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Abdication of last Qing emperor
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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Japan occupies China
Japan invades and gradually occupies more and more of China. -
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Mao Zedong emerges as Communist leader in Shanxi
Mao Zedong emerges as Communist leader during the party's "Long March" to its new base in Shaanxi Province. -
Mao Zedong, having led the Communists to victory against the Nationalists after more than 20 years of civil war
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. -
Foundation of PRC
Following the Chinese Civil War and victory of Mao Zedong's Communist forces over the Kuomintang forces of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan, Mao declared the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. -
China sends People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops into Tibet enforcing a longstanding claim.
China sends People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops into Tibet enforcing a longstanding claim. -
Hundred Flowers Campaign
The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement (simplified Chinese: 百花齐放; traditional Chinese: 百花齊放; pinyin: Bǎihuā Qífàng), was a period in 1956 in the People's Republic of China during which the Communist Party of China (CPC) . -
Mao launches the "Great Leap Forward"
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. -
Khrushchev visits Mao in China
In the course of these visits, Khrushchev found himself playing cat-and-mouse with the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong–. It was a game, the Soviet leader was discomfited to find, in which Mao was the cat and he the mouse. Russian relations with China had long been fractious. -
Anti-Rightest Movement, some 500,000+ government critics re-educated through labor or shot
The Anti-Rightist Campaign (simplified Chinese: 反右运动; traditional Chinese: 反右運動; pinyin: Fǎn Yòu Yùn dòng) in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from roughly 1957 to 1959, was a campaign to purge alleged "rightists" within the Communist Party of China (CPC) and abroad. -
Chinese forces suppress large-scale revolt in Tibet.
Chinese forces suppress large-scale revolt in Tibet.