Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
13th Dalai Lama

13th dalai lama

Thubten Gyatso (1876 – December 17, 1933), also spelled Thupten Gyatso, was the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet. He was an intelligent reformer who proved himself a skillful politician when Tibet became a pawn in the great game between Russia, China, and Britain. He was also responsible for restoring discipline in monastic life and increasing the number of lay officials to avoid excessive power being placed in the hands of the monks. Legislation was introduced to counter corruption among officials, a national taxation system was established, and a police force was created. As a result of his contacts with foreign powers and their representatives, the Dalai Lama showed an interest in world affairs and introduced electricity, the telephone and the first motor car to Tibet. Nonetheless, at the end of his life in 1933, he saw that Tibet was about to enter a dark age. The 13th Dalai Lama predicted before dying: "Very soon in this land (with a harmonious blend of religion and politics) deceptive acts may occur from without and within. At that time, if we do not dare to protect our territory, our spiritual personalities including the Victorious Father and Son (Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama) may be exterminated without trace, the property and authority of our Lakangs (residences of reincarnated lamas) and monks may be taken away. Moreover, our political system, developed by the Three Great Dharma Kings (Tri Songtsen Gampo, Tri Songdetsen and Tri Ralpachen) will vanish without anything remaining. The property of all people, high and low, will be seized and the people forced to become slaves. All living beings will have to endure endless days of suffering and will be stricken with fear. Such a time will come."

References


- Some text used with permission from [http://www.simhas.org/ www.simhas.org]. The author of this text has requested that there appear a direct link to the website on which the information is taken. The original text can be found here: http://www.simhas.org/dalai13.html.

Other Pictures

Image:13thdali1.jpg|The 13th Dalai Lama Image:13thdali3.jpg.jpg|Enlarged version of previous image Image:13thdali2.jpg|The 13th Dalai Lama at an older age Image:Xzws-2.jpg|13th Dalai Lama. Image:N62 15.jpg|H.H. the 13th Dalai Lama (photo by Frederick Williamson) Image:Hhdl-13-lg.gif| Category:1876 births Category:1933 deaths Category:Dalai Lamas

1876

1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday.

Events

January-March


- January 31 United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
- February 2 - The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
- February 14 - Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone.
- February 22 - Johns Hopkins University founded in Baltimore, Maryland.
- March 7 - Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the telephone (patent # 174,464).
- March 10 - Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call by saying "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."

April-June


- April 16 - Bulgarian April uprising
- April 17 - Six Fenian prisoners escape from a penal colony in Fremantle, Australia with the aid of ship Catalpa.
- May 1 - Turks crush uprising of Bulgar Slavs
- May 11-May 12 - Berlin Memorandum - Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary propose an armistice between Turkey and its insurgents
- May 16 - British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli rejects Berlin Memorandum
- May 18 - Wyatt Earp starts work in Dodge City, Kansas, serving under Marshal Larry Deger
- May 30 - Abd-ul-Aziz, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murat V.
- June 4 - An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, California via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after having left New York City.
- June 17 - Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud - 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.
- June 25 - Indian Wars: Battle of the Little Bighorn. Lieutenant colonel George Armstrong Custer of the US 7th Cavalry Regiment leads a unit of 300 men in battle against the allied forces of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho, counting 5000 men under the leadership of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The latter emerge victorious.

July-September


- July 1 - Serbia declares war on Turkey
- July 2 - Montenegro declares war on Turkey
- July 4 - United States Centennial See: [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/T825xB1xI5/ Centennial exposition described and illustrated], being a concise and graphic description of this grand enterprise commemorative of the first centennary of American independence. Publisher: Philadelphia, Hubbard bros, 1876.
- July 8 - Reichstadt Agreement between Russia and Austria-Hungary on partitioning the Balkan peninsula.
- August 1 - Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
- August 8 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
- August 31 - Murat V, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid II.
- September 5 - Gladstone publishes Bulgarian Horrors pamphlet
- September 7 - In Northfield, Minnesota, Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang attempt to rob the town's bank but are surrounded by an angry mob and are nearly wiped out.

October-December


- October 4 - Texas A&M University, the state’s first public institution of higher education, opened on October 4, 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.
- November 2 - Atlantic giant squid 6.1 meters long washes ashore in Thimble Tickle Bay in Canada
- November 21 - Porfirio Diaz arrives in Mexico City and takes power
- November 7 - U.S. presidential election is held. After long and heated disputes, Rutherford Birchard Hayes would be declared the winner over Samuel Jones Tilden.
- November 7 - Green Clay Smith ran as presidential candidate of Prohibition Party.
- November 7 - Samuel Fenton Cary ran as vice-presidential candidate of Greenback Party.
- November 23 - Corrupt Tammany Hall leader William Marcy Tweed (better known as Boss Tweed) is delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain.
- November 25 - Indian Wars: In retaliation for the dramatic American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, United States Army troops under General Ranald Mackenzie sack Chief Dull Knife's sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River (the soldiers destroyed all of the villager's winter food and clothing and then slashed their ponies' throats).
- November 29 - Porfirio Díaz becomes President of Mexico.
- December 5 - Fire in theater in Brooklyn, New York City, kills more than 300
- December 23 - Conference of Constantinople about Ottoman treatment of its ethnic minorities begins
- December 29 - The Ashtabula River Railroad bridge disaster, 64 injured, 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio.

Unknown dates


- Spandau Prison finished
- Paraguay makes peace with Argentina
- Invention of the four-stroke cycle internal combustion engine by Nikolaus Otto
- United States of America Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia
- After the Young Turks rebellion deposes sultan Abd al-Aziz. He is succeeded by Murad V who, after being declared insane, gives way to Abd al-Hamid I.
- Samurai are banned from carrying swords in Japan.
- Harvard Lampoon founded.
- Heinz Ketchup introduced.

