China - Consequences, Revolution, Impact

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data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/China">China</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/place/China">Introduction & Quick Facts</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref70957"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China#ref70957">Land</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70958"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Relief">Relief</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70959" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-eastern-region">The eastern region</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70960"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-eastern-region#ref70960">The Northeast Plain</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70961"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-eastern-region#ref70961">The Changbai Mountains</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70962"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-eastern-region#ref70962">The North China Plain</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70963"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-eastern-region#ref70963">The Loess Plateau</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70964"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-eastern-region#ref70964">The Shandong Hills</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70965"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-eastern-region#ref70965">The Qin Mountains</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70966"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin">The Sichuan Basin</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70967"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70967">The southeastern mountains</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70968"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70968">Plains of the middle and lower Yangtze</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70969"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70969">The Nan Mountains</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70970" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70970">The southwest</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70971"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70971">The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70972"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70972">The Plateau of Tibet</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70973" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70973">The northwest</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70974"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sichuan-Basin#ref70974">The Tarim Basin</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70975"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Junggar-Basin">The Junggar Basin</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref70976"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Junggar-Basin#ref70976">The Tien Shan</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70977"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Junggar-Basin#ref70977">Drainage</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70978"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Soils">Soils</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70979"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Soils#ref70979">Climate</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70980"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Soils#ref70980">The air masses</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70981"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Temperature">Temperature</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70982"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Precipitation">Precipitation</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70983"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Precipitation#ref70983">Plant and animal life</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70984"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Precipitation#ref70984">Flora</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70985"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Animal-life">Animal life</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref70989"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Animal-life#ref70989">People</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70990"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Animal-life#ref70990">Ethnic groups</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258957"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Animal-life#ref258957">Languages</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258958"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Sino-Tibetan">Sino-Tibetan</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258959"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Altaic">Altaic</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258960"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Altaic#ref258960">Other languages</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258961"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Altaic#ref258961">Religion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70986"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Altaic#ref70986">Settlement patterns</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70987"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Altaic#ref70987">Rural areas</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70988"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Urban-areas">Urban areas</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258962"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Urban-areas#ref258962">Demographic trends</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70991"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Urban-areas#ref70991">Population growth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70992"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Population-distribution">Population distribution</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70993"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Population-distribution#ref70993">Internal migration</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref70994"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Population-distribution#ref70994">Economy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71004"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Population-distribution#ref71004">General considerations</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71005"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-role-of-the-government">The role of the government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71007"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-policies">Economic policies</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70998"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing">Agriculture, forestry, and fishing</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70999"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing#ref70999">Farming and livestock</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71000"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing#ref71000">Forestry and fishing</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref70995"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing#ref70995">Resources and power</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70996"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Minerals">Minerals</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref70997"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Minerals#ref70997">Hydroelectric potential</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258949"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Minerals#ref258949">Energy production</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71001"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Manufacturing">Manufacturing</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71002"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Manufacturing#ref71002">Finance</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71003"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Trade">Trade</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258950"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Trade#ref258950">Services</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258951"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Trade#ref258951">Labor and taxation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71008"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Trade#ref71008">Transportation and telecommunications</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71009"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Railways">Railways</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71010"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Railways#ref71010">Road