Before Fusion: China

From the early beginnings of its history China has considered itself the middle land that exists in the midst of relatively more barbarian surroundings. Until the Western Imperial expansion of the 19th century the term "the Middle Kingdom" and then the more encompassing "All under Heaven" were common. For the bulk of the history of our civilizations it has been the biggest economic and trade force on the planet. In the post-Imperial age the slogan "Striving for Unity" is helping the Chinese people look past their differences and work towards social harmony. At the same time this concept is used to proactively oppose the remaining Western influence over the Chinese state and its territories, including the controversially debated Taiwan.

Modern day China is very much about prosperity. It is not interested in conquering its surroundings and would rather enjoy economic leadership achieved through war-preempting means.

The beginnings

China's history begins with 3 demigod Sovereigns. The Human Sovereign was one of them and had a cloud chariot. He was also known as Shennong - a deity/mythological hero in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religions that is also known in Korea and Japan. He taught humans agriculture and is said to be an ancestor/patriarch of the Chinese forebears.

The history of agriculture in China starts about 10,000 years ago in areas - the Yellow river basin in the north and Yangtze river basin in the south. The speed of development of agricultural technologies picked up about 4,000 years ago from the steady but slow progress of the Neolithic period. Traditionally Chinese history starts about 4,900 years ago, with the first of the original 5 emperors creating the Chinese nation, after he assumed control over 4,700 years ago. The last two of the 5 emperors are generally mapped to historical figures.

The formation of the early Chinese logograms started in the late Neolith, at least 4,500 years ago. The modern Chinese writing system acts as the link with the Neolithic period, leading to more realistic and concrete thinking. The communal rice growing Far East culture naturally led to group trust and reliance, while generally distrusting the outsiders. The force that drove unification of the early Chinese society was the Yellow River that had to be collectively controlled to enable irrigation and to prevent flooding.

Ancient China

Per the official record, the first historical dynasty Xia started about 4,100 years ago. After close to 500 years of rule it ended with its last ruler being said to be immoral, lascivious and tyrannical. It was succeeded by the Shang dynasty - the first one with certain archeological evidence. It lasted for over 500 years and by 3,500 years ago was mass producing bronze objects, including weapons. During these times the centrally located young Chinese nation grouped the barbarians around it into the North, East, South and West ones. At least the Western barbarians were considered to be more of military and political rivals than cultural and ethnic foreigners and likely all of the groups had relatively similar languages though interpreters were required. The biggest difference was that the Han people of the Yellow River were agricultural engineers while many barbarian groups lacked agriculture altogether.

Close to 3,100 years ago the Zhou dynasty formed. It was the longest lasting dynasty and spanned close to 800 years. To justify taking over the partially shamanic and sacrificial Shang, Zhou introduced the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" to return good governance to the people. The rule with the mandate was duty-bound to uphold Harmony and Honor. This naturally put a lot of pressure on the top tiers of the society to come up with a system that worked well and to make some sense of the horror of war.

The first feudal system

Even before Roman times the first Feudal System on the planet evolved in China. Having the "Harmony and Honor mandate of heaven" the early Zhou kings raised armies and led conquests of expansion against the surrounding barbarians (though their armies included barbarians as well). Internally emperors divided the land among their feudal lords, who further subdivided it between their dependents and so on until the very bottom of the order. The Zhou ruled not from castles but from walled cities and landless knights were expected to be more scholars than warriors (naturally filling in the absence of a class of clergy). None-the-less the distribution of land and power between the nobles led to a process of decentralization and states that made up the empire started to war with each other.

Spring and Autumn

After a period of re-consolidation efforts the warring states gained enough power to openly defy the king and a long period of chaotic and violent Spring and Autumn ensued about 2,700 years ago. The early lords of the period that attained hegemony would proclaim to be the defenders of the traditional order, the Zhou authority and expellers of Barbarians. By 2,600 years ago the interstate conflict led to more fragmentation with even more conflict within the warring states. Some efforts at achieving peace took place but by then the various states attained their own spheres of control, continued outward expansion and assimilation of non-Zhou peoples and the old Zhou balance was never restored. New aristocratic houses were established that were loyal to the states directly and not to the overall Zhou empire and Zhou kings lost much of their previous prestige. Through warfare states would consolidate and disintegrate but the war continued.