Births

January-March


- January 5 - Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1967)
- January 11 - Elmer Flick, baseball player (d. 1971)
- January 12 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- January 12 - Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
- January 20 - Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d. 1967)
- January 23 - Otto Diels, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- January 29 - Havergal Brian, British composer (d. 1972)
- February 19 - Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (d. 1957)
- March 1 - Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian International Olympic Committee president (d. 1942)
- March 2 - Pope Pius XII, (d. 1958)
- March 4 - Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet (d. 1947)
- March 11 - Carl Ruggles, British composer (d. 1971)
- March 21 - John Tewksbury, American athlete (d. 1968)

April-September


- April 4 - Maurice de Vlaminck, lyricist (d. 1958)
- April 22 - Robert Bárány, Nobel Prize winner in medicine
- June 5 - Tony Jackson, jazz musician (d. 1920)
- July 12 - Max Jacob, French poet (d. 1944)
- July 19 - Joseph Fielding Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972)
- August 7 - Mata Hari, exotic dancer and spy
- September 6 - John James Richard Macleod, Scottish-born physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
- September 15 - Bruno Walter, German conductor (d. 1962)
- September 16 - Marvin Hart, boxer (d. 1931)
- September 18 - James Scullin, ninth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1953)
- September 26 - Edith Abbott, social worker, educator, and author (d. 1957)

October-December


- October 13 - Rube Waddell, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1914)
- November 7 - Charlie Townsend, English cricketer (d. 1958)
- November 7 - Culbert Olson, Governor of California (d. 1962)
- November 17 - August Sander, German photographer (d. 1964)
- November 23 - Manuel de Falla, Spanish composer (d. 1946)
- November 24 - Walter Burley Griffin, American architect (d. 1937)
- December 9 - Berton Churchill, Canadian actor (d. 1940)
- December 12 - Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete (d. 1928)
- December 21 - Jack Lang, Australian politician (d. 1975)
- December 25 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan (d. 1948)
- December 25 - Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
- December 29 - Pablo Casals, Catalan cellist (d. 1973)
- Alfred Stock, German chemist (d. 1946)

Deaths


- January 14 - Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, French painter, total gaylord (b. 1780)
- February 18 - Charlotte Cushman, American stage actress (b. 1816)
- May 26 - František Palacký, Czech historian and politician (b. 1798)
- June 21 - Antonio López de Santa Anna, President of Mexico (b. 1794)
- June 25 - George Armstrong Custer, U.S. officer (killed in battle) (b. 1839)
- August 2 - Wild Bill Hickok, American gunfighter and entertainer (b. 1837)
- October 1 - James Lick, American land baron (b. 1796)
- Abd al-Aziz, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1830) 1876 was also the year that football club Port Vale FC were formed Category:1876 ko:1876년 ms:1876 simple:1876 th:พ.ศ. 2419

December 17

December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 14 days remaining.

Events


- 283 - St Gaius becomes Pope.
- 384 - St Siricius becomes Pope.
- 1586 - The reign of Emperor Go-Yozei, the 107th imperial ruler of Japan, begins.
- 1637 - The Shimabara Rebellion breaks out in Japan.
- 1777 - France becomes the first nation to recognize the United States.
- 1843 - "A Christmas Carol", a fictional short story by Charles Dickens, is first published.
- 1862 - General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
- 1903 - First powered flight, by the Wright Brothers.
- 1919 - Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1935 - First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane.
- 1939 - German battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo four days after the Battle of the River Plate.
- 1941 - German siege of Sevastopol begins
- 1944 - Western Defense Command issues proclamation ending requirement of Japanese internment.
- 1944 - In what became known as the Malmédy massacre, around 80 American POW are executed by Waffen-SS troops of Jochen Peiper’s Kampfgruppe.
- 1961 - India seizes Goa from Portugal
- 1961 - A fire at a circus in Niteroi, Brazil kills 323 people.
- 1967 - Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908) disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria
- 1969 - The U.S. Air Force announces that its UFO investigations have found no evidence of extraterrestrial spacecraft.
- 1969 - SALT I talks begin
- 1970 - My Lai trial begins
- 1970 - Coastal cities events Mass riots in the coastal cities of Poland ended in massacre of shipyard workers in Gdynia
- 1973 - The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses.
- 1978 - The Workers Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe.
- 1981 - U.S. army officer James Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy
- 1983 - A fire at a night club in Madrid kills 82.
- 1989 - The first episode of The Simpsons airs on the Fox network
- 1989 - Brazil holds its first free election in 25 years.
- 1989 - Full-scale street manifestations and riots in Timisoara ignite the Romanian Revolution
- 1997 - A chartered Yakovlev-42 from Ukraine crashes into the mountains near Katerini, Greece killing 70
- 1998 - Claudia Benton is murdered in her West University, Texas home by Angel Maturino Resendiz. She is his fifth murder victim in his fourth incident.
- 2002 - A peace accord is signed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 2003 - First supersonic flight by Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne
- 2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the third and final film in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, opens in theaters.

