China (p=Zhōngguó; lit. "Middle Kingdom"), officially the People's Republic of China ( PRC), is a country in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around billion. Covering approximately , it is the third- or fourth-largest country by total area.
China emerged as one of the world's earliest civilizations, in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the semi-legendary Xia dynasty in 21st century Common Era.[Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project by People's Republic of China] Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times. In the 3rd century BCE, the Qin reunited core China and established Qin dynasty. The succeeding Han dynasty, which ruled from 206 BC until 220 AD, saw some of the most advanced technology at that time, including papermaking and the compass,[Tom (1989), 99; Day & McNeil (1996), 122; Needham (1986e), 1–2, 40–41, 122–123, 228.] along with agricultural and medical improvements. The invention of gunpowder and movable type in the Tang dynasty (618–907) and Northern Song (960–1127) completed the Four Great Inventions. Tang culture spread widely in Asia, as the new Silk Road brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa.
Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China's economy has been one of the world's fastest-growing with annual growth rates consistently above 6 percent.[ The PRC is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council as it replaced the ROC in 1971, as well as an active global partner of ASEAN Plus mechanism. China is also a leading member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), WTO, APEC, BRICS, the BCIM, and the G20. China has been characterized as a potential superpower, mainly because of its massive population, economy, and military.]
Names
The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century. It is not a word used by the Chinese themselves. It has been traced through Portuguese, Malay, and Persian people back to the Sanskrit word Cīna, used in ancient India.["China" in the Oxford English Dictionary (1989). .]
"China" appears in Richard Eden's 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa.[ Barbosa's usage was derived from Persian language Chīn (), which was in turn derived from Sanskrit Chinas ().][" China". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000). Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin.] Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata (5th century ) and the Laws of Manu (2nd century ).[Wade, Geoff. " The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China'". Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 188, May 2009, p. 20.] In 1655, Martino Martini suggested that the word China is derived ultimately from the name of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC).[Martino, Martin, Novus Atlas Sinensis, Vienna 1655, Preface, p. 2.] Although this derivation is still given in various sources,
The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China" (). The shorter form is "China" from zhōng ("central") and guó ("state"), a term which developed under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its demesne. It was then applied to the area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang) during the Eastern Zhou and then to China's Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing dynasty.[ The name Zhongguo is also translated as in English.]
History
Prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that early Hominidae inhabited China between 2.24 million and 250,000 years ago.[ "Early Homo erectus Tools in China". Archaeological Institute of America. 2000. Retrieved 30 November 2012.] The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire,[Qiu Xigui (2000). Chinese Writing. English translation of 文字學概論 by Gilbert L. Mattos and Jerry Norman. Early China Special Monograph Series No. 4. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. .] Dadiwan culture from 5800–5400 , and Banpo dating from the 5th millennium . Some scholars have suggested that the Jiahu symbols (7th millennium ) constituted the earliest Chinese writing system.
Early dynastic rule
According to Chinese tradition, the first dynasty was the Xia dynasty, which emerged around 2100 .[ "Bronze Age China". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 11 July 2013.] It remains unclear whether these sites are the remains of the Xia dynasty or of another culture from the same period.[William G. Boltz, Early Chinese Writing, World Archaeology, Vol. 17, No. 3, Early Writing Systems. (Feb. 1986), pp. 420–436 (436).][David N. Keightley, "Art, Ancestors, and the Origins of Writing in China", Representations, No. 56, Special Issue: The New Erudition. (Autumn, 1996), pp.68–95 68.] represents the oldest form of Chinese writing yet found,
The Shang was conquered by the Zhou dynasty, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries , though centralized authority was slowly eroded by feudal warlords. Some principalities eventually emerged from the weakened Zhou, no longer fully obeyed the Zhou king and continually waged war with each other in the 300-year Spring and Autumn period. By the time of the Warring States period of the 5th–3rd centuries , there were only seven powerful states left.
Imperial China
The Warring States period ended in 221 after the state of Qin conquered the other six kingdoms, reunited China and established the dominant order of Totalitarianism autocracy. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty. He enacted Qin's legalist reforms throughout China, notably the forced standardization of Chinese characters, Chinese units, road widths (i.e., cart axles' length), and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Vietnam.[Sima Qian, Translated by Burton Watson. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty I, pp. 11–12. .] The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death, as his harsh authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.[Bodde, Derk. (1986). "The State and Empire of Ch'in", in The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .]
Following a widespread civil war during which the imperial library at Xianyang was burned, the Han dynasty emerged to rule China between 206 and 220, creating a cultural identity among its populace still remembered in the ethnonym of the Han Chinese.[Whiting, Marvin C. (2002). Imperial Chinese Military History. iUniverse. p. 214] whose central figures were later immortalized in one of the Four Classics of Chinese literature. At its end, Cao Wei was swiftly overthrown by the Jin dynasty. The Jin fell to civil war upon the ascension of a developmentally-disabled emperor; the Five Barbarians then invaded and ruled northern China as the Sixteen Kingdoms. The Xianbei unified them as the Northern Wei, whose Emperor Xiaowen reversed his predecessors' apartheid policies and enforced a drastic sinification on his subjects, largely integrating them into Chinese culture. In the south, the general Liu Yu secured the abdication of the Jin in favor of the Liu Song. The various successors of these states became known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, with the two areas finally reunited by the Sui dynasty in 581. The Sui restored the Han to power through China, reformed its agriculture, economy and imperial examination system, constructed the Grand Canal, and patronized Buddhism. However, they fell quickly when their conscription for public works and a failed war in Goguryeo provoked widespread unrest.[Ki-Baik Lee (1984). A new history of Korea. Harvard University Press. . p.47.][David Andrew Graff (2002). Medieval Chinese warfare, 300–900. Routledge. . p.13.]
