History

Chinese history dates back a long, long time. The immense timeline, mythical beginnings, dynastic power struggles and divisions, not to mention the complex modern period, can make gaining a sense of scale and unity in China's history a daunting prospect. The Quick Reference Guide below gives a simplified overview from prehistory to the present. The bracketed sections indicate contemporaneous events in the Western world.

Prehistory

Chinese legend has it that the world was created by Panku and that the parasites living on his body became humans. Civilization then developed with the help of the guiding advances made by the Five Sovereigns, the last of whom, Yu, Tamer of Floods, is also believed to have formed the first of China's dynasties, the Xia, in the 22nd century BC.

Myth and legend aside, homo erectus in China has a history dating back 600,000 years before Christ, first emerging in the great river valleys. In the 1920s the discovery of skull remains, 30 miles from Beijing, reinforced the contested theory of evolution and showed that so-called Peking Man (see Beijing) knew how to use fire and basic stone tools. Homo sapiens emerged between 500,000 and 200,000 BC and gradually developed into modern man. Humans began to speak during the Paleolithic Age, which lasted from 100,000-10,000 BC, but it wasn't until 5000 BC that anything resembling a culture began to develop.

YangshaoCulture (5000-3000 BC)

Centered in what are now Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, Yangshao culture was probably a matriarchal society, although the official party line interprets it as a Communist community! People farmed, fished and kept domestic animals and when they died they were buried with funerary objects, including ceramic bowls and jade ornaments.

The Dynastic Age

Xia Dynasty (2100-1600 BC)

The Three Dynasties  (2100-221 BC) is a term used to describe the supposed first three Chinese dynasties, the Xia, the Shang and the Zhou. While much during this time still remains unclear, when Yu, Tamer of Floods, died and handed power over to his son, Qi, the Xia dynasty was born, marking the beginnings of the Chinese as a unified people. The Xiarepresents the transition from primitive to civilized society, a shift based on the right to ownership, with the family unit at its core and the tradition of dynastic succession.

Shang Dynasty (1600-1122 BC)

The Shang dynasty followed the Xia and, although literacy was very limited, the first records of Chinese characters come from this time, marked onto oracle bones. This was China's Bronze Age and many of the fine pieces you see in museums today were forged during the Shang and subsequent Zhou (see Bronzes). Archeological finds indicate that the Shang practiced ancestor worship, a belief which continues in the 21st century AD.

Zhou Dynasty (1122-221 BC)

The Zhou dynasty saw the country divided into many states, each of which was controlled by a family relative. The Zhou also introduced the concept of Divine Mandate (or the Mandate of Heaven), which allowed for the succession of one ruler or dynasty over another, if it was ordained by heaven. The Zhou dynasty is divided into two periods, the Western Zhou which ran from 1122 to 771 BC, and the Eastern Zhou, between 771 and 221 BC. Toward the close of the Eastern Zhou, the increasing population and the breakdown of relations between the dynastic states led to factional conflicts in a time which became known as the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). This part of history was very fractured and uncertain, but from it emerged stabilizing elements that remain to this day, namely the thoughts and theories of wandering scholars like Confucius and Lao Zi, the creator of Taoism

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Throughout the Warring States Period, the state of Qin had been gradually acquiring more territory and power, and in 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang brought the Qin Dynasty to power. Though cruel and very short-lived, the Qin is perceived as "China's first dynasty” and has had a lasting impact, most obviously in the country's name, China (in pinyin q is pronounced as ch, thus Qin is spoken as Chin). Qin Shi Huang rejected traditional Confucian values and set about unifying and expanding China, making his mark with a number of grand schemes, most famously the completion of the earliest version of the Great Wall. He also implemented a system of currency and writing. Ultimately, though, Qin Shi Huang's reign was ruthless and unpopular, forcing farmers to leave the land to work on his great projects and, when he died in 210 BC, his heirs were incapable of holding the empire together. But the 1974 discovery of his secret legacy, the Terracotta Warriors that guard his tomb near Xi'an, has ensured that Qin Shi Huang and the glory of the Qin will never be forgotten.

Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

The fact that the dominant ethnic group and the country's language still bear the name Han in the 21st century gives some insight into the power and legacy of the Han dynasty. Liu Bang (subsequently known as Gaozu, or High Ancestor), a warlord of peasant origins, was the first of 27 Lius to rule in the Han line. He established his grand capital near modern Xi'an but, for the latter half of the Han dynasty (referred to as the Eastern Han), Luoyang became the emperor's seat. Though Liu Bang had little time for Confucian ideals, it was during the Han dynasty that written exams on Confucian lore were introduced as necessary qualifications for official postings. To limit the power of the aristocracy, regional control was put in the hands of these officials who could be transferred or replaced as required. And to appease the peasantry, land taxation was reduced from the high levels it had reached under the Qin.

Advances, Expansion & Revolt

During the Han, substantial advances were made in agriculture, paper and textiles. This was a time of expansion which called for a strong army and led to improvements in warfare. At its peak the Han dynasty stretched as far south as Vietnam and saw the trickle of trade routes to the West develop into the Silk Road. However, all this war was expensive and when Wu Di, the Martial Emperor, died in 87 BC, although China was larger than ever, the coffers were nearly empty. The peasants, who had been taxed more heavily as his reign progressed, were ready to revolt and this situation allowed the throne to be temporarily usurped by the nobly born Wang Mang. In 9 AD he declared himself the first emperor of the Xin dynasty (New dynasty) and set about land reforms, but in 23 AD the Han reasserted its rule from its new capital, Luoyang in Shandong province. However, the Han's heyday had passed and as its power diluted the dynasty slipped into turmoil before expiring in 220 AD. Knowledge of Chinese history up to this point is greatly aided by the extensive historical record writing of Sima Qian, one of China's greatest historians.

