A calendar of Chinese history
19 events
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Festival
Feast of Blessed Gabriele Allegra
On 26 January the Catholic Church celebrates Gabriele Allegra, an Italian Franciscan priest and biblical scholar venerated as Blessed. A missionary in the Far East, he is remembered as the first to translate the entire Bible into Chinese.
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Birth
Birth of Emperor Lizong of Song
Zhao Yun, the future Emperor Lizong, is born on 26 January 1205. The fourteenth emperor of the Song dynasty and the fifth of the Southern Song, he reigns from 1224 to 1264. During his reign the Jin of northern China are defeated by an alliance between the Southern Song and the Mongols of Genghis Khan.
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Death
Death of Li Deyu
Li Deyu, poet, writer and statesman of the Tang dynasty, dies on 26 January 850. Chancellor under Emperor Wenzong and Emperor Wuzong, and briefly under Emperor Xuanzong, he leads the Li faction in the decades-long Niu-Li factional struggles and dominates the court under Wuzong, guiding the campaigns against the crumbling Uyghur Khaganate and the warlord Liu Zhen.
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Birth
Birth of Lodovico Buglio
Sicilian Jesuit Lodovico Buglio is born on 26 January 1606 in Mineo, in the Kingdom of Sicily. A missionary in China, he is the first Christian missionary to preach in Sichuan, and also preaches in Fujian and Jiangxi; he dies in Beijing in 1682.
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Birth
Birth of Xin Fengxia
Opera singer Xin Fengxia, known as the queen of pingju, is born on 26 January 1927. A pioneer of the style, she is also a film actress, writer and painter, starring in Liu Qiao'er (1956) and Flowers as Matchmakers (1964), both adapted from her operas. Married to the playwright Wu Zuguang, she refuses to divorce him when he is accused of rightism during the Anti-Rightist Campaign and is accused in turn; she dies in 1998.
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Death
Death of Ma Lin
Ma Lin, a warlord of the Ma clique of Chinese Muslim military leaders, dies on 26 January 1945. Born in 1873 in what is now Linxia prefecture, Gansu, he governs Qinghai province from 1931 to 1938 under the Republic of China, in a family that had already controlled Gansu and Qinghai on behalf of Empress Dowager Cixi.
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Birth
Birth of Wu Xiaoxuan
Sport shooter Wu Xiaoxuan is born on 26 January 1958 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. She goes on to become an Olympic champion.
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Birth
Birth of Li Cunxin
Ballet dancer Li Cunxin is born on 26 January 1961 in a village near Qingdao, Shandong province. Chinese-born, he becomes an American and later an Australian citizen, and goes on to work as an artistic director.
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Birth
Birth of Guo Jian
Chinese Australian artist Guo Jian, painter, sculptor and photographer, is born on 26 January 1962. He belongs to the Cynical Realism movement that emerged in Beijing in the 1990s, and his work, shaped by decades of political upheaval in China, explores how propaganda and the arts are used to motivate soldiers and sway public opinion.
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Birth
Birth of Chin Siu-ho
Hong Kong actor Chin Siu-ho is born on 26 January 1963. He is best known for appearing alongside Jet Li in The Tai-Chi Master and Fist of Legend, and is the elder brother of actor Chin Kar-lok.
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Birth
Birth of Vincent Fang
Taiwanese lyricist Vincent Fang is born on 26 January 1969. Best known for his collaboration with singer-songwriter Jay Chou, he wins Best Lyricist at the 19th Golden Melody Awards for Blue and White Porcelain and is considered a leading figure of China Wind music, his lyrics often treated as poetry of artistic merit.
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Birth
Birth of Luo Xuejuan
Swimmer Luo Xuejuan, a breaststroke specialist, is born on 26 January 1984 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. A prodigy of the early 2000s, she reaches the peak of her career with the Olympic title in the 100 metres breaststroke in 2004, then retires a little over two years later to treat heart problems.
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Birth
Birth of Lin Qingfeng
Weightlifter Lin Qingfeng is born on 26 January 1989 in Changle. He goes on to become an Olympic champion.
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Birth
Birth of Li Lingwei
Javelin thrower Li Lingwei is born on 26 January 1989 in Binzhou. She wins the silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in London.
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Birth
Birth of Wu Xuanyi
Singer Wu Xuanyi is born on 26 January 1995 in Haikou. A member of the South Korean-Chinese girl group Cosmic Girls, she finishes second in the Chinese edition of the survival show Produce 101 and joins the Chinese girl group Rocket Girls 101 in 2018.
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Birth
Birth of Yang Junxuan
Chinese swimmer Yang Junxuan, a freestyle specialist, is born on 26 January 2002 in Zibo.
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Event
A sperm whale explodes in Tainan
On 26 January 2004 a sperm whale being transported through the centre of Tainan, in Taiwan, explodes as a result of fermentation.
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Birth
Birth of Li Ming
Footballer Li Ming is born on 26 January 1971 in Jinan. He later becomes the owner of Dalian Aerbin FC.
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Birth
Birth of Zhao Yanmin
Sprinter Zhao Yanmin, a 400 metres specialist, is born on 26 January 1991. She wins the gold medal at the 2013 Asian Championships.