Assignment 3

Main

Portugese reach India -> go onto china

1500 - 1550

China Limits

China's relationship w/west is changing

1750 - 1800

Qing Dynasty is declining and Europe industrializes

Europe Demands more trading rights

1760 - 1800

Opium Era

1770 - 1836

In late 700's, British began selling opium that was grown in India to China. By early 1800's many Chinese had become addicted. Opium drained China's supply of silver, which was used to pay for the drug.

Opium war breaks out

1839

Chinese destroy a British shipment of opium, british defeat chinese easily

Taiping Rebellion

1851 - 1865

More than 20 million people were killed in the struggle, Qing crushed rebels, the fighting weakened the Dynasty

Sphere of Influence

1870 - 1900

Westerners gain economic privileges and political influence over china

Japan defeats China in Sino-Japanese war

1895

as a result, Japan wins formosa (present day Taiwan) and extended it's influence to Korea

Ci Xi comes to power

1898

Ci Xi seized power as empress and ended influence of moderate reformers

Guang Xi supports hundred days of reform

1898

He issued laws to update the civil service exam, organize western style schools and promote economic changes

Boxers attack Chinese Christians & foreigners

1900

Empress secretly encouraged the boxers, who were formed as the Fists of Righteous Harmony, but nicknamed "Boxers" by the westerners

Civil War

1911 - 1928

Country seems ready to break into pieces, power struggle over who rules China.

Revolution of 1911/China becomes republic

1911

1911, China Declares itself a republic. They had no well organized government to replace the Qing Dynasty.

Sun Yatsen serves as president (briefly)

1911

he helped organize nationalist party (Guomindang) had struggle against the Qing dynasty, but when the Qing Dynasty collapsed he returned from the united states to china at once. 3 principles (nationalism, democracy, livelihood)

Yuan Shikai forces Sun out of power

1912

Warloards and regional leaders with their own army battle for power in china

Mao Zedong becomes Communist party leader.

1920 - 1935

Mao believed that communists would succeed in China by winning the support of the peasants. Communists paid peasants for the food their forces required (in the army), and with their support Mao's army grew.

Chinese Communist Party Formed

1921

& joins forces with the Nationalists to expel foreigners and fight the warlords. Hoped to win control of the Nationalist party by working from within.

Sun Yatsen dies

1925

oppoints Chiang Kai-shek as energetic young officers to command the nationalist army, but when Yatsen dies Kai-shek takes over

Chiang expells communists from Guomindang

1927

He killed thousands of their supporters, the surviving communists fled to the mountains of southeastern China

Japanese Invasion

1931 - 1937

Japanese seize Manchuria in 1931, japanese launch all out war against china in 1937.

Long March

1934 - 1935

Chiang launches attack against communists (who were greatly outnumbered). Communists, lead by Mao, trekked 6,000 miles from southeastern China to northwestern China to the province of Shaanxi.

Japan defeated (WW2)

1945

Communists gain power

1949