Chronology of Chinese History and Culture
- 7000 B.C. to A.D. 2004

LEGEND
[name][name][Map][Info]
Famous BattlesTradition & CelebrationMap of dynasty/region/kingdomMore Information
Dates
Dynasty
(Pinyin)
Pop. Size
Major Political & Turning-point Events
Major Social & Technological Milestones
Major Literary & Artistic Milestones
Major World Events
ca.
7000-5000 B.C.		Daxi Culture
Majiapang Culture
Hemudu Culture		 

ca. 3000-2700 B.C. San Huang (Three Emperors).
- Fu Xi Shi (2953–2852 B.C.)
- Shen Nong Shi (aka. Yan Di) (2852–2737 B.C.)
- Sui Ren Shi (2737–2697 B.C.)
ca. 2700-2200 B.C. Wu Di (Five Kings).
- Huang Di (aka. Xuan Yuan Shi) (2697-2597 B.C.)
- Shao Hao (aka. Jin Tian Shi) (2597-2513 B.C.)
- Zhuan Xu (aka. Gao Yang Shi) (2513-2435 B.C.)
- Di Ku (aka. Gao Xin Shi) (2435-2365 B.C.)
- Zhi Di (2365-2357 B.C.)
- Yao Di (aka. Tang Yao) (2357-2255 B.C)
- Shun Di (aka. Yu Shun) (2255-2205 B.C.)
ca. 2500 B.C. Empress Xi Ling Shi (Silk-making).

10000 to 4000 B.C. Painted Pottery.
ca. 6500 B.C. Earliest evidence of symbolic writings.
ca. 6500 B.C. Rice cultivation in the Yangtze Valley.
ca. 5800 B.C. Millet cultivation in the Huangho Valley.
ca. 5000 B.C. Matriarchal clan society.
ca. 5000 B.C. Evidence of basketry.
ca. 4000 B.C. Jade carvings.
ca. 3500 B.C. Patriarchal society develops.
ca. 3500 B.C. Widespread use of Jade and Lacquer.
ca. 3000 B.C. The first towns appear.
ca. 3000 B.C. Copper first used in central China.
ca. 3000 B.C. Domestication of sheep, cattle and water buffalo.
ca. 2852 B.C. Emperor Fu Xi Shi decreed the use of surnames.
2698 B.C. The beginning of the Chinese calendar.
ca. 2700 B.C. Silk cultivation and weaving		 

ca. 12000-8000 B.C. The Last Ice Age.
ca. 6000 B.C. Jericho.
ca. 3300 B.C. First Sumerian cities.
ca. 3200 B.C. Wheeled vehicles appear in Uruk.
ca. 3100 B.C. Beginnings of Egyptian civilisation.
ca. 3000 B.C. Square-sailed ships in Egypt.
ca. 3000-1500 B.C. Stonehenge is built in England.
ca. 2900-1150 B.C. Minoan Period.
ca. 2680 B.C. Great Pyramid of Giza built.
ca. 2600-1300 B.C. Harappan civilisation
ca. 2500 B.C. Bronze develops in Mesopotamia.

ca.
5000-2700 B.C.		Yangshao Culture
- Banpo Type
- Dongzhuangcun Type
- Miaodigou Type
- Xiwangcun Type
ca.
3000-2500 B.C. 		Miaodigou II Culture
ca.
2500-1900 B.C.		Longshan Culture
- Taosi (2400-1800 B.C.)
- Dongxiafeng Type (2200-1700 B.C.)
ca.
2200-1500 B.C.		Erlitou Culture
- Dongxiafeng Type (2200-1700 B.C.)
- Yanshi Type (1900-1500 B.C.)
ca.
2200-1500 B.C.		Xia ca. 2200 B.C. Si Wenming founds China's first hereditary dynasty. Yu Di was a great engineer who controlled the floods of Yellow River.
ca. 1900 B.C. First major city in China built at Erlitou.

<> Potter's wheel.
<> Pigs, dogs and goats are domesticated.
ca. 2000 B.C. Feng shui begins as a philosophy.
ca. 1500 B.C. Advanced Bronze casting.

map-Center of Xia Dynasty

 ca. 2250 B.C. Copper working in Europe.
1900-1600 B.C. Babylonian Empire.
1792-1750 B.C. Hammurabi of Babylon.
ca. 1780 B.C. Code of Hammurabi.
ca. 1700 B.C. Horse riding develops on the Eurasia steppes.
ca. 1700 B.C. Hittite kingdom founded by Hattusilis I.

1600-1300 B.C.Shang (Prophase) ca. 1500 B.C. Rise of Shang dominance
ca. 1400 B.C. Peak of the Shang period.
ca. 1384 B.C. Shang capital established at Yin (Anyang).

<> Logographic (Pictorial) system of writing developed.
<> Human sacrifice practiced in ritual offerings.
<> Bronze ritual vessels, stone and ivory carvings.
<> Several species of fowl are domesticated.
<> Martial Arts developed.
<> Chopsticks first used.
<> First use of cast bronze coins.
ca. 1700 B.C. Introduction of the chariot.
ca. 1300 B.C. Books of scrolled bamboo strips in first use.

map-Approximate boundries of Shang Dynasty

 ca. 1600 B.C. Bronze working in Europe.
ca. 1400 B.C. Iron working develops in the Middle East.
ca. 1200 B.C. Olmec culture in Mesoamerica.
ca. 1200-1210 B.C. The Trojan War.
1100-612 B.C. Assyrian Empire.
1000-961 B.C. Reign of David in Israel.
1300-1046 B.C.Shang (Anaphase)
- Yin dynasty
1027-771 B.C.Western Zhou 1027 B.C. Zhou revolt in the battle of Muye and the conquest of central China. [Muye]
880 B.C. Xiong Qu of Chu takes the title of "King" but is forced to give it up and is reduced to a vassal by the Zhou King.
771 B.C. Rong barbarian invasion. Zhou capital Hao falls.

<> First recorded eclipse.
<> Written legal code established.
<> Human sacrifice abolished.
<> Concept of the "Mandate of Heaven".

map-Greatest Extent of Zhou Dynasty

 776 B.C. The beginnings of the Olympic Games.
770-221 B.C.Eastern Zhou
770-476 B.C.
Spring and Autumn period		 771 B.C. Eastern Zhou dynasty established at Chengzhou.
750 B.C. Zhou kingdom reunited under King Ping.
717 B.C. The southern Yen#$% invaded Cheng#$% but were defeated. [Che#$%]
713 B.C. Zheng defeated a major invasion by the barbarian northern Rong. [Cheng#$%]
707 B.C. King Huan of Zhou defeated by rebel ministers at Hsu-ko#$%. Break-up of Zhou realm begins.
685 B.C. Duke Huan of Qi becomes the first Hegemon though still nominally swearing allegiance to the weak Zhou King.
648 B.C. Chu eliminates the Huang Kingdom.
641 B.C. Qin Mu Wang eliminates Liang Kingdom in Shanxi.
632 B.C. Jin defeats Chu at Chengpu. [Chengpu]
595 B.C. Chu defeats Jin at Bi. [Bi]
584 B.C. Wu-ch'en#$% of Chu organises Wu army along Chinese lines.
576 B.C. Qin expedition badly defeated byJin at Ma-sui#$%.
575 B.C. Jin defeats Chu at Yanling. [Yanling]
567 B.C. Lu invades and destroys the Zeng Kingdom in Shandong.
554 B.C. Jin defeats a superior Qi army. [P'ing-yin#$%]
506 B.C. Wu under the strategist Sun Zi, invades Chu. Fall of Ying the Chu capital.		<> Iron ploughs and swords in wide use.
650 B.C. Licensing of professional lady lovers. First legalised prostitution.
486 B.C. Grand Canal construction begins. [Info more...]

map-Warring Kingdoms under the Eastern Zhou. 		604-531 B.C.
Philosopher Lao Tan
- Dao De Jing

551-479 B.C.
Philosopher Kong Fuzi (Confucius)
- Yi Jing (Book of Changes)
- Shang Shu (Book of Ancient Documents)
- Shi Jing (Book of Odes)
- Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals)
- Record of Rites

