วันศุกร์ที่ 1 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2550
SOCIETY
Population:1982 census reported total population of 1,008,180,738; official estimate at end of 1986 nearly 1.1 billion with 1.4 percent annual rate of increase. Urban population officially estimated at 382 million by end of 1985, or 37 percent of total. About 94 percent of population lives on approximately 36 percent of land.
Education:In 1985, about 96 percent of primary-school-age children attended school as compared with about 20 percent before 1949. About 136 million students enrolled in more than 832,000 primary schools. Secondary-level middle schools divided into junior and senior stages; majority of schools at lower level. About 48.6 million students attended some 104,800 secondary-level institutions. Technical education emphasized. Intense competition for admission to more than 1,000 colleges and universities; about 1.7 million students in various higher educational institutions. Beijing and Qinghua universities and more than 100 other key universities most sought after by college entrants.
Ethnic Minorities: As of 1987 China recognized 55 minority nationalities, numbering about 70 million persons, concentrated in northwest and southwest. Not largest, but most important politically, Tibetans (Zang nationality) and various Turkic-speaking groups constituted majorities in Xizang (Tibet) and Xinjiang-Uygur autonomous regions, respectively.
Health:Level of health and medical care improving. System of national, provincial-level, and local facilities in urban and rural areas plus network of industrial and state-enterprise hospitals. Traditional and Western medicine both practiced. Average life expectancy of sixty-nine years in 1985. Many once-widespread epidemic diseases now under control or eradicated.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0006)
Education:In 1985, about 96 percent of primary-school-age children attended school as compared with about 20 percent before 1949. About 136 million students enrolled in more than 832,000 primary schools. Secondary-level middle schools divided into junior and senior stages; majority of schools at lower level. About 48.6 million students attended some 104,800 secondary-level institutions. Technical education emphasized. Intense competition for admission to more than 1,000 colleges and universities; about 1.7 million students in various higher educational institutions. Beijing and Qinghua universities and more than 100 other key universities most sought after by college entrants.
Ethnic Minorities: As of 1987 China recognized 55 minority nationalities, numbering about 70 million persons, concentrated in northwest and southwest. Not largest, but most important politically, Tibetans (Zang nationality) and various Turkic-speaking groups constituted majorities in Xizang (Tibet) and Xinjiang-Uygur autonomous regions, respectively.
Health:Level of health and medical care improving. System of national, provincial-level, and local facilities in urban and rural areas plus network of industrial and state-enterprise hospitals. Traditional and Western medicine both practiced. Average life expectancy of sixty-nine years in 1985. Many once-widespread epidemic diseases now under control or eradicated.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0006)
GEOGRAPHY
Size:
Area about 9.6 million square kilometers; east to west distance about 5,000 kilometers, from the Heilong Jiang (Amur River) to Pamir Mountains in Central Asia; north to south distance approximately 4,050 kilometers, from Heilongjiang Province to Hainan Island in south, and another 1,450 kilometers further south to Zengmu Shoal, territorial claim off north coast of Malaysia.
Topography:
Main topographic features include Qing-Zang (Qinghai-Tibet) Plateau 4,000 meters above sea level and Kunlun, Qin Ling, and Greater Hinggan ranges. Longest of country's numerous rivers, Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) and Huang He (Yellow River), extend for some 6,300 and 5,400 kilometers, respectively.
Climate:
Most of country in temperate belt. Complex climatic patterns ranging from cold-temperate north to tropical south. Precipitation varies regionally; temperatures range from minus 30°C in north in January to 28°C in south in July. Alternating wet monsoon in summer, dry monsoon in winter.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0005)
Area about 9.6 million square kilometers; east to west distance about 5,000 kilometers, from the Heilong Jiang (Amur River) to Pamir Mountains in Central Asia; north to south distance approximately 4,050 kilometers, from Heilongjiang Province to Hainan Island in south, and another 1,450 kilometers further south to Zengmu Shoal, territorial claim off north coast of Malaysia.
Topography:
Main topographic features include Qing-Zang (Qinghai-Tibet) Plateau 4,000 meters above sea level and Kunlun, Qin Ling, and Greater Hinggan ranges. Longest of country's numerous rivers, Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) and Huang He (Yellow River), extend for some 6,300 and 5,400 kilometers, respectively.
Climate:
Most of country in temperate belt. Complex climatic patterns ranging from cold-temperate north to tropical south. Precipitation varies regionally; temperatures range from minus 30°C in north in January to 28°C in south in July. Alternating wet monsoon in summer, dry monsoon in winter.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0005)
History
Ancient China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent writing independently, the others being Mesopotamia, Ancient India (Indus Valley Civilization), Maya Civilization, Ancient Greece (Minoan Civilization), and Ancient Egypt.
Prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest humans in China date to 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago.[2][3] A cave in Zhoukoudian (near present-day Beijing) has fossils dated at somewhere between 300,000 to 550,000 years.
The earliest evidence of a fully modern human in China comes from Liujiang County, Guangxi, where a cranium has been found and dated to approximately 67,000 years ago. Although much controversy persists over the dating of the Liujiang remains,[4][5] a partial skeleton from Minatogawa in Okinawa, Japan has been dated to 18,250 ± 650 to 16,600 ± 300 years ago, so modern humans must have reached China before that time.
Dynastic rule
History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2070–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1122–256 BCE
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE–220 CE
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280 CE
Wu, Shu & Wei
Jin Dynasty 265–420 CE
Western Jin
Eastern Jin 16 Kingdoms
304–439 CE
Southern & Northern Dynasties 420–589 CE
Sui Dynasty 581–619 CE
Tang Dynasty 618–907 CE
5 Dynasties &
10 Kingdoms
907–960 CE Liao Dynasty
907–1125 CE
Song Dynasty
960–1279 CE
Northern Song W. Xia Dyn.
Southern Song Jin Dyn.
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368 CE
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644 CE
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911 CE
MODERN
Republic of China 1911–present
People's Republic
of China 1949–present Republic of China
(on Taiwan)
Timeline of Chinese history
Dynasties in Chinese history
Military history of China
Naval history of China
History of Chinese art
History of science and technology in China
History of Education in China
This box: view • talk • edit
Main articles: Dynasties in Chinese history and Chinese sovereign
Chinese tradition names the first dynasty Xia, but it was considered mythical until scientific excavations found early bronze-age sites at Erlitou in Henan Province.[6] Archaeologists have since uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs in locations cited as Xia's in ancient historical texts, but it is impossible to verify that these remains are of the Xia without written records from the period.
Life-size Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty, ca. 3rd century BCE.The second dynasty, the loosely feudal Shang, definitely settled along the Yellow River in eastern China from the 18th to the 12th century BCE. They were invaded from the west by the Zhou, who ruled from the 12th to the 5th century BCE. The centralized authority of the Zhou was slowly eroded by warlords. Many strong, independent states continually warring with each other in the Spring and Autumn period, only occasionally deferring to the Zhou king.
The first unified Chinese state was established by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE, when the office of the Emperor was set up and the Chinese language was forcibly standardized. This state did not last long, as its legalist policies soon led to widespread rebellion.
The subsequent Han Dynasty ruled China between 206 BCE and 220 CE, and created a lasting Han cultural identity among its populace that would last to the present day. The Han Dynasty expanded China's territory considerably with military campaigns reaching Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia and Central Asia, and also helped establish the Silk Road in Central Asia.
After Han's collapse, another period of disunion followed, including the highly chivalric period of the Three Kingdoms. Independent Chinese states of this period also opened diplomatic relations with Japan, introducing the Chinese writing system there. In 580 CE, China was reunited under the Sui. However, the Sui Dynasty was short-lived after a failure in the Goguryeo-Sui Wars (598-614) weakened it.
