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 Ancient
China
The
History of China, as documented in ancient writings, dates
back some 3,300 years. The records of the Shang Dynasty
(1767-1123 B.C) well documented on animal bones and tortoise
shells give an insight into the meticulousness of a Chinese
mind. The Chou dynasty (1122-221 BC) saw Confucius develop
the Code of Conduct which was to overlook the Chinese
thought for the next 25 years. The “Celstial Empire” or
the Ch’in empire (221 BC) left two lasting legacies: the
name China and the basic structure of an empire. These times
also saw the building of the 1500 miles long, 15 to 50 feet
high, 15-25 feet wide - Ten Thousand Li Wall, better know as
The Great Wall of China.
The
Ch'in empire disintegrated rapidly after the death of the
first emperor. The legitimate heir was killed and Liu Pang
emerged as the victor in 202 BC, thereby establishing the
Han Dynasty. An imperial University was set up for the study
of Confucian classes which had 30,000 students enrolled by
the end of Han Dynasty. Two of the great Chinese inventions,
paper and porcelain, date from Han times. Buddhist influence
in art, especially in sculpture, was strong during the T'ang
period. Fine examples of Buddhist sculpture are preserved in
rock temples, such as those at Yongang and Longmen in
northwest China.
The
Sung period (960-1279)
was noted for landscape painting, which in time came to be
considered the highest form of classical art. In 1271 Kublai
Khan, the fifth "great khan" and grandson of
Genghis Khan, declared himself emperor of China and named
the dynasty Yuan, meaning "beginning," to signify
that this was the beginning of a long era of Mongol rule.
The Chinese despised the Mongols for refusing to adapt to
Chinese culture. His Yuan dynasty hadn't
broken the 100 year mark before it was replaced by, the Ming. In Manchuria the
Manchu had organized a
Chinese-style state and strengthened their forces under a
unique form of military organization called the banner
system. The last Ming emperor had hanged himself, ending the
"Brilliant" dynasty. The Manchu were invited into
China by the Ming general Wu San-kuei to eliminate the
rebels. After driving the rebels from the capital, the Manchu
stayed and established a new dynasty, the Ch'ing.
By
the time Europeans were showing up in large numbers in the
19th Century. Germany, England, America, and
others – eight nations in all pretty much had
their way with China for decades. Chi’ng’s rule lasted
267 years, compared with 89 years for the Yuan. The long and
illustrious reign of the emperor Ch'ien-lung was marred by
the first of many serious rebellions in the Ch'ing era, the
White Lotus Rebellion from 1796 to 1804. It was not put down
for ten years, and China entered the 19th century rocked by
revolt.
19th Century
China
in the 19th century was overwhelmed by internal turmoil.
When the British discovered the value of the opium trade in
1773, they determined to benefit. The Chinese paid the
British for the opium, and the British in turn used the
money as part payment for goods bought from the Chinese.
Official Chinese resistance to opium resulted in two trade
wars in which Great Britain, France, the United States, and
Russia gained significant commercial privileges. These
conflicts were the first Opium War from 1839 to 1842 between
China and Britain and the second Opium War (1856-60) fought
by China against Britain and France.
Late 19th Century
A
big name in revolutionary China is Sun Yat-sen, who is now
revered as the father of modern China by Nationalists and
Communists alike. After forming a secret revolutionary
society and plotting an unsuccessful uprising in Canton in
1894, Sun began a long period of exile outside China. He
gained wide recognition as a revolutionary leader in 1896,
when his arrest in the Chinese legation in London and
subsequent rescue were reported sensationally in newspaper
articles.
In
1905, in Japan, he brought together several revolutionary
groups and formed the Revolutionary Alliance Society. Its
program consisted of the now famous Three People's
Principles: nationalism, freeing all China from foreign
control; democracy, overthrowing the Manchu and introducing
a democratic political system; and people's livelihood.
Although Sun himself could not live in China, members of the
alliance infiltrated many social organizations there. The
revolutionary spirit that had been developed by Sun became
especially high among students' and soldiers' groups.
The
failure of the Boxer Rebellion to eject the West and the
humiliation of the Chinese by the terms of the Peace of
Peking generated more support for nationalist
revolutionaries. In 1911 the Ch'ing Dynasty collapsed.
Revolutionaries led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen then took over the
Chinese government, ending more than 2,000 years of
monarchy.
The Republic of China (1912-1949)
Early
in March 1912, Sun Yat-sen resigned from the presidency and,
as promised, Yuan Shih-kai was elected his successor at
Nanjing. Inaugurated in March 1912 in Beijing, the base of
his power, Yuan established a republican system of
government with a premier, a cabinet, a draft constitution,
and a plan for parliamentary elections early in 1913. The
Kuomintang (KMT, National People's party), the successor to
Sun Yat-sen's organization, was formed in order to prepare
for the election. Sun died of cancer in Peking on March 12,
1925. Sun's tomb in Nanking is now a national shrine.
The People's
Republic of China
 On
Oct. 1, 1949, Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the
People's Republic of China. The CCP hailed its takeover of
China as a people's victory over and liberation from
imperial domination (especially that of the United States)
and the oppressive KMT regime. The Red Army was renamed the
People's Liberation Army. By the time Communists established
the people’s Republic of China in 1949 and things started
to stabilize, they were extremely popular as they were less
corrupt than almost any government or army in the history of
china, and the land reforms they had been carrying out for
last two decades were fair and successful.
Third
Generation of Leaders
The
pragmatist Deng Xiaoping won the succession on power
struggle after the death of Mao. Once in charge, he emerged
as a capitalist, and as it just so happened that economic
liberalization was about the only option left for the
Communist Party to retain legitimacy and power, everything
worked out fine in the end for the Party.
In
March 1998, Jiang was re-elected President during the 9th
National People's Congress. Premier Li Peng was
constitutionally required to step down from that post. He
was elected to the chairmanship of the National People's
Congress. Zhu Rongji was selected to replace Li as Premier.
China is firmly committed to economic reform and opening to
the outside world. The Chinese leadership has identified
reform of state industries as a government priority.
Government strategies for achieving that goal include
large-scale privatization of unprofitable state-owned
enterprises. The leadership has also downsized the
government bureaucracy.
Welcome
to China, where looking through the layers of time, we get
the glimpse of the civilization beginning on this land. A
great nation who’s mighty Great Wall can be viewed from
space.
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