Timeline of Chinese history

This is a timeline of Chinese history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in China and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of China. See also the list of Chinese monarchs, Chinese emperors family tree, dynasties in Chinese history and years in China.

Timeline of Chinese history

Dates prior to 841 BC, the beginning of the Gonghe Regency, are provisional and subject to dispute.

Prehistoric China

80,000 BP H. sapiens appears in modern Dao County, Hunan.[1]
20000 BCPottery was used in Xianren Cave.[2]
7600 BCThe Zengpiyan culture appeared.
Pigs were first domesticated in China.[3]
7500 BCThe Pengtoushan culture appeared.
Rice was first domesticated in China.
7000 BCThe Peiligang culture appeared.
6600 BCThe Jiahu symbols were first used at Jiahu.
6500 BCThe Cishan culture appeared.
6000 BCDogs were first domesticated in China.[3]
4000 BCSymbols were carved into pottery at Banpo.
3630 BCSilk processing was invented by the Yangshao culture.

Antiquity

YearDateEvent
2570 BCSilk was produced by the Liangzhu culture.
2500 BCBattle of Banquan: The forces of the divine farmer were repelled by a force of tribes allied under the Yellow Emperor.
Battle of Zhuolu: A combined army of tribes under the Yellow Emperor defeated Hmong invasion at Zhuolo.
2366 BCZhi became king.
2361 BCSettlers first contact with Văn Lang.[4]

22nd century BC

YearDateEvent
2200 BCGreat Flood: Yu the Great completed a drainage system which ended the periodic and destructive flooding of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. (Reliable Archaeological discoveries depict that it happened around 1920BC.[5])
The Nine Tripod Cauldrons were forged from metal given in tribute to Yu by the Nine Provinces.
2117 BCTai Kang became king of the Xia dynasty.

21st century BC

YearDateEvent
2075 BCXiang of Xia became king of the Xia dynasty.
2047 BCXiang was murdered and displaced as king on the orders of the warlord Han Zhuo. His pregnant wife fled the capital Shangqiu.
Xiang's wife gave birth to a son, Shao Kang.
2007 BCThe people of Shangqiu welcomed an army loyal to Shao into the city. Han committed suicide.

Centuries: 20th BC · 19th BC · 18th BC · 17th BC · 16th BC · 15th BC · 14th BC · 13th BC · 12th BC · 11th BC · 10th BC · 9th BC · 8th BC · 7th BC · 6th BC · 5th BC · 4th BC · 3rd BC · 2nd BC · 1st BC

20th century BC

YearDateEvent
1985 BCZhu of Xia became king of the Xia dynasty.
1968 BCZhu died. He was succeeded by his son Huai of Xia.
1924 BCHuai died. He was succeeded by his son Mang of Xia.
1906 BCMang was succeeded by his son Xie of Xia.

19th century BC

YearDateEvent
1900 BCThe Erlitou culture appeared.
1890 BCXie was succeeded by his son Bu Jiang.
1831 BCBu abdicated in favor of his younger brother Jiong of Xia.
Mount Tai earthquake: An earthquake occurred at Mount Tai.
1810 BCJiong was succeeded by his son Jin of Xia.

18th century BC

YearDateEvent
1789 BCJin was succeeded by his cousin, Bu's son Kong Jia.
1758 BCKong was succeeded by his son Gao of Xia.
1747 BCGao was succeeded by his son Fa of Xia.
1728 BCFa was succeeded by his son Jie of Xia.

17th century BC

YearDateEvent
1675 BCJie was succeeded by Tang of Shang, marking the beginning of the Shang dynasty.

16th century BC

YearDateEvent
1600 BCBattle of Mingtiao: the Shang clan (later Shang dynasty) overthrow the corrupt and last emperor of the Xia dynasty

15th century BC

YearDateEvent
1500 BCThe Erligang culture appeared.

13th century BC

YearDateEvent
1290 BCPan Geng became king of the Shang dynasty.
The capital of the Shang dynasty was moved from Yan to Yin.
1250 BCWu Ding became king of the Shang dynasty.
Oracle bones were first used for divination; evidence of oracle bone script first appears.

12th century BC

YearDateEvent
1200 BCWu's wife, the general and high priestess Fu Hao, died and was buried at the tomb of Fu Hao in Yinxu.
1192 BCWu died. He was succeeded by his son Zu Geng of Shang.
1170 BCGeng Ding became king of the Shang dynasty.
1147 BCGeng was succeeded by his son Wu Yi of Shang.
1112 BCWu was killed by lightning while out hunting. He was succeeded by his son Wen Ding.
1101 BCWen was succeeded by his son Di Yi.

11th century BC

YearDateEvent
1076 BCDi died.
1075 BCDi was succeeded as king of the Shang dynasty by his son King Zhou of Shang.
1050 BCKing Wen of Zhou died.
1047 BCZhou took Daji as his concubine.
1046 BCBattle of Muye: The forces of the predynastic Zhou, led by King Wu of Zhou and aided by Shang dynasty defectors, dealt a bloody defeat to Shang forces at Muye, near Yinxu.
Zhou committed suicide by burning himself with his jewels on the Deer Terrace Pavilion.
1043 BCWu died.
1042 BCWu was succeeded by his son King Cheng of Zhou.
1034 BCChinese bronze inscriptions came into use.
1021 BCCheng died.
1020 BCCheng was succeeded by his son King Kang of Zhou.

10th century BC

YearDateEvent
1000 BCThe Classic of Poetry was compiled.
996 BCKang died.
976 BCKing Mu of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
964 BCMu led an unsuccessful expedition against the Quanrong.
922 BCMu died. He was succeeded by his son King Gong of Zhou.

9th century BC

YearDateEvent
900 BCGong died.
899 BCGong's son Ji Jian, King Yi of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
892 BCJi Jian died.
891 BCJi Jian's uncle, Mu's son King Xiao of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
886 BCXiao died.
885 BCJi Jian's son Ji Xie, King Yi of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
878 BCJi Xie died.
877 BCJi Xie's son King Li of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
842 BCA popular revolt forced Li into exile near Linfen.
841 BCThe Gonghe Regency came into power.
828 BCLi died.
827 BCLi's son King Xuan of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.

8th century BC

YearDateEvent
782 BCXuan died.
781 BCXuan's son King You of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
779 BCYou took Bao Si as his concubine.
771 BCThe Marquess of Shen, whose daughter had been replaced by Bao Si as queen, led an attack on Haojing in alliance with the Quanrong. You and Bao's son Bofu were killed.
770 BCYou's son King Ping of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
Ping moved the Zhou capital east to Luoyang.
720 BCPing died.
719 BCPing's grandson King Huan of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
707 BCBattle of Xuge: Huan, in coalition with the Zhou vassal states Chen, Cai and Wey, led a punitive expedition against Zheng. The coalition was defeated and Huan was wounded.

7th century BC

YearDateEvent
697 BCHuan died.
696 BCHuan's son King Zhuang of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
685 BCDuke Huan of Qi became duke of Qi.
682 BCZhuang died.
681 BCZhuang's son King Xi of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
677 BCXi died.
676 BCXi's son King Hui of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
652 BCHui died.
651 BCHui's son King Xiang of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
645 BCThe Qi chancellor Guan Zhong died.
632 BCBattle of Chengpu: Jin and its allies decisively defeated a coalition led by Chu.
630 BCSunshu Ao was born.
619 BCXiang died.
618 BCXiang's son King Qing of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
613 BCQing died.
612 BCQing's son King Kuang of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
607 BCKuang died.
606 BCKuang's brother King Ding of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.

6th century BC

YearDateEvent
600 BCKnife money came into use.
595 BCBattle of Bi: Chu decisively defeated Jin at Bi, near modern Xingyang.
586 BCDing died.
585 BCDing's son King Jian of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
575 BCBattle of Yanling: A numerically superior Chu force was defeated by Jin in modern Yanling County. King Gong of Chu was injured.
572 BCJian died.
571 BCJian's son King Ling of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
551 BCConfucius was born.
548 BCThe earliest surviving reference to Go appeared.
545 BCLing died.
544 BCLing's son Ji Gui, King Jing of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
The Chinese people were first divided into a caste system of four occupations.
543 BCThe Zheng prime minister Zichan established the state's first written civil code.
520 BCJi Gui died. He was succeeded by his son King Dao of Zhou.
Dao was murdered by his brother.
519 BCDao's brother Ji Gai, King Jing of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
515 BCThe Wu king Liao was killed by the assassin Zhuan Zhu.
514 BCKing Helü of Wu became king of Wu.
506 BCBattle of Boju: Wu decisively defeated a numerically superior Chu force at Boju.

5th century BC

YearDateEvent
500 BCCast iron was first invented in China.
486 BCThe Wu king King Fuchai of Wu ordered the building of the Han Canal.
484 BCWu Zixu died.
482 BCThe Yue king King Goujian of Yue captured the Wu capital in a surprise assault.
477 BCJi Gai died.
475 BCJi Gai's son King Yuan of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
473 BCWu was annexed by Yue.
470 BCMozi was born.
469 BCYuan died.
518 BCYuan's son King Zhending of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
465 BCGoujian died.
441 BCZhending died. He was succeeded by his son King Ai of Zhou.
Ai was murdered and succeeded as king by his younger brother King Si of Zhou.
Si was murdered by his brother King Kao of Zhou.
440 BCKao became king of the Zhou dynasty.
432 BCThe tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng was constructed.
426 BCKao died.
425 BCKao's son King Weilie of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
403 BCPartition of Jin: Weilie recognized the Jin nobles Marquess Wen of Wei, Marquess Lie of Zhao and Marquess Jing of Han as marquesses, granting de jure independence from Jin to the states of Wei, Zhao and Han.
402 BCWeilie died.
401 BCWeilie's son King An of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.

4th century BC

YearDateEvent
400 BCGan De was born.
Shi Shen was born.
The earliest surviving Chinese maps appeared.
The first Chinese star catalogue was compiled.
389 BCThe Zuo Zhuan was published.
386 BCThe city of Handan was founded to serve as the Zhao capital.
381 BCThe Chu prime minister Wu Qi was murdered by nobles at the funeral of its king King Dao of Chu.
376 BCAn died.
375 BCAn's son King Lie of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
Zheng was annexed by Han.
370 BCZhuang Zhou was born.
369 BCLie died.
368 BCLie's brother King Xian of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
361 BCDuke Xiao of Qin became duke of Qin.
356 BCXiao's adviser Shang Yang implemented a legal code in Qin based on the Canon of Laws which established punishment for complicity in a crime, established a system of military ranks, and implemented policies encouraging the cultivation of unsettled land.
354 BCBattle of Guiling: Wei laid siege to the Zhao capital Handan.
353 BCBattle of Guiling: The Wei army fled Handan in response to reports of a Qi attack on their capital Daliang and were defeated by Qi forces at Guiling, in modern Changyuan County.
342 BCBattle of Maling: Qi dealt Wei a bloody defeat.
The crossbow was first used in China.
338 BCXiao died. He was succeeded by his son King Huiwen of Qin.
Shang and his family were executed by dismemberment on charges of treason.
321 BCXian died.
320 BCXian's son King Shenjing of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
319 BCThe Confucian Mencius became a Qi official.
316 BCSun Bin died.
Shu was conquered and annexed by Qin.
Ba was conquered and annexed by Qin.
315 BCShenjing died.
314 BCShenjing's son King Nan of Zhou became king of the Zhou dynasty.
311 BCHuiwen died.
310 BCHuiwen's son King Wu of Qin became king of Qin.
Xun Kuang was born.
307 BCThe Zhou king King Wuling of Zhao ordered his cavalry to begin wearing clothes fashioned after those of the Donghu and Xiongnu peoples.
Wu died.
306 BCWu's brother King Zhaoxiang of Qin became king of Qin.
305 BCZou Yan was born. The Tsinghua Bamboo Slips were written.

3rd century BC

YearDateEvent
300 BCErya was published.
The Guodian Chu Slips were produced.
293 BCBattle of Yique: Qin dealt a bloody defeat to a Wei-Han alliance.
278 BCQin conquered the Chu capital Ying.
The Chu poet Qu Yuan wrote Lament for Ying and drowned himself in the Miluo River because he could not bear his exile any long or to his despair for the state of his fellow countrymen
262 BCAprilBattle of Changping: Zhao intercepted a Qin invasion of the commandery of Shangdang .
260 BCJulyBattle of Changping: Qin forces encircled the Zhao army, forcing its surrender. The Zhao general Zhao Kuo was killed in action.
JulyBattle of Changping: The captured Zhao soldiers were executed.
259 BC 18 February Qin Shi Huang is Born.
256 BCNan submitted to Zhaoxiang and took the title Duke of West Zhou.
Nan died. His territory was annexed by Qin.
The Dujiangyan irrigation system was built.
251 BCZhaoxiang died.
250 BCThe first drawings of the repeating crossbow appeared in Chu records.
13 SeptemberZhaoxiang's son King Xiaowen of Qin became king of Qin.
15 SeptemberXiaowen died. He was succeeded by his son King Zhuangxiang of Qin.
247 BC7 MayZhuangxiang died. He was succeeded by his son Qin Shi Huang.
246 BCThe Zhengguo Canal was completed by Zheng Guo of Qin.
230 BCQin's wars of unification: Qin invaded Han.
227 BCJing Ke failed in an assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang.
225 BCQin conquered Wei.
223 BCQin conquered Chu.
222 BCQin conquered Yan.
Qin conquered Zhao.
221 BCQin conquered Qi.
The Heirloom Seal of the Realm was carved.
220 BCQin Shi Huang took the title Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China.
Construction began on the Great Wall of China.
Chancellor Li Si standardized the Chinese writing system with the creation of Small Seal Script.
214 BCThe Lingqu Canal was built.
213 BCBurning of books and burying of scholars: All copies of the Classic of Poetry, the Book of Documents and works of the Hundred Schools of Thought were ordered burned.
210 BC10 SeptemberQin Shi Huang died from mercury pills made by his alchemists and court physicians; ironically these pills were meant to make Qin Shi Huang immortal.
Qin Shi Huang was buried with the Terracotta Army in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
OctoberQin Shi Huang's son Qin Er Shi succeeded him as emperor of China.
209 BCThe Xiongnu chanyu Modu Chanyu established the Xiongnu Empire on the Eurasian Steppe.
JulyDazexiang Uprising: Military officers Chen Sheng and Wu Guang began a rebellion for fear of being executed after failing to arrive at their posts.
DecemberDazexiang Uprising: Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were assassinated by their own men.
208 BCLi was executed on charges of treason. Zhao Gao, who had framed him, was appointed chancellor in his stead.
207 BCBattle of Julu: Chu forces led by the warlord Xiang Yu defeated a numerically superior Qin force, killing a large fraction of the Qin army.
OctoberZhao Gao had Qin Er Shi killed. Qin Er Shi's nephew Ziying succeeded him.
The Chu general Emperor Gaozu of Han entered the Qin capital Xianyang.
DecemberZiying killed Zhao.
DecemberZiying surrendered to Gaozu.
206 BCFeast at Hong Gate: Gaozu fled a banquet after it became clear that Xiang had invited him there to be killed.
Xiang led an army into Xianyang, burned the Epang Palace and killed Ziying and the royal family.
205 BCBattle of Jingxing: Han forces dealt a decisive defeat to a numerically superior Zhao army at Jingxing Pass.
204 BCThe Qin general Zhao Tuo established the state of Nanyue.
202 BCBattle of Gaixia: Gaozu's Han forces destroyed the Western Chu army led by Xiang in modern Suzhou.
Gaozu took the title emperor and established his capital in Luoyang.

