TIMELINE FOR THE HISTORY OF CHINA:
Thanks to:
http://cscubb.ro/cop/senkakudiaoyu-islands-dispute-timeline/#.UeF_k21Yip0
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13017882
and others.
ANCIENT CHINA
20,000 BC- modern humans appear in the Ordos desert region.
5000 BC- Yangshao culture.
2500 BC- Lungshan culture. First writing develops.
XIA DYNASTY
2200-1767 BC- Xia Dynasty
-semi-legendary Emperor Yu builds irrigation channels, reclaims land.
-bronze weapons chariots, domestication of animals. Wheat, millet.
-the first writing develops.
2000 BC- Er-li-ton- China's first city.
SHANG DYNASTY
1767-1122 BC- Shang Dynasty is the first documented in the heart of traditional China, in the northeast, between the Yellow, Wei and Yantze rivers,
-warrior aristocracy uses chariots.
-bureaucracy and defined social classes. First Chinese calendar and developed writing system.
-a uniform culture spreads throughout China.
-linguistic and ethnological diversity of the south and far west begin to arise because of difficulty of central government in controlling them.
ZHOU DYNASTY.
1066-771 BC- Western Zhou Dynasty
-prosperous feudal agricultural society.
-written laws, money, an economy.
-iron implements; ox-drawn plough.
770-256 BC- Eastern Zhou Dynasty, centered along the Yangtze river in the east.
722-464- Spring and Autumn Era.
551-479- Confucius
-the states of Chi, Wu and Yuen form, north to soouth along the eastern seabord. Inland, the Chin rule a small state in the north, the Chu to the south.
-Lao Tzu
500- iron age begins.
470-391- Mozi, founder of Mohism.
Era of Warring States.
458-424- partitition of Qin
-in the heart of traditional China, in the northeast, between the Yellow, Wei and Yantze rivers, the Chu, Chin, Lu and Wu vie for control, dividing the area into a warring patchwork.
403-221- Era of warring states.
386-286- Zhuangzi.
371-289- Mencius.
-with Mencius, Lao-Tzu and Confucius are laid the foundations of an enduring Chinese culture.
338-325- Qing rulers use title of king.
230-221- Han, Qu, Jin and Qi states occupied by Qin armies.
249- The Kingdom of Qin is centred at Xanyiang, west of the Yellow River.
QIN DYNASTY
221-206 BC- Qin Dynasty. Though semi-barbarous the Qin establish the imperial system that will flourish during stable periods. The Chin empire stretches from the Great Wall in the north, occupies central-eastern and coastal China with a narrower strip extending to the South Cgina Sea.
-harsh rule of Shih-Huan-ti.
-feudalism replaced by bureaucratic government.
-written language.
-roads, canals.
221- Great Wall commissioned by first emperor.
-warring states brought into union. Central government emerges.
214 BC- first expansion of Chinese empire.
213- burning of the books.
210- death of the first emperor.
206- destruction of the imperial library.
EARLY HAN DYNASTY
206 BC- 9 AD- first Han Empire. The Han inaugurates a period of imperial rule, expansion, peace, stability and artistic achievement.
-rule is more relaxed.
-further unification.
206 BC- 220 AD- East and West Han Dynasties
202 BC- Liu Bang founds Han Dynasty.
191 BC book burning edict rescinded.
-westward expansion.
141 BC- legalists excluded from government careers.
124- BC- Imperial Academy established.
-Confucianism becomes the basis for the bureaucratic state.
127-101 BC- second expansion of Chinese Empire.
87 BC- regency established.
51 BC- peace between China and Hsiung-Nu.
9-23 AD- Interregnum of Wang Mang
-on its east coast, the Han dynasty stretches from the area of modern northern-most Viet Nam in the south to part of North Korea in the north. In the centre, it contains only the middle and coastal regions of modern China. The western region of Szechuan and the outlying area of Tibet still remainoutside its borders. Its northern area stretches from Korea westward into a long, narrow extension of conquered land in the Tarim Basin, north of Tibet, called Sinkiang (or Turkestan) as far as the Hindu Kush. Sinkiang enabled the Han to control the silk road.
-the ehtnic Han occupy northeastern China with the Yangtze river taking Hand settlement to the interior.
LATER HAN DYNASTY
25-220- later Han Dynasty.
49- peace between China and southern Hsiung-Nu.
65- first Chinese reference to Buddhism.
89- regency introduced.
184- uprising of the Yellow Turbans.
THE THREE KINGDOMS.
220-265- the Three Kingdoms period of Wei, Shu and Wu. China divided among petty warring states and invasion by Hsiung-Ne barbarians from the north.
-Buddhism develops. Taoism and Buddhism begin to eclipse Confucianism. Indian innovations in mathematics, astronomy and architecture are developed.
-figure painting and decoration in art.
CHIN DYNASTY
265-316- Western Chi'n Dynasty- founded by a Wei general.
-southeast expansion.
-feudalism returns with the loss of central authority.
316- loss of northern China to barbarian dynasties.
DIVISION BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH
317-589- China divided.
350- (circa) -invaders set up dynasties in the north. Other dynasties set up in the south.
450- (circa) The Wei Empire in the north, inside the Great Wall; the Sung Empire occupies the centre and coastal regions. The Wei subject to pressure from the Hungs or Xiongnu in Mongolia.
THE GREAT ERA- THE SUI AND THE T'ANG DYNASTIES.
The Sui.
581-618- Sui Dynasty.
-under the Sui and T'ang- a huge area, already imbued with Chinese culture, is consolidated under imperial rule.
-Buddhism and Taoism grow in influence.
-canal system formally established.
-civil service exams based on Chinese classics and a renewal of Confucianism.
-gradual re-union of regions.
592-618- sinification of Japan by Suiko administration.
600- Buddhism introduced to Tibet.
605-610- building of Grand Canal.
608-889- Tibetan Empire.
612-614- campaigns into Korea.
Tang Dynasty
618-907- Tang Dynasty.
-withdrawal from border regions with expansion and consolidation of the centre.
-civil service examinations based on Confucianism.
-age of the great poets.
624-649- reign of Tai-tsung.
630- defeat of the eastern Turks.
656- defeat of western Turks.
690-705- China's Empress Wu.
-gradual re-union of regions.
701-762- poet Li BPo.
713-755- reign of Hsuan-tsung. China's extent looks much as it did under the Han- except the eastern half occupies more of traditional, eastern China and part of Szechuan. A narrower land bridge of territory connects it westward to the Tarim Baisn, Sinkiang or western end of the empire, north of Tibet, and has expanded north into Turkestan. The land bridge that connects the eastern and western edges of the empire is bordered by the Yighurs on the north and by Tibet in the south.
750 (circa) invention of printing.
751- battle of Talas River.
755-763- rebellion of An Lushan.
768-824- Han Yu founds Neo-Confucianism.
780- tax reform.
821- peace between China and Tibet.
840- Uighur empire destroyed.
841-845- religious persecution.
850 (circa) invention of gunpowder.
879- looting of Canton.
907-960- Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. China divided.
-period of official corruption, chaotic social change.
-first paper money printed.
SONG DYNASTY
960-1279 Song Dynasty.
-neo-Confucianism prevails over Buddhism and Taoism.
-central bureaucracy established.
-cultivation of tea and cotton.
-first military use of gunpowder.
Northern Song
960-1126-Northern Sung.
-literature, philosophy,
-movable type.
-Confucian canon is established.
-the novel established as an art form.
-Song rule central China- the Kichai, Jurchen and Tangut rule northern kingdoms. The Han Chinese have settled southward to occuoy all of southern China.
1004- peace between China and Liao.
1024- China produces world's first paper currency.
1044- peace between China and Hsi-hsia. Imperial China has shrunk back to the Song empire of the east. To the north, the Liao empire extends into Manchuria and the to the northwest is the state of Hsi Hsia.
1069-1076- Wang An-shih rules China.
1126- Juchen sacks Changan. Liao empire destroyed.
Southern Song
1127-1279- southern Song Dynasty.
1130-1200- Zhu Xi formalizes Confucian classics.
-the Liao Empire in the northeast is replaced by the Chim Empire extending from the Yellow Rover to manchuria. The Southern Sung Empire is confined to southeast China.
1135- Lin-an capital of Southern Song.
1141- peace between China and Chin.
THE MONGOL INVASIONS.
1167-1227- Ghengis Khan.
1217- Mongols conquer Tarim Basin.
1221- Mongols conquer West Turkestan and Afghanistan.
1227- Mongols conquer Hsi-Hsia.
1229-1241- Ogodei, the Great Khan.
1234- Mongols conquer Chin.
YUAN DYNASTY
1279-1368- Yuan Dynasty established by Ghengis Khan.
-Chinese institutions are retained. Important improvements to roads and canals.
-Confucian ideals discouraged.
Kublai Khan.
1260-1294 Emperor Kublai Khan, grandson of Gengis. A China-based empire reaches its most massive extent, a pan-Eurasian domain composed of Khanates. The Great Khanate includes all of China proper, the Central Asian Khanate includes most of Tibet; the Khante of the Golden Horse extends from Central Asia, through southern Russia to Moscow; the Persian Khante covers Persia and Mespotamia.
1281- Mongols fail to conquer Japan.
1300 (circa) visit of Marco Polo.
1355- rebellion of the Red Turbans.
MING DYNASTY
-revolts in Mongolia and South China end Yuan Dynasty. Mongols expelled.
1364-1644- Ming Dynasty.
-restoration of Chinese culture by a study of Sung life.
-contact with European traders and missionaries.
1368-1398- first Ming Emperor.
-The Chinese say the Diaoyu were included in the Ming Dynasty maritime territory, since the islands were drawn in on ancient maps. Although Chinese fishermen were known to spend time on and around the islands, no official residency was ever established. (Scientific American)
Early East-West Contacts.
1405-1433- voyages of Cheng Ho- Ming explorations of Southeast Asia and Africa.
-loss of territories acquired during early Ming expansion.
1406- construction begins on the Forbidden Palace.
-increased contacts with the west.
1419- death of Tsong-Kha-Pa.
1421- Beijing becomes capital of China.
1424- death of Yung-lo Emperor.
1449- Oirats raid China.
-with the disintegration of the Mongol Empire, neither Tibet nor the north-western Sinkiang-Tarm Basin region are ruled by China. The Ming Empire occupies traditional China in the east and center and a long strip of Manchuria, north of Korea.
1514- the coming of the Westerners.
1522- tax reform.
1550- Tartars raid China.
1557- Portuguese take Macao.
-but European inroads tend to be stymied by nationalist foreign policy.
