Imperial China

vs.

Modern China

JUSTINE

FAITH

P.

MELGAR

10A

How much was China’s individualistic

identity redefined at the turn of the 20th

century?

In the course of

65 years (1911-1976)

China has dramatically

changed…

• Politically

• Socially

• CulturallyStudents in school uniforms link their arms to form the flag of the

Communist Party of China, in celebration of the party's upcoming 90th

anniversary during a photo call at a primary school in Dexing, Jiangxi

province, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/China Daily)

The end and the

beginning…

After around

295 years of rule over

China, the Qing

dynasty was

overthrown. Thus

effectively putting an

end to over 2,000

years of imperial rule

in the country. It was

out with the old and in

with the new. A painting during the Qing Dynasty

Political Change

Politics in Imperial China

• The emperors in imperial China were said to be chosen by God. An emperor was often referred to as the “Son of Heaven”.

• The Chinese believed that the emperor had the power to control “everything under the sun”.

• There were three types of government in imperial China; nepotistic, aristocracy and meritocracy.

• The nepotistic system meant that every high government role were given to the emperor’s family.

• The aristocracy system meant that government power was given to the wealthy class.

• The meritocracy system’s government officials were picked the highest scorers of the Imperial Exam.

China under a Communist Government

• In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party won against the nationalists in the Chinese Civil War.

• In Communist China, the people were free to vote their leaders. Although, basically there was only one choice.

• Anyone who were against, or even accused to be were quickly gotten rid of through execution.

• Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party has tolerated no opposition by other parties. Any opposition was violently dealt with.

Social Change

Hierarchy

Before:

• Similar to the British feudal system, China’s social classes during the imperial era was from the emperor (highest) to the slaves (lowest).

After:

• After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, warlords have divided China into mini kingdoms.

• For a period of time, during the ‘Warlord Era’, warlords were in control.

• However, when the communists took control of the government, their social class was lowered. The peasants also had the right to have them executed if they found that a land owner was unfair or corrupt.

Religion

Religions in Imperial China

• The most practiced religion in imperial China was

Buddhism, followed by Confucianism and Daoism.

• Buddhism is China’s oldest foreign religion. As with a lot

of other things apart from religion, Buddhism spread to

China from India in the 1st and 2nd centuries in the way of

the Silk Road.

• Christianity was the second foreign religion that came

into China. It was said to have arrived in the country just

shortly after Jesus’ death in the early AD.

• Islam was introduced to the country through trade routes

around 618-907 AD. It is also the third foreign religion to

arrive in the country.

The Newly Established People’s Republic

of China and Freedom of Religion

• The new People’s Republic of China that

was established in 1949 guaranteed

freedom of religion and freedom to

propagate atheism.

The Cultural Revolution and Religion

• Between 1966 to 1976, Chinese youth rose up to purge the nation

of the “Four Olds”; old customs, old habits, old culture and old

ideas.

• The call for cultural revolution by Mao created the “Red

Guards”, which was mostly consisted of youths, some even as

young as elementary students.

• The Red Guards destroyed Buddhist temples, churches, mosques

and many other places of worship.

• They also burnt down religious scriptures, sacred texts, religious

statues and even artworks.

• In my opinion, the Communist Party, in a way, subliminally lead

the people to turn against organized religion so that they would

be more obedient to the government.

Values

Confucianist and Buddhist Values

• Chinese culture and government systems relied heavily on Confucianism’s morals and values.

• A lot of Confucius’ teachings focuses on humanness and the importance of family.

• Humanness focuses on each individual’s duty to help others.

• While importance of family teaches children to honor and respect their parents and elders.

• Since majority of the Chinese used to be Buddhists as well, they used to practice the way of the Eightfold Path.

Life-Religion= ???

• The Cultural Revolution has left China almost completely devoid of organized religion.

• The people then became more focused on obeying whatever the communist government and especially what the “Little Red Book” says. The book contains quotations from Mao, reinforcing his communist philosophies on the people especially the youth.

• Everyone in China were ‘encouraged’ to have it.

Cultural Change

Arts

Art in Imperial China

• Many Chinese artworks, not only

visual but also poetry and

literature, were based on religious

and supernatural beliefs, as well

as natural landscapes.

