China

The People’s Republic of China, commonly known as China, is a nation in East Asia, is the largest nation in the world in terms of population (at 1.4 billion), and the fourth largest in terms of land area, behind Russia, Canada and the United States of America. Its culture and economy are varied, with a history thousands of years old.

History

Full article: History of China

Although archaeologists have found settlements in China dating to 5000 BCE, the earliest nation that can be dated in the area of modern China is the Shang Dynasty, approximately 2000 BCE.

Dynasty followed dynasty, as old regimes would lose the "mandate of heaven;" it was believed that each emperor ruled only with the approval of heaven, and a ruler who was unfit to rule would curse the nation until replaced. In addition, the Chinese capital would occasionally be overrun by "barbarians," who invariably would start a new dynasty in the Chinese capital, integrating their nations into the former dynasty.

For a long time China has stood as a leading civilization, out-pacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. However in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under Mao Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor Deng Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development, and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls and Internet censorship remain tight.

China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade, to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy.

Religion

Full article: Religion of China

In addition to the native folk religions, China is home of two of the world's oldest surviving religions: Confucianism and Taoism. Buddhism, carried over from India and Tibet, has strongly influenced China and today there are several schools of Buddhism in the country.

In addition, China has several religious minorities. Islam in China is rather moderate, and Chinese Muslims (majority are of Hui ethnicity) often define their faith in Taoist or Confucian terms, although they do not believe in the supernatural elements of those faiths. Christianity had suffered much during the first 50 years of Communist rule, especially as church tried to play a political role in people's lives. In recent years, the restrictions have lowered. Catholicism in China is an especially interesting topic, as the Chinese government has tried to replace the Vatican in Catholic lives.

Although the government of China is officially non-religious, freedom of religion is protected by the Chinese constitution -- as well as the "freedom not to believe in any religion." This has led to dissent, as evangelism and proselytization are considered to interfere with a person's right not to believe. As evangelism is required by some religions, this creates a contradiction within Chinese law; the people have the right to believe and worship as they wish, but they have no right to impose their beliefs on others -- even if the act of evangelism is considered the purest (or even the only) form of worship. So far, there has been no resolution to this paradox.

The PRC also has a record of persecution of several religious groups, including Falun Gong. The persecution of Falun Gong has been condemned by a resolution passed unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Economy

Full article: Economy in China

Early on, China was a world leader in economy and the sciences, and would be anywhere from one to five centuries ahead of classical Greek and Roman culture until the 1400s. During the 15th century, China became increasingly isolationist, which lead to a slow loss of its advantage, by 1500 CE, isolationism and continual warfare had drained Chinese economy.

The situation would later improve after the first few decades of the Cold War, and has been improving as businesses (both domestic and foreign) comes to use the infrastructure built during the Cold War.

The modern Chinese economy has benefited from two loosely affiliated nations: Taiwan and Hong Kong. These states have developed highly developed economies (each would qualify as a first world nation were they independent nations) and governments, and their models have helped to develop the Chinese economy, either by acting as intermediaries or by acting as models. This has been negatively reinforced by the horrors of neighboring North Korea, whose occasional immigrants have helped to paint a negative picture of absolute dictatorships.

These two factors have changed Chinese economy, from a command economy to a more socialist state, with the Chinese economy increasingly in the hands of privately-owned businesses, not state- or military-run enterprises. The 2001 declaration by Jiang Zemin (former leader of the Chinese Communist Party) of the "theory of three represents" -- that the CCP represents not only workers, but also intellectuals and entrepreneurs -- was an explicit affirmation of what had been a trend for the previous years.

Issues in China

During the years of Communist rules, many human rights issues cropped up. These have lessened in number and intensity as China's liberalization continues, although as freedom of the press increases, it becomes easier to report on violations from both past and present. The issues have been hard to research, however, because Western propaganda created during the height of the Cold War is often regarded as fact.

References

• Ching, Julia. Chinese Religions. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1993.
• Ogden, Suzanne, ed. China. Dubuque, Iowa: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin Co., 2006.