China

China ( : Chung1kuo²) is a, ancient , and in. It is one of the world's oldest s, consisting of states and dating back more than six millennia. The stalemate of the last has resulted in two political states using the name China: the ', commonly known as China, which controls, , and ; and the ', commonly known as , which controls the island of  and its. However, the areas administered by the ROC is only considered not a part of China by a few countries, see .

China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. It has the world's longest continuously used, and the source of some of the , including the : , the , , and.

Etymology
China is called Zhongguo (中國 or 中国) in Mandarin Chinese. The first character zhōng (中) means "middle" or "central," while guó (国 or 國) means "state". The term is commonly literally translated into English as "Middle Kingdom", but is also sometimes translated as "Central Kingdom." In ancient times the name referred to the "Central States" along the Yellow River valley and was not associated with any single political entity. The nomenclature gradually evolved to mean the lands under direct imperial rule.

and many other languages use various forms of the name "China" and the "Sino-" or "Sin-". These forms are thought to derive from the name of the that first unified the country (221–206 ). The pronunciation of "Qin" is similar to "Chin", which is considered the possible root of the word "China".

History
was one of the earliest centers of human. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent independently, the others being, , ,  , and.

Prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest humans in China date to 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago. A cave in (near present-day ) has fossils dated at somewhere between 300,000 to 550,000 years.

The earliest evidence of a fully modern human in China comes from, , where a cranium has been found and dated to approximately 67,000 years ago. Although much controversy persists over the dating of the Liujiang remains, a partial skeleton from Minatogawa in,  has been dated to 18,250 ± 650 to 16,600 ± 300 years ago, so modern humans must have reached China before that time.

Dynastic rule
Chinese tradition names the first, but it was considered mythical until scientific excavations found early  sites at  in  Province. Archaeologists have since uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs in locations cited as Xia's in ancient historical texts, but it is impossible to verify that these remains are of the Xia without written records from the period.

The second dynasty, the loosely feudal, definitely settled along the in eastern China from the 18th to the 12th century BCE. They were invaded from the west by the, who ruled from the 12th to the 5th century BCE. The centralized authority of the Zhou was slowly eroded by warlords. Many strong, independent states continually warring with each other in the, only occasionally deferring to the Zhou king.

The first unified Chinese state was established by the in 221 BCE, when the office of the  was set up and the Chinese language was forcibly standardized. This state did not last long, as its policies soon led to widespread rebellion.

The subsequent ruled China between 206 BCE and 220 CE, and created a lasting  among its populace that would last to the present day. The Han Dynasty expanded China's territory considerably with military campaigns reaching, , and , and also helped establish the  in Central Asia.

After Han's collapse, another period of disunion followed, including the highly chivalric period of the. Independent Chinese states of this period also opened diplomatic relations with, introducing the Chinese writing system there. In 580 CE, China was reunited under the. However, the Sui Dynasty was short-lived after a failure in the (598–614) weakened it. Under the succeeding and  dynasties, Chinese technology and culture reached its zenith. The Song dynasty was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese to establish a permanent standing navy. Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size. This growth came about through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China, along with the production of abundant food surpluses. Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people. The Song Dynasty was a culturally rich period in China for the arts, philosophy, and social life. and s were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity since the Tang Dynasty, and social elites gathered to view art, share their own, and make trades of precious artworks. s such as and  reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused  ideals, and emphasis on new organization of classic texts that brought about the core doctrine of.

In 1271, the leader and the fifth  of the   established the, with the last remnant of the Song Dynasty falling to the Yuan in 1279. A peasant named overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the. Ming Dynasty thinkers such as would further critique and expand Neo-Confucianism with ideas of  and innate morality that would have tremendous impact on later Japanese thought. also became a nominal vassal state of Ming China and adopted much of its Neo-Confucian bureaucratic structure. China's capital was moved from to  during the early Ming Dynasty. The Ming fell to the in 1644, who then established the. An estimated 25 million people died during the Manchu conquest of Ming Dynasty (1616–1644).

The Qing Dynasty, which lasted until 1912, was the last dynasty in China. In the 19th century the Qing Dynasty adopted a defensive posture towards European, even though it engaged in expansion into Central Asia itself. At this time China awoke to the significance of the rest of the world, in particular the West. As China opened up to foreign trade and missionary activity, produced by  was forced onto Qing China. Two s with Britain weakened the Emperor's control.

