Asian History

Asian History:

Confucius (Kong Zi) is born (551BC) – An ancient Chinese teacher and philosopher, Confucius was born near the state of Lu during the late Zhou dynasty in the Spring and Autumn Period. He served as a minister in the Lu government, but exiled himself in 498BC after a scandal and traveled China with his disciples Zigong, Zilu, and Yanhui. Confucius is known for his teachings, which emphasize filial piety and virtue and are preserved in the Analects. Confucianism was made a state ideology by Wu Di of the Han Dynasty and existed prominently throughout imperial Chinese history and still defines modern Chinese culture.

Qin Shi Huang becomes the first emperor of a unified China (221BC) – Qin Shi Huang was born Zhao Zheng of the state of Qin during the Warring States period. He ascended the Qin throne at age 13, eliminated the rival Chinese states, and united China in 221BC under the Qin Dynasty. Qin Shi Huang standardized weights, currency, and roads, and built the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army tomb. Though a skilled administrator, he was also a ruthless tyrant, burning books and executing Confucian dissenters. He sought elixirs of immortality and often summoned alchemists and magicians to his court. Qin Shi Huang died in 210BC on an inspection tour and his dynasty dissolved just four years later.

Liu Bang establishes the Han Dynasty in China (206BC) – Chinese warlord Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu in 206BC to establish the Han Dynasty. It was hugely successful and ruled from Changan in modern Xian, adopted a Confucian ideology, and saw the inventions of paper, the seismoscope, and the proliferation of trade along the Silk Road. It also faced a rebellion against the Trung sisters of Vietnam and engaged in a centuries-long conflict against the northern Xiongnu nomads. The Han is divided into two eras; the Western and the Eastern. The Western Han ended with royal official Wang Mang’s usurpation of the throne and establishment of the short-lived Xin Dynasty. Liu Xiu reaffirmed Han authority in 25AD and began the Eastern Han with Luoyang as the new capital city. The Han Dynasty dissolved into the Three Kingdoms, which was a period of turmoil lasting until 280.

Tang Dynasty is established in China (631) – The Tang Dynasty was a golden age of Chinese culture and influence. It replaced the Sui Dynasty, was founded by Li Yuan, and eventually controlled territory to the Caspian Sea. Notable rulers include Li Shimin and Wu Zetian, an imperial concubine who finessed her way into becoming empress, and Emperor Xuanzong, who fell in love with Yang Guifei and fought against An Lushan’s Rebellion. Chinese culture under the Tang came under Buddhist influence and thrived with the Hanlin Academy and poets like Li Bai andDu Fu; the Tang also experienced technological innovations in woodblock printing. The dynasty’s downfall came with Zhu Wen’s overthrow of the emperor and establishment of the Hou Liang dynasty, which marked the start of the “Five Dynasties” period.

Emperor Taizu establishes the Song Dynasty (960) – The Song Dynasty was divided into two periods: the northern and the southern. The northern Song was founded by Zhao Kuangyin, the Emperor Taizu. His empire would be conquered by the Jurchens of the Jin and pushed into southern China, where Gaozong established a new capital at Linan, Hangzhou. Commerce and printing flourished with the movable-type press and the works of Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan. The dynasty is also famous for its pottery from the Guan kilns near the southern capital and its Buddhist pagodas. The Song was overthrown by the Mongols in 1279.

Genghis Khan (Temujin) unites steppe tribes into the Mongol Empire (1206) – Genghis Khan was born with a blood clot in his fist, expelled from his clan at age 10 after his father was poisoned by rivals, took over the household, and began making alliances with other clans. After being elected the leader of the Mongols at a kurultai, he defeated the Naimai clan, conquered the Jurchens in northern China, and annexed the Khwarazm Empire. By his 1227 death, he ruled over the largest land empire in history. His sons Ogodei and Chagatai were both conquerors, and their descendants established the Yuan dynasty in China.

Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) establishes the Ming Dynasty in China (1368) – Zhu Yuanzhang defeated the Mongols of the Yuan and established his Ming Dynasty in 1368. It was known for its Beijing capital, the Forbidden City, its Jingdezhen porcelain, and its construction of large modern portions of the Great Wall. The Ming Dynasty also saw much foreign exchange. It had a large fleet commanded by the eunuch Zheng He and received Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit. The dynasty’s downfall began with the rebellion of Li Zicheng, and was taken over by the Manchu Qing.