Advance of the Manchu
-Manchu peoples expanding steadily southward from Manchuria.
1600- the Ming Empire stretches from Peking and Mukden in the Northeast to the border with Tibet in the northwest to Siam and Annam in the southwest to the China Sea and the Pacific in the southeast.
1601- Matteo Ricci meets Chinese Emperor.
1607- peace between China and Japan.
1618- fighting between the Manchus and China.
-unification of the Manchu tribes of China by Nurhachi.
1640- the Manchu control Manchuria and Inner Mongolia.
THE MANCHU (QING)
1644- The Ming overthrown by Manchu rebel band. Suicide of the last Ming Emperor. Manchus enter Beijing which is made capital of the Qing Dynasty
1645- the Manchu control northeast China from Beijing in the north to Nanking in the south.
1644-1911- The Manchu Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty.
-territorial expansion but weakening of Chinese power.
1650- the Manchu control southeast China and northwest China.
1660- the Manchu control southern central China.
1661-1722- the K'ang-hsi Emperor
1675-1683- Qing conquest of south China.
1685- Manchu (Qing) complete conquest of Taiwan.
-empire expands to include Tibet, Manchuria, Mongolia, Taiwan, parts of Turkestan.
1690-1730- Manchu control Outer Mongolia, Sinkiang and Tibet.
1720-1751- Tibet becomes a manchurian protectorate.
1735-1796- the Ch'ien-Lung Emperor. China at its greatest territorial extent.
-Manchu Empire consists of most territory of modern China plus inner and outer Mongolia. It retains Sinkiang and Tibet. Manchuria and Central Asia northwest of Sinkiang have been lost to Russia. Korea alternates as a Japanese or Manchu protectorate.
1757- Zungaria is placed under military administration.
d
1759- the Court of Colonial affairs administers Tibet as a protectorate (1720-1751); Eastern Turkestan militarily (1759); Zungaria militarily (North West, 1757); Mongolia is administered feudally; Manchuria too is handled by the Court of Colonial affairs.
-tributary states are Korea, Nepal, Burma, Siam ab
Inroads by the West and Opium Wars.
1793- the Lord McCartney mission to China.
-Qing opposition to trade with west relaxes.
1834- Guangzhu opened to sea trade.
1839-1842- opium wars. Britain forces its way into Chinese trade, extracting concessions.
France, Germany and Russia follow suit.
-Ching regime weakened by internal disputes.
Rebellions against Western Inroads.
1850-1873 the Taiping and other rebellions.
1858-1860- opium wars.
1860- Anglo-French march on Beijing.
-defeated in the opium wars, China is forced to open up to foreign trade.
1860-1870s- the Self-Strengthening Movement.
1884-1885- the Sino-French War.
1894-1895- Sino-Japanese War.
-Japan seizes Korea and Taiwan.
-Great Britain and the Unites States encourage the Open Door plaice- allowing all nations equal access to foreign trade. However, foreign nations decide instead to carve out separate fiefdoms.
1898- Hundred Days of Reform under K'ang Yu-Wei.
Boxer Rebellion.
1898-1900- Boxer Rebellion- massive protest against foreign intrusion encouraged by he Empress Tzu Hsi.
1905- Civil Service exams abolished.
FALL OF THE MANCHUS: REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
1911- explosion of a bomb at Wuchang sets off the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty by Sun Yat Sen.
1912- Abdication of the last Manchu Emperor.
Republic of China.
1912- Republic of China founded by Sun Yat Sen.
-reign of the warlords.
-Sun Yat Sen resigns.
1912-1916- Yuan Shih-k'ai. First president of the Republic of China. His repressive rule causes revolts by adherents of Sun Yat Sen.
World War One and the Invasion of Japan.
1914-1915- Japan seizes the German leasehold in Shantung and makes the Twenty-one Demands
1917- China enters the war on the side of the allies.
1916- Yuan dies; China begins to break up into warlord states.
1919- at Versailles, China fails to prevent Japanese from getting Shantung.
1919- May Fourth Movement protests decision at Versailles.
1921-1922- Washington Conference- Japan finally agrees to withdraw from Shantung. Open door policy and China's territorial integrity are affirmed.
Nationalist-Communist Alliance.
1921- founding of Chinese Communist party. Sun Yat Sen , failing to get support from the west, obtains support from the USSR and allies with Communists.
-anti-western government gains momentum.
Revival of Sun and the Kuomintang
1924- reorganization of Sun Yat Sen's Kuomintang which governs Guangzhou and gets loyalty of southern provinces, northern warlords and national government in Beijing.
1926-1928- Northern Expedition of Chian Kai-Chek, the reunification of China under the Kuomintang. He turns against the Communists, executing their leaders.
1928- Chiang Kai-Shek makes Nanjing capital of a re-unified China.
Civil War: Nationalists fight the Communists.
-nationalists fight Communists.
1931- Japan occupies Manchuria
-Chiang forces out the Communist government in Jiangxi.
1934-1935- Mao Zedong's Long March. Communists occupy Shaanxi in northwest China.
1936- Communists kidnap Chiang and force him into an alliance against Japan.
1937- Japan invades China.
Second War with Japan.
1937-1945- the Second Sino-Japanese War.
1940- north China, Yantze Valley and coastal region under Japanese control ruled by the Wang-Wei puppet regime.
1941- after Pearl Harbour, China receives US aid.
1946-1949- Chinese Civil War.
Japanese withdrawal: Second Stage of Civil War.
-in the wake of the Japanese withdrawal, Communists and Nationalists clash in full-scale civil war.
1946- US fails to mediate the Communist-Nationalist conflict. Renewal of Civil War.
-Russians, withdrawing from Manchuria, leave military equipment to the Communists.
1948- Communists gain control of Manchuria
-Chiang's US-supported nationalists appear to be winning outside Manchuria.
-nationalist repression and incompetence leads to public support for the Communists.
1949- Jan.- Beijing falls to Communists.
-August- US wihtdraws aid from Nationalists.
COMMUNIST VICTORY: PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
1949- Oct 1- Communist victory over the Chiang Kai-Chek regime. People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong is proclaimed with capital at Beijing.
1950- nationalists defeated. They withdraw to Taiwan.
1950- China allies with North Korea in Korean War, atttempts to stem a drive by UN forces toward Manchurian border.
-China reoccupies Tibet- the outliers of the modern Chinese empire are Manhcuria, Mongolia, Sinkiang in the north west and Tibet in the southwest.
-land reform; improved, more equitable food distribution, more effective police protection
-1953- China emerges as a regional diplomatic power at end of Korean War.
Five Year Plan.
1953-57- First Five-Year Plan.
-nationalization, collectivization.
-USSR helps with expansion of railroads and industry.
1955-Chiang Kai Chek reaffirms claims on China from Taiwan. US supports Taiwan against China, declaring that it would respond to a direct military attack on Taiwan.
1956- Soviets take a more moderate path with de-Stalinization, beginning an ideological divergence from China.
1958- "off-shore islands" crisis.
Great Leap Forward,
1958-1959- The Great Leap Forward.
-massive industrialization.
-empowerment of local authority.
-expansion of cooperatives into rural communes, disrupting family life but creating a massive labour force.
1959-1961- successive crop failures destroy gains of the Great Leap Forward, pointing to error of industrializing at the expense of agricultural development. Mao resigns as Chairman of the Communist party but still remains the most powerful individual in China.
1960- withdrawal of Soviet advisers and economic aid. Military build-up and clashes on China-Soviet border.
1964- China's first atomic bomb tested.
The Cultural Revolution.
1966- Mao inaugurates the Cultural Revolution.
-students mobilized to destroy the intellectual elite, the bureaucracy and all remnants of China's past - all of which were condemned as 'bourgeois'.
-emphasis is placed on agriculture.
-purge of Liu Shao-chi.
-China gives military support to North Viet Nam against the U.S..
-China's foreign policy, previously ideological, becomes more diplomatic, sending aid to underdeveloped countries around the world.
1967- founding of ASEAN- Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
-China's first hydrogen bomb tested.
1969- Sino-Soviet border conflict
Detente with U.S.
1970- GNP increases dramatically.
-Lin Bao plots to assassinate Mao but dies in a plane crash while fleeing China in 1971
1971- Nixon announces plan to visit Beijing. US drops its objection to China having a seat in the UN. UN expels Taiwan nationalist delegation.
1972- US President Nixon visits Beijing. Bilateral commitment to work toward peace in Asia and develop economic, cultural and diplomatic ties.
1973- Cultural Revolution: massive propaganda attacks on Confucianism and cultural exchange with the west.
Deng's Moderates vs. The Gang of Four.
1976- many policies of Mao and the Cultural Revolution are rescinded. Emphasis shifts away from agriculture, to small factories and local self-sufficiency.
-a moderate faction develops with Deng Xiaoping and Premier Chou en Lai- facing radicals from the cultural revolution led by the Gang of Four- Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, Yao Wen Yan, Wang Hongwen and Zang Jiao. Mao mediates between the two factions.
-Gang of Four warns Mao that Deng's 'Four Modernizations' would eliminate the gains of the Cultural Revolution.
-April- Gang of Four gets Deng and his supporters purged.
Sept.- death of Mao.
Oct.- a coalition of military and political leaders purges Gang of Four. Hua Go Feng becomes chairman.
1977- Deng is rehabilitated, becomes deputy to Chairman Hua Go Feng but is in fact the most powerful. His plan is to build up the economy and strengthen ties with the west.
1978- Deng is virtually the leader of china.
1979- Jan 1- full diplomatic relations restored with U.S.
-Deng has four coastal cities named special economic zones in order to bring in foreign trade, investment and technology.
-border war with Viet Nam over Viet Nam's invasion of Cambodia.
1980- Deng chooses Zhao Ziyang to replace Hua Go Feng.
1981- China replaces Taiwan on the IMF and in the World Bank.
-rapid industrialization. Limited profit-taking is allowed as an incentive. Some private industry and foreign investment is permitted.
-Deng liberalizes academic debate
-wider trade relations with the west.
-because of Deng's reforms, the CCP loses much of its influence.
1982- reformist Hu Yaobang is made General Secretary.
1984- Hong Kong to be returned to China in 1997 according to Anglo-Chinese accord.
-14 more cities are named Special Economic Zones.
-decollectivization of cooperative farms to increase output.
-one-child policy is moderated due to protests and infanticide.
-many who'd been purged in the Cultural Revolution are rehabilitated.
-economic growth rates of 10% lead to social stratification rather then to a universal increase in living standards.
1987- reformist General Secretary Hu Yaobang is replaced by Zhou Ziang after student demonstrations.
-Zhou Ziang is replaced by Li Peng.
