Changes

== History ==

== History ==

{{main|Chinese History}}

{{main|History of China}}

Although archaeologists have found settlements in China dating to [[5000 BCE]], the earliest nation that can be dated in the area of modern China is the [[Shang Dynasty]], approximately [[2000 BCE]].

Although archaeologists have found settlements in China dating to [[5000 BCE]], the earliest nation that can be dated in the area of modern China is the [[Shang Dynasty]], approximately [[2000 BCE]].

Chinese had an advanced artistic culture and well-developed science and technology.  However, its science and technology stood still after 1700 and in the 21st century very little survives outside museums, except in for the popular forms of traditional medicine.  

Chinese had an advanced artistic culture and well-developed science and technology.  However, its science and technology stood still after 1700 and in the 21st century very little survives outside museums, except in for the popular forms of traditional medicine.  

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by large-scale civil wars, major famines, military defeats by Britain and Japan, regional control by powerful warlords and foreign intervention such as the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900. In 1911 the revolution deposed the [[Qing Dynasty]] and a republic was proclaimed.  Under the leadership of the [[KMT]] (Kuomintang), headed by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] (1887-1975), the central government finally suppressed the local warlords who effectively controlled many provinces.  The KMT tried to destroy the Communists under [[Mao Zedong]], but they escaped in the "Long March" of 1934-35.  Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, and in 1937 invaded all of China, seizing the coast, the major cities, and setting up a puppet government that controlled most of the population. China was allied with the U.S. and Britain against Japan, and at war's end joined the United Nations as a permanent member of the 5-nation Security Council, with a veto.  The Americans attempted to force a negotiated settlement between the KMT and the Communists, but failed.  In the face of economic collapse the Communists won the civil war in 1949 under [[Mao Zedong]] established a dictatorship, driving the KMT to Taiwan. Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China in theory, but in practice has been independent since 1949. Mao liquidated millions of opponents, fought the United States in the bloody [[Korean War]] )1950-53), and broke with the Soviet Union over the issue of who best represented the Marxist orthodoxy.  Mao's regime imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, Mao's successor [[Deng Xiaoping]] focused on market-oriented economic development, and by 2000 output had quadrupled, population growth ended (by imposing a one-child policy), and good relations were secured with the West. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls and Internet censorship remain tight.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by large-scale civil wars, major famines, military defeats by Britain and Japan, regional control by powerful warlords and foreign intervention such as the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900. In 1911 the revolution deposed the [[Qing Dynasty]] and a republic was proclaimed.   

 

Under the leadership of the [[KMT]] (Kuomintang), headed by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] (1887-1975), the central government finally suppressed the local warlords who effectively controlled many provinces.  The KMT tried to destroy the Communists under [[Mao Zedong]], but they escaped in the "Long March" of 1934-35.  Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, and in 1937 invaded all of China, seizing the coast, the major cities, and setting up a puppet government that controlled most of the population. China was allied with the U.S. and Britain against Japan, and at war's end joined the United Nations as a permanent member of the 5-nation Security Council, with a veto.   

 

In 1945-46, the U.S. attempted to force a negotiated settlement between the KMT and the Communists, but failed.  In the face of economic collapse the Communists won the civil war in 1949 under [[Mao Zedong]] established a dictatorship, driving the KMT to Taiwan. Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China in theory, but in practice has been independent since 1949.  

 

Mao liquidated millions of opponents, fought the United States in the bloody [[Korean War]] (1950-53), and around 1960 broke bitterly with the Soviet Union over the issue of who best represented the Marxist orthodoxy.  Mao's regime imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people.  

 

After 1978, Mao's successor [[Deng Xiaoping]] focused on market-oriented economic development, and by 2000 output had quadrupled, population growth ended (by imposing a one-child policy), and good relations were secured with the West. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls and Internet censorship remain tight.

China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade, to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy.

China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade, to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy.