China:

Government:

The People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (1949–present)

Main article: History of the People's Republic of China

See also: History of Hong Kong, History of Macau, and History of Taiwan

After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China, led by Mao
Zedong, gained control of most of the Mainland China. On October 1, 1949, they
established the People's Republic of China, laying claim as the successor state of
the ROC. The central government of the Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-
shek was forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan, establishing the Republic of China
there. Major armed hostilities ceased in 1950 but both sides are technically still at
war.

Beginning in the late 1970s, the Republic of China began the implementation of full,
multi-party, representative democracy in the territories still under its control (Taiwan
Province, Kaohsiung and some offshore islands of Fujian province). Today, the ROC
has active political participation by all sectors of society. The main cleavage in ROC
politics is the issue of eventual unification with China vs. formal independence.

After the Chinese Civil War, mainland China underwent a series of disruptive
socioeconomic movements starting in the late 1950s with the Great Leap Forward
and continued in the 1960s with the Cultural Revolution that left much of its
education system and economy in shambles. With the death of its first generation
Communist Party leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, the PRC began
implementing a series of political and economic reforms advocated by Deng
Xiaoping that eventually formed the foundation for mainland China's rapid economic
development starting in the 1990s.

Post-1978 reforms on the mainland have led to some relaxation of control over
many areas of society. However, the Chinese government still has almost absolute
control over politics, and it continually seeks to eradicate threats to the social,
political and economic stability of the country. Examples include the fight against
terrorism, jailing of political opponents and journalists, custody regulation of the
press, regulation of religion, and suppression of independence/secessionist
movements. In 1989, the student protests at Tiananmen Square were violently put
to an end by the Chinese military after 15 days of martial law. In 1997 Hong Kong
was returned to the PRC by the United Kingdom and in 1999 Macau was returned by
Portugal.

Today, the People's Republic of China represents all of mainland China while the
Republic of China continues to exist on Taiwan. The PRC is governed under the one-
party system by the Chinese Communist Party, but the ROC has moved towards a
more democratic government. Both states are still officially claiming to be the sole
legitimate ruler of all of "China". The ROC had more international support
immediately after 1949, but most international diplomatic recognitions have shifted
to the PRC. The ROC representative to the United Nations was replaced by the PRC
representative in 1971.

The ROC has not formally renounced its claim to all of China, or changed its official
maps on which its territories include the mainland and Mongolia, but it has moved
away from this identity and increasingly identifies itself as "Taiwan". Presently, the
ROC does not pursue any of its claims. The PRC claims to have succeeded the ROC
as the legitimate governing authority of all of China including Taiwan. Both regimes
use diplomatic and economic means to compete for recognition in the international
arena. Currently, the PRC is recognised by most world organisations, and has
prevented official recognition of the ROC by organisations such as the World Health
Organization and the International Olympic Committee. Today, there are 24 U.N.
member states that maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC while the
majority of the U.N. member states maintain official diplomatic relations with the
PRC.

Languages

Most languages in China belong to the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by 29

ethnicities. There are also several major dialects within the Chinese language itself.
The most spoken dialects are Mandarin (spoken by over 70% of the population), Wu
(Shanghainese), Yue (Cantonese), Min, Xiang, Gan, and Hakka. Non-Sinitic
languages spoken widely by ethnic minorities include Zhuang (Thai), Mongolian,
Tibetan, Uyghur (Turkic), Hmong and Korean.[18]

Classical Chinese was the written standard used for thousands of years in China
before the 20th century and allowed for written communication between speakers
of various unintelligible languages and dialects in China. Vernacular Chinese or
baihua is the written standard based on the Mandarin dialect first popularized in
Ming dynasty novels and was adopted (with significant modifications) during the
early 20th century as the national vernacular. Classical Chinese is still part of the
high school curriculum and is thus intelligible to some degree to many Chinese.

Religion

A Chinese Tang Dynasty (618–907) sculpture of the Buddha seated in meditation.

A Chinese Tang Dynasty (618–907) sculpture of the Buddha seated in meditation.

Main article: Religion in China

The "official" orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China until the
overthrow of the last dynasty is a panentheism system, centering on the worship of
"Heaven" as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of
Confucianism and Taoism or the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity. It has
features of a monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, endowed
with personality but no corporeal form. "Heaven" as a supernatural force was
variously referred to as Shangdi (literally "Emperor Above"). Worship of Heaven
includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the Altar of Heaven in
Beijing, and the offering of prayers. Manifestation of the powers of Heaven include
weather and natural disasters. Although it gradually diminished in popular belief
after the advent of Taoism and Buddhism, among others, some of its concepts
remained in use throughout the pre-modern period and have been incorporated in
later religions of China.

