What are these characters?

[XiaoZhou]

This is about different historical periods, but I'm not sure what most of the periods are.

Here is the image: http://tinypic.com/r/oab51w/5

[SiMaKe]

Here is a snapshot of the ones listed (compliments of Wikipedia). Don't know if this is what you were looking for.

Yangshao to Longshan:

The Yangshao culture (Chinese: 仰韶文化; pinyin: Yǎngsháo wénhuà) was aNeolithic culture that existed extensively along the Yellow River in China. It is dated from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The culture is named after Yangshao, the first excavated representative village of this culture, which was discovered in 1921 in Henan Province by the Swedish archaeologist Johan Gunnar Andersson (1874–1960). The culture flourished mainly in the provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi.

The Longshan culture (Chinese: t 龍山文化, s 龙山文化, p Lóngshān wénhuà), sometimes encountered as Lung-shan after its previous romanization, was a late Neolithic culture in China, centered on the central and lower Yellow Riverand dated from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The Longshan culture is named after the town of Longshan (lit. "Dragon Mountain") in the east of the area under the administration of the city of Jinan, Shandong Province, where the firstarchaeological find (in 1928) and excavation (in 1930 and 1931) of this culture took place at the Chengziya Archaeological Site.

Warring States to Qin/Han:

The Warring States period (simplified Chinese: 战国时代; traditional Chinese: 戰國時代;pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài), also known as the Era of Warring States, is a period in ancient Chinafollowing the Spring and Autumn period and concluding with the victory of the state of Qin in 221 BC, creating a unified China under the Qin Dynasty. Different scholars use dates for the beginning of the period ranging between 481 BC and 403 BC, but Sima Qian's date of 475 BC is most often cited. Most of this period coincides with the second half of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, although the Chinese sovereign (king of Zhou) was merely a figurehead.

The name of the period was derived from the Record of the Warring States, a work compiled early in the Han Dynasty.

The Qin Dynasty (Chinese: 秦朝; pinyin: Qín Cháo; Wade–Giles: Ch'in Ch'ao;IPA: [tɕʰǐn tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 206 BC. The dynasty was formed after the conquest of the six other states by the state of Qin, and its founding emperor was known as Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Gansu and Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring States period. In the mid and late third century BC, the Qin accomplished a series of swift conquests, first ending the powerless Zhou Dynasty, and eventually conquering the remaining six states of the major statesto gain control over the whole of China, resulting in a unified China.

The Han Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin:Hàn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Han Ch'ao; IPA: [xân tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) (206 BC – 220 AD) was animperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BC) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD). It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 AD) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD) and Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history.^[3] To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people" and the Chinese script is referred to as "Han characters".^[4]

Late Qing/Early Republican Period to Today:

The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: Qīng Cháo; Wade–Giles: Ch'ing Ch'ao; IPA: [tɕʰíŋ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]), also Empire of the Great Qing or Great Qing, was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and succeeded by theRepublic of China.

The History of the Republic of China begins after the Qing Dynasty in 1912, when the formation of the Republic of China put an end to over 2,000 years of Imperial rule. The Qing Dynasty, also known as the Manchu Dynasty, ruled from 1644-1912. Since its founding, the republic had experienced many trials and tribulations, being dominated by elements as disparate as warlord generals and foreign powers.

[XiaoZhou]

Beautiful! Thank you so much!