A topical report

in
ASIAN STUDIES
(SST-105)

CHAPTER 3: CHINA, WORLD’S LARGEST

NATION

Presented by:
ANGELIE A. HOMEZ
REYGIN L. GASATAN
 CHINA, is the world’s largest nation in terms of
population and the oldest continuing civilizations back more
that six thousand years ago.

The following are there four greatest inventions;

1. Paper
2. Printing
3. Gunpowder
4. Compass
LAND and PEOPLE

• China’s came from the word “Qin” (Chin)

emperor (221 BC) and Persians and Indians knew
the country as “cin” or “cina”.
• Other names in history were “sinae”, “cathay” or
“sino”.
• Filipinos call it “Tsina” and refer to the Chinese
“intsik” or “singkit”.
• Over 1.3 billion, China has more people than
anywhere on earth in mainland city.
THREE CHINA’S

1. People’s Republic of China (PPOC)- mainland

2. Republic of China- Taiwan
3. Overseas Chinese in the country
 The eastern part of China is one of the best farmlands with
three great rivers:
1. Huang-Ho (Yellow)- the cradle of Chinese civilization, “the
heartland of China”. AKA “Chinese Sorrow” due to annual
floods. Named because of the color that the loess adds to the
water. Flows to the Yellow Sea.
2. Chang (Yangtze)- Major transportation/trade route. Flows
to East China Sea, at Shanghai. Dams for hydro-electric
power. The largest river.
3. Xi (Pearl River)- Xi river delta has rich farmland. Important
industrial area.
 China is the food basket of the world
 Farming is the main occupation
 Reach in natural resources
 One of the largest manufacturing base and
consumer markets in the world
 They excel in farming, crafts and business
 They belong to the yellow race descendent
from Han (92%)
 Mandarin is the dialect of the North, the official
language due to the communist take over.
 Officially atheist, religion is banned but many
Chinese still live in the old beliefs of ancestor
worship, geomancy, etc.
 Some of the oldest ethical and folk beliefs came
from China.
 Islamic minorities (2%) remain near central Asia.\
 Major cities are Beijing (Peking), the capital, and
Shanghai, the largest city.
ORIGINS and MYTHS

 Chinese characters amazingly tells the story found in the

Bibles book of Genesis.
 The Zhou-Warlords, Philosophers, Long but weak Rulers.
 Zhou was the longest ruling dynasty of China (Chou, 112-
256 BC). It was founded by Emperor Wu Wang.
 The Zhou dynasty had three accomplishments namely;
1. The feudal system was consolidated;
2. The civil service was established and;
3. Chinese philosophy flourished
The Age of Philosophers
Ancient China gave the world three outstanding
philosophers during the Zhou dynasty, namely;

• Confucius (511-479 BC) - a Chinese philosopher and

politician of the Spring and Autumn period. Confucuis
teaching important virtues like righteousness, wisdom,
and piety.
• Lao Zi (Lao Tse, 604-517 BC) – “the old scholar”, founder of
Taoism. According to him, Daodejing (Way of Happiness),
anyone can find true happiness by practicing virtues of
humility, patience and self-control.
• Mencius (373-289 BC) – the greatest disciple of Confucius.
Mencius proclaimed a revolutionary political philosophy at
the time, that the people had the right to overthrow a bad
government, even by violent means.
“People is most important element of the state”. If an
emperor had lost the “mandate in heaven”, the he had no right
to rule.
The First Emperor and the Great Wall

• The short lived Qin (Chin) dynasty (221-206 BC)

receives a better grade in history than before.
Unknown ruler from Western China declared himself
as the first emperor and named himself Shi Huangdi,
the “First Emperor”
• He created a military power and built the Great Wall of
China, with 8,000 terracotta soldiers.
• The Great Wall (6,400 km) is the longest man-made
structure.
• It is unofficially known as the largest cemetery in the
world.
• He built a capital at Xian and made a system of
palaces, roads and fortifications.
• The Qin dynasty left a legacy united China for over
2,000 years even if it did not stay long.
Han Dynasty (206 BC-221 AD)

• Created a lasting cultural identity, and the Chinese majority

still call themselves “Men of Han”.
• China officially became a Confucian State and prospered
domestically.
• China’s most famous historian, Sima Quian (145078 BC) wrote
the ancient historical records for the first time; he was called
“father of Chinese history”.
• China’s greatest female historian, Pan Chao wrote the first
dynastic history of Han era.
• Han dynasty and the Roman Empire were the two greatest
powers in the world.
Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)

• Considered the greatest dynasty to rule China.