Births


- 1239 - Kujo Yoritsugu, Japanese shogun (d. 1256)
- 1267 - Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (d. 1324)
- 1619 - Prince Rupert, Royalist commander in the English Civil War (d. 1682)
- 1632 - Anthony Wood, English antiqurian (d. 1695)
- 1685 - Thomas Tickell, English writer (d. 1740)
- 1706 - Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1749)
- 1734 - Maria I of Portugal, Portuguese queen (d. 1816)
- 1749 - Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer (d. 1801)
- 1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German Composer (d. 1827)
- 1778 - Humphry Davy, English chemist (d. 1829)
- 1787 - Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist (d. 1869)
- 1796 - Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian novelist (d. 1865)
- 1799 - Titian Peale, American artist (d. 1885)
- 1807 - John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and abolitionist (d. 1892)
- 1830 - Jules de Goncourt, French publisher (d. 1870)
- 1853 - Herbert Beerbohm Tree, English actor (d. 1917)
- 1853 - Emile Roux, French physician (d. 1933)
- 1859 - Paul César Helleu, French artist (d. 1927)
- 1872 - Mistinguett, French actress and singer (d. 1956)
- 1873 - Ford Madox Ford, English writer (d. 1939)
- 1874 - William Lyon Mackenzie King, tenth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1950)
- 1887 - Josef Lada, Czech painter (d. 1957)
- 1888 - King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (d. 1934)
- 1892 - Sam Barry, American basketball coach (d. 1950)
- 1893 - Erwin Piscator, German film director (d. 1966)
- 1894 - Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d. 1979)
- 1901 - Lee Strasberg, Austrian-born actor and director (d. 1982)
- 1903 - Erskine Caldwell, American author (d. 1987)
- 1903 - Ray Noble, English musician
- 1906 - Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier (d. 2002)
- 1908 - Willard Frank Libby, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1911 - André Claveau, French singer (d. 2003)
- 1916 - Penelope Fitzgerald, English writer (d. 2000)
- 1929 - Jacqueline Hill, British actress (d. 1993)
- 1929 - William Safire, American columnist
- 1930 - Bob Guccione, American magazine publisher
- 1930 - Bob Mathias, American athlete
- 1930 - Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor
- 1938 - Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian musician
- 1938 - Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete
- 1939 - Eddie Kendricks, American musician (d. 1992)
- 1941 - Gene Clark, American musician (d. 1991)
- 1942 - Paul Butterfield, American musician (d. 1987)
- 1943 - Ron Geesin, Scottish musician
- 1943 - Lauren Hutton, American model and actress
- 1944 - Jack L. Chalker, Canadian novelist
- 1944 - Bernard Hill, English actor
- 1945 - Elvin Hayes, American basketball player
- 1945 - Ernie Hudson, American actor
- 1949 - Paul Rodgers, British singer (Free)
- 1951 - Ken Hitchcock, Canadian hockey coach
- 1955 - Brad Davis, American basketball player
- 1966 - Kristiina Ojuland, Estonian politician
- 1968 - Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver
- 1970 - Joshua Seth, American voice actor and hypnotist
- 1971 - Antoine Rigaudeau, French basketball player
- 1971 - Alan Khan, South African Radio DJ and breakfast TV host on am2day
- 1973 - Paula Radcliffe, English runner
- 1975 - Nick Dinsmore, American professional wrestler
- 1975 - Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-born actress and model
- 1979 - J M McDermott, American Fantasy Novelist
- 1981 - Alexander R. Scott, American artist

Deaths


- 1187 - Pope Gregory VIII
- 1195 - Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut (b. 1150)
- 1273 - Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Persian poet and mystic (b. 1207)
- 1663 - Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (b. 1583)
- 1721 - Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, English statesman (b. 1640)
- 1763 - Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony (b. 1722)
- 1812 - Kaspar Hauser, German foundling (b. 1812)
- 1830 - Simón Bolívar, Latin American politician and activist (b. 1783)
- 1897 - Alphonse Daudet, French writer (b. 1840)
- 1907 - William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-born physicist (b. 1824)
- 1909 - King Léopold II of Belgium (b. 1835)
- 1917 - Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician (b. 1836)
- 1957 - Dorothy L. Sayers, English writer (b. 1893)
- 1964 - Victor Franz Hess, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
- 1987 - Irving Allen, American producer (b. 1916)
- 1987 - Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian novelist (b. 1903)
- 1992 - Dana Andrews, American actor (b. 1909)
- 1998 - Claudia Benton, Peruvian child psychologist (b. 1959)
- 1999 - Grover Washington Jr., American musician (b. 1943)
- 2003 - Ed Devereaux, Australian actor (b. 1925)
- 2003 - Otto Graham, American football player (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances


- National Day in Bhutan (1907)
- Roman Empire - Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, began.
- Wright Brothers Day-US (by Presidential Proclamation)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/17 BBC: On This Day] ---- December 16 - December 18 - November 17 - January 17 -- listing of all days ko:12월 17일 ms:17 Disember ja:12月17日 simple:December 17 th:17 ธันวาคม

Dalai Lama

: This article describes the Dalai Lama lineage. For information on the present Dalai Lama see Tenzin Gyatso. For the song see Dalai Lama (song). Dalai Lama (song) Dalai Lama (song) In Tibetan Buddhism, the successive Dalai Lamas (taa-la'i bla-ma) form a tulku lineage of Gelugpa leaders which trace back to 1391. Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama to be the present incarnation of Avalokitesvara ("Chenrezig" [spyan ras gzigs] in Tibetan), the bodhisattva of compassion. Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lama was the head of the Tibetan government, controlling a large portion of the country from the capital Lhasa. The Dalai Lamas never had authority over every region of Tibet nor over the other sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama (the 14th) is a respected Tibetan Buddhist religious leader and figurehead of the International Tibet Independence Movement; in English, he is often granted the style "His Holiness" (or HH) before his title. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the head of the Gelug school, but this position officially belongs to the Ganden Tripa (dga' ldan khri pa) (Holder of the Throne of Ganden [dga' ldan], the first monastery established by Tsongkhapa [btsong-ka-pa], founder of the Gelug). The 5th Dalai Lama, with the support of Gushri Khan, a Mongol ruler of Khökh Nuur, united Tibet by force. The Dalai Lamas continued to rule in Tibet until the People's Republic of China took direct control of the region in 1959. The 14th Dalai Lama then fled to India and has since maintained a government in exile. See History of Tibet for further information. "Dalai" means "ocean" in Mongolian, and "Lama" (bla ma) is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru", and so may mean "teacher" or "monk." The title refers to the extent of the lama's presumed wisdom; it was first bestowed by the Mongolian ruler Altan Khan upon the 3rd Dalai Lama and is now applied to every incarnation in the lineage. The Tibetans call the Dalai Lama Gyawa Rinpoche (rgya ba rin po che) meaning "Precious Victor," or Yeshe Norbu (ye shes nor bu) meaning "Wisdom Jewel." Upon the death of the Dalai Lama, his monks institute a search for the Lama's reincarnation, or tulku (sprul sku), a small child. Familiarity with the possessions of the previous Dalai Lama is considered the main sign of the reincarnation. The search for the reincarnation typically requires a few years, which results in a gap in the list of the Dalai Lamas. The reincarnation is then brought to Lhasa to be trained by the other Lamas. Despite its officially secular stance, the government of the People's Republic of China has claimed the power to approve the naming of high reincarnations in Tibet. This decision cites a precedent set by the Qianlong (Chinese: 乾隆) emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who instituted a system of selecting the Panchen Lama by means of a lottery which utilised a golden urn with names wrapped in barley balls. Recently, this precedent was called upon to name the Panchen Lama, who is empowered to recognize the new Dalai Lama. There is some speculation that with the death of the current Dalai Lama, the PRC will direct the selection of a successor. The current Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated that he will never be reborn inside territory controlled by the People's Republic of China [http://www.tibet.com/DL/next-reincarnation.html], and has occasionally suggested that he might choose to be the last Dalai Lama by not being reborn at all. Starting with the 5th Dalai Lama, until the 14th Dalai Lama's exile in 1959, the Dalai Lamas resided in Lhasa in the Potala Palace during winter and in the Norbulingka residence during summer. Since 1959, the Dalai Lama has resided in Dharamsala in Northern India, and the Tibetan Government in Exile has its headquarters there.

