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Period: to
Modern China
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The Opium Wars: 1839 - 1842
Britain, which was buying hiuge amounts of tea from China, began to export opium to China in order to "balance their trade." The Chinese government, concerned that the people were becoming addicted, unhealthy, and poor, banned the sale of opium in China. When the British continued to ship opium to China, the Chinese destroyed one of the shipments and war broke out. Because Britain was industrialized, they easily defeated China and forced China to give up Hong Kong and make other concessions. -
The Boxer Rebellion
The Boxers were a group of Chinese who wanted to rid China of foreign influence. They killed thousands of foreign missionaries and traders. America and some European nations formed an international army which quickly ended the revolt. This was important because it was further proof that the Qing Dynasty was weak and had lost the Mandate of Heaven. -
The Long March
After Chiang Kai-shek kicked the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) out of the government and killed thousands of their supporters, the communists were forced to flee. Their journey to protected mountain caves took more than one year and covered over 6,000 miles. This was a hugely important event in Chinese history as it saved the communists and provided them with a rallying cry - if they could survive this, they could survive anything -
The People's Republic of China
After battling the Nationalist Party for many years the communists, led by Mao Zedong, seized control of China. Chiang Kai-shekl and the nationalists fled to Taiwan and Mao set up a new constitution for the new People's Republic of China. This was a monumental event in Chinese history since China has been shaped by communism for the last 50 years. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Since Deng Xiaoping had opened China's economy up to capitalism in the 1970's, many people wanted China to adopt democratic political reforms as well. In the spring of 1989 Chinese students gathered in Tiananmen Square to protest and demand these reforms. When the students refused to go home the army opened fire, killing thousands. This event was significant because it showed that the Chinese government would maintain strict control of its people.
