Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
Iwate Prefecture

Iwate Prefecture

Iwate Prefecture (岩手県; Iwate-ken) is located in the Tohoku region on Honshu island, Japan. The capital is Morioka.

History

Iwate was historically part of Mutsu Province. It was only brought into the empire around 800. In the Jomon period it was an area abundant in fishing and hunting. There were also Emishi settlements in the Kitakami Basin. The Emishi, which translates as either toad or shrimp barbarians, were regarded by contemporary chroniclers as a race apart living in an independent state with a different language - possibly a variant of Old Japanese, or perhaps of Ainu. They were known for their tempers and their valour in battle. Whether they were a truly autonomous state and how precisely it was organised is not known, but it is probable that there was some sort of tribal or clan confederacy united by a monarchy. It seems certain, however, that the Emishi were economically active and traded with Nara and Kyoto. Some describe the trade as 'tribute' but as compensation, preferably weapons, was paid in return this seems unlikely. As well as farming rice and cereals, the Emishi raised horses, mined gold, smelted iron and traded in goods obtained from abroad. The Emishi horses were larger and faster than other horses in Japan and were possibly originally imported. The Emishi also had contact with China and Korea. It is not known whether the Emishi were a distinct racial group. It is possible that they were part of the Ainu race, or perhaps resulted from the mixing of the Ainu and Wa-Yamato (those who are now considered Japanese) cultures. What is certain is that they were considered by the authorities in Nara as being 'an alien people and culture that posed a threat to the expansion and consolodation of (their) empire'. (Yiengpruksawan, M.H., 1998, p. 19) The central government steadily pushed northwards conquering and colonizing the northern areas from the 8th century, building many forts and garrisons. These were subject to guerilla attacks from the Emishi. Buddhist temples were also built with the aim of establishing the rulers in Nara as having a holy mandate. Whilst the Emishi appear to have had aboriginal gods they were converted and Emishi Buddhist communities existed around the forts and co-operated with the authorities. Emishi leaders also came to co-operate, and were placed in charge of administering the Emishi districts that had been created just below the southern borders of Iwate. It was not until the end of the eighth century that the Nara authorities had penetrated deeply into Iwate, with Fort Shiwa, to the north of present day Morioka, constructed in 803.

References


- Wikipedia (Japanese)　
- Yiengpruksawan, M.H. Hiraizumi: Buddhist Art and Regional Politics in Twelfth Century Japan, Harvard University Asia Center, Cambridge MA, 1998

Geography

Iwate faces the Pacific Ocean to the east, and borders Aomori Prefecture on the north, Akita Prefecture on the west, and Miyagi Prefecture on the south. The prefecture has mountains in the west, north and east, with the valley of the Kitakami River running from north to south through the center of the province and including the capital. The coast is very rugged, with little in between the mountains and the sea.

Cities


- Esashi
- Hachimantai
- Hanamaki
- Ichinoseki
- Kamaishi
- Kitakami
- Kuji
- Miyako
- Mizusawa
- Morioka (capital)
- Ninohe
- Ofunato
- Rikuzentakata
- Tono

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Mergers and expansions


- On November 1, 2005 the town of Yuda and village of Sawauchi from Waga District merged forming the town of Nishiwaga.
- On October 1, 2005 the village of Miyamori from Kamihei District merged into the expanded city of Tono.
- On September 20, 2005 , the towns of Daito, Higashiyama, and Senmaya, and the villages of Kawasaki and Murone all from Higashiiwai District merged with the town of Hanaizumi from Nishiiwai District into the expanded city of Ichinoseki.
- On September 1, 2005 the towns of Ashiro and Nishine and the village of Matsuo from Iwate District merged, forming the city of Hachimantai.
- On June 6, 2005 the town of Taro and village of Niisato from Shimohei District merged into the expanded city of Miyako.

Economy

Iwate's industry is concentrated around Morioka and specializes in semconductor and communication manufacturing.

Demographics

Culture

Of the several theories about the origin of the name ‘Iwate’, the most well known tale, 'Oni no tegata,' is that associated with Mitsuishi Shrine in Morioka. (The Mitsuishi, literally ‘three rocks’, are said to have been thrown down into Morioka by an eruption of Mt Iwate.) According to the legend, there was once a devil who often tormented and harrassed the local people. When the people prayed to the spirits of Mitsuishi for protection, the devil was immediately shackled to the rocks and made to promise never to trouble the people again. As a sign of this promise the devil left a handprint on one of the rocks, thus giving rise to the name Iwate, literally meaning ‘rock hand’. Even now after a rainfall it is said that the devil’s hand print can still be seen.

Tourism

Prefectural symbols

Basho

Basho visited and wrote about Iwate in the journey described in Oku no Hosomichi. Hiraizumi in particular inspired him.