Northern Song era Jun Ware planter, early 12th century.Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese technology and culture reached its zenith. The Song dynasty was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy. Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size. This growth came about through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China, along with the production of abundant food surpluses. Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people. The Song Dynasty was a culturally rich period in China for the arts, philosophy, and social life. Landscape art and portrait paintings were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity since the Tang Dynasty, and social elites gathered to view art, share their own, and make trades of precious artworks. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Chu Hsi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused Buddhist ideals, and emphasis on new organization of classic texts that brought about the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism.
In 1271, Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, with the last remnant of the Song Dynasty falling to the Yuan in 1279. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty thinkers such as Wang Yangming would further critique and expand Neo-Confucianism with ideas of individualism and innate morality that would have tremendous impact on later Japanese thought. Chosun Korea also became a nominal vassal state of Ming China and adopted much of its Neo-Confucian bureaucratic structure. China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing during the early Ming Dynasty. The Ming fell to the Manchus in 1644, who then established the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty, which lasted until 1912, was the last dynasty in China. In the 19th century the Qing Dynasty adopted a defensive posture towards European imperialism, even though it engaged in imperialistic expansion into Central Asia itself. At this time China awoke to the significance of the rest of the world, in particular the West. As China opened up to foreign trade and missionary activity, opium produced by British India was forced onto Qing China. Two Opium Wars with Britain weakened the Emperor's control.
One result was the Taiping Civil War which lasted from 1851 to 1862. It was led by Hong Xiuquan, who was partly influenced by a misinterpretation of Christianity. Hong believed himself to be the son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. Although the Qing forces were eventually victorious, the civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history, costing at least twenty million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the First World War), with some estimates up to two-hundred million. Muslims and aboriginal populations would revolt in bloody revolts, most notably in the Dungan revolt (1862-1877) and the Panthay Rebellion (1856-1873) in Yunnan. Though largely unknown, these revolts were exceptionally bloody, killing a million people in the Panthay Rebellion[7][8], several million in the Dungan revolt[8] and five million in the suppression of Miao people in Guizhou.[8] The flow of British opium led to more decline.
While China was torn by continuous war, Meiji Japan succeeded in rapidly modernizing its military with its sights on Korea and Manchuria. Maneuvered by Japan, Korea declared independence from Qing China's suzerainty in 1894, leading to the First Sino-Japanese War, which resulted in China's humiliating secession of both Korea and Taiwan to Japan. Following these series of defeats, a reform plan for Qing China to become a modern Meiji-style constitutional monarchy was drafted by the Emperor Guangxu in 1898, but was opposed and stopped by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who placed Emperor Guangxu under house arrest in a coup d'état. Further destruction followed the ill-fated 1900 Boxer Rebellion against westerners in Beijing. By the early 20th century, mass civil disorder had begun, and calls for reform and revolution were heard across the country. The 38 year old Emperor Guangxu died under house arrest on November 14, 1908, suspiciously just a day before Cixi. With the throne empty, he was succeeded by Cixi's handpicked heir, his two year old nephew Puyi, who became the Xuantong Emperor, the last Chinese emperor. Guangxu's consort, who became the Empress Dowager Longyu, signed the abdication decree as regent in 1912, ending two thousand years of imperial rule in China. She died, childless, in 1913.
Republic of China (1912-1949)
At the 1924 inauguration of the Whampoa Military Academy, Sun Yat-sen delivered a speech that would later become the lyrics of the ROC's national Anthem.Main article: History of the Republic of China
See also: History of Taiwan
On January 1, 1912, the Republic of China was established, heralding the end of the Qing Dynasty. Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party), was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who had defected to the revolutionary cause, soon usurped the presidency by forcing Sun to step aside. Yuan then attempted to have himself emperor of a new dynasty, but died of natural causes before securing power over all of the Chinese empire.
After Yuan Shikai's death, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally-recognized, but virtually powerless, national government seated in Beijing. Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to Nanjing (Nanking) and implementing "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's program for transforming China into a modern, democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang.
The Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945 (part of World War II) forced an uneasy alliance between the Nationalists and the Communists as well as around 10 million Chinese civilian deaths. With the surrender of Japan in 1945, China emerged victorious but financially drained. The continued distrust between the Nationalists and the Communists led to the resumption of the Chinese Civil War. In 1947, constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing Civil War many provisions of the ROC constitution were never implemented on the mainland.
The People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (1949-Present)
Main article: History of the People's Republic of China
See also: History of Hong Kong, History of Macau, and History of Taiwan
After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong, controlled most of Mainland China. On October 1, 1949, they established the People's Republic of China, laying claim as the successor state of the ROC. The central government of the ROC was forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan. Major armed hostilities ceased in 1950 but both sides are technically still at war.
Beginning in the late 1970s, the Republic of China began the implementation of full, multi-party, representative democracy in the territories still under its control (Taiwan Province, Taipei, Kaohsiung and some offshore islands of Fujian province). Today, the ROC has active political participation by all sectors of society. The main cleavage in ROC politics is the issue of eventual unification with China vs. formal independence.
Post-1978 reforms on the mainland have led to some relaxation of control over many areas of society. However, the Chinese government still has absolute control over politics, and it continually seeks to eradicate threats to the stability of the country. Examples include the fight against terrorism, jailing of political opponents and journalists, custody regulation of the press, regulation of religion, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989, the student protests at Tiananmen Square were violently put to an end by the Chinese military after 15 days of martial law. In 1997 Hong Kong was returned to the PRC by the United Kingdom and in 1999 Macau was returned by Portugal.
Today, the Republic of China continues to exist on Taiwan, while the People's Republic of China controls the Chinese mainland. The PRC continues to be dominated by the Communist Party, but the ROC has moved towards democracy. Both states are still officially claiming to be the sole legitimate ruler of all of "China". The ROC had more international support immediately after 1949, but most international diplomatic recognitions have shifted to the PRC. The ROC representative to the United Nations was replaced by the PRC representative in 1971.
The ROC has not formally renounced its claim to all of China, or changed its official maps on which its territories include the mainland and Mongolia, but it has moved away from this identity and increasingly identifies itself as "Taiwan". Presently, the ROC does not pursue any of its claims. The PRC claims to have succeeded the ROC as the legitimate governing authority of all of China including Taiwan. The PRC has used diplomatic and economic pressure to prevent official recognition of the ROC by world organizations such as the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee. Today, there are 25 U.N. member states that maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC and majority of U.N. member states that maintain official diplomatic relations with the PRC.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
Prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest humans in China date to 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago.[2][3] A cave in Zhoukoudian (near present-day Beijing) has fossils dated at somewhere between 300,000 to 550,000 years.
The earliest evidence of a fully modern human in China comes from Liujiang County, Guangxi, where a cranium has been found and dated to approximately 67,000 years ago. Although much controversy persists over the dating of the Liujiang remains,[4][5] a partial skeleton from Minatogawa in Okinawa, Japan has been dated to 18,250 ± 650 to 16,600 ± 300 years ago, so modern humans must have reached China before that time.
Dynastic rule
History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2070–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1122–256 BCE
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE–220 CE
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280 CE
Wu, Shu & Wei
Jin Dynasty 265–420 CE
Western Jin
Eastern Jin 16 Kingdoms
304–439 CE
Southern & Northern Dynasties 420–589 CE
Sui Dynasty 581–619 CE
Tang Dynasty 618–907 CE
5 Dynasties &
10 Kingdoms
907–960 CE Liao Dynasty
907–1125 CE
Song Dynasty
960–1279 CE
Northern Song W. Xia Dyn.
Southern Song Jin Dyn.
