History of China
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The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the
The
China was first united under a single imperial state by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BCE. Orthography, weights, measures, and law were all standardized. Shortly thereafter, China entered its classical era with the Han dynasty (206 BCE – CE 220), marking a critical period. A term for the Chinese language is still "Han language", and the dominant Chinese ethnic group is known as Han Chinese. The Chinese empire reached some of its farthest geographical extents during this period. Confucianism was officially sanctioned and its core texts were edited into their received forms. Wealthy landholding families independent of the ancient aristocracy began to wield significant power. Han technology can be considered on par with that of the contemporaneous Roman Empire: mass production of paper aided the proliferation of written documents, and the written language of this period was employed for millennia afterwards. China became known internationally for its sericulture. When the Han imperial order finally collapsed after four centuries, China entered an equally lengthy period of disunity, during which Buddhism began to have a significant impact on Chinese culture, while Calligraphy, art, historiography, and storytelling flourished. Wealthy families in some cases became more powerful than the central government. The Yangtze River valley was incorporated into the dominant cultural sphere.
A period of unity began in 581 with the
Eventually, the
The 1911
Prehistory
Paleolithic (1.7 Ma – 12 ka)
The
The circumstances surrounding the
Neolithic
The
Bronze Age
Bronze artifacts have been found at the
Ancient China
Chinese historians in later periods were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty succeeding another, but the political situation in early China was much more complicated. Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang can refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou existed at the same time as the Shang.[20] This bears similarities to how China, both contemporaneously and later, has been divided into states that were not one region, legally or culturally.[21]
The earliest period once considered historical was the legendary era of the sage-emperors Yao, Shun, and Yu. Traditionally, the abdication system was prominent in this period,[22] with Yao yielding his throne to Shun, who abdicated to Yu, who founded the Xia dynasty.
Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC)
The Xia dynasty of China (from c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC) is the earliest of the Three Dynasties described in ancient historical records such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals. The dynasty is generally considered mythical by Western scholars, but in China it is usually associated with the early Bronze Age site at Erlitou that was excavated in Henan in 1959. Since no writing was excavated at Erlitou or any other contemporaneous site, there is not enough evidence to prove whether the Xia dynasty ever existed. Some archaeologists claim that the Erlitou site was the capital of the Xia dynasty.[23] In any case, the site of Erlitou had a level of political organization that would not be incompatible with the legends of Xia recorded in later texts.[24] More importantly, the Erlitou site has the earliest evidence for an elite who conducted rituals using cast bronze vessels, which would later be adopted by the Shang and Zhou.[25]
Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC)
Archaeological evidence, such as oracle bones and bronzes, as well as transmitted texts attest to the historical existence of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – 1046 BC). Findings from the earlier Shang period come from excavations at Erligang, in present-day Zhengzhou. Findings from the later Shang or Yin (殷) period, were found in profusion at Anyang, in modern-day Henan, the last of the Shang's capitals.[26] The findings at Anyang include the earliest written record of the Chinese so far discovered: inscriptions of divination records in ancient Chinese writing on the bones or shells of animals—the "oracle bones", dating from around 1250 to 1046 BC.[27]
A series of at least twenty-nine kings reigned over the Shang dynasty.[28] Throughout their reigns, according to the Shiji, the capital city was moved six times.[29] The final and most important move was to Yin during the reign of Pan Geng, around 1300 BC.[29] The term Yin dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although it has lately been used to refer specifically to the latter half of the Shang dynasty.[28]
Although written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty,[30] Western scholars are often hesitant to associate settlements that are contemporaneous with the Anyang settlement with the Shang dynasty. For example, archaeological findings at Sanxingdui suggest a technologically advanced civilization culturally unlike Anyang. The evidence is inconclusive in proving how far the Shang realm extended from Anyang. The leading hypothesis is that Anyang, ruled by the same Shang in the official history, coexisted and traded with numerous other culturally diverse settlements in the area that is now referred to as China proper.[31]
Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC)
The Zhou dynasty (1046 BC to about 256 BC) is the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, though its power declined steadily over the almost eight centuries of its existence. In the late 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty arose in the Wei River valley of modern western Shaanxi Province, where they were appointed Western Protectors by the
The kings of Zhou invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize their rule, a concept that was influential for almost every succeeding dynasty.[33] Like Shangdi, Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China.[34] It was believed that a ruler lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhou established two capitals
Spring and Autumn period (722–476 BC)
In 771 BC, King You and his forces were defeated in the Battle of Mount Li by rebel states and Quanrong barbarians. The rebel aristocrats established a new ruler, King Ping, in Luoyang,[35]: 4 beginning the second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou period, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The former period is named after the famous Spring and Autumn Annals. The decline of central power left a vacuum. The Zhou empire now consisted of hundreds of tiny states, some of them only as large as a walled town and surrounding land. These states began to fight against one another and vie for hegemony. The more powerful states tended to conquer and incorporate the weaker ones, so the number of states declined over time.[36] By the 6th century BC most small states had disappeared by being annexed and just a few large and powerful principalities remained. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars against some of them (Wu and Yue). Many new cities were established in this period and society gradually became more urbanized and commercialized. Many famous individuals such as Laozi, Confucius and Sun Tzu lived during this chaotic period.
