China: A Civilisation or Nation-State?

“Civilisation”

• network of cities that emerge from pre-urban cultures, and are defined by the economic, political, military, diplomatic, social, and cultural interactions among them

• There is a tendency to use the term in a less strict way, to mean approximately the same thing as “culture”

• A culture that is complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such culture is generally hierarchical and urbanized

Nation-State

• A concept developed since 1648 in Europe

• Constitution that justifies/legalises the existence and rights of a particular group/s of people within a geographical area

• “sovereign territorial unit”

• A nation-state can be homogenous or multinational

Xia Dynasty 2100 BC -1700 BC

Shang Dynasty 1700 BC -1027 BC

Western Zhou Dynasty 1027 BC - 771 BC

Eastern Zhou Dynasty 770 BC - 221 BCSpring and Autumn Period 770 BC - 476 BCWarring States Period 475 BC - 221 BC

Qin Dynasty 221 BC - 207 BC

Han Dynasty 206 BC - 220 AD

The Three Kingdoms 220 AD - 280 AD

Western Jin Dynasty 265 AD - 316 AD

Southern & Northern Dynasties 420 AD - 588 AD

Sui Dynasty 581 AD - 617 AD

Tang Dynasty 618 AD - 907 AD

Northern Song Dynasty 960 AD - 1127 AD

Southern Song Dynasty 1127 AD - 1279 AD

Yuan Dynasty 1279 AD - 1368 AD

Ming Dynasty 1368 AD - 1644 AD

Qing Dynasty 1644 AD - 1911 AD

Europe• 1500s – Religious and political

tensions across Europe (Dark Age)

• 1600s – Birth of nation-states and decline of Church’s power in Europe

• 1700s – Age of Enlightenment/Reason; Overseas exploration and expansion began

• 1800s – Industrialisaion; overseas exploration and expansion gathered speed; competition among western powers

• By 1900 – heighten period of imperialism

China• 1500s – Ming China

(Superpower of the World)

• 1600s – Collapse of Ming and Rise of Qing

• 1700s – Qing China (Superpower of the World)

• 1800s – Internal disorder, bad governance and weakening of Qing

• By 1900 – rapid and advance decay of Qing China

Decline of Qing China (100 Years of Humiliation)

• 1839 – First Opium War

• 1860 – Second Opium War

• 1894 – 1st Sino-Japanese War

• 1898 – Boxers’ Rebellion

• 1911 – Collapse of Qing Dynasty

• 1927 – KMT Govt in Nanjing

• 1930 – Manchuria Incident

• 1937 – 2nd Sino-Japanese War

Concessions to Foreign Powers

Republic of China 1911

Sun Yat Sen

KMT Government: The Nanking Decade 1927-37

Chiang Kai Shek

Period of Warlords 1913-1927

The Communist Party of China

Mao Zedong

2nd Sino-Japanese War (WWII)

The Chinese Civil War

Birth of People’s Republic of China 1st Oct 1949

Now PRC was establised..

• But how should the country develop?

1.Gradual (reformists) or rapid (Maoists) move towards collectivisation and industrialisation?

2.Focus on economic reconstruction (reformists) or continued revolution (Maoists)?

Korean War 1951-53

Mao’s Great Leap Forward(1958-1961)

• Economic and social campaign• Use China's vast population to rapidly transform

the country from an agrarian economy into a modern communist society through the process of rapid industialisation and collectivisation

• ended in catastrophe, resulting in 18m to 32.5 m deaths

• Mao’s power decline & rise of reformists

Mao’s Cultural Revolution(1966-1976)

• to enforce communism in the country by removing capitalist , traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society

• to impose Maoist orthodoxy within the Party• marked the return of Mao Zedong to a position

of power after the failed Great Leap Forward• The movement paralyzed China politically and

significantly affected the country economically and socially.

Mao’s China (Cultural Revolution)

Nixon Visit to China 1972

Post-Mao China1976

Post-Mao China 1978

Post-Deng China