Real World Timeline

This page is incomplete. Kanzenshuu wiki team members are aware that they must edit this page to add missing information and complete it.

The Real World Timeline is a chronology of events in the real world that would lead to the creation of the Dragon Ball franchise, as well as the chronology of the development, production, and release of works within and related to it.

Abridged Timeline

Date	Event
1592	Journey to the West is published.
3 April 1952	Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy begins serialization.
5 April 1955	Akira Toriyama is born.
25 January 1961	Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians is released.
27 November 1965	Gamera, the Giant Monster is released.
17 July 1966	Ultraman begins airing.
31 October 1971	The Big Boss, starring Bruce Lee, is released.
5 October 1978	Drunken Master, starring Jackie Chan and Hwang Jang-lee, is released.
28 November 1978	Akira Toriyama's professional manga debut: Wonder Island is published.
5 January 1980	Dr. Slump begins publication.
10 September 1984	Fist of the North Star volume 3 is released.
20 November 1984	Dragon Ball begins publication.
21 May 1985	The 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc begins.
20 December 1985	The Red Ribbon Army arc begins.
26 February 1986	Dragon Ball's animated television adaptation begins airing.
24 February 1987	The 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc begins.
28 July 1987	The Piccolo Daimao arc begins.
16 February 1988	The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc begins.
4 October 1988	The Saiyan arc begins.
26 April 1989	Dragon Ball Z begins airing.
19 September 1989	The Namek arc begins.
25 June 1991	The Cell arc begins.
11 May 1993	The Majin Boo arc begins.
23 May 1995	Dragon Ball concludes publication.
7 February 1996	Dragon Ball GT begins airing.
17 November 1997	Dragon Ball GT concludes airing.
4 December 2002 to 2 April 2004	The Dragon Ball Kanzenban is released.
5 April 2009	Dragon Ball Kai begins airing.
30 March 2013	Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods is released.
13 July 2013 to 30 September 2013	Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is serialized.
18 April 2015	Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' is released.
20 June 2015	The Dragon Ball Super comic begins serialization.
5 July 2015	The Dragon Ball Super television series begins airing.
14 December 2018	Dragon Ball Super: Broly is released.
11 June 2022	Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is released.
1 March 2024	Akira Toriyama passes away.
11 October 2024	Dragon Ball Daima begins airing.

Earliest Roots

The first section of this timeline aims to chronicle the real world roots and evolution of some of the major sources of inspiration behind Dragon Ball, as well as many of the mystical and martial concepts employed by Toriyama within the story. This includes things like Journey to the West, the ki-based power system, the frequent commitment to fairness in combat, and more. Below is a brief explanation of the various histories being traced.

Buddhism, Shaolin, and Journey to the West

Dragon Ball begins life as a parody of the 16th century Chinese novel, Journey to the West, both works' protagonists sharing a name. Said novel is a fictionalized account of a Chinese monk's pilgrimage to India, in search of Buddhist texts. The Shaolin Monastery and related iconography also see use in Dragon Ball, perhaps most notably in the form of Kuririn. In these ways, the history of Buddhism is part of the pre-history of Dragon Ball.

Buddhism develops out of India's Vedic, Brahamanic, and śramaṇa traditions around the 6th century BCE, before spreading to China by around 67 CE. In the 5th century, Batuo (or Buddhabhadra) brings dhyāna (chán in Chinese and zen in Japanese) meditative practice to China, which he integrates with Dàoism and folk religions. He becomes the first abbot of the Shaolin Monastery, constructed for him at the order of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the 6th century, Bodhidharma and Dazu Huike travel to the monastery where they further develop Batuo's meditative tradition.

In the 5th century, Guṇabhadra translates the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, a text exploring yogācāra, into Chinese. Bodhidharma is said to have passed a copy of this text down to Huike. By the 7th century, yogācāra is widespread in China and subject to many conflicting interpretations. A Chinese Buddhist monk named Xuanzang embarks on a pilgrimage to India in order to resolve these disputes. He returns with hundreds of untranslated texts. The journey is chronicled in Records of the Western Regions, which is given a fantastical embellishment in the form of Journey to the West in 1592.

