CHINA STUDIES

H1 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE

2014

Setting Expectations

Lecture-tutorial system

Lecture: Talk Less, Learn More

Understanding key perspectives

Picking up of key content

Tutorial: Active INTELLIGENT participation

Questions & Answers

Discussion of perspectives

Assessment skills acquisition

Application of content

Setting Expectations

No textbook

Lecture notes

Tutorial pack

No repeat of lectures/tutorials

Setting Expectations

Always be prepared when attending lectures/tutorials

Ensure that readings are done

Good efforts in your daily work

Setting Expectations

Follow daily news on China

Straits Times

People’s Daily (http://english.peopledaily.com.cn)

China Daily

Beijing Review

CNN

BBC

South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com)

Syllabus Content

4 broad themes

Culture and Society (Sociology/Philosophy)Authority and Governance

(Political Science)Development and Challenges (Economics)China and the World

(Foreign Policy)

Objectives

The Concepts of “China”

1. China: civilisation vs. nation-state

2. China: unity vs. diversity

3. China: order vs. disorder (instability)

4. China: traditional vs. modern

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

distinguished by their means of subsistence, types of livelihood, settlement patterns, forms of government, social stratification, economic systems, literacy, and other cultural traits

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

 The state is a political and geopolitical entity

The nation is a cultural and/or ethnic one

“Nation-state" implies that the two coincide geographically.

J1 H2 CSE Assessment

Assessment Modes

CA: 20%

Mid Year: 20% (essays)

Promo: 60% (essays + case studies)

Do You Know

In April 2011, China was on the verge of having 1 million millionaires

China now has the sixth largest population of millionaires in the world, far more than in India and Russia combined, and the number is growing at a rate of 15 percent a year.

Do You Know

Millionaire Yang, made his first fortune by encouraging customers in southern China to replace their boring white mosquito nets with brightly colored and patterned ones. Three years after hatching this idea he was a rich man.

Zeng Weili, an entrepreneur who rode around southern China on a bicycle in the mid 1980s selling shares for his company, created the Baoan Group, a conglomerate that controlled $675 million in assets in 1995.

Buying Car With Cash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFW4GeNda40

Qin Dynasty 221 BC - 207 BC

Achievements

Qin united whole China for the first time.

Building roads and post offices to make interchange of labour, information, and resources.

He also gave people freedom of choosing the place they live...which wasn't permitted for last thousand years.

First standard currency that can be used through whole China. He made a powerful administration to govern and control currency(which was quite similar to national banks today). This fastened the rise of domestic commerce in China and united China as one economic community 

Written law is the one and only power that governs. He executed even his own son(who broke a law) to show everybody that even the emperor and loyal family are not above law.

Achievements

Formulated language, written letters, numeric system, units for weights and measures...before Qin empire, there were more than 11 languages used 

Made the first encyclopaedia in the world. It was not just an academic achievement, but also a trial to make a standard of Chinese philosophy and value. 

Built the Great Wall and 400,000 professional army. It was Qin that made the standard of military system and strategy of ancient China.

Qin also divided China into 13 states and each states into a 10 jurisdictions for governing purpose. Because this division was done with great foresight and understanding the status of each divisions...Qin's decision had not changed at all for next 700 years...and quite lot of it still last up to today 

He became the first emperor and made the first powerful central government that European kings in 16~18th century tried to build.

Han Dynasty 206 BC - 220 AD

Achievements

The Han Dynasty begins in 206 B.C.

The arts and sciences thrived to new heights.

The Chinese people still refer to themselves as the Han people in recognition of China's achievements of this period.

The Han emperors used the civil service examination to select officials.

This examination stressed the teachings of Confucius. Promotion was based on merit.

Under the Han China produced important works of history, medicine, philosophy, and politics.  Trade routes were formed between China and Europe.

The Silk Route dates from this time. During the Han dynasty, China invented paper, water clocks, sundials, and developed a seismograph.

Silk Road

Tang Dynasty 618 AD - 907 AD

Achievements

Became the center of trade in the eastBecame the center of trade in the east

The study of medicine, study of complex chemicals to create gunpowder, the use of wood block printing which led to the concept of printing

The empire contributed greatly to art, social cultures, and foreign relations

Ming Dynasty 1368 AD - 1644 AD

Achievements Great reconstruction works of the new Capital Beijing

and the refurbishing and extension of the Great Wall.

China under the banner of the Mandate of Heaven and a Chinese Emperor embraced the Neo-Confucian philosophies of the past and gave tremendous support of the peasantry that in turn created an agrarian-centered based society.

During the Ming Dynasty incredible advances in the sciences and arts were achieved giving the Chinese great pride and self confidence with the knowledge that that they had created the most advanced civilization on earth. 

Long wars with the Mongols, repeated attacks on Chinese controlled Korea by the Japanese, and Japanese attacks on Chinese coastal cities greatly hurt the economy of the Ming.

Qing Dynasty 1644 AD - 1911 AD

Achievements

The Qing Dynasty (also known as the Manchu Dynasty). The Manchus and Chinese dually worked in the same position, by appointment through the examination system, which became known as the Manchu-Chinese diarchy. However, the Manchus were exempt from the examination system because of the Manchu's dominance. 

The Qing preference for agriculture over trade.

During the reign of Qianglong, the borders of China were expanded to their greatest extent ever. Strong economic prosperity, coupled with Qianlong's success in preserving the Inner-Asian empire (encompassing Xingjiang and Mongolia)

The isolationist policy towards Europeans set by Emperor Qianlong proved to be a fatal mistake. During the 19th century and early 20th century, the Qing court was not prepared for conflicts with Europeans and Japanese.

Compounding the problem was the lack of modern education as the empire's literati concentrated on the Imperial Examinations.

Coupled with many natural disasters, faced with foreign economic competition and modernization with little knowledge of the outside world or scientific knowledge many died and faced starvation leading to social crisis.

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

1919 – May 4th Movement

1927 – KMT Govt in Nanjing

1930 – Manchuria Incident

1937 – 2nd Sino-Japanese War

1949 – Proclamation of the People’s Republic of China

Important Dates In China

1911 – Collapse of Qing Dynasty

1912 – Establisment of Kuomingtang (KMT)

1919 – May 4th Movement

1949 – Proclamation of the People’s Republic of China 1956-1957 - “Hundred Flowers” campaign

1957-1958 - “Anti-Rightist” campaign

1958-1961 - “Great Leap Forward” campaign

1966-1976 - Cultural Revolution

1978-1979 - “The Four Modernizations”

Video(15 min)

1. To Know What Is China