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Peoples Republic of China. The Chinese Communist Party 1949-present. Tiananmen Square 1989. Shang Dynasty Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry.
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Shang Dynasty Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. Two important events of the period were the development of a writing system and the use of bronze metallurgy. Shang Dynasty 1700 - 1100 BC
Eastern Zhou Dynasty The Eastern Zhou dynasty was marked by a proliferation of new ideas and philosophies. (Spring and Autumn Period) The three most important, from a historical standpoint, were Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. Eastern Zhou Dynasty 771 - 221 BC
Legalism and Confucianism Legalism derived from the teachings of another one of Confucius' disciples, a man named Xun-zi. Xun-zi believed that humans were driven by self-interest therefore basically evil. Consequently, the Legalists designed a series of draconian laws that would make people easier to control. The fundamental aim of both Confucianism and Legalism was the re-unification of a then divided China, but they took difference approaches.
Historical roots of authoritarianism? Confucian ideology divided Chinese society into four classes: The land-owning gentry and bureaucrats who administered the empire in the name of the emperor, and both groups had a vested interest in preserving the status quo. The peasants; artisans and merchants. Confucianism depended on virtue and natural order; Legalism advocated rule with an iron fist. Legalism system starts with the idea that the Emperor is the Son of Heaven and has the Mandate of Heaven to rule, there is no such thing as legitimate dissent and thus no concept of "loyal opposition". Legalism advocated techniques such as maintaining an active secret police, encouraging neighbors to inform on each other, and the creation of a general atmosphere of fear.
The politics of the Warring States period Rival factions Struggle for Control over China Massive armies (half a million per army was not an uncommon figure), long battles, sieges, were all common features of the Warring States battlefield. Warring States Period 475-220 BC
Qin Dynasty Much of what came to constitute China Proper was unified for the first time in 221 B.C. In that year the western frontier state of Qin, the most aggressive of the Warring States, subjugated the last of its rival states. Qin Dynasty 221 - 207 BC
Han Dynasty The Han dynasty plays a very important role in Chinese history. The Han Chinese are the predominant ethnic group in China and claim the Han dynasty as their ancestry. Han Dynasty 207 BC - AD 220 The later Han ruled China for nearly 400 years. In AD 220, the Han dynasty collapsed, plunging China into 350 years of chaos and disunity. Most importantly, the Han dynasty developed the administrative model which every successive dynasty would copy.
Why is the development of bureaucracy so important? Ancient China was a big country. Until Russia laid claim to Far East Siberia, China was the largest country in the world. It was also the most populous (60 million people at the time), To do things like collect taxes, keep the peace, and basically run a government required an efficient bureaucracy. The Chinese bureaucratic system is based on the study of the Confucianism, which provides an ideological reference point for proper behavior and loyalty to the Emperor. By developing this system, the Han emperors were able to run China with a reasonable degree of efficiency.
Yuan Dynasty Genghis Khan’s grandson Kublai Khan established a capital at what is now Beijing and militarized the nation's administration. While the time of Mongol rule is called a dynasty, most Chinese now consider it a government of occupation. Mongol rule came to an end with the establishment of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), with capitals at Beijing and Nanjing. Yuan Dynasty 1279 - 1368
Ming Dynasty Characteristics of Ming Civilization: 1) the defeated Mongols were considered barbarians and savages, so the Ming emperors tried to eradicate any trace of their presence. To do so, they sought to recreate the splendor of the past, that of the Han, Tang, and Song Dynasties. Ming Dynasty 1368 - 1644 2) the government was autocratic, with more power in the hands of the emperors than before. 3) the army, which was utilized for defense, reached a size of four million men, but there was little technological innovation and China lagged behind the West.
In 1421 the Forbidden City and the Imperial Palace of the Ming emperors were built. The Great Wall was also built in this time period.