External links


- [http://www.pref.iwate.jp/english/ Official Iwate Prefecture homepage (English)] Category:Tohoku region
- ja:岩手県 ko:이와테 현

Wikipedia:WikiProject Japanese prefectures

First, an important note for everyone to remember: A few Wikipedians have gotten together to make some suggestions about how we might organize data in articles about Japanese prefectures. These are only suggestions, things to give you focus and to get you going, and you shouldn't feel obligated in the least to follow them. But if you don't know what to write or where to begin, following the below guidelines may be helpful. Mainly, we just want you to write articles! -----

Disclaimer

This document is still an early draft.

Title

WikiProject Japanese prefectures

Scope

This WikiProject aims primarily at having a standard guidlines for Japanese prefecture pages.

Parentage

Parent wikiprojects are: WikiProject Geography. Wikiproject Countries, Wikipedia:WikiProject Subnational entities

Descendant Wikiprojects


- Wikipedia:WikiProject Japanese districts and municipalites

Similar Wikiprojects

WikiProjects with a similar scope are:
- WikiProject Chinese provinces
- WikiProject French departements
- WikiProject German districts
- WikiProject U.S. States

Participants


- synthetik
- Taku
- Araisyohei
- Curzon
- Ashibaka (Fukuoka only)
- User:MC MasterChef (Saga)

Structure

Most Japanese prefectures are named after their capital and to avoid disambiguation the article should start with the prefecture's name followed by the word prefecture. e.g. Hiroshima prefecture. As a rule for using Kanji, Hiragana and/or Katakana ensure that users without Japanese reading skills will be able to pronounce these words if e.g. Tokyo prefecture (東京都; Tōkyō-to). For more guidance see the Template below (for the time being).

Hierarchy Definition

No classification of Japanese prefectures has been defined. If you have any suggestions feel free to add start the definition. As a reference here is a good example on dividing a topic into a hierarchy.

General Strategy, Discussion forum and Status


- /General
- /Strategy
- /Status

Resources


- /Images

Template

Don't forget to replace the "_" with the name of the article being converted or the appropriate information described. For the table, replace the X's with the proper information. ------ __name of article__ (__name of prefecture Kanji__; __romaji__) is located __name of region__. Its capital is the city of __name of capital__.

History

Include:
- How and when the prefecture came to be
- Worldly events that occurred here

Geography

See Wikipedia:WikiProject Japanese districts and municipalites for naming of places.

Cities


- Put them in alphabetical order

Districts


- Put them in alphabetical order May also include:
- Climate e.g. Rainfall per Year or on Monthly basis
- Topography
- Mountains, peaks
- River and body of water
- Neighboring prefectures
- Include map if available

Economy

Include:
- Agriculture: List of produce ordered by percentage
- Major industries
- Major outputs
- SEZ if available
- Stock Exchange (where applicable e.g. Tokyo, Osaka)

Demographics

Include:
- Demographics by gender, age, profession (if available)
- List major cities ordered by size of population

Culture

Include:
- Cuisine
- Festivals

Tourism

Include:
- City sites
- Historical sites
- Natural sites
- World Heritage sites
- Transportation

Prefectural symbols

Include:
- Name of Flower, Tree, Bird, Fish, Animal with the scientific name if known. Try to write a small paragrah for each symbol.

Miscellaneous topics

Include:
- Sports teams
- Famous people from this prefecture
- List major Colleges and Universities

External links

Include:
- The official site to the prefecture if possible in English. Japanese prefectures Category:Regions of Japan Category:Regional WikiProjects

Tohoku Region


The Tōhoku region (東北地方; Tōhoku-chihō) is a geographical area of Japan. Tōhoku is Japanese for "northeast," and the Tōhoku region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The area is also known as Michinoku (みちのく). The region consists of six prefectures: Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata Prefectures. The last stronghold of the indigenous Ainu on Honshu and the site of many battles, Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote and backward region, offering breathtaking scenery but a harsh climate. Tōhoku is immemorialized in haiku poet Matsuo Basho's work Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North). Tōhoku, like most of Japan, is hilly or mountainous, with the Ou Mountains forming running north-south. Its initial historical settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries A.D., well after Japanese civilization and culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. Although iron, steel, cement, chemical, pulp, and petroleum-refining industries began developing in the 1960s, Tōhoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market with rice and other farm commodities. Tōhoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of Honshu and permits only one crop a year on paddy land. Ou Mountains The inland location of many of the region's lowlands has led to a concentration of much of the population there. Coupled with coastlines that do not favor port development, this settlement pattern resulted in a much greater than usual dependence on land and railroad transportation. Low points in the central mountain range fortunately make communications between lowlands on either side of the range moderately easy. Tourism became a major industry in the Tōhoku region, with points of interest including:
- Hirosaki
- the islands of Matsushima Bay
- Lake Towada
- Oirase River Valley
- Lake Tazawa
- Kakunodate
- the Rikuchu Coastline National Park
- the Bandai-Asahi National Park
- Sanriku Coastline
- Morioka
- Hiraizumi
- Aizu
- Mt. Bandai
- Three Mountains of Dewa

