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The South China Sea DISPUTE
10 crucial facts you should know about
the South China Sea dispute.
The South China Sea - Rival countries have wrangled over
territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily
increased in recent years…
theGuardian - Barack Obama has said Washington supports Vietnam’s
territorial claims against Beijing in the South China Sea and promised it greater access to security equipment…
The Conversation - A United Nations arbitration court will soon rule over the sovereignty of islands in the South China Sea, a
territorial dispute between China and the Philippines with global implications…
English.cctv.com - China rejects John Kerry’s South China Sea Criticism...News.Sky.com - Sky News visits the front line as China imposes itself on areas of the South China Sea claimed by five other countries.
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Wikipedia
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is
part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca
Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of ...
Wikipedia
The South China Sea disputes involve both
island and maritime claims among several sovereign states within the region,
namely Brunei, the People's Republic ...
BBC
Rival countries have wrangled over
territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years. ...
Vietnam hotly disputes China's historical account, saying Chinahad never claimed sovereignty over the islands before the 1940s. ...
Brunei does not ...
The Guardian
23 hours ago - As host, Japan is keen to secure a strong statement on China's
unilateral assertion of sovereignty over large parts of the South China Sea, ...
Council on Foreign Relations
Bonnie Glaser of the Center for
Strategic and International Studies discusses the significant risk of conflict
in the South China Sea and how the United States can ...
Council on Foreign Relations
Territorial and jurisdictional
disputes in the South China Sea continue to strain relationships between China and other countries
in Southeast Asia and risk ...
The National Interest
2 days ago - When China has completed its military preparations of the islands—most other
states will be clearly outmatched.
1 day ago - BEIJING, China — The disputed rocks and reefs of the South China Sea are more than an ocean
away from the landlocked African nation of ...
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Scenic limestone hills near the city of Guilin in southern China are among the most unusual features of China's vast countryside.
China's many large cities include Shanghai, above. China has more people than any other country.
Farming is the
leading economic activity in China. About 70 per cent of all Chinese workers
are farmers.
China's artistic heritage goes back many centuries. This superb sculpture stands outside the
old imperial palace in Beijing.
The Palace of Heavenly Purity is part of the Palace Museum complex in the Forbidden City, in Beijing.
It was built in 1420.
The National People's Congress performs legislative duties and transmits national government
policies to lower levels of government. The Communist Party completely controls
the congress.
The Han ethnic group makes up about 92 per cent of China's people. These Han people are
buying bread in Xi'an.
Bicycles are a common
means of transportation in China's cities. Millions of people live in the cities
of eastern China, where the overcrowding has created a severe housing shortage.
Colourful folk dances are part of the cultural heritage of China's minority peoples, such as
the Mongols. The dancer, is wearing traditional Mongolian dress.
Family life has been an important part of Chinese culture throughout the country's
history. This playground in a Shanghai neighbourhood is a favourite spot for
family outings.
Typical
Chinese farmhouses are built
of mud bricks, clay bricks, or stone, and have a tile or straw roof.
Bridge
construction, and other public- improvement projects help
provide better living and economic conditions in rural China. Such projects
are usually planned and carried out by the central or provincial government.
The housing In
China's cities is a mixture of new and old, as shown by these
two photographs taken in the city of Guilin. Some city residents live in modern
flats.. Others live in older neighbourhoods where the houses resemble
those in rural areas.
Small food shops
like this one are common in the cities of
China. Most cities also have at least one government-owned department store as
well as many small speciality shops.
Dining In a
restaurant is a popular activity in China just as it is
in Western countries. People in different parts of China eat different foods,
but grain is the basic food in all areas.
Sporting
events, such as softball, are favourite pastimes
in China. Other popular sports in the country include baseball, basketball,
soccer, table tennis, and volleyball.
Ancient Chinese exercises called taijiquan are performed by many Chinese first thing every morning. Taijiquan emphasizes
relaxation, balance, and proper techniques of breathing. It is also a form of
self-defence.
Chinese doctors practise a combination of traditional Chinese medicine and modern
Western medicine. The doctors pictured above are examining patients in a clinic
in Shanghai.
Foreign language classes are an important part of every Chinese student's education. These
youngsters are learning English, the most widely studied foreign language in
China.
Fine handwriting called calligraphy forms an essential part of many Chinese paintings. Artists of the Yuan
period often combined calligraphy with paintings of bamboo, as on this fan.
Chinese musicians play Western and Chinese instruments. In the group shown above, the
girl on the left is playing a cello, and her friends are playing traditional
Chinese instruments.
Beijing opera, the most popular form of
drama in China, combines dialogue and songs with dance and symbolic gestures. The
plays are based on Chinese history and folklore.
The Xinjiang-Mongolian Uplands are a vast area of deserts and rugged mountains in
northwestern China. This photograph shows the edge of the Gobi Desert in
the eastern part of the region.
The Eastern Lowlands have China's most productive farmland. These farmers are planting
rice in a flooded field in the Yangtze Valley, which forms the southern part of
the Eastern Lowlands. Wheat is the main crop in northern parts of the region.
The Central Uplands include dry wheat-growing areas like this one near the city of
Xian. To the south of this area, the Qin Ling Mountains cross the Central Uplands from west to east.
Rainfall in China is heaviest in the southeast, where it averages from 100 to 200 centimetres yearly. In the north, the amount of precipitation varies widely from year to year.
Rainfall in China is heaviest in the southeast, where it averages from 100 to 200 centimetres yearly. In the north, the amount of precipitation varies widely from year to year.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) was U.S. $434,084,000,000 in
1992. The GDP is the total value of goods and services produced within a
country in a year. Services include community, social, and personal services; finance,
insurance, and property; government; wholesale and retail trade; transportation
and communication; and utilities. Industry includes construction, manufacturing, and mining. Agriculture includes
agriculture, forestry, and fishing. (Industry 42%, Services 34% and Agriculture 24%)
The production of machinery plays a vital role in the development of China's economy. This
factory manufactures tractors, which will help modernize agriculture in China.
China land use - the major
uses of land in China. Nearly all of China's cropland is in the eastern half of
the country. Extremely dry conditions in western China make much of the land
there unproductive.
Chinese agriculture produces nearly all the food needed to feed the nation's people.
These women are picking tea, which is one of the main crops grown in southern
China.
Raising pigs is a major agricultural activity in China. Pigs are the main source of meat for the Chinese,
and Chinese farmers use huge quantities of pig manure to fertilize the soil.
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Dockworkers load
agricultural products onto barges and small boats, which transport the goods
over China's inland waterways. For most transportation over short distances,
the Chinese use simple, traditional means. For example, they carry heavy
loads on their back or hanging from a pole that rests across the shoulders.
Wall posters served as a means of communication in China for many years. People
used the posters to express their opinions. They hung them on wails in parks
and other public areas. In 1980, the Chinese government prohibited posters
that criticized government policies.
The Great Wall of China was constructed by the ancient Chinese to keep out invaders from
central Asia. It extends about 6,400 kilometres across northern China.
Troops from eight nations crushed the Boxer Rebellion of 1900-an anti-Western campaign waged by
Chinese secret societies. Victorious foreign troops paraded in Beijing, above.
Chinese Communists, led by Mao Zedong, defeated the Nationalist government in a war from
1946 to 1949. Mao is shown here on horseback, moving across Shaanxi in 1947.
The Red Guards demonstrated during the Cultural Revolution, which began in 1966. The
Cultural Revolution was Mao Zedong's attempt to return China to a
revolutionary course.
Student protesters erected a statue called the Goddess of Democracy in a 1989 protest for
greater democracy in China. Chinese soldiers later attacked the students and
killed hundreds.
Important dates in China
c. 1766-C.1122 B.C. China's first dynasty, the Shang, ruled the nation.
c. 1122 B.C. The Zhou people of.western China overthrew the Shang and set up a new
dynasty that ruled until 256 B.C.
c. 500 B.C. The philosopher Confucius developed a system of moral values and
responsible behaviour that influenced China for more than 2,000 years.
221-206 B.C. The Qin dynasty established China's first strong central government.
202 B.C.-A.D. 220 China became a powerful empire under the Han dynasty. Chinese culture
flourished.
581-618 The Sui dynasty reunified China after almost 400 years of division.
618-907 The Tang dynasty ruled China during a period of prosperity and great
cultural accomplishment.
960-1279 The Song dynasty ruled the empire and made Neo- Confucianism the
official state philosophy.
1275-1292 Marco Polo visited China.
1279 The Mongols gained control of all China.
1368-1644 The Ming dynasty governed China.
1644-1912 The Manchus ruled China as the Qing dynasty.
1842 The Treaty of Nanjing gave Hong Kong to Great Britain and opened five
Chinese ports to British trade.
1851-1864 Millions of Chinese died in bloody warfare during the Taiping Rebellion.
1900 Secret societies attacked and killed Westerners and Chinese Christians
during the Boxer Rebellion.
1912 The Republic of China was established.
1928 The Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, united China under one
government.
1931 The japanese seized Manchuria.
1934-1935 Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communists on their Long March to Shaanxi.
1937-1945 War with japan shattered China.
1949 The Chinese Communists defeated the Nationalists and established the
People's Republic of China.
1958 The Communists launched the Great Leap Forward, which severely weakened
China's economy.
1962 Chinese troops fought a border war with India.
1966-1969 The Cultural Revolution disrupted education, the government, and daily
life in China.
1971 China was admitted to the
United Nations (UN).
1972 U.S. President Richard M. Nixon
visited China.
1976 Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai died.
1979 China and the United States established normal diplomatic relations.
Early 1980's The Communist Party began reforms toward reducing government economic
control.
1989 Large numbers of people demonstrated for more democracy and an end to
corruption in government. The military crushed the demonstrations at Tiananmen
Square in Beijing and killed hundreds of protesters.
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China is a huge country in eastern Asia. It is the world's largest country in population and the third largest in area. About a fifth of the world's people live in China. The country covers more than a fifth of the continent of Asia. Only Russia and Canada have more territory. China's vast land area includes some of the driest deserts and highest mountains in the world, as well as some of the richest farmland.
The Chinese call their country Zhongguo,
which means Middle Country. This name may have come into being because
the ancient Chinese thought of their country as both the geographical centre of
the world and the only cultured civilization. The name China was given
to the country by foreigners. It may have come from Qin (pronounced chihn),
the name of an early Chinese dynasty {series of rulers from the same
family).