Conflict in this period occurred both between and within states. Warfare between states forced the surviving states to develop better administrations to mobilize more soldiers and resources. Within states there was constant jockeying between elite families. For example, the three most powerful families in the Jin state—Zhao, Wei and Han—eventually overthrew the ruling family and partitioned the state between them.
The Hundred Schools of Thought of classical Chinese philosophy began blossoming during this period and the subsequent Warring States period. Such influential intellectual movements as Confucianism, Taoism,[21] Legalism and Mohism were founded, partly in response to the changing political world. The first two philosophical thoughts would have an enormous influence on Chinese culture.
Warring States period (476–221 BC)
After further political consolidations, seven prominent states remained during the 5th century BC. The years in which these states battled each other is known as the
Numerous developments were made during this period in the areas of culture and mathematics—including the Zuo Zhuan within the Spring and Autumn Annals (a literary work summarizing the preceding Spring and Autumn period), and the bundle of 21 bamboo slips from the Tsinghua collection, dated to 305 BC—being the world's earliest known example of a two-digit, base-10 multiplication table. The Tsinghua collection indicates that sophisticated commercial arithmetic was already established during this period.[37]
As neighboring territories of the seven states were annexed (including areas of modern
The state of
Imperial China
Early imperial China
Qin dynasty (221–206 BC)
Ying Zheng's establishment of the Qin dynasty (秦朝) in 221 BC effectively formalized the region as an empire, rather than a state, and its pivotal status probably led to "Qin" (秦) later evolving into the Western term "China".[38] To emphasize his sole rule, Zheng proclaimed himself Shi Huangdi (始皇帝; "First August Emperor"); the Huangdi title, derived from Chinese mythology, became the standard for subsequent rulers.[39][a] Based in Xianyang, the empire was a centralized bureaucratic monarchy, a governing scheme which dominated the future of Imperial China.[41][42] In an effort to improve the Zhou's perceived failures, this system consisted of more than 36 commanderies (郡; jun),[b] made up of counties (县; xian) and progressively smaller divisions, each with a local leader.[45]
Many aspects of society were informed by Legalism, a state ideology promoted by the emperor and his chancellor Li Si that was introduced at an earlier time by Shang Yang.[46] In legal matters this philosophy emphasized mutual responsibility in disputes and severe punishments, while economic practices included the general encouragement of agriculture and repression of trade.[46] Reforms occurred in weights and measures, writing styles (seal script) and metal currency (Ban Liang), all of which were standardized.[47][48] Traditionally, Qin Shi Huang is regarded as ordering a mass burning of books and the live burial of scholars under the guise of Legalism, though contemporary scholars express considerable doubt on the historicity of this event.[46] Despite its importance, Legalism was probably supplemented in non-political matters by Confucianism for social and moral beliefs and the five-element Wuxing (五行) theories for cosmological thought.[49]
The Qin administration kept exhaustive records on their population, collecting information on their sex, age, social status and residence.[50] Commoners, who made up over 90% of the population,[51] "suffered harsh treatment" according to the historian Patricia Buckley Ebrey, as they were often conscripted into forced labor for the empire's construction projects.[52] This included a massive system of imperial highways in 220 BC, which ranged around 4,250 miles (6,840 km) altogether.[53] Other major construction projects were assigned to the general Meng Tian, who concurrently led a successful campaign against the northern Xiongnu peoples (210s BC), reportedly with 300,000 troops.[53][c] Under Qin Shi Huang's orders, Meng supervised the combining of numerous ancient walls into what came to be known as the Great Wall of China and oversaw the building of a 500 miles (800 km) straight highway between northern and southern China.[55]
