| About 1600 BC |
The Shang dynasty ruled a
kingdom centered in the Huang He (Yellow River) valley. |
| About 1045? BC |
The state of Zhou (Chou)
emerged to the west of the Shang and eventually overthrew the Shang
dynasty. The Zhou's weak central government was supported by
semi-independent eastern warlords. |
| About 500 BC |
Confucius advanced a
revolutionary new system of ideas and values. His philosophy guided
China for more than 2,000 years and remains influential today. |
| 221-206 BC |
The Qin (Ch'in) dynasty
founded a tradition of a strong central government. |
| About
ad 600 |
The Sui dynasty completed
the first part of the Grand Canal between the Yangtze Valley and
Northern China. The canal helped unify the country after several
centuries of disorder and upheaval. |
| 618-907 |
Chinese culture enjoyed
another renaissance under the Tang (T'ang) dynasty. The Tang capital of
Chang'an (modern Xi'an), was the largest city in the world, with more
than one million residents. |
| 960 |
After a struggle for
power, the Song (Sung) dynasty reunified China. The Song rulers
institutionalized neo-Confucianism and implemented civil service
examinations. |
| 1279 |
Mongols conquered all of
China. Kublai Khan established the Yuan (Yüan) dynasty. |
| 1368 |
The Mongols were driven
from China. Following Mongol rule, the Chinese rulers of the Ming
dynasty developed a distaste for all foreign cultures. |
| 1644 |
The Manchus founded the
Qing (Ch'ing) dynasty but retained the Ming system of government. |
| 1839-1860 |
Attempts by the Qing
government to halt illegal opium smuggling by Europeans led to China's
defeat in the Opium Wars (1839-1843, 1856-1860). Britain gained Hong
Kong and increased trading rights in China. |
| 1851-1864 |
Millions of Chinese died
during the Taiping Rebellion, a popular uprising against the Qing
dynasty. |
| 1900 |
Secret societies and
nationalist groups attacked Westerners during the Boxer Uprising.
Western armies crushed the rebellion. |
| 1911-1912 |
The Republican Revolution
erupted, resulting in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty and the
establishment of the Republic of China. |
| 1934-1935 |
Mao Zedong led Chinese
Communists on the Long March to northern China, where they regrouped
from a series of defeats to Kuomintang forces. |
| 1937 |
The Japanese army
attacked China. Japan controlled most of eastern China by the following
year. |
| 1946 |
Following a united effort
to defeat Japan, the Communists and Kuomintang renewed their civil war. |
| 1949 |
The Communists won the
civil war against the Kuomintang and established the People's Republic
of China. The Kuomintang withdrew to the island of Taiwan. |
| 1966-1976 |
The Cultural Revolution
caused widespread economic and social upheaval in China. |
| 1976 |
Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai
both died. Deng Xiaoping began his rise to power the following year. |
| 1984 |
Britain agreed to return
Hong Kong to China in 1997. |
| 1987 |
Portugal agreed to return
Macau, located near Hong Kong, to China in 1999. |
| 1989 |
Hundreds of students
protesting for greater democracy were massacred in and around Tiananmen
Square in Beijing. A political shuffle followed and Jiang Zemin, with
Deng's support, assumed the top post in the Chinese Communist Party. |
| 1997 |
Deng Xiaoping died. Hong
Kong reverted to China but maintained a separate economy and
considerable political autonomy. |
| 1999 |
Macau reverted to Chinese
sovereignty under a semi-autonomous system similar to Hong Kong's. |
General Knowledge :: HISTORICAL EVENTS BY COUNTRY :: CHINA