• Empress Qu Zetian (690-705) the first and only Chinese
Empress to reign by her own initiative.
• China became the mightiest empire the world at the time.
• The prosperity of the Tang era brought the population to
about 80 million people.
• Feng Tao in 932 AD invented the printing by movable blocks
is one of the another greatest invention of China.
• The world’s oldest printed book, a Buddhist text, the
Diamond sutra with a complete illustrations was printed by
Wang Chein in 868 AD.
• Tang era was the golden age of Chinese literature and art.
• Poetry became part of the imperial exams and a popular
pastime.
• Li Po (Li Bai, 701-762), “the immortal poet” wrote love lyrics
and is considered one of the best ancient poets.
• His rival in fame , Tu Fu, “the poet sage” became the idol of
masses, because he was an unconventional rebel.
Soong Dynasty (Song, Chao, Sung (960-1279 AD)

• Ruled after the chaotic period of five dynasties and ten

kingdoms.
• Divided into two periods: Northern Soong and Southern
Soong.
• The Grand Canal between Beijing and Yangzhou was the
longest shipping canal in the world.
• The Soong’s greatest achievements were as follows;
1. The first paper money currency;
2. First Chinese permanent navy;
3. Invention and use of gun powder for warfare instead of
ceremonies.
Yuan Dynasty: Mongols in Beijing

• Mongol rule of China begun after Genghis Khan and his

“yellow horde” of horsemen warriors overarm North and
Central Asia.
• Kublai Khan (1215-1294) continued his empire.
• Kublai Khan made Shangdu (Xanadu) his summer capital.
• He said he had the “mandate of heaven”.
• In 1275, Marco Polo, the famous Venetian traveler visited his
court and brought back tales that stirred Western interest in
the riches.
• Kublai Khan became a legend in Europe.
• The Yuan dynasty, one of the shortest in China’s history.
Ming Dynasty

• The last dynasty by ethnic Hans (1368-1644)

• Bringing in global trade and enlightenment.
• Zhu Yuanzhang wanted an inspiring for his rule, and
appropriately enough, choose the words Ming Chao (brilliant).
• Forbidden City was the last that they built, the inner palace for
the emperor at Beijing.
• In the 15th century Admiral Zheng he (Cheng Ho, 1371-1435)
commanded a fleet of over 2,000 vessels and reached many
countries.
Manchu/Qing Dynasty

• The last ruling empire of China (1644-1912), with brief periods

of restoration in 1917 and in wartime Manchuria (1937-45)
• The Manchu dynasty was really the Qing dynasty.
• In 1645, the Manchu imposed a highly unpopular order that
forced all Han males to shaved the front of their head tomb.
• This policy was a test of loyalty.
• The fourth emperor, Qianlong (Chien Lung, 1736-96) enjoyed
the height of Manchu power.
Chinese Contribution to World Civilization
• According to Joseph Needham, China’s four greatest contributions to
mankind were- paper, printing, gunpowder and the compass.
Westerners as “Foreign Devils”
• A Chinese saying was, “There can only be one sun in the sky”, means that
China was Number one. They regarded all outsiders as “foreign devils” or
“barbarians”. Such pride could not fail in time.
• Two roman emperors, Marcus Aurelius and Justinian sent embassies to
secure business in China.
• The Portuguese stayed first and were allowed to use Macau as their trading
port.
• Spanish missionaries from the Philippines found some Fujian craftsmen to
carve ivory images of Virgin Mary, w/c started a new trend in Chines art,
the image of Guanying, their goddess.
• Fr. Mateo Rici, an Italian Jesuit, became an imperial adviser due to his
scientific knowledge.
• Fr. Ferdinand Verbiest, a Belgian, became head of the Imperial Bureau of
Astronomy.
Opium Wars, Revolts Weaken China
• The British introduced a product that hooked and finished the Chinese
people- opium from India.
• British and American officials and missionaries, who lambasted the
victory of the British in the opium wars as “unjust” and “disgraceful” but
they could not stop it.
• The Manchu empire lost two opium wars (1840-42 and 1856-60) and it
cost them dearly.
• China lost Hong Kong, Kowloon, eastern Siberia and a fine of 121 million
dollars.
• It was led by Hong Xinquan, a religious rebel who founded a cult, with
“God the father, Jesus, the elder brother”, and himself as a younger
brother.
• Filipino named Vicente Macayana, was cited in the foreign reports for
his bravery
• Manchu civil war was one of the bloodiest in the world history, costing
nearly 30 million lives, with damaged up to 200 million dollars.
FREIGNERS SLICE UP CHINA