Tianamen Square.
1989- April- death of reformist Hu Yaobang leads to student protests.
1989- Tianamen Square- Government massacre of democracy protesters. Thousands arrested. Zhou Ziang is replaced with Jiang Zemin. Deng has set a sharp limit to the CCP's loss of influence.
-all political opposition is suppressed by Jiang Zemin.
-the west imposes economic sanctions, sending China's economy into decline.
1990- economic sanctions are futile and the west relaxes them.
-June- hundreds of dissidents are freed. US restores China's 'most favoured nation status'.
The State market Economy.
-after Tianamen Square, China resolves to focus on economic progress and avoid political turmoil
-government gradually brings in a state-controlled market economy.
-1992- China joins the UN coalition in the First Gulf War.
1996- China, Russia, Kazakstan, Kygyztsan and Tajikstan meet to cooperate in dealing with ethnic and relgious tensions in one another's countries.
1997- death of Deng Xiaoping. He is succeeded by Jiang Zemin.
ZIANG ZEMIN.
-separatist riots in Xinjiang
1998- Zhy Ronji succeeds Li Peng as Premier. He institutes structural and financial reforms after the Asian Financial Crisis.
-Britain hands over Hong Kong to China. Portugal hands over Macao- all as part of the 'One China' policy.
1999- China outlaws the Falun Gong as a threat to internal stibility.
1999-2008- Liu Xiabao publishes numerous articles that were critical of the Chinese government, called for reforms, and raised human rights issues
2000- crackdown on government corruption.
2001- China, Russia and four Central Asian countries form the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to combat ethnic and religious militants and enhance trade. They are known as the Shanghai Five.
June- China and Taiwan carry out simultaneous -and hostile- military exercises and demonstrations.
-massive poverty and underemployment in the interior results in job creation programs and infrastructure spending.
Nov- China admitted to the WTO.
2002- Feb.- US President Bush makes a state visit to Beijing.
Nov.- President Hu Jintao replaces outgoing Communist Party head Jiang Zemin.
HU JINTAO
2003- March- Hu Jintao becomes president, replacing Jiang Zemin.
2003- March-April. China and Hong Kong hit by the Sars Virus- believed to have started in Guangdong Province.
June- China and India agree on status of Tibet and Sikkim in cross-border trading agreement.
July-August- 1/2 million in Hong Kong protest, forcing the retraction of an anti-subversion bill.
2004- September- Jiang Zemin stands down as army chief.
November- China signs a trade deal with 10 Southeast Asian countries, creating a huge potential trading bloc.
2005- China passes a law allowing the use of force if Taiwan attempts independence.
April- mass protests in China at a Japanese textbook which downplays Japanese atrocities in China during World War II- threatening Sino-Japanese relations.
-nationalist Taiwan president Lien Chan visits China. The first visit between Taiwan and Chinese heads of state since 1949.
August- joint military exercises held by Russia and China.
2006- May- Three Gorges Dam under construction- world's largest hydro-electric power project.
2006- July- China-Tibet railway opens.
August- official news agency decalres 18 million people affected by the worst drought in 50 years.
November- China-Africa summit in Beijing. African heads of state gather as deals are signed with China valued at $2 billion.
Government reports deteriorating environmental conditions threatening health and safety.
2007- January- China tests a missile, shooting down an old weather satellite. US and Japan are apprehensive about Chinese military build-up.
China and Africa
February- President Hu Jintao tours eight African countries as the West criticizes China for dealing with corrupt and repressive regimes.
April- Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao becomes first Chinese leader to address Japan's parliament as both countries agree to attempt reconciliation over historical conflicts.
June- hundreds found working as slaves in brick factories; Beijing introduces new labour legislation.
July- China's food and drug chief is executed for taking bribes. International community worries about the safety of Chinese food and drug exports- as well as exports of lead-bearing toys and
other products.
2008- January- worst snowstorms in decades affect 100 million people.
Renewed Tibetan Protests Repressed by Chinese Army
2008- March 10- on the anniversary of the 1959 uprising, demonstrations against Chinese rule by Tibetan youth movement are violently repressed by Chinese military- dozens killed. Dalai Lama condemns violent resistance, insisting on peaceful means.
March 14- protests against China turn violent.
-China blocks of all transportation links to Tibet in Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces. Resistance spreads outside of Llasa, throughout Tibet. Police clash with protesting monks and nuns in Sichuan.
-spotlight on upcoming Chinese Olympics draws international focus on China's treatment of Tibet.
2008- March- : China blocks YouTube and Google News after riots in the country's western region of Tibet, a move apparently meant to stop the spread of information about the politically charged events. YouTube and other Google services such as Blogger have previously been blocked in China. ( http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html
President Hu Jintao
2008- March -Hu Jintao appointed president of PRC.
2008 Apr 3, In Tibet Wang Xiangming, the deputy Communist Party secretary of Lhasa, said 800 had been arrested in local violence, while another 280 had surrendered to take advantage of a police offer of leniency. New violence broke out in a volatile Tibetan region of western China, leaving eight people dead. Chinese police opened fire during a "riot" in a Tibetan populated area of southwest China.
2008 Apr 11, G7 finance officials endorsed a plan to prevent financial crises and reiterated its demand that Beijing allow the yuan to rise. They also issued a warning to financial markets that they won’t sit by and watch the dollar continue to slide.
2008 May 6, Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Tokyo for a feel-good visit that will use ping pong and pandas to take the edge off more contentious problems like border disputes, historical animosity and concerns over China's rule in Tibet.
Attempted Raprochement with Japan.
2008 May 7, The leaders of Japan and China agreed to resolve a territorial row and start regular summits to ease decades of tension, pledging that Asia's two largest economies would not see each other as a threat.
2008 May - A massive earthquake hits Sichuan province, killing tens of thousands.
2008 May 23, China and Russia jointly condemned a US plan for a global missile defense system at the start of a highly symbolic visit by new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
2008 June - China and Taiwan agree to set up offices in each other's territory at the first formal bilateral talks since 1999.
-Japan and China reach a deal for the joint development of a gas field in the East China Sea, resolving a four-year-old dispute.
China helps to tame North Korea
2008 Jul 12, North Korea
agreed to completely disable its main nuclear facilities by the end of
October and to allow thorough site inspections to verify that all
necessary steps had been taken as the latest round of six-nation
disarmament talks concluded in
Beijing.
2008 August - Beijing hosts Olympic Games.
-Hua Guofeng, who succeeded Mao Zedong for a short period in 1976, dies in Beijing aged 87
2008 Aug 4, In western China 2 Uighur men rammed a truck into a clutch of jogging policemen and tossed explosives, killing 17 officers, in an attack in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, just days before the Beijing Olympics. The 2 men were sentenced to death on Dec 17.
2008 September - Astronaut Zhai Zhigang completes China's first spacewalk during the country's
third manned space mission, Shenzhou VII.
-Nearly 53,000 Chinese children fall ill after drinking tainted milk, leading Premier Wen Jiabao to apologise for the scandal.
2008 Global Financial Crisis.
2008 Oct 8, Six central banks jolted markets by cutting interest rates together in an attempt to shore up confidence in the world's crisis-stricken financial system. The US Fed reduced its key rate from 2% to 1.5%. The Bank of England unexpectedly slashed its key lending rate by a half-point to 4.5%. The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.5%. China also cut its key interest rates for a second time in less than one month to 6.9%. The European Central Bank sliced its rate by half a point to 3.75%. Sweden, and Switzerland also cut rates. Earlier in a day Japan's Nikkei showed its biggest drop since the October, 1987 stock market crash. The IMF said the world economy is entering a major downturn
2008 November - The government announces a $586bn (£370bn) stimulus package to avoid the economy slowing. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says the effect of the global financial crisis on China is worse than expected.
Arrest of Dissident Liu Xiaobao.
2008- Dec 8- Liu Xiaobao taken away from his Beijing home and detained by the Beijing Public Security Bureau (see 1999)
2009- Jan 13- China's exports register their biggest decline in a decade.
2009 February - Russia and China sign $25bn deal to supply China with oil for next 20 years in exchange for loans
-Hillary Clinton calls for deeper US-China partnership on first overseas tour as secretary of state.
Resurgence of violent protest in Tibet.
2009 Mar 9, China's President Hu Jintao orders a "Great Wall" against Tibetan separatism, as extra soldiers are deployed to the Himalayan region on the 50th anniversary of a failed anti-Chinese uprising. Homemade bombs damage police vehicles in a Tibetan part of western China. Authorities expand a security cordon across the restive region ahead of the 50th anniversary of a failed revolt that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.
2009 May 31, In Beijing US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, aiming to persuade China that its US investments were safe, pledged that the Obama administration was firmly committed to ratcheting down huge deficits as quickly as it can once economic recovery is assured.
China Clamps Down on the Internet.
2009 Jun 3, In China foreign journalists were barred from Beijing's Tiananmen Square as an Internet clampdown that blocked Twitter expanded to include more blogs on the eve of the 20th anniversary of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
2009- June- June 2009: China publicly criticizes Google for allowing Google.cn to serve up pornographic search results. Google.com and other Google services are briefly blocked in the country before Google removes the sensitive results from its search engine. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html)
Protests for Liu Xiaobao.
2009 Jun 26, Dozens of China's most prominent writers and scholars called for the release of Liu Xiaobo (53), a dissident who was arrested on Dec 8, 2008, after co-authoring a bold manifesto urging civil rights and political reforms. Xiaobo, who had been held by police at a secret location for more than six months, was formally arrested this week on suspicion of "inciting to subvert state power," a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail. In southern China ethnic tensions between workers at a toy factory sparked a brawl that left two Uighurs dead and 118 injured. Han Chinese workers had accused Uighurs of rape.
2009: Ai Wei Wei publishes a list of 5,835 names of students killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake on his blog. This lead to his blog being shut down and he claims he was detained and beaten by police for trying to testify on behalf of his fellow investigator, Tan Zuoren, about the poor construction that lead to student casualties in the earthquake.- Telegraph.
Violent Protests in Xinjiang
2009 July - Scores of people are killed and hundreds injured in the worst ethnic violence in decades as a protest in the restive Xinjiang region turns violent.
-First sign of relaxation of strictly enforced one-child policy, as officials in Shanghai urge parents to have a second child in effort to counter effects of ageing population.
Leaders of China and Taiwan exchange direct messages for the first time in more than 60 years.
2009- July 16- China's economy grew at an annual rate of 7.9% between April and June, up from 6.1% in the first quarter, thanks to the government's big stimulus package. Beijing now expects China to achieve 8% growth for 2009 as a whole.(BBC)
China Out-Googles Google.