Most of the Chinese people live crowded
together in the eastern third of the country. This region has most of China's
major cities and nearly all the land suitable for farming. Agriculture has
always been the chief economic activity in China. About 79 per cent of the
people live in rural villages, and about 70 per cent of all workers are farmers.
Although only a small percentage of the people live in urban areas, China has
several of the largest cities in the world. They include Shanghai and Beijing
(also spelled Peking), the nation's capital.
China has the world's oldest living
civilization. Its written history goes back about 3,500 years. The Chinese
people take great pride in their nation, its long history, and its influence on
other countries. The Chinese were the first people to develop the compass,
paper, porcelain, and silk cloth. Over the centuries, Japan, Korea, and other
Asian lands have borrowed from Chinese art, language, literature, religion,
and technology.
In early times, China was divided into
many small states. In 221 B.C., the Qin dynasty established an empire with a
strong central government. This empire lasted in some form for more than 2,000
years. During those years, Chinese society survived wars, rebellions, and the
rise and fall of numerous dynasties. The Chinese developed an increasingly
powerful and efficient system of government, built great cities, and created
magnificent works of literature and art. From time to time, nomadic invaders
conquered all or part of China. But the invaders had little effect on Chinese
civilization.
In the 1800's, the Chinese empire began to
weaken. In 1911, revolutionaries overthrew the empire. The next year, China
became a republic. But the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), which ruled
the republic, never established an effective government over all of China. In
1949, the Chinese Communist Party defeated the Nationalists and set up China's
present government. The Communists gave the nation the official name Zhonghua
Renmin Gongheguo (People's Republic of China). The Nationalists fled to
the island of Taiwan, and reestablished their own government. But the People's
Republic claims that Taiwan should be part of its territory. This article discusses
only the People's Republic of China. For information about Taiwan, which the
Nationalists call the Republic of China, see the article Taiwan.
China has gone through many major changes
under the Communists. All important industries have been placed under state
ownership and direction. The government also controls most trade and finance.
The Communists have dramatically increased industrial production and have
expanded and improved education medical care. The supply of food for China's
people is generally sufficient though not plentiful. Nevertheless, China
remains a poor country. The Communist Party and the government are making major
efforts to overcome that poverty and modernize China. In the 1980's, the government
introduced many economic reforms, especially in areas in the east called
"special economic zones," where foreign companies were encouraged to
operate.
But political reform was much slower than
economic reform. In 1989, many students demonstrated for a more democratic form
of government. In June 1989, soldiers used force to stop the demonstrations.
Government
The National People's Congress performs legislative duties and transmits national government policies
to lower levels of government. The Communist Party completely controls the
congress.
The Chinese government is dominated by
three organizations. They are the Chinese Communist Party, the military, and a
branch of the government known as the State Council. Of the three
organizations, the Communist Party holds the greatest control. All people who
hold a middle- or lower-level position in the party or the government are
called cadres.
China's constitution was adopted in 1982.
It calls for the Chinese to concentrate on modernizing agriculture, industry,
the military, and science and technology.
The Communist Party. China has the largest Communist Party in the world. About 40 million
Chinese people belong to the party. But they make up only about 4 per cent of
the total Chinese population. China also has a number of minor political
parties, but such parties have little or no power.
The Communist Party has four main
decision-making bodies. These are the National Party Congress, the Central
Committee, the Politburo (Political Bureau), and the Secretariat. The
National Party Congress has more than 1,900 representatives who are selected by
party members throughout the nation. The Central Committee consists of about
300 leading party members. The members are elected by the National Party
Congress. The Polit
buro has about 20 members, who are top
party leaders elected by the Central Committee. The Politburo includes a
standing committee of 5 or 6 of the most important Communist Party leaders.
The Secretariat has about 5 members who are elected by the Politburo's standing
committee.
The Communist Party's constitution states
that the National Party Congress and the Central Committee are the most
important bodies of the party. However, the congress actually has little real
power. In general, it automatically approves policies set by the Central
Committee and the Politburo. The Politburo also establishes policy guidelines
for the party. The Secretariat is responsible for day-to-day decisions and
supervision of party actions.
In theory, the highest post in the
Communist Party is that of general secretary. But Deng Xiaoping is the most
influential person in the party and in the country. Deng served as chairman of
the Military Commission of the party and as chairman of the Central Military
Commission of the government until 1989. He then submitted his resignation of
both titles, but his unofficial importance remains great. Top party and
government officials consult Deng on all major issues and decisions.
National government. China's constitution establishes the National People's Congress as the
highest government authority. According to the Chinese electoral law, members
of the National People's Congress are elected by local people's congresses of
counties arid townships. The Communist Party has an important influence on the
selection of candidates for these and all other elections in China.
The members of the National People's
Congress serve five-year terms. The congress carries out various legislative
duties. But in practice, it has no real power. Its chief function is to
transmit policies of the national government and of the party to lower levels
of government. A standing committee handles the work of the congress when it is
not in session.
The State Council carries on the
day-to-day affairs of the government. The council is led by the premier,
China's head of government. The premier is nominated by the Central Committee
of the Communist Party and approved by the president, who is chiefly a
ceremonial official.
The premier is assisted by 3 vice premiers
and about 40 ministers and heads of special commissions. The ministers are in
charge of government departments, including the defence ministry and the
ministries responsible for economic planning.
Political divisions. China has 30 major political divisions. They consist of 22 provinces; 5
autonomous (self- governing) regions; and 3 special municipalities. The
autonomous regions are Guangxi, Inner Mongolia (Nei Menggu), Ningxia, Tibet
(Xizang), and Xinjiang. These regions have many people who belong to China's
minority ethnic groups.
Although the regions are called
autonomous, they are actually governed much like the rest of the Chinese nation.
Local governments in these autonomous regions do have some powers to safeguard
the culture and interests of the minority peoples. The special municipalities—Beijing,
Shanghai, and Tianjin—are huge metropolitan areas that are administered by the
national government. Each special municipality consists of an urban centre and
a rural area.
China has three levels of local
government. The 30 major political units are divided into about 2,100 counties.
These counties are subdivided into about 100,000 townships and towns. Each
political unit has a people's congress and an executive body patterned after
the State Council.
Courts in China do not function as a completely independent branch of
government as they do in many countries. Instead, the courts base their
decisions largely on the policies of the Communist Party.
The highest court in China is the Supreme
People's Court. It hears cases that involve national security or violations by
high officials. The Supreme People's Court also supervises people's courts in
the provinces and counties. The Supreme People's Procuratorate sees that the
national constitution and the State Council's regulations are observed. China
also has about 30 higher, 200 intermediate, and 2,000 basic-level courts.
The armed forces of China are jointly commanded by the Military Commission of the
Communist Party and
the Central Military Commission of the
government. China has an army, a navy, and an air force, which together make
up the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The PLA has about 3 million male and
female regular members. In addition, about 1 { million men and women serve in
China's militia (citizens' army). There are also about 700,000 army
reserves. Men and women between 18 and 22 years of age may be conscripted for
military service. The period of service is 3 years in the army, 4 years in the
air force, and 4 years in the navy.
The armed forces have held enormous
political power in the People's Republic of China since its birth in 1949.
Military officers have made up a large percentage of the members on the
Communist Party's Central Committee. Besides its military duties, the PLA
helps carry out party policies and programmes.
People
Population. About a fifth of the world's people live in China. For China's total
population, see the China in brief table with this article.
About 8i million people live in Shanghai,
one of the world's largest cities in terms of population. Beijing, the capital,
has about 7} million residents. China has more than 30 other cities with a
population of 1 million or more. However, about 74 per cent of China's people
live in villages and small towns. Most of these people live in densely
populated areas in eastern China. Western China has less than 10 per cent of
the total population.
China's government is concerned about the
nation's enormous population and seeks to limit population growth. By law, men
may not marry until they are 22 years old, and women until they are 20. People
are encouraged to postpone marriage until they are in their late 20's and to
have no more than one or two children.
Nationalities. About 92 per cent of China's people belong to the Han
nationality, which has been China's largest nationality for centuries. The
rest of the population consists of about 55 minority groups, which include
Kazakhs, Mongols, Tibetans, and Uygurs. These nationalities are distinguished
chiefly by language and culture (see Kazakhstan;
Mongolia (People); Tibet (People and their work)).
Most of China's minority peoples live in
the border regions and the western half of the country. Some groups, such as
the Mongols in the north and the Kazakhs in the northwest, herd sheep and
goats. These
people move from place to place during the
year to feed their herds on fresh pastures. The Uygurs raise livestock and grow
a wide variety of crops on oases in the deserts of northwestern China. The
Tibetan people practise simple forms of agriculture and herding in China's
southwestern highlands. Many Koreans dwell near the border with Korea.
Many minority groups live in the far
southern parts of China. Some of them speak dialects of Chinese and live much
like the Han Chinese. Others are members of ethnic groups related to the
peoples of Burma, Laos, Thailand, or Tibet. Many of these people, who live in
less developed mountain areas, retain their traditional language and way of
life.
Languages. The Han people speak Chinese. Spoken Chinese has many dialects, which
differ enough in pronunciation to be considered separate languages. To bring
about better communication among the people of China, the government has made
the Northern Chinese dialect the official language. Many non-Chinese call the
official language Mandarin, but the Chinese prefer the term putonghua (common
language). Northern Chinese is spoken by about 70 per cent of the nation's
people, and it is now taught in all Chinese schools. Other varieties of
Chinese include Min (spoken in Fujian province), Wu (spoken in Shanghai), and
Yue (Cantonese), each of which has many local dialects. See Chinese language.
Although each dialect of Chinese has its
own pronunciation, all speakers of Chinese write the language in the same way.
The Chinese writing system uses characters instead of an alphabet. Each
character is a symbol that represents a complete word.
Scholars have developed several systems of
writing the Chinese language in the Roman alphabet. One system, called the
Wade-Ciles system, was developed during the 1800s by two English scholars, Sir
Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles. In 1979, China began using another system,
called the pinyin system, in all news reports sent abroad and in all
communications with other nations. Many Chinese words and names are spelled
differently in the two systems. For example, the name of the man who led the
country's Communist revolution is spelled Mao Zedong in the pinyin system and
Mao Tse-tung in the Wade-Giles system. This article generally uses the pinyin
spellings for Chinese words.
