Chinese History: Long, Short and Complex

I really, really, really want to make a Memory walk of Chinese History.

I will put my timeline as I grow it on this post, and edit it as I learn more fascinating things and facts about different eras and dynasties and events etc. Chinese History is already pretty gruesome and/or intense, so making memorable places isn't really a problem.

The problem is pacing. Look at the picture below.

Chinese History Timeline

As you can see, dynasties can last a long time. The Zhou dynasty lasted 800 years if you count western and Eastern Zhou as the same dynasty (Which I do) while the Qin Dynasty lasted 15 years. This is especially troubling since a lot happened in the Qin Dynasty, and is one of the most important eras of political reform. Similarly, the Sui dynasty lasted 38 years and also was very productive. (This is somewhat of a trend in Chinese History. An incredibly long period of warfare, a short yet productive dynasty, then at least 400 years of one dynasty with relative peace.)

So you can see my problem. How do I make a series of Chronological events that with relatively even pacing when a lot happens in 15 years but not so much happens in 800 years?

Lets use the above examples of Zhou and Qin as an example. Zhou came before Qin, and has two main stages, Western and Eastern. I may view these as the same dynasty, but by splitting it in two it'd much more manageable. Then, Eastern Zhou can also be split into two parts, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States. This makes the task of splitting up Zhou more reasonable. The Qin Dynasty still has a lot less than 200 years worth of distance to cover almost as much information, but there's something else we can do.

Lynne Kelly's chapter on Memory Walks contains a bit where she talks about a ledge/cliff on which she keeps all her information on Queen Elizabeth, with each little crevice or rock being able to put new information that she learns. All we need to do is find a way to place the Qin and Sui dynasty in one of these places where a lot of information can be placed with better ease.

Using this, we can later make a plan our route better. I've also been thinking of splitting up Ancient and Medieval China into two different walks, so that there's more space to put stuff. This also allows for more places to put the interactions between Europe and other parts of Asia with China and how they impact each other, like the Silk Road and Marco Polo's expeditions.

That's all for now, but I may add later once we decide upon the route that we'll use.

I still don't know how to finish this.