List of Dalai Lamas

# Gedun Drub, (dge 'dun 'grub) 1391-1474 # Gendun Gyatso, (dge 'dun rgya mtsho) 1475-1541 # Sonam Gyatso, (bsod nams rgya mtsho) 1543-1588 # Yonten Gyatso, (yon tan rgya mtsho) 1589-1616 # Lobsang Gyatso, (blo bzang rgya mtsho) 1617-1682 # Tsangyang Gyatso, (tshang dbyangs rgya mtsho) 1683-1706 # Kelzang Gyatso, (bskal bzang rgya mtsho) 1708-1757 # Jamphel Gyatso, (byams spel rgya mtsho)1758-1804 # Lungtok Gyatso, 1806-1815 # Tsultrim Gyatso, (tshul khrim rgya mtsho) 1816-1837 # Khendrup Gyatso, 1838-1856 # Trinley Gyatso, (sprin las rgya mtsho) 1856-1875 # Thubten Gyatso, 1876-1933 # Tenzin Gyatso, (bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho) 1935 - present

See also


- Oath of Refuge (to the Dalai Lama)
- History of Tibet
- Free Tibet movement
- Government of Tibet in Exile

External links


- [http://news.mpr.org/features/200105/07_newsroom_dalai/bios.shtml The 13 Previous Dalai Lamas]
- [http://www.peacemakersguide.org/peace/Peacemakers/Dalai-Lama.htm Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide profile on the Dalai Lama]
- [http://www.onelittleangel.com/wisdom/quotes/dalai_lama.asp Dalai Lama Pictures and selected quotes]
- [http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=7628&fcategory_desc=Philosophy The Dalai Lama : A Life Less Ordinary]
- [http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles9/Parenti_Tibet.htm The Dalai Lama and the Tibet Myth] Category:Politics of Tibet Category:Lamas Category:Monks and nuns ko:다라이라마 ja:ダライ・ラマ

The Great Game

] The Great Game is a term, usually attributed to Arthur Conolly, used to describe the rivalry and strategic conflict between the British Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The term was later popularized by British novelist Rudyard Kipling in his work, Kim. In Russia the same rivalry and strategic conflict was known as the Tournament of Shadows (Турниры теней). The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second less intensive phase followed.

History

The Great Game in the 19th century

1917 At the start of the 19th century there were some 2000 miles separating British India and the outlying regions of the Tsarist Russia. Much of the land in between was unmapped. The cities of Bukhara, Khiva, Merv and Tashkent were virtually unknown to outsiders. As Imperial Russian expansion threatened to collide with the increasing British dominance of the occupied lands of the Indian sub-continent, the two great empires played out a subtle game of exploration, espionage and imperialistic diplomacy throughout Central Asia. The conflict always threatened, but never quite managed to break out into direct warfare between the two sides. The centre of activity was in Afghanistan. From the British perspective, the Russian expansion threatened to destroy the so-called "jewel in the crown" of India. As the Tsar's troops began to subdue one Khanate after another the British feared that Afghanistan would become a staging post for a Russian invasion of India. It was with these thoughts in mind, that in 1838 the British launched the First Anglo-Afghan War and attempted to impose a puppet regime under Shuja Shah. The regime was short lived, and unsustainable without British military support. By 1842 mobs were attacking the British on the streets of Kabul and the British garrison agreed to a retreat from Kabul with guaranteed safe passage. Unfortunately for the British, the guarantee proved to be worthless. The retreating British column consisted of approximately 4,500 military personnel and 12,000 camp followers including many women and children. During a series of ruthless attacks all but a few dozen were killed on the march back to India. The British curbed their ambitions in Afghanistan following the humiliating retreat from Kabul. After the Indian rebellion of 1857, successive British governments saw Afghanistan as a buffer state. The Russians however, continued to advance steadily southward toward Afghanistan and by 1865 Tashkent had been formally annexed. Samarkand became part of the Russian Empire three years later and the independence of Bukhara was virtually stripped away in a peace treaty the same year. Russian control now extended as far as the northern bank of the Amu Darya river. It was only after the Russians sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul in 1878 that tensions were again renewed. Britain demanded that the ruler of Afghanistan (Sher Ali) accept a British diplomatic mission. The mission was turned back and in retaliation a force of 40,000 men was sent across the border, launching the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The second war was almost as disastrous as the first for the British, and by 1881 they again pulled out of Kabul. They left Abdur Rahman Khan on the throne, and he agreed to let the British maintain Afghanistan's foreign policy while he consolidated his position on the throne. He managed to suppress internal rebellions with ruthless efficiency and brought much of the country under central control. Russian expansion brought about another crisis — the Panjdeh Incident — when they seized the oasis of Merv in 1884. The Russians claimed all of the former ruler's territory and fought with Afghan troops over the oasis of Panjdeh. On the brink of war between the two great powers, the British decided to accept the Russian possession as a fait accompli. Without any Afghan say in the matter, the Joint Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission agreed the Russians would relinquish the farthest territory captured in their advance, but retain Panjdeh. The agreement delineated a permanent northern Afghan frontier at the Amu Darya, with the loss of a large amount of territory, especially around Panjdeh. In 1907 the Anglo-Russian Convention brought a close to the classic period of the Great Game. The Russians accepted that the politics of Afghanistan were solely under British control as long as the British guaranteed not to change the regime. Russia agreed to conduct all political relations with Afghanistan through the British. The British agreed that they would maintain the current borders and actively discourage any attempt by Afghanistan, to encroach on Russian territory.