Under the succeeding Tang dynasty and Song dynasty dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age.[Adshead, S. A. M. (2004). T'ang China: The Rise of the East in World History. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 54] The Tang Empire returned control of the Western Regions and the Silk Road,[City University of HK Press (2007). China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization. . p.71] In 907, the Tang disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. The Song dynasty ended the separatist situation in 960, leading to a balance of power between the Song and Khitan Liao. The Song was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy which was supported by the developed shipbuilding industry along with the sea trade.[Paludan, Ann (1998). Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors. London: Thames & Hudson. . p. 136.]
Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size to around 100 million people, mostly because of the expansion of rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song dynasty also saw a Neo-Confucianism, in response to the growth of Buddhism during the Tang,
The 13th century brought the Mongol conquest of China. In 1271, the Mongols leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty; the Yuan conquered the last remnant of the Song dynasty in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, the population of Song China was 120 million citizens; this was reduced to 60 million by the time of the census in 1300.[Ping-ti Ho. "An Estimate of the Total Population of Sung-Chin China", in Études Song, Series 1, No 1, (1970). pp. 33–53.] A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan in 1368 and founded the Ming dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor. Under the Ming dynasty, China enjoyed another golden age, developing one of the strongest navies in the world and a rich and prosperous economy amid a flourishing of art and culture. It was during this period that admiral Zheng He led the Ming treasure voyages throughout the Indian Ocean, reaching as far as East Africa.
In the early years of the Ming dynasty, China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. With the budding of capitalism, philosophers such as Wang Yangming further critiqued and expanded Neo-Confucianism with concepts of individualism and equality of four occupations.
In 1644, Beijing was captured by a coalition of peasant rebel forces led by Li Zicheng. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu Qing dynasty, then allied with Ming dynasty general Wu Sangui, overthrew Li's short-lived Shun dynasty and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty.
Late imperial
The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. Its conquest of the Ming (1618–1683) cost 25 million lives and the economy of China shrank drastically.[John M. Roberts (1997). A Short History of the World. Oxford University Press. p. 272. .] After the Southern Ming ended, the further conquest of the Dzungar Khanate added Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang to the empire.[The Cambridge History of China: Volume 10, Part 1, by John K. Fairbank, p37] The centralized autocracy was strengthened to crack down on anti-Qing sentiment with the policy of valuing agriculture and restraining commerce, the Haijin ("sea ban"), and ideological control as represented by the literary inquisition, causing social and technological stagnation.[Ainslie Thomas Embree, Carol Gluck (1997). Asia in Western and World History: A Guide for Teaching. M.E. Sharpe. p.597. .] under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, the first of the Unequal Treaties. The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) resulted in Qing China's loss of influence in the Korean Peninsula, as well as the cession of Taiwan to Japan Empire.
The Qing dynasty also began experiencing internal unrest in which tens of millions of people died, especially in the White Lotus Rebellion, the failed Taiping Rebellion that ravaged southern China in the 1850s and 1860s and the Dungan Revolt (1862–77) in the northwest. The initial success of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s was frustrated by a series of military defeats in the 1880s and 1890s.
In the 19th century, the great Chinese diaspora began. Losses due to emigration were added to by conflicts and catastrophes such as the Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–79, in which between 9 and 13 million people died.[ "Dimensions of need – People and populations at risk". 1995. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 3 July 2013.] The Guangxu Emperor drafted a reform plan in 1898 to establish a modern constitutional monarchy, but these plans were thwarted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The ill-fated anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901 further weakened the dynasty. Although Cixi sponsored a program of reforms, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911–12 brought an end to the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China.
Republic (1912–1949)
On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China was established, and Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (the KMT or Nationalist Party) was proclaimed provisional president.[Eileen Tamura (1997). China: Understanding Its Past. Volume 1. University of Hawaii Press. . p.146.] However, the presidency was later given to Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who in 1915 proclaimed himself Emperor of China. In the face of popular condemnation and opposition from his own Beiyang Army, he was forced to abdicate and re-establish the republic.[Stephen Haw, (2006). Beijing: A Concise History. Taylor & Francis, . p.143.]
After Yuan Shikai's death in 1916, China was politically fragmented. Its Beijing-based government was internationally recognized but virtually powerless; regional warlords controlled most of its territory.[Bruce Elleman (2001). Modern Chinese Warfare. Routledge. . p.149.][Graham Hutchings (2003). Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change. Harvard University Press. . p.459.] In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, the then Principal of the Republic of China Military Academy, was able to reunify the country under its own control with a series of deft military and political maneuverings, known collectively as the Northern Expedition.[Peter Zarrow (2005). China in War and Revolution, 1895–1949. Routledge. . p.230.][M. Leutner (2002). The Chinese Revolution in the 1920s: Between Triumph and Disaster. Routledge. . p.129.] The Kuomintang moved the nation's capital to Nanjing and implemented "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's San-min Doctrine program for transforming China into a modern democratic state.[Hung-Mao Tien (1972). Government and Politics in Kuomintang China, 1927–1937 (Volume 53). Stanford University Press. . pp. 60–72.][Suisheng Zhao (2000). China and Democracy: Reconsidering the Prospects for a Democratic China. Routledge. . p.43.] The political division in China made it difficult for Chiang to battle the communist People's Liberation Army (PLA), against whom the Kuomintang had been warring since 1927 in the Chinese Civil War. This war continued successfully for the Kuomintang, especially after the PLA retreated in the Long March, until Japanese aggression and the 1936 Xi'an Incident forced Chiang to confront Imperial Japan.[David Ernest Apter, Tony Saich (1994). Revolutionary Discourse in Mao's Republic. Harvard University Press. . p.198.]
