China TLaH Directions
1. Research these 52 events
2. Remove 3 events and justify why in 3-5 sentences
3. Add one event to the timeline. Ask yourself what is
missing and why?
4. Select 10 events to write mini justifications for.
5. Debate in your groups to get one event per person.
6. Type a 5-10 sentence justification in MLA format with 2
or more resources. Include a mini work cited page.
China TLaH Due Dates
1. Your justification MUST be printed and handed in by
Wednesday, September 24th!!!!!
2. Your rubric will be posted online by FRIDAY,
September 19th!!!
Xia Dynasty
2070-1600 BC
1770 – 1045 B.C.E.
Zhou Dynasty
1554 B.C.E.
The Shang dynasty is founded, and
flourishes for the next five centuries
1045 B.C.E.
The Zhou people conquer the Shang
dynasty
221 BCE
Qin Shi Huangdi unifies China and becomes its first emperor.
220 B.C.E
Construction of the Qin boundary wall,
precursor to the Great Wall of China, starts
206 BC - 220 AD
Han Dynasty first durable state governing the entire Chinese heartland, ushers in first
Chinese cultural "golden age", growth in money economy.
220 - 589 CE
Period of Division
C.E. 581-604
The Unification of China
618-907
Tang Dynasty unites China for nearly three centuries, in what is seen as the second
high point of Chinese civilisation after the Han; imperial sphere of influence reaches
Central Asia for the first time.
960-1276
Song Dynasty
1184
Genghis Khan’s wife, Borte, kidnapped but
successfully rescued
1227
Genghis Khan Dies, leaving an empire
stretching in a single bloc from the Caspian
Sea to the Pacific coast
1271-1368
Mongols conquer China and establish their own
Yuan Dynasty
1368
Ming Dynasty overthrows Mongols and establishes sophisticated agricultural economy,
underpinning strong centralised bureaucracy and military. Great Wall of China
completed in the form seen today.
15th Century
Opium first used in China as a recreational
drug
February 18, 1661
Kangxi inherits the throne, but is too young
to rule by himself. The empire is governed
by four senior advisers
1700-1046
Shang Dynasty - the first Chinese state for which clear written records remain - unites
much of north central China.
1705
Kangxi issues an “Edict of Toleration,”
allowing Jesuits to operate legitimately within
China
1715
Christian missionaries are banned from
preaching in China
1796
Opium is banned in China, but usage
continues regardless
June 1839
First Opium War breaks out after large
stocks of opium are confiscated by port
authorities in Canton (Guangzhou)
August 26, 1839
British forces seize Hong Kong, using it as a
base from which to launch further military
action
1856
The Second Opium War breaks out after the
British ship Arrow is seized and searched by
Chinese officials
August 29,1842
Treaty of Nanking is signed, granting Brittain trade rights and possession of
Hong Kong.
1931-45
Japan invades and gradually occupies more
and more of China
1931-1945
Japan invades and gradually occupies more and more of China.
October 16, 1934-October 19, 1935
Mao leads the Long March to escape
Nationalist forces and gains support among
the Communist Party members
1943
Mao becomes chairman of the Chinese
Communist Party
December 1949
Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces are
defeated, and flee to Taiwan
1950
New marriage law bans polygamy and arranged marriages. Tries to strengthen women's
status.
1950
China intervenes in the Korean war on the side
of North Korea
1958
Mao launches the "Great Leap Forward", a five-year economic plan. Farming is
collectivised and labour-intensive industry is introduced. The drive produces economic
breakdown and is abandoned after two years. Disruption to agriculture is blamed for
the deaths by starvation of millions of people following poor harvests.
1959
Chinese forces suppress large-scale revolt in Tibet.
1966
Mao launches the Cultural Revolution,
challenging “bourgeois” thinking
July 1971
Henry Kissinger visits China secretly
September 1971
Lin Biao is killed in airplane crash while fleeing after an attempted military coup.
1972
Richard M. Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to visit Communist China.
1976
Mao dies. "Gang of Four", including Mao's widow, jockey for power but are arrested
and convicted of crimes against the state. From 1977 Deng Xiaoping emerges as the
dominant figure among pragmatists in the leadership. Under him, China undertakes farreaching economic reforms.
1982
China's population surpasses 1 billion people.
1985
Free higher education is abolished and replaced by academic scholarships based on
academic ability
1989
About 1 million students hold pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
The uprising is crushed by the army
1991
First McDonald's Restaurant opens in Beijing.
1997
China regains control of Hong Kong, which had been under British rule for 99 years
.
1999
Macao reverts back to chinese rule
June 2001
China carries out military exercises simulating an invasion of Taiwan, at the same time
as the island's armed forces test their capability to defend Taiwan against a missile
attack from China.
2001
China joins the World Trade Organization
2005
August - China and Russia hold their first joint
military exercises.
February 2009
Russia and China sign $25bn deal to supply China with oil for next 20 years in
exchange for loans.
2008
Beijing hosts Olympic Games
2010
China officially surpasses Japan to become the world’s second largest economy.
March 2010
The web giant Google ends its compliance with Chinese internet censorship and starts
redirecting web searches to a Hong Kong, in response to cyber attacks on e-mail
accounts of human rights activists.
October 2010
Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is awarded Nobel Peace Prize, prompting official
protests from Beijing.