CHAPTER 26 SECTION 2

History and Culture of China

I. China’s early historyA. Early civ. was one of the most

advanced in worldB. Many inventions

1. magnetic compass 4. printing 2. gun powder 5. silk 3. paper 6. fireworks

C. 4,000 year old civilizationD. China’s dynasties

1. dynasty: a series of rulers from the same family line

2. most of history ruled by dynasties

3. rulers called emperors4. between dynasties kingdoms and

warlords fought for power

5. sometime ruled by invaders 6. Qin (Ch’in) dyn. one of most impt.

a. 1st to unite China under 1 empireb. Great Wall builtc. Shi Huangdi had thousands of terra cotta soldiers made to guard his tomb

7. Qing last dynasty

E. Outside influences in China1. often had limited contact

w/outside world (superior culture and little use for foreigners)

2. outsiders wanted tea and silk

3. Europeans in 1800s forced China to open up and controlled parts

4. Chinese angry and blamed emperor

5. some western ideas adopted

II. China’s Modern HistoryA. Revolution and civil war

1. 1911 last emperor forced out of power

2. China became a republic 3. two rival groups fought for power

a. Nationalist led by Chiang Kai-Shekb. Communist led by Mao Zedong

4. violent civil war ended in 1949 with communist as victors (nationalist fled to Taiwan)

B. Communist China under Mao1. communist system-gov’t owned

most businesses and land and controls all areas of life.

2. Mao took control of economy a. seized all private farms and

organized them into lg, state-run b. took over all businesses and

factories

3. Positive and negative changes a. women more rights; able to work

b. freedoms limited and ppl imprisoned if criticized gov’t

c. unsuccessful economic programs (millions died from famine in 1960s)

C. Communist China since Mao 1. Mao died 1976 – Deng Xiaoping next leader

2. Deng worked to modernize and improve China’s economya. some private businessb. encouraged foreign investment

3. leaders after Deng encouraged economic reforms

III. China’s People and CultureA. 1.3 billion ppl – world’s lgest pop.B. Population and settlement

1. 10% in west 2. 90% packed in east 3. pop continues to grow (7.5 million/yr)

a. gov’t tries to slow growthb. ppl encouraged to wait to have children and to only have one

C. Ethnic groups and language 1. 92% Han Chinese

a. share same culture and traditions

b. many speak Mandarin (China’s official language)

c. others speak a dialect or regional version of a language

2. 55 other ethnic groupsa. most live in western and southern China

b. have own distinct cultureD. Religion, values and beliefs

1. religious practices discouraged by gov’t

2. Daoisma. ppl live simply in harmony with nature

b. Dao means “the way”

3. Buddhism a. came from India in AD 100 b. based on teaching s of Siddhartha Gautama

c. believe in moral behavior, kindness and meditation

4. Daoism and Buddhism blended with Confucianisma. a philosophy based on ideas and teachings of Confucius

b. stresses impt of family, moral values and respect for elders

5. other religionsa. Christianityb. Islamc. ancestor worshipd. fortune telling

E. Arts and popular culture 1. crafts made from

a. bronzeb. jadec. ivoryd. silke. woodf. porcelain (highly prized)

2. traditional paintinga. done on silk or fine paperb. focus on balance and harmony with nature

c. landscapes most populard. often includes calligraphy (decorative writing)

e. some feature calligraphy only

3. known for poetrya. highly valuedb. appears on paintingsc. also novels and plays

4. opera is populara. tells stories through spoken words, music and dance

b. wear elaborate costumes and makeup that have special meanings

5. traditional architecturea. wooden bldgs w/stone basesb. lg tiled roofs curve upward at edge

c. pagodas: Buddhist temples that have multi-storied towers w/ an upward carving roof at each floor

6. popular culturea. sportsb. martial artsc. table tennisd. mah-jongge. karaoke clubs