The minority peoples of China speak many
languages, including Korean, Mongolian, and Uygur. Each group uses its own
language in its schools and publications. Some learn Chinese as a second
language.
Family life has always been extremely important in Chinese culture. Before 1949,
some Chinese lived in large family units. As many as 100 or more relatives
lived together under the rule of the oldest male. The ideal was "five
generations under one roof." However, those who lived this way were mainly
the families of rich rural landowners, wealthy merchants, and government officials.
Among the poorer people, most households consisted of only parents and
children, but some also included grandparents and uncles. Today, the Chinese
live in these smaller types of family units.
In the past, only men were expected to
w<ork outside the home. But today, almost all adults have a job. In many
families, a grandparent looks after the house and children during the day. More
and more children attend nursery school and kindergarten so that both parents
can be free to work.
Relationships within Chinese families have
become less formal and more democratic. Parents no longer expect their
children to show unquestioning obedience. In the past, a father could legally
kill his children if they disobeyed him. Young people today generally choose
their own marriage partners on the basis of shared interests and mutual
attraction. However, parents still play a role in arranging some marriages,
especially in rural areas. Any couple would at least consult their parents
about such a major decision.
Chinese families traditionally valued sons
far more than daughters. A husband could divorce his wife if she failed to give
birth to sons. In some cases, daughters were killed at birth because girls were
considered useless. Today, social policy in China values girls as well as
boys. The Communist government strongly supports the idea that women should
contribute to the family income and participate in social and political
activities. Women do many kinds of work outside the home. Many young husbands
share in the shopping, housecleaning, cooking, and caring for the children to
show that they believe the sexes are equal. However, equality between the
sexes is more widely accepted in the cities than in the countryside.
Rural life. Traditionally, most Chinese lived in villages of 100 to 200
households. Many families owned their land, though in numerous cases it was not
large enough to support them. Many other families owned no land. The members of
these families worked as tenants or labourers for big landowners and rich
peasants. They had to pay extremely high rents—from 30 to 60 per cent of the
harvest. In some cases, peasant families were so poor that they became beggars
or bandits, or even sold their children as servants or slaves to rich families.
After the Communists took control of
China, they organized agricultural collectives, in which large groups
of peasants owned land, tools, work animals, and workshops in common. The
highest level of the collective system was the commune, which
administered the economic activity for 20 or more villages. Smaller collective
units were called production brigades and production teams. Most
day-to-day farm work was planned and performed by these units. Each family
owned its house and a plot on which it could grow vegetables and raise chickens
or pigs for its own use. If a family grew a surplus of crops, it could sell
the surplus in a local market.
In 1979, the government introduced a new
system to gradually abolish communes, brigades, and teams. Collectives now
make production contracts with individual families. A production
contract includes what crops and livestock the family will raise, how much will
be given to the collective, and how much will be sold to the government at a
set price. After fulfilling its contract, the farm family may use the remainder
of its production as it wishes. Most families use some for food and sell the
rest on the open market. Some sign contracts as key households. Key
households provide transportation, repairs, or handicrafts on the free market
instead of doing full-time farm work. After paying an agreed amount to the
government and the collective, the key household keeps any profit. A few key
households operate businesses or small factories and hire employees. Some of
them have become relatively wealthy.
The standard of living in rural China
today is considerably higher than it was before the Communists came to power.
The average income in rural areas is still low. But most families have enough
food and clothing and also own a bicycle, a radio, and a sewing machine.
Some families own a television set, a
washing machine, or a motor scooter. Most rural families live in three- or
four-room houses. Older houses are made of mud bricks and have a tile or straw
roof. Newer houses are made of clay bricks or stone and have a tile roof. Some
villages have constructed blocks of flats. Except in remote areas, most houses
have electricity.
Rural people work many hours a day,
especially at planting and harvesting time. They also attend political meetings
and night classes, where they learn to read and write or how to use modern
farming methods. Even so, the people have time for recreation. Many villages
have a small library and a recreation
centre that offers television viewing and shows films. Villages also provide
facilities for such sports as basketball and table tennis. Some villages have
a small choral group, orchestra, or theatre group.
City life. Many city residents live in older neighbourhoods where the houses
resemble those in the countryside. Many other city dwellers live in blocks of
flats. City governments construct some flats, and large factories build others.
Families are assigned a flat by the
factory or other unit for which they work. Most flats have plumbing and
heating, but many have less space than rural houses have. China's cities are
overcrowded, and new housing is in great demand. In some cases, two families
must share a flat.
Each city neighbourhood or block of flats
has an elected residents' committee. The committee supervises various
neighbourhood facilities and programmes, such as day-care centres, evening
classes, and after-school activities for children. When fights, petty crimes,
or acts of juvenile delinquency occur in the neighbourhoods, committee members
talk with the people involved and try to help them solve the problem. These
neighbourhood organizations seek to keep crime rates down in spite of
overcrowding in China's cities.
In general, people in cities have a higher
standard of living than people in the countryside. Their wages are low compared
with those of workers in Western industrial countries. But most households
have at least two wage earners, and rents and the cost of food are low. Medical
care, child care, and recreational activity also cost little. Thus, most city
people can afford to spend money on personal and household items.
City people have more cultural advantages
than rural people. They can attend a greater variety of classes and meetings.
On their days off, they enjoy browsing in stores;
dining at a restaurant; or going to a park, museum, theatre, or sporting event.
Since the early 1980's, stores have offered an increasing variety
of merchandise. Large stores are owned and operated by the government. But
many small stores, restaurants, and repair shops are privately owned.
Food. Grains are the main foods in China. Rice is the favourite
grain among people who live in the south. In o the
north, people prefer wheat, which they make into bread and
noodles. Maize, millet, and sorghum are also eaten. Vegetables, especially
cabbages and tofu (soybean curd), rank second in the Chinese diet.
Roasted sweet potatoes are a popular snack. Pork and poultry are the favourite
meats. Chinese people also like eggs, fish, fruits, and shellfish.
Breakfast in China may be rice porridge,
chicken noodle soup, or deep-fried pastries that taste like doughnuts.
Favourite lunchtime foods include egg rolls and dumplings stuffed with meat or
shrimp. A typical Chinese main meal includes vegetables with bits of meat or
seafood, soup, and rice or noodles. Chop suey originated from a Chinese
recipe, but it is uncommon in China today. Chopsticks and soup spoons serve as
the only utensils at Chinese meals. Tea is the traditional favourite Chinese
beverage. But soft drinks, beer, and milk have also become popular beverages in
the cities. Ice cream has also gained popularity there.
Fancy Chinese cooking varies from region
to region. Beijing (also spelled Peking) duck, a northern
speciality, consists of slices of crisp roast duck eaten with thin rolled
pancakes. Food from the east and southeast coastal areas includes fish, crab,
and shrimp. The spiciest foods come from Sichuan and Hunan. Chinese cooks vary
the texture of dishes by adding slippery mushrooms and crunchy bamboo shoots
and water chestnuts
(bulbs of an aquatic plant). The Chinese
occasionally eat things rarely used as food elsewhere, such as tiger lily buds,
sea animals called sea cucumbers, and snake meat. Sharkfin soup is an
expensive delicacy.
Clothing. Most Chinese make their own clothes, chiefly of cotton or synthetic
materials. Some women, especially in cities, wear skirts or dresses. But
throughout China, men and women generally wear Western- style shirts and
loose-fitting trousers. Most adults wear dark or pastel colours. Children and
young women sometimes wear clothes with bright colours and patterns. Men wear
their hair short. Most women also wear their hair in short simple styles,
though permanent waves and fancier styles are becoming popular.
Government officials and technicians may
buy better- quality clothing at special stores. Such clothing includes suits
with four-pocket jackets that button at the neck. But most of the time, it is
difficult to tell from a person's clothing whether that person is an ordinary
government official, or a technician. In
earlier times, -Qwever, the kinds of clothes that people wore indicated their
place in Chinese society. For example, scholars traditionally dressed in long
blue gowns. Women of the upper classes wore elaborate hairdos, long fingernails,
and colourful robes. In contrast, peasants wore patched and faded jackets and
trousers.
Health care in China combines traditional Chinese medicine and modern Western
medicine. Traditional medicine is based on the use of herbs, attention to diet,
and acupuncture. Acupuncture is a technique in which thin needles are
inserted into the body at certain points to relieve pain or treat disease (see
Acupuncture). From Western medicine, the Chinese have adopted many drugs and
surgical methods.
All Chinese cities and towns and some
rural areas have hospitals. Medical teams from the hospitals visit villages
periodically. Villages also have clinics staffed by part-time medical workers
called barefoot doctors. The term indicates that these workers share the
simple life of the peasants they serve. It does not mean they are actually
barefoot. Barefoot doctors, many of whom are women, get a year or two of training
at a hospital. They can treat simple illnesses, help at childbirth, prepare
medicines made of herbs, and give prescriptions.
Barefoot doctors organize public health
programmes in their communities. They check the purity of drinking water,
vaccinate people against diseases, and make sure that garbage is disposed of.
They also supervise the extermination of harmful insects and rodents. In
addition, the barefoot doctors encourage people to practise birth control, and
they give advice on infant care and nutrition. All these programmes have made
the people much healthier than they were in the 1950's. The Chinese have almost
wiped out cholera, typhoid, and other terrible diseases that once killed
millions of them each year.
Religion is discouraged by the Communist government of China. However, it played
an important part in traditional Chinese life. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism
were the major religions throughout most of China's history. The religious
beliefs of many of the Chinese people included elements of all three religions.
Confucianism is based on the ideas of
Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who was born in about 550 B.G It stresses the
importance of moral standards and of a well-ordered society in which parents
rule their children, men rule women, and the educated rule the common people.
In addition, Confucianism strongly emphasizes deep respect for one's ancestors
and for the past See Confucianism.
Taoism is also a native Chinese religion.
It teaches that a person should withdraw from everyday life and live in harmony
with nature. Taoism began during the 300s B.C and is based largely on a book
called the Tao Te Ching (The Classic of the Way and the Virtue).
Taoism came to include many elements of Chinese folk religion and so became a
religion with many protective gods. See Taoism.
