The Good Earth By Odj199 1300 Marco Polo Speaks of Cathay (China) 1300 Western Trade Begins in China Period: 1729 to 1838 Opium Use Rises Period: 1750 to 1850 Chinese Population rises from 180 million to 430 million 1757 Restriction of Foreign Trade 1839 China Destroys 11 million Dollars of Opium 1842 The Treaty of Nanking 1887 Yellow River Floods 1900 Boxers Hold Hostage 3000 Chinese Christians and 1000 westerners 1911 Revolution Breaks Out 1912 Sun Yet-Sen Returns from Exile 1916 Yuan Shih-k'ai Dies