章节分类

Empire

China's ancient civilization began in the Huang Ho basin around 1500 BC. The warring feudal states comprising early China were first united under Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang Ti (246-210 BC) who gave China its name and first central government. Subsequent dynasties alternated brilliant cultural achievements with internal disorder until the Empire was brought down by the revolution of 1911, and the Republic of China installed in its place. Chinese thought and art, a blend of philosophy, art, literature, and science, saw great achievements but a traditional backwardness in industry and administration. In the latter half of the 19th century, Western expansionism and Chinese defeats by European military and political influence prompted a drastic revision of political practice to secure a more modern approach while modernizing cultural aspects.

The Republic of China (1911) barely survived the stresses of World War I and was subsequently split and shattered by internal warlords. A national government was finally formed in 1927 under Chiang Kai-shek, who practiced a policy of collaboration with Western nations and other parties in modernizing society. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and World War II strained these improvements. After WWII, the Japanese withdrawal and the return of war with the Communists brought further challenges.

By 1949, the Communists under the leadership of Mao Tse-tung defeated the Nationalists, and on September 21, 1949, the People's Republic of China was formally established.

Emperors