Transcript Suggested reading For further reading related to specific

Chapter 1
The Yellow river
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1. A Brief History of China
1.1 The origins of the nation
1.2 Rise and fall of the empire
1.3 China in the new
millennium
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Keywords:
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Chinese nation,
Chinese civilization,
dynasty,
Confucius,
feudalism,
revolution,
collectivism
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1.1 The origins of the
nation
1.1.1 Cradle of the nation
1.1.2 Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties
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King Wu (c 1066 BC):
“Here [Luoyi, a place in central
China] is the center under
heaven, from which all other
states bear same distance when
they come to pay tributes.”
(ci tianxia zhi zhong, sifang rugong daoli jun)
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Hezun: Early stories about China:
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1.2 Rise and fall of the
empire
1.2.1 Qin, Han and Jin dynasties
1.2.2 Sui, Tang and Song dynasties
1.2.3 Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties
1.2.4 Fall of the empire
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Events in the early 20th century:
• 1912, China‘s final dynasty, the Qing, was
replaced by the Republic of China (ROC);
• 1921, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was
founded;
• 1931, Japan invaded the Northeast China
(Manchuria);
• 1937, Japan invaded China and the War of
Resistance Against Japan began;
• 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally and,
thereafter, the Civil War between the
Nationalists and the Communists broke out;
• 1949, the People‘s Republic of China (PRC)
was founded, followed by the large-scale
land reform and socialist transformation.
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1.3 China in the new
millennium
1.3.1 Socialism in transition
1.3.2 Capitalism, Chinese style?
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35
30
Share of GDP (%)
25
20
15
10
W. Europe
USA
China
India
5
0
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
Year
Figure 1.1 A dynamic view of the Chinese economy, AD 1500-2000
Source: Created by the author based on Maddison (2001).
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Confucius said:
• Since the age of 15, I have devoted myself
to learning;
• since 30, I have been well established;
• since 40, I have understood many things
and have no longer been confused;
• since 50, I have known my heaven-sent duty;
• since 60, I have been able to distinguish
right and wrong in other people‘s words;
and
• since 70, I have been able to do what I
intended freely without breaking the rules.
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Case study 1
Understanding Chinese
culture
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Table 1.1 Confucianism versus Taoism: some basic facts
Founder’s name
Confucianism
Taoism
Kongzi (Confucius)
Laozi (Lao Tzu)
Founder’s year of birth 551 BC
c. 600 BC
Founder’s place of
birth / living
How the founder
suffered from river
flood
Qufu – lower reaches of
Yellow river
Luyi/Luoyia – middle and
upper reaches of Yellow river
Very serious
Not serious
Overall goal
Find peaceful and
harmonious place of life
No overall goal
Rule of behavior
Follow a certain relationship Follow the life according to
between people
the Tao
Attitude toward flood
control
Narrow channel by high
levees
Wider flood plain between
lower levees
(a) Laozi spent most of his career first at Luoyi (capital of the Eastern Zhou dynasty)
and later at the mountain areas in western China.
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Chapter conclusion:
Starting with a brief history of China
(called “ zhongguo” in Chinese, meaning
“center under heaven”), this chapter is
focused on various factors that could have
shaped China’s existing political, economic
and cultural characteristics. It investigates
the causes and consequences of China’s
periodic changes of feudal dynasties as
well as their political, economic and
cultural implications to the Chinese
economy in the new millennium.
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Suggested reading
Analects of Confucius (lunyu) by Confucius (an English text is
available at: http://www.confucius.org/lunyu/lange.htm).
Bolton, P., and G. Roland (1997). “The Breakup of Nations: A
Political Economy Analysis,” The Quarterly Journal of
Economics, Volume 112, pp. 1057-89.
Friedman, D. (1977). “A Theory of the Size and Shape of
Nations,” Journal of Political Economy, Volume 85(1), pp.
59-77.
Shiji (records of the grand historian) by Sima Qian (an English
introductory text is available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Records_of_the_Grand_Historian).
Tao Te Ching (or daodejing) by Lao Tzu (or Laozi) (an English
text is available at:
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html).
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