CHAPTER1

CHINA: A Brief History and Culture

China, located in East Asia, is known officially as People's Republic of China

(Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo). The republic was established in 1949, but the name China,
which is commonly used by foreigners, is probably derived from Qin (Ch'in) dynasty (221-206
BC), which first unified the nation.

Zhongkuo (PE)pronounced Chung-Kuo, means "middle country" or "Central land

Map of China

The Land

Its vast area of more than 3,690,000 square miles makes China the third largest country in the
world after Russia and Canada, With an estimated population of 1,177,584,537 (1993
census), it is the earth's most populated country.

In an effort to lower the alarming annual population growth, the government exerted efforts to
promote late marriages and more recently, to induce the Chinese family to have only one
child. This program has been coupled with continual expansion of public health facilities that
provide birth-control information and contraceptive devices at little or no cost.

China shares a land border of about 21,260 km.with fourteen countries, namely Russia,
Mongolia, Laos, North Korea, Vietnam . Burma, India. Bhutan, Nepal.Pakistan
Afghanistan, Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan.and Kazakhstan.

Mountains occupy about 43% of China's land surface, The Himalayas along
China' southwestern frontier with India are the world's tallest mountains.
There are three major rivers in China: Yangtze, Huang Ho, and Xi-Jiang

1. Yangtze is the longest river in Asia, It is 3,400 miles and is considered the world's fourth
longest. It is a major transportation artery.

2. Huang Hojs traditionally referred to as "China's Sorrow" because throughout Chinese history,
it has periodically devastated large areas by flooding

3. Xi-jiang is the most important river of southern China. It has a discharge three times as great
as that of Huang Ho.

Religion

Traditionally, the major religions of China were Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

Confucianism was founded based on the teachings of Confucius, the greatest philosopher and
the most influential teacher of China. He taught his followers the virtues of good life such as
sincerity (being truthful and faithful); benevolence (kind regard for others); filial piety (love and
respect for our parents); and propriety (always do the right thing in the right place).

He held the traditional view that all men are born good. For him, what spoiled men was bad
environment and evil example.

He also advised his people to preserve the family because it is the foundation of a nation. There
are six arts which he considered man must master. These are rites, music, archery, chariot
riding, calligraphy. and mathematics.

Taoism was founded by Lao Tzu. His teachings are found in the book "The Way of Virtue" He
believed that man can find lasting happiness if he possesses humility, calmness,and
patience. He encouraged people to live simply and according to nature.

Buddhism reached China from India. The Chinese accepted the new religion because they
found no conflict between it and Confucianism. The religion improved government and society
by improving the spiritual life of the people. Because of the Buddhist influence, beautiful
temples were erected. They are called pagodas.

People

China is a malti-acial state in which the Han ethnic Chinese constitute nearly 92 of its total
population, The remaining 8% belongs to some smaller ethnic group such, as Huis, Mongols,
Uygurs, Tibetaris, Miaos, Manchus, Uis, Buyis, and Koreans.

Generally speaking, habits and customs associated with weddings, funerals, celebrations,
scasonal.changes, and special occasions are much the same from North to South and East to
West. Only the Mongols, Tibetans, and Uygurs have customs relatively distinct from those the
rest of China, but these differences have steadily diminished over time.

Currency
The Chinese unit of currency is the "Yuan" The banking system is completely under government
control. The people's Bank of China is the central financial institution and the sole source of
currency issue.

Dynasties

The imperial dynastic system of government, which continued for centuries, was established as
early as 221 BC. Although specific dynasties were overthrown, the dynasties system survived.

The following are some of the dynasties and their contributions:

1. SHANG (or YIN) Dynasty - the first dynasty which lasted for some 500 years. It was under
this dynasty that the Chinese writing system developed.

2. ZHOU Dynasty- saw the rise of Chinese philosophers, including such thinkers Confucius, Lao
Tzu, and Mencius.

3. QIN (or Ch'in) Dynasty marked the building of the Great Wall by Shih Huang Ti to keep the
Tartars out of North China. Built two centuries before the birth of Christ, it still exists today. It is
sprawling like a colossal dragon across Northern China. It is fifteen hundred miles long.

4. HAN Dynasty-saw the rise of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

5. TANG Dynasty - contributed great achievements in poetry and painting.

6. SUNG Dynasty- the era when gunpowder was first used for military purposes. The Chinese
armies useded rockets as weapons, calling them "arrows of fire"

7. YUAN Dynasty-The agreement of all Mongol tribes to unite after their assembly at
Karakonum in Outer Mongolia started the Mongol dynasty under Genghis khan ("Temijin ")His
grandson, Kublai Khun, completed what they called "The Quest of China and ended the Sung
dynasty. It was during the reign of Kublai Khan that Marco Polo visited China. His writings
vividly portray the splendor of the Mongol Empire to the West.

8. MANCHU (or CH'ING) Dynasty-the last dynasty in China's recorded history.

The 19th century was marked by rapid deterioration of the imperial system and a
steady increase of foreign pressure from the West and from Japan.

