The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6700 km, was first erected in the 3rd century B.C. to protect the north from nomadic invaders and has been rebuilt several times since.

China listen ▶(?) (Traditional: 中國; Simplified: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo) refers to a number of states and cultures that have existed and are viewed as having succeeded one another in continental East Asia, dating back at least 3,500 years. China as it exists today has been variously described in different points of view as a single civilization or multiple civilizations, as a single state or multiple states, and as a single nation or multiple nations. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 4638 KB) Description: File links The following pages link to this file: China ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 4638 KB) Description: File links The following pages link to this file: China ... The Great Wall of China (Traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; Simplified Chinese: 万里长城; pinyin: , literally the Long City/Fortress of 10,000 Li¹), is an ancient Chinese fortification built from the end of the 14th century until the beginning of the 17th century, during the Ming Dynasty, in order to protect China from raids... (4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Great Wall of China begun Indian traders regularly visited Arabia Scythians occupy... Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ... Image File history File links Zh-zhongguo. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Pinyin (Chinese: 拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Dymaxion map by Buckminster Fuller shows land mass with minimal distortion as only one continuous continent A continent (Latin continere, to hold together) is a large continuous land mass. ... Geographic scope of East Asia East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... A civilization (American English) or civilisation (British English) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ...

With one of the world's longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and the world's longest continuously used written language system, China's history has been largely characterized by repeated divisions and reunifications amid alternating periods of peace and war, and violent imperial dynastic change. The country's territorial extent expanded outwards from a core area in the North China Plain, and varied according to its moving fortunes to include multiple regions of East, Northeast, and Central Asia. For centuries, Imperial China was also one of the world's most technologically advanced civilizations, and East Asia's dominant cultural influence, with an impact lasting to the present day throughout the region. World History is a discrete field of historical study that originated in the 1980s. ... China is one of the worlds oldest continuous major civilizations, with written records dating back 3,500 years. ... The concept of peace ranks among the most controversial in our time. ... War is essentially the opposite of peace. ... Imperial is a term that is used to describe something that relates to an Empire, Emperor, or the concept of Imperialism. ... The following is a timeline of the history of China: For a summary table of the dynasties in Chinese history and their dates, check here. ... Look up Country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical territory. ... The North China Plain (Chinese: 华北平原; pinyin: ) also called the Middle Plain (Chinese: 中原; pinyin: ), is made of the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... Geographic scope of East Asia East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... China is the worlds oldest continuous major civilization, with written records dating back about 3,500 years and with 5,000 years being commonly used by Chinese as the age of their civilization. ... See also: Innovation By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a level of technological mastery sufficient to leave the surface of the planet for the first time and explore space. ... Look up Culture in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikinews has news related to this article: Culture and entertainment Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Cultural Development in Antiquity Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Culture and Civilization in Modern Times Classificatory system for cultures and civilizations, by Dr. Sam Vaknin...

By the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, China's political, economic, and military influence declined relative to growing regional power Japan and the influence of Western powers. Semi-colonialism developed by the late nineteenth century in parts of China, and the country was invaded by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The imperial system in China ended with the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) under Sun Yat-sen in 1912; however, the next four decades of ROC rule were marred by warlord control, the Second Sino-Japanese War (WWII), and the Chinese Civil War which pitted Chinese Nationalists against the Communist forces. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... The Western World The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial conquest or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. ... Flag of Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan (大日本帝国; Dai-Nippon/-Nihon Teikoku) commonly refers to Japan from the Meiji Restoration until the end of World War II. Politically, it covers the period from the enforced establishment of prefectures in place of feudal domains (廃藩置県; Hai-han Chi-ken) in July 14... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... China is the worlds oldest continuous major civilization, with written records dating back about 3,500 years and with 5,000 years being commonly used by Chinese as the age of their civilization. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary leader who had a significant role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. ... German Emperors bore the title of Warlord (German: Kriegsherr), sometimes as a formal label of honour, sometimes in grim earnest. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China Imperial Japanese Army, Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Zhu De, He Yingqin Tojo Hideki, Matsui Iwane, Minami Jiro, Kesago Nakajima, Toshizo Nishio, Neiji Okamura. ... The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: 國共内戰; Simplified Chinese: 国共内战; pinyin: ; literally Nationalist-Communist Civil War) was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... KMT is the Nationalist Party of China. ... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: ) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, forcing the Republic of China (ROC) to retreat to the island of Taiwan, which it had governed since the end of World War II. Since then, the ROC has maintained administrative control over Taiwan, the Pescadores, several islands off the coast of Fujian province, and some islands in the South China Sea. The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: 國共内戰; Simplified Chinese: 国共内战; pinyin: ; literally Nationalist-Communist Civil War) was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: ) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... â–¶(?) (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976; Mao Tse-tung in Wade-Giles) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... The Pescadores Islands (Chinese: 澎湖群島; Wade-Giles: Peng-hu; Pinyin: Pénghú, from Portuguese, fishermen) are an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait. ... Fujian (Chinese: 福建; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... A province, in the context of China, is a translation of sheng (省 shÄ›ng), which is an administrative division of China. ... The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans The South China Sea is a marginal sea, part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². It is the largest sea body after the five...

Terminology

Main article: Names of China

The different usages and names for China in world languages are generally consistent with how knowledge of Chinas existence first reached each culture, by two distinct routes: the northern land-route through Central Asia to East Asia The land of the Seres became known in the Europe as the...

"Zhongguo"

The Summer Palace, or Yihe Yuan, Beijing, China.

China is called Zhongguo in Mandarin Chinese (Simplified: 中国, Traditional: 中國; also romanized as Jhongguo or Chung-kuo), which is usually translated as "Middle Kingdom", but could also be translated as "Central State" or "Central Country". Zhong (中) means "middle" or "center" while guo (国 or 國) means "country," "kingdom," "state," or "land", referring to the claim that China stood at the centre of that society's "known world", surrounded by lesser tributary states. Image File history File links Belvedere_of_the_God_of_Literature,_Summer_Palace. ... Image File history File links Belvedere_of_the_God_of_Literature,_Summer_Palace. ... The Summer Palace in Beijing. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... In linguistics, romanization or latinization is a system for representing a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, where the original word or language used a different writing system. ... A tributary state is an independent state that has to acknowledge the supremacy of another state and pay tribute to its ruler. ...

The term has not been used consistently throughout Chinese history, however, and carries certain cultural and political connotations both positive and negative, some ideological, and early states considered part of Chinese history are not called "Zhongguo". During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was used only to describe the states politically descended from the Western Zhou Dynasty, in the Yellow River (Huang He) valley, to the exclusion of states such as Chu and Qin. The "Chinese" thus defined their nation as culturally and politically distinct from - and as the axis mundi of surrounding nations; a concept that continued well into the Qing Dynasty, although being continually redefined while the central political influence expanded territorially, and its culture assimilated alien influences. Han chauvinism (大汉族主义) or Hanism (汉本位) is a highly pejorative term which is used in the Peoples Republic of China to refer to policies and viewpoints which favor the Han Chinese majority ethnic group in China at the expense of the other minority ethnic groups. ... The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋時代; pinyin: ) represented an era in Chinese history between 722 BC and 481 BC. The period takes its name from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the period whose authorship was traditionally attributed to Confucius. ... Alternative meaning: Zhou Dynasty (690 CE - 705 CE) The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty) (late 10th century BC to late 9th century BC - 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... State of Chu (small seal script, 220 BC) Chu (楚) was a kingdom in what is now southern China during the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BCE) and Warring States (481-212 BCE) period. ... The Qin empire in 210 BC, during the Qin Dynasty. ... Mount Kailash, depicting the holy family of Shiva and Ganesha The axis mundi (world axis), in religion or mythology, is the center of the world and/or the connection between heaven and earth. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Many clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast america receded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner canada, establishing...

Thus Zhongguo quickly came to include areas farther south, as the cultural and political unit (not yet a "nation" or "country" in the modern sense) spread in a southerly direction, including the Yangtze River and Pearl River systems, and by the Tang Dynasty it even included "barbarian" regimes such as the Xianbei and Xiongnu. Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, and the island of Taiwan, over time, came to be dominated (to a greater or lesser extent) by, or officially ruled by, imperial China, and are often included as a part of Zhongguo, though acceptance or denial of such claims remains politically controversial, especially where Zhongguo means PRC. Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River (Simplified Chinese: 扬子江; Traditional Chinese: 揚子江; pinyin: ) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa. ... The Pearl River (珠江 Pinyin: Zhū Jiāng) is Chinas third longest river (2,200 km, after the Yangtze River and the Huang He), and second largest by volume (after the Yangtze). ... Also the name of a rock band. ... Barbarian was originally a Greek term applied to any foreigner, one not sharing a recognized culture or language with the speaker or writer employing the term. ... The Xianbei (鮮卑, written XiānbÄ“i in pinyin or Hsien-pei in Wade-Giles) were a significant nomadic people residing in modern Manchuria and eastern Mongolia before migrating into areas of the modern Chinese provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning. ... A Xiongnu belt buckle. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: (Shinjang)), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng or 藏区 ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ...

During the Han Dynasty and before, Zhongguo had three distinctive meanings: Han commanderies and kingdoms AD 2. ...