After Qin Shi Huang's death the Qin government drastically deteriorated and eventually capitulated in 207 BC after the Qin capital was captured and sacked by rebels, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of the Han Empire.[56][57]
Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220)
Western Han
The Han dynasty was founded by Liu Bang, who emerged victorious in the Chu–Han Contention that followed the fall of the Qin dynasty. A golden age in Chinese history, the Han dynasty's long period of stability and prosperity consolidated the foundation of China as a unified state under a central imperial bureaucracy, which was to last intermittently for most of the next two millennia. During the Han dynasty, territory of China was extended to most of the China proper and to areas far west. Confucianism was officially elevated to orthodox status and was to shape the subsequent Chinese civilization. Art, culture and science all advanced to unprecedented heights. With the profound and lasting impacts of this period of Chinese history, the dynasty name "Han" had been taken as the name of the Chinese people, now the dominant ethnic group in modern China, and had been commonly used to refer to Chinese language and written characters.
After the
Major military campaigns were launched to weaken the nomadic Xiongnu Empire, limiting their influence north of the Great Wall. Along with the diplomatic efforts led by Zhang Qian, the sphere of influence of the Han Empire extended to the states in the Tarim Basin, opened up the Silk Road that connected China to the west, stimulating bilateral trade and cultural exchange. To the south, various small kingdoms far beyond the Yangtze River Valley were formally incorporated into the empire.
Emperor Wu also dispatched a
After Emperor Wu the empire slipped into gradual stagnation and decline. Economically, the state treasury was strained by excessive campaigns and projects, while land acquisitions by elite families gradually drained the tax base. Various
Xin dynasty
In AD 9 the usurper Wang Mang claimed that the Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and the rise of his own, and he founded the short-lived Xin dynasty. Wang Mang started an extensive program of land and other economic reforms, including the outlawing of slavery and land nationalization and redistribution. These programs, however, were never supported by the landholding families, because they favored the peasants. The instability of power brought about chaos, uprisings, and loss of territories. This was compounded by mass flooding of the Yellow River; silt buildup caused it to split into two channels and displaced large numbers of farmers. Wang Mang was eventually killed in Weiyang Palace by an enraged peasant mob in AD 23.
Eastern Han
The Eastern Han dynasty was one of the most prolific eras of science and technology in ancient China, notably the historic invention of papermaking by Cai Lun, and the numerous scientific and mathematical contributions by the famous polymath Zhang Heng.
Six Dynasties
Three Kingdoms (AD 220–280)
By the 2nd century, the empire declined amidst land acquisitions, invasions, and feuding between
The warlord Cao Cao reunified the north in 208, and in 220 his son accepted the abdication of Emperor Xian of Han, thus initiating the Wei dynasty. Soon, Wei's rivals Shu and Wu proclaimed their independence. This period was characterized by a gradual decentralization of the state that had existed during the Qin and Han dynasties, and an increase in the power of great families.
In 266, the
Jin dynasty (AD 266–420)
The
Sixteen Kingdoms (AD 304–439)
Northern China fragmented into a series of independent states known as the
Northern and Southern dynasties (AD 420–589)
In the early 5th century China entered a period known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, in which parallel regimes ruled the northern and southern halves of the country. In the south, the Eastern Jin gave way to the
In the north the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms was extinguished in 439 by the Northern Wei, a kingdom founded by the Xianbei, a nomadic people who unified northern China. The Northern Wei eventually split into the Eastern and Western Wei, which then became the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou. These regimes were dominated by Xianbei or Han Chinese who had married into Xianbei families. During this period most Xianbei people adopted Han surnames, eventually leading to complete assimilation into the Han.