In 653, a Japanese monk named Dōshō travels to China to study Xuanzang's account of Yogācāra Buddhism, and also learns about Chán Buddhism from a student of Huike. Dōshō returns to Japan and pioneers Zen Buddhism. In this way, Zen Buddhism has traceable common ancestry with the Buddhism of Shaolin and and that of Journey to the West.

Ki & Sen'nin

Dragon Ball's power system centers around ki (気). Toriyama explains that strengthening one's ki is the way to overcome the limits of physical strength. Son Goku and others use ki to fly through the air, to attack one another with waves or blasts, to detect others, and more. Ki is a romanization of the Japanese reading of the character 氣. Familiar romanizations of Chinese readings of this character include chʻi (Wade–Giles) and qì (Hanyu Pinyin). In the real world, qì refers primarily to breath, air, or gas, but has come to refer to vital energy as well. The practice of circulating, controlling, and cultivating one's qì is referred to as qìgōng (氣功) in Hanyu Pinyin, chʻi-kung in Wade-Giles, or kikō in Japanese. In Dragon Ball, the common run-of-the-mill energy blasts we see are called kikōha (気功波). Some of the earliest references to qì come to us in Confucian and Dàoist writings, though more prototypical forms of the character appear even earlier. Dàoism also provides us with the concept of the xiān (仙), or immortal sage. The Japanese reading is sen, as in sen'nin (仙人). The Daoist sage acquires immortality through many means, including through qìgōng exercise and internal alchemy or elixirs. In these ways, the history of qì and xiān are part of the pre-history of Dragon Ball.

Around the 9th century BCE, the Yi Jing (aka I Ching, or "Book of Changes"), is compiled. Originally used as a divination manual, the text is foundational for both Confucianism and Dàoism. Confucius lives from BCE 551 to 479, leaving behind records of speeches and conversations with students, compiled in the Analects. This text contains one of the earliest descriptions of qì, as a sort of breath and relating to motivational characteristics. In the 4th century BCE, the Neiye is written, containing one of the oldest descriptions of Dàoist techniques for breath meditation and qì circulation. By BCE 300 the Guodian Chu Slips are written, which contain the earliest known forms and fragments of the core Dàoist texts, the Dào Dé Jīng and the the Zhuang Zi. Here, cosmic yīn and yáng are described as the "greatest of qì", wind is described as the qì of the Earth, and xiān are mentioned as an allegory for spiritual immortality. A tomb sealed in BCE 168 contains a chart demonstrating exercises for dǎoyǐn, a Dàoist precursor to qìgōng.

In the 4th century CE, Ge Hong publishes Master Who Embraces Simplicity, a text exploring both Confucian and Dàoist topics. The Dàoist section sees him discuss xiān in a literal sense, treating immortality as something that can actually be attained through various methods, including nèidān (internal alchemy or elixir), meditation, and dǎoyǐn breathing exercises. The 9th century text, The Kunlun Slave, depicts a Dàoist sage who uses gravity-defying leaps to rescue his master's lover. In an epilogue set over ten years later, the sage is noted to have not aged a day.

The 17th century sees the writing of numerous qìgōng texts, including Zining's Yijin Jing. Huang Zong Xi's Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan is the first to distinguish between Buddhist Shaolin external martial arts (wàijiā) and Dàoist internal martial arts (nèijiā), and credits the creation of the latter (in the form of tàijí, aka tʻai-chi) to the immortal sage Zhang Sanfeng, who held public office during Kublai Khan's reign in the 13th century. Huang Zong Xi's son publishes the earliest extant text on nèijiā.

Bruce Lee's one-inch punch technique, shown off in 1964, demonstrates the real-world destructive capability of nèijiā and qìgōng. The film Buddha's Palm, also from 1964, demonstrates the fictional destructive capability of these same principles and practices, by purportedly providing the first depiction of a "qì blast". With this concept formally labeled within Dragon Ball as a kikōha, and read in Chinese as qigongbō, we can see how the fantastical feats and boundless strength of Son Goku and others are rooted ultimately in ancient breathing exercises. Likewise, to the extent that such exercise and internal elixirs are paths to Dàoist immortality, we also see the roots of the long lives of characters like the Muten Roshi, Tao Pai-Pai, and Tsuru Sennin.

