Detailed Chronology

  When   What
10 Dec 1833Lord Napier appointed to lead a mission to China.
1834The British Government decides that the East India Company’s monopoly of trade with China will not be renewed.
11 Oct 1834Lord Napier dies of illness in China.
17 May 1836Xu Naiqi memorializes the Emperor, arguing that the best solution to the opium problem is to legalize the opium trade.
Jun 1836Charles Elliot appointed British Superintendent of Trade.
19 Sep 1836The Emperor orders abolition of the opium trade.
1838–9Opium imports to China reach 40,000 chests.
10 Mar 1839Lin Zexu arrives at Canton as Imperial commissioner to put down the opium trade.
24 Mar 1839Lin Zexu confines the British traders in their warehouses at Canton. They are held for six weeks.
27 Mar 1839Superintendent of Trade Charles Elliot orders the British opium traders to surrender their stocks of opium.
24 May 1839The British community leaves Canton.
12 Jul 1839The killing of a Chinese peasant, Lin Weihi, in a brawl near Hong Kong precipitates a further crisis.
30 Aug 1840As the British Expedition reaches the Beihe and threatens the forts guarding Tianjin, the Emperor appoints Qishan, Governor-General of Zhili, to negotiate with them.
17 Sep 1840Qishan persuades the British to return to Canton to continue negotiations there.
7 Jan 1841Charles Elliot captures the Bogue forts guarding the approaches to Canton.
20 Jan 1841Qishan and Charles Elliot sign the Qunbi Convention, which their respective governments refuse to ratify.
30 Jan 1841The Emperor appoints Yishan to command a force to annihilate the British.
30 Apr 1841Charles Elliot dismissed and replaced by Sir Henry Pottinger.
Aug 1841Pottinger arrives in Hong Kong.
18 Mar 1842Lin Zexu exiled to Kuldya (Yili).
19 Jun 1842The British take Shanghai.
Jul 1842The British take Jinjiang, leaving Nanjing open to attack.
4 Aug 1842British warships reach Nanjing.
20 Aug 1842Qiying and Yilibu board the Cornwallis for negotiations.
29 Aug 1842The Treaty of Nanjing.
1843Hong Xiuquan studies Good Words to Exhort the Age.
18 Oct 1843Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue.
19 Mar 1844Qiying made Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.
2 Apr 1844Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan leave Huaxian to preach in Guangdong and Guangxi.
3 Jul 1844Sino-American Treaty of Wangxia.
13 Jun 1845Nian rebels defeat an imperial force in Shandong.
2 Jul 1846The British troops withdraw from Zhoushan Island.
3 Apr 1847The British attack Canton in protest at exclusion from the city.
9 Apr 1847Qiying promises entry to Canton after two years.
4 Jul 1848Xu Guangqin appointed Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ye Mingshen Governor of Guangdong.
30 Dec 1848Palmerston forbids the use of force to secure entry into Canton.
1 Apr 1849Xu Guangqin informs Bonham that the Emperor has refused entry into Canton because of unanimous popular opposition.
7 May 1849Xu Guangqin and Ye Mingshen rewarded for their resistance to British entry into Canton.
9 Mar 1850Yi Zhu ascends the throne, with reign title Xianfeng Emperor.
Aug 1850Russia establishes a base at the mouth of the Amur.
Sep 1850Imperial troops defeated by Taipings in the Jintian Uprising.
1 Dec 1850Degradation of Muchanga and Qiying.
1 Jan 1851Taipingss win a major victory in a revolt at Jintian.
11 1851Hong Xiuquan declares himself Tian Wang.
26 Aug 1851The Treaty of Kuldya: Russian trade allowed at Kuldya (Yili) and Tarbagatai, but not at Kashgar.
11 Sep 1851Taipingss take Yong’an (Guangxi).
1852Ye Mingshen becomes acting Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.
3 Jun 1852Taipings checked at Battle of Soyi Ford. Fung Yunshan is wounded and subsequently dies during 1852.
12 Jan 1853Taipings complete occupation of Wuhan cities, which they soon relinquish.
24 Feb 1853Taipings take Anqing (Anhui).
4 Mar 1853Taipings take Wuhu (Anhui).
15 Mar 1853Jiangsu request for British help against the Taipings refused.
29 Mar 1853Taipings take Nanjing.
31 Mar 1853Imperial troops form the Great South Camp.
5 May 1853Bonham visits Taiping court at Nanjing.
10 Jun 1853Taiping northern expedition crosses the Yellow River.
8 Sep 1853The Small Swords society takes the walled city of Shanghai.
9 Mar 1854Taiping northern expedition begins its retreat.
5 May 1854Taiping reinforcements for the northern expedition defeated in Shandong.
17 Jun 1854The Red Turbans (Triads) begin revolt in Guangdong.
23 Jun 1854Three foreign inspectors appointed to collect Shanghai customs.
3 Nov 1854Talks begin at Dagu (in Tianjin) on treaty revision.
5 Nov 1854Foreign proposals for treaty revision rejected.
2 Dec 1854Taiping western expedition severely defeated at Tianjiazhen.
7 Dec 1854Ye Mingshen’s request for British assistance against the Red Turbans refused.
31 Jan 1855Zeng Guofan’s naval forces defeated at Jiujiang (in Jiangxi).
17 Feb 1855The walled city of Shanghai retaken from the Small Swords society with French help.
21 May 1855The Red Turbans (Triads) defeated in Guangdong.
31 1855Final destruction of Taiping northern expedition.
2 Jun 185620 Taipings, in alliance with Nian, crush the Great South Camp.
1 Jul 1856France demands redress for the murder of the missionary Chapdelaine.
2 Aug 1856Yellow River completes its change of course.
2 Sep 1856In Nanjing, Wei Changhui massacres Xang Yiuqing, his family and followers.
Oct 1856Wei Changhui forces Shi Dakai to flee, and massacres his family. Customs duty on opium set at 20 yuan per chest.
8 Oct 1856The lorcha Arrow boarded by Chinese troops.
25 Oct 1856British attack Canton, following Ye Mingshen’s refusal to apologize over the Arrow incident.
2 Jul 1857Elgin arrives in Hong Kong.
12 Jul 1857Muslim rebels under Ma Rulong rise in Yunnan.
11 Dec 1857Ye Mingshen rejects British and French demands.
29 Dec 1857Canton taken by British and French forces.
5 Jan 1858Ye Mingshen captured.
22 Feb 1858Ye Mingshen shipped to India.
17 May 1858Court rejects British, French, American and Russian demands.
20 May 1858Dagu falls to British and French forces.
28 May 1858The Treaty of Aigun (signed by Muraviev and Yishan): China cedes the North bank of the Amur.
13 Jun 1858Russian Treaty of Tianjin signed.
18 Jun 1858United States Treaty of Tianjin signed.
25 Jun 1858British Treaty of Tianjin signed.
27 Jun 1858French Treaty of Tianjin signed.
29 Jun 1858Qiying commits suicide on the orders of the Court.
27 Sep 1858Taipings crush the Great North Camp.
22 Apr 1859Arrival of Hong Rengan in Nanjing.
20 Jun 1859Bruce, Bourboulon, and Ward arrive at Dagu to go to Beijing and are prevented from landing.
25 Jun 1859British and French attack on the Dagu fort fails.
19 Mar 1860Taiping Li Xiucheng takes Hangzhou to draw Qing forces off Nanjing.
6 May 1860Li Xiucheng breaks up the Great South Camp.
Jul 1860Muraviev founds Vladivostok.
1 Aug 1860British and French forces land near Tianjin.
19 Aug 1860Li Xiucheng defeated by British and French forces at Shanghai.
18 Sep 1860Parkes and others imprisoned (13 killed) by Sengge Rinchen, who is defeated. Prince Gong (Yixin) ordered to negotiate with Great Britain and France.
22 Sep 1860The Emperor flees.
8-20 Oct 1860The burning-down of the old Summer Palace by the British and French.
24-8 Oct 1860Prince Gong signs Convention of Beijing with Great Britain and France.
14 Nov 1860By a convention signed with Russia, China cedes all territory east of the Ussuri River.
3 Dec 1860Li Xiucheng’s western expedition defeated in Anhui.
11 Mar 1861Establishment of the Zongli Yamen.
19 Mar 1861The Nian army threatens Kaifeng.
7 Jul 1861Prince Gong memorializes proposing purchase of foreign ships and guns.
22 Aug 1861Death of the Xianfeng Emperor, succeeded by Zai Qun with the reign title Tongzhi Emperor.
5 Sep 1861Taipings lose Anqing, a decisive turning-point.
8 Nov 1861Su Shun executed.
Dec 1861Zeng Guofan sets up an arsenal in Anhui. Chinese edition of North China Daily News (Shanghai Xinbao) starts publication.
10 Feb 1862Li Xiucheng defeated outside Shanghai by Ward’s ‘Ever Victorious Army’.
19 Feb 1862Zeng Guofan buys a foreign steamship. The Court orders 800,000 taels to be spent on foreign ships and arms.
1 Mar 1862Ma Rulong, Yunnan Muslim rebel, surrenders.
9 Mar 1862Shi Dakai forced into Guizhou.
3 Jun 1862Li Xiucheng’s Huai army defeats Li Xiucheng, with foreign help, outside Shanghai.
29 Jun 1862Muslims attack Xi’an, beginning the north-west Muslim revolt.
11 Jul 1862Tong Wen Guan (Foreign Languages School) opens.
3 Nov 1862Li Xiucheng’s attempt to raise the siege of Nanjing repulsed.
9 Jan 1863Order in council allows British officers to serve in the Qing forces.
Mar 1863Renewed Muslim revolt in Yunnan, led by Du Wenxiu.
13 Jun 1863Shi Dakai surrenders.
13 Jul 1863Li Xiucheng refuses permission for a railway between Suzhou and Shanghai.
6 Aug 1863Shi Dakai executed.
4 Dec 1863Taipings at Suzhou surrender, and their leaders are treacherously executed by Li Hongzhang.
2 Jun 1864Li Hongzhang memorial calls for investigation of all kinds of foreign machinery.
3 Jun 1864Xinjiang Muslim rebellion begins, led by Burhannudin.
19 Jul 1864Fall of Nanjing; end of the Taiping Rebellion.
Jan 1865Buzurg Khan and Yakub Beg enter Xinjiang from Khokand and occupy Kashgar.
