Question #1
Mao speaks of two “mountains” that have been a great burden upon the Chinese people. Please identify and explain what these “mountains” are, and how have they hindered the development of China as a nation. The “mountains” that Mao speaks of are imperialism and feudalism. Both have plagued the Chinese for hundreds if not thousands of years. As far back as the Ming/Qing Dynasties we see the effects of feudalism and imperialism. Let us first start with imperialism, by definition it is the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over a foreign country, which the Chinese are all too well familiar with. The Chinese had been taken over by the Mongols and the Manchus during their struggle for control of their country. …show more content…
During this time period the Manchus came and took over China. The Manchu admired the Chinese empire and in fact the Manchu even went so far as to study the Chinese empire. Once the Manchu took over China they actually kept a lot of the Ming Dynasty institutions in place; as far as the Chinese officials and the positions that native Chinese held politically, even though the Emperors held all the REAL power. (lecture,2/25/16) Under the Manchu imperialist reign China flourishes in the in the mercantile communities, the rice basin of Yangzi, and of course the growth in population and agriculture. The improvements were not limited to agriculture (i.e. cotton, silk) and industry; education and Confucianism excelled as well, especially when it came to government and government officials. The Manchu were not a bunch of savages or heathens. Yes, they did take over China but they did not ravish it. They simply expanded on what was already there. (textbook, …show more content…
The one thing that China has is PLENTY of land, and that is what made is so valuable to so many other nations and countries. The city of Wuhan was a commercial center in China, it was 4,000 miles of coastal land that was not in use! Thinking of China as a whole, the northern part was considered more valuable than southern China. China was considered to be “self-sufficient”, when it came to natural resources. And so the feudalism begins, with the Mongols in the late 13th century. The Mongols were savages and when they ravished the land and the people it would appear that they tried to leave the land desolate. There was a “recovery” process for China. The Mongols had decreased the population by 70 million! Land had to be restored, reservoirs had to be restored, portions of the Great Wall of China had to be rebuilt. (lecture, 1/26/16) After the Mongols were finally out of China is when the Manchus felt it necessary to go into China and “help” them out by taking control of the region. The Manchus divided China up into districts and placed Magistrates in charge of the Districts, but the Emperor held the final say on all matters. I feel like the Manchus were more civilized than the Mongols for the simple fact that China prospered under the Manchus rule. Not just in the rebuilding process, but as a people they excelled in the arts: porcelain, poetry, rugs, and silks all these exports became