networks</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71011"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Waterways">Waterways</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71012"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Waterways#ref71012">Port facilities and shipping</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71013"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Waterways#ref71013">Aviation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71014"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Posts-and-telecommunications">Posts and telecommunications</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref71015"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Posts-and-telecommunications#ref71015">Government and society</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258952"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Posts-and-telecommunications#ref258952">Parallel structure</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258953"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Constitutional-framework">Constitutional framework</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71016"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Constitutional-framework#ref71016">Political process</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258954"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Constitutional-framework#ref258954">Role of the CCP</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71017"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Administration">Administration</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71019"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Administration#ref71019">Justice</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71018"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Administration#ref71018">Security</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71020"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Health-and-welfare">Health and welfare</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71021"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Education">Education</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref71022"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Education#ref71022">Cultural life</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258941"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Cultural-milieu">Cultural milieu</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258942"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Cultural-milieu#ref258942">The arts</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258943"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Cultural-milieu#ref258943">Literature</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258944"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Visual-arts">Visual arts</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref258945"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Visual-arts#ref258945">Performing arts</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258946"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Cultural-institutions">Cultural institutions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258947"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Cultural-institutions#ref258947">Daily life, sports, and recreation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref258948"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Cultural-institutions#ref258948">Media and publishing</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref214398"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/History">History</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71610"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/History#ref71610">Prehistory in China</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71611"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/History#ref71611">Archaeology in China</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71612"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/History#ref71612">Early humans</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71613" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/History#ref71613">Neolithic Period</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71614"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/History#ref71614">Climate and environment</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71615"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/History#ref71615">Food production</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71616"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Major-cultures-and-sites">Major cultures and sites</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71617"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Major-cultures-and-sites#ref71617">Incipient Neolithic</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71618"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Major-cultures-and-sites#ref71618">6th millennium <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71619"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Major-cultures-and-sites#ref71619">5th millennium <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71620"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/4th-and-3rd-millennia-bce">4th and 3rd millennia <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71621"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/4th-and-3rd-millennia-bce#ref71621">Regional cultures of the Late Neolithic</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71622"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Religious-beliefs-and-social-organization">Religious beliefs and social organization</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71623"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Religious-beliefs-and-social-organization#ref71623">The first historical dynasty: the Shang</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71624"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Religious-beliefs-and-social-organization#ref71624">The advent of bronze casting</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71625" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Shang-dynasty">The Shang dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71626"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Shang-dynasty#ref71626">Royal burials</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71627"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Shang-dynasty#ref71627">The chariot</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71628"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Shang-dynasty#ref71628">Art</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71629"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Late-Shang-divination-and-religion">Late Shang divination and religion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71630"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Late-Shang-divination-and-religion#ref71630">State and society</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71631"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Late-Shang-divination-and-religion#ref71631">The Zhou and Qin dynasties</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71632" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Late-Shang-divination-and-religion#ref71632">The history of the Zhou (1046–256 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71633"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Zhou-and-Shang">Zhou and Shang</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71634"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Zhou-feudal-system">The Zhou feudal system</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71635" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Social-political-and-cultural-changes">Social, political, and cultural changes</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71636"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Social-political-and-cultural-changes#ref71636">The decline of feudalism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71637"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Social-political-and-cultural-changes#ref71637">Urbanization and assimilation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71638"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-rise-of-monarchy">The rise of monarchy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71639"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-rise-of-monarchy#ref71639">Economic development</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71640"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-rise-of-monarchy#ref71640">Cultural change</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71641" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Qin-empire-221-207-bce">The Qin empire (221–207 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71642"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Qin-empire-221-207-bce#ref71642">The Qin