China 20th Century

By beckyip

  • Military revolts

    1911-12 - Military revolts by reform-minded officers lead to the proclamation of the 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.
  • Period: to

    China 20th Century

  • The death of Sun Yat-sen

    1925 - 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.

  • The Japanese Occupation

    1931-45 - Japan invades and gradually occupies more and more of China.

  • Mao Zedong emerges as Communist leader

    1934-35 - Mao Zedong emerges as Communist leader during the party's "Long March" to its new base in Shaanxi Province.

  • Kuomintang and Communists unite against the Japanese

    1937 - Kuomintang and Communists nominally unite against the Japanese. Civil war resumes after Japan's defeat in the Second World War.

  • Mao Zedong proclaims the founding of the People's Republic of China

    1949 - 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.

  • China sends troops into Tibet

    1950 - China sends People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops into Tibet enforcing a longstanding claim.

  • Mao launches the "Great Leap Forward" plan

    1958 - 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.

  • Chinese forces suppress large-scale revolt in Tibet

  • Brief conflict with India over disputed Himalayan border

  • The "Cultural Revolution"

    1966-76 - "Cultural Revolution", Mao's 10-year political and ideological campaign aimed at reviving the revolutionary spirit, produces massive social, economic and political upheaval.

  • US President visits China

    1972 - US President Richard Nixon visits. Both countries declare a desire to normalise relations.

  • Death of Mao Zedong

    1976 - Mao Zedong 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.