Three Kingdoms Period (220-581 AD)

The demise of the Han left a fragmented China wrought with complex power struggles that would last almost four centuries. China was divided into three kingdoms: the northern Wei, ruled by Cao Pei, son of Han poet and general, Cao Cao; the southern Wu; and, in the southwest, the Shu. The trials of the time were subsequently recorded in the Ming dynasty work Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Also known as the Period of Division, this was a violent, unsettled time but one that saw the re-emergence of the aristocracy and a range of new influences reach China. China's first alien dynasty came into being when Liu Yuan, king of the nomadic northern Xiongnu tribe, captured Luoyang and declared the restoration of the Han dynasty. Buddhism began to take hold, particularly in the north, but, like almost everything else, was quickly sinicized.

Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD)

The Three Kingdoms Period was a dark and confused time, but its patronage of the arts laid a rich platform for the Sui and Tang to build on. The 400-year struggle for power ended when General Yang Jian of the Wei kingdom managed to unify the northern states and conquer the southern states, founding the short-lived Sui dynasty. Its brevity did not stop the Sui from forming lasting legacies, and the second emperor, Yang Di, ordered the construction of the 1,000-mile Grand Canal (see Suzhou), linking the Yangzi rice bowl to the imperial capital in the north. But thousands died in grand projects and military expansion into Korea and it was the suffering inflicted by the regime that led to its demise. Yang Di was assassinated and a military revolt was led by none other than his cousin, General Li Yuan.

 

 

The canals of Suzhou

 

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)

Despite the consolidation of the Sui, the re-unification of north and south was by no means inevitable. China's reconsolidation and the resultant advances in agriculture, the arts and trade grounded the concept of a united kingdom as an ideal and marked the Tang as China's most glorious dynasty. Territorial expansion also played a key part in the Tang's success (and ultimately, its failure). At its greatest, Chinese influence expanded from Korea to Persia. The name of the imperial capital, Chang'an (modern day Xi'an), means eternal peace and its million-strong population relished in the prosperity and new influences that this peace afforded.

 

 

Arts & Religion under the Tang

After the previous fractious periods of division, the calm and prosperity of a unified China provided a springboard for the arts, particularly painting, poetry and pottery. Two of China's most famous poets to this day, Li Bai and Du Fu, wrote during the Tang and the world's first printed book was published in 868. Pottery began to take on more color and glaze, and the tri-color techniques refined in the Tang are still in use today (see Ceramics). Trade was fundamental to both economic success and the resultant thriving religious and artistic scene. The Silk Road and the maritime ports of Guangzhou and Yangzhou brought, not only foreign goods, but outside ideas to the country. A tolerant attitude to foreigners allowed for a more cosmopolitan China; other religions such as Islam and Nestorianism established themselves, but neither prospered like Buddhism. As imperial patronage of Buddhism increased, it was represented in cave art, which reached its peak in the Tang, although much was later destroyed in periods of religious repression. Notable Buddhist cave art from the Tang remains today at Dunhuang in Gansu,  Longmen Grottoes in Shandong province and at Dazu in Szechuan.

China's First Empress

Thirty years into the dynasty, a power struggle for the throne led to the naming of Taizong's (624-49) ninth son as Emperor Gaozong in 649. Only 20 years old when he came to the throne and plagued by ill health, Gaozong's power was soon controlled by his consort and former concubine, Wu Zetian, who had managed to oust the empress and take her place. When Gaozong died, she continued to rule for their weak son. A shrewd and manipulative woman, Wu finally usurped the throne in 698 AD, proclaiming the foundation of the Zhou dynasty in 698 AD, and giving China its first empress. Her relationship with Buddhism (and with Buddhist priests) has been questioned, but the royal carvings she commissioned at Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang are a testament to her short rule, which ended with her abdication in 705.

Close of the Tang

In 712, Xuanzong ascended to the throne and, although he is remembered as one of the Tang's greatest emperors and his reign began gloriously, as it progressed, power was eroded. There was a military defeat by the Arabs in 751, invasions from Tibet and finally a revolt led by the Turkish general An Lushan. Although the rebellion was crushed, the power of the state was considerably weakened and Xuanzong's rule ended in 756. After Xuanzong, imperial control was further diluted by internal power struggles and several emperors were poisoned by court eunuchs. Eunuchs continued to exert influence over court proceedings and a string of weak emperors allowed them to chip away at the imperial power base. It became clear that the dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven and, in 907, the last of the Tang emperors abdicated.

Song Dynasty (960-1279)

In spite of a 50-year hiatus from unified rule known as the Five Dynasties (907-960), advances made during the Tang had laid the way for economic development. When Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu) re-united the country and founded the Song dynasty in 960, things quickly picked up from where the Tang had left off. Commerce flourished from the capital at Kaifeng and the great cities grew larger, while new ones sprung up all over the south. Agricultural and industrial success opened the doors for artistic developments and the Song is remembered as a time of great poetry, pottery and landscape painting – Su Dongpo (see Poetry), one of China's greatest poets, lived during the Song. But art doesn't maintain empires and, in spite of the invention of gunpowder and the magnetic compass, the Song's failure to achieve military dominance resulted in the loss of their capital in 1126 to the Jurchen, a sinicized Manchurian tribe which founded its own dynasty, the Jin (1115-1234). Forced to re-locate to Hangzhou and burdened by humiliating and considerable indemnity payments to their new neighbors, the dynasty became known as the Southern Song (1126-1279). They blossomed culturally, but failed politically and militarily.