state</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71643"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Qin-empire-221-207-bce#ref71643">Struggle for power</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71644"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Qin-empire-221-207-bce#ref71644">The empire</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71645"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Han-dynasty">The Han dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71646" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Han-dynasty#ref71646">Dynastic authority and the succession of emperors</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71647"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Han-dynasty#ref71647">Xi (Western) Han</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71648"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Prelude-to-the-Han">Prelude to the Han</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71649"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Prelude-to-the-Han#ref71649">The imperial succession</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71650"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/From-Wudi-to-Yuandi">From Wudi to Yuandi</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71651"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/From-Wudi-to-Yuandi#ref71651">From Chengdi to Wang Mang</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71652"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Dong-Eastern-Han">Dong (Eastern) Han</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71653" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Dong-Eastern-Han#ref71653">The administration of the Han empire</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71654"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Dong-Eastern-Han#ref71654">The structure of government</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71655"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Dong-Eastern-Han#ref71655">The civil service</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71656"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Provincial-government">Provincial government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71657"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Provincial-government#ref71657">The armed forces</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71658"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-practice-of-government">The practice of government</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71659"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Relations-with-other-peoples">Relations with other peoples</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71660"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Cultural-developments">Cultural developments</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71661"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Six-Dynasties">The Six Dynasties</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71662" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Six-Dynasties#ref71662">Political developments</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71663"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Six-Dynasties#ref71663">The division of China</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71664"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Six-Dynasties#ref71664">Sanguo (Three Kingdoms; 220–280 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71665"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Six-Dynasties#ref71665">The Xi (Western) Jin (265–316/317 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>)</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71666"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Six-Dynasties#ref71666">The era of foreign invasions and rule</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71667"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Six-Dynasties#ref71667">The Dong (Eastern) Jin (317–420) and later dynasties in the south (420–589)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71668"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Shiliuguo-Sixteen-Kingdoms-in-the-north-303-439">The Shiliuguo (Sixteen Kingdoms) in the north (303–439)</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71669" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Shiliuguo-Sixteen-Kingdoms-in-the-north-303-439#ref71669">Intellectual and religious trends</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71670"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Shiliuguo-Sixteen-Kingdoms-in-the-north-303-439#ref71670">Confucianism and philosophical Daoism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71671"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Daoism">Daoism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71672"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Daoism#ref71672">Buddhism</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71673"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sui-dynasty">The Sui dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71674"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sui-dynasty#ref71674">Wendi’s institutional reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71675"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Sui-dynasty#ref71675">Integration of the south</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71676"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-affairs-under-Yangdi">Foreign affairs under Yangdi</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71677"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-affairs-under-Yangdi#ref71677">The Tang dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71678" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-affairs-under-Yangdi#ref71678">Early Tang (618–626)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71679"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Administration-of-the-state">Administration of the state</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71680"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Administration-of-the-state#ref71680">Fiscal and legal system</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71681" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Administration-of-the-state#ref71681">The period of Tang power (626–755)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71682"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-era-of-good-government">The “era of good government”</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71683"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Rise-of-the-empress-Wuhou">Rise of the empress Wuhou</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71684"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Prosperity-and-progress">Prosperity and progress</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71685"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Prosperity-and-progress#ref71685">Military reorganization</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71686" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Prosperity-and-progress#ref71686">Late Tang (755–907)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71687"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Provincial-separatism">Provincial separatism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71688"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-struggle-for-central-authority">The struggle for central authority</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71689" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-struggle-for-central-authority#ref71689">Cultural developments</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71690"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-struggle-for-central-authority#ref71690">The influence of Buddhism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71691"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Trends-in-the-arts">Trends in the arts</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71692" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Trends-in-the-arts#ref71692">Social change</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71693"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Trends-in-the-arts#ref71693">Decline of the aristocracy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71694"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Population-movements">Population movements</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71695"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Population-movements#ref71695">Growth of the economy</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71696"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Five-Dynasties-and-the-Ten-Kingdoms">The Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71697"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Five-Dynasties-and-the-Ten-Kingdoms#ref71697">The Wudai (Five Dynasties)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71698"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Five-Dynasties-and-the-Ten-Kingdoms#ref71698">The Shiguo (Ten