This Week in China’s History

This began as a weekly column in The China Project, highlight the anniversary of events in China’s past. Sometimes they are well known, and other times they are obscure…but whether they seem profound or trivial, I look for meaning in what went before.

In spring 2024, the column shifted from The China Project to the Sinica substack, and became bi-weekly. All the columns from June 2020 to the present are available here.

史206 “The Shadian Massacre (1975).” Sinica. Aug 1, 2025.

史205 “The fall of Nanjing as the Taiping capital (1864). Sinica. July 15, 2025.

史204 “The Kunming Muslim Massacre (1856).” Sinica. May 27, 2025.

史203 “The bombing of China’s Belgrade Embassy (1999).” Sinica. May 10, 2025.

史202 “The Dongfang Hong satellite is launched (1970).” ” Sinica. April 27, 2025.

史201 “The Shanghai Massacre and the White Terror. (1927)” Sinica. April 12, 2025.

史200 “The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration (1987).” Sinica. March 31, 2025.

史199 “The March 18 Massacre and the death of Liu Hezhen (1926).” Sinica. March 18, 2025.

史198 “Liu Bang becomes emperor of the Han (202 bce).” Sinica. February 23, 2025.

史197 “Cixi steps out from behind the screen (1902).” Sinica. February 4, 2025.

史196 “The resignation of Hu Yaobang (1987).” Sinica January 20, 2025.

史195 “Britain is the first Western government to recognize the People’s Republic of China (1950).” Sinica January 6, 2025.

史194 “The first battle of the Flying Tigers (1941).” Sinica. December 23, 2024.

史193 “The Chinese Youth Party is founded in Paris (1923).” Sinica. December 7, 2024.

史192 “The Renyin palace plot. (1542)” Sinica. November 23, 2024.

史191 “The critique of “Hai Rui Dismissed From Office is published. (1965)” Sinica. November 11, 2024.

史190 '“The Denver race riot. (1880)” Sinica. October 28, 2024.

史189 “The Long March begins. (1934)” Sinica. October 10, 2024.

史188 “The creation of the Shanghai International Settlement (1863).” Sinica. Sept. 28, 2024.

史187 “Shen Fu-tsung (Michael Sin) is presented to Louis XIV. (1864)” Sinica. Sept. 13, 2024.

史186 “The Passaleão Incident and the death of a Portuguese governor. (1849)” Sinica. August 30, 2024.

史185 “The suicide of Gao Gang. (1954)” Sinica. August 17, 2024.

史184 “Khrushchev’s secret trip to Beijing. (1958)” Sinica. August 2, 2024.

史183 “The Battle of Penghu. (1863)” Sinica. July 19, 2024.

史182 “Big Tiger’s assassination squad (1949). ” Sinica. July 8, 2024.

史181 “The murder of Alfred Caubrière. (1948)” Sinica. June 21, 2024.

史180 “The assassination of Zhang Zuolin. (1928)” Sinica June 7, 2024.

史179 “The May 30 Massacre (1925).” Sinica. May 24, 2024.

史178 “The Prince of Anhua Rebellion. (1510)” Sinica. May 10, 2024.

史177 “Explosion at the Benxihu coal mine. (1942)” Sinica. April 26, 2024.

史176 “The Battle of Sarhu. (1619)” Sinica. April 12, 2024

史175 “The Nanking Incident. (1927)” Sinica March 29, 2024.

史174 “Lin Zexu confiscates the opium. (1839)” Sinica. March 15, 2024.

史173 “The Xiangtan massacre. (1649)” Sinica. March 1, 2024.

史172 “The Qing abdication. (1912)” Sinica February 23, 2024.

史171 “The triumphs and travails of China’s first American citizen. (1852)” The China Project November 1, 2023.

史170 “Los Angeles 1871: One of America’s largest mass lynchings. (1871)” The China Project October 25, 2023.

史169 “Deng Xiaoping in France. (1920)” The China Project October 18, 2023.

史168 “Double 10: the Wuchang Uprising and the end of the Qing. (1911)” The China Project October 11, 2023.

史167 “‘One of the most troubling social policies of modern times’. (1980)” The China Project September 27, 2023.

史 166 “The Mukden Incident and the origins of World War II in Asia. (1931) ” The China Project September 20, 2023.

史165 “Lin Biao flew too close to the sun. But why did he fall? (1971)” The China Project September 13, 2023

史164 “A Shanghai bookseller is kidnapped - and spurs copyright awareness. (1906)” The China Project September 6, 2023.

