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Jan 1, 1100
Temujin
A powerful Khan named Temujin began uniting the Mongol clans while simultaneously cconquering his rivals in the late 1100's. This was in an atempt to become a very powerful force. -
Jan 1, 1200
Monolian Army
Thousands of soldiers accompanied by their families marched in divisions of 10,000. Stretching as far as 50 miles wide, the nomadic Mongols would only cover 100 miles a day. Strike forces led the army while scouts bought up the rear making the Mongolian army truly powerful. -
Jan 1, 1200
The Mongols
During the Song Dynasty in the 1200'a, a nomadic people emrged from Central Asia. They were called the Mongols, and in time, they would conquer China and create the largest Empire in the world. -
Jan 1, 1206
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan, which means " Universal Ruler," was the tilte given to Temujin for uniting the Mongol clans. With this unity, Genghis Khan founded an empire with a fierce army and a strict ruling. -
Jan 1, 1207
Mongol Rule
The Mongols rule for 20 years under Genghis Khan's power and conquer much of Asia. Through their fighiting, they learnd siege warfare -- The surrounding or blockading of a city, town, or fortress by an army attempting to catpure it -- and the use of gunpowder. -
Jan 1, 1227
Genhig Khan's Death
Genghis Khan dies and the empire is given to his sons. The empire was then split in to four regions, each with it's own heir to and a great Khan ruled over all. -
Jan 1, 1235
Conquest
Kublai Khan begins a conquest of China. -
Jan 1, 1236
Golden Horde
Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu, attacked and conquered Russia, Poland, Hugnary, and Eastern Europe using the Golden Horde -- Army that took over Russia, Poland, Hugnary, and Eastern Europe.-- These great conquerings were to expand the already great Mongol Empire. -
Jan 1, 1260
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan became great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He was determined to finish the conquest he had begun earlier. He would go on to defeat nearly all of China. -
Jan 1, 1278
Marco Polo
Beginning in 1278, Marco Polo traveled in and around China for 17n years fulfilling missions given to him by Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan gave him these missions because he took a liking to the young Italian man when he came to China with his father. -
Jan 1, 1279
The Goodbye "Song"
After years of the Song dynasty resisting the Mongols, the final Song ruler was defeated. Kublai Khan then decalred himself emperor of his newly created dynasty, the Yuan dynasty, and ruled all of China. --The Song dynasty was the dynasty that controlled Southern China during the time of the Mongols. The Song greatly resisted the Mongol invaders for years before defeat.-- -
Jan 1, 1294
The Yuan Weakening
Through miltary losses from the Japanese and the Kamikazi --actually meaning "divine wind," the kamakazi were great stroms which saved the Japanese from being defeated by the Mongols. Yet the meaning has changed through time and it currently means, "suicide bomber."-- and the weakened economy of the Mongols left them vulnerable for rebelions. At this time, in 1294, Kublai Khan died and the Yuan dynasty weakend even more. -
Jan 1, 1295
Polo's Tales of China
In 1295, Marco Polo and his fathered returned home to Venice. It wasn't long after that that he was captured and imprisoned where he wrote a book about the greatness of China. His tales intrigued many of the Europeans. -
Jan 1, 1300
Black Death
Black Death -- A plague that was based off of the inclenliness of people -- wipes out much of Europe. -
Jan 1, 1300
Rebellions Against the Yuan
As the Yuan dynasty weakened, people began to notice, Some took advantage of this, and threoughout the 1300's, people began to rebel during the Dynasty's most vulnerable time. -
Jan 1, 1368
The Ming Dynasty
After a peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang and his rebel army overthrew the Mongols, Zhu founded the Ming (Ming means "brilliant") dynasty and took the name Hongwu, meaning "vastly martial."This great dynasty lasted for nearly 300 years. In that time, Hongwu spent his entire life restoring China to its traditional ways and back to a prosperous country. -
Jan 1, 1368
The Mongol Flee
After a rebel army defeated the Mongols in 1368, the Mongols fled to Manchuria. This marked the end of Mongol rule in China. -
Jan 1, 1398
Hongwu's Death
In 1398, Hongwu died and the Ming dynasty fell in to a power struggle until Hongwu's son, Yonglo, took power. -
Jan 1, 1400
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City --A great city inside of a city that got its name because Chinese commoners were not aloud to enter it.-- in the heart of Beijing was built for China's Ming emperor and hsi family, court, and servants in the early 1400's. The city was ssurrounded by a 35 foot high wall and included many great imperial buildings. -
Jan 1, 1402
Yonglo
Following the power struggle caused by hsi father's death, Yonglo took power of the Ming dynasty in 1402. Yonglo moved the Ming capital to Beijing and there, he built the Forbidden City. YOnglo also sponsored oversea voyages in hopes of spreading China's influence. -
Jan 1, 1405
Oversea Voyages with Zheng He
