nengo, or gengo) in the Edo period (1603 ~ 1868) and your educators will sometime use them in the description of old books and materials, especially in Weeks 2 and 4. Here is the complete list of Edo-period era names for your convenience:

Start	Era name	English		Start	Era name	English
1596	慶長	Keichō		1744	延享	Enkyō
1615	元和	Genna		1748	寛延	Kan’en
1624	寛永	Kan’ei		1751	宝暦	Hōreki
1644	正保	Shōhō		1764	明和	Meiwa
1648	慶安	Keian		1772	安永	An’ei
1652	承応	Jōō		1781	天明	Tenmei
1655	明暦	Meireki		1789	寛政	Kansei
1658	万治	Manji		1801	享和	Kyōwa
1661	寛文	Kanbun		1804	文化	Bunka
1673	延宝	Enpō		1818	文政	Bunsei
1681	天和	Tenna		1830	天保	Tenpō
1684	貞享	Jōkyō		1844	弘化	Kōka
1688	元禄	Genroku		1848	嘉永	Kaei
1704	宝永	Hōei		1854	安政	Ansei
1711	正徳	Shōtoku		1860	万延	Man’en
1716	享保	Kyōhō		1861	文久	Bunkyū
1736	元文	Genbun		1864	元治	Genji
1741	寛保	Kanpō		1865	慶応	Keiō

Chinese History Overview

This is a list of the main periods in Chinese history. This may also be a useful reference as we proceed in the course as many of the books we will discuss were written in China.

Period	Name of Era	Name of Era
1046 – 256 BCE	Zhou	周
480 – 221 BCE	Warring States	戦国時代
221 – 206 BCE	Qin	秦
206 BC – 8 CE	Former Han	前漢
8 – 23 CE	Xin	新
25 – Early 3rd period	Later Han	後漢
Early 3rd period – Late 3rd period	Period of Three Kingdoms	三国時代
265 – 316	Jin, Western Jin	晋（西晋）
317 – 420	Jin, Eastern Jin	晋（東晋）
304 – 439	Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms	五胡十六国時代
439 – 589	Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties	南北朝時代
581 – 618	Suí	隋
618 – 907	Táng	唐
907 – 960	Period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms	五代十国時代
960 – 1127	Northern Song	北宋
1127 – 1279	Southern Song	南宋
1271 – 1368	Yuan	元
1368 – 1644	Ming	明
1644 – 1912	Qing	清

Korean History Overview

This is a list of the main periods in Korean history. Many books came to Japan from or through Korea.

Period	Name of Era	Name of Era
– 108 BC	Old Choseon	古朝鮮
57 BC – 935	Silla	新羅
18 BC – 660	Baekje	百済
37 BC – 668	Goguryeo	高句麗
918 – 1392	Goryeo	高麗
1392 – 1910	Joseon	李氏朝鮮