Yue Fei

The Song dynasty certainly isn't known for its military leadership but Yue Fei (1103-42), a young man who was instrumental in subduing rebel bands after the Song were forced south to Hangzhou, emerged as a great hero from this time. He campaigned against the Jurchen in the north but his efforts were nullified by a settlement that made the Southern Song vassals of the Jurchen Jin dynasty. Yue Fei was executed as a supposed traitor, but his determined patriotism won him a place in the hearts of the Chinese people; 20 years later he was recognized as a national hero and reburied in a grand tomb in Hangzhou.

Rise of the Mongols

Military heroes like Yue Fei were in the minority though, and the Song's preoccupation with the arts contributed to their demise. While the Song is remembered as one of China's great dynasties, it never exerted the military dominance over East Asia that had been achieved under the Han and Tang and it was under constant threat of attack from the north. Even after losing Kaifeng and northern China to the Jurchen, the Song still paid little heed to the dangers of outside invasion. The Mongols, united under the forceful leadership of Genghis Khan at the start of the 13th century, had become increasingly powerful and penetrated deep into Chinese territory, taking Beijing in 1215. In 1279 Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, founded the Yuan dynasty.

Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)

The military might of Genghis Khan's marauding Mongolian tribes enabled him to seize control of a vast swathe of land from China to Europe. By the latter part of the 13th century this subsumed the northern Jurchen Jin dynasty and then the Southern Song, making China just another Mongol outpost with Genghis' grandson, Kublai Khan, at its head. The Mongols' nomadic traditions were ill-suited to static urban control and they soon adopted the Chinese style of rule, establishing their capital, Dadu, on the site of modern Beijing. Chinese influences were welcomed and rejected to differing extents under the various Yuan leaders, but ultimately the conquerors were changed more than the conquered. However, the Mongol tradition of elected leaders was harder to erase and ran contrary to the Chinese concept of dynastic succession. This remained a problem throughout the Yuan dynasty – each time an emperor died there was an ensuing power struggle. Nevertheless the Yuan was not without its accomplishments and trade across Mongolian Central Asia boomed, bringing a wealth of goods, influences and outside expertise to China

 

 

Kublai Khan

 

Social Division & Downfall

The lavish court lifestyle of the Yuan, as described by Marco Polo during his purported stay, didn't sit well with nomadic traditions and gradually eroded the military might of the Mongols. Fierce resistance and typhoons contributed to military failure in Japan, while little more success was met in the unfamiliar terrain of Southeast Asia.

The reasons for the downfall of the Yuan dynasty are debatable and are manifold, but Kublai Khan's division of subjects into four racial groups certainly did little to endear him to the Chinese majority. Mongols were at the top of the ladder, followed by Central Asians and Westerners; next came the Han Chinese and, on the bottom rung, the southern Chinese. Within this structure, Muslims were granted special privileges and, in the Buddhist world, Tibetans held the key posts. This alienated and angered the Chinese population. Secret Buddhist societies, like the White Lotus and Red Turbans, emerged and plotted insurrection, which was met with oppression at the hands of Kublai's inept successors, but this only led to more sustained resistance. Finally a full-scale uprising under the monk turned rebel leader, Zhu Yuanzhang, usurped the throne from the child emperor in 1368 and instilled the Ming dynasty.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

 

 

Hongwu

 

Zhu Yuanzhang took the imperial name Hongwu, established his capital at Nanjing (Southern Capital) and gave the new dynasty its name, Ming meaning brightness. The Ming certainly ruled with far more power than their Mongol predecessors and succeeded in restoring the country to centralized control after a century of foreign rule. While exerting less cultural influence than either the Han or the Tang, the Ming lasted some three centuries and during this long rule the Forbidden City was built after Yongle, the second emperor, relocated the capital to Beijing. Major improvements were made to the Great Wall and the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen produced the distinctive fine white and blue pottery for which the Ming dynasty is still famous today. Novels also found a place in Ming libraries and classics, such as The Outlaws of the Marsh and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, were written in vernacular language, which made them accessible to a wider audience.

Zheng He

The Ming dynasty was, for the most part, an inward-looking period that saw ties severed with many old trading partners and thus decreased the amount of contact China had with other countries. But in the early 15th century this was not yet the case and the emperor Yongle ordered enormous fleets to explore the oceans in search of knowledge and trade. Commanded by the Muslim eunuch admiral, Zheng He, the armadas that set sail from Nanjing were, by far, the biggest the world had ever seen, both in the number of ships and vessel size. The largest baochuan (treasure ships) were over 400 feet long, dwarfing all that had come before. In his seven great voyages, Zheng He sailed as far as the west coast of Africa, and established trading links in Malacca (in modern day Malaysia) and on India's Malabar Coast. But, shortly after Zheng He set sail on his final voyage, the Forbidden City was struck by lightning, which was seen as a sign of the gods' displeasure and almost all records of Zheng's grand journeys were destroyed. It is only in the past few years that these ventures have surfaced again and recent research suggests that it was the imperial fleet under Zheng He that paved the way for the likes of Vasco de Gama and Magellan.

Close of the Ming

The later Ming years produced a string of weak rulers and, as before, power fell into the manipulative hands of court officials and eunuchs who bickered and squabbled but did little to support the country. By the start of the 17th century the country's frontier defenses had fallen apart and a series of peasant uprisings further weakened the Ming power base. In 1644 rebel forces under Shaanxi-born Li Zicheng stormed the capital and the last Ming emperor fled to Jingshan Park, just behind the Forbidden City, where he ended his own life and, with it, the Ming dynasty.

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

The Manchu descendants of the northeastern Jurchen Jin dynasty saw their chance and moved in, ejecting Li Zicheng and claiming the capital as their own, although it took another few decades before the whole country was under the control of the newly-formed Qing (meaning Clear) dynasty. The Qing immediately imposed their Manchu culture onto the Chinese, obliging men to wear traditional pigtails and making their native tongue the official language. While Ming officials were maintained in some ranks to appease the Chinese, the top posts were reserved for those of Manchu stock. But, as with every culture that had come before and tried to absorb China into its own mold, the Manchus were quickly assimilated into Chinese culture. By the late Qing, its emperors were so cast in the Confucian model that anti-Manchu sentiment had almost ceased to be an issue.