One result was the which lasted from 1851 to 1862. It was led by, who was partly influenced by a misinterpretation of. Hong believed himself to be the son of and the younger brother of. Although the Qing forces were eventually victorious, the civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history, costing at least twenty million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the ), with some estimates up to two-hundred million. In addition, more costly rebellions in terms of human lives and economics followed the Taiping Rebellion such as the (1855–1867),  (1851–1868),  (1862–1877),  (1856–1873) and the Miao Rebellion (1854–1873). These rebellions resulted in an estimated loss of several million lives for each rebellion and in disastrous results for the economy and the countryside. The flow of British opium led to more decline.

While China was torn by continuous war, succeeded in rapidly modernizing its military with its sights on Korea and Manchuria. Maneuvered by Japan, declared independence from Qing China's  in 1894, leading to the, which resulted in China's humiliating secession of both Korea and  to Japan. Following these series of defeats, for Qing China to become a modern Meiji-style  was drafted by the  in 1898, but was opposed and stopped by the Empress Dowager, who placed Emperor Guangxu under house arrest in a coup d'état. Further destruction followed the ill-fated 1900 against westerners in. By the early 20th century, mass civil disorder had begun, and calls for reform and revolution were heard across the country. The 38 year old Emperor Guangxu died under house arrest on November 14, 1908, suspiciously just a day before Cixi. With the throne empty, he was succeeded by Cixi's handpicked heir, his two year old nephew, who became the Xuantong Emperor, the last Chinese emperor. Guangxu's consort, who became the, signed the abdication decree as regent in 1912, ending two thousand years of imperial rule in China. She died, childless, in 1913.

Republic of China (1912–1949)
On January 1, 1912, the was established, heralding the end of the. of the (KMT or Nationalist Party), was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However,, a former Qing general who had defected to the revolutionary cause, soon usurped the presidency by forcing Sun to step aside. Yuan then attempted to have himself instated emperor of a new dynasty, but died of natural causes before securing power over all of the.

After Yuan Shikai's death, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally recognized, but virtually powerless, national government seated in Beijing. Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to (Nanking) and implementing "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's program for transforming China into a modern, democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang.

The (part of ) forced an uneasy alliance between the Nationalists and the Communists as well as causing around 10 million Chinese civilian deaths. With the in 1945, China emerged victorious but financially drained. The continued distrust between the Nationalists and the Communists led to the resumption of the. In 1947, constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing Civil War many provisions of the ROC constitution were never implemented on the mainland.

The People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (1949–present)
After its victory in the, the , led by , gained control of most of the Mainland China. On October 1, 1949, they established the People's Republic of China, laying claim as the of the ROC. The central government of the Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek was forced to retreat to the island of that it had occupied at the end of World War II and moved the ROC government there. Major armed hostilities ceased in 1950 but no peace treaty has been signed.

Beginning in the late 1970s, the Republic of China began the implementation of full, multi-party, in the territories still under its control (, and a number of smaller islands including  and ). 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 movements starting in the late 1950s with the  and continued in the 1960s with the  that left much of its education system and economy in shambles. With the death of its first generation Communist Party leaders such as and, the PRC began implementing a series of political and economic reforms advocated by  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, jailing of and , custody  of the press, regulation of religion, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989, the at  were violently put to an end by the Chinese military after 15 days of martial law. In 1997 was returned to the PRC by the  and in 1999  was returned by.

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 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. However following the introduction to full democracy, the ROC does not pursue any of its claims and has moved away from identifying itself with "China" and increasingly identifies itself as "Taiwan". The ROC has not made formal moves to change the name, flag, or national anthem of the ROC to reflect a Taiwan identity in part due to U.S. pressure and in part due to fear that the PRC will follow through on threats to invade. The PRC claims to have succeeded the ROC as the legitimate governing authority of all of China, which the PRC claims includes 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 and the. Today, there are that maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC while the majority of the U.N. member states maintain official diplomatic relations with the PRC.

Historical political divisions
Top-level political divisions of China have altered as administrations changed. Top levels included s and s. Below that, there have been s, s,, , s, and. Recent divisions also include, , s and s.