史163 “The ‘near miracle’ that was China’s first modern treaty with a European state. (1689)” The China Project August 29, 2023.

史162 “China’s ‘Southern Disaster’: France lays waste to a Qing fleet. (1884)” The China Project August 22, 2023.

史161 “Mao’s Cultural Revolution turns deadly. (1966)” The China Project August 16, 2023.

史160 “Re-examining Portugal’s 16th-century diplomatic failure in China. (1517)” The China Project August 9, 2023.

史159 “The death of Princess Taiping and the demise of the Tang. (713)” The China Project August 2, 2023.

史158 “Princess Taiping’s coup during the golden age of the Tang. (710)” The China Project July 26, 2023.

史157 “The problem with Mao’s ‘continuous revolution.’ (1967)” The China Project July 19, 2023.

史156 “When princedoms (almost) ruled China: The Prince of Ning rebellion. (1519)” The China Project July 12, 2023.

史155 “Not just a metaphor: the dragons of imperial China show us how people lived. (1517)” The China Project July 5, 2023.

史154 “Hua Guofeng’s short reign as chairman and leader of China. (1981)” The China Project June 28, 2023.

史153 “Liu Xiaobo and his ‘monstrous crimes’. (2017)” The China Project June 21, 2023.

史152 “Breaching the Yellow River and the horrors of war. (1938)” The China Project June 14, 2023.

史151 “What really happened at the Battle of Luding Bridge. (1935)” The China Project May 31, 2023.

史150 “Lonely Planet: Imperial China, by Xu Xiake. (1613)” The China Project May 24, 2023.

史149 “What atrocity looks like: John Magee’s Rape of Nanking footage. (1938)” The China Project May 17, 2023.

史148 “Battle of Tunmen: The first clash between China and Europe. (1521)” The China Project May 10, 2023.

史147 “The Peking Express: A train heist for the ages. (1923)” The China Project May 3, 2023.

史146 “Remembering the Yellow Flower Mound uprising against the Qing. (1911)” The China Project April 26, 2023.

史145 “The complex legacy of the Doolittle Raid and U.S.-China allyship (1942). ” The China Project. April 19, 2023.

史144 “Titanic’s six Chinese survivors tell a story that goes far beyond a shipwreck. (1912)” The China Project April 12, 2023.

史143 “The Tiananmen protests officially called a ‘revolutionary movement’. (1989)” The China Project April 5, 2023.

史142 “'‘An imperial railway failure’: France’s disastrous colonization project on the China-Vietnam border” The China Project March 29, 2023.

史141 “The ‘Canton Coup’ and what might have been for the KMT. (1926)” The China Project March 22, 2023.

史140 “The only European power shut out of Qing China: Italy. (1899)” The China Project March 15, 2023.

史139 “The sad reign of Manchukuo’s only emperor. (1934)” The China Project March 1, 2023.

史138 “The ‘Empress of China’ and the beginning of US-China trade. (1784)” The China Project Feb. 22, 2023.

史137 “The battle of Red Cliff and the blurring of fact and fiction. (209)” The China Project Feb. 15, 2023.

史136 “The birth of pinyin. (1958)” The China Project Feb. 8, 2023.

史135 “How a 14th-century purge consolidated power in the Ming dynasty. (1380)” The China Project Feb. 1, 2023.

史134 “The world’s deadliest earthquake? Look to Shaanxi, 1556. (1556)” The China Project Jan. 25, 2023.

史133 “From state secret to city staple: China opens its first subway. (1971)” The China Project Jan. 18, 2023.

史132 “A long war won: the end of extraterritoriality in China. (1943)” The China Project Jan. 11, 2023.

史131 “The Christmas Eve rape that helped end KMT mainland rule. (1946)” The China Project Dec. 28, 2022.

史130 “Something old, something new: The 1990 re-opening of Shanghai’s stock exchange (1990).” The China Project Dec. 21, 2022.

史129 “The Xi’an incident: when Chiang Kai-shek was imprisoned by his own men. (1927)” The China Project Dec. 14, 2022.

史128 “The Formosa Incident: the protest that sparked Taiwan’s democracy. (1979)” The China Project Dec. 7, 2022.

史127 “The China Bowl: When Army played Navy in Shanghai. (1945)” The China Project Nov. 30, 2022.

史126 “The monk vs the tigers: a story of Chinese environmental change. (1596)” The China Project Nov. 23, 2022.

史125 “A Chinese Catholic in Paris. (1722)” The China Project Nov. 17, 2022.

