This is a timeline of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912).
Background 16th century 1580s Year Date Event 1583 Nurhaci becomes leader of the Jianzhou Left Branch 1587 Nurhaci founds Fe Ala
1590s Year Date Event 1592 Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98): Nurhaci offers to fight the Japanese but is refused; Ming reacts with alarm to the size and quality of Nurhaci's troops 1593 Nurhaci defeats the Hulun Confederation and Khorchin Mongols
17th century 1600s Year Date Event 1600 Nurhaci creates the Banner Army 1601 Nurhaci subjugates the Hada 1603 Nurhaci and Ming generals agree to delineate the boundary between their territories Nurhaci moves his capital to Hetu Ala due to water problems at Fe Ala 1605 Gwanghaegun of Joseon sends an expedition north of the Tumen River to destroy the Jurchen Holjaon community 1607 Nurhaci subjugates the Hoifa
1610s Year Date Event 1611 Nurhaci subjugates the Wild Jurchens 1613 Nurhaci incorporates the Ula into his confederation 1615 Nurhaci increases the number of banners from four to eight Nurhaci sends his last tributary emissary to Beijing 1616 Nurhaci declares the Later Jin, also known as the Amaga Aisin Gurun 1618 9 May Battle of Fushun: Later Jin seizes Fushun summer Battle of Qinghe: Later Jin takes Qinghe 1619 18 April Battle of Sarhū: Ming forces are annihilated by Later Jin 26 July Battle of Kaiyuan: Later Jin takes Kaiyuan 3 September Battle of Tieling: Later Jin takes Tieling September Battle of Xicheng: Later Jin annexes the Yihe Jurchens Chahar-Jurchen War: Ligdan Khan attacks Guangning, a horse trading town under the protection of Nurhaci, but is defeated
1620s Year Date Event 1621 4 May Battle of Shen-Liao: Later Jin seizes Shenyang December Battle of Fort Zhenjiang: Ming raids into Later Jin are repulsed 1622 11 March Battle of Guangning: Later Jin seizes Guangning 1625 Chahar-Jurchen War: Ligdan Khan's attack is turned back by a combined Khorchin Jurchen force 1626 10 February Battle of Ningyuan: A Later Jin attack on Ningyuan is repulsed and Nurhaci is wounded 30 September Nurhaci succumbs to his wounds and dies 1627 January - March Later Jin invasion of Joseon: Hong Taiji is elected khan and subjugates Joseon spring Battle of Ning-Jin: Later Jin forces under Hong Taiji attack Jinzhou but are repelled 1629 winter Jisi Incident: Later Jin forces break through the Great Wall and loot the region around Beijing
1630s Year Date Event 1630 summer Jisi Incident: Later Jin forces retreat 1631 21 November Battle of Dalinghe: Later Jin seizes Dalinghe 1633 April Wuqiao Mutiny: Shandong rebels defect to Later Jin summer Siege of Lüshun: Later Jin seizes Lüshun 1634 Chahar-Jurchen War: Ligdan Khan of the Chahar Mongols is overthrown and displaced by Hong Taiji 1635 Hong Taiji unites all Jurchen tribes under the name of Manchu; so ends the Jurchens Hong Taiji attacks the Hurha
17th century 1630s Year Date Event 1636 April Hong Taiji proclaims the Qing dynasty 9 December Qing invasion of Joseon: Hong Taiji invades Joseon 1637 30 January Qing invasion of Joseon: Joseon is defeated and becomes a Qing tributary 1638 Qing dynasty conquers Shandong 1639 Qing dynasty attacks the Daur and Solon people
1640s Year Date Event 1640 May Qing dynasty captures the Evenk fortresses of Duochen, Asajin, Yakesa, and Duojin 1642 8 April Battle of Song-Jin: Qing dynasty takes Jinzhou 1643 Northeastern natives submit to the Qing dynasty 1644 27 May Battle of Shanhai Pass: Wu Sangui lets the Qing forces through the Great Wall and their forces defeat Li Zicheng in battle, after which Li retreats to Beijing 5 June Qing dynasty takes Beijing and Li Zicheng flees 8 November Shunzhi Emperor is enthroned in the Forbidden City 1645 January Qing forces capture Luoyang 20 May Qing forces capture Yangzhou 16 June Qing forces capture Nanjing and the Hongguang Emperor 6 July Qing forces capture Hangzhou 