Bushidō & Chivalry

In Dragon Ball chapter 353, Vegeta battles No. 18 as Piccolo, Tenshinhan, and the others catch up. No. 17 remarks that they seem to value bushidō (the way of the warrior), and so warns that if they join the fight to assist Vegeta he will do the same for No. 18. In the real world, bushidō is traditionally associated with the ethical code of the samurai. This code often involves some combination of sincerity, bravery, martial arts mastery, honor until death, loyalty to one's master, and more. No. 17's invocation of the term seems to refer to connotations of bravery and honor until death, such that it would preclude Vegeta and his allies from ganging up on No. 18. No. 17, thus, treats fairness in combat as part of bushidō. While not named and codified until the Edo or Tokugawa period (roughly 1601 - 1868), it likely existed in some form as far back as the Kamakura period (1185 - 1333), drawing upon various influences including Shintoism, Confucianism, and Zen Buddhism. Fairness in combat also appears in ancient China in form of the knightly order of shì. These knights are the forebears of both yóuxiá (roughly "chivalrous wanderers") and Confucians. In this way, the history of bushidō and yóuxiá are part of the pre-history of Dragon Ball.

Bushidō is comprised of three characters: 武士道. 武 translates into English variously as "military", "soldier", "warfare", "warrior", "fighting", and "martial arts". It can be romanized as bu in Japanese and wǔ in Chinese, appearing in words such as budō (武道) and wǔshù (武術). 士 translates into English variously as "man", "officer", "soldier", "scholar", and more. It can be romanized as shì in both Japanese and Chinese. Finally, 道 translates into English variously as "way", "path", "road", "principle", and more. It can be romanized as dō in Japanese as well as dào (Hanyu Pinyin) and tao (Wide-Giles) in Chinese, appearing rather famously in the name of Dàoism/Taoism as well as its namesake, the Dào/Tao, where it refers to the Way of nature itself and/or the ideal way to live one's life. Putting all of this together, we get the rather common translation of bushidō as "the way of the warrior". By the 17th century, we see bushidō written and codified by Confucian scholar and samurai retainer Obata Kagenori.

A follower of bushidō bears resemblance to the xiá of ancient China. Romanized from the character 俠, the term roughly means "chivalry", "gallant", "knight", or "chivalrous person". The historical xiá are closely related to the Confucians, as both descend from the same ancient Chinese knightly order. From the Shang Dynasty (beginning around BCE 1600) through the Warring States period (ending in BCE 221), shì (士) refers more specifically to an aristocratic social order of foot-knights who follow a strict code of chivalry. This is exemplified in the BCE 521 exchange between two shì at the Battle of Zheqiu. One, named Hua Bao, fires an arrow at another fighting on the opposing side, named Gongzi Cheng. Hua Bao's arrow misses, and as he readies a follow-up, Gongzi Cheng insists that it would be unchivalrous to fire again without giving him a chance to shoot one of his own. Hua Bao agrees, lowers his bow, and is unfortunately shot dead by Gongzi Cheng. Here, we see shì demonstrating a fairness in combat not dissimilar to that suggested by No. 17 when invoking bushidō.

During the Spring and Autumn period in China (ranging from BCE 770 to BCE 481), traditional hereditary systems of public service begin to break down, with shì splitting roughly into two camps: military and civilian. The former develop into a group later known as xiá or yóuxiá, and the latter develop into scholars (Confucians in particular). The term yóu is a romanization of the character 遊, which roughly means to "roam" or "wander". Combined with xiá, we get descriptions such as "wandering knight errant", "wandering hero", "chivalrous wanderer", and more. Both the yóuxiá and the Confucians are known for their moral codes, something that earns them both praise and condemnation from varying sources. In the 3rd century BCE, Legalist philosopher Han Fei writes disparagingly about both yóuxiá and the Confucians, as two of five "maggot" or "vermin" social classes from the preceding Spring and Autumn period. The yóuxiá are criticized for using violence to follow their code, even when it breaks the law. Confucians are criticized for treating legal texts like poetry and literature. In the 1st century BCE, on the other hand, Sima Qian writes favorably about yóuxiá, describing them as heroes, in biographies that would later act as a template for future fictional tales of heroic martial artists.

Fairness is treated as a martial virtue, even in the face of defeat and death. This is the way of the warrior as described by No. 17. These are the roots of the code of conduct informing the actions of several characters throughout Dragon Ball's story, including Goku's rejection of God's assistance against Piccolo in chapter 188, Ginyu's rejection of Jheese's assistance against Goku in chapter 284, Goku's rejection of fusion against Majin Boo in chapter 509, and more.

