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About ChinaChina is an ancient cultural and geographic entity in
continental East Asia with some offshore islands which since 1949 ha
About China
China is an ancient cultural and geographic entity in continental East
Asia with some offshore islands which since 1949 has been divided between
the People's Republic of China (governing Mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Macau) and the Republic of China (governing Taiwan and several outlying
islands of Fujian Province).
The term "China" can narrowly mean China proper, or, more usually and
inclusively, China proper and Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and
Xinjiang (see map in Political divisions of China). In the western news
media, "China" is commonly used to refer to the People's Republic of
China or mainland China, while "Taiwan" is used to refer to the Republic
of China. Sometimes informally, especially in the English and Chinese
business world, "the Greater China region" refers to China as defined
broadly in the introduction.
The historical capitals of China were mostly in the east. The four most
commonly designated capitals are Nanjing, Beijing, Xi'an, and Luoyang.
Official languages once included Chinese, Mongol, and Manchu.
The English word China and prefix Sino- probably came from "Qin"
(pronounced halfway between "Chin" and "Tsin"). Others believe that China
may have been derived from the Chinese word for Tea (Cha) or Silk. In any
circumstance, the word China passed through many languages along the Silk
Road before it finally reached Europe.
History
China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization, and became a
large united country with an advanced culture at a very early stage,
outpacing the rest of the world in areas like art and science.
Since around 1000 BC China consisted of many small kingdoms. All of these
were unified under one emperor in 221 BC by the Qin state, ushering in
the Qin Dynasty. Over the course of centuries, China underwent periods of
unity and disunity, order and disorder.
In the 18th century, China achieved a decisive technological advantage
over the peoples of Central Asia, while simultaneously falling behind
Europe technologically. This set the stage for the 19th century, in which
China adopted a defensive posture against European imperialism while
simultaneously extending control into Central Asia.
In the early 20th century, the institution of the Emperor of China
disappeared, and China entered a period of disunion started by the
Chinese Civil War. There are now two nations which lay formal claim to
the title of "China": the People's Republic of China (also called
"Mainland China") and the pre-revolution government of the Republic of
China which administers Taiwan and several small islands of Fujian.
Politics
After the Qin Empire unification, China experienced about 13 more
dynasties, many of which includes extensive system of kingdoms,
principalities, dukedoms, earldoms, and marquisates. However, ultimately,
the emperor had the centralized authority. The emperor also consulted
civil and martial ministers, especially the prime minister. Sometimes
political power, however, fell into the hands of the officials, eunuchs,
or relatives.
Political relations with dependencies (tributary kingdoms) were
maintained by international marriages, military aids, and gifts. (see
section "Geography, Political" below for examples).
Territory
Originally in the Zhou Dynasty, China was the region around the Yellow
River. The territory since then had been expanding from the West outward
in all directions, and was largest during the Tang, Yuan, and Qing
Dynasties. From the Chinese point of view, the "Chinese" Empire included
parts of modern far eastern Russia and Central Asia during the strongest
periods of the Yuan, although China was merely one of many territories of
the Mongol Empire.
Like provincial administrators, some foreign monarchs sent envoys to
offer gifts to the Emperor of China and the Emperor returned compliments
to them. The Chinese ostensibly saw that barbarians attached themselves
to the virtue of the Emperor, while the foreign governments sometimes had
different perspectives. Since the end of the 19th century, China has
tried to interpret this relationship as suzerainty-dependency based on
Western international law.
The Qing Empire reduced the territorial value of Great Wall as a barrier
of China proper. In 1683, Taiwan became a part of the Qing Empire,
originally as a prefecture, then two.
Top-level political divisions of China have altered as the administration
changed. Top levels inclduded circuits and provinces. Below that, there
have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commandries,
districts, and townships. Recent divisions include counties and cities.
Geography
China contains a large variety in landscapes, with mostly plateaux and
mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east. As a result,
principal rivers flow from west to east (Chang Jiang, the Huang He (of
central-east), the Amur (of northeast), etc), sometimes to south (Pearl
River, Mekong River, Brahmaputra, etc). All rivers empty into the Pacific.
In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea
are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of
the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated
by hill country and lower mountain ranges.
To the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a
vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation,
with the Himalaya, containing highest point Mount Everest. The southwest
also has high plateaus feature among the more arid landscape of deserts
such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding.
Due to a prolonged drought and perhaps poor agricultural practices dust
storms have become usual in the spring in China.
During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high
mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from
Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
Climate
The climate of China varies greatly. Southern China lies within the
tropics. The northern zone (in which lies Beijing), by contrast, has a
climate with winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (in which
Shanghai is situated) has a generally temperate climate.
Prehistory
The Palaeozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the
Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary
deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin.
Groups of volcanic cones occur in the Great Plain of north China. In the
Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas, there are basaltic plateaux.
Demographics
Over a hundred ethnic groups have existed in China. In terms of numbers,
however, the predominant ethnic group in China is the Han. Throughout
history, many ethnic groups have been assimilated into neighbouring
ethnicities or disappeared without a trace. Several previously distinct
ethnic groups have Sinicized into the Han, making its population
increasing dramatically. The Han, however, continue to speak several
mutually unintelligible languages (see Chinese languages). The government
of the PRC recognizes 56 total ethnic groups.
Culture and Religion
Philosophy that have had extremely consequential impact on the Chinese
culture, literary or illiterate, stems from Confucianism, Taoism, and
Buddhism (in order of appearance).
China has a diverse religious tradition. Some of the religions or belief
systems associated with China include ancestor worship, Buddhism, Chinese
folk religion, Confucianism, Islam, and Taoism.
Chinese literature have the longest continuous history and had been more
numerous than other cultures' for centuries because of the Chinese
invention of printmaking. Prior to that, manuscripts of the Classics and
religious texts (mainly Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) were manually
written by ink brushes and distributed. To comment on these works,
printed or written, scholars formed numerous academies, many of which
were sponsored by the empire, and some royalties constantly participated
in the discussions.
Chinese philosophers, writers, and poets have been mostly highly
respected, and considered to be those preserving and promoting the
culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for
their daring depictions of lives of the common people. (See List of
Chinese authors, and List of Chinese language poets).
The Chinese created numerous musical instruments, such as the zheng,
xiao, and erhu, that have spread around East and Southeast Asia,
especially to its dependencies. The sheng became the mother of several
Western free-reed instruments.
The Chinese characters have had many variants and styles throughout the
history of China, and was "simplified" in mid-20th century in mainland
China.
Bonsai is a millennia-old art that spread to Japan and Korea.
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