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China: History,
Government, and the
Future
Objectives:
1. Compare and contrast modern China to the U.S.
2. Analyze Chinese history and describe how unwanted
foreign intervention has influenced China.
3. Explain how the Chinese Civil War influenced U.S.
Chinese relations and led to what we consider modern
China.
4. Analyze current areas of dispute between the Chinese and
U.S. (Tibet, Taiwan, human rights and freedoms, currency
manipulation, and military buildup)
5. Describe current problems that are plaguing China from
within.
“China? There lies a sleeping giant. Let him sleep! For
when he wakes he will move the world.”
-Napoleon I
How will the U.S. respond to a
strong China?
• Monroe Doctrine –
– Statement made in 1823 by president James Monroe. Forced
Euro countries out of our hemisphere.
• Since this time we have crushed all threats to our
dominance.
– Imperial Germany
– Imperial Japan
– Nazi Germany
– Soviet Union
• Will we respond to China the same way?
Language and Historic
Contributions
• Language – Standard Mandarin (however
many variations)
• Names: Chinese names are family name
(last name) first.
• Has the world’s oldest continuously used
written language system.
• Major historic inventions – gunpowder,
compass, paper, printing (1st printed book =
Diamond Sutra)
Why is Mandarin so hard to
translate?
Characters, not letters…symbols
represent a word
• Around
56,000
different
symbols (many
are rarely used –
literacy requires
about 3000)
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
Brief ancient history
• China was ruled by dynasties from at least
2100 BC until 1911.
• 1200’s Mongol invaders under leader
Kublai Khan took over all of China.
• Khan opened the country to trade and made
it the largest empire in the world.
• After Khan’s death China returned to
isolationism.
Kublai Khan
Empire under Khan
European Involvement: Opium Wars
European Involvement
• Main interest = tea and silk.
• China was wary of outsiders and limited Euro
interaction.
• British grow opium in India and illegally trade it
to Chinese civilians. Opium War between China
and Britain follows. China loses and Brit takes the
island of Hong Kong in 1842. (held until 1997)
• Other imperial countries quickly follow (Ger, Fr,
Rus, Dutch, Jap, U.S.) and forcibly open China.
• “Open Door Policy” – agreement of imperial
countries not to restrict the business of others in
their regions. (proposed by U.S. in 1899)
• 1900-01 Boxer Rebellion
Silk Road
Opium
Addicts
Heroine, Opium, Morphine are
all opiates.
-According to a CBS
news article,
Afghanistan is
supplying the opiates
for 87% of the
world’s heroine.
-Opiates are over
50% of Afghan’s
GDP today.
-That’s over ½
million acres.
The Open Door Policy and the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
• Boxers were Chinese revolutionaries whose main
goal was to kick out the foreign invaders. They
killed missionaries, Chinese Christian converts,
foreign businessmen, govnt workers.
• European and American response was strong.
Unified army attacks Beijing and demands more
trade freedoms. They set up a weak puppet
government called the Republic of China in 1912.
Foreign armies in Beijing’s Forbidden City during the Boxer
Rebellion (this was the dwelling of the Emperors: no outsiders
were ever allowed in here before…it was insulting)
Boxer Prisoners being guarded by
U.S. troops.
This Harper's Weekly cartoon by W. A.
Rogers encourages an aggressive American
military reaction to the Boxer Rebellion in
China. A determined Uncle Sam has
donned two naval ships as boxing gloves,
provoking the Chinese rebel, whose knife
drips with blood, into a wide-eyed grimace
of fear.
European
spheres
of
influence
1914
China in World War II
• Japan invades in 1937-45. Kills over 10
million Chinese.
• U.S. and the other allies ally with China to
defeat the Japanese.
• After the war China becomes a pawn of the
Cold War.
Rape of Nanking. Between 200,000 and 300,000
Chinese civilians murdered by the Japanese.
Nanking
Post WWII China – Civil War
• After WWII the Nationalists (backed by U.S.) and
Communists (backed by USSR) fight for control of
China.
- Nationalist leader = Chiang Kai-shek
- Communist leader = Mao Zedong
• In 1949 the Nationalists flee to Taiwan and
Communists take control of mainland China.
• Chairman Mao becomes the leader of China until
his death in 1976.
• U.S. backing of Taiwan has created many
U.S./China problems. (ex: Korean War)
Mao Zedong
China’s split in the 1949 Civil
War.
• Communist – People’s Republic of China
(PRC). Today’s mainland China.
• Nationalist – Republic of China (ROC).
Today called Taiwan.
• U.S. backs Taiwan and refuses to recognize
the PRC. Americans are shut out of the
country for 22 years.
Forrest was there
Ping Pong Diplomacy –1971 U.S. ping pong
team visits China (first U.S. group allowed in
since 1949) and paves the way for Nixon’s
visit in 72.
The beginning of U.S./China improving
relations.
Nixon’s 1972 Trip to China
• 1st time an American President visited the
PRC.