Despite the division of the country, Buddhism spread throughout the land. In southern China, fierce debates about whether
Mid-imperial China
Sui dynasty (581–618)
The short-lived Sui dynasty was a pivotal period in Chinese history. Founded by
Tang dynasty (618–907)
The Tang dynasty was a golden age of Chinese civilization, a prosperous, stable, and creative period with significant developments in culture, art, literature, particularly poetry, and technology. Buddhism became the predominant religion for the common people. Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the national capital, was the largest city in the world during its time.[64]
The first emperor,
The prosperity of the early Tang dynasty was abetted by a centralized bureaucracy. The government was organized as "
Under the Tang "equal-field system" all land was owned by the Emperor and granted to each family according to household size. Men granted land were conscripted for military service for a fixed period each year, a military policy known as the fubing system. These policies stimulated a rapid growth in productivity and a significant army without much burden on the state treasury. By the dynasty's midpoint, however, standing armies had replaced conscription, and land was continuously falling into the hands of private owners and religious institutions granted exemptions.
The dynasty continued to flourish under the rule of Empress
At the zenith of prosperity of the empire, the
In late Tang period the empire was worn out by recurring revolts of the regional military governors, while scholar-officials engaged in fierce
In 808, 30,000 Shatuo under Zhuye Jinzhong defected from the Tibetans to Tang China and the Tibetans punished them by killing Zhuye Jinzhong as they were chasing them.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960)
The period of political disunity between the Tang and the Song, known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, lasted from 907 to 960. During this half-century, China was in all respects a multi-state system. Five regimes, namely, (Later) Liang, Tang, Jin, Han and Zhou, rapidly succeeded one another in control of the traditional Imperial heartland in northern China. Among the regimes, rulers of (Later) Tang, Jin and Han were sinicized Shatuo Turks, which ruled over an ethnic majority of Han Chinese in the north. More stable and smaller regimes of mostly ethnic Han rulers coexisted in south and western China over the period, cumulatively constituted the "Ten Kingdoms".
Amidst political chaos in the north, the strategic
Late imperial China
Song, Liao, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties (960–1279)
In 960, the Song dynasty was founded by
Aiming to recover the strategic
Within the Liao Empire the
Despite its military weakness, the Song dynasty is widely considered to be the high point of classical Chinese civilization. The
The Song dynasty was considered to be the golden age of great advancements in science and technology of China, thanks to innovative scholar-officials such as
There was court intrigue between the political reformers and conservatives, led by the chancellors
The Song dynasty was also a period of major innovation in the
The advances in civilization during the Song dynasty came to an abrupt end following the devastating Mongol conquest, during which the population sharply dwindled, with a marked contraction in economy. Despite viciously halting Mongol advance for more than three decades, the Southern Song capital Hangzhou fell in 1276, followed by the final annihilation of the Song standing navy at the Battle of Yamen in 1279.
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
The
A series of
While the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty adopted substantially to Chinese culture, their
Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reported approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest had been completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people.[74] This major decline is not necessarily due only to Mongol killings. Scholars such as Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to record rather than an actual decrease; others such as Timothy Brook argue that the Mongols created a system of enserfment among a huge portion of the Chinese populace, causing many to disappear from the census altogether; other historians including William McNeill and David Morgan consider that plague was the main factor behind the demographic decline during this period. In the 14th century China suffered additional depredations from epidemics of plague, estimated to have killed around a quarter of the population of China.[75]: 348–351
Throughout the Yuan dynasty, there was some general sentiment among the populace against the Mongol dominance. Yet rather than the nationalist cause, it was mainly strings of natural disasters and incompetent governance that triggered widespread peasant uprisings since the 1340s. After the
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
The Ming dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368, who proclaimed himself as the Hongwu Emperor. The capital was initially set at Nanjing, and was later moved to Beijing from Yongle Emperor's reign onward.
Urbanization increased as the population grew and as the division of labor grew more complex. Large urban centers, such as Nanjing and Beijing, also contributed to the growth of private industry. In particular, small-scale industries grew up, often specializing in paper, silk, cotton, and porcelain goods. For the most part, however, relatively small urban centers with markets proliferated around the country. Town markets mainly traded food, with some necessary manufactures such as pins or oil.
