Modern China

University of Sto. Tomas

MODERN CHINA

A paper presented to the Faculty of Arts and Letters In partial fulfillment of the requirement in Asian Civilization

Submitted by: Abis, Naomi Bahala, Aubrey Baloloy, Heralyn Llanto, Kim Magculang, Menandro

July 15, 2008

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I. INTRODUCTION Chinese civilization, like the other civilizations that emerged, started from the two rivers that triggered the Chinese culture: the Huang Ho River (Yellow River) and the Yangtze River. China was also ruled by the numerous dynasties that occurred, from the very first dynasty, the Shang dynasty, up to the very last, which is the Chin’g dynasty. The development of China and its civilization did not stop from the imperial dynasties; rather it marked a new birth of development in terms of the political, economic, and social when Modern China was started. Differentiating ideologies from different nations emerged, invading the peoples of China. China’s culture is rich in terms of religion, customs and traditions, languages, art and ideologies. It is believed that even before the Western civilization started, China was one of the two major civilizations that started it all. Up to the present, China never failed to prosper in all sectors of its civilization and culture. In this paper, we will present the China during the rule of imperial dynasties and after. The topics to be discussed are the following: the imperial dynasties, the Nationalist Republic, the Coming of the West, Communist China and the Nationalist-Communist Rivalry in China. II. CONTENT The Imperial Dynasties were a big part of Chinese history for the reason that these dynasties led China to its present condition now. Also, the rich culture of the Chinese civilization during the times of these dynasties defined the Chinese race in the world. China’s excellence in art and many others was product of history, particularly by the said dynasties that ruled for several centuries. Sui Dynasty unified China after almost three and a half years of absence of a unifying imperial line. During this Dynasty, certain parts of China became united because of common leadership by the rulers. Li Yuan was the founder of T’ang dynasty and was said to be the first emperor. His son, Li shi-min, is said to be the creator and the greatest figure of the T’ang dynasty. Through Ming Huang, China expanded its territory through vast expansion and also during this time, China became the most populous country in the world. The revival of Communism was also during the reign of this dynasty because of the decay of Buddhism was

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already starting to decay and being opposed to by the emperors. A military leader named Tai Zu founded the Sung dynasty and he already considerable progress towards reunifying the northern part of China by battling out in the field but by giving offerings and pensions to the provincial commanders. The reinterpretation of Confucianism was because of the waning or decaying of Buddhism. This was the time when women were ordered to bind their foot so as to stay faithful to their husband. Mongol invasion from the north was rampant during the Yuan dynasty wherein the invaders from the North started to penetrate China. The conquering of certain parts of China by these invaders interrupted the development of culture. Under the Mongols, China became a part of the largest land empire. Khubilai of the Mongols was even regarded as a Chinese emperor and established a dynasty. Huang Wu was the founder of Ming dynasty and during this imperial dynasty, the Grand Canal was being improved and they established the great city wall as a shield from the invaders from the surrounding nations. Even though Mind dynasty was considered to be one of the mightiest dynasties that ruled China, it was weaken by foreign invasions that led to the end of the dynasty. Their political character were often referred as Ming absolutism, they control every leader in each state, these leaders don’t exercise the element of autonomy and the people cannot exercise their rights and still brought to harsh punishments. The end of the Ming dynasty was because of the peasant rebellion because of the social problems. K’ang His and Ch’ien Lung are two great emperors of the Manchu dynasty. Through rebellions, Manchu dynasty furthered their domains. They are comprised of Tunguistic people. The Nationalist Republic in China was product of the continuous revolutions and movements by different people and groups of people in China because of dissatisfaction and disorder between leaders and their subjects. Sun Yat-Sen was elected as the provisional president and is the father of Chinese Republic. Yuan Shikai succeeded Sun Yat-sen and was considered to be the only statesman powerful enough to combat foreign aggression. The May Fourth movement in 1917-1921 was considered to be the revolution in Chinese thought and culture. This resulted to intensified nationalism and struggle against imperialism, enhanced knowledge of Western liberal ideas, spreading attack on the old Confucian hierarchical social order and there was literary renaissance that created a new writing style. Russian Communists supported the Nationalist party called Kuomintang (KMT). In Aptil 1927, there occurred a bloody end between the alliance of convenience between Nationalists and Communists. Chiang Kai-Shek was the