Bukyō & Wǔxiá

Wǔxiá is a term combining 武 (again, variously meaning "military", "soldier", "warfare", "warrior", "fighting", and "martial arts") with 俠 (again, variously meaning "chivalry", "gallant", "knight", or "chivalrous person"). It can be translated in many ways, including "martial heroes". It denotes a literary and cinematic genre from the early 20th century, which features, among other things, wandering heroes performing fantastical feats of martial arts through a mastery of qì. As both a genre name and a type of person, it can treated as synonymous with the aforementioned yóuxiá. Other related genres and terms often contain xiá in the name, attached to other terms. Examples include 侠客 (xiákè), 仙俠 (xiānxiá), and 奇俠 (qixiá).

The term's coinage emerges out of the turmoil of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the mid-1800's, Western powers begin to exert an influence in East Asia. Japan's policy of relative isolation ends under the threat of violence, and China loses the First Opium War against Britain. Both begin suffering from a string of "unequal treaties", with China entering what many later historians label a "century of humiliation". In Japan, one consequence of this is the Meiji Restoration, which sees the rapid modernization, industrialization, and Westernization of the nation. By the early 20th century, the fruits of this restoration can be seen in Japan's victories against Russia and China.

Attempts are made within China to follow Japan's path and modernize, but these reform movements meet resistance and end in failure. One reformist and scholar, Liang Qichao, flees to Japan to escape persecution. During his political exile in Japan, he publishes China's Bushidō. The text argues that Japan has become strong enough to contend with Western powers because it has embraced the martial ethos of bushidō, and that China ought to follow suit to rekindle their own slumbering martial spirit. The term bukyō appears in a 1902 story about submarine warfare, titled Bukyō no Nippon (often translated as "Heroic Japan"). Liang Qichao gives this term its Chinese reading of wǔxiá, and applies it to older works and characters, such as Water Margin and various heroes described as xiá or yóuxiá, in order to demonstrate the presence of these martial virtues in China's past.

Sima Qian's 1st century BCE biographies of yóuxiá heroes provides the narrative model for future martial arts fiction. The Kunlun Slave, and other similar tales from the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907), are some of the earliest to feature not only martial heroes, but ones who use a mastery of qi to perform superhuman feats. The 14th century novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is another antecedent of wuxia literature, purportedly containing detailed descriptions of close-quarters combat emulated by later writers. The aforementioned Water Margin, from the 17th century, is regarded as the first full-length proto-wǔxiá novel.

In 1922, writer and martial artist Xiang Kairan begins simultaneously writing two different novels designed to contrast with one another: the fantastical wǔxiá story Jianghu Qixia Zhuan and the grounded kung-fu story Jindai Yinxiong Zhuan. The former, set far in the past, is widely regarded as the first modern wǔxiá novel and responsible for kickstarting a "martial arts craze" in cities like Shanghai. The latter, set in the present, centers on a fictionalized account of martial artist Huo Yuanjia's life, and forms the basis of Bruce Lee's films and other similar projects post-World War II. A film adaptation of Jianghu Qixia Zhuan, titled The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple, is released. China's first martial arts feature film, it receives seventeen additional parts (collectively depicting nine out of 160 chapters of the original novel) before being banned. With all parts combined, the now-lost film is considered the longest studio release ever produced, clocking in at over 27 hours in length.

Xiang Kairan's novel and its film adaptation effectively represent the birth of the modern literary and cinematic genre of wǔxiá. Beginning his career in the 1950's, Jin Yong is another notable wǔxiá writer. His works include the Condor Heroes trilogy, The Smiling Proud Wanderer, and more. In addition to recieving numerous film adaptations, Jin Yong's works are purported to have popularized multiple tropes in the genre, including "complex characters with colorful titles ('Seven Freaks of the South') and fantastical martial arts moves with memorable names ('Nine Darkness Skeleton Claws')". In the 1960's, Liu Canyang writes a novel titled Sky Buddha's Palm, the film adaptation of which is purported to contain the first ki blast.

Wǔxiá and its historical antecedents represent a marriage of the various roots explored previously: wandering martial artists, following Buddhist and Daoist teachings, cultivating superhuman abilities as a result, and using these abilities to perform fantastical and heroic deeds. In these ways, the history (and pre-history) of wǔxiá (or bukyō) is part of the pre-history of Dragon Ball.