2nd century BC

YearDateEvent
200 BCBattle of Baideng: The Xiongnu encircled and besieged a superior Han force.
The multi-tube seed drill was invented.
195 BC1 JuneGaozu died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Hui of Han.
193 BCThe Han chancellor Xiao He died.
190 BCChang'an became the eastern terminus of the Silk Road to Europe.
188 BCHui died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Qianshao of Han.
186 BCZhang Liang died.
184 BCQianshao was deposed and killed on the orders of the empress dowager Empress Lü Zhi. He was succeeded by his brother Emperor Houshao of Han.
180 BCLü Clan Disturbance: Houshao was deposed by imperial officials led by Chen Ping and Zhou Bo. He was succeeded by his uncle, Gaozu's son Emperor Wen of Han.
168 BCThe Mawongdui Silk Texts were buried at Mawongdui.
157 BCSummerWen died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Jing of Han.
141 BC9 MarchJing died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Wu of Han.
140 BCWu adopted Confucianism.
139 BCThe Eight Immortals of Huainan published the Huainanzi.
135 BCHan campaigns against Minyue: The Han dynasty invaded Minyue after a plea for assistance from its vassal state Nanyue.
Southward expansion of the Han dynasty: The Han dynasty annexed Minyue.
133 BCJuneBattle of Mayi: A Han deception failed to lure the Xiongnu into an ambush at Mayi.
125 BCZhang Qian returned to the Han court to report on his travels to the kingdoms of Dayuan, Kangju, the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms, Parthia and Mesopotamia.
119 BCJanuaryBattle of Mobei: A Han expedition into the Orkhon Valley began which would deal a decisive and bloody defeat to the Xiongnu.
111 BCHan campaigns against Minyue: The Minyue rump state of Dongyue was invaded and annexed by the Han dynasty.
Han–Nanyue War: The Han dynasty conquered and annexed Nanyue.
109 BCHan campaigns against Dian: The Han dynasty invaded and annexed the Dian Kingdom.
108 BCDecemberBattle of Loulan: Han forces attacked the Loulan Kingdom at Lop Nur.
102 BCHan forces laid siege to Kokand.

1st century BC

YearDateEvent
100 BCSteel was first used in China.
91 BCSima Qian completed the Records of the Grand Historian.
87 BC29 MarchWu died. He was succeeded by his young son Emperor Zhao of Han, with Huo Guang, Jin Midi and Shangguang Jie acting as regents.
86 BCJin died.
74 BCZhao died.
18 JulyThe Prince of Changyi was appointed emperor of Han by Huo Guang.
14 AugustThe Prince of Changyi was deposed.
Huo appointed Wu's great-grandson, then a commoner, Emperor Xuan of Han.
67 BCDecemberBattle of Jushi: Han forces defeated the people of the Gushi culture, at that time subject to the Xiongnu, at Jiaohe in modern Turpan.
60 BCThe Protectorate of the Western Regions was established.
49 BCXuan died.
48 BCXuan's son Emperor Yuan of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.
Consort Ban was born.
40 BCThe earliest surviving Chinese record of the treadle-operated tilt hammer appeared.
37 BCJing Fang died.
36 BCDecemberBattle of Zhizhi: A Han force breached and destroyed a fortress occupied by the Xiongnu chanyu Zhizhi Chanyu at Taraz, killing him.
33 BCYuan died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Cheng of Han.
30 BCThe earliest surviving mention of the wheelbarrow appeared.
18 BCLiu Xiang compiled the Biographies of Exemplary Women.
7 BCCheng died. He was succeeded by his nephew Emperor Ai of Han.
1 BCAi died.
Ai's young cousin Emperor Ping of Han was appointed emperor of the Han dynasty, with Wang Mang acting as regent.

Centuries: 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th · 11th · 12th · 13th · 14th · 15th · 16th · 17th · 18th · 19th · 20th

1st century

YearDateEvent
1The first model of a stern-mounted rudder was produced.
2A census counted fifty-nine million people in the Han empire.
3Ping established a national school system. Ban Biao, first author of the Book of Han, is born.
63 FebruaryPing died after being poisoned by Wang, who became acting emperor.
8Liu Xin completed a star catalogue and calculated the length of the year.
9Wang declared himself emperor of the Xin dynasty.
Wang introduced the well-field system of land distribution and agricultural production.
10Wang introduced an income tax of ten percent for professionals and skilled laborers.
Wang outlawed the private use of crossbows.
12Wang abandoned the well-field system under pressure from the aristocracy.
17Wang imposed government monopolies on liquor, salt, iron, coinage, forestry, and fishing.
Mother Lü initiated a rebellion against a county magistrate in Haiqu County, near modern Rizhao.
18Yang Xiong died.
23Battle of Kunyang: Lülin forces broke the siege of Kunyang, in modern Ye County, by a vastly superior Xin army.
6 OctoberLülin rebels stormed the Weiyang Palace and killed Wang. The Gengshi Emperor ascended the throne, restoring the Han dynasty.
25Red Eyebrows Rebellions: The Gengshi Emperor was executed.
Red Eyebrows Rebellions: The Red Eyebrows appointed Liu Penzi their emperor.
5 AugustThe Han warlord Emperor Guangwu of Han took the title emperor.
27Red Eyebrows Rebellions: The Red Eyebrows surrendered to the Han dynasty.
31Du Shi invented waterwheel-powered bellows for smelting cast iron.
32Ban Gu, co-author of the Book of Han, is born.
33A blockade of the Yangtze River by the rebel Gongsun Shu was broken by Han castle ships.
43Second Chinese domination of Vietnam: Vietnam fell into Han control.
45Ban Zhao, China's first female historian, is born.
52The Yuejue Shu was written.
5729 MarchGuangwu died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Ming of Han.
58The Han chancellor Deng Yu died.
65Ming's half brother Liu Ying converted to Buddhism.
68The Buddhist White Horse Temple was established in Luoyang.
73FebruaryBattle of Yiwulu: A punitive Han expedition against the Xiongnu captured territory in the area of modern Hami City.
75Ming died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Zhang of Han.
83Wang Chong correctly theorized the nature of the water cycle.
87Yuan An was appointed situ.
88Zhang died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor He of Han.
89JuneBattle of the Altai Mountains: Han and allied forces defeated the army of the Northern Chanyu and accepted the surrender of two hundred thousand Xiongnu soldiers in the Altai Mountains.
97The Han general Ban Chao sent the envoy Gan Ying to the outskirts of the Roman Empire.
100Xu Shen completed the Shuowen Jiezi.

2nd century

YearDateEvent
105Cai Lun invented papermaking.
13 FebruaryHe died.
His infant son Emperor Shang of Han was made emperor of Han with empress dowager Deng Sui acting as regent.
106Shang died.
Shang's young cousin Emperor An of Han became emperor, with Deng Sui continuing to act as regent.
111Ban Zhao completed the Book of Han.
120Zhang Heng completed a star catalogue which also argued for a spherical moon that reflects light.
125Zhang invented the first hydraulic-powered armillary sphere.
The earliest known Chinese depiction of a mechanical distance-marking odometer was drawn.
30 AprilAn died.
The Marquess of Beixiang became emperor of the Han dynasty.
The Marquess of Beixiang died.
An's son Emperor Shun of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.
132Zhang invented a seismometer capable of indicating the direction of earthquakes.
Cai Yong was born.
142The Cantong qi was published.
144Shun died. He was succeeded by his infant son Emperor Chong of Han, with empress dowager Liang Na and her brother Liang Ji acting as regents.
145Chong died.
Chong's young third cousin Emperor Zhi of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty, with Liang Na acting as regent.
146Liang Ji poisoned Zhi, killing him.
1 AugustEmperor Huan of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.
147Lokaksema was born.
148The Buddhist missionary An Shigao arrived in China.
166Sino-Roman relations: A Roman envoy arrived at the Han capital Luoyang.
Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions: Several ministers and some two hundred university students, who had opposed the influence of corrupt eunuchs at the royal court, were arrested.
168Huan died.
Emperor Ling of Han became emperor of the Han dynasty.
177Cai Wenji was born.
179The earliest known reference to The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art appeared.
180Ding Huan invented the rotary fan.
184Yellow Turban Rebellion: The Taoist sect leader Zhang Jue called on his followers in the Han provinces to rebel against the government.
WinterLiang Province Rebellion: The Qiang people launched a rebellion against Han authority in the area of modern Wuwei.
185Zhi Yao first translated Buddhist texts into Chinese.
18913 MayLing died.
Ling's son Liu Bian became emperor of the Han dynasty.
Forces loyal to the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu massacred some two thousand eunuchs in the Han capital Luoyang.
28 SeptemberThe Han general Dong Zhuo deposed Liu Bian as emperor and appointed his brother Emperor Xian of Han in his stead.
190FebruaryCampaign against Dong Zhuo: A coalition led by Yuan Shao gathered at Hangu Pass in anticipation of an expedition against Dong.
19222 MayDong was assassinated by his foster son Lü Bu.
194Sun Ce's conquests in Jiangdong: The warlord Sun Ce attacked and conquered territory administered by Lu Kang.
197War between Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu almost take Cao Cao's life. Cao Cao's oldest son perished in the battle, but Zhang Xiu later (199) surrendered to Cao Cao to face Yuan Shao together.
198WinterBattle of Xiapi: The allied forces of the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeated an army loyal to Lü Bu in Xuzhou.
200NovemberBattle of Guandu: Forces loyal to Cao Cao dealt a bloody defeat to Yuan Shao near the confluence of the Bian and Yellow Rivers.