A Golden Age

 

 

Lama Temple

 

The early years of the Qing dynasty saw some of China's most proficient leaders and the reigns of Kangxi (1661-1722), Yongzheng (1723-35) and Qianlong (1736-95) are remembered as a golden age. During the 18th century the Qing doubled China's territorial size. Kangxi quashed rebellions and the empire was expanded to include Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal and parts of Central Asia. Kangxi was a patron of the arts and his reign also saw the construction of the Lama Temple in Beijing and the Mountain Retreat in Chengde, whose northerly temples were added to by Qianlong. Yongzheng and Qianlong's stable periods of rule and continued expansion promoted growth in industry and commerce, while the peasantry was appeased with tax reforms and flood control measures. This was China's last age as a great imperial empire and, at the start of the 19th century, the unified country stood as one of the most wealthy and powerful nations in the world.

Foreign Encroachment & the Opium Wars

Western interest in the fabulously wealthy but militarily weak Middle Kingdom grew as more and more merchants made their way to China's shores hoping for a slice of the action. The British East India Company was keen to stake its claim and in 1793 Lord Macartney, George III's envoy, was given an audience with Emperor Qianlong in Chengde, but his refusal to kowtow was a sign of things to come. The Qing did not see the need for Western goods or influences and were not prepared to sign any kind of trading agreements with their perceived subordinates. The East India Company wasn't about to give up on such a lucrative opportunity and began to trade Indian-grown opium, rather than silver, in exchange for silk and tea. Addiction became rife and thus demand increased, which led to a futile attempt to ban the trade. In 1840 the emperor ordered the destruction of 20,000 chests of opium under Lin Zexu, which provoked the First Opium War (1840-2). Two years of bombardment later, the Chinese capitulated and were forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing, which included a substantial indemnity payment along with the opening up of new ports and the ceding of Hong Kong to Britain. The Second Opium War (1856-60) brought more losses and underlined the fact that, technologically, China had some catching up to do. Further parcels of land were ceded to Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and the US. Anti-Manchu feeling, long buried just beneath the surface, began to rise.

The Taiping Uprising (1850-64)

The insult of these treaties and their crippling indemnities spurred a number of popular rebellions, the most serious of which was the anti-Manchu Taiping Uprising. Founded by Hong Xiuquan, who believed he was the Son of God and brother of Jesus, this quasi-Christian cult acquired a million-strong army which captured much of the fertile Yangzi valley and established a capital at Nanjing. The uprising's focus on equality has led many to view it as a precursor to communism, while its draconian laws and desire to obliterate all that had come before is comparable to the destructive might of the Cultural Revolution. The uprising was eventually quashed with European support in 1864, but it left millions dead and other revolts broke out, notably the Nien (1853-68).

Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908)

It was during the Taiping Rebellion that the Empress Dowager Cixi rose to prominence. Originally a concubine, Cixi managed to maneuver her way to the top and manipulate the ineffective emperors, ruling from behind the scenes between 1861 and 1908. Known as "the Old Buddha,” she bore a son to Emperor Xianfeng, who became Emperor Tongzhi and, after outliving him, she installed her nephew, Guangxu, as emperor. After Guangxu's involvement in the 100 Days Reform Movement in 1898, Cixi kept him under lock and key in the Summer Palace while she ruled in his name. The Empress Dowager proved to be a dominant, yet inept leader and, fearing loss of her power, she rejected all attempts at much-needed reform until it was too late. Her lack of judgment catalyzed the Qing's downfall and her most crass misallocation of funds is still there to see today – the grand marble boat that sits in Kunming Lake at Beijing's Summer Palace was built using finances intended to bolster the navy!

The Boxer Rebellion (1899)

Fifty years of foreign domination and civil unrest made for a mood that only needed harnessing in a popular rebellion to challenge the Qing dynasty. This came in the form of the Boxer (or Righteous Fists) Rebellion, led by a mystical group who claimed invulnerability through the righteousness of their cause and as a result of their breath-control exercises. Their aim was to overthrow the Qing dynasty and destroy foreign influence in China, causes that struck a chord with the masses. Although Cixi managed to quell the rebellion in 1899, she then tried to use the Boxers to her advantage to rid the country of foreigners. In 1900 war was declared on all foreigners within China and the Boxers were set loose on the streets of Beijing. They killed the German and Japanese ministers, along with any other foreigners they could find, but the British and others were able to hold out until an allied support force arrived and routed the Boxers.

The Fall of Dynastic China

In the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, Cixi and the emperor fled to Xi'an leaving her ministers to negotiate yet another humiliating peace settlement. Although Cixi clung to the throne until her death in 1908, the dynastic age had passed and plans were afoot to build a new China, without emperors. Protests against a foreign-owned railway line provided the impetus for the final rebellion against dynastic China. The child emperor Puyi could offer no resistance and in 1911 the provisional Republic of China was founded in Nanjing under Dr. Sun Yatsen.

