China

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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