2009- June- Sep. 2009: Kai-Fu Lee leaves Google China to start his own company, in a move seen as a blow to Google. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html )
2009 October - China stages mass celebrations to mark 60 years since the Communist Party came to power.
-Six men are sentenced to death for involvement in ethnic violence in Xinjiang.
2009- October- Oct. 2009: A Chinese group says it is considering legal action over alleged copyright infringement by Google in the company's book scanning project. Chinese authors and media start adding their voices to the criticism of Google. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html )
2009 Nov 17, In Beijing President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao promised a determined, joint effort to tackle climate change, nuclear disarmament and other global troubles yet emerged from their first full-blown summit with scant progress beyond goodwill. Obama also raised the case of American geologist Xue Feng, who disappeared into Chinese custody in 2007 under charges of stealing state secrets over the purchase of a commercial database on the oil industry.
2009 December - China executes Briton Akmal Shaikh for drug dealing, despite pleas for clemency
from the British government.
Sentencing of Liu Xiaobao
2009- Dec 25- Liu Xiabao found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment and two years’ deprivation of political rights by the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court
2010 January - China posts a 17.7% rise in exports in December, suggesting it has overtaken Germany as the world's biggest exporter.
Hillary Clinton calls for deeper US-China partnership on first overseas tour as secretary of state.
US concern about Chinese Cyberattacks
2010- Jan- Jan. 2010: Google says it will stop censoring Google.cn and that the move may lead it to close its China offices. Google also says it has been targeted by sophisticated cyberattacks that originated in China and appeared meant to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html )
2010- Feb 9- Liu Xiaobo has appeal overruled and original verdict upheld by the Beijing Municipal High People’s Court.
Google Ends Compliance with China.
2010 March - The web giant Google ends its
compliance with Chinese internet censorship and starts re-directing web
searches to Hong Kong, in response to cyber attacks on e-mail accounts
of human rights activists.
2010: March- Ai Wei Wei takes part in an event entitled "Digital Activism in China" hosted by the Paley Media Centre in New York.
2010- August- China surpasses Japan as the second largest world economy nest to the United States.
2010 September - Diplomatic row erupts over Japan's arrest of Chinese trawler crew in disputed waters in East China Sea. Japan later frees the crew but rejects Chinese demands for an apology.
Liu Xiaobo wins Nobel Prize
2010 October - Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is awarded Nobel Peace Prize, prompting official protests from Beijing.
-Vice-President Xi Jinping named vice-chairman of powerful Central Military Commission, in a move widely seen as a step towards succeeding President Hu Jintao.
2010- Oct- Ai Wei Wei exhibits his artwork Sunflower Seeds, consisting of one hundred million porcelain "seeds" in the prestigious Turbine Hall of London's Tate Modern gallery.
2010- Nov- Ai Weiwei placed under house arrest by the Chinese police to allegedly prevent the planned demonstrations against the demolition of his Shanghai studio.
2011- Jan- Chinese government orders the demolition of Ai Wei Wei's studio.
China becomes world's Number 2 Economy.
2011 February - China formally overtakes Japan to become the world's second-largest economy after Tokyo published figures showing a Japanese GDP rise of only four per cent in 2010.
2011- Feb 16- An unprecedented cyberattack on the Canadian government also targeted Defence Research and Development Canada, making it the third key department compromised by hackers. The attack, apparently from China, also gave foreign hackers access to highly classified federal information and also forced the Finance Department and Treasury Board — the federal government's two main economic nerve centres — off the internet.- CBC.
Democracy Protests Inspired by Arab Spring.
2011- Feb-March- widespread democracy protests, named for the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution, in cities all over China. They end with police repression.
2011 April - Arrest of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei for "economc crimes" sparks international campaign for his release. He is freed after more than two months' detention.
2011- June-Ai Weiwei released on bail after close to three months' detention on charges of tax evasion. Chinese authorities said he confessed to tax evasion but his family denies he evaded any taxes. They say he is being targeted for criticizing the Communist government.
2011 July-August - Police kill seven Uighurs suspected of being behind separate attacks in the towns of Horan and Kashgar blamed on separatists.
Authorities pursue Artist activist Ai Wei Wei
2011- Oct- Ai Weiei ordered to pay 15m yuan in back taxes and fines. Ai says he won't pay until his design company's account books are returned and he discusses the matter with his former office manager and accountant. He has not been allowed to see them.
2011 November - Authorities present outspoken artist Ai Weiwei with $2.3m tax demand, which is paid by donations from his supporters.
2011- November- the collected writings of Liu Xiaobo available for the first time in English.
2011 December - Southern fishing village of Wukan comes to international attention after violent protests by locals against land seizures by officials. Authorities respond by sacking two local officials and agreeing to villagers' key demands.
-China issues new rules requiring users of microblogs to register personal details.
Urban population surpasses rural numbers for the first time.
2012 January - Official figures suggest city dwellers outnumber China's rural population for the first time. Both imports and exports dip, raising concern that the global economic slowdown could be acting as a drag on growth.
2012- Feb- In February 2012, at least a dozen people died after being attacked on the street by Muslims armed with knives near Kashgar, the western part of Xinxiang located near China's border with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After the Chinese government said the men involved had links to terrorists in Pakistan, a Chinese woman was also killed in Pakistan in what was considered a retaliatory attack. (http://www.cfr.org/china/uighurs-chinas-xinjiang-region/p16870)
The Bo Xilai scandal
2012 March - Chongqing Communist Party chief and potential leadership hopeful Bo Xilai is dismissed on the eve of the party's 10-yearly leadership change, in the country's biggest political scandal for years. His wife, Gu Kailai, is placed under investigations over the death of British businessman Neil Heywood in the city in November.
2012 April - China ups the limit within which the yuan currency can fluctuate to 1% in trading against the US dollar, from 0.5%. The US welcomes the move, as it has been pressing China to let the yuan appreciate.
2012- April-: Bo Xilao is suspended from the Central Committee and the Politburo and is put under formal investigation for "serious breaches" of discipline. His wife is named as the prime suspect in Mr Heywood's murder. April 23- Bloomberg maps out at least $136 million belonging to Mr Bo's relatives.
2012 June - China completes its first ever manual docking of a spacecraft with another space module, when Shenzhou-9 docked with the Tiangong-1 lab module without relying on an automated system. China's first female astronaut, Liu Yang, took part.
2012 August - Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, is given a suspended death sentence after admitting to murdering British businessman Neil Heywood. State media for the first time link Bo himself to the scandal.
Conflicting Claims with Japan in East China Sea
2012 September - China cancels ceremonies to mark the 40th anniversary of restored diplomatic ties with Japan because of a public flare-up over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Talks between
-China and Japan on security matters nonetheless go ahead.
2012- Sept 10 – The Government of Japan officially purchases the islands from its former private owner. September 15 – A large-scale anti-Japanese protest break out in several Chinese cities, lasting for several days, many of the peaceful protest turning violent. Foreign ministers of Japan and China discuss the issue of the island at the UN General Assembly, as the dispute escalates seriously in the last weeks.
China launches its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning - a converted former Soviet vessel.
Expulsion of Bo Xilai.
2012- Sept- Disgraced politician Bo Xilai is expelled from the Communist Party over accusations of abuse of power and corruption, in a move seen as burying his political career. A month later, he is expelled from parliament and prosecutors open a criminal investigation against him.
Next generation?
2012- Sept- Bo Xi Lin Affair: Wang Lijun is sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in covering up the murder, but repeatedly praised for "exposing clues of major crimes by others" September 28, 2012: Just before a week-long national holiday, Bo is expelled from the party and is likely to face trial for corruption and abuse of power. Xinhua also says he "maintained improper sexual relations with many women".
Communist Party Congress for new President.
2012 November - Communist Party holds congress expected to start a once-in-a-decade transfer of power to a new generation of leaders. Vice-President and heir-apparent Xi Jinping takes over as party chief and assumes the presidency in March 2013.
2012- December- – Chinese aircraft entered the airspace over the Senkakus, which Japan considers its own. Japan sent F-15 fighter jets, and the Chinese plane left the area. Japan protested to China about the affair.
2013 January - A Tibetan monk receives a suspended death sentence and his nephew 10 years in jail for inciting eight people to burn themselves to death. Tibetan activists say they were forced to confess. Nearly 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009, many fatally, in apparent protest at Chinese rule.
2013 February - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calls the decision by a Chinese frigate to put a radar lock on a Japanese navy ship a "dangerous act" that could lead to an "unpredictable situation". China says Japan should stop "illegal" activities near a group of Japanese-controlled islands over which both countries, plus Taiwan, claim sovereignty.
2013- February- China’s February exports beat analysts’ estimates, rising 21.8 percent year-over-year, according to official data released on Friday. The news suggests that the country’s growth acceleration in the fourth quarter of last year is continuing into 2013. (http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-exports-leap-nearly-22-february-2013-imports-shrink-china-retail-spending-1116472#)
President Xi Jinping.
2013 March - Vice-President and Communist Party chief Xi Jinping takes over as president, completing the once-in-a-decade transfer of power to a new generation of leaders. He launches an efficiency and anti-corruption drive, exemplified by the dissolution of the powerful railways ministry. New Premier Li Keqiang says sustainable economic growth will remain top priority.
2013 April - The US demands that China should carry out a transparent investigation of clashes in partly-Muslim Xinjiang region that left 21 people dead.
2013, April – Japan and Taiwan agreed on fishing rights in the disputed area. Under the agreement Taiwanese fishing boats are enabled to enter within 19 kilometers from the islands, into Japan’s exclusive economic zone. China expressed its discontent with the agreement.
China Claims Ryuku Islands.
2013, May – Heightening tensions with Japan, China claims sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands on claims that it paid tribute to China since 1372. This statement can open a whole new chapter, a new front in the territorial dispute
2013 June - Beijing blames Muslim extremists for a series of attacks in Xinjiang region in which 35 people are killed. Authorities say the suspects are from a group that's been involved in fighting in Syria.
2013- Jun- After telling the lower ranks of the Communist Party to shape up and make a clean break from past practice, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has taken aim at a new target: the Party leadership itself... Xi proclaimed that senior members of the Party needed “to play an exemplary role,” and that they had to be “broad-minded enough to reject any selfishness…to adhere to self-respect, self-examination and self-admonition” in their work...It’s extremely rare for Politburo proceedings to be spoken of in such detail and openness. (http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/06/26/xi-jinpings-rare-scolding-of-top-party-leaders/)
2013- July- Five years ago, China's economy was more encouraging than the United States'. Today, that is no longer the case.