Buddhism reached China from India before
A.D. 100 and became well established throughout the country during the 300's.
Under the influence of Confucianism and Taoism, Chinese varieties of Buddhism
developed. They taught strict moral standards and the ideas of rebirth and life
after death. The Chinese Buddhists worshipped many gods and appealed to them
for help in times of troubles. See Buddhism.
The Chinese government regards religion as
superstition. It encourages the people to study science and political
writings to solve their problems. The Communists have opposed Confucianism
because it emphasizes the past and justifies inequality in society. The
Communists have also turned Taoist and Buddhist temples into museums, schools,
and meeting halls. Since the late 1970's, government attitudes towards religion
have softened somewhat. The government now recognizes the value of such
Confucian ideas as the importance of education and correct moral behaviour.
Also some temples have been returned to religious groups. But the government
still tries to control religious organizations.
Muslims make up about 2 per cent of the
Chinese population, mostly minority peoples in the northwest. The government
permits them to follow their religion, but it does not encourage them to do so.
Christian missionaries worked in China for many years before the Communists
came to power. The Communists expelled foreign missionaries and closed most
Christian churches. But since the late 1970's, the government has permitted
many Christian churches to reopen. Today, about 1 per cent of the people are
Christians.
Education. The Chinese have always prized
education and respected scholars. Before the Communists came to power in 1949,
there were two major reasons for this high regard for education. (1) The Confucians
believed that people could perfect themselves through study. They made no
sharp distinction between academic education and moral education. They
believed the function of all study w'as to build character. (2) The ability to
read and write and a knowledge of Confucian sacred writings paved the way to
financial security and social position. Candidates for government jobs had to
pass an examination based on the Confucian works.
Today, the Communists regard education as
a key to reaching their political, social, and economic goals.
Since their rule began, they have
conducted adult education programmes in an effort to teach all Chinese to read
and write. In the early 1950's, they began a language reform programme to
reduce illiteracy. The programme included simplifying more than 2,000 of the
most basic Chinese characters by reducing the number of strokes in each
character. Such changes made written Chinese easier to learn. Today, about 70
per cent of all Chinese 15 years of age or older can read and write.
Since the mid-1900's, the Chinese have
made great progress in providing education for their children. The number of
children who attend primary school and secondary school has increased sharply.
China traditionally did not require children to attend school. But in 1986, the
government passed a law that required children to attend school for at least
nine years. Rural areas lag behind cities in educational progress, and the new
laws apply to cities earlier than they apply to rural areas.
Moral education is important in China. The
Chinese teach morality as defined in a Communist sense. Students should be
both politically committed to Communist ideas and technically skilled. Courses
combine the teaching of academic facts and political values.
An important issue in Chinese education is
the conflict between Communist principles and the desire to modernize China's
economy rapidly. Rapid modernization requires high-quality education with
special facilities for talented students. However, a Communist principle
stresses equality in education. Thus, many would like to increase the
educational opportunities for peasants and workers at the expense of more
privileged groups, such as scientists and government officials.
Since 1949, the Communists have
alternately stressed equality in education and high-quality education for
modernization. At present, the supporters of rapid modernization control the
educational system in China. Students who show outstanding ability on
nationwide examinations go to key schools, which have the best
faculties and facilities. Key schools exist at the primary, secondary, and
college levels.
Primary and secondary schools. Children in China enter primary school at the age of 6 or 7
and must attend for at least nine years. About 95 per cent of China's children
attend primary school. Primary school courses include the Chinese language,
geography, history, mathematics, music, science, and physical education.
After completing primary school, students
may enter secondary schools, called middle schools. Junior middle school
lasts three years, and senior middle school continues for another two or three
years. Middle school courses include many subjects studied in primary school
plus biology, chemistry, physics, law, and English and other foreign languages.
Vocational and technical middle schools offer training in agriculture, industrial
technology, and other work-related subjects. About two-thirds of China's
children begin middle school, but most drop out before graduation.
Higher education. Young
people who wish to attend an institution of higher learning must pass an
entrance examination. Some students who pass the examination enter a
university. The chief university subjects include economics, languages,
mathematics, and natural and social sciences. Others who pass the examination
enter a technical college. Each technical college specializes in one particular
field, such as agriculture, forestry, medicine, mining, or teacher training.
Many technical schools are administered by the government ministry specifically
concerned with the subject that is taught. This system enables government
leaders to plan the number of graduates who will have the special skills needed
to run China's farms and factories.
China has about 1,000 institutions of
higher learning, including both universities and technical colleges. They have
about 1,700,000 students, and enrolments are gradually increasing. But only a
small percentage of the students who wish to attend college can do so because
of a shortage of faculties and facilities. Unsuccessful candidates can
continue their education at "workers' universities" run by
factories. These schools offer short-term courses. Youths who dropped out of
middle school can resume their studies at part-time schools or through
television and correspondence courses.
The oldest known Chinese works of art
include pottery and carved jades from the 5000's B.C Beautiful bronze vessels
that were used in religious rites were first fashioned between 2000 and 1500
B.C. Many ancient objects have been dug up from burial sites. Today, excavation
of tombs and dwellings continues to yield different objects of art and a
fuller understanding of China's past. Large numbers of works of art exist from
all periods of Chinese history from the 200s B.C. up to the present. They
include masterpieces of painting and sculpture, pottery, ivory and jade
carvings, furniture, and lacquer ware. See Bronze; Furniture (China); Ivory; jade; Lacquer ware;
Porcelain.
Today, Chinese artists receive support
from the government or work as amateurs in addition to their regular jobs. The
Communists teach that the arts originate from the people—farmers, workers,
soldiers, and minority groups. The Communists also stress that art should express
the aims of their society. As a result, most Chinese art from the 1950's to the
1970's dealt with themes from the Communist revolution or from the daily lives
of workers and peasants. Since then, art has also reflected traditional themes,
ideas from other countries, and individual expression.
Literature. China has one of the oldest and greatest literatures in the world. The
first significant work of Chinese literature was a collection of poems called
the Classic of Songs. Some of these poems probably date from the 1100's
B.C. For more information on China's rich literary heritage, see Chinese
literature.
Painting. Sophisticated designs were painted on Chinese pottery as early as the
5000's B.C. Painting on silk has been an art in China since about 400 B.C
Painting on paper began later. Most early paintings show people, or gods or
spirits. But landscapes became the chief subject of Chinese painting by the
A.D. 900's. During the Song dynasty (960-1279), many artists painted landscapes
called shanshui(mountain-water), which showed towering mountains and
vast expanses of water. In these paintings, the artist tried to suggest a
harmony between nature and the human spirit.
Chinese painting was closely linked with
the arts of poetry and calligraphy (fine handwriting). Chinese writing
and the use of a brush for the writing originated during the Shang dynasty (c.
1766-c. 1122 B.C.). The Chinese traditionally considered calligraphy a branch
of painting. During the 1200's, it became popular for painters to combine
shanshui and other subjects with written inscriptions that formed part of the
overall design. In many cases, these inscriptions consisted of a poem long with
a description of the circumstances under which the painting was created.
Chinese artists used the same brush for
painting and calligraphy. It consisted of a wooden or bamboo handle with
bristles of animal hair arranged to form an extremely fine point. The artist
could paint many kinds of lines by adjusting the angle of the brush and the
pressure on it. Chinese artists painted chiefly with black ink made of pine
soot and glue. They sometimes used vegetable or mineral pigments to add colour
to their paintings. Chinese painters created many works on silk scrolls, which
could be rolled up for storage and safekeeping. Other paintings were done on
plaster walls and on paper. See Painting (Chinese painting).
Sculpture and pottery. The earliest Chinese sculptures were small figures placed in tombs.
From the Shang dynasty through the Zhou dynasty (c. 1122-256 B.C.), sculptors
created chiefly bronze and jade works. Shang and Zhou artists used bronze to
make elaborate sacrificial vessels used in ceremonies for the dead. These works
were cast in moulds, and most had complicated designs based on animal forms.
In 1974, thousands of clay figures of
people and horses were discovered near Xian in burial pits near the tomb of
China s first emperor. These figures, which are the earliest known life-sized
Chinese sculptures, date from the 200's B.C. See Archaeology (picture: An army
of life-sized statues).
Buddhism reached China from India during
the Han period. Sculptors then began to turn their skills to the service of
this new religion. Temples were built in or near cities. In rural areas,
cliffsides were hollowed out to form elaborate chapels. Sculptors decorated the
chapels with figures of Buddha and his attendants.
Some sculptures were carved from local
stone. Others were moulded of clay and painted. Still other sculptures were
cast of bronze and coated with gold. As artistic expressions of religious
faith, these works rival the finest sculptures in the monasteries and
cathedrals of Europe. See Sculpture.
The Chinese have made pottery since
prehistoric times. They began to use the potter's wheel before 2000 B.C. and
produced glazed pottery as early as the 1300's B.C. During the Tang dynasty (A.D.
618-907), the Chinese developed the world's first porcelain. Porcelain dishes and vases produced during the Tang and Song
dynasties, and during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and the early part of the
Qing dynasty (1644-1912) are among the greatest treasures of Chinese art.
Architecture. Traditionally, most of the public buildings in China were constructed
of wood on a stone foundation. The most outstanding feature of Chinese architecture
was a large tile roof with extending edges that curved gracefully upward. These
roofs were supported by wooden columns connected to the ceiling beams by
wooden brackets. Walls did not support the roof but merely provided privacy.
Most buildings had only one storey, but the Chinese also built multi- storeyed
towers called pagodas (see Pagoda). Chinese architects no longer
use the traditional styles, and new
buildings look like those in Western
cities.
Music. Chinese music sounds very different from Western music because it uses a
different scale. The scales most commonly used in Western music have eight
tones, but the Chinese scale has five tones. Melody is the most important
element in Chinese music. Instruments and voices follow the same melodic line
instead of blending in harmony.
Chinese musical instruments also differ
from those played by Western musicians. Chinese instruments include the qin,
a seven-stringed instrument, and the sheng, a mouth organ made of seven
bamboo pipes. The Chinese also have a lutelike instrument called the pipa
and two kinds of flutes, the xiao and the di. Today, Chinese
musicians also use Western instruments and perform the music of many of the
great European composers.
