Map

The borders of China shrank during the transition period from the Qing dynasty into the borders of the Republic of China, which would later become the People’s Republic of China and what are now China’s modern day borders. During the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, which is why, as you can see from the map above, the only change was that Mongolia was no longer part of China. One other political geography change was the status of the island of Taiwan. In 1895, the island of Taiwan was claimed by Japan from the Qing dynasty. Later, in 1945, the Republic of China regained control from Japan as a result of Japan’s defeat in World War II. When the Republic of China of lost mainland China to the communist party, they fled to Taiwan. Since the Communist party came to power in China, the Republic of China has been commonly referred to as Taiwan, and considers itself as its own country however the People’s Republic of China denies is status as a sovereign state. The green shaded area is the China during the later parts of the Qing dynasty, while the red lines show the boundaries of modern China. The capital of the Qing dynasty was Beijing, and it remained the capital during the transition. The borders of China extend as far west as the Tien Shan mountain range, and as far north as the Xiao Hinggan mountain range. Mao Zedong, the creator of the Cultural Revolution and the leader at the time, was born in Shaoshan, South-Southwest of the capital city of Beijing, in 1883. He died in the capital of Beijing in 1976.