See also


- Geography of Japan
- List of regions in Japan

External links

References


- - [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html Japan]
- Category:Ainu ko:도호쿠 지방 ja:東北地方

Honshu

Honshū (本州) is the largest island of Japan, called the Mainland; it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait. It is the seventh largest island, and the second most populous island in the world after Java (see the list of islands by size, population). The island is roughly 1300 km long and ranges from 50 to 230 km wide, and its total area is 230,500 km², around 60% of the total area of Japan. It is larger than the island of Great Britain, and ranks between the states of Minnesota and Michigan in area. Honshu has 5450 km of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu has frequent earthquakes (the Great Kantō earthquake heavily damaged Tokyo in September 1923); the highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m. There are many rivers, including the Shinano River, Japan's longest. The climate is highly variable from the cool north to the subtropical south. The population is 98,352,000 (as of 1990, in 1975 it was 89,101,702), concentrated in the available lowlands, notably in the Kanto plain where 25% of the total population reside in and around Tokyo and Yokohama. Other cities include Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Nagoya. The island is nominally divided into five regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. The regions are Chugoku (southern), Kansai (southern, above Chugoku), Chubu (central), Kanto (eastern), and Tohoku (northern). Three-fourths of Japan's main, major, and modern cities are here on Honshu, including the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Kyoto, Akita, Sendai, Fukushima, Niigata, and Hiroshima. Cultural centers are also present, such as Kyoto (which is both modern and cultural), Nara, and Kamakura. The island also includes important agricultural regions. Niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kanto and Nobi plains produce rice and vegetables. Yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples. A mountain range runs along the length of Honshu from end to end. In addition to Mt. Fuji, the Japanese Alps are features of Honshu. The mountains are responsible for a marked difference in climate between the eastern or southern (Pacific or Inland Sea coast) side, and the western or northern (Sea of Japan coast) side. The prefectures are:
- Chugoku — Hiroshima-ken, Okayama-ken, Shimane-ken, Tottori-ken, Yamaguchi-ken.
- Kansai — Hyogo-ken, Kyoto-fu, Mie-ken, Nara-ken, Osaka-fu, Shiga-ken, Wakayama-ken.
- Chubu — Aichi-ken, Fukui-ken, Gifu-ken, Ishikawa-ken, Nagano-ken, Niigata-ken, Toyama-ken, Shizuoka-ken, Yamanashi-ken.
- Kanto — Chiba-ken, Gunma-ken, Ibaraki-ken, Kanagawa-ken, Saitama-ken, Tochigi-ken, Tokyo-to.
- Tohoku — Akita-ken, Aomori-ken, Fukushima-ken, Iwate-ken, Miyagi-ken, Yamagata-ken. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels or bridges. Three new bridge systems have been built across the islands of the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku (Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and the Ohnaruto Bridge; Shin-Onomichi Bridge, Innoshima Bridge, Ikuchi Bridge, Tatara Bridge, Ohmishima Bridge, Hakata-Ohshima Bridges, and the Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge; Shimotsui-Seto Bridge, Hitsuishijima Bridge, Iwakurojima Bridge, Yoshima Bridge, Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge, and the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge), and the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaido. Category:Geography of Japan ko:혼슈 ja:本州



Morioka, Iwate

Morioka (盛岡市; -shi) is the capital city of Iwate prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 287,672 and the density of 588.11 persons per km². The total area is 489.15 km². The city was founded on April 1, 1889.

History

Morioka is in the territory of Emishi people in the ancient time. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, who was ordered to conquer Emishi, built Shiwa Castle here in 803, and the region gradually became under the imperial control. At the end of the Heian period, Morioka was under the control of Oshu Fujiwara Clan based on Hiraizumi, the south of Morioka. The clan was destroyed by shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, and Kudo Clan replaced it. During the Muromachi period, Nambu Clan expanded its territory from the north, and built Kozukata Castle here. Kozukata changed its name to Morioka in 17th century. In Boshin War, Morioka made pro-shogunate alliance with Aizu, and fought against the imperial force.

Geography

Morioka is located in Kitakami Basin. Kitakami River, the longest river in Tohoku, runs through the city. Beautiful Mount Iwate is in northwest of the city. Image:IwateRiver.JPG|Kitakami River Image:KaiunbashiIwateSan.JPG|KitakamiRiver and Iwate Mountain Image:Iwate Ginko.JPG|Bank (Iwate Ginko) Image:Kirschbaum und grosser Stein 1.JPG|cherry tree Image:Morioka Park 1.JPG|castle Image:Chuuoo koominkan4.JPG|park Image:Sansa Odori 3.JPG|Sansa Odori festival Image:Sansa Odori 4.JPG|Sansa Odori festival

Transportation

Morioka Station was the original northern terminal of Tohoku Shinkansen. The line was extended to Hachinohe in 2002, but the station keeps its significant role in the traffic of northern Tohoku. Akita Shinkansen also branches off at the station.