Kingdoms)</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71699"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-barbarians-Tangut-Khitan-and-Juchen">The “barbarians”: Tangut, Khitan, and Juchen</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71700"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-barbarians-Tangut-Khitan-and-Juchen#ref71700">The Tangut</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71701"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-barbarians-Tangut-Khitan-and-Juchen#ref71701">The Khitan</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71702"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-barbarians-Tangut-Khitan-and-Juchen#ref71702">The Juchen</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71703"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Song-dynasty">The Song dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71704" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Song-dynasty#ref71704">Bei (Northern) Song (960–1127)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71705"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Song-dynasty#ref71705">Unification</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71706"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Consolidation">Consolidation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71707"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Consolidation#ref71707">Reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71708"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Decline-and-fall">Decline and fall</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71709" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Decline-and-fall#ref71709">Nan (Southern) Song (1127–1279)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71710"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Survival-and-consolidation">Survival and consolidation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71711"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Relations-with-the-Juchen">Relations with the Juchen</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71712"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Relations-with-the-Juchen#ref71712">The court’s relations with the bureaucracy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71713"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-chief-councillors">The chief councillors</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71714"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-bureaucratic-style">The bureaucratic style</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71715"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-bureaucratic-style#ref71715">The clerical staff</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71716"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-rise-of-neo-Confucianism">The rise of neo-Confucianism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71717"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-rise-of-neo-Confucianism#ref71717">Internal solidarity during the decline of the Nan Song</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71718"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Song-culture">Song culture</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71719"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Yuan-or-Mongol-dynasty">The Yuan, or Mongol, dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71720" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Yuan-or-Mongol-dynasty#ref71720">The Mongol conquest of China</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71721"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Yuan-or-Mongol-dynasty#ref71721">Invasion of the Jin state</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71722"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Invasion-of-the-Song-state">Invasion of the Song state</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71723" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Invasion-of-the-Song-state#ref71723">China under the Mongols</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71724"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Invasion-of-the-Song-state#ref71724">Mongol government and administration</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71725"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Invasion-of-the-Song-state#ref71725">Early Mongol rule</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71726"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Changes-under-Kublai-Khan-and-his-successors">Changes under Kublai Khan and his successors</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71727"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economy">Economy</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71728"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economy#ref71728">Religious and intellectual life</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71729"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economy#ref71729">Daoism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71730"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Buddhism">Buddhism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71731"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Buddhism#ref71731">Foreign religions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71732"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Buddhism#ref71732">Confucianism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71733"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Literature">Literature</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71734"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Literature#ref71734">The arts</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71735"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Yuan-China-and-the-West">Yuan China and the West</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71736"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-end-of-Mongol-rule">The end of Mongol rule</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71737"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-end-of-Mongol-rule#ref71737">The Ming dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71738" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-end-of-Mongol-rule#ref71738">Political history</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71739"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-end-of-Mongol-rule#ref71739">The dynasty’s founder</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71740"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-dynastic-succession">The dynastic succession</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71741" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Government-and-administration">Government and administration</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71742"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Government-and-administration#ref71742">Local government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71743"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Government-and-administration#ref71743">Central government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71744"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Later-innovations">Later innovations</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71745"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-relations">Foreign relations</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71746" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-policy-and-developments">Economic policy and developments</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71747"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-policy-and-developments#ref71747">Population</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71748"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-policy-and-developments#ref71748">Agriculture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71749"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-policy-and-developments#ref71749">Taxation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71750"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Coinage">Coinage</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71751" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Coinage#ref71751">Culture</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71752"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Coinage#ref71752">Philosophy and religion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71753"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Coinage#ref71753">Fine arts</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71754"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Literature-and-scholarship">Literature and scholarship</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71755"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Literature-and-scholarship#ref71755">The early Qing dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71757"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Literature-and-scholarship#ref71757">The rise of the