3rd century

YearDateEvent
204The warlord Gongsun Kang established the Daifang Commandery on the Korean Peninsula.
208WinterBattle of Red Cliffs: Forces loyal to the warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan decisively repelled Cao Cao in an attempted invasion across the Yangtze River.
211SeptemberBattle of Tong Pass: Cao Cao defeated an alliance of anti-Han rebels in modern Tongguan County, securing his control over Guanzhong.
215Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province: Liu Zhang, the governor of Yi Province in modern Sichuan and Chongqing, surrendered Chengdu to Liu Bei.
Battle of Xiaoyao Ford: A plague outbreak forced Sun Quan to abandon the attempted conquest from Cao Cao of a fortress at Hefei.
219Battle of Han River: Liu Bei ambushed and dealt a bloody defeat to Cao Cao's army in Hanzhong.
SeptemberBattle of Fancheng: Cao Cao repelled an attack by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu in modern Fancheng District, at great cost to both sides.
DecemberLü Meng's invasion of Jing Province: Liu Bei's generals Shi Ren and Mi Fang defected to Sun Quan, surrendering to his general Lü Meng the main defense posts of Jingzhou.
22010 DecemberEnd of the Han dynasty: Cao Cao's son Cao Pi forced Xian to abdicate the throne and declared himself emperor of Cao Wei.
221Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han.
Battle of Xiaoting: The Shu Han generals Wu Ban and Feng Xi attacked and destroyed an Eastern Wu army at Wu Gorge.
222Sun Quan declared himself king of Eastern Wu.
Battle of Xiaoting: Eastern Wu forces attacked and burned the Shu Han camps and dealt serious casualties during their retreat.
22310 JuneLiu Bei died. He was succeeded by his son Liu Shan, with Li Yan and chancellor Zhuge Liang acting as regents.
225AutumnZhuge Liang's Southern Campaign: The rebel leader Meng Huo surrendered Nanzhong to Zhuge Liang.
22629 JuneCao Pi died. He was succeeded by Cao Rui, who may have been his son or his wife Lady Zhen's by a previous marriage to Yuan Xi.
228Battle of Jieting: Cao Wei forces encircled and destroyed a Shu Han army guarding the supply line for an invasion in modern Qin'an County.
Battle of Shiting: A Cao Wei army was lured into an ambush by Eastern Wu in modern Qianshan County and dealt heavy casualties on its retreat.
232Cao Zhi died.
234AutumnBattle of Wuzhang Plains: Shu Han forces made an orderly retreat from Cao Wei forces on the Wuzhang Plains after Zhuge Liang fell ill and died.
23922 JanuaryCao Rui died. He was succeeded by his young adopted son Cao Fang, with Cao Shuang and Sima Yi acting as regents.
244AprilBattle of Xingshi: Shu Han forces stalled a Cao Wei invasion at Mount Xingshi in the modern Changqing National Nature Reserve.
247Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions: Cao Wei pushed back an invasion by the Shu Han general Jiang Wei across the Tao River.
248Eastern Wu forces killed the Vietnamese rebel Lady Triệu.
249Incident at Gaoping Tombs: Sima Yi took control of the Cao Wei capital Luoyang during Cao Fang and Cao Shuang's absence.
252Sun Quan died. He was succeeded by his young son Sun Liang, with the general Zhuge Ke acting as regent.
254Sima Yi's son, the regent Sima Shi, deposed Cao Fang, who was succeeded by Cao Pi's grandson Cao Mao.
255Ma Jun invented the south-pointing chariot.
258Sun Liang was deposed by the regent Sun Chen.
Sun Liang's brother Sun Xiu was made emperor of Eastern Wu.
260Coup of Cao Mao: Cao Mao was murdered in a failed attempt to kill the regent Sima Zhao at his residence.
Cao Cao's grandson Cao Huan was made emperor of Cao Wei.
263NovemberConquest of Shu by Wei: The Cao Wei general Deng Ai accepted the surrender of the Shu Han emperor Liu Shan outside the capital Chengdu.
Liu Hui published a revised version of The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art.
2643 SeptemberSun Xiu died.
Sun Quan's grandson Sun Hao was made emperor of Eastern Wu.
265Cao Wei instituted the nine-rank system of civil servants.
6 SeptemberSima Zhao died. His eldest son and heir, Sima Yan, inherited his position as regent of Cao Wei and noble title of King of Jin.
Pei Xiu introduced the grid reference and the concept of scale to Chinese mapmaking.
2664 FebruaryCao Huan, last emperor of Cao Wei, abdicated in favour of Sima Yan.
8 FebruarySima Yan formally enthroned himself as Emperor of Jin, establishing the Jin dynasty. Sima Yan is posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Jin.
20 MarchEmperor Wu of Jin established his wife Yang Yan as Empress.
2674 FebruaryEmperor Wu of Jin established his oldest living son, the developmentally disabled Sima Zhong, as Heir.
28015 MarchConquest of Wu by Jin: Sun Hao presented himself as a prisoner to the Jin general Wang Jun.
Chen Shou compiled the Records of the Three Kingdoms.
29017 MayEmperor Wu died. He was succeeded by his developmentally disabled son Emperor Hui of Jin, with Yang Jun acting as regent.
291War of the Eight Princes: Hui's wife Jia Nanfeng invited troops loyal to his brother Sima Wei into the Jin capital Luoyang to imprison the empress dowager Empress Yang Zhi and her relatives.

4th century

YearDateEvent
304The Xiongnu noble Liu Yuan declared himself prince of Former Zhao.
The Di warlord Li Xiong declared himself prince of Cheng Han.
3078 JanuaryHui was poisoned, probably by the regent Sima Yue.
Hui's brother Emperor Huai of Jin became emperor of the Jin dynasty.
311Huai was kidnapped from the capital Luoyang by Former Zhao forces.
313Goguryeo conquered and annexed the Lelang Commandery.
14 MarchHuai was executed.
Huai's nephew Emperor Min of Jin became emperor of the Jin dynasty.
316Min surrendered to the Former Zhao general Liu Yao during a siege of the Jin capital Chang'an.
317Emperor Yuan of Jin declared himself prince of Jin, with his capital at Jiankang.
318Min was executed.
319The Jie warlord Shi Le declared himself prince of Later Zhao.
320Zhang Mao issued a general pardon to the people of Former Liang.
322The first accurate tomb depiction of stirrups appeared.
3233 JanuaryYuan died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Ming of Jin.
324The rebel Wang Dun died.
32518 OctoberMing died. He was succeeded by his young son Emperor Cheng of Jin.
328The rebel Su Jun was defeated by the Jin generals Tao Kan and Wen Jiao.
329The Later Zhao general Shi Hu captured Shanggui in modern Tianshui and killed the Former Zhao emperor Liu Xi and his nobility.
33723 NovemberThe Xianbei Murong Huang declared himself prince of Former Yan.
34226 JuneCheng died. He was succeeded by his brother Emperor Kang of Jin.
34417 NovemberKang died. He was succeeded by his infant son Emperor Mu of Jin.
347The Jin general Huan Wen captured the Cheng Han capital Chengdu.
351The Jin general and Di chief Fu Jian declared himself Tian Wang of Former Qin.
The Later Zhao emperor Shi Zhi and his court were killed by one of his generals on the orders of the warlord Ran Min.
353Wang Xizhi wrote the Lantingji Xu.
36110 JulyMu died.
Mu's cousin Emperor Ai of Jin became emperor of the Jin dynasty.
36530 MarchAi died. He was succeeded by his brother Emperor Fei of Jin.
366Gu Kaizhi became a Jin officer.
369A Jin army led by Huan was annihilated as it retreated from the Former Yan capital Ye by the general Murong Chui.
370The Former Yan emperor Murong Wei was captured by the Former Qin prime minister Wang Meng.
3726 JanuaryHuan deposed Fei in favor of his granduncle Emperor Jianwen of Jin.
12 SeptemberJianwen died. He was succeeded by his young son Emperor Xiaowu of Jin.
37626 SeptemberDuke Zhang Tianxi of Former Liang surrendered to Former Qin.
383NovemberBattle of Fei River: A Jin army defeated a massively larger Former Qin force, inflicting some seven hundred thousand casualties and expanding Jin territory north to the Yellow River.
384The Xianbei Former Qin general Murong Chui declared himself prince of Later Yan.
The Former Qin general Yao Chang declared himself prince of Later Qin.
385The Xianbei chief and Former Qin vassal Qifu Guoren joined an active rebellion and declared the independence of Western Qin.
38620 FebruaryEmperor Daowu of Northern Wei declared himself prince of Northern Wei.
The Former Qin general Lü Guang declared himself Tian Wang of the majority-Di Later Liang.
394The Former Qin emperor Fu Chong was killed and his territory annexed by Western Qin forces.
396Xiaowu was suffocated by one of his concubines. He was succeeded by his young and severely disabled son Emperor An of Jin.
397Xiongnu rebels established the Northern Liang, with the Han Duan Ye as king.
The Xianbei chief Tufa Wugu declared the independence of Southern Liang from Later Liang.
398Murong Chui's brother Murong De declared himself prince of Southern Yan.
399Faxian left for India to acquire Buddhist texts.
400Six commanderies of Northern Liang seceded as Western Liang, under the kingship of the Han Li Gao.

5th century

YearDateEvent
403Under military pressure from Southern Liang and Northern Liang, the Later Liang emperor Lü Long surrendered his capital Guzang, in modern Wuwei, to the Later Qin emperor Yao Xing.
404Huiyuan wrote On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings, arguing for the independence of Buddhist clergy from the monarchy.
405Tao Yuanming retired.
407The Later Yan emperor Murong Xi was beheaded by his adoptive nephew, the Korean people Gao Yun, who became emperor of the successor state of Northern Yan.
The Later Qin general Helian Bobo declared himself Tian Wang of the majority-Xiongnu Xia.
41025 MarchThe Southern Yan emperor Murong Chao was executed by Jin along with his court and nobility.
414Western Qin conquered the Southern Liang capital Ledu, in modern Haidong.
417The Later Qin emperor Yao Hong surrendered to the Jin general Emperor Wu of Liu Song.
41928 JanuaryAn was strangled on Wu's orders and succeeded by his brother Emperor Gong of Jin.
420Wu deposed Gong, marking the beginning of the Liu Song dynasty.
421The Western Liang prince Li Xun committed suicide during the siege of his capital Dunhuang by Northern Liang.
431SummerThe Western Qin prince Qifu Mumo was executed along with his nobility by the Xia emperor Helian Ding.
Helian Ding was captured by the khan of Tuyuhun.
4364 JuneThe Northern Yan emperor Feng Hong fled the capital Helong in the face of an attack by Northern Wei.
460Juqu Anzhou, the prince of Northern Liang in exile in Gaochang, was killed with his family by the Rouran Khaganate.
475Bodhidharma arrived in China.
477The oldest known painted depiction of a horse collar was made in the Mogao Caves.
479The Liu Song emperor Emperor Shun of Liu Song was deposed by his general Emperor Gao of Southern Qi.
485The Northern Wei emperor Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei introduced the equal-field system.
496Change of Xianbei names to Han names: Xianbei names were converted to Han names in Northern Wei.

6th century

YearDateEvent
502The young Southern Qi emperor Emperor He of Southern Qi was deposed by his general Emperor Wu of Liang.
523The Songyue Pagoda was built.
534The Northern Wei emperor Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei fled the capital Luoyang to Chang'an at the advance of his general Gao Huan.
Gao Huan appointed Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei emperor of Eastern Wei with his capital at Ye.
535-536Extreme weather events. Snow reportedly falls in August, which caused harvests to be delayed.
543The Yupian was completed.
5505 JuneThe Eastern Wei general Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi deposed Xiaojing and established the state of Northern Qi.
557The Liang general Emperor Wu of Chen deposed the emperor Emperor Jing of Liang, establishing the Chen dynasty.
15 FebruaryThe Western Wei general Yuwen Hu deposed the emperor Emperor Gong of Western Wei in favor of his own cousin Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou, establishing the successor state of Northern Zhou.
5774 FebruaryThe Northern Qi emperor Gao Heng and his father, the Taishang Huang Gao Wei, were executed with their family by Northern Zhou.
581The Northern Zhou emperor Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou was forced to abdicate in favor of his regent Emperor Wen of Sui, initiating the Sui dynasty.
582Compilation began of the Jingdian Shiwen.
589Yan Zhitui first referred to toilet paper.
10 FebruarySui forces captured the Chen capital Jiankang and its emperor Chen Shubao.
598Goguryeo–Sui War: A Sui army of some three hundred thousand, led by the general Yang Liang, invaded Goguryeo.

7th century

YearDateEvent
601The Qieyun was published.
602Sui–Former Lý War: Sui conquered and annexed the Early Lý dynasty.
60413 AugustWen died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Yang of Sui.
605The imperial examination was first used as the sole criterion for appointing local officials in Sui.
The Zhaozhou Bridge was completed.
607Japanese missions to Sui China: The Wa emissary Ono no Imoko arrived in Sui.
609The Grand Canal was completed.
610Engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai invented an improved water clock.
Yang ordered his commanderies to submit maps and gazetteers to the central government.
611The Four Gates Pagoda was completed.
612Battle of Salsu: Goguryeo routed a Sui invasion force at the Chongchon River, inflicting some three hundred thousand casualties.
616Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas first visited China.
61718 DecemberThe rebel Emperor Gaozu of Tang, in control of the Sui capital Chang'an, declared Yang Taishang Huang and his grandson Yang You emperor.
61812 JuneTransition from Sui to Tang: Gaozu deposed Yang You.
62128 MayBattle of Hulao: Tang forces defeated and captured the warlord Dou Jiande at Hulao Pass.
624Ouyang Xun completed the Yiwen Leiju.
6262 JulyXuanwu Gate Incident: Gaozu's son Emperor Taizong of Tang assassinated his brothers Li Yuanji and the crown prince Li Jiancheng.
4 SeptemberGaozu retired. Taizong succeeded him.
630Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks: Tang forces captured the khan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in the Yin Mountains.
635The first Christian missionaries arrived in China.
Nestorian monks from Anatolia and the Sasanian Empire built the Daqin Pagoda.
Alopen wrote the Jesus Sutras.
Emperor Taizong's campaign against Tuyuhun: The Tuyuhun khan Murong Fuyun, in flight from Tang forces and with much of his army destroyed, was killed by his officers.
The Book of Liang was published.
636The Xumi Pagoda was completed.
The Book of Chen, Book of Northern Qi, Book of Zhou, and Book of Sui were compiled.
638Tibetan attack on Songzhou: Tibetan forces raided the city of Songzhou, in modern Songpan County.
640The Protectorate General to Pacify the West was established.
Tang campaign against Karakhoja: Tang defeated and annexed Gaochang.
641Emperor Taizong's campaign against Xueyantuo: Taizong sent his general Li Shiji to support the restoration of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate under Qilibi Khan against Xueyantuo.
643Taizong commissioned Yan Liben to paint portraits of his officials at Lingyan Pavilion.
644Tang campaigns against Karasahr: A Tang army captured Karasahr and installed a friendly king.
64520 JulyFirst campaign in the Goguryeo–Tang War: Tang forces dispersed a Goguryeo army which had arrived in defense of Ansi City.
646Bianji compiled the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions.
647The Protectorate General to Pacify the North was established.
648The Book of Jin was compiled.
Tang campaigns against Karasahr: Tang forces captured the king of Karasahr.
649The four arts were first written of as skills required of a Chinese scholar-official.
19 JanuaryTang campaign against Kucha: Kucha surrendered to Tang forces.
10 JulyTaizong died.
15 JulyTaizong's son Emperor Gaozong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
657Gaozong commissioned the compilation of a materia medica.
Battle of Irtysh River: Tang forces ambushed and largely destroyed the army of the Western Turkic Khaganate at the Irtysh River.
659The History of the Southern Dynasties and the History of the Northern Dynasties were completed.
663Battle of Baekgang: The allied navies of Silla and the Tang dynasty defeated a combined Baekje restorationist and Japanese force in the lower reaches of the Geum River.
666The Chinese Buddhist monks Zhiyu and Zhiyou crafted a mechanical south-pointing chariot for the Japanese emperor Emperor Tenji.
668The Protectorate General to Pacify the East was established.
68327 DecemberGaozong died.
684The Qianling Mausoleum was completed.
Luo Binwang died.
69016 OctoberGaozong's wife Wu Zetian became emperor of the Tang dynasty. She was the first and last female emperor in Chinese history.
692Tang forces reconquered the Four Garrisons of Anxi from Tibet.
700The Dunhuang map was created.