Culture

Morioka attracts tourists with local noodles such as jajamen, reimen, and wankosoba. Brewing is also a thriving industry of the city. Nambu Senbei, a type of rice cookie, is considered a local delicacy. There are many temples in Morioka. Hoonji is a temple which was built at Sannohe by the 13th lord of the Nambu Clan, Moriyuki, in 1394, and brought to Morioka by the 27th lord, Toshinao. It was considered the head temple among the 280 operated by the Nambu Clan. its notable feature is the Rakando (Statues Hall), built in 1735 and rebuilt in 1858. It's central statue Rushana-butsu is reported to be made by Kodo-daishi. Within the Rakando 500 Rakans ('holy people who deserve other's offerings') which were made in Kyoto and later brought to Morioka rest on a series of 5 rows of shelves that stretch around the room. Today it is known as a Zen training temple for monks. Mitsuishi temple (literally, 'three rocks'), has three large rocks on the grounds with shackles around them to represent the story of 'Oni no tegata', which is a legend explaining the name of the area, Iwate prefecture. According to the legend, there was once a devil who often tormented and harrassed the local people. When the people prayed to the spirits of Mitsuishi for protection, the devil was immediately shackled to the rocks and made to promise never to trouble the people again. As a sign of this promise the devil left a handprint on one of the rocks, thus giving rise to the name Iwate, literally meaning ‘rock hand’. Even now after a rainfall it is said that the devil’s hand print can still be seen.

Notable persons

Authors


- Ishikawa Takuboku
- Miyazawa Kenji

Politicians


- Takashi Hara
- Inazo Nitobe
- Mitsumasa Yonai

Athletes


- The Great Sasuke
- Taka Michinoku

External links


- [http://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp/ Morioka official website] in Japanese Category:Cities in Iwate Prefecture ja:盛岡市

800

Events


- December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III.
- Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona.
- Bantu-speaking people settle in present-day Zambia. (approximate date)
- The Arawak people settle on the island of Barbados from South America. (approximate date)

Births


- Abu al-Kindi, Muslim philosopher (approximate date)