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368 CE
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644 CE
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911 CE
MODERN
Republic of China 1911–present
People's Republic
of China 1949–present Republic of China
(on Taiwan)
Timeline of Chinese history
Dynasties in Chinese history
Military history of China
Naval history of China
History of Chinese art
History of science and technology in China
History of Education in China
This box: view • talk • edit
Main articles: Dynasties in Chinese history and Chinese sovereign
Chinese tradition names the first dynasty Xia, but it was considered mythical until scientific excavations found early bronze-age sites at Erlitou in Henan Province.[6] Archaeologists have since uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs in locations cited as Xia's in ancient historical texts, but it is impossible to verify that these remains are of the Xia without written records from the period.
Life-size Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty, ca. 3rd century BCE.The second dynasty, the loosely feudal Shang, definitely settled along the Yellow River in eastern China from the 18th to the 12th century BCE. They were invaded from the west by the Zhou, who ruled from the 12th to the 5th century BCE. The centralized authority of the Zhou was slowly eroded by warlords. Many strong, independent states continually warring with each other in the Spring and Autumn period, only occasionally deferring to the Zhou king.
The first unified Chinese state was established by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE, when the office of the Emperor was set up and the Chinese language was forcibly standardized. This state did not last long, as its legalist policies soon led to widespread rebellion.
The subsequent Han Dynasty ruled China between 206 BCE and 220 CE, and created a lasting Han cultural identity among its populace that would last to the present day. The Han Dynasty expanded China's territory considerably with military campaigns reaching Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia and Central Asia, and also helped establish the Silk Road in Central Asia.
After Han's collapse, another period of disunion followed, including the highly chivalric period of the Three Kingdoms. Independent Chinese states of this period also opened diplomatic relations with Japan, introducing the Chinese writing system there. In 580 CE, China was reunited under the Sui. However, the Sui Dynasty was short-lived after a failure in the Goguryeo-Sui Wars (598-614) weakened it.
Northern Song era Jun Ware planter, early 12th century.Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese technology and culture reached its zenith. The Song dynasty was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy. Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size. This growth came about through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China, along with the production of abundant food surpluses. Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people. The Song Dynasty was a culturally rich period in China for the arts, philosophy, and social life. Landscape art and portrait paintings were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity since the Tang Dynasty, and social elites gathered to view art, share their own, and make trades of precious artworks. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Chu Hsi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused Buddhist ideals, and emphasis on new organization of classic texts that brought about the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism.
In 1271, Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, with the last remnant of the Song Dynasty falling to the Yuan in 1279. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty thinkers such as Wang Yangming would further critique and expand Neo-Confucianism with ideas of individualism and innate morality that would have tremendous impact on later Japanese thought. Chosun Korea also became a nominal vassal state of Ming China and adopted much of its Neo-Confucian bureaucratic structure. China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing during the early Ming Dynasty. The Ming fell to the Manchus in 1644, who then established the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty, which lasted until 1912, was the last dynasty in China. In the 19th century the Qing Dynasty adopted a defensive posture towards European imperialism, even though it engaged in imperialistic expansion into Central Asia itself. At this time China awoke to the significance of the rest of the world, in particular the West. As China opened up to foreign trade and missionary activity, opium produced by British India was forced onto Qing China. Two Opium Wars with Britain weakened the Emperor's control.
One result was the Taiping Civil War which lasted from 1851 to 1862. It was led by Hong Xiuquan, who was partly influenced by a misinterpretation of Christianity. Hong believed himself to be the son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. Although the Qing forces were eventually victorious, the civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history, costing at least twenty million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the First World War), with some estimates up to two-hundred million. Muslims and aboriginal populations would revolt in bloody revolts, most notably in the Dungan revolt (1862-1877) and the Panthay Rebellion (1856-1873) in Yunnan. Though largely unknown, these revolts were exceptionally bloody, killing a million people in the Panthay Rebellion[7][8], several million in the Dungan revolt[8] and five million in the suppression of Miao people in Guizhou.[8] The flow of British opium led to more decline.
While China was torn by continuous war, Meiji Japan succeeded in rapidly modernizing its military with its sights on Korea and Manchuria. Maneuvered by Japan, Korea declared independence from Qing China's suzerainty in 1894, leading to the First Sino-Japanese War, which resulted in China's humiliating secession of both Korea and Taiwan to Japan. Following these series of defeats, a reform plan for Qing China to become a modern Meiji-style constitutional monarchy was drafted by the Emperor Guangxu in 1898, but was opposed and stopped by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who placed Emperor Guangxu under house arrest in a coup d'état. Further destruction followed the ill-fated 1900 Boxer Rebellion against westerners in Beijing. By the early 20th century, mass civil disorder had begun, and calls for reform and revolution were heard across the country. The 38 year old Emperor Guangxu died under house arrest on November 14, 1908, suspiciously just a day before Cixi. With the throne empty, he was succeeded by Cixi's handpicked heir, his two year old nephew Puyi, who became the Xuantong Emperor, the last Chinese emperor. Guangxu's consort, who became the Empress Dowager Longyu, signed the abdication decree as regent in 1912, ending two thousand years of imperial rule in China. She died, childless, in 1913.
Republic of China (1912-1949)
At the 1924 inauguration of the Whampoa Military Academy, Sun Yat-sen delivered a speech that would later become the lyrics of the ROC's national Anthem.Main article: History of the Republic of China
See also: History of Taiwan
On January 1, 1912, the Republic of China was established, heralding the end of the Qing Dynasty. Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party), was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who had defected to the revolutionary cause, soon usurped the presidency by forcing Sun to step aside. Yuan then attempted to have himself emperor of a new dynasty, but died of natural causes before securing power over all of the Chinese empire.
After Yuan Shikai's death, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally-recognized, but virtually powerless, national government seated in Beijing. Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to Nanjing (Nanking) and implementing "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's program for transforming China into a modern, democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang.
The Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945 (part of World War II) forced an uneasy alliance between the Nationalists and the Communists as well as around 10 million Chinese civilian deaths. With the surrender of Japan in 1945, China emerged victorious but financially drained. The continued distrust between the Nationalists and the Communists led to the resumption of the Chinese Civil War. In 1947, constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing Civil War many provisions of the ROC constitution were never implemented on the mainland.
The People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (1949-Present)
Main article: History of the People's Republic of China
See also: History of Hong Kong, History of Macau, and History of Taiwan
After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong, controlled most of Mainland China. On October 1, 1949, they established the People's Republic of China, laying claim as the successor state of the ROC. The central government of the ROC was forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan. Major armed hostilities ceased in 1950 but both sides are technically still at war.
Beginning in the late 1970s, the Republic of China began the implementation of full, multi-party, representative democracy in the territories still under its control (Taiwan Province, Taipei, Kaohsiung and some offshore islands of Fujian province). Today, the ROC has active political participation by all sectors of society. The main cleavage in ROC politics is the issue of eventual unification with China vs. formal independence.
Post-1978 reforms on the mainland have led to some relaxation of control over many areas of society. However, the Chinese government still has absolute control over politics, and it continually seeks to eradicate threats to the stability of the country. Examples include the fight against terrorism, jailing of political opponents and journalists, custody regulation of the press, regulation of religion, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989, the student protests at Tiananmen Square were violently put to an end by the Chinese military after 15 days of martial law. In 1997 Hong Kong was returned to the PRC by the United Kingdom and in 1999 Macau was returned by Portugal.
Today, the Republic of China continues to exist on Taiwan, while the People's Republic of China controls the Chinese mainland. The PRC continues to be dominated by the Communist Party, but the ROC has moved towards democracy. Both states are still officially claiming to be the sole legitimate ruler of all of "China". The ROC had more international support immediately after 1949, but most international diplomatic recognitions have shifted to the PRC. The ROC representative to the United Nations was replaced by the PRC representative in 1971.
