China
China (
i /ˈtʃaɪnə/) is seen variously as an ancient
civilization extending over a large area in
East Asia, a
nation and/or a
multinational entity.
With nearly 4,000 years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations.
[1][2][3] Prior to the 19th century, it possessed one of the most advanced societies and economies in the world; but through successive
dynasties it then missed the
Industrial Revolution and began to decline.
[4][5] In the 19th and 20th century,
imperialism, internal weakness and
civil wars damaged the country and its economy, and led to the overthrow of
imperial rule.
In 1949, after major combat ended in the
Chinese Civil War,
two states calling themselves "China" emerged:
The People's Republic of China (PRC), established in 1949, commonly known as China, has control over mainland China and the largely self-governing territories of Hong Kong (since 1997) and Macau (since 1999).
The Republic of China (ROC) established in 1912 in mainland China, now commonly known as Taiwan, has control over the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, the Pratas island group, and a few other outlying islands.
In the 1950s, change to economic policies in Taiwan transformed the island into a technology-oriented industrialized developed economy after a period of high growth rates and rapid industrialization. In mainland China, in the 1970s, reforms known as the
Four Modernizations improved agriculture, industry, technology and defense, raising
living standards and making the PRC one of the
great powers.
[6][7][8]
Historically,
cultural sphere of China has extended across East Asia as a whole, with
Chinese religion,
customs, and
writing systems being adopted to varying degrees by neighbors such as
Japan,
Korea and
Vietnam. Through its history, China was the source of
many major inventions.
[9] It has also one of the world's oldest
written language systems. The first evidence of human presence in the region was found at the
Zhoukoudian cave. It is one of the earliest known specimens of
Homo erectus, now commonly known as the
Peking Man, estimated to have lived from 300,000 to 780,000 years ago.
[10][11][12]
Etymology
Main article:
Names of China 
The
traditional (top) and
simplified (bottom) characters for "China" in
Chinese. The first character means "middle" or "center", and the second character means "country".
English names
The word "China" is derived from
Cin (چین), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by
Marco Polo.
[13][14] The first recorded use in English dates from 1555.
[15] In early usage, "china" as a term for
porcelain was spelled differently from the name of the country, the two words being derived from separate Persian words.
[16] Both these words are derived from the
Sanskrit word
Cīna (चीन),
[16] used as a name for China as early as AD 150.
[17]
There are various scholarly theories regarding the origin of this word. The traditional theory, proposed in the 17th century by
Martino Martini, is that "China" is derived from "Qin" (秦, pronounced
chin), the westernmost of the Chinese kingdoms during the
Zhou Dynasty, or from the succeeding
Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC).
[18] In the
Hindu scriptures
Mahābhārata (5th century BC)
[19] and
Manusmṛti (Laws of Manu) (2nd century BC), the Sanskrit word
Cīna (चीन) is used to refer to a country located in the Tibeto-Burman borderlands east of
India.
[20] Another theory is that this word is derived from
Yelang, an ancient kingdom in what is now
Guizhou whose inhabitants referred to themselves as 'Zina'.
[21]
Chinese names
The official name of China changed with each
dynasty or with each new government, the imperial governments referred to themselves as the Empire of the Great
Qing, Empire of the Great
Ming, etc. However, the common name remained as
Zhōngguó (
simplified Chinese:
中国;
traditional Chinese:
中國,
Mandarin pronunciation: [tʂʊ́ŋkwɔ̌]) through dynastic changes. This translates traditionally as "Middle Kingdom," or as "central country."
The name
Zhōngguó first appeared in the
Classic of History (6th century BC), and was used to refer to the late Zhou Dynasty, as they believed that they were the "center of civilization,"
[nb 1] while peoples in the four cardinals were called
Eastern Yi,
Southern Man,
Western Rong and
Northern Di respectively. Some texts imply that "Zhōngguó" was originally meant to refer to the capital of the sovereign, to differ from the capital of his vassals.
[nb 2] The use of
"Zhōngguó" implied a claim of political legitimacy, and
"Zhōngguó" was often used by states who saw themselves as the sole legitimate successor to previous Chinese dynasties; for example, in the era of the
Southern Song Dynasty, both the
Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song state claimed to be
"Zhōngguó."[nb 3]
Zhōngguó was used as a common name for the
Republic of China (
Zhonghua Minguo) after its establishment in 1912. After the Communists took over control of China in 1949, they established the
People's Republic of China (PRC). As a result, the PRC is now commonly known as "China" or "
Zhōngguó". The Republic of China nowadays is commonly known as "
Taiwan".
