The Making of Modern China
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Between 1793 and 1916, the Qing empire meets Western traders and their guns, rebellion at home and Japan, and tries to change fast enough to survive.
The Embassy and the Canton System opens with Lord Macartney refusing to kowtow to the Qianlong Emperor, then a second failed embassy and an opium trade that grows despite the emperor's ban. Opium and the Heavenly Kingdom runs from Lin Zexu's campaign against the drug through the Opium Wars and the Taiping rising of Hong Xiuquan, until Zeng Guofan's new armies take Nanjing in 1864. Self-Strengthening follows Li Hongzhang and the empress dowager Cixi as the court learns foreign skills and builds a fleet, until China and Japan go to war over Korea in 1894. Reform and Revolution runs from that defeat through the Boxers and the dynasty's fall to Yuan Shikai, who reaches for the throne and dies in 1916.
It is told through the people who lived it, and each episode is checked against the sources it lists.
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- Chengde
- Beijing, Forbidden City, Tongzhou, Baliqiao, Old Summer Palace
- Yellow Sea
- Guangzhou, Humen Strait, Whampoa anchorage, Nei Lingding Island, Guangdong, Sanyuanli, Bao'an
- Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Zhapu, Jiaxing, Hangzhou Bay
- Tianjin, Hai River, Taku Forts, Beitang
- Macau, Kowloon, Hong Kong
- Hubei
- Lhasa
- China
- Chuanbi Island, Zhoushan, Zhenhai, Ningbo, Cixi
- Shandong
- Xiamen
- Suzhou, Shanghai, Taicang, Kunshan, Wuxi, Changzhou
- Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Yangzhou
- Guangxi
- Changsha
- Wuchang, Huangzhou, Hankou, Hanyang, Wuhan
- Hunan
- India
- Yangtze River
- Qimen, Anqing
- Anhui, Tongcheng
- Yunnan, Kunming
- Gansu
- Jiangsu
- Taiwan Island, Taiwan
- Yantai, Weihai
- Xinjiang
- Shanxi, Taiyuan
- Manas
- Turpan
- Korla
- Kucha
- Korea, Seoul
- Hanoi, Tonkin
- Keelung
- Fuzhou
- Lạng Sơn
- Yalu River
- Shimonoseki
- Tokyo
- Qingdao, Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory
- Lüshunkou
- North China
- Xi'an
- Zhili
- Manchuria
- Sichuan
- Guilin
- Shanhai Pass
- Nanchang, Mount Lu
- Jinggang Mountains
- Jinan
- Shenyang
- Jiangxi
- Yeping Town, Ruijin
- Zunyi, Guizhou
- Xuzhou, Tai'erzhuang
- Yellow River
- Chongqing
- Yan'an
- Myanmar
- Henan
- Hengyang
- Dabie Mountains
- Jinzhou
- Kaohsiung
Beyond the map: London, Paris, Plymouth, United Kingdom, Europe, Tashkent, Hotan, Kashgar, Leh, Saint Petersburg, Livadiya, Moscow, Washington, D.C., Pearl Harbor, New York, Yalta
Map drawn by Then and There on Natural Earth's public domain coastlines, rivers and lakesSeasons
- The Embassy and the Canton System, 1793 to 1834
- Opium and the Heavenly Kingdom, 1834 to 1864
- Self-Strengthening, 1864 to 1894
- Reform and Revolution, 1895 to 1916
- Revolution and Civil War, 1916 to 1949
Timeline
- Founding of the Canton System
- Removal of the Canton Hoppo after Flint's petition
- Arrest and imprisonment of James Flint
- James Flint's voyage to Tianjin
- George III's letter to the Qianlong Emperor carried by Macartney
- Search for a Chinese interpreter for the Macartney Embassy
- Dundas's instructions to Lord Macartney
- Macartney Embassy
- Voyage of the Macartney Embassy to China
- Voyage of the Macartney Embassy up the China coast to Tianjin
- Macartney Embassy
- Kowtow dispute of the Macartney Embassy
- Macartney's audience with the Qianlong Emperor at Chengde
- Qianlong's viewing of the British gifts
- Macartney's note of requests to the Qing court
- Qianlong Emperor's edicts to George III
- Macartney Embassy's overland journey from Beijing to Canton
- Macartney's meetings with the Viceroy on the journey to Canton
- Bankruptcy of Shy Kinqua
- Silver scarcity at Canton, 1795 to 1798
- Shy Kinqua brought in chains to Macau
- Delivery of George III's second letter to the Qianlong Emperor
- White Lotus Rebellion
- Abdication of the Qianlong Emperor
- Zhang Zhengmo's White Lotus uprising
- Reception of the Qianlong Emperor's reply at the Governor's palace
- Bankruptcy of Geowqua
