1911 revolution

In 1911, Sun Yat Sen led a revolution against China's boy Emperor Pu Yi. Sung-Chi Li's father died in the revolution when he was accidentally crushed by crowds cheering Sun Yat Sen. The Kuomintang, Sun's alliance of Nationalists warlords, succeeded in ousting Pu Yi and became the ruling party in China. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)

Chinese soldiers from 1911 were abducted by the War Lords and the renegade Time Lord the War Chief and made to take part in the War Games. Due to the interference of the Second Doctor, they were ultimately sent back home by the Time Lords. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the War Games)

After the revolution, the fledgling Kuomintang government was challenged by a rising Communist movement filtering into China from the Soviet Union to the north. The resulting disorder was used by Japan as justification for invading China, which directly led to the outbreak of World War II on the Asian continent in 1937.

Almost 20 years later, Pu Yi was enthroned as the ruler of Manchukuo following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and subsequent establishment of the puppet state. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)