24 Jan 1865Sengge Rinchen defeated by Nian at Lushan (in Hunan).
Apr 1865Establishment of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
2 Apr 1865Prince Gong degraded.
23 Apr 1865Prince Gong restored.
Sep 1865Establishment of the Jiangnan Arsenal.
11 Apr 1866Xinjiang Muslims take Tarbagatai.
24 Sep 1866The Nian break out of Zeng Guofan’s barrier dikes at Kaifeng.
25 Sep 1866Zuo Zongtang sent to Shaanxi-Gansu to put down Hui rebellion.
26 Nov 1866Li Hongzhang appointed Imperial Commissioner in charge of Hunan and Huai armies.
7 Dec 1866Li Hongzhang appointed to subdue the Nian.
11 Jan 1867Qing forces heavily defeated by East and West Nian armies.
May 1867Li Hongzhang founds Jinling Arsenal at Nanjing.
21 Nov 1867Burlinghame Mission leaves.
5 Jan 1868East Nian annihilated near Yangzhou (in Jiangsu).
18 Jan 1868Fuzhou dockyard begins work. The Jiangnan Arsenal produces its first steamship.
16 Aug 1868West Nian annihilated in Shandong.
14 Jan 1869Lord Clarendon reprimands Sir Rutherford Alcock, British ambassador to China, for seizing the Jiangnan Arsenal’s new ship over the ‘Yangzhou Incident’, when the China Inland Mission in Yangzhou was attacked.
24 Mar 1869British Government expresses dissatisfaction over the behaviour of British naval forces at Chaozhou after a clash with villagers. Increasing attacks on missions and converts throughout the year.
21 Jun 1870The Tianjin massacre.
8 Nov 1870Yakub Beg takes Turfan.
12 May 18717-year-old Guizhou Miao rebellion finally defeated. First Chinese students leave for abroad (United States).
3 Jun 1871Undersea cable from Shanghai to London completed.
8 Jun 1871Yakub Beg signs a treaty with the Russians, opening Xinjiang to Russian trade.
4 Jul 1871Russian troops occupy Kuldya (Yili).
10-14 Dec 1871Rebel city of Dali in Yunnan, attacked and the Muslim leader Du Wenxiu forced to surrender on 26 Dec.
23 Feb 1873Tongzhi Emperor assumes power from the Regents.
24 Feb 1873Powers demand audience with the Tongzhi Emperor.
14 Jun 1873China Merchant Steamship Navigation Company set up by Li Hongzhang.
29 Jun 1873Powers received in audience by the Tongzhi Emperor.
4 Nov 1873Gansu Hui rebellion defeated by Zuo Zongtang.
15 Mar 1874Franco-Vietnamese Treaty of Saigon establishes French sovereignty over Cochin China.
7 May 1874Japanese land in Taiwan.
31 Oct 1874Japan withdraws from Taiwan on payment of an indemnity of half a million taels.
21 Feb 1875Margary killed.
19 Mar 1875Great Britain demands redress for the death of Margary.
12 Jun 1875Death of Tongzhi Emperor, aged 18.
14 Jun 1875Two empresses dowager become regents again.
28 Aug 1875China’s first ambassador, Guo Songtao, appointed to Great Britain.
27 Feb 1876Japan asserts independence of Korea and signs treaty with her.
29 May 1876Death of Yakub Beg.
13 Sep 1876The Chefoo Convention.
4 Apr 1879Japan annexes the Liuqiu (Ryukyu) Islands.
2 Oct 1879Chong Hou signs the Treaty of Livadia with Russia, ceding considerable territory round Kuldya and conceding substantial trade privileges.
4 Dec 1879Zuo Zongtang denounces the Treaty of Livadia.
19 Feb 1880The Treaty of Livadia renounced by China.
5 Sep 1880Zuo Zongtang’s Lanzhou woollen mill starts work.
5 Sep 1881The Treaty of St Petersburg replaces the Treaty of Livadia.
14 Feb 1881Establishment of Kaiping coal-mine.
22 Mar 1882Kuldya handed back to China.
25 Apr 1882French force occupies Hanoi.
3 May 1882China protests at French action in Indo-China.
23 Jul 1882Pro-Chinese coup d’état in Korea when the regent, the Daewongun, seizes power.
24 Jul 1882The Chinese remove the Daewongun to China to avoid complications.
30 Aug 1882Japan makes a treaty with Korea, obtaining the right to post troops at her Seoul consulate; the treaty is made without reference to China.
20 Dec 1882France and China agree joint guarantee of the independence of Annam.
19 May 1883The Black Flags defeat the French near Hanoi, but are soon forced to retreat.
26 Oct 1883Li Hongzhang advises that China is too weak to fight France.
30 Nov 1883Zhang Zhidong demands stand against France.
8 Apr 1884Prince Gong dismissed from all offices because of defeat over Annam, along with the whole Grand Council.
11 May 1884Li Hongzhang signs treaty with France conceding French claims.
23 Jun 1884Further fighting takes place in Indo-China between French and Chinese troops.
12 Jul 1884France demands an indemnity.
5 Aug 1884France bombards gun emplacements on Taiwan.
23 Aug 1884France destroys Fuzhou shipyard and Fujian fleet.
6 Dec 1884In Korea, Yuan Shikai defeats Japanese guards to reverse a pro- Japanese coup.
18 Apr 1885China and Japan agree to withdraw troops from Korea.
9 Jun 1885After further defeats, China and France sign treaty confirming French protectorate over Annam.
1 Jan 1886Burma declared part of British India, but Great Britain allows Burma to continue to send tribute.
2 Sep 1886Cixi (Yehenala) announces prolongation of her regency.
11 Jun 1887Zhang Zhidong founds the Guangya Academy, with a partly Western curriculum.
1 Dec 1887Beijing orders Tibetan troops to withdraw from Lingtu in Sikkim to prevent a clash with Great Britain.
Mar 1888The British destroy Tibetan positions at Lingtu, and complete their occupation of Sikkim in Sepember.
19 Nov 1888Weng Tonghe refuses to transmit Kang Youwei’s first 10,000- word memorial to the Emperor.
17 Dec 1888Li Hongzhang creates the Beiyang fleet.
4 Mar 1889The Guangxu Emperor assumes power.
2 Apr 1889Zhang Zhidong proposes a railway from Beijing to Hankou.
17 Mar 1890British control of Sikkim confirmed by treaty with China.
4 Dec 1890Zhang Zhidong sets up Hanyang iron and steel works.
1891Kang Youwei’s The Forged Classics of Xin is printed.
17 Mar 1894Tonghak rebellion breaks out in Korea.
31 May 1894Korean king asks for Chinese assistance.
5 Jun 1894Japanese army sent to Seoul.
8 Jun 1894Chinese troops arrive in Korea.
25 Jun 1894Legations of America, Russia, France, and Great Britain request simultaneous withdrawal of Chinese and Japanese troops from Korea.
1 Aug 1894Outbreak of Sino-Japanese War.
17 Sep 1894Beiyang fleet destroyed in action with the Japanese navy.
24 Nov 1894Sun Yat-sen founds the Revive China Society in Honolulu.
17 Apr 1895The Treaty of Shimonoseki signed.
23 Apr 1895Triple intervention (Russia, Germany, France) urges return of Liaodong to Japan.
2 May 1895Kang Youwei and 603 graduates protest against the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
3 May 1895Kang Youwei obtains the jinshi degree.
5 May 1895Kang Youwei has audience with the Emperor.
29 May 1895Kang Youwei sends letter of protest at the Treaty of Shimonoseki, calls for reforms, and the Emperor approves.
2 Jun 1895Japan having invaded Taiwan, China surrenders the island.
26 Oct 1895Sun Yat-sen’s first rising takes place at Canton and is defeated.
7 Nov 1895Japan returns Liaodong to China in return for an increased war indemnity.
23 Mar 1896China borrows £16 million at 5% interest from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Deutsche-Asiatische Bank to pay the Japanese indemnity.
27 Mar 1896Li Hongzhang leaves on goodwill mission to the United States and Europe.
13 May 1896Yuan Shikai sets up a military academy at Tianjin.
2 Jun 1896In St Petersburg Li Hongzhang signs the secret Sino-Russian treaty of alliance which includes Russia’s right to extend the Trans-Siberian Railway through Manchuria.
5 Jun 1896France signs contract with China to build a railway from Annam to Guangxi.
15 Jun 1896The Big Swords society attacks Christian converts and missionaries in Shandong.
11 Oct 1896Sun Yat-sen is kidnapped in London and detained at the Chinese legation, but is released on 23 Oct on the intervention of the Foreign Office.
20 Oct 1896The Court sets up a general railway company.
12 Nov 1896The Court decides to set up a Western-style bank.
1 Mar 1897France secures non-alienation of Hainan.
12 Jun 1897France signs agreement to build a railway from Annam to Yunnanfu, with special mining rights en route.
14 Nov 1897Germany occupies Jiaozhou, Shandong. Publication of Kang Youwei’s Confucius as a Reformer.
4 Jan 1898Jan Kang Youwei discusses his reform programme with members of the Zongli Yamen.
11 Feb 1898Great Britain secures the non-alienation of all territory adjoining the Yangzi.
27 Mar 1898China leases Lushun and Dalian to Russia, and permits the building of the South Manchurian Railway.
10 Apr 1898France secures lease of Guangzhou Bay.
3 Jun 1898The Court approves 99-year lease of Kowloon to Great Britain.
11 Jun 1898The Emperor issues a decree instituting reform; this is the beginning of the Hundred Days of Reform. The Emperor orders the founding of the Imperial University.
23 Jun 1898The 8-legged essay abolished.
1 Jul 1898Great Britain leases Weihaiwei for as long as Lushun is leased by Russia. All traditional academies ordered to provide both Chinese and Western studies.
26 Jul 1898Freedom of the press proclaimed.
2 Aug 1898Decree that citizens and low-ranking officials should be allowed to send communications directly to the Throne.
4 Sep 1898The Guangxu Emperor informs Kang Youwei secretly that he is in danger of being deposed.
5 Sep 1898The reformers Yang Rui, Liu Guangdi, Lin Xu, and Tan Sitong appointed Secretaries of the Grand Council.
21 Sep 1898Kang Youwei’s arrest ordered. The Guangxu Emperor put under house arrest. Yehenala (Cixi) resumes the regency.
