China has the world's oldest continuous civilization. Its recorded history begins 4,000 years ago with the Shang dynasty, founded in the north in 1766 BC. Succeeding dynasties expanded China's boundaries; it reached its greatest territorial extent under the Manchu (Qing) dynasty in the 18th century. Chinese isolationism frustrated Europe's attempts to expand into the empire until the 19th century, when China had fallen behind the industrializing West. For the previous 3,000 years, it had been one of the world's most advanced nations.
* 1839û1860 Opium Wars with Britain. China defeated; forced to open ports to foreigners.
* 1850û1873 Internal rebellions against Manchu empire.
* 1895 Defeat by Japan in war over Korean peninsula.
* 1900 Boxer Rebellion to expel all foreigners suppressed.
* 1911 Manchu empire overthrown by nationalists led by Sun Yat-sen. Republic of China declared.
* 1912 Sun Yat-sen creates National People's Party (Guomindang).
* 1916 Nationalists factionalize. Sun Yat-sen sets up government in Guangdong. Rest of China under control of rival warlords.
* 1921 Communist Party of China (CCP) founded in Shanghai.
* 1923 CCP joins Soviet-backed Guomindang to fight warlords.
* 1925 Chiang Kai-shek becomes Guomindang leader upon death of Sun Yat-sen.
* 1927 Chiang turns on CCP. CCP leaders, including Mao Zedong, escape to rural south.
* 1930û1934 Mao formulates strategy of peasant-led revolution.
* 1931 Japan invades Manchuria.
* 1934 Chiang forces CCP out of its southern bases. Start of 7,500-mile Long March.
* 1935 Long March ends in Yanan, Shaanxi province. Mao becomes CCP leader.
* 1936 Chiang agrees to joint offensive with CCP against Japan.
* 1937û1945 War against Japan; CCP Red Army in north, Guomindang in south. Japan defeated.
* 1945û1949 War between Red Army and Guomindang. US-backed Guomindang retreats to Taiwan.
* 1949 October 1: Mao proclaims People's Republic of China.
* 1950 Invasion of Tibet. Mutual assistance treaty with USSR.
* 1950û1958 Land reform; culminates in setting up of communes. First five-year plan (1953-1958) fails.
* 1958 Great Leap Forward to boost production fails; contributes to millions of deaths during 1959û1961 famine. Mao resigns as CCP chairman; succeeded by Lui Saoqi.
* 1960 Sino-Soviet split.
* 1961û1965 More pragmatic economic approach led by Lui and Deng Xiaoping.
* 1966 Cultural Revolution initiated by Mao to restore his supreme power. Youthful Red Guards encouraged to attack all authority. Revolutionary Committee formed, including Mao's wife Jiang Qing. Mao rules with Military Commission under Lin Biao and State Council under premier Zhou Enlai.
* 1967 Army intervenes to restore some order amid countrywide chaos. Lui and Deng purged from party.
* 1969 Mao regains chairmanship of CCP. Lin Biao designated his successor, but quickly comes under attack from Mao.
* 1971 Lin dies in plane crash.
* 1972 US President Nixon visits. More open foreign policy initiated by Zhou Enlai, a moderating force during Cultural Revolution.
* 1973 Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunquio and other "Gang of Four" members elected to Politburo. Deng Xiaoping rehabilitated as vice-premier.
* 1976 January: death of Zhou Enlai. April: mass demonstration of support for Zhou and moderates. Mao strips Deng of posts, confirms Hua Guo Feng as new premier. September: Mao dies. October: "Gang of Four" arrested.
* 1977 Deng regains party posts, begins to extend his power base.
* 1978 Decade of reform and economic modernization launched. Open-door policy to foreign investment; farmers allowed to farm for profit.
* 1980 Deng emerges as China's paramount leader. Economic reform gathers pace; but hopes for political change suppressed.
* 1983û1984 Conservative elderly leaders attempt to slow pace of economic reform under Deng. Several subsequently forced to step down from Politburo.
* 1984 Industrial reforms announced; less successful than earlier agricultural changes.
* 1989 Demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, demanding greater openness in government. Crushed by Army; between 1,000 and 5,000 dead. Beijing under martial law.
* 1992 Trials of pro-democracy activists continue. Plans for socialist market economy accelerated.