8th century

YearDateEvent
704The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was rebuilt.
70522 FebruaryWu Zetian was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her son Emperor Zhongzong of Tang.
23 FebruaryZhongzong became emperor of Tang.
709The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was completed.
710Liu Zhiji compiled the Shitong.
Shangguan Wan'er died.
3 JulyZhongzong died after being poisoned, probably by his wife Empress Wei.
8 JulyZhongzong's son Emperor Shang of Tang became emperor of Tang, with Wei acting as regent.
25 JulyA coup led by Gaozong's daughter Princess Taiping and grandson Emperor Xuanzong of Tang killed Wei and deposed Shang in favor of his uncle, Gaozong's son Emperor Ruizong of Tang.
7128 SeptemberRuizong abdicated the throne to Xuanzong.
The Pear Garden was established.
713The Kaiyuan Za Bao was first published.
715First encounter between the Tang dynasty and the Umayyad Arabs. Tang dynasty defeats the Arab occupation force in Fergana Valley, reinstalls Ikhshid on the throne.
717Arabs attack Transoxiana hoping to capture the Tang dynasty's Four Garrisons of Anxi district, but are routed in the Battle of Aksu.
725Yi Xing invented a water-powered armillary sphere.
729Gautama Siddha completed the compilation of the Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era.
740Wu Daozi died.
Meng Haoran died.
744Du Fu and Li Bai first met.
751JulyBattle of Talas: After the defection of their Karluk mercenaries, a Tang force was defeated by a vastly superior Abbasid-Tibetan allied army on the Talas River, probably near modern Talas.
75516 DecemberAn Lushan Rebellion: The Tang jiedushi An Lushan declared himself emperor of Yan.
Zhang Xuan died.
756SpringBattle of Yongqiu: Yan forces retreated from their siege of a Tang fortress in Yongqiu, in modern Kaifeng.
12 AugustThe Tang army declared Xuanzong's son Emperor Suzong of Tang emperor at Lingwu.
10 SeptemberXuanzong recognized Suzong as emperor.
757Battle of Suiyang: Yan forces finally conquered Suiyang, in modern Suiyang District, after a siege that cost the lives of some sixty thousand Yan soldiers and thirty thousand Tang civilians were lost to starvation and cannibalism.
758Arab and Persian pirates looted and burned the Tang seaport of Guangzhou.
759Wang Wei died.
760Lu Yu composed The Classic of Tea.
Yangzhou massacre (760): Arab and Persian merchants are killed by Chinese rebels.
76216 MaySuzong died of a heart attack.
18 MaySuzong's son Emperor Daizong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
Du Huan wrote the Jingxingji.
763An Lushan Rebellion: The Yan emperor Shi Chaoyi committed suicide in flight from Tang forces.
77923 MayDaizong died.
12 JuneDaizong's son Emperor Dezong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
781The Nestorian Stele was composed.
783Han Gan died.
785The Tang official Jia Dan began work on a map of Tang and its former colonies.
794Prince Li Gao ordered the construction of the first Chinese paddle-wheel ships.

9th century

YearDateEvent
801Du You completed the Tongdian.
80525 FebruaryDezong died.
28 FebruaryDezong's son Emperor Shunzong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
31 AugustShunzong abdicated in favor of his son Emperor Xianzong of Tang.
806Xianzong launched the first of a series of military campaigns against the provinces.
82014 FebruaryXianzong died, possibly after being poisoned by one of his eunuch officers.
20 FebruaryXianzong's son Emperor Muzong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
82425 FebruaryMuzong died.
29 FebruaryMuzong's young son Emperor Jingzong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
Han Yu died.
8279 JanuaryJingzong was assassinated.
13 JanuaryJingzong's brother Emperor Wenzong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
831An Uyghur sued the son of a Tang general for failure to repay a debt.
84010 FebruaryWenzong died.
20 FebruaryWenzong's brother Emperor Wuzong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
843A large fire consumed four thousand buildings in an eastern neighborhood of the Tang capital Chang'an.
845Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution: Wuzong abolished Buddhist monasteries as well as establishments of Zoroastrianism and Christianity, which were thought to be Buddhist heresies.
84622 AprilWuzong died.
25 AprilWuzong's uncle, Xianzong's son Emperor Xuānzong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
Bai Juyi died.
851The Arab merchant Sulaiman al-Tajir visited Guangzhou.
852Du Mu died.
853Duan Chengshi published the Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang.
858A flood along the Grand Canal and on the North China Plain killed tens of thousands.
8597 SeptemberXuānzong died.
13 SeptemberXuānzong's son Emperor Yizong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
863Duan Chengshi published a work describing the slave trade, ivory trade and ambergris trade in Bobali, probably modern Berbera.
86811 MayThe Diamond Sutra was printed.
87315 AugustYizong died.
16 AugustYizong's son Emperor Xizong of Tang became emperor of the Tang dynasty.
874Wang Xianzhi launched a rebellion against the Tang government.
879Guangzhou massacre: The rebel Huang Chao burned and looted Guangzhou and killed as many as two hundred thousand foreigners, mainly Arabs and Persians.
88413 JulyHuang was murdered with his immediate family while in flight from Tang forces.
88820 AprilXizong died. He was succeeded by his brother Emperor Zhaozong of Tang.

10th century

YearDateEvent
90422 SeptemberZhaozong was killed on the orders of the warlord Zhu Wen, then in control of the Tang capital Chang'an.
26 SeptemberZhu Wen appointed Zhaozong's young son Emperor Ai of Tang emperor of the Tang dynasty.
90727 FebruaryThe Khitan chieftain Abaoji became emperor of the Liao dynasty.
12 MayZhu Wen deposed Ai and declared himself emperor of Later Liang. The princes Yang Wo and Wang Jian, who did not recognize Zhu Wen, became de facto independent, as did their states Wu and Former Shu, respectively.
Zhu Wen created Qian Liu the prince of Wuyue.
Zhu Wen created Ma Yin, the jiedushi of the Wu'an Circuit, prince of Chu.
90927 AprilZhu Wen created Wang Shenzhi prince of Min.
917The earliest Chinese reference to Greek fire appeared.
5 SeptemberLiu Yan declared himself emperor of Southern Han.
919The flamethrower was first described in China.
92313 MayPrince Li Cunxu of Jin declared himself emperor of Later Tang.
18 NovemberThe Later Liang emperor Zhu Youzhen was killed by one of his generals at the approach of Li Cunxu to his capital Daliang.
92414 AprilGao Jixing declared himself king of Jingnan.
92515 DecemberThe Former Shu emperor Wang Zongyan surrendered to the Later Tang army at his capital Chengdu.
9266 SeptemberAbaoji died.
92711 DecemberAbaoji's son Emperor Taizong of Liao became emperor of the Liao dynasty.
93416 MarchMeng Zhixiang, the Later Tang jiedushi of the territory of the defunct Former Shu, declared himself emperor of Later Shu.
93628 NovemberTaizong recognized the Shatuo Later Tang general Shi Jingtang emperor of Later Jin in exchange for the promised cession of the Sixteen Prefectures that formed a natural border around the North China Plain.
93711 JanuaryThe Later Tang emperor Li Congke burned himself to death with his family and servants as the joint armies of Liao and Later Jin approached his capital Luoyang.
10 NovemberThe Wu emperor Yang Pu was deposed by his general Li Bian, who declared himself emperor of the Wu successor state of Southern Tang.
9452 OctoberMin was conquered and annexed by Southern Tang.
94711 JanuaryThe Later Jin emperor Shi Chonggui was deposed and his territory annexed by the Liao dynasty.
10 MarchThe Shatuo Liu Zhiyuan, a jiedushi of the defunct Later Jin, declared himself emperor of Later Han.
15 MayTaizong died.
16 MayTaizong's nephew Emperor Shizong of Liao, whom he had raised, became emperor of the Liao dynasty.
950The earliest known depiction of a fire lance and lobbed grenade appeared.
9512 JanuaryThe Later Han emperor Liu Chengyou was killed by one of his officers while attempting to escape the siege of the capital Ye by his general Guo Wei.
13 FebruaryGuo Wei declared himself emperor of Later Zhou.
7 OctoberShizong was murdered by one of his officers.
11 OctoberShizong's cousin, Taizong's son Emperor Muzong of Liao became emperor of the Liao dynasty.
Southern Tang conquered and annexed Chu.
Liu Zhiyuan's brother Liu Chong declared himself declared himself emperor of Northern Han.
960Gu Hongzhong painted the Night Revels of Han Xizai.
3 FebruaryEmperor Guo Zongxun of Later Zhou was overthrown by his general Emperor Taizu of Song.
4 FebruaryTaizu became emperor of the Song dynasty.
Taizu was presented with gunpowder-impregnated fire arrows.
The Hundred Family Surnames was composed.
961The Huqiu Tower was built.
963The Song dynasty conquered and annexed Jingnan.
96523 FebruaryThe Later Shu emperor Meng Chang surrendered to the Song army at his capital Chengdu.
96912 MarchMuzong was murdered by his servants on a hunting trip.
13 MarchShizong's son Emperor Jingzong of Liao became emperor of the Liao dynasty.
971Southern Han was conquered and annexed by the Song dynasty.
974Song troops constructed a floating pontoon bridge across the Yangtze River in order to secure supply lines while fighting against the Southern Tang.
9761 JanuarySong forces conquered and annexed Southern Tang.
14 NovemberTaizu died.
15 NovemberTaizu's brother Emperor Taizong of Song became emperor of the Song dynasty.
The Yuelu Academy was founded.
977The pagoda of the Longhua Temple was built.
978The Taiping Guangji was completed.
The Wuyue king Qian Chu surrendered his territory to Taizong.
979The Northern Han emperor Liu Jiyuan surrendered to Song.
981Battle of Bạch Đằng: A Song naval invasion of the Early Lê dynasty via the Bạch Đằng River was aborted after the land invasion was stalled.
98213 OctoberJingzong died.
14 OctoberJingzong's young son Emperor Shengzong of Liao became emperor, with his widow Empress Xiao Yanyan acting as regent.
983The Taiping Yulan was completed.
984Qiao Weiyo invented the canal pound lock.
986The Wenyuan Yinghua was completed.
990Fan Kuan was born.
993NovemberFirst conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: Liao forces invaded Goryeo.
997The Longkan Shoujian was completed.
8 MayTaizong died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Zhenzong.
1000The Chinese first used coke in place of charcoal for blast furnaces.

11th century

YearDateEvent
1005Song signed the Chanyuan Treaty, under which it agreed to pay Liao an annual tribute in silk and silver.
1008The Guangyun was completed.
1010Second conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: Liao captured the Goryeo general Gang Jo and burned the capital Kaesong.
An atlas of China was completed.
1013Cefu Yuangui was completed.
1018Third conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: Liao invaded Goryeo.
101910 MarchBattle of Kuju: Goryeo forces decisively defeated a retreating Liao army at Kuju, near modern Kusong.
102223 MarchZhenzong died.
24 MarchZhenzong's son Emperor Renzong of Song became emperor of the Song dynasty.
103125 JuneShengzong died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Xingzong of Liao.
1037The Jiyun was published.
103810 NovemberThe Tangut chieftain Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia declared himself emperor of Western Xia.
1041Bi Sheng invented movable type.
1043Ouyang Xiu and the vice chancellor Fan Zhongyan drafted the Qingli Reforms in Song.
1044The Wujing Zongyao was completed.
1045The Lingxiao Pagoda was completed.
104819 JanuaryJingzong died. He was succeeded by his infant son Emperor Yizong of Western Xia.
1049The Iron Pagoda was completed.
1055The Liaodi Pagoda was completed.
28 AugustXingzong died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Daozong of Liao.
1056The Pagoda of Fogong Temple was completed.
1060Ouyang Xiu completed the New Book of Tang.
106330 AprilRenzong died.
1 MayEmperor Yingzong of Song became emperor of the Song dynasty.
The Pizhi Pagoda was completed.
1067Yizong died. He was succeeded by his young son Emperor Huizong of Western Xia.
25 JanuaryYingzong died. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Shenzong of Song.
1068The dry dock was first used in China.
1069The Song chancellor Wang Anshi ordered an extensive government reform including the introduction of the baojia system of community-based law enforcement.
1070The Song ambassador Su Song published the Bencao Tujing.
1072Guo Xi painted Early Spring.
1075The Song diplomat Shen Kuo used court archives to reject Daozong's territorial claims.
A proto-Bessemer process was first observed in Cizhou.
1076Wang resigned.
1077Su was sent on a mission to Liao.
1080Shen was appointed to defend Yan'an.
1081A Song army was dealt some sixty thousand casualties defending Yan'an against an attempted invasion of Song by Western Xia forces.
Su published a 200-volume work on Song-Liao relations.
1084Sima Guang completed the Zizhi Tongjian.
Li Qingzhao was born.
10851 AprilShenzong died. He was succeeded by his young son Emperor Zhezong, with his widow Empress Xiang acting as regent.
Xiang ousted the court faction affiliated with Wang's reforms at Sima's urging.
1086Huizong died.
Huizong's son Emperor Chongzong of Western Xia became emperor of Western Xia.
1088Shen published the Dream Pool Essays.
1090The earliest known description of the mechanical belt appeared.
1094Su completed a clock tower in Kaifeng.
The Dongpo Academy was established on Hainan.
110023 FebruaryZhezong died. He was succeeded by his younger brother Emperor Huizong of Song.

