Government and Politics in CHINA Flashcards
Dynastic cycles
Long periods of rule by a family punctuated by times of chaos, when the family looses its power and was challenged by a new, and ultimately successful, ruling dynasty.
Mandate of Heaven
The right to rule as seen by the collective ancestral wisdom that guided the empire from the heaven above.
Legitimacy in China
Legitimacy in China was established from the Mandate of Heaven, and power passed down from one hereditary ruler to the next.
Sun Yat-Sen
The first president of the Chinese Republic after the revolution in 1911.
Mao Zedong
The first leader of the Maoism ( Mao + communist) party in China
Maoism
Mao Zedong’s version of authority. A mix between his own ideology and communism.
It endorsed centralized power exercised through the top leaders of the party, it stressed the importance of staying connected to the peasants through a process called mass line.
Democratic centralization.
Vision of ideal society based on self reliance and struggle .
Loyalty to the state.
Egalitarian social structure; mass line between rulers and subjects
The People’s Republic of China
Established in 1949, Mao lead the communist party until his death in 1976.
Mass line
Requires leaders to listen to and communicate with ordinary folks, and without it, legitimacy of the rulers was questionable.
Central military commission
How the military is represented in the government. The military played an important role in the rise of the Communist Party.
Authoritarian power
A huge land based empire ruled from a central place by either an emperor or a small group of people.
Citizens are subjects of, not participants in the government.
Confucianism
Emphasizes the importance of order and harmony, encouraged Chinese citizens to submit to the emperors power, and reinforce the emperors responsibility to fulfill his duties conscientiously
Mandate of Heaven
Loyalty to family
Bureaucratic hierarchy based on scholarship
Emperors surrounded themselves with highly organized bureaucrats. Government jobs are highly coveted an extremely competitive.
Middle Kingdom
The center of civilization.
Deng Xiaoping Theory
A practical mix of authoritarian Political control and economic privatization
Dynastic rule as an historical era
Superior and subservient positions. The political culture inherited from centuries of dynastic rule centers on Confucian value such as order, harmony, and a strong sense of hierarchy.
Confucian values
Order, harmony, and a strong sense of hierarchy
Resistance to imperialism
During the 19 century China’s strong sense of cultural identity blossomed into nationalism as it resisted persistent attempts by imperialist nations.
Foreign Devils
Imperialist nations such as England France Germany and Japan
Collectivism
Seen in Maoism. Valuing the good of the community above that of the individual suited to the peasant communities.
Struggle and activism
Mao encouraged the people to actively pursue the values of socialism something he understood would require struggle and devotion.
Mass line
Mao conceptualized A line of between party leaders, members and peasants that would allow all to struggle toward realization of the goals of a communist state.
Egalitarianism
Hierarchy was the key organizing principle in Chinese 1949, and Mao’s emphasis on creating an egalitarian society was in complete opposition to it.
Self-reliance
Instead of relying on the elite to give directions, people under Maoist rule were encouraged to rely on their own talents to contribute to their communities.
Deng Xiaoping Theory
He didn’t worry to much about whether a policy was capitalist or socialist as long as it improved the economy.