史124 “The 11-9 incident: When police fired on Chinese student protesters. (1928)” The China Project November 9, 2022.

史123 "The rise of Empress Dowager Cixi. (1861)" The China Project Nov. 2, 2022.

史122 “China’s Alamo: The real story behind the ‘800 heroes’ (1937)” The China Project Oct. 26, 2022.

史121 “What led to the burning of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace. (1860)” The China Project Oct. 19, 2022.

史120 “White Wolf: The great bandit of early Republican China. (1912)” The China Project Oct. 12, 2022.

史119 "The coal that powered China to prosperity (1901)." The China Project Oct. 5, 2022.

史118 “The origins of Peking Opera. (1790)” The China Project Sept. 28, 2022.

史117 “From battlefield glory to gruesome execution: The fall of Yuan Chonghuan. (1630)” The China Project Sept. 21, 2022.

史115 “The young woman’s suicide that shocked China (1922).” The China Project. Sept. 9. 2022.

史114 “Who killed Shen Dingyi? (1928)” The China Project August 31, 2022.

史113 "Song Jiaoren and broken promises of the Chinese republic (1912)." The China Project August 24, 2022.

史112 “The importance of succession ritual in China, then and now (1524).” The China Project August 17. 2022.

史111 “The patriotic roots of China’s domestic tourism industry. (1923)” The China Project August 10, 2022.

史110 "A French assault on Taiwan (1884)." The China Project August 3, 2022.

史109 "The first days of electric Shanghai (1882)." The China Project July 27, 2022.

史108 "What if the US had backed Mao during World War II? It almost happened (1944)." The China Project July 20, 2022.

史107 “The ballad of Qin Liangyu: China’s other woman warrior (1648).” The China Project July 13, 2022.

史106 "July 5, 2009: The riots that changed everything in Xinjiang (2009)." The China Project July 6, 2022.

史105 "When the Yellow River changes course (1855)." The China Project June 29, 2022.

史104 “A Comprehensive Mirror: Two years of This Week in China’s History.” The China Project June 8, 2022.

史103 “A 17th-century mushroom cloud: the Wanggongchang explosion (1626).” The China Project June 1, 2022.

史102 "France’s Hong Kong: The leased territory of Guangzhouwan (1898)." The China Project May 25, 2022.

史101 "The Yangzhou massacre of 1645." The China Project May 18, 2022.

史100 “The Qinzong emperor’s banishment and the messiness of dynastic China (1127)." The China Project May 11, 2022.

史99 "May 4, 1919: Who were the heirs of the revolution?" The China Project May 4, 2022.

史98 "Out of the Boxer Indemnities, a world-class university (1911)." The China Project April 27, 2022.

史97 "A death on coal hill (1644)." The China Project April 20, 2022.

史96 "China's pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao's final success: retirement (1810)." The China Project April 13, 2022.

史95 "A Mongol siege, the Black Death, and the end of two dynasties (1232)." The China Project April 6, 2022.

史94 "The terracotta warriors: An archeological find for the ages (1974)." The China Project March 30, 2022.

史93 "The assassination of Song Jiaoren (and Chinese democracy) (1913)" The China Project March 23, 2022.

史92 "The Dalai Lama flees Lhasa (1959)." The China Project March 16, 2022.

史91 "The last of the Chinese Labour Corps, Zhu Guisheng (2002)." The China Project March 9, 2022.

史90 “The 2-28 incident and the ambiguities of Taiwanese identity (1947).” The China Project March 2, 2022.

史89 “Xuanzang’s journey to the west—and back to Chang’an (645)” The China Project Feb 23, 2022

史88 “The ‘necessary lessons’ of the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War.” The China Project Feb. 16, 2022.

史87 “An anti-American protest during the Chinese Civil War (1947).” The China Project Feb. 9, 2022.

史86 “The Tatsu Maru incident in the waning years of the Qing (1908).” The China Project Feb. 2, 2022.

史85 “The death of woman Wang and the life of Jonathan Spence (1672).” The China Project Jan. 26, 2022.

史84 “The last voyage of famed Chinese admiral Zheng He (1431).” The China Project Jan. 19, 2022.

史83 “Zunyi: the three-day meeting that pushed the CCP toward Mao (1935).” The China Project Jan. 12, 2022.

史82 “China’s five-anti campaign of 1952,” The China Project Jan. 5, 2022.

史81 “The birth of China’s most famous beer (1904).” The China Project Dec. 22, 2021.

