List of massacres in China
The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in China. The massacres are grouped for different periods.
Imperial China (before 1912)
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yangzhou massacre | 760 | Yangzhou | Thousands of foreign merchants (Arabs and Persians) were killed. | |
Guangzhou massacre | 878–879 | Guangzhou | 120,000 | Foreign merchants (Muslim Arabs, Muslim Persians, Zoroastrian Persians, Christians, and Jews) were killed. |
Sichuan massacre | 1645-1646 | Sichuan, China | 1,000,000 est.[1] | There is no reliable figure, but estimated 1 million out of 3 million Sichuanese were massacred mainly by the army of Zhang Xianzhong.[1] |
Yangzhou massacre | 1645 | Yangzhou | =?< 300,000 (modern estimate)[2] | |
Dzungar genocide | 1755–1757 | Dzungar Khanate | 540,000[3] | 480,000 to 600,000 deaths. 80% of population killed |
Ningpo Massacre | 1800s | Ningbo | 40 | Cantonese pirates supported by the Qing massacred 40 Portuguese pirates. |
Jindandao incident | 1891 | Inner Mongolia | 150,000 - 500,000 | Ethnic tensions led a Chinese secret society, Jindandao, to revolt and kill 150,000 - 500,000 Mongols. |
Port Arthur massacre | 1894, November 21 | Lüshunkou, Liaoning | 4500 | 1000–20,000 |
Kucheng Massacre | 1895, August 1 | Gutian, Fujian | 11 | 11 British Missionaries killed by a fasting folk religious group on August 1, 1895 |
Taiyuan Massacre | 1900, July | Taiyuan, Shanxi | 45 |
Republic of China (since 1912)
1912–1937
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Shanghai massacre of 1927 | 1927, April 12 | Shanghai | 1200 | 300–400 direct deaths. 5000 missing |
Kuomintang Anti-Communist massacre | 1928 | Nationwide in China | 300,000[4] | Mass executions of both alleged and actual communists by the nationalist Kuomintang. |
Communist purge in Jiangxi–Fujian Soviet (Chinese civil war) | 1931-1935 | Most parts of Ganzhou and every part of Tingzhou | 700,000[5] | Occurred in the mountainous parts which are almost entirely only populated by Hakkas of Jiangxi and Fujian. |
Kizil massacre | 1933, June | near Kashgar, Xinjiang | 800 | |
Kashgar massacre | 1934 | Kashgar, Xinjiang | 2,000-8,000 |
1937–1945 (Sino-Japanese War)
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nanjing Massacre | 1937, December 13 | Nanjing | 110,000[6] | 40,000–300,000 deaths by Japanese military.The death toll is disputed, ranging from some Japanese claims of several hundred,[7] to the Chinese claim of a non-combatant death toll of 300,000.[8] Most other nations believe the death toll to be between 150,000–300,000, based on the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal verdict. |
Three Alls Policy | 1940-1942 | North China | 2,700,000 | Scorched earth policy conducted by Japanese military. |
Changjiao massacre | 1943, May 9–12 | Changjiao, Hunan | 30,000 | Conducted by Japanese military. |
1945–1949 (Civil War)
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
February 28 incident | 1947, February 28–May 16 | Taiwan | 5,000 to 28,000 | Beginning of the White Terror campaign. The Chinese Kuomintang-led government imposed martial law until 1987. |
Since 1950
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lieyu massacre | 1987, March 7–8 | Fujian | 19 | Targets Vietnamese boat people. Conducted by the Republic of China Army. |
People's Republic of China (since 1949)
1949–1966
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese Land Reform | 1948–1951 | Nationwide | 1,000,000 – 4,500,000[9] | Launched by Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Liquidation of the landlord class in struggle sessions. |
Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries | 1950–1951 | Nationwide | 712,000 – 2,000,000[10][11] | Launched by Mao Zedong and CPC. |
Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns | 1951–1952 | Nationwide | Exact death toll is unknown. In Shanghai alone, from January 25 to April 1, 1952, at least 876 people committed suicides.[12][13][14] Launched by Mao Zedong and CPC. | |
Sufan movement | 1955–1956 | Nationwide | 53,000[15][16] | Launched by Mao Zedong and CPC. |
Anti-Rightist Campaign | 1957 | Nationwide | Exact death toll is unknown. Official statistics shows that at least 550,000 people were purged and many died.[17][18][19] Launched by Mao Zedong and CPC. | |
1959 Tibetan uprising | 1959 | Tibet | 87,000[20][21][22] | The exact number of deaths has been disputed.[23] |
Socialist Education Movement | 1963–1965 | Nationwide | 77,560[24] | Launched by Mao Zedong. |
1966–1976 (Cultural Revolution)
Cultural Revolution was launched by Mao Zedong in May 1966, with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group. The estimated total death toll ranges from hundreds of thousands to 20 million[25], while massacres took place across the country. Some of the massacres occurred during the Violent Struggles (300,000-500,000 deaths), struggle sessions or political purges such as Cleansing the Class Ranks (0.5-1.5 million deaths). Chinese scholars have estimated that at least 300,000 people were killed in these massacres.[26][27] Massacres in Guangxi Province and Guangdong Province were among the most serious; in Guangxi, the official documents of at least 43 counties report local massacres with 15 of them recording a death toll of over 1000, while in Guangdong at least 28 counties report local massacres with 6 of them recording over 1000 deaths.[28][29] The following table only includes major massacres which have been well documented in literature.
