China
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Geography of China and geographic region labels |
China (|tp=Jhongguó}};
Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Jonggwo) is a
culture and
civilization in
East Asia. Due to the 1949
Chinese Civil War, China today is administratively divided into two states: the
People's Republic of China (PRC) and the
Republic of China (ROC). The PRC administers and governs the majority of China (
mainland China,
Hong Kong, and
Macau), while the ROC administers the
island groups of
Taiwan, the
Pescadores,
Kinmen, and
Matsu. However, the PRC considers Taiwan a rogue territory and does not recognize the ROC government there.
China has one of the world's longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and one of the world's longest continuously used
written language systems. The successive states and cultures of China date back more than six millennia. For centuries, China was the world's most advanced civilization, and the cultural center of East Asia, with an impact lasting to the present day. China is also home to many of the great technical inventions in world history, including the
four great inventions of ancient China:
paper,
compass,
gunpowder, and
printing.
"Zhongguo", the Middle Kingdom
|
Simplified and traditional Chinese characters for Zhongguo (Jhongguo). |
China is called
Zhongguo (also
Romanized as
Jhongguo or
Chung-kuo) in
Mandarin Chinese, usually translated into English as "Middle Kingdom." The first character
Zhong (中) means "middle" or "moderation" while
guo (国 or 國) means "country" or "kingdom".
The term has not been used consistently throughout
Chinese history, and carries certain cultural and political connotations. During the
Spring and Autumn Period, it was used only to describe the states politically descended from the
Western Zhou Dynasty, in the
Yellow River (Huang He) valley, to the exclusion of states such as the
Chu along the
Yangtze River and the
Qin to the west. However, by the time of the
Han Dynasty, the states of Chu, Qin and others had linked themselves to the politics of
Zhongguo and were already considered integral parts of a newer
Zhongguo.
Zhongguo quickly came to include areas farther south, as the cultural and political unit (not yet a "nation" or "country" in the modern sense) spread to include the
Yangtze River and
Pearl River systems. By the
Tang Dynasty it included
barbarian regimes such as the
Xianbei and
Xiongnu. Over time,
Inner Mongolia,
Xinjiang,
Tibet, and the island of
Taiwan became dominated by
Imperial China, and are often included as part of
Zhongguo, though such claims remain politically controversial, especially when
Zhongguo refers to the PRC.
During the
Han Dynasty and before,
Zhongguo had three distinctive meanings:# The area around the capital or imperial domain. The
Book of Poetry explicitly gives this definition.# Territories under the direct control of the "central" authorities. The
Historical Records states: "Eight mountains are famed in the empire. Three are with the Man and Yi barbarians. Five are in
Zhongguo."# The area now called the
North China Plain. The
Sanguo Zhi records the following monologue: "If we can lead the host of
Wu and
Yue (the kingdoms in areas of present-day
Shanghai, southern
Jiangsu and northern
Zhejiang) to oppose
Zhongguo, then we should break off relations with them soon." In this sense, the term
Zhongguo is synonymous with
Hua (華) and
Xia (夏), and distinct from southern peoples living around the
Yangtze River Delta.
During the period of division after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the term
Zhongguo was subjected to transformation as a result of the surge of nomadic peoples from the northern frontier. This was reinforced after the loss of the Yellow River valley, the cradle of Chinese civilization, to these peoples. For example, the Xianbei called their
Northern Wei regime
Zhongguo, contrasting it with the
Southern Dynasties, which they called the
Yi (夷), meaning "barbarian". The southern dynasties, for their part, recently exiled from the north, called the Northern Wei
Lu (虜), meaning "criminal" or "prisoner". In this way
Zhongguo came to represent political legitimacy. It was used in this manner from the tenth century onwards by the competing dynasties of
Liao,
Jin and
Song. The term
Zhongguo came to be related to geographic, cultural and political identity and less to ethnic origin.
