1. Who was Confucius and what were his values?

Confucius was a philosopher in china, 551 – 479 B.C. He was born in the village of Zou and went by the name of Kong Zi, but his name at birth was K’ung Ch’iu. He married at the age of 19 and had one son and two daughters. By the time he was 20 he had been a keeper of the market, a farm worker and the governor of his district. He wandered around China for 13yrs making wise phrases and theories about the law, life and the government. Confucius died at the age of 72, and was buried at Ch’u Fu, Shandong. His values were: love others, honour parents, do what’s right, don’t practice hypocrisy, rule by example, don’t rule by violence or force.

2. What are the key elements of Confucianism?

The key elements of Confucianism are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These are the key elements, because they all work upon each other perfectly.

3. What is Daoism and is it still followed?

Daoism is also known as Taoism, the word Daoism means “path”. Daoism “regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites.”* Daoism began as a combination of philosophy and psychology, which in 440 A.D. turned into a religious faith. Daoism is centered in Taiwan.

4. What were the Chinese Dynasties? How did these dynasties rule China?

Ancient China

Neolithic: ca 12000 – 2000 BC

This dynasty was agricultural settlements… nothing else is said of this dynasty

Xia: 2100 – 1800 BC

It was agricultural and the rulers were also Shamans who communicated with the spirits in all matters. Nothing else is really said.

Shang: 1700 – 1027 BC

Agricultural and writing was invented, nothing else said.

Western Zhou: 1027 – 771 BC

This dynasty was semi-nomadic as they were forced east by the barbarians from the north. It was a feudal government and by being semi-nomadic they learnt to work with the different cultures they encountered.

Eastern Zhou: 770 – 221 BC

The emperor lost his power to the lords as the lords realised that the emperor was not as strong as he appeared to be. There was war during 475 – 221 BC as states fought to gain control of the nation. There is nothing said about the way the country was ruled.

Early Imperial China

Qin: 221 – 207 BC

The Emperor was self-proclaimed to be the first emperor of China. The military was strong while the cultural side of China was weak. The nation was divided into 36 prefectures which were then further subdivided into counties. Each prefecture had a civil governor, military commander, and an imperial health inspector. The state had complete control over the nation. The nobilities lost their power, which probably would have caused unrest in the nation. The Great Wall was also built in the North for protection from invasions; the Terracotta Army was also created.

Western Han: 206 BC – 9 AD

This dynasty rose from a rebellion, Confucian ideals were put into practice by the ruler, there was direct control of people by the state. The Silk Road was created, which increased trading, borders expanded up to Vietnam and Korea. Education became important. In there was peasant uprising due to the way they were treated.

Three Kingdoms: 220 – 265 AD

There was disunity and civil war as the three economic areas fought to have control of the country. Tea was discovered along with porcelain. Armies of mounted bowmen were used; these were mainly nobles because they had the money to buy horses.

Western Chin: 265 – 316 AD

China was united during 280 AD, but they were in danger of invasions as they had lost many troops due to the civil war. There was a large migration of civilians into rural areas. China was then defeated by the Huns.

Southern and Northern Dynasties: 420 – 588 AD

The North and South split and there was once more civil war. During this dynasty, Buddhism flourished as civilians believed that by reincarnation they would come back with a better life, which says that the civilians were mistreated.

Classical Imperial China

Sui: 580 – 618 AD

China was once more united; a new emperor sat on the throne. But this emperor overspent money, and treated the villagers with cruelty. He organized costly campaigns which a lot of the times, were failures. The borders were expanded south.

T’ang 618 – 907 AD

Canals were built which brought economic development, there was a land distribution program, which did not work very well as the taxes, and etc. was high. The production of rice increased, free verse poetry was introduced. There was the only female empress, she increased the taxes and dues, as she was supported by the Buddhist temples, and they too became wealthy. There were many peasant uprisings and the first uprising which succeed was in 860 AD.

Five Dynasties: 907 – 960 AD

Trade increased, paper money was introduced and printing was invented. Binding feet became popular among all women; it was thought that small feet were beautiful. Buddhism declined because it was outlawed, due to the fact that men became monks to avoid joining the army. There was also disunity and war during this period.

Song: 960 – 1279 AD

The emperor began to pay annual payments to the north for peace. During this time of peace and unity, technology inventions, political philosophy, material production increased. The elite culture became more defined, while China had the best ships in the world. The painting developed, but the military was not very powerful.

Later Imperial China

Yuan: 1279 – 1368 AD

China was conquered and ruled over by the Mongols. Due to the cultural and communication gap there was a lighter government. Theatre and opera going became more popular. There were trade restrictions, and the Chinese were forbidden to learn any languages but their own. The Mongols drained all resources out of China and when China attacked the Mongols had no more interest to hold it as China had become poor.

Ming: 1368 – 1644 AD

A peasant was elected as the emperor, therefore peasant life was improved. There was no increase of trade as the emperor did not believe in trade to be beneficial, but the military was strong. The Great Wall was rebuilt and repaired. But money became a problem as there was not enough production of it, so there was lots of counterfeit money circling around.

Qing: 1644 – 1911 AD

This dynasty had the best military organisation in the world. There was clothing restrictions and everyone was forced to wear only one style of clothing. The emperor favoured the isolationalist policy which meant that there was a lack of Chinese trading. But trading with Britain was still allowed, as Britain traded opium for silk and tea, opium trades were then banned in 1842. Taxes were reduced and borders were increased. This was the last dynasty as afterwards the revolutionaries won and the Republic of China was created.

5. Find some information on Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong was born 26th December, 1893, in Xiang Tan, Hunan Province, China. He was the son of a peasant farmer, as he grew up he hated all forms of authority as all his life people had told him what to do. Mao Zedong enjoyed swimming and poetry. He became a Marxist while working as a library assistant at the Peking University. He became the chairman of the China Communist Party, led the Red Army and overthrew the current leader, Chiang Kai-Sheng. During his life he closely followed the Russian Marxism and he started the Cultural Revolution. He died at the age of 83yrs, on 9th September, 1976.

6. What was the Cultural Revolution?

The Cultural Revolution occurred in 1966 – 76, the point of the Cultural Revolution was to “prevent development of bureaucratized Soviet style of Communism”^ Schools were closed down to encourage scholars to join the Revolution. The Cultural Revolution cause economic disruption and industrial production dropped 12%.

7. Who is the current leader? Provide some information.

Hu Jintao is the current leader of China. He was born on 21st December, 1942, in the Anhui Province, China. He was elected president on 15th March, 2003. He has a wife, one son and one daughter. He graduated from the Beijing Qinghua University with a degree in hydraulic engineering, in 1964. He joined the Communist Party before the Cultural Revolution. Most of his career has been spent in overseeing Gansu, Guizho and Tibet. Being Party Chief in Tibet brought him attention from the Communist Party.

8. What are the economic zones in China?

An economic zone is an area which has less strict economic laws that the whole nation. The economic zones in China are: Guandong Province (Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou), Fujian Province (Xiamen), and the whole Hainan Province.

9. What is the ‘one child policy’?

The one child policy was established in 1979, by Deng Xiaoping. It was created to limit the nation’s population; it means that Han Chinese can only have one child in each family. But minorities in the city can have up to two children officially, and minorities in rural areas can have up to three children officially. But this does not affect the population as minorities count for only 7% of China’s population.

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