1842, Opium Wars, a.k.a. first Anglo-Chinese War, 鸦片战争 with Britain, ended in China’s defeat and the Treaty of Nanjing opening up 5 cities–Canton, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, and Shanghai–to residency by British subjects for the purpose of trade
1851-64, Taiping Rebellion, a.k.a. 太平天国 led by Hong Xiuquan 洪秀全 as Heavenly King against the Qing government;
1860, second Anglo-Chinese War, aka Anglo-French expedition entered Peking, plundered and destroyed the great imperial summer palace: Yuanming Yuan 圆明园;
1894-5, first Sino-Japanese War, a.k.a. 甲午战争, with Chinese defeat by the Japanese imperial army on land and by sea;
1898, Hundred Days of Reform, a.k.a. 百日维新 or 戊戌变法 initially endorsed by the imperial court but ended with the death of six reformers: 谭嗣同、康广仁、林旭、etc
1989-1901, Boxers Rebellion, a.k.a. 义和团运动, backed by the Empress Dowager who declared war against “all foreigners in the world”; (扶清灭洋); second expedition by the Allied forces (of 8 nations: Britain, The United States, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Austria) entered Peking; the Imperial Court fled to Shansi; Peace Treaty signed; and war indemnity, a.k.a. Boxer Protocol, 庚子赔款;
1904-5, Russo-Japanese War; Japan received Russian rights in Liaodong Peninsula; Lu Xun in Japan 1902-09; first silent film was made titled Dingjun Mountain; civil service exam (a.k.a. imperial exam) was abolished, 废除科举制;
1911 Revolution, a.k.a. 辛亥革命; October 10: outbreak in Wuhan; national day for Republic of China, the Union of five races (Han, Mongols, Manchus, Muslins and Tibetans),中华民国,五族共和; fall and abdication of Chinese monarchy to become a republic 从帝制走向共和
1912, Founding of Guomindang 国民党, (GMD); abdication of last emperor, young Xuantong; empire and royal dynasties ended; Yuan Shikai became president of the Republic of China, alliance with Sun Yat-sen as advocate of Three Principles of the People, 孙中山的三民主义;
1928, Nan Chang Military Uprising 南昌起义, on August 1st, instigated by CCP; the birth of the Red Army, a.k.a. People’s Liberation Army (PLA) since 1949
1931, Japan’s invasion of Manchuria; five “encirclement campaigns” were launched by GMD to stamp out CCP forces; Japan militarily occupied Manchuria and northeastern China; Puyi, the last emperor of China was the puppet ruler of Manchuria;
1934, Long March (a.k.a.长征) of the Red Army began, led by Mao Zedong (毛泽东), elected chairman of Central Committee of CCP;
1936, Red Army reached Shaanxi soviet base; Yan’an Border Government; Xi’an incident 西安事变 in which Jiang Kai-shek蒋介石 as commander-in-chief of the army and the chairman of GMD was arrested by his subordinates and then released;
1937, Japanese troops bombed and occupied Shanghai; 2nd United Front formed between GMD and CCP 第二次国共合作;the year China entered into the WWII and declared war on Japan;
1938, Japan occupied north, central and south coastal Chinese areas; the rape of Nanking; Chinese government moved to Chongqing;
1941, China became formally a member of the allied nations (Britain, France, Soviet Union, United States of America) against Germany, Japan and Italy;
1945, Empire of Japan surrendered and WWII ended; Chinese Civil War ensued between the CCP and GMD;国共内战; Taiwan ceased to be a colony of Japan for half a century;
1949, People’s Republic of China 中华人民共和国成立 formally established by CCP; the defeated GMD nationalist troops fled to Taiwan;
1950, 3-anti- (corruption, waste, bureaucracy) 5-anti- (bribery, tax-evasion, fraud, do shoddy work and inferior material, steal economic secrets) campaigns; Land Reform that began in 1947 came full swing against the “landlords”, recorded in the book by American journalist William Hinton titled Fanshen as having ” . . . played as important a role in China Civil War as the Emancipation Proclamation played in the American Civil War of 1861-1865. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation confiscated without compensation $3 billion worth of property in slaves; put an end to the possibility of compromise between the industrial North and the slave-hold South”; Chinese volunteers joined the Korean War;
1953, First Five-Year Plan began; constitution
1957, Anti-Rightist Movement 反右; Great Leap Forward 大跃进; agrarian collectives (communes) formed; campaign to eliminate four harmful insects: rats, sparrows, mosquitoes, flies
1959, Sino-Soviet alliance collapsed; Indian Border Wars;
1961-63, as a result of economic blunder and famine; millions starved and perished
1966-76, The Cultural Revolution began 文化大革命; under his theory of “uninterrupted revolution,” Mao’s Red Guards were mobilized against “Capitalist Roaders;” national economy paralyzed; education came to a halt; high school and college students by the millions went to countryside to be “re-educated”
1972, Nixon visited China in February
1976, Premier Zhou Enlai died; Tiananmen Square demonstration; Mao died; “Gang of Four” arrested 四人帮: Jiang Qing (madam Mao), Yao Wenyuan, Wang Hongwen, and Kang Sheng,
1978, Deng Xiaoping, exonerated, emerged as top party man; approved economic reform program 改革开放; Four Modernizations (in agriculture, industry, national defense, science and technology); diplomatic relation with the U.S. formalized 中美建交; “Democracy Wall” appeared in Beijing to voice dissenting opinions
1979, Deng Xiaoping visited the United States; over 10,000 students going abroad; crackdown on democracy Wall” dissidents; China-Vietnam 14-day war
1980s: the trial of “Gang of Four“; urban reform programs introduced; privatization; reform campaign and cultural thaw; a.k.a. Cultural Fever, 文化热; Anti-bourgeois liberalism campaign; further price reform postponed, spiraling inflation and panic buying leads to the State Council slamming brakes on further economic reform; the Great Cultural Debate
1989, Mikhail Gorbachev visited China; Tiananmen Pro-Democracy protest against corruption; martial law declared; June Fourth Incident 六四民运;
1997, Deng died before Hong Kong was handed over to China
1999, Macao handed over to Chinese administration
2001, China joined WTO and began actively participating in global economy and trade