Most Chinese dynasties were based in the historical heartlands of China, known as. Various dynasties also into peripheral territories like, , , and. The -established and its successors, the ROC and the PRC, incorporated these territories into China. China proper is generally thought to be bounded by the and the edge of the. and are found to the north of the, and the boundary between them can either be taken as the present border between  and the  provinces, or the more historic border of the -era  of. 's borders correspond to today's administrative. Historic occupies all of the. China is traditionally divided into north and south, the boundary being the and.

Geography and climate


China ranges from mostly and  in the west to lower lands in the east. Principal s flow from west to east, including the (central), the  (Yellow river, north-central), and the  (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the, , and ), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the.

In the east, along the shores of the and the  there are extensive and densely populated  plains. On the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen. Southern China is dominated by hills and low s. In the central-east are the of China's two major rivers, the  and. Most of China's arable lands lie along these rivers; they were the centers of China's major ancient civilizations. Other major rivers include the, , and. Yunnan Province is considered a part of the Greater Mekong Subregion, which also includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

In the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast  traversed by  ranges of moderate elevation, and the s, containing Earth's highest point,. The northwest also has high plateaus with more arid landscapes such as the  and the, which has been expanding. During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high s and deep valleys of, which separate modern China from , and.

The formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the  system, are, while the  and  deposits are  and  or else of terrestrial origin. Groups of cones occur in the Great Plain of north China. In the and  Peninsulas, there are ic plateaus.

The of China varies greatly. The northern zone (containing Beijing) has summer daytime temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and winters of severity. The central zone (containing ) has a  with very hot summers and cold winters. The southern zone (containing ) has a climate with very hot summers and mild winters.

Due to a prolonged and poor agricultural practices, s have become usual in the spring in China. Dust has blown to southern China and Taiwan, and has even reached the West Coast of the. Water,, and pollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries.

Culture
Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of 's history, and mastery of Confucian texts was the primary criterion for. China's traditional values were derived from various versions of. A number of more strains of thought have also been influential, such as. There was often conflict between the philosophies, e.g. the  believed  departed from the original spirit of Confucianism. Examinations and a remain greatly valued in China today. In recent years, a number of (not to be confused with Neo-Confucianism) have advocated that democratic ideals and human rights are quite compatible with traditional Confucian "Asian values". With the rise of Western and  power beginning in the mid-19th century, 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 with new systems of social,, and economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.

Arts, scholarship, and literature


s have had many variants and styles throughout Chinese history. Tens of thousands of ancient written documents are still extant, from to Qing edicts. This literary emphasis affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, e.g. the view that was a higher art form than painting or drama. Manuscripts of the Classics and religious texts (mainly, , and ) were handwritten by. Calligraphy later became commercialized, and works by famous artists became prized possessions.

has a long past; the earliest classic work in Chinese, the  or "Book of Changes" dates to around 1000 BCE. A flourishing of philosophy during the produced such noteworthy works as Confucius's ' and 's '. (See also the .) Dynastic histories were often written, beginning with 's seminal  written from 109 BCE to 91 BCE. The Tang Dynasty witnessed a flowering, while the  of Chinese literature were written during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

in the form of was developed during the. Academies of scholars sponsored by the empire were formed to comment on the classics in both printed and handwritten form. Royalty frequently participated in these discussions as well. The Song Dynasty was also a period of great scientific literature, such as 's Xin Yixiang Fayao and 's . There were also enormous works of historiography and large encyclopedias, such as 's ' of 1084 CE or the ' fully compiled and edited by the 11th century.

For centuries, economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on the s. This led to a, although it was available only to males who could afford test preparation. Imperial examinations required applicants to write essays and demonstrate mastery of the Confucian classics. Those who passed the highest level of the exam became elite scholar-officials known as jinshi, a highly esteemed socio-economic position.

Chinese philosophers, writers and poets were highly respected and played key roles in preserving and promoting the culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for their daring depictions of the lives of the common people, often to the displeasure of authorities.

The Chinese invented numerous s, such as the (zither with movable bridges),  (bridgeless zither),  (free reed mouth organ), and  (vertical flute) and adopted and developed others such the  (alto fiddle or bowed lute) and  (pear-shaped plucked lute), many of which have later spread throughout  and, particularly to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Demography
Hundreds of have existed in China throughout its history. The largest ethnic group in China by far is the. This group is diverse in itself and can be divided into smaller ethnic groups that share some traits.

