(Although historical sources are not always in agreement, the years given below are as they appear in the online version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which can be found at www.britannica.com.)
Chinese twentieth-century history
1911/12: Fall of Qing dynasty and establishment of Republic of China
1916–28: Warlord Era
1928: Kuomintang (KMT – Nationalist Party of China) comes to power
1927–37: First stage of Chinese Civil War, between KMT and Chinese Communist Party
1937–45: Japanese occupation of China before and during World War II, known as the Second Sino-Japanese War
1945–9: Second stage of Chinese Civil War, between KMT and Chinese Communist Party
1949: Mao Zedong declares founding of People’s Republic of China
1958–60: Great Leap Forward
1966–76: Cultural Revolution
1972: US President Richard Nixon visits Beijing to re-establish US–Chinese relations
1976: Death of Chairman Mao
1978: New leader Deng Xiaoping adopts policies of ‘Reform and Opening Up’
1989: Tiananmen Square incident
1997: Hong Kong returned to China after 156 years of British rule
Han Family history
1919: Red’s parents marry
1920: Red born
1930: Orange born
1932: Green born
1949: Red marries Bao Gang
1951: Orange marries Mr Pan
1952: Orange’s daughter Kangmei born
1953: Green marries Meng Dafu
1958: Green’s daughter Crane born
1978: Kangmei marries
1980: Kangmei’s daughter Wuhen born
1984: Green’s granddaughter Yoyo born
1987: Crane marries Tang Hai
1988: Crane’s daughter Lili born