The Republic of China, as it controlled mainland China, and later, the People's Republic of China, have used
Zhongguo to mean all the territories and peoples within their political control. Thus it is asserted that all 56 officially recognized ethnic groups are
Zhongguoren (中國人 or 中国人), or
Zhongguo people. Their disparate histories are collectively the history of
Zhongguo, while the overarching ethnicity that unites these different groups is known as
Zhonghua minzu (the Chinese nation).
"China"
English and many other languages use forms of the name "China" and the
prefix "Sino-" or "Sin-". These are believed to be derived from the name of the
Qin Dynasty that first unified the country, although this is still controversial. The Qin dynasty was short-lived and often regarded as tyrannical, but it unified the written language in China and gave the supreme ruler of China the title of "Emperor"; thus the subsequent Silk Road traders might have identified themselves by that name.
In any case, the word "China" passed through many languages along the
Silk Road before it finally reached Europe and England. The Western "China", transliterated to "
Shina" ("那) was also used by the
Japanese from the nineteenth century, but it is now obsolete and regarded as offensive by the Chinese.
The term "China" can narrowly mean
China proper or, often, China proper and
Manchuria,
Inner Mongolia,
Tibet, and
Xinjiang, a combination essentially coterminous with the 20th and 21st century political entity. However, the boundaries between these regions do not necessarily follow
provincial boundaries. "China" often refers to the People's Republic of China or mainland China, while "Taiwan" often refers to the Republic of China. Informally, in
economic or
business contexts, "the
Greater China region" (大中華地區) refers to
Mainland China,
Hong Kong,
Macau, and
Taiwan.
Sinologists usually use "Chinese" in a more restricted sense, akin to the classical usage of
Zhongguo, or the "
Han ethnic group", who make up the bulk of the population in China.
"Mainland China" (中國大陸,
Zhōngguó dàlù in Mandarin), is often used in contrast to other, politically different regions like Hong Kong, Macau, and territories administered by the Republic of China.
"Cathay"
The more historical and lyrical English term for China is "Cathay." Cathay is derived from the name of the
Khitans (契丹) in northern China, founders of the
Liao Dynasty. The Chinese were referred to as "Cathayans" in English texts before the 16th century and the term Cathay was still commonly used to refer to China, particularly northern China, until the mid-19th century. Today, Russians and many Central Asian states still call China as "Kitay" (Китай) or variations of this name. There is an airline called
Cathay Pacific based in Hong Kong although many people do not know it refers to China.
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 ancient
Mesopotamia (
Sumerians),
Ancient India (
Indus Valley Civilization), the Mayan Civilization, and
Ancient Egypt. The
Chinese script is still used today by the Chinese and Japanese, and to a lesser extent by Koreans and Vietnamese. This script is one of the few, and the only major,
logographic script still used in the world.
Prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest occupants in China date to as long as 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago by an ancient human relative (
hominin) known as
Homo erectus. One particular cave in
Zhoukoudian (near current-day
Beijing) has fossilized evidence that current dating techniques put at somewhere between 300,000 and 550,000 years old. Evidence of primitive stone tool technology and animal bones associated with H. erectus have been studied since the late 18th to 19th centuries in various areas of
Eastern Asia including
Indonesia (in particular
Java) and
Malaysia. It is thought that these early hominids first evolved in
Africa during the
Pleistocene epoch. By 2 million years ago, the first migration wave of H. erectus settled throughout the
Old World.
Fully modern
humans (
Homo sapiens) are believed to originally have evolved roughly 200,000 and 168,000 years ago in the area of
Ethiopia or
Southern Africa (
Homo sapiens idaltu). By 100,000 to 50,000 years ago, modern human beings had settled in all parts of the Old World (25,000 to 11,000 BC in the
New World). In the last 100,000 years, all proto-human populations disappeared as modern humans took over or drove other human species into extinction.
The earliest evidence of fully modern humans in China comes from
Liujiang, China where a cranium has been found dating from 67,000 years ago. There is a partial skeleton from Minatogawa that is only 18,000 years old.