Over the last three millennia, many previously distinct ethnic groups in China have been into a Han identity, which over time dramatically expanded the size of the Han population. However, these assimilations were usually incomplete and vestiges of indigenous language and culture often are still retained in different regions of China. Because of this, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions, though still identifying as Han. Several ethnicities have also dramatically shaped Han culture, e.g. the Manchurian clothing called the became the new "Chinese" fashion after the 17th century, replacing earlier Han styles of clothing such as the. The modern term (Zhonghua Minzu) is now used to describe a notion of a Chinese nationality that transcends ethnic divisions.

Languages
Most languages in China belong to the language family, spoken by 29 ethnicities. There are also several major  within the itself. The most spoken dialects are (spoken by over 70% of the population),  (Shanghainese),   (Cantonese),, , , and. Non-Sinitic languages spoken widely by ethnic minorities include (Thai),, ,  (Turkic),  and.

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. or baihua is the written standard based on the Mandarin dialect first popularized in Ming dynasty 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


The "official" orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China until the overthrow of the last dynasty is a system, centering on the worship of "" as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of and  or the introduction of  and. It has features of a 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  (literally "Emperor Above"). Worship of Heaven includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the 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 's  (The Book of Tao and Its Virtues) or to seminal works by. The philosophy of Taoism is centered on ""; 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, Sun Tzu's , and.

Buddhism was introduced from and  during the  and became very popular among Chinese of all walks of life, embraced particularly by commoners, and sponsored by emperors in certain dynasties. (大乘, Dacheng) is the predominant form of Buddhism practiced in China, where it was largely and later exported to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Some subsets of Mahayana popular in China include  and. 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.

is a major religious theme shared among all Chinese religions. Traditional Chinese culture, Taoism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism all value as a top, 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 and candles, and burn offerings of. These activities are typically conducted at the site of ancestral graves or tombs, at an ancestral temple, or at a household shrine.

, and Christianity first arrived in China after the 7th century CE during the. Islam was later spread by merchants and craftsmen as trade routes improved along the, while Christianity began to make significant inroads in China after the 16th century through and later. Islam arrived in China during the 8th century, only a few years after the 's death. The Emperor of China took Islam highly, and the first mosque in China, the was built in Canton,  in 630 AD. In the first half of the 20th century, many  arrived in  and  during those cities' periods of economic expansion and also sought refuge from  in. Shanghai was particularly notable for its volume of Jewish refugees, as it was the only port in the world then to accept them without an entry visa.

Sports and recreation


Many historians believe that  originated in China, where a form of the sport may have appeared around 1000 CE. Other popular sports include, , , and more recently,. is now popular among young people in crowded urban centers. In Taiwan, baseball is more popular due to American and Japanese influences.

There are also many traditional sports. Chinese occurs during the. In, Mongolian-style wrestling and are popular. In, archery and are part of traditional festivals.

China has become a sports power, especially in Asia. It has finished first in medal counts in each of the Asian Games since 1982, and in the top four in medal counts in each of the Summer Olympic Games since 1992. The, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in. Currently, China is heavily preparing for the games.

is highly regarded. It is common for the elderly to practice and  in parks.

such as, (Weiqi), and  (Chinese chess) are also common and have organized formal competitions.

Science and technology


Among the scientific accomplishments of were  (not ) and,  and  , the early lodestone and magnetic , , , early  detectors, es, s, s, sliding , the double-action ,  and , the  , the multi-tube , the , the , the ,  as fuel, the  mechanism for s, the  for the , the -powered , the hydraulic-powered , the mechanical , the mechanical , the , the , the , the , the , the , etc. Chinese were among the first to record observations of a. The work of the astronomer (1031–1095) alone was most impressive, as he theorized that the sun and moon were spherical, corrected the position of the  with his improved sighting tube, discovered the concept of, wrote of s such as , and compared the al paths of the planets to points on the shape of a rotating  leaf. With evidence for them, he also postulated theories for the processes of land formation in  and  in. Yet there were many other astronomers than Shen Kuo, such as, , , , , , etc. evolved independently of and is therefore of great interest in the. The Chinese were also keen on documenting all of their technological achievements, such as in the Tiangong Kaiwu written by  (1587–1666).

China's and  fell behind that of  by the 17th century. Political, social and cultural reasons have been given for this, although recent historians focus more on economic causes, such as the. Since the PRC's market reforms China has become better connected to the global economy and is placing greater emphasis on science and technology.