Earliest Roots Timeline

The following is a pair of tables arranging the events described above in a combined chronological order.

Table 1

This first table features events in India and China, beginning in the Bronze Age and ending in the 7th century. It includes the origins of Buddhism & Dàoism, qì & xiān, shì & xiá, the Shaolin Monastery, and the pilgrimage which would inspire Journey to the West.

Date	India	China
BCE 1600		Shang Dynasty begins, the earliest in Chinese history to feature "shi", an aristocratic social order of foot-knights who follow a strict code of chivalry.
BCE 1500	Early Vedic Period begins, characterized by a cultural and religious synthesis between Indus Valley and Indo-European peoples.
BCE 1000	Late Vedic Period begins; sometimes referred to as Brahmanism due to the elevation of the priestly caste of Brahmin.
BCE 827		Xuan becomes king of the Zhou Dynasty. Around this time, the Yi Jing (also romanized as I Ching, and often translated as Book of Changes), is compiled around this time. Originally used as a divination manual, the text is foundational for both Confucianism and Dàoism.
BCE 770		The Spring and Autumn Period begins. Around this time, hereditary systems of public service begin breaking down, with shi splitting into military and civilian camps. These camps will go on to develop into "xia" (knights-errant or wandering heroes) and scholars (Confucians in particular), respectively.
Before the 6th Century BCE	Developing out of both Brahmanic and non-Vedic traditions, the śramaṇa movement begins, characterized by wandering ascetic monks.
BCE 563 or 480	Siddhartha Guatama is born; in life he forges his own śramaṇa tradition.
BCE 551		Confucius is born.
BCE 521		At the Battle of Zheqiu, two shi named Hua Bao and Gongzi Cheng fight for opposing sides. The former fires an arrow at the latter and misses. Gongzi Chen insists that it would be unchivalrous for Hua Bao to fire twice without giving his opponent to return fire. Hua Bao agrees and lowers his bow, before being shot dead.
BCE 483 or 400	Siddhartha Guatama passes away; later remembered as the Buddha, his ascetic lifestyle and teachings form the foundations of Buddhism.
BCE 479		Confucius passes away. After his death, records of his speeches and conversations with students are compiled into the Analects. The text contains some of the earliest descriptions of qì, as a sort of breath and relating to motivational characteristics.
BCE 475		The Warring States Period begins.
BCE 350		The Neiye is written around this time. The text is one of the oldest describing Dàoist breath meditation techniques and qì circulation.
BCE 300		The Guodian Chu Slips are written by this time. They contain the earliest known form of the Dào Dé Jīng and fragment of the Zhuang Zi, the two core texts of Dàoism. The latter text presents cosmic yīn and yáng as "the greatest of qì" and describes wind as the qì of the Earth; the text also contains one of the earliest mentions of xiān, as an allegory for spiritual immortality.
BCE 250		Most of the Han Feizi, an anthology of essays attributed to Legalist philosopher Han Fei, is likely written around this time. The text's 20th and 21st chapters are possibly the oldest commentaries on the Dào Dé Jīng. The text's 49th chapter describes five "maggot" or "vermin" social classes from the Spring and Autumn Period, including youxia as violent law-breakers and Confucians as confusing law with literature.
BCE 168		A relative of Li Cang passes away, and is entombed at Mawangdui. Among the items placed in the tomb are silk texts including the Daoyin Tu, the earliest known physical exercise chart in the world. Demonstrating purely internal methods of preventing disease (as opposed to external methods such as medicine and surgery), these dǎoyǐn breathing practices are said to be precursors of qìgōng.