- Confucian Analects

ca 520-??? B.C.
Sun Zi
- Sun Zi's Art of War

340-278 B.C.
Poet Qu Yuan		753 B.C. Legendary founding of Rome by Romulus.
ca. 660 B.C. The first Japanese Kingdom.
ca. 600 B.C. Use of iron in China.
ca. 600 B.C. Iron working in Europe.
ca. 594-508 B.C. Development of Athenian Democracy.
559-323 B.C. Persian Empire.
550-480 B.C. Siddhartha Gautama called the Buddha.
509 B.C. Beginnings of the Roman Republic.
ca. 500 B.C. to A.D. 400 Adena and Hopewell Cultures.
ca. 500 B.C. First recorded circumnavigation of Africa by Phoenicians.
ca. 500 B.C. Hanging Gardens of Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar II.
475-221 B.C.
Warring States period		 473 B.C. Yue overruns and destroys Wu.
453 B.C. Coalition of states defeats Jin at Ching Yang#$%. Jin is broken into Wei, Han and Zhao.
350 B.C. Lord Shang begins political and military reforms in Qin along Legalist lines.
341 B.C. Qi lead by Sun Pin comes to the aid of Han and defeats a combined Wei and Zhao army. [Ma Ling]
333 B.C. Chu conquers yue.
318 B.C. Coalition of states led by Chu crushed by Qin.
316 B.C. Qin conquers Shu and Pa.
299 B.C. Wu Ling of Zhao forms China's first calvary units.
285 B.C. Yan overruns Qi.
280 B.C. Qin launches an invasion of Chu and in 278 B.C. captures the capital.
[Duan Wu (Dragonboat) more...]
279 B.C. Yan defeated at Chi Mo#$% and expelled from Qi.
260 B.C. Qin defeats Zhao in a decisive battle signaling the dominance of Qin. [Changping]
256 B.C. Qin deposes the Zhou King, officially ending the Zhou dynasty.
246 B.C. Ying Zheng accends the Qin throne.
246 B.C. Qin starts construction of Zheng Guo canal.
230 B.C. Han defeated by Qin.
228 B.C. Zhao defeated by Qin.
227 B.C. Assassin Jingke sent by Prince Dan of Yan fails to kill King Zheng of Qin.
225 B.C. Wei (Liang) defeated by Qin.
223 B.C. Chu defeated by Qin. [Yangtze River]
222 B.C. Yan defeated by Qin.		<> 4-tiered class structure emerges - lesser nobility (including scholars), peasant farmers, artisans, and merchants who hold the lowest position in society.
<> Period of the Hundred Schools of Thought with the emergence of several schools of political philosophy that included: Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism and Legalism.
ca. 400 B.C. Crossbow is developed.
364 B.C. Gan De, noted Chinese astronomer, reports viewing Jupiter and one of its moons.
ca. 300 B.C. Stirrups are developed.
ca. 300-200 B.C. Hsu Fu#$% sent to search the Pacific Ocean for the "drug of immortality" but returns unsuccessful. He never returns from a 2nd trip.

map-Convoluted boundaries of the major States.		470-391 B.C.
Philosopher Mo Zi
- Mo Ching

ca. 380-305 B.C.
Sun Pin
- Sun Pin's Art of War

372-289 B.C.
Philosopher Meng Ke (Mencius)
- The Meng Tzu
- The Ch'u Tz'u		469-399 B.C. Socrates.
431-404 B.C. Peloponnesian War. Decline of the Classical Greek period.
 ca. 427-347 B.C. Plato.
384-322 B.C. Aristotle.
336-323 B.C. The Conquests of Alexander the Great.
332 B.C. Alexander the Great conquers Egypt.
221-207 B.C.Qin 221 B.C. Qi defeated by Qin unifying China under King Zheng who declares himself Shi Huangdi, the 1st Emperor.
210 B.C. Death of the first Emperor.
207 B.C. Chu rebels destroy Qin army at Julu. Second Emperor commits suicide.
206 B.C. Liu Bang captures Qin capital Xianyang. Qin dynasty collapses. Xiangyu proclaims himself “Western Chu King” with Liu Bang as King of Han.

<> Customs duties, weights and measures and writing are standardized.
<> Chinese script of approximately 2,500 characters standardised.
<> Burning of books except religious, medical and agricultural texts.
<> Government salt and iron monopolies.
221 B.C. Great Wall construction begins. [Info more...]
219 B.C. Magic Canal construction begins. [Info more...]
210 B.C. Terracotta Army constructed to guard the Imperial tomb. [Info more...]
206 B.C. The Imperial Library is destroyed.

map-Greatest Extent of Qin Dynasty

  
206 B.C.-A.D. 9Western Han

A.D. 2
57
million

206 B.C. Qin dynasty disintegrates. China divided between warlords Xiang Yu of Chu and Liu Bang of Han.
204 B.C. Han Xin captures Jin Xing Kou (pass) from the Zhao. [Jin Xing Kou]
203 B.C. Han Xin defeats a coalition of Chu and Qi forces at Wei River. [Wei River]
203 B.C. Liu Bang defeats Xiang Yu at Chenggao. [Chenggao more...]
202 B.C. Liu Bang defeats Xiang Yu at Gaixia and reunites China under the Han dynasty taking the reign title Gaodi.
200 B.C. Gaodi defeated by Xiongnu at Bai Deng.
196 B.C. Liu Bang kills Han Xin.
177-166 B.C. Major incursions by Xiongnu.
154 B.C. King of Wu revolt in the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms.
141 B.C. Accession of Wudi, the "Martial Emperor" who would push his armies into Vietnam and Korea.
139-113 B.C. Zhang Qian's explorations to the far west.
133 B.C. Han offensive against the Xiongnu begins.
121-119 B.C. Weiqing and Huo Qubing defeat Xiongnu, marching as far as Lake Baikal, pushing the nomads westward.
111-108 B.C. Conquest of Tien and Kunming in Yunnan.
108 B.C. Conquest of Chao Xian in Korea.
106 B.C. The Silk Road is inaugurated with a treaty between emperor Wu-Ti and Parthian king Mithridates II.
104-101 B.C. Li Guang-li led two separate campaigns 1600 km across the Tarim basin. Defeated in the first, he returned with a larger army and procured 3000 central asian horses as tribute in the "War of the Heavenly Horses" against Ferghana, west of the Pamirs. Trade along the silk route increases due to security provided by Imperial control to the far west. [Ferghana]
99 B.C. Li Ling led a campaign against the Xiongnu west of Mongolia only to be defeated due to lack of supplies. [Tian Shan]
51 B.C. Peace with Xiongnu.
36 B.C. Independant actions by Gan Yan Shou, Protector General of the Western Regions and his second-in-command Chen Tang, raised an army and marched across the Takla Makan desert to defeat a Xiongnu threat led by Zhi Zhi. [Kang-chu]

<> "Confucianism" instituted as the State religion and Confucian Classics are salvaged and rewritten.
<> Li Shao-Chun#$%, first known alchemist, claims to have found secret to turning cinnabar into gold.
<> Stern rudder invented.
192 B.C. Imperial decree starts Imperial examinations for government posts.
191 B.C. End of the prohibition against books.
155-130 B.C. Liu Teh develops a library of old, especially Taoist texts.
ca. 150 B.C. Iron moldboard plows in use.
105 B.C. Jihong suspension Bridge in what is now Yongping County, Yunnan Province is built.
ca. 100 B.C. Collar harness developed.

map-Greatest Extent of Han Dynasty


map-Silk Road - Xian to Istanbul

179-117 B.C.
Poet Sima Xiang Ru
53 B.C.-A.D. 18
Poet Yang Hsiung#$%
- Fu Poetry

145-86 B.C.
Sima Qian
- Shi Ji (The Records of the Historian)		ca. 200 B.C. Height of Nok culture in sub-sahara Africa.
ca. 130 B.C. Rome establishes its dominance in the Mediterranean.
44 B.C. Roman Julius Caesar conquers Gaul and England.
4 B.C. Birth of Christ.
A.D. 9-24Xin
(Wang Mang interregnum)		A.D. 9
60
million		A.D. 9 Regent Wang Mang seizes the throne and initiates well intentioned but unpopular reforms.
A.D. 18-27 Red Eyebrow rebellion.
A.D. 23 Wang Mang defeated by Liu Xiu's much smaller army at Kunyang. [Kunyang more...]
A.D. 23 “Green Forest Army” supports Liu Xuan as new emperor Gengshi in Changan.		   
A.D. 25-220Eastern Han

