Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Discover the complete story of China's astonishing 20th century transformation, from humiliation at the hands of colonial powers, to a nuclear-armed Communist superpower, and one of the world's leading economies.
Chapters:
00:00 The Middle Kingdom
00:02:08 Confucius
00:03:36 Opium Wars
00:04:52 Taiping Rebellion
00:06:23 Boxer Rebellion
00:07:26 Empress Dowager Cixi
00:11:22 1911 Revolution
00:18:56 New Culture Movement
00:23:30 Warlord Era
00:27:13 Rise of Chiang Kai-shek
00:28:48 First United Front
00:31:26 Northern Expedition
00:33:29 Shanghai Massacre (1927)
00:39:55 Nanjing Decade
00:43:24 Mukden Incident
00:44:48 Japan Invades Manchuria
00:46:10 Long March & Mao’s Rise
00:51:14 Xi’an Incident
00:53:47 Second Sino-Japanese War
00:54:34 Marco Polo Bridge Incident
00:57:39 Battle of Shanghai
01:00:43 Nanjing Massacre
01:03:41 Yellow River Flood (1938)
01:05:15 Battle of Wuhan
01:06:55 China in World War II
01:10:49 Hump Airlift
01:11:49 Flying Tigers
01:13:50 Operation Ichi-Go
01:15:56 Atomic Bombings of Japan
01:16:45 End of War with Japan
01:17:44 Chinese Civil War
01:22:04 Founding of the PRC (1949)
01:22:49 Nationalists Retreat to Taiwan
01:24:26 Early Communist Rule
01:33:21 Korean War
01:37:13 First Five-Year Plan
01:39:08 Hundred Flowers Campaign
01:41:01 Great Leap Forward
01:48:54 Sino-Soviet Split
01:50:30 Sino-Indian War
01:50:56 China’s First Nuclear Test
01:53:17 Maoism & Little Red Book
02:00:04 Cultural Revolution
02:07:24 Ping Pong Diplomacy
02:08:21 Mao Meets Nixon
02:11:46 Gang of Four
02:15:15 Death of Mao Zedong
02:21:24 Rise of Deng Xiaoping
02:25:36 Reform and Opening Up
02:28:46 Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
02:31:04 Special Economic Zones
02:33:32 Sino-Vietnamese War
02:34:52 One Country, Two Systems
02:36:33 One Child Policy
02:39:22 Tiananmen Square Protests
02:43:27 Tank Man
02:47:20 Deng’s Southern Tour
02:47:58 China’s Economic Boom
02:52:58 Hong Kong Handover
02:54:41 China Joins WTO
02:55:39 Beijing Olympics
02:57:27 Rise of Xi Jinping
02:58:22 Credits
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Thank you to our series historical consultant, Dr. Lily Chang of University College London. Find out more about her research and teaching here: ucl.ac.uk/history/people/academic-staff/dr-lily-chang
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🎶 Music: Filmstro | Music is for everyone | filmstro.com/royalty-free-music
-------------------------------------
Thank you to chineseposters.net. To see more of their collection, head to chineseposters.net
-------------------------------------
📚 Recommended reading:
“The Penguin History of Modern China: the Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850 to the Present” by Jonathan Fenby - US: bookshop.org/a/99532/9780141988450 / UK: uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9780141988450
“The Cambridge Illustrated History Of China” by Patricia Buckley Ebrey - US: bookshop.org/a/99532/9781009151443 / UK: uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9781009151443
"Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China" by Ezra F. Vogel - US: bookshop.org/a/99532/9780674725867 / UK: uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9780674725867
You can visit our online bookshop to find great books on China and other Epic History topics:
UK site - uk.bookshop.org/shop/epichistorytv
US site - bookshop.org/shop/epichistorytv
As a bookshop.org affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases, while donating 10% of sales to support independent bookshops!
-------------------------------------
Support Epic History TV on Patreon from $1 per video, and get perks like ad-free early access & votes on future topics patreon.com/EpicHistoryTV
Or join the ranks of the Grognards with our YouTube memberships youtube.com/channel/UCvPXiKxH-eH9xq-80vpgmKQ/join
👕 Buy posters, t-shirts, hoodies, mugs & stickers at our merch store:
ehtvmerch.com
#EpicHistoryTV #EpicHistory #History #China #ChineseHistory #RiseOfChina #DengXiaoping #TiananmenSquare
Discover the complete story of China's astonishing 20th century transformation, from humiliation at the hands of colonial powers, to a nuclear-armed Communist superpower, and one of the world's leading economies.