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), a theater of World War II, forced an uneasy alliance between the Kuomintang and the PLA. Japanese forces committed numerous war atrocities against the civilian population; in all, as many as 20 million Chinese civilians died.[ "Nuclear Power: The End of the War Against Japan". BBC — History. Retrieved 14 July 2013.] An estimated 200,000 Chinese Nanking Massacre in the city of Nanjing alone during the Japanese occupation.[ "Judgement: International Military Tribunal for the Far East". Chapter VIII: Conventional War Crimes (Atrocities). November 1948. Retrieved 4 February 2013.] During the war, China, along with the UK, the US, and the Soviet Union, were referred to as "trusteeship of the powerful"[Hoopes, Townsend, and Douglas Brinkley. FDR and the Creation of the U.N. (Yale University Press, 1997)]
People's Republic (1949–present)
Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the Communist Party in control of most of mainland China, and the Kuomintang retreating offshore, reducing its territory to only Taiwan, Hainan, and their surrounding islands. On 21 September 1949, Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
The regime consolidated its popularity among the peasants through land reform, which included the execution of between 1 and 2 million .[Busky, Donald F. (2002). Communism in History and Theory. Greenwood Publishing Group. p.11.] China developed an independent industrial system and its own nuclear weapons.[Michael Y.M. Kao. "Taiwan's and Beijing's Campaigns for Unification" in Harvey Feldman and Michael Y. M. Kao (eds., 1988): Taiwan in a Time of Transition. New York: Paragon House. p.188.]
After Mao's death, the Gang of Four was quickly arrested and held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, and instituted significant economic reforms. The Party loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives, and the communes were gradually disbanded in favor of working contracted to households. This marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open-market environment.[Hart-Landsberg, Martin; and Burkett, Paul. "China and Socialism: Market Reforms and Class Struggle". Monthly Review. Retrieved 30 October 2008.] China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982. In 1989, the violent suppression of student protests in Tiananmen Square brought sanctions against the Chinese government from various countries.
Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji led the nation in the 1990s. Under their administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.[ Nation bucks trend of global poverty . China Daily. 11 July 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2013.][ China's Average Economic Growth in 90s Ranked 1st in World. People's Daily. 1 March 2000. Retrieved 10 July 2013.] The country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and maintained its high rate of economic growth under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao's leadership in the 2000s. However, the growth also severely impacted the country's resources and environment,[ China worried over pace of growth. BBC. Retrieved 16 April 2006.] and caused major social displacement.[ China: Migrants, Students, Taiwan. Migration News. January 2006.][ In Face of Rural Unrest, China Rolls Out Reforms. Washington Post. 28 January 2006.] Living standards continued to improve rapidly despite the late-2000s recession, but political control remained tight.
Preparations for a decadal leadership change in 2012 were marked by factional disputes and political scandals.[
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Geography
China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from the Gobi Desert and Taklamakan Deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir Mountains and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South Asia and Central Asia. The Yangtze River and , the third- and sixth-longest in the world, respectively, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is long and is bounded by the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China and South China seas. China connects through the Kazakh border to the Eurasian Steppe which has been an artery of communication between East and West since the Neolithic through the Steppe Route – the ancestor of the terrestrial Silk Road(s).
Landscape and climate
The territory of China lies between 18° and 54° N, and 73° and 135° E. China's landscapes vary significantly across its vast width. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, there are extensive and densely populated alluvium, while on the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, broad predominate. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges, while the central-east hosts the river delta of China's two major rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Other major rivers include the Xi River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur River. To the west sit major mountain ranges, most notably the Himalayas. High feature among the more arid landscapes of the north, such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. The world's highest point, Mount Everest (8,848m), lies on the Sino-Nepalese border.
China's climate is mainly dominated by and wet monsoons, which lead to pronounced temperature differences between winter and summer. In the winter, northern winds coming from high-latitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from coastal areas at lower latitudes are warm and moist.
A major environmental issue in China is the continued desertification, particularly the Gobi Desert.[ "Beijing hit by eighth sandstorm". BBC news. Retrieved 17 April 2006.] Although barrier tree lines planted since the 1970s have reduced the frequency of sandstorms, prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices have resulted in Asian dust plaguing northern China each spring, which then spread to other parts of east Asia, including Korea and Japan. China's environmental watchdog, SEPA, stated in 2007 that China is losing per year to desertification.
Biodiversity
China is one of 17 megadiverse countries,[ Countries with the Highest Biological Diversity . Mongabay.com. 2004 data. Retrieved 24 April 2013.] The country signed the Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biological Diversity on 11 June 1992, and became a party to the convention on 5 January 1993.
China is home to at least 551 species of mammals (the third-highest such number in the world),[ IUCN Initiatives – Mammals – Analysis of Data – Geographic Patterns 2012 . IUCN. Retrieved 24 April 2013. Data does not include species in Taiwan.] 1,221 species of birds (eighth),[ Countries with the most bird species . Mongabay.com. 2004 data. Retrieved 24 April 2013.] 424 species of reptiles (seventh)[ Countries with the most reptile species. Mongabay.com. 2004 data. Retrieved 24 April 2013.] and 333 species of amphibians (seventh).[ IUCN Initiatives – Amphibians – Analysis of Data – Geographic Patterns 2012 . IUCN. Retrieved 24 April 2013. Data does not include species in Taiwan.] Wildlife in China share habitat with and bear acute pressure from the world's largest population of Homo sapiens. At least 840 animal species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger of local extinction in China, due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution and poaching for food, fur and ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine.[ Top 20 countries with most endangered species IUCN Red List . 5 March 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2013.] Endangered wildlife is protected by law, and , the country has over 2,349 nature reserves, covering a total area of 149.95 million hectares, 15 percent of China's total land area.
China has over 32,000 species of vascular plants,[ Countries with the most vascular plant species . Mongabay.com. 2004 data. Retrieved 24 April 2013.] and is home to a variety of forest types. Cold coniferous forests predominate in the north of the country, supporting animal species such as moose and Asian black bear, along with over 120 bird species.
Environmental issues
In recent decades, China has suffered from severe environmental deterioration and pollution.[ "China's decade plan for water" . The Earth Institute. Columbia University. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.] In 2014, the internal freshwater resources per capita of China reduced to 2,062m3, and it was below 500m3 in the North China Plain, while 5,920m3 in the world.