- Death of the Qianlong Emperor
- Fall of Heshen
- Trial of Heshen
- Hong Liangji's letter to the Jiaqing Emperor
- Pirate confederation of the south China coast
- Qing prohibition of opium imports of 1799
- HMS Providence affair
- Arrival of George Thomas Staunton at the Canton factory
- British expedition to Macau of 1802
- Ladrone piracy in the Canton estuary, 1805
- Captivity of John Turner among the pirates
- Neptune affair
- Trial of the Neptune's sailors at Canton
- Custody and fine of Edward Sheen
- Arrival of Robert Morrison at Canton
- British occupation of Macau, 1808
- Arrest and release of Padre Roderigo
- Canton edicts of 1809 against opium imports and silver exports
- Hong merchants' anti-pirate ships of 1809
- Audience of the Select Committee with the Viceroy of Canton, October 1809
- Ladrone pirate negotiations with the Viceroy
- Publication of Staunton's translation of the Qing legal code
- Staunton's dinner with the Viceroy and the kowtow demand, 1811
- Amban's interrogation of Thomas Manning
- Charter Act of 1813
- Eight Trigrams attack on the Forbidden City
- Select Committee's suspension of British trade at Canton, 1814
- Hong merchants' debt crisis of 1815
- Imperial levy of 6,000,000 taels, 1814
- Arrest of the linguist Ayew
- Imperial inquiry into Sir George Staunton
- Publication of Morrison's Chinese-English dictionary volume one
- Amherst Embassy
- Castlereagh's instructions to Lord Amherst
- Secret Commercial Committee's letter to Lord Amherst
- Notification to Canton of the Amherst Embassy
- Kowtow dispute of the Amherst Embassy
- Jiaqing Emperor's vermilion edict on the failed Amherst audience
- Amherst's failed audience at the Summer Palace
- Jiaqing Emperor's letter to the King of England after the Amherst Embassy
- Detention of the General Hewitt at the Second Bar
- Torture and imprisonment of the Company's comprador in 1816
- Alceste's forcing of the Bogue
- British reaction to the Amherst Embassy
- Delivery of the Emperor's letter to Lord Amherst at Canton
- Staunton's minute on the kowtow opinion
- Napoleon's conversation with O'Meara on the Amherst Embassy
- Malwa opium imports at Macao in 1817
- Accession of the Daoguang Emperor
- Lintin opium trade
- Rise of opium imports at Canton
- Silver outflow and the silver-copper exchange crisis
- Mandate of April 1820 on the opium trade
- Terranova affair
- Trial of Francis Terranova aboard the Emily
- Execution of Francis Terranova
- Viceroy Ruan Yuan's opium crackdown of 1821
- Expulsion of the opium ships Merope, Hooghly and Eugenia from Whampoa
- Suspension of the Company's trade over the Topaze affair
- Viceroy's demand for no-opium bonds from arriving ships
- Lintin affray between Topaze seamen and villagers
- Return of the English factory to Canton
- Great Canton fire of 1822
- Founding of the Canton Register
- Viceroy's mandate of 1828 dividing the trade between hong merchants and shopkeepers
- Select Committee's suspension of the Company's trade at Canton, 1829-30
- Persecution of Goqua and the dispute over foreign women and sedan chairs at Canton
- John Murray Forbes enters Houqua's service
- Reduction of the emperor's present and enter-port fee, 1830
- Spread of the opium trade up the China coast
- Campaign against the East India Company's China monopoly
- Joshua Bates's testimony to the House of Commons committee
- Mrs Baynes affair
- Landing of armed British sailors to guard the Canton factory
- Petition of the British private merchants at Canton to the House of Commons
- Eight Regulations of 1831
- Canton governor's raid on the British factory, 1831
- Select Committee's return of the factory keys and threat to suspend British trade
- Resolutions of the private English merchants at Canton, May 1831
- Gutzlaff's 1831 voyage up the China coast
- Imperial edict of 1831 ordering Canton officials to cut off the opium trade at its source
- Select Committee's Requisition for Reforms to the Governor of Canton
- Xiao Lingyu's An Account of England
- Staunton's 1832 election campaign
- Voyage of the Lord Amherst
- Founding of Jardine, Matheson and Co.
