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Qing Dynasties
The last Dynasty in China Before the fall -
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White Lotus Rebellion
The people were unhappy with their lives and they thought that the government were corrupted and weak -
Population pressure
The population of China during this year doubled from 150 years ago so this cause the land to become unfertile, proverty grew larger -
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Opium War
Believing the Europeans to be a remote and relatively unimportant people, the Qing did not at first pay much attention to trade issues or to the growth in the opium trade. The Europeans were trading opium with the Chinese population. -
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First Opium War
The First Opium War, during 1839–1842, was concluded by the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. The treaty ceded the Hong Kong island to the United Kingdom in perpetuity, and it established five treaty ports at Shanghai, Canton, Ningpo, Fuchow, and Amoy. Another treaty the next year gave most favored nation status to the United Kingdom and added provisions for British extraterritoriality. Then France secured concessions on the same terms as the British, in treaties of 1843 and 1844. China lost -
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Second Opium War
During 1856–1860, British forces fought towards legalization of the opium trade, to expand coolie trade, to open all of China to British merchants, and to exempt foreign imports from internal transit duties. France joined the British. The war is also known as the "Arrow War", referring to the name of a vessel at the starting point of the conflict. The Arrow War resulted in the second group of treaty ports being set up; eventually, more than 80 treaty ports were established in China. -
Foreign Power took Bits and Pieces of China
Foreign People took parts of China and most of them are from Europe; Taiwan, Hongkong, Makao. -
A New China
Sun Yixian hope to create a new China and lead the people trough Nationalism and Democracy.
Eventually, foreign power and tribal warlords were too big of a problem so the KMT[Koumintang]/the military took over. -
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Chinese Republic
After the fall of empire, China’s political landscape changed dramatically and would soon be dominated by the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). -
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World War I
Emboldened by successful wars against China and Russia, Japanese aggression continues to build. At the same time, Europe’s aggressive empire-building starts to fade, as they become increasingly preoccupied with bigger problems back home. 1914: War Breaks out
Japan France and Britain join to take over Germany's Qingdao area 1919: After WWI ends, the Paris Peace Conference meets to set the peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations. The Chinese. -
May Fourth Movement
The Chinese—led by angry students—demand the return of Qingdao. Starting in what would later be Tiananmen Square, student riots flare up in Beijing and quickly spreads to Shanghai and other cities. This May Fourth Movement becomes a catalyst for change—signaling the start of great nationalist movement in China. -
Mao Zedong first appearance
It was there in 1921 that Mao Zedong—inspired by calls for change and influenced by Communist writings—establishes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), under the slogan, “Destroy the Old China.” Soon, his People Power message catches on—peasants and workers start to drink the Kool Aid. -
Death of Sun Yixian
Sun Yat-Sen dies from cancer. One of his lieutenants, Chiang Kai-shek takes over a fragile central government and soon starts to butt heads with the CCP. -
Jiang took control
Jiang Jeishi (Chiang Kai-shek)
In 1926 Jiang Jeishi took control of the Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang -KMT) and smashed the Warlords – his aim was to unite China.
He needed the Chinese Communist Party to help. -
The CCP were kicked out of the city---lived at country side
Chiang Kai-shek orders “White terror” purges of CCP members in Shanghai and other cities. Tens of thousands are killed. He names Nanjing as the real capital of the Republic. The CCP leave the cities and take control of the countryside. -
Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT forces take Beijing.
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Taking advantage of the infighting, Japan seizes Manchuria.
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1933 Japan seized Chengde and attacked north of Beijing
Japanese seize the area around Chengde and attack passes on the Great Wall north of Beijing (you can see thousands of bullet holes near the Wall’s First Pass Under Heaven, aka: Shanhaiguan). The League of Nations condemns Japanese aggression. They walk out of the League in March. -
THE LONG MARCH
Meanwhile, KMT forces are close to completely defeating the Communists. In 1934, they’re close to surrounding them, but the remnants of the Mao’s Red Army somehow escapes–starting The Long March to their northern base of Yan’an in Shaanxi province—a 8,000 mile trek crossing 18 mountain ranges and 24 rivers. They started out with about 100,000 soldiers. A year later, only 7,000 made it to their destination. They regain strength as Mao develops his guerrilla warfare strategy. -
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THE XI’AN INCIDENT: A UNITED FRONT AGAINST THE JAPANESE
Despite problems with the Japanese, Chiang Kai-shek wants to focus on eliminating the Commies. As he put it, the Japanese were only a “diseased skin” while the Communists were a “diseased heart”
When he goes to their base in Xi’an to rally troops to fight Mao’s army, he’s faced with a mutiny. His own top officers place him under house arrest until he agrees to form a United Front with Mao against the Japanese
1937 All out war begins with Japanese after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident near Beijing -
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THE NANJING MASSACRE
Nanjing (Nanking) falls to the Japanese, starting the infamous reign of terror called the Nanking Massacre (sometimes called the “Chinese holocaust”). Of the estimated 200,000-300,000 Chinese killed, the majority were civilians. Tens of thousands–old and young—are brutally raped by Japanese soldiers (the subject of the 1997 book The Rape of Nanking and the 2009 movie, Nanking). The incident continues to bedevil Sino-Japanese relations to this day -
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WWII: A WAR OF ATTRITION
Summer 1941: US support for China grows—volunteer airmen from the US fly to China to form the famous “Flying Tigers’ air force in Kunming. December 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. Eight hours later, they attack Hong Kong. The British surrender after 17 days of fierce fighting. Allied forces and the Chinese hope to wear down Japan in China with a war of attrition. The Chinese campaign was able to divert more than half-million Japanese troops during Asian conflict 1945: Japan surrenders. -
MAO’S RED ARMY WINS
The tide turns towards the Communist army— now called the PLA (People’s Liberation Army). Mao’s Red Army starts defeating KMT forces. The Commies take Beijing in January 1949. Nanjing and Shanghai would soon follow. By the end of the year, remaining KMT forces flee to Taiwan. The KMT also escapes with many of China’s best treasures. October 1, 1949: At a huge rally on Tiananmen Square, Mao claims the birth of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).