Thanks to:
http://cscubb.ro/cop/senkakudiaoyu-islands-dispute-timeline/#.UeF_k21Yip0
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13017882
and others.
ANCIENT CHINA
20,000 BC- modern humans appear in the Ordos desert region.
5000 BC- Yangshao culture.
2500 BC- Lungshan culture. First writing develops.
XIA DYNASTY
2200-1767 BC- Xia Dynasty
-semi-legendary Emperor Yu builds irrigation channels, reclaims land.
-bronze weapons chariots, domestication of animals. Wheat, millet.
-the first writing develops.
2000 BC- Er-li-ton- China's first city.
SHANG DYNASTY
1767-1122 BC- Shang Dynasty is the first documented in the heart of traditional China, in the northeast, between the Yellow, Wei and Yantze rivers,
-warrior aristocracy uses chariots.
-bureaucracy and defined social classes. First Chinese calendar and developed writing system.
-a uniform culture spreads throughout China.
-linguistic and ethnological diversity of the south and far west begin to arise because of difficulty of central government in controlling them.
ZHOU DYNASTY.
1066-771 BC- Western Zhou Dynasty
-prosperous feudal agricultural society.
-written laws, money, an economy.
-iron implements; ox-drawn plough.
770-256 BC- Eastern Zhou Dynasty, centered along the Yangtze river in the east.
722-464- Spring and Autumn Era.
551-479- Confucius
-the states of Chi, Wu and Yuen form, north to soouth along the eastern seabord. Inland, the Chin rule a small state in the north, the Chu to the south.
-Lao Tzu
500- iron age begins.
470-391- Mozi, founder of Mohism.
Era of Warring States.
458-424- partitition of Qin
-in the heart of traditional China, in the northeast, between the Yellow, Wei and Yantze rivers, the Chu, Chin, Lu and Wu vie for control, dividing the area into a warring patchwork.
403-221- Era of warring states.
386-286- Zhuangzi.
371-289- Mencius.
-with Mencius, Lao-Tzu and Confucius are laid the foundations of an enduring Chinese culture.
338-325- Qing rulers use title of king.
230-221- Han, Qu, Jin and Qi states occupied by Qin armies.
249- The Kingdom of Qin is centred at Xanyiang, west of the Yellow River.
QIN DYNASTY
221-206 BC- Qin Dynasty. Though semi-barbarous the Qin establish the imperial system that will flourish during stable periods. The Chin empire stretches from the Great Wall in the north, occupies central-eastern and coastal China with a narrower strip extending to the South Cgina Sea.
-harsh rule of Shih-Huan-ti.
-feudalism replaced by bureaucratic government.
-written language.
-roads, canals.
221- Great Wall commissioned by first emperor.
-warring states brought into union. Central government emerges.
214 BC- first expansion of Chinese empire.
213- burning of the books.
210- death of the first emperor.
206- destruction of the imperial library.
EARLY HAN DYNASTY
206 BC- 9 AD- first Han Empire. The Han inaugurates a period of imperial rule, expansion, peace, stability and artistic achievement.
-rule is more relaxed.
-further unification.
206 BC- 220 AD- East and West Han Dynasties
202 BC- Liu Bang founds Han Dynasty.
191 BC book burning edict rescinded.
-westward expansion.
141 BC- legalists excluded from government careers.
124- BC- Imperial Academy established.
-Confucianism becomes the basis for the bureaucratic state.
127-101 BC- second expansion of Chinese Empire.
87 BC- regency established.
51 BC- peace between China and Hsiung-Nu.
9-23 AD- Interregnum of Wang Mang
-on its east coast, the Han dynasty stretches from the area of modern northern-most Viet Nam in the south to part of North Korea in the north. In the centre, it contains only the middle and coastal regions of modern China. The western region of Szechuan and the outlying area of Tibet still remainoutside its borders. Its northern area stretches from Korea westward into a long, narrow extension of conquered land in the Tarim Basin, north of Tibet, called Sinkiang (or Turkestan) as far as the Hindu Kush. Sinkiang enabled the Han to control the silk road.
-the ehtnic Han occupy northeastern China with the Yangtze river taking Hand settlement to the interior.
LATER HAN DYNASTY
25-220- later Han Dynasty.
49- peace between China and southern Hsiung-Nu.
65- first Chinese reference to Buddhism.
89- regency introduced.
184- uprising of the Yellow Turbans.
THE THREE KINGDOMS.
220-265- the Three Kingdoms period of Wei, Shu and Wu. China divided among petty warring states and invasion by Hsiung-Ne barbarians from the north.
-Buddhism develops. Taoism and Buddhism begin to eclipse Confucianism. Indian innovations in mathematics, astronomy and architecture are developed.
-figure painting and decoration in art.
CHIN DYNASTY
265-316- Western Chi'n Dynasty- founded by a Wei general.
-southeast expansion.
-feudalism returns with the loss of central authority.
316- loss of northern China to barbarian dynasties.
DIVISION BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH
317-589- China divided.
350- (circa) -invaders set up dynasties in the north. Other dynasties set up in the south.
450- (circa) The Wei Empire in the north, inside the Great Wall; the Sung Empire occupies the centre and coastal regions. The Wei subject to pressure from the Hungs or Xiongnu in Mongolia.
THE GREAT ERA- THE SUI AND THE T'ANG DYNASTIES.
The Sui.
581-618- Sui Dynasty.
-under the Sui and T'ang- a huge area, already imbued with Chinese culture, is consolidated under imperial rule.
-Buddhism and Taoism grow in influence.
-canal system formally established.
-civil service exams based on Chinese classics and a renewal of Confucianism.
-gradual re-union of regions.
592-618- sinification of Japan by Suiko administration.
600- Buddhism introduced to Tibet.
605-610- building of Grand Canal.
608-889- Tibetan Empire.
612-614- campaigns into Korea.
Tang Dynasty
618-907- Tang Dynasty.
-withdrawal from border regions with expansion and consolidation of the centre.
-civil service examinations based on Confucianism.
-age of the great poets.
624-649- reign of Tai-tsung.
630- defeat of the eastern Turks.
656- defeat of western Turks.
690-705- China's Empress Wu.
-gradual re-union of regions.
701-762- poet Li BPo.
713-755- reign of Hsuan-tsung. China's extent looks much as it did under the Han- except the eastern half occupies more of traditional, eastern China and part of Szechuan. A narrower land bridge of territory connects it westward to the Tarim Baisn, Sinkiang or western end of the empire, north of Tibet, and has expanded north into Turkestan. The land bridge that connects the eastern and western edges of the empire is bordered by the Yighurs on the north and by Tibet in the south.
750 (circa) invention of printing.
751- battle of Talas River.
755-763- rebellion of An Lushan.
768-824- Han Yu founds Neo-Confucianism.
780- tax reform.
821- peace between China and Tibet.
840- Uighur empire destroyed.
841-845- religious persecution.
850 (circa) invention of gunpowder.
879- looting of Canton.
907-960- Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. China divided.
-period of official corruption, chaotic social change.
-first paper money printed.
SONG DYNASTY
960-1279 Song Dynasty.
-neo-Confucianism prevails over Buddhism and Taoism.
-central bureaucracy established.
-cultivation of tea and cotton.
-first military use of gunpowder.
Northern Song
960-1126-Northern Sung.
-literature, philosophy,
-movable type.
-Confucian canon is established.
-the novel established as an art form.
-Song rule central China- the Kichai, Jurchen and Tangut rule northern kingdoms. The Han Chinese have settled southward to occuoy all of southern China.
1004- peace between China and Liao.
1024- China produces world's first paper currency.
1044- peace between China and Hsi-hsia. Imperial China has shrunk back to the Song empire of the east. To the north, the Liao empire extends into Manchuria and the to the northwest is the state of Hsi Hsia.
1069-1076- Wang An-shih rules China.
1126- Juchen sacks Changan. Liao empire destroyed.
Southern Song
1127-1279- southern Song Dynasty.
1130-1200- Zhu Xi formalizes Confucian classics.
-the Liao Empire in the northeast is replaced by the Chim Empire extending from the Yellow Rover to manchuria. The Southern Sung Empire is confined to southeast China.
1135- Lin-an capital of Southern Song.
1141- peace between China and Chin.
THE MONGOL INVASIONS.
1167-1227- Ghengis Khan.
1217- Mongols conquer Tarim Basin.
1221- Mongols conquer West Turkestan and Afghanistan.
1227- Mongols conquer Hsi-Hsia.
1229-1241- Ogodei, the Great Khan.
1234- Mongols conquer Chin.
YUAN DYNASTY
1279-1368- Yuan Dynasty established by Ghengis Khan.
-Chinese institutions are retained. Important improvements to roads and canals.
-Confucian ideals discouraged.
Kublai Khan.
1260-1294 Emperor Kublai Khan, grandson of Gengis. A China-based empire reaches its most massive extent, a pan-Eurasian domain composed of Khanates. The Great Khanate includes all of China proper, the Central Asian Khanate includes most of Tibet; the Khante of the Golden Horse extends from Central Asia, through southern Russia to Moscow; the Persian Khante covers Persia and Mespotamia.
1281- Mongols fail to conquer Japan.
1300 (circa) visit of Marco Polo.
1355- rebellion of the Red Turbans.
MING DYNASTY
-revolts in Mongolia and South China end Yuan Dynasty. Mongols expelled.
1364-1644- Ming Dynasty.
-restoration of Chinese culture by a study of Sung life.
-contact with European traders and missionaries.
1368-1398- first Ming Emperor.
-The Chinese say the Diaoyu were included in the Ming Dynasty maritime territory, since the islands were drawn in on ancient maps. Although Chinese fishermen were known to spend time on and around the islands, no official residency was ever established. (Scientific American)
Early East-West Contacts.
1405-1433- voyages of Cheng Ho- Ming explorations of Southeast Asia and Africa.
-loss of territories acquired during early Ming expansion.
1406- construction begins on the Forbidden Palace.
-increased contacts with the west.
1419- death of Tsong-Kha-Pa.
1421- Beijing becomes capital of China.
1424- death of Yung-lo Emperor.
1449- Oirats raid China.
-with the disintegration of the Mongol Empire, neither Tibet nor the north-western Sinkiang-Tarm Basin region are ruled by China. The Ming Empire occupies traditional China in the east and center and a long strip of Manchuria, north of Korea.
1514- the coming of the Westerners.
1522- tax reform.
1550- Tartars raid China.
1557- Portuguese take Macao.
-but European inroads tend to be stymied by nationalist foreign policy.
Advance of the Manchu
-Manchu peoples expanding steadily southward from Manchuria.