- Staunton's China resolutions in the House of Commons
- Creation of the Superintendency of British Trade in China
- Appointment of Lord Napier as Chief Superintendent of Trade
- End of the Company trade at Canton
- Wu Lanxiu's essay The Alleviation of Suffering
- Napier's voyage to China aboard the Andromache
- End of the East India Company's China monopoly
- Napier Affair
- Arrival of Lord Napier at Canton
- Attempt to deliver Napier's letter at the Canton city gate
- Viceroy's order of 27 July 1834 to the Hong merchants
- Hoppo's order of 4 August 1834 re-enacting restrictions on foreigners
- Battle of the chairs at the conference of 23 August 1834
- Frigates Imogene and Andromache force the Bogue
- Lord Napier's departure from Canton
- Death of Lord Napier
- Foreign smuggling of opium from Lintin into Canton waters
- Hoppo's order of 8 March 1835 tightening control of foreigners
- Qing court debate on opium (1836 to 1838)
- Memorial of Xu Naiji proposing legalisation of the opium trade
- Memorial of Zhu Zun denouncing opium
- Charles Elliot becomes Chief Superintendent of British trade
- Hong Xiuquan's visions
- Elliot strikes his flag and withdraws to Macau
- Opium suppression and evasion in 1838
- Appointment of Lin Zexu as Imperial Commissioner
- Seizure of opium at the factories
- Attempted strangulation of a criminal at the factories and resulting riot
- Lin Zexu's audiences with Daoguang in Beijing
- Lin Zexu's anti-opium campaign at Canton
- Lin Zexu's letter to Queen Victoria
- First Opium War
- Spread of the opium traffic along the China coast, 1839 to 1858
- Surrender of the British opium to Lin Zexu
- Arrival of Lin Zexu at Canton
- Lin Zexu's demand that foreigners surrender their opium
- Siege of the foreign factories at Canton
- Lin Zexu's summons and arrest warrant for Lancelot Dent
- Lin's demand for a bond against future opium trade
- Destruction of the opium at Humen
- Departure of the British from Canton, May 1839
- Killing of Lin Weixi at Kowloon
- Demand for the surrender of Lin Weixi's killer
- Elliot's shipboard trial of the Kowloon sailors
- British withdrawal from Macau to Hong Kong, August 1839
- Battle of Kowloon
- British Cabinet decision to go to war with China
- Thomas Coutts signs Lin's bond and enters Whampoa
- First Battle of Chuanbi
- Qishan's hiring of Bao Peng
- Palmerston's instructions to the plenipotentiaries, 20 February 1840
- Parliamentary debate and vote on war with China (1840)
- British capture of Zhoushan (1840)
- Delivery of Palmerston's letter at the Beihe
- Qishan's talks with Elliot at the Beihe
- Negotiations between Elliot and Qishan at Canton
- Daoguang's rejection of the Convention of Chuanbi
- Second Battle of Chuanbi
- Convention of Chuanbi
- Battle of the Bogue
- Arrest of Qishan
- British disavowal of the Convention of Chuanbi
- Palmerston's private letter dismissing Captain Elliot, 21 April 1841
- Recall of Charles Elliot
- Fireboat attack of 21 May 1841
- Battle of Canton (1841)
- Ransom of Canton
- Sanyuanli incident
- Palmerston's instructions to Sir Henry Pottinger, 31 May 1841
- Typhoon wreck of Elliot and Bremer
- British capture of Xiamen
- Second capture of Zhoushan
- Yuqian's pre-battle sacrifice at Zhenhai
- Battle of Zhenhai
- British capture of Ningbo (1841)
- Appointment of Yijing as Awe-Inspiring General
- Yijing's winter at Suzhou
- Yijing's plan for a Tiger Day attack on Ningbo
- Qing counter-offensive at Ningbo and Zhenhai, March 1842
- Battle of Ciqi
- Appointment of Qiying and Yilibu to negotiate
- Yijing's false reports of victory
- Yilibu's overtures to the British
- Battle of Zhapu
- Battle of Zhenjiang
- Zhang Xi's embassy to the British at Nanjing
- Zhang Xi's third meeting with the British
- Banquets between the Qing commissioners and Pottinger
- Pottinger raises opium at Nanjing
- Treaty of Nanjing
- Canton factory riot of December 1842
- Opening of Shanghai as a treaty port
- Canton city entry dispute
- Hong Xiuquan's conversion through Good Words for Exhorting the Age
- Cushing's mission to China
- Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue
- Rise of the God Worshipping Society
- Treaty of Wangxia
- Treaty of Whampoa
- Edict granting toleration of Christianity (1844)
- Expedition against Canton of April 1847
- Murder of six Englishmen at Huangzhuqi
