Key Terms in China’s History Ethnocentrism: Belief that Chinese way of life was superior to all other people. As a result, the Chinese are a selfconfident people, proud of their heritage. Middle Kingdom: Chinese thought that their country was in the center of universe. Confucius: Chinese philosopher (551 B.C.479 B.C) who set up rules of relationship between people. He believed that people need to live in society. His ideas became the official philosophy of China after his death. Confucianism: The official philosophy of China for 2000 years. People had to pass a civil service exam to get a job in the government. Confucianists believed they were the only civilized people in the world. As a result, Chinese people did not like western ideas and culture. Analects: A collection of Confucius writings. 5 basic relationships: 1) ruler to subject 2) father and son 3) elder brother and younger brother 4) husband and wife 5) friend and friend Confucius believed that each person had a place in society. Some were superior to others. The superior has the authority over the inferior, he also has to love the inferior. The Mandate of Heaven: the right to rule. A king has the Mandate of heaven as long as he is good and treats his people nicely. Once he is cruel (=not nice) to them, he loses the Mandate and a new king takes over.
Legalism: a philosophy that became important during the period of civil war in China (475221 B.B.) .The Qin emperor, Shi Huangdi, used the idea of legalism to control and unite China. The Legalists believed in a strong government and harsh punishment for those who did not obey the rules. Legalism believes that people are bad in nature and society needs to control them.
Daoism: or Taoism is a philosophy that believes people should live naturally. It was founded by Lao Tzu who said that people do not have to follow rules. They can live and act as they please(=like). People are good; society is bad. Daoism had a great influence in Chinese literature and painting. Chinese people ask Daoists to choose lucky days for their weddings and places for living.
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T’ang and Sung Dynasties A) Complete the following sentences using the word bank. 1. During the T’ang dynasty ___________________ governed China. 2. They had to pass a _________ to get their jobs. Only the ones who had a good ____________ could pass it. 3. There was _________ between China and other countries. The exchange of goods led to _____________ of ideas. Many ____________ worked sidebyside with the Chinese. 4. Chinese poems were about ______________. 5. Chinese invented ______________ around 1040. This helped the ___________ of knowledge, because more people could read. Spread, nature, trade, exchange, printing, civil servants, education, test, foreigners B) Answer the following questions: 1. Who governed China before the civil servants? 2. What helped the ordinary people to be more involved in the government?
3. What were the foreigners doing in China?
4. Who was Taizong? What was his best accomplishment?
5. What was the difference between Hangzhou and European cities during the Sung dynasty?
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Opera: Civil servants and nobles became singers and dancers, because they could not be in the government. They started the Chinese opera.
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Mongol (Yuan) Empire A) Complete the following sentences about the major accomplishments of the Mongol empire: 1.Khublai Khan was a great emperor. He built a new Chinese capital city named ____________________. 2.He was a Buddhist, but he allowed ____________________. 3.He increased Chinese trade and travel by building________________. There were __________ to mark the way and trees to give ____________ to travelers. 4.He developed a ___________________ to make communication easier. Horsemen carried _________________along China’s Great Wall. 5.The Grand Canal was built to ___________ goods from north to south. B)Marco Polo 1.Who was Marco Polo? Was he treated nicely by Khublai Khan?
2.How long did he stay in China? What did he do there?
3.What happened to Marco when he went back to Italy?
4.What was the name of his book and why was it important?
5.Name two things in China that impressed Marco.
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Ming Dynasty Complete the following sentences: 1.The Ming Dynasty came to power after________________________________________. 2.Forbidden City was the name of________________________________________. 3.European traders wanted to trade their goods for _________________________. 4.The Chinese said no, because _____________________________________________.
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The Opium War (18391842)
From 1700’s to 1838, there was a huge increase in opium import to China. The Chinese were getting addicted, while Britain was gaining more profit. 1839 Manchus seized 20,000 chests of opium and burned them. The British got angry and went to war with China. 1842 The Chinese surrendered and signed the Treaty of Nanjing. 1) China paid for the lost opium. 2) China paid for the war. 3) China gave up Hong Kong to Britain. 4) China opened 5 more ports to British traders. 5) China gave British citizens the right of extraterritoriality. If the British committed a crime in China, they would only be tried in their own country. China could not do anything to them. Result of the Treaty: 1) Taiping Rebellion:( 18501864) Peasants rebelled against the Manchu government. The British helped the emperor stay in power. Millions of people were killed. 2) The Boxer Rebellion: (1900) The Chinese empress (=woman emperor) Cixi asked a group of Chinese boxers to fight against the foreigners. The rebellion was crushed by an international army. Once again the Manchus stay in power because of foreign interference.
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War with Japan (1894) China went to war with Japan over Korea. The two countries sent their armies to Korea fighting each other.
1895 Japan won in the war. China had to give Taiwan to Japan. 1910 Japan took complete control of Korea. *** The rebellions inside China and the war with Japan weakened China. 1911 Sun Yatsen overthrows the last Manchu emperor.
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China after World War II ·
Before World War II, Chiang KaiShek and his Nationalist party were in power.
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However, some members of the Nationalist party believed in Communism. They thought that Chiang liked only the rich and business people.
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Chiang expelled (=pushed out) the Communists from his party.
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Then Stalin, Soviet Union’s Leader, started supporting the Communists inside China. Mao Zedong became the leader of the Communists in China. He united Chinese peasants against Chiang .
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Chiang’s Nationalist Party
Mao’s Communist Party
Supported the rich and business people.
Supported the peasants.
U.S. helped Chiang’s army with money and weapons. Chiang’s government officials were corrupt: they wanted to become rich.
Soviet Union helped Mao’s army. The Communists divided land and food equally among people.
Division (=no unity) among Chiang’s army Mao’s army was united. Officers did not officers. Chiang’s army officers argued argue with each other. with each other. Chiang’s army was weak.
Mao’s army was strong.
In1948, Chiang fled (=ran away) to Taiwan.
In 1949, Mao took over mainland China.
U.S. supported Chiang’s democratic government in Taiwan.
Soviet Union supported The People’s Republic of China led by Mao.
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Communists set up huge farm communes, where 10,000 people worked on one commune. The government also took over factories. 19651968: Decline in China’s economy. The Cultural Revolution: People had to attend Communist meetings to learn more about Communism and Mao’s ideas. Red Guards: were young students who became soldiers for Communism. They helped Mao enforce his laws.
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In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon visited The People’s Republic of China. In 1976, Mao died. Deng Xiaoping came to power. He started a period of modernization. He gave some economic freedom, but no political freedom.
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In 1979, the U.S. finally recognized the Communist government of China.
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In 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, hundreds of thousands of Chinese students asked for democracy. They were crushed by the army.
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In the 1990’s, China had a fastgrowing economy. Allowed people to own businesses and trade with the west. But, still no political freedom.
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