Asian Studies in Credo: China

Mandarin Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo [central glorious people's united country; i.e., people's republic], officially People's Republic of China, country. Since the 2d millennium B.C. a unique and fairly uniform culture has spread over almost all of China. Today, one in five people in the world lives in China. This vast country is almost the same size as the whole of Europe, and is the third largest country in the world after Russia and Canada. China has a 4,000-mi (6,400-km) coast that fronts on the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea.

Subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages (see Sino-Tibetan languages), which is also sometimes grouped with the Tai, or Thai, languages in a Sinitic subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan language stock.

Member of any of the various Mongol (or Mongolian) ethnic groups of central Asia. Mongols live in Mongolia, Russia, Inner Mongolia (China), Tibet, and Nepal. In the early 13th century, united under Genghis Khan, the Mongols from 1206 to 1226 conquered central Asia, attacked Eastern Europe and established the Mongolian Empire, a rather loosely constructed federation of tribal groups.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Quasi-legendary first dynasty of China, preceding the Shang.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Or Yin, dynasty of China, which ruled, according to traditional dates, from c.1766 B.C. to c.1122 B.C. or, according to some modern scholars, from c.1523 B.C. to c.1027 B.C.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Chinese succession of rulers c. 1066–256 BC, during which cities emerged and philosophy flourished. The dynasty was established by the Zhou, a semi-nomadic people from the Wei Valley region, west of the great bend in the Huang He (Yellow River). Zhou influence waned from 403 BC, as the Warring States era began.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(221-207 BC) Dynasty that established the first great Chinese empire.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(hän), dynasty of China that ruled from 202 B.C. to A.D. 220. Liu Pang, the first Han emperor, had been a farmer, minor village official, and guerrilla fighter under the Ch'in dynasty.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Period of Chinese history from 220 to 265, after the collapse of the Han dynasty.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Following the North-South Disunion (220-589), China was reunited by a Xianbei aristocrat from north China, Yan Jian (Wendi), founder of the Sui dynasty.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907. It was founded by Li Yuan and his son Li Shih-min, with the aid of Turkish allies.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Period of Chinese history between the fall of the T'ang dynasty (A.D. 907) and the establishment of the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960).

Dynasty of China that ruled 960–1279. It was divided into two periods: Northern Sung (907–1126) with its capital at Kaifeng and Southern Sung (1127–1279) with its capital at Hangzhou.

Mongol dynasty of China that ruled from 1271 to 1368. It was a division of the great empire conquered by the Mongols. Kublai Khan, who adopted the Chinese dynastic name Yüan in 1271, swept down from N China, which the Mongols had ruled since the 1230s, and finally defeated the Sung dynasty in 1279.

The first Ming emperor, Chu Yüan-chang (ruled 1368–98), a former Buddhist monk, joined a rebellion in progress, gained control of it, overthrew the Mongol Yüan dynasty, and unified all of China proper.

(1644–1912) The last imperial Chinese dynasty. Originating from the Tungusic tribes to the NE, and the Jin dynasty which ruled the N in the Song period (12th–13th Century), they took the appellation Manchu in 1635, and the dynastic title Qing in 1636. The dynasty was overthrown by revolutionaries in 1911, a revolutionary government was established, and the last emperor abdicated in 1912.

Mandarin Sun Wen, 1866–1925, Chinese revolutionary. He was born near Guangzhou into a farm-owning family.

Chinese Nationalist leader. He was also called Chiang Chung-cheng.

Chinese statesman, founder and chairman (1949-76) of the People's Republic of China. Mao was a founder member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921.

The Lunar New Year has certain variations from country to country, but they all include offerings to the household god(s), housecleaning and new clothes, a large banquet, ancestor worship, and firecrackers.

The buildings and other structures created in China from prehistoric times to the present day.

Fortifications, c.1,500 mi (2,400 km) long, winding across N China from Gansu prov. to Hebei prov. on the Yellow Sea.

General term for the political and economic theory that advocates a system of collective or government ownership and management of the means of production and distribution of goods. Note: socialism is much used, and abused, term. It can be employed to refer to quite different social and political systems.

Collective name for a group of countries under the control of a single country or dynasty.

A form of government in which the people govern themselves or elect representatives to govern them. Term originating in ancient Greece to designate a government where the people share in directing the activities of the state, as distinct from governments controlled by a single class, select group, or autocrat.

Communism (from the Latin communis, meaning "shared" or "common"); fundamentally, a system of social organization in which property (especially real property and the means of production) is held in common. Advocates public ownership and communal control of the major means of production, distribution, transportation, and communication. Although modern communism is associated with ideas advanced by German political philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and Russian Communist leader and theorist Vladimir I. Lenin, its intellectual roots are as old as Plato's republic in the fourth century BCE.

Economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, in which personal profit can be acquired through investment of capital and employment of labor. Capitalism is characterized by private property and freely functioning markets without central planning. Prices in capitalist economic systems are determined by the free and open exchanges of buyers and sellers guided by self-interest but constrained by both an ethical consensus and the rule of law.

Series of great political upheavals in China between 1911 and 1949 which eventually led to Communist Party rule and the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Five-year economic plan begun by Mao Zedong in China in 1958. It aimed to double industrial production and boost agricultural output in record time. The plan mobilized tens of millions of workers. Collective farms merged into communes, but a succession of poor harvests dashed progress. After four years, the government admitted the failure of the plan.

From Philip's Encyclopedia
(1966-76) The "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" was initiated by Mao Zedong and his wife, Jiang Qing, to purge the Chinese Communist Party of his opponents and instil 'correct' revolutionary attitudes after dissent over the failure of the Great Leap Forward. By 1968, China was approaching civil war and the Cultural Revolution transformed into a struggle for the succession to Mao.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Redistribution of the agricultural resources of a country. Traditionally, agrarian, or land, reform is confined to the redistribution of land; in a broader sense it includes related changes in agricultural institutions, including credit, taxation, rents, and cooperatives.

Political system under which the state (rather than the individual or the private sector) has responsibility for the welfare of its citizens.

Gradual achievement of independence by former colonies of the European imperial powers, which began after World War I.

Or public charity, organized provision of educational, cultural, medical, and financial assistance to the needy. Modern social welfare measures may include any of the following: the care of destitute adults; the treatment of the mentally ill; the rehabilitation of criminals; the care of destitute, neglected, and delinquent children; the care and relief of the sick or handicapped; the care and relief of needy families; and supervisory, educational, and constructive activity, especially for the young.

World War I ended in November 1918. At the beginning of 1919 the victorious allies met at the French Palace of Versailles, near Paris. Their aim was to decide how to treat the defeated enemy (Germany) and to redraw the map of Europe.

Formulation of a peace program, presented at the end of World War I by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in an address before both houses of Congress on Jan. 8, 1918.

A form of political and social organization typical of Western Europe from the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire to the rise of the absolute monarchies.

The concept of feminism is not universal and has many forms (e.g., liberal, radical, womanism) and definitions. However, there are three characteristics that are shared by most, if not all, forms of feminism. First is the recognition that women are treated differently than men, and are in the subordinate role in society. Second, feminists view gender and gender roles as socially constructed (and thus capable of change) and as differentially valued within society. Third, feminism holds that women can be autonomous and self-reliant. The main goal of feminism is gender equality.

Severe shortage of food affecting a large number of people, usually caused by a population explosion or failure of food crops. In the past, famines have been defined as discrete events, where a large proportion of a population dies of starvation and disease caused by undernourishment.

Two wars, the First Opium War (1839–42) and the Second Opium War (1856–60), waged by Britain against China to enforce the opening of Chinese ports to trade in opium. Opium from British India paid for Britain's imports from China, such as porcelain, silk, and, above all, tea.

War between the Central European Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and allies) on one side and the Triple Entente (Britain and the British Empire, France, and Russia) and their allies, including the USA (which entered in 1917), on the other side.

War between Germany, Italy, and Japan (the Axis powers) on one side, and Britain, the Commonwealth, France, the USA, the USSR, and China (the Allies) on the other.

Broadly, the extension of rule or influence by one government, nation, or society over another. Evidence of the existence of empires dates back to the dawn of written history in Egypt and in Mesopotamia, where local rulers extended their realms by conquering other states and holding them, when possible, in a state of subjection.

Substance derived by collecting and drying the milky juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. Opium varies in color from yellow to dark brown and has a characteristic odor and a bitter taste.

Officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy.

Country in southwestern Europe, on the Atlantic Ocean, bounded north and east by Spain.

Name given to the United Provinces, a federation of states in the northern Netherlands 1579-1795.

Officially French Republic, republic, 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel (N), the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay (W), Spain and Andorra (SW), the Mediterranean Sea (S), Switzerland and Italy (SE), and Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium (NE).

Located in the center of Europe, it borders the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France on the west; Switzerland and Austria on the south; the Czech Republic and Poland on the east; Denmark on the north; and the Baltic Sea on the northeast.

Jap. Nihon or Nippon, country, 145,833 sq mi (377,835 sq km), occupying an archipelago off the coast of E Asia. The capital is Tokyo, which, along with neighboring Yokohama, forms the world's most populous metropolitan region. Historically, the divine design of the empire—supposedly founded in 660 B.C. by the emperor Jimmu, a lineal descendant of the sun goddess and ancestor of the present emperor—was held as official dogma until 1945.

Federal republic, North America; Lower 48 bounded on N by Canada, on E by the Atlantic Ocean, on S by Mexico and Gulf of Mexico, and on W by the Pacific Ocean.