Theatre. Formal Chinese drama began during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Since
the 1800's, the most popular form has been Beijing opera (also called Peking
opera). This type of drama combines spoken dialogue and songs with dance
and symbolic gestures. It also features colourful and elaborate costumes. The
plays are based on Chinese stories, history, and folklore.
China is the world's third largest
country. Only Canada and Russia are larger. China's land is as varied as it is
vast. It ranges from subarctic regions in the north to tropical lowlands in the
south and from fertile plains in the east to deserts in the west.
Several regions of China have
traditionally been known by certain names. Northeastern China has been called Manchuria.
But in China today, it is called simply the Northeast. Xinjiang covers
the far northwest, and Tibet covers the far southwest. Inner Mongolia
lies in the north. The eastern third of China, south of Manchuria and Inner
Mongolia, is commonly called China Proper. It has always had most of
China's people.
China can be divided into eight major land
regions. They are (1) the Tibetan Highlands, (2) the Xinjiang- Mongolian
Uplands, (3) the Mongolian Border Uplands, (4) the Eastern Highlands, (5) the
Eastern Lowlands, (6) the Central Uplands, (7) the Sichuan Basin, and (8) the
Southern Uplands.
Much of China is so densely populated that
little wildlife remains. But rugged mountain forests on the eastern edge of
the Tibetan Highland area shelter pandas, golden monkeys, takins, and other
rare animals. Wild elephants and gibbons dwell in the subtropical southwestern
uplands. A few Siberian tigers live in remote forests of Manchuria.
The Tibetan Highlands lie in southwestern China. The region consists of a vast plateau
bordered by towering mountains—the Himalaya on the south, the Pamirs on the
west, and the Kunlun on the north. The world's highest mountain, Mount Everest,
rises 8,848 metres above sea level in the Himalaya in southern Tibet. Two of
the world's longest rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze, begin in the highlands
and fiow eastward across China to the sea.
Tibet suffers from both drought and
extreme cold. Most of the region is a wasteland of rock, gravel, snow, and ice.
A few areas provide limited grazing for hardy yaks—woolly oxen that furnish
food, clothing, and transportation for the Tibetans. Crops can be grown only
in a few lower-lying areas. See Tibet.
The Xinjiang-Mongolian Uplands occupy the vast desert areas of northwestern China. The region has
plentiful mineral resources. However, it is thinly populated because of its
remoteness and harsh climate.
The eastern part of the region consists of
the Ordos Desert and part of the Gobi Desert. The western part of the region is
divided into two areas by the Tian Shan range, which has peaks over 6,100
metres above sea level. South of the mountains lies one of the world's driest
deserts, the Taklimakan. The Turpan Depression, an oasis near the northern edge
of the Taklimakan, is the lowest point in China. It lies 154 metres below sea
level. To the north of the Tian Shan, the Dzungarian Basin stretches northward
to the Altai Mountains along the Mongolian border.
The Mongolian Border Uplands lie between the Gobi Desert and the Eastern Lowlands. The Greater
Hinggan Range forms the northern part of the region. The terrain there is
rugged, and little agriculture is practised. The southern part of the region
is thickly covered with loess, a fertile, yellowish soil deposited by
the wind. Loess consists of tiny mineral particles and is easily worn away.
The Huang He and its tributaries have carved out hills and steep-sided valleys
in the soft soil. The name Huang He means Yellow River and comes
from the large amounts of loess carried by the river.
The Eastern Highlands consist of the Shandong Peninsula and eastern Marichuria. The Shandong
Peninsula is a hilly region with excellent harbours and rich deposits of
coal. The hills of eastern Manchuria have China's best forests, and timber is a
major product of the region. The highest hills of the Eastern Highlands are the
Changbai Mountains (Long White Mountains] along the Korean border. To the
north, the Amur River forms the border with Russia. Just south of the river is
the Lesser Hinggan Range.
The Eastern Lowlands lie between the Mongolian Border Uplands and the Eastern Highlands and
extend south to the Southern Uplands. From north to south, the region consists
of the Manchurian Plain, the North China Plain, and the valley of the Yangtze
River. The Eastern Lowlands have China's best farmland and many of the
country's largest cities.
The Manchurian Plain has fertile soils and
large deposits of coal and iron ore. Most of Manchuria's people live on the
southern part of the plain near the Liao River. To the south lies the wide,
flat North China Plain in the valley of the Huang He.
Wheat is the main crop in this highly
productive agricultural area. Major flooding formerly occurred every few years
in the Huang He valley. These frequent and destructive floods earned the river
the nickname "China's Sorrow." Today, a system of dams and dykes
controls most floods in the area.
The Yangtze Valley has the best
combination of level land, fertile soil, and sufficient rainfall in China. In
the so- called Fertile Triangle between Nanjing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, the
rural population exceeds 1,900 people per square kilometre. The Yangtze River
and its many tributaries have long formed China's most important trade route.
The Central Uplands are an area of hills and mountains between the Eastern Lowlands and the
Tibetan Highlands. The Qin Ling Mountains are the chief physical feature of
the region. Peaks in the range rise more than 3,700 metres above sea level near
the city of Xian. The Qin Ling cross the region from east to west. They form a
natural barricade against seasonal winds that carry rain from the south and
dust from the north. For this reason, the Qin Ling Mountains are China's most
significant geographic boundary. To the north of the mountains are dry
wheat-growing areas. To the south lie warm, humid areas where rice is the major
crop and the leading food.
The Sichuan Basin lies south of the Central Uplands. It is a region of hills and valleys
surrounded by high mountains. A mild climate and a long growing season make the
Sichuan Basin one of China's main agricultural regions. Most crops are grown on
terraced fields— that is, on level strips of land cut out of the
hillsides. The name Sichuan means Four Rivers and refers to the
four streams that flow into the Yangtze in the region. The rivers have carved
out deep gorges in the red sandstone of the region and so made land travel
difficult. Ships can travel on the Yangtze into western Sichuan, but only small
kinds of craft are able to navigate the river's swift- , flowing tributaries.
The Southern Uplands cover southeastern China, including the island of Hainan. The Southern
Uplands are a region of green hills and mountains. The only level area is the
delta of the Xi Jiang (West River). The Xi Jiang and its tributaries form the
main transportation route for southern China. Guangzhou (also called Canton),
southern China's largest city, lies near the mouth of the Xi Jiang. Deep, rich
soils and a tropical climate help make the delta area an extremely productive
agricultural region.
Much of the Southern Uplands is so hilly
and mountainous that little land can be cultivated, even by terracing. The
central part of the region, near the city of Guilin, is one of the most
beautiful areas in China. It has many isolated limestone hills that rise 30 to
180 metres almost straight up.
China has an extremely wide range of
climates because it is such a large country and has such a variety of natural
features. The most severe climatic conditions occur in the Taklimakan and Gobi
deserts. Daytime temperatures in these deserts may exceed 38 °C in summer, but
nighttime lows may fall to —34 °C in winter. Both Tibet and northern Manchuria
have long, bitterly cold winters. In contrast, coastal areas of southeastern
China have a tropical climate.
Seasonal winds called monsoons greatly
affect China's climate. In winter, monsoons carry cold, dry air from central
Asia across China toward the sea. These high winds often create dust storms in
the north. From late spring to early autumn, the monsoons blow from the
opposite direction and spread warm, moist air inland from the sea. Because of
the monsoons, more rain falls in summer than in winter throughout China. Most
parts of the country actually receive more than 80 per cent of their rainfall
between May and October.
Summers tend to be hot and humid in
southeastern China and in southern Manchuria. In fact, summer temperatures
average about 27 °C throughout much of China. However, northern China has
longer and much colder winters than the south has. In January, daily low
temperatures average about —25 °C in northern Manchuria and about —7 °C
throughout much of the eastern third of the country. However, the coastal areas
of the Southern uplands are much warmer. Southern China and the Yangtze Valley
west of Wuhan are shielded from the winter winds by mountains. The Sichuan
Basin is especially well protected, and frost occurs only a few days each
winter.
The amount of precipitation varies greatly
from region to region in China. The deserts of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia
receive less than 10 centimetres of rain yearly. More than 100 centimetres of
rain falls each year
in many parts of southeastern China. Some
areas near the southeastern coast receive up to 200 centimetres annually. In
northern China, the amount of precipitation varies widely from year to year.
However, most areas in northern China receive less than 100 centimetres yearly.
For example, annual precipitation averages about 114 centimetres in Shanghai,
but to the north it drops to about 63 centimetres in Beijing and 70 centimetres
in Shenyang. Snowfall occurs only in the north. But even there, snowfall is
infrequent and usually light.
China has one of the world's largest
economies in terms of its total economic production. It ranks among the leading
countries in terms of the gross domestic product (GO?), the value of all
goods and services produced in a country within a year. But in terms of per
capita (per person) GDP, China ranks low. More than half of the world's
countries have a higher per capita GDP than China. Economists consider China a
developing country because it has such a low per capita GDP.
The national government has tremendous
control over China's economy. It owns and operates most important industrial
plants and directly controls most non- agricultural employment and wages. The
government also controls and operates the banking system, all long distance
transportation, and foreign trade. It rations some kinds of food, clothing, and
other necessities and sets the prices of many goods and services.
The national government receives most of
its income from taxes paid out of the profits of state-owned businesses.
Government planners have used these profits to invest heavily in the
development of China's manufacturing industries.
China's government makes national economic
plans that cover five-year periods. These plans determine how much money the
government will invest in industry and agriculture. The plans help determine
the quantity of goods each worker is expected to produce.
The Communist government has achieved an
impressive record of economic growth. It has provided widespread employment
opportunities, job security, and a more even distribution of income among the
people.
The prospects for China's economy to
continue growing remain favourable. The country has enough mineral and fuel
resources to become one of the world's leading industrial nations. Another
important resource is China's hard-working and skilful people.
In the early 1980's, the Chinese government
began putting into effect a series of economic reforms that led to less
government control over some business activities. Since then, the number of
privately owned and operated businesses has increased
dramatically. Many experts believe the increased ownership of business has
contributed significantly to China's economic health.
Manufacturing and mining make up the largest single part of China's GDP, 42 per cent. Shanghai
is one of the world's leading manufacturing centres. Its industrial output far
exceeds that of any other place in China. Beijing and Tianjin rank second and
third. Other important industrial centres include Shenyang in Manchuria,
Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuhan, and Wuxi in southeastern China; and Chengdu
and Chongqing in central China.