- Taiping Rebellion
- Proclamation of the Taiping kings at Yongan
- Nian Rebellion
- Jintian Uprising
- Yang Xiuqing's proclamation against the Manchus
- Meeting of Theodore Hamberg and Hong Rengan
- Taiping siege of Changsha
- Establishment of the Taiping capital at Nanjing
- Qing siege of Nanjing (1853 to 1860)
- Imperial order appointing Zeng Guofan to the Hunan militia
- Formation of the Xiang Army
- Taiping capture of Wuchang (1853)
- Taiping capture of Nanjing
- Sir George Bonham's visit to Nanjing
- Taiping Northern Expedition
- Small Sword Society occupation of Shanghai
- Zeng Guofan's 1854 proclamation against the Taiping
- Ye Mingchen's mass executions at Canton (1854 to 1855)
- Treaty revision mission of the three envoys, 1854
- Battle of Muddy Flat
- Xiang Army recapture of Wuchang (1854)
- Hong Rengan's years as James Legge's assistant in Hong Kong
- Panthay Rebellion
- Qing massacre after retaking Shanghai
- Tianjing Incident
- Murder of Auguste Chapdelaine
- Second Opium War
- Arrow incident
- Taiping consolidation of 1857
- Commons defeat of Palmerston's government over the Arrow war
- Chinese election of 1857
- Appointment of Lord Elgin and Baron Gros as plenipotentiaries
- Diversion of the China expeditionary troops to the Indian Mutiny
- Elgin and Gros ultimatum notes to Ye Mingchen
- Anglo-French capture of Canton (1857)
- Capture of Ye Mingchen
- Allied commission of control at Canton
- Simultaneous notes of the four envoys to Beijing
- Hong Rengan's journey to Nanjing
- First Battle of the Dagu Forts (1858)
- Treaty of Aigun
- Treaties of Tianjin
- Appearance and exposure of Qiying at Tianjin
- Horatio Nelson Lay's bullying in the Tianjin negotiations
- Treaty of Tianjin (United States)
- Treaty of Tianjin (Britain)
- Death sentence and forced suicide of Qiying
- Reed's opium communication to Lord Elgin, September 1858
- Tariff and Rules of Trade of 1858
- Legalisation of the opium trade (1858)
- Chinese appeal against envoy residence at Beijing, October 1858
- Lord Elgin's voyage up the Yangtze
- Taiping batteries fire on Elgin's squadron at Nanjing
- Taiping approaches to Elgin's fleet
- Hong Rengan's New Treatise on Aiding Government
- Assembly of the Anglo-French expedition of 1860
- Hong Rengan's plan to relieve Nanjing
- Arrival of Hong Rengan at Nanjing
- Appointment of Hong Rengan as Shield King
- Refusal of Bruce and Bourboulon to negotiate at Shanghai, June 1859
- Second Battle of the Dagu Forts (1859)
- Tattnall's intervention at the Dagu forts
- Ward's mission to Beijing, July to August 1859
- Taiping eastern campaign of 1860
- Anglo-French campaign against Beijing (1860)
- Siege of Anqing
- Qing coastal defence programme
- Anglo-French ultimatum to Beijing, March 1860
- Taiping capture of Hangzhou (1860)
- Ever Victorious Army
- Taiping breaking of the siege of Nanjing (1860)
- Allied undertaking to defend Shanghai, 1860
- Taiping capture of Suzhou (1860)
- Bruce's refusal of Taiping letters
- Edkins and Griffith John's visit to Suzhou
- Taiping attack on Shanghai (1860)
- French burning of the Shanghai suburbs
- Allied landing at Beitang
- Li Xiucheng's letter to the consuls after the Shanghai repulse
- Third Battle of the Dagu Forts (1860)
- Allied occupation of Tianjin, 1860
- Tianjin negotiations of September 1860
- Flight of the Xianfeng Emperor to Rehe
- Taiping encirclement of Zeng Guofan at Qimen
- Tongzhou negotiations
- Seizure of Harry Parkes and the Allied party
- Imprisonment and deaths of the Allied hostages
- Battle of Baliqiao
- Negotiations between Prince Gong and the ambassadors over the prisoners
- Looting of the Summer Palace
- Beijing order to send Bao Chao north
- Zeng Guofan learns of Xianfeng's flight
- Burning of the Summer Palace
- Convention of Beijing
- Griffith John's visit to Nanjing, 1860
- Meeting of Yung Wing and Hong Rengan
- Zeng Guofan's December 1860 memorial on foreign aid
- Self-Strengthening Movement
- Hong Rengan's campaign to relieve Anqing
- Admiral Hope's Yangtze expedition
- Taiping agreement to keep away from Shanghai in 1861
- Chen Yucheng's march on Huangzhou
- Harry Parkes's meeting with Chen Yucheng at Huangzhou
- Foreign ships supplying the Anqing garrison
- Li Xiucheng's western campaign to relieve Anqing
