A calendar of Chinese history
27 events
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First recorded COVID-19 death in Wuhan
Disaster
In 2020 municipal health officials in Wuhan announce the first recorded death from COVID-19, days after a new coronavirus was identified as the cause of the pneumonia cluster in the city.
Source : COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei
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Birth of Wang Chongyang
Birth
Wang Chongyang, founder of the Quanzhen school of Taoism, is born in 1113. He formally accepts seven major disciples, remembered as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.
Source : Wang Chongyang
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Death of Wu Jingzi
Death
Wu Jingzi, the Qing dynasty scholar-writer born at Quanjiao in Anhui in 1701, dies in 1754; he is remembered as the author of a famous novel about the lives of officials.
Source : Wu Jingzi
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Birth of Prince Gong
Birth
Yixin, better known as Prince Gong, is born in 1833. A prince of the Aisin Gioro clan and a leading Qing statesman, he serves as regent of the empire from 1861 to 1865 and is one of the dynasty's twelve iron cap princes.
Source : Prince Gong
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Birth of Cai Yuanpei
Birth
Educator Cai Yuanpei is born in 1868. Minister of education, president of Peking University and later head of the Academy of Sciences, he is the first in the world, in 1912, to bring Esperanto into the school curriculum, and his critique of Chinese culture feeds the May Fourth Movement.
Source : Cai Yuanpei
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Birth of Xiong Ni
Birth
Diver Xiong Ni is born in Changsha in 1974. An Olympic medallist at just fourteen, he goes on to win three Olympic titles and is inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2006.
Source : Xiong Ni
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Tsai Ing-wen re-elected in Taiwan
Politics
Tsai Ing-wen wins a second term as president of Taiwan in 2020 with just over 57 percent of the vote, on the same day as the legislative election.
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Death of Yelü Bei
Death
Yelü Bei, eldest son of Emperor Taizu, founder of the Liao dynasty, is killed in 937. Named heir in 916, he never reached the throne and had fled to the Later Tang after his younger brother took power.
Source : Yelü Bei
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Death of Manggūltai
Death
Manggūltai, a Manchu noble and leading military and political figure of the early Qing, dies in 1633; he had helped Hong Taiji consolidate power by handing over his Plain Blue Banner.
Source : Manggūltai
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Death of Pema Kunzang Chogyal
Death
Pema Kunzang Chogyal, the 10th Tai Situ Rinpoche, dies at Palpung in Kham in 1886. Born in 1854, he was one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
Source : Pema Kunzang Chogyal
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Birth of Jakob Rosenfeld
Birth
Austrian physician Jakob Rosenfeld is born in 1903. A Jew who flees Nazi persecution to China, he is known there as General Luo and becomes health minister in Mao Zedong's communist government in 1947.
Source : Jakob Rosenfeld
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Birth of Zhou Jihong
Birth
Diver Zhou Jihong is born in Wuhan in 1965. She wins the Olympic 10 metre platform title at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Source : Zhou Jihong
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Birth of Yang Wenyi
Birth
Swimmer Yang Wenyi, Olympic champion and the first woman to break 25 seconds in the 50 metre freestyle, is born in 1972.
Source : Yang Wenyi
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Birth of Daniel Zhang
Birth
Businessman Daniel Zhang, also known as Zhang Yong, is born in 1972. Jack Ma's successor at the head of Alibaba Group, he previously ran Taobao and Tmall, where he built up the Singles' Day shopping festival.
Source : Daniel Zhang
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Birth of Liu Hongyu
Birth
Racewalker Liu Hongyu is born in Liaoning in 1975. Asian Games champion in 1998, she wins the first ever women's 20 km walk world title in Seville the following year.
Source : Liu Hongyu
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Birth of Han Xue
Birth
Singer and actress Han Xue, of Miao ethnicity, is born in 1983; she is known for her roles in the television series Journey to the West and Cao Cao.
Source : Han Xue (actress)
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Birth of Zhang Lei
Birth
Volleyball player Zhang Lei is born in Shanghai in 1985. Playing opposite for the Chinese national team, she competes at the 2012 Olympics.
Source : Zhang Lei (volleyball)
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Birth of Wang Yimei
Birth
Volleyball player Wang Yimei is born in Dalian in 1988; an attacker, she earns 184 caps for China.
Source : Wang Yimei
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Birth of Luo Yu
Birth
Badminton player Luo Yu is born in 1991. Partnering her twin sister Luo Ying in doubles, she wins the 2015 BWF Superseries Finals and reaches world number one in March 2016.
Source : Luo Yu
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Birth of Lin Yi
Birth
Actor and model Lin Yi is born in 1999; the 2019 romantic web series Put Your Head on My Shoulder brings him wide recognition.
Source : Lin Yi
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Opening of the Wukesong Arena
Sport
Beijing's Wukesong Arena opens in 2008. Built for the Olympic Games with 18,000 seats, it hosts the basketball tournament and later serves cultural and sporting events.
Source : LeSports Center
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Death of Chai Trong-rong
Death
Taiwanese politician Chai Trong-rong dies in 2014. Born in 1935, a pro-democracy advocate and founder of Formosa Television, he sits in the Legislative Yuan for the Democratic Progressive Party from 1993 to 1996 and from 1997 to 2012.
Source : Chai Trong-rong
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DPP holds its majority in the Legislative Yuan
Politics
Taiwan renews the 113 seats of its Legislative Yuan in 2020, alongside the presidential vote; the ruling Democratic Progressive Party keeps its absolute majority despite modest losses.
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Birth of Chen Zhen
Birth
Handball player Chen Zhen is born in 1963. She plays at the 1984 Olympics, scoring 19 goals as China takes bronze, and again at the 1988 Games.
Source : Chen Zhen (handballer)
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Birth of Louis Cheung
Birth
Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer Louis Cheung, born Cheung Kai-chung, is born in 1980.
Source : Louis Cheung
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Birth of Chen Xiaodong
Birth
Sabre fencer Chen Xiaodong is born in Shanghai in 1988.
Source : Chen Xiaodong
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Birth of Xu Tianlongzi
Birth
Backstroke swimmer Xu Tianlongzi is born in Yantan in 1991.
Source : Xu Tianlongzi