[nb 4]
History
Ancient China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent
writing,
[9] the others being
Mesopotamia, the
Indus Valley Civilization, the
Maya and other
Mesoamerican civilizations, the
Minoan civilization of ancient
Greece, and
Ancient Egypt.
[22]
Prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest
hominids in China date from 250,000 to 2.24 million years ago.
[23][24] A cave in
Zhoukoudian (near present-day
Beijing) has fossils dated at somewhere between 300,000 to 780,000 years.
[10][11][12] The fossils are of
Peking Man, an example of
Homo erectus who used
fire.
The earliest evidence of a fully modern human in China comes from
Liujiang County,
Guangxi, where a cranium has been found and dated at approximately 67,000 years old. Although much controversy persists over the dating of the Liujiang remains,
[25][26] a partial skeleton from Minatogawa in
Okinawa, Japan has been dated to 16,600 to 18,250 years old, so modern humans probably reached China before that time.
[citation needed]
Dynastic rule
Jade deer ornament made during the first historic Chinese dynasty, the
Shang, 17th to 11th Century BC.
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 in 1959.
[27] 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.
The first Chinese dynasty that left historical records, the loosely feudal
Shang (Yin), settled along the
Yellow River in eastern China from the 17th to the 11th century BC. The
Oracle bone script of the Shang Dynasty represent the oldest forms of Chinese writing found and the direct ancestor of modern
Chinese characters used throughout East Asia. The Shang were invaded from the west by the
Zhou, who ruled from the 12th to the 5th century BC, until their centralized authority was slowly eroded by feudal warlords. Many independent states eventually emerged out of the weakened Zhou state, and continually waged war with each other in the
Spring and Autumn Period, only occasionally deferring to the Zhou king. By the time of the
Warring States Period, there were seven powerful sovereign states, each with its own king, ministry and army.
The first unified Chinese state was established by
Qin Shi Huang of the
Qin state in 221 BC, who proclaimed himself as the "First Emperor" and created many reforms in the Empire, notably the forced standardization of the Chinese language and measurements. The
Qin Dynasty lasted only fifteen years, as its harsh
legalist and authoritarian policies soon led to widespread rebellion.
The subsequent
Han Dynasty ruled China between 206 BC and 220 AD, and created a lasting
Han cultural identity among its populace that extends to the present day. The Han Dynasty
expanded the empire'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 such as
Wu opened diplomatic relations with Japan, introducing the Chinese writing system there. In 580 AD, 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.
Under the succeeding
Tang and
Song dynasties, Chinese technology and culture reached its zenith. The Tang Empire was at its height of power until the middle of the 8th century, when the
An Shi Rebellion destroyed the prosperity of the empire. 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, and 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 for philosophy and the arts.
Landscape art and
portrait painting were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity after the Tang Dynasty, and social elites gathered to view art, share their own, and trade precious artworks.
Philosophers such as
Cheng Yi and
Chu Hsi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused
Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought about the core doctrine of
Neo-Confucianism.
In 1271, the
Mongol leader and fifth
Khagan of the
Mongol Empire Kublai Khan established the
Yuan Dynasty, with the last remnant of the Song Dynasty falling to the Yuan in 1279. Before the
Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people.
[28] A peasant named
Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the
Ming Dynasty.
[29] 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.
Under the Ming Dynasty, China had another golden age, with one of the strongest navies in the world, a rich and prosperous economy and a flourishing of the arts and culture. It was during this period that
Zheng He led explorations throughout the world, possibly reaching America. During the early Ming Dynasty China's capital was moved from
Nanjing to
Beijing. In 1644 Beijing was sacked by a coalition of rebel forces led by
Li Zicheng, a minor Ming official turned leader of the peasant revolt. The last Ming Emperor
Chongzhen committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu
Qing Dynasty then allied with
Ming Dynasty general
Wu Sangui and overthrew Li's short-lived
Shun Dynasty, and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of 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. At this time China awoke to the significance of the rest of the world, the West in particular. 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. European imperialism proved to be disastrous for China:
The Arrow War (1856–1860) [2nd Opium War] saw another disastrous defeat for China. The subsequent passing of the humiliating Treaty of Tianjin in 1856 and the Beijing Conventions of 1860 opened up more of the country to foreign penetrations and more ports for their vessels. Hong Kong was ceded over to the British. Thus, the "unequal treaties system" was established. Heavy indemnities had to be paid by China, and more territory and control were taken over by the foreigners.[30]
The weakening of the Qing regime, and the apparent humiliation of the unequal treaties in the eyes of the Chinese people had several consequences. One consequence was the
Taiping Civil War, which lasted from 1851 to 1862. It was led by
Hong Xiuquan, who was partly influenced by an idiosyncratic interpretation 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 20 million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the
World War I), with some estimates of up to two hundred million. Other costly rebellions followed the Taiping Rebellion, such as the
Punti-Hakka Clan Wars (1855–67),
Nien Rebellion (1851–1868),
Muslim Rebellion (1862–77),
Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873) and the Miao Rebellion (1854–73).
