Chronology

1946 Start of Chinese Civil War (July) after failure of peace talks between Communists and Guomindang.

1947 Using guerrilla warfare strategy, Communists gain control of northern Manchuria and move to a more conventional style of warfare.

1948 Communist forces gain complete control over Manchuria and begin to attack Guomindang positions in the north of China.

1949 In a series of offensives, the Communist People Liberation Army captures north, central and southern China.
In October, Mao establishes the Communist government of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing.

1950 Start of Korean War.
New Marriage Law gives women greater legal protection.
Suppression of Counter-Revolutionaries Campaign launched.

1951 Three-Antis Campaign launched against corrupt Party and government officials.

1952 Five-Antis Campaign launched against corrupt businessmen.
The first Agricultural Producers’ Co-operatives established (collective farms).

1953 End of Korean War.
First Five Year Plan for industry launched.
Purge of Gao Gang and Rao Shushi from Communist Party leadership.

1954 Higher-Stage Agricultural Producers’ Co-operatives established.

1957 Mao launches ‘Hundred Flowers’ campaign inviting criticism of Party by intellectuals. This is quickly followed by the suppression of criticism in the Anti-Rightist campaign.

1958 Mao launches the Great Leap Forward (second Five Year Plan).

1959 Peng Dehuai purged from Party leadership for criticising the Great Leap Forward.

1962 Third Five Year Plan introduced.
Start of power struggle between Mao and Liu Shaoqi/Deng Xiaoping.

1964 Socialist Education Movement launched by Mao to reassert his control over the Party’s ideology.

1966 Cultural Revolution launched by Mao and his allies to regain control over the Party and remould Chinese culture.

1967 January Revolution in Shanghai overthrows Party leadership in the city.
In the February Crackdown the PLA move against the Red Guards to restore order.

1968 Revolutionary Committees established across China.
Many thousands of Red Guards sent to the countryside in a move to regain control over the Cultural Revolution.

1969 Communist Party Congress officially declares the end of the Cultural Revolution.

1971 Lin Biao dies in an air crash after unsuccessfully trying to stage a coup against Mao.

1972 US President Richard Nixon visits China for talks with Mao, marking the start of improved relations and co-operation between the USA and China.

1973 Anti-Confucius campaign launched by Gang of Four against Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping.

1976 January: Death of Zhou Enlai.

April: Popular demonstrations against Gang of Four in Beijing.

September: Death of Mao Zedong.