context lesson

Question 1

Chinese culture/civilisation

Answer 1

• 3500 years written history
• distinct dynasties held power
• Confucianism = significantly role in culture/relationships of respect/social standings/harmonious society
• Daoism = being in harmony with way of nature and balanced life forces/accept social order
• buddhism = four noble truths/eventual suffering and kindness and charity

Question 2

geography china

Answer 2

• 9.6 million km2
• diverse climate - tropical south and subarctic northwest
• ag is challenging in north
• divided into provinces for admin reasons = lots of conflict btw regions
• mountain ranges cover 60% country - 15-20% farmable
• majority of pop lives coastal
• very diverse pop = 55 diff languages and 90% pop is Han

Question 3

social heirachy - peasants

Answer 3

• peasants = 80%/valued bc provide food but poverty
• villages housed btw 10 and 100 fams
• population growth and exploitation = tenant farmers
  avg life expectancy was 25
  popular discontent increasing

Question 4

peasant pop growth

Answer 4

1700- 200mil
1800-300mil
1850-450mil

Question 5

social hierarchy -townsppl

Answer 5

different classes/merchants etc bottom of society bc profit of others labour/ soldiers lacked respect bc job is killing

Question 6

social hierarchy - landlords and officials

Answer 6

lived in towns but rented land to tenant farmers
1930s = 4% of pop owned 50% land
made up ruling elite
corruption rife in group

Question 7

social hierarchy - women

Answer 7

• least valued
• dowry
• many peasant girls no names
• foot binding

Question 8

mandate of heaven

Answer 8

• emperor = supreme lord of the middle kingdom and son of heaven - belief that if a ruler was good everything would be fine, but rebellion and natural disaster was a sign that ruler should be questioned

Question 9

fall suing dynasty

Answer 9

• long term factors (rural poverty and land shortage/corruption/increased social tensions)
• foreign imperialism (century of shame/mili defeats/opium wars etc)
• peasant rebellions (rural poverty and natural disaster/Taiping rebellion 1850-64 30-50mill lives/boxer rebellion)
• poor efforts to reform (attempts to reform failed/self strengthening mov/hundred days reform)

Question 10

sun yixian

Answer 10

poor but educated abroad/ seen benefits of modern democratic gov/wanted to overthrow system and bring progress/creates formal revolutionary group 1894/flee to jpn 1895 failed uprising

Question 11

three principles of the people

Answer 11

nationalism - by foreign powers had to end and Han should rule themselves

peoples livelihood - improve welfare of working people and more regulated ownership of ag land and state influence in industry - better tax system

democracy - republic with a pop elected president and parliament - judicial exec and legislature of west with Chinese exam civil servants

Question 12

suns three phases

Answer 12

1. 3 yrs of mili dictatorship
2. 6 year tutelage period pf democ trials and explanation
3. after 9 yr, new const and election

Question 13

rev alliance/ tongmenghui

Answer 13

• coalition of diff rev groups
• peoples paper - 1906 = 10000 members
• 1908-1911 = 4 major anti Machu rebellions - 3 sponsored by rev all
• suns ideas spread among rebellions

Question 14

xinhai rev

Answer 14

• failed bomb investigated by authorities and they fought them instead of surrender
• 6 weekes = 24 provinces declare independence
• sun yixian returns china - leading figure and when proves gov proclaimed 29th dec he becomes polis president 1 jan 1912

Question 15

yuan shikai

Answer 15

• cunning politician and general
• asked to stop revolution - basically negotiates with both sides to play each other off
• Sun agrees to let him be president if he gets Qings to abdicated
  12th feb 1912 - Qing abdicate and Yan is president