With Yonglo's oversea sponsorings, Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim admiral, led seven sea voyages around the India ocean. Zheng He led each one with 300 ships to show China's power. Among those were 400 foot long treasure ships and junks. --junks were the Chinese trading ships, and they are still used today-- Sheng He always offered gifts from China, and in return, tribute was sent to the Chinese emperor from many foreign leaders. -
Jan 1, 1424
The End of Yonglo
After creating the magnificient Forbidden City and influencing more oversea travels, Yonglo's ruling came to an end in 1424. -
Dec 13, 1433
No More Sea Voyages
Although the sea voyages represented Ming China's sea power, it was put to an end in 1433 by a new emperor becasue they were extremely expensive and because Chinese officials believed that the resources would be better used as defense for the frontiers. This policy started to lead towards the isolation of China from the outside world. -
Jan 1, 1500
Isolation
In the 1500's, the isolation of China was at full force. Trade between all but a few foreign merchants was illegal. This, of cousre, was a hard policy to enforce and Chinese smugglers constantly found their way around it. The other reason for the Isolation was to protect against the influences of Europen traders and Christian missionaries because the Ming did not like their influences and they sought to preserve China's traditions. -
Jan 1, 1500
Prosperity
Although China had a few struggles at this time, it also had great prosperity. From the improved irrigation system, farming was also improved. Giant crops of rice and other crops brought from the American's (such as corn and sweet potatoes) flourished. A stable food supply led to a growing population which in turn brought greater production of goods, yet China remained a mainly agricultural society. -
Jan 1, 1500
The Ming Decline
In the late 1500's, many weak rulers took the throne and corruption increased which drained the treusury of all of its money. Ming rulers in turn raised taxes which led to the Ming decline. -
China's Troubles
Even against the emperor's wishes, some Europeans gained influence and respect in China. One of those people was Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit priest. In 1583 he gained enough respect to get entry to the Ming court where he introduced European science and math. At this time, the Ming also faced the threat of the Mongols from the north. In defense, the Ming expanded the Great Wall of China. --a massive defensive wall which stretched 3,930 miles long and had watch towers every 100 yards-- -
Rebellions
The high taxes from the corrupt rulers combined with crop failures led to hardships and troubling times for the Ming dynasty. From then, rebellions began to brekaout . -
Fall of the Ming
As the Ming weakened, the Manchu (people from Manchuria) saw their chance to take over. In 1644, they swiftly marched in to Beijing and took the capital. After the Last Ming emperor killed himself, the Manchu formed their own dynasty, the Qing dynasty. -
The Qing Dynasty
The newly founded Qing dynasty would rule for nearly over 250 years and in that time, they would again make China prosperous and expand it to it largest size in history. At the same time though, the Qing were in fact Manchu, not Chinese so they made sure to keep themselves seperate using certain restrictions. One was that Manchu were not aloud to marry Chinese, Another was that men had to wear their hear in the Manchu style: Shaved in the front with a queue --a braid-- in the back. -
Kangxi
Kangxi was an outstanding Qing ruler. He ruled began in 1661 and during his ruling, he had great success. First, he reduced taxes for peasant sand expanded the empire in to Central Asia. He also supported the arts and liked learning from the highly intelligent Jesuit priests. In 1722, Kangxi died and his rule came to an end. -
Qianlong
Qianlong, the grandson of Kangxi, began his rule in 1736 and as an emperor, brought China to its height. Qianlong conquered Taiwan, Tibet, and Mongolia making the empire of China the largest ever. Agriculture during Qianlong's reign also flourished and China's population bursted. At this time, the Chinese economy also thrived. Qianlong continued the Ming policy of isolation. Believing that there goods were superior, China only traded with those who agreed to their terms. -
Population Explotion
As the agriculture became great, so did the population. By 1750, the population of China surged to over 300 million. From this, the economy improved as well. -
Lord George Macartney
Along with many other Europeans, Lord George Macartney, a British official, came to China to try and persuade Qianlong to expand trade. The Chinese found that his goods were inferior to theirs. In addition, the chinese demanded that Macartney respected their emperor by kowtowing. --kneeling in front of the emperor and touching the forhead to the grounf nine times-- When Macartney refused, he was sent away. -
Qianlong's Death
After a long and great ruling of China, the great emperor Qianlong died in 1796. -
The End of Imperial Rule
During it's time, China was one of the most advanced civilizations in the world. Yet, the idea of Isolation, while being good for prserving Chinese traditions, kept China from keeping up with European advances. With that, the Europeans attempted yet again in the 1800's to open China's closed society. This eventually brought an end to the great Qing dynasty and to imperial rule itself.