[31][32]
These rebellions resulted in an estimated loss of several million lives each and led to disastrous results for the economy and the countryside.
[33][34][35] The flow of British opium hastened the empire's decline. In the 19th century, the age of colonialism was at its height and the great
Chinese Diaspora began. About 35 million
overseas Chinese live in Southeast Asia today.
[36] The famine in 1876–79 claimed between 9 and 13 million lives in northern China.
[37] From 108 BC to 1911 AD, China experienced 1,828 famines,
[38] or one per year, somewhere in the empire.
[39]
While China was wracked by continuous war,
Meiji Japan succeeded in rapidly modernizing its military and set its sights on Korea and Manchuria. At the request of the Korean emperor, the Chinese government sent troops to aid in suppressing the
Tonghak Rebellion in 1894. However, Japan also sent troops to Korea, leading to the
First Sino-Japanese War, which resulted in Qing China's loss of influence in the
Korean Peninsula as well as the cession of
Taiwan to Japan.
Following this series of defeats,
a reform plan for the empire to become a modern Meiji-style
constitutional monarchy was drafted by the
Guangxu Emperor 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 14 November 1908, suspiciously just a day before Cixi's own death. With the throne empty, he was succeeded by Cixi's handpicked heir, his two year old nephew
Puyi, who became the Xuantong Emperor. Guangxu's consort, who became the
Empress Dowager Longyu. In another coup de'tat,
Yuan Shikai overthrew the last Qing emperor, and forced empress Dowager Longyu to sign the abdication decree as regent in 1912, ending two thousand years of imperial rule in China. She died, childless, in 1913.
Republic of China (1912–49)
Map of Republic of China printed by Rand McNally & Co. in the year 1914.
On 1 January 1912, the
Republic of China was established, heralding the end of the
Qing Dynasty.
Sun Yat-sen of the
Kuomintang (the KMT or Nationalist Party) was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, the presidency was later given to
Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general, who had ensured the defection of the entire
Beiyang Army from the Qing Empire to the revolution. In 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself
Emperor of China but was forced to abdicate and return the
state to a republic when he realized it was an unpopular move, not only with the population but also with his own Beiyang Army and its commanders.
After Yuan Shikai's death in 1916, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally recognized but virtually powerless national government seated in Peking (
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 Nanking (
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
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) (part of
World War II) forced an uneasy alliance between the
Nationalists and the
Communists as well as causing around 20 million Chinese civilian deaths.
[40] 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 in mainland China.
People's Republic of China & Post Civil War (1949–present)
After its victory in the
Chinese Civil War, the
Communist Party of China (CPC) led by
Mao Zedong gained control of most of Mainland China. On 1 October 1949, they established the People's Republic of China as a
socialist state headed by a "Democratic Dictatorship" with the CPC as the ruling political party, thus, laying claim as the
successor state of the ROC. The central government of the
Chinese Nationalist Party led by
Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the island of
Taiwan that it had administered at the end of World War II, and moved the ROC government there. Major armed hostilities ceased in 1950 but no peace treaty has been signed.
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, and a number of smaller islands including
Quemoy and
Matsu). Today, the ROC has active political participation by all sectors of society. The main cleavage in ROC politics is the issue of eventual political unification with the Chinese mainland vs. formal independence of Taiwan.
After the Chinese Civil War, mainland China saw a dramatic improvement on life expectancy, leading to an explosion in population.
[41][42][43] A series of disruptive
socioeconomic movements started in the late 1950s with the
Great Leap Forward and continued in the 1960s with the
Cultural Revolution. The
Great Chinese Famine resulted in an estimated 30 to 36 million deaths.
