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Introduction
It is believed that by the year 1900, the Chinese empire had already existed for almost 2000 years making China one of the oldest known countries (Wakeman 78). Surprisingly, by this time the country had begun to flourish in technological endeavors such as astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and medical fields (Wakeman 78). The writing and printing technology was first used and invented in China. By the time, the West had discovered using paper and printing, the Chinese people had already discovered the technology and used it for years.
Other discoveries that were originally made in China include silk weaving, which influenced the clothing industry, gunpowder, reading glasses, the magnetic compass, and suspension bridge (Wakeman 78). Nonetheless, by 1900, the empire had grown too weak as other nations were growing stronger. The countries trouble intensified in 1900 a period referred as the Boxer Rebellion climax. During this time, the Chinese killed Europeans and Christian who had been captured during the war. The European government consequently sent in troops to save their nationals hence paralysing the Chinese empire.
The Chinese culture
China as a nation has one of the richest cultures in the world and, as mentioned earlier, is one of the oldest. The Chinese culture is dominant not only in China but also in most of the Asian regions, especially the Eastern Asia (Wakeman 78). Nonetheless, it is very important to note that the Chinese cultural practices vary greatly according to provinces cities and towns (Wakeman 79). The elements of the Chinese culture include literature, visual arts, martial arts, cuisine, and music to mention but a few (Wakeman 79). To begin with, China has 56 different ethnic groups adding to the fact that the country is the largest population in the world (Wakeman 79). However, the Chinese people are so closely related such that identifying the different ethnic groupings may be a difficult task.
The largest of the ethnic groups in China is the Han Chinese. It is believed that there are many other groups that were absorbed in other dominant ethnicities hence disappearing (Wakeman 89). Also, in the Han ethnic group, there are minor distinctions in terms of language and cultural traditions, which create the distinction even within this single division. The Chinese culture is governed by beliefs and philosophies. The dominant philosophies in the heart of China are the Confucianism and Taoism, which form the religious practices of the Chinese (Wakeman 89).
Religious views
The best word to use in explaining the religious beliefs in China would be a country of pluralism. These beliefs are characterised by the freedom of alignment, as the Chinese religion view is not based on the demand for exclusive adherence of the members (Wakeman 86). It is even believed that the Chinese religious views are better defined as cultural practices or philosophies than religious practices (Wakeman 87). However, the dominant religious groupings are the Buddhists and the Taoists (Wakeman 89). Buddhism has been widely accepted through the Chinese communities and can be considered the greatest with reference to its following.
As mentioned earlier, Christianity has a dismal following in China and this can be owed to the persecution during the war against the Europeans (Wakeman 89). The religious beliefs of the Chinese people lay more emphasis on ethical, moral, and social values (Wakeman 87). The Chinese religions also are chastised by their reference to nature and spirits. Superstition is common among the Chinese religious aspects.
There is also the aspect of revering the ancestors and appeasing the spirits of the dead. Buddhism, which was introduced to China by the Han dynasty, was greatly accepted by the majority of Chinese people of all lifestyles (Wagner 79). The religion was borrowed from India and was promoted and supported by subsequent dynasty. It became so popular that it overshadowed the indigenous Taoism.
The spread of the Buddhist religion sparked some conflict among the followers, which led to the anti Buddhist persecution (Wagner 79). This greatly affected the growth of the religion, as they were greatly suppressed and marginalised. Nonetheless, the region survived and increased in later in the subsequent centuries. Some of the dynasties that helped the Buddhist culture or religion to flourish include Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and Song Dynasty among others (Wagner 79).
China in 1900
During this period, China was on a decline trend. The country was under great pressure from foreign nations who forcefully controlled Chinas ports and business. The opium war between the Chinese and the Britain governments was looming and ended up with Britain controlling of the strategic port of Hong Kong (Wagner 79). These wars had one major effect on the Chinese empire; the authority of its ports was compromised after they conceded defeat. The number of ports that were declared open ports for trade went up to 50 ports.
The entry of the European government was a blow to the Chinese people who became slaves to the Europeans. The European government subdivided the country into spheres of influence disregarding the wishes of the people of China. This led to the unwanted open door policy that gave foreign countries access to China.
Economic development
Today, China is one of the most economically sound nations on the face of the earth. The country has grown from a developing to a developed country I a speed that has left the entire globe in a shock. Major businesses in the world trace their roots in China and great investors from the West are eying on an opportunity to enter the great Chinese market. Nevertheless, this success and growth in the economy was not easy to come by. The economic history of the Chinese people stretches back from almost two millenniums and the challenges are many. Chinas economic growth has undergone a series of cycles where the country has had bad economic trends as well as good ones.
China experienced a period of peace and prosperity in the era of emperors Web and Jing (Wagner 79). During their reign, the Taoist principle was dominant; hence, government involvement in the economy was very limited. In the reigns of the two emperors, the Chinese people enjoyed tax reductions on agricultural products (Wagner 74). At some point, the taxes were completed removed to enhance growth in the industry and increase production. During the reign of Han dynasty, the richest men were merchants who dealt with salt and iron (Wagner 89).
