How should I style the names of Chinese dynasties in MLA style?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

The MLA follows the guidance given in The Chicago Manual of Style for capitalization. The manual lowercases names of eras (“Descriptive Designations”), so when styling the name of a dynasty, we would capitalize the dynasty name but lowercase the word dynasty:

Ming dynasty

Work Cited

“Descriptive Designations for Periods.” The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., sec. 8.72, U of Chicago P, 2017, www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/
ed17/part2/ ch08/psec072.html.