BCE 91		Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian is published. The text's 124th volume describes the actions of youxia in a positive light, contrasting with Han Fei's account and providing the narrative model for future martial arts fiction.
CE 67	According to legend, Indian Buddhist monks, Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna, arrive at the Eastern Han capital of Luoyang. With them they bring the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, the first Buddhist sutra to be translated into Chinese. Consequently, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty orders the construction of White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China.
220 to 280		The Three Kingdoms Period.
283		Ge Hong is born.
280's or 290's		Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms is written around this time.
317 or 318		Ge Hong's Master Who Embraces Simplicity is written around this time. The text's Dàoist "inner chapters" discuss xiān in a literal sense, treating immortality as something that can actually be attained through various methods, including nèidān (internal alchemy), meditation, and dǎoyǐn breathing exercises.
401		During the Sixteen Kingdoms Period, famed Buddhist monk Kumārajīva is brought to the Qin capital of Chang'an. There, he begins producing high-quality state-sponsored translations of Buddhist texts into Chinese.
443	In China, Indian Buddhist monk Guṇabhadra provides the earliest extant Chinese translation of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. The text discusses many Mahayana Buddhist topics, including yogācāra, which emphasizes consciousness and meditation.
464		Batuo (also known as Buddhabhadra) arrives in China. A master of dhyāna (meditation and mental training), he spends the next thirty years integrating and preaching Buddhism, Daoism, and local folk religions.
495		Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty orders the construction of Batuo's Shaolin Monastery. The temple becomes an important center for the study and translation of Buddhist scriptures, with Batuo as its first abbot.
527	Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch of Mahayana Buddhism in India, arrives at the Shaolin Monastery. According to legend, he pioneers Chán Buddhism based on the teachings of Batuo and his disciples (chán being the Chinese pronunciation of dhyāna).
528		Buddhist and Daoist scholar Dazu Huike arrives at the Shaolin Monastery to study under Bodhidharma. He later becomes the second Chinese patriarch of Chán Buddhism. Guṇabhadra's translation of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra is said to have been passed down from Bodhidarma to Huike.
627 or 629	Yogācāra teachings are widespread in China by this point, with many rival schools and interpretations. Seeking to resolve these debates through direct study and acquisition of the original texts, Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang embarks on a pilgrimage to India. Among his many exploits, he studies under the monk and Yogācāra expert Śīlabhadra.
645	Xuanzang returns to China, his pilgrimage complete, bringing with him at least 657 untranslated Buddhist texts.
646		Records of the Western Regions, a text chronicling Xuanzang's pilgrimage, is compiled.
648		Xuanzang translates the Thirty Verses on Manifestation Only into Chinese, a core text of the Yogācāra school. His commentaries on the text help form the basis of East Asian Yogācāra going forward, known as Wéishí-zōng or Fǎxiàng-zōng in China, and Hossō-shū in Japan.
653		Japanese monk Dōshō travels to China to study under Xuanzang, in particular the latter's account of Yogācāra Buddhism. He is later exposed to Chán Buddhism by a student of Huike. After returning to Japan, he builds a meditation hall at the Gangō-ji temple in Nara, in order to facilitate the practice of Zen (the Japanese pronunciation of "Dhyāna").