 

A.D. 25 Liu Xiu founds Eastern Han as Emperor Guang Mu in Luoyang. The ‘red eyebrowed army” captures Changan and kills emperor Gengshi.
A.D. 27 Liu Xiu defeats ‘red eyebrowed army’.
A.D. 36 With the empire in disarray, Gongsun Shu declared independence and had to be brought back in line by Han troops. Liu Xiu led an unexpected counterattack which shattered the rebel army. [Chengdu]
A.D. 40-43 Vietnam (Yueh) Trung sisters revolt.
A.D. 73-89 Renewed offensive against Xiongnu.
A.D. 97 Ban Chao leads expedition to the Caspian Sea and envoy to Parthia. Ban Chao orders Gan Ying to reach Rome, but he turns back after reaching the Syrian Coast when told by a sailor that the voyage to Rome is long and dangerous.
A.D. 108-111 Great Qiang raids into the Yellow River plain.
A.D. 141 Empress Liang enables Liang clan domination of the Imperial court. “Domineering General” Liang Ji rules as Prime Minister.
A.D. 159 Emperor Han Huandi colludes with the eunuchs and killed Liang Ji.
A.D. 166 Roman convoy from Emperor Marcus Aurelius reach Luoyang and is greeted by Emperor Huan.
A.D. 184 Yellow Turban revolt.
A.D. 189 Dong Zhuo revolts in a palace coup, bringing down the power of the Han dynasty.
A.D. 200 Yuan Shao attacks Cao Cao, trapping him within his fortifications. A brilliantly planned raid captures Yuan Shao's supply train breaking the seige. [Guandu more...]
A.D. 208 Cao Cao defeated by combined forces of Han Shu and Wu at the battle of Red Cliff. [Red Cliff more...]

<> Bore-holes as deep as 2,000 ft are drilled in the salt mines of Sichuan.
<> Buddhist priests from India bring their doctrine to China.
<> Paper invented by Cai Lun.
<> Zhang Heng develops the water driven clock, armillary sphere, celestial globe and seismograph.
<> The Five Classics and the Analects are engraved in stone.
<> Ko Hung#$%, China's most famous alchemist attempts to find the elixir of life.
<> The movements of Saturn and Jupiter are calculated.
A.D. 28 First record of sunspots.
ca. A.D. 100 Public schools were setup in all the provinces with a "Grand School (Taixue)" setup at the capital.
A.D. 166 Traders from the Roman Empire arrive in Tonkin.
A.D. 190 Abacus invented.

A.D. 27-97
Wang Chong
- Lun Heng

A.D. 32-92
Ban Gu
- Han-shu (The History of the Former Han)
- Fu Poetry

A.D. 78-139
Poet Chang Heng
- Fu Poetry

A.D. 98-117 Largest territorial extent of Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan.
ca. A.D. 200 Moche civilization in Northern Peru.
A.D. 200-370 Roman Empire invaded by the Goths.
A.D. 220-280
Three Kingdoms
220-265 Wei A.D. 220 Death of Cao Cao. His son becomes King of Wei and officially ends the Han dynasty.
A.D. 221 Wei troops led by Zhang Ji repulsed a major incursion by several thousand nomad calvary. [Hsien-mei#$%]
A.D. 222 Liu Bei rashly presses an attack on Wu with a superior but weary army and is defeated by Lu Xun of Wu. [Yiling more...]
A.D. 227 Zhuge Liang leads an expedition to conquer the southern tribes.
[Man tou more...]
A.D. 229 Zhuge Liang of Shu besieged the Wei city of Chen Cang held by Hao Zhao, but retreated after running out of supplies. [Chen Cang]
A.D. 230 Wu dispatchs General Wei Wen to Taiwan.
A.D. 234 Death of Zhuge Liang during the battle between Shu Han and Wei still ends in a Shu victory when Sima Yi of Wei is tricked to think Zhuge Liang is still alive by a Shu soldier impersonating Zhuge Liang. [Wuzhang Plain]
A.D. 263 Conquest of Shu Han by Wei.

map-Wei, Shu & Wu - Three Kingdoms
A.D. 192-232
Poet Cao Zhi
- Shih Poetry		A.D. 250–900 Classical Period of Mayan civilisation.
221-263 Shu (Han)
229-280 Wu
A.D. 265-316Western Jin A.D. 280 Wei conquest of Wu, unifying China under the new but short-lived Jin dynasty.
A.D. 281 Roman envoys visited Luoyang via Guangzhou. A Buddhist monk from India arrived in Guangzhou and founded the Sangui and Wangren temples.
A.D. 291-306 War of the Eight Princes. A civil war for power among princes devastates the country.
A.D. 310 Introduction of cataphract cavalry into China.
A.D. 311 Xiongnu capture Luoyang, collapsing the Jin dynasty. "Barbarian" kingdoms control north China.
map-Jin dynasty after reunification.		A.D. 303-360
Artist Wang Xizhi		ca. A.D. 300 Teotihuacan culture of Mexico.
A.D. 304-431Sixteen States
304-328 Former Zhao     
319-352 Later Zhao
303-347 Cheng
351-394 Former Qin
307-370 Former Yan
384-409 Later Yan
398-410 Southern Yan
384-417 Later Qin
407-431 Xia
409-436 Northern Wei
313-376 Former Liang
386-403 Later Liang
397-414 Southern Liang
397-439 Northern Liang
400-421 Western Liang
385-431 Western Qin
A.D. 317-420Eastern Jin A.D. 383 Northern attempt to conquer the south stopped in the battle of Fei River by a significantly smaller force. [Fei River more...]A.D. 399-414 Faxian's pilgrimage to India
A.D. 386 Chinese astronomers record supernova		ca. A.D. 344-406
Artist Gu Kaizhi

A.D. 365-427
Poet Tao Yuan Ming aka Tao Qian
- Shih Poetry		ca. A.D. 320 Revival of Hinduism in India.
A.D. 325-1453 The Byzantine Empire.
A.D. 350 Gupta kingdom in India founded.
A.D. 370 The Huns invade Eastern Europe.
A.D. 395 Roman Empire permanently divided.
ca. A.D. 400 Jenne-Jeno in Nigeria.
A.D. 420-588Southern and Northern Dynasties
Southern DynastiesA.D. 420 Eastern Jin in the south replaced by Liu Song dynasty.
A.D. 528 The invading mutinous Six Garrisons army of a million were defeated by 7000 calvary led by Erhchu chieftain Jung. [Yeh#$%]
A.D. 529 Liang emperor Wudi sends Chen Qingzhi northward with 7000 men and briefly captures Luoyang.
A.D. 534-577 War in the north among successors to Northern Wei.
A.D. 537 Eastern Wei attacked Western Wei through the Tong Pass but were repulsed by Yuwen Tai. [Sha-yuan#$%]		<> Buddhist images painted on cave walls at Dunhuang. [Info more...]
<> Gunpowder invented.
A.D. 460-494 Buddhist stone figures and reliefs at Yungang. [Info more...]
ca. A.D. 490 Qi Wu Di Forbids marriage between families with the same last name.
A.D. 494 Buddhist stone figures and reliefs at Longmen. [Info more...]
ca. A.D. 567 Emperor Wu Di of Bei Zhou demonstrates an early version of Chinese Chess.

map-Eastern & Western Wei and Liang dynasty.

<> Poem of Hua Mulan written

A.D. 500-535
Artist Xie He
-"Six Canons of Painting"
[Info more...]