The Revolutionary Years

Dr. Sun Yatsen (1866-1925)

 

 

Dr. Sun Yatsen is regarded as the Father of Modern China. He is also known as Sun Zhongshan (the Chinese translation of his Japanese name, Nakayama, which means Middle Mountain). Sun Yatsen was born in Guangdong province and was then schooled around the globe, including a stint in Hawaii and medical training in Hong Kong. He soon developed an interest in politics and a firm belief in reform. After a failed uprising in Guangzhou in 1895 Sun fled to Europe, the US and Japan, acquiring funds and followers as he moved along. In 1905 he formed the Tong Meng Hui, or Revolutionary Alliance in Japan. His vision of modern China was based on the three principles of democracy, nationalism and livelihood and was modeled on the USSR, upon which the Nationalist Party (KMT) became increasingly dependent. After founding the republic, Sun was promptly deposed and fled the country. In 1915 he married Soong Qingling (whose sister, Meiling, married Chiang Kaishek in 1927). Returning to China in 1917, he finally gained control of the country in 1923, priming the way for Chiang Kaishek to ascend to the KMT's top spot. Sun died of cancer in 1925 and is still fondly remembered on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Almost every town has a Zhongshan Road dedicated to him. The leagues of visitors to his mausoleum in Nanjing are further testimony to his significance in modern Chinese history.

The KMT

With the idealistic principles of Dr. Sun Yatsen at the helm, the future initially seemed bright for the republic, but continued Russian interference and China's failure to successfully unite against Japanese aggression meant that a rocky few decades lay ahead for the new China. After Yuan Shikai deposed the last emperor, a constitution was drawn up and elections were scheduled for 1913, but it soon became clear that Yuan wanted to establish his own power base. Rather than provoke civil war, Sun Yatsen stepped down from his position as head of the newly formed Kuomintang (KMT or Guomindang in Pinyin, National People's Party in English) and once again was forced into exile. Yuan scoffed at Sun Yatsen's withdrawal and in 1914 he made himself president for life. He died two years later and Dr. Sun Yatsen eventually returned to power, albeit heavily reliant on Soviet support. But foreign intervention in China continued to hinder stability and the humiliating terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles ignited protests in Tian'anmen Square which became known as the May Fourth Movement. Sun appointed his protégé, Chiang Kaishek (1888-1975, known in China as Jiang Jieshe), as his successor shortly before his death. Under Chiang, the KMT developed into a military dictatorship catering to the social elites, but did little to improve the lot of the rural majority or remove foreign control from the country.

The Emergence of Communism

Nationalism certainly wasn't the only ideology that emerged from the collapse of the imperial age but communism, showcased by the recent Russian revolution, was the only one that offered serious competition to the KMT. You can still visit the building in Shanghai where the Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921 (see Shanghai, Sightseeing). The CCP initially comprised two groups, the first of which was led by Li Dazhao and included Mao Zedong among its numbers, while the second was headed by Zhou Enlai and was guided by Russian advisors. In 1923, following Russian advice, the CCP and the KMT united to form the National Revolutionary Army, which headed north to remove the threat posed by warlords. The expedition was a success but the unity between communism and nationalism was short-lived. In response to a Communist strike Chiang executed many of the CCP's top leaders in 1927, leaving the rest, including Mao Zedong, to flee for the hills.

The Long March

Chiang Kaishek perceived the Communists as a more significant threat than the encroaching Japanese and focused on trying to obliterate the CCP, forcing them deep into the countryside, where their support was strongest. By 1934 nationalist forces had surrounded Mao Zedong's mountainous Jiangxi base and it seemed as if the Communists were on the verge of defeat. Instead, Mao led 100,000 troops on a year-long, 6,000-mile escape, which became known as the Long March. They traversed numerous mountain ranges, some of which were snowcapped and only 10,000 made it all the way to Yan'an in Shaanxi province. Although thousands died, the march became a symbol of the grit and determination of Mao and the Zunyi Conference along the way firmly established him as the leader of the CCP.

Japanese Encroachment & Civil War

The 1919 Treaty of Versailles had ratified all of Japan's claims to Chinese territory and they were just waiting in the wings to swoop down on China. China's division presented this opportunity and the Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931, renaming it as the supposedly independent state of Manchukuo and installing the last Qing emperor, Puyi, as its puppet leader. Anti-Japanese sentiment ran high and in 1936 Chiang Kaishek was seized by his own officers (which became known as the Xi'an Incident) and forced into forging another doomed alliance between the KMT and the CCP. However, Manchuria was just a prelude to full-scale invasion and in 1937 Japanese forces swept into China and captured much of the east coast by 1939, forcing the government to mountainous Chongqing, from where they were reliant upon US and British airdrops. By 1940 the Japanese controlled Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou, while Chiang Kaishek's failure to distribute mutual arms to the Communist Red Army resulted in the collapse of the KMT-CCP alliance. Up to 20 million Chinese are thought to have died during the Japanese invasion and the atrocities committed during the infamous 1937 Rape of Nanjing are reviled to this day.

Allied & Communist Victory

The Allied victory in World War II and the devastating Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs spelled the end for Japanese rule in China and, in spite of US support for the KMT, in 1945 it was the Communists who were better placed and prepared to stake their claim on the country. Although the KMT managed to retake the cities, the rural bulk of the country lay in the hands of the Communists. When the People's Liberation Army (formerly the Red Army) captured a US arms consignment they had not only the weaponry, but the public support and determination to win and the KMT crumbled. Chiang Kaishek fled to Taiwan, along with much of the treasure from the Forbidden City. In Taiwan he established the Republic of China (ROC) with the now inconceivable aim of regrouping to return and reinstate the KMT in China.

Chairman Mao (1893-1976)

Early Years

One of the most iconic figures of the 20th century, Mao Zedong (aka Mao Tse Tung) was born in Hunan into a comparatively wealthy grain-dealing peasant family. He was schooled in Changsha and then continued his education in Beijing. In response to the humiliating terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Mao became involved in the anti-foreign May 4th Movement. Russia's Bolshevik Revolution and sponsorship of communist cells in China helped to convince Mao that socialism was the way forward and, when the CCP was founded in 1921, Mao was one of its key members.