史80 “Donglin Movement: morality and repression in imperial China (1627).” The China Project Dec. 15, 2021.

史79 “Wei Jingsheng’s ‘fifth modernization’: democracy (1978).” The China Project Dec. 8, 2021.

史78 “The real battle at Lake Changjin (1950).” The China Project Dec. 1, 2021.

史77 “Harbin’s Confucius temple and an embrace of nationalism (1929).” The China Project Nov. 24. 2021

史76 “Li Gui’s diary: a 19th-century Chinese account of the west (1876).” The China Project Nov. 17, 2021.

史75 “Luo Jialing, aka Liza Hardoon, and the height of global Shanghai (1941).” The China Project Nov. 10, 2021.

史74 “Norman Bethune’s last surgery (1939).” The China Project Nov. 3, 2021.

史73 “Treason in the early Qing - and its curious consequences (1728).” The China Project Oct. 27, 2021.

史72 “China’s great pirate, Zheng Zhilong, takes on the Dutch (1633).” The China Project Oct, 20, 2021.

史71 “The story of China’s first atomic bomb (1964).” The China Project Oct. 13, 2021.

史70 “The 1740 Batavia massacre of ethnic Chinese in Java (1740).” The China Project Oct. 6, 2021.

史69 “Zhoushan: Great Britain’s forgotten (and first?) colony in China (1841).” The China Project Sept. 29, 2021

史68 “Jiang Zemin and the PRC’s first orderly transfer of power. (2004)” The China Project Sept. 22, 2021.

史·67 “In 1973, the Philadelphia Orchestra did its part to kick-start modern US-China relations (1973).” The China Project Sept. 15, 2021.

史66 “US-China trade was never intended to be fair (1899).” The China Project Sept. 8 2021.

史65 “Rock Springs Massacre: A Chinatown burns in the American west (1885).” The China Project Sept. 1, 2021.

史64 “The last meeting of Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek (1945).” The China Project Aug. 25, 2021.

史63 “Burning the British mission in Beijing (1967).” The China Project Aug. 18, 2021.

史62 “The start of modern Sino-Japanese relations (1862).” The China Project Aug. 11, 2021.

史61 “The Nanchang Uprising and the birth of the PLA (1927).” The China Project Aug. 4, 2021.

史60 “The sinking of the Kowshing and China’s catastrophic first war with Japan (1894).” The China Project July 28, 2021.

史59 “The Manchu queue: One hairstyle to rule them all (1645).” The China Project July 21, 2021

史58 “The power of symbolism: The swim the changed Chinese history. (1966)” The China Project July 14, 2021.

史57 “There will never be another airport like Hong Kong’s Kai Tak (1998).” The China Project July 7, 2021.

史56 “In the 7th century , a Chinese coup of Shakespearean proportions (626).” The China Project June 30, 2021.

史55 “Abbot Wang Yuanliu of Dunhuang: Villain or …? (1900)” The China Project June 23, 2021.

史54 “The profound legacy of China’s Whampoa Military Academy (1924).” The China Project June 16, 2021.

史53 “The Zunghar-Qing wars and colonization in Central Asia (1696).” The China Project June 9, 2021.

史52 “Li Zicheng sets fire to the forbidden city. (1644)” The China Project June 2, 2021.

史51 “When China’s nationalist government lost Shanghai (1949).” The China Project May 26, 2021.

史50 “The death of Jiang Qing, a.k.a. Madame Mao.” The China Project May 19, 2021.

史49 “China’s anti-American boycott of 1905.” The China Project May 12, 2021.

史48 “U.S.-China relations at the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).” The China Project May 5, 2021.

史47 “A government editorial seals the fate of Beijing’s student protesters (1989).” The China Project April 28, 2021.

史46 “The first McDonald’s in Beijing was a symbol of engagement (1992).” The China Project April 21, 2021.

史45 “The assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai. (1955)” The China Project April 14, 2021.

史44 “Zhang Zhixin: a tragedy of the Cultural Revolution (1975).” The China Project April 7, 2021.

史43 “The monk who thought Buddhism could save China (1949).” The China Project March 31, 2021.

史42 “When Christianity was tolerated in early Qing China (1692).” The China Project March 24, 2021.

史41 “A fight for women’s suffrage in the early days of the Chinese republic (1912).” The China Project March 17, 2021.

史40 “Ding Ling’s critique of the Chinese patriarchy (1942).” The China Project March 10, 2021.

史39 “The Margary Affair and British imperialism on the China-Myanmar border (1875).” The China Project Feb. 24, 2021.