A.D. 501-531
Xiao Tong
- Wen Hsuan

ca. A.D. 450 Anglo-Saxons invade England.
A.D. 476 The Roman Empire ends.
ca. A.D. 500-1000 European "Dark Ages".
ca. A.D. 537 Death of King Arthur, semi-legendary king of the Britons.
ca. A.D. 552 Buddhism spreads to Japan via China.
420-478 (Liu) Song 
479-501 Qi
502-556 Liang
557-588 Chen
Northern Dynasties
386-533 Northern Wei 
534-549 Eastern Wei
535-557 Western Wei
550-577 Northern Qi
557-588 Northern Zhou
A.D. 581-617SuiA.D. 581
47
million		A.D. 581 Yang Jian seizes power in Northern Zhou and founds the Sui dynasty.
A.D. 589 China unified when the Chen in the south falls to the Sui.
A.D. 602-610 Military actions in Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea and central Asia.
A.D. 612 A disasterous campaign to conquer Korea weakens the dynasty.
A.D. 616 Abu Waqqas,the maternal uncle of the prophet Muhammad, visited Guangzhou. He then returned to Guangzhou 21 years later with a copy of the Koran and founded the Mosque of Remembrance, near the Kwang Ta (Smooth Minaret) built by the Arabs as a lighthouse. His tomb is in the Muslim cemetery in Guangzhou. 		<> Great Wall is extensively upgraded.
A.D. 605-610 Grand Canal Extended. [Info more...]
A.D. 610 The Great Stone Bridge constructed. [Info more...]

map-Greatest Extent of Sui Dynasty		 A.D. 610 Prophet Muhammad attains Prophethood.
A.D. 618-907TangA.D. 742
49
million		A.D. 618 Li Yuan founds the Tang Dynasty.
A.D. 621 Shaolin monks fight their first battle on the side of Li Shimin against Sui dynasty General Wang Shigong. [Qianglingkou]
A.D. 621 Li Shimin secures Tang control of the Yellow River valley. [Ssu-shui#$%]
A.D. 635 Nestorian Christian missionaries reach China.
A.D. 640-660 Tang expansion into central Asia and Korea. Chinese troops occupy the Taklimakan Desert, Kunling, Mengchi and part of Ferghana.
A.D. 651 First Arab embassy to China.
A.D. 659-665 Chinese forces occupy Transoxiana (Western Turkic Khanate).
A.D. 660 Campaign against Silla (Korea).
A.D. 660-668 Campaign against Koguryo (Korea).
A.D. 663 A Tang navy allied with Silla attacked the Japanese fleet allied with Paekche in a series of naval actions at the mouth of the Kum river in Korea, reportedly sinking over 400 Japanese ships.
A.D. 668 Chinese defeat Koguryo and occupy Pyongyang.
A.D. 670 Tibetan attacks cause the Tang to withdraw from the Tarim basin.
ca. A.D. 670 Chinese traveller I Ching visits Srivijaya in Sumatra.
A.D. 682-683 Turks revolt and re-establish Turkic Khanate in Mongolia.
A.D. 690 Wu Zetian proclaims herself “empress”, changes the dynasty name to “Zhou”.
A.D. 692 Combined Chinese and Turkic armies retake the Tarim basin from Tibetan forces.
A.D. 694 Manichaeism comes to China.
A.D. 714 Chinese under Emperor Taizong, defeat the Turks at Lake Issuk-kul.
A.D. 748 Chinese invade the Ferghana Valley.
A.D. 751 Battle of the Talas River. Tang troops are defeated by an Arab force stopping the westward expansion of Chinese influence in Central Asia. [Talas River]
A.D. 751 Chinese force under An Lu Shan defeated by the Khitan in the northeast.
A.D. 756-763 An Lushan rebellion. Loss of Tarim Basin to the Tibetans. The Tibetans sack Changan, the capital. Death of Yang Guifei.
A.D. 758 Arabs looted and burned Guangzhou prompting the closure of Guangzhou to foreigners for the next 50 years.
A.D. 780 Tax Reform. The equal field system is abandoned.
A.D. 791 Battle of Tingzhou. Gansu province is lost to the Tibetans. [Tingzhou]
A.D. 821 Peace between China and Tibet.
A.D. 835 Sweet Dew Incident where an assasination attempt to curb powerful eunuch Generals fail resulting in a savage purge of their opponents, weakening the dynasty.
A.D. 840 Uighur empire is defeated.
A.D. 841-845 Religious Persecutions - Manicheism, Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism are attacked.
A.D. 879 Chinese rebel forces under Huang Chao sack Guangzhou, killing an estimated 120,000 Jews, Christians, Muslims, other foreigners, and local residents.
A.D. 881 Huang Chao seizes Changan but is beheaded in A.D. 884.
A.D. 905 General Zhu Wen kills 9 brothers of the 15 year old emperor Li Chu during a festival banquet.

<> Woodblock printing begins and large printing presses are constructed.
<> An astronomical clock is built at Changan.
<> Gautama Siddharta, and Indian astronomer at the Imperial observatory publishes his astrological almanac.
<> Polo becomes popular with the Tang elite.
<> Grand Canal extended to Hangzhou in the south and Changan in the north. [Info more...]
<> Ideal of the universal man - scholar, poet, painter, statesman .
A.D. 629-645 Tripitaka (Xuanzang) goes to India and brings Buddhist texts back.
A.D. 748 First printed newspaper appears in Beijing.
ca. A.D. 750 Chinese opera invented.
ca. A.D. 812 A type of bank draft is first issued, the precursor of paper money.
A.D. 868 Diamond Sutra printed.

map-Greatest Extent of Tang Dynasty

A.D. ???-673
Artist Yan Liben

A.D. 699-759
Poet Wang Wei
A.D. 701-762
Poet Li Bo
A.D. 712-770
Poet Du Fu
A.D. 772-846
Poet Bai Juyi
A.D. 790-816
Poet Li Ho
A.D. 812-858
Poet Li Shang-Yin
- Shih Poetry

ca. 700-760
Artist Wu Daozi

A.D. 768-824
Poet Han Yu
A.D. 773-819
Poet Liu Tsung-Yuan
- Neo-Classical Prose

ca. A.D. 770
Poet Yuan Zhen

ca. 780-810
Artist Zhou Fang

A.D. ???-826
Poet Po Hsing-Chien#$%
- Stories & Tales
- Buddhist Tales
- Tz'u Poetry

A.D. 636 Rise of feudal nobility in Japan.
A.D. 640 Cairo founded.
A.D. 690-710 Muslim conquest of North Africa and Spain.
A.D. 750-1151 Toltec empire in the Mexican highlands.
A.D. 756 Baghdad founded. Arab culture and arts flourishes.
A.D. 768-814 Reign of Charlemagne.
ca. A.D. 850 Maya migrates to Yucatan Peninsula.
690-705 Zhou
(Tang Empress Wu Zetian)
Tang
A.D. 907-960Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Five DynastiesA.D. 907 Zhu Wen forces Li Chu to abdicate, ending the Tang Dynasty and starting the Later Liang Dynasty.
A.D. 908 Li Chu is put to death quietly.
A.D. 938 Ngo Quyen defeats a Chinese fleet on the Bach Dang river near Hai Phong and declares independence for Annam.		  A.D. 912-961 Rule of Abd al-Rahman III, celebrated ruler of the Arab Umayyad Dynasty.
907-923 Later Liang 
923-936 Later Tang
936-946 Later Jin
947-950 Later Han
951-960 Later Zhou
Ten Kingdoms
902-937 Wu 
907-925 Former Shu
907-978 Wu Yue
907-951 Chu
909-945 Min
917-971 Nan Hai
924-963 Jing Nan
934-965 Later Shu
937-975 Southern Tang
951-979 Northern Han
A.D. 960-1279Song
960-1127 Northern SongA.D. 960
100
million		A.D. 960 Zhao Kuang Yin founds the Song dynasty.
A.D. 979 Taizong completes unification of China.
A.D. 981 The Song attack Annam by land and sea, with clashes at the Bach Dang river and further south,but are repulsed by general Le Hoan.
A.D. 1068-1086 Wang Anshi's reforms.
A.D. 1116 Khmer King Suryavarman II sends emmisary from Angkor Watt to China, arriving in A.D. 1128.		ca. A.D. 980 Canal pound locks developed.
A.D. 1023 The world's first Currency Reserve Bank opens to issue bank notes.
A.D. 1030 Movable type first used.
A.D. 1076 School of Medicine established in Kaifeng.
A.D. 1088 Su Song's astronomical clock installed at Kaifeng.
ca. A.D. 1101 Academy of Painting established in Kaifeng.
A.D. 1107 Money was printed in 3 colors to thwart counterfeiters.
<> Fortified Chinese trade bases are established in the Philippines to gather forest products and distribute imports

map-Greatest Extent of Song Dynasty

A.D. 1037-1101
Poet Su Shi

A.D. 1045-1105
Artist Huang Tingjian

A.D. ????-1225
Artist Ma Yuan

A.D. ????-1230
Artist Xia Gui

ca. A.D. 1000 Collapse of Maya civilization begans. Moche valley becomes site of Kingdom of Chimur.
A.D. 1000 "Great Zimbabwe" civilization emerges in East Africa.
A.D. 1008 Murasaki Shikibu finishes The Tale of Genji, the world's first novel.
A.D. 1054 Great Schism between Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.
A.D. 1066 The Battle of Hastings. Norman conquest of England.
A.D. 1096-1099 The First Crusade.
1127-1279 Southern SongA.D. 1200
115
million