Dynastic rule
The first
dynasty according to Chinese sources was the
Xia Dynasty, but it was believed to be mythical. It was difficult to separate myth from reality before scientific excavations were made at early
bronze-age sites at
Erlitou in
Henan Province. Since then, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts.
The first reliable historical dynasty is the
Shang, which settled along the
Huang He river in eastern China from the 18th to the 12th centuries BCE. The Shang were invaded from the west by the
Zhou who ruled from the 12th to 5th centuries BCE. The centralized authority of the Zhou was slowly eroded by warlords. In the
Spring and Autumn period there were many strong independent states, continually warring with each other, who deferred to the
Zhou state in name only.
The first unified Chinese state was established by the
Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE, when the office of the
emperor was set up. This state did not last long, as its
legalist approach to control soon led to widespread rebellion.
The
Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BCE until 220 CE. Another period of disunion followed. In 580 CE, China was reunited under the
Sui. Under the succeeding
Tang and
Song dynasties, China had its golden age. Between the 7th and 14th centuries, China was one of the most advanced
civilizations in the world in technology, literature, and art, although change was gradual. In 1271,
Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the
Yuan Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty fell to the Yuan Dynasty in 1279. A peasant named
Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty in 1368 and founded the
Ming Dynasty, which lasted until 1644. Then came the Manchu-founded
Qing Dynasty, which lasted until the overthrow of
Puyi in 1911.
Regime change was often violent and the new ruling class usually needed to take special measures to ensure the loyalty of the overthrown dynasty. For example, after the
Manchus conquered China, the Manchu rulers put into effect measures aimed at subduing the
Han Chinese identity, such as the requirement for the Han Chinese to wear the Manchu hairstyle, the
queue.
In the 18th century, China achieved a decisive technological advantage over the peoples of
Central Asia, with which it had been at war for several centuries, while simultaneously falling behind Europe.
In the 19th century China adopted a defensive posture towards European
imperialism while itself engaging in
imperialistic expansion into Central Asia. 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 became available. 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 started by
Hong Xiuquan, who was partly influenced by Christianity and believed himself the son of
God and the younger brother of
Jesus. Although the imperial 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 of over 30 million. The flow of opium led to more decline, even in the face of noble efforts by missionaries such as
Hudson Taylor and the
China Inland Mission to stem the tide. Further destruction followed the
Boxer Rebellion of 1900 which aimed to repel Westerners. Although secretly supporting the rebels, Empress
Ci Xi publicly aided foreign forces suppressing the uprising. In the end the Boxers were defeated by the
Eight-Nation Alliance.
Republican China
On
January 1,
1912, the Republic of China was established, ending 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 forced Sun to step aside and took the presidency for himself. Yuan then attempted to have himself proclaimed emperor of a new dynasty; however, he died of natural causes before fully taking power over all of the Chinese empire.
After Wen Tans 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 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. 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
After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the
Communist Party of China controlled most of
Mainland China. On
October 1,
1949, they established the People's Republic of China, laying claim to 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,
Taiwan began the implementation of full, multi-party,
representative democracy in the territories still under ROC control (i.e.,
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 Communist Party control over many areas of society. However, the Party still has absolute control over politics, and it continually seeks to eradicate threats to its rule. Examples include the jailing of political
opponents and
journalists, general control of the press, regulation of religions and other non-party organizations,
censorship, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989,
a popular demonstration held in Beijing at
Tiananmen Square was put to a bloody end by the Party.
In 1997
Hong Kong was returned to the PRC by the
United Kingdom and in 1999
Macao was returned by
Portugal.
Present
Today, the ROC continues to exist on Taiwan, while the PRC controls the Chinese mainland. The PRC continues as a one-party state, 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 recognition eventually shifted to the PRC. The ROC representative to the
United Nations was replaced by the PRC representative in the 1970s.