Manchu</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71758" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Qing-empire">The Qing empire</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71759"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Qing-empire#ref71759">Political institutions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71760"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Qing-empire#ref71760">Foreign relations</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71761"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-development">Economic development</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71762" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Qing-society">Qing society</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71763"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Qing-society#ref71763">Social organization</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71764"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/State-and-society">State and society</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71765"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/State-and-society#ref71765">Trends in the early Qing</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71766"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/State-and-society#ref71766">Late Qing</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71767" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/State-and-society#ref71767">Western challenge, 1839–60</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71768"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-first-Opium-War-and-its-aftermath">The first Opium War and its aftermath</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71769"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-first-Opium-War-and-its-aftermath#ref71769">The anti-foreign movement and the second Opium War (Arrow War)</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71770" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Popular-uprising">Popular uprising</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71771"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Popular-uprising#ref71771">The Taiping Rebellion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71772"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Popular-uprising#ref71772">The Nian Rebellion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71773"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Muslim-rebellions">Muslim rebellions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71774"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Muslim-rebellions#ref71774">Effects of the rebellions</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71775" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Muslim-rebellions#ref71775">The Self-Strengthening Movement</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71776"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-relations-in-the-1860s">Foreign relations in the 1860s</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71777"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-relations-in-the-1860s#ref71777">Industrialization for “self-strengthening”</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71778" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-relations-in-the-1860s#ref71778">Changes in outlying areas</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71779"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Foreign-relations-in-the-1860s#ref71779">East Turkistan</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71780"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Tibet-and-Nepal">Tibet and Nepal</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71781"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Tibet-and-Nepal#ref71781">Myanmar (Burma)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71782"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Tibet-and-Nepal#ref71782">Vietnam</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71783"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Japan-and-the-Ryukyu-Islands">Japan and the Ryukyu Islands</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71784"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Japan-and-the-Ryukyu-Islands#ref71784">Korea and the Sino-Japanese War</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71785" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Japan-and-the-Ryukyu-Islands#ref71785">Reform and upheaval</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71786"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Hundred-Days-of-Reform-of-1898">The Hundred Days of Reform of 1898</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71787"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Hundred-Days-of-Reform-of-1898#ref71787">The Boxer Rebellion</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71788" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reformist-and-revolutionist-movements-at-the-end-of-the-dynasty">Reformist and revolutionist movements at the end of the dynasty</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71789"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reformist-and-revolutionist-movements-at-the-end-of-the-dynasty#ref71789">Sun Yat-sen and the United League</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71790"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reformist-and-revolutionist-movements-at-the-end-of-the-dynasty#ref71790">Constitutional movements after 1905</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71791"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Chinese-Revolution-1911-12">The Chinese Revolution (1911–12)</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71792"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Chinese-Revolution-1911-12#ref71792">The early republican period</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71793" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Chinese-Revolution-1911-12#ref71793">The development of the republic (1912–20)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71794"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Chinese-Revolution-1911-12#ref71794">Early power struggles</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71795"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/China-in-World-War-I">China in World War I</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71796"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/China-in-World-War-I#ref71796">Japanese gains</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71797"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/China-in-World-War-I#ref71797">Yuan’s attempts to become emperor</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71798"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/China-in-World-War-I#ref71798">Conflict over entry into the war</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71799"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Formation-of-a-rival-southern-government">Formation of a rival southern government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71800"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Formation-of-a-rival-southern-government#ref71800">Wartime changes</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71801"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Formation-of-a-rival-southern-government#ref71801">Intellectual movements</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71802"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Formation-of-a-rival-southern-government#ref71802">An intellectual revolution</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71803"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Riots-and-protests">Riots and protests</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71804" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Riots-and-protests#ref71804">The interwar years (1920–37)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71805"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Riots-and-protests#ref71805">Beginnings of a national revolution</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71806"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Riots-and-protests#ref71806">The Nationalist Party</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71807"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Riots-and-protests#ref71807">The Chinese Communist Party</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71808"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Communist-Nationalist-cooperation">Communist-Nationalist cooperation</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71809"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Communist-Nationalist-cooperation#ref71809">Reactions to warlords and foreigners</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71810"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Communist-Nationalist-cooperation#ref71810">Militarism in China</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71811"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Communist-Nationalist-cooperation#ref71811">The foreign