Deaths


- Saint Alkelda Category:800 ko:800년 simple:800

Emishi

:For the statesman at the Yamato imperial court, see Soga no Emishi. The Emishi were natives of northern Honshu that opposed and resisted the rule of the Japanese Emperors during the late Nara and early Heian periods (7th-10th centuries A.D.). At the end of the Heian period (12th C.), those Emishi who were still outside the authority of the state became known as Ezo. According to earlier Japanese tradition (and Ainu oral history) the Emishi are said to be ancestors of, or related to, the Ainu. There are arguments and evidence for [http://www.isn.ne.jp/~suzutayu/MHJapan/WhosEmishi.html] and against this theory. The Emishi were represented by different tribes. The Emishi in northeastern Honshu were semi-nomadic and relied on their horses in warfare. Their livelihood was based on hunting and gathering as well as the cultivation of grains such as millet, barley, wheat and beans. They developed a unique style of warfare that relied on horse archery and hit and run tactics that proved very effective against the slower contemporary Japanese imperial army that relied on mostly heavily armed foot soldiers. The first major attempts to subjugate the Emishi by the emperors of Japan, particularly Emperor Kammu in the late 8th century were largely unsuccessful. The imperial armies modelled after the mainland Chinese were no match for the guerilla tactics of the Emishi. During the 9th century the emperors began to rely on the powerful regional clans - introducing the title of Shogun and relying on hereditary warriors who became the Samurai. Ironically, it was the development of horse archery and the adoption of Emishi tactics by the early Japanese warrior class that led to the Emishi defeat. They either submitted themselves to imperial authority or migrated further north, some to Hokkaido. By the mid-9th century most of their land in Honshu was conquered and they ceased to be independent. However, they continued to be influential in local politics as powerful Emishi families who submitted themselves to Japanese rule eventually created feudal domains in the north that became semi-autonomous. In the two centuries following the conquest a few of these became regional states that came into conflict with the central government. Recent scholarship has created a much more complicated portrait of this people. By and large, they are seen as indigenous to Japan and not simply as ancestors to the Ainu, but descendants of the Jomon. Even though historically they emerge as serious challengers to the nascent Japanese state they had inherited a rich and separate tradition that went back several millennia before the Japanese speakers came to the islands of Japan. Furthermore, some related people have now been identified as having been some of the first Americans to have crossed the Bering Sea as remains of one individual known as "Kennewick Man" found in 1996 in Washington State attest. In the study of Jomon skeletal remains dating from thousands of years ago, a direct connection with the modern Ainu was confirmed, showing a definite linkage between the two groups. This linkage however, shows that the Jomon people were very different from modern Japanese and other modern East Asians. The physical appearance of a number of the Ainu who were first encountered by the Europeans in the 19th Century were similar to Caucasians, and thus caused quite a stir among contemporary academics, and has spurred debate about their origins. It is thus surmised that the Jomon also were physically unlike that of other East Asians. This said, physical anthropologists have found that diachronically, and geographically, the skeletal structure of the Jomon population changed over time from southwest to northeast, paralleling the actual migration of Japanese speakers historically, so that more Jomon traits are preserved in the north. Soon after the Second World War, mummies were discovered in Hiraizumi (the capital city of the Northern Fujiwara), which were thought to be of people related to the Emishi who had originally submitted to Yamato rule, and hence were thought to have been related to the Ainu. However, after further research on the mummies it was found that the rulers of Hiraizumi were like other Japanese of the time, and certainly not related to ethnic Ainu. This was seen as evidence that the Emishi were not related to the Ainu. This had the effect of popularizing the idea that the Emishi were like other contemporary ethnic Japanese who lived in northeast Japan, outside of Yamato rule. However, the so-called Emishi rulers of Hiraizumi were not actually direct descendants of that ethnic group. It was customary for local rulers to take on local titles that would suggest a direct ancestry. There is some doubt that the Northern Fujiwara had some Emishi blood in them, and for the most part they were part of the Japanese aristocracy. If the Northern Fujiwara (not related to the Fujiwara of Kyoto) were related to Kyoto aristocracts the whole idea of intermarriage with local Emishi may not have been possible. On the other hand, the Abe, thought to be an Emishi family, had some connection to the Northern Fujiwara, if so they may have been a quarter Emishi. This just shows that among historians the bloodline of the Northern Fujiwara is not at all clear. It is not known how much the Emishi population changed as Japanese settlers and frontiersmen began to live in their territories even before the conquest. The Japanese established trading relations with them where horses were imported and iron tools and weapons exported. To complicate matters, some ethnic Japanese allied themselves with the Emishi in their wars against the Yamato court. The latter were known in the Nihongi as "Japanese captives" of the Emishi. The strongest argument for the theory that the Emishi were ancestors of the Ainu comes from historical documents. One of the best sources of information comes from outside Japan, from contemporary Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty histories as these describe dealings with Japan. For example, there is a record of the arrival of the Japanese foreign minister in AD 659 where conversation is recorded with the Tang Emperor. In this conversation we have perhaps the most accurate picture of the Emishi recorded for that time period. Two Emishi, a man and woman, from contemporary Tohoku (northeastern Japan) known as "Michi-no-oku" by the Japanese accompanied the minister Sakaibe no Muraji to Tang China. The emperor was delighted with the two Emishi because of their "strange" physical appearance. This was an emperor who was most likely the illustrious Emperor Tang Taizong who was familiar with many ethnic groups throughout his Empire, from Uighurs and Turks to Middle Eastern traders. However, he probably did not have any contact with Europeans. The Japanese envoy for his part describes the contemporary relationship with the Emishi as allies (gentle Emishi), enemies (rough Emishi), and distant Tsugaru Emishi (located in present-day northern Aomori, southern Hokkaido). All Chinese documents refer to them as having a separate state north of Japan and calls them "mojin", literally 'hairy people'. This is also corroborated by Japanese sources such as the Nihongi, described consistently as having long beards and as "hairy", characteristics that have been used to describe the Ainu into the modern period.

References to the term Emishi in Popular Culture


- The term "Emishi" is used for the village tribe of the main character introduced to us in the Miyazaki Hayao animated film Princess Mononoke. The village was supposedly a last pocket of Emishi surviving into a later period.

External links


- [http://www.isn.ne.jp/~suzutayu/MHJapan/WhosEmishi.html Who Were the Emishi?] Category:Ancient peoples Category:Ethnic groups of Japan Category:Ainu ja:蝦夷

Ainu language

:For the language spoken in Central Asia, see Aini language. The Ainu language (Ainu: アイヌ イタㇰ, aynu itak; Japanese: アイヌ語, ainu-go) is spoken by the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It was once spoken in the Kurile Islands, the northern part of Honshu, and the southern half of Sakhalin. Ainu is thought to be a language isolate with no known relation to other languages. It is sometimes grouped with the Paleosiberian languages, but this is merely a cover term for several isolates and small language families believed to have been present in Siberia prior to the arrival of Turkic and Tungusic speakers; it is not a proper language family. Most linguists believe the shared vocabulary between Ainu and Nivkh is due to borrowing; there are also loanwords both from Ainu to Japanese and Japanese to Ainu. In recent years, the Japanese linguist Shichiro Murayama and others have tried to link it by both vocabulary and cultural comparisons to the Austronesian languages. Alexander Vovin (1993) presented evidence suggesting a distant connection with Austroasiatic; he regards this hypothesis as preliminary.