The ROC has not formally renounced its claim to all of China, or changed its official maps on which its territories include the mainland and Mongolia, but it has moved away from this identity and increasingly identifies itself as "Taiwan". Presently, the ROC does not pursue any of its claims. The PRC claims to have succeeded the ROC as the legitimate governing authority of all of China including Taiwan. The PRC has used diplomatic and economic pressure to prevent official recognition of the ROC by world organizations such as the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee. Today, there are 25 U.N. member states that maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC and majority of U.N. member states that maintain official diplomatic relations with the PRC.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
POPULATION
The People's Republic conducted censuses in 1953, 1964, and 1982. In 1987 the government announced that the fourth national census would take place in 1990 and that there would be one every ten years thereafter. The 1982 census, which reported a total population of 1,008,180,738, is generally accepted as significantly more reliable, accurate, and thorough than the previous two. Various international organizations eagerly assisted the Chinese in conducting the 1982 census, including the United Nations Fund for Population Activities which donated US$15.6 million for the preparation and execution of the census.
The nation began preparing for the 1982 census in late 1976. Chinese census workers were sent to the United States and Japan to study modern census-taking techniques and automation. Computers were installed in every provincial-level unit except Xizang and were connected to a central processing system in the Beijing headquarters of the State Statistical Bureau. Pretests and smallscale trial runs were conducted and checked for accuracy between 1980 and 1981 in twenty-four provincial-level units. Census stations were opened in rural production brigades (see Glossary) and urban neighborhoods. Beginning July 1, 1982, each household sent a representative to a census station to be enumerated. The census required about a month to complete and employed approximately 5 million census takers.
The 1982 census collected data in nineteen demographic categories relating to individuals and households. The thirteen areas concerning individuals were name, relationship to head of household, sex, age, nationality, registration status, educational level, profession, occupation, status of nonworking persons, marital status, number of children born and still living, and number of births in 1981. The six items pertaining to households were type (domestic or collective), serial number, number of persons, number of births in 1981, number of deaths in 1981, and number of registered persons absent for more than one year. Information was gathered in a number of important areas for which previous data were either extremely inaccurate or simply nonexistent, including fertility, marital status, urban population, minority ethnic groups, sex composition, age distribution, and employment and unemployment (see table 5, Appendix A).
A fundamental anomaly in the 1982 statistics was noted by some Western analysts. They pointed out that although the birth and death rates recorded by the census and those recorded through the household registration system were different, the two systems arrived at similar population totals (see Differentiation , ch. 3). The discrepancies in the vital rates were the result of the underreporting of both births and deaths to the authorities under the registration system; families would not report some births because of the one-child policy and would not report some deaths so as to hold on to the rations of the deceased. Nevertheless, the 1982 census was a watershed for both Chinese and world demographics. After an eighteen-year gap, population specialists were given a wealth of reliable, up-to-date figures on which to reconstruct past demographic patterns, measure current population conditions, and predict future population trends. For example, Chinese and foreign demographers used the 1982 census age-sex structure as the base population for forecasting and making assumptions about future fertility trends. The data on age-specific fertility and mortality rates provided the necessary base-line information for making population projections. The census data also were useful for estimating future manpower potential, consumer needs, and utility, energy, and health-service requirements. The sudden abundance of demographic data helped population specialists immeasurably in their efforts to estimate world population. Previously, there had been no accurate information on these 21 percent of the earth's inhabitants. Demographers who had been conducting research on global population without accurate data on the Chinese fifth of the world's population were particularly thankful for the 1982 census.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
The nation began preparing for the 1982 census in late 1976. Chinese census workers were sent to the United States and Japan to study modern census-taking techniques and automation. Computers were installed in every provincial-level unit except Xizang and were connected to a central processing system in the Beijing headquarters of the State Statistical Bureau. Pretests and smallscale trial runs were conducted and checked for accuracy between 1980 and 1981 in twenty-four provincial-level units. Census stations were opened in rural production brigades (see Glossary) and urban neighborhoods. Beginning July 1, 1982, each household sent a representative to a census station to be enumerated. The census required about a month to complete and employed approximately 5 million census takers.
The 1982 census collected data in nineteen demographic categories relating to individuals and households. The thirteen areas concerning individuals were name, relationship to head of household, sex, age, nationality, registration status, educational level, profession, occupation, status of nonworking persons, marital status, number of children born and still living, and number of births in 1981. The six items pertaining to households were type (domestic or collective), serial number, number of persons, number of births in 1981, number of deaths in 1981, and number of registered persons absent for more than one year. Information was gathered in a number of important areas for which previous data were either extremely inaccurate or simply nonexistent, including fertility, marital status, urban population, minority ethnic groups, sex composition, age distribution, and employment and unemployment (see table 5, Appendix A).
A fundamental anomaly in the 1982 statistics was noted by some Western analysts. They pointed out that although the birth and death rates recorded by the census and those recorded through the household registration system were different, the two systems arrived at similar population totals (see Differentiation , ch. 3). The discrepancies in the vital rates were the result of the underreporting of both births and deaths to the authorities under the registration system; families would not report some births because of the one-child policy and would not report some deaths so as to hold on to the rations of the deceased. Nevertheless, the 1982 census was a watershed for both Chinese and world demographics. After an eighteen-year gap, population specialists were given a wealth of reliable, up-to-date figures on which to reconstruct past demographic patterns, measure current population conditions, and predict future population trends. For example, Chinese and foreign demographers used the 1982 census age-sex structure as the base population for forecasting and making assumptions about future fertility trends. The data on age-specific fertility and mortality rates provided the necessary base-line information for making population projections. The census data also were useful for estimating future manpower potential, consumer needs, and utility, energy, and health-service requirements. The sudden abundance of demographic data helped population specialists immeasurably in their efforts to estimate world population. Previously, there had been no accurate information on these 21 percent of the earth's inhabitants. Demographers who had been conducting research on global population without accurate data on the Chinese fifth of the world's population were particularly thankful for the 1982 census.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
Supplies of Industrial Resources
Manufacturing
Iron and Steel
Machine Building
Machine Tools
Electric Power Equipment
Transportation Equipment
Metallurgical Equipment
Electronics
Chemicals
Building Materials
Paper
Textiles
Food Processing
Other Consumer Goods
Construction
Housing Construction
Capital Construction
Mining
Coal
Iron Ore
Other Minerals and Metals
RURAL SOCIETY
Collectivization and Class Status
The first major action to alter village society was the land reform of the late 1940s and early 1950s, in which the party sent work teams to every village to carry out its land reform policy. This in itself was an unprecedented display of administrative and political power. The land reform had several related goals. The work teams were to redistribute some (though not all) land from the wealthier families or land-owning trusts to the poorest segments of the population and so to effect a more equitable distribution of the basic means of production; to overthrow the village elites, who might be expected to oppose the party and its programs; to recruit new village leaders from among those who demonstrated the most commitment to the party's goals; and to teach everyone to think in terms of class status rather than kinship group or patron-client ties. In pursuit of the last goal, the party work teams convened extensive series of meetings, and they classified all the village families either as landlords, rich peasants, middle peasants, or poor peasants. These labels, based on family landholdings and overall economic position roughly between 1945 and 1950, became a permanent and hereditary part of every family's identity and, as late as 1980, still affected, for example, such things as chances for admission to the armed forces, colleges, universities, and local administrative posts and even marriage prospects.