12th century

YearDateEvent
110112 FebruaryDaozong was murdered. He was succeeded by his grandson Emperor Tianzuo of Liao.
1103The Yingzao Fashi was published.
1107Mi Fu died.
1111The Donglin Academy was founded.
111528 JanuaryThe Wanyan chieftain Emperor Taizu of Jin declared himself emperor of the Jin dynasty.
AugustTaizu conquered the Liao city of Huanglongfu.
1119Zhu Yu published the Pingzhou Table Talks.
1120The pagoda of Tianning Temple was completed.
112319 SeptemberTaizu died.
27 SeptemberTaizu's brother Emperor Taizong of Jin became emperor of the Jin dynasty.
1124The Liao general Yelü Dashi established the Khitan Qara Khitai in the Liao northwest.
112526 MarchJin dynasty forces captured Tianzuo.
NovemberJin–Song Wars: The Jin army invaded Song.
112618 JanuaryHuizong abdicated in favor of his son Emperor Qinzong.
19 JanuaryEmperor Qinzong became emperor of the Song dynasty.
11279 JanuaryJingkang Incident: The Song capital Kaifeng fell to a Jin siege. Huizong and Qinzong were captured with much of their court.
12 JuneHuizong's son Emperor Gaozong of Song became emperor of the Song dynasty at Lin'an City.
1132Song established a standing navy headquartered at Dinghai in modern Dinghai District.
A fire destroyed some thirteen thousand homes in the Song capital Lin'an City.
1135The Song general Yue Fei defeated the bandit Yang Yao at Dongting Lake.
9 FebruaryTaizong died.
10 FebruaryEmperor Xizong of Jin became emperor of the Jin dynasty.
1139Chongzong died.
Chongzong's son Emperor Renzong of Western Xia became emperor of Western Xia.
1141Song signed the Treaty of Shaoxing, under which it relinquished all claims to its former territories north of the Huai River and agreed to pay Jin an annual tribute in silk and silver.
114227 JanuaryYue was executed on false charges of treason spurred by the Song chancellor Qin Hui.
11509 JanuaryXizong was murdered in a coup by Wanyan Liang, who succeeded him as emperor of Jin.
1153The Jin capital was moved from Huining Prefecture to Zhongdu.
1157The Jin capital was moved to Kaifeng.
116127 OctoberWanyan Liang's cousin Emperor Shizong of Jin was declared emperor of Jin in the capital Kaifeng.
16 NovemberBattle of Tangdao: The Jin navy suffered heavy losses in an attempted invasion of Song near the Shandong Peninsula.
27 NovemberBattle of Caishi: Jin forces suffered as many as four thousand casualties at the hands of the Song dynasty in a naval battle which stalled their invasion across the Yangtze.
15 DecemberWanyan Liang was assassinated by one of his officers near the Yangtze battlefront.
The Yunjing was compiled.
116224 JulyGaozong abdicated in favor of Emperor Xiaozong of Song.
The Beisi Pagoda was completed.
1164Song and Jin concluded the Treaty of Longxing.
1165The Liuhe Pagoda was completed.
1179Zhu Xi rebuilt the White Deer Grotto Academy.
118920 JanuaryShizong died. He was succeeded by his grandson Emperor Zhangzong of Jin.
18 FebruaryXiaozong abdicated in favor of his son Emperor Guangzong of Song.
The Chengling Pagoda was built.
1193Renzong died.
Renzong's son Emperor Huanzong of Western Xia became emperor of Western Xia.
119424 JulyGuangzong was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Emperor Ningzong.

13th century

YearDateEvent
1206Huanzong was overthrown in a coup.
Emperor Xiangzong of Western Xia became emperor of Western Xia.
120829 DecemberZhangzong died. He was succeeded by his brother Wanyan Yongji.
1211Emperor Shenzong of Western Xia deposed and replaced Xiangzong as emperor of Western Xia.
AugustBattle of Yehuling: The army of the Mongol Empire captured or killed over four hundred thousand Jin soldiers defending an important mountain pass at Zhangjiakou.
121311 SeptemberWanyan Yongji was assassinated.
22 SeptemberEmperor Xuanzong of Jin became emperor of the Jin dynasty.
1214The Jin dynasty signed a treaty under which it became a vassal state paying tribute to the Mongol Empire.
12151 JuneBattle of Zhongdu: Mongol forces breached the walls of Zhongdu and massacred its inhabitants.
1217Jin–Song Wars: A Song army captured the Jin city of Xihezhou in modern Xihe County.
1223Shenzong abdicated in favor of his son Emperor Xianzong of Western Xia.
122414 JanuaryXuanzong died.
15 JanuaryXuanzong's son Emperor Aizong of Jin became emperor of the Jin dynasty.
17 SeptemberNingzong died. He was succeeded by Emperor Lizong.
1226Xianzong died.
Emperor Mozhu of Western Xia became emperor of Western Xia.
122718 AugustThe Mongol khagan Genghis Khan died.
Mozhu surrendered to the Mongol Empire during the siege of the Western Xia capital Zhongxing.
123326 FebruaryMongol siege of Kaifeng: The Jin general in charge of the defense of the capital Kaifeng surrendered to the besieging Mongol army. Aizong had fled during the siege; his family members still in the city were executed.
12349 FebruarySiege of Caizhou: Aizong passed the throne to his general Emperor Mo of Jin and hanged himself in the face of a Mongol siege of Caizhou. The Mongols breached the city.
10 FebruarySiege of Caizhou: Mo died fighting the Mongols at Caizhou.
1247Qin Jiushao wrote the Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections.
125911 AugustThe Mongol khagan Möngke Khan died during a siege of Diaoyu Fortress.
1260Toluid Civil War: Möngke's brother Ariq Böke declared himself khagan of the Mongol Empire.
5 MayToluid Civil War: Kublai Khan, brother to Möngke and to Ariq Böke, was crowned khagan of the Mongol Empire.
Kublai appointed the Sakya lama Drogön Chögyal Phagpa Imperial Preceptor.
1261Yang Hui first drew Pascal's triangle.
126416 NovemberLizong died. He was succeeded by his nephew Emperor Duzong.
1265Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: The Mongol Empire invaded Song.
1267Battle of Xiangyang: Kublai ordered his general Aju to take Xiangyang.
1270Sambyeolcho Rebellion: The Sambyeolcho rebelled against Wonjong of Goryeo, the Mongol-allied king of Goryeo.
1271Marco Polo left Venice.
Kublai declared himself emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
127314 MarchBattle of Xiangyang: The Yuan army breached and captured Xiangyang.
127412 AugustDuzong died. He was succeeded by his young son Emperor Gong of Song.
5 OctoberMongol invasions of Japan: A Yuan fleet landed at Tsushima Island.
1275The Yuan general Bayan of the Baarin defeated a Song army led by the chancellor Jia Sidao.
12764 FebruaryGong and his great aunt the grand empress dowager Xie Daoqing surrendered themselves to the Yuan army besieging the Song capital Lin'an City.
14 JuneGong's older brother, the young Emperor Duanzong, was crowned emperor of the Song dynasty at Fuzhou.
Qian Xuan retired.
The Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory was built.
1278The Song general Wen Tianxiang was captured by Yuan forces.
8 MayDuanzong died.
10 MayDuanzong's younger brother Emperor Bing of Song became emperor of the Song dynasty.
127919 MarchBattle of Yamen: A Yuan fleet destroyed a vastly superior Song force near Yamen. The Song chancellor Lu Xiufu drowned himself with Bing.
1287The Zhongdu-born Rabban Bar Sauma left for Europe as an ambassador of Arghun, the khan of the Ilkhanate.
DecemberBattle of Pagan: Yuan forces captured the Pagan capital Bagan.
1288Battle of Bạch Đằng: Đại Việt decisively defeated a numerically superior Yuan invasion fleet on the Bạch Đằng River.
1289Europeans in Medieval China: Franciscan friars first conducted missionary work in China.
129418 FebruaryKublai died.
10 MayKublai's grandson Temür Khan became emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
1293John of Montecorvino arrives in China and is appointed Archbishop of Khanbaliq (Beijing).
1298Wang Zhen invented movable wooden type.

14th century

YearDateEvent
130710 FebruaryTemür died.
21 JuneTemür's nephew Külüg Khan became emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
131127 JanuaryKülüg died.
7 AprilKülüg's younger brother Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan became emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
1316Guo Shoujing died.
13201 MarchAyurbarwada died.
19 AprilAyurbarwada's son Gegeen Khan became emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
13234 SeptemberGegeen was assassinated by the Asud in a coup led by the Khongirad grand censor Tegshi.
4 OctoberYesün Temür became emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
1324Zhongyuan Yinyun was published.
132815 AugustYesün Temür died.
OctoberYesün Temür's son Ragibagh Khan was appointed emperor of the Yuan dynasty in Shangdu.
16 OctoberThe Yuan general El Temür crowned Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür emperor in Khanbaliq.
14 NovemberForces loyal to El Temür captured Shangdu and may have executed Ragibagh.
132927 FebruaryTugh Temür's brother Khutughtu Khan Kusala crowned himself emperor of the Yuan dynasty in Karakorum with the support of the Chagatai Khanate.
3 AprilTugh Temür abdicated in Khutughtu's favor.
30 AugustKhutughtu died, probably after being poisoned by Tugh Temür.
8 SeptemberTugh Temür was crowned emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
1330The Pagoda of Bailin Temple was completed.
13322 SeptemberTugh Temür died.
23 OctoberEl Temür crowned Khutughtu's young son Rinchinbal Khan emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
14 DecemberRinchinbal died.
133319 JulyRinchinbal's older brother Toghon Temür became emperor of the Yuan dynasty.
1334Wang Dayuan travelled to North Africa.
1342Papal missionary Giovanni de Marignolli leaves Europe for Khanbaliq (Beijing).
1351Red Turban Rebellion: The millenarian White Lotus sect first plotted armed rebellion against the Yuan dynasty.
1352Red Turban Rebellion: The Hongwu Emperor joined the rebellion.
1356Red Turban Rebellion: The rebel army captured Nanjing.
136330 AugustBattle of Lake Poyang: A Red Turban fleet commanded by the Hongwu Emperor met a fleet led by Chen Youliang, the self-proclaimed king of the rebel state of Han, on Poyang Lake.
4 OctoberBattle of Lake Poyang: The Han navy was destroyed. Chen Youliang was killed.
136820 JanuaryRed Turban Rebellion: The Hongwu Emperor declared himself emperor of the Ming dynasty.
SeptemberToghon Temür fled Khanbaliq for Shangdu in the face of a Ming advance.
1371Ming implemented the haijin, a ban on all private maritime commerce.
1373The Hongwu Emperor abolished the imperial examination in favor of a recommendation system for appointing local Ming officials.
The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees was rebuilt.
137516 MayLiu Bowen died.
1380The Hongwu Emperor abolished the office of chancellor and took over direct control of the Three Departments and Six Ministries.
13826 JanuaryMing conquest of Yunnan: Basalawarmi, the prince of Liang and a Yuan loyalist, committed suicide during a massive Ming invasion of Yunnan.
The Jinyiwei was established and given supreme judicial authority and complete autonomy in making arrests and issuing punishments.
1384The Hongwu Emperor reinstituted the imperial examination.
1397A legal code based on the Tang Code was implemented in Ming.
139824 JuneThe Hongwu Emperor died.
30 JuneThe Hongwu Emperor's young grandson the Jianwen Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.

15th century

YearDateEvent
140213 JulyJingnan Campaign: Forces loyal to the Jianwen Emperor's uncle the Yongle Emperor entered the capital Nanjing and burned the imperial palace with the Jianwen Emperor inside.
140511 JulyTreasure voyages: The Yongle Emperor ordered a fleet of Chinese treasure ships under the command of the admiral Zheng He to reestablish tributary relationships with states in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean.
The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum was completed.
1406Construction began on the Forbidden City and Beijing city fortifications.
140710 AprilThe Kagyu karmapa Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama arrived at the Ming capital Nanjing.
16 JuneMing–Hồ War: Ming forces captured the Hồ king Hồ Hán Thương.
1408The Yongle Encyclopedia was completed.
1415Restoration work on the Grand Canal was completed.
1420Construction of the Forbidden City and Beijing city fortifications was completed. The Yongle Emperor moved the Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing.
The Ming tombs were built.
142412 AugustThe Yongle Emperor died.
7 SeptemberThe Yongle Emperor's son the Hongxi Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
142529 MayThe Hongxi Emperor died, probably from a heart attack.
27 JuneThe Hongxi Emperor's son the Xuande Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
1427Shen Zhou was born.
1431Ming recognized the Lê dynasty as a tributary state.
143531 JanuaryThe Xuande Emperor died.
7 FebruaryThe Xuande Emperor's son the Zhengtong Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
1443The Zhihua Temple was built.
1446The Precious Belt Bridge was rebuilt.
14491 SeptemberTumu Crisis: A Four Oirat force defeated a vastly superior Ming army at Tumu in modern Huailai County and captured the Zhengtong Emperor.
22 SeptemberThe Zhengtong Emperor's brother the Jingtai Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
145711 FebruaryThe Zhengtong Emperor overthrew the Jingtai Emperor in a coup and took power as the Tianshun Emperor.
14617 AugustRebellion of Cao Qin: An uprising of Mongol soldiers in the Ming capital Beijing, led by the general Cao Qin, was crushed.
146423 FebruaryThe Zhengtong Emperor died.
28 FebruaryThe Zhengtong Emperor's son the Chenghua Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
The Miao and Yao peoples rebelled against Ming authority in Guangxi.
1473The Zhenjue Temple was completed.
14879 SeptemberThe Chenghua Emperor died.
22 SeptemberThe Chenghua Emperor's son the Hongzhi Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
1488The Joseon official Choe Bu suffered a shipwreck in Zhejiang.

