China Course

The Singularity of China • No historic point of departure: The myth of the Yellow Emperor. L’empereur jaune ou Huang Diest est un souverain mythqiue de la Chine, considéré comme père de la civilisation chinoise. • First historical record dates back to 2000 BC.: The Shang Dynasty. La 2ème dynastie à avoir dominé le pays. • The Long Cycles: “The Empire, long divided, must unite; long united must divide” The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. An important political theory in chinese history. A culture circle • No divine God and a holistic/interconnected view of the world • Tian Xia: All under Heaven, under the EmperorEurope and China: a priori distant cultures. Un nom pour la Chine impérial : Sous le ciel. Désigne le monde et la Chine exercerait un pouvoir sur le reste du monde. Europe and China : a priori distant cultures • China is the “Middle Kingdom”, kowtow (saluer empereur avec un profond respect) • For the ancient Chinese, Europe was a distant land, barbaric, uncultivated, in the Western Oceans, by definition inaccessible to Chinese culture • IR culture: Europe: balance of power diplomacy; China: Mandate of Heaven. Competition with state about power, economics. Balance of power. • The art of war is illustrated in two intellectual games: China plays wei qi, Europe plays chess. • Sun Tzu’s The Art of War : premier traité de stratégie militaire écrit au monde. Essence de la guerre psychologique. The Warring States Period (481-221 BC.) : période des Royaumes combattants du 5ème siècle av JC jusqu’à l’établissement de la dynastie Qin. • At 800 BC, there were 148 small states, by 400 BC only seven major states remained • Struggle for power among them : Dominance • Multiplicity of states struggle for pre-eminence within the framework of the balance of power •Cultural/philosophical between the Legalist School and the Confucian School • Legalists: meritocracy and strict rule of law • Confucius: tradition and harmonious and hierarchical coexistence

The Qin (221-206 BC.) and Han (206BC.- 220 AD.) Dynasties • The Qin Empire: 4,000 miles of imperial highways • “Level of state centralization and standardisation not seen in Europe until 2,000 years later” (Ropp 2010) : Bases administratives d’un état centralisé et favorisa l’unité culturelle du territoire. Régime très autoritaire voir impopulaire. 3 ans avec 1er empereur : Qin Shi Huang • The Han Empire (2èmedynastie impériale et compte 28 empereurs) : Expands Chinese influence through trade until Egypt and Rome ; makes tributary deals with the nomadic tribes of the north: The first Silk Roads were established.
• Buddhism starts penetrating China through these same routes, symbioses with Confucianism

Han Empire: more than 400 years • Echange culturel entre la Chine Han et le nord des tribus nomades. Chinese elites start to take some of the cultural customs of the northern tribes: music, food, dressing, etc. • Confucian school is prevalent: spread of knowledge facilitated my invention of paper around 100 AD. Confucianiste : école phylosophique, morale et politique.
• The Eunuchs start to become powerful. They’re castrated.

The Era of Division (220-589) • The Three Kingdoms: Wei, Wu and Shu. Chine divisée en 3 après la chute dynastie Han. Wei : Dynastie du Nord de 386 à 534 Wu : Sun Wu. Royaume qui lutte pour avoir contrôle de la chine au sud. Shu : royaume situé à l’extrême sud ouest du pays. • The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. • Division between the North (less Han) and the South (more Han), North in permanent turmoil, migration to the Yangzi river and its tributaries. South more prosperous and enhancing trade, rice production expands dramatically
• Intra-river trade makes the south more cohesive and wealthy

Reunification: Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) : succède au dynastie du nord et du sud • Sui Empire : Dysnastie pivot et met fin à 4 siècles de divisions. Pol de grands travaux • Great Wall and the Grand Canal that connected South and North of China. Connexions. • Tang Empire: Tang Code (653), with 500 articles, detailed list of crimes and punishments • Tang was the most cosmopolitan of all Chinese dynasties: intermariage avec les tribus du nord et commerce internationale ++. Brillante sur le plan culturel. Comme l’âge d’or de la poésie chinoise. Sa capitale Chang’an : ville la plus peuplée du monde. • Role of women was enhanced considerably (Empress Wu) Diminished Empire: Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) • Song Empire: Weaker militarily, incursions from the north were continuous • Thriving economy: advances in agriculture, widespread use of iron tools and currencies, invention of the compass, first creation of paper money • Invasion by the Mongols (Yuan rule), who maintain Chinese customs: Neo-Confucian era • Yuan expand geographically Empire (including Tibet) • The Mongol Empire: political and military elite Yuan(not Han), bureaucracy is Chinese
• Inherent political tensions, Han resent Yuan, inflation ends Yuan rule: Han again in power