1. The area around the capital or imperial domain. The Book of Poetry explicitly gives this definition.
2. Territories under the direct authority of the "central" authorities. The Historical Records states: "Eight mountains are famed in the empire. Three are with the Man and Yi barbarians. Five are in Zhongguo."
3. The area now called the North China Plain. The Sanguo Zhi records the following monologue: "If we can lead the host of Wu and Yue (the area of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang) to oppose Zhongguo, then we should break off relations with them soon." In this sense, the term is synonymous with Hua (華) and Xia (夏).

During the period of division after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the term Zhongguo was subjected to transformation as a result of the surge of nomadic peoples from the northern frontier. This was doubly so after the loss of the Yellow River valley, the cradle of Chinese civilization, to these peoples. For example, the Xianbei called their Northern Wei regime Zhongguo, contrasting it with the Southern Dynasties, which they called the Yi (夷), meaning "barbarian". The southern dynasties, for their part, recently exiled from the north, called the Northern Wei Lu (虏), meaning "criminal" or "prisoner". In this way Zhongguo came to represent political legitimacy. It was used in this manner from the tenth century onwards by the competing dynasties of Liao, Jin and Song. The term Zhongguo came to be related to geographic, cultural and political identity and less to ethnic origin. Shī Jīng (詩經), translated variously as the Classic of Poetry, the Book of Songs or the Book of Odes, is the first major collection of Chinese poems. ... The Records of the Grand Historian or the Records of the Grand Historian of China was the magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the mythical Yellow Emperor until his own time. ... The North China Plain (Chinese: 华北平原; pinyin: ) also called the Middle Plain (Chinese: 中原; pinyin: ), is made of the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... The Sānguó Zhì (Chinese 三国志, or 三國誌), variously translated as Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, Records of the Three States and Records of the Three Kingdoms, was the official and authoritative historical text on the Three Kingdoms Period compiled by Chen Shou during the Jin Dynasty (265-420). ... Wu may refer to: Wu (Chinese word) Wu (region), a region in China, associated with: Wu (linguistics), a subdivision of spoken Chinese spoken in the Wu region State of Wu, a state in the Wu region during the Spring and Autumn Period Kingdom of Wu, a state in southeastern China... Yue can refer to: Yuè ((T: 粵 S: 粤), an abbreviation for Guangdong province of the Peoples Republic of China, and also: Yue, a subdivision of spoken Chinese spoken in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau. ... Jiangsu (Simplified Chinese: 江苏; Traditional Chinese: 江蘇; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ... Zhejiang (Chinese: 浙江; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Che-chiang; Postal System Pinyin: Chehkiang or Chekiang) is a eastern coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Northern Wei Buddha Maitreya, 443 AD. A Buddhist stela from the Northern Wei period, build in the early 6th century. ... The Southern dynasties 南朝 (nanchao in pinyin: nan2 chao2) include Song Dynasty, Qi Dynasty, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty whose capital were all at Jiankang See also:Chinese history, Southern and Northern Dynasty, Chinese sovereign Categories: History of China ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Jin Dynasty (金 pinyin: JÄ«n 1115-1234; Anchu in Jurchen), also known as the Jurchen dynasty, was founded by the Wanyan (完顏 Wányán) clan of the Jurchen, the ancestors of the Manchus who established the Qing Dynasty some 500 years later. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ...

The Republic of China, as it controlled mainland China, and later, the People's Republic of China, have used Zhongguo as an entity existing theoretically to mean all the territories and peoples within their political control as well as those outside of it (people in the Republic of China on Taiwan now usually use Zhongguo to refer to the PRC and use Taiwan to refer to itself). Thus it is asserted that all 56 officially recognized ethnic groups are Zhongguo ren (中國人), or Zhongguo people. Their disparate histories are collectively the history of Zhongguo.

"China"

Xi'an, known as Chang'an in ancient times, was the imperial capital of 13 different historical dynasties (including the Han and Tang dynasties) in China.

English and many other languages use forms of the name China (and the prefix Sino-), which is believed to have derived from the name of the Qin dynasty that first unified the country, even though it is not completely resolved and the origins are still controversial to an extent [1]. Despite the fact that the Qin dynasty was short-lived and was often regarded as overly tyrannical it unified the written language in China and gave the supreme ruler of China the title of "Emperor", hence, the subsequent Silk Road traders would identify themselves by that name. Alternate theories on the origin of the word "China" exist. Image File history File links Xian city wall from zh wiki City wall of Xian is the best preserved city wall in China. ... Image File history File links Xian city wall from zh wiki City wall of Xian is the best preserved city wall in China. ... City nickname: Changan Location Location of Xian Government City Shaanxi Mayor Sun Qingyun Physical characteristics Area      Land      Water 9,983 km²      9,983 km²      0. ... Changan   listen? (Simplified Chinese: 长安; Traditional Chinese: 長安; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chang-an) is the ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in China. ... Han commanderies and kingdoms AD 2. ... Also the name of a rock band. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Look up prefix on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Qin Dynasty (秦朝 Pinyin Qín, Wade-Giles Chin; 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ...

In any circumstance, the word China passed through many languages along the Silk Road before it finally reached Europe and England. The Western "China", transliterated to Shina (支那) has also been used by Japanese since the nineteenth century, and has since evolved into a derogatory term in that language. The Silk Road (Traditional Chinese: 絲綢之路; Simplified Chinese: 丝绸之路; pinyin: sÄ« chóu zhÄ« lù, Persian راه ابریشم Râh-e Abrisham, Turkish: Ä°pekyolu, Kyrgyz: Jibek Jolu,) was an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia traversed by caravan and ocean vessel, and connecting Changan (todays Xian), China, with Antioch, Asia... Shina (支那, シナ) is a Japanese term that is viewed by most Chinese people as a highly offensive racist term for China. ...

The term "China" can narrowly mean China proper, or, often, China proper and Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang, a combination essentially coterminous with the 20th and 21st century political entity China; the boundaries between these regions do not necessarily follow provincial boundaries. In many contexts, "China" is commonly used to refer to the People's Republic of China or mainland China, while "Taiwan" is used to refer to the Republic of China. Informally, in economic or business contexts, "the Greater China region" (大中華地區) refers to Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The term China proper is usually used to refer to the historical heartlands of China, and to make a contrast between these heartlands and frontier regions of Outer China (Inner Asia). ... Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red) Manchuria (Manchu: Manju, Simplified Chinese: 满洲; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; pinyin: ) is name given to a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng or 藏区 ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: (Shinjang)), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Due to Chinas large population and area, the political divisions of China have always consisted of several levels since ancient times. ... Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ... External links Business Articles growFolio - Online Business Magazine for Fresh Thinkers Yahoo! Finance Aggregates some really good business articles Categories: | | | ... Greater China (Traditional Chinese: 大中華地區; Simplified Chinese: 大中华地区; pinyin: ) is a term refering collectively to the financial markets and economies of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. ... In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ...

Sinologists usually use "Chinese" in a more restricted sense, more akin to the classical usage of Zhongguo, or to the meaning of the "Han ethnic group", who make up the bulk of Mainland China. Sinology is the study of China, which usually requires a foreign scholar to have command of the Chinese language. ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: ) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ...

In many contexts it may be more appropriate to speak of "mainland China" (中國大陸,zhōngguó dàlù in Mandarin), especially when contrasting it with other, politically different regions like Hong Kong, Macau, and territories administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan). In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ...

History

Main articles: History of China, History of the Republic of China (1912–1949; 1949–Present on Taiwan), History of People's Republic of China (1949–Present)

The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.

China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent writing independently, the others being ancient Mesopotamia (Sumerians), India (Indus Valley Civilization), the Mayans, and, some hold, Ancient Egypt—though it may have been learned from the Sumerians. China is one of the worlds oldest continuous major civilizations, with written records dating back 3,500 years. ... The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Pinyin: Zhōng huá mín guó) succeeded the Qing Dynasty (清朝) in China and ruled mainland China from 1912 to 1949. ... The Peoples Republic of China was proclaimed in the aftermath of the Communist Partys triumph in the Chinese Civil War by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949. ... Image File history File links Qinshihuang. ... Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (November or December 260 BC-September 10, 210 BC), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, ruling under the name First Emperor. ... A civilization (American English) or civilisation (British English) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... A writing system, also called a script, is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Egyptian Sangar, Bib. ... The Indus Valley Civilization existed along the Indus River and the Hakra-Ghaggar river and their tributaries. ... This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... ...

The first dynasty according to Chinese historical sources was the Xia Dynasty. A dynasty is a family or extended family which retains political power across generations, or more generally, any organization which extends dominance in its field even as its particular members change. ... The Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsia-chao), ca. ...

Until scientific excavations were made at early bronze-age sites at Erlitou in Henan Province, it was difficult to separate myth from reality in regard to the existence of the Xia Dynasty. But since then, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... The Erlitou culture (二裡頭文化) (1900 BC to 1500 BC) is a name given by archaeologists to an Early Bronze Age society that existed in China. ... Henan (Chinese: 河南; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ...

