Download China`s History

China’s History
A lack of democratic
factors…again.
China’s Dynasties
• One of the oldest
civilizations in history
• First dynasty founded
around 1875 BC
• Under the Qin and Han
dynasties (200 BC to 200 AD)
massive territorial
expansion takes place.
• Expansion led to the
creation of institutions and
circumstances that would
endure for over a thousand
years.
Dynasties continued
• China has mostly been an
imperial bureaucracy.
• Bureaucracy ran by emperor
who held “mandate of heaven”
– divine rule.
• Confucian philosophy of
hierarchy and obedience
provided ethical guidance.
• As the years rolled on, imperial
system takes over
• The bureaucrats who helped
run the country were trained in
government schools.
• The state flexed its control
over all of China.
10 Factors at Play
1. State institutions –
authoritarian under all
dynasties. Afterwards,
leaders still focused on
unity, economic
development, and order
rather than democracy.
2. Elites – dedicated to
imperial system due to
divine rule and
Confucianism
More Factors
3. Wealth – based on
agriculture with high
taxes to support the
state
4. Private enterprise –
frowned upon by the
empire. Lack of private
business led to a lack of
a...
5. Middle class – to
promote protection of
economic and personal
rights.
Factors ahead
6. Support of disadvantaged
– too poor, too illiterate,
too disorganized, and too
suppressed by local
landlords to rise up for
democracy.
7. Civil society – organized
groups and associations
did not exist
8. Educational system –
strictly controlled by the
state to produce new
bureaucrats
Factors at last
9. Homogenous society – In
the 1600s, the Manchu
invaded and established
their own dynasty, the
Qing, and ruled over the
Han people. Today, there
are 67 recognized
minority groups in China.
10. International environment
– it hasn’t been favorable.
Also Ran
The 19th Century
• China experiences severe decline at the hands
of foreigners.
• The Opium Wars (1839 & 1860)
– British importing opium to China to trade for
manufactured goods and tea.
– When the Chinese government tried to stop
merchant ships, the British sent warships.
– England won soundly and imposed harsh rules
on China and forced legalization of opium.
• The Boxer Rebellion (1894)
– U.S., Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain,
Italy, Japan, and Russia all have influence in
China. U.S. wants an “open door” and equal
trading rights
– Fists of Righteous Harmony, the “Boxers,”
wanted to expel the foreigners
– Encouraged by the Empress Dowager, the
Boxers marched on Beijing, killing missionaries
and converts along the way.
– They were no match for the superior foreign
militaries
– China forced to open its doors.
The Result
• China develops xenophobia.
• Divisions occur over why this happened.
– On the one hand, there are those who believe the
traditional Confucius ideology promotes outdated
thinking that is no use in a modern world.
– On the other hand, there are those who say China
has lost its way and needs to reassert the ancient
teachings.
– On the mutant third hand, there are those who
look for a balance. Confucius thought for ethical
matters and Western thought for practical
matters.
End of Dynasty
• In the early 20th Century,
reformers gained control
in the government and
advocated a switch to
Western practices.
• The Empress Dowager
arrested the reformers
and triggered a revolt led
by Sun Yat-sen.
• In February, 1912, the last
emperor, Puyi, gave up
his throne.
From Dynasty to Communism
• The Republic of China soon came
under control of Chiang Kai-shek.
• Republic was weak and many local
landlords held control over the
populace.
• After WWI, lost more power. Allies
gave the territory Germany seized
during imperialism to Japan.
• Socialism starts to become popular:
– attacked western culture.
– Soviet Union returned all land the
Russian czars had taken
• Socialism would soon find itself
under Mao Zedong and China would
find itself in civil war.