28 Sep 1898Six leading reformers executed.
1 Jun 1899Russia obtains the right to build a railway north from Beijing, and Germany from Jinan to Tianjin.
2 Jul 1899Discovery of Dun Huang manuscripts and paintings (Gansu).
6 Sep 1899The first Open Door policy note is sent to the Treaty Powers by the USA.
17 Sep 1899Boxers begin to attack Christian converts.
24 Jan 1900Pu Jun, son of Prince Duan (Zai Yi), made heir-apparent,
27 Jan 1900Powers demand suppression of the Boxers.
10 Jun 1900Prince Duan made head of the Zongli Yamen.
11 Jun 1900Sugiyama Akira, chancellor of the Japanese legation, killed by Gansu soldiers in Beijing.
13 Jun 1900Large force of Boxers enters Beijing.
19 Jun 1900The Court declares war on all the Powers.
20 Jun 1900Von Ketteler, the German minister, killed. Siege of the legations begins.
21 Jun 1900Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong, and other provincial officials appeal to the Court to suppress the Boxers.
3 Jul 1900A second Open Door note proposes respect for the integrity of China.
9 Jul 1900Five officials, including two members of the Zongli Yamen, executed for being pro-foreign.
16 Jul 1900After an incident on the Amur River, Russia invades Manchuria.
14 Aug 1900The Allies enter Beijing.
15 Aug 1900(Cixi) flees.
1 Oct 1900Li Hongzhang appointed Governor-General of Zhili.
22 Oct 1900Guangxu Emperor’s second rising (in Huizhou, Guangdong) fails.
21 Apr 1901 Prince Qing (Yikuang) appointed head of the new Bureau of Government Affairs; this marks the beginning of new reforms.
7 Sep 1901Signing of Boxer protocol which includes an indemnity of 450 million taels, the razing of the Dagu forts, and the stationing of foreign troops at Tianjin, Tangshan, Shanhaiguan, and other places in Zhili.
1902In the course of the year, foot-binding condemned, intermarriage between Chinese and Manchus legalized, Christian converts to be equal to others before the law, an educational system and a national syllabus created, all provinces ordered to send students abroad, certain Hanlin compilers and graduates to study at Imperial University.
30 Jan 1902Anglo-Japanese alliance concluded.
8 Apr 1903The Russians refuse to evacuate Manchuria without a non-alienation agreement re Manchuria; Japan protests.
1 Jul 1903The British Younghusband Expedition reaches Lhasa.
13 Jan 1904Zhang Zhidong and others propose the phasing out of traditional examinations.
8 Feb 1904The Russo-Japanese War begins when Japan attacks Lushun.
15 May 1904Tibet declares war on Great Britain.
3 Aug 1904British troops reach Lhasa.
7 Sep 1904Tibet agrees to have no dealings with any foreign power without British consent.
23 Oct 1904Rising in Hunan led by Huang Xing of the China Revival Society is defeated.
10 Mar 1905Japan wins decisive victory over Russia at Mukden (Shenyang).
2 Jul 1905Yuan Shikai, Zhang Zhidong, and others call for constitutional government within twelve years.
16 Jul 1905The Court orders a mission abroad to study constitutions.
30 Jul 1905Guangxu Emperor and others meet in Tokyo to form the Tong Meng Hui (Chinese United League), formally set up on 20 Aug
5 Sep 1905The Treaty of Portsmouth ends the Sino-Russian War. China’s sovereignty restored in Manchuria, but Japan gets lease of the Liaodong Peninsula and the Chinese Eastern Railway north to Changchun.
8 Apr 1906Great Britain agrees with China not to interfere in Tibetan affairs.
1 Sep 1906The Court announces that a constitution is to be drafted.
20 Nov 1906Command of four out of six divisions of the Beiyang Army is put in Manchu hands.
4 Dec 1906Two more Nationalist revolts, in Jiangxi and Hunan, quickly suppressed.
19 Feb 1907Further Nationalist revolt (in Guangdong) defeated.
20 Apr 1907Manchuria divided into three provinces: Fengtian, Jilin, Heilongjiang.
22 May 1907The third Nationalist revolt (in Guangdong) defeated.
2 Jun 1907The fourth Nationalist revolt (in Guangdong) defeated.
6 Jul 1907Nationalist rising in Anhui kills the governor, but is defeated.
1 Sep 1907Further Nationalist revolt in Guangdong defeated after an initial victory; this is regarded as the fifth rising associated with Sun Yat-sen.
20 Sep 1907An imperial edict orders establishment of a national assembly.
19 Oct 1907An imperial edict is issued setting up elected provincial assemblies.
30 Nov 1907Nationalist revolt in Guangxi defeated.
13 Jan 1908Contract with Deutsche-Asiatische Bank for a loan to build the Tianjin-Pukou Railway.
Mar 1908From March onwards, mass boycott of Japanese goods over Japanese reaction to the seizure of a Japanese ship (the Tatsu Maru) smuggling arms.
6 Mar 1908Contract with Great Britain for a loan to build the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway.
13 Mar 1908Hanyang Arsenal, Daye iron-mines and Pingxiang coal-mines merged to form the Hanyeping Coal and Iron Company.
14 Nov 1908Death of the Guangxu Emperor.
15 Nov 1908Death of Cixi (Yehenala).
2 Dec 1908Pu Yi ascends the throne as Emperor, with reign title Xuantong.
1 Jan 1909China regains control of the Beijing-Hankou Railway from Belgium.
2 Jan 1909Yuan Shikai ordered to retire.
7 Dec 1909The Dalai Lama protests at the dispatch of Chinese troops to Tibet.
26 Jan 1910Petition from provincial assemblies for the immediate opening of Parliament.
12 Feb 1910Further Nationalist rising in Guangzhou is put down.
Apr 1910Yunnan-Annam Railway completed.
23 May 1910Formation of an international consortium to handle loans to China.
27 Jun 1910The Court turns down request for an immediate parliament, having decreed a national assembly, half elected, half appointed.
4 Jul 1910Japan and Russia sign a secret treaty recognizing each other’s rights in Manchuria.
4 Nov 1910An imperial edict that Parliament be convened in 1913 instead of 1916 is issued.
18 Dec 1910The National Assembly’s demand for responsible cabinet government is rejected by the Court.
30 Jan 1911Nationalist rising in Canton put down, 86 revolutionaries killed.
8 May 1911Great Britain agrees to end opium imports by 1917.
9 May 1911An edict nationalizes all China’s railways.
20 May 1911Loan from consortium to build Sichuan-Hankou and Hankou-Canton railways, £10 million at 5% interest.
17 Jun 1911The Railway Protection League set up in Sichuan.
7 Sep 1911Thirty Railway Protection League demonstrators killed by imperial troops.
10 Oct 1911Wuchang rising takes place.
18 Oct 1911Consuls at Hankou proclaim their neutrality.
22 Oct 1911The New Army rebels in Changsha; Hunan declares independence.
29 Oct 1911Shanxi proclaims independence.
31 Oct 1911The New Army rebels in Jiangxi.
Nov 1911At various dates, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Anhui, Shandong and Sichuan join the revolution.
2 Dec 1911Conference of representatives of all provinces sets up a provincial government.
25 Dec 1911Sun Yat-sen arrives from overseas.
1 Jan 1912Official proclamation of the Republic.
5 Jan 1912Acting President Sun Yat-sen recognizes all treaties made by the imperial government and agrees to protect foreign interests.
12 Feb 1912Pu Yi abdicates.
13 Feb 1912Yuan Shikai declares support for the Republic. Sun Yat-sen declares his willingness to resign in favour of Yuan Shikai.
5 Feb 1912Yuan Shikai elected provisional President.
15 Feb 1912Nanjing is named as the capital of the new Republic.
29 Feb 1912Cao Kun’s 3rd Division mutinies in Beijing in protest at the removal of the capital to Nanjing.
13 Mar 1912Tang Shaoyi becomes Prime Minister.
15 Mar 1912Yuan Shikai begins to borrow heavily from the four-power international consortium and other groups.
2 Apr 1912The Senate decides to establish the capital at Beijing.
5 May 1912British troops move into Tibet.
12 May 1912Yuan Shikai prohibits private organizations from taking part in politics.
1 Jun 1912Russia invades Kuldya (Yili).
15 Jun 1912Tang Shaoyi resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Lu Zhengxiang.
14 Jul 1912Five members of the Cabinet (of whom four are Tong Meng Hui members) resign.
10 Aug 1912A general election takes place.
24 Sep 1912Contract with a Belgian syndicate to build a railway from Luoyang (Henan) to Xi’an (Shanxi).
25 Sep 1912Zhao Binglin succeeds as Prime Minister.
3 Nov 1912Russia recognizes the independence of Mongolia. China protests. Mongolia and Tibet form an alliance under which each recognizes the other’s independence.
20 Mar 1913Song Jiaoren assassinated.
8 Apr 1913First meeting of the elected National Assembly.
26 Apr 1913Zhao Binglin obtains a loan of £25 million from a group of five foreign banks without parliamentary approval.
29 Apr 1913The Senate declares the loan of 26 Apr null and void.
1 May 1913Zhao Binglin resigns because of the assassination of Song Jiaoren and is succeeded by Duan Qirui as acting Prime Minister.
12 Jul 1913Li Liejun declares the independence of Jiangxi; followed by Jiangsu, Anhui, Guangdong and Hunan.
1 Sep 1913This ‘second revolution’ ends when Yuan Shikai’s troops take Nanjing.
11 Sep 1913Xiong Xiling’s cabinet formed.
4 Nov 1913Yuan Shikai orders the dissolution of the Nationalist Party and ousts its MPs.
26 Nov 1913Yuan Shikai orders that a Political Council should replace the National Assembly.
12 Feb 1914Prime Minister Xiong Xiling resigns and is replaced by Sun Baoqi.
1 May 1914Yuan Shikai annuls the provisional Constitution and promulgates the Constitutional Compact.
3 Jul 1914At a conference at Simla Great Britain recognizes the autonomy of Tibet; China does not ratify the agreement.
28 Jul 1914Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia: outbreak of World War I.
15 Aug 1914Japan sends an ultimatum to Germany demanding the handing over of Qingdao, Shandong.
7 Nov 1914Japan occupies Qingdao.
3 Dec 1914The Twenty-one Demands; formally presented 20 Jan 1915.
29 Dec 1914Yuan Shikai’s presidential election law; the President to be elected for ten years and to be eligible for re-election.