The Great Game in the 20th century

The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 nullified existing treaties and a second phase of the Great Game began. The Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919 was precipitated by the assassination of the then ruler Habibullah Khan. His son and successor Amanullah declared full independence and attacked British India's northern frontier. Although little was gained militarily, the stalemate was resolved with the Rawalpindi Agreement of 1919. Afghanistan was granted self-determination in foreign affairs. In May 1921, Afghanistan and the Russian Soviet Republic signed a Treaty of Friendship. The Soviets provided Amanullah with aid in the form of cash, technology, and military equipment. British influence in Afghanistan waned, but relations between Afghanistan and the Russians remained equivocal, with many Afghanis desiring to regain control of Merv and Panjdeh. The Soviets, for their part, desired to extract more from the friendship treaty than Amanullah was willing to give. The United Kingdom imposed minor sanctions and diplomatic slights as a response to the treaty, fearing that Amanullah was slipping out of their sphere of influence, and realising that the policy of the Afghanistan government, was to have control of all of the Pashtun speaking groups on both sides of the Durand Line. In 1923 Amanullah responded by taking the title padshah — "king", and by offering refuge for Muslims who fled the Soviet Union, and Indian nationalists in exile from the Raj. Amanullah's programme of reform was, however, insufficient to strengthen the army quickly enough — in 1928 he abdicated under pressure, and his brother abdicated three days later. The individual to emerge from the crisis was King Muhammad Nadir, who reigned from 1929 to 1933. Both the Soviets and the British played the circumstances to their advantage: the Soviets getting aid in dealing with Uzbek rebellion in 1930 and 1931, while the British aided Afghanistan in creating a 40,000 man professional army. With the advent of World War II came the temporary alignment of British and Soviet interests: in 1940 both governments pressured Afghanistan for the removal of a large German non-diplomatic contingent, which was felt by both governments to be engaged in espionage. Initially this was resisted. With this period of cooperation between the USSR and the UK, the Great Game between the two powers came to an end.

The Great Game Renewed

With the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War, the United States displaced Britain as the global power, asserting its influence in the Middle East in pursuit of oil, containment of the Soviet Union, and access to other resources. This period is sometimes referred to as "The New Great Game" by commentators, and there are references in the military, security and diplomatic communities to "The Great Game" as an analogy or framework for events involving India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and more recently, the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia. In 1997, Zbigniew Brzezinski published "The Grand Chessboard" which advocated a 21st century version of the Great Game. Many believe that Project for the New American Century and the neo-conservatives in the Bush Administration are following the Grand Chessboard playbook to the letter.

References


- The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk (1994) ISBN 1568360223
- Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Asia by Karl Meyer, Shareen Brysac, (2001) ISBN 0349113661

See also


- European influence in Afghanistan
- Geostrategy in Central Asia
- Petroleum politics
- Globalization

External links


- [http://afghana.com/SocietyAndCulture/amanula.htm Amanulla Khan: Betrayal of Nadir Khan] Great Game Great Game Category:History of Afghanistan Category:History of Pakistan

China

to protect the north from nomadic invaders and has been rebuilt several times since.]] China () refers to a number of states and cultures that have existed and are viewed as having succeeded one another in continental East Asia, dating back at least 3,500 years. China as it exists today has been variously described in different points of view as a single civilization or multiple civilizations, as a single state or multiple states, and as a single nation or multiple nations. With one of the world's longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and the world's longest continuously used written language system, China's history has been largely characterized by repeated divisions and reunifications amid alternating periods of peace and war, and violent imperial dynastic change. The country's territorial extent expanded outwards from a core area in the North China Plain, and varied according to its moving fortunes to include multiple regions of East, Northeast, and Central Asia. For centuries, Imperial China was also one of the world's most technologically advanced civilizations, and East Asia's dominant cultural influence, with an impact lasting to the present day throughout the region. By the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, China's political, economic, and military influence declined relative to growing regional power Japan and the influence of Western powers. Semi-colonialism developed by the late nineteenth century in parts of China, and the country was invaded by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The imperial system in China ended with the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) under Sun Yat-sen in 1912; however, the next four decades of ROC rule were marred by warlord control, the Second Sino-Japanese War (WWII), and the Chinese Civil War which pitted Chinese Nationalists against the Communist forces. After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, forcing the Republic of China (ROC) to retreat to the island of Taiwan, which it had governed since the end of World War II. Since then, the ROC has maintained administrative control over Taiwan, the Pescadores, several islands off the coast of Fujian province, and some islands in the South China Sea.