The collectivization of agriculture was essentially completed with the establishment of the people's communes in 1958. Communes were large, embracing scores of villages. They were intended to be multipurpose organizations, combining economic and local administrative functions (see Agricultural Policies , ch. 6). Under the commune system the household remained the basic unit of consumption, and some differences in standards of living remained, although they were not as marked as they had been before land reform. Under such a system, however, upward mobility required becoming a team or commune cadre or obtaining a scarce technical position such as a truck driver's.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0084)
The first major action to alter village society was the land reform of the late 1940s and early 1950s, in which the party sent work teams to every village to carry out its land reform policy. This in itself was an unprecedented display of administrative and political power. The land reform had several related goals. The work teams were to redistribute some (though not all) land from the wealthier families or land-owning trusts to the poorest segments of the population and so to effect a more equitable distribution of the basic means of production; to overthrow the village elites, who might be expected to oppose the party and its programs; to recruit new village leaders from among those who demonstrated the most commitment to the party's goals; and to teach everyone to think in terms of class status rather than kinship group or patron-client ties. In pursuit of the last goal, the party work teams convened extensive series of meetings, and they classified all the village families either as landlords, rich peasants, middle peasants, or poor peasants. These labels, based on family landholdings and overall economic position roughly between 1945 and 1950, became a permanent and hereditary part of every family's identity and, as late as 1980, still affected, for example, such things as chances for admission to the armed forces, colleges, universities, and local administrative posts and even marriage prospects.
The collectivization of agriculture was essentially completed with the establishment of the people's communes in 1958. Communes were large, embracing scores of villages. They were intended to be multipurpose organizations, combining economic and local administrative functions (see Agricultural Policies , ch. 6). Under the commune system the household remained the basic unit of consumption, and some differences in standards of living remained, although they were not as marked as they had been before land reform. Under such a system, however, upward mobility required becoming a team or commune cadre or obtaining a scarce technical position such as a truck driver's.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0084)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Party and Government: A unitary and "socialist state of the dictatorship of the proletariat," based on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought, led by 46-million-member Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Political processes guided by party Constitution and state Constitution, both promulgated in 1982; constitutions stress principle of democratic centralism (see Glossary), under which representative organs of both party and state are elected by lower bodies and they in turn elect their administrative arms at corresponding levels. Within representative and executive bodies minority must abide by decisions of majority; lower bodies obey orders of higher level organs. In theory, National Party Congress highest organ of power of party, but real power lies in Political Bureau of CCP Central Committee and, still more, in select Standing Committee of Political Bureau. National People's Congress highest government organ of state power; approves CCP policies and programs. Reforms implemented in early 1980s allowed more serious review and deliberations concerning government programs in National People's Congress. State Council serves as equivalent of cabinet; key members also hold positions in important party organs.
Administrative Divisions: Divided into three tiers. In 1987 twenty-nine provincial-level units comprise twenty-one provinces, five autonomous regions, and three centrally governed special municipalities; middle tier consists of autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties, cities, and municipal districts; and basic level comprises townships, and villages.
Justice:Four-level court system. Supreme People's Court in Beijing; higher people's courts in provinces, autonomous regions and special municipalities; intermediate people's courts at prefecture level and also in parts of provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities; basic people's courts in counties, towns, and municipal districts. Special courts handle matters affecting military, railroad transportation, water transportation, and forestry. Court system paralleled by hierarchy of prosecuting organs called people's procuratorates; at apex stands Supreme People's Procuratorate.
Foreign Affairs: As of late 1980s, China pursued independent foreign policy and sought friendly relations and trade with many countries despite political differences. China regards itself as developing country and member of Third World. China, however, has close cooperative relations, including economic, technological, political, and limited military cooperation, with United States, Japan, and other industrially developed nations. Earlier strains in Chinese relations with Soviet Union, long considered by Beijing as main threat of war, somewhat ameliorated by late 1980s but still fell short of full normalization.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0006)
Administrative Divisions: Divided into three tiers. In 1987 twenty-nine provincial-level units comprise twenty-one provinces, five autonomous regions, and three centrally governed special municipalities; middle tier consists of autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties, cities, and municipal districts; and basic level comprises townships, and villages.
Justice:Four-level court system. Supreme People's Court in Beijing; higher people's courts in provinces, autonomous regions and special municipalities; intermediate people's courts at prefecture level and also in parts of provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities; basic people's courts in counties, towns, and municipal districts. Special courts handle matters affecting military, railroad transportation, water transportation, and forestry. Court system paralleled by hierarchy of prosecuting organs called people's procuratorates; at apex stands Supreme People's Procuratorate.
Foreign Affairs: As of late 1980s, China pursued independent foreign policy and sought friendly relations and trade with many countries despite political differences. China regards itself as developing country and member of Third World. China, however, has close cooperative relations, including economic, technological, political, and limited military cooperation, with United States, Japan, and other industrially developed nations. Earlier strains in Chinese relations with Soviet Union, long considered by Beijing as main threat of war, somewhat ameliorated by late 1980s but still fell short of full normalization.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0006)
ECONOMY
Salient Features:Economic system in transition, cautiously moving away from Soviet-style central planning and gradually adopting market economy mechanisms and reduced government role. Industry, largely based on state and collective ownership, marked by increasing technological advancements and productivity. China's people's communes (see Glossary) eliminated by 1984--after more than twenty-five years--and responsibility system (see Glossary) of production introduced in agricultural sector. Private ownership of production assets legal, although major nonagricultural and industrial facilities still state owned and centrally planned. Restraints on foreign trade relaxed and joint ventures encouraged.
Industry: In 1985 employed about 17 percent of labor force but produced more than 46 percent of gross national product (GNP). Fastest growing sector; average annual growth of 11 percent from 1952 to 1985. Wide range of technological levels; many small handicraft units; many enterprises using machinery installed or designed in 1950s and 1960s; significant number of big, up-to-date plants, including textile mills, steel mills, chemical fertilizer plants, and petrochemical facilities but also burgeoning light industries producing consumer goods. Produced most kinds of products made by industrialized nations but limited quantities of high-technology items. Technology transfer by importing whole plants, equipment, and designs an important means of progress. Major industrial centers in Liaoning Province, Beijing-Tianjin- Tangshan area, Shanghai, and Wuhan. Mineral resources included huge reserves of iron ore; adequate to abundant supplies of nearly all other industrial minerals. Outdated mining and ore processing technologies gradually being replaced with modern techniques.
Agriculture: In 1985 employed about 63 percent of labor force; proportion of GNP about 33 percent. Low worker productivity because of scanty supplies of agricultural machinery and other modern inputs. Most agricultural processes still performed by hand. Very small arable land area (just above 10 percent of total area, as compared with 22 percent in United States) in relation to size of country and population. Intensive use of land; all fields produce at least one crop a year; wherever conditions permit, two or even three crops grown annually, especially in south. Grain most important product, including rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, and millet. Other important crops include cotton, jute, oilseeds, sugarcane, and sugar beets. Eggs a major product. Pork production has increased steadily; poultry and pigs raised on family plots. Other livestock relatively limited in numbers, except for sheep and goats, grazed in large herds on grasslands of Nei Monggol Autonomous Region (Inner Mongolia) and northwest. Substantial marine and freshwater fishery. Timber resources mainly located in northeast and southwest; much of country deforested centuries ago. Wide variety of fruits and vegetables grown.
