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Date: 1840 - 1842

Event Description: Britain launched a war against China to force open its market, mainly due to the trade imbalance caused by China's restrictions on opium imports. After a series of battles, China was defeated.

Cause: British desire to expand trade, especially the opium trade, and break China's trade barriers. Effect: China was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, ceding Hong Kong Island, opening up treaty ports, and starting a period of semi-colonial status.

Social/Cultural Event: Wei Yuan's Compilation of "Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms"

Date: 1842

Description: Wei Yuan, in the wake of the First Opium War, compiled this book to introduce Western countries' geography, history, and politics to the Chinese people, proposing the idea of "learning from the barbarians to control the barbarians".

Cause: China's defeat in the First Opium War shocked the traditional mindset, and scholars realized the need to understand the West. Effect: Opened a window for the Chinese people to understand the West, inspired later reform ideas like those in the Westernization Movement, and had a profound impact on the intellectual community.

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Date: 1856 - 1860

Event Description: Triggered by disputes over the interpretation of treaties and British and French demands for further concessions. Allied forces of Britain and France invaded China.

Cause: Western powers' unquenchable appetite for more privileges in China after the First Opium War.

Effect: China had to sign more unequal treaties like the Treaty of Tianjin and the Convention of Peking, losing more sovereignty, and seeing a further influx of foreign influence.

Economic/ Technological Event: Start of the Self-Strengthening Movement

Date: 1861

Description: In response to the defeats in the Opium Wars, the Qing government launched a series of initiatives to modernize the military and industry. For example, building arsenals and shipyards.

Cause: Recognition of the technological gap with the West after military defeats.

Effect: Laid the foundation for some early industrial development in China, introduced Western manufacturing techniques, but was limited in scope due to conservative resistance.

Social/ Cultural Event: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Promulgation of "The Land System of the Heavenly Kingdom"

Date: 1853

Description: During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, this programmatic document was issued, advocating equal distribution of land, "All the people under heaven shall till all the land under heaven", and constructing an ideal social blueprint.

Cause: The peasant class was deeply oppressed by the feudal land ownership system and craved land. Effect: Reflected the peasants' strong demand for land. Although there were many limitations in practice, it inspired the enthusiasm of the vast majority of peasants to participate in the movement and impacted the concept of the feudal land system.

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Date: 1894 - 1895

Event Description: Japan, after modernizing rapidly, aimed to expand its territory and influence and launched a war against China.

Cause: Japan's ambition for regional hegemony and China's relative military weakness.

Effect: China's defeat led to the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding Taiwan and 辽东半岛 (later redeemed), and a heavy blow to national pride, spurring calls for reform.

Economic/ Technological Event: Opening of the Hanyang Iron Works

Date: 1872

Description: It was one of the earliest modern enterprises in China, aiming to compete with foreign shipping companies.

Cause: The domination of foreign shipping in China's coastal and inland waterways.

Effect: Helped China regain some control over its shipping trade, promoted the development of the transportation industry, and trained a group of early business and management talents.

Social/ Cultural Event: The Founding of "Shenbao"

Date: 1872

The most long-lived and influential Chinese newspaper in modern Chinese history was founded in Shanghai, reporting current affairs, social phenomena, and commercial information.

Cause: With the development of modern cities and commercial prosperity, the demand for information from citizens grew.

Effect: Became an important channel for the public to obtain information, spread the new knowledge and thoughts, promoted the formation of public opinion, and facilitated cultural exchanges.

Educational Reform during the Hundred Days' Reform

Date: 1898

Description: Emperor Guangxu issued a series of educational reform decrees during the Hundred Days' Reform, such as opening the Imperial University of Peking, abolishing the eight-legged essay, and changing to policy-based essays, advocating new learning.

Cause: The deepening of the national crisis and the inability of the old educational system to cultivate talents suitable for the times.

Effect: It impacted the traditional feudal educational system, laid the foundation for the development of modern education, cultivated new-style talents, spread the new ideas, and to some extent changed the social atmosphere.

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Date: 1911

Event Description: A revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty, led by Sun Yat-sen and his revolutionary allies. It was a culmination of years of discontent against the feudal monarchy.

Cause: The Qing Dynasty's corruption, inability to adapt to modernization, and growing revolutionary sentiment.

Effect: Ended the feudal autocratic monarchy that had lasted for thousands of years in China, established the Republic of China, but faced challenges in consolidating power.

Economic/ Technological Event: Completion of the Beijing-Hankou Railway

Date: 1905

Description: A major railway project that connected two important regions, built with a combination of Chinese and foreign efforts.

