A calendar of Chinese history
28 events
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Birth of Zhou Youguang
Birth
Linguist Zhou Youguang is born in Changzhou, Jiangsu, in 1906. Regarded as the father of pinyin, the official romanisation of Mandarin, he dies in Beijing in 2017 as a supercentenarian.
Source : Zhou Youguang
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Death of Chiang Ching-kuo
Death
Chiang Ching-kuo, president of the Republic of China in Taiwan since 1978, dies in Taipei in 1988. The son of Chiang Kai-shek, trained in the Soviet Union, he had helped build an authoritarian regime before presiding over gradual political liberalisation.
Source : Chiang Ching-kuo
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Lee Teng-hui becomes president in Taiwan
Politics
On the death of Chiang Ching-kuo in 1988, Lee Teng-hui becomes president of the Republic of China, the first native Taiwanese to hold the office. He goes on to end martial law, lead the island's transition to democracy and, in 1996, become its first popularly elected president.
Source : Lee Teng-hui
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5 BC
Birth of Emperor Guangwu of Han
Birth
Liu Xiu, the future Emperor Guangwu, is born in 5 BC. A descendant of the Western Han imperial family, he founds the Eastern Han dynasty after Wang Mang's usurpation and the civil war that follows; by his death in AD 57 the dynasty rules all of China proper.
Source : Emperor Guangwu of Han
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Birth of Chen Jiongming
Birth
Chen Jiongming is born in 1878. A lawyer turned republican revolutionary and military leader, he governs Guangdong three times between 1911 and 1923 and champions a federal republic for China; he dies in 1933.
Source : Chen Jiongming
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Birth of Cardinal Joseph Zen
Birth
Joseph Zen is born in Shanghai in 1932. A Salesian, bishop of Hong Kong and later cardinal, he becomes one of the most prominent critics of the Chinese communist regime and a voice for democracy.
Source : Joseph Zen
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Birth of Fernando Chui
Birth
Fernando Chui Sai-on is born in Macau in 1957. A public health official, he serves as Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region from 2009 to 2019.
Source : Fernando Chui
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First COVID-19 case outside China
Disaster
Thailand's Ministry of Public Health confirms in 2020 the first case of COVID-19 recorded outside China.
Source : Ministry of Public Health (Thailand)
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Lai Ching-te elected president of Taiwan
Politics
Lai Ching-te, the outgoing vice president and Democratic Progressive Party candidate, wins Taiwan's 2024 presidential election against the Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party, amid renewed tensions with mainland China.
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Death of Nian Gengyao
Death
Nian Gengyao, a Qing dynasty military commander, dies in 1726. Born in 1679 into the Yellow Banner, he led the Han and Manchu armies in the northwest and helped bring the region that became Qinghai into the empire.
Source : Nian Gengyao
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Death of Yunti, Prince Xun
Death
Yunti, Prince Xun, the fourteenth son of the Kangxi Emperor, dies. A successful and popular general who led the imperial armies against the Dzungar Khanate, he was imprisoned by his brother, the Yongzheng Emperor, who suppressed the evidence of his achievements.
Source : Yunti, Prince Xun
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Birth of General Yang Dezhi
Birth
General Yang Dezhi is born in 1911. A senior officer of the North China Field Army and a Korean War veteran, he commands Chinese forces during the Sino-Vietnamese War; he dies in 1994.
Source : Yang Dezhi
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Birth of Joseph Fan Zhongliang
Birth
Jesuit priest Joseph Fan Zhongliang is born in 1918. Bishop of Shanghai for China's underground Catholic Church, he dies in the city in 2014.
Source : Joseph Fan Zhongliang
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Birth of Lee Heung-kam
Birth
Lee Heung-kam, Hong Kong Cantonese opera singer and TVB actress, is born in 1932; she dies in 2021.
Source : Lee Heung-kam
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Finland recognises the People's Republic of China
Politics
Finland establishes diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1950.
Source : China–Finland relations
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Birth of Yang Wei
Birth
Badminton player Yang Wei, a future Olympic champion, is born in Guangdong in 1979.
Source : Yang Wei (badminton)
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Birth of Xue Haifeng
Birth
Archer Xue Haifeng is born in the Xinjiang autonomous region in 1980.
Source : Xue Haifeng
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Birth of Ding Xia
Birth
Volleyball player Ding Xia is born in Hebei in 1990; she wins Olympic gold with China at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Source : Ding Xia
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Birth of Chang Kai-chen
Birth
Taiwanese tennis player Chang Kai-chen is born in Taoyuan in 1991. A professional from 2007 to 2020, she wins four doubles titles.
Source : Chang Kai-chen
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Birth of Yang Wenlu
Birth
Boxer Yang Wenlu is born in Juye County in 1991; she takes silver in the 60 kg category at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Source : Yang Wenlu
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Birth of Wu Yu
Birth
Boxer Wu Yu is born in Guiding County in 1995; she becomes Olympic flyweight champion in 2024.
Source : Wu Yu
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Founding of Lulin Observatory
Science
Lulin Observatory, run by the Institute of Astronomy of Taiwan's National Central University, is established in 1999 on the summit of Mount Lulin. Its one metre telescope starts operating in 2002, and in 2007 the observatory discovers the comet that bears its name.
Source : Observatoire de Lulin
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Birth of Ou Yushan
Birth
Artistic gymnast Ou Yushan is born in Guangxi in 2004. Junior world all-around bronze medallist in 2019 and four-time champion at the 2021 World University Games, she competes at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
Source : Ou Yushan
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Death of Chia-Chiao Lin
Death
Applied mathematician and physicist Chia-Chiao Lin dies in Beijing in 2013, the city of his birth in 1916. A naturalised American, he was professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Source : Chia-Chiao Lin
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Hung parliament in Taiwan
Politics
Taiwan elects the 113 members of its Legislative Yuan in 2024, alongside the presidential vote. The Democratic Progressive Party stays ahead in votes but loses its majority, and the Kuomintang fails to win one either, leaving the rising Taiwan People's Party as kingmaker.
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Death of Grand Master Hun Yuan
Death
Chang Yi-jui, known as Grand Master Hun Yuan, dies in 2026. Born in Nantou County, Taiwan, in 1944, a prolific painter and author of books on the Yi Jing and feng shui, he founded Weixinism, one of Taiwan's largest new religious movements.
Source : Hun Yuan
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Death of David Webb
Death
David Webb, the British-born Hong Kong activist investor, dies in 2026. Born in 1965 and once an investment banker, he maintained a vast archive of public data at Webb-site.com in the cause of transparency.
Source : David Webb (Hong Kong activist)
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Birth of Ryan Sproul
Birth
Ice hockey defenceman Ryan Sproul is born in Mississauga, Canada, in 1993; a naturalised Chinese citizen, he plays internationally under the name Sipulaoer Ruian.
Source : Ryan Sproul