21 July All nonclerical adult male citizens are ordered to adopt the Manchu queue to show their allegiance to the Qing dynasty 1646 February Ming forces are defeated in Jiangnan 10 July Qing forces defeat the Ming army at Tonglu 30 September Qing forces capture Yanping 6 October The Longwu Emperor is killed by Qing forces 17 October Qing forces take Fuzhou 1647 2 January Zhang Xianzhong is killed by Qing forces but his army occupies Chongqing and then occupies Sichuan under the leadership of Sun Kewang 20 January Qing forces capture Guangzhou and the Shaowu Emperor 5 March Qing forces conquer Guangdong, half of Guangxi, and Hainan March Qing forces take Changsha spring Qing forces raid Anping 23 September Qing forces take Wugang 1648 20 February Ming loyalists rebel at Nanchang and Nanning 14 April Qing forces fail to take Guilin 1649 15 January Ming loyalists rebel at Datong 1 March Qing forces take Nanchang 4 October Ming loyalists at Datong are defeated summer Qing forces conquer southern Huguang 24 November Qing forces slaughter the population of Guangzhou 27 November Qing forces capture Guilin 2 December Qing forces capture Zhaoqing and the Yongli Emperor flees
1650s Year Date Event 1651 15 October Qing forces capture Zhoushan and Zhu Yihai flees 1652 24 March Qing attack on Achansk is defeated 7 August Rebel general Li Dingguo takes Guilin winter Sun Kewang's army is routed by Qing forces 1654 July Battle of Hutong: Korean-Manchu army defeats a force of Russians Qing forces attack the Daur people 1655 March–April Qing forces fail to take Komar Li Dingguo's army is routed by Qing forces 1656 9 May Qing forces try to invade Kinmen Island (Quemoy) but their fleet is destroyed in a storm Qing forces attack the Daur people 1657 February Ming forces defeat a Qing army near the Changjiang River Delta December Sun Kewang surrenders to the Qing dynasty 1658 10 June Battle of Hutong (1658): Qing-Joseon forces defeat a Russian fleet on the Songhua River June Zheng Chenggong occupies Wenzhou 1659 7 January Qing forces advance into Yunnan and the Yongli Emperor flees to Toungoo dynasty 10 March Qing forces capture Yongchang and defeat Li Dingguo's army, securing Yunnan 10 August Zheng Chenggong takes Zhenjiang 24 August Zheng Chenggong lays siege to Nanjing 9 September Zheng Chenggong's army is annihilated and he retreats to Xiamen
1660s Year Date Event 1660 February Qing forces launch an attack on Kinmen Island (Quemoy) and Xiamen but fail Upkeep for the Eight Banners exceeds the entire Qing dynasty's regular income 1662 20 January Qing forces advance towards Inwa and force the return of the Yongli Emperor May The Yongli Emperor is executed in Yunnan; so ends the Southern Ming resistance on the mainland 1664 The Qing dynasty conquers Fujian and Zheng Jing retreats to Taiwan
1670s Year Date Event 1674 Poverty in the Eight Banners is noted to be caused by excessive and extravagant spending
1680s Year Date Event 1683 July Battle of Penghu: Qing dynasty defeats the Kingdom of Tungning and conquers the island of Taiwan, beginning the period of Taiwan under Qing rule 1684 The Han Chinese banners, "Hanjun", decline to uselessness 1685 May–July Siege of Albazin: Qing forces take Albazin 1686 July–October Siege of Albazin: The Russians return to Albazin but the Qing forces lay siege to it again until the Russians are forced to leave 1689 27 August Treaty of Nerchinsk: The Tsardom of Russia abandons the Amur River region to the Qing in return for trading privileges
1690s Year Date Event 1690 3 September Battle of Ulan Butung: Galdan Boshugtu Khan leads 20,000 troops into battle with a Qing army 300 km north of Beijing, ending with Dzungar withdrawal 1691 The Khalkha Mongols submit to the Qing dynasty 1696 Battle of Jao Modo: The Qing dynasty invades Mongolia with 100,000 troops in three columns. Galdan Boshugtu Khan suffers defeat against the Western Route Army but manages to escape. The Qing dynasty takes all of Mongolia from the Dzungar Khanate 1698 Dzungar–Qing Wars: Qing dynasty occupies Hami