10 Mar 1915Geming Dang denounces the Twenty-one Demands and calls for the overthrow of Yuan Shikai.
8 May 1915Yuan Shikai accepts modified Twenty-one Demands.
1 Sep 1915The Council of State calls for the restoration of the monarchy.
5 Dec 1915Chen Qimei and others unsuccessfully attack the Jiangnan Arsenal.
25 Dec 1915Cai E, Tang Jiyao, and others organize the National Protection Army.
31 Dec 1915Yuan Shikai assumes the throne.
6 Jan 1916Chen Jiongming rebels against the pro-Yuan Governor of Guangdong, Long Jiguang.
8 May 1916The National Protection Army sets up a separate national government in Canton, the Military Affairs Council.
6 Jun 1916Death of Yuan Shikai.
7 Jun 1916Vice-President Li Yuanhong succeeds as President, with Feng Guozhang as Vice-President.
29 Jun 1916Duan Qirui appointed Prime Minister.
14 Jul 1916Canton Military Affairs Council disbanded.
1 Aug 1916The National Assembly (dissolved by Yuan Shikai in 1914) reconvenes.
31 Oct 1916Death of Huang Xing, leader of the Wuchang Uprising.
26 Dec 1916Li Yuanhong appoints Cai Yuanpei as Vice-Chancellor of Beijing University.
1 Jan 1917Hu Shih advocates literary reform (the use of the colloquial written form, bai hua) in New Youth magazine.
16 Feb 1917Great Britain assures Japan of support for her assumption of German rights in Shandong.
23 May 1917Li Yuanhong dismisses Duan Qirui as Prime Minister as a result of his unconstitutional proceedings re entry to World War I. A quick succession of prime ministers follows: Wu Tingfang (23 May), Jiang Zhaozong (23 Jun), Li Jingxi (24 Jun).
14 Jun 1917Zhang Xun arrives in Beijing with 5,000 men to ‘mediate’.
1 Jul 1917Zhang Xun restores Pu Yi to the throne, and as Prime Minister.
2 Jul 1917Li Yuanhong appoints Feng Guozhang as Acting President.
12 Jul 1917Zhang Xun driven from Beijing.
14 Aug 1917Declaration of war on Germany.
26 Aug 1917Feng Guozhang seeks a truce with the South.
10 Sep 1917An alternative (military) government is set up at Canton, with Sun Yat-sen as Generalissimo.
10 Oct 1917War between North and South begins in Hunan.
2 Nov 1917By the Lansing-Ishi Agreement, the United States recognizes that Japan has special rights in China because of their propinquity.
15 Nov 1917Duan Qirui resigns and is replaced by Wang Shizhen.
26 Feb 1918Sun Yat-sen’s supporter Cheng Biguang assassinated at Canton.
23 Mar 1918Feng Guozhang forced by northern warlords to restore Duan Qirui as Prime Minister. War with the South continues.
4 May 1918The Canton military government replaced by a seven-man committee dominated by southern military leaders.
15 May 1918New Canton government requests a peace conference.
21 May 1918Sun Yat-sen leaves Canton in disgust.
14 Jun 1918Assassination of Lu Jianzhang by Xu Shuzheng, follower of Duan Qirui.
3 Aug 1918Allied intervention in Siberia begins; the intervention is joined by Chinese troops, 18 Aug
10 Oct 1918The newly elected National Assembly elects Xu Shichang as President. Duan Qirui resigns and is replaced by Qian Nengxun. Peace negotiations with Canton follow.
15 Oct 1918Li Dazhao’s Victory of Bolshevism is published in New Youthmagazine.
16 Nov 1918Beijing orders a truce with the South.
2 Dec 1918Powers (USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan) call for an end to the civil war.
6 Apr 1919Publication of translation of the Communist Manifesto in the Weekly Critic.
May 1919Li Dazhao publishes My Marxist Views in New Youth.
1 May 1919John Dewey lectures in China (until 11 Jun).
4 May 1919The May Fourth Movement; it spreads and persists until 10 Jun. The Government dismisses pro-Japanese ministers and on 13 May accepts the resignation of Prime Minister Qian Nengxun.
13 May 1919North-South talks end in failure.
28 Jun 1919Chinese delegates refuse to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
25 Jul 1919The Karakhan Manifesto issued by the Soviet Union.
24 Sep 1919Jin Yunpeng appointed Prime Minister.
10 Oct 1919Sun Yat-sen’s Geming Dang (the Revolutionary Party) becomes the Kuomingtang (the Nationalist Party).
Dec 1919The Society for the Study of Socialism founded in Beijing University.
28 Dec 1919Death of Feng Guozhang.
Mar 1920Ministry of Education adopts bai hua as the language of textbooks.
1 Apr 1920End of Siberian intervention, except for Chinese and Japanese troops.
30 Apr 1920Chinese troops withdraw from Siberia.
May 1920Under the influence of Voitinsky of the Comintern, Chen Duxiu and others secretly form the Chinese Communist Party.
26 May 1920North-South war breaks out again when the South attacks Baoqing (Hunan) as Wu Peifu withdraws.
12 Jul 1920Cao Kun and Zhang Zuolin condemn Duan Qirui.
14 Aug 1920War between the Anhui and Zhili cliques. Fengtian assists Zhili. Duan Qirui defeated.
19 Sep 1920Duan Qirui resigns from all posts.
9 Aug 1920Jin Yunpeng appointed acting Prime Minister.
16 Aug 1920Chen Jiongming, on Sun Yat-sen’s orders, marches to oust the Guangxi troops from Canton.
27 Sep 1920Second Karakhan Declaration is issued by the Soviet Union.
29 Sep 1920Chen Jiongming takes Canton.
12 Oct 1920Bertrand Russell arrives in China to lecture and stays for a year.
5 May 1921Sun Yat-sen made Extraordinary President of the Canton government.
20 May 1921President Xu Shichang orders war on the South, in alliance with Lu Rongting of Guangxi.
Jul 1921The Chinese Communist Party sets up China Labour Union Secretariat in Shanghai, headed by Zhang Guotao.
6 Jul 1921Soviet troops take Ulan Bator (Urga) and defeat the White Guards.
15 Jul 1921The Kuomingtang army takes Nanning (in Guangxi).
23-31 Jul 1921The First Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
31 Jul 1921The First Congress elects a Central Committee, including Chen Duxiu and Zhang Guotao.
1 Sep 1921Wu Peifu makes truce with the South.
19 Sep 1921The Peking Union Medical College opens.
Oct 1921Liang Shuming publishes The Cultures of East and West and their Philosophies.
5 Nov 1921Russia makes a treaty with Mongolia without reference to China.
12 Nov 1921The Washington Naval Conference opens.
4 Dec 1921Sun Yat-sen goes to Guangxi to organize a northern expedition.
7 Dec 1921Sun Yat-sen lectures on the Three Principles of the People.
24 Dec 1921Liang Shiyi becomes Prime Minister with the support of Zhang Zuolin.
13 Jan 1922The Hong Kong seamen’s strike begins.
25 Jan 1922Liang Shiyi forced from office and replaced by Yan Huiqing.
3 Feb 1922Sun Yat-sen orders the northern expedition to begin.
26 Feb 1922General strike in Hong Kong.
3 Mar 1922British open fire on strikers in Shatin, killing four.
5 Mar 1922Hong Kong strike ends with the strikers winning wage increases.
21 Mar 1922Assassination of SunSun Yat-sen’s chief of military supplies, Deng Keng, probably at the instigation of Chen Jiongming.
28 Apr 1922The First Zhili-Fengtian war begins.
May 1922Peng Pai begins to organize the peasants in Haifeng, Guangdong.
4 May 1922Zhang Zuolin defeated.
1 Jun 1922Cao Kun and Wu Peifu invite Li Yuanhong to resume the Presidency.
11 Jun 1922Li Yuanhong resumes the Presidency when Xu Shichang resigns.
16 Jun 1922Chen Jiongming attacks Canton; Sun Yat-sen takes refuge on a gunboat.
Jul 1922The Second Congress of the Chinese Communist Party votes for a united front with the Kuomingtang.
2 Jul 1922The northern expedition troops return to Guangdong to assist Sun Yat-sen.
5 Aug 1922Tang Shaoyi becomes Prime Minister.
9 Aug 1922Sun Yat-sen flees to Hong Kong.
22 Aug 1922Sun Yat-sen holds a meeting on the reorganization of the Kuomingtang; Chen Duxiu, Secretary-General of the Communist Party, participates.
13 Sep 1922Anyuan miners, led by Liu Shaoqi, strike for higher wages and recognition of their union; successful.
19 Sep 1922Wang Chonghui becomes Prime Minister.
1 Oct 1922Japanese troops withdraw from Siberia.
23 Oct 1922Strike at Kailan mines lasts until 16 Nov, but fails.
11 Nov 1922Third Karakhan Declaration; the Soviet Union re-asserts her claim to the Chinese Eastern Railway.
29 Nov 1922Wang Daxie becomes Prime Minister.
10 Dec 1922Japan returns Qingdao to China.
11 Dec 1922Wang Zhengting becomes Prime Minister.
4 Jan 1923Wang Zhengting resigns as Prime Minister, and is succeeded by Zhang Shaoceng, who resigns on 13 Jun.
16 Jan 1923Sun Yat-sen recaptures Canton.
26 Jan 1923The Sun Joffe Declaration.
6 May 1923Bandits seize and wreck a train in Shandong and kidnap almost 300, including 35 foreigners; this event throws untimely doubt on China’s ability to keep order.
Jun 1923Mao Zedong elected to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
3 Jun 1923The Third Congress of the Chinese Communist Party reasserts hope of a united front.
4 Jun 1923Troops loyal to Wu Peifu attack the organized workers of the Beijing-Hankou Railway; 30 killed.
13 Jun 1923Cao Kun forces President Li Yuanhong to retire.
2 Sep 1923Chiang Kai-shek arrives in Moscow, returning on 15 Dec
5 Oct 1923Cao Kun elected President.
6 Oct 1923Borodin of the Comintern arrives to advise Sun Yat-sen.
10 Jan 1924Cao Kun appoints Sun Baoqi as Prime Minister.
20-30 Jan 1924First Congress of the Kuomingtang.