16th century

YearDateEvent
15058 JuneThe Hongzhi Emperor died.
19 JuneThe Hongzhi Emperor's son the Zhengde Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
151012 MayPrince of Anhua rebellion: Ming tax collectors were murdered on the orders of Zhu Zhifan, the prince of Anhua in modern Shaanxi.
151115 AugustCapture of Malacca: A Portuguese invasion force conquered the Malacca Sultanate.
1513The Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares arrived on Lintin Island in the Pearl River Delta.
1516The Portuguese explorer Rafael Perestrello arrived in Guangzhou.
1517The Portuguese ambassadors Fernão Pires de Andrade and Tomé Pires arrived in Guangzhou.
151910 JulyPrince of Ning rebellion: The prince of Ning Zhu Chenhao declared that the Zhengde Emperor was an usurper and led an expedition toward Nanjing.
152120 AprilThe Zhengde Emperor died.
27 MayThe Zhengde Emperor's cousin, the Chenghua Emperor's grandson the Jiajing Emperor, became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
The Jiajing Emperor expelled the Portuguese embassy.
1529Wang Yangming died.
1530An improved sand-driven mechanical clock was invented.
1549Portuguese trade ships first stopped at Shangchuan Island.
1550The Mongol chieftain Altan Khan burned and looted the Ming capital Beijing and its suburbs.
1553The Ming capital Beijing was expanded to the south, increasing its size from 10 to 12 square kilometres (4 to 4+12 square miles).
1554The Luso-Chinese agreement (1554) for Macau is made between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Ming dynasty.
155623 January1556 Shaanxi earthquake: An earthquake in and around modern Shaanxi killed some eight hundred thousand people.
1557The Kingdom of Portugal established a permanent settlement in Macau.
1558Ming forces led by Qi Jiguang dealt the wokou a defeat at Cengang.
156723 JanuaryThe Jiajing Emperor died.
4 FebruaryThe Jiajing Emperor's son the Longqing Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
The Ming haijin (ban on private maritime commerce) was repealed.
15725 JulyThe Longqing Emperor died.
19 JulyThe Longqing Emperor's son the Wanli Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
1573Spain established a permanent base at Manila.
1574Qin Liangyu was born.
1576The Pagoda of Cishou Temple was built.
1577The Wanshou Temple was built.
1580The grand secretary Zhang Juzheng instituted the single whip law, under which all monetary and labor obligations to the central government were consolidated into a single silver payment.
1582Jesuit China missions: The Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci arrived in Macau.
Private newspapers were first published in Beijing.
1584The earliest known depiction of the sailing carriage appeared.
1587Li Shizhen published the Compendium of Materia Medica.
1590Wu Cheng'en wrote Journey to the West.
1592Japanese invasions of Korea: Some two hundred thousand Japanese troops invaded Joseon.
15938 JanuarySiege of Pyongyang: A combined Ming-Joseon force drove the Japanese army from Pyongyang.
159723 DecemberSiege of Ulsan: A combined Ming-Joseon force arrived at the Japanese-controlled Ulsan Japanese Castle.
159829 SeptemberBattle of Sacheon: A Japanese army under siege at Sacheon drove off a numerically superior Ming-Joseon force after the accidental explosion of the Ming powder cache.
16 DecemberBattle of Noryang: The allied navies of Ming and Joseon dealt heavy damage to a Japanese fleet attempting to break their blockade of Suncheon Japanese Castle.
The Peony Pavilion was first performed at the Pavilion of Prince Teng.

17th century

YearDateEvent
1602The Dutch East India Company (VOC) began shipping Chinese ceramics to Europe.
1604The grand secretary Gu Xiancheng reopened the Donglin Academy in Wuxi, establishing the Donglin movement.
1607Euclid's Elements was first translated into Chinese.
1609Sancai Tuhui was published.
1610Jin Ping Mei was published.
1615The Zihui was compiled.
161617 FebruaryNurhaci declared himself khan of the later Jin dynasty.
All foreign Jesuits were expelled from the Ming imperial court and astronomy bureau.
161918 AprilBattle of Sarhu: The last of four Ming armies was destroyed during a retreat from a punitive expedition against Nurhaci and the later Jin. Its commander Li Rubai committed suicide
Wang Fuzhi was born.
162018 AugustThe Wanli Emperor died.
28 AugustThe Wanli Emperor's son the Taichang Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
26 SeptemberThe Taichang Emperor died.
1 OctoberThe Taichang Emperor's young son the Tianqi Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
1624The VOC established the state of Dutch Formosa.
1626Johann Adam Schall von Bell wrote the first Chinese language treatise on the telescope.
The Jesuit Nicolas Trigault invented the first system for the romanization of Chinese.
Battle of Ningyuan: A Ming force defended Xingcheng against a numerically superior later Jin army. Nurhaci suffered fatal wounds.
1627JanuaryFirst Manchu invasion of Korea: Nurhaci's son Hong Taiji, the khan of the later Jin dynasty, invaded Joseon.
30 SeptemberThe Tianqi Emperor died.
2 OctoberThe Tianqi Emperor's younger brother the Chongzhen Emperor became emperor of the Ming dynasty.
13 DecemberThe eunuch Wei Zhongxian committed suicide on hearing that the Jinyiwei had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The Zhengzitong was published.
The Polish Jesuit Michał Boym first introduced the heliocentric model of the solar system into Chinese astronomy.
1632The later Jin dynasty conquered Inner Mongolia.
1634The Chongzhen Emperor acquired the telescope of the late Johann Schreck.
1635Liu Tong wrote a preface to the Dijing Jingwulue.
163730 JanuarySecond Manchu invasion of Korea: The Joseon king Injo of Joseon recognized Hong Taiji's Qing dynasty as the legitimate rulers of China.
Song Yingxing published the Tiangong Kaiwu.
1638The Peking Gazette first used moveable type.
1639Xu Guangqi published a treatise on agriculture.
Chen Hongshou arrived in Beijing.
16418 MarchXu Xiake died.
16421642 Yellow River flood: The Ming governor of Kaifeng destroyed the levees holding back the Yellow River in order to break the siege of the peasant army of Li Zicheng. The resulting flood destroyed Kaifeng and killed some three hundred thousand people.
A Han army was made the last of the Qing Eight Banners.
164321 SeptemberHong Taiji died.
8 OctoberHong Taiji's young son the Shunzhi Emperor became emperor of the Qing dynasty.
164425 AprilThe Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself from the Zuihuai as the army of Li Zicheng's Shun dynasty breached the walls of the Ming capital Beijing.
27 MayBattle of Shanhai Pass: A Shun army was dealt a heavy defeat by the Qing and the former Ming general Wu Sangui at Shanhai Pass.
4 JuneLi Zicheng fled Beijing.
164520 MayYangzhou massacre: Qing forces conquered Yangzhou from the Southern Ming. A ten-day massacre began in which some eight hundred thousand people would be killed.
1653JanuaryThe 5th Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, visited the Qing capital Beijing.
1659Jesuits Martino Martini and Ferdinand Verbiest arrived in China.
16615 FebruaryThe Shunzhi Emperor died. He was succeeded by his young son the Kangxi Emperor, with the Four Regents of the Kangxi Emperor acting as regents.
14 JuneThe Southern Ming admiral Koxinga declared the establishment of the Kingdom of Tungning on Taiwan.
16621 FebruarySiege of Fort Zeelandia: The VOC surrendered Fort Zeelandia on Taiwan to Koxinga.
1664Schall von Bell was imprisoned.
1673Revolt of the Three Feudatories: Wu rebelled against the Qing dynasty on the pretext of seeking to restore the Ming.
1682The Belgian Jesuit Antoine Thomas arrived in China.
1683Battle of Penghu: A Qing fleet destroyed the Tungning navy at Penghu. The king of Tungning Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing.
1684The first of the Qing Thirteen Factories, neighborhoods where foreigners were allowed to live and trade, were established outside Guangzhou.
168927 AugustThe Qing dynasty signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia, under which the two countries mutually agreed to a border at the Stanovoy Range.
1690Yun Shouping died.
1698The Lugou Bridge was reconstructed.

18th century

YearDateEvent
17054 DecemberThe papal legate Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon arrived in the Qing capital Beijing.
1711The East India Company (EIC) established a trading post in Guangzhou.
The Peiwen Yunfu was completed.
171519 MarchChinese Rites controversy: The pope Pope Clement XI issued a papal bull forbidding veneration of the dead and worship of Confucius among Chinese converts to Catholicism.
1716The Kangxi Dictionary was published.
1720Chinese expedition to Tibet: A Qing expedition expelled the invading forces of the Dzungar Khanate from Tibet.
1721Chinese Rites controversy: The Kangxi Emperor banned Christian missions in China.
172220 DecemberThe Kangxi Emperor died.
27 DecemberThe Kangxi Emperor's son the Yongzheng Emperor became emperor of the Qing dynasty.
1725The Complete Classics Collection of Ancient China was completed.
1729Opium criminalized in China.
1732Jiang Tingxi died.
17358 OctoberThe Yongzheng Emperor died. He was succeeded by his son the Qianlong emperor.
1750The French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot was sent to China.
1755Ten Great Campaigns: The khan of the Dzungar Khanate surrendered to invading Qing forces.
The Puning Temple was built to commemorate the defeat of the Dzungar Khanate.
1760The Canton System was established, under which the Chinese merchants operating in the Thirteen Factories were organized into a guild, the Cohong, and given an official monopoly.
1771The Putuo Zongcheng Temple was completed.
1774The Wenjin Chamber was built.
1780A pagoda was built at Fragrant Hills.
1782The Complete Library of the Four Treasuries was completed.
1791Dream of the Red Chamber was published.
179314 SeptemberMacartney Embassy The British ambassador George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney was introduced to the Qianlong Emperor.
17969 FebruaryThe Qianlong Emperor abdicated in favor of his son the Jiaqing Emperor.
White Lotus Rebellion: White Lotus began an armed rebellion against the Qing dynasty.

19th century

YearDateEvent
1807Protestant missions in China 1807–1953: The Protestant missionary Robert Morrison arrived in China.
18202 SeptemberThe Jiaqing Emperor died.
3 OctoberThe Jiaqing Emperor's son the Daoguang Emperor became emperor of the Qing dynasty.
1823The Bible was first published in Chinese.
18393 JuneDestruction of opium at Humen: The Qing Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu ordered the destruction of roughly a thousand tons of opium seized from EIC merchants in Humen.
184229 AugustFirst Opium War: The Qing dynasty and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Nanking, under which the former agreed to end the monopoly of the Cohong, pay reparations for the war and the destruction of opium, and cede Hong Kong Island in perpetuity.
1844Wei Yuan published the Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms.
3 JulyThe Qing dynasty and the United States signed the Treaty of Wanghia, according to which the United States was granted most favoured nation (MFN) status and extraterritoriality was granted to its citizens resident in China.
185025 FebruaryThe Daoguang Emperor died.
9 MarchThe Daoguang Emperor's son the Xianfeng Emperor became emperor of the Qing dynasty.
185111 JanuaryJintian Uprising: The followers of Hong Xiuquan, who believed him to be the younger brother of Jesus, announced their rebellion against the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in modern Guiping.
1855Third plague pandemic: A plague pandemic began in Yunnan which would kill hundreds of thousands in China and millions worldwide.
Punti-Hakka Clan Wars: An ethnic conflict began in Guangdong between the Punti and Hakka peoples which would claim roughly a million lives.
185623 OctoberSecond Opium War: The British navy began a bombardment of Guangzhou.
185828 MayThe Qing dynasty signed the Treaty of Aigun, ceding to Russia the land north of the Amur River.
JuneSecond Opium War: The Qing dynasty signed the Treaty of Tientsin, under which foreigners were granted greater freedom of movement within China and France and the United Kingdom were promised war reparations.
18 NovemberBattle of Sanhe: A Taiping army encircled and destroyed a much smaller Qing force in Anhui.
186018 OctoberSecond Opium War: British and French forces looted and burned down the Old Summer Palace in the Qing capital Beijing.
24 OctoberThe Qing prince Prince Gong signed the Convention of Peking, ratifying the Treaty of Tientsin and ceding the Kowloon Peninsula in perpetuity to the United Kingdom.
1861Gong established the Zongli Yamen to temporarily supervise the conduct of foreign affairs throughout the Qing government.
22 AugustThe Xianfeng Emperor died.
11 NovemberThe Xianfeng Emperor's young son the Tongzhi Emperor became emperor of the Qing dynasty.
1862Dungan Revolt: A disordered uprising began among the Hui people living on the west bank of the Yellow River.
The Tongwen Guan school of European languages was established.
1864MayThe Ever Victorious Army of the Qing dynasty was disbanded.
186822 AugustYangzhou riot: Scholar-officials resident in Yangzhou instigated a riot in which the headquarters of the British missionary society OMF International were attacked and burned.
Nian Rebellion: The last of the rebel armies was destroyed.
1870JuneTianjin massacre: A riot took place in Tianjin in which some sixty people, including foreigners and Chinese Christians, were killed.
1871Li Hongzhang was appointed Viceroy of Zhili.
1873Panthay Rebellion: The last surviving Panthay rebels were defeated by the Qing dynasty in Tengchong.
187512 JanuaryThe Tongzhi Emperor died.
21 FebruaryMargary Affair: The British diplomat Augustus Raymond Margary was murdered with his retinue in Tengchong.
25 FebruaryThe young Guangxu Emperor became emperor of the Qing dynasty, with the empress dowagers Empress Dowager Ci'an and Empress Dowager Cixi acting as regents.
187621 AugustThe Qing dynasty and the United Kingdom signed the Chefoo Convention, under which Qing promised to punish those responsible for Margary's murder and repeal the likin.
188423 AugustBattle of Fuzhou: A French fleet destroyed the Qing Fujian Fleet at the mouth of the Min River.
1887SeptemberThe Yellow River flood kills up to 2 million people and makes an additional 2 million homeless. At the time, it was the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded.
1891Foreign businessmen established the Shanghai Sharebrokers' Association in Shanghai.
18941 AugustFirst Sino-Japanese War: War was officially declared between Japan and the Qing dynasty.
189517 AprilFirst Sino-Japanese War: The Qing dynasty signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, under which it recognized the independence of Joseon, granted Japan MFN status and ceded to it Penghu, Taiwan and the Liaodong Peninsula.
189811 JuneHundred Days' Reform: The Guangxu Emperor instituted reforms including radical changes in the imperial examination and the elimination of sinecures.
21 SeptemberThe Guangxu Emperor was removed from the imperial palace in a coup organized by Cixi and Ronglu, the Viceroy of Zhili.
190021 JuneBoxer Rebellion: Cixi responded to anti-foreign unrest by issuing the Imperial Decree of declaration of war against foreign powers in the Guangxu Emperor's name.