Energy Sources:Self-sufficient in all energy forms; coal and petroleum exported since early 1970s. Coal reserves among world's largest; mining technology inadequately developed but improving in late 1980s. Petroleum reserves very large but of varying quality and in disparate locations. Suspected oil deposits in northwest and offshore tracts believed to be among world's largest; exploration and extraction limited by scarcity of equipment and trained personnel; twenty-seven contracts for joint offshore exploration and production by Japanese and Western oil companies signed by 1982, but by late 1980s only handful of wells producing. Substantial natural gas reserves in north, northwest, and offshore. Hydroelectric potential greatest in world, sixth largest in capacity; very large hydroelectric projects under construction, others in planning stage. Thermal power, mostly coal fired, produced approximately 68 percent of generating capacity in 1985; expected to increase to 72 percent by 1990. Emphasis on thermal power in late 1980s seen by policy makers as quick, shortterm solution to energy needs; hydroelectric power seen as longterm solution. Petroleum production growth to continue in order to meet needs of nationwide mechanization and provide important foreign exchange but domestic use to be restricted as much as possible.
Foreign Trade: Small by international standards but growing rapidly in size and importance, represented 20 percent of GNP in 1985. Trade controlled by Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade and subordinate units and by Bank of China, foreign exchange arm of central bank. Substantial decentralization and increased flexibility in foreign trade operations since late 1970s. Textiles leading export category. Other important exports included petroleum and foodstuffs. Leading imports included machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods, and chemicals. Japan dominant trading partner, accounting for 28.9 percent of imports and 15.2 percent of exports in 1986. Hong Kong leading market for exports (31.6 percent) but source of only 13 percent of imports. In 1979 United States became China's second largest source of imports and in 1986 was third largest overall trade partner. Western Europe, particularly Federal Republic of Germany, also major trading partner. Tourism encouraged and growing.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0007)
Industry: In 1985 employed about 17 percent of labor force but produced more than 46 percent of gross national product (GNP). Fastest growing sector; average annual growth of 11 percent from 1952 to 1985. Wide range of technological levels; many small handicraft units; many enterprises using machinery installed or designed in 1950s and 1960s; significant number of big, up-to-date plants, including textile mills, steel mills, chemical fertilizer plants, and petrochemical facilities but also burgeoning light industries producing consumer goods. Produced most kinds of products made by industrialized nations but limited quantities of high-technology items. Technology transfer by importing whole plants, equipment, and designs an important means of progress. Major industrial centers in Liaoning Province, Beijing-Tianjin- Tangshan area, Shanghai, and Wuhan. Mineral resources included huge reserves of iron ore; adequate to abundant supplies of nearly all other industrial minerals. Outdated mining and ore processing technologies gradually being replaced with modern techniques.
Agriculture: In 1985 employed about 63 percent of labor force; proportion of GNP about 33 percent. Low worker productivity because of scanty supplies of agricultural machinery and other modern inputs. Most agricultural processes still performed by hand. Very small arable land area (just above 10 percent of total area, as compared with 22 percent in United States) in relation to size of country and population. Intensive use of land; all fields produce at least one crop a year; wherever conditions permit, two or even three crops grown annually, especially in south. Grain most important product, including rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, and millet. Other important crops include cotton, jute, oilseeds, sugarcane, and sugar beets. Eggs a major product. Pork production has increased steadily; poultry and pigs raised on family plots. Other livestock relatively limited in numbers, except for sheep and goats, grazed in large herds on grasslands of Nei Monggol Autonomous Region (Inner Mongolia) and northwest. Substantial marine and freshwater fishery. Timber resources mainly located in northeast and southwest; much of country deforested centuries ago. Wide variety of fruits and vegetables grown.
Energy Sources:Self-sufficient in all energy forms; coal and petroleum exported since early 1970s. Coal reserves among world's largest; mining technology inadequately developed but improving in late 1980s. Petroleum reserves very large but of varying quality and in disparate locations. Suspected oil deposits in northwest and offshore tracts believed to be among world's largest; exploration and extraction limited by scarcity of equipment and trained personnel; twenty-seven contracts for joint offshore exploration and production by Japanese and Western oil companies signed by 1982, but by late 1980s only handful of wells producing. Substantial natural gas reserves in north, northwest, and offshore. Hydroelectric potential greatest in world, sixth largest in capacity; very large hydroelectric projects under construction, others in planning stage. Thermal power, mostly coal fired, produced approximately 68 percent of generating capacity in 1985; expected to increase to 72 percent by 1990. Emphasis on thermal power in late 1980s seen by policy makers as quick, shortterm solution to energy needs; hydroelectric power seen as longterm solution. Petroleum production growth to continue in order to meet needs of nationwide mechanization and provide important foreign exchange but domestic use to be restricted as much as possible.
Foreign Trade: Small by international standards but growing rapidly in size and importance, represented 20 percent of GNP in 1985. Trade controlled by Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade and subordinate units and by Bank of China, foreign exchange arm of central bank. Substantial decentralization and increased flexibility in foreign trade operations since late 1970s. Textiles leading export category. Other important exports included petroleum and foodstuffs. Leading imports included machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods, and chemicals. Japan dominant trading partner, accounting for 28.9 percent of imports and 15.2 percent of exports in 1986. Hong Kong leading market for exports (31.6 percent) but source of only 13 percent of imports. In 1979 United States became China's second largest source of imports and in 1986 was third largest overall trade partner. Western Europe, particularly Federal Republic of Germany, also major trading partner. Tourism encouraged and growing.
from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cn0007)
Other China Information
- Chinese calendar
Chinese cuisine
Chinese dragon
Chinese name
Chinese nationalism
Chinese New Year
Chinese people
Chinese units of measurement
Culture of China
History of Islam in China
Fenghuang
History of postage in China
List of Chinese inventions
List of tributaries of Imperial China
Military history of China
Overseas Chinese
- U.S. Department of State, Background Note on China
Interactive China map with province and city guides.
China Digital Times Online China news portal, run by the Graduate School of Journalism of University of California at Berkeley.
Animal rights abuse in China
NY Inquirer: China's 21st Century
The Chinese Superpower-Historical Background, Dr Rivka Shpak-Lissak
Science and technology
Remains of an ancient Chinese handheld crossbow, 2nd century BCE.Main articles: History of science and technology in China and List of Chinese inventions
Among the scientific accomplishments of ancient China were paper (not papyrus), printing, the early loadstone and magnetic compass, gunpowder, early seismological detectors, matches, dry docks, sliding calipers, the double-action piston pump, cast iron, the iron plough, the multi-tube seed drill, the wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge, the parachute, natural gas as fuel, the escapement mechanism for clocks, the water-powered armillary sphere, the chain drive, the raised-relief map, the propeller, the crossbow and the cannon. Chinese astronomers were among the first to record observations of a supernova. Chinese mathematics evolved independently of Greek mathematics and is therefore of great interest in the history of mathematics.
China's science and technology fell behind that of Europe by the 17th Century. Political, social and cultural reasons have been given for this, although recent historians focus more on economic causes, such as the high level equilibrium trap. Since the PRC's market reforms China has become better connected to the global economy and is placing greater emphasis on science and technology. The country has, since the coming of MMORPG's seen a big growth of Chinese gold farms.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Among the scientific accomplishments of ancient China were paper (not papyrus), printing, the early loadstone and magnetic compass, gunpowder, early seismological detectors, matches, dry docks, sliding calipers, the double-action piston pump, cast iron, the iron plough, the multi-tube seed drill, the wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge, the parachute, natural gas as fuel, the escapement mechanism for clocks, the water-powered armillary sphere, the chain drive, the raised-relief map, the propeller, the crossbow and the cannon. Chinese astronomers were among the first to record observations of a supernova. Chinese mathematics evolved independently of Greek mathematics and is therefore of great interest in the history of mathematics.