Cause: The demand for better transportation to boost trade and national integration.

Effect: Enhanced regional connectivity, promoted economic exchange, and spurred the development of related industries along the railway line.

Social/ Cultural Event: Abolition of the Imperial Examination System

Date: 1905

Description: The Qing government announced the abolition of the imperial examination system that had lasted for more than a thousand years in China and promoted new-style school education.

Cause: The rigidity of the imperial examination system hindered the cultivation of new-style talents and social progress, and the rise of new learning exerted pressure.

Effect: Prompted a large number of intellectuals to turn to new-style education and engage in social change, accelerated the transformation from a traditional society to a modern one, and reshaped the talent cultivation model.

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Founding of the Communist Party of China

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Founding of the Communist Party of China

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Date: 1921

Event Description: Amid social unrest and the search for a new path for China, a group of intellectuals and workers gathered in Shanghai to found the Communist Party.

Cause: The failure of the old democratic revolution to truly solve China's problems, the need for a more radical solution to address social inequality and national liberation.

Effect: Grew to become a leading force in China's revolutionary struggle, gradually shaping China's future development.

Economic/ Technological Event: May 4th Movement's Impact on Science and Technology Awareness

Date: 1919

Description: The May 4th Movement not only focused on politics and culture but also spurred a new interest in modern science and technology among the youth.

Cause: The realization that China's backwardness in science and technology was a major hurdle in national development. Effect: Encouraged more students to study science and technology abroad, led to an influx of new scientific ideas, and promoted domestic scientific research initiatives.

Social/Cultural Event: The Rise of the New Culture Movement

Date: 1915

Description: Chen Duxiu founded "Youth Magazine" (later renamed "New Youth"), advocating democracy and science, opposing feudal ethics and old morality, and promoting vernacular writing.

Cause: After the Revolution of 1911, democracy and the republic existed in name only, and Yuan Shikai launched a wave of restoring ancient ways and Confucianism. Intellectuals deeply felt the need to transform the national character.

Effect: Violent impact on the feudal ideological and cultural domination, spread new ideas and new culture, popularize vernacular, arouse the awakening of young people, and create conditions for the spread of Marxism.

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Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

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Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

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Date: 1937 - 1945

Event Description: Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China, and the Chinese people united to fight back.

Cause: Japan's aggressive expansionist policy.

Effect: United the Chinese nation, strengthened national cohesion, and after victory, China's international status was enhanced, and it set the stage for post-war reconstruction.

Economic/ Technologucal Event: The "Golden Decade" of Industrial Development

Date: 1927-1937

Description: During this period, under the relatively stable rule of the Nanjing government, some industries, especially light industries like textiles, had a period of growth.

Cause: The government's policies to encourage industrial development, a short-lived peace, and domestic market demand.

Effect: China's industrial output increased, employment opportunities grew, and it laid the groundwork for further economic development, though it was interrupted by the war.

Social/ Cultural Event: The Flourishing of Anti-Japanese Literature and Art

Date: 1937-1945

Description: During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, literary and artistic workers used their pens as weapons and created a large number of anti-Japanese literary and artistic works, such as the literary work "Four Generations Under One Roof", the drama "White-Haired Girl", and the song "Yellow River Cantata".

Cause: Inspire patriotism at The national peril, and literary and artistic workers shouldered the mission of arousing the people and boosting morale.

Effect: Unite the national spirit, stimulate the people's fighting spirit against Japanese aggression, closely integrate literature and art with The Times, enrich the social and cultural life during the Anti-Japanese War, and promote literature and art to the public.

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Founding of the People's Republic of China

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Founding of the People's Republic of China

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Date: 1949

Event Description: After decades of struggle, the Communist Party of China led the people to establish a new socialist country.

Cause: Years of revolutionary struggle, the support of the people for a new life, and the Communist Party's correct leadership.

Effect: China entered a new era of socialist construction, with a focus on national development, people's livelihood improvement, and national rejuvenation.

Economic/ Technological Event: First Five-Year Plan

Date: 1953-1957

Description: The People's Republic of China launched a comprehensive plan to develop key industries, focusing on heavy industry.

Cause: The need to build a solid industrial base for national independence and development.

Effect: Rapid growth in sectors like steel, coal, and machinery, trained a large number of technical workers, and set the stage for China's industrial take-off.

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中华人民共和国中央人民政府. (n.d.). 近代史. 近代史_历史概况_中国政府网. https://www.gov.cn/guoqing/2005-09/13/content_2582653.htm