presence</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71812"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reorganization-of-the-KMT">Reorganization of the KMT</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71813"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reorganization-of-the-KMT#ref71813">Struggles within the two-party coalition</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71814"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reorganization-of-the-KMT#ref71814">Clashes with foreigners</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71815"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reorganization-of-the-KMT#ref71815">KMT opposition to radicals</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71816"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Northern-Expedition">The Northern Expedition</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71817"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Northern-Expedition#ref71817">Expulsion of communists from the KMT</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71818"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Nationalist-government-from-1928-to-1937">The Nationalist government from 1928 to 1937</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71819"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Nationalist-government-from-1928-to-1937#ref71819">Japanese aggression</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71820"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/War-between-Nationalists-and-communists">War between Nationalists and communists</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71821"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/War-between-Nationalists-and-communists#ref71821">The United Front against Japan</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref214399"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/War-between-Nationalists-and-communists#ref214399">The late republican period</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71822" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/War-between-Nationalists-and-communists#ref71822">The war against Japan (1937–45)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71823"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/War-between-Nationalists-and-communists#ref71823">The Sino-Japanese War</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71824"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/War-between-Nationalists-and-communists#ref71824">Phase one</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71825"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Phase-two-stalemate-and-stagnation">Phase two: stalemate and stagnation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71826"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Phase-two-stalemate-and-stagnation#ref71826">Renewed communist-Nationalist conflict</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71827"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Phase-two-stalemate-and-stagnation#ref71827">The international alliance against Japan</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71828"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/U-S-aid-to-China">U.S. aid to China</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71829"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/U-S-aid-to-China#ref71829">Conflicts within the international alliance</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71830"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/U-S-aid-to-China#ref71830">Phase three: approaching crisis (1944–45)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71831"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Nationalist-deterioration">Nationalist deterioration</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71832"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Nationalist-deterioration#ref71832">Communist growth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71833"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Nationalist-deterioration#ref71833">Efforts to prevent civil war</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71834" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Civil-war-1945-49">Civil war (1945–49)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71835"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Civil-war-1945-49#ref71835">A race for territory</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71836"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Civil-war-1945-49#ref71836">Attempts to end the war</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71837"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Resumption-of-fighting">Resumption of fighting</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71838"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Resumption-of-fighting#ref71838">The tide begins to shift</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71839"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/A-land-revolution">A land revolution</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref71840"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/A-land-revolution#ref71840">The decisive year, 1948</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71841"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/A-land-revolution#ref71841">Communist victory</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71842"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Establishment-of-the-Peoples-Republic">Establishment of the People’s Republic</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71844"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Reconstruction-and-consolidation-1949-52">Reconstruction and consolidation, 1949–52</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71845" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-transition-to-socialism-1953-57">The transition to socialism, 1953–57</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71846"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-transition-to-socialism-1953-57#ref71846">Rural collectivization</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71847"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-transition-to-socialism-1953-57#ref71847">Urban socialist changes</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71848"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Political-developments">Political developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71849"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Political-developments#ref71849">Foreign policy</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71850"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/New-directions-in-national-policy-1958-61">New directions in national policy, 1958–61</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71851"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Readjustment-and-reaction-1961-65">Readjustment and reaction, 1961–65</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71852"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Cultural-Revolution-1966-76">The Cultural Revolution, 1966–76</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71853"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/The-Cultural-Revolution-1966-76#ref71853">Attacks on cultural figures</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71854"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Attacks-on-party-members">Attacks on party members</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71855"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Attacks-on-party-members#ref71855">Seizure of power</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71856"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Attacks-on-party-members#ref71856">The end of the radical period</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71857"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Social-changes">Social changes</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71858"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Struggle-for-the-premiership">Struggle for the premiership</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71859"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Consequences-of-the-Cultural-Revolution">Consequences of the Cultural Revolution</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref71860"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Consequences-of-the-Cultural-Revolution#ref71860">China after the death of Mao</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref71861" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Consequences-of-the-Cultural-Revolution#ref71861">Domestic developments</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref258955"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Consequences-of-the-Cultural-Revolution#ref258955">Readjustment and recovery</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71862"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-policy-changes">Economic policy changes</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71863"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Economic-policy-changes#ref71863">Political developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref71864"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Educational-and-cultural-policy-changes">Educational and cultural policy changes</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref353938"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/China/Educational-and-cultural-policy-changes#ref353938">COVID-19 outbreak</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" 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Author of <i>Leadership in Communist China.