• Meiji Japan had seen an opportunity to expand its

power.
• After the war, China lost both Korea and Taiwan to the
Japanese
• The western and Japan took advantage of China’s
weakness to slice t up into their own “spheres of
influence”.
• John Hay, suggested an “open door policy” in 1899,
instead of exclusive spheres of influence.
BOXERS DO NOT SAVE CHINA
• In 1898, the Chinese dowager empress Cixi (Tzu His) got rid of her nephew
emperor and controlled China until 1908.
• She encourage the “Boxers” a secret martial arts society to go after all the
Westeners.
• The Filipino troops who came from Shanghai chosen as the personal
bpodyguards of US Army Major Frederick Ward, who commanded the
resistance, along with British Consul Charles George Gordon.
• Empress Cixi packed up and hastily fled after the boxers lost. On her
deathbed, Empress Cixi named another 2-year old nephew, Henry Pu-Yi ,
as the “boy emperor”.
Sun Yat-Sen and the Nationalist Revolution
• A new leader named, Dr. San Yat-sen, brought fresh hope to save his
suffering people.
• Dr. San dreamed of emancipating China through similar movements.
• It was a bold and dramatic hope to rid China of a monarchy that was
revered and previously believed to be a “mandate of heaven”.
• On October 10, 1911, Chinese military troops in Szhecuan mutinied
against Manchu rule.
• This was the beginning of the Chinese revolution and celebrated
annually as the “Double Ten” national holiday.
• Dr. Sun was elected president of the Chinese Republic.
• Dr. Sun founded the KMT (Koumintang Nationalist Party) and move to
Guandong.
• The Nationalist Revolution brought unity between the KMT and the
communists, assisted by his son-in-law Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
• In 1924, Dr. Sun laid down three guiding priciples for China- (1)
nationalism; (2) democracy; and (3) peoples livelihood.
• He died in 1925. without seeing his dream realized, but people adore him
as the “father of the Chinese Republic.
China as Allied Power in WW2
• On September 18, 1931, Japanese troops guarding their concessions blew up
a railway in Manchuria and used the incident to seize more territory in
North China.
• On July 7, 1937, the Japanese provoked another incident at the Marco Polo
Bridge near Beijing and they captured more Chinese cities.
• Japanese soldiers committed horrible atrocities on the Chinese and foreign
residents, especially during the “Rape of Nanjing” in December 1937.
• In Manchuria, Japan set up a puppet government of Manchukuo, with
Henry Pu-yi as emperor.
• Puyi was arrested by Russian troops who liberated Manchuria, and returned
to mainland China in 1950.
• By the time WW2 broke out in the Pacific in December 1941, there was
already a world war in China.
Communist Revolution in China
• China is devided into two lands with two great historical leaders – Mao
Zedong of mainland China, and Chiang Kai-shek of Taiwan.
• During the industrial Revolution in 19th centuryEurope, Karl Marx (1818-
83), a German thinker, dreamed of a classes, stateless, godless society
where everydody was equal and contented. “Workers of the world, unite!”,
he wrote, “you have nothing to lose but your chains”.
• Vladimir Iliych Lenin, who led the successful Russian Revolution in 1917.
• Russian communist helped to form the CCP (China Communist Party
combined forces with peasant rebels in the countryside, which enabled
them to control several areas in Southern China.
• As Chang encircled the communist strongholds, the communist began a
massive military retreat known as “The Long March”
• The epic march over mountains, rivers, and plains took 18 months, 12, 500
km, and killed half of the 100,000 marchers. Only 50,000 survived.
RISE OF COMMUNIST CHINA
• On October 1, 1949, the communist proclaimed their victory in Beijing.
• They called their new government the “People’s Republic of China” with
Mao Zedong as party chairman.
• The chief executive was Mao Zedong, assisted by Zhou Enlai, the premier
and various minsters.
• In towns and villages, a “people’s tribunal” tried all persons particularly
landowners and professionals who were denounced as traitors to the people.
• Mao Zedong was regarded as a demi-god and his teachings published in a
Little Red Book required to be read by all.
THE EAST IS RED

which really ran thngs in mainland China, sided with Soviet

Russia and other communist states in order to survive.
RED CHINA’s EFFECT ON THE PILIPPIINES

• Chinese nationalist and Christian missionaries

• War between Democracy and Communism
• Red Scare
• The far east broadcasting Corporation(FEBC)
• Overseas Missionary Fellowship(OMF)
MAO ZEDODNG, FATHER OF RED CHINA

• Chairman Mao
• The most memorable maoist changes were as follows.
• “The commune movement”
• “The Great leap Forward”(1958-62)
• “Hundred Flowers”
• “The culture revolution”(1966-67)
• Invasion of Tibet on Oct. 7 1950
• “Shangrila”
• Dalai Lama, Tibetan god-king and Nobel Peace prizewinner.
• People’s Liberation Army( the world’s largest number of
soldiers)
THE SORROWS OF CHINA

These problems of China are as follows:

1. A dictatorial communist government
2. Corruption in government
3. Legalized abortion and a strict one child policy
4. No freedom of religion
5. No freedom of speech or other political rights
6. Maltreatment of ethnic minorities
7. Substandard products that can be dangerous or toxic
8. Environmental problems
9. Rapid development of cities
10. Discontented among young people about their government
and society.