Study Guide: China
- 2070–1600 BCE: Legendary Xia Dynasty. Some scholars consider the Xia dynasty mythical, or at least unsubstantiated, while others identify it with the archaeological Erlitou culture.
Shang Dynasty and Confucius
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1600–1050 BCE: Shang Dynasty: The earliest ruling dynasty of China to be established in recorded history, the Shang was headed by a tribal chief named Tan. The Shang era is marked by intellectual advances in astronomy and math.
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551–479 BCE: Confucius: The teacher, politician and philosopher was raised in poverty by his mother. He entered politics in 501 BCE as a town governor after gaining attention as a teacher, but in 498 BCE lived in exile to escape political enemies. Returning to China around 483 BCE, Confucius devoted most of his time to teaching disciples his ideas (including, “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart,” and “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.”) His ideas would become central to Chinese culture over time and endorsed by the government.
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221–206 BCE: Qin Dynasty: The Qin Dynasty, from which China derives its name (Qin is pronounced “Chin”), was the first official empire in its history. The Qins standardized regional written scripts into a single national script, establishing an imperial academy to oversee the translated texts. The Qin Dynasty created the first Asian superhighway, the 500-mile Straight Road, along the Ziwu Mountain range, and began work on the Great Wall by expanding the northern border wall. Qin Emperor Ying Zheng created an elaborate underground complex at the foot of the Lishan Mountain, famously featuring 13,000 terracotta statues of warriors and horses.
The Silk Road
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125 BCE: The Silk Road: Following capture and escape during a mission for Emperor Wu, Zhang Qian returned after 13 years with a map of the ground he had covered. Reaching as far as Afghanistan, his maps were accurate and led to the development of the Silk Road.
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105 CE: Paper and books: Cai Lun developed the firet paper by pounding together ingredients like bamboo, hemp, bark and others and spreading the pulp flat. Paper use spread quickly across the empire, with the first Chinese dictionary, compiled by Xu Shen, and the first book of Chinese history, written by Sima Qian soon appearing.
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850 CE: Gunpowder: Alchemists working with saltpeter for medicinal purposes mixed it with charcoal and sulfur. The explosive properties that resulted were used in warfare to propel arrows by the Tang Dynasty, as well as fireworks.
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868 CE: Printing press: The earliest known printed book, The Diamond Sutra, was created during the Tang Dynasty. It was soon followed by calendars and educational material.
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1260 CE: Kublai Khan: The grandson of Genghis conquered the Song Dynasty and established the Yuan Dynasty, unifying China and bringing Mongolia, Siberia and parts of the Middle East and even Europe into the Chinese Empire. Kublai Khan introduced paper money, met with Marco Polo, brought the first Muslims to the country and attempted to conquer Japan.
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1557: World trade: The Ming Dynasty expanded China’s maritime trade to export silk and porcelain wares. A European presence was allowed within the empire and Chinese merchants emigrated to locations outside the realm for the first time.
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1683: Taiwan: This Dutch-controlled island was seized by Ming Dynasty General Koxinga in 1662, and annexed by the Qing Dynasty 21 years later.
Foreign Domination
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1840-1842: The First Opium War: In an effort to crush the Chinese government and shore up it’s own faltering economy, the British Empire flooded China with opium, causing an addiction crisis. The Qing Dynasty banned the drug, and a military confrontation resulted. British forces shut down Chinese ports. In defeat, Hong Kong was surrendered to the British.
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1851–1864: The Taiping Rebellion: Self-proclaimed prophet Hong Xiuquan revolted against the Qing Dynasty with his Christian cult the God Worshipping Society. Spurred on by visions, Hong rampaged across China, taking Nanjing in 1852, which he governed for 12 years. Hong was found poisoned in 1864. The conflict claimed at least 20 million lives.
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1856–1860: The Second Opium War: In an effort to increase their profits, the British and French empires demanded that China legalize opium. They invaded Guangzhou and advancing into Beijing. Desperate to end the conflict, China’s rulers signed a treaty giving western imperialists monopolistic control over the economy and control of the ports.
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1894–1894: The First Sino Japanese War: The Qing Dynasty clashed with Japan over Korea. China’s regional dominance plummeted after losing, and influenced a series of internal clashes over the next 16 years. As part of the defeat agreement, Taiwan was lost to Japan.