Speakers

Ainu is a moribund language, and has been endangered for at least the past few decades. Most of the 150,000 self-proclaimed ethnic Ainu in Japan (many additional Ainu are not aware of their origins or are secretive for fear of discrimination) speak only Japanese. In the town of Nibutani (part of Biratori, Hokkaido) where many of the remaining native speakers live, there are 100 speakers, out of which only 15 used the language every day in the late 1980s. The number of speakers today (by whatever definition one may use) is not known with any certainty. In all of Hokkaido, it is estimated that there are perhaps 1000 native speakers, almost all older than 30. Among Ainu speakers (broadly defined), second-language learners presently outnumber native ones. However, use of the language is on the rise. There is currently an active revitalization movement — mainly in Hokkaido but also elsewhere — to reverse the centuries-long decline in the number of speakers. This has led to an increasing number of second-language learners, especially in Hokkaido, in large part due to the pioneering efforts of Ainu folklorist, activist and former Diet member Shigeru Kayano, himself a native speaker.

Phonology

Ainu syllables are CV(C) (that is, they have an obligatory syllable onset and an optional syllable coda) and there are few consonant clusters. There are five vowels: Consonants: The sequence is realized as and becomes before and at the end of syllables. The affricate has voiced and post-alveolar variants. There is some variation among dialects; in the Sakhalin dialect, syllable-final , , , are merged into . There is a pitch accent system; words including affixes have a high pitch on the stem, or on the first syllable if it is closed or has a diphthong. Other words have the high pitch on the second syllable.

Typology and grammar

Ainu is SOV, with postpositions. Subject and object are usually marked with postpositions. Nouns can cluster to modify one another; the head comes at the end. Verbs, which are inherently either transitive or intransitive, accept various derivational affixes. Typologically, Ainu is similar in word order (and some aspects of phonology) to Japanese and Korean, while its high degree of synthesis is more reminiscent of languages to its north and east. Ainu is sometimes grouped as one of the Paleosiberian languages, a geographical grouping without claims of genetical relationship.

Writing

Officially, the Ainu language is written in a modified version of the Japanese syllabary katakana. There is also a Latin-based alphabet in use. The Ainu Times publishes in both. In the Latin orthography, is spelt c and as y; is written either as an equals sign (=) for glottal stops between vowels (such as in a=sapte), or as a t before or a doubling of the following consonant (such as in cotca or hoyuppa, much as in romanized Japanese). Other phonemes use the same character as the given IPA transcription above. The Unicode character range Katakana Phonetic Extensions (31F0-31FF) , includes katakana characters mainly for the Ainu language. Katakana for final consonants, which do not appear in Japanese, are used often in Ainu.

Oral literature

The Ainu have a rich oral tradition of hero-sagas called Yukar, which retain a number of grammatical and lexical archaisms. See also: Kannari Matsu Chiri Mashiho Chiri Takao Kyōsuke Kindaichi Bronisław Piłsudski Ainu music

Notes

# # #

References


-
-
-
-

External links


- [http://ramat.ram.ne.jp/ainu/ Ainu sentences] (English)
- [http://www.stv.ne.jp/radio/ainugo/index.html Radio lessons on Ainu language] - Presented by Sapporo TV (Japanese)
- [http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Gaien/6362/aynu.htm Ainu word list] (Japanese)
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ain Ethnologue entry for Ainu]
- [http://www.rosettaproject.org/live/search/detailedlanguagerecord?ethnocode=AIN] Category:Language isolates Category:Languages of Japan Category:Languages of Russia Category:Paleosiberian languages Category:Ainu Category:Endangered languages zh-min-nan:Ainu-gú ko:아이누어 ja:アイヌ語

NARA

The United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records. It also works to increase public access to those documents. NARA is officially responsible for publishing acts of Congress, presidential proclamations and executive orders, and federal regulations. The agency often works closely with scholars to facilitate their studies.

History

Originally, each branch and agency of the U.S. government was responsible for maintaining its own documents, which often resulted in the loss and destruction of records. Congress established the National Archives Establishment in 1934 to centralize federal record keeping, with the Archivist of the United States as its chief administrator. The National Archives was incorporated into the General Services Administration in 1949, but in 1985 it was made an independent agency as NARA. Most of the documents in the care of NARA are in the public domain, as works of the federal government are excluded from copyright protection. However, some documents that have come into the care of NARA from other sources may still be protected by copyright or donor agreements. [http://www.archives.gov/global_pages/privacy_and_use.html#copyright] The NARA also stores classified documents and its Information Security Oversight Office monitors and sets policy for the U.S. government's security classification system.

