Modern Chinese History
The South China Sea China lays claim to a vast area of sea as far south as northern Borneo. The sea contains two groups of islands: the Paracels and the Spratleys. China's claim is disputed by all the neighboring countries surrounding the South China Sea. The U.S. navy continues to provocatively sailed through the region and plans further naval maneuvers. Read more…
The Peoples of China China although predominately populated with the Han Chinese , has over 100 million people identified as belonging to other ethnic minorities. However these people are concentrated in the less densely populated 'fringes' of China so may form the majority in some regions. Read more…
The building of China's railways The building of railways became a competitive scramble in the late 19th and early 20th century. Railways were seen as the key step to opening up inland China for trade. Britain, France, Germany, Japan and America all invested heavily in railway construction only for the the money to be lost in the following years of turmoil. Read more…
China's Space Mission China is putting a great deal of money and effort in building a space exploration program . Already missions have put people into orbit around the Earth and landed robots onto the Moon. Plans exist for a large space lab and manned landings on the Moon and even missions to Mars. In a race to put people on Mars it could well be China that gets there first. Read more…
Southern refuge
When northern China was overrun by Khitans and then Mongols 800 years ago the Imperial Song family moved to Hangzhou . It proved to be a peaceful and prosperous time for 150 years. In memory of this period some scenes of Hangzhou are still to be found in the long corridors of the Summer Palace , Beijing.
China's name Why do we call the country of China 'China'? It is not the name used by the Chinese people themselves. In fact there are a number of names used in the 'Middle Kingdom' that reflect the country's rich cultural and historic heritage. Read more…
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Top Academy in China 725-1911 China can lay claim to having the longest lived academic institution. The Hanlin Academy was founded way back in the Tang dynasty long before any European university. For nearly 1,200 years it employed all the top scholars in many disciplines and had its own set of buildings at the Imperial capital. The academy produced Imperial edicts, the Imperial histories as well as educating the Emperor's children and administering the university examination system . Read more…
The Chinese Emperor The institution of Emperor , as head of the Chinese family of people, lasted for thousands of years and to some extent lives on with the Presidency. In China there has been great respect for the Emperor/President who in turn is expected to rule wisely with the best interests of his subjects in mind. To early European visitors to China the structure was considered close to the ideal form of society. Read more…
The Long March The epic tale of the struggle of thousands of soldiers over thousands of miles of challenging terrain has been held up as the chief heroic episode in the early days of the Communist party. It was during the Long March that Mao Zedong emerged as leader with his own vision for the future of China. Read more…
Population China has been the most populous nation for much of the last few thousand years. The draconian 'One Child Policy ' measure was introduced to curb the worrying explosive growth in the period 1950-80.
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Imperial servants - the eunuchs For over two thousand years the Chinese Emperor was served by a large number of Imperial servants who had been castrated as young boys. With no possibility of having children themselves they were seen as having more loyalty to the Emperor than the, often scheming, Imperial family. Some eunuchs became fabulously rich as a result of their control of access to the Emperor. Read more…
Foreigners in China China was exploited by foreign powers from the end of the Qing dynasty to the foundation of the PRC in 1949. The establishment of foreign enclaves within most Chinese cities one hundred years ago led to many frictions with the foreign powers, particularly Britain. The treaty port system forcibly opened up cities to foreign trade in late Qing dynasty China. Read more…