3 May 1924Sun Yat-sen appoints Chiang Kai-shek as Commandant of the Whampoa Military Academy and Commander-in-Chief of the Nationalist forces.
2 Aug 1924Song Ziwen appointed by Sun Yat-sen to manage the central bank of the Canton regime.
9 Aug 1924Sun Yat-sen orders Chiang Kai-shek to deal with the Canton Merchants’ Corps.
1 Sep 1924War between Jiangsu and Zhejiang precipitates the Second Zhili-Fengtian war.
14 Sep 1924Yan Huiqing becomes Prime Minister.
15 Oct 1924The Canton Merchants’ Corps defeated by Whampoa cadets.
23 Oct 1924Feng Yuxiang breaks with Wu Peifu and occupies Beijing.
24 Oct 1924Yan Huiqing’s cabinet resigns.
2 Nov 1924Cao Kun resigns as President; Huang Fu is Acting President.
3 Nov 1924Feng Yuxiang forces Wu Peifu out of Tianjin. The war ends.
21 Nov 1924Duan QiruiDuan Qirui announces ‘Aftermath Conference’.
24 Nov 1924Duan Qirui appointed Chief Executive.
31 Dec 1924Sun Yat-sen (already terminally ill) arrives in Beijing for the Aftermath Conference.
22 Jan 1925The Fourth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
12 Mar 1925Death of Sun Yat-sen.
30 May 1925The May the 30th Incident: British police inspector orders fire on student-worker demonstration; nine Chinese killed.
1 Jun 1925At a further demonstration, the British kill four more Chinese.
3 Jun 192530,000 students demonstrate in Beijing over the May the 30th Incident.
4 Jun 1925Diplomatic corps rejects a Chinese accusation against Great Britain and puts the responsibility for the May the 30th Incident on the demonstrators; a wave of demonstrations follows throughout China, with many further deaths.
19 Jun 1925General strike in Hong Kong in protest at the May the 30th Incident.
23 Jun 1925British and French troops kill 52 demonstrators at Canton.
1 Jul 1925A new national government formally set up at Canton.
20 Aug 1925Assassination of Liao Zhongkai, leader of the left-wing Kuomingtang.
4 Nov 1925Final destruction of Chen Jiongming’s power in Guangdong.
22 Nov 1925Revolt of Guo Songling against Zhang Zuolin.
23 Nov 1925The Western Hills Group founded to oppose the United Front.
23 Dec 1925Guo Songling defeated in Fengtian.
24 Dec 1925Feng Yuxiang takes Tianjin.
Dec 1926The Hunan Peasant Movement begins.
1-9 Dec 1926Second Congress of the Kuomingtang.
5 Dec 1926Zhang Zuolin forms an alliance with Wu Peifu against Feng Yuxiang.
19 Dec 1926War breaks out between Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang.
20 Dec 1926In the Zhongshan incident, Chiang Kai-shek curbs the power of the Communists within the Kuomingtang.
9 Apr 1926Troops of Feng Yuxiang force Duan Qirui to flee.
18 Apr 1926Feng Yuxiang’s army retreats from Beijing.
1 Jul 1926Chiang Kai-shek orders the northern expedition to begin.
10 Oct 1926Wuchang falls to the northern expedition.
8 Nov 1926Nanchang falls.
1 Jan 1927The Kuomingtang moves the capital to Wuhan.
19 Feb 1927After clashes in Hankou, Great Britain relinquishes the Concession there and at Jiujiang.
Mar 1927Publication of Mao Zedong’s Report on the Peasant Movement in Hunan.
22 Mar 1927Shanghai falls to the Kuomingtang.
12 Apr 1927Chiang Kai-shek attacks and eliminates the Communist-led workers’ pickets in Shanghai.
27 Apr 1927The Fifth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (to 5 May) decides to try to preserve the United Front with the Wuhan government.
6 Jun 1927Yan Xishan gives his allegiance to Chiang Kai-shek.
21 Jun 1927Feng Yuchang appeals to Wuhan to unite with Nanjing.
15 Jul 1927Wuhan Kuomingtang orders all Communists within the Kuomingtang to renounce allegiance; this marks the end of the United Front.
1 Aug 1927The Chinese Communist Party launches an unsuccessful rising in Nanchang.
7 Aug 1927An emergency Communist Party conference at Jinjiang adopts a policy of radical land reform; Chen Duxiu dismissed as Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party and replaced by Qu Qiubai.
8 Sep 1927The Autumn Harvest Uprising, led by Mao Zedong, fails.
Oct 1927Mao Zedong retreats to Jinggang Shan.
13-18 Nov 1927Foundation of the Lufeng Soviet/Haifeng Soviet
1 Dec 1927Chiang Kai-shek marries Song Meiling.
11 Dec 1927The Canton Commune, suppressed by 13 Dec
28 Feb 1928Lufeng Soviet/Haifeng Soviet suppressed.
20 Apr 1928Japanese forces land at Qingdao, fearing that approaching Kuomingtang forces may attack their interests.
28 Apr 1928Li Dazhao executed in Beijing.
3 May 1928Armed clash at Jinan between Nationalist and Japanese forces; Chiang Kai-shek orders the Nationalist forces to withdraw.
4 Jun 1928Assassination of Zhang Zhuolin by Japanese extremists.
12 Jun 1928Nationalist army takes Tianjin.
18 Jun 1928The Sixth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Moscow (to 11 July). Qu Qiubai replaced by Xiang Zhongfa, with Li Lisan as the real holder of power.
Jul 1928A series of treaties (between now and Dec) between China and the Powers sets new tariffs.
10 Oct 1928Chiang Kai-shek elected Chairman of the Nationalist government. The presidents of the Five Yuan are Tan Yankai, Hu Hanmin, Wang Chonghui, Dai Jitao, and Cai Yuanpei, under the new Organic Law.
1-25 Jan 1929Conference on demobilization held in Nanjing; it is unsuccessful.
14 Jan 1929Mao Zedong and Zhu De leave Jinggang Shan.
19 Jan 1929Death of Liang Qichao.
10 Feb 1929After a battle with local Nationalist government forces, Mao Zedong establishes a new base at Ruijin, Jiangxi.
15-18 Mar 1929Third National Congress of the Kuomingtang.
26 ian 1929Chiang Kai-shek launches a campaign against the Guangxi warlords, who are defeated by the end of April.
23 May 1929Han Fuju defects from Feng Yuxiang.
10 Jul 1929China seizes the Chinese Eastern Railway from the Soviet Union; military clashes follow.
30 Aug 1929Peng Pai executed.
27 Oct 1929Feng Yuxiang attacks in Henan; defeated by 22 Nov
22 Dec 1929China, after a series of defeats, accepts restoration of the status quo re the Chinese Eastern Railway.
17 Feb 1930China secures the agreement of the Powers to set up Chinese courts in the International Settlement, replacing the mixed courts.
26 Feb 1930A Chinese Communist Party circular sets the Li Lisan line.
8 Mar 1930A soviet set up at Pingjiang in Hunan.
18 Apr 1930Great Britain agrees to restore Weihaiwei to China.
1 May 1930Chiang Kai-shek declares war on Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan.
13 Jul 1930The ‘Enlarged Conference’ meets in Beijing.
27 Jul 1930Peng Dehuai seizes Changsha for the Communist Party but is driven out.
1-2 Aug 1930Mao Zedong and Zhu De fail to take Nanchang.
15 Aug 1930Yan Xishan defeated at Jinan, Shandong.
22 Sep 1930Great Britain agrees to hand back the Boxer indemnity payments to China, to be used for railways and educational purposes.
23 Sep 1930Zhang Xueliang, son of and successor to Zhang Zuolin, occupies Beijing.
3 Oct 1930Chiang Kai-shek takes Kaifeng from Feng Yuxiang and takes Loyang on 9 Oct to end the war.
5 Nov 1930First encirclement campaign begins against the Jiangxi Soviet.
16 Nov 1930The Comintern condemns the Li Lisan line.
18 Nov 1930Mao Zedong’s wife, Yang Kaihui, executed at Changsha.
8 Dec 1930The Futian Incident, in which Mao Zedong puts down a pro-Li Lisan mutiny in his own ranks.
27 Dec 1930First encirclement campaign defeated.
8 Jan 1931Fourth plenum of the Sixth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party dismisses Li Lisan, Qu Qiubai and others from the Central Committee; they are replaced by ‘returned students’ Chen Shaoyu, Qin Bangxian, and others.
7 Feb 1931He Mingxiong, Shanghai Communist leader, executed.
16-30 May 1931Second encirclement campaignSecond encirclement campaign defeated.
28 May 1931A rebel government formed in Canton headed by Wang Jingwei, Li Zongren, and Tang Shaoyi, in protest at the arrest of Hu Hanmin by Chiang Kai-shek.
24 Jun 1931Xiang Zhongfa, Communist Party Secretary-General, executed in Shanghai.
1 Jul 1931Third encirclement campaign ordered, but called off on 18 Sep, after Japan occupies a Chinese camp outside Mukden (Shenyang).
26 Sep 1931A vast demonstration in Shanghai demands resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria.
19 Nov 1931Japan seizes Tsitsihar, capital of Heilongjiang.
16 Dec 1931Deng Yanda, third-party leader, executed for treason by the Nationalist government. Chiang Kai-shek resigns all his posts.
28 Dec 1931At the first plenum of the Kuomingtang a standing committee is set up under Lin Sen as Party Chairman and including Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei, and Hu Hanmin.
29 Dec 1931Japan completes the occupation of Manchuria.
28 Jan 1932Japan attacks Shanghai; the 28th Route Army resists. Wang Jingwei becomes President of the Executive Yuan.
18 Feb 1932Puppet administrative council in Manchuria proclaims independence.
21 Feb 1932The Nationalist government states it will never recognize the independence of Manchuria.
9 Mar 1932Formal establishment of Manchukuo.
15 Apr 1932The Ruijin Soviet declares war on Japan.
5 May 1932Cease-fire agreement signed at Shanghai.
18 Jun 1932Start of the Fourth encirclement campaign.
3 Sep 1932Assassination of warlord Zhang Zongchang.
2 Oct 1932The Lytton Commission Report on the Manchurian situation published.
11 Oct 1932Zhang Guotao driven out of Hebei-Hunan-Anhui soviet area, moves to Sichuan and sets up a new soviet.
Oct 1933The Chinese Communist Party Central Committee moves from Shanghai to the Ruijin Soviet.