Chapters:
00:00 The Middle Kingdom
00:02:08 Confucius
00:03:36 Opium Wars
00:04:52 Taiping Rebellion
00:06:23 Boxer Rebellion
00:07:26 Empress Dowager Cixi
00:11:22 1911 Revolution
00:18:56 New Culture Movement
00:23:30 Warlord Era
00:27:13 Rise of Chiang Kai-shek
00:28:48 First United Front
00:31:26 Northern Expedition
00:33:29 Shanghai Massacre (1927)
00:39:55 Nanjing Decade
00:43:24 Mukden Incident
00:44:48 Japan Invades Manchuria
00:46:10 Long March & Mao’s Rise
00:51:14 Xi’an Incident
00:53:47 Second Sino-Japanese War
00:54:34 Marco Polo Bridge Incident
00:57:39 Battle of Shanghai
01:00:43 Nanjing Massacre
01:03:41 Yellow River Flood (1938)
01:05:15 Battle of Wuhan
01:06:55 China in World War II
01:10:49 Hump Airlift
01:11:49 Flying Tigers
01:13:50 Operation Ichi-Go
01:15:56 Atomic Bombings of Japan
01:16:45 End of War with Japan
01:17:44 Chinese Civil War
01:22:04 Founding of the PRC (1949)
01:22:49 Nationalists Retreat to Taiwan
01:24:26 Early Communist Rule
01:33:21 Korean War
01:37:13 First Five-Year Plan
01:39:08 Hundred Flowers Campaign
01:41:01 Great Leap Forward
01:48:54 Sino-Soviet Split
01:50:30 Sino-Indian War
01:50:56 China’s First Nuclear Test
01:53:17 Maoism & Little Red Book
02:00:04 Cultural Revolution
02:07:24 Ping Pong Diplomacy
02:08:21 Mao Meets Nixon
02:11:46 Gang of Four
02:15:15 Death of Mao Zedong
02:21:24 Rise of Deng Xiaoping
02:25:36 Reform and Opening Up
02:28:46 Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
02:31:04 Special Economic Zones
02:33:32 Sino-Vietnamese War
02:34:52 One Country, Two Systems
02:36:33 One Child Policy
02:39:22 Tiananmen Square Protests
02:43:27 Tank Man
02:47:20 Deng’s Southern Tour
02:47:58 China’s Economic Boom
02:52:58 Hong Kong Handover
02:54:41 China Joins WTO
02:55:39 Beijing Olympics
02:57:27 Rise of Xi Jinping
02:58:22 Credits
-------------------------------------
Thank you to our series historical consultant, Dr. Lily Chang of University College London. Find out more about her research and teaching here: ucl.ac.uk/history/people/academic-staff/dr-lily-chang
-------------------------------------
🎶 Music: Filmstro | Music is for everyone | filmstro.com/royalty-free-music
-------------------------------------
Thank you to chineseposters.net. To see more of their collection, head to chineseposters.net
-------------------------------------
📚 Recommended reading:
“The Penguin History of Modern China: the Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850 to the Present” by Jonathan Fenby - US: bookshop.org/a/99532/9780141988450 / UK: uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9780141988450
“The Cambridge Illustrated History Of China” by Patricia Buckley Ebrey - US: bookshop.org/a/99532/9781009151443 / UK: uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9781009151443
"Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China" by Ezra F. Vogel - US: bookshop.org/a/99532/9780674725867 / UK: uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9780674725867
You can visit our online bookshop to find great books on China and other Epic History topics:
UK site - uk.bookshop.org/shop/epichistorytv
US site - bookshop.org/shop/epichistorytv
As a bookshop.org affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases, while donating 10% of sales to support independent bookshops!
-------------------------------------
Support Epic History TV on Patreon from $1 per video, and get perks like ad-free early access & votes on future topics patreon.com/EpicHistoryTV
Or join the ranks of the Grognards with our YouTube memberships youtube.com/channel/UCvPXiKxH-eH9xq-80vpgmKQ/join
👕 Buy posters, t-shirts, hoodies, mugs & stickers at our merch store:
ehtvmerch.com
#EpicHistoryTV #EpicHistory #History #China #ChineseHistory #RiseOfChina #DengXiaoping #TiananmenSquare
