| 794–1185 | Heian period in Japan |
| 804 | Two Japanese Buddhist monks, Saichō and Kūkai, travel to China |
| 935–1392 | Koryŏ Dynasty in Korea |
| 960–1279 | Song Dynasty in China; emergence of scholar-official class; invention of movable type |
| 995–1027 | Fujiwara Michinaga dominant at Heian court |
| ca. 1000–1010 | The Tale of Genji |
| 1119 | First reported use of compass |
| 1120s | First government-issued paper money introduced by Song |
| 1126 | Song loss of north China to the Jurchens; Song capital relocated to Hangzhou |
| 1130–1200 | Zhu Xi, Neo-Confucian philosopher |
| 1185–1333 | Kamakura Shogunate in Japan; Zen Buddhism flourishes |
| 1234–1368 | Mongols’ Yuan Dynasty in China |
| ca. 1275–1292 | Marco Polo travels in China |