1600- the Ming Empire stretches from Peking and Mukden in the Northeast to the border with Tibet in the northwest to Siam and Annam in the southwest to the China Sea and the Pacific in the southeast.
1601- Matteo Ricci meets Chinese Emperor.
1607- peace between China and Japan.
1618- fighting between the Manchus and China.
-unification of the Manchu tribes of China by Nurhachi.
1640- the Manchu control Manchuria and Inner Mongolia.
THE MANCHU (QING)
1644- The Ming overthrown by Manchu rebel band. Suicide of the last Ming Emperor. Manchus enter Beijing which is made capital of the Qing Dynasty
1645- the Manchu control northeast China from Beijing in the north to Nanking in the south.
1644-1911- The Manchu Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty.
-territorial expansion but weakening of Chinese power.
1650- the Manchu control southeast China and northwest China.
1660- the Manchu control southern central China.
1661-1722- the K'ang-hsi Emperor
1675-1683- Qing conquest of south China.
1685- Manchu (Qing) complete conquest of Taiwan.
-empire expands to include Tibet, Manchuria, Mongolia, Taiwan, parts of Turkestan.
1690-1730- Manchu control Outer Mongolia, Sinkiang and Tibet.
1720-1751- Tibet becomes a manchurian protectorate.
1735-1796- the Ch'ien-Lung Emperor. China at its greatest territorial extent.
-Manchu Empire consists of most territory of modern China plus inner and outer Mongolia. It retains Sinkiang and Tibet. Manchuria and Central Asia northwest of Sinkiang have been lost to Russia. Korea alternates as a Japanese or Manchu protectorate.
1757- Zungaria is placed under military administration.
d
1759- the Court of Colonial affairs administers Tibet as a protectorate (1720-1751); Eastern Turkestan militarily (1759); Zungaria militarily (North West, 1757); Mongolia is administered feudally; Manchuria too is handled by the Court of Colonial affairs.
-tributary states are Korea, Nepal, Burma, Siam ab
Inroads by the West and Opium Wars.
1793- the Lord McCartney mission to China.
-Qing opposition to trade with west relaxes.
1834- Guangzhu opened to sea trade.
1839-1842- opium wars. Britain forces its way into Chinese trade, extracting concessions.
France, Germany and Russia follow suit.
-Ching regime weakened by internal disputes.
Rebellions against Western Inroads.
1850-1873 the Taiping and other rebellions.
1858-1860- opium wars.
1860- Anglo-French march on Beijing.
-defeated in the opium wars, China is forced to open up to foreign trade.
1860-1870s- the Self-Strengthening Movement.
1884-1885- the Sino-French War.
1894-1895- Sino-Japanese War.
-Japan seizes Korea and Taiwan.
-Great Britain and the Unites States encourage the Open Door plaice- allowing all nations equal access to foreign trade. However, foreign nations decide instead to carve out separate fiefdoms.
1898- Hundred Days of Reform under K'ang Yu-Wei.
Boxer Rebellion.
1898-1900- Boxer Rebellion- massive protest against foreign intrusion encouraged by he Empress Tzu Hsi.
1905- Civil Service exams abolished.
FALL OF THE MANCHUS: REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
1911- explosion of a bomb at Wuchang sets off the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty by Sun Yat Sen.
1912- Abdication of the last Manchu Emperor.
Republic of China.
1912- Republic of China founded by Sun Yat Sen.
-reign of the warlords.
-Sun Yat Sen resigns.
1912-1916- Yuan Shih-k'ai. First president of the Republic of China. His repressive rule causes revolts by adherents of Sun Yat Sen.
World War One and the Invasion of Japan.
1914-1915- Japan seizes the German leasehold in Shantung and makes the Twenty-one Demands
1917- China enters the war on the side of the allies.
1916- Yuan dies; China begins to break up into warlord states.
1919- at Versailles, China fails to prevent Japanese from getting Shantung.
1919- May Fourth Movement protests decision at Versailles.
1921-1922- Washington Conference- Japan finally agrees to withdraw from Shantung. Open door policy and China's territorial integrity are affirmed.
Nationalist-Communist Alliance.
1921- founding of Chinese Communist party. Sun Yat Sen , failing to get support from the west, obtains support from the USSR and allies with Communists.
-anti-western government gains momentum.
Revival of Sun and the Kuomintang
1924- reorganization of Sun Yat Sen's Kuomintang which governs Guangzhou and gets loyalty of southern provinces, northern warlords and national government in Beijing.
1926-1928- Northern Expedition of Chian Kai-Chek, the reunification of China under the Kuomintang. He turns against the Communists, executing their leaders.
1928- Chiang Kai-Shek makes Nanjing capital of a re-unified China.
Civil War: Nationalists fight the Communists.
-nationalists fight Communists.
1931- Japan occupies Manchuria
-Chiang forces out the Communist government in Jiangxi.
1934-1935- Mao Zedong's Long March. Communists occupy Shaanxi in northwest China.
1936- Communists kidnap Chiang and force him into an alliance against Japan.
1937- Japan invades China.
Second War with Japan.
1937-1945- the Second Sino-Japanese War.
1940- north China, Yantze Valley and coastal region under Japanese control ruled by the Wang-Wei puppet regime.
1941- after Pearl Harbour, China receives US aid.
1946-1949- Chinese Civil War.
Japanese withdrawal: Second Stage of Civil War.
-in the wake of the Japanese withdrawal, Communists and Nationalists clash in full-scale civil war.
1946- US fails to mediate the Communist-Nationalist conflict. Renewal of Civil War.
-Russians, withdrawing from Manchuria, leave military equipment to the Communists.
1948- Communists gain control of Manchuria
-Chiang's US-supported nationalists appear to be winning outside Manchuria.
-nationalist repression and incompetence leads to public support for the Communists.
1949- Jan.- Beijing falls to Communists.
-August- US wihtdraws aid from Nationalists.
COMMUNIST VICTORY: PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
1949- Oct 1- Communist victory over the Chiang Kai-Chek regime. People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong is proclaimed with capital at Beijing.
1950- nationalists defeated. They withdraw to Taiwan.
1950- China allies with North Korea in Korean War, atttempts to stem a drive by UN forces toward Manchurian border.
-China reoccupies Tibet- the outliers of the modern Chinese empire are Manhcuria, Mongolia, Sinkiang in the north west and Tibet in the southwest.
-land reform; improved, more equitable food distribution, more effective police protection
-1953- China emerges as a regional diplomatic power at end of Korean War.
Five Year Plan.
1953-57- First Five-Year Plan.
-nationalization, collectivization.
-USSR helps with expansion of railroads and industry.
1955-Chiang Kai Chek reaffirms claims on China from Taiwan. US supports Taiwan against China, declaring that it would respond to a direct military attack on Taiwan.
1956- Soviets take a more moderate path with de-Stalinization, beginning an ideological divergence from China.
1958- "off-shore islands" crisis.
Great Leap Forward,
1958-1959- The Great Leap Forward.
-massive industrialization.
-empowerment of local authority.
-expansion of cooperatives into rural communes, disrupting family life but creating a massive labour force.
1959-1961- successive crop failures destroy gains of the Great Leap Forward, pointing to error of industrializing at the expense of agricultural development. Mao resigns as Chairman of the Communist party but still remains the most powerful individual in China.
1960- withdrawal of Soviet advisers and economic aid. Military build-up and clashes on China-Soviet border.
1964- China's first atomic bomb tested.
The Cultural Revolution.
1966- Mao inaugurates the Cultural Revolution.
-students mobilized to destroy the intellectual elite, the bureaucracy and all remnants of China's past - all of which were condemned as 'bourgeois'.
-emphasis is placed on agriculture.
-purge of Liu Shao-chi.
-China gives military support to North Viet Nam against the U.S..
-China's foreign policy, previously ideological, becomes more diplomatic, sending aid to underdeveloped countries around the world.
1967- founding of ASEAN- Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
-China's first hydrogen bomb tested.
1969- Sino-Soviet border conflict
Detente with U.S.
1970- GNP increases dramatically.
-Lin Bao plots to assassinate Mao but dies in a plane crash while fleeing China in 1971
1971- Nixon announces plan to visit Beijing. US drops its objection to China having a seat in the UN. UN expels Taiwan nationalist delegation.
1972- US President Nixon visits Beijing. Bilateral commitment to work toward peace in Asia and develop economic, cultural and diplomatic ties.
1973- Cultural Revolution: massive propaganda attacks on Confucianism and cultural exchange with the west.
Deng's Moderates vs. The Gang of Four.
1976- many policies of Mao and the Cultural Revolution are rescinded. Emphasis shifts away from agriculture, to small factories and local self-sufficiency.
-a moderate faction develops with Deng Xiaoping and Premier Chou en Lai- facing radicals from the cultural revolution led by the Gang of Four- Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, Yao Wen Yan, Wang Hongwen and Zang Jiao. Mao mediates between the two factions.
-Gang of Four warns Mao that Deng's 'Four Modernizations' would eliminate the gains of the Cultural Revolution.
-April- Gang of Four gets Deng and his supporters purged.
Sept.- death of Mao.
Oct.- a coalition of military and political leaders purges Gang of Four. Hua Go Feng becomes chairman.
1977- Deng is rehabilitated, becomes deputy to Chairman Hua Go Feng but is in fact the most powerful. His plan is to build up the economy and strengthen ties with the west.
1978- Deng is virtually the leader of china.
1979- Jan 1- full diplomatic relations restored with U.S.
-Deng has four coastal cities named special economic zones in order to bring in foreign trade, investment and technology.
-border war with Viet Nam over Viet Nam's invasion of Cambodia.
1980- Deng chooses Zhao Ziyang to replace Hua Go Feng.
1981- China replaces Taiwan on the IMF and in the World Bank.
-rapid industrialization. Limited profit-taking is allowed as an incentive. Some private industry and foreign investment is permitted.
-Deng liberalizes academic debate
-wider trade relations with the west.
-because of Deng's reforms, the CCP loses much of its influence.
1982- reformist Hu Yaobang is made General Secretary.
1984- Hong Kong to be returned to China in 1997 according to Anglo-Chinese accord.
-14 more cities are named Special Economic Zones.
-decollectivization of cooperative farms to increase output.
-one-child policy is moderated due to protests and infanticide.
-many who'd been purged in the Cultural Revolution are rehabilitated.
-economic growth rates of 10% lead to social stratification rather then to a universal increase in living standards.
1987- reformist General Secretary Hu Yaobang is replaced by Zhou Ziang after student demonstrations.
-Zhou Ziang is replaced by Li Peng.
Tianamen Square.
