In addition to the historical legacy of imperial rule, China’s contemporary world-
view is strongly influenced by events that have transpired over the past two centuries.
Western explorers and traders began appearing in Southeast Asia as early as the six-
teenth century. By the late 1700s to early 1800s, England, Holland, Germany, Portu-
gal, France, the United States, and other nations had carved out a dominant presence
in many Southeast and East Asian countries. China’s xenophobic imperial court and
ethnocentric disdain for importing foreign products initially led to a one-way flow of
trade goods. To redress this imbalance, Western powers, particularly England, began
to demand that China open its borders to unrestricted trade. After several humiliating
defeats by Western forces, China’s weak, corrupt imperial court and ineffective mili-
tary acquiesced to a series of“unequal treaties”that granted the Western nations
“spheres of influence”within China. Conducting commercial activities from these
areas, foreign businesses and residents enjoyed special economic privileges and extra-
territoriality while ignoring Chinese sovereignty. China’s independence was further
eroded by Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Only in the wake of World
War II and a subsequent civil war did China regain its full independence. Today,
this period of foreign subjugation and occupation is referred to as the“era of national
humiliation”and occupies a salient position in contemporary historical memory and
political rhetoric.
Since 1949 the People’s Republic of China has been governed by the CCP. The
early years of CCP rule, particularly those under Mao Zedong, were characterized by
widespread internal strife and political turmoil. Left with a backward, underdevel-
oped, war-ravaged nation, postwar Communist leaders initiated a series of reform pro-
grams, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. These measures
ultimately proved disastrous to the populace and the nation as a whole. While figures
vary widely, one estimate is that as many as 45 million, mostly peasants, perished
during the Great Leap Forward experiment (1958–1962).^56
In the early 1970s China began to move away from the debilitating“revolution-
ary”programs and responded to political overtures from the United States, leadingTABLE 5.3 Country Statistics: People’s Republic of China^54
LOCATION EAST ASIA
Size 9 ; 596 ;960 km^2 ; fourth-largest country
Population 1.35 billion (July 2014 est.); world’s largest population
Ethnic groups Han Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, other (includes Hui, Manchu,
Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai,
Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) 7.1%,
(2010 est.)
Note: Has fifty-six officially recognized ethnic groups.
Government Communist state
Language Mandarin (official), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese),
Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan,
Hakka dialects, minority languages
Note: Over eighty languages spoken by various ethnic groups.^55
Religions Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, folk religion 21.9%,
Hindu <.1%, Jewish <.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist [Taoist]),
unaffiliated 52.2% (2010 est.)
Note: Officially atheist.174 CHAPTER 5•Cultural History: Precursor to the Present and Future
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