1949, Oct.: Proclamation of the People's Republic of China.

1949, Nov.: China founds Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), merging Academia Sinica (Nanjing) and Beiping Academy (Beijing).

The 1950s

1950: New marriage law bans polygamy and arranged marriages. Tries to strengthen women's status.

1949, Dec.: Mao Zedong travels to Moscow to negotiate a friendship treaty with Joseph Stalin.

1950-1953: Socialization of the educational system. Introduction of Soviet-style curricula.

1950-1955: Mao favors pro-natalistic population policy.

1950-1955: Significant improvement of food security among small-scale peasants due to land reform.

1950, Feb.: China and the Soviet Union sign "Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance".

1950, June: Agrarian Reform Law. Land of landlords and wealthy farmers is re-distributed to millions of peasants

1950, Oct.: Chinese People's Volunteer Army invades Korean Peninsula to support their North Korean allies agains the USA.

1950, Nov.: The People's Republic of China takes control of Tibet.

1951: Vatican and China break off diplomatic relations.

1951: United Nations places a global arms embargo on China because China's involvement in Korean War.

1953-1957: 1. Five Year Plan focusing on Soviet-style development of heavy industries.

1956-1957: "Hundred Flowers" campaign misleads intellectuals to complain about problems.

1956, Aug.: First mass mobilization for birth control by the Ministry of Public Health has very little impact.

1956, Sept.: The Sino-Soviet agreement on technological aid in the field of nuclear industry is signed in Moscow.

1957-1958: "Anti-Rightist" Campaign is used by Mao to eliminate critical intellectuals.

1957, March: Foundation of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Zhongguo nongye kexueyuan).

1958: All land is collectivized and farmers are organized into (large) People's Communes.

1958: Begin of the "Great Leap Forward" campaign.

1958: First introduction of the Pinyin phonetic spelling system for Romanization of Chinese words.

1958-1961: Utopian ideas for transforming the family, marriage, and children's education ("new human being").

1958-1961: Mao's program of rural industrialization leads to absurd technology of backyard furnaces for steel production.

1958-1961: Large-scale deforestation due to cultivation of wooded areas and firewood demand (backyard furnaces).

1959: Sino-Soviet relations deteriorate dramatically. The Soviet Union is restricting transfer of science and technology to China.

1959: Revolutionary romanticism: Monumental nature painting in Great Hall of the Peoples (Fu Baoshi, Guan Shanyue).

1959-1961: "Great Leap Forward" triggers largest famine in human history with an estimated 14-30 million casualties.

1959, March: Tibetan population revolts against Chinese occupation is suppressed with "iron fist".