Terminology

"Zhongguo"

South China Sea China is called Zhongguo in Mandarin Chinese (Simplified: 中国, Traditional: 中國; also romanized as Jhongguo or Chung-kuo), which is usually translated as "Middle Kingdom", but could also be translated as "Central State" or "Central Country". Zhong (中) means "middle" or "center" while guo (国 or 國) means "country," "kingdom," "state," or "land", referring to the claim that China stood at the centre of that society's "known world", surrounded by lesser tributary states. The term has not been used consistently throughout Chinese history, however, and carries certain cultural and political connotations both positive and negative, some ideological, and early states considered part of Chinese history are not called "Zhongguo". During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was used only to describe the states politically descended from the Western Zhou Dynasty, in the Yellow River (Huang He) valley, to the exclusion of states such as Chu and Qin. The "Chinese" thus defined their nation as culturally and politically distinct from - and as the axis mundi of surrounding nations; a concept that continued well into the Qing Dynasty, although being continually redefined while the central political influence expanded territorially, and its culture assimilated alien influences. Thus Zhongguo quickly came to include areas farther south, as the cultural and political unit (not yet a "nation" or "country" in the modern sense) spread in a southerly direction, including the Yangtze River and Pearl River systems, and by the Tang Dynasty it even included "barbarian" regimes such as the Xianbei and Xiongnu. Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, and the island of Taiwan, over time, came to be dominated (to a greater or lesser extent) by, or officially ruled by, imperial China, and are often included as a part of Zhongguo, though acceptance or denial of such claims remains politically controversial, especially where Zhongguo means PRC. During the Han Dynasty and before, Zhongguo had three distinctive meanings: # The area around the capital or imperial domain. The Book of Poetry explicitly gives this definition. # Territories under the direct authority of the "central" authorities. The Historical Records states: "Eight mountains are famed in the empire. Three are with the Man and Yi barbarians. Five are in Zhongguo." # The area now called the North China Plain. The Sanguo Zhi records the following monologue: "If we can lead the host of Wu and Yue (the area of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang) to oppose Zhongguo, then we should break off relations with them soon." In this sense, the term is synonymous with Hua (華) and Xia (夏). During the period of division after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the term Zhongguo was subjected to transformation as a result of the surge of nomadic peoples from the northern frontier. This was doubly so after the loss of the Yellow River valley, the cradle of Chinese civilization, to these peoples. For example, the Xianbei called their Northern Wei regime Zhongguo, contrasting it with the Southern Dynasties, which they called the Yi (夷), meaning "barbarian". The southern dynasties, for their part, recently exiled from the north, called the Northern Wei Lu (虏), meaning "criminal" or "prisoner". In this way Zhongguo came to represent political legitimacy. It was used in this manner from the tenth century onwards by the competing dynasties of Liao, Jin and Song. The term Zhongguo came to be related to geographic, cultural and political identity and less to ethnic origin. The Republic of China, as it controlled mainland China, and later, the People's Republic of China, have used Zhongguo as an entity existing theoretically to mean all the territories and peoples within their political control as well as those outside of it (people in the Republic of China on Taiwan now usually use Zhongguo to refer to the PRC and use Taiwan to refer to itself). Thus it is asserted that all 56 officially recognized ethnic groups are Zhongguo ren (中國人), or Zhongguo people. Their disparate histories are collectively the history of Zhongguo.

"China"

Song in ancient times, was the imperial capital of 13 different historical dynasties (including the Han and Tang dynasties) in China.]] English and many other languages use forms of the name China (and the prefix Sino-), which is believed to have derived from the name of the Qin dynasty that first unified the country, even though it is not completely resolved and the origins are still controversial to an extent [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/C0298000.html]. Despite the fact that the Qin dynasty was short-lived and was often regarded as overly tyrannical it unified the written language in China and gave the supreme ruler of China the title of "Emperor", hence, the subsequent Silk Road traders would identify themselves by that name. Alternate theories on the origin of the word "China" exist. In any circumstance, the word China passed through many languages along the Silk Road before it finally reached Europe and England. The Western "China", transliterated to Shina (支那) has also been used by Japanese since the nineteenth century, and has since evolved into a derogatory term in that language. The term "China" can narrowly mean China proper, or, often, China proper and Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang, a combination essentially coterminous with the 20th and 21st century political entity China; the boundaries between these regions do not necessarily follow provincial boundaries. In many contexts, "China" is commonly used to refer to the People's Republic of China or mainland China, while "Taiwan" is used to refer to the Republic of China. Informally, in economic or business contexts, "the Greater China region" (大中華地區) refers to Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Sinologists usually use "Chinese" in a more restricted sense, more akin to the classical usage of Zhongguo, or to the meaning of the "Han ethnic group", who make up the bulk of Mainland China. In many contexts it may be more appropriate to speak of "mainland China" (中國大陸,zhōngguó dàlù in Mandarin), especially when contrasting it with other, politically different regions like Hong Kong, Macau, and territories administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan).

