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Timeline: Chronology of Key Events

220 Events. Updated: August 17, 2008

All Events

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Policy

Economy

Science

Technology

Environm.

Society

Culture

Military

Health

Legal

Education

Religion

Other

 

P

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

 

I

1949, Nov.: China founds Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), merging Academia Sinica (Nanjing) and Beiping Academy (Beijing). Lewis, John Wilson / Litai, Xue (1988): China Builds the Bomb (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press), p. 43.0

 

The 1950s

 

L

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

 

P

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

 

D

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

 

S

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

 

H

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

 

P

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

 

E

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

 

M

1950, Oct.: Chinese People's Volunteer Army invades Korean Peninsula to support their North Korean allies agains the USA. External Link US Library of Congress, Country Profile: China. Feb. 20050

 

M

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

 

P

1951: Vatican and China break off diplomatic relations.

 

P

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

 

E

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

 

P

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

 

H

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

 

T

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

 

P

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

 

D

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

 

E

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

 

P

1958: Begin of the "Great Leap Forward" campaign. Ashton, et al. (1984)

 

D

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

 

S

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

 

T

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

 

V

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

 

P

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

 

C

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

 

E

1959-1961: "Great Leap Forward" triggers largest famine in human history with an estimated 25-35 million casualties.

 

M

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

 

The 1960s

 

I

1960: Almost all research is focused on the development of nuclear technology.

 

T

1960: With availability of gasoline and electricity in the 1960s, farmers begin to use tube wells for irrigation in Northern China.

 

V

1960: Increasing use of tube wells for irrigation in Northern China will lead to groundwater depletion in the 1990s.

 

T

1960, July: Khrushchev recalls Soviet advisors and technical experts in China. Open conflict between China and USSR. External Link

 

E

1961-1965: Increase in production and import of agricultural inputs (fertilizers, machinery, pesticides)

 

E

1961-1965: Readjustment and recovery: "Agriculture First" policy. Food situation improves.

 

M

1962: Border conflict with India over areas in the Himalaya.

 

S

1962-1972: In the 1960s China's population growth peaks. Between 1962 and 1972 some 300 million babies are born.

 

S

1962-1972: High population growth (average of 26.7 million birth per year) in the late 1960 increases pressure on natural resources.

 

P

1964, Jan.: China and France establish diplomatic relations. Taiwan's embassy in Paris is closed. External Link

 

M

1964, Oct.: Test of first nuclear bomb in China. External Link Nuclearweaponsarchive.org0

 

P

1965: Tibet becomes autonomous region. External Link

 

P

1966: The "Little Red Book". Climax of Mao-cult.

 

L

1966-1976: During Cultural Revolution China's jurisdiction essentially ceases to operate.

 

S

1966-1968: Destruction of "The Four Olds": Old ideas, old culture, old customs, old habits.

 

D

1966-1976: 10 years of turmoil at schools and universities seriously harm China's intellectual elites.

 

P

1966-1976: Mao's political concept of a "permanent cultural revolution" paralyzes his political enemies.

 

E

1966-1976: Between "Cultural Revolution" and Mao's death stagnation in agriculture and industry.

 

R

1966-1976: During the Cultural Revolusion, religious practice is condemned as feudalistic.

 

P

1966-1976: The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution - a decade lost in anarchy and chaos.

 

M

1967: Test of first nuclear fusion device in China

 

T

1968: The Space Flight Medical Research Centre is founded in preparation for manned space flights (led by Tsien Hsueshen).

 

P

1969: Mao Zedong anoints Lin Biao as his heir apparent. External Link US Library of Congress, Country Profile: China. Feb. 20050

 

M

1969, March: Clash with Soviet troops at Damansky Island (Zhen Bao) of the Ussuri river (Wusuli Jiang).

 

O

1969, Oct.: First line of Beijing's subway is completed. External Link

 

The 1970s

 

M

1970: In the mid-1970s China's relations with Vietnam begin to deteriorate. Violent incidents along the Sino-Vietnamese border.

 

T

1970: First satellite launch ("Long March").

 

V

1970-1980: Based on a 50-year forest inventory, researchers find that between 1970 and 1980 Chinese forest expanded significantly. Science, Vol. 292. no. 5525, pp. 2320 - 2322 (June 22, 2001)0

 

P

1970-1976: "Gang of Four" with Mao's wife is trying to get influence by spearheading the "Cultural Revolution".

 

P

1970-1976: Mao Zedong is increasingly disappearing from public life due to health problems.