 

Mao in 1931

 

 

Rural Revolt

Mao's time teaching at Guangzhou's Peasant Training Institute in the early 1920s reinforced his socialist principles, but also convinced him that revolution must come from the rural masses. After Chiang Kaishek's purge of the CCP, Mao retreated to establish a Communist Red Army base in Jinggang Shan in Jiangxi and managed to hold out until 1934 when nationalist forces encircled the mountain. The Communist retreat took the form of the incredible Long March (see above), which resulted in huge loss of life and suffering, but it cemented Mao as the resilient leader of the CCP and helped to expand his power base. In spite of Soviet and US support for the KMT, the popular following Mao had engendered carried the CCP to victory.

Revolutionary Zeal

Mao Zedong was hardly seen in public for the first few years of and was at odds with many of the party's early policies. Reforms and successes soon gave way to failures spurred by Mao's belief that his revolutionary ideals had been usurped. The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution (see below) were both a result of ideology overruling reason and had disastrous consequences for China's people, culture and economy. Although he was never a great statesman it was the powerful personality cult that Mao developed which allowed him to implement these crass plans. He was tempered to some extent by his second-in-command, Zhou Enlai, but Mao's third wife, Jiang Qing fueled his revolutionary zeal. The Cultural Revolution only really ended with Mao's death in 1976 and he was entombed in a grand mausoleum at the center of Tian'anmen Square.

Views of Mao

 

 

To western minds Chairman Mao's catastrophic mistakes vastly outweigh his achievements, but within China he is still respected, almost revered, and, although his mistakes are now recognized, they are seen as less significant than his contribution in re-establishing a unified China. The younger generation may be freer in their criticism of Chairman Mao, but his portrait still adorns many rural village living rooms and there are enormous statues of the Great Helmsman, as he has become known, in cities around the country. What Mao Zedong would make of modern China is an interesting question. Although much of the party rhetoric remains intact, economics is at the heart of the new China and the Chairman might be shocked by the hordes of visiting capitalists eagerly snapping up Mao memorabilia, including singing lighters, waving watches and his Little Red Book of thoughts.

The PRC Under Chairman Mao

The Early Years of the PRC

When Mao Zedong stood atop Tian'anmen in Beijing and announced the foundation of the People's Republic of China, the world's most populous Communist state was born. Soviet experts were brought in, five-year plans introduced and, although the country was in ruins, an air of optimism prevailed, especially once industry had been nationalized, revitalized and peasants granted land. The Korean War (1950-53) was an unneeded distraction at this crucial time of reconstruction, but China's victory reaffirmed faith in the Communist party and the mood was buoyant.

The Hundred Flowers Movement (1956)

However, while all outwardly appeared well, Mao feared that the revolutionary zeal of the party was flagging and he sought to rock the boat a little. His famous slogan "let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools contend” was intended to draw intellectual criticism of the bureaucracy, but resulted in a torrent of direct attacks on the Communist system itself. Posters criticizing officials and policy were plastered on democracy wall near the Forbidden City. Mao responded with an anti-rightist campaign that labeled intellectuals as enemies of socialism. Thousands of people were persecuted and sent off to labor camps.

The Great Leap Forward (1958-60)

Having rattled the bureaucracy, Mao set his sights on agriculture and industry. While industry was already thriving with the help of Russian aid and expertise, agriculture was lagging. The Great Leap Forward was introduced in 1958 and was intended to increase both agricultural and industrial efficiency with a goal of matching British steel output within 15 years. Industry was to benefit from seasonal workers and the introduction of rural industry, while agriculture was to be improved through collectivization.

But this utopian plan was flawed from the start as the peasantry, who had only just acquired their land, were reluctant to collectivize. Poor management, overplanting, unachievable quotas and the focus on steel rather than food all contributed to the Great Leap Forward's outright failure. Both the 1959 and 1960 crops failed and the resulting famine left millions dead and the economy in pieces. The situation was worsened when Mao's distrust of Khrushchev's brand of communism led to the breakup of Sino-Soviet relations and Russia's withdrawal of aid. Mao's political reputation was ruined and critics within the party elite, including Deng Xiaoping  and Liu Shaoqi, voiced their opinions. Following the failure of the Great Leap Forward, the commune policy was diluted and by the middle of the 1960s the economy had recovered.

The Cultural Revolution (1966-69)

Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping favored a liberal approach to the economy to encourage private enterprise, an attitude that Mao saw as dissension. Mao sought to crush the so-called "Pragmatists” with the 1966 Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which was designed to rid China of the "four olds” – old culture, old customs, old habits and old ideas. Under the guidance of Mao, students in Beijing formed a political militia that became known as the Red Guards. They terrorized the country, brandishing the all-empowering Little Red Book of Mao's thoughts and quotations. The Red Guards set about erasing anything connected with China's history and thousands of buildings, books and businesses were destroyed. Zhou Enlai managed to save a few monuments from Mao's purge, but much of China's greatest art and architecture was lost forever during the Cultural Revolution. Society was turned against itself as quotas were set for the denouncing and re-education of those who were corrupting communism and this ultimately even led to Red Guards reporting one another. Fifteen million people are thought to have died as a result of the Cultural Revolution and millions more were traumatized. While the Cultural Revolution was disastrous in almost every way conceivable it only served to reinforce Mao's seemingly omnipotent cult status. The Cultural Revolution's inextricable link with the Great Helmsman resulted in a failure to address its tragic legacy and even now it is only spoken about in hushed tones.

