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Beginning
An Army revolt marks the beginning of the Republic, which began with the wuchang uprising. -
New leader
Sun Yat-sen is made first provisional President of the Republic. -
National Assembly
Yuan Shikai dissolves the National Assembly and implements a self-appointed cabinet. Provincial governors are replaced with military governors -
Japan's demands
Japan presents its Twenty-One Demands. -
New Emperor
Yuan Shikai announces the restoration of imperial rule and his intention to be crowned as emperor. -
New Era
The Warlord Era. China is disunited and divided into fiefdoms, ruled by several powerful warlords who act in their own self interest. There is no effective national government. -
WWI
The Provisional government in Guangdong declares war on Germany in World War 1. -
New Army
The Guomindang forms the National Revolutionary Army; graduates of Whampoa are commissioned as its first officers. -
Purge
Jiang Jieshi (Wade-Giles: Chiang Kai-shek) orders a purge of communists, beginning with raids, arrests and executions in Shanghai. Hundreds of CCP members are arrested, executed or missing. -
Chairman Mao
The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed in Jiangxi, with Mao Zedong as its chairman. -
Luding Bridge
The Battle of Luding Bridge: the Red Army takes control of a key river crossing in Sichuan province. -
Alliance
The Xian incident: Jiang Jieshi is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang and forced or persuaded to an anti-Japanese military alliance with the CCP. -
WWII
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbour; the United States enters the war against Japan in Asia, focusing American interest more closely on China. -
Peoples Republic
Mao Zedong addresses a large crowd in Tianenman Square, Beijing, and proclaims the formation of the People’s Republic of China.