Qing Dynasty is founded in China (1644) – China’s final imperial dynasty, the Qing was founded by ethnic Manchus led by Emperor Shunzhi. The Qing imposed queues, a Mongolian hairstyle and crushed intellectual dissent. Its second emperor Kangxi was the longest reigning Chinese emperor and defeated the Dzungar Mongols to extend the empire to Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and Turkistan. The Ming further flourished under Yongzheng and Qianlong. It owed its decline to Empress Cixi’s failed reforms, the Boxer Rebellion, Hong Xiuquan’s Taiping Rebellion and western imperialism: the Opium Wars, unequal treaties, and extraterritorial rights all crippled the Qing’s political influence. The last emperor Puyi abdicated in 1911.

The emperor is restored to power during the Meiji Restoration in Japan (1868) – The Meiji Restoration ended the Tokugawa shogunate and was led by Mutsuhito, the Meiji Emperor. The initial overthrow of the Tokugawa was carried out by the allied Satsuma and Choshu daimyos, who finalized the defeat of the shogunate in the Boshin War. The Meiji Restoration westernized, modernized, industrialized, and opened Japan, abolished feudalism, and adopted a constitutional monarchy under Ito Hirobumi’s Meiji Constitution. Japan became an imperial power, defeating Korea, China, and Russia.

The Japanese crush the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Russo-Japanese War (1904) – Under Admiral Togo Heihachiro, the Japanese stopped Russian expansion into the Korean and Liaodong peninsulas. Japan initiated a surprise attack on the Russians, led by Oskar Stark, at Port Arthur, a Russian-leased base in China. After Anatoly Stessel surrendered at the Siege of Port Arthur, the Japanese won the Battle of Tsushima and Russia was forced to sue for peace. The Treaty of Portsmouth ended the war; Russia lost prestige and a considerable amount of naval influence, which led to discontent that almost overthrew the Russian government.

The Salt March is led by Mohandas Gandhi (1930) – Mohandas Gandhi led the Indian independence movement while abiding by satyagraha, a means of nonviolent protest. After graduating with a law degree from London, Gandhi moved to South Africa. There, he established Phoenix Settlement, began the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) and presided over a protest campaign that resulted in increased recognition for Indian immigrants. Gandhi returned to India in 1914 and campaigned against British rule, advocating khaddar, homespun cloth. Then, to protest the British tax on salt, he organized the Salt March, which ended in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. By 1947, Indian independence was imminent, but on the condition that the former colony be split into two: Pakistan and India. Gandhi was shot in 1948 by Nathuram Godse, an extremist Hindu, while protesting for unity with Muslim Pakistan.

The Long March is led by Mao Zedong (1934) – The founder and chairman of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong led the Chinese communist revolution. While a librarian in Beijing, he adopted a Marxist ideology. Mao led the Long March, defeated Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalists with guerrilla tactics, and founded the PRC.

The Korean War ends with the creation of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) (1953) – In the Korean War, communist North Korea crossed the 38^th parallel and invaded democratic South Korea. The war was a demonstration of the policy of containment, it also involved western countries. International support for the South came from the United States and United Nations, while the Soviet Union and China backed North Korea. Leaders in the conflict include Kim Il-Sung, Syngman Rhee, Douglas MacArthur, and Matthew Ridgway, and battles in the conflict include the Inchon landing, the Battle of Osan, the Battle of the Bloody Ridge, and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. The fighting ended in 1953 with no formal treaty and the creation of the DMZ.

The Vietnam War between the communist North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union, and democratic South Vietnam, supported by the United States, begins (1955) – The Vietnam War was fought from 1955 to 1975 over communist unification of Vietnam, and began after the withdrawal of the French colonizers after Dien Bien Phu. Ngo Dinh Diem ruled South Vietnam, but his leadership was so oppressive that communist sympathizers formed the Viet Cong to oppose him, which escalated tensions. The US entered the conflict after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, attacked the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and frequently deployed Agent Orange and napalm. After the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, the US began the policy of Vietnamization; this was partly in response to civil unrest at home over the My Lai Massacre and the Kent State shooting of protestors. The conflict ended after a weakened South Vietnam was pushed back by the communist Easter Offensive, and concluded with the Paris Peace Accords. A humiliation for American foreign policy, Vietnam was united under Ho Chi Minh’s communist government.

Deng Xiaoping commences the economic reform of China (1978) – Deng Xiaoping discarded many ideals of communism in his economic reforms of China. A longtime member of the Communist Party, he participated in the Long March and became a member of the Politburo in 1955. He was stripped of his post in the Cultural Revolution but reinstated in 1973, when he was purged by the Gang of Four. Deng finally regained power in 1976 and opened China up to foreign investment. He died in 1997.