A.D. 1223
63
million		A.D. 1127 Jin take north China. Song moves capital to Hangzhou.
A.D. 1141 General Yue Fei betrayed by Prime Minister Qin Gui in aid of settlement with the Jin.
[Yue Fei (You Tiao) more...]
A.D. 1161 Jin attacks Hangzhou with 600 warships and 70,000 men, but are repulsed with grenades launched by catapult. The Song navy, with only 120 warships and 3,000 men defeat a huge Jin armada off the Shandong peninsula.
A.D. 1241 Ogodai dies while on campaign against the Southern Song and the Mongols retreat from Europe for a succession struggle.
A.D. 1259 Death of Mongke Khan temporarily halts Mongol incursions on the Islamic kingdoms of the middle east
A.D. 1268-1273 Use of firearms and Persian counterweight trebuchets in the Mongol siege and capture of the strategic city of Xiangyang. [Xiangyang]

<> Famous for Celadon porcelain.
<> Cannon is developed.
<> Golden Age of landscape painting.
A.D. 1189 "Marco Polo" bridge constructed. [Info more...]
A.D. 1132-1189 Song Navy introduce paddle wheeled warships.
A.D. 1153 The world's oldest existing eatery, a chicken restaurant opens in Kaifeng.
A.D. 1155 A map of western China was printed and is the world's oldest printed map.
A.D. 1200 Sunglasses were invented.

map-Northern Encroachment of the Southern Song

 ca. A.D. 1084-1151
Poet Li Qing Zhao

A.D. 1130-1200
Philosopher Zhu Xi

A.D. 1140-1207
Poet Xin Qiji

ca. A.D. 1140-1210
Artist Liang Kai

A.D. 1247-1317
Artist/Poet Yishan Yining		A.D. 1147-1149 The Second Crusade.
A.D. 1150 Angkor Wat is completed.
A.D. 1184 Leaning Tower of Pisa built.
A.D. 1189-1192 The Third Crusade.
A.D. 1202-1204 The Fourth Crusade.
A.D. 1215 Magna carta is presented to King John in England.
A.D. 1218-1221 The Fifth Crusade.
A.D. 1222-1242 Mongol Invasion of Europe.
A.D. 1228-1229 The Sixth Crusade.
A.D. 1231 Pope Gregory IX declares Inquisition.
A.D. 1241 The battle of Sajo in Hungary saw the first use of gunpowder weapons in a Europe.
A.D. 1248-1254 The Seventh Crusade.
A.D. 1270 The Eighth Crusade.
A.D. 916-1125Liao (Khitan) A.D. 907-938 Khitan dynasty unifies northeast China.
A.D. 938- 983 Renamed Liao dynasty.
A.D. 983-1066 Renamed Khitan dynasty.
A.D. 1066-1125 Renamed Liao dynasty.		map-Greatest Extent of Liao (Khitan) Dynasty
(see Southern Song)		  
A.D. 1038-1227Western Xia A.D. 1038 Western Xia dynasty arises in the Ordos region.
A.D. 1227 Jin conquer the Western Xia.		map-Greatest Extent of Western Xia Dynasty
(see Southern Song)		  
A.D. 1115-1234Jin A.D. 1115 Jürchen overthrow the Khitans in northeast China and establish the Jin dynasty.
A.D. 1139-1147 Jürchen defeat the Mongols in Pamirs.
A.D. 1214 Mongols under Temüjin launch a three pronged attack across the Great Wall and capture Yenching (Beijing). [Yenching]
A.D. 1218 Mongols capture Semirechye and the Tarim Basin, occupying Kashgar.
A.D. 1234 Mongols conquer northern China from the Jin.
   
A.D. 1279-1368YuanA.D. 1290
58.8
million

A.D. 1300
86
million		 A.D. 1274 Mongols invade Japan and looted Hakata (Fukuoka) but are turned back by "divine wind" typhoon (kami-kaze).
A.D. 1279 Chinese general Zhang Hongfan of the Yuan anniliated the last fleet of the Southern Song at Yamen. Song official Lu Xiufu takes the boy emperor Song Di Bing in his arms and jumps off a clifftop into the sea. Zhang Shijie, commander of the Song fleet, escapes only to drown when his ship sinks in a storm. [Yamen]
A.D. 1279 Mongols conquer south China, unifying under the Yuan dynasty. Winter capital at Dadu (Beijing).
A.D. 1281 Mongols attack Japan but are foiled again by kami-kaze.
A.D. 1282 Mongol general Toa Do (Gogetu) lands in Champa and seizesthe capital in 1283.
A.D 1288 A new Mongol fleet is defeated in the Bach Dang river by Tran Hung Dao.
A.D. 1292-1293 Kublai Khan sendst 1000 ships to attack Java. Hit by a typhoon, and refused permission to land in Champa, the fleet arrives enfeebled. Vijaya, the ruler of Majapahit, joins the Mongols to attack Kediri only to launch a surprise attack on the Mongols.
A.D. 1295 Chinese emmisery Zhou Daguan arrives in Angkor Watt.
A.D. 1300-1368 White Lotus Society, White Cloud Society and Red Turbans lead rebellions against Mongol rule.
[Zhong Qiu (Mooncake) more...]
A.D. 1313 Italian Andrew of Perugia was despatched by the pope to be third bishop of Quanzhou.
A.D. 1328-1339 Wang Dayuan makes two trips from Quanzhou on Chinese ships. In 1328-1333 he visits Luzon & Mindanao in the Philippines, many places in Southeast Asia, Sir Lanka and India, and reached Dhofar and Aden. In 1334-1339 he goes to Aden, and joins Arab ships to visit north Africa (reaching the Atlantic coast of Morocco) and East Africa (including Mogadishu, and Kilwa in Tanzania). His book includes details on cultures, navigation, and commerce.
A.D. 1345 Ibn Battuta, who had left Morocco in 1325, arrives in Zaiton (Quanzhou) and later visits Fuzhou, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. His travel account was apparently written in 1355.
A.D. 1353-1354 Black Death breaks-out in China.
A.D. 1363 Zhu Yuanzhang of Ming defeats his main rival Chen Yuliang of Han in a decisive naval battle. [Lake Boyang]		A.D. 1275-1292 Marco Polo arrives and spends 17 years in Kublai Khan's court.
ca. A.D. 1300 Yuan drama, Zaju invented as a subtle form of protest against Mongol rule.
A.D. 1327 Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is completed. [Info more...]

map-Greatest Extent of the Mongol Empire (Empire of the Great Khan (Yuan), Chaghandai Khanate, Il Khanate, White Horde, Blue Horde)		A.D. 1254-1322
Artist Zhao Mengfu

A.D. 1280-1354
Artist Wu Chen

ca. A.D. 1290-1365
Shi Naian
ca. A.D. 1330-1400
Luo Guanzhong
- Shui Hu Zhuan (The Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh)

A.D. 1308-1385
Artist Wang Meng 		A.D. 1324 Great Mosque at Timbuktu built.
A.D. 1337-1453 European Hundred Years War.
A.D. 1347-1351 The Black Death in Europe.
ca. 1350 Rise of Ottoman Turks.
A.D. 1368-1644Ming