Hundred Schools of Thought

In this period of lack of central control and competing interests (and during the following Warring States period) different Chinese philosophies developed in different states. The "Hundred Schools of Thought" developed between 2,600 and 2,200 hundred years ago and included schools of Confucianism, Taoism, Yin-yang, Mohism and Legalism. Confucianism proclaimed "let the ruler be a ruler and the subject be a subject", with kings needing to be virtuous and the social stratification being a fact of life sustained by ethical values. Taoism treated the individual as belonging to the natural realm first and only then to the society, preaching avoidance of excessive interference. Yin-yang attempted to explain the universe in terms of basic forces of nature. The short-lived Mohism proclaimed everyone's equality before heaven and preached "universal love", placing the human ethical problem in impartiality of compassion. Legalism argues that human nature is selfish and strict discipline and enforcement of law is required.

It is also during this time that the School of Military developed as well. It is as part of this school that Sun Tzu's The Art War was written. Its first chapter proclaimed that war is a very grave matter for the state and must not be commenced without due consideration. All important aspects must be considered before a war is started.

Warring States

The Spring and Autumn period transitioned into the period of Warring States that saw bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. Many state rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify conquest. The rulers no longer proclaimed vassalage to the Zhou dynasty and proclaimed their kingdoms to be fully independent. Alliances were formed and some stability finally started to appear. Many philosophers and tacticians traveled around the states arguing that their teachings should be implemented. Finally the Qin state adopted the ideology of "attack not only the territory but also the people" that advocated mass slaughter. The Qin state conquered the remaining Zhou territory and ended the Zhou dynasty. It then conquered the remaining states and its king proclaimed himself "The First Sovereign Emperor of Qin".

Qin

After territorial consolidation the new state started to consolidate the philosophies that drove the behavior of its newly conquered citizens. Over 2,200 years ago the Qin victors burned books and executed philosophers, imposing the official governing philosophy of Legalism (though overtime Confucianism and Taoism recovered and became the two dominant Chinese ideologies). Throughout the Warring States period the scale of destruction was continuously escalated with millions being killed in combat. This bloodshed drove Chinese society into preferring a unified throne.

Han

The Qin dynasty was short lived and was replaced by the Han dynasty, which lasted over 400 years that are considered to be the classical era of China. It officially sanctioned Confucianism, started mass production of paper and written documents and was technologically on par with contemporary Rome. Buddhism was introduced to China during this time. Through its imperial conquest it entered into a long conflict with a confederation of northern nomadic tribes and expanded further.

Around 2,100 years ago the Han dynasty expanded further South, conquered Northern Vietnam and put down rebellions. Chinese rule in Northern Vietnam lasted until the mid 10th century. At about the same time northern Korea was conquered by the same Han dynasty. It set up commanderies in Korea which lasted until the early 4th century.

Xin

Between Western and Eastern Han dynasty periods (at the turn of the 1st century) the short lived Xin dynasty attempted a number of reforms including outlawing of slavery and land redistribution. They were not successful and slavery continued in China into the early 20th century. In the mid 20th century the Communist government instituted harsh punishments for it and slavery was virtually eliminated.

Six Dynasties

Internal conflicts led to the decline of the Han dynasty and after a period of chaotic infighting between warlords at the turn of the 3rd century, the bloody period of Three Kingdoms ensued, with all 3 claiming sovereignty over all of China.

In the late 3rd century the Jin dynasty briefly reunited China, with a subsequent loss of northern China, which fragmented into the Sixteen Kingdoms.

From the early 5th century and until late 6th century two parallel regimes ruled the northern and southern halves of China. Buddhism spread widely during this period and eventually became acceptable to Taoists.

Mid-imperial China

At the turn of the 7th century the short-lived Sui dynasty once again reunified China. It started a number of very successful policies that were copied by later dynasties.

From the early 7th century and until the early 10 century China entered its biggest Golden Age under the Tang dynasty. During this period the most famous Chinese poets created their poems, music and literature flourished and Buddhism gained a temporary but significant influence. Woodblock printing was introduced, geographical and historical literary works were created. Throughout this and following periods Imperial China contended for control of Inner (Central) Asia to secure its west bound trade routes and gain influence.

Subsequently in early to mid 10th century the country once again fell into disunity during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Late imperial period

By the late 10th century the Song dynasty reunified most of Inner China. The Song dynasty introduced true paper money and established a permanent standing navy. During this period gunpowder weapons and bombs were invented. And it was then that the imperial examination of officials started to dominate and the elites shifted from being military-aristocratic to being scholar-bureaucratic.

The Jin dynasty was established in the early 12th century after it successfully rebelled against and overthrew the Liao dynasty. Subsequently Jin conquered the northern part of the Song dynasty along with most of the north of China, with the exception of the area south of modern Mongolia, controlled by the Western Xia dynasty.

By the late 13th century the Chinese adopted New-Confucianism that used metaphysics as a guide for developing a rationalist ethical philosophy. It became a way to safeguard the cultural heritage of China after the Mongol conquest.

