China Dates and Events

Before 1950: Key Dates and Events

• 1893
  Mao Zedong born.

• 1911
  Revolution overthrows the last emperor (Puyi); China descends into warlordism.

• 1912–1928
  Guomindang (GMD/Nationalist Party) fights warlords for control.

• 1918
  Mao leaves school, becomes a librarian in Peking (Beijing).

• 1919
  May Fourth Movement; Mao joins the Communist movement.

• 1921

  • Chinese Communist Party (CCP) founded.

  • Guomindang Party founded.

• 1924
  Mao becomes a member of the CCP Central Committee.

• 1925
  Chiang Kai-shek becomes leader of the Guomindang.

• 1927

  • Chiang purges the CCP; Mao is imprisoned but escapes.

  • Civil war between CCP and GMD begins.

• 1930
  Mao’s first wife was killed by Guomindang.

• 1931
  Chiang launches a full-scale military campaign against the Communists.

• October 1934
  Long March begins: Mao leads 100,000 Communists on a 3,000 km march.

• 1935
  Mao was elected leader of the CCP.

• 1936
  Mao is established as leader of the CCP.

• November 1937
  Japanese capture Shanghai.

• December 1937
  Japanese take Nanjing (Nanking).

• Spring 1938
  Yellow River dykes breached by Chiang Kai-shek to stop Japanese. There was massive flooding and deaths.

• 12 November 1938
  Changsha was destroyed by fire (scorched earth policy).

• 1945
  End of WWII: Japanese driven out; Mao has support of over 100 million Chinese.

• 1947
  Red Army renamed People’s Liberation Army (PLA); civil war turns in favour of the Communists.

• 1948
  Many eastern provinces were under Communist control.

• End of 1949
  Shanghai falls to Communists; Nationalists flee to Taiwan (Formosa).

• 1949

  • 1 October: Mao proclaims the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Maoist Rule (1949–1976): Laws, Campaigns, and Major Events

• 1950

  • October: Suppression of Counter-Revolutionaries campaign launched, targeting GMD, bandits, and religious groups; public executions common.

  • The PLA invaded Tibet; resistance crushed within six months.

  • ‘Three Mountains’ campaign against feudalism, capitalism, and imperialism.

  • Agrarian Reform Law passed: land seized from landlords and redistributed to peasants.

  • Marriage Law introduced: bans arranged marriages, concubinage, and grants women equal rights.

• 1951

  • Three Antis Campaign launched: targets corruption, waste, and bureaucracy among party members and officials.

  • All-China Federation of Democratic Youth and All-China Federation of Women established.

• 1952

  • Five Antis Campaign launched: targets bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating, and stealing economic information.

  • February: 3,000 mass meetings in Shanghai alone; widespread denunciations and suicides.

  • June: Mao’s statement on executions to assuage people’s anger.

• 1953–1957

  • First Five-Year Plan: Soviet-style industrialisation; focus on heavy industry and state control.

• 1956

  • Hundred Flowers Campaign launched: Mao encourages criticism of the party and government.

  • December: Economists and scientists offer limited criticism.

• 1957

  • January–February: Government officials criticised by radical writers.

  • 27 February: Mao’s speech ‘On the correct handling of contradictions among the people’.

  • March–June: Criticism and protests from students.

  • June: Campaign ends; Anti-Rightist Campaign begins, with hundreds of thousands denounced, purged, or sent to labour camps.

• 1958–1962

  • Great Leap Forward (Second Five-Year Plan): mass collectivisation, backyard furnaces, and focus on rapid industrialisation.

  • Economic breakdown, famine, and millions of deaths.

• 1959

  • Chinese forces suppress large-scale revolt in Tibet.

• 1962

  • Brief conflict with India over disputed Himalayan border.

• 1966–1976

  • Cultural Revolution launched: Mao mobilises Red Guards to attack ‘Four Olds’ (old ideas, culture, customs, habits); widespread persecution of intellectuals, officials, and perceived enemies.

  • PLA called in to restore order as violence spirals.

  • The Cultural Revolution did not end until Mao’s death in 1976.

• 1971

  • China joins the United Nations, replacing Taiwan.

• 1972

  • US President Nixon visits China; start of improved Sino-US relations.

• 1976

  • Death of Mao Zedong; end of the Cultural Revolution.

Deng Xiaoping’s Tenure (1978–1989): Reforms and Events

• 1978
  Deng Xiaoping becomes de facto leader of China; launches economic reforms and the “Open Door” policy.

• 1979

  • One-Child Policy introduced to control population growth.

• 1989

  • April: Tiananmen Square protests begin (pro-democracy movement).

  • June: Tiananmen Square protests crushed by the PLA.

Summary Table: Major Laws and Campaigns

This list includes every date and event explicitly mentioned in your file, as well as all major campaigns, laws, and turning points required for the OCR History A China case study, from the pre-Communist era through Maoist rule and into Deng Xiaoping’s reforms.