User blog comment:Kabutsu/Assassin's Creed IV Setting Ideas/@comment-1824113-20121114200752/@comment-4661864-20121115090030

There is no Chinese Empire nor has there ever been, unless you're referring to say 1915-16 short lived Empire of China. There have been Chinese Imperial Dynasties like "Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing". They may have held the lands that are known as China but each one is unique and ran different and generally involved the conquering of the previous one. As far as those Dynasties go I am only familiar with a few portions of the first 3 (Qin, Han, Jin) knowing that the Yuan Dynasty was the Mongol led one after Kublai Khan conquered China and the Qing being Manchurian.

Oh and the knowledge that around 1510-20 the entire Assassin Order in China save 1 person was entirely whiped out because of the 3rd novel involving Ezio having a chinese assassin showing up wishing for his help and knowledge to rebuild her order.

As for a decent time period, you could say that perhaps 1450-1475 would be a great time period. Just from a quick look that time span is within the Ming Dynasty and has the Tumu Crisis(1449) where the Zhengtong Emperor was captured by Esen Tayisi who held him briefly then released him after no ransom was paid. In his place his younger brother was raised to emperor as the Jingtai Emperor. After he was released his younger brother placed him under house arrest and raised his own son to be heir but he died. Then the assassination of Esen in 1455.. Then in 1457 Jingtai was forced back to prince as Zhengtong reclaimed being emperor albeit now as the Tianshun Emperor. With a month later Jingtai dying at 28 (killed obviously). There was also Yu Qian a minister who supported Jingtai but after his death was also put to death. In 1459 the General Shi Hing was killed by starvation in prison. In 1460 Shi Hing's son Shi Biao was executed as well. Then in 1461 there was an attempted coup with Cao Qin a general at the time. Three of his brothers died during the attack on Beijing while he himself escaped and later killed himself at his residence in 1461. His adopted father the eunuch Cao Jixiang was publicly dismembered on August 6th...