| China
- part 2 - |
Click to expand: Map1, Map2 |
| ... - 1000 BCE |
1000 - 0 BCE |
0 - 1000 CE |
1000 - 2000 CE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Xia (2100-1600 BCE) Shang (1600-1000 BCE) |
Chou (1000-256 BCE) |
Han (...-220)
Three Kingdoms Sui - 30 years Tang (618 - 907) |
Song (960 - 1270)
Mongols (1270 - 1370) Ming (1370 - 1640) Manchu (1640 - 1911) |
Ming armies reconquered Annam (north Vietnam) and extended the Great Wall to 4,000 miles to keep back the Mongols. The watch towers were redesigned and cannons were added. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. Under the Ming dynasty, China experienced incredible expansion in all areas of economic life: agriculture, industry, commerce, and - new to China - naval exploration.
At this time, Chinese naval technology was far ahead of the rest of the world. They had invented the rudder and watertight compartments and had established sea routes for trade with Japan and south Asia. Starting in 1405 A.D., the emperor sent Zheng He (or Cheng Ho), a Moslem eunuch slave who became Admiral, on a series of seven naval expeditions that went as far as the east coast of Africa returning with foreign ambassadors and tribute to the Ming court. Zheng He's first fleet included 27,870 men on 317 ships - some over 100m long with 9 masts and manned by 500 men. In total, he traveled more than 50,000 km and visited over 37 countries. The picture above compares one of ZhengHe's ships with a Colombus Caravelle.
1860 Taiping rebels fail to take Shanghai, repelled by a force led by an Englishman, Frederick Townsend Ward.
1861 China's Manchu emperor, Xianfeng, has been weakened by debauchery and drugs and dies at the age of thirty. The son of his consort succeeds him. The former consort, Cixi, becomes the boy's regent and acquires the title Dowager Empress.
1864 In China, the leader of the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xiuchuan, proclaims that God will defend his city, Tianjin (southeast of Beijing). When government forces approach he swallows poison and dies. The monarchy re-establishes control over most areas of China. The Taiping rebellion is all but defeated.
1871 The Meiji government sends a few men to Europe and to the U.S., hoping to secure abolition of the Unequal Treaties and to examine Western technology, banking and agricultural techniques - the Iwakura Mission.
1887 The Yellow River bursts its banks, and the flooding kills 900,000 Chinese.
1894 Korea's king calls for help from China to suppress riots. Opposed to China's influence in Korea, Japan sends troops and takes control of Korea. Japan's military moves north from Korea into Manchuria, and they move eastward to Port Arthur.
1894 An antiquated military force from Manchu China is overwhelmed by Japan's more modern force.
1895 China signs the Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding to Japan control over the Liaodong peninsula to Port Arthur, ceding to Japan Taiwan and permitting Japanese to live in and trade with Chinese.
1897 German forces occupy and start to build a naval base at Tsingtao (Qingdao) following the murder of two German missionaries. This provokes a European and American rush for concessions in China.
1898 Britain obtains a 99-year lease of Hong Kong from the Chinese.
1898 In China and India the bubonic plague begins to kill what will eventually be three million people.
1899 The McKinley administration hopes to build prosperity at home through trade with China. It calls for equal trading rights among all powers in all parts of China and for China's territorial integrity - a so-called Open Door policy. It is ignored except that Russia and Japan voice displeasure.
1899 In China angry men take up terrorism. They are known as Boxers. More than terrorists, they are nationalists. In the streets that display slogans such as "protect the country and destroy the foreigner." At least half of them are youths, and they have religious fervor. They fear magic created by the Christians. They attack and kill Christian missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity. Rather than rebels, they have government approval.
1900 The U.S., Japan, and European nations send military forces to China to rescue people and to put down what the West calls the Boxer Rebellion. Filled with vengeful wrath, troops move through Beijing, attacking those they believe are Boxers. They injure and pillage the property of innocent Chinese.