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| 1825–28 |
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| The kingdom of Kashgaria was with great difficulty defended against Jehangir (1790–1828) of the Hodja family, which had formerly ruled in Turkestan. | 1 |
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| 1827 |
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| The Huangchao jingshi wenbian (Essays on Statecraft from the Qing Dynasty), compiled by He Changling (1785–1848), appeared. It was a huge compendium of documents dealing with a variety of practical matters and was closely read by many scholar-officials at the time. | 2 |
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| 1829 |
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| The magnum opus of the textual critical movement of the Qing dynasty, the 366-volume Huangchao jingjie (Qing Exegeses of the Classics), was finished under the sponsorship of Ruan Yuan (1764–1849). He was also responsible for a definitive edition of the Shisan jing zhushu (Commentaries and Annotations to the Thirteen Classics), reprinted by the Xuehaitang, a private academy, from a Song period original. He had earlier founded the Xuehaitang in Guangzhou, while serving as governor-general of the region (1817–26). Other great critical editors of this era included Sun Xingyan (1753–1818) and Yan Kejun (1762–1843). | 3 |
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| 1834 |
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| The end of the East India Company's monopoly of British trade with China removed an important element in the Canton system of commercial regulation. Henceforth, all foreigners could come to China, surely increasing the opium traffic. The assertion of diplomatic equality by the first superintendent of British trade in China, Lord Napier (1786–1834), was followed by the temporary stoppage of trade. Napier died on Oct. 11, and his successors adopted a “quiescent policy.” | 4 |
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| 1836 |
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| The Daoguang emperor requested input on how to address the opium issue. Proposals to legalize the importation of opium and concern over the silver drain to pay for it led to heated debates in Beijing with those who wished to crush the traffic and users of the drug. Daoguang decided (1838) to end, once and for all, the opium trade. | 5 |
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| 1839 |
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| Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu (1785–1850) arrived in Guangzhou (March 10), forced the surrender of opium (annual import was 30,000 chests for 1835, 40,000 for 1838), and destroyed it—some 3 million pounds of raw opium. Hostilities soon followed (Nov.). | 6 |
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| 1840 |
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| The British fleet under Adm. George Elliot reached Guangzhou (June), leaving several vessels to block the harbor. Zhoushan Island was occupied (July). An agreement was reached (Jan. 1841) after talks between Capt. Charles Elliot (1801–75), Lord Napier's successor, and Qishan (d. 1854), the local governor-general, and both governments repudiated the agreement. | 7 |
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| 1841–42 |
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| The OPIUM WAR erupted. British plenipotentiary Henry Pottinger (1789–1856) led the British navy along the Chinese coast, capturing several cities. Shanghai was taken (June 1842) and then Zhenjiang (July). The Grand Canal was blocked. The Qing sought peace (Aug.), having received their greatest military defeat to date. | 8 |
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| 1842, Aug. 29 |
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| The TREATY OF NANJING was ratified by both parties aboard the British vessel Cornwallis. It ended the monopolistic Canton system of trade; Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, having already been occupied by British forces (Jan. 1841); five ports were opened to trade: Guangzhou, Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai; consulates were to be established there to oversee trade; indemnities were to be paid by the Qing to the British; and the treaty established a uniform import tariff of about 5 percent ad valorem. Of the four newly opened ports, only Shanghai really grew as a result of the new trading opportunities. | 9 |
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| 1843, Oct. 8 |
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| A supplementary treaty was negotiated, also by Pottinger and Imperial Commissioner Qiying (d. 1858), conceding most-favored-nation status (later extended to other powers) and amplifying the details of the new commercial system. Opium traffic, despite remaining illegal, continued. | 10 |
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| 1844, July 3 |
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| The Treaty of Wangxia, signed by Qiying and Caleb Cushing (1800–75) for the United States, gave to the U.S. many of the privileges already accorded to Great Britain. In addition, Protestant missionaries gained new advantages, and extraterritoriality was given to U.S. citizens in civil and criminal cases. The study of Chinese also became legal for foreigners. The French Treaty of Huangpu (Oct. 24) secured toleration of Catholicism, which was extended (1845) to Protestantism. | 11 |
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| 1846–48 |
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| Popular opposition to foreign entrance into the city of Guangzhou increased friction between China and foreign powers. | 12 |
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