In 1839, Chinese officials confiscated and destroyed huge amounts of opium from British ships
in the harbor at Guangzhou and applied restriction to the British Trading Community. Hostilities
broke out in late 1839.

The First Opium War was concluded in 1842 with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking. The
treaty granted Great Britain trade preferences it sought; Hongkong and Kowloon were also
ceded to them. On July 1, 1997, after 156 years of British colonial rule, Hongkong was
finally returned to China.
In December, 1999, Portugal retuned Macao to China.

During the first decade of the 20th century, dissatisfied with Manchu rule, Dr. Sun Yat
Sen initiated a revolutionary movement called Kuomintang Nationalist Party or

KMT) and established a republican government.

On October 10, 1912, Dr. Sun Yat Sen led a National Revolution (also called Wuhan
Uprising) that resulted in the downfall of the Manchu Dynasty.

However, the Chinese Republic maintained a tenuous existence from 1912 until 1949

During World War 1 (1914-1918), Japan gained undisputed supremacy in China,

virtually reducing it to a Japanese protectorate. It demanded among other concessions

Despite Dr. Sun's death in 1925, the rejuvenated KMT, under the leadership of Gen. Chiang
Kai-Shek, sought to reunify China under Kuomintang rule and rid the country of imperialists
and warlords. But problems abound like the rise of Chinese Communist Party under Mao
Zedong, who had actively mobilized peasants support in the countryside; and the Japanese
aggression in North China.

In 1932, Japan made Henry Pu Yi, the last ruler of Manchu Dynasty as Emperor
Xuantong (Hsuan-Tung), chief of state of Manchuria (Manchukuo),

As Japanese aggression intensified, the Chinese realized it had to stop fighting among
themselves and to unite against Japan

In 1937, Gen. Chiang and the Communists adopted a united front (common policy) against
the Japanese

In 1945, shortly after Japan had surrendered, fighting broke between Communist and KMT
troops over the reoccupation of Manchuria. US Gen. George C. Marshall tried to mediate but
hostilities continued. The government forces were wearied by two decades of nearly continuous
warfare. There was internal disunity and spiraling inflation. Finally, in the summer of 1949, the
government sought refuge on the island of Taiwan establishing a democratic form of
government called Republic of China.
Flag of Taiwan

The emblem of Taiwan was chosen by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, provisional president of the 1912
Chinese republic. Blue stands for liberty, justice, and democracy; white, for equality,
brightness, and the people's livelihood; and red, for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism. (Geo
Systems Global Corp.)

Only the following islands remained under the rule of the nationalist government: Taiwan,
Pescadores, islands of Quemoy and Matsu.

In Mainland China, in September 1949, the Central People's Government Council served as the
supreme policy-making organ of the state. Mao Zedong served as chairman and head of state.
Chou En Lai headed the Government Administrative Council. The new regime, a communist
form of government called People's Republic of China was officially proclaimed on October 1,
1949 and has controlled China ever since.

Flag of China

Some of China's Inventions:

1. Abacus 7. Cast Irons

2. Acupuncture 8. Civil Service Examination

3. Bamboo Cannon 9. Clock

4. Baskets (Bamboo or Iron) 10. Fan

5. Blast Furnace 11. Fireworks

6. Books 12. Gun Powder

14.Herbs/Herbal Medicine 24. Planetarium

15.Holders 25. Printing Press

16.Horoscope/ /Astrology 26. Rudder

17.Ink 27 Seismograph

18.Kites 28. Silk Cloth

19.Magnetic Compass 29. Toys made of paper

20.Noodles 30. Umbrella

21.Origami 31. Wheel Barrow

22.Paper 32. Wine as Anaesthetic

The Chinese zodiac consists of a 12-year cycle each year of which is named after a
different animal that imparts distinct characteristics to its year.

Many Chinese believe that the year of a person's birth is the primary factor in determining that
person's personality traits, physical, and mental attributes, and degree of success, and
happiness throughout his lifetime.

The Chinese zodiac is greatly related to the Yin-Yang principle. It is a concept of symbolic
dualism. Everything physical and spiritual as an opposite and corresponding condition. Yang is
the positive principle: male, light, heaven, and sun. Yin is the negative counterpart: female,
shade, earth, and moon.

The twelve animals are in the following order:

RAT (1972, 1984.). Temperamental, quick to anger and easily perturbed, tenacious
about attaining goals, venal in regard to money.

OX (1973 1985,.). calm, relaxed, self-assured and stubborn, dexterous, occasionally

TIGER (1974, 1986,). quick-tempered and sensitive, often bright and respected by
others, affectionate towards their beloved.

RABBIT (1975, 1987,). bashful, moody, and easily move to tears; also known to be
conceited.

DRAGON (.. 1976, 1988,). considered harbingers of harmony, power and riches, as well
as talisman of longevity: honorable, brave, healthy, compassionate but also temperamental.
SNAKE(,1977, 1989). egotistical, conceited and philandering, wealthy, intelligent, sensual
and well groomed but also tightwad.