After the Communists came to power, they
began to rebuild China's factories in an effort to make the nation an
industrial power. They concentrated on the development of heavy industries,
such as the production of metals and machinery. Since 1949, China's industrial
production has grown at an average annual rate of more than 12 per cent. Today,
China has one of the world's largest and most rapidly growing steel industries.
The machine- building industry provides metalworking tools and other machines
for new factories. Other major manufactured products include cement fertilizer
and other chemicals, irrigation equipment, locomotives, military equipment,
ships, tractors, and trucks.
The largest consumer goods industries are
the textile industry and the food-processing industry. As the standard of
living in China improves, demand is growing for such consumer goods as
bicycles, radios, sewing machines, and watches. As a result, the Chinese are
increasing their production of these consumer items.
To help continue the country's industrial
expansion, China's leaders have made contracts with foreign companies to
modernize the country's factories and to build new ones. They have also begun
to improve and expand scientific and technical education in China and to send
students abroad for extra training. Waste and inefficiency in industry are
also problems. To combat these problems, the government has introduced wage and
bonus systems that give workers more pay for more production.
China is the world's largest producer of
coal. Coal deposits occur in many parts of China, but the best fields are in
the north. During the early 1950's, more than 90 per cent of China's energy
came from coal. Since that time, however, the Chinese have discovered and
rapidly made use of large deposits of petroleum. Today, hydroelectric plants
provide about 20 per cent of China's energy, and oil-burning plants supply
about 15 per cent. The largest oil field in China is at Daqing in the northern
part of Manchuria. Other major Chinese oil
fields include those at Shengli on the Shandong Peninsula; at Dagang, near
Tianjin; and at Karamay in Xinjiang.
China is a leading producer of iron ore.
Most of the ore comes from large, low-grade deposits in the northeastern
provinces. Some mines in the central and northern parts of the country yield
rich iron ore.
China outranks all other countries in the
production of tungsten, and it is a leading producer of antimony, gold, and
tin. China also mines bauxite, lead, manganese, salt, uranium, and zinc.
Service industries are industries that produce services, not goods. These industries
include such services as trade; government services, including the military;
transportation; communication; finance; insurance; and personal and business
services. Together, they account for 28 per cent of China's CDP. More
information on transportation and communication appears later in this section.
Agriculture is the backbone of China's economy. About 60 per cent of all workers are
farmers. In southern China, rice, sweet potatoes, and tea are the major crops.
Wheat is the chief crop in the north, followed by maize and kaoliang
(sorghum). China produces more cotton, pears, rice, tobacco, and wheat than any
other country in the world. It grows 85 per cent of the world's sweet potatoes.
In addition, it is a leading producer of apples, cabbages, carrots, maize,
melons, potatoes, rubber, sugar beet, sugar cane, tea, and tomatoes. Other
important crops include millet, peanuts, and soybeans. Farmers on Hainan Island
grow tropical crops, such as bananas, oranges, and pineapples.
Only about 13 per cent of China's land
area can be cultivated. Thus, farmers have extremely
little cropland to support themselves and the rest of the huge population. However, they manage to provide almost enough food for all the people.
Only small supplies must be imported. This accomplishment is made possible
partly by the long growing season in southern China. Farmers in the south can
grow two or more crops on the same land each year. Chinese farmers must do most
of their work using only simple tools. They make use of irrigation and organic
fertilizers and practise soil conservation.
During the 1950's, the Communists collectivized
China,s agriculture. They organized the peasants to farm the land
cooperatively in units called communes. In the 1980s, emphasis on
communes declined, and individual families farmed more of the land. The
families must give part of their crop to their collective and must sell an
agreed quota of farm products to the state at a fixed price. They may then sell
their surplus crops at farm markets, sometimes to city-dwellers.
China's farm output has greatly increased
since the Communists took control of China. Faster growth in agriculture will
require the introduction of higher-yielding seeds, increased use of machinery,
expanded irrigation, and wider use of chemical fertilizers.
In rural areas, many families raise
chickens and ducks, and nearly every household has a pig. Pigs provide both
meat and fertilizer. China has more than 350 million pigs, more than 40 per
cent of the world's total. China also has large numbers of cattle, goats,
horses, and sheep.
Fishing industry. China has one of the
world's largest fishing industries. The Chinese catch about 12 million metric
tons of fish and shellfish annually. About 40 per cent of the catch comes from
freshwater fisheries, and the rest comes from the sea. Fish farming is an important
industry in China. Fish farmers raise fish in ponds both for food and for use
in fertilizer.
International trade is vital to China's economic development. During the 1950's, the
Chinese imported most of the machinery needed to build their industries from
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). , However, friendly
relations between China and the U.S.S.R. broke dow'n in the early 1960's. The
Chinese then began to follow a policy of economic self-reliance and sought to
limit imports. However, China's present leaders have largely abandoned the
principle of self- reliance. They are importing the machinery and technology
needed to modernize China's economy. They are even seeking foreign loans to
finance these imports.
China's chief imports are metals and
machinery. Other leading imports include grain, cotton, and fertilizers.
The country's main exports include
clothing, textiles, tea, and such foods as fruit, pork, and vegetables. During
the 1970's, the Chinese began to export large quantities of petroleum. They
hope to export more and more petroleum to help pay for their imports. Hong
Kong is China's largest trading partner, followed by the United States, Japan,
and Germany.
Transportation. The Chinese rely mainly on simple, traditional means for transportation
over short distances. The people carry heavy loads fastened to their backs or
hanging from poles carried across their shoulders. Carts and wagons are pulled
either by people or by donkeys, horses, or mules. Carts attached to bicycles
are common sights in cities. Boats are pulled along canals and rivers by
animals on the bank.
Railways are the most important part of
China's modern transportation system. Rail lines link the major cities and
manufacturing centres. The railways transport over 60 per cent of the freight
hauled by modern means.
They also carry much of China's passenger
traffic.
China has an extensive network of roads that reaches almost every town in the nation. Most of the roads are unpaved. Highway traffic in China consists mostly of trucks and buses. China has an average of less than 1 car for every 500 people. Most cars are owned by government agencies. Private ownership of cars is permitted, but very few Chinese can afford to buy a car. Bicycles and buses are widely used for local travel.
China has an extensive network of roads that reaches almost every town in the nation. Most of the roads are unpaved. Highway traffic in China consists mostly of trucks and buses. China has an average of less than 1 car for every 500 people. Most cars are owned by government agencies. Private ownership of cars is permitted, but very few Chinese can afford to buy a car. Bicycles and buses are widely used for local travel.
Ships carry passengers and freight on
several Chinese rivers, especially the Yangtze. The Grand Canal, which is the
world's longest artificially created waterway, extends more than 1,600
kilometres from Hangzhou in the south to Beijing in the north. For location,
see China (terrain map).
China's major ports include Guangzhou,
Luda, Qingdao, and Shanghai. The chief airports are at Beijing, Shanghai, and
Guangzhou. More than 80 Chinese cities are linked by domestic air service.
Chinese and foreign airlines fly between China and many cities in Asia, Europe,
and North America.
Communication in China comes under strict government control. Newspapers, radio, and
television formerly were devoted mostly to political propaganda. But since the
late 1970's, the government has increasingly used these communications media to
provide information and entertainment for the Chinese people. Educational
programmes, concerts, plays, and new films are often shown on television.
The government and the Chinese Communist
Party publish hundreds of daily newspapers and many weeklies. China's leading
newspaper is Renmin Ribao (People's Daily) of Beijing, the official
paper of the Communist Party. In addition to printed newspapers, China has
countless mimeographed and handwritten newssheets. So-called big-character
posters were formerly a means of communication and personal expression in
China. In the late 1970rs, many people began using posters to
complain about China's political system. In 1980, the government forbade
posters that criticized its policies. Now, posters typically include
information such as tips on health and physical fitness.
China has an average of 1 radio for about
every 7 people and 1 television set for about every 60 people. Radio
programmes are also broadcast over loudspeakers in many public areas.
Television sets are sometimes bought by groups, such as occupants of a block of
flats, and placed in a lobby or public room. The Chinese use their telephone
and telegraph systems mainly for official purposes or in emergencies. The
people depend chiefly on the postal system for personal communication.
The oldest written records of Chinese
history date from the Shang dynasty (about 1766 B.C. to about 1122 B.C). These
records consist of inscriptions inside bronze vessels and notations scratched
on thousands of turtle shells and animal bones. About 100 B.C., a Chinese historian
named Sima Qian wrote the first major history of China. Through the centuries,
the Chinese have always appreciated the importance of history and so have kept
detailed records of the events of their times.
Beginnings of Chinese civilization
People have lived in what is now China
since long before the beginning of written history. A type of prehistoric
human being called Peking man lived between about 500,000 and 250,000
years ago in what is now northern China. By about 10,000 B.C., a number of New
Stone Age cultures had developed in this area. From two of them—the Yangshao
and the Longshan—a distinctly Chinese civilization gradually emerged.
The Yangshao culture reached the peak of
its development in about 3000 B.C The culture extended from the central valley
of the Huang He to the present-day province of Gansu. In time, it was displaced
by the Longshan culture, which spread over most of what is now the eastern
third of the country. The Longshan people lived in walled communities,
cultivated millet and rice, and raised cattle and sheep.
China's first dynasty, the Shang dynasty,
arose from the Longshan culture during the 1700's B.C. The Shang kingdom was
centred in the Huang He Valley. It became a highly developed society governed
by a hereditary class of aristocrats. The dynasty's outstanding accomplishments
included the creation of magnificent bronze vessels, the development of horse-drawn
war chariots, and the establishment of a system of writing.
About 1122 B.C., the Zhou people of
western China overthrew the Shang and established their own dynasty. The Zhou
dynasty ruled China until 256 B.C. The dynasty directly controlled only part of
northern China. In the east, the Zhou gave authority to certain followers, who
became lords of semi-independent states. As time passed, these lords grew
increasingly independent of the royal court and so weakened its power. Battles
between the Zhou rulers and non-Chinese invaders further weakened the dynasty.
In 771 B.C., the Zhou were forced to abandon their capital, near what is now
Xian, and move eastward to Luoyang.