27 Feb 1933Japan attacks Jehol.
Mar 1933Decisive Chinese Communist Party victories bring Fourth encirclement campaign to an end.
1 Mar 1933Currency reform, based on a new 88% silver dollar.
29 Apr 1933Japan invades Chahar.
31 May 1933Tanggu Truce signed, by which China relinquishes Manchuria and Jehol to Japan in return for cessation of fighting.
2 Jun 1933Land reform verification campaign begins in Ruijin.
6 Oct 1933Fifth encirclement campaign begins.
24 Oct 1933Inner Mongolia declares autonomy.
20 Nov 1933Chen Mingshu of the 19th Army, and third-party forces, proclaim a new national government in Fujian.
21 Jan 1934Kuomingtang troops bring Fujian separatist government to an end.
19 Feb 1934Chiang Kai-shek launches his New Life Movement.
1 Mar 1934Pu Yi proclaimed Emperor of Manchukuo by the Japanese.
17 Apr 1934Japan states her opposition to all foreign technical, financial or military assistance to China except her own.
27 Aug 1934Birthday of Confucius officially celebrated.
16 Oct 1934Red Army abandons Ruijin; the Long March begins.
6-8 Jan 1935Chinese Communist Party politburo meets at Zunyi, Guizhou.
8 Jan 1935Mao Zedong elected Chairman of the politburo at Zunyi.
9 Feb 1935Zhang Guotao, defeated at Tongjiang, Sichuan, retreats west.
20 Feb 1935Censorship of all films imposed by the Nationalist government.
4 Mar 1935Russia sells the Chinese Eastern Railway to Manchukuo; China protests on 18 Mar
16 May 1935Sheng Shicai, militarist in control of Xinjiang, reaches agreement with the Soviet Union for aid.
30 May 1935First Route Red Army crosses the Dadu River after the capture of the chain bridge at Luding, Sichuan.
10 Jun 1935The He-Umezi Agreement by which China withdraws troops and officials from Hebei.
16 Jun 1935Junction of the forces of Mao Zedong and Zhang Guotao in Sichuan (Mougong).
18 Jun 1935Qu Qiubai executed.
26 Oct 1935Mao Zedong’s forces reach the Shaan-Gan-Ning Soviet at the end of the Long March.
1 Nov 1935Wang Jingwei wounded in an assassination attempt.
5 Nov 19355 Beijing students protest at persecution of students, claiming that 300,000 have been killed and demanding civil rights.
19 Nov 1935He Long and Ren Bishi abandon the Hubei-Hunan-Sichuan-Guizhou Soviet.
25 Nov 1935A puppet government declares 22 xian in east Hebei independent, at Japanese instigation; China protests on 29 Nov
9 Dec 1935Noted student demonstration in Beijing against Japanese imperialism; it is suppressed but agitation spreads to other cities.
20 Feb 1936The Nationalist government publishes an emergency decree empowering military police to fire on demonstrating students.
12 Mar 1936The Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of Mongolia sign a military alliance; China protests, 7 Apr
12 May 1936Death of Hu Hanmin.
23 Jun 1936Chiang Kai-shek’s troops force the Communist Party out of its Wayaobao base to Baoan (both in Shaanxi).
19 Aug 1936Guangxi militarists set up a separate government in Guangxi, but dissolve it on 6 Aug after agreement with Chiang Kai-shek.
22 Oct 1936Troops of Zhang Guotao and He Long make junction with Mao Zedong’s forces in Gansu.
21 Nov 1936Communist Party defeats Kuomingtang forces at Shanchengkao, Gansu.
24 Nov 1936Fu Zuoyi defeats Prince De, leader of the Mongol nationalists and protégé of Japan.
25 Nov 1936Germany and Japan sign anti-Comintern protocol.
Dec 1936Chinese Communist Party moves to Yan’an, Shaanxi.
12 Dec 1936The Xi’an Incident: Chiang Kai-shek arrested by Zhang Xueliang.
25 Dec 1936Zhang Xueliang releases Chiang Kai-shek.
7 Jul 1937The Marco Polo Bridge (Lugou Qiao) Incident sparks off the second Sino-Japanese War.
28 Jul 1937Japan takes Beijing and Tianjin on 30th July.
21 Aug 1937Russia and China sign a non-aggression pact.
13 Sep 1937Japan takes Datong, Shanxi.
25 Sep 1937 Lin Biao defeats Japanese forces at Pingxiangguan, Shanxi.
9 Nov 1937Chiang Kai-shek orders the evacuation of Shanghai.
20 Nov 1937The Nationalist capital is moved to Chongqing, Sichuan.
13 Dec 1937Japan takes Nanjing, which is then sacked with extreme brutality.
24 Dec 1937Fall of Hangzhou.
27 Dec 1937Fall of Ji’nan, Shandong.
1 Apr 1938Zhang Guotao formally expelled from the Chinese Communist Party, having earlier defected.
7 Apr 1938Chinese under Li Zongren defeat Japanese forces at Taierzhuang, Shandong.
12 May 1938Amoy falls.
6 Jun 1938Kaifeng, capital of Henan, falls.
7 Jun 1938Nationalist troops breach the Yellow River dikes to impede the Japanese advance; great loss of civilian life follows.
Jul 1938A brief war between the Soviet Union and Japan on the border with Manchuria, ending (12 Aug) with the restoration of the status quo.
21 Oct 1938Canton falls.
26 Oct 1938Wuhan falls.
18 Dec 1938Wang Jingwei defects to the Japanese.
28 Mar 1939Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, falls.
May 1939The Communist New Fourth Army forms a liberated area on the south bank of the Yangzi Estuary.
11 May 1939Renewed hostilities between Japan and the Soviet Union in Outer Mongolia.
28 Jun 1939Chiang Kai-shek appointed Chairman of the Supreme National Defence Council.
30 Jun 1939After serious battles between the Kuomingtang and Chinese Communist Party troops, Chongqing issues ‘Measures for Restricting the Activities of Alien Parties’, signalling the virtual end of the United Front.
20 Aug 1939Japan defeated by the Soviet Union at the Battle of Nomonhan.
3 Sep 1939Outbreak of World War II.
8 Sep 1939Chiang Kai-shek appointed Chairman of the Joint Board of Directors of the four national banks.
6 Oct 1939Japan defeated in the First Battle of Changsha.
20 Nov 1939Chiang Kai-shek appointed President of the Executive Yuan.
11 Dec 1939New wartime press censorship regulations introduce very sweeping censorship.
15 Jan 1940Mao Zedong’s On New Democracy published.
1 Apr 1940Fu Zuoyi retakes Wuyuan, Suiyuan, from the Japanese.
12 Jun 1940Yichang, Hubei, falls, bringing the Japanese forces to the foot of the Yangzi gorges.
24 Jun 1940Japan demands the closing of the Burma Road.
16 Jul 1940Chiang Kai-shek, after agreement with the Communist Party, orders the New Fourth Army to move north of the Yangzi.
18 Jul 1940Great Britain agrees to close the Burma Road through which China receives military supplies.
20 Aug 1940The Red Army launches its ‘Hundred Regiments’ offensive against the Japanese.
1 Nov 1940The Soviet Union negotiates with Sheng Shicai exclusive rights to tin mining in Xinjiang.
5 Dec 1940Conclusion of ‘Hundred Regiments’ offensive.
4 Jan 1941The New Fourth Army virtually destroyed by Nationalist forces in south Anhui.
May 1941The Rectification Movement opens with Mao Zedong’s speech ‘Reform Our Study’.
22 Jun 1941Germany invades the Soviet Union.
1 Jul 1941The central government of the Nationalist Republic resumes the land tax.
Aug 1941Japanese counter-attack as a result of the ‘Hundred Regiments’ offensive; the Border Region areas are greatly reduced.
20 Aug 1941New base of re-formed New Fourth Army in north Jiangsu is successfully defended against Japanese attacks.
3 Sep 1941China retakes Fuzhou, Fujian.
5 Sep 19415 Regulations for Farmers’ Bank are issued, to arrange for loans to assist the government in its policy of equalizing land ownership.
29-30 Sep 1941China wins the Second Battle of Changsha.
7 Dec 1941The Japanese attack the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour.
25 Dec 1941Hong Kong occupied by the Japanese.
15 Jan 1942China wins the Third Battle of Changsha.
Feb 1942Japan begins a mopping-up campaign against the Chinese Communist Party bases in the north.
1 Feb 1942Mao Zedong’s Rectify the Party’s Style of Work is published.
15 Feb 1942Singapore falls.
7 Mar 1942Rangoon falls.
Jun 1942Japan defeated in an attempt to destroy the Chinese Communist Party base in south-east Shanxi.
2 Jun 1942Lend-lease signed.
2-7 Oct 1942Wendell Wilkie arrives in China as special envoy of the President of the United States.
5 Oct 1942Sheng Shicai repudiates the agreement with the Soviet Union and orders all Russians out.
Nov 1942Japan fails to destroy Chinese Communist Party bases in Shandong and north Jiangsu. Joseph Stillwell assumes command as Chief-of-Staff of the China theatre.
11 Jan 1943Treaties signed with the United States and Great Britain abolishing extra-territoriality, the Concessions, and the Boxer Protocol.
Feb 1943Another Japanese campaign against the Chinese Communist Party in north-west Shanxi is defeated.
10 Mar 1943Publication of Chiang Kai-shek’s China’s Destiny.
2-14 Jun 1943China defeats Japanese attacks in Hubei.
1 Dec 1943Cairo Conference Declaration; Manchuria, Taiwan and the Pescadores declared to be Chinese, and Korea to be independent.
Feb-Apr 1944The Communist 8th Route Army makes gains in Jehol and Hebei against the Japanese.