- Surrender and massacre of the Waternut Lake stockades
- Death of the Xianfeng Emperor
- Fall of Anqing
- Xinyou Coup
- Edicts expanding Zeng Guofan's commands
- Founding of the Huai Army
- Taiping capture of Ningbo
- Bingham's demands on the Taiping and their refusal
- Taiping capture of Hangzhou (1861)
- Taiping advance on Shanghai, January 1862
- British military intervention against the Taiping
- Dungan Revolt
- Quarrel between Hong Rengan and Issachar Roberts
- Flight of Issachar Roberts from Nanjing
- Allied attack on Gaoqiao
- Transport of Li Hongzhang's army to Shanghai
- Cholera epidemic of 1862
- Allied recapture of Ningbo (1862)
- Allied capture and massacre at Zhelin
- Zeng Guoquan's advance on Nanjing and Yuhuatai
- Founding of the Tongwen Guan
- Death of Frederick Townsend Ward
- Li Xiucheng's relief expedition and siege of Yuhuatai
- Burgevine's defection to the Taiping
- Siege of Suzhou (1863)
- Famine in the Suzhou-Wuxi countryside, 1863-1864
- Muslim rising in Xinjiang
- Gordon takes command of the Ever Victorious Army
- Capture of Kunshan by Gordon
- Capture of Taicang by Gordon
- Xiang Army capture of the Nanjing river forts
- Xiang Army encirclement of Nanjing
- Dismissal of Horatio Nelson Lay and appointment of Robert Hart as Inspector General
- Taiping kings' negotiations to surrender Suzhou
- Gordon's renunciation of service under Li Hongzhang
- Assassination of Tan Shaoguang at Suzhou
- Surrender of Suzhou (1863)
- Execution of the surrendered Taiping kings at Suzhou
- Massacre of the Suzhou garrison
- Buzurg Khan and Yaqub Beg's expedition to Kashgar
- Yaqub Beg's state in Kashgaria
- Xiang Army siege of Nanjing (1862 to 1864)
- Fall of Hangzhou (1864)
- Siege of Changzhou
- Death of Hong Xiuquan
- Explosion of the Nanjing wall mine
- Fall of Nanjing (1864)
- Sack of Nanjing (1864)
- Capture of Li Xiucheng
- Founding of the Jiangnan Arsenal
- Binchun's mission to Europe
- Appointment of Baron von Gumpach to the Tongwen Guan
- Li Hongzhang's campaign against the Nian
- Li Hongzhang's memorial of 1867 on Western superiority
- Yaqub Beg's seizure of Khotan and massacre of Mufti Habibullah
- Zuo Zongtang's northwest campaign
- Burlingame Mission
- Yangzhou riot
- Hunan anti-Christian placard
- Alcock Convention
- Li Hongzhang's appointment as viceroy of Zhili
- Creation of the Beiyang Fleet
- Killing of Fontanier at Tianjin
- Tianjin Massacre
- French demand for execution of the Tianjin officials
- Imperial decrees settling the Tianjin Massacre
- Russian occupation of Ili
- Remington rifle production at the Jiangnan Arsenal
- Founding of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company
- Grant of the tribute rice franchise to the China Merchants company
- Chinese Educational Mission
- Chinese Educational Mission
- Death of Zeng Guofan
- Russo-Kashgarian commercial treaty of 1872
- Forsyth mission to Kashgar of 1873-74
- First audience of foreign envoys with the Tongzhi Emperor
- Japanese expedition to Taiwan
- Construction of the Qing ironclad navy
- Qing reconquest of Xinjiang
- Sino-Japanese agreement on Taiwan (1874)
- Establishment of the first permanent Chinese legations abroad
- Death of the Tongzhi Emperor and accession of the Guangxu Emperor
- Margary Affair
- Attack on the Browne expedition
- Wade's demands of March 1875
- Wade's September 1875 ultimatum at Beijing
- Robert Hart's memorandum of 1876 on foreign relations and treaty revision
- North China Famine of 1876-1879
- Famine relief grants and contributions of 1876-1878
- Treaty of Kanghwa
- Yantai Convention
- Massacre of the Dungan garrison at Manas
- Yaqub Beg's concentration of forces at Turfan
- China Merchants purchase of Russell and Company's Shanghai Steam Navigation Company
- Qing capture of Turfan
- Death of Yaqub Beg
- Battle of Kucha (1877)
- Qing capture of Kashgar
- Sino-Russian dispute over Kulja
- Chonghou's mission to Russia
- Ili Crisis
- Treaty of Livadia
- Li Hongzhang's letter to Su Shan on dealing with Japan
- Condemnation of Chonghou
- Gordon's visit to China in 1880
- China Merchants investment in modern industries
- Zhang Zhidong's memorial against the Treaty of Livadia
- Reprieve of Chonghou
- Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881)
- Li Hongzhang's memorial of 1882 on war with Japan
- Founding of the Imperial Telegraph Administration
