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China. Language. Mandarin Chinese – most commonly spoken language Ideograms, not phonetic, symbols represent ideas or things 2,000-3,000 symbols to master to read a newspaper 20,000+ to master the language Symbols are pronounced differently in parts of China. Ancient History.
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Language • Mandarin Chinese – most commonly spoken language • Ideograms, not phonetic, symbols represent ideas or things • 2,000-3,000 symbols to master to read a newspaper • 20,000+ to master the language • Symbols are pronounced differently in parts of China
Ancient History • Ancient Civilization developed along Huang He River • Most advanced country in the world by 1000 ad – gun powder, printing, compass • Developed an inward looking, closed society • Emperors ruled China until 1900s, dynastic cycle
Colonial Spheres • By 1800s, European technology surpassed China’s, divided China into spheres of influence • Forced China to trade with the west • Western influences and natural disasters caused Chinese to rebel.
Government • Emperor abdicates on Feb. 12, 1912 • Sun Yat-sen becomes president and Nationalists gain control of China by defeating local warlords • Nationalists wanted a government based on Western democratic principles.
1920s Civil War • Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek wanted to modernize and westernize China • Communists wanted to give more power to the workers and land to the landless peasants • Mao Zedong became the new leader of the Communists. • Long March in 1935, communists fled Nationalist troops by moving northward 6,000 miles . • 8,000/100,000 survived • Rallied support for the Communists
WWII • Japan invaded China • Communists and Nationalists joined together to fight Japan • After war ended in 1945, civil war broke out again • Nationalists defeated in 1949 • Chiang Kai-shek and followers fled to Taiwan
Great Leap Forward into Communism • Mao Zedong – China’s most important Communist leader, 1949-1976 • Wanted to change China into a modern industrial country • Increase the population • Increase production of steel, capital goods with heavy manufacturing • Wanted to increase agricultural productivity by forming collective farms and people’s communes
Great Leap Forward into Communism • “Great Leap Forward” became a “serious step backward” • China’s population more than doubled in 40 years • 55 million people in 1950 to 1.1 billion in 1990 • In 1958, severe droughts across China led to widespread famines • 20 million people died between 1958 and 1962 • Production did not increase and China could not support a population that big
Cultural Revolution • Cultural Revolution of 1966 Red Guards were sent out to destroy old ideology, old thought, old habits, old customs • Hundreds of thousands of people who disagreed with Mao were imprisoned, beaten, executed, silenced • Production fell in farms and factories, schools closed, economy almost ruined, a generation uneducated
Four Modernizations • Established by Deng Xiaoping after Mao died in 1979 • Improve agriculture, industry, science and technology, and defense • Was willing to consider free enterprise ideas • Government rented land to families who had freedom to plant what they wanted, in 8 years, farmers income tripled • Switched from heavy industry to light industry, rewarded managers who found ways to produce more • Special economic zones on SE coast to attract foreign companies, technology, capital, enormously successful
Results • Uneven growth, income gap • Urbanization • Urban poor, crime, corrupt police • China’s economy has quadrupled • Daily life improved
Challenges Today • Feeding an immense population • Providing jobs • Providing enough energy