Taoism is an indigenous religion of China and is traditionally traced to the

composition of Lao Zi's Tao Te Ching (The Book of Tao and Its Virtues) or to seminal
works by Zhang Daoling. The philosophy of Taoism is centered on "the way"; an
understanding of which can be likened to recognizing the true nature of the
universe. Taoism in its unorganized form is also considered a folk religion of China.
More secular derivatives of Taoist ideas include Feng Shui, Sun Tzu's Art of War, and
acupuncture.

Buddhism was introduced from South and Central Asia during the Han dynasty and
became very popular among Chinese of all walks of life, embraced particularly by
commoners, and sponsored by emperors in certain dynasties. Mahayana (大乘,
Dacheng) is the predominant form of Buddhism practiced in China, where it was
largely Sinicized and later exported to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Some subsets of
Mahayana popular in China include Pure Land (Amidism) and Zen. Buddhism is the
largest organized faith in China and the country has the most Buddhist adherents in
the world, followed by Japan. Many Chinese, however, identify themselves as both
Taoist and Buddhist at the same time.

Ancestor worship is a major religious theme shared among all Chinese religions.
Traditional Chinese culture, Taoism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism all value
filial piety as a top virtue, and the act is a continued display of piety and respect
towards departed ancestors. The Chinese generally offer prayers and food for the
ancestors, light incense and candles, and burn offerings of Joss paper. These
activities are typically conducted at the site of ancestral graves or tombs, at an
ancestral temple, or at a household shrine.

Islam, Judaism and Christianity first arrived in China after the 7th century CE during
the Tang Dynasty. Islam was later spread by merchants and craftsmen as trade
routes improved along the Silk Road, while Christianity began to make significant
inroads in China after the 16th century through Jesuit and later protestant
missionaries. Islam arrived in China during the 8th century, only a few years after
the Prophet Muhammad's death. The Emperor of China took Islam highly, and the
first mosque in China, the Huaisheng Mosque was built in Canton, Guangzhou in 630
AD. In the first half of the 20th century, many Jews arrived in Shanghai and Hong
Kong during those cities' periods of economic expansion and also sought refuge
from the Holocaust in Europe. Shanghai was particularly notable for its volume of
Jewish refugees, as it was the only port in the world then to accept

Family

Urban families differ from their rural counterparts primarily in being composed
largely of wage earners who look to their work units for the housing, old-age
security, and opportunities for a better life that in the countryside are still the
responsibility of the family. With the exception of those employed in the recently
revived urban service sector (restaurants, tailoring, or repair shops) who sometimes
operate family businesses, urban families do not combine family and enterprise in
the manner of peasant families. Urban families usually have multiple wage earners,
but children do not bring in extra income or wages as readily as in the countryside.
Urban families are generally smaller than their rural counterparts, and, in a reversal
of traditional patterns, it is the highest level managers and cadres who have the
smallest families. Late marriages and one or two children are characteristic of urban
managerial and professional groups. As in the past, elite family forms are being
promoted as the model for everyone.
Three-generation families are not uncommon in cities, and a healthy grandparent is
probably the ideal solution to the childcare and housework problems of most
families. About as many young children are cared for by a grandparent as are
enrolled in a workunit nursery or kindergarten, institutions that are far from
universal. Decisions on where a newly married couple is to live often depend on the
availability of housing. Couples most often establish their own household, frequently
move in with the husband's parents, or, much less often, may move in with the
wife's parents. Both the state and the society expect children to look after their
aged parents. In addition, a retired worker from a state enterprise will have a
pension and often a relatively desirable apartment as well. Under these
circumstances elderly people are assets to a family. Those urban families employing
unregistered maids from the countryside are most likely those without healthy
grandparents.

Families play less of a role in marriage choices in cities than in the countryside, at
least in part because the family itself is not the unit promising long-term security
and benefits to its members. By the late 1970s, perhaps half of all urban marriages
were the result of introductions by workmates, relatives, or parents. The marriage
age in cities has been later than that in the countryside, which reflects greater
compliance with state rules and guidelines as well as social and economic factors
common to many other countries. People in cities and those with secondary and
postsecondary education or professional jobs tend to marry later than farmers. In
China it is felt that marriage is appropriate only for those who have jobs and thus
are in a position to be full members of society. Peasant youth, who have an
automatic claim on a share of the collective fields and the family house, qualify, but
college students or urban youths who are "waiting for assignment" to a lifetime job
do not. In any case, work-unit approval is necessary for marriage.

Urban weddings are usually smaller and more subdued than their rural
counterparts, which reflects the diminished role of the families in the process. More
guests will be workmates or friends of the bride and groom than distant kin or
associates of the parents. The wedding ceremony focuses on the bride and groom
as a couple rather than on their status as members of families. Similarly, a brief
honeymoon trip rather than a three-day celebration in which the entire village plays
a part is an increasingly common practice. Long engagements are common in cities,
sometimes because the couple is waiting for housing to become available.