A.D. 1393
60.5
million

A.D. 1500
100
million

A.D. 1600
150
million

A.D. 1368 Zhu Yuanzhuang founds Ming dynasty.
A.D. 1368 China extend control over the Ryukyu Islands.
A.D. 1405-1433 Chinese naval superiority establishes forward bases in Malacca, Sri-Lanka and on the eastern coast of Africa. Ambassadors are brought back on Chinese ships to Beijing.
A.D. 1406-1427 Vietnam (Annam) comes under Chinese control.
A.D. 1449 After the capture of Datong castle by Mongols and Jurchen forces, the Ming emperor Zhengtong, ill advised by the Eunuch Wang Zhen, leads a counterattack only to retreat to and become captured at Tumu Fortress. [Tumu Fortress]
A.D. 1511 Portuguese capture Chinese forward base at Malacca.
A.D. 1517 Mongols defeated at Yingzhou. [Yingzhou]
A.D. 1517 Arrival of first Portuguese ambassador to China.
A.D. 1525 Seagoing junks are ordered destroyed in an isolationist policy to prevent foreign influences.
ca. A.D. 1540-1565 Wokou piracy in south-east China.
A.D. 1550 Altan Khan lays seige to Beijing.
A.D. 1551 Portuguese establish trading base at Macao.
A.D. 1556 Am earthquake devastated what is now Shanxi Province, killing 830,000 people.
A.D. 1567 Ban on overseas trade lifted.
ca. A.D. 1583 Rise to power of Nurhachi, the founder of the Manchu state.
A.D. 1593-1598 Hideyoshi or Imjin War. Chinese intervention helps defeat Japanese invasion of Korea. [Pyongyang]
A.D. 1609 An expedition from Satsuma on Kyushu captures the Ryukyu Kingdom forcing the kings of the Ryukyus to pay tribute to the Japanese emperor.
A.D. 1618-1619 Manchus defeat a major Ming offensive. [Sarhu]
A.D. 1622 Failing to capture Macao from the Portuguese despite the help of the British, the Dutch establish a fort on the Pescadores islands.
A.D. 1624 Chinese expel the Dutch from the Pescadores islands. Dutch retreat and establish fort Zeelandia on south Taiwan island.
A.D. 1626 Spanish establish fort San Salvador and fort San Domingo on north Taiwan island.
A.D. 1626 Ming victory over the Manchus at Ning-yuan. Death of Nurhachi.
A.D. 1636 Manchus proclaim the Qing dynasty.
A.D. 1642 Dutch defeat the Spanish and capture the whole of Taiwan island.

A.D. 1420 Temple of Heaven Built.
A.D. 1421 Forbidden City Built. [Info more...]
A.D. 1405-1433 Voyages of Grand Admiral Zheng He. [Info more...]
A.D. 1498 First toothbrushes made of hog bristles.
A.D. 1540 Great Wall upgraded. [Info more...]
A.D. 1578 Li Shih-Chen#$%'s "Great Pharmacopoeia".
A.D. 1601-1610 Jesuit Matteo Ricci resides in Beijing.

map-Greatest Extent of Ming Dynasty

ca. A.D. 1330-1400
Luo Guanzhong
- San Guo Zhi Yan Yi (Romance of the 3 Kingdoms)

A.D. 1427-1509
Artist Shen Zhou

A.D. 1459-1508
Artist Wu Wei

A.D. 1470-1559
Artist Wen Zhengmin

A.D. 1472-1528
Philosopher Wang Yangming

A.D. 1494-1552
Artist Qiu Ying

ca. A.D. 1500-1600
Artist Lu Zhi

ca. A.D. 1500-1552
Wu Chengen
- Xi You Ji (Journey to the West)

 A.D. 1527-1579
Philosopher Liang Ju-yuan

A.D. ????-1566
Xu Zhonglin
or
A.D. ????-1601
Lu Xixing
- Fengshen yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods)

A.D. 1555-1636
Artist Tung Ch'i-ch'ang#$%

ca. A.D. 1617
Anonymous
- Jin Ping Mei (Plums in a Golden Vase)

A.D. 1618-1689
Artist Gong Xian

A.D. 1634-1711
Poet Wang Shizhen

A.D. 1415 Battle of Agincourt.
A.D. 1431 Joan of Arc burnt at the stake.
A.D. 1438-1538 Inca Empire.
A.D. 1453 Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople. Byzantine empire ends.
A.D. 1455 English War of the Roses.
A.D. 1462-1505 Ivan the Great, Russia's 1st Czar.
A.D. 1468-1591 Songhai Empire in Africa.
A.D. 1478 Ferdinand and Isabella establish Spanish Inquisition.
A.D. 1492 End of the Reconquista in Spain.
A.D. 1492 Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbeans.
A.D. 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world in two, West of Cape Verde given to the Spanish and East of Cape Verde given to the Portuguese.
A.D. 1497 Vasco da Gama sails around Africa.
A.D. 1497-1600 British and French colonization of North America.
A.D. 1500-1598 The Protestant Reformation.
A.D. 1501 First black slaves to America brought to Santo Domingo.
A.D. 1503 Leonardo da Vinci paints Mona Lisa.
A.D. 1504 Michelangelo sculpts the David.
A.D. 1510 Portuguese capture Goa in India.
A.D. 1519-1538 Hernan Cortes conquers the Aztecs of Mexico.
A.D. 1531 Inquisition in Portugal.
A.D. 1556 Akbar the Great becomes Mogul emperor of India.
A.D. 1582 Gregorian Calender replaces the Julian Calender.
A.D. 1585 First English colony in North America on Roanoke Island.
A.D. 1588 English defeat the Spanish Armada.
A.D. 1603 Ieyasu rules Japan. Capital moves to Edo (Tokyo).
A.D. 1606 Willem Janszoon reaches Australia.
A.D. 1610 Galileo discovers Jupiter's moons..
A.D. 1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock.
A.D. 1642 Abel Tasman reaches Tasmania and New Zealand.
A.D. 1642 English Civil War. England becomes a Republic.
A.D. 1643 Taj Mahal completed.