HORSE (., 1978, 1990).. very sociable with a facility for speech both in quantity and in
flattery.

SHEEP ( 1979, 1991.). honest, calm, compassionate, dedicated, fashionable,

MONKEY ( 1980, 1992,.). creative and successful in a wide range ofendeavors, irritable,
sly and a lack of ability to pursue goals with enthusiasm.

ROOSTER ( 1981, 1993) outspoken, energetic, clever, always busy and spendthrift.

DOG ( 1982, 1994). faithful, honest, responsible, trustworthy, dedicated to a task.

PIG (1983, 1995,..). gentle but can be easily be provoked, need to be prodded to
complete a project.

Language

China has one of the world's oldest civilizations and a recorded history that dates back 3.500
years ago, The Chinese writing system, for example, dates back almost 3,000 years ago.

There are two elements to the Chinese ie language: the written language based on individual
symbols or combinations of strokes called characters, each of which represents an idea or thing:
and the spoken language which comprises a dozen major different spoken dialects.

It is important to note that all writings use the same script of characters but the diversity of the
spoken dialects ares so great that peoples from different regions often cannot understand
one another However, all of them use tones to distinguish different characters.

In the late 19503, a system using the Latin alphabets called Pinyin was developed in

China It is a system that alphabetized the writing of Chineses words. It indicates the

sounds of characters peoples might not know Outside China, it is used to spell Chinese words
in Western language newspaper and magazines or in Chinese language textbooks for
foreigners. Pinyin represents the spoken sounds of Putongh a, which is an oral representation
of Chinese characters.

At present, most of the spellings of Chinese sounds and names are based on the Pinyin system
of Romanization. However, it is important to remember that the Pinyin letters are to stand for
Chinese sounds which are quite different from the English sounds.
In 1977, the Chinese government made a formal request to the United Nations to have Pinyin
recognized for use in the spelling of place-names in China.

The official spoken language is Putonghua ("standard speech") also known as Mandarin which
is the dialect of North China. It was declared the common language at the National
Conference on Reform of the Chinese written language in 1955.

Mandarin was introduced in 1956 as the medium of instruction in schools, in the media, and
government. It sought to establish universal comprehension of a standardized common
language using simplified written characters or traditional characters written with fewer strokes,
including romanized forms based on the Latin alphabet. However, in spites of efforts,
hundreds of regional and local dialects continued to be spoken, this complicating interregional
communication.

The Committees for Reforming the Chinese Written Language released an official list of 2,238
simplified characters most basic to the Chinese language. It was the government t s goal of
facilitating broader literacy However, one drawback set by this reform is that peoples introduced
to the simplified characters are not able to understand Chinese literature written in traditional
characters.

Influences and impact of the Chinese in Philippine Life

When the Spaniards came to the Philippines in the 16th Century, they found evidences of
Chinese influences with native Filipinos.

The Spaniards called the Chinese traders "sangleyes" who establish settlements in the country
and became the backbone of the Spanish colonial economy. These Chinese settlers were the
masons and carpenters who built the grand Spanish houses and churches. They were also the
sculptors, silversmiths, goldsmiths and artists who produced exquisite religious images and
figurines such as the image of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario at the old Sto. Domingo Church
in Intramuros.

In the course of this long, long history of their presence in the Philippines, the Chinese have
made significant contributions to Philippine socio-economic history and culture. Through
time, these have became integral part of the Filipinos' way of life.

Below are some of the contributions:

1. extracting sugar from sugarcane

2. use of lime as binder of stone buildings

3. pottery making

4. textile weaving

5. dyeing
6. carpentry

7. smithcrafting

8. soap and candle making

9. chocolate making

10. commercial farming, fruit-growing/ vegetable gardening

11 domesticating farm animals

12. household utensils and materials

13. food processing technique

14. art of printing

15. metal tools for fishing

Intermarriages between the early Chinese and Filipinos resulted to closer link and depth of
interaction. Chinese blood make up 10%.of the Filipinos' racial composition, meaning one out of
10 Filipinos is of Chinese descent (this could be greater now at the rate intermarriages continue
to occur).

Some of the elite Filipinos of Chinese descent called illustrados (Chinese mestizos) are
the Yuchengco's, Tuazon's, Sison's, Cojuangco's, Yangco's, Chuidian's, Limjap's,
Ongpin's, Sanciangco's, Paterno's, Emilio Aguinaldo and foremost is Dr. Jose Rizal. Both
sides of his parentage have ancestors who have Chinese blood in their veins.

As the famous historian Father Jesus Merino said: "The Filipino nationality, no matter how
Malay it may be in its main ethnic stock, no matter how Spanish and Christian it may be in its
inspiration, civilization, and religion, no matter how American it may be in its politics, trade,
and aspiration, has been historically and practically shaped by the Chinese mestizo.