Modern Chinese History
Chinese Universities We include a comprehensive guide to the top Universities in China giving details of student numbers, location, ranking and a bit about their history. Read more…
The South China Sea China lays claim to a vast area of sea as far south as northern Borneo. The sea contains two main groups of islands: the Paracels and the Spratleys. China's claim is disputed by all the neighboring countries around the South China Sea. China and the other countries have occupied some of these tiny islands and tensions continue to simmer. The U.S. navy has recently provocatively sailed through the region and plans further naval maneuvers. Read more…
Righteous Fist rebellion 1898-1901 The Boxer rebellion came in the final stages of decline of the Qing dynasty. Dowager Empress Cixi used the widespread hatred of foreigners taking unfair advantage of China's weakness to support the grassroots revolt. It did not end well. Read more…
China's Space Mission China is putting a great deal of money and effort in building a space exploration program . Already missions have put people into orbit around the Earth and landed robots onto the Moon. Plans exist for a large space lab and manned landings on the Moon and even missions to Mars. In a race to put people on Mars it could well be China that gets there first. Read more…
China's Neighbors The countries that surround China have an interesting set of relationships. Wars, conquest and religion have defined the current boundaries of the Peoples' Republic. India, Russia, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan all have important borders with China. Read more…
Modern Leaders The leadership of the People's Republic since 1949 has been one of stability with an emphasis of continuity and steady progress. This was not the case in the early years. With China such a major power it is important to understand the background to the handful of people who have led China in a new direction. Read more…
The Peoples of China China although predominately populated with the Han Chinese , has over 100 million people identified as belonging to other ethnic minorities. However these people are concentrated in the less densely populated 'fringes' of China so may form the majority in certain areas. Tensions with other peoples has been a cause of troubles throughout China's long history and continue to this day in Tibet and Xinjiang . Read more…
Proverb
树 倒 猢狲散
Shù daǒ hú sūn sàn
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter
When a leader loses power, his followers are disorganized and also lose power. Often said to warn someone that they hold their position only so long as their patron is in power.
All about Chinese proverbs
Relations between Korea and China A history of the long and eventful history of Chinese relations with Korea. Chinese settlement first began two thousand years ago and at times since then China has intervened in Korean affairs, most recently in the Korean War 1950-53. Read more…
Traditional Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar is still used to determine the date of some festivals, and in particular the most important one - Chinese New Year. Our calendar shows each month with both Chinese and Western calendar information together with all the important anniversaries occurring on each day and the whole year. Read more…
The standing of women in China Attitudes to women have changed greatly in China over the centuries. The traditional subservient position of women in society was removed in only the last sixty years but there yet to be a woman appointed to the top rung of government. Our section describes the role of women down the centuries including the role of concubines and how some Imperial women bucked the trend. Read more…