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The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the largest hall within the Forbidden City, where emperors hosted enthronement and wedding ceremonies.
THE BLOODY TAIPING REBELLION 1849–1864
As China was reeling after the First Opium War, a young man seized the opportunity of a weakened Qing government to launch the most deadly rebellion in Chinese history. Hong Xiuquan, though from a poor family, received a decent education but failed the imperial examinations twice. After a brief encounter with Protestant missionaries, Hong claims to have met a ‘bearded, golden-haired man who gave him a sword, and a younger man who instructed him to slay evil spirits, who Hong addressed as “Elder Brother”.’ Highly charismatic, Hong convinced people that God and Jesus had appeared to him. Studying with local missionaries, Hong began preaching and gaining converts, openly denouncing Confucianism and ancestor worship. By 1849 he had 10,000 converts and his doctrine was to form a new Christian community in opposition to the Qing government. He attracted young and old, rich and poor, and by 1850 his following had grown to 20,000. He became a significant threat, finally coming to the attention of the weakened Qing government. An attempt by Qing soldiers to oust Hong was met with defeat. Spurred on by this, Hong declared himself the Son of Heaven and his followers the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (or Taipings). By the end of 1853 his following had grown to 60,000. Cities were attacked and many fell with little resistance. The Taipings gathered money, food, weapons and followers and seized Nanjing, killing 40,000 Manchu men, women and children, and openly declaring war on the Manchu government. Hong set up a Nanjing-based Heavenly Kingdom that survived for 11 years, from 1853 to 1864. The rule of the Taipings was extreme: sexes were segregated; opium, prostitution, dancing and drinking were banned; money was collectively shared; examinations were held on the Bible; and women were allowed into the bureaucracy. Yet, they failed to win over the residents of Nanjing and the surrounding countryside, who were resentful of the Taiping’s constant need for food and supplies and their strange ways. Eventually, the Qing crushed the Taipings, in 1864.
CIVIL WAR AND THE RISE OF THE COMMUNISTS
The Communist Party of China (CPC) was organized in Shanghai in 1921. From 1928 to 1937, the Nationalists tried to transform China into a modern state based on Western models. This was unsuccessful as there was political fighting with the Communists. In 1931, Japan invaded China. The Nationalists, under the direction of Chang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi), were eager to oust the Communists under the direction of Mao Zedong, but after Japan invaded they were forced into a united front with the Communists against the Japanese. When the Japanese were defeated in 1945, the Communists and Nationalists began a full-scale civil war. The Nationalists had their capital first in Nanjing, then retreated to Chongqing before being defeated by the Communists in 1949. The remaining Nationalist troops, along with many civilians, fled to Taiwan where they set up a government in exile.
Chairman Mao Zedong greeting US President Richard Nixon in Beijing on February 21, 1972, an important step in paving the way for normal relations between China and the United States.
MAO ZEDONG AND THE FOUNDING OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Mao Zedong was born to wealthy parents in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, in 1893. The revolution of 1911 and other movements during the early republican period had a significant impact on him. These incidents contributed to his adoption of Chinese nationalist and anti-imperialist views. He adopted Marxism-Leninism while working at Peking University. He was an early member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and soon rose to a senior position. He helped to create a revolutionary peasant army and organized rural land reform. Mao was in charge of the CCP when the Japanese were defeated in 1945. He led the Communists to victory against the Nationalists in 1949. On October 1, 1949, Mao stood at the front gate of the Forbidden City overlooking Tiananmen Square and proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a one-party socialist state.
Under Mao’s leadership, radical land reform was instituted, overthrowing feudal landlords, confiscating their huge land holdings and dividing up the land into communes worked by peasants. He was instrumental in industrializing the country, reforming Chinese script, raising the status of women, improving education and health care and providing universal housing. The population of China doubled during his leadership. Mao is not without his critics. Although he is considered to be one of the most important individuals in modern world history, many of his reforms resulted in widespread famine, political chaos and systematic human rights abuses.
Soldiers from the Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army taking over Fuzhou from the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) on August 17, 1949.
SUN YAT-SEN: THE FATHER OF MODERN CHINA
Sun Yat-sen (1886–1925) was an early revolutionary and was instrumental in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first president and the founding father of the Republic of China (nationalist China). Revered by both Communists and nationalists, Sun Yat-sen was a co-founder of the Kuomintang (KMT), organized shortly after the 1911 revolution, and served as its first leader. He is considered the father of modern China and one of its greatest leaders. He is best known for developing a political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, Democracy and the People’s Livelihood. He died of liver cancer at the age of 58 before his political ideals could be realized. He is buried in a large mausoleum in the hills outside nanjing, in Jiangsu Province.
DENG XIAOPING AND CHINA’S ECONOMIC MIRACLE
Deng Xiaoping (1904–97) was an early member of the Communist Party of China and a reformist leader. After Mao’s death, he rose to power and implemented economic reforms that led China toward a market economy. He was the paramount leader of China from 1978 to 1992. He implemented what is known as ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’. His economic theory and plan became known as a ‘socialist market economy’. He brought foreign investment, limited private enterprise and global marketing to China. He is credited with developing China into one of the major world economies and raising the standard of living of hundreds of millions of Chinese.
US President Gerald Ford in an informal meeting with Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping in Beijing in 1975.
CHINA’S PRESIDENT
Xi Jinping (1953–) is the current President of China and Head of State, a figurehead under the National People’s Congress. More importantly, he has served as General Secretary of the Central Committee since November 2012. This is the highest position within China’s Communist Party structure and is widely considered the most powerful position in the country. He also serves as Commander in Chief of the joint battle command center, which ensures that he enjoys the support of China’s military. He is originally from Beijing and studied engineering and law at the prestigious Qinghua University.
Xi Jinping, China’s current President and Head of State since 2013. He served as Vice President from 2008 to 2013.