18 Apr 1944Japan begins new transcontinental offensive.
22 Apr 1944Fall of Zhengzhou, Henan.
25 May 1944Fall of Luoyang, Henan.
6 Jun 1944D-Day; the Allies land on the beaches of Normandy.
15 Jun 1944First United States air raid on Japan, from a base in Chengdu.
18 Jun 1944Fall of Changsha.
20 Jun 1944Vice-President Henry Wallace arrives in Chongqing.
1-23 Jul 1944China participates in the Bretton Woods Conference.
Sep 1944Establishment of the China Democratic League.
25 ian 1944Chiang Kai-shek demands the recall of Joseph Stillwell.
5 Oct 1944Japan retakes Fuzhou
29 Oct 1944Joseph Stillwell recalled by Roosevelt.
7 Nov 1944Patrick Hurley flies to Yan’an.
11 Nov 1944Fall of Guilin.
15 Dec 1944China Expeditionary Force retakes Bhamo in Burma.
28 Jan 1945Japan completes her control of the Beijing-Hankou-Canton railway. Road link from India to China reopened after Japanese defeats in Burma.
4-11 Feb 1945Yalta Conference secretly agrees that Russia will invade Manchuria and lease Port Arthur (Lushun).
23 Apr 1945The Seventh Congress of the Chinese Communist Party opens, with Mao Zedong’s speech ‘On Coalition Government’ the following day.
7 May 1945Surrender of Germany.
6 Aug 1945Hiroshima atom-bombed.
8 Aug 1945The Soviet Union declares war on Japan.
9 Aug 1945Nagasaki atom-bombed.
14 Aug 1945Japan surrenders unconditionally. The Soviet Union and China agree to joint control of railways in Manchuria.
20 Aug 1945The Soviet Union occupies Harbin, Changchun, and Mukden (Shenyang).
25 Aug 1945Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between the Soviet Union and China.
28 Aug 1945Mao Zedong flies to Chongqing for discussions with Chiang Kai-shek.
20 Sep 1945The United States dispatches marines to China to assist in the disarming of the Japanese.
1 Oct 1945The Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomingtang in Chongqing agree to avoid civil war, but the agreement is not subsequently honoured.
31 Oct 1945Kuomingtang troops sent against Shaanxi-Hebei-Shanxi- Henan; the Chinese Communist Party areas are defeated.
27 Nov 1945Hurley (United States Ambassador since 8 Jan) resigns, criticizing United States policy; succeeded by General George C. Marshall.
7 Dec 1945The Soviet Union declares that Manchuria’s industrial equipment is war booty.
28 Dec 1945Mao Zedong orders the creation of rural bases in Manchuria.
23 Mar 1946The Soviet Union informs China that she will withdraw from Manchuria by the end of April. (Withdrawal had already started, and Chinese Communist Party troops had entered Changchun on 23 Jan and Mukden on 26 Jan; Chiang Kai-shek had begun to airlift troops to Manchuria on 3 Jan).
1 May 1946Chinese Communist Party forces renamed the People’s Liberation ArmyPeoples' Liberation Army.
4 May 1946Chinese Communist Party directive on the land question.
12 Jul 1946Civil war begins, with Kuomingtang attacks in Jiangsu and Anhui.
28 Jan 1947United States withdraws from mediation between the Kuomingtang and the Chinese Communist Party.
28 Feb 1947Demonstration in Taiwan against Kuomingtang maladministration; it spreads, but is brutally suppressed.
19 Mar 1947The Kuomingtang captures Yan’an—symbolic, but of little military consequence.
4 Apr 1947The Peoples' Liberation Army launches a major offensive in Shanxi.
6 May 1947The Peoples' Liberation Army launches a major offensive in Shandong.
13 May 1947The Peoples' Liberation Army launches a major offensive in Manchuria.
20 May 1947Major student demonstrations in Nanjing and Tianjin fired on by military police.
30 Jun 1947 Lin Biao forces the Yellow River.
24 Aug 1947A. L. Wedermeyer, sent by Truman on a fact-finding mission to China, publicly condemns the Nationalist government and calls for drastic reforms.
10 Oct 1947The Chinese Communist Party issues the Outline Land Law.
9-15 Nov 1947The Peoples' Liberation Army takes Longhai Railway from Xuzhou to Zhongzhou.
12 Nov 1947The Peoples' Liberation Army takes Shijiazhuang.
30 Dec 1947Galloping inflation shows in new exchange rate of 290,000 yuan to the £.
5 Jan 1948The China Democratic League (in Hong Kong) calls for unity with the Peoples' Liberation Army and others to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek.
11 Feb 1948Mao Zedong criticizes the Outline Land Law.
12 Sep 1948The Peoples' Liberation Army launches final campaign in Manchuria.
20 Sep 1948Wholesale price index in Nanjing reaches 8,740,600 after new gold yuan note collapses.
2 Nov 1948The Peoples' Liberation Army completes conquest of Manchuria.
Early Dec 1948Dec(early) The Peoples' Liberation Army launches final campaign to take Beijing and Tianjin.
15 Jan 1949Tianjin falls.
19 Jan 1949The Nationalist government offers peace talks.
21 Jan 1949Chiang Kai-shek retires and hands over to Li Zongren.
31 Jan 1949Beijing occupied.
21 Apr 1949Mao Zedong orders a countrywide Peoples' Liberation Army advance.
23 Apr 1949Nanjing falls.
16-17 May 1949Wuhan falls.
27 May 1949Shanghai falls.
1 Jul 1949Publication of Mao Zedong’s On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship.
21 Sep 1949Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference opens.
27 Sep 1949The CPPCC adopts the Organic Law.
29 Sep 1949The CPPCC adopts the Common Programme.
30 Sep 1949The Central Committee elects Mao Zedong Chairman of the Chinese People’s Republic.
1 Oct 1949Zhou Enlai appointed Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The People’s Republic of China proclaimed.
30 Nov 1949The Peoples' Liberation Army takes Chongqing.
10 Dec 1949Chiang Kai-shek departs for Taiwan.
16 Dec 1949Mao Zedong arrives in Moscow.
13 Jan 1950The Soviet Union boycotts the Security Council because of its vote against the expulsion of the People’s Republic of China.
14 Jan 1950The People’s Republic of China orders all official United States personnel to leave China.
14 Feb 1950Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance between the Soviet Union and China.
1 May 1950New marriage law promulgated.
25 Jun 1950Outbreak of the Korean War.
27 Jun 1950Zhou Enlai denounces Truman’s order to the United States 7th Fleet to prevent any attack on Formosa.
29 Jun 1950Trade Union law promulgated.
30 Jun 1950Agrarian reform law promulgated.
2 Nov 1950Chinese and United States troops clash in Korea for the first time.
29 Dec 1950All United States-sponsored educational, cultural, charitable, and religious organs in China put under Chinese control.
4 Jan 1951Seoul falls to Chinese and North Korean troops.
1 Feb 1951The United Nations condemns China as an aggressor in Korea.
21 Feb 1951Campaign against counter-revolutionaries begins.
30 Apr 1951Confiscation of foreign business begins with the requisition of property of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (Shell Oil Ltd.).
14-15 May 1951Chinese and North Korean troops are driven out of Seoul.
18 May 1951The United Nations imposes an embargo on trade with China.
20 June 1951The People’s Daily condemns the film The Story of Wu Xun.
23 July 1951Agreement with Tibet states that Tibet is part of China, but autonomous.
1 Jul 1951Armistice negotiations begin in Korea.
Aug 1951The Three Antis movement begins in Manchuria.
3 Sep 1951Provisional regulations for law courts and the procuratorate promulgated.
9 Sep 1951Chinese troops reach Lhasa.
7 Dec 1951The Three Antis movement is adopted on a national scale.
1 Feb 1952The Three Antis movement is launched; announced completed 19 July.
1 Jun 1952Sino-Japanese trade agreement signed.
4 Jul 1952End of the Three Antis movement.
5 Jul 19525 Basic completion of land reform announced.
15 Sep 1952China agrees to the prolongation of Soviet Union occupation of Lushun.
10 Oct 1952Gao Gang appointed chairman of the new State Planning Commission.
31 Dec 1952The Changchun Railway returned to China.
1 Jan 1953First Five Year Plan begins.
1 Jan 19535 Mao Zedong issues an inner-Party directive to ‘combat bureaucracy, commandism and violations of law and discipline’.
1 Mar 1953Promulgation of Electoral Law of the People’s Republic of China.
5 Mar 19535 Death of Stalin.
16 Jul 1953The People’s Daily announces a campaign against Catholic ‘imperialist elements’; arrested in Shanghai, others about this time elsewhere.
27 Jul 1953Armistice signed in Korea.
Aug 1953‘General line for transition to socialism’ supersedes ‘new democracy’.
8 Dec 1953Elections take place for the National Party Congress.
16 Dec 1953Central Committee adopts Resolution to Develop Agricultural Producers’ Co-operatives.
6-10 Feb 1954At fourth plenum of the Seventh Party Congress, Liu Shaoqi condemns ‘independent kingdoms’, and begins the attack on Gao Gang and Rao Shushi (appointed one year before as chairmen of North-east and East China administrative committees respectively).
31 Mar 1954Gao Gang and Rao Shushi expelled from the Party.
26 Apr 1954Geneva Conference on Indo-China situation opens; China participates.
21 Jun 1954Final declaration of the Geneva Conference divides Vietnam at the 17th parallel.
19 Jul 1954Regional administrative committees abolished.
20 Sep 1954Adoption of the Draft Constitution of the People’s Republic of China.
27 Sep 1954First meeting of the National People’s Congress.
29 Sep 1954Khrushehev arrives in Beijing.
12 Oct 1954Agreement signed for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Lushan, end of Soviet Union participation in joint- stock companies, and a new long-term credit of 520 million roubles.
16 Oct 1954Mao Zedong gives support to criticism of the Hu Shi school, and in particular against Yu Pingbo’s book on A Dream of Red Mansions.
1 Nov 1954Census results announced; mainland population 582 million.
2 Dec 1954Taiwan and the United States sign mutual defence treaty.
5 Feb 1955Campaign against writer Hu Feng begins.
18-24 Apr 1955First Bandung Conference of Asian and African nations.
18 Jul 1955Hu Feng arrested as a counter-revolutionary.
30 Jul 1955Mao Zedong’s report ‘On the Co-operative Transformation of Agriculture’ calls for speeding up collectivization.