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1899: The Boxer Rebellion: Under the rule of Empress Dowager Cixi, the secret society the Harmonious Fist began slaughtering foreigners. Known as the Boxers, they won Empress Dowager’s support when eight European countries sent troops. China lost the conflict, and the West imposed harsh sanctions that permanently weakened Qing rule.
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1912: The Republic of China: Fueled by western-educated revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 culminated in the Wuchang Uprising, and 15 provinces declared their independence from the Qing Dynasty. Sun took control in 1912, announcing the republic.
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1914: The Siege of Tsingtao: The seige was an attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) during World War I by Japan and England. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 1914. It was the first encounter between Japanese and German forces, and the first Anglo-Japanese military collaboration during the war.
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1921: The Communist Party of China: With its roots in the May Fourth Movement protesting the Chinese government response to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the Communist Party of China (CCP) was officially formed.
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1927: Shanghai Massacre: Millions of executions took place when Nationalist Party leader Chiang Kai-shek ordered the massacre of Communists. In response, the Communist Red Army was created.
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1928: Reunification: Elevated to head of the government, Chiang Kai-shek succeeded in militarily reunifying China.
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1931: Civil War: Fighting between the Red Army and the Nationalist Party escalated into an 18-year conflict.
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1937–1945: The Second Sino-Japanese War: Tensions began with the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which was followed by the “Rape of Nanking”, one of history’s major acts of state-terrorism—on par with the Allied fire bombing of cities, and the Russian “Rape of Berlin”. The conflict exploded fuerther in 1937. After the Japanese captured the strategic cities of Shanghai and Nanjing, a stalemate lasted until US soldiers based on Hawaii secretly entered China to support the Chinese. This was without the knowledge of the US public or the approval of the US Congress, and directly led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
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1945: Taiwan returns to China: Following the Japanese surrender in World War II, Taiwan was returned to Chinese control. Due to widespread curruption and mistreatment by the Nationalist forces, tensions rose between the Chinese army and the Taiwanese citizens, erupting in violent resistance around 1947. Chiang Kai-shek sent more troops to put down the resistance.
Independence from the West
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1949: People’s Republic of China: After a violent end stage to the civil war, the Communist Party declared the People’s Republic of China. Two months later, two million soldiers followed Chiang Kai-shek into exile on Taiwan where he set up a harsh dictatorship claiming to be the legitimate ruler of all China. Meanwhile, communist party chairman Mao Zedong became China’s actual new leader.
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1958–1962: The Great Leap Forward: The campaign by Chairman Mao to transform the agricultural base of China’s society into an industrial one imposed a commune system that organized peasants and forbade private farming. The plan failed to produce the necessary yield, and famine followed, leading to 56 million deaths, including 3 million by suicide.
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1966: The Cultural Revolution: The Cultural Revolution was initiated by Chairman Mao to erase the curruptions of capitalisism and perceived errors in certain traditional Chinese ideas. Schools were closed and Chinese youth directed to take the lead in change, resulting in youth gangs known as the Red Guards attacking “undesirable” citizens. Chaos led to martial law, Communist Party purges, and 1.5 million deaths.
Opening to the West
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1972: Richard Nixon visits China: The first US president to visit China while serving in office and the first diplomatic meeting between the countries since 1949, Nixon met with Mao and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, discussing multiple topics, including trade and a US troop withdrawal from Taiwan.
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September 9, 1976: Mao dies: Mao’s death after several heart attacks brought the Cultural Revolution to an end, and brought Deng Xiaoping to power for the next two decades. He pushed out Mao’s inner circle known as the Gang of Four, and begin a decades-long process of rapid modernization that continues today.
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1989: Tiananmen Square protests: Student-led protests grew from the ‘89 Democracy Movement demanding freedom of speech, freedom of the press and more. They gained worldwide attention when the government violently cracked down on the protesters and images of tanks rolling into students inspired worldwide condemnation. At least 300 died in the protests.
The Middle Kingdom Returns
- July 1, 1997: Hong Kong returns to China: In a midnight ceremony with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in attendance, Hong Kong was given back to China after 156 years of colonial control.