However, the first confirmed dynasty is the Shang, who settled along the Huang He river, dating from the 18th to the 12th centuries BC. The Shang were in turn invaded by the Zhou (12th to 5th centuries BC), whose centralized authority was slowly eroded by the ceding of state-like authority to warlords ruling small states; eventually, in the Spring and Autumn period, many strong independent states, in continuous war, paid but nominal deference to the Zhou state as the Imperial centre. They were all unified under one emperor in 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang, ushering in the Qin Dynasty, the first unified centralized Chinese state. Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) (1600 BC - 1046 BC) is the first historic Chinese dynasty and ruled in the northeastern region of China proper. ... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty (also Chow or Jou)) (late 10th century BC or 9th century BC to 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋時代; pinyin: ) represented an era in Chinese history between 722 BC and 481 BC. The period takes its name from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the period whose authorship was traditionally attributed to Confucius. ... The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty) (late 10th century BC or 9th century BC to 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... The emperor or huangdi (皇帝 in pinyin: huang2 di4) of China was the head of government and head of state of China from the Qin dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC - 220s BC - 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 226 BC 225 BC 224 BC 223 BC 222 BC - 221 BC - 220 BC 219 BC... Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (November or December 260 BC-September 10, 210 BC), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, ruling under the name First Emperor. ... The Qin Dynasty (秦朝 Pinyin Qín, Wade-Giles Chin; 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ...

This state, however, did not last for long, as it was way too authoritarian, destroying many sources of competition for power that were also sources of good governance and development, such as scholars and intellectuals. After the fall of authoritarian Qin Dynasty in 207 BC came the Han Dynasty which lasted until 220 AD. A period of disunion followed again. In 580, China was reunited under the Sui. Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, China reached its golden age. For a long period of time, especially between the 7th and 14th centuries, China was one of the most advanced civilizations in the world in technology, literature, and art. The Song Dynasty fell to the invading Mongols in 1279. The Mongols, under Kublai Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty, which lasted until 1644. After the Ming dynasty, came the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, which lasted until the overthrow of Puyi in 1911. Han commanderies and kingdoms AD 2. ... The Sui Dynasty (隋朝 Hanyu Pinyin: suí cháo, 581-618) followed the Southern and Northern Dynasties and preceded the Tang Dynasty in China. ... Also the name of a rock band. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... A civilization (American English) or civilisation (British English) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, tone, style, and voice). ... Kublai Khan or Khubilai Khan (September 23, 1215 – February 18, 1294), Mongol military leader, was Khan (1260 – 1294) of the Mongol Empire and founder and first Emperor (1279 – 1294) of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty. ... The Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian: Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus; Chinese: 元朝 or 大元帝國) lasting officially from 1271 to 1368, also called the Mongol Dynasty, was the name given to the significant ruling family of Borjigin in Asia. ... The Hongwu Emperor (October 21, 1328 - June 24, 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founder of the Ming Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of this dynasty from 1368 to 1398. ... Ming Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the... Puyi (Chinese:溥儀; Pronounced Poo-yee) (February 7, 1906 - October 17, 1967) of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro ruling family was the Xuantong Emperor (宣統皇帝) of China between 1908 and 1924 (ruling emperor between 1908 and 1912, and non-ruling emperor between 1912 and 1924...

Oftentimes regime change was violent and strongly opposed and the ruler class needed to take special measures to ensure their rule and the loyalty of the overthrown dynasty. For example, after the foreign Qing (Manchus) conquered China, because they were ever suspicious of the Han Chinese, the Qing rulers put into effect measures aimed at preventing the absorption of the Manchus into the dominant Han Chinese population. However, these restrictions proved ineffective against the assimilation of Manchus into the Chinese identity and culture. The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the... The Manchu (manju in Manchu; 滿族 (pinyin: mǎnzú) in Chinese, often shortened to 滿 (pinyin: mǎn) are an ethnic group who originated in northeastern Manchuria. ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: ) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ...

In the 18th century, China achieved a decisive technological advantage over the peoples of Central Asia, with which it had been at war for several centuries, while simultaneously falling behind Europe in that respect. This set the stage for the 19th century, in which China adopted a defensive posture against European imperialism while itself engaging in imperialistic expansion into Central Asia. See Imperialism in Asia. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial conquest or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. ... Western imperialism in Asia traces its roots back to the late 15th century with a series of voyages that sought a sea passage to South Asia in the hope of establishing direct trade between Europe and Asia in spices. ...

However the primary cause of the decline of the Chinese empire was not European and American interference, as ethnocentric Western historians would lead many to believe. On the contrary it was a series of internal upheavals. Most prominent of these was the Taiping Civil War which lasted from 1851 to 1862. The civil war was started by an extremist believer in a school of thought partly influenced by Christianity who believed himself to be the son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. Although the imperial 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 First World War). Prior to this conflict a number of Islamic Rebellions, especially in Central Asia, had occurred. Later, a second major rebellion took place, although this latter uprising was considerably smaller than the cataclysmic Taiping Civil War. This second conflict was the Boxer Rebellion which aimed to repel Westerners. Although secretly supporting the rebels, the Empress, Ci Xi, made public efforts to aid foreign forces in suppressing the uprising. Ethnocentrism (Greek ethnos (nation + -centrism) or ethnocentricity is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of ones own culture. ... The Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864) was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history, a clash between the forces of Imperial China and those inspired by a Hakka self-proclaimed mystic named Hong Xiuquan (洪秀全), who was also a Christian convert who had claimed that he was the new Messiah and younger... God is the term used to denote the Supreme Being believed by monotheistic religions to exist and to be the creator and ruler of the Universe. ... Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός) with Christ not being a name but rather a title meaning Anointed. He is also considered a very important prophet in Islam. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Boxer forces, 1900 photograph The Boxer Uprising (Traditional Chinese: 義和團起義; Simplified Chinese: 义和团起义; pinyin: ; The Righteous and Harmonious Fists) was an uprising against Western commercial and political influence in China during the final years of the 19th century, from November 1899 to September 7, 1901. ... Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi (Chinese: 慈禧太后; Wade-Giles: Tzu-hsi) (November 29, 1835–November 15, 1908), popularly known in China as the Western Empress Dowager (西太后), and officially known posthumously as Empress Xiaoqin Xian (孝欽顯皇后), was a powerful and charismatic figure who was the de facto ruler...

Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong announcing the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

In 1912, after a prolonged period of decline, the institution of the Emperor of China disappeared and the Republic of China was established. The following three decades were a period of disunion — the Warlord Era, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Chinese Civil War. The latter ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in control of mainland China. The CPC established a communist state—the People's Republic of China—that laid claim to be the successor state of the Republic of China. Meanwhile, the disorganized and potentially corrupt ROC government of the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, where it continued to be recognized as the legitimate government of all China by the Western bloc and the United Nations until the 1970s, when most nations and the UN switched recognition to the PRC. Image File history File links China2C_Mao_. ... Image File history File links China2C_Mao_. ... â–¶(?) (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976; Mao Tse-tung in Wade-Giles) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The emperor or huangdi (皇帝 in pinyin: huang2 di4) of China was the head of government and head of state of China from the Qin dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... The Second Sino-Japanese War was a major invasion of eastern China by Japan preceding and during World War II. It ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. ... The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: 國共内戰; Simplified Chinese: 国共内战; pinyin: ; literally Nationalist-Communist Civil War) was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: ) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ... A Communist state is a controversial term for a state governed by a single political party which declares its allegiance to the principles of Marxism-Leninism. ... The succession of states theory asserts that all possessions and territory held by a state are automatically transferred to the successor state, the state which succeeds it. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional: 中國國民黨; Simplified: 中国国民党; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguo Guomindang), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. ... NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1949. ... Chinas seat in the United Nations has been occupied by the Peoples Republic of China since November 23, 1971. ...

The United Kingdom and Portugal transferred their colonies of Hong Kong and Macau on the southern Chinese coast to the PRC in 1997 and 1999, respectively. China used in a modern context often refers to just the territory of the PRC, or to "Mainland China" (the territory of the PRC excluding Hong Kong and Macau). In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ...

The PRC does not recognize the ROC, as it claims to have succeeded the ROC as the legitimate governing authority of all of China including Taiwan. On the other hand, the ROC—while never formally renouncing its earlier claims or changing official maps that show its territory as including both the modern-day PRC, Mongolia and Tibet—has moved away from this former identity representing its rule over all of China, and increasingly identifies itself as Taiwan. The PRC has historically resisted the ROC's identification of itself as Taiwan, especially in light of the movement supported by residents of Taiwan and others who advocate Taiwan's identity as an independent political entity. Significant disputes persist as to the nature and extent of China, possible Chinese reunification and the political status of Taiwan. Diplomatic recognition is the act in which a states government is formally recognized by another state as being legitimate. ... Taiwan independence (Chinese: 台灣獨立, pinyin: Táiwān dúlì, Taiwanese Romanization: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p; abbreviated to 台獨, Táidú, Tâi-to̍k) is a political movement whose goal is primarily to create an independent and sovereign Republic of Taiwan (out of the lands currently administered... Chinese reunification is a goal of Chinese nationalism which is the unification of all of China under a single political entity. ... Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is a controversy over whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of Taiwan. ...

The following is a timeline of the history of China: For a summary table of the dynasties in Chinese history and their dates, check here. ... Below is a table of the dynasties in Chinese history. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Early history Evidence of Chinese material cultural dating back 4,000 to 6,000 years has been discovered on the Macau peninsula and dating back 5,000 years on Coloane Island. ... See also History of the Republic of China for a history of the government that currently administers Taiwan. ...