A.D. 1644-1911QingA.D. 1650
125
million

A.D. 1750
200
million

A.D. 1800
259
million

A.D. 1850
429
million

A.D. 1900
467
million		A.D. 1644 Death of the last Ming emperor. Li Zicheng captures Beijing and declares Shun dynasty. Manchus allowed through the Great Wall by Ming general Wu Sangui and capture Beijing.
A.D. 1644 Manchu emperor orders all subjects to shave the top of their heads and wear the rest of their hair in a que.
A.D. 1645 The strategic city of Chen-chiang falls to the Manchus leaving the way open to the new Ming capital Nanjing. [Chen-chiang]
A.D. 1652 Dutch establish fort Provintia on Taiwan island after a local revolt.
A.D. 1654 Tsarist forces occupy Nerchinsk and Yakasa in the Amur region.
A.D. 1661 Last heir to the Ming dynasty throne Yongli, executed in Yunnan ending hopes of a Ming revival.
A.D. 1661-1722 Reign of Kangxi emperor.
A.D. 1661 Pro-Ming, Cheng regime capture fort Provintia from the Dutch.
A.D. 1662 Pro-Ming, Cheng regime fails to recapture Nanjing despite superior naval forces, and retreats to capture fort Zeelandia from the Dutch. Whole of Taiwan island in Chinese hands.
A.D. 1663-1664 Failing to retake Taiwan island, Dutch capture Amoy in Fujian.
A.D. 1664 Manchu conquest of Fujian brings the whole of China under Manchu rule.
A.D. 1673-1681 Revolt of "The Three Feudatories".
A.D. 1683 Fall of pro-Ming, Cheng regime in Taiwan island to the Manchu.
A.D. 1685-1686 Manchu efforts to evict the Russians from Albazin, their last fort in the lower Amur valley was successful but failure to occupy the fort resulted in a need for a second seige in A.D. 1686. [Albazin]
A.D. 1689 Sino-Russian border fixed by Treaty of Nerchinsk.
A.D. 1696 Defeat of Galdan Khan. Eastern Mongolia becomes a Chinese protectorate.
A.D. 1699 British East India Company establishes post in Canton.
ca. A.D. 1700-1900 Russian incursions in the Lake Balkhash area. By A.D. 1800 Russians had seized a total of 1.4 million square kilometers and another 1.5 million by A.D. 1900.
A.D. 1720 Tibet becomes a Chinese vassal.
A.D. 1736-1796 Reign of Qianlong.
A.D. 1757 Imperial decree restricts foreign trade to Canton.
A.D. 1757-1759 Defeat of Jungar Mongols and their Muslim allies.
A.D. 1767 A disasterous campaign into Burma ends in defeat. [Maymyo]
A.D. 1790 White Lotus Sect Rebellion.
A.D. 1792 Defeat of Gurkhas in Nepal by a Chinese expedition.
A.D. 1793 British embassy under Lord Macartney in Beijing.
A.D. 1808 760 British soldiers occupy Macao. Qing refuse to trade with the British and despatch 80,000 troops expelling them in A.D. 1809.
A.D. 1813 Three Trigrams Rebellion by revived White Lotus rebels initiate a coup attempt in the Forbidden City.
A.D. 1817-1827 Muslim "jihad" of Jahangir in the Tarim Basin.
A.D. 1830 Kokandi cavalry lays seige to the frontier city of Yarkand after seizing Kashgar, but despite overwhelming numbers failed to overcome the defenders under Pi-ch'ang#$%. [Yarkand]
A.D. 1839 Outbreak of first Opium War with British. [1st Opium War]
A.D. 1842 Treaty of Nanking opens more Chinese ports to Western trade. British seize base at Hong Kong.
A.D. 1844 Treaty of Wanghia with the United States of America.
A.D. 1847-1875 150,000 Chinese coolies were sold to Cuba as 'zhu zai'.
A.D. 1851-1864 Taiping Rebellion led by Hong Xiuchuan.
A.D. 1856 Outbreak of second Opium War with British. [2nd Opium War]
A.D. 1858 China signs Treaty of Tientsin.
A.D. 1858-1860 The Arrow War, Anglo-French punitive expedition over a torn British flag.
A.D. 1879 Satsuma domain of Japan invades the kingdom of Liuqiu (Ryukyu) Islands, a vassal of China. The Ruykyuan monarchy is abolished and the islands annexed to create the Okinawa Prefecture.
A.D. 1883-1885 Sino-French War fought over Vietnam. French surround Taiwan when Chinese troops are sent to defend Annam. French are defeated but in the 1960s the French use the war of 1885 as the justification to force China to give up sovereignty over Annam and Tonkin.
A.D. 1894-1895 China clashes with Japan over Korea. The Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 removes Korea and Taiwan from Chinese control.
A.D. 1895 Self-declared "Taiwan Republic" ends when Japanese troops land on Taiwan island and take Tainan the capital.
A.D. 1897 Germany demands 99-year lease on Shandong peninsula.
A.D. 1898 Britain obtains 99-year lease on New Territories opposite Hong Kong island.
A.D. 1900 Boxer Rebellion.
A.D. 1905 Sun Yat-sen founds the Chinese Nationalist Party (Guomindang).
A.D. 1909 Chinese troops seize islands in the Paracels.		A.D. 1751 Temple of Heaven Rebuilt.
A.D. 1866 Birth of Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian).
A.D. 1893 Birth of Mao Zedong.
A.D. 1905 Imperial examinations begun since the Han dynasty abolished.

map-Greatest Extent of Qing Dynasty

A.D. 1688-1766
Artist Lang Shining (Giuseppe Castiglione)

A.D. 1701-1754
Wu Jingzi
- Rulin waishi (The Scholars)

A.D. 1724-1764
Cao Xueqin
ca. A.D. 1750
Gao E
- Hong Lou Meng (Dream Of The Red Chamber)

A.D. 1763-1830
Li Ruzhen
- Jinghua Yuan (Flowers in a Mirror)

A.D. 1857-1909
Liu E
- Lao Can youji (The Travels of Lao Can)

ca. A.D. 1870
Shi Yukun
- Sanxia wuyi (Three Heroes and Five Gallants)

A.D. 1872-1935
Zeng Pu
- Niehaihua (A Flower in the sea of sins)

A.D. 1876-1970
Artist Chen Banding

ca. A.D. 1878
Yanbei Xianren
or
Wen Kang
- Ernü Yingxiong Zhuan (The Story of a Hero Boy and Hero Girls)

A.D. ????-1907
Yu Yue
- Qixia wuyi (Seven Heroes and Five Gallants)

A.D. 1889-1933
Artist Gao Qifeng

A.D. 1899-1983
Artist Chang Da-chien

A.D. 1905-1998
Artist Zhao Shao'ang#$%

A.D. 1650 Dutch found Cape Colony.
A.D. 1660 England restores the Monarchy.
A.D. 1666 Great Fire of London.
A.D. 1687 Newton's Principia Mathematica.
A.D. 1689 Peter the Great becomes Czar of Russia.
A.D. 1707 Parliamentary Act of Union forms United Kingdom of Great Britain.
A.D. 1712-1905 The European Industrial Revolution.
A.D. 1756-1763 French and Indian Wars in America.
A.D. 1763-1783 American Revolution.
A.D. 1776 American Declaration of Independence.
A.D. 1785-1828 Shaka Zulu.
A.D. 1789-1795 The French Revolution.
A.D. 1798 Napoleon invades Egypt.
A.D. 1805 Battle of Trafalgar.
A.D. 1805 Battle of Austerlitz.
A.D. 1808 Britain and the United States abolish the slave trade.
A.D. 1815 Wellington defeats Napoleon at Waterloo.
A.D. 1819 Simón Bolívar liberates New Granada.
A.D. 1820 British-Ashanti War.
A.D. 1834 Spanish Inquisition abolished.
A.D. 1848 Marx and Engles publish the Communist Manifesto.
A.D. 1853 Crimean War.
A.D. 1857 Sepoy Rebellion against British rule in India.
A.D. 1861-1865 American Civil War.
A.D. 1865 President Lincoln assassinated.
A.D. 1867 Tokugawa Shogunate overthrown. Meiji restoration begins.
A.D. 1869 Suez Canal is completed.
A.D.1898 Spanish-American War.
A.D. 1899-1902 Boer War.
A.D. 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first powered flight.
A.D. 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War.
A.D. 1905 Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity and other key theories in physics.
A.D. 1911-1949Republic of China
(Zhonghua Min Guo)
(on mainland China)		A.D. 1945
450
million		A.D. 1911 A nationalist rebellion ends Manchu rule and a republic is declared with Sun Yat-sen as provisional president.
A.D. 1911-1912 Sudden colapse of Chinese power in Tibet.
A.D. 1912 Gregorian Calender adopted.
A.D. 1912 Mongol princes supported by Tsarist Russia, declare independence of Mongolia from China.
A.D. 1916-1928 Age of Warlords starts following the death of Yuan Shikai.
A.D. 1917 China declares war on the Central Powers, Germany and Austria on the side of the Allies.
A.D. 1917 Mongolia reverts to Chinese control.
A.D. 1919 May Fourth Movement student protest at Tiananmen against unfairness of the Treaty Of Versailles.
A.D. 1920 China wins a place on the League Council of the League of Nations.
A.D. 1921 Chinese Communist Party founded.
A.D. 1921 Mongolia becomes independent.
A.D. 1924 The last Manchu emperor Pu Yi expelled from Forbidden City.
A.D. 1925 Northern Expedition against the northern warlords to reunite China.
A.D. 1927 Civil between Guomindang and Communists.
A.D. 1929 Fighting breaks out between China and the Soviet Union along the Manchurian border.
A.D. 1931 Mukden Incident. Japan invades Manchuria renaming it Manchukuo. Fierce Chinese resistance in Shanghai prevent a Japanese occupation of the city.
A.D. 1931 Mao Zedong proclaims the Chinese People's Republic.
A.D. 1933 Japanese troops take Chengteh (Jehol).
A.D. 1934-1935 Communist Long March to escape the Guomindang.
A.D. 1936 Nationalist troops mutiny in Xian, kidnapping Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) forcing him to cease hostilities against the Communists and unite against the Japanese.
A.D. 1937 Japanese take Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai.
A.D. 1937 Maoist fighters defeat Japanese at Pingxingguan Pass in Shanxi.
A.D. 1937 The capital Nanjing falls to the Japanese. 40,000 Chinese die in the "Rape of Nanking". Capital moves to Chongqing.
A.D. 1938 Twelve Chinese fighter planes dropped bombs on Japan in the first ever air attack on Japan.
A.D. 1938 Chinese troops stop the Japanese advance towards Xuzhou at Taierzhuang. [Taierzhuang]
A.D. 1939 Dikes are broken by military engineers, drastically altering the course of the Huang He in an attempt to stop the Japanese advance.
A.D. 1940 Hundred Regiments Offensive launched by the Communist Red Army commanded by Peng Dehuai against the Japanese in central China.
A.D. 1941 China declares war on the Axis powers, Japan, Germany and Italy on the side of the Allies.
A.D. 1942 Nationalist troops stop and repel advancing Japanese armies from Changsha, effectively halting the Japanese penetration of the interior. [Changsha]
A.D. 1944-1949 Uighur rebels in southwest Xinjiang declare the Eastern Turkestan Republic.
A.D. 1945 Japan surrenders. End of the second World War.
A.D. 1945 Jiang Jieshi's troops reclaim Taiwan island from Japanese rule.
A.D. 1945-1949 China erupts in civil war after the end of the second World War.
A.D. 1946 Chinese troops seize Itu Aba in the Spratlys and Phu Lan Island in the Paracels.
A.D. 1948 Chinese Communists form the North China People's Republic.
A.D. 1949 Communist capture Beiping without a fight and rename it Beijing.