In China, heavy metals also cause environmental pollution. Heavy metal pollution is an inorganic chemical hazard, which is mainly caused by lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni). Five metals among them, Pb, Cr, As, Cd, and Hg, are the key heavy metal pollutants in China. Heavy metal pollutants mainly come from mining, sewage irrigation, the manufacturing of metal-containing products, and other related production activities. High level of heavy metal exposure can also cause permanent intellectual and developmental disabilities, including reading and learning disabilities, behavioral problems, hearing loss, attention problems, and disruption in the development of visual and motor function. According to the data of a national census of pollution, China has more than 1.5 million sites of heavy metals exposure. The total volume of discharged heavy metals in the waste water, waste gas and solid wastes are around 900,000 tons each year from 2005–2011.[Hu, Hui, Qian Jin, and Philip Kavan. "A study of heavy metal pollution in China: Current status, pollution-control policies and countermeasures." Sustainability 6.9 (2014): 5820–5838.]
However, China is the world's leading investor in renewable energy and its commercialization, with $52 billion invested in 2011 alone;[ "China's big push for renewable energy". Scientific American. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2011.][ "China tops the world in clean energy production." Ecosensorium. 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2011.][ 2016 Snapshot of Global Photovoltaic Markets, p.7, International Energy Agency, 2017][
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In 2011, the Chinese government announced plans to invest four trillion yuan (US$619 billion) in water infrastructure and desalination projects over a ten-year period, and to complete construction of a flood prevention and anti-drought system by 2020.[ "Splashing out: China to spend 4 trillion yuan on water projects" . Want China Times. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.] In 2013, China began a five-year, US$277 billion effort to reduce air pollution, particularly in the north of the country.
Political geography
The People's Republic of China is the second-largest country in the world by land area
China has the longest combined land border in the world, measuring from the mouth of the Yalu River to the Gulf of Tonkin.
Politics
China's constitution states that The People's Republic of China "is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants," and that the state organs "apply the principle of democratic centralism."[Chapter 1, Articles !, 3 Constitution of the People's Republic of China] The PRC is one of the world's only openly endorsing communism. The Chinese government has been variously described as communist and socialist, but also as authoritarian and Corporatism,
Communist Party
China's constitution declares that the country is ruled "under the leadership" of the Communist Party of China (CPC).[Article 97 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China] The political system is decentralized, and provincial and sub-provincial leaders have a significant amount of autonomy.[ Constitution of the People's Republic of China. (1982)] but critics describe the elected National People's Congress as a "rubber stamp" body.
Government
The President is the titular head of state, elected by the National People's Congress. The Premier is the head of government, presiding over the State Council composed of four vice premiers and the heads of ministries and commissions. The incumbent president is Xi Jinping, who is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him China's paramount leader. The incumbent premier is Li Keqiang, who is also a senior member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top decision-making body.
There have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that open contested elections are now held at the village and town levels.[Lohmar, Bryan; and Somwaru, Agapi; Does China's Land-Tenure System Discourage Structural Adjustment?. 1 May 2006. USDA Economic Research Service. Retrieved 3 May 2006.] However, the party retains effective control over government appointments: in the absence of meaningful opposition, the CPC wins by default most of the time. Political concerns in China include the growing gap between rich and poor and government corruption.[ "China sounds alarm over fast-growing gap between rich and poor". Associated Press via Highbeam (subscription required to see full article). 11 May 2002. Retrieved 1 February 2013.] Nonetheless, the level of public support for the government and its management of the nation is high, with 80–95% of Chinese citizens expressing satisfaction with the central government, according to a 2011 survey.
Administrative divisions
The People's Republic of China is divided into 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, each with a designated minority group; four municipalities; and two special administrative regions (SARs) which enjoy a degree of political autonomy. These 31 provincial-level divisions can be collectively referred to as "mainland China", a term which usually excludes two SARs of Hong Kong and Macau. Geographically, all 31 provincial divisions can be grouped into six regions, including North China, Northeast China, East China, South Central China, Southwest China and Northwest China.
China considers Taiwan to be its 23rd province, although Taiwan is governed by the Taiwan, which rejects the PRC's claim.[Gwillim Law (2 April 2005). Provinces of China. Retrieved 15 April 2006.] None of the divisions are recognized by the ROC government, which claims the entirety of the PRC's territory.
Foreign relations
The PRC has diplomatic relations with 175 countries and maintains embassies in 162. Its legitimacy is disputed by the Republic of China and a few other countries; it is thus the largest and most populous state with limited recognition. In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole representative of China in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.[Chang, Eddy (22 August 2004). Perseverance will pay off at the UN , The Taipei Times.] China was also a former member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, and still considers itself an advocate for developing countries.[ "BRICS summit ends in China". BBC. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.]
Under its interpretation of the One-China policy, Beijing has made it a precondition to establishing diplomatic relations that the other country acknowledges its claim to Taiwan and severs official ties with the government of the Republic of China. Chinese officials have protested on numerous occasions when foreign countries have made diplomatic overtures to Taiwan,
Trade relations
In recent decades, China has played an increasing role in calling for free trade areas and security pacts amongst its Asia-Pacific neighbours. China became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 11 December 2001. In 2004, it proposed an entirely new East Asia Summit (EAS) framework as a forum for regional security issues.[Dillon, Dana; and Tkacik, John, Jr.; China's Quest for Asia. Policy Review. December 2005 and January 2006. Issue No. 134. Retrieved 22 April 2006.] The EAS, which includes ASEAN Plus Three, India, Australia and New Zealand, held its inaugural summit in 2005. China is also a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), along with Russia and the Central Asian republics.
China has had a long and complex trade relationship with the United States. In 2000, the United States Congress approved "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) with China, allowing Chinese exports in at the same low tariffs as goods from most other countries.[" US trade gap widens on increased Chinese imports". BBC News. 14 October 2010.] In the early 2010s, US politicians argued that the Chinese yuan was significantly undervalued, giving China an unfair trade advantage.[" Chinese President Hu Jintao resists Obama calls on yuan". BBC News. 13 April 2010.]