History

:Main articles: History of China, History of the Republic of China (1912–1949; 1949–Present on Taiwan), History of People's Republic of China (1949–Present) History of People's Republic of China China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent writing independently, the others being ancient Mesopotamia (Sumerians), India (Indus Valley Civilization), the Mayans, and, some hold, Ancient Egypt—though it may have been learned from the Sumerians. The first dynasty according to Chinese historical sources was the Xia Dynasty. Until scientific excavations were made at early bronze-age sites at Erlitou in Henan Province, it was difficult to separate myth from reality in regard to the existence of the Xia Dynasty. But since then, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. However, the first confirmed dynasty is the Shang, who settled along the Huang He river, dating from the 18th to the 12th centuries BC. The Shang were in turn invaded by the Zhou (12th to 5th centuries BC), whose centralized authority was slowly eroded by the ceding of state-like authority to warlords ruling small states; eventually, in the Spring and Autumn period, many strong independent states, in continuous war, paid but nominal deference to the Zhou state as the Imperial centre. They were all unified under one emperor in 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang, ushering in the Qin Dynasty, the first unified centralized Chinese state. This state, however, did not last for long, as it was way too authoritarian, destroying many sources of competition for power that were also sources of good governance and development, such as scholars and intellectuals. After the fall of authoritarian Qin Dynasty in 207 BC came the Han Dynasty which lasted until 220 AD. A period of disunion followed again. In 580, China was reunited under the Sui. Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, China reached its golden age. For a long period of time, especially between the 7th and 14th centuries, China was one of the most advanced civilizations in the world in technology, literature, and art. The Song Dynasty fell to the invading Mongols in 1279. The Mongols, under Kublai Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty, which lasted until 1644. After the Ming dynasty, came the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, which lasted until the overthrow of Puyi in 1911. Oftentimes regime change was violent and strongly opposed and the ruler class needed to take special measures to ensure their rule and the loyalty of the overthrown dynasty. For example, after the foreign Qing (Manchus) conquered China, because they were ever suspicious of the Han Chinese, the Qing rulers put into effect measures aimed at preventing the absorption of the Manchus into the dominant Han Chinese population. However, these restrictions proved ineffective against the assimilation of Manchus into the Chinese identity and culture. In the 18th century, China achieved a decisive technological advantage over the peoples of Central Asia, which it had been at war with for several centuries, while simultaneously falling behind Europe in that respect. This set the stage for the 19th century, in which China adopted a defensive posture against European imperialism while itself engaging in imperialistic expansion into Central Asia. See Imperialism in Asia. However the primary cause of the decline of the Chinese empire was not European and American interference, as the ethnocentric Western historians would lead many to believe. On the contrary it was a series of internal upheavals. Most prominent of these was the Taiping Civil War which lasted from 1851 to 1862. The civil war was started by an extremist believer in a school of thought partly influenced by Christianity who believed himself to be the son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. Although the imperial forces were eventually victorious, the civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history - costing at least twenty million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the First World War). Prior to this conflict a number of Islamic Rebellions, especially in Central Asia, had occurred. Later, a second major rebellion took place, although this latter uprising was considerably smaller than the cataclysmic Taiping Civil War. This second conflict was the Boxer Rebellion which aimed to repel Westerners. Although secretly supporting the rebels, the Empress, Ci Xi, aided foreign forces in suppressing the uprising. Ci Xi, 1949.]] In 1912, after a prolonged period of decline, the institution of the Emperor of China disappeared and the Republic of China was established. The following three decades were a period of disunion — the Warlord Era, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Chinese Civil War. The latter ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in control of mainland China. The CPC established a communist state—the People's Republic of China—that laid claim to be the successor state of the Republic of China. Meanwhile, the disorganized and potentially corrupt ROC government of the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, where it continued to be recognized as the legitimate government of all China by the Western bloc and the United Nations until the 1970s, when most nations and the UN switched recognition to the PRC. The United Kingdom and Portugal transferred their colonies of Hong Kong and Macau on the southern Chinese coast to the PRC in 1997 and 1999, respectively. China used in a modern context often refers to just the territory of the PRC, or to "Mainland China" (the territory of the PRC excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The PRC does not recognize the ROC, as it claims to have succeeded the ROC as the legitimate governing authority of all of China including Taiwan. On the other hand, the ROC—while never formally renouncing its earlier claims or changing official maps that show its territory as including both the modern-day PRC, Mongolia and Tibet—has moved away from this former identity representing its rule over all of China, and increasingly identifies itself as Taiwan. The PRC has historically resisted the ROC's identification of itself as Taiwan, especially in light of the movement supported by residents of Taiwan and others who advocate Taiwan's identity as an independent political entity. Significant disputes persist as to the nature and extent of China, possible Chinese reunification and the political status of Taiwan.

Chinese Pre-history

Archeological evidence suggests that the earliest occupants in China date as long as 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago by an ancient human relative (hominin) known as Homo erectus. One particular cave in Zhoukoudian (now known as Peking) has fossilised evidence dating to 300,000 and 550,000 years old. Evidence of primitive stone tool technology and animal bones in association to H. erectus have been studied since the late 18th century to 19th century in various areas of Eastern Asia including Indonesia (in particular the Island of Java) and Malaysia. Originally it is thought that these early hominis first evolved in Africa during the Pleistocene. It is thought that human evolution first took place in Africa expanding 7 million years. By 2 million years ago the first wave of migration from the species in association with H. erectus settled into various areas in the Old World. Fully modern humans (homo sapiens) are believed to originally have evolved roughly 200,000 and 168,000 years ago in Ethiopia or Southern Africa (ei. Homo sapiens idaltu). By 100,000 to 50,000 years ago modern human beings settled in all parts of the Old world (including the New World, Americas 25,000 to 11,000 BCE). By less than 100,000 years ago all proto-human populations disappeared as modern humans took over or drove other human species into extinction. It remains a controversial subject to whether fully modern humans evolved from separate H. erectus populations (known as "multiregional") as some evidence in ancient bones show a transitional change from H. erectus to H. sapiens having archaic features. However it is now more widely accepted that all modern humans genetically share a direct ancestor, a female nicknamed "Mitochondrial Eve" from Eastern Africa 150,000 years BCE. This model is known as Mitochondrial Eve Hypothesis. The earliest evidence examples of fully modern humans in China come from Liujiang, China where a cranium dates 67,000 years BCE. Another is a partial skeleton from Minatogawa being just 18,000 years old.

