China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
China (simplified Chinese: 中国; traditional Chinese: 中國; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the Empire of Qing China, is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion.
Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, China is the world's second-largest country by land area, and either the third or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the method of measurement. China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes and the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometres (9,000 mi) long, and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas.
The history of China goes back to the ancient civilization – one of the world's earliest – that flourished in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies, known as dynasties, beginning with the semi-mythological Xia of the Yellow River basin (c. 2000 BCE).
Since 221 BCE, when the Qin Dynasty first conquered several states to form a Chinese empire, the country has expanded, fractured and been reformed numerous times. The beginning of the twentieth century saw the Wuxu Reformation being affected by the Emperor Guangxu of the feudal Qing dynasty, from which China emerged as a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected legislature called the National Parliament.
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Government and politics
Main article: Government of China
China is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister and other elected members of the National Parliament, while sovereignty is vested in the Chinese people.
Xiangyuan is the current Emperor of China; Yong'an, Crown Prince of China, stands as next in line to the Dragon Throne.
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Capital: Beijing 39°55′N 116°23′E
Largest city: Shanghai (by urban area), Chongqing (by administrative area)
Official languages: Standard Chinese, Manchurian
Recognised regional languages: Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Zhuang, various others [show]
Official written language: Vernacular Chinese, Manchurian
Official script: Simplified Chinese, Manchu Script
Ethnic groups: 81.51% Han, 10.34% Manchurian, 55 minorities [show]
Demonym: Chinese
Government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Emperor: Xiangyuan
Prime Minister: Ji Xiaolan
Deputy Prime Minister: Fu Lun
Legislature: National Parliament
Upper house: Senate
Lower house: House of Representatives
Formation
Unification of China under the Qin Dynasty: 221 BCE
Wuxu Reformation: 1898
First Constitution: 1 January 1908
Current Constitution: 1 October 1950
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Wuxu Reformation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guangxu Reforms redirects here.
The Wuxu Reformation (戊戌变法 wùxū biànfǎ) or later also known as the Guangxu Reforms, refers to a series of enormous reforms in China's national cultural, political, educational, industrial and social structure, initiated by Emperor Guangxu in 1898.
Background
In 1875, Emperor Tongzhi died without issue and his cousin was chosen as his successor, ruling under the reign name Guangxu, meaning Prosperous Succession. Being underage, the government was ruled through the joint regency of the Dowager Empresses Ci'an and Cixi.
In the beginning, Cixi took control of most state matters and Ci'an's participation was marginal. In 1881, when Guangxu was 10 years old, Cixi died suddenly of a stroke. As Guangxu at the time was still underage, Ci'an was compelled to take a more active role in matters of states. She would rule behind the curtain for another six years, and proved to be a shrewd ruler.
In 1887, when Guangxu was 16, he was officially given the right to rule independently. In 1889, he married Lady Tatala who became Empress Keshun.
Seeing the weaknesses of the old government system in China and recognising the time for change, Guangxu set about ordering for a series of reforms aimed at making sweeping social and institutional changes. He did this in response to weaknesses exposed by China's defeat by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895, not long after the First (1839-1842) and Second (1856-1860) Opium Wars; this blow came as a major shock to the Chinese, because Japan had been regarded as a tributary state, was much smaller than China, and was regarded as inferior. China also fought France in the Sino-French War from 1884 to 1885. Moreover, the defeat of China by Japan led to a scramble for "privileges" in China by other foreign powers, notably by the German Empire and Russia, further awakening the stubborn conservatives. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, China engaged in technological modernization only, buying modern weapons, ships, artillery, and building modern arsenals to produce these weapons, and only giving their soldiers modern weapons without institutional reform, all while refusing to reform the government or civil society according to western standards - unlike Japan, which adopted western-style government with a Parliament and completely reorganized its army along western lines.
Guangxu was supported in his ideas for reforms by some senior officials, many of whom would end up being given minor but strategic posts in the capital to assist with the reforms. One of his staunchest supporters was also his empress, who would also be known as the first person to introduce photography to the Qing court.
Essential preconditions of reform included:
- modernizing the traditional examination system
- eliminating sinecures (positions that provided little or no work but provided a salary)
- building a modern education system (studying math and science instead of focusing mainly on Confucian texts, etc.)
- changing the government from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy with democracy
- applying principles of capitalism to strengthen the economy
- completely changing the military buildup to strengthen the military
- rapid industrialization of all of China through manufacturing, commerce, and capitalism
The reformers declared that China needed more than "self-strengthening" and that innovation must be accompanied by institutional and ideological change.
The Wuxu Reformation started to be put into practice in 1898 and would continue well into the next century for the remaining thirty years of Guangxu's reign.
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Legacy
To separate the two distinct chapters in Qing dynasty history, the time period from the formation of the dynasty to the end of the reign of Emperor Guangxu is conventionally referred to as the feudal Qing dynasty. The reign of his successor, Emperor Tongxuan, marks the start of the modern Qing dynasty.
Emperor Guangxu died in 1928 and was succeeded by his son, Emperor Tongxuan.
Emperor Tongxuan died in 1958 and was succeeded by his son, Emperor Qingle.
Emperor Qingle died in 1991 and was succeeded by his son, Emperor Xiangyuan. His heir apparent is Yong'an, Crown Prince Chun. Until the birth of a legitimate son to the Crown Prince, the second in-line to the throne is the Emperor's second son, Yongqi, Prince Rong.
List of emperors of the Qing dynasty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(#) Reign name (birth-death) (reign)
1. Nurhaci (1559–1626) (1616-1626)
2. Hong Taiji (1592–1643) (1626-1643)
2.5. Dorgon (1612–1650) (1643-1650)
3. Shunzhi Emperor (1638–1661) (1644-1661)
4. Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722) (1662-1722)
5. Yongzheng Emperor (1678–1735) (1723-1735)
6. Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799) (1736-1796)
7. Jiaqing Emperor (1760–1820) (1796-1820)
8. Daoguang Emperor (1782–1850) (1821-1850)
9. Xianfeng Emperor (1831–1861) (1851-1861)
10. Tongzhi Emperor (1856–1875) (1862-1875)
11. Guangxu Emperor (1871–1928) (1875-1928)
12. Xuantong Emperor (1908-1958) (1928-1958)
13. Qingle Emperor (1933-1991) (1958-1991)
14. Xiangyuan Emperor (1957- ) (1991- )
A/N: All "excerpts" from Wikipedia articles will be borrowed liberally from real Wikipedia articles, including but not limited to China, Forbidden City, Qing dynasty, List of Qing dynasty emperors, Hundred Days' Reform, Guangxu Emperor, Consort Zhen, Old Summer Palace, Summer Palace, Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle, Japan, Imperial House of Japan, Meiji Restoration.