Chinese Pre-history

Archeological evidence suggests that the earliest occupants in China date as long as 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago by an ancient human relative (hominin) known as Homo erectus. One particular cave in Zhoukoudian (now known as Peking) has fossilised evidence dating to 300,000 and 550,000 years old. Evidence of primitive stone tool technology and animal bones in association to H. erectus have been studied since the late 18th century to 19th century in various areas of Eastern Asia including Indonesia (in particular the Island of Java) and Malaysia. Originally it is thought that these early hominis first evolved in Africa during the Pleistocene and that human evolution first took place in Africa expanding 7 million years. By 2 million years ago the first wave of migration from the species in association with H. erectus settled into various areas in the Old World. Genera Gorilla Pan (chimpanzees) Homo (humans) Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, including Homo sapiens and some extinct relatives, as well as the gorillas and the chimpanzees. ... Binomial name Homo erectus Dubois, 1894 Subspecies Homo erectus palaeojavanicus Homo erectus soloensis Homo erectus (upright man) is a hominin species that is believed to be an ancestor of modern humans (with Homo heidelbergensis usually treated as an intermediary step). ... Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site - the Caves (taken in July 2004) Zhoukoudian or Choukoutien is a cave system near Beijing, China. ... Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking), is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Map of Java Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... Africa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Pleistocene Epoch is part of the geologic timescale. ... Human evolution is the process of change and development, or evolution, by which human beings emerged as a distinct species. ... The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus: Europe, Asia, and Africa (collectively known as Africa-Eurasia) and the surrounding islands. ...

Fully modern humans (homo sapiens) are believed to originally have evolved roughly 200,000 and 168,000 years ago in Ethiopia or Southern Africa (ei. Homo sapiens idaltu). By 100,000 to 50,000 years ago modern human beings settled in all parts of the Old world (including the New World, Americas 25,000 to 11,000 BCE). By less than 100,000 years ago all proto-human populations disappeared as modern humans took over or drove other human species into extinction. It remains a controversial subject to whether fully modern humans evolved from separate H. erectus populations (known as "multiregional") as some evidence in ancient bones show a transitional change from H. erectus to H. sapiens having archaic features. However it is now more widely accepted that all modern humans genetically share a direct ancestor, a female nicknamed "Mitochondrial Eve" from Eastern Africa 150,000 years BCE. This model is known as Mitochondrial Eve Hypothesis. Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu(extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Homo (genus). ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Southern Africa ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens idaltu White et al, 2003 Homo sapiens idaltu is an extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens that lived over 160,000 years ago in Africa. ... Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ... Map of America by Jonghe, c. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-22, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Eastern Africa ...

The earliest evidence examples of fully modern humans in China come from Liujiang, China where a cranium dates 67,000 years BCE. Another is a partial skeleton from Minatogawa being just 18,000 years old.

Political history

Main articles: Politics of Imperial China, Politics of the People's Republic of China, Politics of Taiwan & Political status of Taiwan

Before unification by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, "China" did not exist as a coherent entity. The Chinese civilization consisted of a patchwork of several states, each ruled by a king (王), duke (公), marquess (侯), or earl (伯). Although there was a central king who held nominal power, and powerful hegemons sometimes held considerable influence, each state was ruled as an independent political entity. This is also the time of the beginnings of Confucian philosophy and that of many other philosophies that greatly influenced Chinese philosophy-political thought. State power within the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is divided among three bodies: the Party, the State, and the Army. ... The Republic of China (ROC) currently has jurisdiction over Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, and the Pescadores Islands (Penghu) and several smaller islands. ... Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is a controversy over whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of Taiwan. ... The Qin Dynasty (秦朝 Pinyin Qín, Wade-Giles Chin; 221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC - 220s BC - 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 226 BC 225 BC 224 BC 223 BC 222 BC - 221 BC - 220 BC 219 BC... A monarch (see sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. ... The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Portugal, Spain and France (in Italy... A marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in Europe, China, and Japan. ... An Earl or Jarl was an Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian title, meaning chieftain and it referred especially to chieftains set to rule a territory in a kings stead. ... Hegemony is the dominance of one group over other groups, with or without the threat of force, to the extent that, for instance, the dominant party can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage; or more broadly, that cultural perspectives become skewed to favor the dominant group. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ...

This ended with the Qin Dynasty unification, during which the office of the emperor was set up, and a system of bureaucratic administration established. After the Qin, China experienced about 13 more dynasties, many of which continued the extensive system of kingdoms, dukedoms, earldoms, and marquisates. The territory varied with several expansions and contractions depending on the strength of each emperor and dynasty. However the emperor had ultimate, supreme, and unquestionable authority as the political and religious leader of China. The emperor also consulted civil and martial ministers, especially the prime minister. Political power sometimes fell into the hands of powerful officials, eunuchs, or imperial relatives, often at the expense of a child heriditary emperor. This happened especially since the emperor often was many layers of power removed from the outside world, making him susceptible to manipulation because his sources for information could manipulate that information causing him to make incorrect decisions, especially when their age at becoming emperor often had no bottom limit, with rule passing heriditarily but also given "in trust" to another relative. An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... In sociological theories, bureaucracy is an organizational structure characterized by regularized procedure, division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. ... A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ... A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. ... An Earl as a member of the British peerage ranks below a Marquess and above a Viscount. ... A marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in Europe, China, and Japan. ... The emperor or huangdi (皇帝 in pinyin: huang2 di4) of China was the head of government and head of state of China from the Qin dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. ... A prime minister may be either: chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of... Chinese Eunuchs A eunuch is an infertile human male whose testicles have either been removed (deliberately or by accident) or are otherwise non-functional. ... Kinship is a biological and/or familial relationship between two organisms. ...

Political relations with dependencies (tributary kingdoms) were maintained by international marriages, military aids, treaties, and gifts. (see section "Geography, Political" below for examples), A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution) is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contests, of submission or allegiance. ...

Luoyang, Chang'an (today's Xi'an), Nanjing, and Beijing are the four cities most commonly designated as capitals of China over the course of history. Chinese was the official language, though periods of Mongol and Manchu conquest saw the arrival of Mongol and Manchu as alternate official languages. Luoyang (Simplified Chinese: 洛阳; Traditional Chinese: 洛陽; pinyin: ) is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Changan   listen? (Simplified Chinese: 长安; Traditional Chinese: 長安; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chang-an) is the ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in China. ... City nickname: Changan Location Location of Xian Government City Shaanxi Mayor Sun Qingyun Physical characteristics Area      Land      Water 9,983 km²      9,983 km²      0. ... Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Nan-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Nanking), is the capital of Chinas Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. ... â–¶(?) (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Numerous cities have been the capital of China during the course of history. ... Mongolian (Монгол), is the best-known member of the Mongolian language family, and the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia. ... The Manchu language is a member of the Tungusic languages; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 100 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus. ... An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ...

On January 1, 1912, the Republic of China (ROC) was established, signaling the end of the Manchu-dominated Qing Empire. Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party), was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who had defected to the revolutionary cause, soon forced Sun to step aside and took the presidency for himself (formally it was a negotiation where Sun agreed to step aside for what was then perceived as a strong reformer, Yuan). Before long, Yuan attempted to have himself proclaimed emperor of a new dynasty; however, he died soon of natural causes before fully taking power over all of the Chinese empire. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary leader who had a significant role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional: 中國國民黨; Simplified: 中国国民党; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguo Guomindang), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. ... Yuan Shikai in military uniform Yuan Shikai (Courtesy Weiting 慰亭; Pseudonym: Rongan 容庵 Traditional: 袁世凱; Simplified: 袁世凯; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Yüan Shih-kai) (September 16, 1859 – June 6, 1916) was a Chinese military official and politician during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. ...

After Yuan's downfall, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally-recognized, but virtually powerless, national government seated in Beijing (thus failing to fit the definition of a state). Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ...

The Great Hall of the People, where the National People's Congress (NPC) of China convenes.

In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to Nanjing 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 with heavy Leninist influences. Ironically, both the Kuomintang and the CCP have heavy Leninist influences. In 1947, constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China (CPC), many provisions of the 1947 ROC constitution were never put into actual practice on the mainland. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 126 KB)Photo taken January 18, 2003 by Allen Timothy Chang File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 126 KB)Photo taken January 18, 2003 by Allen Timothy Chang File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887–April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: 國共内戰; Simplified Chinese: 国共内战; pinyin: ; literally Nationalist-Communist Civil War) was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ...

By early 1950, the CPC had defeated the Kuomintang on the mainland, and the ROC government retreated to the island of Taiwan. Beginning in the late 1970s, Taiwan began the implementation of full, multi-party, representative democracy in the territories still under ROC control (i.e., Taiwan Province, Taipei, Kaohsiung and some offshore islands of Fujian province). Today, the political scene in the ROC is vibrant, with active participation by all sectors of society. But rather than the usual conservative-liberal policy distinctions that are the hallmarks of most democracies around the world, the main cleavage in ROC politics is the unification with China in the long-run vs. formal independence issue. However, Greens are generally more liberal (i.e. more environmentally friendly) and Blues are generally regarded as more conservative. Representative democracy is a form of democracy and theory of civics in which voters choose (in free, secret, multi-party elections) representatives to act in their interests, but not as their proxies—i. ... Taiwan Province can refer to an existing administrative division under the government of the Republic of China or the claimed 23rd province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... City nickname: the City of Azaleas Capital District Xinyi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 16 of 25 271. ... Abbreviation: Kaohsiung (高雄) City nickname: The Harbor City Capital District Linya Dist. ... Fujian (Chinese: 福建; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... Look up liberal on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Liberal may refer to: Politics: Liberalism American liberalism, a political trend in the USA Political progressivism, a political ideology that is for change, often associated with liberal movements Liberty, the condition of being free from control or restrictions Liberal Party, members of... Environmentalism is the support or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ...