China's science and technology fell behind that of Europe by the 17th Century. Political, social and cultural reasons have been given for this, although recent historians focus more on economic causes, such as the high level equilibrium trap. Since the PRC's market reforms China has become better connected to the global economy and is placing greater emphasis on science and technology. The country has, since the coming of MMORPG's seen a big growth of Chinese gold farms.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Sports and recreation
Dragon boat racing, a popular traditional Chinese sport.Main article: Sports in China
Many historians believe that football (soccer) originated in China, where a form of the sport may have appeared around 1000 CE.[13] Other popular sports include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, and more recently, golf. Basketball is now popular among young people in crowded urban centers. In Taiwan, baseball is more popular due to American and Japanese influences.
There are also many traditional sports. Chinese dragon boat racing occurs during the Duan Wu festival. In Inner Mongolia, Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are popular. In Tibet, archery and equestrian sports are part of traditional festivals.
China has become a sports power, especially in Asia. It has finished first in medal counts in each of the Asian Games since 1982,[15] and in the top four in medal counts in each of the Summer Olympic Games since 1992.[16] The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Many historians believe that football (soccer) originated in China, where a form of the sport may have appeared around 1000 CE.[13] Other popular sports include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, and more recently, golf. Basketball is now popular among young people in crowded urban centers. In Taiwan, baseball is more popular due to American and Japanese influences.
There are also many traditional sports. Chinese dragon boat racing occurs during the Duan Wu festival. In Inner Mongolia, Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are popular. In Tibet, archery and equestrian sports are part of traditional festivals.
China has become a sports power, especially in Asia. It has finished first in medal counts in each of the Asian Games since 1982,[15] and in the top four in medal counts in each of the Summer Olympic Games since 1992.[16] The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Religion
The "official" orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China until the overthrow of the last dynasty is a panentheism system, centering on the worship of "Heaven" as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of Confucianism and Taoism or the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity. It has features of a monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, endowed with personality but no corporeal form. "Heaven" as a supernatural force was variously referred to as Shangdi (literally "Emperor Above"). Worship of Heaven includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the Altar of Heaven in Beijing, and the offering of prayers. Manifestation of the powers of Heaven include weather and natural disasters. Although it gradually diminished in popular belief after the advent of Taoism and Buddhism, among others, some of its concepts remained in use throughout the pre-modern period and have been incorporated in later religions of China.
A Chinese Tang Dynasty sculpture of the Buddha seated in meditation.Taoism is an indigenous religion of China and is traditionally traced to the composition of Lao Zi's Tao Te Ching (The Book of Tao and Its Virtues) or to seminal works by Zhang Daoling. The philosophy of Taoism is centered on "the way"; an understanding of which can be likened to recognizing the true nature of the universe. Taoism in its unorganized form is also considered a folk religion of China. More secular derivatives of Taoist ideas include Feng Shui, Sun Tzu's Art of War, and acupuncture.
Buddhism was introduced from South and Central Asia during the Han dynasty and became very popular among Chinese of all walks of life, embraced particularly by commoners, and sponsored by emperors in certain dynasties. Mahayana (大乘, Dacheng) is the predominant form of Buddhism practiced in China, where it was largely Sinicized and later exported to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Some subsets of Mahayana popular in China include Pure Land (Amidism) and Zen. Buddhism is the largest organized faith in China and the country has the most Buddhist adherents in the world, followed by Japan. Many Chinese, however, identify themselves as both Taoist and Buddhist at the same time.
Ancestor worship is a major religious theme shared among all Chinese religions. Traditional Chinese culture, Taoism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism all value filial piety as a top virtue, and the act is a continued display of piety and respect towards departed ancestors. The Chinese generally offer prayers and food for the ancestors, light incense and candles, and burn offerings of Joss paper. These activities are typically conducted at the site of ancestral graves or tombs, at an ancestral temple, or at a household shrine.
Judaism, Islam and Christianity first arrived in China after the 7th century AD during the Tang Dynasty. Islam was later spread by merchants and craftsmen as trade routes improved along the Silk Road, while Christianity began to make significant inroads in China after the 16th century through Jesuit and later protestant missionaries. In the first half of the 20th century, many Jews arrived in Shanghai and Hong Kong during those cities' periods of economic expansion and also sought refuge from the Holocaust in Europe. Shanghai was particularly notable for its volume of Jewish refugees, as it was the only port in the world then to accept them without an entry visa.
Languages
Most languages in China belong to the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by 29 ethnicities. There are also several major "dialects" within the Chinese language itself. The most spoken dialects are Mandarin (spoken by over 70% of the population), Wu (Shanghainese), Yue (Cantonese), Min, Xiang, Gan, and Hakka. Non-Sinitic languages spoken widely by ethnic minorities include Zhuang (Thai), Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur (Turkic), Hmong and Korean.[12]
Classical Chinese was the written standard used for thousands of years in China before the 20th century and allowed for written communication between speakers of various unintelligible languages and dialects in China. Vernacular Chinese or baihua is the written standard based on the Mandarin dialect first popularized in Ming dynasty novels and was adopted (with significant modifications) during the early 20th century as the national vernacular. Classical Chinese is still part of the high school curriculum and is thus intelligible to some degree to many Chinese.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Classical Chinese was the written standard used for thousands of years in China before the 20th century and allowed for written communication between speakers of various unintelligible languages and dialects in China. Vernacular Chinese or baihua is the written standard based on the Mandarin dialect first popularized in Ming dynasty novels and was adopted (with significant modifications) during the early 20th century as the national vernacular. Classical Chinese is still part of the high school curriculum and is thus intelligible to some degree to many Chinese.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Demography
Map of ethnic groups in China (Han is in green)Hundreds of ethnic groups have existed in China throughout its history. The largest ethnic group in China by far is the Han. This group is diverse in itself and can be divided into smaller ethnic groups that share some traits.
Over the last three millennia, many previously distinct ethnic groups in China have been Sinicized into a Han identity, which over time dramatically expanded the size of the Han population. However, these assimilations were usually incomplete and vestiges of indigenous language and culture often are still retained in different regions of China. Because of this, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions, though still identifying as Han. Several ethnicities have also dramatically shaped Han language and culture, e.g. the Manchurian clothing called the qipao became the new "Chinese" fashion after the 17th century, replacing earlier Han styles of clothing such as the Hanfu. The term Chinese nation (Zhonghua Minzu) is usually used to describe a notion of a Chinese nationality that transcends ethnic divisions.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Arts, scholarship, and literature
Chinese calligraphy by Mifu, Song Dynasty, ca. 1100 CE
Bamboo book of Sun Tzu's The Art of WarChinese characters have had many variants and styles throughout Chinese history. Tens of thousands of ancient written documents are still extant, from Oracle bones to Qing edicts. This literary emphasis affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, e.g. the view that calligraphy was a higher art form than painting or drama. Manuscripts of the Classics and religious texts (mainly Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) were handwritten by ink brush. Calligraphy later became commercialized, and works by famous artists became prized possessions.
Chinese literature has a long past; the earliest classic work in Chinese, the I Ching or "Book of Changes" dates to around 1000 BCE. A flourishing of philosophy during the Warring States Period produced such noteworthy works as Confucius's Analects and Laozi's Tao Te Ching. (See also the Chinese classics.) Dynastic histories were often written, beginning with Sima Qian's seminal Records of the Historian. The Tang Dynasty witnessed a poetic flowering, while the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature were written during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Printmaking in the form of movable type was developed during the Song Dynasty. Academies of scholars sponsored by the empire were formed to comment on the classics in both printed and handwritten form. Royalty frequently participated in these discussions as well. The Song Dynasty was also a period of great scientific literature, such as Su Song's Xin Yixiang Fayao and Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays.
For centuries, economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on the imperial examinations. This led to a meritocracy, although it was available only to males who could afford test preparation. Imperial examinations required applicants to write essays and demonstrate mastery of the Confucian classics. Those who passed the highest level of the exam became elite scholar-officials known as jinshi, a highly esteemed socio-economic position.