• Calligraphy, the art of painting

Chinese characters with a brush,

was also extremely popular.

• Chinese art in the imperial period

has always been calm and serene,

pictures of mountains and other

natural landscape were famous

art subjects.

Art under Communism

• During the cultural revolution, many artists were ‘encouraged’ to change their art styles to “revolutionary realism” to honor the great revolutions in that century.

• Apart from revolutionary realism, they were also ‘encouraged’ to draw or paint political propagandas.

• The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution caused many well-known artists to be purged, thus creating a big impact on the country’s creative society.

Intellectual Circles

Intellectuals during the

Imperial Period• During the Imperial period,

government officials were chosen through the Imperial Examination.

• Anyone was permitted to take the exam in order to prove themselves. If he passes the exam, a peasant’s son can become a government official just as a wealthy man’s son can.

• Examinees were tested according to their knowledge of “The Six Classics” which were books mainly focused on Confucianism ideals.

• People who tested good on these tests and showed great talent and knowledge were the ones who formed Imperial China’s intellectual circles.

Intellectuals under the

Communist Regime

• Sun Yat-sen then developed a new way of picking out government officials based on the old imperial examination system and some strong points of western examination systems. It was called the Examination Yuan.

• In 1965 during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, many intellectuals were purged for being accused of counterrevolutionary ideals. The purging caused socioeconomic chaos.

• If the communist government found that an intellectual may not be a supporter of communism, they were executed.

OPVL: SOURCE ANALYSIS

Destroy the Old World;

Establish the New World

• Origin:- It is a propaganda produced in Beijing on

1967, and was made by an unknown Chinese artist. The Chinese texts in the propaganda says “Destroy the Old World; Establish the New World”.

• Purpose:- Judging from the looks of the young man

in the picture and some background information of when this propaganda was published, I would say that the target audience of this propaganda were the Chinese youth since it was published during the Cultural Revolution. In my opinion, the purpose of this propaganda was to reinforce the idea of cultural change to the youth. It was made to encourage youth to turn against organized religion as it is ‘a thing of the past’. And, since the Communist Party encouraged atheist ideas, I guess it was made for that reason as well.

Destroy the Old World;

Establish the New World

• Value:- I think that this source is valuable

to historians, as it was valuable to me. The young man with the hammer, and as well as the other people present in the background represents the ‘Red Guards’. As you read about the Cultural Revolution, you’d read about the Red Guards destroying almost anything that reminded them of their past, from 1911 and previous. From what I can make out among the pile of things under the young man’s feet, there’s the crucifix, a Buddha statue, an old record and an old painting. The hammer carried by the young man also represents the trail of destruction the Red Guards left al-throughout the country while they purged the country of the ‘Four Olds’.

Destroy the Old World;

Establish the New World

• Limitations:- As of course this was a Communist

propaganda, it features what the Communists wanted the people to do. It also just features the Red Guards, which may lead you to ask the questions, “Wasn’t there anyone who was against this?” or “What about the people who practiced those religions, like Buddhism and Christianity, how did they react to this?” Well those were the questions I asked, and the information I wanted wasn’t shown in this source. It was a motivational propaganda made to make people act according to the government’s will but it did not show what some locals might’ve thought about the purge of the ‘Four Olds’.

BACK TO THE RESEARCH

QUESTION…

How much was China’s individualistic identity redefined at

the turn of the 20th century?

• At the beginning of this presentation, this question was

posed and now that the presentation is almost done, I believe

providing an answer to this question is only appropriate.

• If I were to describe China’s transformation, I would say that

it was like the process of metamorphosis. Imperial China was the

caterpillar who hid in it cocoon after the its dynastic days were

over. Only when it came out of its cocoon in 1949, instead of

becoming a beautiful butterfly, it turned out to be a moth. What I’m

trying to say is that, the change brought hope and rejuvenation at

first but then just resulted in turmoil, confusion and a thorough

destruction of moral and ethical values. At least that’s my opinion.

How much was China’s individualistic identity redefined at

the turn of the 20th century?

• In my opinion, if China was a person, he wasn’t the same

person he used to be after 1949. He tried to delete his past, as if it

was a spiteful memory. He destroyed remnants of what reminded

him of his past.

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