The greatest investment anyone could make by this period was to invest in land. These merchants invested heavily on land and, as a result, they became great landowners in China. Consequently, the landowners became massive employers employing large numbers of peasants (Wagner 89). This is how the economy of China began to build up and growth increased from there. Salt and iron were the major commercial commodities and the players in the industries employed large numbers of the Chinese population. A single salt or iron industrialist could create job openings for not less than a thousand Chinese people.
The businesses grew rampantly with the advancement of drilling. Drilling enabled China to extract more salt as well as natural gas to be used as fuel (Spence 47). The private industry was growing and as the emperor viewed the growth, it was threatening the state. This later led to the nationalisation of the salt and iron trade aimed at producing profits for the government. Nonetheless, the economy was also driven by other factors of production such as the liquor industry and the formation of the light industries. Like the iron and salt industries, the liquor industry was also nationalised although for a short period before it was given back to the private sector (Spence 47).
Tracing Chinas economic development cannot be complete without putting into account the light industries such as textile and pottery, which were both developed in this period (Spence 47). Porcelain also was introduced in this period and they all contributed to the growth and development of Chinas economy. The impacts of the development of the iron industry led to the development of agriculture. Agricultural tools were made from the iron increased agricultural production and activity as efficiency was achieved through the development of these tools.
Technological development
China over the years has always been on the forefront in the technological world of science. This has been greatly impacted by the countrys quest to become the leader in science technology, and innovation in the next 20 years. The country has become one the most powerful nations on the face of the Earth owing to its innovations and scientific endeavors, which garner support from the political leadership. China prides itself with a strong foundation for its planning systems that ensures the countrys stability to support its technological pursuits.
The most recent changes in the countrys technological scope were experienced in the 1990s. China has all along been a state governed economy with every economic activity running through the authority and ownership of the government. The greatest change that influenced growth in the technology industry was the emergence of the non-state sector (Spence 54). The technological development began to take root in between 1949 and 1959 (Spence 55). By this time, the industry depended greatly on the support from the Soviet Union, which committed itself to help China with approximately one hundred and sixty five major industrial projects (Spence 54). The country also imported a number of technology and production lines from the Soviet Union as well as other western countries.
The imported technologies had numerous effects on the Chinese population. They brought along new skills and knowledge helping the Chinese population to gain necessary skills that were used later to develop their own technological industry (Spence 54). The country would send its people to other countries to train and gain skills in the use of the imported equipments and technologies. The trainees eventually came back after training and were the backbone of Chinas economic development. The government also played a very great role in making China a technological giant. The spread of the imported technologies was allocated in a manner that the regional balance was observed.
Globalisation
The idea of internationalism was first embraced in China in the Han dynasty era. During this period, the Europeans and the Chinese had four points of contact. These included the Northern land route, the Central land route, the Southern sea route, and the far Southern sea route (Smith 78). The trade relations between the west and the Chinese people through maritime commerce further influenced the idea of globalisation in the ancient China. Policies such as the open door policy were instrumental in opening China to the rest of the world. Other events that created the atmosphere for a globalised China were the unfortunately opium war which led to the loss of control of the major ports consequently. This gave western countries an access to China, hence, leading to globalisation.
Globalisation in China is both an avenue of opportunities as well as a compilation of challenges to its people. The rapid growth of the Chinese economy has been met with severe consequences. For instance, the great development of the heavy industries led to a sever 3 year drought that caused the deaths of almost 20 million people. The industrial growth has also become a challenge to the Chinas environmental health. Nonetheless, the Chinese have learned through their experiences a factor that gives them an upper hand when it comes to globalisation.
Today, China is the six greatest economies owing to its fast growing industrial activities. China has garnered this kind of performance learning from its past mistakes and experiences. The Chinese government has formulated policies that support the rapid growth seen in the economy. One of the greatest policies is the open-up policy, which connects the country to the outside world. This is not limited only to the developed world, but also for the developing. Opening-up in the developed world helps in attracting foreign investors. On the other hand, opening-up for the developing world give the Chinese business broader and new markets hence increasing the chances of growth.
The Chinese market has given the world an economic trading ground since the market is very wide absorbing most of the worlds products. China is one of the worlds greatest importers hence consuming most of the worlds products. On the other hand, the world is greatly enjoying the Chinese technological development through the low priced high quality Chinese products. China alone provides a vast market for world producers hence becoming the largest emerging market of the world.
Conclusion
This paper has discussed the entire history of the Chinese people in diverse dimensions. Their cultural and religious historic background has been discussed extensively. The paper has also looked at the major political trends of the Chinese government since 1900. In the paper, several developmental cycles both technological and economic have been outlined. Being a country with the largest population, the paper has discussed why China is ahead in terms of growth and development. Chinas growth in technology was influenced by factors such as colonisation and foreign policies, which have been lengthily outlined in this essay. The religious views of the Chinese people are unique attracting a number of scholars even from the west. This paper has looked into the religious groupings of the Chinese people and discussed some of the dominant religion.
Works Cited
Smith, Paul. State Power and Economic Activism during the New Policies, Berkeley University of California Press, 1993. Print.
Spence, Jonathan. The Search For Modern China , New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999. Print.
Wagner, Donald. The State and the Iron Industry in Han China, Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Publishing, 2001. Print.
Wakeman, Frederic. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-century China, Los Angeles, LA: University of California Press, 1985. Print.
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