• U.S. acknowledges that Taiwan is part of
China but says a peaceful agreement must
be reached by both to unify (it still hasn’t).
• This trip is the starting point for the
improving U.S./China relationship today.
As a gift Mao gave Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing.
Nixon gave them 2 musk oxen in return.
• Ling Ling died in
1992, Hsing Hsing in
1999
1989 student protests in
Tiananmen Square.
Tank Man on Frontline (90 min)
Shorter Video discussing the
incident first 10 min of film
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=SB70mWXrzEE
Working Conditions and students
interviewed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=EL9kfgm8kA&feature=mfu_in_order
&list=UL
A tail of two
paintings…be
fore and after
the 1989
Cultural
Revolution.
Notice the portrait of Mao.
Notice the difference in clothing.
Are these positive or negative images
for China?
What is the message of the artist who
painted each?
What other significant differences do
you see?
American Consumption. What
happens when China tops this?
Current Problems: Tibet
Go to the website
http://www.freetibet.org/about/10-facts-about-tibet
• When was Tibet invaded?
• Who is the spiritual leader of Tibet?
• Where does he run the Tibetan “Government in
Exile” from now?
• Why does China say that it invaded Tibet?
• What freedoms have the Chinese limited in Tibet?
• How big is Tibet?
• How have the Chinese harmed the Tibetan
environment?
• Why has the U.N. done very little about the
problem?
Assignment 1: Tibet
• Tibet was independent until China invaded
in 1949.
• Tibetans rebelled but were crushed in 1959.
• Tibetans have a unique culture and religion
compared to the Chinese. Most are devout
Buddhists.
• They continue to protest for their freedom
and are brutally repressed.
• International outcry for Tibetan freedom has
been huge.
Assignment 2:
• Do your own research online and find an
environmental issue that is plaguing China.
Briefly summarize the issue, the cause, and
what is being done about it. You will share
this with the rest of the class.
Assignment 2
• Do some research online and find a specific
human rights issue dealing with China.
Briefly summarize the issue, explaining
what happened and how the Chinese dealt
with the problem. You will be sharing this
with the class.
Assignment 3
• Go to the following link and forward the
video to 18 minutes (deals with China)
http://www.hulu.com/watch/184846/cnbcoriginals-trash-inc-the-secret-life-ofgarbage
• After watching the video, briefly summarize
the environmental problem faced by the
Chinese due to the disposal of trash.
The Dali Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhist
Tibet has been in exile in India since 1959.
Former home of the Dali
Lama in Tibet
Protests around the
globe before the
2008 Olympics
Current Problems: Taiwan
• Taiwan has its own democratic government
and says it is independent. China says that
it owns Taiwan.
• U.S. recognizes that there is only 1 China
and that Taiwan is a part of it, but won’t let
China interfere.
• U.S. supports mutually agreed upon peace,
however, we supply Taiwan with military
supplies. (have threatened force in the past)
• It is still a touchy issue.
– China per cap GDP 5,000…..Taiwan 30,000
Chinese Pollution Problem
• Largely due to
unregulated coal
power plants.
• Has16 of the top 20
polluted cities.
• Kills thousands if not
hundreds of
thousands every year
Taihu lake:
rd
China’s 3
largest.
Beijing: China’s
largest city
NASA image
showing
Chinese air
pollution (gray)
Government
• China is a
communist state.
Its government is
unelected and
restricts many
freedoms.
– Press, Speech,
Religion,
Assembly (no
more than 5
gathered ).
President Hu
Jintao
Religion
• The Chinese Government recognizes five
official religions--Buddhism, Islam,
Taoism, Catholicism, and Protestantism.
• Religion isn’t allowed outside of state
controlled religious venues. Violators face
harassment and detainment.
Media
• State run media with heavy censorship of
the internet.
• Do a search for Tiananmen Square and
compare the number of results.
– Google.com = U.S. version
– Google.cn = Chinese version
Military Buildup
• http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011
-07-27-china-strengthens-military_n.htm
Chinese buying debt: What
would happen if they cashed in
their bonds?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1dDIr
OCbUo
U.S. Debt Graph
U.S. debt and China
• We spend over $450 billion a year in just interest
on our debt. If we didn’t have a debt payoff
income taxes could be 40% lower.
• U.S. debt represents over 1/2 of our GDP.
• Most U.S. debt is bought by its citizens in the
form of bonds but countries buy it too.
• Bonds are a relatively safe form of investment for
China who has bought over $1 trillion.
• To pay back so much debt there are worries that
the U.S. may devalue its currency.
U.S. debt and China
• Purchasing debt provides
money for the U.S. government
to stimulate the economy and
lend. It also keeps the value of
the dollar high and Chinese
money low.
• If China cashed in all their
bonds or stopped buying new
ones our economy may go into
a tailspin b/c we would have far
less $ to lend. = Economic
clout.
• This relationship is symbiotic
U.S. and China Currency dispute
• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/module
.html?s=news01s4754q1035
• Start at 3 minutes