20th century

YearDateEvent
19017 SeptemberBoxer Rebellion: The Qing dynasty and Eight-Nation Alliance signed the Boxer Protocol, under which the Alliance was granted war reparations and the right to station troops in the capital Beijing.
190814 NovemberThe Guangxu Emperor died of arsenic poisoning.
2 DecemberThe Guangxu Emperor's young nephew Puyi became emperor of the Qing dynasty.
191127 AprilSecond Guangzhou uprising
10 OctoberWuchang uprising: New Army soldiers staged a mutiny in Wuchang District and occupied the residence of the Viceroy of Huguang.
29 December1911 Republic of China provisional presidential election: Sun Yat-sen was elected president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, with a majority of sixteen of the seventeen provincial representatives of the Tongmenghui in Nanjing.
19121 JanuaryXinhai Revolution: Sun Yat-sen was inaugurated president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China.
12 FebruaryXinhai Revolution: Puyi's regent, the empress dowager Empress Dowager Longyu, signed an edict under which Puyi would retain his imperial title but all power would pass to the Provisional Government of the Republic of China.
10 MarchSun Yat-sen resigned in favor of Yuan Shikai.
25 AugustThe Tongmenghui and several smaller revolutionary parties merged to form the Kuomintang (KMT).
1912 Republic of China National Assembly election: An election to the National Assembly under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China began which would produce pluralities for the KMT in the House and Senate.
191320 MarchAssassination of Song Jiaoren: Song Jiaoren, founder of the KMT was assassinated, most likely by then-president Yuan Shikai.
12 JulyA failed Second Revolution started in Southern China in response to Yuan Shikai's dictatorial policies and the assassination of Song Jiaoren
19158 JanuaryJapan issued the Twenty-One Demands to the Republic of China, including demands for territory in Shandong, Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, rights of extraterritoriality for its citizens in China, and influence in China's internal affairs.
15 SeptemberChen Duxiu founded the magazine New Youth.
12 DecemberYuan declared himself the Hongxian Emperor of the Empire of China.
The progressive, anti-Confucian New Culture Movement was founded.
25 DecemberNational Protection War: The republican generals Cai E and Tang Jiyao declared the independence of Yunnan from the Empire of China.
191616 JuneYuan died.
19177 NovemberHistory of the Chinese Communist Party: Bolsheviks led by Marxist leader Vladimir Lenin seized power in Russia in the October Revolution.
19194 MayMay Fourth Movement: A student protest against the Treaty of Versailles took place at Tiananmen.
28 JuneThe Treaty of Versailles, among whose provisions was the transfer of German territories in Shandong to Japan, was signed.
19211 JuneThe Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded.
4 DecemberThe first installment of Lu Xun's novel The True Story of Ah Q, the first work written in written vernacular Chinese, was published.
1923JanuaryThe Radio Corporation of China was founded.
The KMT and CCP agreed to the First United Front, under which Communists would join the KMT as individuals to help combat warlordism.
192526 JanuarySun Yat-sen, China's Father of the Nation, dies from cancer.
19269 JulyNorthern Expedition: The KMT general Chiang Kai-shek launched an expedition of some hundred thousand National Revolutionary Army (NRA) soldiers from Guangdong against the warlords Zhang Zuolin, Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang.
1927 12 April Shanghai massacre of 1927: KMT forces led by Chiang attack Communist allies in Shanghai, initiating a full-scale purge of Communists in regions under KMT control.
1 AugustNanchang uprising: Communist forces launched an uprising against the KMT in Nanchang.
19287 MayJinan Incident: The Japanese general Hikosuke Fukuda tortured and killed seventeen of Chiang's representatives in Jinan.
4 JuneHuanggutun incident: Zhang Zuolin's train was blown up by the Japanese Kwantung Army, killing him.
10 OctoberChiang became chairman of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China.
1931JulyEncirclement Campaign against Northeastern Jiangxi Soviet: The NRA encircled and invested the Northeastern Jiangxi Soviet.
July1931 China floods: Flooding began in the valleys of the Yellow, Yangtze and Huai Rivers, which would claim as many as four million lives. As of 2019, it was the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded.
18 SeptemberMukden Incident: In a false flag operation against the Republic of China, Japanese agents set off a dynamite explosion near a South Manchuria Railway line.
Japanese invasion of Manchuria: The Kwantung Army invested all Manchurian territory along the South Manchuria Railway.
7 NovemberThe Chinese Soviet Republic was established in Ruijin.
15 DecemberChiang resigned under pressure from the KMT. Lin Sen became acting chairman of the Nationalist government.
19321 JanuaryLin Sen became chairman of the Nationalist government.
28 JanuaryJanuary 28 Incident: Japanese aircraft carriers began bombing Shanghai in a series of raids which would kill some four thousand soldiers of the 19th Route Army and as many as twenty thousand Chinese civilians.
4 FebruaryDefense of Harbin: Japanese bombs and artillery forced the Jilin Self-Defence Army to retreat from Harbin.
18 FebruaryThe independent state of Manchukuo was established on the territory of Japanese-occupied Manchuria.
9 MarchPacification of Manchukuo: The Big Swords Society rebelled en masse against the government of Manchukuo.
1934FebruaryChiang and his wife Soong Mei-ling established the quasi-fascist New Life Movement.
16 OctoberLong March: The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army broke through the KMT lines attempting to encircle them at Ganzhou.
1935Japan opened a biological warfare operation called Unit 731 in Manchukuo.
5 FebruaryFirst Encirclement Campaign against Hubei–Henan–Shaanxi Soviet: Red Army forces forced the retreat of a KMT army attempting to encircle the soviet of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi.
9 DecemberDecember 9th Movement: A student protest took place in Beijing demanding internal liberalization and stronger anti-Japanese resistance.
193612 DecemberXi'an Incident: Zhang Xueliang arrested Chiang in Xi'an due to concerns he was insufficiently committed to anti-Japanese resistance.
19377 MarchMarco Polo Bridge Incident: Roughly one hundred Chinese soldiers were killed defending the Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing from a Japanese attack.
22 SeptemberThe KMT and CCP joined to establish the Second United Front. The Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies, which were nominally part of the NRA chain of command.
25 SeptemberBattle of Pingxingguan: The Eighth Route Army wiped out a Japanese force of a few hundred attempting to bring supplies through Pingxing Pass.
26 OctoberBattle of Shanghai: The NRA began withdrawing from downtown Shanghai in the face of a Japanese onslaught.
10 DecemberBattle of Nanking: The Japanese Central China Area Army launched a full-scale assault on Nanjing.
13 DecemberNanjing Massacre: Nanjing fell to the Japanese Central China Area Army. A six-week massacre began in which tens of thousands of women were raped and as many as three hundred thousand civilians were killed.
193818 FebruaryBombing of Chongqing: The Japanese army and naval air services began a bombing campaign against civilian targets in Chongqing which would kill some ten thousand people.
7 AprilBattle of Taierzhuang: The Japanese army was forced to withdraw after suffering heavy losses in an attempted conquest of Tai'erzhuang District.
5 June1938 Yellow River flood: KMT forces destroyed a major dyke in an effort to create a flood to slow down Japanese forces. Nearly a million citizens died.
19391 SeptemberThe nominally independent Mengjiang was established on the Mongol territories of the Japanese-occupied Chahar and Suiyuan provinces.
17 SeptemberBattle of Changsha: The Japanese army attacked Changsha.
194020 AugustHundred Regiments Offensive: Communist NRA soldiers under Peng Dehuai began a campaign of terrorism and sabotage against Japanese targets in North China.
19411 FebruaryThe Communist official Mao Zedong gave a speech in Yan'an entitled "Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature," establishing the Yan'an Rectification Movement and beginning an ideological purge which would claim some ten thousand lives.
30 SeptemberBattle of Changsha: A Japanese army began a general retreat after failing to take Changsha.
194215 JanuaryBattle of Changsha: A Japanese army crossed the Xinqiang River after suffering heavy losses in a failed attempt to conquer Changsha.
19431 AugustLin Sen died. Chiang became acting chairman of the Nationalist government.
27 NovemberCairo Conference: Chiang, United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt, and British prime minister Winston Churchill issued the Cairo Declaration, under which the three powers expressed their desire for the independence of Korea and the return of Chinese territories.
194427 MayBattle of Changsha: The Japanese army launched a general offensive against Changsha.
194526 JuneThe United Nations Charter establishing the United Nations (UN) was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center by fifty nations including China.
6 AugustAtomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: As many as eighty thousand Japanese, largely civilians, were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by a United States aircraft.
9 SeptemberSurrender of Japan: Japanese forces in China formally surrendered to Chiang Kai-shek.
25 OctoberSurrender of Japan: China regains control of Taiwan from Japan and was proclaimed as Retrocession Day. Chen Yi of the Kuomintang was appointed Chief Executive.
NovemberCampaign to Suppress Bandits in Northeast China: The Communist People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched a campaign against bandits and KMT guerillas in northeast China.
194620 JulyChinese Civil War: The NRA invaded PLA-held territory en masse.
194728 FebruaryFebruary 28 Incident: Nationalist forces violently suppressed an anti-government protest in Taiwan Province.
25 DecemberThe Constitution of the Republic of China came into force, dissolving the Nationalist government and renaming the NRA the Republic of China (ROC) Armed Forces.
19482 NovemberLiaoshen Campaign: The last ROC garrison in Manchuria, in Yingkou, retreated in the face of a PLA advance.
15 DecemberHuaihai Campaign: The PLA encircled an ROC army in Xuzhou.
194921 JanuaryChiang resigned the presidency of the Republic of China due to military failures and under pressure from his vice president Li Zongren, who succeeded him as acting president.
31 JanuaryPingjin Campaign: The PLA took Beijing.
23 AprilChinese Civil War: The PLA conquered the ROC capital Nanjing. The ROC moved its capital to Guangzhou.
19 MayThe ROC government imposes the 38-year martial law in Taiwan
1 OctoberMao declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
10 DecemberThe ROC moved its capital from Chengdu to Taipei.
19505 MarchLanding Operation on Hainan Island: Chinese forces landed on ROC-controlled Hainan.
25 JuneKorean War: The North Korean army launched a 135,000-man surprise assault across the 38th parallel into South Korea.
25 NovemberBattle of the Ch'ongch'on River: The Chinese 38th Group Army broke the UN line between the 7th Infantry Division and 8th Infantry Division in the valley of the Chongchon River.
Mass executions of political prisoners took place in the Canidrome.
195123 MayRepresentatives of the Dalai Lama of Tibet the 14th Dalai Lama and of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China signed the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, which guaranteed Tibetan autonomy within China and called for the integration of the Tibetan Army into the PLA.
1952JanuaryThe five-anti campaign, which encouraged accusations against the bourgeoisie of crimes such as bribery and tax evasion, was founded. see Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns
1953The first of the five-year plans of China, which called for construction of heavy industry, began to be carried out.
195520 JanuaryBattle of Yijiangshan Islands: People's Liberation Army captures the Yijiangshan Islands near Zhejiang from the ROC forces.
1956An outbreak of the Influenza A virus subtype H2N2 occurred in China.
195727 FebruaryMao published a speech entitled "On the Correct Handling of the Contradictions Among the People," marking the founding of the Hundred Flowers Campaign which encouraged criticism of the government and the Communist Party.
JulyMao instigated the Anti-Rightist Movement during which hundreds of thousands of alleged rightists, including many who had criticized the government during the Hundred Flowers Campaign, were purged from the CCP or sentenced to labor or death.
1958Great Leap Forward: The CCP led campaigns to massively overhaul the Chinese economy and society with such innovations as collective farming and the use of backyard furnaces.
Mao launched the Four Pests Campaign, which encouraged the eradication of rats, flies, mosquitos and sparrows.
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis: PLA fails to capture ROC-held islands of Quemoy and Matsu Islands in Fujian.
195910 March1959 Tibetan uprising: A rebellion broke out in the Tibetan regional capital Lhasa after rumors the government was planning to arrest the 14th Dalai Lama at the local PLA headquarters.
Great Chinese Famine: A famine began which would claim as many as forty million lives over three years.
196016 AprilSino-Soviet split: A CCP newspaper accused the Soviet leadership of "revisionism."
196220 OctoberSino-Indian War: The PLA attacked Indian forces across the Line of Actual Control.
19645 JanuaryQuotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung was first published.
16 October596: The Chinese government detonated its first nuclear weapon at Lop Nur.
The ROC government outlaws Taiwanese Hokkien language in schools and official settings
The second of two volumes of Simplified Chinese characters ordered by the State Council of the People's Republic of China was published.
196619 AugustCultural Revolution: The CCP launched a campaign to destroy the Four Olds.
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the sole government-sanctioned Protestant church, was abolished.
1968Deng Pufang was thrown from a third-story window at Peking University by Red Guards, crippling him.
22 DecemberThe People's Daily published an editorial entitled "We too have two hands, let us not laze about in the city," invigorating the Down to the Countryside Movement under which the sent-down youth, many former Red Guards, were relocated from the cities to the country.
19692 MarchSino-Soviet border conflict: PLA forces attacked the Soviet Border Troops of the Soviet Union on Zhenbao Island, killing 59.
1 OctoberThe Beijing Subway opened in Beijing.
197024 AprilChina launched Dong Fang Hong I, its first satellite.
1971JulyUnited States secretary of state Henry Kissinger visited Beijing.
13 SeptemberCultural Revolution: Lin Biao dies in mysterious air crash after failed coup.
25 OctoberChina and the United Nations: The People's Republic of China is admitted to the United Nations, replacing the Republic of China.
197228 February1972 Nixon visit to China: The United States and China issued the Shanghai Communiqué pledging to normalize relations during the visit of the former's president Richard Nixon.
197419 JanuaryBattle of the Paracel Islands: Some fifty South Vietnamese soldiers were killed in a Chinese conquest of the Paracel Islands.
19755 AprilChiang Kai-shek died.
19768 JanuaryThe premier Zhou Enlai died.
5 AprilTiananmen Incident: Some four thousand people were arrested during a protest against the removal of wreaths, flowers and poems laid at the Monument to the People's Heroes in Zhou's memory.
27 July1976 Tangshan earthquake: An earthquake with its epicenter near Tangshan killed roughly a quarter of a million people.
9 SeptemberMao died.
6 OctoberThe Gang of Four, a political faction including Mao's wife Jiang Qing, was arrested on the orders of the premier Hua Guofeng.
7 OctoberHua became Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party.
1977Beijing Spring: A brief period of political liberalization began.
197811 OctoberThe poet Huang Xiang pasted pro-democracy, anti-Mao poems on the Democracy Wall in Beijing.
DecemberThe Communist official Deng Xiaoping became paramount leader of China.
DecemberChinese economic reform: Economic liberalization measures including the replacement of collective farming with the household-responsibility system began to be instituted.
DecemberDeng Xiaoping first advocated for the Four Modernizations, of agriculture, industry, national defense and science and technology.
19791 JanuaryChina and the United States issued the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, under which the latter recognized the PRC as the legitimate government of China and terminated its participation in the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with Taiwan.
6 MarchSino-Vietnamese War: China declared that the punitive objective of its invasion of Vietnam had been achieved and began to retreat.
30 MarchDeng Xiaoping declared in a speech the Four Cardinal Principles not subject to debate within China.
1980The first of the Special Economic Zones of China, characterized by low regulation and the encouragement of foreign investment, were established.
28 JuneSino-Vietnamese conflicts 1979–90: Chinese forces began shelling the Vietnamese Cao Bằng Province.
18 SeptemberThe one-child policy, under which Chinese couples are heavily fined for additional children after their first, with some exceptions, came into force, and then phased out in 2015.
198419 DecemberThe Sino-British Joint Declaration, under which China and the United Kingdom agreed to the transfer of Hong Kong to China and the preservation there of democracy and capitalism under the one country, two systems model, was signed during the visit of the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
19877 May1987 Lieyu massacre: 19 people killed by the Republic of China Army targeting Vietnamese boat people near the coast of Kinmen.
Martial law in Taiwan lifted.
198814 MarchJohnson South Reef Skirmish: The PLA took control of the Johnson South Reef after a short naval battle in which some seventy Vietnamese soldiers were killed.
198915 AprilTiananmen Square protests of 1989: A crowd gathered at the Monument to the People's Heroes.
4 JuneTiananmen Square protests of 1989: Anywhere from 1 to 5 thousand people brutally murdered in the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
24 JuneJiang Zemin became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.
199018 MarchWild Lily student movement in Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall which saw less bloodshed compared to the Tiananmen protests in Beijing.
Shanghai Stock Exchange re-opened on 26 November and began operation on 19 December.
19911 MayLegislative Yuan and National Assembly delegates elected in 1947 resigns.
26 DecemberThe Soviet Union officially dissolves leaving the People's Republic of China as the only major communist state on Earth.
The first McDonald's restaurant in mainland China opened in Beijing.
1992First free democratic elections for the Legislative Yuan held since 1948 in Taiwan only.
Deng Xiaoping traveled south to reassert the economy policy.
199327 AprilWang–Koo summit took place in Singapore: the first public meeting between figures of non-governmental organization (NGO) since 1949.
19948 December1994 Karamay fire: A fire at a theater in Karamay killed some three hundred people.
1996The first direct presidential elections in Chinese history took place in Taiwan with Lee Teng-hui and the Kuomintang retaining power.
199719 FebruaryDeng Xiaoping died.
1 JulyHong Kong handover ceremony: A ceremony marked the return of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China from the United Kingdom under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
The term Great Firewall was coined to describe the tools of Internet censorship in China.
1998June1998 China floods: China experienced massive flooding including floods of the Yangtze River, the Nen River, the Songhua River and the Pearl River. Chinese People's Liberation Army earned people's respects because of their heroic behaving against the floods.
19997 MayUnited States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade: United States bombers under the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization accidentally bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
22 JulyThe Chinese government declared the religious organization Falun Gong illegal.
20 DecemberTransfer of sovereignty over Macau: Sovereignty over Macau was transferred from Portugal to China.
2000China passed Japan as the country with which the United States has the largest trade deficit.

