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.