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Military revolts
Military revolts by reform-minded officers lead to proclamation of Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen and abdication of last Qing emperor. Republic struggles to consolidate its rule amid regional warlordism and the rise of the Communist Party. -
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The Republic
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Sun Yat-sen as the first president.
After the 1911 collapse of the Qing Dynasty, China declares itself a republic in 1912 with Sun Yat-sen as the first president. Sun founds the Nationalist Party, Kuomintang (KMT) and later resigns in favor of Yuan Shihkai. Shihkai attempts to reinstate the monarchy but fails, and after his death in 1916 the country is left without a strong central leader, and the country descends into a period of control by warlords -
Death of Yuan Shikal
Yuan Shikai, A former President of the Republic of China died in 1916, -
The May Fourth Movement took place in which students demonstrated in protest of the Treaty of Versailles.
On May 4, 1919, the May Fourth Movement took place in which students demonstrated in protest of the Treaty of Versailles. The Movement helped the Chinese by promoting science and making Chinese adopt a new easier form of writing. Moreover, the movement was the foundation for the forming of the Communist Party of China (CCP). -
The Chinese Communist Party is founded in Shanghai.
The Chinese Communist Party is founded in Shanghai. Mao Zedong leads the Long March and establishes revolutionary headquarters in Yenan. -
Death of Sun Yat-sen
The death of Sun Yat-sen brings Chiang Kai-shek to the fore. He breaks with the Communists and confirms the governing Kuomintang as a nationalist party. -
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The Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a war fought between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Although particular attention is paid to the four years of Chinese Communist Revolution from 1945 to 1949, the war actually started in August 1927, with the White Terror at the end of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition, and essentially ended when major hostilities between the two sides ceased in 1950 -
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Japan invades
Japan began to occupy Manchuria and established a puppet government called Manchukuo. The Japanese aggression in China became full blown on July 7, 1937, the beginning of World War II. By 1939, Japan controlled most of the east coast of China, while Chiang blockaded the Communists in the northwest region. By 1944, the United States began to help nationalist China, but the nationalist remained weak due to high inflation and economic strife. -
Mao Zedong emerges as Communist leader
Mao Zedong emerges as Communist leader during the party's "Long March" to its new base in Shaanxi Province. -
Sino-Japanese War
During the Sino-Japanese War, the four-month Japanese occupation of Nanking known as the Rape of Nanking is the cause of an estimated 260,000 Chinese civilian casualties during the invasion. -
Kuomintang and Communists nominally unite against Japanese
Kuomintang and Communists nominally unite against Japanese. Civil war resumes after Japan's defeat in Second World War. -
Civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists results in the Communists’ victory
Civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists results in the Communists’ victory; the Nationalist government evacuates to the island of Taiwan. -
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Communist victory
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Communists-victory
Mao Zedong, having led the Communists to victory against the Nationalists after more than 20 years of civil war, proclaims the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Nationalists retreat to the island of Taiwan and set up a government there. -
troops-->Tibet enforcing a longstanding claim.
China sends People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops into Tibet enforcing a longstanding claim. -
Mao begins Rural Collectivization based on a five-year plan.
Mao begins Rural Collectivization based on a five-year plan. Individual landownership is abolished and replaced with cooperatives. -
Mao launches the "Great Leap Forward"（Communism）
Mao launches the "Great Leap Forward", a five-year economic plan. Farming is collectivised and labour-intensive industry is introduced. The drive produces economic breakdown and is abandoned after two years. Disruption to agriculture is blamed for the deaths by starvation of millions of people following poor harvests. -
"Great Leap Forward" triggers largest famine in human history with an estimated 14-30 million casualties.
The famine triggered by the "Great Leap Forward" was one of the largest man-made disasters in human history. Estimates of the number of casualties vary greatly and are difficult, if not impossible, to verify. Conservative estimates assume that from 1958 to 1961, over 14 million people died of starvation, and the number of reported births was about 23 million fewer than under normal conditions. Other authors have estimated the number of famine-related death of up to 30 million or higher. -
Test of first nuclear bomb in China.
China's first nuclear test is undertaken with a Uranium 235 pure-fission device named "596". The device weighs 1550 kg. The test is carried out at "Lop Nur Test Ground" at 7:00 GMT. The bomb's yield is 22 Kt. This test is a huge gain in prestige for China. Now China is a nuclear superpower, despite strong American opposition and hostile Sino-Soviet relations. -
"Cultural Revolution"
Mao's 10-year political and ideological campaign aimed at reviving revolutionary spirit, produces massive social, economic and political upheaval. -
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
Under the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution China’s jurisdiction, research, and educational systems are paralyzed. Student bands of “Red Guards” search and destroy anything considered bourgeois—anything representing capitalism, religion, tradition, and the West. -
US President Richard Nixon visits
US President Richard Nixon visits. Both countries declare a desire to normalise relations. -
Mao dies
"Gang of Four", including Mao's widow, jockey for power but are arrested and convicted of crimes against the state. From 1977 Deng Xiaoping emerges as the dominant figure among pragmatists in the leadership. Under him, China undertakes far-reaching economic reforms.