史38 “Soong May-ling’s historic Congress address – and her tour to save China (1943).” The China Project Feb. 17, 2021.

史37 “The Yongzheng emperor and Christianity in China (1724).” The China Project Feb. 10, 2021.

史36 “The end of China’s golden age (756).” The China Project Feb. 3, 2021.

史35 “The evolving hero status of the executed general Yue Fei (1142).” The China Project Jan. 27, 2021.

史34 “Deng Xiaoping’s secret ‘Southern Tour’ and its enduring legacy. (1992)” The China Project Jan. 20, 2021.

史33 “‘Bombard the headquarters’: Echoes of Maoism in the storming of the Capitol. (2021/1966)” The China Project Jan. 13, 2021.

史32 “The New Fourth Army Incident: The Nationalist massacre that sealed the winning side’s fate (1941).” The China Project Jan. 6, 2021.

史31 “How a cataclysmic plague marked the end of Ming China (1643).” The China Project Dec. 30, 2020.

史30 “An emperor reveals his guts (1717).” The China Project Dec. 23, 2020.

史29 “How Kublai Khan’s Yuan complicates the notion of ‘China’. (1271)” The China Project Dec. 16, 2020.

史28 “The legacy of Yuan Shikai, China’s disastrous first president (1915).” The China Project Dec. 9, 2020.

史27 “America’s first giant panda and China’s most popular export (1936).” The China Project Dec. 2, 2020

史26 “Justice during imperial China: Reexamining the ‘Lady Hughes’ affair of 1784.” The China Project Nov. 25, 2020.

史25 “China’s archives are being erased. Much is at risk of being lost (1721).” The China Project Nov. 18, 2020.

史24 “A final day at the races and the end of old Shanghai (1941).” The China Project Nov. 11, 2020.

史23 “Electoral politics and a call for change – in China, circa 1911.” The China Project Nov 3, 2020.

史22 “Waverly tragedy: Trafficking in Chinese labor leads to 300 dead (1855).” The China Project Oct. 28, 2020.

史21 “When the PRC won the “China” seat at the UN (1971).” The China Project Oct 21, 2020.

史20 “A clash of tradition and modern law: the pardon of assassin Shi Jianqiao (1936).” The China Project Oct. 14, 2020.

史19 “How Britain used a small pirate ship to spark the Second Opium War (1856).” The China Project Oct. 7, 2020.

史18 “The untold story of Wu Sangui, China’s two-time turncoat (1678).” The China Project Sept. 30, 2020.

史17 “Ilham Tohti’s punishment for challenging China’s historical narrative. (2014)” The China Project Sept. 23, 2020.

史16 “A basketball game turns violent: China, Russia, and the crossroads of imperialism (1926).” The China Project Sept 16, 2020.

史15 “Lord Macartney, China, and the convenient lies of history. (1793)” The China Project Sept. 8, 2020.

史14 “The First Taiwan Straits Crisis and the Specter of Nuclear War (1954).” The China Project Sept. 2, 2020.

史13 “The great China floods of 1931.” The China Project August 26, 2020.

史12: “The Murder of Ma Xinyi (1870)” The China Project August 19, 2020.

史11: “The Emperor Investigates Soulstealing (1768).” The China Project August 12, 2020.

史10: “Matteo Ricci and the Slave Trade that Connected Portugal with Macau (1582).” The China Project August 5, 2020.

史 9: “The Fruits of Legitimacy: A Gift for the Hongwu Emperor (1372).” The China Project July 28, 2020.

史 8: “When China collided with the Middle East: The Battle of Talas River and the height of Tang supremacy (751).” The China Project July 22, 2020.

史 7: “‘A Revolution Against Empire and Patriarchy’: The Execution of Qiu Jin (1907).” The China Project July 15, 2020.

史 6: “Kissinger’s Secret Trip that Paved the Way for U.S.-China Relations (1971).” The China Project hina July 9, 2020.

史 5: “Hong Kong and Broken Promises (1997)” The China Project June 30, 2020.

史 4: “When China’s Reformers Believed Anything Was Possible: 100 Days in 1898,” The China Project June 26, 2020.

史 3: “What the Boxers Can Tell Us About Our World Today. (1900)” The China Project June 17, 2020.

史 2:“The Time Jesus’s Younger Brother Led a Revolution in China (1852).” The China Project June 11, 2020.

史 1: “Remembering to Remember, or Learning to Forget: China’s Relationship to Tiananmen 31 Years On (1989)” The China Project June 4, 2020.