China and the Europe Contact with Europeans began in 1515; networks of trade developed, even though a one-way voyage required a year. The Portuguese were established in Macao. The Dutch also traded with the Ming Dynasty. Catholic missionaries arrived in the sixteen century, and the Jesuits won influence at court. Beginning about the 1550s, the Ming rulers sought to isolate themselves from the rest of the world and to protect their land borders (great turning inward). Ming rule lasted until the rise of the Manchus in the 17th century.
Qing Dynasty The Manchus established the Ch’ing Dynasty, which ruled China until 1911. The ultra-conservative Manchus had no room in their world-view for relations with other nations. There was the rest of the world, and then there was China. Qing Dynasty 1644 - 1911 This viewpoint was so pervasive that Chinese reformers who advocated more flexibility in China's dealings with the West were often accused of being “Westerners with Chinese faces”.
National Awakening The “Opium War” – marks the beginning of modern Chinese consciousness. In the 19th century trade flourished, but British purchases of silk and tea far outweighed Chinese purchases of wool and spices. The Opium Wars 1839-1842, 1856-1860 In 1773 the British decided to balance the books by encouraging the sale of opium. By 1840 the Opium Wars drew Britain and China into conflict.
The resulting treaties led to the cession of Hong Kong and the signing of the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing. A subsequent land-grabbing spree by Western powers saw China carved up into spheres of influence. Treaty of Nanking 1842
The Chinese agreed to the US-proposed free-trade Open Door Policy and all of China's colonial possessions soon evaporated. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia went to the French, Burma to the British, and Korea and Taiwan to Japan.
Puyi - Last Emperor 1908-1911-1924
Revolution of 1911 Frustrated by the Qing dynasty’s resistance to reform, young officials, military officers, and students became inspired by the revolutionary ideas of Sun Yat-sen. Advocated the overthrow of the Qing dynasty and creation of a Republic of China. A revolutionary military uprising on October 10, 1911, led to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor. Sun Yat-Sen Leader of 1911 Revolution
As part of a compromise to overthrow the dynasty without a civil war, the revolutionaries and reformers allowed high Qing officials to retain prominent positions in the new republic. One of these figures, General Yuan Shikai, was chosen as the republic's first president. Before his death in 1916, Yuan unsuccessfully attempted to name himself emperor. His death left the republican government shattered, ushering in the era of the "warlords" during which China was ravaged by shifting coalitions of competing provincial military leaders. Yuan Shikai President/Emperor of China 1912-1916
Liberalism and the May 4th Movement • The era of warlords, ironically, coincided with a wave of support for western style liberal democracy. • The May 4th Movement, which began around 1915 and reached its peak in 1919. • The May 4th Movement epitomized the critique of Confucianism, which was seen as the source of China’s weakness: • too weak to fight off foreign invaders • too restricted by Confucian traditions to adopt more effective policies • too conservative to consider more innovative ideas in politics and basic social values.
During the May 4th Movement, Chinese intellectuals advocated the adoption of western style liberalism in China. They exalted the superiority of democracy and science over China’s Confucian traditions. Their slogan was “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend” This slogan would be reprised by Mao in the 1950s. Chinese support for liberal democracy ended abruptly however, after the German defeat in WWI, when Germany territorial possessions in China were awarded by the Western powers to Japan.
China under the Kuomintang In the 1920s, Sun Yat-sen established a revolutionary base in south China and set out to unite the fragmented nation. With Soviet assistance, he organized the Kuomintang (KMT or "Chinese Nationalist People's Party") and entered into an alliance with the fledgling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sun Yat-Sen Kuomintang (KMT) Chinese Nationalist Party
Many in China felt that the KMT was too moderate and founded a more zealous Chinese Communist Party in 1921, also with assistance from the Soviet Union. • A bitter rivalry developed between Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT and the CCP. • In 1927, Chiang destroyed the CCP's party organization and executed many of its leaders. • The remnants fled into the mountains of eastern China. Chinese Communist Party Kuomintang (KMT) Chinese Nationalist Party
The Long March • Finally, driven out of their mountain bases in 1934, the CCP's forces embarked on a "Long March" across China's most desolate terrain to the northwest, where they established a guerrilla base at Yan'an. • It’s estimated that of the original 100,000 people who began the six thousand mile march, only 8000 survived to reach the mountains. • During the "Long March," the Communists reorganized under a new leader, Mao Zedong.