1989- April- death of reformist Hu Yaobang leads to student protests.
1989- Tianamen Square- Government massacre of democracy protesters. Thousands arrested. Zhou Ziang is replaced with Jiang Zemin. Deng has set a sharp limit to the CCP's loss of influence.
-all political opposition is suppressed by Jiang Zemin.
-the west imposes economic sanctions, sending China's economy into decline.
1990- economic sanctions are futile and the west relaxes them.
-June- hundreds of dissidents are freed. US restores China's 'most favoured nation status'.
The State market Economy.
-after Tianamen Square, China resolves to focus on economic progress and avoid political turmoil
-government gradually brings in a state-controlled market economy.
-1992- China joins the UN coalition in the First Gulf War.
1996- China, Russia, Kazakstan, Kygyztsan and Tajikstan meet to cooperate in dealing with ethnic and relgious tensions in one another's countries.
1997- death of Deng Xiaoping. He is succeeded by Jiang Zemin.
ZIANG ZEMIN.
-separatist riots in Xinjiang
1998- Zhy Ronji succeeds Li Peng as Premier. He institutes structural and financial reforms after the Asian Financial Crisis.
-Britain hands over Hong Kong to China. Portugal hands over Macao- all as part of the 'One China' policy.
1999- China outlaws the Falun Gong as a threat to internal stibility.
1999-2008- Liu Xiabao publishes numerous articles that were critical of the Chinese government, called for reforms, and raised human rights issues
2000- crackdown on government corruption.
2001- China, Russia and four Central Asian countries form the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to combat ethnic and religious militants and enhance trade. They are known as the Shanghai Five.
June- China and Taiwan carry out simultaneous -and hostile- military exercises and demonstrations.
-massive poverty and underemployment in the interior results in job creation programs and infrastructure spending.
Nov- China admitted to the WTO.
2002- Feb.- US President Bush makes a state visit to Beijing.
Nov.- President Hu Jintao replaces outgoing Communist Party head Jiang Zemin.
HU JINTAO
2003- March- Hu Jintao becomes president, replacing Jiang Zemin.
2003- March-April. China and Hong Kong hit by the Sars Virus- believed to have started in Guangdong Province.
June- China and India agree on status of Tibet and Sikkim in cross-border trading agreement.
July-August- 1/2 million in Hong Kong protest, forcing the retraction of an anti-subversion bill.
2004- September- Jiang Zemin stands down as army chief.
November- China signs a trade deal with 10 Southeast Asian countries, creating a huge potential trading bloc.
2005- China passes a law allowing the use of force if Taiwan attempts independence.
April- mass protests in China at a Japanese textbook which downplays Japanese atrocities in China during World War II- threatening Sino-Japanese relations.
-nationalist Taiwan president Lien Chan visits China. The first visit between Taiwan and Chinese heads of state since 1949.
August- joint military exercises held by Russia and China.
2006- May- Three Gorges Dam under construction- world's largest hydro-electric power project.
2006- July- China-Tibet railway opens.
August- official news agency decalres 18 million people affected by the worst drought in 50 years.
November- China-Africa summit in Beijing. African heads of state gather as deals are signed with China valued at $2 billion.
Government reports deteriorating environmental conditions threatening health and safety.
2007- January- China tests a missile, shooting down an old weather satellite. US and Japan are apprehensive about Chinese military build-up.
China and Africa
February- President Hu Jintao tours eight African countries as the West criticizes China for dealing with corrupt and repressive regimes.
April- Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao becomes first Chinese leader to address Japan's parliament as both countries agree to attempt reconciliation over historical conflicts.
June- hundreds found working as slaves in brick factories; Beijing introduces new labour legislation.
July- China's food and drug chief is executed for taking bribes. International community worries about the safety of Chinese food and drug exports- as well as exports of lead-bearing toys and
other products.
2008- January- worst snowstorms in decades affect 100 million people.
Renewed Tibetan Protests Repressed by Chinese Army
2008- March 10- on the anniversary of the 1959 uprising, demonstrations against Chinese rule by Tibetan youth movement are violently repressed by Chinese military- dozens killed. Dalai Lama condemns violent resistance, insisting on peaceful means.
March 14- protests against China turn violent.
-China blocks of all transportation links to Tibet in Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces. Resistance spreads outside of Llasa, throughout Tibet. Police clash with protesting monks and nuns in Sichuan.
-spotlight on upcoming Chinese Olympics draws international focus on China's treatment of Tibet.
2008- March- : China blocks YouTube and Google News after riots in the country's western region of Tibet, a move apparently meant to stop the spread of information about the politically charged events. YouTube and other Google services such as Blogger have previously been blocked in China. ( http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html
President Hu Jintao
2008- March -Hu Jintao appointed president of PRC.
2008 Apr 3, In Tibet Wang Xiangming, the deputy Communist Party secretary of Lhasa, said 800 had been arrested in local violence, while another 280 had surrendered to take advantage of a police offer of leniency. New violence broke out in a volatile Tibetan region of western China, leaving eight people dead. Chinese police opened fire during a "riot" in a Tibetan populated area of southwest China.
2008 Apr 11, G7 finance officials endorsed a plan to prevent financial crises and reiterated its demand that Beijing allow the yuan to rise. They also issued a warning to financial markets that they won’t sit by and watch the dollar continue to slide.
2008 May 6, Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Tokyo for a feel-good visit that will use ping pong and pandas to take the edge off more contentious problems like border disputes, historical animosity and concerns over China's rule in Tibet.
Attempted Raprochement with Japan.
2008 May 7, The leaders of Japan and China agreed to resolve a territorial row and start regular summits to ease decades of tension, pledging that Asia's two largest economies would not see each other as a threat.
2008 May - A massive earthquake hits Sichuan province, killing tens of thousands.
2008 May 23, China and Russia jointly condemned a US plan for a global missile defense system at the start of a highly symbolic visit by new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
2008 June - China and Taiwan agree to set up offices in each other's territory at the first formal bilateral talks since 1999.
-Japan and China reach a deal for the joint development of a gas field in the East China Sea, resolving a four-year-old dispute.
2008 July - China and Russia sign a treaty ending 40-year-old border dispute which led to armed clashes during the Cold War
China helps to tame North Korea
2008 August - Beijing hosts Olympic Games.
-Hua Guofeng, who succeeded Mao Zedong for a short period in 1976, dies in Beijing aged 87
2008 Aug 4, In western China 2 Uighur men rammed a truck into a clutch of jogging policemen and tossed explosives, killing 17 officers, in an attack in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, just days before the Beijing Olympics. The 2 men were sentenced to death on Dec 17.
2008 September - Astronaut Zhai Zhigang completes China's first spacewalk during the country's
third manned space mission, Shenzhou VII.
-Nearly 53,000 Chinese children fall ill after drinking tainted milk, leading Premier Wen Jiabao to apologise for the scandal.
2008 Global Financial Crisis.
2008 Oct 8, Six central banks jolted markets by cutting interest rates together in an attempt to shore up confidence in the world's crisis-stricken financial system. The US Fed reduced its key rate from 2% to 1.5%. The Bank of England unexpectedly slashed its key lending rate by a half-point to 4.5%. The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.5%. China also cut its key interest rates for a second time in less than one month to 6.9%. The European Central Bank sliced its rate by half a point to 3.75%. Sweden, and Switzerland also cut rates. Earlier in a day Japan's Nikkei showed its biggest drop since the October, 1987 stock market crash. The IMF said the world economy is entering a major downturn
2008 November - The government announces a $586bn (£370bn) stimulus package to avoid the economy slowing. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says the effect of the global financial crisis on China is worse than expected.
Arrest of Dissident Liu Xiaobao.
2008- Dec 8- Liu Xiaobao taken away from his Beijing home and detained by the Beijing Public Security Bureau (see 1999)
2009- Jan 13- China's exports register their biggest decline in a decade.
2009 February - Russia and China sign $25bn deal to supply China with oil for next 20 years in exchange for loans
-Hillary Clinton calls for deeper US-China partnership on first overseas tour as secretary of state.
Resurgence of violent protest in Tibet.
2009 Mar 9, China's President Hu Jintao orders a "Great Wall" against Tibetan separatism, as extra soldiers are deployed to the Himalayan region on the 50th anniversary of a failed anti-Chinese uprising. Homemade bombs damage police vehicles in a Tibetan part of western China. Authorities expand a security cordon across the restive region ahead of the 50th anniversary of a failed revolt that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.
2009 May 31, In Beijing US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, aiming to persuade China that its US investments were safe, pledged that the Obama administration was firmly committed to ratcheting down huge deficits as quickly as it can once economic recovery is assured.
China Clamps Down on the Internet.
2009 Jun 3, In China foreign journalists were barred from Beijing's Tiananmen Square as an Internet clampdown that blocked Twitter expanded to include more blogs on the eve of the 20th anniversary of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
2009- June- June 2009: China publicly criticizes Google for allowing Google.cn to serve up pornographic search results. Google.com and other Google services are briefly blocked in the country before Google removes the sensitive results from its search engine. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html)
Protests for Liu Xiaobao.
2009 Jun 26, Dozens of China's most prominent writers and scholars called for the release of Liu Xiaobo (53), a dissident who was arrested on Dec 8, 2008, after co-authoring a bold manifesto urging civil rights and political reforms. Xiaobo, who had been held by police at a secret location for more than six months, was formally arrested this week on suspicion of "inciting to subvert state power," a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail. In southern China ethnic tensions between workers at a toy factory sparked a brawl that left two Uighurs dead and 118 injured. Han Chinese workers had accused Uighurs of rape.
2009: Ai Wei Wei publishes a list of 5,835 names of students killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake on his blog. This lead to his blog being shut down and he claims he was detained and beaten by police for trying to testify on behalf of his fellow investigator, Tan Zuoren, about the poor construction that lead to student casualties in the earthquake.- Telegraph.
Violent Protests in Xinjiang
2009 July - Scores of people are killed and hundreds injured in the worst ethnic violence in decades as a protest in the restive Xinjiang region turns violent.
-First sign of relaxation of strictly enforced one-child policy, as officials in Shanghai urge parents to have a second child in effort to counter effects of ageing population.
Leaders of China and Taiwan exchange direct messages for the first time in more than 60 years.
2009- July 16- China's economy grew at an annual rate of 7.9% between April and June, up from 6.1% in the first quarter, thanks to the government's big stimulus package. Beijing now expects China to achieve 8% growth for 2009 as a whole.(BBC)
China Out-Googles Google.