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Red August | August – September 1966 | Beijing | 1,772[30] | Origin of the Red Terror of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, triggering "Daxing Massacre" which killed 325 people in a few days. Statistics from 1985 showed a death toll of over 10,000 during the Red August.[31] |
Guangxi Massacre | 1966–1976 | Guangxi | 100,000 – 150,000[32][33] | Massive cannibalism occurred.[32][33] |
Inner Mongolia incident | 1967–1969 | Inner Mongolia | 16,632 – 100,000[29] | Mostly Mongols. |
Qinghai Massacre | February 1967 | Qinghai | 173[29] | Conducted by People's Liberation Army.[29][34] |
Guangzhou Laogai Fan Incident | August 1967 | Guangzhou,
Guangdong |
187-197[35][36] | Part of the Guangdong Massacre. Caused by the rumor that Laogaifan (prisoners of Laogai) were released. Local citizens began massive killings as self-defense.[35][36] |
Anti-Peng Pai Incident | August 1967 | Shanwei, Guangdong | >160[37][38] | Targeted the relatives of Peng Pai. |
Qingtongxia Incident | August 1967 | Qingtongxia, Ningxia | 101[29][39] | Conducted by People's Liberation Army.[29][39] |
Yangjiang Massacre | 1967–1969 | Yangjiang, Guangdong | 3,573[29][40] | Part of the Guangdong Massacre. Mainly in Yangjiang and Yangchun.[29][40] |
Daoxian massacre | August – October
1967 |
Daoxian, Hunan | 9,093[41] | Took place in more than 10 counties, mainly in Dao County. |
Shaoyang County Massacre | July – September
1968 |
Shaoyang, | 991[29][42] | Influenced by Daoxian Massacre. |
Dan County Massacre | August 1968 | Danzhou, Hainan | >700[29][43] | Part of the Guangdong Massacre. Over 50 thousand people were jailed and thousands were permanently disabled. Conducted by People's Liberation Army and local militias.[29][43] |
Ruijin Massacre | September –October 1968 | Ruijin, Jiangxi | >1000[29][44] | Took place in Ruijin County, Xingguo County, and Yudu County.[29][44] |
Zhao Jianmin Spy Case | 1968–1969 | Yunnan | 17,000[29] | Over 1.3 million people persecuted. |
Shadian Incident | July – August
1975 |
Yunnan | 1,600[45] | Mostly Hui people. Conducted by People's Liberation Army. |
1976–1999
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 | 1989, June 4 | Tiananmen Square, Beijing | 200-10,000[46][47] | Between 200 and 10,000 civilians were killed. The Red Cross states that around 2,600 died and the official Chinese government figure is 241 dead with 7,000 wounded.[48][49] Amnesty International's estimates puts the number of deaths at several hundred to close to 1,000.[50] NATO intelligence reported around 7,000 and the Soviet Union reported around 10,000. As many as 10,000 estimated people were arrested during the protests.[51] |
Thousand Island Lake robbery killings | 1994, March 31 | Zhejiang Province | 32 | 24 Taiwanese tourists, 6 crew members, and 2 mainland Chinese passengers on board the "Hai Rui" sightseeing cruise were robbed and murdered. The incident cast a shadow over cross-strait relations.[52] |
Ghulja Incident | 1997, February 5 | Ghulja, Xinjiang | 9 | Demonstrations in Ghulja were violently put down by police after two days of protesting. Official reports put the death toll at 9.[53] |
Long wins round robbery | 1998 November 15 | Shanwei | 23 | Guangdong Province, Shanwei City, the territory of an armed robbery case, the Hong Kong shipping company "Changsheng" million tons of cargo ship on which 23 Chinese expatriate crew were all killed and their corpses dumped into the sea.[54] |
2000–
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kunming massacre[55] | 2014, March 1 | Kunming | 33 (including four perpetrators) | |