21st century

YearDateEvent
2000Chen Shui-bian, the opposition candidate from the native DPP, elected president by a lead of 2.5% of votes marking the end of the KMT rule of China. Voter turnout was 82.69%; first peaceful transfer of power since the formation of the Chinese Republic in 1912 and in Taiwan since 1945.
Four Noes and One Without
200123 JanuaryTiananmen Square self-immolation incident: Five declared by Chinese government members of Falun Gong may have burned themselves to death in Tiananmen Square.
1 AprilHainan Island incident: A United States intelligence aircraft was intercepted and forced to make an emergency landing on Hainan.
10 NovemberWorld Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 2001: The PRC joined the World Trade Organization, subjecting it to that body's free trade and dispute resolution agreements. The following year, the ROC joined the WTO under the name Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to adhere with the One-China policy.
200215 November16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party: Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang Zemin as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.
16 NovemberAn outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome began in Guangdong.
200315 OctoberThe PRC launched its first crewed space mission Shenzhou 5.
200419 SeptemberJiang Zemin resigned his position as chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and succeeded by Hu Jintao.
200514 MarchThe controversial Anti-Secession Law was passed, reasserting the PRC's desire for "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan and its right to resolve the issue by force. In response, 1.6 million people marched in Taipei against the PRC's "anti-secession law". Similar marches occur across the world by Taiwanese nationalists. Protests against the PRC were held worldwide, including, but not limited to: Chicago, New York City, Washington DC, Paris, and Sydney.
15 April2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations: Mass demonstrations against Japan took place.
13 November2005 Jilin chemical plant explosions: A series of explosions at a chemical plant in Jilin City killed six and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands.
Pan–Blue leaders visit to mainland China
President Chen is invited and attends the funeral of Pope John Paul II. He is the first ROC president to visit the Vatican.
The National Assembly of the Republic of China convenes for the last time to implement several constitutional reforms, including single-member two-vote districts, and votes to transfer the power of constitutional reform to the popular ballot, essentially abolishing itself.
20077 May2007 Chinese slave scandal: A local television station first reported on missing children kidnapped to work as slaves at brickyards in Shanxi.
10 JulyZheng Xiaoyu, the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, was executed for corruption.
3 AugustThe State Administration for Religious Affairs issued State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, which required tulkus who planned to be reincarnated to submit an application to the government.
24 OctoberThe lunar orbiter Chang'e 1 was launched.
200825 January2008 Chinese winter storms: A series of severe winter storms began which would claim over a hundred lives.
22 March2008 presidential election; with 58.48% of the vote, KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou defeats DPP candidate Frank Hsieh. Many voters boycott the referendum on whether and how to join UN so the level of voter participation required for referendum to be considered valid is not achieved.
1 MayThe Hangzhou Bay Bridge opened to the public.
12 May2008 Sichuan earthquake: An earthquake with its epicenter in Wenchuan County killed nearly seventy thousand people.
20 MayMa Ying-jeou sworn into office as the 12th President of ROC. Second peaceful transfer of power with the Kuomintang regaining control of the presidency. Tsai Ing-wen inaugurate as the Chairperson of DPP.
16 July2008 Chinese milk scandal: Sixteen infants were diagnosed with kidney stones in Gansu after drinking formula contaminated with melamine.
8 August2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony: A ceremony marked the beginning of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
6 September2008 Summer Paralympics: The thirteenth Paralympic Games began in Beijing.
27 SeptemberThe astronaut Zhai Zhigang completed China's first spacewalk on Shenzhou 7.
Wild Strawberry student movement in Taiwan.
20095 JulyJuly 2009 Ürümqi riots: A riot of some thousand Uyghurs began which involved ethnic violence against the Han in Ürümqi.
1 October60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China: A military parade on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing commemorated the establishment of the PRC.
201014 April2010 Yushu earthquake: An earthquake with its epicenter in Yushu killed as many as three thousand people.
1 MayExpo 2010: A world's fair began in Shanghai.
201121 SeptemberWukan protests: Farmers in Wukan attacked a government building due to the government's seizure without compensation of their farmland.
29 SeptemberTiangong-1 was launched as China's first prototype space station.
10 OctoberThe 100th Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution and Republic of China was commemorated.
20126 FebruaryWang Lijun incident: Wang Lijun, a deputy of Bo Xilai, the Party Committee Secretary of Chongqing, sought refuge at a United States consulate.
4 JulyThe Three Gorges Dam went into operation.
19 August2012 China anti-Japanese demonstrations: Anti-Japanese protests took place in China due to a dispute over ownership of the Diaoyu Islands.
15 November18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party: Xi Jinping succeeded Hu Jintao as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
2013One Belt, One Road was proposed to connect and cooperate among countries primarily between China and rest of Eurasia.
29 SeptemberThe Shanghai Free-Trade Zone was established.
28 October2013 Tiananmen Square attack: A car was driven into a crowd in Tiananmen Square, killing the driver and two passengers, Uyghurs associated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and two pedestrians.
14 DecemberThe lunar lander Chang'e 3 landed on the moon.
2014China became the world's second largest economy.
1 March2014 Kunming attack is a terrorist attack, killing 31 civilians and injuring more than 140 others. No group or individual stepped forward to claim responsibility for the attack.
18 MarchSunflower Student Movement in Taiwan, students occupy the Legislative Yuan force to halt the enforcement of Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement.
201517 June2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence started.
3 September2015 China Victory Day Parade was held on the Tiananmen Square.
NovemberMa Ying-jeou meets with Xi Jinping, the first Cross-Strait leader meeting.
201616 Januarypresidential election; with 56.3% of the vote, DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen defeats KMT candidate Eric Chu.
20 MayTsai Ing-wen sworn into office as the 14th and current President of ROC. Third peaceful transfer of power and first female President in Chinese history.
4 September2016 G20 Hangzhou summit was held in the city of Hangzhou.
15 SeptemberTiangong-2 was launched with mission of more than ten scientific experiments.
201725 October19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party: Xi Jinping was re-elected as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
2018MarchXi Jinping removed his term limits.
201924 MaySame-sex marriage becomes legal in Taiwan.
1 October 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China military parade held in Tiananmen Square
DecemberFirst case of COVID-19 identified in Wuhan leading into the subsequent pandemic.
202016 JanuaryTsai Ing-wen re-elected as ROC President continuing deterioration of relations with the PRC.
30 JuneHong Kong national security law passed.
20212 April2021 Hualien train derailment: A Taroko Express train was derailed at Hualien County killing 49 passengers and injuring 200 others.
1 July100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party was held as part of the Two Centenaries.
202223 OctoberXi Jinping was re-elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party for a precedent-breaking third term of paramount leader after Mao Zedong's death.[6]
30 NovemberJiang Zemin died

Timeline of Chinese dynasties

Timeline of major Chinese dynasties and states
Divisions of Chinese history and their corresponding dynasties

See also

Cities in China
Related

References

  1. "Fossil teeth place humans in Asia '20,000 years early'". BBC News. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  2. Xiaohong, et al. (2002).
  3. Huang et al. (2002).
  4. Sterling, Richard (1 December 2011). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Vietnam and Angkor Wat. ISBN 9780756687403.
  5. Wu, Qinglong; Zhao, Zhijun; Liu, Li; Granger, Darryl E.; Wong, Hui; Cohen, David J.; Wu, Xiaohong; Ye, Maolin; Bar-Yosef, Ofer (5 August 2016). "Outburst flood at 1920 BCE supports historicity of China's Great Flood and the Xia dynasty". Science. 353 (6299): 579–582. Bibcode:2016Sci...353..579W. doi:10.1126/science.aaf0842. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 27493183. S2CID 206646492.
  6. "China's leader Xi Jinping secures third term and stacks inner circle with loyalists". The Guardian. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

Further reading

Published in the 19th century
Published in the 20th century
  • Charles E. Little (1900), "China", Cyclopedia of Classified Dates, New York: Funk & Wagnalls via Internet Archive
  • Benjamin Vincent (1910), "China", Haydn's Dictionary of Dates (25th ed.), London: Ward, Lock & Co., hdl:2027/loc.ark:/13960/t89g6g776 via Hathi Trust
Published in the 21st century
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