Timeline

Based on the ‘Chronological Table’ in

Jacques Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press 1999, 723 -734.

- 1206 Genghis Khan comes to power in Mongolia.

- 1214 The Jürchen (Jin-Dynasty) who occupy northern China move their capital to the former Song capital Kaifeng .

- 1227 Death of Genghis Khan

- 1233 The Mongols seize Kaifeng.

- 1234 Mongol and Song armies jointly bring the Jin Dynasty to an end.

- 1236 Paper money is issued as currency in the Mongol state.

- 1253 The Mongol armies invade Sichuan and Yunnan.

- 1257 Incursions into Vietnam by Mongol forces

- 1260 Khubilai Khan becomes Great Khan

- 1264 Khubilai Khan makes Beijing his capital. Construction of the city as an imperial seat with a palace is started.

- 1271 The dynastic title Yuan = ‘Origin, Beginning’ is selected.

- 1274 The Mongols attempt to invade Japan.

- 1276 Mongol army invades Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song dynasty.

- 1279 The last Song emperor commits suicide and the Mongols occupy the entire Chinese empire.

- 1279- 1294 Construction of the northern section of the Grand Canal, the supply artery linking Beijing to the rice producing country in the south.

- 1281 The Mongols command a Sino-Korean fleet in their second attempt to invade Japan. The ‘wind of the gods’ (kamikaze) destroys their ships.

- 1285 Champa and Cambodia recognize Mongol suzerainty.

- 1288 Vietnam recognizes Mongol suzerainty.

- 1289 The Yellow River changes its course. Terrible flooding destroys vast areas of arable land.

- 1294 Death of Khubilai Khan.

- 1324 The Yellow River changes its course again.

- 1336 The Yellow River returns to its old course.

- 1346 Famine drives peasants to revolt against authorities.

- 1351 Chinese rebels begin to destroy Mongol control.

- 1364 One of the successful rebel leaders, Zhu Yuanzhang, proclaims himself Prince of Wu [the territory of the former southern state of Wu (222-280) with the capital Nanjing].

- 1368 Zhu Yuangzhang proclaims the Ming Dynasty. He chooses Hongwu as his reign title.

- 1387 China is liberated of Mongol rule. Zhu Yuanzhang orders all land to be registered in cataster files.

- 1398 Death of Zhu Yuanzhang.

- 1402 Zhu Di, Zhu Yuanzhang’s son begins to rule as Emperor Yongle. He rules until 1424.

1403- The Great Wall is rebuilt and reinforced.

1435

- 1405- Seven maritime expeditions are conducted. The ships sail to Southeast

1433 Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, and the East African coast

- 1406 Ming armies invade and occupy Vietnam

- 1411- The Grand Canal is repaired; the palace city of Beijing is rebuilt.

1415

- 1421 The capital is moved from Nanjing to Beijing.

- 1427 Vietnam becomes independent again.

- 1433 The ‘Treasure Fleet’ expeditions are concluded, all documents on the

expeditions as well as the ships are destroyed. Maritime trade is banned.

- from 1434 The Ming state opens silver mines in Yunnan
- 1449 The Chinese army suffers a defeat during warfare against the Mongols. The emperor is taken prisoner.

- 1505 Eunuch Liu Jin becomes powerful in the government.

- 1530- Taxation in silver is extended.

1581

- from 1540 Japanese pirates roam the Chinese coast.

-1550 Beijing is besieged for week by the Mongols.

- 1555 An earthquake leaves 830.000 people dead

- c. 1570 First imports of silver from the Americas via Manila. Taxation is based on silver.

- 1590- Mining of silver becomes a ‘fever’.

1605

- 1592 Shogun Hideyoshi invades Korea. The Ming army sent to support Korea suffers a defeat.

- 1593 Chinese victory over Japanese troops in Korea.

- 1598 Withdrawal of Japanese troops from Korea

- 1615- The eunuch fraction and the Donglin party of Confucian officials
1627 compete for power in the government.

- 1621 The Jürchen / Manchu take the cities Shenyang and Liaoyang.

-1624 The Dutch establish trade posts on the coast of Taiwan.

- 1624- Eunuch Wei Zhongxian becomes highly influential at court and

1627 reigns as a dictator. He ruthlessly persecutes the officials of the Donglin party.

- 1627 Military and peasant revolts begin to undermine power of the Ming government.

The Manchurian Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)

- 1635 The Jürchen begin to call themselves Manchus.

- 1644 Rebel leader Li Zicheng occupies Beijing. In panic the Ming emperor commits suicide. With Manchu military support General Wu Sangui drives Li Zicheng out of Beijing. The Manchus proclaim the Qing Dynasty.

- 1645 The Manchus rule with population segregation. They force the Chinese population to take over Manchu hairstyle and clothing. Chinese men have to shave their forehead and wear a queue. Intermarriage is forbidden.

- 1649- Zheng Chenggong and his fellow pirates repeatedly raid the coast of

1662 Fujian and Taiwan.

- 1657 The Manchu government reopens the civil service examinations.

- 1661 Accession of Emperor Kangxi. Zheng Chenggong drives the Dutch out of Taiwan. The Southern Ming give up their resistance against the Manchus. -

- 1662 To bring an end to piracy at the coast, the Manchus order the coast to be evacuated.

- 1668 Manchuria is closed for Chinese settlers.

- 1673 In southern China Wu Sangui leads a rebellion against the Manchu.

- 1667- The Qing reoccupy and reconquer several regions that had rebelled against

1697 their rule.

- 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk between Qing China and Russia.

- 1723 Accession of Emperor Yongzheng.

- 1727 Treaty of Kiakhta between China and Russia.

- 1735 Accession of Emperor Qianlong.

- 1751 Qing occupation of Tibet.

- 1757- Qing conquest of the Ili valley and the Tarim Basin.
1759
- 1767- Sino-Burmese War
1771

- 1775 He Shen becomes the favorite of Emperor Qianlong. Corruption within the administration increases.

- 1781 - 1784 Muslim revolts in Gansu province

- 1788 - 1789 Qing expeditions to Vietnam

- 1795 - 1803 White Lotus rebellions in North China

- 1796 Qianlong abdicates in favor of Jiaqing, in fact he continues to reign.

- 1799 Death of Qianlong and He Shen

- 1812: Census: 361 million inhabitants on Qing territory

- 1875 Empress Cixi governs on her own

- 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki: Taiwan and the Penghu islands are ceded to Japan

- 1897 Germany annexes the Qingdao area in Shandong

- 1898 The 'Hundred Days Reform' ends in failure.

- 1900 Boxer occupy Beijing

- 1905 Sun Yatsen founds the Tongmenghui (United League) in Tokyo

- 1912 January 1: Sun Yatsen inaugurates the Chinese Republic in Nanjing