2008 Tibetan unrest | 2008, March 16 | Sichuan, Lhasa, Qinghai, Gansu | 20-150 | In order to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the armed uprising on March 10, 1959, some Tibetan demonstrators protested collectively in Tibetan areas of China and parts of southern Tibet. However, it later evolved into Tibetan attacks on civilians such as Han and Hui civilians and shops, cars,The Lhasa Great Mosque and other civilian facilities. |
2008 Kashgar attack | 2008, August 4 | Kashgar, Xinjiang | 17 | Two men drove an attack on the armed police of the border guard detachment of Kashgar, which was in operation. A total of 17 People's Armed Police were killed and 15 injured. |
July 2009 Ürümqi riots | 2009, July 5 | Ürümqi | 197 | At first it was just a demonstration, which later evolved into an indiscriminate terrorist violent attack by Uighurs against non-Muslim ethnic groups such as the Han. At least more than 1,000 Uighurs participated in the riot on the first day of the incident. A total of 197 people died, most of whom were Hans,[56] with 1,721 others injured[57] , and a large number of vehicles and buildings were destroyed. |
2012 Yecheng attack | 2012, February 28 | Yecheng, Xinjiang | 13 | A group of eight Uyghur men led by religious extremist Abudukeremu Mamuti attacked pedestrians with axes and knives on Happiness Road. 7 terrorists were killed on the spot by the police, while the other one was injured and died after rescue. 1 police officer died and 4 police were injured, while 15 pedestrians died from Mamuti's assault and 14 more civilians were injured.[58] |
June 2013 Shanshan riots | 2013, June 26 | Shanshan, Xinjiang | 35 | On 26 June 2013, 35 people died in the riots, including 22 civilians, two police officers and eleven attackers. |
2013 Tiananmen Square attack | 2013, October 28 | Beijing | 35 | A car crashed in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, as a terrorist suicide attack. 5 people died in the incident; 3 inside the vehicle and 2 civilian nearby. |
2014 Kunming attack | 2014, March 1 | Kunming | 35 | Xinjiang terrorist organization planned a terrorist attack on civilians. A total of 31 civilians [59] were killed and 141 injured.[60] On the afternoon of March 3, the official announced the resolution of the case. A total of 8 people were killed. Of the 5 directly involved in the attack, 4 were killed on the spot and 1 was captured on the spot. |
May 2014 Ürümqi attack | 2014, March 22 | Ürümqi, Xinjiang | 43 | two sport utility vehicles (SUVs) carrying five assailants were driven into a busy street market in Ürümqi, the capital of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Up to a dozen explosives were thrown at shoppers from the windows of the SUVs. The SUVs crashed into shoppers then collided with each other and exploded. 43 people were killed, including 4 of the assailants, and more than 90 wounded. The event was designated as a terrorist attack. |
July 2014 Yarkant attack | 2014, July 28 | Yarkant, Xinjiang | 96 | The case resulted in the death of 37 innocent people (including 35 Han people and 2 Uyghurs), 13 people were injured, 31 vehicles were smashed, and 6 of them were burned. During the disposal process, 59 terrorists were killed, 215 people were arrested, and the "jihad" banner and tools such as swords and axes were seized. |
2015 Aksu attack | 2015, September 18 | Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang | at least 50 | The Aksu coal mine attack was an armed attack on a coal mine in the Aksu region of Xinjiang on September 18, 2015. A group of armed separatists attacked coal miners and security personnel, killing at least 50 people and injuring 50 others. When the local police arrived at the scene, the attacker used a truck full of coal to hit the police vehicle and then fled into the mountains. The majority of the victims of this attack most were Han people. |
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