The coat of arms of the People's Republic of China.

Meanwhile, Mao Zedong, the leader of the communists, proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949 in Beijing, saying China had stood up. From the beginning, the PRC has been a dictatorial one-party state under the Communist Party. However, post-1978 reforms have led to the relaxation, in varying degrees, of party control over many areas of society. Nonetheless, the Communist Party still has absolute control over political aspects of society, and it continuously seeks to eradicate threats to its rule. Examples of this include the jailing of political opponents and journalists, general control of the press, regulation of religions and other non-party organizations, censorship of the press, literature and film, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989, a popular demonstration held in Beijing at Tiananmen Square was violently put to an end by the Chinese government. (See article Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.) The attempted eradication of the Falun Gong movement is also held by its supporters to be motivated by fear of Falun Gong's growing influence. Today, however, there is much more freedom in intellectual thought in non-political areas and propaganda, while still continuing, has lessened. The National Emblem of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The National Emblem of the Peoples Republic of China. ... ▶(?) (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976; Mao Tse-tung in Wade-Giles) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Dictator was the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. ... A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. ... Censorship is the control of speech and other forms of human expression, often by government intervention. ... Tiananmen Square (Simplified Chinese: 天安门广场; Traditional Chinese: 天安門廣場; pinyin: ) is the large plaza near the center of Beijing, China, named for the Tiananmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. ... The Unknown Rebel — This famous photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener, depicts a lone protester whose actions halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ...

A number of NGOs based in the U.S. aim to bring democratic reform to China and relentlessly protest human rights violations that occur in China. One of the oldest and most prominent of them, the China Support Network (CSN), was founded in 1989 by a group of concerned Americans and Chinese activists in response to Tiananmen Square. The May Fourth Movement in 1919 marked a turning point in the history of Chinese nationalism. ... Chinese poster saying: Chariman Mao is the Red sun of our hearts. ... Western imperialism in Asia traces its roots back to the late 15th century with a series of voyages that sought a sea passage to South Asia in the hope of establishing direct trade between Europe and Asia in spices. ... The king or wang (王 wang2) was the Chinese head of state from the Zhou to Qin dynasties. ... The Law of China, for most of the history of China, was rooted in the Confucian philosophy of social control. ...

Territory

Main articles: Political divisions of China & History of the political divisions of China

Due to Chinas large population and area, the political divisions of China have always consisted of several levels since ancient times. ... This article talks about the history of the political divisions of China. ...

Historical overview

Chinese cultural world made by China, Taiwan, Hong kong, Singapore, and countries culturally link to Chinese culture.

The Zhou Dynasty, which preceded the unification of China by Shi Huangdi, was originally the region around the Yellow River. Since then, the territory has expanded outward in all directions, and was largest during the Tang, Yuan, and Qing dynasties. The Qing Dynasty included parts of modern Russian Far East and Central Asia (west of Xinjiang). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 27 KB) Summary Description: Chinese-world map ; Dark green, the chinese world : Main China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Macao. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 27 KB) Summary Description: Chinese-world map ; Dark green, the chinese world : Main China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Macao. ... China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and countries culturally linked to Chinese culture. ... The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty (also Chow or Jou)) (late 10th century BC or 9th century BC to 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (November or December 260 BC - September 10, 210 BC), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, ruling under the name First... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... Also the name of a rock band. ... The Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian: Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus; Chinese: 元朝 or 大元帝國) lasting officially from 1271 to 1368, also called the Mongol Dynasty, was the name given to the significant ruling family of Borjigin in Asia. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Many clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast america receded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner canada, establishing... The term Russian Far East (Russian: Да́льний Восто́к Росси́и; English transliteration: Dalny Vostok Rossii) refers to the extreme south-east parts of Russia, between Siberian Federal District and the Pacific. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: (Shinjang)), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

Map of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Along with provincial administrators, some foreign monarchs sent envoys to offer gifts to the Emperor of China and the Emperor returned compliments to them. The Chinese thought that the barbarians attached themselves to the virtue of the Emperor, while the foreign governments sometimes disagreed. Since the end of the 19th century, China has tried to reinterpret this relationship as suzerainty or suzerainty-dependency, but this no longer has any real conception in modern international political theories. Download high resolution version (857x699, 69 KB)Administrative divisions of China. ... Download high resolution version (857x699, 69 KB)Administrative divisions of China. ... A monarch (see sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. ... Until the early 19th Century, each European nation had its own system of diplomatic rank. ... Virtue (Greek αρετη; Latin virtus) is the habitual, well-established, readiness or disposition of mans powers directing them to some goodness of act. ... Suzerainty refers to a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which allows the tributary some limited domestic autonomy but controls its foreign affairs. ... Suzerainty refers to a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which allows the tributary some limited domestic autonomy but controls its foreign affairs. ... Dependency has a number of meanings: In project management, a dependency is a link amongst a projects terminal elements. ...

The Qing Empire reduced the territorial value of the Great Wall of China as a barrier of China proper after they merged their homeland (Manchuria) north of the wall with China proper south of it. In 1683 after the surrender of the Kingdom of Tungning established by Koxinga, Taiwan including the Pescadores became a part of the Qing Empire, originally as one prefecture, then two, and later a province. Taiwan was subsequently ceded to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895. At the end of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Japan relinquished the sovereignty of the island in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and the Republic of China took over. Since then, the de jure sovereignty of Taiwan has been under dispute between the PRC, and the now democratic ROC and Taiwan independence supporters. The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the... The Great Wall of China (Traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; Simplified Chinese: 万里长城; pinyin: , literally the Long City/Fortress of 10,000 Li¹), is an ancient Chinese fortification built from the end of the 14th century until the beginning of the 17th century, during the Ming Dynasty, in order to protect China from raids... The term China proper is usually used to refer to the historical heartlands of China, and to make a contrast between these heartlands and frontier regions of Outer China (Inner Asia). ... Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red) Manchuria (Manchu: Manju, Simplified Chinese: 满洲; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; pinyin: ) is name given to a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... The term China proper is usually used to refer to the historical heartlands of China, and to make a contrast between these heartlands and frontier regions of Outer China (Inner Asia). ... The Kingdom of Tungning (東寧王國; pinyin: Dōngníng Wángguó ) was a kingdom existing on Taiwan between 1662 and 1683. ... Koxinga - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Pescadores Islands (Chinese: 澎湖群島; Wade-Giles: Peng-hu; Pinyin: Pénghú, from Portuguese, fishermen) are an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait. ... The term prefecture (from the Latin Praefectura) indicates the office, seat, territorial circonscription of a Prefect; consequentally, like that word, is its applied in English in relation to actual Prefects, whose title is just that (or the forms it takes in other, especially Romance, languages), in the broadest sense in... The First Sino–Japanese War was a war fought between Japan and Qing China between August 1, 1894 and April 1895 // Genesis of the War Korea under the Joseon Dynasty had traditionally been a tributary state of the Qing dynasty. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China Imperial Japanese Army, Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Zhu De, He Yingqin Tojo Hideki, Matsui Iwane, Minami Jiro, Kesago Nakajima, Toshizo Nishio, Neiji Okamura. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, group of people or oneself. ... Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru of Japan, gave a speech on Reconciliation and rapport (和解と信頼) in 1951 at San Francisco Peace conference. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is a controversy over whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of Taiwan. ... Taiwan independence (Chinese: 台灣獨立, pinyin: Táiwān dúlì, Taiwanese Romanization: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p; abbreviated to 台獨, Táidú, Tâi-to̍k) is a political movement whose goal is primarily to create an independent and sovereign Republic of Taiwan (out of the lands currently administered...

National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng or 藏区 ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ...

Historical political divisions

Historically, top-level political divisions of China have altered as the administration changed. Top levels included circuits and provinces. Below that, there have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commanderies, districts, and counties. Recent divisions also include prefecture-level cities, county-level cities, towns and townships (see below for examples). Circuits in the common law In law, a circuit is an appellate judicial district commonly seen in the court systems of many nations. ... A province, in the context of China, is a translation of sheng (省 shÄ›ng), which is an administrative division of China. ... Prefecture, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. ... Subprefecture is an administrative level that is below prefecture or province. ... The word department has a number of meanings: It can mean an administrative sector of the government. ... Commandry (British English), or commandery (American English), was the smallest division of the European landed estate or manor under the control of a commendator, or commander, of an order of knights. ... District, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. ... In the context of Political divisions of China, county is the standard English translation of 县 (xiàn). ... A prefecture-level city (地级市 Pinyin: dìjí shì, literally region-level city) or prefecture-level municipality is an administrative division of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A county-level city (县级市 Pinyin: xiànjí shì) is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. ... When referring to Political Divisions of China, town is the standard English translation of the Chinese 镇 (zhèn). ... When referring to Political Divisions of China, township is the standard English translation of the Chinese 乡 (xiāng). ...