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military advisor of Sun Yat-Sen and was the architect of massacre in Shanghai. He also led the Northern Expedition to get rid of warlords in China. The gates of China had already made contact with the westerners during the Sung dynasty wherein trade routes were opened for commerce. In addition to that, the West had not only entered China through trading but also through religion. And so, during the 13th century there were Roman Catholic missionaries who tried to establish their church in China. However, their attempt was a failure because only a few hundred thousand Chinese were converted. Modern China was characterized as an era of political confusion and so as some economic concerns due to the growth of population during the latter dynasties. At the same time, it was an era where western ideas were visible. When the Qing dynasty was at its last years, modern universities were established because of the impact of the west. And in these institutions different ideologies such as democracy, communism, and anarchy was introduced. There was also a significant increase in number of students who studied abroad at that time in countries like North America and Europe. The Westerners impact on women would be that of promoting their rights. Because before women were only treated as a person whose sole purpose is to be a wife of an emperor or to be a concubine. But at the time of modern era, these treatments amongst women slowly disappeared because women at that time were now encouraged to study. Communism in China developed after the Nationalistic Republic but the struggle for a Communist China did not come easy. Karl Marx is the one responsible for the concept of Communism wherein there was common ownership and production and also, there was an absence of religion and disbelief towards Christianity. There were rivalries and numerous uprisings between the Nationalists and Communists. The Communist Party of China (CPC) or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was the founding and ruling political party of the People’s Republic of China. It was also the supreme political authority in China guaranteed by China’s constitution. Mao Zedong, in October 1, 1949, declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). ‘Mainland China’ is often used to denote the areas under the PRC rule. Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the PRC under a single-party system. Communism in China divided its type of government into different sections so as to regulate the certain provinces in

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China who are under the rule of the PRC. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China elected by the Party National Congresses. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is a political advisory body in the People’s Republic of China and also consists of both Party members and non-Party members who discuss Chinese communism’s principles. The National Congress of the Communist Party of China is the highest body within the Communist Party of China and the party congress is held about once every five years. III. CONTRIBUTIONS / ACHIEVEMENTS The Imperial Dynasties (Sui, T’ang, Sung, Yuan, Ming and Manchu) are the dynasties that ruled the different parts of China after three and a half centuries of the absence of a unifying imperial line. The Sui Dynasty enlarged the walls along the northern marches because of the recent invasion of the foreigners which in the past became one of the reasons for the division of China. They develop series of canals that will connect the north with the Yangtze valley, which as we all know, one of their source of living and the heart of Chinese civilization. During the T’ang Dynasty, China became the largest and most populous city in the world because of the continuous vast expansion and their emperor Ming Huang. The six major features of China during the rule of the T’ang imperial line are: the empire’s great extension of its territory included the parts of Manchuria and Mongolia, the dynasty’s vast expansion of its territory led the native Chinese to have contacts with other people and culture, the revival of Confucianism since it was the time when Buddhism is starting to decay, the appearance of some of the greatest poems of China (poets: Li Po and Tu Fu), Chinese paintings and landscapes were popular subjects and porcelain became important as an artistic medium and the last feature is the development of printing, the first printing was done with wood blocks where their finest works are done. The Sung Dynasty just inherited everything then flourished it to perfection. Examples are: it preserved the administrative machinery, Confucianism retained as the basic philosophy, their people were noted for their aesthetic refinement, porcelain became popular having only one color as a rule, painting was highly develop, these paintings were remembered chiefly for its landscapes, the reinterpretation of Confucianism named neo-Confucianism, wherein it does not follow the traditional Confucianism. Their agricultural outputs increases by extending the

