-
Period: to
Chinese History
5 major events in Chinese from Opium War to Tianamen Square.
-Jake Gluckman -
The Opium War (China and Britain) 1839-1842
The British were exporting Opium to China in the 1800s. Opium is a drug that is highly addictive. The selling of this drug also drained China's silver supply. China thought this was bad, so they banned the imports of Opium. When Britain kept exporting it, China destroyed a British Opium Ship which spiked the war. China was no match for Britain become of Britains advanced technology. This was a big moment in Chinese history because China lost Hong Kong, and it could no longer set trade terms. -
Taiping Rebellion of 1851-1865
Because of the loss of territory in the Qing Dynasty, the people started to think the Mandate of Heaven was lost. The peasants started to revolt in various wars. One very serious war was the Taiping rebellion which lasted 14 years. More than 20 million people died as a result. This marked the downfall of the Qing dynasty and a revolution in China that called for reforms in the government and society. -
Sino-Japanese War of 1895
Japan became expanding into China during the the Spheres of Influence. It had adopted western technology and modernized industries. In 1895, Japan invaded China, and China obviously lost because of its lack of modern technology. Japan won Formosa (Taiwan) and extended its influence to Korea. This is important because it marks a bitter relationship between Japan and China and it affects the Communits and Nationalists relationships in the 1900s -
The Long March of 1934
The Nationalist Army, led by Chiang Kai-Shek chased the Communists out of China. The Communists fled 6,000 miles in one year from southeastern China to northwestern China. On about 7,000 survived the Long March. This marked the symbol of the hardships the communists would have before gaining power in 1949 -
Tianamen Square Massacre
In 1989, student protests in Beijing started because of students wanting democratic reforms. At this time Deng Xiao-Ping was introducing Capitalism to China. These protests started to get ugly. The PLA started to open fire and kill thousand of Chinese. The government wanted no records of deaths to be out, so they burned bodies, and files or tapes of any bloodshed. This event marked the strict rules China now puts on China to stop protests.