Early Modern China: Ming (1368-1644) and Early Qing (1644-1800) I • Ming: the story of Zhu Yuanzhang, from orphan to paranoid and ruthless Emperor • The Yongle (Perpetual Happiness) Emperor Zhu Di: moves the Capital from Nanjing to Beijing, builds the Forbidden City, rebuilds the Grand Canal • Wealth and sophistication not seen in the West • Admiral eunuch Zheng He’s voyages: almighty China • China builds largest fleet the world had ever seen: 62 large “Treasure ships”, 225 ships carrying 28.000 men. Zheng He navigated all around the world.
• 1405-1433: Seven Expeditions as far as the Arabian Peninsula: China exchanges porcelain for giraff. • After the dead of Zheng He, China ferme ses frontières. Plus de commerce. Invasions étrangères. • Qing Period: Manchu rule (non- Han). Manchu hairstyle • Renewed expansive period: Tibet and Xinjiang are conquered • China’s current geography is legacy of this period
• China economically very powerful again: porcelain, silk, tea: “between 1500 to 1800 3⁄4 of world silver went to China” (Ropp 2010). 1820 : 30% of GRD

Decline of the Qing Empire: 1800-1920 • British start to be increasingly frustrated about trade deficit with China • Era of European colonialism Two British missions (1793 and 1816) to open trade outside of the port of Guangzhou • British start to invade China with illegal Opium • Lin Zexu announces a ban on opium, arrests 350 Western smugglers and captures and destroys half the annual total trade of opium : British see this as insult to the British Crown Decline of the Qing Empire: Opium Wars II : First Opium War 1839-1842 : La première guerre de l'opium est un conflit militaire, motivé par des raisons commerciales, entre le Royaume-Uni et l'empire Qing en Chine de 1839 à 1842. Il est considéré comme la première manifestation du déclin de l'Empire de Chine, incapable de résister à l'Occident, déclin qui entraîne la Chine dans une longue période d'instabilité, jalonnée par la chute du système impérial, remplacé en 1912 par la République de Chine, l'intervention japonaise et, finalement, la proclamation de la République populaire de Chine en 1949. • 1842 Treaty of Nanjing: China surrenders to British demands; pay for all British expenses in war, for the opium destroyed, and the debt owed to British merchants, handing over of Hong Kong, and four more ports were opened to foreign trade. Bad things and weakness of China • Separate Treaty: China extends trade privileges to Britain to all Western countries and allows Westerners to be subject to Western and not Chinese law: China loses part of its sovereignty. Revolution, Scamble ? • Britain (in collaboration with France and the US) demands more openness to trade, legalisation of opium, an embassy in Beijing. Humiliation for China • Second Opium War 1858-60: Anglo-French looting of the Summer Palace in Beijing • 14 ports fall into Western control • 1894-95 defeat to Japan over Korean Peninsula • Era of Chinese humiliation; China semi-colony.Western traders convince Chinese workers to work for them under false incentives. Chinese workers become almost modern slaves The End of the Qing Empire • Scramble for Concessions: Western power have increased influence in China • 1900: Boxers rebellion; Paysans chinois se révoltent contre les étrangers et particulièrement les missionnaires aisés. • 1901: 8 different Western nations conquest Beijing • 1911: Fall of the Qing Empire; the influence of Sun Yat-sen: anti-imperialist and anti-Manchu Qing • Three principles: Racialism (China for the Chinese); democracy (people’s rights) and socialism (people’s livelihood China’s post Qing Empire instability • Transition period controlled by a military man from the revolution: Yuan Shikai • 1912: First democratic elections, the Nationalist Party (Guomindang) wins, but Yuan Shikai does not relinquish power. NP is crashed. • The War Lord Era (1916-1927) • 1919: Treaty of Versailles, German territories go to Japan, trahison de la Chine. • 4th of May 1919 Movement, progressive and student- led, death to conservatism, to foot-binding • Rise of Communism in China (Lenin’s influence) • Nationalist Party and Communist Party unite forces to fight against warlords and Japanese occupation . Rise of Chiang Kai-shek as leader of NP Fighting Japan, fighting each other • 30 May 1925: Japanese troops fire against Chinese workers demonstrating in Shanghai • The CCP leads the revolt, 30th May Movement, from 1,000 to 30,000 members • In 1927: the NP and CCP liberate Shanghai and Nanjing, respectively • The NP attacks and kills thousands of CCP members. Chiang Kai-shek controls the north of China • 1928-1933 : La Chine regagne le contrôle de ses tarifs (droits de douane) commerciaux, élimine le principe d'extra-territorialité • CKS adopts a Nazi style, extermination campaign. Militay school