Table 2

This second table features events in China, Japan, and the US, beginning in the 9th century and ending just before the beginning of Akira Toriyama's manga career. It includes the earliest texts featuring martial heroes performing fantastical feats, the publishing of Journey to the West, China and Japan's interactions with European imperialism, bushidō & wǔxiá, and Akira Toriyama's early life and formative influences.

Date	China	Japan	US
825 to 880	Lifetime of Pei Xing. He publishes The Kunlun Slave, the tale of a Daoist sage who uses gravity-defying leaps to rescue his master's lover. In an epilogue set over ten years later, he is noted to have not aged a day.
15 April 1260 to 18 February 1294	Reign of Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty. According to myth, immortal Daoist sage Zhang Sanfeng is nominated as a candidate to hold public office around this time.
1300's	Romance of the Three Kingdoms is written around this time, after centuries of both oral and written tales celebrating heroes of the Three Kingdoms Period. An early antecedent of wuxia literature, the text purportedly contains detailed descriptions of close-quarters combat emulated by later writers.
1454		The Sengoku (Warring States) Period begins.
May 1513	Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares arrives in Guangzhou, beginning Sino-Portuguese relations.
1524	Earliest historical reference to Water Margin. The text is often retroactively regarded as the first full-length proto-wǔxiá novel.
1543		Portuguese traders arrive in Tanegashima, beginning Japanese-Portuguese relations.
1592	The earliest extant printing of Journey to the West is published; the text is a fantastical embellishment of Records of the Western Regions.
24 March 1603		Emperor Go-Yōzei names Tokugawa Ieyasu shogun, beginning the Edo Period and the Tokugawa Shogunate.
1616		Confucian scholar and samurai retainer Obata Kagenori's Kōyō Gunkan is completed by this time. The text contains the earliest written mention of "bushidō" (the way of the warrior).
1624	The Yijin Jing is likely composed by Dàoist priest, Zining. A manual of dǎoyǐn and qìgōng exercises, the text erroneously attributes the founding of Shaolin martial arts to Bodhidharma.
1633		Sakoku, isolationist foreign policy, begins, aimed in part at stopping the spread of Christianity by Spanish and Portuguese missionaries.
Between 1647 and 1732	According to legend, a major Shaolin Monastery is destroyed by the Qing government. This destruction leads to the spread of Shaolin martial arts throughout China, via five monks.
1669	Huang Zong Xi's Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan is published. The text is the first to distinguish between Buddhist Shaolin external martial arts (wàijiā) and Dàoist internal martial arts (nèijiā), and credits Zhang Sanfeng with the creation of the latter in the form of tʻai-chi.
1676	Huang Zong Xi's son, Huang Baijia, compiles the Neijia Quanfa, the earliest extant text on nèijiā.
4 September 1839 to 29 August 1842	The First Opium War, resulting from the Qing Dynasty's ban on the trade of opium, Britian's most profitable commodity at the time. China is defeated. Among other concessions, the Treaty of Nanking sees the city of Hong Kong ceded to the British Empire. This is later regarded by many historians as the first of many "unequal treaties" between China and Western powers, and the beginning of a "century of humiliation" for China.
8 July 1853		American commodore Matthew C. Perry arrives in Japan and through a show of force effectively puts an end to Japan's isolationist foreign policy.
31 March 1854		The Convention of Kanagawa is signed under threat of force. The treaty opens the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American vessels, formally ending Japan's isolationist foreign policy. This is later regarded as the first of many "unequal treaties" between Japan and Western powers.
3 January 1868		The Meiji Restoration begins and the Empire of Japan is established. The Tokugawa Shogunate is overthrown and the emperor's practical political power is restored. During this period, Japan experienced rapid industrialization, modernization, and adoption of Western ideas. Among other things, schoolchildren are taught bushidō.
25 July 1894 to 17 April 1895	The First Sino-Japanese War. Japan defeats China. Among other concessions, the Treaty of Shimonoseki sees the island of Taiwan ceded to Japan.
11 June 1898	In the wake of the country's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, and amid increasing foreign intervention, the Hundred Days' Reform begins. An attempt to modernize Chinese institutions, it is initiated by the Guangxu Emperor and led by reformist scholars, including Liang Qichao.
21 September 1898	The Hundred Days' Reform ends in failure. Liang Qichao flees to Japan to escape persecution.
1900		Shunrō Oshikawa's Kaitō Bōken Kidan: Kaitei Gunkan is published. Influenced by the works of Jules Verne, the story depicts speculative future submarine warfare (without the use of torpedoes) between Japan and Russia.
1902		The first of five sequels to Kaitei Gunkan, Shunrō Oshikawa's Bukyō no Nippon (or "Heroic Japan") is published.
8 February 1904		The Russo-Japanese War begins.
