A calendar of Chinese history
15 events
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Politics
Accession of Emperor Taizong of Tang
On 4 September 626, Li Shimin takes the throne as Emperor Taizong of Tang. The second emperor of the Tang dynasty, he had given his father Li Yuan decisive military support in seizing power before forcing his abdication, and he reigns until 649.
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War
Battle of Kowloon
On 4 September 1839, British vessels open fire on Chinese war junks off the Kowloon Peninsula. It is the first armed clash of the First Opium War, triggered by a food embargo imposed on the British community after a Chinese man died in a brawl with drunken British sailors.
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Death
Death of Gegeen Khan
Gegeen Khan, emperor of the Yuan dynasty under the temple name Yingzong, dies on 4 September 1323. Born Shidibala in 1302, he was also the ninth Great Khan of the Mongol empire, a title by then merely nominal after the division of the empire.
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Birth
Birth of the Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor is born on 4 September 1563. The fourteenth ruler of the Ming dynasty, he came to the throne at the age of nine and reigned from 1572 to 1620, with Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng effectively running the government for the first ten years.
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Death
Death of Howqua
Chinese merchant Howqua dies on 4 September 1843. Born in 1769, he was reckoned one of the richest men in the world.
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Birth
Birth of Xiang Jingyu
Feminist and communist activist Xiang Jingyu is born on 4 September 1895 in Xupu county, Hunan. A member of the Tujia minority, she died in 1928.
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Birth
Birth of Li Shuxian
Li Shuxian is born on 4 September 1924. She was the fifth and last wife of Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, and died in 1997.
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Birth
Birth of Felix Wong
Hong Kong actor and singer Felix Wong is born on 4 September 1961. Known for his roles in TVB wuxia series, including The Legend of the Condor Heroes in 1983, he is one of the station's Five Tiger Generals.
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Birth
Birth of Anita Yuen
Hong Kong actress Anita Yuen is born on 4 September 1971. Crowned Miss Hong Kong in 1990, she won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for her roles in C'est la vie, mon chéri and He's a Woman, She's a Man.
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Birth
Birth of Ning Chang
Taiwanese actress Ning Chang, also known as Janine Chang, is born on 4 September 1982 in Munich, Germany.
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Birth
Birth of Tang Muhan
Swimmer Tang Muhan is born in Shenzhen on 4 September 2003. She won gold in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
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Death
Death of Dai Tielang
Animator Dai Tielang dies on 4 September 2019. Born in Singapore in 1930 and brought to China in 1940, he was a pioneering figure of Chinese animation in the 1950s and 1960s at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, and directed Black Cat Detective.
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Birth
Birth of Sun Dan
Rhythmic gymnast Sun Dan is born on 4 September 1986 in Liaoning province.
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Birth
Birth of Liu Lisi
Fashion designer Liu Lisi is born in Chengdu on 4 September 1990. In 2014 he founded his own label, LIU LISI Paris.
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Birth
Birth of Zhang Yuting
Short-track speed skater Zhang Yuting is born in Harbin on 4 September 1999.