Political history

Before unification by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, "China" did not exist as a coherent entity. The Chinese civilization consisted of a patchwork of several states, each ruled by a king (王), duke (公), marquess (侯), or earl (伯). Although there was a central king who held nominal power, and powerful hegemons sometimes held considerable influence, each state was ruled as an independent political entity. This is also the time of the beginnings of Confucian philosophy and that of many other philosophies that greatly influenced Chinese philosophy-political thought. This ended with the Qin Dynasty unification, during which the office of the emperor was set up, and a system of bureaucratic administration established. After the Qin, China experienced about 13 more dynasties, many of which continued the extensive system of kingdoms, dukedoms, earldoms, and marquisates. The territory varied with several expansions and contractions depending on the strength of each emperor and dynasty. However the emperor had ultimate, supreme, and unquestionable authority as the political and religious leader of China. The emperor also consulted civil and martial ministers, especially the prime minister. Political power sometimes fell into the hands of powerful officials, eunuchs, or imperial relatives, often at the expense of a child heriditary emperor. This happened especially since the emperor often was many layers of power removed from the outside world, making him susceptible to manipulation because his sources for information could manipulate that information causing him to make incorrect decisions, especially when their age at becoming emperor often had no bottom limit, with rule passing heriditarily but also given "in trust" to another relative. Political relations with dependencies (tributary kingdoms) were maintained by international marriages, military aids, treaties, and gifts. (see section "Geography, Political" below for examples), Luoyang, Chang'an (today's Xi'an), Nanjing, and Beijing are the four cities most commonly designated as capitals of China over the course of history. Chinese was the official language, though periods of Mongol and Manchu conquest saw the arrival of Mongol and Manchu as alternate official languages. On January 1, 1912, the Republic of China (ROC) was established, signaling the end of the Manchu-dominated Qing Empire. Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party), was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who had defected to the revolutionary cause, soon forced Sun to step aside and took the presidency for himself (formally it was a negotiation where Sun agreed to step aside for what was then perceived as a strong reformer, Yuan). Before long, Yuan attempted to have himself proclaimed emperor of a new dynasty; however, he died soon of natural causes before fully taking power over all of the Chinese empire. After Yuan's downfall, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally-recognized, but virtually powerless, national government seated in Beijing (thus failing to fit the definition of a state). Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. state In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to Nanjing and implementing "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's program for transforming China into a modern, democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang with heavy Leninist influences. Ironically, both the Kuomintang and the CCP have heavy Leninist influences. In 1947, constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China (CPC), many provisions of the 1947 ROC constitution were never put into actual practice on the mainland. By early 1950, the CPC had defeated the Kuomintang on the mainland, and the ROC government retreated to the island of Taiwan. Beginning in the late 1970s, Taiwan began the implementation of full, multi-party, representative democracy in the territories still under ROC control (i.e., Taiwan Province, Taipei, Kaohsiung and some offshore islands of Fujian province). Today, the political scene in the ROC is vibrant, with active participation by all sectors of society. But rather than the usual conservative-liberal policy distinctions that are the hallmarks of most democracies around the world, the main cleavage in ROC politics is the unification with China in the long-run vs. formal independence issue. However, Greens are generally more liberal (i.e. more environmentally friendly) and Blues are generally regarded as more conservative. environmentally friendly Meanwhile, Mao Zedong, the leader of the communists, proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949 in Beijing, saying China had stood up. From the beginning, the PRC has been a dictatorial one-party state under the Communist Party. However, post-1978 reforms have led to the relaxation, in varying degrees, of party control over many areas of society. Nonetheless, the Communist Party still has absolute control over political aspects of society, and it continuously seeks to eradicate threats to its rule. Examples of this include the jailing of political opponents and journalists, general control of the press, regulation of religions and other non-party organizations, censorship of the press, literature and film, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989, a popular demonstration held in Beijing at Tiananmen Square was violently put to an end by the Chinese government. Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989 The attempted eradication of the Falun Gong movement is also held by its supporters to be motivated by fear of Falun Gong's growing influence. Today, however, there is much more freedom in intellectual thought in non-political areas and propaganda, while still continuing, has lessened.

Territory

Historical overview

propaganda The Zhou Dynasty, which preceded the unification of China by Shi Huangdi, was originally the region around the Yellow River. Since then, the territory has expanded outward in all directions, and was largest during the Tang, Yuan, and Qing dynasties. The Qing Dynasty included parts of modern Russian Far East and Central Asia (west of Xinjiang). Xinjiang Along with provincial administrators, some foreign monarchs sent envoys to offer gifts to the Emperor of China and the Emperor returned compliments to them. The Chinese thought that the barbarians attached themselves to the virtue of the Emperor, while the foreign governments sometimes disagreed. Since the end of the 19th century, China has tried to reinterpret this relationship as suzerainty or suzerainty-dependency, but this no longer has any real conception in modern international political theories. The Qing Empire reduced the territorial value of the Great Wall of China as a barrier of China proper after they merged their homeland (Manchuria) north of the wall with China proper south of it. In 1683 after the surrender of the Kingdom of Tungning established by Koxinga, Taiwan including the Pescadores became a part of the Qing Empire, originally as one prefecture, then two, and later a province. Taiwan was subsequently ceded to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895. At the end of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Japan relinquished the sovereignty of the island in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and the Republic of China took over. Since then, the de jure sovereignty of Taiwan has been under dispute between the PRC, and the now democratic ROC and Taiwan independence supporters.

Historical political divisions

Historically, top-level political divisions of China have altered as the administration changed. Top levels included circuits and provinces. Below that, there have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commanderies, districts, and counties. Recent divisions also include prefecture-level cities, county-level cities, towns and townships (see below for examples). Historically, most Chinese dynasties were based in the historical heartlands of China, known by the politically-correct term of China proper (since it doesn't include places it doesn't control, such as Mongolia or Taiwan). Various dynasties also exhibited expansionism by engaging in incursions into more peripheral territories like Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The Manchu-established Qing Dynasty and its successors, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China cemented the incorporation of these territories into China. These territories are separated by borders that are vague at best, and do not correspond well to contemporary political divisions. China proper is generally thought to be bounded by the Great Wall and the edge of the Tibetan plateau; Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are found to the north of the Great Wall of China, and the boundary between them can either be taken as the present border between Inner Mongolia and the northeast Chinese provinces, or the more historic border of the World War II-era puppet state of Manchukuo; Xinjiang's borders correspond to today's administrative Xinjiang; and historic Tibet is conceived as occupying all of the Tibetan Plateau. China is also traditionally thought of as comprising North China (北方) and South China (南方), the geographic boundary between which north and south is largely generalized as Huai River (淮河) and Qinling Mountains (秦岭).

Geography and climate

Qinling Mountains
China within East Asia. ([http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/pdf/asia.pdf PDF])
China is composed of a vast variety of highly different landscapes, with mostly plateaus and mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east. As a result, principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (central-east), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong River, and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific. Most of China's arable lands lie along the two major rivers, the Yangtze and the Huang He, and each are the centers around which are founded China's major ancient civilizations. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated by hill country and lower mountain ranges. To the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, with the Himalayas, containing the highest point Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus among more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding. Due to a prolonged drought and perhaps poor agricultural practices, dust storms have become usual in the spring in China. Dust blows all the way to southern China, Taiwan, and has even been measured on the West Coast of the United States. United States native to the bamboo forests of central and southern China.]] During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam. The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (within which lies Beijing) has a climate with winters of