[44][45] With the death of its first generation Communist Party leaders such as
Mao Zedong and
Zhou Enlai, the PRC began implementing a series of political and economic reforms advocated by
Deng Xiaoping that eventually formed the foundation for mainland China's rapid economic development starting in the 1990s.
Post-1978 reforms in mainland China have led to some relaxation of control over many areas of society. However, the PRC government still has almost absolute control over politics, and it continually seeks to eradicate what it perceives as threats to the social, political and economic 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 ceded to the PRC by the United Kingdom, and in 1999,
Macau was handed over by
Portugal.
Since 1949,
mainland China is administered by the
People's Republic of China—a one-party state under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party—while the island of
Taiwan and surrounding islands are administered by the
Republic of China—a democratic multi-party state. After the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, both states claimed to be the sole legitimate ruler of all of China. After the Kuomintang retreat to
Taiwan in 1949, the
Republic of China had maintained official diplomatic relations with most states around the world, but by the 1970s, a shift had occurred in international diplomatic circles and the
People's Republic of China gained the upper hand in international diplomatic relations and recognition count.
In 1971, under
UN resolution 2758, the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek to the
United Nations were expelled from the intergovernmental organization. With the expulsion of the representatives, and effectively the
Republic of China, the representatives of the
People's Republic of China were invited to assume China's seat on the
UN Security Council, the
UN General Assembly and other
United Nations councils and agencies. Later attempts by the
Republic of China to rejoin the UN have either been blocked by the
People's Republic of China, which has veto power on the
UN Security Council, or rejected by the
United Nations Secretariat or a
United Nations General Assembly committee responsible for the General Assembly's agenda.
[46]
Since the relocation of its capital to Taiwan, the Republic of China has not formally renounced its claim to authority over all of China, nor has it changed its official maps, which include the
mainland and
Mongolia. Following the introduction of full democracy, and the electoral victory of the
DPP's
Chen Shui-bian in the presidential elections, the ROC had adopted a policy of separating the state's identity from "China", while moving towards identifying the state as "Taiwan".
Modern
Nanjing skyline. China is the world's fastest-growing major economy.
However, the ROC has not made any formal moves to change the name, flag, or national anthem of the state to reflect a Taiwanese identity due to the lack of consensus within Taiwan, pressure from the United States and the fear of invasion or military action from the People's Republic of China against the island. The Republic of China during the DPP years did not actively pursue its claims on mainland China or Mongolia. However, after having been elected as president, KMT's
Ma Ying-jeou asserted that, constitutionally, mainland China is part of the Republic of China.
[47] The People's Republic of China claims to have succeeded the Republic of China as the sole legitimate governing authority of all of China, which, from the official viewpoint of the People's Republic of China, includes the island of
Taiwan.
Over the last 50 years, both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China have used diplomatic and economic means to compete for recognition in the international arena. Because most international, intergovernmental organizations observe the
One-China policy of the People's Republic of China, the PRC has been able to pressure organizations, such as the
World Health Organization and the
International Olympic Committee, to refuse to officially recognize the Republic of China. Due to the One-China policy, states around the world are pressured to refuse, or to cut off diplomatic relations with the Republic of China. As a result,
23 U.N. member states currently maintain official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, while the vast majority of U.N. member states maintain official diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
Territory and environment
Historical political divisions
Territories occupied by different dynasties as well as modern political states throughout the history 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 the Chinese empire.
Geography and climate
Composite satellite photo.
Terrace rice fields in
Yunnan.
China 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, and 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.
[48]
Main geographic features and regions of China.
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.
[49] Dust has blown to southern Mainland China and Taiwan, and has reached the West Coast of the United States. Water, erosion, and
pollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries.
Economy
Many analysts assert that China is one of the leading examples of
state capitalism in the 21st century.
[50][51][52]
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. China's traditional values were derived from various versions of
Confucianism. 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".
[53]
With the rise of European 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 European 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.
Arts, scholarship, and literature
Main article:
Chinese art 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 BC. 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, which was written from 109 BC to 91 BC.
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, and saw the creation of works such as
Su Song's
Xin Yixiang Fayao and
Shen Kuo's
Dream Pool Essays. There were also enormous works of historiography and large encyclopedias, such as
Sima Guang's
Zizhi Tongjian of 1084 AD or the
Four Great Books of Song fully compiled and edited by the 11th century.
