GeographyThe greater part of the country is mountainous. Its principal ranges are the Tien Shan, the Kunlun chain, and the Trans-Himalaya. In the southwest is Tibet, which China annexed in 1950. The Gobi Desert lies to the north. China proper consists of three great river systems: the Yellow River (Huang He), 2,109 mi (5,464 km) long; the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), the third-longest river in the world at 2,432 mi (6,300 km); and the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang), 848 mi (2,197 km) long.
Government
Communist state.
HistoryThe earliest recorded human settlements in what is today called China were discovered in the Huang He basin and date from about 5000 B.C. During the Shang dynasty (1500–1000 B.C. ), the precursor of modern China's ideographic writing system developed, allowing the emerging feudal states of the era to achieve an advanced stage of civilization, rivaling in sophistication any society found at the time in Europe, the Middle East, or the Americas. It was following this initial flourishing of civilization, in a period known as the Chou dynasty (1122–249 B.C. ), that Lao-tse, Confucius, Mo Ti, and Mencius laid the foundation of Chinese philosophical thought.
The feudal states, often at war with one another, were first united under Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, during whose reign (246–210 B.C. ) work was begun on the Great Wall of China, a monumental bulwark against invasion from the West. Although the Great Wall symbolized China's desire to protect itself from the outside world, under the Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), the civilization conducted extensive commercial trading with the West.
In the T'ang dynasty (618–907)—often called the golden age of Chinese history—painting, sculpture, and poetry flourished, and woodblock printing, which enabled the mass production of books, made its earliest known appearance. The Mings, last of the native rulers (1368–1644), overthrew the Mongol, or Yuan, dynasty (1271–1368) established by Kublai Khan. The Mings in turn were overthrown in 1644 by invaders from the north, the Manchus.
Culture
he culture of China is the result of over 5,000 years of artistic, philosophical, political, and scientific advancement. Though regional differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion connect a culture distinguished by such contributions as Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China's history, and traditional Chinese culture is heavily influenced by it.
With the rise of Western economic and military power over China beginning in the mid-19th century, however, non-Chinese systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers totally rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures.
In essence, the history of 20th century China is one of experimentation to find a new system of social, political, and economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.
The history of China is told in traditional historical records that go back to the Three sovereigns and five emperors about 5,000 years ago, supplemented by archaeological records dating to the 16th century BC. China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. Turtle shells with markings reminiscent of ancient Chinese writing from the Shang Dynasty have been carbon dated to around 1500 BC. Chinese civilization originated with city-states in the Yellow River valley.
221 BC is the commonly accepted year when China became unified under a large kingdom or empire. Successive dynasties in Chinese history developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor of China to control the large territory.
The foundations of Chinese civilization were the Qin Dynasty Emperor's imposition of a common system of writing in the 3rd century BC and the development of a state ideology based on Confucianism in the 2nd century BC.
China alternated between periods of political unity and disunity, with occasionally conquests by foreign peoples, some of whom were assimilated into the Chinese population.
Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, carried by successive waves of immigration, expansion, and assimilation, merged to create Chinese culture.
With the rise of Western economic and military power over China beginning in the mid-19th century, however, non-Chinese systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers totally rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures.
In essence, the history of 20th century China is one of experimentation to find a new system of social, political, and economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.
The history of China is told in traditional historical records that go back to the Three sovereigns and five emperors about 5,000 years ago, supplemented by archaeological records dating to the 16th century BC. China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. Turtle shells with markings reminiscent of ancient Chinese writing from the Shang Dynasty have been carbon dated to around 1500 BC. Chinese civilization originated with city-states in the Yellow River valley.
221 BC is the commonly accepted year when China became unified under a large kingdom or empire. Successive dynasties in Chinese history developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor of China to control the large territory.
The foundations of Chinese civilization were the Qin Dynasty Emperor's imposition of a common system of writing in the 3rd century BC and the development of a state ideology based on Confucianism in the 2nd century BC.
China alternated between periods of political unity and disunity, with occasionally conquests by foreign peoples, some of whom were assimilated into the Chinese population.
Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, carried by successive waves of immigration, expansion, and assimilation, merged to create Chinese culture.
Today's developmentIn the 50 years since the founding of the PRC, culture and art have experienced many ups and downs. Soon after the founding of the PRC, culture and art started to develop smoothly, and remarkable achievements were made. However, beginning in the late 1950s, especially during the ten years of the .cultural revolution,. culture and art suffered enormously, and literary and artistic productivity was greatly hampered.
Since the initiation of the reform and opening policies in 1978, cultural and artistic work has made a sturdy revival. Since 1987, China has regularly held the Chinese Art Festival to introduce outstanding literary and art works. The cultural market is developing rapidly, and breakthroughs have been made in the construction of cultural facilities.
Chinese acrobatics, songs, dances, Peking opera, local operas and symphonies have been well received in many countries. Exhibitions of Chinese cultural relics and handicrafts attract swarms of visitors wherever in the world they are staged.
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