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> John Wilson Lewis</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/China/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-23T00:00:00CST" >Nov 23, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/China/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/111803/7c607ead4db7b848b9a3353fb3844dcc" rel="nofollow">Blinken heads to last G7 meeting of Biden presidency with Ukraine and Mideast topping the agenda</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 23, 2024, 11:50 AM ET (AP) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/111803/fa29352ff219a4ab76a8f158d72d2651" rel="nofollow">Afraid of losing the US-Canada trade pact, Mexico alters its laws and removes Chinese parts</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 23, 2024, 9:42 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/111803/2f463f8a50ac3b7e70e1991451941bc1" rel="nofollow">Noodles and wine are the secret ingredients for a strange new twist in China's doping saga</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 22, 2024, 12:42 PM ET (AP) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/111803/c8eb9be0253eb39776c3e38d05f1a329" rel="nofollow">US ahead in AI innovation, easily surpassing China in Stanford's new ranking</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 21, 2024, 11:00 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/111803/0fff658a80f81d2745c1234f5912a6c2" rel="nofollow">Southeast Asian defense chiefs discuss regional security with US, China and other partner nations</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 21, 2024, 7:51 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="2"><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="3" id="ref71859">  <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Although the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Cultural-Revolution" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Cultural Revolution</a> largely <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="bypassed" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/bypassed" data-type="EB">bypassed</a> the vast majority of the people, who lived in rural areas, it had highly serious consequences for the Chinese system as a whole. In the short run, of course, the political instability and the zigzags in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/economic-planning" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">economic policy</a> produced slower <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/economic-growth" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">economic growth</a> and a decline in the capacity of the government to deliver goods and services. Officials at all levels of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-system" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">political system</a> had learned that future shifts in policy would jeopardize those who had aggressively <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="implemented" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implemented" data-type="MW">implemented</a> previous policy. The result was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bureaucratic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bureaucratic" data-type="MW">bureaucratic</a> timidity. In addition, with the death of Mao and the end of the Cultural Revolution, nearly three million <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">CCP</a> members and other citizens awaited reinstatement after having been wrongfully purged.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Bold actions in the late 1970s went far toward coping with those immediate problems, but the Cultural Revolution also left more-serious, longer-term <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="legacies" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legacies" data-type="MW">legacies</a>. First, a severe generation gap had been created in which young adults had been denied an education and had been taught to redress grievances by taking to the streets. Second, corruption grew within the CCP and the government, as the terror and accompanying scarcities of goods during the Cultural Revolution had forced people to fall back on traditional personal relationships and on extortion in order to get things done. Third, the CCP leadership and the system itself suffered a loss of legitimacy when millions of urban Chinese became disillusioned by the obvious power plays that took place in the name of political principle in the early and mid-1970s. And fourth, bitter factionalism was rampant, as members of rival Cultural Revolution factions shared the same work unit, each still looking for ways to undermine the power of the other.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/contributor/Kenneth-G-Lieberthal/1763">Kenneth G. Lieberthal</a></span> </section> </section><section data-level="2" id="ref71860"> <h2 class="h2">China after the death of <span id="ref590813"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mao-Zedong" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mao</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Perhaps never before in human <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">history</a> had a political leader unleashed such massive forces against the system that he had created. The resulting damage to that system was profound, and the goals that Mao Zedong sought to achieve ultimately remained <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="elusive" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elusive" data-type="MW">elusive</a>. The agenda he left behind for his successors was extraordinarily challenging.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <section data-level="3" id="ref71861"> <h2 class="h3">Domestic developments</h2> <section data-level="4" id="ref258955"> <h2 class="h4">Readjustment and recovery</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Mao’s death and the purge of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gang-of-Four" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Gang of Four</a> left <span id="ref590814"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hua-Guofeng" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hua Guofeng</a>, a compromise candidate elevated to the premiership by Mao following the purge of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Deng-Xiaoping" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Deng Xiaoping</a>, as the chairman of the CCP and thus the official leader of China. Hua tried to consolidate his position by stressing his ties to Mao and his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="fidelity" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fidelity" data-type="MW">fidelity</a> to Mao’s basic ideas, but many others in the top leadership wanted to move away from these issues, and Hua’s position eroded over the remainder of the decade. Furthermore, Hua’s successor as party chairman, <span id="ref921164"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hu-Yaobang" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hu Yaobang</a>, helped abolish the chairmanship in 1982 in response to concerns that one person might again become too powerful within the party; however, he remained as general secretary.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The ambivalent legacies of the Cultural Revolution were reflected in the members of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Politburo" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Political Bureau</a> chosen just after the 11th Party Congress had <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="convened" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convened" data-type="MW">convened</a> in August 1977. Like Hua Guofeng, almost half of the members were individuals whose careers had benefited from the Cultural Revolution; the other half were, like Deng Xiaoping, the Cultural Revolution’s victims. While a balance between the two groups would be reached only after a period of years, in the short run the tide quickly shifted in favor of the latter group.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section></section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":125,"pagesTotal":128,"pageId":111803,"pageLength":599,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"COUNTRY_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":125,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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China - Consequences, Revolution, Impact | Britannica