| Highlights Of
Chinese History |
|
Year |
Period |
Development/Event |
| 589-618 CE |
Sui Dynasty |
North conquers south and
unites China. The Grand Canal is built. The capital is established
at Changan. |
| 618-907 CE |
Tang Dynasty |
Scholarship and the Arts flouish. Gunpowder
invented. Block (movable type) printing is invented. The silk
road trade to Europe thrives. |
| 907-960 CE |
Five Dynasties (North) and Ten Kingdoms (South) |
A period of war and fragmentation as North and South divides
into smaller kingdoms. |
| 960-1279 CE |
Song Dynasty |
High culture develops.
Painting, Poetry, Calligraphy becomes mainstream. Military powers
decline. The invention of the compass. The Jin invade the North,
the Song moves capital from Kaifeng to Hangzhou. |
| 960-1127 CE |
Northern Song |
| 1127-1279 CE |
Southern Song |
| 1279-1368 CE |
Yuan Dynasty (Mongol) |
Kublai Khan conquers China. A new capital
is established at Peking (Beijing) and the Grand Canal is extended
to supply the capital. Marco Polo serves Khan in China. |
| 1360 CE |
|
Zhang Sanfeng (Chang Sanfeng) travels to Wudang Mountains
is generally credited with inventing the 13 postures of Taijiquan
(T'ai Chi Ch'uan) |
| 1368-1644 CE |
Ming Dynasty |
Mongols are defeated. Strong Emperors
bring about a very prosperous era. Building of the Forbidden
City and Imperial Tombs. Arrival of Jesuits. Changan city changes
it's name to Xian. |
| 1644-1911 CE |
Qing(Ching) Dynasty (Manchu) |
Han People are subjugated by the Manchus. The neglected Forbidden
City is restored and the Summer Palace is rebuilt. |
| 1839-1842 CE |
Foreign trade pressures leads to the
Opium War. |
| 1850-1864 CE |
Taiping Rebellion in the south, Anti-Qing revolt is inspired
by mixture of Chinese and Christian ideas. |
| 1858-1860 CE |
Anglo-French invasions at Canton, Tianjin. Foreign troops
destroy the Summer Palace near Peking. |
| 1894-95 CE |
Sino-Japanese War. Japan dominates Korea and Taiwan |
| 1900 CE |
Anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion is suppressed
by foreign troops. Qing court flees and Westerners occupy Peking. |
| 1911-1949 CE |
Republic of
China |
1911 Revolution. China attempted deomocratic government. |
| 1912 CE |
Sun Yat-Sen briefly serves as China's
first president. Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist party is formed. |
| 1916 CE |
Warlord period begins. |
| 1921 CE |
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is founded) |
| 1926-27 CE |
Joint KMT-CCP expedition against warlords has limited success,
but causes a hostile division of the country. |
| 1934-35 CE |
Long march of the Communists to the
northwest. |
| 1937-1945 CE |
Second Sino-Japanese War. KMT is led by Chian Kai-shek. American
military aids during the World War II. Japan surrenders. |
| 1946-49 CE |
Civil war errupts between the KMT and
the Communist Party (CCP). |
| |
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Continued on next page |