1904	During his political exile in Japan, Liang Qichao's China's Bushidō is published. The text argues that Japan has become strong enough to contend with Western powers because it has embraced the martial ethos of bushidō, and that China ought to follow suit to rekindle their own slumbering martial spirit. The term "bukyō" is lifted from Shunrō Oshikawa's stories, given the Chinese reading of "wǔxiá", and applied to older works and characters, such as Water Margin and various heroes described as "xia", in order to demonstrate the presence of these martial virtues in China's past.
5 September 1905		The Russo-Japanese War ends with Japan's victory, demonstrating that an Asian power could defeat a Western power.
1922	Writer and martial artist Xiang Kairan begins simultaneously writing two different novels designed to contrast with one another: the fantastical wuxia story Jianghu Qixia Zhuan and the grounded kung-fu story Jindai Yinxiong Zhuan. The former, set far in the past, is widely regarded as the first modern wǔxiá novel and responsible for kickstarting a "martial arts craze" in cities like Shanghai.
13 May 1928	A film adaptation of Jianghu Qixia Zhuan, titled The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple, is released. China's first martial arts feature film, it receives seventeen additional parts (collectively depicting nine out of 160 chapters of the original novel) before being banned. With all parts combined, the now-lost film is considered the longest studio release ever produced, clocking in at over 27 hours in length.
3 November 1928		Osamu Tezuka is born.
15 February 1950			Disney's Cinderella is released.
April 1951		Osamu Tezuka's Ambassador Atom begins serialization.
3 April 1952		Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy begins serialization.
8 February 1955	Jin Yong's debut novel The Book and the Sword begins serialization. He goes on to write several more wǔxiá novels, purported to have popularized multiple tropes in the genre, including "complex characters with colorful titles ('Seven Freaks of the South') and fantastical martial arts moves with memorable names ('Nine Darkness Skeleton Claws')".
5 April 1955		Akira Toriyama is born.
5 April 1956		Akira Toriyama turns 1.
5 April 1957		Akira Toriyama turns 2.
5 April 1958		Akira Toriyama turns 3.
5 April 1959		Akira Toriyama turns 4.
5 April 1960		Akira Toriyama turns 5.
25 January 1961			Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians is released.
5 April 1961		Akira Toriyama turns 6.
5 April 1962		Akira Toriyama turns 7.
5 April 1963		Akira Toriyama turns 8.
27 February 1964	Buddha's Palm is released. An adaptation of Liu Canyang's novel, Sky Buddha's Palm, the film is purported to be the first onscreen depiction of a "qigong wave" (or kikōha).
5 April 1964		Akira Toriyama turns 9.
August 1964			The Long Beach International Karate Championships are held. Here, Bruce Lee demonstrates the one-inch punch, a fa jin skill that employs focused explosive force.
5 April 1965		Akira Toriyama turns 10.
27 November 1965		Gamera, the Giant Monster is released.
5 April 1966		Akira Toriyama turns 11.
17 April 1966		Gamera vs. Barugon is released.
17 July 1966		Ultraman begins airing.
15 March 1967		Gamera vs. Gyaos is released.
5 April 1967		Akira Toriyama turns 12.
9 April 1967		Ultraman concludes airing.
20 April 1967	Jin Yong's The Smiling, Proud Wanderer begins serialization.
12 March 1968		Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy concludes serialization.
20 March 1968		Gamera vs. Viras is released.
5 April 1968		Akira Toriyama turns 13.
11 July 1968		Weekly Shonen Jump begins publication.
21 March 1969		Gamera vs. Guiron, featuring music composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi, is released.
5 April 1969		Akira Toriyama turns 14.
21 March 1970		Gamera vs. Jiger, featuring music composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi, is released.
5 April 1970		Akira Toriyama turns 15.
5 April 1971		Akira Toriyama turns 16.
17 July 1971		Gamera vs. Zigra, featuring music composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi, is released.
31 October 1971	The Big Boss, starring Bruce Lee, is released.
22 March 1972	Fist of Fury, starring Bruce Lee, is released.
5 April 1972		Akira Toriyama turns 17.
30 December 1972	The Way of the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, is released.
5 April 1973		Akira Toriyama turns 18.
26 July 1973	Enter the Dragon, posthumously starring Bruce Lee, is released.
5 April 1974		Akira Toriyama turns 19.
5 April 1975		Akira Toriyama turns 20.
5 April 1976		Akira Toriyama turns 21.
5 April 1977		Akira Toriyama turns 22.
25 May 1977			Star Wars is released.
1 March 1978	Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, starring Jackie Chan and Hwang Jang-lee, is released.
23 March 1978	Game of Death, posthumously starring Bruce Lee, is released.
5 April 1978		Akira Toriyama turns 23.
5 October 1978	Drunken Master, starring Jackie Chan and Hwang Jang-lee, is released.

Akira Toriyama's Early Career

Below is a table of major events and works pertaining to Akira Toriyama's early career as a mangaka from before Dragon Ball's publication.

Date	General	Akira Toriyama	Manga	Anime
28 November 1978		Akira Toriyama's first manga publication.	Wonder Island is published.
27 December 1978			Wonder Island 2 is published.
22 March 1979			Today on Hairai Island is published.
5 April 1979		Akira Toriyama turns 24.
20 July 1979			Gal Detective Tomato is published.
5 January 1980	Dr. Slump begins publication.		Dr. Slump Chapter 1, "Arale Is Born!", is published
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