18th century 1720s Year Date Event 1720 Chinese expedition to Tibet (1720): The Qing dynasty expels the Dzungars from Tibet, beginning the period of Tibet under Qing rule Dzungar–Qing Wars: Amin Khoja leads a rebellion in Turpan against the Dzungar Khanate and defects to the Qing dynasty Zhu Yigui rebels in Taiwan and is defeated 1723 Plains aborigines living in Dajiaxi village along the central coastal plain of Taiwan rebel; the aborigines are defeated but Han Chinese settlers continue to rebel The government starts investing in the Eight Banners' livelihoods to reduce their reliance on state subsidies 1727 The government orders the comprehensive collection of genealogical tables for the Eight Banners 1728 25 June Treaty of Kyakhta (1727): The Mongolian border of the Qing dynasty and Empire of Russia is delineated
1730s Year Date Event 1732 Dzungar–Qing Wars: The Dzungars attack Amin Khoja, who takes his people to settle in Guazhou Han Chinese rebels in Taiwan are defeated 1735 Miao Rebellion: Qing forces defeat and massacre 28,900 Miao and Kam people in Rongjiang Military upkeep reaches 32 million taels, a bit more than half of the empire's budget 1737 Dzungar–Qing Wars: Abuse by the Dzungars cause residents of the Tarim Basin to flee to the Qing dynasty
1740s Year Date Event 1742 Bannermen of Chinese origin who joined after 1644 are allowed to leave the banner system
1750s Year Date Event 1754 Dzungar–Qing Wars: The Dörbet and Amursana defect to the Qing dynasty State investment programs for the Eight Banners end Chinese bannermen at the Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Jingkou garrisons are "let go" and "excused" from their duties 1755 Dzungar–Qing Wars: The Qing dynasty sends 50,000 troops in two columns against the Dzungars, meeting little resistance, and complete the destruction of the khanate in just 100 days, however Amursana revolts in the aftermath The Dzungar genocide continues through 1758. 1756 All secondary status households in the Eight Banners are ordered to register as civilians 1757 Dzungar–Qing Wars: Amursana flees the Qing dynasty, dying in Tobolsk Chinese bannermen in Beijing who are too old, maimed, or incompetent are let go
1760s Year Date Event 1760 The government spends 4 million taels buying back land from Han owners for the Eight Banners 1761 Chinese bannermen at Suiyuan are replaced by Mongols and Manchus 1762 All Chinese bannermen are given the choice of leaving the banner system 1763 Chinese bannermen at Liangzhou and Zhuanglang are let go
1770s Year Date Event 1779 Chinese bannermen at Xi'an are let go
1780s Year Date Event 1786 Lin Shuangwen rebellion: Lin Shuangwen rebels in Taiwan 1788 Lin Shuangwen rebellion: Lin Shuangwen is defeated
19th century 1820s Year Date Event 1820 Poverty becomes endemic in the Eight Banners
1840s Year Date Event 1841 Ding Gongchen builds China's first steam engine184229 AugustThe Treaty of Nanking is signed between Britain and China, to come into effect on 26 June 1843.
1850s Year Date Event 1850 December Taiping Rebellion: Uprising of the rebel Taiping Heavenly Kingdom against the Qing dynasty.
1860s Year Date Event 1863 Restrictions on banner occupations are officially lifted to no effect
1870s Year Date Event 1871 December Mudan incident: A Ryukyuan tributary ship crashes off the southern coast of Taiwan 1872 July Mudan incident: The survivors of the Ryukyuan shipwreck who survive a massacre by Taiwanese indigenous peoples find shelter among Han Chinese locals and are shipped home from mainland China 1874 Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874): Japanese forces invade aboriginal territory in southern Taiwan using the Mudan incident as pretext and retreat after forcing the Qing to pay an indemnity
1890s