 

T

1971, March: Successful launch of the SJ-1 statellite into orbit with two scientific payloads (detecting cosmic rays). External Link Globalsecurity.org0

 

P

1971, July: Henry Kissinger secretly visits China.

 

P

1971, Sept.: Lin Biao is killed in airplane crash while fleeing after an attempted military coup.

 

P

1971, Nov.: The People's Republic replaces the Republic of China (Taiwan) in UN Security Council. External Link

 

H

1972-1973: Group in State Council of China mobilizes resources for a nationwide birth control campaign, which has little impact.

 

P

1972, Feb.: Visit of US President Richard Nixon to China. Normalization between US and China begins. External Link

 

C

1974: Discovery of "Terracotta Army" in tomb near Xian with thousands of statues.

 

H

1975: Maximum recommended family size - in cities: two children, in rural areas: three to four children

 

P

1976, Jan.: Death of Premier Zhou Enlai.

 

V

1976, July: Massive earthquake (7.8 Richter scale) devastates the city of Tangshan (Hebei Province). At least 270,000 people die.

 

P

1976, Sept.: Chairman Mao Zedong dies at the age of 82. "Gang of Four" with Mao's widow tries to get into power. External Link BBC News.0

 

D

1977: After the end of the Cultural Revolution the national unified entrance examination for unitversities is re-introduced. External Link

 

E

1977: Hua Guofeng starts "Open Door" policy, which is later incorporated in Deng Xiaopings "Four Modernizations" program. External Link Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Posters0

 

P

1977: Deng Xiaoping wins the power struggle after Mao's death.

 

R

1978: The 1978 Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees freedom of religion with a number of restrictions. External Link

 

D

1978: Pinyin system approved by State Council as the standard system of phonetic spelling of Chinese words.

 

E

1978-1990: Introduction of Pragmatism in China's political and economic system. Promotion of market elements.

 

E

1978-1979: Deng Xiaoping introduces stepwise economic reforms: "The Four Modernizations".

 

P

1978-1979: "Democracy Wall" in Beijing with pro-democratic posters.

 

H

1978, June: State Council establishes a new "Birth Planning Small Leading Group" to strengthen family planning. External Link Susan Greenghalgh, 20050

 

T

1978, Sept.: E-mail link is established between Germany and China (CSNET protocol). First message from China: Sept. 20.

 

L

1979: First modern environmental legislation in China.

 

P

1979: Diplomatic relations are established between the US and China.

 

E

1979: Introduction of the "Household Responsibility System" in agriculture greatly improves China's food security.

 

H

1979: Introduction of China's strict "One-Child" family planning program at provincial level, in 1980 at national level. External Link Susan Greenghalgh (2005)0

 

D

1979, Jan.: Pinyin phonetic spelling system officially adopted by PRC government.

 

P

1979, Jan.: U.S. President Jimmy Carter visits China.

 

M

1979, Feb.: China invades Vietnam (for 29 days) after Vietnamese troups had ousted the pro-Beijing Pol-Pot regime in Cambodia. External Link Globalsecurity.org0

 

L

1979, July: New Criminal Code becomes effective, legally banning torture and physical punishment of suspects.

 

The 1980s

 

E

1980: Special Economic Zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou (Guangdong), Xiamen (Fujian), and the entire province of Hainan. External Link Wikipedia0

 

M

1980: Stop of the surface test program of nuclear bombs near Lop Nor in Xinjiang province after 23 tests. External Link

 

P

1980: Early 1980s: Debates between "Reds" who favour ideological correctness and "Technocrats" who promote pragmatic reform.

 

E

1980-1990: Great improvement of China's food security. Significant reduction of rural poverty.

 

T

1980, June: Timothy Berners-Lee writes "Enquire" - a program that became the conceptual basis for the World Wide Web (www). External Link

 

E

1980, Aug.: First Special Economic Zones are established in Shenzhen. External Link Wikipedia0

 

T

1981, Sept.: Successful launch of three satellites (SJ-2, SJ-2A, SJ-2b) on one rocket into orbit. External Link Globalsecurity.org0

 

S

1982: China's population surpasses 1 billion people.

 

L

1982, Dec.: The Fifth National People's Congress adopts a new constitution for China. External Link

 

E

1984: 14 coastal cities are completely opened to foreign investment. External Link Wikipedia0

 

P

1984, Jan.: China joins the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) External Link

 

P

1984, April: State Council authorizes Yangtze Valley Planning Office to draft feasibility report for Three Gorges Dam project. External Link

 

D

1985: Free higher education is abolished and replaced by academic scholarships based on academic ability. External Link US Library of Congress, Country Profile: China. Feb. 20050