The ROC has not formally renounced its claim to "China", or changed official maps that show its territory to include the mainland and
Outer Mongolia, but it has moved away from this identity and increasingly identifies itself as "Taiwan". The PRC continues to claim 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 advance its
One China policy, which attempts to displace the ROC in official world organizations such as the
World Health Organization and the
Olympic Games. Today, there are only twenty-four U.N. member countries that still maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC.
The PRC has resisted the ROC's identification of itself as "Taiwan", especially in the
Taiwanese independence movement. Significant disputes persist over the nature and extent of "China", possibility of
Chinese reunification, and the
political status of Taiwan.
Historical political divisions
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
Northern China (北方) and
Southern China (南方), the boundary being the
Huai River (淮河) and
Qinling Mountains (秦嶺).
Geography and climate
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The precipitation in different regions of China |
China is composed of a vast variety of highly different
landscapes, with mostly
plateaus and
mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east. As a result, principal
rivers flow from west to east, including the
Yangtze (central), the
Huang He (central-east), 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 (Chang Jiang). 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
Xijiang River,
Mekong,
Brahmaputra and
Amur.
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 the 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 , 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 winters of
Arctic severity. The central zone (containing
Shanghai) has a
temperate climate. The southern zone (containing
Guangzhou) has a
subtropical climate.
Due to a prolonged
drought and poor agricultural practices,
dust storms have become usual in the spring in China.
["Beijing hit by eighth sandstorm". BBC news. Accessed 17 April, 2006.] 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.
Demographics
Over a hundred
ethnic groups have existed in China. The largest ethnic group in China by far is the
Han. This group is diverse and can be divided into smaller ethnic groups that share some traits.
Many ethnic groups have been assimilated into neighboring ethnicities or disappeared without a trace. Several previously distinct ethnic groups have been
Sinicized into the Han, causing its population to increase dramatically. At the same time, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions, though still identifying as Han. Many foreign groups have shaped Han language and culture, for example the queue was a pig tail hairstyle strictly enforced by the Manchurians on the Han populace. The term
Chinese nation (
Zhonghua Minzu) is sometimes used to describe a notion of a Chinese nationality that transcends ethnic divisions.
The government of the
People's Republic of China now officially recognizes a total of
56 ethnic groups, of which the largest is the Han. China's overall population exceeds 1.3 billion, about one-fifth of the world's population.
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 populous 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 (Tai),
Mongolian,
Tibetan,
Uyghur (Turkic),
Hmong and
Korean.
[Languages. 2005. GOV.cn. URL accessed 3 May 2006.]Putonghua (Standard Mandarin) is the official language and is based on the Mandarin dialect spoken in Beijing. Standard Mandarin is taught in all schools and used by the government.
[Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37). 2005. GOV.cn. URL accessed 15 May 2006.] Non-Sinitic languages are co-official in some autonomic minority regions.
[ Languages. 2005. GOV.cn. URL accessed 3 May 2006.]The Chinese have used a common written standard, "
Vernacular Chinese" or
"baihua", since the early 20th century, based on Standard Mandarin. An older written standard,
Classical Chinese, was used by the literati for thousands of years before the 20th century. Classical Chinese is still a part of high school curricula and so is intelligible to some degree to many Chinese. Spoken variants other than Standard Mandarin are usually not written, except for
Standard Cantonese (see
Written Cantonese) which is sometimes used in informal contexts.
Chinese banknotes are multilingual and contain written scripts for Standard Mandarin (
Chinese characters and
Hanyu Pinyin), Zhuang (
Roman alphabet), Tibetan (
Tibetan alphabet), Uyghur (
Arabic alphabet) and Mongolian (
traditional Mongolian alphabet).
Religion
Due to the
Cultural Revolution, 59% of the mainland Chinese from the
People's Republic of China (
PRC), or about 767 million people, identify themselves as non-religious or
atheist.
