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People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Timeline of Events
781BC
6.4.781 BC
The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China.
202BC
2.28.202 BC
coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China
141BC
3.9.141 BC
Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han Dynasty of China.
221
3.15.221
Liu Bei, a Chinese warlord and member of the Han royal house, declares himself emperor of Shu-Han and claims his legitimate succession to the Han Dynasty.
607
8.1.607
Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
618
6.18.618
Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang Dynasty rule over China.
626
9.4.626
Li Shimin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne over the Tang Dynasty of China.
631
6.11.631
Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Emperor of China, sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of enslaved Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang from the northern frontier; this embassy succeeded in freeing 80,000 Chinese men and women who were then returned to China.
706
7.2.706
In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang'an.
755
12.16.755
An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China.
960
2.4.960
The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
971
1.23.971
In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops.
1126
1.18.1126
Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
1271
12.18.1271
Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia and China.
1276
6.14.1276
While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Song Dynasty court hold the coronation ceremony for the young prince Zhao Shi, making him Emperor Duanzong of Song.
1279
3.19.1279
A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
1363
8.30.1363
Beginning date of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders — Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang — are pitted against each other in what is one of the largest naval battles in history, during the last decade of the ailing, Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty.
1368
1.23.1368
In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends to the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming Dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
1402
7.17.1402
Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming Dynasty of China.
1461
8.7.1461
The Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor.
1517
8.15.1517
Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
1524
1.17.1524
Beginning of Giovanni da Verrazzano's voyage to find a passage to China.
1556
1.23.1556
The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
1662
2.1.1662
The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
1786
6.10.1786
A landslide dam on the Dadu River created by an earthquake ten days earlier collapses, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China.
1839
6.3.1839
In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a ''casus belli'' to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
1841
1.26.1841
The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally cedes.
1856
10.8.1856
The Second Opium War between several western powers and China begins with the ''Arrow Incident'' on the Pearl River.
1857
3.3.1857
Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
1860
9.21.1860
In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao.
1875
1.12.1875
Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
1881
2.24.1881
China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
1893
11.29.1893
Ziqiang Institute, today known as Wuhan University, is founded by Zhang Zhidong, governor of Hubei and Hunan Provinces in late Qing Dynasty of China after his memorial to the throne is approved by the Qing Government.
1894
8.1.1894
The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
9.15.1894
First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeats China in the Battle of Pyongyang.
1895
4.17.1895
The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
1898
9.21.1898
Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
1900
1.2.1900
John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China
6.18.1900
Empress Dowager Longyu of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families.
8.14.1900
A joint European-Japanese-United States force (Eight-Nation Alliance) occupies Beijing, in a campaign to end the bloody Boxer Rebellion in China.