For centuries, religious and social advancement in China could be achieved through high performance on the
imperial examinations. This led to the creation of a
meritocracy, although success 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 later spread throughout
East Asia and
Southeast Asia, particularly to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
Demography
Hundreds of
ethnic groups have existed in China throughout its history. The largest ethnic group in China by far is the
Han. This group, however, is internally diverse and can be further divided into smaller ethnic groups that share similar 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 still often remain in various regions of China. Because of this, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions while still identifying as Han.
Several ethnicities have also dramatically shaped Han 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 modern term
Chinese nation (
Zhonghua Minzu) is now used to describe a notion of a Chinese nationality that transcends ethnic divisions.
Languages
Most languages in China belong to the
Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by 29 ethnicities. There are also several major
linguistic groups within the
Chinese language itself. The most spoken varieties are
Mandarin (spoken by over 70% of the population),
Wu,
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.
[54]
Classical Chinese was the written standard in China for thousands of years, 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.
Religion
The "official" orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China since at least the
Shang Dynasty (1766 BC) until the overthrow of the last dynasty (1911 AD) centered on the worship of
Shangdi ("Supreme God") or "
Heaven" as an omnipotent force.
[55] This faith system pre-dated the development of
Confucianism and
Taoism and the introduction of
Buddhism,
Islam and
Christianity.
It has features of
monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, endowed with personality but no corporeal form. From the writings of Confucius, we find that Confucius himself believed that Heaven cannot be deceived, Heaven guides people's lives and maintains a personal relationship with them, and that Heaven gives tasks for people to fulfill to teach them righteousness (
yi, 義).
[55] However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with
Shangdi. Still, variants such as
Mohism approached high monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of
Shangdi, which included observing "universal love" (
jian'ai, 兼爱) and shunning
fatalism.
Worship of
Shangdi and Heaven in ancient China includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the
Temple of Heaven in Beijing, and the offering of prayers. The ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty would perform annual sacrificial rituals to Heaven, usually by slaughtering a bull as sacrifice. Although its popularity gradually diminished after the advent of Taoism and Buddhism, among other religions, its concepts remained in use throughout the pre-modern period and have been incorporated in later religions in China, including terminology used in Chinese Christianity.
The Round Mound Altar, the altar proper at the
Temple of Heaven in Beijing, where the Emperor communed with Heaven
Taoism is an indigenous religion of China and its beginnings are traditionally traced to the composition of
Laozi'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.
Typical interior of a temple.
Buddhism in China was first introduced from India 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 (
Dacheng, 大乘) 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. 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, or a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors, as one of the most important virtues. Chinese people generally offer prayers and food for their 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.
Islam in China dates to a mission in
651, 18 years after
Muhammad's death. Muslims came to China for trade, dominating the import/export industry during the
Song Dynasty.
[56][57] They became influential in government circles, including
Zheng He,
Lan Yu and
Yeheidie'erding, who designed the Yuan Dynasty's capital,
Khanbaliq.
Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study.
[58] The
Qing Dynasty waged war and
genocide against Muslims in the
Dungan revolt and
Panthay Rebellion.
[59][60][61]
Judaism in China dates to as early as the 7th or 8th century
CE. In the first half of the 20th century, many
Jews arrived in
Shanghai and
Hong Kong during those cities' periods of economic expansion, seeking refuge from
the Holocaust. Shanghai was notable for its volume of Jewish refugees, as it was the only port in the world to accept them without an entry visa.
Christianity in China has developed since at least the 7th century AD with the introduction of the
Assyrian Church of the East. Christianity began to make significant inroads in China after the 16th century through
Jesuit and later
Protestant missionaries. The
Taiping Rebellion was influenced to some degree by Christian teachings, and the
Boxer Rebellion was in part a reaction against Christianity in China.
Sports and recreation
- For sports in the People's Republic of China, see Sport in the People's Republic of China, Sports in Hong Kong, and Sports in Macau.
- For sports in the Republic of China, see Sports in Taiwan.
Many historians believe that
association football originated in China, where a form of the sport may have appeared around 1000 AD.
[62] Other popular sports include
martial arts, table tennis, badminton, and more recently, golf. Basketball is now popular among young people in urban centers.
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.