Chinese philosophers, writers, and poets were highly respected, and played key roles in preserving and promoting the culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for their daring depictions of the lives of the common people, often to the displeasure of authorities.
The Chinese invented numerous musical instruments, such as the zheng (zither with movable bridges), qin (bridgeless zither), sheng (free reed mouth organ), and xiao (vertical flute) and adopted and developed others such the erhu (alto fiddle or bowed lute) and pipa (pear-shaped plucked lute), many of which have later spread throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Bamboo book of Sun Tzu's The Art of WarChinese characters have had many variants and styles throughout Chinese history. Tens of thousands of ancient written documents are still extant, from Oracle bones to Qing edicts. This literary emphasis affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, e.g. the view that calligraphy was a higher art form than painting or drama. Manuscripts of the Classics and religious texts (mainly Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) were handwritten by ink brush. Calligraphy later became commercialized, and works by famous artists became prized possessions.
Chinese literature has a long past; the earliest classic work in Chinese, the I Ching or "Book of Changes" dates to around 1000 BCE. A flourishing of philosophy during the Warring States Period produced such noteworthy works as Confucius's Analects and Laozi's Tao Te Ching. (See also the Chinese classics.) Dynastic histories were often written, beginning with Sima Qian's seminal Records of the Historian. The Tang Dynasty witnessed a poetic flowering, while the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature were written during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Printmaking in the form of movable type was developed during the Song Dynasty. Academies of scholars sponsored by the empire were formed to comment on the classics in both printed and handwritten form. Royalty frequently participated in these discussions as well. The Song Dynasty was also a period of great scientific literature, such as Su Song's Xin Yixiang Fayao and Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays.
For centuries, economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on the imperial examinations. This led to a meritocracy, although it was available only to males who could afford test preparation. Imperial examinations required applicants to write essays and demonstrate mastery of the Confucian classics. Those who passed the highest level of the exam became elite scholar-officials known as jinshi, a highly esteemed socio-economic position.
Chinese philosophers, writers, and poets were highly respected, and played key roles in preserving and promoting the culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for their daring depictions of the lives of the common people, often to the displeasure of authorities.
The Chinese invented numerous musical instruments, such as the zheng (zither with movable bridges), qin (bridgeless zither), sheng (free reed mouth organ), and xiao (vertical flute) and adopted and developed others such the erhu (alto fiddle or bowed lute) and pipa (pear-shaped plucked lute), many of which have later spread throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Culture
Song Dynasty depiction of the civil examinations (keju).Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China's history, and mastery of Confucian texts was the primary criterion for entry into the imperial bureaucracy. China's traditional values were derived from various versions of Confucianism and conservatism. A number of more authoritarian strains of thought have also been influential, such as Legalism. There was often conflict between the philosophies, e.g. the Song Dynasty Neo-Confucians believed Legalism departed from the original spirit of Confucianism. Examinations and a culture of merit remain greatly valued in China today. In recent years, a number of New Confucians (not to be confused with Neo-Confucianism) have advocated that democratic ideals and human rights are quite compatible with traditional Confucian "Asian values".[11]
Wang Yangming, a highly influential Neo-Confucian.With the rise of Western economic and military power beginning in the mid-19th century, non-Chinese systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers totally rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures. In essence, the history of 20th century China is one of experimentation with new systems of social, political, and economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Wang Yangming, a highly influential Neo-Confucian.With the rise of Western economic and military power beginning in the mid-19th century, non-Chinese systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers totally rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures. In essence, the history of 20th century China is one of experimentation with new systems of social, political, and economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Etymology
Territory
Historical political divisions
Main article: History of the political divisions of China
Top-level political divisions of China have altered as administrations changed. Top levels included circuits and provinces. Below that, there have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commanderies, districts, and counties. Recent divisions also include prefecture-level cities, county-level cities, towns and townships.
Most Chinese dynasties were based in the historical heartlands of China, known as China proper. Various dynasties also expanded into peripheral territories like Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The Manchu-established Qing Dynasty and its successors, the ROC and the PRC, incorporated these territories into China. China proper is generally thought to be bounded by the Great Wall and the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are found to the north of the Great Wall of China, and the boundary between them can either be taken as the present border between Inner Mongolia and the northeast Chinese provinces, or the more historic border of the World War II-era puppet state of Manchukuo. Xinjiang's borders correspond to today's administrative Xinjiang. Historic Tibet occupies all of the Tibetan Plateau. China is traditionally divided into the boundary being the Huai River and Qinling Mountains.
Geography and climate
Main geographic features and regions of China.
Composite satellite photoChina ranges from mostly plateaus and mountains in the west to lower lands in the east. Principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (Yellow river, north-central), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong River, and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific Ocean.
In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains. On the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges. In the central-east are the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze River. Most of China's arable lands lie along these rivers; they were the centers of China's major ancient civilizations. Other major rivers include the Pearl River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. Yunnan Province is considered a part of the Greater Mekong Subregion, which also includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam[9].
In the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, and the Himalayas, containing Earth's highest point, Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus with more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding. During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
The Paleozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin. Groups of volcanic cones occur in the Great Plain of north China. In the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas, there are basaltic plateaus.
The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (containing Beijing) has summer daytime temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (containing Shanghai) has a temperate continental climate with very hot summers and cold winters. The southern zone (containing Guangzhou) has a subtropical climate with very hot summers and mild winters.
Due to a prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices, dust storms have become usual in the spring in China.[10] Dust has blown to southern China and Taiwan, and has even reached the West Coast of the United States. Water, erosion, and pollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
Main article: History of the political divisions of China
Top-level political divisions of China have altered as administrations changed. Top levels included circuits and provinces. Below that, there have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commanderies, districts, and counties. Recent divisions also include prefecture-level cities, county-level cities, towns and townships.
Most Chinese dynasties were based in the historical heartlands of China, known as China proper. Various dynasties also expanded into peripheral territories like Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The Manchu-established Qing Dynasty and its successors, the ROC and the PRC, incorporated these territories into China. China proper is generally thought to be bounded by the Great Wall and the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are found to the north of the Great Wall of China, and the boundary between them can either be taken as the present border between Inner Mongolia and the northeast Chinese provinces, or the more historic border of the World War II-era puppet state of Manchukuo. Xinjiang's borders correspond to today's administrative Xinjiang. Historic Tibet occupies all of the Tibetan Plateau. China is traditionally divided into the boundary being the Huai River and Qinling Mountains.
Geography and climate
Main geographic features and regions of China.
Composite satellite photoChina ranges from mostly plateaus and mountains in the west to lower lands in the east. Principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (Yellow river, north-central), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong River, and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific Ocean.
In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains. On the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges. In the central-east are the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze River. Most of China's arable lands lie along these rivers; they were the centers of China's major ancient civilizations. Other major rivers include the Pearl River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. Yunnan Province is considered a part of the Greater Mekong Subregion, which also includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam[9].
In the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, and the Himalayas, containing Earth's highest point, Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus with more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding. During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
The Paleozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin. Groups of volcanic cones occur in the Great Plain of north China. In the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas, there are basaltic plateaus.
The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (containing Beijing) has summer daytime temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (containing Shanghai) has a temperate continental climate with very hot summers and cold winters. The southern zone (containing Guangzhou) has a subtropical climate with very hot summers and mild winters.
Due to a prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices, dust storms have become usual in the spring in China.[10] Dust has blown to southern China and Taiwan, and has even reached the West Coast of the United States. Water, erosion, and pollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
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