08 / TIMELINE
Timeline
This is a navigation timeline, not a complete history of modern China. It connects the project’s core periods and events, while source details and competing explanations remain on their related pages.
Ideas and international background
Outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution
DATE / PERIOD: 1911
WHY IT MATTERS: On February 12, 1912, the Qing emperor abdicated, formally ending Qing rule.
RELATED PAGE: /en/arrival/
Russian Revolution
DATE / PERIOD: 1917
WHY IT MATTERS: Part of the international background for revolutionary and socialist ideas in China.
RELATED PAGE: /en/arrival/
May Fourth Movement
DATE / PERIOD: 1919
WHY IT MATTERS: An important moment in public debate, youth politics and national renewal.
RELATED PAGE: /en/arrival/
1917–1949
Founding of the CCP
DATE / PERIOD: 1921
WHY IT MATTERS: A starting point for party formation and later political competition.
RELATED PAGE: /en/arrival/
Nationalist–Communist split
DATE / PERIOD: 1927
WHY IT MATTERS: A turning point in political struggle, armed organisation and the shift toward rural bases.
RELATED PAGE: /en/arrival/
War with Japan
DATE / PERIOD: 1937–1945
WHY IT MATTERS: War changed the conditions for political organisation and social mobilisation.
RELATED PAGE: /en/arrival/
CCP takes power on the mainland
DATE / PERIOD: 1949
WHY IT MATTERS: Taking power marked the beginning of institutional and social transformation, the subject of the next chapter.
RELATED PAGE: /en/transformation/
1949–1976
Land reform and social reorganisation
DATE / PERIOD: Early 1950s
WHY IT MATTERS: Land, rural life and local relationships changed substantially.
RELATED PAGE: /en/transformation/
Anti-Rightist Campaign
DATE / PERIOD: 1957
WHY IT MATTERS: A key point for reading changes in intellectual life and political expression.
RELATED PAGE: /en/transformation/
Great Leap Forward
DATE / PERIOD: From 1958
WHY IT MATTERS: A node for examining mobilisation, local implementation and social consequences.
RELATED PAGE: /en/transformation/
Cultural Revolution
DATE / PERIOD: 1966–1976
WHY IT MATTERS: Political conflict, institutions and everyday life became deeply intertwined.
RELATED PAGE: /en/transformation/
1976–1989
Reform and opening
DATE / PERIOD: 1978
WHY IT MATTERS: A new period of institutional adjustment, economic reform and social mobility.
RELATED PAGE: /en/transformation/
Market reform and social change
DATE / PERIOD: 1980s
WHY IT MATTERS: Work, education, urban life and individual choices faced new conditions.
RELATED PAGE: /en/china-today/
Political unrest in Beijing and other cities
DATE / PERIOD: 1989
WHY IT MATTERS: An important point for understanding political memory and the boundaries of public discussion.
RELATED PAGE: /en/timeline/
1989–2012
Marketisation and urbanisation
DATE / PERIOD: 1990s
WHY IT MATTERS: Households, employment, housing and social mobility continued to change.
RELATED PAGE: /en/china-today/
Accession to the WTO
DATE / PERIOD: 2001
WHY IT MATTERS: China’s links with global trade, manufacturing and supply chains deepened.
RELATED PAGE: /en/world/
Spread of the internet
DATE / PERIOD: 2000s
WHY IT MATTERS: Information, platforms and public discussion acquired new conditions.
RELATED PAGE: /en/china-today/
2012–present
A new leadership period
DATE / PERIOD: 2012
WHY IT MATTERS: A reference point for contemporary governance and public policy.
RELATED PAGE: /en/china-today/
COVID-19 pandemic period
DATE / PERIOD: From 2020
WHY IT MATTERS: Public health, information and social experience became especially prominent.
RELATED PAGE: /en/china-today/
Technology, supply chains and security
DATE / PERIOD: Recent years
WHY IT MATTERS: Domestic governance and external relations became more closely connected across several issues.
RELATED PAGE: /en/world/
International engagement
PRC takes China’s UN seat
DATE / PERIOD: 1971
WHY IT MATTERS: A key point in China’s participation in international organisations.
RELATED PAGE: /en/world/
Expanding trade, investment and exchange
DATE / PERIOD: After reform and opening
WHY IT MATTERS: Long-term background for China’s connections with the world.
RELATED PAGE: /en/world/
Infrastructure, investment and regional cooperation
DATE / PERIOD: Since the 2010s
WHY IT MATTERS: A route into policy, project and interpretation materials.
RELATED PAGE: /en/world/
How to use this timeline
Dates and event names are navigation aids, not complete explanations. Questions of responsibility, scale, motive or causation require readers to return to sources, topic records and the distinction between documented facts, public claims, unverified material and interpretation.
Continue with Arrival, Transformation, China Today, China and the World and Topics.