[63]
Physical fitness is highly regarded. It is common for the elderly to practice
Tai Chi Chuan and
qigong in parks. Board games such as
International Chess,
Go (Weiqi), and
Xiangqi (Chinese chess) are also common and have organized formal competitions. The capital city of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, hosted the
2008 Olympic Games, a major international sporting event.
Science and technology
Remains of an ancient Chinese handheld
crossbow, 2nd century BC
Among the technological accomplishments of
ancient China were paper (not
papyrus) and
papermaking,
woodblock printing and
movable type printing, the early
lodestone and needle compass, gunpowder, toilet paper, early
seismological detectors, matches,
pound locks, the double-action
piston pump,
blast furnace and
cast iron, the iron plough, the multi-tube
seed drill, the
suspension bridge,
[64] natural gas as fuel, the
differential gear for the
South Pointing Chariot, the hydraulic-powered
armillary sphere, the hydraulic-powered
trip hammer, the mechanical
chain drive, the mechanical
belt drive, the
raised-relief map, the
propeller, the
crossbow, the cannon, the rocket, the
multistage rocket, etc.
Chinese
astronomers were among the first to record observations of a
supernova. The work of the astronomer
Shen Kuo (1031–95) alone was most impressive, as he theorized that the sun and moon were spherical, corrected the position of the
polestar with his improved sighting tube, discovered the concept of
true north, wrote of planetary motions such as
retrogradation, and compared the orbital paths of the planets to points on the shape of a rotating willow leaf. With evidence for them, he also postulated geological theories for the processes of land formation in
geomorphology and climate change in
paleoclimatology.
Other important astronomers included
Gan De,
Shi Shen,
Zhang Heng,
Yi Xing,
Zhang Sixun,
Su Song and
Guo Shoujing.
Chinese mathematics evolved independently of
Greek mathematics and is therefore of great interest in the
history of mathematics. The Chinese were also keen on documenting all of their technological achievements, such as in the
Tiangong Kaiwu encyclopedia written by
Song Yingxing (1587–1666).
China's science and technology had fallen 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.
See also
Notes
7:45 pmApp Guide: As seen at ExpoWe spent Day One of Macworld 2011 walking the show floor. Here are some iOS apps that caught our eye.
6:55 pmAmazon Kindle book sales soarDuring its earnings announcement today, Amazon released some tantalizing tidbits that show just how its book business has evolved in the past year. The company...
6:30 pmFive simple ways to speed up your home networkSqueezing the most out performance out of your network is called optimizing, and it isn't very hard, and it doesn't have to be all that expensive.
6:00 pmReview: iBank 4 personal finance softwareiBank is an excellent personal finance application that should easily replace any application you’re currently using. Beautifully designed and easy to use, iBank offers you almost everything you need to track your personal finances with a minimal amount of hassle.
8:00 amExpo Notes: Cross-dressing works for CodeWeaversOne software company asks: What's it take to get a little attention around here?
6:34 amupdated Apple releases iTunes 10.1.2Apple on Thursday released iTunes 10.1.2, which may or may not include support for syncing CDMA iPhone 4s.
4:00 amExpo Notes: The biggest trends on the 2011 show floorIt's Expo time, and a few key things are dominating the show floor this year. Especially iOS device cases.
3:41 amExpo Remainders: Keyboards, multimedia, and iPad mounts, oh my!Macworld 2011 got under way Thursday in San Francisco, bringing a steady flow of product announcements from the 250 vendors on hand. Here are a few products that grabbed our attention, ranging from keyboard protection to better ways to watch movies at home.
3:35 amExpo Notes: HRT iStreamerOn the show floor, High Resolution Technologies (HRT) was showing off its latest creation, the iStreamer, for Dock-based Apple devices.
2:05 amGoogle adds pop-up alerts to GmailPeople who use Gmail with the Chrome browser can now be notified via desktop pop-up alerts whenever they receive a new e-mail or chat message.
1:10 amupdated Expo Notes: SMK-Link shows off compact keyboard prototypeMac users with a Mac mini-based home entertainment system may appreciate the upcoming Ultra Mini Keyboard for Mac. It's a compact input device that connects to your Mac via RF.
12:45 amIRS2Go tracks your tax returnsWondering when -- if ever -- the federal government is going to get your tax refund back to you? IRS2Go, a new iPhone app from the Internal Revenue Service, means the days of checking your bank balance every 10 minutes is over.
12:35 amNews Corp issues invitations for launch of The DailyNews Corp on Thursday sent out invitations for its-long rumored subscription-based iPad app The Daily.
