Chronicon
Menu
Historical Period
ENGR

Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek, the warlords, the Long March and the war with Japan.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

Republican China · 1912-1949 AD
中華民國 · Republic

Republican China

From the Xinhai Revolution and Sun Yat-sen's republic through the warlord era, the ferment of the May Fourth Movement, Chiang Kai-shek's unification and the Long March, to the war with Japan and the civil war that ended in Communist victory in 1949. Slide across the years to read the major events of China's turbulent republican age.

1911 AD
The Xinhai Revolution
1 / 7

Sun Yat-sen and the birth of the Republic

The Xinhai Revolution overthrows the Qing, and Sun Yat-sen becomes provisional president of a new Chinese republic.

1911 AD

The Xinhai Revolution
  • Political

    Sun Yat-sen and the birth of the Republic

    Sun Yat-sen, founding father of the Republic of China
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    The Xinhai Revolution overthrows the Qing, and Sun Yat-sen becomes provisional president of a new Chinese republic.

7 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 1911 AD

Full Chronicle

Republican China

From the Xinhai Revolution and Sun Yat-sen's republic through the warlord era, the ferment of the May Fourth Movement, Chiang Kai-shek's unification and the Long March, to the war with Japan and the civil war that ended in Communist victory in 1949. Slide across the years to read the major events of China's turbulent republican age.

  1. The Xinhai Revolution

    • Sun Yat-sen and the birth of the Republic

      The Xinhai Revolution overthrows the Qing, and Sun Yat-sen becomes provisional president of a new Chinese republic.

  2. The Warlord Era

    • China fractures under the warlords

      After Yuan Shikai's death, central authority collapses and rival militarists carve China into warlord fiefs.

  3. The New Culture

    • The May Fourth Movement

      Students protest the Versailles betrayal of China, igniting a movement for new culture, science and national renewal.

  4. The Nationalist Government

    • Chiang Kai-shek and the Northern Expedition

      Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition defeats the warlords and unites China under a Nationalist government at Nanjing.

  5. The Chinese Civil War

    • The Long March

      Encircled by Nationalist armies, the Communists break out on a punishing 9,000-kilometre retreat that makes Mao their leader.

  6. The War with Japan

    • The Second Sino-Japanese War

      Japan launches a full invasion of China; the horrors include the Nanjing Massacre, and the nation fights on for eight years.

  7. The Communist Victory

    • The Communists win the civil war

      The resumed civil war ends in Communist victory; the Nationalists flee to Taiwan as Mao proclaims the People's Republic.