A calendar of Chinese history
19 events
-
Birth
Birth of statesman Li Hongzhang
General and statesman Li Hongzhang is born. Viceroy of Zhili, he raised the Anhui Army against the Taiping Rebellion and became a central figure in the final decades of the Qing empire.
-
Death
Death of the scholar Gu Yanwu
The scholar Gu Yanwu dies. A leading intellectual of the early Qing dynasty, he made his name in philosophy, philology, geography and history.
-
Birth
Birth of filmmaker Corey Yuen
Corey Yuen, born Yuen Kwai, comes into the world. A Hong Kong actor, producer and director, he died in Hong Kong in 2022.
-
Death
Death of Li Jinhui, father of Chinese popular music
Composer Li Jinhui dies, persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. The creator of the shidaiqu style and widely called the father of Chinese popular music, he had seen his songs opposed by the Kuomintang and then banned after 1949.
-
Disaster
Rocket crashes into a village near Xichang
A Long March 3B rocket carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite veers off course shortly after lifting off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and crashes into a rural village. Estimates of the death toll range from six to about a hundred.
-
Death
Death of Sun Yun-suan, architect of Taiwan's industrial rise
Engineer and politician Sun Yun-suan dies. Minister of economic affairs from 1969 to 1978 and then premier from 1978 to 1984, he is widely credited with steering Taiwan's economy from farming towards manufactured exports.
-
Death
Death of chancellor Su Yugui
Su Yugui dies. An official under the Later Jin, the Later Han and the Later Zhou, he served as chancellor for the last two of those dynasties.
-
Birth
Birth of botanist Ren-Chang Ching
Botanist Ren-Chang Ching, also known as Qin Renchang, is born in Wujin, in Jiangsu province. He died in Beijing in 1986.
-
Death
Death of actress Ai Xia
Actress and screenwriter Ai Xia, who came out of silent cinema, takes her own life in Shanghai. Her death inspires the director Cai Chusheng to make a film released that same year, whose leading actress, Ruan Lingyu, would also die by her own hand.
-
Birth
Birth of physicist Shoucheng Zhang
Chinese-American physicist Shoucheng Zhang is born. A professor at Stanford University, he became known for his work on topological insulators and the quantum Hall effect.
-
Politics
Chen Yi rules out peaceful coexistence with Washington
Chinese foreign minister Chen Yi states that peaceful coexistence with the United States is out of the question. Chen, who pursued military and political careers side by side, was then in charge of Beijing's diplomacy.
-
Birth
Birth of gymnast Xing Aowei
Gymnast Xing Aowei is born in Yantai, in Shandong province. He is part of the Chinese squad that wins the team gold medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
-
Birth
Birth of table tennis player Cheng I-ching
Table tennis player Cheng I-ching is born in Tainan, Taiwan. She takes mixed doubles bronze with Lin Yun-ju at the 2020 Olympic Games.
-
Birth
Birth of badminton player Du Yue
Badminton player Du Yue is born. World junior champion in 2016, she claims her first senior international title the following year, in women's doubles with Xu Ya.
-
Birth
Birth of snooker player Pang Junxu
Snooker player Pang Junxu is born in Bozhou, in Anhui province. His federation names him newcomer of the year in 2021.
-
Birth
Birth of gymnast Huang Zhangjiayang
Rhythmic gymnast Huang Zhangjiayang is born in Sichuan. She wins the team gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
-
Sport
Four Continents figure skating championships in Taipei
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships open at Taipei Arena, in Taiwan. The event runs until 20 February 2011.
-
Death
Death of engineer Duan Zhengcheng
Engineer and inventor Duan Zhengcheng dies. A specialist in machine manufacturing and automation, he was a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
-
Birth
Birth of singer Fan Pengfei
Singer Fan Pengfei is born in Zhengzhou, in Henan province. He releases four albums between 2012 and 2022.