4 Oct 1955Sixth plenum of the Seventh Central Committee adopts Mao Zedong’s policy on collectivization and issues the Resolution on the Question of Agricultural Co-operation.
14 Jan 1956Zhou Enlai calls for more liberal treatment of intellectuals.
15 Jan 1956The imposition of joint State private ownership of industrial and commercial enterprises is begun with a celebratory rally in Beijing; followed by the same in other cities this month.
25 Jan 1956Supreme State Conference adopts Mao Zedong’s radical Twelve Year Draft National Programme for Agricultural Development.
25 Feb 1956Khrushchev condemns Stalin and the personality cult.
7 Apr 1956The Soviet Union agrees to provide 55 more factories and a railway from Lanzhou to Aktogai.
25 Apr 1956Mao Zedong’s speech on ‘The Ten Great Relationships’.
2 May 1956Mao Zedong gives his speech on the Hundred Flowers policy to the Supreme State Congress.
18 Aug 1956The Soviet Union and China reach agreement over joint exploitation of the Amur Basin.
15-27 Sep 1956The Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party (the first since liberation) adopts a revised Party constitution which contains no reference to the Thought of Mao Zedong.
27 Sep 1956Second Five Year Plan adopted, to run from 1957.
7 Jan 1957The Soviet Union and China issue a joint communiqué on expanding the ties among socialist countries.
17 Feb 1957Meeting of Supreme State Conference (to 1 Mar); Mao Zedong gives his speech ‘On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People’.
27 Apr 1957Rectification campaign announced against bureaucratism, sectarianism, and subjectivism.
1 May 1957The period of the Hundred Flowers policy begins (to 7 Jun).
8 Jun 1957The People’s Daily attacks abuse of the rectification campaign, signal for the anti-rightist campaign.
4 Oct 1957Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, successfully launched by the Soviet Union.
15 Oct 1957Agreement on new technology for national defence between the Soviet Union and China; according to a later Chinese statement (15 Aug 1963), the Soviet Union promised China a sample atom bomb.
15 Oct 1957Yangzi bridge opened at Wuhan.
17 Nov 1957Mao Zedong, in Moscow, in a speech to Chinese students, says ‘the east wind prevails over the west wind’.
12 Dec 1957National Economic Planning Conference adopts a draft plan for 1958: proposes catching up with Great Britain in 19 years, and includes the Twelve Year Plan for Agriculture.
29 Apr 1958The first People’s Commune, ‘the Sputnik Commune’, is founded in Henan.
5-23 May 1958Second Session of the Eighth Party Congress launches the Great Leap Forward.
25 May 1958Fifth plenum of the Eighth Central Committee elects Lin Biao Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee.
13 Jun 1958Ma Yinchu, Vice-Chairman of Beijing University, is criticized for his ‘Malthusian’ population theory.
31 Jul 1958Khrushehev arrives in Beijing.
3 Aug 1958Final communiqué on international problems issued at the conclusion of Khrushchev’s visit fails to mention the problem of the recovery of Taiwan.
17-30 Aug 1958Enlarged Politburo meeting at Beidahe, Hebei, approves the People’s Communes.
10 Dec 1958At Wuchang, the sixth plenum of the Eighth Central Committee issues the Resolution on Some Questions Concerning People’s Communes, the first check to Great Leap Forward extremes, and announces that Mao Zedong will not stand for re-election as Chairman of the People’s Republic of China.
10 Mar 1959Tibetan rebellion begins; the Dalai Lama flees from Lhasa.
27 Apr 1959Liu Shaoqi appointed Chairman of the People’s Republic of China.
Jun 1959Serious flooding is reported in Guangdong.
Jul-Aug 1959Severe drought affects 30% of arable in 17 provinces and autonomous regions.
12-16 Aug 1959Lushan plenum (eighth plenum of the Eighth Central Committee); 1959 targets reduced, but asserts that the principal danger to the Great Leap Forward is ‘right opportunism’. Peng Dehuai criticizes the Great Leap Forward.
14 Aug 1959Locusts in Henan, Hebei, Anhui, and Jiangsu.
16 Aug 1959Peng Dehuai and his supporters dismissed as an ‘Anti-Party clique’ by the Central Committee.
25 Aug 1959Armed clash on the Sino-Indian border.
17 Sep 1959 Lin Biao appointed Minister of Defence and Luo Ruiqing Chief of Staff.
26 Sep 1959Nehru asserts the legality of the McMahon Line.
30 Sep 1959Khrushchev arrives in Beijing, fresh from Camp David talks with Eisenhower.
17 Mar 1960Catholic Bishop of Shanghai (Gong Pinmei) sentenced to life for ‘setting up counter-revolutionary organizations and training special agents’.
18 Mar 1960American Bishop James Walsh sentenced to 20 years for spying.
16 Apr 1960Sino-Soviet split begins with People’s Daily reasserting Lenin’s theory of the nature of imperialism.
17 Apr 1960Lu Ping replaces Ma Yinchu as Vice-Chairman of Beijing University.
21 Jun 1960The Chinese interpretation of imperialism is attacked by Khrushchev at the Third Congress of the Rumanian Workers’ Party.
16 Jul 1960The Soviet Union announces the withdrawal of her technicians from China.
5 Nov 1960Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping arrive in Moscow for the 43rd anniversary of the October Revolution; three weeks of bitter argument follow.
29 Dec 1960China reveals the extent of the 1960 natural disasters, the worst in a century.
Feb-May 1961Agreements with Australia and Canada to import grain.
1 Mar 1961Red Flag calls for the Hundred Flowers to bloom again.
Apr 1961Widespread reports of serious drought in the north and floods in the south: nine provinces affected, much starvation.
19 Oct 1961Zhou Enlai addresses CPSU Congress in Moscow, and condemns ‘one-sided censure of any fraternal party’.
Nov 1961Wu Han’s play The Dismissal of Hai Rui is published in Beijing as a book.
11 May 1962China protests at Indian intrusion into western Tibet.
26 Jun 1962Via Warsaw talks, the United States states that she will not support any Kuomingtang attack on the mainland from Taiwan.
24 Sep 1962Tenth plenum of the Eighth Central Committee: Mao Zedong’s speech of the th exhorts ‘Never forget class struggle’.
20 Oct 1962Sino-Indian Border War begins.
6-12 Nov 1962National forum on Confucius’ ideas held in Jinan.
20 Nov 1962Indian defence collapses.
1 Dec 1962Chinese troops in India begin voluntary withdrawal to 20 km. behind their former line of control.
15 Dec 1962Khrushehev attacked in People’s Daily for ‘adventurism followed by capitulationism’ over the installation of missiles in Cuba.
2-27 Feb 1963Political work conference of the Peoples' Liberation Army; Draft Regulations Governing Political Work in the Peoples' Liberation Army promulgated by the Central Committee on 27 Feb to ensure Party control of the Peoples' Liberation Army.
2 May 1963Chinese Youth carries Mao Zedong’s instruction, ‘Learn from Comrade Lei Feng’.
20 May 1963Central Work Conference in Hangzhou issues ‘Draft Resolution of the Central Committee on Some Problems in Current Rural Work’ (First Ten Points): opening of the Socialist Education Campaign in the countryside.
5 Jul 1963Bilateral Sino-Soviet talks open in Moscow but fail.
5 Jul 1963China denounces the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 5 Aug (United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain)
Sep 1963At Central Work Conference, Mao Zedong calls for drama on modern themes; ‘Later Ten Points’ is issued.
6 Sep 19636 China accuses the Soviet Union of ‘large-scale subversive activities in the Yili region’.
1 Feb 1964‘Learn from the PLA’ campaign begins with a People’s Daily editorial.
10-15 Apr 1964At the preparatory meeting for the second Afro-Asian Conference, Foreign Minister Chen Yi frustrates an invitation extended to the Soviet Union by India.
5-13 Jun 1964Festival of Beijing Operas on Contemporary Themes.
16 Jun 1964Mao Zedong makes a speech at a Central Committee Work Conference on the need to train revolutionary successors.
Jul 1964Wang Guangmei, wife of Liu Shaoqi, reports to a conference in Shanghai on her ‘Taiyuan Experience’.
18 Aug 1964At a conference in Beijing, Mao Zedong attacks Yang Xianzhen, the philosopher who argued that the main movement of dialecties is ‘from two into one’.
10 Sep 1964Central Committee adopts ‘Revised Later Ten Points’ (‘Some Concrete Policy Formulations of the CCPCC on the Rural Socialist Education Movement’).
15 Oct 1964Khrushchev resigns; is succeeded by Kosygin as Prime Minister and Brezhnev as First Secretary of the CPSU.
16 Oct 1964China’s first nuclear test takes place.
5-13 Nov 1964Zhou Enlai leads delegation to Moscow for the 47th anniversary of the October Revolution.
21 Dec 1964At the National People’s Congress, Zhou Enlai states that China has repaid almost all her foreign debt.
14 Jan 1965‘Some Problems Currently Arising in the Course of the Rural Socialist Education Movement’ (23 Articles), drafted by Mao Zedong, issued by the Politburo.
7 Mar 1965The People’s Daily praises part-work part-study schools. A campaign in favour of them follows, in which Liu Shaoqi is the main spokesman.
23 Mar 1965The People’s Daily denounces Moscow meeting of 23 communist parties (1–5 Mar) and asserts that the new Soviet leaders are continuing Khrushchev’s revisionism.
10 May 1965Red Flag publishes Luo Ruiqing’s article ‘Commemorate the Victory over German Fascism’.
23 May 1965System of Peoples' Liberation Army ranks abolished.
26 Jun 1965Mao Zedong calls for the health service to give priority to the rural areas.
3 Sep 1965Red Flag publishes Lin Biao’s Long Live the Victory of People’s War.
10 Nov 1965Yao Wenyuan’s article attacking The Dismissal of Hai Rui is published in Shanghai Wen Hui Bao.
30 Nov 1965The People’s Daily belatedly reprints Yao Wenyuan’s article.
8 Dec 1965Central Committee conference in Shanghai condemns the errors of Luo Ruiqing.
1 Feb 1966The People’s Daily attacks Tian Han’s play Xie Yaohuan.
22 Mar 1966Communist Party declines invitation to attend CPSU 23rd Congress.
16 Apr 1966The People’s Daily attacks The 3-Family Village and Evening Talks at Yanshan.