Historically, most Chinese dynasties were based in the historical heartlands of China, known by the politically-correct term of China proper (since it doesn't include places it doesn't control, such as Mongolia or Taiwan). Various dynasties also exhibited expansionism by engaging in incursions into more peripheral territories like Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The Manchu-established Qing Dynasty and its successors, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China cemented the incorporation of these territories into China. These territories are separated by borders that are vague at best, and do not correspond well to contemporary political divisions. China proper is generally thought to be bounded by the Great Wall and the edge of the Tibetan plateau; Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are found to the north of the Great Wall of China, and the boundary between them can either be taken as the present border between Inner Mongolia and the northeast Chinese provinces, or the more historic border of the World War II-era puppet state of Manchukuo; Xinjiang's borders correspond to today's administrative Xinjiang; and historic Tibet is conceived as occupying all of the Tibetan Plateau. China is also traditionally thought of as comprising North China (北方) and South China (南方), the geographic boundary between which north and south is largely generalized as Huai River (淮河) and Qinling Mountains (秦岭). The term China proper is usually used to refer to the historical heartlands of China, and to make a contrast between these heartlands and frontier regions of Outer China (Inner Asia). ... Expansionism is the doctrine of expanding the territory or economic influence of a country. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red) Manchuria (Manchu: Manju, Simplified Chinese: 满洲; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; pinyin: ) is name given to a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: (Shinjang)), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng or 藏区 ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... The Manchu (Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: 满族; Traditional Chinese: 滿族; pinyin: ) are an ethnic group who originated in the dong bei or North East region consisting of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang provinces, collectively known in English as Manchuria. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Many clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast america receded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner canada, establishing... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... Great Wall can refer to several things: Great Wall of China Great Wall of Galaxies, part of the Coma Cluster This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. ... Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red) Manchuria (Manchu: Manju, Simplified Chinese: 满洲; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; pinyin: ) is name given to a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Great Wall of China (Traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; Simplified Chinese: 万里长城; pinyin: , literally the Long City/Fortress of 10,000 Li¹), is an ancient Chinese fortification built from the end of the 14th century until the beginning of the 17th century, during the Ming Dynasty, in order to protect China from raids... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... A puppet state is a state whose government, though notionally of the same culture as the governed people - owes its existence (or other major debt) to being installed, supported or controlled by a more powerful entity, typically a foreign power. ... Manchukuo (1932 to 1945) (Simplified Chinese: 满洲国; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲國; pinyin: ) was a former country in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia under the leadership of the Emperor Pu Yi, who had also been the last emperor of Qing Dynasty. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: (Shinjang)), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: (Shinjang)), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng or 藏区 ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. ... North China (北方 Hanyu pinyin: Běifāng) and South China (南方 Hanyu pinyin: Nánfāng) are two approximate regions within China. ... North China (北方 Hanyu pinyin: Běifāng) and South China (南方 Hanyu pinyin: Nánfāng) are two approximate regions within China. ... Huai He The Huai River (Chinese: 淮河; pinyin: ) is about mid-way between the Yellow River (Huang He) and the Yangtze River. ... The Qinling Mountains are a major mountain range in central China. ...

Geography and climate

Main article: Geography of China

China within East Asia. (PDF)

China is composed of a vast variety of highly different landscapes, with mostly plateaus and mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east. As a result, principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (central-east), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong River, and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific. China stretches some 5,000 kilometers across the East Asian landmass in an erratically changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain. ... Geographic scope of East Asia East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... The Harvesters, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1565: Peace and agriculture in a pre-Romantic ideal landscape, without sublime terrors The term Landscape as most westerners use it, is completely entrenched in western notions of land, nature and art. ... For alternate uses of the term, see Plateau (disambiguation). ... Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... The Murray River in Australia. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River (Simplified Chinese: 扬子江; Traditional Chinese: 揚子江; pinyin: ) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa. ... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... The Amur (Russian: Амур; Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江, Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江, HÄ“ilóng Jiāng, or Black Dragon River; Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or Black River; Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black River) is one of the world’s ten longest rivers, located between the Russian Far East and Manchuria of China. ... The Pearl River (珠江 Pinyin: Zhū Jiāng) is Chinas third longest river (2,200 km, after the Yangtze River and the Huang He), and second largest by volume (after the Yangtze). ... View of the Mekong before the sunset The Mekong is one of the worlds major rivers. ... The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ...

Most of China's arable lands lie along the two major rivers, the Yangtze and the Huang He, and each are the centers around which are founded China's major ancient civilizations.

In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated by hill country and lower mountain ranges. ... The East China Sea is a marginal sea and part of the Pacific Ocean. ... Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans The South China Sea is a marginal sea, part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². It is the largest sea body after the five... The most general definition of a mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ...

To the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, with the Himalayas, containing the highest point Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus among more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding. Due to a prolonged drought and perhaps poor agricultural practices, dust storms have become usual in the spring in China. Dust blows all the way to southern China, Taiwan, and has even been measured on the West Coast of the United States. Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... Calcareous formed from or containing a high proportion of Calcium carbonate. ... In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French being plateau) is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. ... A hill in Hungary with a hillside vintage garden For the landform that extends less than 600 metres above the surrounding terrain and that is smaller than a mountain, see the mountain article. ... The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. ... You know the old lady who lived in the shoe? Your mommas so poor, she lives in a sandal! Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth above mean sea level. ... A dune in the Egyptian desert In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation - less than 250 mm per year. ... The Taklamakan is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Gobi (Mongolian Говь, Chinese 戈壁; pinyin gē bì) is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ... A drought is an extended period where water availability falls below the statistical requirements for a region. ... haha ...

The Giant Panda is an endangered species native to the bamboo forests of central and southern China.

During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam. Giant Panda, from http://www. ... Giant Panda, from http://www. ... It has been suggested that Butterstick be merged into this article or section. ... The American bison numbered as few as 750 in 1890 due to extreme overhunting. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... Mount McKinley in Alaska has one of the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... Yunnan (Simplified Chinese: 云南; Traditional Chinese: 雲南; pinyin: ; Vietnamese: Vân Nam) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ...

The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (within which lies Beijing) has a climate with winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (within which Shanghai is situated) has a generally temperate climate. The southern zone (within which lies Guangzhou and other southern provinces) has a generally subtropical climate. ▶(?) (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole. ... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... In geography, temperate latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. ... Location within China Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. ... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ...

The Palaeozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin. Groups of volcanic cones occur in the Great Plain of north China. In the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas, there are basaltic plateaux. The Palaeozoic is a major division of the geologic timescale, one of four geologic eras. ... The Carboniferous is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359. ... Sunset at sea Look up Sea on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Look up maritime on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Mesozoic is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... The Tertiary period was previously one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, from the end of the Cretaceous period about 65. ... Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing numerous ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits and services. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... Terrestrial literally means of the earth and is used in a variety of contexts: In biology and in the general sense, terrestrial means indicates ground-dwelling (compare aquatic). ... This article is about volcanoes in geology. ... The Liaodong Peninsula (sim. ... Shandong (Simplified Chinese: 山东; Traditional Chinese: 山東; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ...

Society

Demographics

Main articles: Ethnic groups in Chinese history & Nationalities of China

A crowded Nanjing Road in Shanghai.

Over a hundred ethnic groups have existed in China. In terms of numbers, however, the pre-eminent ethnic group in China is the Han, which is a group so diverse in its culture and language that some conceive of it as a larger overarching group bringing together many smaller, distinct ethnic groups sharing common traits in language and culture. Throughout history, many ethnic groups have been assimilated into neighbouring ethnicities or disappeared without a trace. Several previously distinct ethnic groups have been Sinicized into the Han, causing its population to increase dramatically; at the same time, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions, though still identifying as Han. Many times in the past millenia many foreign groups have, in turn, shaped Han language and culture, for example the queue is a pig tail hairstyle strictly enforced by the Manchurians on the Han populace. The term Zhonghua Minzu is sometimes used to describe a notion of a "Chinese nationality" transcending ethnic divisions. Any non clear-cut connection is denoted by a question mark (?) beside the equivalences. ... The Peoples Republic of China officially describes itself as a multi-ethnic unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. ... Image File history File links Crowded_Nanjing_Road_in_Shanghai. ... Image File history File links Crowded_Nanjing_Road_in_Shanghai. ... Nanjing Road one of the worlds busiest shopping streets. ... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: ) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ... Sinicization, or less commonly Sinification, is to make things Chinese. ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: ) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ... Zhōnghuá Mínzú (trad. ...

The government of the People's Republic of China now officially recognizes a total of 56 ethnic groups, of which the largest is the Han Chinese. China's overall population is 1.3 billion. With the global human population currently estimated at about 6.4 billion, China is home to approximately 20%, or one-fifth of the human species, homo sapiens. Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: ) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ... In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ...