- Henri Riviere's seizure of Hanoi
- Imo Incident
- Imo Incident
- Li-Bouree Agreement
- Treaty of Hue (1883)
- Sino-French War
- Detring's mission to Guangzhou
- Dismissal of Prince Gong in 1884
- Hart's mediation of the Franco-Chinese peace
- Li-Fournier Convention
- Bac Le ambush
- French ultimatum of July 1884
- French bombardment of the Jilong forts
- Battle of Fuzhou
- French blockade of Taiwan
- Gapsin Coup
- Gapsin Coup
- French declaration of rice as contraband of war
- Battle of Lang Son
- Convention of Tianjin (1885)
- Paris Protocol of 1885
- Treaty of Tianjin (1885)
- Appointment of Robert Hart as British envoy
- Resignation of Captain Lang from the Beiyang Fleet
- Yangtze valley anti-missionary riots of 1891
- Tonghak Rebellion
- Donghak Rebellion
- First Sino-Japanese War
- Sinking of the Kowshing
- Battle of the Yalu River
- Triple Intervention
- First Guangzhou Uprising
- Battle of Weihaiwei
- Attempted assassination of Li Hongzhang at Shimonoseki
- Examination candidates' memorial of 1895
- Treaty of Shimonoseki
- Li Hongzhang's embassy to Russia and the West
- Kidnapping of Sun Yat-sen in London
- Juye Incident
- German seizure of Jiaozhou Bay
- Scramble for Concessions
- Publication of Zhang Zhidong's Exhortation to Study
- Russian lease of Port Arthur and Dalian
- Edict of 11 June 1898 announcing reform
- Hundred Days' Reform
- British lease of Weihaiwei
- Reformers' plot to seize the Empress Dowager
- Flight of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao
- Audiences of Yuan Shikai with the Guangxu Emperor
- Yuan Shikai's betrayal of the reformers
- Wuxu Coup
- Execution of the Six Gentlemen
- Boxer Uprising
- Plan to depose the Guangxu Emperor (1899)
- Murder of Sidney Brooks
- Naming of Pujun as heir apparent
- Mutual Protection of the Southeast
- Siege of the Beitang Cathedral
- Seymour Expedition
- Battle of the Dagu Forts (1900)
- Assassination of Clemens von Ketteler
- Siege of the International Legations
- Qing declaration of war on the foreign powers
- Eight-Nation Alliance relief expedition to Beijing
- Taiyuan Massacre
- July 1900 truce at the Peking legations
- Li Hongzhang's negotiations with the powers
- Flight of the Qing court to Xi'an
- Relief of the International Legations
- Sack of Peking
- Allied punitive expeditions in north China
- Boxer Indemnity
- New Policies
- Reform edict of January 1901
- Boxer Protocol
- Establishment of the Peking Legation Quarter
- Death of Li Hongzhang
- Return of the Qing court to Beijing
- Creation of the Beiyang Army
- Edict permitting Manchu-Han intermarriage
- Subao case
- Russo-Japanese War
- Edict abolishing the civil service examinations
- Founding of the Tongmenghui
- Anti-American boycott of 1905
- Mission of the five commissioners to study constitutional government
- Edict of 1906 announcing preparation for constitutional government
- Edict prohibiting opium within ten years
- Provincial assembly elections of 1909
- Outline of the Imperial Constitution and nine-year programme
- Death of the Guangxu Emperor
- Death of Empress Dowager Cixi
- Dismissal of Yuan Shikai
- Opening of the provincial assemblies
- Opening of the National Assembly
- Edict of November 1910 advancing parliament to 1913
- Railway Protection Movement
- 1911 Revolution
- Formation of the Princes' Cabinet
- Edict nationalizing the trunk railways
- Huguang Railway Loan
- Massacre of Manchus at Wuhan
- Yuan Shikai's delay in accepting command against the revolution
- Provincial secessions of 1911
- Wuchang Uprising
- Recall of Yuan Shikai
- Qing edict of self-accusation
- Imperialist recapture and burning of Hankou
- Appointment of Yuan Shikai as Premier
- Li Yuanhong's letter to Yuan Shikai
- Nineteen Articles
- Drafting of the Nineteen Articles
- Battle of Hanyang
- North-South Peace Conference
- Armistice of December 1911
- Resignation of Prince Chun as Regent
- Election of Sun Yat-sen as Provisional President
- Founding of the Republic of China
- Election of Yuan Shikai as Provisional President
- Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China
- Assassination attempt on Yuan Shikai
- Telegram of the northern generals urging abdication
- Articles of Favourable Treatment
- Abdication of the Xuantong Emperor
- Beijing mutiny of the 3rd Division
