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Period: to
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was an unexpectedly violent and costly uprising in the nineteenth century. This act was lead by Hong Xiuquan, a self-proclaimed religious man who believed that he and his group were chosen to destroy the Manchu rulers once and for all. Mustering an army of peasants, Xiuquan trampled through China, leaving massive death and destruction in his wake. Much of China has yet to fully recover from this devastating era.
Text:
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1750_ta -
Wuchang Uprising
While manufacturing bombs for the "New Army," a detonation caused desperate measures to be taken. Fearing for their lives, the manufacturers began a sudden coup that inspired fifteen privinces to secede. Failure to act on the Quing Dynasty's end lead to their uptimate demise later on.
Text:
http://exhibits.library.gwu.edu/exhibits/show/1911revolution/wuchang-uprising
Image:
http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/ancient-medieval-early-modern-ages/54720-wuchang-uprising-1911-a.html -
Founding Date of the Republic of China
As the first ruling form after the Quing Dynasty, the ROC was unaltered for many years. Through time, however, opposition arose. Originally located on the mainland, the formation of the PRC forced them to fully relocate to their new base of operation, Taiwan.
Text:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China#Government
Image:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China#mediaviewer/File:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg -
Period: to
Northern Expedition
Lead by the Kuomintang, this expedition's intent was to take over the suppressing rule that the warlords and government held at the time. It's success lead to the conception of the Nanking government as well as the reunification of China.
Text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Expedition -
Period: to
Mukden Incident
This convenient conflict "accidentally" created the perfect excuse that the Japanese had been waiting for. Japan had been looking for a time to invade Manchuria, and when an explosion damaged part of a Japanese railway system (near the city of Mukden) they immediately blamed the Chinese nationalists. This incident gave incentive for a swift and effective invasion, turning Manchuria into a Japanese controlled Manchukuo.
Text: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/mukd -
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The Long March
This was a retreat by the Red Army (Communist China) from General Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang army. Despite the name, it was not actually one march but many individual attempts by different Communist armies to evade the KMT. This span of time marked Mao Zedong's rise to power as his fame grew. However, dispute still exists regarding his role in the march, as well as the validity of many of the events that occured during the Long March.
Text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March -
Period: to
Second Sino-Japanese War
With China weak due to internal conflicts, the Japanese saw the opportunity to claim Manchuria. With the Chinese plea to the League of Nations for help inneffective, little could be done about the aggrivating Japanese threat. Although this skirmish fell into a stalemate, these events lead up to the attack on Pearl Harbor only a couple of years later.
Text:
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-war -
Period: to
Nanking Massacre
After a brutal win at Shanghai during the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese turned toward the utterly unprotected city of Nanking. Chinese Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-Shek, withdrew the trained troops from the city, leaving the people to their fate. The city attemped to maintain a safe-zone for the citizens but this did little to hinder the wrath of the Japanese soldiers. There are still no official death toll counts marked to this day.
Text:http://www.history.com/topics/nanjing-massacre -
Founding of the People's Republic of China
The People's Repubic of China was formed after World War II concluded. Strongly rooted to the mainland, this new form of government forced the old to be relocated to Taiwan and in turn, replaced its ways with a "people's democratic dictatorship" instead.
Text:http://www.chaos.umd.edu/history/prc.html
Image:http://www.lawinfochina.com/Legal/index.shtm -
Chinese Nationalists Move the Capital to Taiwan
Relentlessly pressured by Mao Zedong's Communist Party, the Nationalists decided the best course of action would be to move their base of operation to Taiwan. This created an undenaible rift, beginning the era of the "two Chinas."
Text: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chinese-nationalists-move-capital-to-taiwan
Image:http://www.psywarrior.com/NationalistChinesePropaganda.html -
Seventeen Point Agreement with Tibet
Regarded as more of a legal contract, the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Liberation of Tibet was drawn up to confirm that the new People's Repulic of China's held power over Tibet. This was peacefully agreed upon and welcomed by both governments.