Facilities and exhibition

National Archives Building

The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, located immediately north of the National Mall on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC, opened as its original headquarters in 1935. It houses the original copies of the three main formative documents of the United States and its government: the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. These are displayed to the public in the main chamber of the National Archives, which is called the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. The National Archives Building also exhibits other important American historical documents such as the Louisiana Purchase and the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as collections of photography and other historically and culturally significant American artifacts. This facility was featured in the hit 2004 Nicolas Cage movie National Treasure, although no film footage was shot inside the building.

National Archives at College Park

Due to space constraints, NARA opened a second facility, known informally as Archives II, in 1994 at College Park, Maryland, where it is now based. There are also twelve (12) Regional Archives facilities across the country and two major facilities in St. Louis, Missouri which comprise the National Personnel Records Center. The National Archives Building in downtown Washington contains such record collections as all existing Federal Census records, Ship Passenger Lists, military unit records from the Revolution up to the Philippine Insurrection, records of the Confederate Government, the Freedmen's Bureau records and pension/land records. As the repository for the Charters of Freedom (Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights) this facility is also a major tourist attraction.

Presidential Libraries

NARA also maintains the Presidential Library system, a nationwide network of libraries for preserving and making available the documents of U.S. presidents since Herbert Hoover.

See also


- National Security Archive

External links


- [http://www.archives.gov/ NARA official site] Category:Archives in the United States
- Category:United States federal agencies Category:Museums in Washington, DC Category:Independent Agencies of the United States Government

Kyoto

:This page is about the city Kyoto. For the convention see Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto (Japanese: 京都市; Kyōto-shi) is a city in Japan, which has a population of a little more than 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.

History

Though archaeological evidence places the first human settlement on the islands of Japan to approximately 10,000 BC, the Kyoto area was not settled until the 7th century. During the 8th century, when the powerful Buddhist clergy became meddlesome in the affairs of the Imperial government, the Emperor chose to relocate the capital to a region far from the Buddhist influence. The new city, Heiankyō ("Heian capital") became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794. Later, the city was renamed to Kyoto ("capital city"). Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the government to Edo in 1868 at the time of the Imperial Restoration. (Some believe that it is still the legal capital: see Capital of Japan.) After Edo was renamed to Tokyo (meaning "Eastern Capital"), Kyoto was known for a short time as Saikyo (西京 Saikyō, meaning "Western Capital"). An obsolete spelling for the city's name is Kioto; it was formerly known to the West as Meaco (Japanese: 都; miyako "capital"). Japanese Although there was some consideration by the United States of targeting Kyoto with the atomic bomb at the end of World War II, in the end it was decided to remove the city from the list of targets. (See Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) Kyoto is the only large Japanese city that still has an abundance of prewar buildings, such as machiya (traditional townhouses). However, modernization is continually breaking down the traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the controversial Kyoto Station complex. Kyoto became a city designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956. In 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the protocol on greenhouse gas emissions that bears the city's name. A common English pronunciation of Kyoto has three sounds as key-oh-toe; however, the Japanese pronunciation is kyoh and to ().

Geography

Kyoto is located on the middle-western portion of the island of Honshu. Due to the surrounding mountains on all sides, Kyoto is famous for its stifling summer nights with no air movement. The city is laid out in a grid pattern in accordance with traditional Chinese geomancy. Today, the main business district is located in the south and center of town, with the less populated northern area retaining a far greener feel.

Wards

geomancy in Japan.]] Kyoto has 11 wards (ku). For a list, see the article Wards of Kyoto.

Demographics

As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 1,466,163 and the density of 2,402.68 persons per km². The total area is 610.22 km².

Culture

Kyoto is considered the cultural center of Japan. During World War II when firebombing was conducted throughout the country, Kyoto and its 1600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, palaces, gardens and architecture were spared, leaving it one of the best preserved cities in Japan. The Kyoto area has some of the most famous temples, shrines, palaces and gardens in Japan, including:
- Kiyomizu-dera, a magnificent wooden temple supported by pillars off the slope of a mountain;
- Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion;
- Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion;
- Heian Jingu, a Shinto shrine celebrating the Imperial family (built in 1895)
- Ryoan-ji, famous for its rock garden
- [http://www.shunkoin.com/ Shunkoin Temple]
- Kyoto Imperial Palace, home of the Emperors of Japan for many centuries;
- Katsura Imperial Villa, one of Japan's finest architectural treasures;
- Shugaku-in Imperial Villa, one of Japan's best Japanese gardens Japanese gardens Japanese gardens Inari Shrine]] Other notable sites in and around Kyoto include Arashiyama and its picturesque lake, the Gion and Pontochō geisha quarters, the Philosopher's Walk, and the canals which line some of the older streets. The "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" are listed by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. These include the Kamo Shrines (Kami and Shimo), Kyo-O-Gokokuji (Toji), Kiyomizu-dera, Daigoji, Ninnaji, Saihoji (the Moss Temple), Tenryuji, Rokuonji (Kinkaku-ji), Jishoji (Ginkaku-ji), Ryoan-ji, Honganji, Kozan-ji and the Nijo Castle. Other sites outside the city are also on the list. Kyoto is renowned for its abundance of delicious ethnic foods and cuisine. The history of Kyoto have allowed to retain a variety of vegetables. Kyoto natives also speak a Japanese dialect called Kyoto-ben, a variation on the Kansai dialect spoken throughout western Japan. One typical example is the word "ookini," meaning "thank you." Japanese dialect at the Kyoto National Museum]]