Since the turn of the century, China has followed a policy of engaging with African nations for trade and bilateral co-operation;[McLaughlin, Abraham; "A rising China counters US clout in Africa" . Christian Science Monitor. 30 March 2005.][Lyman, Princeton N.; "China's Rising Role in Africa" . 21 July 2005. Council of Foreign Relations. Retrieved 26 June 2007.][Politzer, Malia. "China and Africa: Stronger Economic Ties Mean More Migration". Migration Information Source. August 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2013.] in 2012, Sino-African trade totalled over US$160 billion.[ "Is Brazil a derivative of China?". Forbes.com. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.][ "China, Argentina agree to further strategic ties". Xinhua.com. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.]
Territorial disputes
Ever since its establishment after the second Chinese Civil War, the PRC has claimed the territories governed by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity today commonly known as Taiwan, as a part of its territory. It regards the island of Taiwan as its Taiwan Province, Kinmen and Matsu Islands as a part of Fujian Province and islands the ROC controls in the South China Sea as a part of Hainan Province and Guangdong Province. These claims are controversial because of the complicated Cross-Strait relations, with the PRC treating the One-China policy as one of its most important diplomatic principles.
In addition to Taiwan, China is also involved in other international territorial disputes. Since the 1990s, China has been involved in negotiations to resolve its disputed land borders, including a disputed border with India and an undefined border with Bhutan. China is additionally involved in multilateral disputes over the ownership of several small islands in the East and South China Seas, such as the Senkaku Islands and the Scarborough Shoal.[ "China denies preparing war over South China Sea shoal". BBC. 12 May 2012.]
Emerging superpower status
China is regularly hailed as a potential new superpower, with certain commentators citing its rapid economic progress, growing military might, very large population, and increasing international influence as signs that it will play a Chinese Century in the 21st century.[Grinin, Leonid. "Chinese Joker in the World Pack" . Journal of Globalization Studies. Volume 2, Number 2. November 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2012.]
Sociopolitical issues, human rights and reform
The Chinese democracy movement, social activists, and some members of the Communist Party of China have all identified the need for social and political reform. While economic and social controls have been significantly relaxed in China since the 1970s, political freedom is still tightly restricted. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China states that the "fundamental rights" of citizens include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion, universal suffrage, and property. However, in practice, these provisions do not afford significant protection against criminal prosecution by the state.[ "China Requires Internet Users to Register Names". AP via My Way News. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.]
Rural migrants to China's cities often find themselves treated as second class citizens by the hukou hukou system system, which controls access to welfare state.
A number of foreign governments, foreign press agencies, and also routinely criticize China's human rights record, alleging widespread civil rights violations such as detention without trial, forced abortions,
Falun Gong was first taught publicly in 1992. In 1999, when there were 70 million practitioners,[Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors", The New York Times, 27 April 1999] the persecution of Falun Gong began, resulting in mass arrests, extralegal detention, and reports of torture and deaths in custody.[The Guardian, 11 January 2019 china war on islam] The state has even sought to control offshore reporting of tensions in Xinjiang, intimidating foreign-based reporters by detaining their family members.
The Chinese government has responded to foreign criticism by arguing that the right to subsistence and economic development is a prerequisite to other types of human rights, and that the notion of human rights should take into account a country's present level of economic development.[ "China's Progress in Human Rights in 2004". Gov.cn. July 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2015.] It emphasizes the rise in the Chinese standard of living, literacy rate, and average life expectancy since the 1970s, as well as improvements in workplace safety and efforts to combat natural disasters such as the perennial Yangtze River floods.[ "China seeks to improve workplace safety". USA Today. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2012.][ "China's reform and opening-up promotes human rights, says premier". Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 28 April 2006.] Furthermore, some Chinese politicians have spoken out in support of democratization, although others remain more conservative.[ "Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao talks reform, but most countrymen never get to hear what he says". The Washington Post. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2013.] Some major reform efforts have been conducted. For instance, in November 2013 the government announced plans to relax the one-child policy and abolish the much-criticized re-education through labour program,[ During the 2000s and early 2010s, the Chinese government was increasingly tolerant of NGOs that offer practical, efficient solutions to social problems, but such "third sector" activity remained heavily regulated.]
The Global Slavery Index estimated that in 2016 more than 3.8 million people were living in "conditions of modern slavery", or 0.25% of the population, including victims of human trafficking, forced labor, forced marriage, child labor, and state-imposed forced labor. All except the last category are illegal. The state-imposed forced system was formally abolished in 2013 but it is not clear the extent to which its various practices have stopped.
In 2019 a world-first study called for the mass retraction of more than 400 scientific papers on organ transplantation, because of fears the organs were obtained unethically from Chinese prisoners. The study was published in the medical journal BMJ Open. A report published in 2016 found a large discrepancy between official transplant figures from the Chinese government and the number of transplants reported by hospitals. While the government says 10,000 transplants occur each year, hospital data shows between 60,000 and 100,000 organs are transplanted each year. The report provided evidence that this gap is being made up by executed prisoners of conscience.[The Guardian, 5 February 2019 fears organs came from chinese prisoners]
Military
With 2.3 million active troops, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the largest standing military force in the world, commanded by the Central Military Commission (CMC).[ However, many authorities – including SIPRI and the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense – argue that China does not report its real level of military spending, which is allegedly much higher than the official budget.][ Annual Report To Congress – Military Power of the People's Republic of China 2009 (PDF). Defenselink.mil. Retrieved 27 November 2011.]
As a recognized nuclear weapons state, China is considered both a major regional military power and a potential military superpower.[Nolt, James H. Analysis: The China-Taiwan military balance. Asia Times. 1999. Retrieved 15 April 2006.] According to a 2013 report by the US Department of Defense, China fields between 50 and 75 nuclear , along with a number of SRBMs.[ "China unveils fleet of submarines". The Guardian. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2011.] China has furthermore established a network of foreign military relationships along critical sea lanes.