[World Desk Reference. D K Publishing. ISBN 0756610990] However, religion and rituals play a significant part in the lives of many in the
PRC, especially the traditional beliefs of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. About 33% of the population in the
PRC follow a mixture of beliefs usually referred to by statisticians as "Traditional Beliefs," "Ancient Chinese Beliefs," or just "Other". This is in contrast to the demographics of religion in the
Republic of China (Taiwan) which was not affected by the
Cultural Revolution in the
People's Republic of China. Religion and ancient Chinese traditions play a big role in the daily lives of modern
Taiwanese people. According to the official figures released by the
Central Intelligence Agency (
CIA) of the
United States of America:
* 93% of Taiwanese are adherents of a combination of
Buddhism,
Confucianism, and
Taoism.
* 2.5% of Taiwanese are adherents of other religions, such as
Islam,
Judaism, and others.
* 4.5% of Taiwanese are adherents of
Christianity, this group includes a combination of
Protestants,
Catholics,
Mormons, and other non-denominational Christian groups.
The major religions of the
People's Republic of China are:
*
Confucianism*
Taoism*
Ancestor worship*
Buddhism*
Islam*
ChristianityThe major religions of the
Republic of China (Taiwan) are:
*
Buddhism*
Taoism*
ConfucianismOnly about 6% of the mainland Chinese population in the
PRC are avowed
Buddhists, with
Mahayana Buddhism and
Zen Buddhism being the most widely practiced, in contrast to the combined 93% of the
ROC (
Taiwan) population who are devout adherents of a symbiotic combination of
Buddhism,
Taoism,
Confucianism. With an estimated 100 million adherents, Buddhism is the
PRC's largest organized religion. Other forms of Buddhism, such as
Theravada Buddhism and
Tibetan Buddhism, are practiced largely by ethnic minorities along the geographic fringes of the
PRC.
[Macintosh, R. Scott. China's prosperity inspires rising spirituality (March 09, 2006). Retrieved April 15, 2006.] Official figures indicate that there are currently about 20 million
Muslims (mostly
Hui), more than 15 million
Protestants, and 5 million
Catholics in the country.
["China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)". 2004. International Religious Freedom Report 2004 - U.S. Department of State. URL accessed 30 May 2006.]The
People's Republic of China (
PRC) is officially secular and atheist but it does allow personal religion or supervised religious organization. Taoism and Buddhism, along with an underlying Confucian morality, have been the dominant religions of Chinese society for almost two millennia. Personal religion is widely tolerated in the PRC today, so there has been a resurrection of interest in Buddhism and Taoism in the past decade. Among the younger, urban secular population, Taoist spiritual ideas of
Feng Shui have become popular in recent years, spawning a large home decoration market in China.
In recent years Falun Gong has attracted great controversy after the government labeled it a malicious
cult[
1] and attempted to eradicate it. The Falun Gong itself denies that it is a cult or a religion. The Falun Gong claims approximately 70-100 million followers, higher than estimates by foreign independent groups; exact numbers are unknown.
Culture
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. The literary emphasis of the exams affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, e.g. the view that
calligraphy was a higher art form than painting or drama. 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, such as the
individualistic Song Dynasty neo-Confucians, who 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 have advocated that democratic ideals and human rights are quite compatible with traditional Confucian "Asian values".
[Bary, Theodore de. "Constructive Engagement with Asian Values". Columbia University.]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.
The first leaders of the PRC were born in the old society but were influenced by the
May Fourth Movement and reformist ideals. They sought to change some traditional aspects of Chinese culture, such as rural land tenure, sexism, and Confucian education, while preserving others, such as the family structure and obedience to the state. Many observers believe that the period following 1949 is a continuation of traditional Chinese
dynastic history, while others say that the CPC's rule has damaged the foundations of Chinese culture, especially through political movements such as the
Cultural Revolution, where many aspects of traditional culture were labeled "regressive and harmful" or "vestiges of feudalism" by the regime. They further argue that many important aspects of traditional Chinese morals and culture, such as
Confucianism,
Chinese art, literature, and performing arts like
Beijing opera, were altered to conform to government policies and communist propaganda. The institution of the
Simplified Chinese orthography reform is controversial as well. Today, the PRC government has accepted much of traditional
Chinese culture as an integral part of Chinese society, lauding it as an important achievement of the Chinese civilization and emphasizing it as being vital to the formation of a
Chinese national identity.