2009- June- Sep. 2009: Kai-Fu Lee leaves Google China to start his own company, in a move seen as a blow to Google. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html )
2009 October - China stages mass celebrations to mark 60 years since the Communist Party came to power.
-Six men are sentenced to death for involvement in ethnic violence in Xinjiang.
2009- October- Oct. 2009: A Chinese group says it is considering legal action over alleged copyright infringement by Google in the company's book scanning project. Chinese authors and media start adding their voices to the criticism of Google. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html )
2009 Nov 17, In Beijing President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao promised a determined, joint effort to tackle climate change, nuclear disarmament and other global troubles yet emerged from their first full-blown summit with scant progress beyond goodwill. Obama also raised the case of American geologist Xue Feng, who disappeared into Chinese custody in 2007 under charges of stealing state secrets over the purchase of a commercial database on the oil industry.
2009 December - China executes Briton Akmal Shaikh for drug dealing, despite pleas for clemency
from the British government.
Sentencing of Liu Xiaobao
2009- Dec 25- Liu Xiabao found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment and two years’ deprivation of political rights by the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court
2010 January - China posts a 17.7% rise in exports in December, suggesting it has overtaken Germany as the world's biggest exporter.
Hillary Clinton calls for deeper US-China partnership on first overseas tour as secretary of state.
US concern about Chinese Cyberattacks
-The US calls on Beijing to investigate Chinese
cyber attacks, saying China has tightened censorship. China condemns US
criticism of its internet controls.
2010- Jan- Jan. 2010: Google says it will stop censoring Google.cn and that the move may lead it to close its China offices. Google also says it has been targeted by sophisticated cyberattacks that originated in China and appeared meant to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/186880/article.html )
2010- Feb 9- Liu Xiaobo has appeal overruled and original verdict upheld by the Beijing Municipal High People’s Court.
Google Ends Compliance with China.
2010: March- Ai Wei Wei takes part in an event entitled "Digital Activism in China" hosted by the Paley Media Centre in New York.
2010- August- China surpasses Japan as the second largest world economy nest to the United States.
2010 September - Diplomatic row erupts over Japan's arrest of Chinese trawler crew in disputed waters in East China Sea. Japan later frees the crew but rejects Chinese demands for an apology.
Liu Xiaobo wins Nobel Prize
2010 October - Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is awarded Nobel Peace Prize, prompting official protests from Beijing.
-Vice-President Xi Jinping named vice-chairman of powerful Central Military Commission, in a move widely seen as a step towards succeeding President Hu Jintao.
2010- Oct- Ai Wei Wei exhibits his artwork Sunflower Seeds, consisting of one hundred million porcelain "seeds" in the prestigious Turbine Hall of London's Tate Modern gallery.
2010- Nov- Ai Weiwei placed under house arrest by the Chinese police to allegedly prevent the planned demonstrations against the demolition of his Shanghai studio.
2011- Jan- Chinese government orders the demolition of Ai Wei Wei's studio.
China becomes world's Number 2 Economy.
2011 February - China formally overtakes Japan to become the world's second-largest economy after Tokyo published figures showing a Japanese GDP rise of only four per cent in 2010.
2011- Feb 16- An unprecedented cyberattack on the Canadian government also targeted Defence Research and Development Canada, making it the third key department compromised by hackers. The attack, apparently from China, also gave foreign hackers access to highly classified federal information and also forced the Finance Department and Treasury Board — the federal government's two main economic nerve centres — off the internet.- CBC.
Democracy Protests Inspired by Arab Spring.
2011- Feb-March- widespread democracy protests, named for the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution, in cities all over China. They end with police repression.
2011 April - Arrest of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei for "economc crimes" sparks international campaign for his release. He is freed after more than two months' detention.
2011- June-Ai Weiwei released on bail after close to three months' detention on charges of tax evasion. Chinese authorities said he confessed to tax evasion but his family denies he evaded any taxes. They say he is being targeted for criticizing the Communist government.
2011 July-August - Police kill seven Uighurs suspected of being behind separate attacks in the towns of Horan and Kashgar blamed on separatists.
Authorities pursue Artist activist Ai Wei Wei
2011- Oct- Ai Weiei ordered to pay 15m yuan in back taxes and fines. Ai says he won't pay until his design company's account books are returned and he discusses the matter with his former office manager and accountant. He has not been allowed to see them.
2011 November - Authorities present outspoken artist Ai Weiwei with $2.3m tax demand, which is paid by donations from his supporters.
2011- November- the collected writings of Liu Xiaobo available for the first time in English.
2011 December - Southern fishing village of Wukan comes to international attention after violent protests by locals against land seizures by officials. Authorities respond by sacking two local officials and agreeing to villagers' key demands.
-China issues new rules requiring users of microblogs to register personal details.
Urban population surpasses rural numbers for the first time.
2012 January - Official figures suggest city dwellers outnumber China's rural population for the first time. Both imports and exports dip, raising concern that the global economic slowdown could be acting as a drag on growth.
2012- Feb- In February 2012, at least a dozen people died after being attacked on the street by Muslims armed with knives near Kashgar, the western part of Xinxiang located near China's border with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After the Chinese government said the men involved had links to terrorists in Pakistan, a Chinese woman was also killed in Pakistan in what was considered a retaliatory attack. (http://www.cfr.org/china/uighurs-chinas-xinjiang-region/p16870)
The Bo Xilai scandal
2012 March - Chongqing Communist Party chief and potential leadership hopeful Bo Xilai is dismissed on the eve of the party's 10-yearly leadership change, in the country's biggest political scandal for years. His wife, Gu Kailai, is placed under investigations over the death of British businessman Neil Heywood in the city in November.
2012 April - China ups the limit within which the yuan currency can fluctuate to 1% in trading against the US dollar, from 0.5%. The US welcomes the move, as it has been pressing China to let the yuan appreciate.
2012- April-: Bo Xilao is suspended from the Central Committee and the Politburo and is put under formal investigation for "serious breaches" of discipline. His wife is named as the prime suspect in Mr Heywood's murder. April 23- Bloomberg maps out at least $136 million belonging to Mr Bo's relatives.
2012 May - Philippines and
Chinese naval vessels confront one another off the Scarborough Shoal
reef in the South China Sea. Both countries claim the reef, which may
have significant reserves of oil and gas.
2012 June - China completes its first ever manual docking of a spacecraft with another space module, when Shenzhou-9 docked with the Tiangong-1 lab module without relying on an automated system. China's first female astronaut, Liu Yang, took part.
2012 August - Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, is given a suspended death sentence after admitting to murdering British businessman Neil Heywood. State media for the first time link Bo himself to the scandal.
Conflicting Claims with Japan in East China Sea
2012 September - China cancels ceremonies to mark the 40th anniversary of restored diplomatic ties with Japan because of a public flare-up over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Talks between
-China and Japan on security matters nonetheless go ahead.
2012- Sept 10 – The Government of Japan officially purchases the islands from its former private owner. September 15 – A large-scale anti-Japanese protest break out in several Chinese cities, lasting for several days, many of the peaceful protest turning violent. Foreign ministers of Japan and China discuss the issue of the island at the UN General Assembly, as the dispute escalates seriously in the last weeks.
China launches its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning - a converted former Soviet vessel.
Expulsion of Bo Xilai.
2012- Sept- Disgraced politician Bo Xilai is expelled from the Communist Party over accusations of abuse of power and corruption, in a move seen as burying his political career. A month later, he is expelled from parliament and prosecutors open a criminal investigation against him.
Next generation?
2012- Sept- Bo Xi Lin Affair: Wang Lijun is sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in covering up the murder, but repeatedly praised for "exposing clues of major crimes by others" September 28, 2012: Just before a week-long national holiday, Bo is expelled from the party and is likely to face trial for corruption and abuse of power. Xinhua also says he "maintained improper sexual relations with many women".
Communist Party Congress for new President.
2012 November - Communist Party holds congress expected to start a once-in-a-decade transfer of power to a new generation of leaders. Vice-President and heir-apparent Xi Jinping takes over as party chief and assumes the presidency in March 2013.
2012- December- – Chinese aircraft entered the airspace over the Senkakus, which Japan considers its own. Japan sent F-15 fighter jets, and the Chinese plane left the area. Japan protested to China about the affair.
2013 January - A Tibetan monk receives a suspended death sentence and his nephew 10 years in jail for inciting eight people to burn themselves to death. Tibetan activists say they were forced to confess. Nearly 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009, many fatally, in apparent protest at Chinese rule.
2013 February - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calls the decision by a Chinese frigate to put a radar lock on a Japanese navy ship a "dangerous act" that could lead to an "unpredictable situation". China says Japan should stop "illegal" activities near a group of Japanese-controlled islands over which both countries, plus Taiwan, claim sovereignty.
2013- February- China’s February exports beat analysts’ estimates, rising 21.8 percent year-over-year, according to official data released on Friday. The news suggests that the country’s growth acceleration in the fourth quarter of last year is continuing into 2013. (http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-exports-leap-nearly-22-february-2013-imports-shrink-china-retail-spending-1116472#)
President Xi Jinping.
2013 March - Vice-President and Communist Party chief Xi Jinping takes over as president, completing the once-in-a-decade transfer of power to a new generation of leaders. He launches an efficiency and anti-corruption drive, exemplified by the dissolution of the powerful railways ministry. New Premier Li Keqiang says sustainable economic growth will remain top priority.
2013 April - The US demands that China should carry out a transparent investigation of clashes in partly-Muslim Xinjiang region that left 21 people dead.
2013, April – Japan and Taiwan agreed on fishing rights in the disputed area. Under the agreement Taiwanese fishing boats are enabled to enter within 19 kilometers from the islands, into Japan’s exclusive economic zone. China expressed its discontent with the agreement.
China Claims Ryuku Islands.
2013, May – Heightening tensions with Japan, China claims sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands on claims that it paid tribute to China since 1372. This statement can open a whole new chapter, a new front in the territorial dispute
2013 June - Beijing blames Muslim extremists for a series of attacks in Xinjiang region in which 35 people are killed. Authorities say the suspects are from a group that's been involved in fighting in Syria.
2013- Jun- After telling the lower ranks of the Communist Party to shape up and make a clean break from past practice, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has taken aim at a new target: the Party leadership itself... Xi proclaimed that senior members of the Party needed “to play an exemplary role,” and that they had to be “broad-minded enough to reject any selfishness…to adhere to self-respect, self-examination and self-admonition” in their work...It’s extremely rare for Politburo proceedings to be spoken of in such detail and openness. (http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/06/26/xi-jinpings-rare-scolding-of-top-party-leaders/)
2013- July- Five years ago, China's economy was more encouraging than the United States'. Today, that is no longer the case.
No comments :
Post a Comment