The bitter struggle between the KMT and the CCP continued through the 14-year long Japanese invasion (1931-45). The KMT preferred to eliminate the communists before moving on to confront the growing Japanese threat. However, with the invasion of China in 1937, the two parties nominally formed a united front to oppose the Japanese.
The Empire of Japan 1937-1945 The Japanese were brutal occupiers. The most notorious act of Japanese brutality was the Nanking Massacre in 1937 where over 250,000 Chinese civilians were killed in less than 6 weeks. Nanking was not unique however, and evidence of Japanese atrocities in the countryside push the total civilian dead closer to 800,000 during that same time frame. Nanking Massacre 1937
Chinese Civil War 1945-1949 Despite some wartime cooperation between the KMT and CCP, their civil war resumed after the Japanese defeat in 1945. By 1949, the CCP occupied most of the country.
The success of the CCP was primarily found in the charismatic appeal of Mao Zedong to the peasantry, a policy of political moderation built on principles of Chinese nationalism. Mao’s People’s Liberation Army
Nationalists Withdraw to Taiwan 1949 Chiang Kai-Shek in Taiwan 1950-1975 Chiang Kai-shek fled with the remnants of his KMT government and military forces to Taiwan, where he proclaimed Taipei to be China's "provisional capital" and vowed to re-conquer the Chinese mainland.
People’s Republic of China 1949-present Mao proclaiming the PRC from Tiananmen Square
Politics in Mao’s China During the Maoist period there were three important eras: Hundred Flowers Movement Great Leap Forward Cultural Revolution Mao Zedong 1949-1976
Hundred Flowers Movement in 1957. The idea behind the movement was that constructive criticism was healthy to the state. Mao expected mild criticism, but instead got a stream of complaints about the fundamental nature of the system. There were complaints about the absence of democracy, the rule of law, free expression, and above all about the party. Hundred Flowers Movement 1957 This led to a reactionary crackdown called the Anti-Rightist campaign, purging the party of dissidents and replacing them with loyalists.
Following the Anti-Rightist campaign, Mao started a campaign that became known as the Great Leap Forward (1958–59). A campaign to encourage people to work harder not through higher wages, but by propaganda and persuasion. The Great Leap Forward 1958-1959
Next came the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the mid 1960s, Mao began to emphasize the importance of the class struggle and building the Marxist utopian state. Mao felt increasingly marginalized by moderate reformers and worried that the spirit of the revolution was loosing steam, especially in the younger generations. Cultural Revolution 1966-1976
China’s Foreign Policy Under Mao The Sino-Soviet Split
Deng Xiaoping was the symbol of the “second generation” of leaders. He was one of the party leaders persecuted during the cultural revolution and then rehabilitated in 1977, to become China’s next president and party general secretary. Deng Xiaoping will be remembered for dramatically improving the lives of many in China, but also for disappointing those who believed that political reform should accompany economic reform Deng Xiaoping 1978-1990
The Reform Era (1978–Present) Increasing market forces Dismantled the communes and encouraged individual farming, eliminated prices controls allowing prices to fluctuate with supply and demand, focused on specialization and comparative advantages in production. Increasing foreign trade and investment Created Special Economic Zones or open cities to encourage foreign trade and investment.
Reliance on the private sector In the 1950s China’s private sector was virtually eliminated. It began to revive in the 1980s in the form of small business. In the 1990s it exploded. In 1990 there were only about 10 thousand private firms in China. Today there are over 4 million. In 1990 the private sector accounted for less than 10% of China’s economic output. By today, its more than half. China is also experiencing a dramatic urbanization as migrants leave the farms in the countryside for industrial jobs in the cities.