The lack of birth control and promotion of population growth during the rule of Mao Zedong resulted in a demographic explosion, culminating in over 1.3 billion people today. As a response to the problems this is causing, the government of the PRC has enacted a birth control policy, commonly known as the One-child policy. ▶(?) (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976; Mao Tse-tung in Wade-Giles) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ... Birth control is a regimen of one or more extra actions, devices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of a woman becoming pregnant. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

The Han speak several mutually unintelligible tongues, classified by modern linguists as being separate languages, but regarded within the Chinese languages as "dialects" or "local languages" (topolects) within a single Chinese language (the word for "area languages" has an implication of dialect rather than a separate language, although on the basis of use, these topolects can be found to be separate and mutually unintelligible, and are so classified by many linguists). The various spoken varieties of Chinese share a common written standard, "Vernacular Chinese" or "baihua", which has been used since the early 20th Century and is based on Standard Mandarin, the standard spoken language, in grammar and vocabulary. In addition, another, more ancient written standard, Classical Chinese, was used for writing Chinese by the literati for thousands of years before the 20th Century. Classical Chinese is no longer the predominant form of written Chinese, though it continues to be a part of high school curricula and is hence intelligible to some degree to many Chinese people. Other than Standard Mandarin, spoken variants are usually not written; the exception is Standard Cantonese, which is sometimes written as Written Cantonese in informal contexts. Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Vernacular Chinese (pinyin: báihuà; Wade-Giles: paihua) is a style or register of the written Chinese language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with Standard Mandarin. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. ... Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of Zhou Dynasty Chinese, making it very different from any modern spoken form of Chinese. ... Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of Zhou Dynasty Chinese, making it very different from any modern spoken form of Chinese. ... Standard Cantonese is a variant of Cantonese and is generally considered the prestige dialect of Cantonese. ... Written Cantonese refers to the written language used to write colloquial standard Cantonese using Chinese characters. ...

Apricot Platform in the central courtyard of the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 623 KB)Photograph of the Apricot Platform in the central courtyard of the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province, China. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 623 KB)Photograph of the Apricot Platform in the central courtyard of the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province, China. ... Location within China Qufu (Chinese: 曲阜; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chü1-fu4) is a city in Shandong Province, China. ... Shandong (Simplified Chinese: 山东; Traditional Chinese: 山東; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ...

Culture

Main article: Culture of China

Home to one of the worlds oldest and most complex civilizations, China boasts a history rich in over 5,000 years of artistic, philosophical, and political advancement. ...

Religion

Main article: Religion in China

The major religions of China are: Temple incense in Taichung, Taiwan with Fu Dog behind. ...

• Taoism - exact numbers unknown
• Buddhism - exact numbers unknown [about 8%]
• Christianity - 2 to 4% (from Western sources; the Chinese official number is much smaller than 1%)
• Islam - 1% to 2%
• Falun Gong - exact numbers unknown

(claimed not to be a "religion", though from a scholarly perspective is a spiritual practice. Claimed numbers of followers of the Falun Dafa are also regarded as unreliable.) The Chinese character Tao [Way]. Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) is the English name for (a) the Chinese folk religion; (b) a family of organized Chinese religious movements such as the Zhengyi (Orthodox One) or Quanzhen (Complete Reality) sects, which collectively trace back to Zhang Daoling in the late Han... Shakyamuni Buddha teaching. ... Christianity in China has developed since at least the 7th century CE. The introduction of Nestorianism, a Christian sect, around 635 is considered by some to be the first entry of the Christian religion into China. ... China is home to a large population of practioners of Islam. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ...

While the People's Republic of China is officially atheist it does allow religion under strict supervision. Historically, Taoism and Buddhism have been the dominant religions of Chinese society, and continue to be so in Chinese societies outside direct PRC control. For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ...

In recent years, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice drawing upon Buddhism and Taoism, has attracted great controversy after the government of the People's Republic of China labeled it an evil cult and began an attempt to eradicate it. The Falun Gong itself denies that it is a cult or a religion, even though there is solid evidence that determines Falun Gong as a rather "abnormal" cult, several members have been seen to burn themselves alive even before the Chinese government has reacted to Falun Gong, unfortuantely, most people are oblivious of this fact and even a majority of members are oblivious to this. The Falun Gong says that it has approximately 70-100 million followers, which is a bit higher than estimates by outside groups, though exact numbers are unknown. They regularly protest against their suppression, both domestically and internationally. ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The term Buddha is a word in ancient Indian languages including Pāli and Sanskrit which means one who has awakened. It is derived from the verbal root budh, meaning to awaken or to be enlightened, and to comprehend. It is written in devanagari script as Hindi: and pronounced as... The Chinese character Tao [Way]. Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) is the English name for (a) the Chinese folk religion; (b) a family of organized Chinese religious movements such as the Zhengyi (Orthodox One) or Quanzhen (Complete Reality) sects, which collectively trace back to Zhang Daoling in the late Han... In religion and sociology, a cult is a cohesive group of people (often a relatively small and new religious movement) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be far outside the mainstream. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ...

Sage Confucius——孔子 Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Confucianism (Chinese: 儒家, Pinyin Rújiā, The School of the Scholars; or, less accurately, 孔教 Kŏng jiào, The Religion of Confucius) is an East Asian ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. ... Catholicism in China has a long and complicated history. ... Protestant Christianity entered China in the early 19th century. ... Chinese folk religion comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years which included ancestor worship and drew heavily upon concepts and beings within Chinese mythology. ... The Way of Former Heaven Sects are five religious groups of Chinese origin. ...

Arts, scholarship, and literature

A porcelain workshop in Jingdezhen city, Jiangxi Province.

Chinese literature has a long and prolific continuous history, in part because of the development of printmaking during the Song Dynasty. Before that, manuscripts of the Classics and religious texts (mainly Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) were manually written by ink brush (previously scratching shells) and distributed. Academies of scholars sponsored by the empire were formed to comment on these works in both printed and written form. Members of royalty frequently participated in these discussions. Tens of thousands of ancient written documents are still extant and more, from oracle bones to Qing edicts, are discovered each day, which had been formally ground up for use in Chinese medicine. ImageMetadata File history File links Porcelain_Workshop,_Jingdezhen,_Jiangxi,_China. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Porcelain_Workshop,_Jingdezhen,_Jiangxi,_China. ... Jingdezhen (景德镇 Pinyin: Jǐngdézhèn), or the Town of Jingde, is a prefecture-level city, previously a town, in Jiangxi Province, China, has been termed the Porcelain Capital (瓷都) because of its production of quality china. ... Jiangxi (Chinese: 江西; pinyin: Jiāngxī; Wade-Giles: Chiang-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsi) is a southern province of the Peoples Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) in the north into hillier areas in the south. ... // Ancient texts The Four Books (四书, Sì shÅ«) are The Great Learning, (大学, Dà Xué). The Doctrine of the Golden Mean (中庸, Zhōng Yóng). ... Printmaking is a process for producing multiple original pieces of artwork; painting, on the other hand, is a process for producing a single original piece of artwork. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Ink brushes (筆, in Japanese fude) are speciality brushes used in East Asian calligraphy. ... Categories: Stub ...

A Peking opera mask.

For centuries, opportunity for economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on the imperial examinations. This led to a meritocracy, though in practice this was possible only among those who were not female or too poor to afford test preparation, as doing well still required tutorship. Nevertheless it was a system distinct from the European system of blood nobility. 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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (365x928, 60 KB) Description: mask of the Peking opera Source: photographed in 2005 --Immanuel Giel 10:11, 13 May 2005 (UTC) File links The following pages link to this file: China ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (365x928, 60 KB) Description: mask of the Peking opera Source: photographed in 2005 --Immanuel Giel 10:11, 13 May 2005 (UTC) File links The following pages link to this file: China ... In Beijing, September 2002 Beijing opera or Peking opera (京剧, pinyin: Jīngjù) is a kind of Chinese opera which arose in the mid-19th century and was extremely popular in the Qing dynasty court. ... The imperial examinations (科舉; pinyin: kÄ“jÇ”) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service based on merit and education, which had promoted upward mobility among the population for centuries. ... As the suffix -cracy implies, meritocracy is strictly speaking a system of government based on rule by ability (merit) rather than by wealth or social position. ...

Chinese philosophers, writers, and poets have been, for the most part, highly respected, and played a key role in preserving and promoting the culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for their daring depictions of lives of the common people, often to the displeasure of authorities. (See List of Chinese authors, and List of Chinese language poets). // Chronological list Antiquity, Qin, Han and pre-Tang dynasties 屈原 Qu Yuan (340 ? -278 ? BC) 宋玉 Song Yu (3rd century BC) 司馬遷 Sima Qian (145- ? BC) 司馬相如 Sima Xiangru (179-117 BC) 班固 Ban Gu (32-92) 張衡 Zhang Heng (78-139) 曹操 Cao Cao (155-220) 曹丕 Cao Pi (187-226) 曹植 Cao Zhi (192-232) 嵇康 Xi Kang... Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in the Chinese language. ...

The Chinese have created numerous musical instruments, such as the zheng, xiao, and erhu, that have spread throughout East and Southeast Asia, and especially areas under its influence. The sheng is the basis for several Western free-reed instruments. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... The guzheng or gu zheng (古箏 - pronunciation) or zheng (箏) (gu- means ancient) is a traditional Chinese musical instrument. ... The xiao (ç°« or 箫; also spelled hsiao) is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. ... The erhu (二胡, Pinyin èrhú), commonly known in the West as the Chinese violin, is a two-stringed bowed instrument, capable of producing sad, mysterious, joyful or voice-like melodies. ... Geographic scope of East Asia East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... The Chinese sheng (Chinese: 笙, Pinyin shēng) is a mouth-blown free reed instrument (the first) consisting essentially of vertical tubes, in the Chinese orchestra. ... A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument where sound is produced as air passes a reed in a chamber, causing the reed to vibrate. ...