Despite the
The
The dynasty had a strong and complex central government that unified and controlled the empire. The emperor's role became more autocratic, although Hongwu Emperor necessarily continued to use what he called the "Grand Secretariat" to assist with the immense paperwork of the bureaucracy, including memorials (petitions and recommendations to the throne), imperial edicts in reply, reports of various kinds, and tax records. It was this same bureaucracy that later prevented the Ming government from being able to adapt to changes in society, and eventually led to its decline.
The Yongle Emperor strenuously tried to extend China's influence beyond its borders by demanding other rulers send ambassadors to China to present tribute. A large navy was built, including four-masted ships displacing 1,500 tons. A standing army of 1 million troops was created. The Chinese armies
In 1449
At sea the Ming became increasingly isolationist after the death of the Yongle Emperor. The treasure voyages which sailed the Indian Ocean were discontinued, and the
In 1556, during the rule of the Jiajing Emperor, the Shaanxi earthquake killed about 830,000 people, the deadliest earthquake of all time.
The Ming dynasty intervened deeply in the
Qing dynasty (1636–1912)
The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) was the last imperial dynasty in China. Founded by the
The Manchus enforced a 'queue order', forcing Han Chinese men to adopt the Manchu
Over the next half-century, all areas previously under the Ming dynasty were consolidated under the Qing. Conquests in Central Asia in the eighteenth century extended territorial control. Between 1673 and 1681, the Kangxi Emperor suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, an uprising of three generals in Southern China who had been denied hereditary rule of large fiefdoms granted by the previous emperor. In 1683, the Qing staged an amphibious assault on southern Taiwan, bringing down the rebel Kingdom of Tungning, which was founded by the Ming loyalist Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) in 1662 after the fall of the Southern Ming, and had served as a base for continued Ming resistance in Southern China. The Qing defeated the Russians at Albazin, resulting in the Treaty of Nerchinsk.
By the end of Qianlong Emperor's long reign in 1796, the Qing Empire was at its zenith. The Qing ruled more than one-third of the world's population, and had the largest economy in the world. By area it was one of the largest empires ever.
In the 19th century the empire was internally restive and externally threatened by western powers. The defeat by the
Internally the
Yet the dynasty appeared to recover in the Tongzhi Restoration (1860–1872), led by Manchu royal family reformers and Han Chinese officials such as Zeng Guofan and his proteges Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang. Their Self-Strengthening Movement made effective institutional reforms, imported Western factories and communications technology, with prime emphasis on strengthening the military. However, the reform was undermined by official rivalries, cynicism, and quarrels within the imperial family. The defeat of Yuan Shikai's modernized "Beiyang Fleet" in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) led to the formation of the New Army. The Guangxu Emperor, advised by Kang Youwei, then launched a comprehensive reform effort, the Hundred Days' Reform (1898). Empress Dowager Cixi, however, feared that precipitous change would lead to bureaucratic opposition and foreign intervention and quickly suppressed it.
In the summer of 1900, the
The Qing court then instituted "
Modern China
Republic of China (since 1912)
The provisional government of the Republic of China was formed in Nanjing on 12 March 1912. Sun Yat-sen became President of the Republic of China, but he turned power over to Yuan Shikai, who commanded the New Army. Over the next few years, Yuan proceeded to abolish the national and provincial assemblies and declared himself as the emperor of Empire of China in late 1915. Yuan's imperial ambitions were fiercely opposed by his subordinates; faced with the prospect of rebellion, he abdicated in March 1916 and died of natural causes in June.
Yuan's death in 1916 left a power vacuum; the republican government was all but shattered. This opened the way for the Warlord Era, during which much of China was ruled by shifting coalitions of competing provincial military leaders and the Beiyang government. Intellectuals, disappointed in the failure of the Republic, launched the New Culture Movement.