China has made significant progress in modernising its air force in recent decades, purchasing Russian fighter jets such as the Sukhoi Su-30, and also manufacturing its own modern fighters, most notably the Chengdu J-10, J-20 and the Shenyang J-11, J-15, J-16, and J-31.[ "Early Eclipse: F-35 JSF Prospects in the Age of Chinese Stealth." China-Defense. Retrieved 23 January 2011.][ "Chengdu J-20 – China's 5th Generation Fighter." Defense-Update.com. Retrieved 23 January 2011.] Air supremacy and Sea denial weaponry advances have increased the regional threat from the perspective of Japan as well as Washington.[Washington Journal. (12 August 2015) "U.S. Military Approach toward China". Mark Perry, Politico writer, interview by Steve Scanlan, host. C-Span. Retrieved 12 August 2015. C-Span website][Al Jazeera America Wire Service. (11 May 2015) Japan moves to boost role of military. Retrieved 12 August 2015. Al Jazerra America website] China has also updated its ground forces, replacing its ageing Soviet Union-derived tank inventory with numerous variants of the modern Type 99 tank, and upgrading its battlefield C3I and C4I systems to enhance its network-centric warfare capabilities.[ Ground Forces. SinoDefence.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.] In addition, China has developed or acquired numerous advanced missile systems,[ Surface-to-air Missile System. SinoDefence.com. 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2015.][ "China plays down fears after satellite shot down". Agence France-Presse via ChannelNewsAsia. 20 January 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2013.] [ "Chinese Navy Tests Land Attack Cruise Missiles: Implications for Asia-Pacific". New Pacific Institute. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.] and submarine-launched nuclear ICBMs.[ "China expanding its nuclear stockpile". The Washington Times. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.] According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's data, China became the world's third largest exporter of major arms in 2010–14, an increase of 143 percent from the period 2005–09.
In August 2018, China tested its first hypersonic flight. The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA) claims to have successfully conducted the test with the aircraft Starry Sky-2 that touched a speed of Mach number 6 – which is six times the speed of sound, that can carry nuclear missiles.
Economy
China had the largest economy in the world for most of the past two thousand years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline.
China has been the world's second-largest economy in terms of nominal GDP since 2010.
Economic history and growth
From its founding in 1949 until late 1978, the People's Republic of China was a Soviet-style centrally planned economy. Following Mao's death in 1976 and the consequent end of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping and the new Chinese leadership began to reform the economy and move towards a more market-oriented mixed economy under one-party rule. Agricultural collectivization was dismantled and farmlands privatized, while foreign trade became a major new focus, leading to the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were restructured and unprofitable ones were closed outright, resulting in massive job losses. Modern-day China is mainly characterized as having a market economy based on private property ownership,[ "Communism Is Dead, But State Capitalism Thrives". Vahan Janjigian. Forbes. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2013.][ "The Winners And Losers In Chinese Capitalism". Gady Epstein. Forbes. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2013.] The state still dominates in strategic "pillar" sectors such as energy production and heavy industry, but private enterprise has expanded enormously, with around 30 million private businesses recorded in 2008.[John Lee. "Putting Democracy in China on Hold". The Center for Independent Studies. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2013.]
In 2015, China's Middle Class became the largest in the world.
Tourism is a major contributor to the economy. In 2017, this sector contributed about CNY 8.77 trillion (US$1.35 trillion), 11.04% of the GDP, and contributed direct and indirect employment of up to 28.25 million people. There were 139.48 million inbound trips and five billion domestic trips.
Hi-Tech Industry in China
China is the world's largest e-commerce market, amounting to 42% of the global market by 2016.
China in the global economy
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China is a member of the WTO and is the world's largest trading power, with a total international trade value of US$4.62 trillion in 2018.[ "Washington learns to treat China with care". CNNMoney.com. 29 July 2009.][ Intellectual Property Rights. Asia Business Council. September 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2012.]
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China ranks 17th in the world in Global Innovation Index, not too far from the US, which ranks #6.
Following the 2007-8 financial crisis, Chinese authorities sought to actively wean off of its dependence on the U.S. Dollar as a result of perceived weaknesses of the international monetary system.["RMB Settlement", Kasikorn Research Center, Bangkok, 8 February 2011] This was followed with bilateral agreements to settle trades directly in renminbi with Russia,
Class and income inequality
China has had the world's largest middle class population since 2015,[ "China's billionaires double in number". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2011.] China's domestic retail market was worth over 20 trillion yuan (US$3.2 trillion) in 2012[ "Super Rich have Craze for luxury goods". China Daily. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2010.] However, in recent years, China's rapid economic growth has contributed to severe consumer inflation,[ "China inflation exceeding 6%". BusinessWeek. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.][ "Steep rise in Chinese food prices". BBC. 16 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.] leading to increased government regulation.[ "China's GDP grows 9.1% in third quarter". Financial Times. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2013.] China has a high level of economic inequality,[ The Controversial Chinese Economist Uncovering Tough Truths, Bloomberg Businessweek, 24 March 2017] In comparison, the Top 1% of Americans held 40% of the wealth.
Science and technology
Historical
China was once a world leader in science and technology up until the Ming dynasty. Ancient Chinese discoveries and inventions, such as papermaking, printing, the compass, and gunpowder (the Four Great Inventions), became widespread across East Asia, the Middle East and later to Europe. Chinese mathematicians were the first to use negative numbers.[Struik, Dirk J. (1987). A Concise History of Mathematics. New York: Dover Publications. pp. 32–33. " In these matrices we find negative numbers, which appear here for the first time in history."] By the 17th century, Europe and the Western world surpassed China in scientific and technological advancement.
After repeated military defeats by the European colonial powers and Japan in the 19th century, Chinese reformers began promoting modern science and technology as part of the Self-Strengthening Movement. After the Communists came to power in 1949, efforts were made to organize science and technology based on the model of the Soviet Union, in which scientific research was part of central planning.
Modern era
Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, China has made significant investments in scientific research
China is developing its education system with an emphasis on STEM fields; in 2009, China graduated over 10,000 Ph.D. engineers, and as many as 500,000 BSc graduates, more than any other country.[ "Desperately seeking math and science majors" CNN. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2012.] In 2016, there were 4.7 million STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) graduates in China, which was more than eight times the corresponding number for the US.