About 500 B.C., the great philosopher
Confucius proposed new moral standards to replace the magical and religious
standards of his time. This development in Chinese thought compared in many
ways to the shift from religion to philosophy that occurred among the people of
Greece at about the same time.
During the later Zhou period, the rulers
of the eastern states fought one another for the control of all China, in 221
B.C., the Qin state defeated all its rivals and established China's first
empire controlled by a strong central government. The Qin believed in a
philosophy called Legalism, and theif victory resulted partly from
following Legalistic ideas. Legalism emphasized the importance of authority,
efficient administration, and strict laws. A combination of Legalistic
administrative practices and Confucian moral values helped the Chinese empire
last for more than 2,000 years.
The age of empire
The early empire. The Qin dynasty lasted only until 206 B.C. But it brought great changes
that influenced the entire age of empire in China. The first Qin emperor, Shi
Huangdi, abolished the local states and set up a strong central government. His
government standardized weights and measures, the currency, and the Chinese
writing system. To keep out invaders, he ordered the construction of the Great
Wall of China. Labourers built the wall by joining shorter walls constructed
during the Zhou dynasty. The Great Wall, rebuilt by later dynasties, stretches
about 6,400 kilometres from the Bo Gulf of the Yellow Sea to the province of
Gansu in north-central China.
Shi Huangdi taxed the Chinese people
heavily to support his military campaigns and his vast building projects.
These taxes and the harsh enforcement of laws led to civil war soon after his
death in 210 B.C. The Qin dynasty quickly collapsed. The Han dynasty then
gained control of China. It ruled from 202 B.C to A.D. 220.
During the Han period, Confucianism became
the philosophical basis of government. Aristocrats held most of the important
state offices. However, a person's qualifications began to play a role in the
selection and placement of officials. Chinese influence spread into
neighbouring countries, and overland trade routes linked China with Europe for
the first time.
In A.D. 8, a Han official named Wang Mang seized
the throne and set up the Xin dynasty. However, the Han dynasty regained
control of China by A.D. 25. Art, education, and science thrived. Writers
produced histories and dictionaries. They also collected classics of literature
from earlier times. During the late Han period, Buddhism was introduced into
China from India.
Political struggles at the royal court and
administrative dishonesty plagued the last century of Han rule. In addition,
powerful regional officials began to ignore the central government. Large-scale
rebellion finally broke out, and the Han fell in 220. China then split into
three competing kingdoms. Soon afterward, nomadic groups invaded northern
China. A series of short-lived non- Chinese dynasties ruled ail or part of the
north from 304 to 581. Six regimes followed one another in the south from 222
to 589. The period of Chinese history from the fall of the Han to 589 is often
called the "Six Dynasties." During these centuries of division,
Buddhism spread across China and influenced all aspects of life.
The brief Sui dynasty (581-618) reunified
China. By 605, the Grand Canal linked the Yangtze Valley with northern China.
The canal made the grain and other products of the south more easily available
to support the political and military needs of the north.
The Tang dynasty replaced the Sui in 618 and ruled China for nearly 300 years. The Tang
period was an age of prosperity and great cultural accomplishment. The Tang capital
at Chang'an (now Xian) had more than a million people, making it the largest
city in the world. It attracted diplomats, traders, poets, and scholars from
throughout Asia and the Mediterranean area. Some of China's greatest poets,
including Li Bo and Du Fu, wrote during the Tang period. Buddhism remained an
enormous cultural influence, but followers adapted it to Chinese ways.
Distinctly Chinese schools of
Buddhism developed, including Chan (Zen) and Qingtu (Pure Land).
But in the 800's, a revival of Confucianism began.
In 755, a rebellion
led by a northern general named An Lushan touched off a gradual decline in Tang
power. From 875 to 884, another great rebellion further weakened the Tang
empire, which finally ended in 907. During the period that followed, a
succession of "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" struggled for control
of the empire. In 960, the Song dynasty reunified China.
Nanjing also granted
British officials the right to deal on equal terms with Chinese officials and
to try criminal cases involving British citizens. China signed similar treaties
with France and the United States in 1844 and with several other European
nations by 1851. These treaties stated that any rights granted to one foreign
power must also be given to the other nations. The Western nations thus
acquired a common interest in maintaining the r special privileges
in China.
From 1858 to 1860,
China and the foreign powers s signed more treaties. These treaties opened
additional ports to trade, permitted foreign shipping on the Yangtze and allowed missionaries to live on, and own
property in the interior of China. The treaties also called for the Western
nations to establish permanent diplomatic offices in Beijing. Great Britain
added the Kowloon Peninsula to its Hong Kong colony, and Russia received all
Chinese territory north of the Amur River and east of the Ussuri River.
The Taiping Rebellion. A series of uprisings in the mid-1800's posed a serious threat to the
survival of the Qing dynasty. The most important uprising was the Taiping
Rebellion. It lasted from 1851 to 1864 and caused the loss of millions of
lives. The Taipings were a semireligious group that combined Christian beliefs
with ancient Chinese ideas for perfecting society. They challenged both the
Qing dynasty and Confucianism with a programme to divide the land equally among
the people. After 14 years of civil war, local Chinese officials organized
new armies, which defeated the Taipings. The Qing received some military aid
from the foreign powers. These nations wanted the dynasty to survive so the
terms of the unequal treaties could remain in effect.
The fall of the Manchus. A disastrous war with Japan in 1894 and 1895 forced the Chinese to
recognize Japan's control over Korea. China also had to give the Japanese the
island of Taiwan, which China had controlled since 1683. France, Germany,
Great Britain, and Russia then forced the crumbling Chinese empire to grant
them more trading rights and territory. The division of China into a number of
European colonies appeared likely. But the Chinese people had begun to develop
strong feelings of national unity. This growth of nationalism helped prevent
the division of the country', as did rivalry among the foreign powers. None of
the foreign powers would allow any of the others to become dominant in China.
In 1899, the United States persuaded the other Western powers to accept the Open-Door Policy, which
guaranteed the rights of all nations to trade with China on an equal basis. The
rivalry among the powers was a reason the policy was approved.
By the 1890's, some Chinese violently
opposed the spread of Western and Christian influences in China. Chinese rebels
formed secret societies to fight these influences. The best-known society was
called the Boxers by Westerners because its members practised Chinese
ceremonial exercises that resembled shadowboxing. In the Boxer Rebellion of
1900, the Boxers and other secret societies attacked and killed Westerners and
Chinese Christians. Even the Manchu court supported this campaign of terror. A
rescue force from eight nations crushed the rebellion.
In the years following the Boxer
Rebellion, the Manchus set out to reform the Chinese government and economy.
They abolished the Confucian civil service examinations, established modern
schools, and sent students abroad to study. They also organized and equipped a
Western-style army. In addition, the Qing court reorganized the central
government, promised to adopt a constitution, and permitted the provinces to
elect their own legislatures.
The Manchu reforms came too late to save
the dynasty. A movement to set up a republic had been growing since the
Japanese defeat of China in 1895. In 1905, several revolutionary republican
organizations combined to form the United League. They chose as their leader
Sun Yat-sen, a Western-educated doctor.
From 1905 to 1911, the rebels staged a
series of unsuccessful armed attacks against the Manchus. Finally, on Oct. 10,
1911, army troops loosely associated with the United League revolted at
Wuchang. By the year's end, all the southern and central provinces had declared
their independence from Manchu rule.
Modern China
The early republic. In December 1911, the leaders of the revolution met in Nanjing to
establish the Republic of China. They named Sun Yat-sen temporary president of
the republic. The Manchus then called upon Yuan Shikai, a retired military
official, to try to defeat the republicans. But Yuan arranged a secret settlement
with Sun and his followers. The last Manchu emperor, a 6-year-old boy named Pu Yi, gave up the
throne of China on Feb. 12, 1912. On March 10, Yuan became president in place
of Sun, who agreed to step down.
Yuan quickly moved to expand his personal
power and ignored the wishes of the republicans. In 1913, the former
revolutionaries established the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) and
organized a revolt against Yuan. The revolt failed, and the Nationalist leaders
fled to Japan. Yuan's presidency became a dictatorship, and he took steps to
establish himself as emperor. But even Yuan's own followers opposed the
reestablishment of the empire. A rebellion by military leaders in the provinces
forced him to abandon his plans.
The war lord period. Yuan Shikai died in 1916, and the power of the central government
quickly crumbled. Presidents continued to hold office in Beijing, but the real
power in northern China lay in the hands of war lords (local military
leaders). With the support of south ern war lords, Sun Yat-sen set up a rival
government in Guangzhou in 1917. By 1922, the republic had failed hopelessly
and civil war was widespread.
Meanwhile, great changes were occurring in
Chinese culture and society. For example, a magazine called New Youth
attacked Confucianism and presented a wide range of new philosophies and social
theories. On May 4, 1919, students in Beijing demonstrated against the
Versailles Peace Conference. The conference permitted Japan to keep control of
the German holdings it had seized in China during World War I (1914-1918). The demonstrations
helped spread ideas presented by New Youth and other journals. This
revolution in thought became known as the May Fourth Movement. It
contributed greatly to the growth of Chinese nationalism and so strengthened
the drive for political revolution.
In 1919, Sun began to reorganize the
Nationalist Party and to recruit supporters from among students. The first
Communist student groups appeared in Beijing and Shanghai. In 1923, the
U.S.S.R. sent advisers to China to help the Nationalists. (In 1922 the U.S.S.R.
had been formed under Russia's leadership.) The Soviets persuaded the Chinese
Communists to join the Nationalist Party and help it carry out the revolution.
The party began to develop its own army and to organize workers and peasants to
prepare for an attack on the northern war lords.
Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, and leadership
of the Nationalist Party gradually passed to its military commander, Chiang
Kai-shek. In 1926, the Nationalists began a campaign to defeat the northern war
lords and soon won some major victories. In 1927, Chiang and his troops turned
against the Communists and destroyed the Communist-backed trade unions in Shanghai.
Most Communist leaders fled to the hills in the province of Jianxi in southern
China. In 1928, the Nationalists captured Beijing and united China under one
government for the first time since 1916.
Nationalist rule. The Nationalist government was a one-party dictatorship that never
gained full control of China. Communist opposition and Japanese aggression
severely limited its power and accomplishments.