In 1919, the May Fourth Movement began as a response to the pro-Japanese terms imposed on China by the Treaty of Versailles following World War I. It quickly became a nationwide protest movement. The protests were a moral success as the cabinet fell and China refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which had awarded German holdings of Shandong to Japan. Memory of the mistreatment at Versailles fuels resentment into the 21st century.[85]
Political and intellectual ferment waxed strong throughout the 1920s and 1930s. According to Patricia Ebrey:
- "Nationalism, patriotism, progress, science, democracy, and freedom were the goals; imperialism, feudalism, warlordism, autocracy, patriarchy, and blind adherence to tradition were the enemies. Intellectuals struggled with how to be strong and modern and yet Chinese, how to preserve China as a political entity in the world of competing nations."[86]
In the 1920s Sun Yat-sen established a revolutionary base in Guangzhou and set out to unite the fragmented nation. He welcomed assistance from the Soviet Union (itself fresh from Lenin's Communist takeover) and he entered into an alliance with the fledgling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After Sun's death from cancer in 1925, one of his protégés, Chiang Kai-shek, seized control of the Nationalist Party (KMT) and succeeded in bringing most of south and central China under its rule in the Northern Expedition (1926–1927). Having defeated the warlords in the south and central China by military force, Chiang was able to secure the nominal allegiance of the warlords in the North and establish the Nationalist government in Nanking. In 1927, Chiang turned on the CCP and relentlessly purged the Communists elements in his NRA. In 1934, driven from their mountain bases such as the Chinese Soviet Republic, the CCP forces embarked on the Long March across China's most desolate terrain to the northwest, where they established a guerrilla base at Yan'an in Shaanxi. During the Long March, the communists reorganized under a new leader, Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung).
The bitter
Following the defeat of Japan in 1945, the war between the Nationalist government forces and the CCP resumed, after failed attempts at reconciliation and a negotiated settlement. By 1949, the CCP had established control over most of the country. Odd Arne Westad says the Communists won the Civil War because they made fewer military mistakes than Chiang, and because in his search for a powerful centralized government, Chiang antagonized too many interest groups in China. Furthermore, his party was weakened in the war against the Japanese. Meanwhile, the Communists told different groups, such as peasants, exactly what they wanted to hear, and cloaked themselves in the cover of Chinese Nationalism.[90] During the civil war both the Nationalists and Communists carried out mass atrocities, with millions of non-combatants killed by both sides.[91] These included deaths from forced conscription and massacres.[92] When the Nationalist government forces were defeated by CCP forces in mainland China in 1949, the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan with its forces, along with Chiang and a large number of their supporters; the Nationalist government had taken effective control of Taiwan at the end of WWII as part of the overall Japanese surrender, when Japanese troops in Taiwan surrendered to the Republic of China troops.[93]
Until the early 1970s the ROC was recognized as the sole legitimate government of China by the United Nations, the United States and most Western nations, refusing to recognize the PRC on account of the Cold War. This changed in 1971 when the PRC was seated in the United Nations, replacing the ROC. The KMT ruled Taiwan under martial law until 1987, with the stated goal of being vigilant against Communist infiltration and preparing to retake mainland China. Therefore, political dissent was not tolerated during that period.
In the 1990s the ROC underwent a major democratic reform, beginning with the 1991 resignation of the members of the
Due to the controversial nature of Taiwan's political status, the ROC is currently recognized by 12 UN member states and Holy See as of 2024 as the legitimate government of "China".
People's Republic of China (since 1949)
Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the KMT pulling out of the mainland, with the government relocating to Taipei and maintaining control only over a few islands. The CCP was left in control of mainland China. On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China.[94] "Communist China" and "Red China" were two common names for the PRC.[95]
The PRC was shaped by a
In 1972, at the peak of the Sino-Soviet split, Mao and Zhou Enlai met U.S. president Richard Nixon in Beijing to establish relations with the US. In the same year, the PRC was admitted to the United Nations in place of the Republic of China, with permanent membership of the Security Council.
A power struggle followed Mao's death in 1976. The Gang of Four were arrested and blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, marking the end of a turbulent political era in China. Deng Xiaoping outmaneuvered Mao's anointed successor chairman Hua Guofeng, and gradually emerged as the de facto leader over the next few years.
