Modern History of China/Introduction

This chapter will introduce you to the broader context of the content you're going to learn. This includes discussing the geography of China, the existing political and philosophical institutions in China, and a brief overview of the earlier history of China. This chapter will also introduce you to the basic things a historian will investigate into and the basic tools a historian will utilize to approach research. From here, through the study of modern Chinese history, we expect that you will not only gain a better understanding of the current state of China, but also develop a genuine way of thinking in history. Geography of China China, Zhongguo(中国) if written in pinyin, a romanticization of the Chinese language, symbolizes a traditional belief in the Chinese people that they resided in the center of the world while other "barbarians" are situated in the peripheral. China developed its own distinct culture and traditions, seemingly unaffected by the distant cultures in India and Persia. Although a complete independence from foreign influence in its culture is far from the truth, it is fair to acknowledge that China was a uniquely built civilization on its own. This could be better explained by the rather isolated situation China is placed in: In the west, China is isolated by the unpassable Himalayan mountains and the deserts in Xinjiang. In the north, China is isolated by the great plains in Mongolia and the scarcely populated Siberian land mass. In the east, China is isolated by the East China Sea. In the south, China is isolated by the mountains and semi-tropical and tropical rainforests in northern Indochina. Therefore, only two main pathways remained historically significant for foreign interaction with China. One is the famous Silk Road which entered China in Xinjiang, and another one is through the seas in the western Pacific Ocean. Either way remained an obstacle for foreign interaction, so it partly explains why China pursues an isolationist foreign policy in its early modern history. With a total land mass of approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, China can be roughly divided into eight regions below. Northern China Need to be added. Northeastern China Need to be added. Eastern China Need to be added. Southern China Need to be added. Southwestern China Need to be added. Southeastern China Need to be added. Northwestern China Need to be added. Other territories Need to be added. Political and Philosophical Institutions Need to be added. Brief Overview of Pre-1600 China Need to be added. Way of Thinking in History Need to be added.