Broadening the Power Base

 

 

Mao with Jiang Qing

 

In the years prior to his death Mao Zedong was rarely seen and was often represented by his third wife, Jiang Qing and her radical supporters, who became known as the Gang of Four. Lin Biao had been Mao's strongest supporter during the Cultural Revolution and was primed for leadership, but lost some of his power base as the army became less important. What followed is not exactly clear, but in 1972 it was reported that he had died the previous year in a plane crash en route to the Soviet Union. This might be true, but it is more likely that Lin Biao attempted a coup, was executed and then the story created in order to highlight his treachery. With his closest ally gone, Mao sought to expand his power base and Zhou Enlai's protégé, Deng Xiaoping, veteran of the Long March and victim of the Cultural Revolution, returned to office, while Hua Guofeng was preened as Mao's successor. Zhou Enlai had been pragmatically limiting the worst extremes of Mao Zedong's ideological policies since the party's inception and his tact and political skill helped China gain a seat in the UN in 1971 and establish trade links with the US after Nixon's visit in 1972.

Mao's Death & the End of the Gang of Four

However, in early 1976 Zhou Enlai died and, when radicals removed wreaths placed on the Heroes Monument in remembrance of him, a riot ensued. This became known as the Tian'anmen Incident, for which the recently returned Deng Xiaoping was ostensibly blamed and once more removed from office. The radicals quickly capitalized on this and gained ground, but this was to be short-lived. Two months after the massive Tangshan earthquake in Hebei, Chairman Mao died and the Gang of Four had lost their helmsman. Just a month after Mao's death they were arrested; in 1981 they were tried and each sentenced to 20 years in prison. Jiang Qing killed herself and the other three all died under lock and key. The Gang of Four were blamed for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution, a factor that helped to keep the Mao cult strong.

The Reform Era (1976-present)

Deng Xiaoping

 

 

Deng Xiaoping was born into a wealthy Szechuan family and was educated overseas in France, where he met Zhou Enlai. On returning to China in 1924 he joined the Communist party. He endured the Long March and staved off some of the economic crisis of the Great Leap Forward by establishing a limited free market. During the Cultural Revolution he was publicly humiliated for his moderate ideals and had to work in a tractor factory in Xinjiang as a form of "re-education.” Deng favored a capitalist approach to the economy and, on his return to politics, these views made him a target of the Gang of Four. Deng was blamed for the 1976 Tian'anmen Incident (see above) and once more forced out of politics, but Mao's death and the arrest of the Gang of Four marked a turning point which saw Deng rise to the head of the CCP. Two years later Mao's chosen successor, Huo Guofeng, was ousted and Hu Yaobang instated.

Deng quickly began the economic reforms that paved the way for a string of similar economically minded leaders to bring China to where it is today – capitalist in all but name. On a tour of Guangdong province in the early 1990s Deng famously remarked that "I don't care whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice,” reasserting China's capitalism, albeit under the auspices of "socialism with Chinese characteristics.” But economic and political reform did not go hand in hand. While Deng was praised for his economic policies, he will be remembered as the leader who authorized the Tian'anmen Square Incident (see below), a show of strength that resulted in worldwide condemnation. Deng died in 1997 and it was Jiang Zemin, groomed to be his successor, who oversaw the handover of Hong Kong.

Economic Liberalization

Deng's policies focused on economic liberalization to promote foreign investment and internal entrepreneurship and his Four Modernizations (agriculture, defense, industry and science) provided the platform for China's economic transformation and opening up to the world. Technological skill and competency reasserted themselves over ideological commitment as the cornerstones for development. Agricultural collectives were disbanded and farmers were allowed to sell any surplus product on the free market. The number of state-owned businesses was dramatically reduced and there was a distinct shift from heavy to light industry. Special Economic Zones such as Shenzhen were designated and the benefits available attracted large-scale foreign investment. Entrepreneurial capitalism was encouraged and, with its huge population and low wages, China quickly reaped the rewards of international trade and has become the workshop of the world. Since the start of reforms China has maintained an economic growth rate of 7% and cities like Shenzhen and Shanghai's Pudong have sprung up almost overnight.

Tian'anmen Square Incident (1989)

But political and social change didn't follow economic reform and, while artists, writers and even the press enjoyed a measure of freedom in the 1980s, the party's true hand was laid out for all to see in Tian'anmen Square in 1989. Deng had sidelined Hu Yaobang in 1987 for his liberal views and when Hu died in 1989, mourning gave way to full-scale protests in Tian'anmen Square. Martial law was ordered in May but, in spite of this, by June there were a million people gathered in the square, organized by the student leaders Wang Dan, Chai Lin and Wu'er Kaixi. Although predominantly students pushing for greater political and social freedom, there was also an urban worker contingent, who were protesting against the endemic corruption within the system, rapid inflation and the economic reforms which had cost many of them their jobs. When the protesters' demands went unanswered, a thousand-plus students went on a hunger strike. Fifty thousand PLA troops were ordered into Beijing and on June 3rd tanks rolled into Tian'anmen Square. The following day soldiers fired into the unarmed crowd and hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed, although it seems unlikely any genuine statistics will ever emerge.

Foreign journalists who had been covering Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Beijing witnessed much of what happened and, although satellite links were shut down, the world was given a grisly insight into modern China. International condemnation was followed by arms embargoes and there were protests around the globe. The Tian'anmen Square Incident had also illustrated a rift between the hardliners and more progressive elements within the party. While premier Li Peng was in favor of using force to remove the protesters, others such as party secretary Zhang Ziyang, who was dismissed, sympathized with them. Even now the June 4th Movement, as it is known in party-speak, is seldom discussed in China, and you should be sensitive asking questions about it – only do so in private and if you know the person well.

Jiang Zemin

After the Tian'anmen Square Incident Jiang Zemin, the former Mayor of Shanghai, who was not connected to the events of June 1989, ascended the party ladder. He became General Secretary in 1989 and President in 1992, taking the reins of power when Deng died in 1997. Jiang oversaw the 1997 British return of Hong Kong which had been organized in 1984 (see Hong Kong, The Handover). There was a countdown clock set in Tian'anmen Square and on June 30th there were handover celebrations around the country. Two years later Macau followed suit, albeit less dramatically.

