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The Han dynasty was the first empire in China which lasted 400 years. At first the dynasty was strong and flourished in trade and agriculture. The Han dynasty created paper, water clocks, sundials, and a seismograph. While they advanced in science and technology they also had calendars throughout the reign. The Han dynasty spent money on the army to defend their borders which raised taxes for the peasants and a gap between rich and poor grew. That played into the fall of the empire in 220 CE.
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In 1368 an invasion was lead by Zhu Yuanzhang in Nanjing. His army captured Beijing and destroyed Mongol palaces. They took over forming the Ming Dynasty. The Ming dynasty restored Chinese rule and reformed the tax system while giving land back to peasants. He brought stability to China while being an absolute ruler. In 1402 his son Yon Le took over and built the new great wall and strengthened military. In the 1430s China isolated itself and the Ming ended in 1600s losing the mandate of heaven.
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In 1644 the Manchus overthrew the last Ming empire. They overcame the Ming with advanced military including calvary and gunpowder weapons. The first empire was Kangxi who ruled with confucian principles. His grandson gained the empire in 1735. They both expanded boundaries, brought peace, and became the largest and richest empire. The Qing dynasty restricted trade and felt that they had all they needed. This caused falling behind in advancements which lead to isolation and decline.
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Between 1650 and 1800 the population in China rose from 150 million to 350 million. This caused food shortages and famine in the land. During 1760 there was no need for China's military at the time, China's defense declined and became very weak. While China's military declined they weren't advancing in technology or science either. China was dominated by Western powers in the 1800's.
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China tried to industrialize in the 1860's but ended up failing, so to develop a stronger manufacturing base China offered europeans a large market for their products. Since China's military was still weak they got walked all over on by Russia, France, Germany, and Britain as they demanded land. Japan also wanted some land so in 1894 they went to war with China over Korea. Europe was intimidated by Japan winning so they demanded Laidong from Japan. In 1904 Japan declared war on Russia and won.
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Imperialism from the west had mostly negative effects on China. A disadvantage that China faced was the loss of most of their land. Russia acquired the Korean Peninsula, Germany gained a small region on the northern coast, France got a large region in the south and Britain obtained Yangtze River Valley. China had their own land taken from them and they couldn't seem to fight back. Britain also brought in Opium to try and control the Chinese Markets which caused even more problems for China.
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On May 4 1919, a protest was held In beijing due o Japan keeping German holdings in China. This protest and the split of Chinese government would change China. In October 1919 Sun Yat Sen started the Nationalists Party which would help him become president in 1921. In 1923 Soviet advisors helped Sun unite China and communist members joined the KMT. Before the KMT was founded Chain also helped Sun get it started in 1918. After Sun's death Chaing would lead the nationalist party.
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Many issues broke out with nationalism and communism when Chiang had many communists executed. Many communists fled and hid including Mao Zedong. Mao founded the CCP in 1921 he was also a communist in the KMT but was expelled for that in 1927. While in hiding he organized the Red Army by 1928. By 1931 the Red Army had 200,000 troops. Mao founded the Chinese Soviet Republic in China.
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Chiang sent troops to fight Mao’s government. The Red Army successfully fought them off. In late 1934, 700,000 Nationalist troops advanced on the Communist capital. CCP leaders ordered the Red Army to fight back but they were nearly destroyed as a result. The CCP fled and led a 6,000 mile retreat on this trip they continued to get tacked by the KMT. 100,000 CCP members started the march but only 8,000 remained in 1935. Mao rebuilt his army and by 1937 it was back to 100,000 troops.
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Nationalists and communists fought for control over the country, and Mao won in 1949 and founded the People's Republic of China. In 1950 Mao sided with the soviet union and created an alliance. In 1950 the Chinese invaded Tibet and took over. China also threatened to invade Taiwan and take control of it but the United States intervened and provided military aid to defend Taiwan and its Nationalist government.
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In 1950 Mao passed a law to give land to peasants which later would help out in the building of farms, women also got equal rights during this time. In 1953 China began a Five-Year Plan to modernize the country and increase industrial production. This all went well but didn't satisfy Mao. In 1958 there was a new plan called the Great Leap Forward. to increase industrial and agricultural production. Many people died of famine due to the fall of farms and industrial production.
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The plan of the Great Leap Forward left China going downhill. China became an outcast after the Soviet Union split with them in 1960. Mao didn't quit, now he was going to try and create a Cultural Revolution. Mao eliminated schools, teachers, and artists and had the Red Guards kill and torture people who were against their political opinions. Shortly before Mao's death in 1976 the Gang of Four took over but they didn't help in the pit that China was already in.
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After Mao's death in 1976, Deng Xiaoping became the ruler. He reformed technology, agriculture, science, and national defense. But many Chinese demanded political freedom which lead to a protest of over a million people in 1989. The rulers asked the protesters to leave Tiananmen Square but they refused and troops and tanks were brought on them killing many.
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Since 2001 China is the second largest economy in the world, but a rapid growing economy led to environmental damage. Communist control the government by silencing critics and imprisong officials, leading to receiving hate on the stance of human right and corruption charges. Air and water pollution is a issue throughout China along with how the government limits speech and religion and controls. China's economic system has grown since Mao's leading but the communist country hasn't changed a bit.
