The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in China. The massacres are grouped for different time periods.
This includes British Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as Portuguese Macau and the Macau Special Administrative Region.
Imperial China (before 1912) NameDate (Dynasty)LocationDeathsNotesChangping massacre260 BCGaoping, Shanxi450,000450,000 Zhao soldiers were killed during and after the battle; all survivors were killed (buried alive) with the exceptions of 240 of the youngest soldiers who were releasedXin'an massacre207 BCXin'an (present-day Yima, Henan)200,000200,000 troops from Zhang Han's army surrendered and were buried aliveMassacre of the Eunuchs22 September 189Luoyang2,000+Two thousand eunuchs in the palace are slaughtered in a violent purge in Luoyang, the capital of Han.Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province193Jiangsu100,000 civiliansCao Cao's army killed over 100,000 civilians, including both men and womenGuandu massacre200Wuchao (in present-day Yanjin County, Henan)70.000 - 80.000After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao buried all the surrendered soldiers alive.Yongjia disaster13–14 July 311 (Jin)Luoyang30,000, exaggerated and many Sogdian and Indian foreigner diaspora residing in Luoyang also died in the disaster.The capital was sacked in the disaster, an landmark incident in the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians. The deaths of 30,000 was based on the Book of Jin compiled in 648. All Sogdians and Indians living in Luoyang were killed during the disaster.Jie genocide in the Ran Wei–Later Zhao War350–352 (Later Zhao and Ran Wei)Northern ChinaMore than 200,000 Jie people and other "barbarians"Ran Min massacred over 200,000 Jie people and other "barbarians". Non-Han in general were targeted by Ran Min's forces.Canhebei massacre8 December 395Canhe Slope (in modern Liangcheng)40,000 - 50,000Between 40,000 and 50,000 Yan soldiers who later surrendered were all buried, presumably still alive.Yangzhou merchants massacre760 (Tang)YangzhouthousandsMerchants from the Abbasid Caliphate such as Arabs, Persians and other foreigners were killed. It coincided with the An Lushan Rebellion.Fanyang massacre761 (Tang)Fanyang (Jicheng (Beijing))?Many foreign Sogdians and other Central Asians (known as "Hu" barbarians) were massacred by Gao Juren, a general of Goguryeo origin.Massacre of Uyghur Manichaeans and Huichang persecution of Buddhism13 February 843–845Shahu in 10,000 Uyghurs were killed at Shahu by Tang armies, more Manichaean priests massacred after Shahu and more Uyghurs were killed by the Yenisei KyrgyzTang dynasty general Shi Xiong slaughtered 10,000 Uyghur Manichaeans at Shahu on 13 February 843 and then the Tang dynasty launched the Huichang persecution of Buddhism where Manichaean priests were slaughtered. Another Tang dynasty general Liu Mian massacred the remaining Uyghur troops. The Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate helped the Tang dynasty massacre Uyghurs on the Mongolia steppe.Guangzhou merchants massacre878–879 (Tang)GuangzhouTens of thousands. (modern estimate) 120–200,000 (primary source)Merchants from the Abbasid Caliphate such as Muslim Arabs, Persians, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians were killed.Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty1211–1234 (Song)Northern ChinaSeveral million Han and Jurchen peopleGenghis Khan and his sons waged war against the Jurchens in the Jin dynasty and after siege of Kaifeng (1232) they massacred Jurchens of the imperial family, Wanyan.Mongol conquest of Western Xia1225–1227now Ningxia and GansuSeveral million Tangut peopleGenghis Khan ordered genocidal extermination of the Tangut people in Western Xia after they betrayed him and rebelled.First Sichuan massacre1221–1264 (Song)Sichuan2 million est.Part of Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty.Ispah Quanzhou massacres1357–1366 (Yuan)Quanzhou?Yuan dynasty loyalists led by Chen Youding massacred Hui Semu Muslims who rebelled against Yuan rule.Gure (古哷 Gǔlè) massacre1583 (Ming) Gure (古哷 Gǔlè)?The Jianzhou Jurchens Giocangga and his son Taksi are massacred by Nikan Wailan. Taksi's son Nurhaci blames the Jianzhou Jurchen's Ming rulers for the massacre and starts building up his followers in preparation for revolt against the Ming.Second Sichuan massacre1645–1646 (Qing)Sichuan1 million est.There is no reliable figure, but estimated 1 million out of 3 million Sichuanese were massacred mainly by the army of Zhang Xianzhong.Yangzhou massacre1645 (Qing)Yangzhou300,000 (modern estimate)Struve (1993) (note at p. 269), following a 1964 article by Zhang Defang, notes that the entire city's population at the time was not likely to be more than 300,000, and that of the entire Yangzhou Prefecture, 800,000.The Yangzhou massacre in May, 1645 in Yangzhou, Qing dynasty China, refers to the mass killings of innocent civilians by Manchu and defected Han Chinese soldiers, commanded by the Manchu general Dodo. Defected southern Han Chinese made up the majority in addition to the Eight Banner Han forces. The massacre is described in a contemporary account, A Record of Ten Days in Yangzhou, by Wang Xiuchu which is the account that exaggerated the figure to 800,000.Three massacres in Jiading1645 (Qing)Jiading District100,000People living in Jiading due to refusal to switch to the queue hairstyle were slaughtered by Han defectors in the Green Standard army led by Li ChengdongJinhua massacre1646 (Qing)Jinhua60,000People living in Jiading due to refusal to switch to the queue hairstyle were slaughtered by Han defectors in the Green Standard army led by Li ChengdongMassacre of Muslims loyal to the Ming in Gansu1649 (Qing)Gansu100,000 Muslims loyal to the Ming100,000 Muslims loyal to the Ming dynasty were massacred by Qing Eight banner armies.Sino-Russian border conflicts1650–1653 (Qing)DauriyaSeveral thousand Daur peopleRussian explorer Yerofey Khabarov leads Russian Cossacks to massacre Daur men and take Daur girls and women as concubines before being fought off by the Qing.massacre of Dutch prisoners1661–1662 (Southern Ming)Taiwan?Koxinga ordered the mass execution of Dutch male prisoners on TaiwanChahar Mongol rebellion1675 (Qing)Inner MongoliaSeveral thousand Chahar MongolsManchus massacred Chahar Mongol rebels led by Abunai and his son Borni. Abunei was Ejei Khan's brother. Manchus then massacred all male members of Abunai and Borni's particular branch of the Borjigin family after killing them.Tibetan civil war of 1727–17281727–1728 (Qing)Tibet?Tibetan rebels were massacred by ManchusLhasa riot of 17501750 (Qing)Tibet?Tibetan rebels massacred Manchu officials and soldiers and Manchus crushed the uprising and executed the Tibetan rebels by torture.Dzungar genocide1755–1757 (Qing)Dzungar Khanate480,000Geometric mean of 480,000 and 600,000 rounded up to nearest ten thousand.The Qing Dynasty's army slaughtered 80% of the Oirat Mongols.Uqturpan massacre1765 (Qing)Uqturpan CountySeveral thousand UyghursManchu army slaughtered several thousand Uyghurs.Jahriyya revolt1781 (Qing)Qinghai and GansuSeveral thousand MuslimsManchu army slaughtered several thousand Muslims.Nerbudda incident 10 August 1842Taiwan Prefecture197 British and Indian prisoners of warOn 10 August 1842, 187 British and Indian prisoners of war captured by Chinese forces from the troopship Nerbudda and brig Ann were summarily executed on the orders of the Daoguang Emperor in retaliation for the Chinese defeat at the Battle of Ningpo. Taiping massacres of ManchusDecember 1850 – August 1864 (Qing)mid and lower Yangtze valleytens of thousands of ManchusTaiping rebels slaughtered Manchus and wiped them out entirely in many garrisons in the Yangtze region.Ningpo massacre26 June 1857Ningbo40 Portuguese piratesCantonese pirates led by Ah Pak killed 40 Portuguese pirates.Dungan Revolt1862–1873 (Qing)Provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu?Due to a combination of massacres, famine, war/famine migration and corpse-transmitted plague, Gansu lost 74.5% (14.55 million) of its population while Shaanxi lost 44.6% (6.2 million) of its population. Not all "loss" were massacres. Besides the dead, some Hui from Shaanxi permanently moved to Gansu while other Hui from both Shaanxi and Gansu permanently left China and moved to Russian controlled Central Asia.Suzhou massacreDecember 1863Suzhou, Jiangsu20,000-40,000Massacre of POWs by Huai Army led by Li HongzhangJindandao incident1891 (Qing)Inner Mongolia150,000 – 500,000Hundreds of thousands of Mongols of Inner Mongolia were slaughtered in the Jindandao incidentPort Arthur massacre1894, 21 November (Qing)Lüshunkou, Liaoning2600–20,0002,600 civilians were slaughtered within the city, while those slaughtered in the hills surrounding the city had no reliable count. In November 1948, the Chinese Communist Party built a cemetery and marked the total deaths to be 20,000, which include soldiers killed in action and fleeing soldiers disguised as civilians. The 20,000 figure became the orthodox figure in communist sources.Kucheng massacreAugust 1, 1895Gutian (at that time known in the west as Kucheng), Fujian11A Fasting folk religious group attacked British missionaries who were then taking summer holidays at Gutian Huashan, killing eleven people and destroying two houses.Second Dungan Revolt1895–1896 (Qing)Provinces of Qinghai and Gansu100,000Second Dungan Revolt (Chinese: 乙未河湟事变) was a rebellion of various Chinese Muslim ethnic groups in Qinghai and Gansu against the Qing dynasty, that originated because of a violent dispute between two Sufi orders of the same sect. The Wahhabi-inspired Yihewani organization then joined in and encouraged the revolt, which was crushed by loyalist Muslims.
In Xunhua, Qinghai, masses of Hui, Dongxiang, Bao'an, and Salars were incited to revolt against the Qing by the Multicoloured Mosque leader Ma Yonglin. Soldiers were ordered to destroy the rebels by Brigadier General Tang Yanhe. Ma Dahan arranged a deal with the fellow Dongxiang Ma Wanfu when rebelling against the Qing dynasty. In Hezhou, Didao, and Xunhua they directed their adherents to join the rebellion. Massacres of Manchus in Beijing during the Boxer rebellion and Blagoveshchensk massacre and Sixty-Four Villages East of the River massacre1900 (Qing)Beijing, Aigun, BlagoveshchenskTens of thousands of Manchus and Daur peopleBoxer rebels massacre foreigners, then the foreign Eight Nation Alliance massacres Manchus in Beijing and a separate all Russian force massacres Manchus in Aigun and massacres Manchus and Daur people in Blagoveshchensk during the Russian invasion of ManchuriaShaanxi Uprising1911–1912 (Qing)Wuhan in Hubei, Zhenjiang in Jiangsu, Taiyuan in Shanxi and Xi'an in ShaanxiTens of thousands of ManchusHui and Han Chinese revolutionaries massacred Manchus in Zhenjiang, Taiyuan, Xi'an, Wuhan and many other places across China, with the death toll of Manchus at Xi'an in the tens of thousands.
Republic of China (since 1912)
1912–1937