The World Stage

Jiang continued with the open door policy and China began to see the rewards of two decades of increased economic freedom. In spite of E and US arms embargoes, China gained favored trade status with the US under President Clinton in 1995, although relations were strained by allegations that China was stealing US nuclear secrets. The situation suffered another setback in 2001 when a US spy plane collided with a Chinese F8 fighter jet and crash landed on Hainan Island, China's southernmost point. None of the US crew were hurt but the Chinese pilot died and the incident came at a crucial time when the Bush administration was deliberating over whether to supply Taiwan with arms. Tensions were further raised following the accidental NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo Crisis a month later. In spite of these complications, economics prevailed and Beijing secured the 2008 Olympics in 2001 andChina was eventually admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2002.

Today's Leadership

In November 2002 a large party conference was held, the net result of which was the emergence of Hu Jintao as leader of the CCP and Wen Jibao as prime minister. Equally as committed to economic progress as their predecessors, Hu and Wen are a sign of the China to come – socialist doctrine remains only in political jargon, not in practice. Indeed Wen Jibao supported Zhang Ziyang in his sympathetic attitude with the 1989 protesters and as such there is some hope that China may proceed along moderate lines.

The Future

Life for many Chinese is undeniably better than it has ever been; the economy is burgeoning and China is becoming an ever more significant player on the world scene. In the 1970s the most people could aspire to own was a bicycle, a watch and a radio, but these days some young Chinese can shop for the same things as their counterparts in Japan or Taiwan. But modern China is plagued with disparities, which it must face if it is to progress beyond sheer material wealth for its urban dwellers. The vast population (see Population), deterioration of the environment (see The Environment), the threat posed by respiratory viruses such as SARS and bird flu (see Health), human rights and territorial disputes are just some of the pressing problems facing the Middle Kingdom today. 

Doubletalk, Disparities & Discontent

The most basic of China's contradictions lies between the party's anachronistic political rhetoric and the reality of everyday capitalism. Issues like petty theft, prostitution and organized crime syndicates, long thought of as foreign problems, are increasing in modern China and sooner or later the party will have to acknowledge the dichotomy between policy and parlance.

Undoubtedly there is more wealth in China now than ever before, but with more money and education people want greater social freedom and, if this is not forthcoming, it threatens to tear apart the CCP. For all the cell phones, designer apartments and luxury cars found in the cities, little of this newfound wealth has made its way to the rural masses. The gap between rich coastal cities and the poor rural interior is wider than ever and there is massive migration from poorer farming areas to the big cities, although most only manage to find work day-by-day, if at all. The shift away from heavy industry and reduction in state-owned enterprises has added to the numbers of discontented, unemployed transient workers. Their anger is further fueled by the corruption that seems to penetrate every level of the system. In 2001 a group of workers in Dongbei province staged a huge demonstration, which resulted in little but the arrest of the ringleaders. If the interests of these groups continue to be ignored they may be the greatest threat to the system.

Human Rights

Although China's economic growth is making it increasingly easy for the developed world to forget about its human rights abuses and Asian foreign policy, these issues have certainly limited its international standing. Don't be fooled by all the neon lights and Western amenities – internally, China is still a police state where media (including the Internet) is restricted, religions are suppressed and political beliefs can send you to jail. There are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in China's gulagsin the northwest of the country, kept in harsh conditions and forced to work as slave labor.

Taiwan & Tibet

China's external outlook is another sensitive area and the continued occupation of Tibet and claim of Taiwan are regarded as internal rather than foreign policy. While the US initially supported Chiang Kaishek when he established the Republic of China in 1949, as the PRC has grown in stature, the rest of the world is succumbing to its wants and Taiwan is stifled in almost any international venture which it attempts. Financial ties remain strong and it is hoped these will win out over military might. However, the 2005 Taiwan Anti-Secession Law, which threatened use of force if Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's first democratic leader, continues to move towards independence, showed China's true colors once again. Tibet, which was seized in 1950, is another tricky subject. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 and the party proceeded to populate Tibet with Han Chinese in order to secure their border. When the Dalai Lama selected a new Panchen Lama in 1995, the chosen one was arrested and the Chinese government installed their own representative. Standing in front of Lamaism's grandest building, the Potala Palace, which overlooks Lhasa, you are confronted by the bold red flag of the PRC. Chinese guides speak of Tibet's "liberation,” while impoverished Tibetans pass you on the street, and the stunning old city of Lhasa resembles a Han enclave more everyday. The 2006 completion of the China-Tibet railway has further cemented the territory's status as a Chinese province.

Money Makes the World Go Round

"Internal” problems aside, China's growing economic stature is difficult to ignore for the financial fixers of the developed world. Entry into the World Trade Organization, hosting the 2008 Olympics and flourishing Special Economic Zones are all testament to China's improved international standing, but the problems which the country must really address lie with its tremendous population. If the country is to continue supporting its meteoric growth, it is crucial to ensure that wealth filters to the discontented urban and rural sectors. If not, then the danger is that people will once again question their social and political rights and rise against the system which they see as inherently corrupt and oppressive.

However, while inequality is perhaps now more stressed than ever, China is certainly a far more tolerant place than it was even 20 years ago, looking back to its past with more pride. Many of the old beliefs and teachings are managing to find their place in the modern China and for the first time, even farmers dare to dream beyond their station.   China truly has been a sleeping dragon for the past few centuries and now it is stirring as the rest of the world watches. If it can deliver the economic goods to a large proportion of the population, then the CCP looks set to survive and the world balance of power will look very different in 2020.