JORGE RODRIGUES SIMAO

China - Hanging Monastery

Major Chronological Periods

Qing Dynasty, 1644–1912

Shunzhi, 1644–1661

Kangxi, 1662–1722

Yongzheng, 1723–1735

Qianlong, 1736–17962

Jiaqing, 1796–1820

Daoguang, 1721–1850

Xianfeng, 1851–1861

Tongzhi, 1862–18743

Guangxu, 1875–1908

Xuantong, 1909–1912

Republic, 1912–1949

People’s Republic, 1949–

Cultural Revolution, 1966–19694

NOTES

1. The Qing Dynasty, founded by the Manchus, was first proclaimed in 1636 in Shenyang, their capital before the conquest of China. Some historians prefer to think of 1636 as the beginning date of the dynasty. In a reference work about China, we consider it appropriate to consider the Qing a Chinese dynasty, beginning in 1644, the year the Manchus captured Beijing. The ending date of 1912 is based on the abdication of the last emperor on February 12, 1912. The proclamation of the Republic on January 1, 1912 does not automatically make December 31, 1911 the last day of the Qing. It would be an error to think of the Qing having ended in 1911, a matter confused by the frequent reference to ‘‘the 1911 Revolution,’’ which brought down the Manchu ruling house, but only in 1912.

2. The usual terminal date given for the Qianlong reign is 1795. Strictly speaking, the Qianlong emperor did not abdicate until February 9, 1796 (Chinese New Year’s Day). As it was his wish, for reasons of filial devotion, to not outlast the sixty-one-year rule of his grandfather, the Kangxi emperor, he ended his rule deliberately on the very last day of his sixtieth year. According to the Chinese calendar, then, there is no confusion, but the situation is different when the date is translated into the Gregorian calendar. For the sake of simplicity, the vast majority of historians simply end Qianlong’s reign in 1795, making it mathematically correct that he had not exceeded the record his grandfather had set.

Such is the dictate of filial piety!

3. A similar situation to the Qianlong-Jiaqing transition developed at the end of the Tongzhi reign. The emperor died on the 5th day of the 12th lunar month of his 13th year on the throne, which fell on January 12, 1875. According to the Gregorian calendar, this would have given him a fourteen-year reign, one year more than it was according to the lunar calendar. The established convention, therefore, is to terminate his reign in 1874, to make it conform to the Chinese lunar calendar. Since the Tongzhi emperor never exercised real power, this manipulation of the reign date is of no great practical consequence.

4. The case for terminating the Cultural Revolution in 1969 is based on the declaration of the Ninth Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a success. As a mass movement, it had come to an end. As an elite power struggle, it did not end until the death of Mao Zedong and the arrest of the Gang of Four respectively in September and October 1976. Even then the dust had not fully settled. Many who fell victim to the violence and persecution of the time are inclined to regard the Cultural Revolution as the ‘‘ten lost years.’’