A.D. 1912 China adopts the Gregorian calendar.
A.D. 1925 Death of Sun Yat-sen.
A.D. 1929 Clement Keys a Wall Street investor, starts the first airline in China, China Airways.
A.D. 1939 The Burma road is built to bring supplies to the beleaguered government in Chongqing. [Info more...]

map-Greatest Extent of the Republic of China

 A.D. 1912 Titanic sinks.
A.D. 1914-1918 World War I.
A.D. 1915 Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
A.D. 1917 The Soviet Union or USSR is formed.
A.D. 1918 Worldwide influenza epidemic.
A.D. 1919 Mahatma Gandhi's satyagraha (“truth force”) campaigns.
A.D. 1920 League of Nations holds first meeting at Geneva, Switzerland.
A.D. 1920 Women's suffrage (19th) amendment ratified.
A.D. 1924 Death of Lenin. Rise of Stalin.
A.D. 1929 The start of the Great Depression.
A.D. 1930 Gandhi leads the Salt March against British rule.
A.D. 1931-1945 World War II.
A.D. 1933 Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.
A.D. 1936-1938 Stalin's purges.
A.D. 1940 The Battle of Britain.
A.D. 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
A.D. 1944 D-Day.
A.D. 1945 Atomic bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrenders.
A.D. 1945 United Nations established.
A.D. 1947 India and Pakistan gain independence from Britain.
A.D. 1947 U.S. Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier.
A.D. 1948 Gandhi assassinated.
A.D. 1949-Republic of China
(Zhonghua Min Guo)
(on Taiwan)		 A.D. 1949 Nationalist lose civil war to the Communists and flee to Burma and Taiwan. Taipei becomes the provisional capital with Nanjing as the official capital. Martial Law is imposed.
A.D. 1956 Taiwan occupies Thai Binh Island (Itu Aba - Peace Island), the largest island in the Spratlys.
A.D. 1971 The Republic of China loses its seat in the United Nations to the People's Republic of China.
A.D. 1987 Martial Law is finally lifted.
A.D. 1991 Guomindang relinquishes claim on representing the whole of China.
A.D. 1991 First democratic legislative elections are held.
A.D. 1996 First direct Presidential elections are held.		A.D. 1949 Last KMT troops leave the mainland for Taiwan on December 7th.

map-The Republic of China (Taiwan)		 (see People's Republic of China)
A.D. 1949-

People's Republic of China
(Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo)

A.D. 1950
556
million

A.D. 1953
583
million

A.D. 1990
1,130
million

A.D. 2000
1,300
million

A.D. 1949 Communists win civil war and Beijing becomes the capital of the People's Republic of China.
A.D. 1950 Chinese troops cross the Yalu river into North Korea and push American led UN troops back to the 38th parallel.
A.D. 1950 China occupies more Hoang Sa islands in the Paracels.
A.D. 1950 The PLA enters Tibet. The Dalai Lama goes into exile in India.
A.D. 1954-1964 Periodic bombardment and air raids over Nationalist held Quemoy and Matsu islands.
A.D. 1957 Hundred Flowers campaign briefly allows criticism of the Communist Party.
A.D. 1958-1960 Mao Zedong's "Great Leap Forward", a mis-guided attemped to rapidly modernise results in famine and disorder.
A.D. 1959 China and India clash over a series of minor border conflicts.
A.D. 1962 Sino-Soviet Split.
A.D. 1962 China wins border war with India. [Sino-India]
A.D. 1964-1974 Periodic border conflicts with the USSR over lands taken in the Soviet Far East by Czarist Russia in the 19th century.
A.D. 1966-1969 "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". Red Guard mass hysteria results in wanton destruction of cultural relics and heritage.
A.D. 1969 Combat erupts between Chinese and Soviet forces along multiple points on the Manchurian frontier.
A.D. 1971 The People's Republic of China replaces the Republic of China in the United Nations.
A.D. 1974 China occupies more Hoang Sa islands in the Paracels.
A.D. 1976 China captures the Paracel Islands from Vietnam.
A.D. 1977 Deng Xiaoping restored to power as “Gang of Four” is expelled from Communist Party.
A.D. 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan.
A.D. 1979 China clashes with Vietnam but withdraws after 28 days.
A.D. 1984 China clashes with Vietnam in the Battle of Laoshan.
A.D. 1986-1987 Sumdorung Chu incident with India.
A.D. 1988 Chinese and Vietnamese navies clashed at Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands.
A.D. 1989 PLA sent in to remove mass student protest in Tiananmen Square.
A.D. 1995-1996 "Taiwan Missle Crisis" China test fires missiles into the Taiwan Straits.
A.D. 1997 Hong Kong returns to Chinese control from Britain.
A.D. 1999 Macao returns to Chinese control from Portugal.

A.D. 1964 First successful atomic bomb detonation. China becomes the world's fifth nation to possess atomic weaponry and technology.
A.D. 1967 China detonates its first hydrogen bomb.
A.D. 1970 First Chinese satellite launched.
A.D. 1976 Death of Mao Zedong.
A.D. 1997 Jiang Zemin legalizes private enterprise and unveils a plan to privatize China's state-owned enterprises.
A.D. 2003 First Chinese manned flight into orbit, by Air force pilot Yang Liwei.

map-The People's Republic of China

 

A.D. 1949 NATO Treaty signed.
A.D. 1949 South Africa institutionalizes apartheid.
A.D. 1949 Successful Soviet atomic test.
A.D. 1951 Hydrogen bomb detonated in the United States.
A.D. 1953 Death of Stalin.
A.D. 1953 Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reach top of Mt. Everest.
A.D. 1955 Warsaw Pact formed.
A.D. 1957 USSR launches Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite.
A.D. 1961 World's first man in space, Major Yuri A. Gagarin of the USSR.
A.D. 1961 Cuba invaded at Bay of Pigs.
A.D. 1961 Navy Cmdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr. first American in space.
A.D. 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
A.D. 1963 Martin Luther King delivers “I have a dream” speech.
A.D. 1962 US President Kennedy assassinated.
A.D. 1965-1972 American-Vietnam war.
A.D. 1967 Arab-Israeli six-day war.
A.D. 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
A.D. 1969 American Apollo 11 lands first men on the moon.
A.D. 1979 USSR invades Afghanistan.
A.D. 1981 AIDS is first identified.
A.D. 1982 British-Argentina Falklands war.
A.D. 1985 Gorbachev's "Perestroika" & "Glasnost".
A.D. 1986 Major nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
A.D. 1989 Fall of Berlin Wall. Cold War ends.
A.D. 1990 Hubble Space Telescope launched.
A.D. 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait.
A.D. 1991 Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.
A.D. 1991 Warsaw Pact dissolves.
A.D. 1992 Break-up of the USSR.
A.D. 1994 Rwandan genocide of Tutsis by Hutus.
A.D. 1997 Start of Asian Financial Crisis.
A.D. 2000 Human genome deciphered.
A.D. 2001 Sept. 11 Islamic terrorists attack the United States with hijacked airplanes. U.S. and Allies attack Taliban Regime in Afghanistan.
A.D. 2003 U.S. and Allies launch Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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