Yuan dynasty

By the late 13th century the Mongol Empire conquered all of China and established the Yuan dynasty, which lasted until the late 14th century. The Yuan dynasty centralized the government and brought in non-Hans from outside of China to fill government posts. By its end the Yuan dynasty was widely unpopular due to incompetent governance and was overthrown by a popular rebellion.

Ming dynasty

In the mid 14th century the Yuan dynasty was replaced by the Ming dynasty, that is known for. During this period the new-feudal landholdings of the Song and Mongol periods were confiscated by the government and rented out to independent peasant landholders. Slavery was forbidden for non-state actors. At the same time the rule became more autocratic. The defensive fortifications of the Great Wall were rebuilt. Under the Ming dynasty a large navy was built and China explored all of the Indian Ocean, reaching East Africa. Several maritime Asian nations became tributaries. Towards the end of the dynasty China became increasingly isolated.

Qing Dynasty

In the mid 17th century the Qing Dynasty was founded by the conquest of northern Manchus. In the mid to late 18th century Qing extended control into Inner Asia. In the mid 19th century China lost the Opium wars to the British Empire and was forced to sign unequal treaties with the major western imperial centers. At about the same time several rebellions (including ideologically led ones) weakened central imperial authority and led to civil wars with massive loss of life.

Central rule declined and many provinces were ruled independently using local military forces for support. In the late 19th century several reforms were made in an attempt to build up the military industrial complex and strengthen the military.

At the turn of the 20th century an uprising against foreign influence led to a war of the Chinese empire against the major colonial states of the time, resulting in another unequal treaty.

Between 1894 and 1895 the loss in the First Sino-Japanese War demonstrated a failure in the attempts to modernise the Chinese military.

Republic of China

After a decade of uprisings in 1911 the Xinhai Revolution ended the Qing dynasty. In 1912 the Republic of China was established. After a period of an initial period of struggle in 1916 the Warlord Era of constant civil war ensued until 1928, with a subsequent gradual reunification of China.

In the 1910s and 1920s the New Culture Movement started, which criticized classical Chinese ideas and promoted modern ideals. After the end of WWI former German colonies in China were transferred to imperial Japan. This caused mass protests and grew into the anti-imperialist, nationalist May Fourth Movement.

From 1927 to 1937 the Chinese Civil War was fought between the National Revolutionary Army and the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, resulting in Nationalists controlling most of China.

In 1931 Japanese forces invaded Manchuria and continued small territorial attacks until they launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War. From then and until 1945 various parts of the country were occupied by imperial Japan. During this war the imperial Japan's forces committed war crimes on a massive scale, mostly against civilians. It is estimated that 20 million deaths have been caused by this war.

The two forces fighting the Chinese civil war nominally formed a United Front to oppose the Japanese in 1936. The clashes between the Communist forces and the Nationalist forces continued and effectively prevented their cooperation against the imperial Japanese forces.

Modern Period

From 1945 to 1949 the civil war resumed as soon as the defeat of imperial Japan was imminent. It was fought between the Republic of China Armed Forces and the People' Liberation Army. During the war both sides carried out mass atrocities, including those against non-combatants. It resulted in the victory of the PLA and establishment of the People's Republic of China in the mainland and the retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan. This started a standoff between the two sides, both of which claim to be the legitimate government of all China. The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1958 was described as the "first serious nuclear crisis". Open conflict ended in 1979.

In 1971 the United Nations recognized the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China. The Nationalist Party ruled Taiwan under martial law until 1987, with the goal of retaking mainland China. Its continuous rule ended in 2000.

On the mainland, the People's Republic of China attempted industrialization between 1958 and 1962, which largely failed and caused the Great Chinese Famine which killed tens of millions of people. Between 1966 and 1976 internal command struggles led to wide-spread violence and massive loss of life during the Cultural Revolution.

The Chinese Communist Party has been supported by the Soviet Union since its formation. Starting with the late 1950s the relations between PRC and the Soviet Union were continuously deteriorating due to doctrinal divergences. Throughout the 1970s China improved its relations with the Western block, culminating in full diplomatic recognition of China by the USA in 1979. The relations were temporarily suspended in 1989 after the massacre during the Tiananmen Square Protests.

People's Republic of China had involvement in international armed conflicts in the Korean War during 1950 to 1953, China-Burma border operation of 1960-1961, Sino-Indian War of 1962, Vietnam War during 1965 to 1969, Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969, Nathu La and Cho La clashes of 1967, Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979.

China conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1964. Officially China conducted 45 nuclear tests between 1964 and 1996.

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