China 八年级（初二） History

1. Sem.1 U1 China becomes semi-colonial and semi-feudal

Opium War · Second Opium War · Taiping Movement

• The Opium Wars: Causes, Course and the Unequal Treaties – In the early 1800s Britain bought much tea from China but China wanted little from Britain, so British traders sold smuggled opium to pay for tea. Opium harmed many people and drained silver from China. After the Qing ban of 1839, the First Opium War (1839-42) ended with the Treaty of Nanjing. The Second Opium War (1856-60) brought more unequal treaties. China lost control over its trade and ports and became semi-colonial.
• The Taiping Movement (1850-1864) – The Taiping Movement was a huge uprising in China from 1850 to 1864. Hunger, heavy taxes and anger at a weak Qing government pushed many poor people to follow Hong Xiuquan. In 1851 he declared the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, and in 1853 his army took Nanjing and made it the capital. The Taipings promised shared land, equality for women and men, and a ban on opium, gambling and foot-binding. But many plans stayed on paper, the leaders fought each other in 1856, and their new religion turned many scholars away. Qing regional armies, helped by foreign-trained units, took Nanjing in 1864. The war cost millions of lives, and it moved real power from the Qing centre to regional leaders.

2. Sem.1 U2 Early modernisation and deepening crisis

Self-Strengthening Movement and frontier crises · Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 and the scramble for concessions · Hundred Days' Reform · Boxer Movement and Eight-Nation Alliance

• The Self-Strengthening Movement and Frontier Crises (1861-1895) – After the Opium Wars and the Taiping war, some Qing officials such as Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang argued that China must copy Western tools but keep its own values. From the 1860s they opened arsenals, shipyards, language schools, a steamship company, mines and telegraph lines, and built a modern navy. At the same time China faced crises on its edges: the Ili region in the west, Taiwan and the Ryukyu islands, Vietnam and Korea. The army recovered most of Xinjiang, but China lost influence in the Ryukyu islands, Vietnam and Korea. In 1894-95 it lost the war with Japan and its Beiyang Fleet, and the movement was judged to have fallen short. It had real gains (first modern industry and schools), but too little money, no one plan, and no change in the old system.
• The Hundred Days' Reform (1898) – The Hundred Days' Reform was a short but bold attempt to change China from the top in 1898. After defeat by Japan in 1895 and foreign pressure for ports and leased land, scholars such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao argued for deep change, not only new machines. The young Guangxu Emperor agreed. From 11 June he issued orders on exams, schools, the army, farming, industry, the press, trade and government offices; the Imperial University of Peking was founded. But the reformers had no army and little court experience, and the orders came very fast. On 21 September Empress Dowager Cixi, with support from conservative officials and army chiefs, took power again, held the emperor under guard and cancelled most orders. Six reformers were executed, while Kang and Liang escaped abroad. The reform failed, but the university stayed, and the court itself began wider reforms after 1901.
• Boxer Movement and the Eight-Nation Alliance – In 1899-1901 the Yihetuan (Boxers), a movement of poor farmers in north China, attacked foreigners and Chinese Christians. In 1900 the Qing court sided with them, eight powers sent an army to Beijing, and in 1901 the Boxer Protocol forced China to pay 450 million taels and accept foreign troops. China became even more tied down by outside powers.

3. Sem.1 U3 Bourgeois revolution and the Republic

Tongmenghui · 1911 Revolution · Monarchy restoration attempts and warlords

• Tongmenghui: The Revolutionary Alliance of 1905 – The Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance) was founded in Tokyo in August 1905 by joining three revolutionary groups under Sun Yat-sen. Its aim was to end Qing rule and build a republic. Sun explained the aim with the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy and people’s livelihood. It ran a newspaper and many uprisings.
• The 1911 Revolution: From Wuchang to the Republic – On 10 October 1911 soldiers rose in Wuchang. Within weeks over a dozen provinces left Qing rule. The Republic of China began on 1 January 1912 with Sun Yat-sen as provisional president, and on 12 February 1912 the child emperor Puyi gave up the throne, ending more than 2,000 years of imperial rule. But the new republic was weak.
• Yuan Shikai, Attempts to Restore the Monarchy, and the Warlords – After 1912 Yuan Shikai, who commanded the strongest army, took power from the new republic: he banned the Guomindang and closed parliament. In 1915 he tried to become emperor but provinces revolted, and he gave up in March 1916 and died in June. After him the Beiyang army broke into rival cliques, and from 1916 to 1928 warlords ruled China’s regions.

4. Sem.1 U4 Rise of the new-democratic revolution

May Fourth Movement · Founding of the Communist Party of China

• The May Fourth Movement (1919) – The New Culture Movement (from 1915) called for democracy, science and writing in everyday speech. When the Paris peace talks gave Germany’s rights in Shandong to Japan, over 3,000 students marched in Beijing on 4 May 1919. Strikes by merchants and workers followed, three officials were dismissed and China did not sign the treaty. The movement opened a new stage of modern Chinese politics.

5. Sem.1 U5 From cooperation to rural base areas

First United Front and Northern Expedition · Jinggangshan base · Long March and Zunyi Conference

Coming soon

6. Sem.1 U6 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression

From the September 18th Incident to the Xi'an Incident · July 7th Incident and nationwide resistance · Frontal and rear-area battlefields · Victory

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7. Sem.1 U7 War of Liberation

Outbreak of civil war · Victory of the People's Liberation War · Activity: red culture

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8. Sem.2 U1 Founding of the PRC and the socialist system

Founding of the PRC · Consolidating the new state · Establishing the socialist system · Independent peaceful diplomacy

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9. Sem.2 U2 Exploring socialist construction

Exploration and setbacks · Achievements and model workers · Defence modernisation and diplomatic breakthroughs

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10. Sem.2 U3 Reform and opening up

Historic turning point (1978) · Start and expansion of reform and opening up · Basic line of the primary stage of socialism

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11. Sem.2 U4 Towards the 21st century

Accelerating reform · New achievements · Defence and diplomacy

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12. Sem.2 U5 Developing in new conditions

Building a moderately prosperous society · Defence and foreign affairs

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13. Sem.2 U6 The new era

The Chinese Dream · Completing moderate prosperity · National security and reunification policy · Diplomacy and a shared future for humanity

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14. Sem.2 U7 Building a modern socialist country

First centenary goal · New journey · Activity: changes in social life

• Activity: Changes in Social Life – To study how everyday life changed, pick one topic (phones, travel, food, shopping), ask people of different ages the same questions, count the answers, compare then and now, find the causes of the change, and present the findings with a chart, a timeline and a short story.

15. History skills

Vertical links in history; reading statistical charts; making timelines

• Historical Thinking: How Historians Work – History is the study of the past using evidence. Put events in order on a timeline and read them in their context. Use primary sources (made at the time) and secondary sources (made later). Judge each source: who made it, when, why, and what is missing. Events have many causes: slow long-term causes and a short trigger. Look for both change and continuity, decide what was significant, and build an argument backed by evidence.