Arts, scholarship, and literature
Chinese 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.
Calligraphy is a major art form in China, more highly regarded than
painting and
music. 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.
Printmaking 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.
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 (箏),
Qin (琴),
Sheng (笙),
Xiao (簫), and
Erhu (二胡), that have later spread throughout
East Asia and
Southeast Asia, particularly to Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
Sports and recreation
There is evidence that a form of
football was first played in China around 1000 CE, leading many historians to believe that it originated there.
[Origins of the Great Game. 2000. Athleticscholarships.net. Accessed 23 April 2006.]. Besides football, the most popular sports are
martial arts,
table tennis,
badminton,
basketball,
American football, and more recently,
golf. Basketball is especially popular with the young, in urban centers where space is limited. The
NBA has a great following and many idolize
Yao Ming.
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.
[Qinfa, Ye. Sports History of China. About.com. Retrieved April 21, 2006.]China has become a sports power in the Asian region and around the world. China finished first in medal counts in each of the Asian Games since 1982,
[http://www.dohaasiangames.org/en/asian_games_2006/history.html] and in the top four in medal counts in each of the Summer Olympic Games since 1992.
[http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp] The
2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the
Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in
Beijing, China.
Physical fitness is highly regarded. Morning exercises are a common activity and the elderly are often seen practicing
qigong in parks.
Board games such as
International Chess,
Go (Weiqi), and
Xiangqi (Chinese chess) are also common and have organised formal competitions.
Science and technology
In addition to the cultural innovations mentioned above, technological inventions from China include:
* Asian
abacus*
Blast furnace (steel)
* Block
Printmaking /
Printing Technology*
Bronze*
Clock*
Compass*
Crossbow*
Dry dock*
Fans*
Fireworks and solid-fuel
rocket*
Fishing pole (hook)
*
Gunpowder*
Glider*
Hot air balloon*
Kite*
Lacquer*
Matches*
Paper*
Paper money and necessary monetary institutions
*
Parachute*
Petroleum well*
Porcelain (China)
*
Rudder*
Seismograph*
Silk*
Stirrup*
Toilet Paper*
Toothbrush*
Umbrella*
Wallpaper*
Wheelbarrow*
Whiskey (medicinal/surgical use)
Other areas of technological study:
*
Mathematics, applied to
architecture and
geography. Pi () was calculated by 5th century mathematician
Zu Chongzhi to the seventh digit. The
decimal system was used in China as early as the 14th Century BCE.
Pascal's Triangle, known as
Yanghui Triangle in China, was discovered by mathematicians
Chia Hsien,
Yang Hui,
Zhu Shijie and
Liu Ju-Hsieh, about 500 years before
Pascal was born.
*
Biology, such as
pharmacopoeias of
medicinal plants.
*
Traditional medicine and
surgery have achieved recognition over the last few decades in the West as alternative and complementary therapies.
*
Military innovations, such as the
crossbow and the grid sight, the crossbow
stirrup,
repeating crossbows, the
trebuchet,
poison gas (smoke from burning dried mustard),
tear gas made from powdered lime,
relief maps for battle planning, manned
kites, the fire lance, rockets, gunpowder incendiaries, and early bronze
cannon.
*
Chinese calendar*
Chinese cuisine*
Chinese dragon*
Chinese name*
Chinese New Year*
Chinese phoenix*
Chinese units of measurement*
History of postage in China*
Military history of China*
Overseas Chinese
*
Doing Business in China World Bank Group's guide
*
Enterprise Surveys: China*
Infrastructure Projects Database: China*
Privatization Database: Chinazh-yue:中國