The Chinese space program is one of the world's most active, and is a major source of national pride.[David Eimer, "China's huge leap forward into space threatens US ascendancy over heavens". Daily Telegraph. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2013.] In 2018, China successfully launched more satellites (35) than any other country, including the USA (30).
Infrastructure
A 2016 report by McKinsey consulting group, revealed that China has been annually spending more on infrastructure than North America and Western Europe combined.
Telecommunications
China is the largest telecom market in the world and currently has the largest number of active cellphones of any country in the world, with over 1.5 billion subscribers, as of 2018.
China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, are the three large providers of mobile and internet in China. China Telecom alone served more than 145 million broadband subscribers and 300 million mobile users; China Unicom had about 300 million subscribers; and China Mobile, the biggest of them all, had 925 million users, as of 2018.
China is developing its own satellite navigation system, dubbed Beidou, which began offering commercial navigation services across Asia in 2012
Transport
Since the late 1990s, China's national road network has been significantly expanded through the creation of a network of national highways and expressways. In 2018, China's highways had reached a total length of , making it the longest highway system in the world;[ "Chinese Railways Carry Record Passengers, Freight" Xinhua 21 June 2007]
China's high-speed rail (HSR) system started construction in the early 2000s. By the end of 2018, high speed rail in China had over of dedicated lines alone, a length that exceeds rest of the world's high-speed rail tracks combined, making it the longest HSR network in the world.[ "Top ten fastest trains in the world" railway-technology.com 29 August 2013] In May 2019, China released a prototype for a maglev high-speed train that would reach a speed of 600 km/hr (375 mph); and it's expected to go into commercial production by 2021.
Some 80% of China's airspace remains restricted for military use, and Chinese airlines made up eight of the 10 worst-performing Asian airlines in terms of delays.[ "Top 50 World Container Ports" World Shipping Council Accessed 2 June 2014]
Water supply and sanitation
Water supply and sanitation infrastructure in China is facing challenges such as rapid urbanization, as well as water scarcity, contamination, and pollution.[ Global Water Intelligence:"New directions in Chinese wastewater", October 2010, p. 22, quoting the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development] The ongoing South–North Water Transfer Project intends to abate water shortage in the north.
Demographics
The national census of 2010 recorded the population of the People's Republic of China as approximately 1,370,536,875. About 16.60% of the population were 14 years old or younger, 70.14% were between 15 and 59 years old, and 13.26% were over 60 years old.
China used to make up much of the world's poor; now China makes up much of the world's middle class.
Given concerns about population growth, China implemented a two-child limit during the 1970s, and, in 1979, began to advocate for an even stricter limit of one child per family. Beginning in the mid 1980s, however, given the unpopularity of the strict limits, China began to allow some major exemptions, particularly in rural areas, resulting in what was actually a "1.5"-child policy from the mid-1980s to 2015 (ethnic minorities were also exempt from one child limits). The next major loosening of the policy was enacted in December 2013, allowing families to have two children if one parent is an only child.
According to one group of scholars, one-child limits had little effect on population growth
The policy, along with traditional preference for boys, may have contributed to an imbalance in the sex ratio at birth.[ "Chinese mainland gender ratios most balanced since 1950s: census data". Xinhua. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.] which is beyond the normal range of around 105 boys for every 100 girls.
Ethnic groups
China legally recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, who altogether comprise the Zhonghua Minzu. The largest of these nationalities are the Han Chinese, who constitute about 91.51% of the total
population.[ "Major Figures on Residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and Foreigners Covered by 2010 Population Census". National Bureau of Statistics of China. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2015.]
Languages
There are as many as 292 in China.[ Languages of China – from Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International.] The languages most commonly spoken belong to the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, which contains Mandarin Chinese (spoken by 70% of the population),[ "Languages". 2005. Gov.cn. Retrieved 31 May 2015.]
Standard Mandarin, a variety of Mandarin based on the Beijing dialect, is the official national language of China and is used as a lingua franca in the country between people of different linguistic backgrounds.
Chinese characters have been used as the writing system for the Sinitic languages for thousands of years. They allow speakers of mutually unintelligible Chinese varieties to communicate with each other through writing. In 1956, the government introduced simplified characters, which have supplanted the older traditional characters in mainland China. Chinese characters are Romanization using the Pinyin. Tibetan uses an Tibetan alphabet based on an Brahmic scripts. Uyghur is most commonly written in Persian alphabet based Uyghur Arabic alphabet. The Mongolian script and the Manchu alphabet are both derived from the Old Uyghur alphabet. Zhuang languages uses both an official Standard Zhuang and a traditional Sawndip.
Urbanization
China has urbanized significantly in recent decades. The percent of the country's population living in urban areas increased from 20% in 1980 to over 55% in 2016.[ , there are more than 262 million in China, mostly rural migrants seeking work in cities.]
China has over 160 cities with a population of over one million,[Francesco Sisci. "China's floating population a headache for census". The Straits Times. 22 September 2000.] the figures below include only long-term residents.
Education
Since 1986, compulsory education in China comprises primary school and middle school, which together last for nine years.
In February 2006, the government pledged to provide completely free nine-year education, including textbooks and fees.[ "China pledges free 9-year education in rural west". China Economic Net. 21 February 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2013.] Annual education investment went from less than US$50 billion in 2003 to more than US$250 billion in 2011.
, 94% of the population over age 15 are literate.[ "China Beats Out Finland for Top Marks in Education". Time magazine. 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2013.] Despite the high results, Chinese education has also faced both native and international criticism for its emphasis on rote memorization and its gap in quality from rural to urban areas.
Health
The National Health and Family Planning Commission, together with its counterparts in the local commissions, oversees the health needs of the Chinese population.
, the average life expectancy at birth in China is 75 years,[ "China's Tobacco Industry Wields Huge Power" article by Didi Kirsten Tatlow in The New York Times 10 June 2010] and an increase in obesity among urban youths.[ "Serving the people?". 1999. Bruce Kennedy. CNN. Retrieved 17 April 2006.][ "Obesity Sickening China's Young Hearts". 4 August 2000. People's Daily. Retrieved 17 April 2006.] China's large population and densely populated cities have led to serious disease outbreaks in recent years, such as the 2003 outbreak of SARS, although this has since been largely contained.[ "China's latest SARS outbreak has been contained, but biosafety concerns remain". 18 May 2004. World Health Organization. Retrieved 17 April 2006.] In 2010, air pollution caused 1.2 million premature deaths in China.