- Yuan Shikai's oath as Provisional President in Beijing
- Second Revolution
- Assassination of Song Jiaoren
- Reorganization Loan
- Yuan Shikai's dissolution of Parliament and the Nationalist Party
- Sino-Russian Declaration on Outer Mongolia
- Siege of Qingdao
- Black Dragon Society memorandum on China policy
- Constitutional Compact of 1914
- Presidential Succession Law
- Yuan Shikai's monarchy movement
- Goodnow Memorandum on monarchy
- New Culture Movement
- Twenty-One Demands
- Japan's revised demands of 26 April 1915
- Chinese reply of 1 May 1915
- Japanese ultimatum of 7 May 1915
- Chinese acceptance of the Japanese ultimatum
- Sino-Japanese Treaty respecting South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia
- Founding of the Chouanhui
- Yang Du's pamphlet defending monarchy
- Provincial vote electing Yuan Shikai emperor
- Japanese and Allied advice against the monarchy
- Cai E's escape from Beijing to Yunnan
- Liang Qichao's valedictory letter to Yuan Shikai
- Yunnan ultimatum to Yuan Shikai
- National Protection War
- Hongxian Empire
- Warlord era
- Decree cancelling the monarchy
- Death of Yuan Shikai
- Succession of Li Yuanhong as President
- Funeral of Yuan Shikai
- Reconvening of the Parliament of 1913
- Chinese Labour Corps
- Constitutional Protection Movement
- Literary Revolution
- Nishihara Loans
- Debate over China's entry into the First World War
- Dispute between President Li Yuanhong and Premier Duan Qirui
- China's severance of relations with Germany
- Revolt of the Tuchuns
- Zhang Xun's mission to Beijing as mediator
- Manchu Restoration
- Battle of Beijing (12 July 1917)
- China's Entry into the First World War
- Founding of the Xinmin xuehui
- Sino-Japanese exchange of notes on Shandong of 24 September 1918
- Mao Zedong's post at the Peking University library
- Paris Peace Conference
- Boycott of Japanese goods (1919-1920)
- Shandong decision of the Paris Peace Conference
- May Fourth Movement
- Attack on Cao Rulin's house
- Mass arrest of Peking students (June 1919)
- Shanghai general strike of June 1919
- Dismissal of Cao Rulin, Lu Zongyu and Zhang Zongxiang
- Arrest of Chen Duxiu (1919)
- China's refusal to sign the Treaty of Versailles
- Karakhan Manifesto
- Founding of the Xiang River Review
- Hunan federalist movement
- Mao Zedong's conversion to Marxism
- Voitinsky's Comintern mission to China
- Zhili-Anhui War
- Founding of the Chinese Communist Party
- French police raid on the CCP First Congress
- CCP First Congress final session at Jiaxing
- Washington Conference
- Maring's Guilin meeting with Sun Yat-sen
- Chen Jiongming's revolt against Sun Yat-sen
- First Zhili-Fengtian War
- Sun Yat-sen's refuge aboard the Yongfeng
- Borodin's mission to Canton
- Chiang Kai-shek's mission to Moscow
- First United Front
- Sun-Joffe Manifesto
- Founding of the Whampoa Military Academy
- First National Congress of the Kuomintang
- Canton Merchants' Corps Uprising
- Second Zhili-Fengtian War
- Beijing Coup of 1924
- Sun Yat-sen's journey north (1924)
- Dictation of Sun Yat-sen's testament
- Death of Sun Yat-sen
- May Thirtieth Movement
- May Thirtieth Incident
- Canton-Hong Kong Strike
- Shaji Massacre
- Establishment of the Nationalist Government at Canton
- Assassination of Liao Zhongkai
- Western Hills Conference
- Zhongshan Warship Incident
- Northern Expedition
- Hunan peasant movement
- Capture of Wuhan
- Move of the Nationalist government to Wuhan
- Hankow Concession Incident of January 1927
- Guomindang purge of the Communists
- Jinggangshan base area
- Nanjing decade
- Mao's Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan
- Capture of Shanghai (1927)
- Shanghai Uprising of March 1927
- Return of Wang Jingwei
- Shanghai Massacre
- Establishment of the Nanjing National Government
- Horse Day Incident
- Stalin's May 1927 telegram demanding agrarian revolution
- Departure of Borodin from Wuhan
- Wuhan government's break with the Communists
- Nanchang Uprising
- August 7 Emergency Conference
- Resignation of Chiang Kai-shek (1927)
- Autumn Harvest Uprising
- Marriage of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling
- Canton Commune
- Restoration of Chinese tariff autonomy
- Union of Zhu De's and Mao's forces
- Jinan Incident
- Huanggutun Incident
- Northeast Flag Replacement
