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Period: to
Modern China Timeline
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First Opium War
The first opium war was because of the unofficial refusal of Great Britan to stop selling, trading, and smuggling opium into China. Great Britan overwhelmed and humiliated China because of their military strength. After Great Britan's victory, They made China sign a treaty in Great Britan's favor. -
Sino-Japanes War (China/Japan War)
The Sino-Japanese War was between the Qing Dynasty and Meiji Japan over the control of Korea. The Japanese easily won because of their modernization from their realization of the power of western countries. -
Open Door Policy
The first ideas and notes were sent at september 6, 1899 but it wasn't in affect until 1900. The Open Door Policy was in reaction to the U.S.'s and the European's interest in trade in China. The policy said that each country had acess to China, in their own spheres of influence, without one of them officially owning China. -
Boxer Rebellion (Uprising)
Growing protests and violence started in 1898 but fighting started between them until 1899 and 1900. The Boxer Rebellion was in reaction to foreign imperialist powers, foreigners, their beliefs, and spheres of influence. The Righteous Harmany group was directly behind the cause and the Qing empress supporting them unofficially. Regardless of the Righeous Harmony's numbers and spiritual beliefs the foreigners won because of their superiority in military weapons and tactics. -
Formation of Communist Party
The CPC (Communist Party of China) primarily formed after the civil war between the CPC and the KMT (Kuomintang). It was official as of July in Shanghai. The Communists and Mao improved the standard of living for their people and mainly for the poor but they took away many freedoms from them too. -
The Long March
The Long March was to escape the inevitable deafeat of certain troops of the CPC from threatening KMT troops or Nationalists. There was not actually one long march but a series of them for this year long period. -
Nationalists Flee to Taiwan/ Mao Controls Communist China
After China's civil war, the KMT fled to Taiwan in response to the Communist victory. The KMT was the first political party in China and it helped establish the republic. The KMT are currently ruling Taiwan today. -
(End 1960) Beginning of the Relationship/Alliance Between the Soviet Union and China (Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance).
The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was based off of the former treaty between the Soviet Union and the KMT. It was formed from extended negotiation and interaction between the two countries. Another reason the treaty occured was because China also thought of Russia as a role model but when Russia started to control and exploit China the treaty broke up in 1960. -
The Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward was conceived by Mao and the CPC. The objective of the idea was to rapidly and efficiently change China's economy positively by focusing on industry. However it backfired and lead to intense and multiple famines from less attention on agriculture and other aspects. This also allowed the CPC to put Mao in the shadows from the movement's failures. -
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural revolution was thought up by Mao and was suppose to embrace communism in their society by getting rid of capitalistic and "old" ideas in addition to bourgeois or hints of wealth. This movement made it available for Mao to get into power again because of the vast support and cooperation from his people. He used young adults and teenagers to carry out this plan and they were known as the red guards for the color of the little red book they were suppose to carry around. -
President Nixon Visits China
President Nixon visited China to improve the relations between them. This was the first time the U.S. had sent a president over to the PRC (People's Republic of China) and it also broke 25 years of seperation between them. In addition, this gave the U.S. an advantage in the cold war because of China's past experience with Russia. -
Mao and the Cultural Revolution Die
After the death of Mao Zedong and other important leaders like Lin Biao, the echoes of the cultural revolution faded and the people of China and foreigners realized that the cultural revolution was an ineffective and negative revolution for the country of China. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
On June 3-4, 1989 The Tiananmen Square Massacre occured because of protests in the PRC. The PRC goverment suppressed them with military action because they couldn't think or want to think of a better way to handle the incident. This incident is also known as the June 4 Incident.