Religion
The government of the People's Republic of China officially espouses state atheism,[ "China bans religious activities in Xinjiang". Financial Times. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.][ Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Chapter 2, Article 36.]
Over the millennia, Chinese civilization has been influenced by various religious movements. The "three teachings", including Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism (Chinese Buddhism), historically have a significant role in shaping Chinese culture,[ pp. 9–11.][ p. 57.] enriching a Chinese theology which harkens back to the early Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty. Chinese popular or folk religion, which is framed by the three teachings and other traditions,[Tam Wai Lun, "Local Religion in Contemporary China", in p. 73.] consists in allegiance to the shen (), a character that signifies the "energies of generation", who can be deity of the environment or progenitor of human groups, concepts of civility, , many of whom feature in Chinese mythology and history.[. Extracts in The Chinese Cosmos: Basic Concepts.] Among the most popular cults are those of Mazu (goddess of the seas),[ (online), (print). p. 7: "... while provincial leaders in Fujian nod to Taoism with their sponsorship of the Mazu Pilgrimage in Southern China, the leaders of Shanxi have gone further with their promotion of worship of the Yellow Emperor ()".] Yellow Emperor (one of the two divine patriarchs of the Chinese race),[ pp. 80–81.] Guandi (god of war and business), Caishen (god of prosperity and richness), Pangu and many others. China is home to many of the world's tallest religious statues, including the tallest of all, the Spring Temple Buddha in Henan.
Clear data on religious affiliation in China is difficult to gather due to varying definitions of "religion" and the unorganized, diffusive nature of Chinese religious traditions. Scholars note that in China there is no clear boundary between three teachings religions and local folk religious practice.[China Family Panel Studies 2014 survey. See release #1 ( archived) and release #2 ( archived). The tables also contain the results of CFPS 2012 and Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) results for 2006, 2008 and 2010.]
Culture
Since ancient times, Chinese culture has been heavily influenced by Confucianism. For much of the country's dynastic era, opportunities for social advancement could be provided by high performance in the prestigious imperial examinations, which have their origins in the Han dynasty.
The first leaders of the People's Republic of China were born into the traditional imperial order, but were influenced by the May Fourth Movement and reformist ideals. They sought to change some traditional aspects of Chinese culture, such as rural land tenure, sexism, and the Confucian system of education, while preserving others, such as the family structure and culture of obedience to the state. Some observers see the period following the establishment of the PRC in 1949 as a continuation of traditional Chinese dynastic history, while others claim that the Communist Party's rule has damaged the foundations of Chinese culture, especially through political movements such as the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, where many aspects of traditional culture were destroyed, having been denounced as "regressive and harmful" or "vestiges of feudalism". Many important aspects of traditional Chinese morals and culture, such as Confucianism, art, literature, and performing arts like Peking opera,
Today, the Chinese government has accepted numerous elements of traditional Chinese culture as being integral to Chinese society. With the rise of Chinese nationalism and the end of the Cultural Revolution, various forms of traditional Chinese art, literature, music, film, fashion and architecture have seen a vigorous revival,
Literature
Chinese literature is based on the literature of the Zhou dynasty.
In the wake of the New Culture Movement after the end of the Qing dynasty, Chinese literature embarked on a new era with written vernacular Chinese for ordinary citizens. Hu Shih and Lu Xun were pioneers in modern literature.[ "新文化运动中的胡适与鲁迅". 中共杭州市委党校学报. April 2000. Retrieved 18 July 2015.] Various literary genres, such as misty poetry, scar literature, young adult fiction and the xungen movement, which is influenced by magic realism,[ "魔幻现实主义文学与"寻根"小说" . 文学评论. February 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2015.] emerged following the Cultural Revolution. Mo Yan, a xungen literature author, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012.[ "莫言：寻根文学作家". 东江时报. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2015.]
Cuisine
Chinese cuisine is highly diverse, drawing on several millennia of culinary history and geographical variety, in which the most influential are known as the "Eight Major Cuisines", including Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese, Jiangsu cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Anhui cuisine, and Zhejiang cuisine cuisines.
Sports
China has become a prime sports destination worldwide. The country gained the hosting rights for several major global sports tournaments including the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, the upcoming 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics.
China has one of the oldest sporting cultures in the world. There is evidence that archery ( shèjiàn) was practiced during the Western Zhou dynasty. Swordplay ( jiànshù) and cuju, a sport loosely related to association football
Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture, with morning exercises such as qigong and t'ai chi ch'uan widely practiced,[ "Chinese players dominate at Malaysia open chess championship". TheStar.com. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.] In addition, China is home to a huge number of cycling, with an estimated 470 million bicycles .[Qinfa, Ye. "Sports History of China". About.com. Retrieved 21 April 2006.]
China has participated in the Olympic Games since 1932, although it has only participated as the PRC since 1952. China hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where its athletes received 51 gold medals – the highest number of gold medals of any participating nation that year.
See also
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Index of China-related articles
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Outline of China
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Public holidays in China
Notes
Footnotes
Further reading
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Farah, Paolo (2006). "Five Years of China's WTO Membership: EU and US Perspectives on China's Compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism". Legal Issues of Economic Integration. Kluwer Law International. Volume 33, Number 3. pp. 263–304. Abstract.
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Heilig, Gerhard K. (2006/2007). China Bibliography – Online. China-Profile.com.
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Martin Jacques (2009). . Penguin Books. Rev. ed. (28 August 2012).
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Jaffe, Amy Myers, "Green Giant: Renewable Energy and Chinese Power", Foreign Affairs, vol. 97, no. 2 (March / April 2018), pp. 83–93.
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External links
Government
General information
Studies
Travel
Maps