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irrigation with multiple crops and because of these seasonal unemployment has almost disappeared. It is also the era of women being foot bind and not allowed to remarry if they become a widow. With the Mongol conquest in the north, the Yuan dynasty was born. The conquest by the invaders led the native Chinese to refrain from practicing some of the culture and traditions that they do in the past. This is the reason why the Yuan dynasty was the time of interruption in the development of the culture of china. Lastly, the Ming Dynasty established a great city wall to protect them by the vast conquering of the foreigners. One of the things that they have done is that the Grand Canal connecting to the Yangtze valley was improved. But in the latter part of the dynasty’s ruling, they were continuously suffered by the repeated attacks from the Japanese because they’re so called sea power were not that improved or done better for them to be protected from the foreign raids. The emergence of the Nationalist Republic gave China the opportunity to shift from monarchy to a type of government wherein they can try to experiment their way of ruling other than letting dynasties flourish for centuries. There was a noticeable political transformation, ideological preferences and occurrence and during this time, the people in China felt the need for reforms and revolutions in order to let things happen which is according to their willful decisions. Moreover, the uprisings done by individual persons and even groups of people gained support from the residents of China. For the first time, through Sun Yat-Sen, China had its first republic. That occasion was merely important for the reason that after several and consecutive ruling of different dynasties which lasted for centuries, China tasted a new type of government. In different parts of China, revolutions, movements and uprising were done by groups of people because of their disagreement and dissatisfaction with the present situation of the country in terms of the political, social, economical and ideological preferences of people. During this time, there was a clash between the Nationalists and the Communists that led to the separation in China in the basis of ideological preferences. The Western countries had influenced modern China in terms of ideologies, education, and promoting the rights of women. Ideologies in a sense wherein in from science to democracy, communism, and anarchy. China at that time had improved in educating the minds of its people

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and it is because of the impact of the Western countries. Women’s right at that time had also been given a great importance. China being a Communist country showed the world how powerful Karl Marx’s ideology is. There were many revolutions even before Communism started to spread in China. One significant proponent of the spread of Communism in China is Mao Zedong. Communism did not favor Christianity, therefore this ideology did not believe in any god at all. China showed the world how the concept of common ownership and production became efficient even if it underwent several revolutions and bloody massacres among missionaries and Christian converts. IV. ANALYSIS China as a very rich country in terms of culture and history is a nation of differentiating categories that when combined, forms a strong state. China, as of the present, holds power over the nations subordinate to them in terms of the economic, social and political relationships. From the period of the rule of the dynasties, to the Nationalist and Communist Republic, China has not failed to execute a strong sense of nationalism and love for their culture and heritage. The Imperial Dynasties shaped China and molded it into a nation rich in culture and history and traditions that are passed on up to this point. The rise and fall of the numerous dynasties proved that China’s way of governing its people gradually transformed as the 19 th century comes in. From a dynasty, China welcomed the concept of republic, be it Nationalist or Communist. The development and progress of China dating back to Before Christ up to the present time seems slow but is geared towards major improvement and progress. Some dynasties were successful and some who seem to fail did not lose their part in Chinese history. The coming of the Nationalist Republic ended the long-lasting rule of the dynasties and thus, persons such as Sun Yat-sen became powerful and influential to China’s people. From a shift towards Communism, China remained strong despite the foreign aggressions and the problems that arose during the leaderships of a few groups of people. The coming of the West in China from as early as the 13 th century to modern period had change China. They had changed China’s ways of education, introduced political ideologies, and most importantly, promoted the rights of women. Though China’s relation with the foreign countries had caused wars, it’s still undeniable that without

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these influences, China would have been more chaotic. Indeed, China has prospered under its communist regime, dominated by the Communist Party. It had been branded as an “emerging superpower”, and did this without exaggeration. A good illustration of this is its economic situation. It has the world's biggest & fastest-growing economy, making the country's wealth grow and enabling China to become a major force in international economics. However, the dominance of the Communist Party has some bad tradeoffs. The influence of the Party is felt even in the People's Congress (where the will of the citizens is expressed), where its candidates are selected by the Party. It is thus not surprising that the vats power held by the Party's leaders tempts them to be corrupt. A very good example is the government's lenient quality-control system over locally-produced products; one could hear & read news about companies with factories in China withdrawing their products from stores due to production defects. Still, the Party has initiated efforts to curb graft & corruption by creating a body ( Central Commission for Discipline Inspection ) which would do so. V. REFERENCES Latourette, K. (1957). A short history of the Far East. Perry, M. (1988). A history of the world. Voston: Houghton Mifflin Company Roberts, J. (1999). A concise history of China. Europe: Harvard University Press Werts, R. (1998). Pre-modern Chinese history. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://www.ibiblio.org/chinesehistory/contents/01his/c02s03.html Wright, A. (1964). Confucianism and Chinese civilization. Europe: Stanford University Press. Zaide, S. (1999). History of Asian nations. Quezon City: All nations.

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