A Briefing About China

Monday, December 01, 2008

CHINA – THE COUNTRY

This morning we heard a briefing on the history of China, and learned about some basic information about this highly populated corner of the world. 1.3 billion people live in China. 92% of the population is Han people, and 8% of the population is made up of 55 other ethnic groups.

Beijing is located in northern China. It is the political capital, educational center, and  economic powerhouse of the country. Beijing’s population is 15 million, the third highest city in the country. Shanghai has 17 million people living in its city. China has two important rivers. The first is the Yellow River. It flows into the yellow sea, and is the 5^th longest. The second is the Yangtze River, which means long river. The rivers are considered to be the cradle of ancient civilization. 1/3 of the population lives near the Yangtze.

Tomorrow, we will fly to Guiyang in southwest China, It is the capital city of the Guizhou province. There are 23 provinces in China: Inner Mongolia, Outer Mongolia (which is Independent), Tibet, and Xinjuiang (largest land area of the province). There are 4 municipalities under the jurisdiction of the China central government – Beijing, Shanghai, Tienjen, Chonguing (flying tigers based during the second world war). There are 2 special SAR: Hong Kong and Macau.

CHINESE HISTORY

A condensed look at Chinese history: China is one of four ancient civilizations in the world. In 551 B.C. Confucius was born. China was not unified – there were 7 states and they fought against one another for their own interests. Confucius was born in a very poor family but managed to get good education, and when he was 50 he became prime minister. He was forced to retire at age of 55. He left his disciples and traveled around competing states and advocating his teachings. He was a famous educator and philosopher. Confucisim is considered a philosophy, not a religion.  

First unified feudal dynasty in Chinese history was the Qin Dynasty – 221 B.C. Emperor Qin Shihaungdi initiated the construction of the great wall, which is the connection of separate walls into one great wall. During this time, he standardized currency, measurements, written language. He was a cruel emperor.

The Tang Dynasty occurred in 618. It was one of the most prosperous dynasties, and is referred to the golden years of China. During this time, the Silk Road reached its peak. China was the most powerful country in the world at the time.

The Ming Dynasty was another golden era of China. In a book, 1421- The Year the Chinese Discovered America , the author of the book argues that America was discovered by a Ming dynasty Chinese explorer 70 years before Columbus.

Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty. The Mancau Dynasty is what we call it in the west. Emperors were all Manchurians.  China was overthrown in 1911 by a revolution led by the equivalent of the Chinese George Washington. He overthrew the feudal dynasty of Qing, and established the first republic of China. He died in 1925.

1840 was the first Opium War between China and the UK. In 1921 Communist Party founded. The Great Leap Forward lasted until 1947. During this time, the first economic plan was developed in China. There was an increase in the speed of growth of socialism in China. The leader established special communes for collective labor. The whole population was mobilized to produce steel. It turned into an economic disaster.

From 1925 – 1949, China was ruled by the Nationalist Party. Between this period of time, China was occupied by the Japanese. There were 8 years of anti-Japanese war.

1949 the People’s Republic of China was founded by the Communist party by Chairman Mao. He declared this on the Tianemen Square.  October 1 is the National Day of China.

Between 1949 and 1978, there were a lot of movements and historical events happened in China. The Cultural Revolution from 1966 – 1976, was a campaign launched by Mao to eliminate his political rivals. It officially ended in 1969, but lasted until death of Chairman Mao and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976.

1978 Open- Up. There have been dramatic changes over the past 30 years – socially and economically. This year is the 30^th anniversary of this policy.

BASICS ABOUT CHINA

Chinese mandarin is the official language. There are over 100 unique forms of local dialects. Various religions are celebrated in China: Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Catholicism.  There is one official time zone nationwide. Dining in China is round-table service, eaten with chopsticks. The currency is RMB,  yuan.

GUIYANG

We also received a briefing on Guizhou Province. It will be a three-hour flight from Beijing to Guiyang when we travel. We will tour a school in the Changjiao village which is 1 ½ hours by bus from the city.  As a result, we will be able to experience remote areas of the country, in addition to the large city of Beijing. Guiyang has 39.3123 million people living there. It is made up of 17 ethnic groups. 37.8% of the total population of the province is Miao. Guiyang is mountainous, and is a very poor area. The average annual income is $64 American dollars. The weather will be rainy while we are there.  There is no heating in the school.

We will present gifts to the school. During our briefing, we received several cultural tips on the types of gifts to avoid. We were told not to share a clock as it symbolizes the end of life. We are also not to give men “green hats” because it means that your wife is having an affair. Finally, we were advised not to give Chinese news papers and journals that were written in the United States as gifts.

The Chinese People’s Association for the Friendship with Foreign Countries has partnered with the People-to-People organization to establish this forum. Guiyang was selected because it is an underdeveloped region of China. Teachers there have fewer opportunities to meet Westerners and are eager to learn from us. This fourm creates a unique opportunity for the native teachers as well as those of us on the delegation.

Expanding Vocabulary:

Boo shi – no

Teqwela – too expensive