Deng Xiaoping was the
In 1989 the death of former general secretary
CCP general secretary and PRC president
Although the PRC needed economic growth to spur its development, the government began to worry that rapid economic growth was degrading the country's resources and environment. Another concern is that certain sectors of society are not sufficiently benefiting from the PRC's economic development; one example of this is the wide gap between urban and rural areas. As a result, under former CCP general secretary and President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, the PRC initiated policies to address issues of equitable distribution of resources, but the outcome was not known as of 2014[update].[101] More than 40 million farmers were displaced from their land,[102] usually for economic development, contributing to 87,000 demonstrations and riots across China in 2005.[103] For much of the PRC's population, living standards improved very substantially and freedom increased, but political controls remained tight and rural areas poor.[104]
According to the
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei in 2019 and led to a global pandemic.
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ThePingjin Campaign
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People's Republic of China 10th Anniversary Parade in Beijing
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The flag of the People's Republic of China since 1949.
See also
- Chinese emperors family tree
- Chinese exploration
- Chinese historiography
- Christianity in China
- Economic history of China
- Ethnic groups in Chinese history
- Foreign relations of imperial China
- Golden ages of China
- History of canals in China
- History of Islam in China
- History of science and technology in China
- History of Taiwan
- History of the Great Wall of China
- List of Chinese monarchs
- List of rebellions in China
- List of recipients of tribute from China
- List of tributary states of China
- Military history of China before 1912
- Naval history of China
- Population history of China
- Timeline of Chinese history
- Women in ancient and imperial China
References
Notes
- ^ In his lifetime, Ying Zheng would have been known as simply Shi Huangdi, but after the Qin's fall it became standard practice to include the dynasty's name when referring to him. In its fullest form, Ying's name would be Qin Shi Huangdi (秦始皇帝), though it is commonly abbreviated to Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇).[40]
- ^ The Shiji's description of the Qin including of 36 commanderies has now been disproven by archaeological evidence indicating more. The exact number is unknown;[43] The sinologist Derk Bodde noted that probably "four and possibly as many as half a dozen were added by 210 to the original thirty-six".[44]
- ^ Other tribes of the north, collectively called the Wu Hu by the Qin, were free from Chinese rule during the majority of the dynasty.[54]
Citations
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- ^ Zhu et al. 2008, pp. 1077, 1084–1085.
- ^ Wu & Lin 1983, p. 92.
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- ^ James et al. 1989, p. 2.
- ^ a b Liu et al. 2015, p. 696.
- ^ Hu et al. 2018, p. 82.
- ^ "Neolithic Period in China". Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. October 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ^ a b c Lander, Brian (2021). The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire. Yale University Press.
- ^ S2CID 128522781. Archived from the originalon 1 January 2011.
- ^ "Rice and Early Agriculture in China". Legacy of Human Civilizations. Mesa Community College. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ^ Rincon, Paul (17 April 2003). "'Earliest writing' found in China". BBC News.
- ISBN 978-1-55729-071-7
- ISBN 978-90-481-9412-4.
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- ^ Leadership Strategies, Economic Activity, and Interregional Interaction: Social Complexity in Northeast China, p. 89
- ^ Bagley 1999, p. 135.
- ^ Rawson, Jessica. "New discoveries from the early dynasties". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
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Further reading
- Dardess, John W. (2010). Governing China, 150–1850. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60384-311-9.
- Fairbank, John Kingand Goldman, Merle. China: A New History. 2nd ed. (Harvard UP, 2006). 640 pp.
- Gernet, Jacques. A History of Chinese Civilization (1996). One-volume survey.
- Li, Xiaobing, ed. China at War: An Encyclopedia. (ABC-CLIO, 2012).
- Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China, 900–1800 (Harvard UP, 1999), 1,136 pp. Authoritative treatment of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and early Qing dynasties.
- Perkins, Dorothy. Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture (Facts on File, 1999). 662 pp.
- Roberts, J. A. G. A Concise History of China (Harvard U. Press, 1999). 341 pp.
- Stanford, Edward. Atlas of the Chinese Empire, containing separate maps of the eighteen provinces of China (2nd ed., 1917). Legible color maps.
- Wright, David Curtis. History of China (2001) 257 pp.
External links
- China Knowledge, a comprehensive online encyclopedia of China from Ulrich Theobald
- The Berkshire Encyclopedia of China on Oxford Reference(subscription required)
- China Rediscovers its Own History, a lengthy lecture on Chinese history given by Yu Ying-shih