Imperial Japan conquests China • 1937: Imperial Japan starts full invasion of China. Japanese troops adopt a strategy of raping, looting and murdering : The Rape of Nanjing: 20,000 women raped, between 100,000 and 300, 000 civilians killed • The NP escapes to the West of China, leaving the East to Japan • The CCP, with its guerrilla tactics, makes the conquest extremely difficult for Japan • In 1935: CCP has 30,ooo troops, and controls 2 million people, in 1945 1 million troops, controls 100 million people The CCP takes the power in China • After WWII NP and CCP keep fighting • Chiang Kai-shek, despite US support, loses the battle against CCP, becayse NP controlled territory. CKS and his followers leaving in Taiwan. • 1 October 1949: Mao Zedong proclaims the founding of the People’s Republic of China atop of the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing • Three sources of support: 1) Chinese Nationalism; 2) Class Resentment; 3) Frustration with the NP Mao Zedong’s Era (1949-1976) I • 1949-1957: All the land was collectivised in production teams, only 10% in private hands • New Marriage Law: banning of arranged marriages and right to divorce for women • 1950: Collaboration treaty with the Soviet Union • 1950-1953: China clashes against the US in the Korea War • 1956 Hundred Flowers Campaign turns into a Anti- rightist campaign • 1958: The Great Leap Forward: Great disaster • 1959-1961, 30 million starved to death Mao Zedong’s Era (1949-1976) II • 1959: Suppression of the revolt in Tibet • 1964: China acquires nuclear bomb through Western trained Chinese physicists. • 1966-1969: The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, The little red book and the red guards • The Cultural Revolution was a purge of Libéral - des éléments disposés dans le CCP, étiqueté comme des contre-révolutionnaires, plusieurs ont été tués ou envoient aux camps de travaux forcés (incluant Deng Xiaoping), la Chine a été embourbée dans l'anarchie complète et le chaos Death of Mao and the Opening of Deng • 1969: Tensions with the Soviet Union, fire exchange at the border • 1972: Mao establishes diplomatic relations with President Nixon, through Henry Kissinger • 1976: Death of Mao • 1978: Deng Xiaoping starts the modernisation period • 1997: China becomes Hong Kong back • 1978-2004: China’s GDP increases by 4 • Today: China is the 2nd economy in world Europe and China are not that different, similar characteristics • China and Europe are two Continents with different cultures and nations • It took China centuries to unite in a single state, is Europe following the same route? • Both cultures share a sensitivity for equality and social welfare • The importance of a well-functioning bureaucracy, the importance of the state • Personal relations are very important • The respect for the elderly (personnes âgées) and the family. Appreciation of good food Conclusion • China is an ancient civilisation • For most of the past 3,000 years it has been at the vanguard (avant guarde) of knowledge and sophistication • Based on a hierarchical structure, atop the Emperor (mandate from heaven), then les mandarins et ensuite les paysans • Inequality and inflation have produced numerous social unrests and revolutions • Despite all the ups-and-downs it has been able to keep united • It has assimilated different foreign cultures • Permanent balance between maintaining its own culture and adopting customs and tools from abroad