Chinese characters have had many variants and styles throughout the Chinese history, and were "simplified" in the mid-20th century on mainland China. Calligraphy is a major art-form in China, above that of painting and music. Because of its association with elite scholar-official bosses, it later on became commercialized, where works by famous artists became prized possessions. 漢字 hànzì, hanja, kanji… in Traditional Chinese and other languages. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... The Mona Lisa is perhaps the best-known artistic painting in the Western world. ... Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Look up Music in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikisource, as part of the 1911 Encyclopedia Wikiproject, has original text related to this article: Music Meta has a page about this at: Music markup MusicNovatory: the science of music encyclopedia The... Possession is having some degree of control over something else. ...

The great variation and beauty in the Chinese landscape is often the inspiration for great works of Chinese art. See Chinese painting for more details. Chinese painting is a form of Chinese art. ...

Calligraphy, sushi, and bonsai are all millennia-old art that later spread to Japan and Korea. Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... Sushi variations with Kanji names behind. ... A bonsai trident maple growing in the root over rock style. ... Korea refers to South Korea and North Korea together, which were a unified country until 1948. ...

Science and technology

The space suit worn by Shenzhou 5 astronaut Yang Liwei. China was the third nation to launch a person into orbit.

Main article: Science and technology in China

In addition to the cultural innovations mentioned above, technological inventions from China include: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (658x1000, 139 KB) Description: The space suit worn by Shenzhou 5 astronaut Yang Liwei. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (658x1000, 139 KB) Description: The space suit worn by Shenzhou 5 astronaut Yang Liwei. ... Shenzhou 5 (神舟五号) was the first manned space mission launched by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on October 15, 2003. ... // Ancient and imperial China Much of the early Western work in the history of science in China was done by Joseph Needham. ...

Other areas of technological study: Compass in a wooden box A compass (or mariners compass) is a navigational instrument for finding directions on the earth. ... Printmaking is a process for producing multiple original pieces of artwork; painting, on the other hand, is a process for producing a single original piece of artwork. ... Printmaking is a process for producing a work of art in ink; the work (called a print) is created indirectly, through the transfer of ink from the surface upon which the work was originally drawn or otherwise composed. ... Piece of paper Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. ... An abacus is a calculation tool, often constructed as a wooden frame with beads sliding on wires. ... Gunpowder whether black powder or smokeless powder, is a substance which burns very rapidly and is used as a propellant in firearms. ... A crossbow is a weapon that fires projectiles called crossbow bolts or quarrels. ... Haniwa horse statuette, complete with saddle and stirrups, 6th century, Kofun period, Japan. ... In a general sense, lacquer is a clear or colored coating, that dries by solvent evaporation only and that produces a hard, durable finish that can be polished to a very high gloss, and gives the illusion of depth. ... The worlds oldest depiction of a rudder. ... Seismographs (in Greek seismos = earthquake and graphein = write) are used by seismologists to record seismic waves. ... Silk weaver Silk is a natural protein fiber that can be woven into textiles. ... A rare Dresden porcelain figurine Porcelain is a hard ceramic material first developed in China (hence the often-used term china instead of porcelain). It is fired at a higher temperature than that used to fire glazed earthenware and stoneware pottery. ... A £20 Ulster Bank banknote. ... Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for un-powered flight. ... Hot air balloons are the oldest successful human flight technology, dating back to the Montgolfier brothers invention in Annonay, France in 1783. ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House illuminated under New Years Eve Fireworks 2005 A fireworks event (also called a fireworks display or fireworks show) is a spectacular display of the effects produced by firework devices on various occasions. ... The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ...

• The main applications of mathematics in traditional China were architecture and geography. Pi (π) was calculated by 5th century mathematician Zu Chongzhi to the seventh digit. The decimal system was used in China as early as 14 Century BC. "Pascal's" Triangle was discovered by mathematician Liu Ju-Hsieh, long before Pascal was born.
• Studies in biology have been extensive, and historic records are consulted even today, such as pharmacopoeias of medicinal plants.
• Traditional medicine and surgery were highly advanced at various points in history, and in some fields are still seen as innovative. They continue to play a growing role in the international medical community, and have achieved recognition over the last few decades in the West as alternative and complementary therapies. An example is acupuncture, although it is somewhat controversial in some quarters. However, autopsy was unacceptable, because of the common belief that a corpse should not be violated. Nevertheless, there were several doctors who have increased the understanding of internal anatomy by violating this autopsy taboo.
• Alchemy was Taoist chemistry, very different from modern chemistry.
• Chinese astrology and constellations were often used for divination
• Military innovations include the crossbow and the grid sight, crossbow stirrup, repeating crossbows, poison gas (smoke from burning dried mustard), tear gas made from powdered lime, relief maps for battle planning, manned kites, fire lance, rockets, gunpowder incendiaries, gunpowder grenades, proto-handguns, various gun-related ammunition types and the cannon.

Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Mathematics Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mathematics Look up Mathematics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mathematics Inter. ... Depending on the nature of the structure, the skills of the architect ranges from the complex, such as a hospital or a stadium, to something more simple, such as planning buildings in a residential area. ... Lower-case pi The mathematical constant Ï€ is a real number which may be defined as the ratio of a circles circumference (Greek περιφέρεια, periphery) to its diameter in Euclidean geometry, and which is in common use in mathematics, physics, and engineering. ... // Events Romulus Augustus, Last Western Roman Emperor Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ... Zu Chongzhi (祖冲之, pinyin Zǔ Chōngzhī, Wade-Giles Tsu Chung-chih) (429-500) was a Chinese mathematician and astronomer during the Song and Qi Dynasties (of the Southern Dynasties). ... Decimal, or denary, notation is the most common way of writing the base 10 numeral system, which uses various symbols for ten distinct quantities (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, called digits) together with the decimal point and the sign symbols + (plus) and − (minus) to... 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 3 1 1 4 6 4 1 1 5 10 10 5 1 The first six rows of Pascals triangle In mathematics, Pascals triangle is a geometric arrangement of the binomial coefficients in a triangle. ... The pascal (symbol Pa) is the SI unit of pressure. ... Main articles: Life The most salient example of biological universality is that all living things share a common carbon-based biochemistry and in particular pass on their characteristics via genetic material, which is based on nucleic acids such as DNA and which uses a common genetic code with only minor... Pharmacopoeia (literally, the art of the drug compounder), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society. ... Herbology is the art of combining medicinal herbs. ... Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) also known simply as Chinese medicine (Chinese: 中醫學 or 中药学, zhōngy o xŭe) or traditional Oriental medicine, is the name commonly given to a range of traditional medical practices originating in China thousands of years ago. ... A typical modern surgery operation For other meanings of the word, see Surgery (disambiguation) Surgery (from the Greek cheirourgia meaning hand work) is the medical specialty that treats diseases or injuries by operative manual and instrumental treatment. ... Acupuncture chart from the Ming dynasty. ... An autopsy, also known as a post-mortem examination or an obduction, is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of a persons death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present. ... With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual, and contrasts with soul, personality and behavior. ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... A taboo is a strong social prohibition (or ban) relating to any area of human activity or social custom declared as sacred and forbidden; breaking of the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. ... Alchemy is an early protoscientific practice combining elements of chemistry, physics, astrology, art, semiotics, metallurgy, medicine, and mysticism. ... For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... // Introduction The fundamental component of chemistry is that it involves matter in some way (this explains its broad reach). ... Chinese Astrology (占星術 pinyin: zhàn xÄ«ng shù; 星學 pinyin: xÄ«ngxúe ; 七政四餘 pinyin: qÄ« zhèng sì yú; and 果老星宗 pinyin: gÇ”o lÇŽo xÄ«ng zōng) is related to the Chinese calendar, particularly its 12-year cycle of animals (aka Chinese Zodiac), and the fortune-telling aspects according... Chinese constellations are different from the western constellations, due to the independent development of ancient Chinese astronomy. ... A crossbow is a weapon that fires projectiles called crossbow bolts or quarrels. ... Haniwa horse statuette, complete with saddle and stirrups, 6th century, Kofun period, Japan. ... // Repeating crossbows History Repeating crossbows have a long history, with the oldest accurate written knowledge dating to the Han dynasty (ca. ... Early detection of chemical agents Sociopolitical climate of chemical warfare While the study of chemicals and their military uses was widespread in China, the use of toxic materials has historically been viewed with mixed emotions and some disdain in the West (especially when the enemy were doing it). ... A riot control agent is a type of lachrymatory agent (or lacrimatory agent). ... A kite is a man-made, heavier-than-air object, designed to fly by opposing the force of the wind with the tension of a string held by the operator. ... A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ...

Miscellaneous topics

See also Buddhism in China Islam in China Chinese mythology Chinese philosophy Chinese art Chinese paper art Chinese poetry Chinese painting Chinese Music List of Chinese provinces Political divisions of China Chinese democracy movement

External links China Support Network, a U.S. based NGO founded in 1989 by a group of activists dedicated to democratic reform, human rights and freedom in China in response to Tiananmen Square. China Digital Times World History Database Chronology of China Internet Guide for Chinese Studies 1911 EB "China" China History Forums! Mondophoto.net - 4200 photos of China China taxes, businee and economy. China Yellow Pages and Business Directory. Portal dedicated to chinese culture, history and news.

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