By 1931, the Communists had established 15
rural bases and set up a rival government in southern and central China. In
1934, Chiang Kai-shek's armies forced the Communists to evacuate their bases
and begin their famous Long March. By the end of 1935, the Communists
had marched more than 9,700 kilometres over a winding route to the province of
Shaanxi in northern China. Of the approximately 100,000 Communists who began
the march, only a few thousand survived to reach Shaanxi. During the march, Mao
Zedong became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
While Chiang was fighting the Communists,
the Japanese were seizing more and more Chinese territory. In 1931, the
Japanese occupied Manchuria and made it a puppet state called Manchukuo.
They then extended their military influence into Inner Mongolia and other parts
of northern China. Chiang agreed to a series of japanese demands because he
felt unprepared to fight the Japanese until he had defeated the Communists.
Many students and intellectuals opposed
Chiang's giving in to Japan. They organized demonstrations and anti-Japanese
associations. Dissatisfaction spread to Manchurian troops who were blockading
the Communist-held areas in the northwest. In 1936, the Manchurian forces
kidnapped Chiang in Xian. He was released only after agreeing to end the civil
war and form a united front against the Japanese.
War with Japan. The Japanese army launched a major attack against China in 1937. The
Chinese resisted courageously, but Japanese armies controlled most of eastern
China by the end of 1938. The Nationalist forces withdrew to the province of
Sichuan, where they made Chongqing the wartime capital.
China joined the Allies in World War II on
Dec. 8, 1941, one
day after japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Allies
gave aid to China, but constant warfare against Japan exhausted China's resources
and strength. The cost of the war caused severe inflation which demoralized the
Chinese people and weakened support for the Nationalists.
For the Communists, the war against Japan
provided an opportunity for political and military expansion. In northern
China, they gained control of large areas that the Japanese army had overrun
but lacked the forces to defend. The Communists enlarged their army and organized
the people to provide food and shelter for their soldiers. They also began a
social revolution in the countryside, which included redistributing land to the
peasants in Communist-controlled areas. When the war against Japan ended in
August 1945, the Communists held an area in northern China with a population of
about 100 million. In addition, they claimed to have an army of more than
900,000 soldiers.
Civil war. In 1946, the United States sent General George G Marshall to China to
attempt to arrange a political settlement between the Nationalists and the Communists.
However, neither the Nationalists nor the Communists believed that they could
achieve their goals by coming to terms with the other side. In mid-1946, full-
scale fighting began.
The superior military tactics of the
Communists and the social revolution they conducted in the countryside
gradually turned the tide against the Nationalists. After capturing Tianjin and
Beijing in January 1949, Mao Zedong's armies crossed the Yangtze River and
drove the Nationalists toward southern China. On Oct. 1, 1949, Mao proclaimed
the establishment in Beijing of the People's Republic of China. In December of
that year,
Chiang Kai-shek and his followers fled to
Taiwan.
The beginning of Communist rule took place under the direction of Mao Zedong, the chairman of the
Communist Party. Premier Zhou Enlai directed ail government departments and
ministries. Military and economic aid from what was then the U.S.S.R. (now
Russia and its surrounding republics) helped support the new government. From
1949 to 1952, the new government firmly established its control over China and
promoted the recovery of the nation's economy. It seized farmland from
landlords and redistributed the land among the peasants. Estimates of the
number of landlords killed range from 50,000 to several million.
In 1953, China began its First Five-Year
Plan for economic development. From 1953 to 1957, industry grew at the rapid
rate of about 15 per cent a year. By 1957, the Communists had brought all
important industries under government control. Also, peasants were forced or
persuaded to combine their landholdings into agricultural cooperatives. But
agricultural production increased much more slowly than industrial output.
The Great Leap Forward was the name given to China's Second Five-Year Plan. Launched in 1958,
the Great Leap Forward was a campaign to accelerate China's economic
development. It was based on Mao's firm belief that human willpower and effort
could overcome all obstacles. Thus, the government tried to speed development
by increasing the number of workers and their hours while ignoring China's lack
of capital and modern technology. The government combined the agricultural
cooperatives into huge communes to improve the efficiency of farmworkers. In
industry, labourers worked extra shifts. Machinery was operated continuously,
without being stopped even for maintenance.
The Great Leap Forward shattered China's
economy. From 1959 to 1961, China experienced economic depression, food
shortages, and a decline in industrial output. By 1962, the economy began to
recover. However, the Chinese had not solved the problem of achieving economic
growth while maintaining revolutionary values. Disagreement over this issue
began to produce a major split within the Communist Party between radicals and
moderates. The radicals called for China to strive for a classless
society in which everyone would work selflessly for the common good. The
moderates stressed the importance of economic development. They believed that
the policies of the radicals were unrealistic and hampered the modernization of
China.
Break with the U.S.S.R. Friendly relations between China and the U.S.S.R. ended in the early
1960's. China had criticized the Soviets as early as 1956 for their policy of
"peaceful coexistence" with the West. Unlike the Soviets, the
Chinese at that time believed that war with the West was inevitable. They also
accused the U.S.S.R. of betraying the aims of Communism. In 1960, the U.S.S.R.
stopped its technical assistance to China. In 1962, the Soviets refused to
support China in its border war with India. The U.S.S.R. signed a nuclear test
ban treaty with the United States and Great Britain in 1963. The Chinese then
broke with the Soviets, whom they accused of joining an anti-Chinese plot. In
1989, normal relations between the two countries were restored.
The Cultural Revolution. In 1966, Mao Zedong gave his support to the radicals in the Communist
Party. Mao thus began what he called the Cultural Revolution. The
radicals accused many top party and government officials of failing to follow
Communist principles and re- moved them from their positions. Students and
other young people formed semimilitary organizations called the Red Guards.
They demonstrated in the major cities against those whom they called
counterrevolutionaries and anti-Maoists. The universities were closed from 1966
to 1970, and the entire educational system was disrupted. Radicals seized
control of many provincial and city governments. Violence frequently broke out
as competing radical groups struggled for power.
Maos attempt to put China back on a
revolutionary oath wrecked the government and economy so severely that he had
to call out the army in 1967 to restore order. In 1969, the Communist Party,
the government, and the educational system gradually began to resume their
normal activities. But the conflict between radicals and moderates within the
party continued.
Improved relations with the West. During the early 1970's, Canada and several other Western nations established
diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. The United States
continued to recognize the Nationalist government on Taiwan. But in 1971, the
United States ended its long-standing opposition to United Nations (UN)
membership for the People's Republic. Instead, it favoured UN membership for
both the People's Republic and Taiwan. In October 1971, the UN voted to admit
the People's Republic in place of Taiwan.
In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon
travelled to China and met with Premier Zhou Enlai and Communist Party chairman
Mao Zedong. During Nixon's visit, the United States and China signed the
Shanghai Communique, which led to the establishment of normal relations.
China after Mao. Both Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong died in 1976. A power struggle then
developed between moderates led by Hua Guofeng and radicals led by Mao's widow,
Jiang Qing. Hua's group won, and he succeeded Zhou as premier and Mao as
chairman of the Communist Party.
In 1977, Deng Xiaoping, a moderate, became
vice premier and vice chairman of the Communist Party. By 1980, Hua had
lost most of his power and Deng had become China's most powerful leader. Hua
resigned as premier in 1980 and as Communist Party chairman in 1981. Deng
helped Zhao Ziyang become premier and Hu Yaobang become general secretary (then
called chairman). Both Zhao and Hu were moderates.
Deng resigned as vice premier in 1980, and
in 1982 his post of party vice chairman was abolished. In 1989, Deng submitted
his resignation from other major party and government positions. But Deng
remains China's most influential leader.
Many other changes have taken place since
Mao's death. Many people admire Mao so much that they believe China should
follow all his policies. The moderates praised Mao's leadership, but denounced
the idea that all his policies should be followed. The moderates have greatly
increased trade and cultural contact with foreign countries. They set out to
modernize China's economy with technical help from abroad. In 1984, the
Communist Party began economic reforms that led to less government control
over business activity and prices.
In December 1986, many Chinese university
students began demanding increased freedom of speech and a greater voice in the
selection of officials. Students held demonstrations in a number of cities to
promote their demands. In January 1987, Hu Yaobang was removed from his post of
Communist Party general secretary. Conservative leaders had criticized Hu for
his liberal views. Zhao Ziyang became general secretary of the party in 1987,
and Li Peng became premier in April 1988. In 1989, Hu Yaobang died and students
mourning his death demonstrated in favour of more democracy in Beijing's
Tiananmen Square. The demonstrations were put down by the army and hundreds of
protesters were killed. Zhao, who was accused of being sympathetic to the
students' demands, was dismissed, and Jiang Zemin became general secretary of
the party.
Recent developments. The
government jailed many pro-democracy protestors who had demonstrated in Tiananmen
Square in 1989. By 1992, most protestors had been tried and some were jailed.
China came under pressure from the international community
to release dissidents still held without trial.
In 1993, Premier Li Peng was reelected for
a five-year term and Jiang Zemin was elected president of China. Although Jiang
held the top three jobs in China, he was considered unlikely to succeed the
aging Deng Xiaoping as China's senior leader. Deng's free-market reforms Drought
economic growth to China during the early 1990’s. However, China's
political leaders remained in conflict over economic policy.
Outline
Government
The Communist Party
National Government
Political Division
Courts
The arm forces
People
Population
Nationalities
Language
Way of Life
Family life
Rural life
City life
Food
Clothing
Health care
Religion
Education
The arts
Literature
Painting
Sculpture and pottery
Architecture
Music
Theatre
Land
The Tibetan Highlands
The Xinjiang-Mongolian Uplands
The Mongolian Border Uplands
The Eastern Highlands
The Eastern Lowlands
The Central Uplands
The Sichuan Basin
The Southern Uplands
Climate
Economy
Manufacturing and Mining
Service industries
Agriculture
Fishing industry
Foreign trade
Transportation
Communication
History
Questions
How has family life in China changed since
the Communists came to power?
What three groups dominate China's
government?
When was the People's Republic of China
established?
Why did the Chinese have a high regard for
education in the past?
Why do the Communists prize education
today?
How does the government control China's
economy?
Which dynasty established China's first
empire controlled by a strong central government?
How does China rank among the countries of
the world in population? In area?
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