Transcript Historical Context of The Good Earth

Historical Context of The
Good Earth
1882: U.S. Congress passes the Chinese
Exclusion Act, which bans Chinese
laborers from entering the United States
for Ten Years.
1892: The Chinese Exclusion Act is
renewed for ten more years.
1898: The Boxers (Righteous Fists of
Harmony), a group that opposes western
presence in China, is founded. Reaction
to spheres of influence in China,including
imperialism (unequal treaties) and
Christian missionaries.
1900: The Boxers rise up against foreigners
and kill several dozen westerners. The
United States, along with other nations,
sends troops to end the uprising.
1903: The newly created Bolshevik group in
Russia calls for the destruction of capitalism
and the creation of an international socialist
state.
1904: Japanese invade Port Arthur, China,
launching the Russo-Japanese War (fought
over their imperial ambitions for Korea and
Manchuria – a region split between China and
Russia).
1905: President Theodore Roosevelt brokers a
peace agreement between Russia and Japan.
1908: China’s emperor dies and a reactionary
(seeking to return to a previous state for the
country) prince rises to power – the prince is
only 2 years old.
1911: The Qing dynasty is overthrown, and the
Republic of China is established, headed by Sun
Yat-sen.
The Yangtze River floods, killing 100,000
people.
1913: The United States officially recognizes the
Chinese republic.
1914: World War I begins.
1919: World War I ends.
1910: Civil War breaks out in China, and the
national government loses power until 1926.
Warlords controlled different regions of the
country.
1924: U. S. Marines are sent to China to help
end the civil war.
1926: The Chinese Nationalist Party launches its
Northern Expedition to try to unite the
country.
1927: United States evacuates U.S. citizens from
China.
Chinese Communists briefly capture Nanking
(then capital of China), but the Nationalists
regain control.
1931: China’s population reaches 410 million.
(Currently the U.S. population is 311 million.
China’s population is 1.3 billion)
1934: The Red (Communist) Army, led by Mao
Zedong, survives attacks by the Chinese
Nationalist Army and undertakes the Long
March (actually a retreat), a journey of 6,000
miles during which more than half of the army
dies.
1937: The Japanese take control of Peking,
Tientsin, and other Chinese cities and bomb
others.
1938: The Japanese seize control of Tsing-tao,
Canton, and Hankow. The Chinese
government retreats and sets up a new capital
in Chungking.
1939: World War II begins.