Republic of China

State · 1912–2026 CE · at its largest around 1912 CE

Asia's first republic carried hopes of science and democracy through the May Fourth Movement, but endured warlords, civil war and Japanese invasion. After 1949 it survived on Taiwan, where it grew into a high-tech economy and, from the late 1980s, a lively democracy.

On its lands while it lasted

Qing dynasty (1636–1912 CE): Hong Taiji proclaimed the Qing dynasty at Mukden; the Manchu dynasty ruled China from 1644 until 1912.
British Raj (1858–1947 CE): After the 1857 rebellion the British Crown took direct rule of India from the East India Company, governing until independence in 1947.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861 CE – 1941 CE): Bengali poet, writer and composer, in 1913 the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Ho Chi Minh (1890 CE – 1969 CE): Vietnamese revolutionary who led the Viet Minh independence movement, declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and led North Vietnam until his death.
Mao Zedong (1893 CE – 1976 CE): Communist revolutionary who founded the People's Republic of China and led it until his death.
1911 Revolution (1911–1912 CE): Revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China, ending over two thousand years of imperial rule.
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945 CE): Full-scale war between China and Japan, merging into the Second World War; the Nationalist government moved its capital to Chongqing.
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima (1945 CE): On 6 August 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the first use of a nuclear weapon in war.
Independence of India (1947 CE): India became independent on 15 August 1947, with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first prime minister.
Partition of India (1947 CE): British India was divided into India and Pakistan in August 1947, followed by communal violence and the displacement of some 15 million people.
People's Republic of China founded (1949 CE): Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Gate on 1 October 1949.
Korean War (1950–1953 CE): War between North Korea, backed by China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, backed by UN forces led by the United States.
Cultural Revolution (1966–1976 CE): Political campaign launched by Mao against perceived enemies within the party and society, bringing mass persecution and violence.
Reform and opening up (1978 CE): Programme of economic reform begun under Deng Xiaoping that introduced markets and foreign investment, driving rapid growth.
COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2023 CE): A pandemic of the coronavirus disease COVID-19, first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, spread worldwide, causing millions of deaths and widespread lockdowns; WHO ended its global health emergency in May 2023.