Economy

Tourism forms a large base of Kyoto's economy. The city's cultural heritages are constantly visited by school groups from across Japan, and many foreign tourists also stop in Kyoto. The city's industry is mainly comprised of small plants, most of which are run by artisans who produce traditional Japanese crafts. Kyoto's kimono weavers are particularly renowned, and the city remains the premier center of kimono manufacturing. Such businesses, vibrant in past centuries, have declined in recent years as sales of traditional goods stagnate. Kyoto's only sizable heavy industry is electronics: the city is home to the headquarters of Nintendo, as well as the headquarters of OMRON Corporation, Kyocera (Kyoto Ceramic) Corporation, and Murata Manufacturing. The apparel giant Wacoal Corporation also operates in Kyoto. However, the growth of high-tech industry has not outpaced the decline in traditional industry, and as a result, Kyoto's total output has declined relative to other cities in Japan.

Colleges and universities

Kyoto is known as one of the academic centers of the country, and is home to thirty-seven institutions of higher education. The three largest and best-known local universities are Doshisha University, Kyoto University, and Ritsumeikan University. Among them, Kyoto University is considered to be one of the top universities in Japan, with several Nobel laureates such as Yukawa Hideki. Kyoto also has a unique higher education network called the Consortium of Universities in Kyoto, which consists of three national, five public (prefectural and municipal), and 41 private universities, as well as the city and four other organizations. The consortium does not offer a degree; hence is not a federal body like University of London, but offers the courses as part of a degree at participating universities. University of London

Transportation

Kansai International Airport is 72 minutes from Kyoto by train (the Haruka Express). Many foreign visitors to Kyoto arrive by Shinkansen from Tokyo, which takes just over two hours. There are also regular JR, Keihan Railway, Hankyu Railway, and Kintetsu services to other cities in the Kansai region. The subway and bus systems (see Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau) are fairly extensive. Most tourist points in the city are not a walkable distance away from each other, making the bus a practical transportation option. Kyoto is quite flat, so renting a bicycle is also an idea worth thinking about. Buses within the city cost 220 Yen per ride (200 Yen if you buy a book of 5 tickets for 1000 yen). The most cost effective way to travel in Kyoto by bus is to purchase a 500 Yen one day pass which allows unlimited rides. Central Kyoto has streets in a grid pattern. Many large east-west avenues have numbers, including Nijo and Sanjo (ni means "two" and san means "three"). Kyoto Station lies along Hachijo. Major north-south roads have names such as Karasuma and Horikawa. The subway has two lines. The Karasuma Line follows Karasuma Street from Kyoto Station north, with stops at many numbered avenues, and also at Imadegawa (a major street). The other line, Tozai Line, runs east-west partly under Oike Street.

Festivals

Tozai Line]]
- Aoi Matsuri
- Gion Matsuri
- Jidai Matsuri
- Gozan Okuribi

Sports

In football (soccer), Kyoto is represented by Kyoto Purple Sanga in the J. League's Division 2 or J2. With the popularity of the nearby Hanshin Tigers, Kyoto has never had a team in Japanese professional baseball, though the Tigers play several neutral-site games at Kyoto's Nishi Kyogoku stadium every year. Additionally, Kyoto's high school baseball teams are strong, with Heian and Toba in particular making strong showings recently at the annual tournament held in Koshien Stadium, Nishinomiya, near Osaka.

Sister cities


- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Paris, France
- Cologne, Germany
- Florence, Italy
- Kyiv, Ukraine
- Xi'an, People's Republic of China
- Guadalajara, Mexico
- Zagreb, Croatia
- Yogyakarta, Republic of Indonesia

External links


-
- [http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/index_e.html www.city.kyoto.jp] - Official site of Kyoto City (in English)
- [http://homepage.mac.com/japanpodguides/index.html Kyoto Podcast]
- category:Cities in Japan Category:Holy cities Category:Cities in Kyoto Prefecture ko:교토 시 ja:京都市 simple:Kyoto

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 compr