- Central Plains War
- Encirclement Campaigns against the Jiangxi Soviet
- First Encirclement Campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet
- Execution of Yang Kaihui
- Futian Incident
- Jiangxi Soviet
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria
- Anti-Japanese student movement of 1931
- Mukden Incident
- Founding of the Chinese Soviet Republic
- Resignation of Chiang Kai-shek (1931)
- Establishment of Manchukuo
- Founding of the Blue Shirts
- January 28 Incident
- Ningdu Conference
- Fifth Encirclement Campaign
- Tanggu Truce
- Otto Braun's direction of the Red Army
- Long March
- Decision to evacuate the Central Soviet Area
- New Life Movement
- Zunyi Conference
- Birth and abandonment of He Zizhen's daughter
- Linkup of the Central Red Army and Zhang Guotao's Fourth Front Army
- August First Declaration
- Split between Mao Zedong and Zhang Guotao
- End of the Long March in northern Shaanxi
- December Ninth Movement
- Edgar Snow's interviews with Mao Zedong
- Stalin message rejecting Mao's anti-Chiang plan (August 1936)
- Trial and detention of Zhang Xueliang
- Capture of Chiang Kai-shek at Huaqingchi
- Xi'an Incident
- CCP reaction to the Xi'an Incident
- Soviet and Comintern response to the Xi'an Incident
- Second United Front
- Nanjing Safety Zone
- Rape of Nanjing
- Migration to Yan'an
- Chiang Kai-shek's Lushan declaration of resistance
- Second Sino-Japanese War
- Marco Polo Bridge Incident
- Formation of the Eighth Route Army
- Battle of Shanghai (1937)
- Black Saturday bombing of Shanghai
- Relocation of the Nationalist capital to Chongqing
- Japanese landing at Hangzhou Bay
- Chinese withdrawal from Shanghai
- Battle of Nanjing
- Chiang Kai-shek's flight from Nanjing
- Sinking of USS Panay
- Bombing of Chongqing
- Battle of Xuzhou
- Battle of Taierzhuang
- Battle of Wuhan
- Yellow River flood of 1938
- Sixth Enlarged Plenum of the CCP Central Committee
- Chiang Kai-shek's flight from Wuhan
- Burning of Changsha
- Defection of Wang Jingwei
- Wang Jingwei's flight to Hanoi
- Chongqing air raids of May 1939
- Mao Zedong's On New Democracy
- Hundred Regiments Offensive
- Three Alls Campaign
- Establishment of Wang Jingwei's Nanjing government
- New Fourth Army Incident
- Attack on Pearl Harbor
- Appointment of Stilwell as Chiang's chief of staff
- Burma Campaign (1942)
- Henan Famine
- Yan'an Rectification Movement
- Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art
- Stilwell's walkout from Burma
- Soong Mayling's visit to the United States (1942 to 1943)
- Anti-Chiang campaign in Yan'an of 1943
- Cairo Conference
- Alleged reversal by Chiang at Cairo
- Wang Ming's reply to Dimitrov of March 7, 1944
- Ichi-go Offensive
- Battle of Hengyang
- Stilwell Crisis
- Dixie Mission
- Delivery of Roosevelt's ultimatum to Chiang Kai-shek
- Recall of Joseph Stilwell
- Hurley's mission to Yan'an
- Communist consolidation of the Northeast
- Yalta Conference
- Seventh Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
- Surrender of Japan
- Nationalist takeover of Japanese-occupied China
- Soviet invasion of Manchuria
- Chongqing Negotiations
- Postwar inflation in Nationalist China
- Marshall Mission
- Communist land reform in the civil war
- Chinese Civil War
- Political Consultative Conference
- May Fourth Directive on land reform
- Outbreak of full-scale civil war (1946)
- Cease-fire of June 1946
- February 28 Incident
- Anti-Hunger, Anti-Civil War Movement
- Fall of Yan'an (1947)
- Dabie Mountains Campaign
- Lin Biao's Winter Offensive (1948)
- Wei Lihuang's refusal to withdraw from Mukden (1948)
- Election of Li Zongren as Vice President (1948)
- Gold Yuan currency reform
- Liaoshen Campaign
- Dismissal and arrest of Wei Lihuang
- Battle of Jinzhou
- Destruction of Liao Yaoxiang's Western Strike Force
- Fall of Mukden
- Huaihai Campaign
- Encirclement of Huang Wei's 12th Army Group at Shuangduji
- Pingjin Campaign
- Nationalist retreat to Taiwan
- Nationalist-Communist peace talks of 1949
- Siege and destruction of Du Yuming's army at Chenguanzhuang
- Peaceful surrender of Beiping
- Resignation of Chiang Kai-shek (1949)
- Yangtze River Crossing Campaign
- Amethyst Incident
- Fall of Nanjing (1949)
- Chiang Kai-shek's arrival in Taiwan
- Shanghai Campaign (1949)
- Proclamation of the People's Republic of China