12:30 amGoogle promises big changes to spur Android app salesUnhappy with Android Market sales, Google is introducing a range of new features to spur app purchases.
12:12 amSkype 5.0 out of beta, adds fee for group video chatSkype 5.0 comes out of beta with a few user-interface tweaks and the introduction of a fee for its group video chat feature.
12:00 amAT&T CEO: Loss of iPhone will cause 'rocky' timeAT&T's Randall Stephenson, speaking to reporter during the company's earnings report, said that losing iPhone exclusivity next month makes the coming year "rocky, volatile and hard to predict."
Jan 27Expo: Recosoft announces InDesign-to-Office conversion toolID2Office converts files from InDesign CS4 and CS5 into Microsoft Word and PowerPoint file types, preserving the layout of the original.
Jan 27Review: Soundrop for iPhone and iPadThis music-making app isn't complicated, but if you enjoy observing how fascinating patterns emerge from simple actions, you'll probably appreciate Soundrop.
Jan 27New Ricoh CX5 camera set to replace CX4Ricoh has just announced the launch of its new CX5 compact camera, which replaces the CX4.
Jan 27Apple introducing iPad in IndiaApple's iPad will be available in India starting Friday; but the market promises to be tough
Jan 27AT&T revenue up, driven by smartphone growthDuring its last quarter as the exclusive service provider of the iPhone in the U.S., AT&T saw revenue rise 2.1 percent for the fourth quarter, as income fell sharply. AT&T reported a net gain of 2.8 million mobile customers on the strength of 4.1 million iPhone activations.
Jan 27Expo: Share your photos of Macworld ExpoUpload your best shots from the show floor to Macworld's new Flickr group.
Jan 27Google previews tablet-optimized Android 3.0Google has released a preview of the software development kit for Android 3.0, which has been designed specifically for mobile devices with larger screens.
Jan 27When the CEO gives iPads to all: One CIO's storyWhat happens when the CEO promises 5,400 employees a new iPad? Here's one company's story.
Jan 27Saying no to smartphones: most mobile users will buy new 'dumb' phonesSmartphones may get a lot of media attention, but plenty of users are comfortable with mobile phones that offer limited features compared to the likes of the iPhone.
Jan 27Review: iPad alphabet appsWe look at three iOS App Store offerings that take very different approaches to using the iPad to help kids master their ABCs.
Jan 27Expo: Navigon improves traffic feature, intros iPhone car kitNavigon is upgrading the Traffic Live feature available as an in-app purchase for its iPhone navigation apps. The company also kicked off Macworld Expo by introducing a kit for attaching your iPhone to the windshield of your car.
Jan 27Remains of the Day: I got 44 iPhones...Once again, iPhones prove to be the smuggled good du jour. Also, a use for that old Mac that time forgot, and hope for heavy iPhone data users.
Jan 27Review: Lost in Time for iPadLost in Time: The Clockwork Tower is a hidden-object puzzle game with an intriguing—if strange—storyline.
Jan 27Facebook offers protection against wireless Firesheep attackFacebook is rolling out a more secure way to connect to its website, which will protect users from a widely publicized wireless networking attack called Firesheep.
Jan 27Research firm: iPad makes Apple third-largest PC makerIncluding iPad shipments would have made Apple the third-largest PC vendor during the fourth quarter of 2010, research firm Canalys says.
Jan 27Profile: Creative accessories for the iPadHere's a look at a handful of eye-catching iPad accessories making news this month.
Jan 27Seagate intros new GoFlex for Mac hard drivesSeagate on Monday introduced its new GoFlex for Mac hard drives. The drives are sold formatted using HFS+, and Seagate also offers a HFS+ driver for Windows for cross-platform compatibility.
Jan 27Developers hail Mac App Store successesThree weeks after the Mac App Store opened its virtual doors, there are plenty of success stories to be found in the developer community. Macworld UK looks at some developer experiences with Apple's new retail outlet.
Jan 27Expo: FormEntry creates paperwork for iOS devicesWidget Press Inc. has updated its line of FormEntry software products that help inexperienced developers create and use form-based apps for Apple computers and mobile devices.
Jan 27iMedia Browser update adds Flickr browsingThe latest version of the OS X media browser, available exclusively through the Mac App Store, adds a new searchable Flickr browser and sports a redesigned architecture that should boost the application's responsiveness.