Text:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeen_Point_Agreement_for_the_Peaceful_Liberation_of_Tibet
Image:http://shelf3d.com/i/Seventeen%20Point%20Agreement%20for%20the%20Peaceful%20Liberation%20of%20Tibet -
Period: to
The Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward was Mao Zedong's attempt to challenge the standard in both agricultural and industrial growth. In only a couple of years, this new way of life had gone far out of hand. Both production and transport of the products and become severely disconnected and the effects on the environment were only getting worse as time went on. By 1961, China was faced with the very real possibility of a complete econimic meltdown.
Text:http://chineseposters.net/themes/great-leap-forward. -
Period: to
Cultural Revolution
The Communist Leader Mao Zedong felt that the nation of China was headed in the wrong direction, so he decided to spur the youth into "burning" the old customs and ways. With Mao shutting the schools down, the students formed militaristic ranks and continued the revolution until the Communist Leader's death in 1976. 1.5 million people were killed, and millions more were terribly effected by this era.
Text:http://www.history.com/topics/cultural-revolution -
The May 16 Notification
The May 16th Notification was aimed at Mao Zedong's inability to control the government. His many failures during the Great Leap Forward were obvious, and this destroyed any support left. Politburo, a Communist member, released this public announcement which drove the nail into Mao's coffin. Mao ended up fleeing to Albania.
Text:http://thisdayinalternatehistory.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-16-1966-may-16-notification-ousts.html
Image:http://offbeatchina.com/an-apology-that-is-47-years-late -
People's Republic of China Admitted to UN
On Oct. 25, 1971, the United Nation General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 stating that the PRC would be regarded as "the only lawful representative of China to the UN," replacing the older ROC.
Text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_2758 -
Period: to
Nixon visits China
The visit of Nixon showed how much things had changed between the U.S.A. and China (Now the PRC), ending 25 years of division. The American press dubbed that visit as"the week that changed the world."
Text:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Nixon_visit_to_China -
Gang of Four Arrested
The Gang of Four consisted of Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing, along with Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen. During the late years of the Cultural Revolution, this group heavily influenced the Cummunist government, causing complicated political turmoil.
Text & Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Four#Formation -
One Child Policy Instituted
(Introduced in 1979, but fully implemented in 1980) Following Mao's forced production of labor (The Great Leap Forward), the government decided that the ever-increasing popluation had to be curbed at some point or econimic downfall would surely occur. The One-Child Policy restricted the family's ability to have more than one child.
Text & Image: http://www.allgirlsallowed.org/one-child-policy -
Period: to
The Tiananmen Square Protests
The Tiananmen Square Protest was begun by college students, but soon pervaded all of China's society. The students camped in the square, demanding a complete governmental reform. Tolerated for a time by the government, patience ran out soon after the protests grew in populartiy. Live ammunition was used to silence the protestors, marking a dark stain in Chinese history.
Text: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tiananmen.html -
Hong Kong Returned to China
The "handing over" of Hong Kong to the PRC proclaimed the conclusion of Great Britain's control in Hong Kong. China originally lost power in Hong Kong in the 19th century during the opium wars, but was finally granted the land back after 156 years of Biritsh rule.
Text: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0630.html
Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Hong_Kong -
Macau Returned to China
Once established, the PRC appealed for the return of Macau from the Portuguese. Purtugal was granted control over this territory in return for assistance in ending opium smuggling in the Opium Wars. However, with the PRC's return to the UN (1971), they made a declaration to be signed with the Portuguese for control over Macau once more. (Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration)
Text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_sovereignty_over_Macau
Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Macau -
Hainan Island Incident
The Hainan Island Incident was an accidental plane collision between a PRC jet and a U.S.A. intelligence aircraft. This caused an international dispute to erupt, nearly disbalancing the precariously cautious trust that had formed between the two countries. Thankfully, the situation was resolved with little damage dealt to either side.
Text & Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident -
Building of the Three Gorges Dam
The idea for this dam was first conceived in 1919, but took nearly a century to be done. Located on the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, the world's largest power station serves as a flood storage space, produces energy, and increase the river's shipping capacity. This project was completed and deemed fully functional as of July 4, 2012.
Text & Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam
