Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
Kaiyuan

Kaiyuan

:Kaiyuan is also the name of Kaiyuan District, a former district of Xiamen City, Fujian Province. :Kaiyuan era is the name of the early half of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang China. Kaiyuan is a county-level city of Tieling City, Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China. Kaiyuan was the birthplace of Sheng Shicai (1897-1970), was a Chinese warlord who ruled Xinjiang from 1933 to 1944. Category:Cities in Liaoning

Kaiyuan District

Kaiyuan (開元) is a region in Xiamen Municipality and a former district that now belongs to Siming District. It is in Fujian Province, the People's Republic of China.
- Area: 54 km²
- Population: 527,000 (330,400 permanent) Kaiyuan is in central Xiamen Island, north of the original Siming District and south of Huli District. It is named after a street meaning "Initiating the First (Year)".

History

After the establishment of the Republic of China, Kaiyuan was made a district in October 1945. From August 1966 to October 1979, Kaiyuan was named Dongfeng (東風). It was merged into Siming in May 2003.

Administration

Kaiyuan compasses six street offices (街道办事处):
- Lujiang (鹭江)
- Gongyuan (公园)
- Wucun (梧村)
- Yuandang (员当)
- Jialian (嘉莲)
- Lianqian (莲前) The street offices contains 99 residential committees (社區居委會), and six villages.

External links


- [http://www.kaiyuan.gov.cn/web/index.php Official website]

District of China

zh-cn:区 zh-tw:區 District, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. In the modern context, districts (Simplified Chinese: 区; Traditional Chinese: 區; pinyin: qū) refer to two types of divisions in the People's Republic of China: districts at county level, and districts between the county level and the township level (also known as district public offices). Districts can also refer to a type of division in the Republic of China on Taiwan. However, if the word "district" is encountered in the context of ancient Chinese history, then it is a translation for xian, another type of administrative division in China.

District at county level

A district at the county level (市辖区, pinyin: shìxiáqū, lit. a district of a city) is a subdivision of a municipality or a prefecture-level city. These have status equal to a county, and are hence called "county level". Before the 1980s, cities in the People's Republic of China were administrative divisions containing mostly urban, built-up areas, with very little farmland, except for the immediate suburbs in order to ensure a large supply of food or raw materials. As a result, districts were also mostly urban or suburban in nature. After the 1980s, prefectures began to be replaced with prefecture-level cities. From then on, "cities" in mainland China became just like any other administrative division, containing urban areas, towns, villages, and farmland. These cities are subdivided into districts, counties, autonomous counties, and county-level cities. At the same time, counties and county-level cities began to be replaced with districts, especially after 1990. From then onwards, districts were no longer just urban entities — some districts today are just like counties, with towns and townships under them governing rural areas.

District between the county level and township level

A district between the county and township levels, also known as a district public office (区公所), was once an important subdivision of a county all over China from 1950s to 1990s. It was common for there to be about 5 to 10 districts in a county, then about 3 to 5 towns and townships in a district. After the 1990s, township-level districts began to be phased out, and their role was taken over by larger towns and townships created by merging smaller ones. At the end of 2004, there are just 20 township-level districts left in China, with 1 in Hebei, 8 in Hunan, and 11 in Xinjiang. See Political divisions of China for how these two types of districts fit into the general administrative hierarchy of mainland China.

District in the Republic of China on Taiwan

In the Republic of China on Taiwan, districts are the only subdivision of municipalities and provincial cities. Unlike districts in mainland China, districts in Taiwan are predominantly urban and suburban, and do not usually contain rural areas. See Political divisions of the Republic of China for more information.

Ancient sense

If the word "district" is encountered in the context of ancient Chinese history, then the word is a translation for xian, another type of administrative division in China. Xian has been translated using several English language terms. In the context of ancient history, "district" and "prefecture" are commonly used, while "county" is used for more contemporary contexts. See County of China for more information on the xian of China.

See also


- District category:Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China

Xiamen

Xiamen () is a coastal sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It looks out to the Taiwan Strait and borders the cities of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou to the north and south respectively. Xiamen is also known as Amoy internationally, especially in the old times. "Amoy" is how "Xiamen" is spoken in Northern Min, the vernacular of the provincial capital Fuzhou. In the Amoy vernacular, the city name is Ē-mn̂g (using the POJ romanization). The toponym literally means "The Gate of the Grand Mansion".

Administration

The subprovincial city of Xiamen administers 6 districts.
- Haicang District (海沧区)
- Huli District (湖里区)
- Jimei District (集美区)
- Siming District (思明区)
- Tong'an District (同安区)
- Xiang'an District (翔安区) The districts of Siming and Huli form the Special Economic Zone. In May 2003, Gulangyu Island and Kaiyuan District were merged into Siming District, Xinglin District (杏林区) was renamed Haicang District, and Xiang'an District was created out of a section of Tong'an District.

History

The place was made Tong'an District (同安縣) in 282, a sub-entity of Jin'an Prefecture (晉安郡). In 1387, the Ming Dynasty used it as base against pirates, and was part of Quanzhou. Koxinga stationed here in 1650, naming it Siming Island (思明洲), or "Remembering the Ming", but the city was renamed by the Manchus in 1680 to Xiamen Subprefecture. The name "Siming" was reverted after the 1912 Xinhai Revolution and made a county. The following it was reverted to Xiamen City. In 1949, Xiamen became a provincial city (省轄市), then upgraded to a vice-province-class city (副省級市), or a municipality. It was made a Special Economic Zone in 1980. Xiamen was the port of trade first used by Europeans in 1541. It was China's main port in the 19th century for exporting tea. As a result, the Amoy dialect had a major influence on how Chinese terminology was translated into English and other European languages. For example, the words "Amoy", "tea" (茶; tê), "cumshaw" (感謝; kám-siā), "ketchup" (茄汁; kiô-chiap), "satay" (沙爹), and "Pekoe" (白毫; pe̍h-hô) originated from the Amoy dialect. Xiamen was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China. In 2000, the largest corruption scandal in China's history was uncovered, implicating up to 200 government officials.

Geography and climate

Culture

The local vernacular language is Amoy, a dialect of Southern Min, also called Hokkien. The official language of the People's Republic of China, Mandarin, is also widely used.

Transportation


- Xiamen is served by the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, the base of Xiamen Airlines.
- A ferry service links Xiamen Island and Gulangyu Island.
- There are two major bridges linking Xiamen Island to Mainland China.

Colleges and universities

National


- Xiamen University (founded 1921)

Public


- Lujiang University (厦门理工学院/鹭江职业大学)
- Jimei University (集美大学)
- Xiamen Oceanography Vocational College (厦门海洋职业技术学院)

Private


- Xiamen Nanyang College (厦门南洋学院)
- Xiamen Performing Arts College (厦门演艺职业学院)

Miscellaneous

Xiamen is twinned with:
- Cardiff, Wales (since 1983)
- Sasebo, Japan (since 1983)
- Cebu, Philippines (since 1984)
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States (since 1985)
- Wellington, New Zealand (since 1987)
- Penang, Malaysia (since 1991)

External links


- [http://www.xm.gov.cn/ Government website of Xiamen] (available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese)
- [http://www.amoymagic.com Expatriates Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Province]
- [http://www.whatsonxiamen.com City guide to Xiamen, updated frequently] Category:Cities in Fujian Category:Subprovincial cities ja:アモイ zh-min-nan:Ē-mn̂g

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang China

Emperor Tang Xuanzong (唐玄宗) (September 8, 685 - May 3, 762), born Li Longji (李隆基), was the sixth emperor of the Tang dynasty of China reigining from 712 to 756.

Accession to the throne

Born into an era when power was virtually in the hands of his grandmother, the Empress Wu Zetian, Xuanzong became the only glimmer of hope for the restoration of the imperial Li family. His aunt, the Princess Taiping fiercely protected Xuanzong from harm and was credited with taking care of young Xuanzong from the Wu family. In 710 Xuanzong conspired with Princess Taiping (daughter of Empress Wu Zetian) to put an end to Empress Wei's attempted usurpation of power. He killed Empress Wei, the wife of his recently dead uncle Emperor Zhongzong, in a palace coup which placed his own father, Emperor Ruizong, on the throne. He was appointed as the Chancellor for a few months before he became the crown prince. Xuanzong himself succeeded the throne in 712.

Kaiyuan era

Known also as Tang Minghuang, the early half of his reign (712-730's) saw Tang China reach the height of her powers, in a period known popularly as the Kaiyuan era (開元之治). At the beginning, Xuanzong was a hardworking and diligent emperor. He made sweeping reforms to the bureaucracy, employed capable ministers and also made contacts with foreign ambassadors as far west as the Middle East and greatly expanded China's borders. Xuanzong also made progresses on the empire's financial system by effectively registering the population resulting in the higher tax revenues. This in turn increased the coffers of the government. He also repaired the Grand Canal system that has fallen into disrepair during Wu Zetian's reign. Other areas such as Chinese arts and literature reached its zenith point during his reign with famous poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu and Meng Haoran who created some of the most elegant poems since the Han dynasty. He is famous, amongst other things, as being a patron of the arts and for his infamous love affair with Yang Guifei. She was the young wife of his son Prince Shou (壽王), but he decreed their divorce and then entered her into a nunnery for a couple of years so that he could take her as his palace consort without shame. He rebuilt the ancient hot springs palace at the foot of Lishan Mountain for his consort and her sisters, naming it Huaqing Palace.

Later Years

As Xuanzong turned his attention to pleasure-seeking with Yang and her family, he paid less and less attention to the running of his empire, and much of his power fell into the hands of court officials like corrupt Li Linfu (who was succeeded by Yang's dissolute cousin Yang Guozhong), and the influential court eunuch Gao Lishi. In the meantime, the Jie Du Shi, (generals) of the outlying provinces (many of which had been recently reconquered) took more and more regional power into their own hands. One of these, a Turkish/Sogdian named An Lushan started the An Lushan Rebellion in Fanyang in 755. The rebels captured the city of Luoyang and the capital Chang'an six months later. Xuanzong fled to Sichuan during the war, and Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong who attempted to flee with him were killed by the Imperial army for their perceived part in the Emperor's weakness and loss of control.

Abdication and Death

Xuanzong abdicated his position to Suzong, the heir apparent in 756, and died in 762 shortly before the rebellion was finally quashed. His rule would be the longest of the Tang dynasty lasting nearly 44 years. The strength that Xuanzong had allowed the warlords in the border provinces (Fanzhen) led to a period of increasing conflict and instability which set the stage for the end of the Tang Dynasty and the ensuing Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. See also:
- minister Zhang Jiuling
- artist Wu Tao-Tzu
- royalty Princess Taiping Category:Tang Dynasty emperors Category:685 births Category:762 deaths ja:玄宗 (唐)

Tieling

Tieling (simplified Chinese: 铁岭; pinyin: Tiělíng) is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China. Tieling is a city where coal mining is an important industry. The mayor of Tieling is Li Wenke. An Intermediate People's Court is in Tieling. The actor Zhao Benshan was born in Tieling. Category:Cities in Liaoning

People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China (PRC; Simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国, Traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó ), commonly referred to as China, is an East Asian country. The exact meaning of PRC and China varies. In an ongoing dispute, the PRC claims sovereignty over Taiwan and some neighboring islands, whose control was never relinquished by the Republic of China. The PRC asserts the Republic of China to be an illegitimate and supplanted entity and administratively categorizes Taiwan as the 23rd province of the PRC. (See China and Political status of Taiwan for more information.) The term "mainland China" is sometimes used to denote the area under the PRC's rule, usually excluding the two Special Administrative Regions, Hong Kong and Macau. The PRC refers to the period of its rule as New China (新中国) whenever it contrasts itself with China before 1949. In some contexts, particularly in economics, trade and sports events, China and People's Republic of China is often used to refer to the PRC with Hong Kong and Macau excluded.

Geography and climate

The PRC is the largest country in area in East Asia, the [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html fourth largest] in the world and the second largest by land area. It borders 14 nations (counted clockwise): Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and North Korea.North Korea The PRC contains a large variety of landscape. 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. In the central-east are found the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Other major rivers include the Xijiang River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. To the west, major mountain ranges, notably the Himalaya with China's highest point Mount Everest, and high plateaus feature among the more arid landscape of deserts such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. Due to a prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices dust storms have become usual in the spring in China. According to China's Environmental Protection Agency, the Gobi Desert has been expanding "like a tsunami" and is a major source of dust storms which affect Mainland China and other parts of northeast Asia such as Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Dust from the northern plains has been tracked to the West Coast of the United States. River management (human waste dumping, factory pollution, and water extraction for irrigation and drinking) and dust erosion are problems affecting other countries that have become recent important concerns for relations between China and its neighboring countries.

History

After World War II, the Chinese Civil War between the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang ended in 1949 with the Communists in control of mainland China and the Kuomintang in control of Taiwan and some outlying islands of Fujian. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong emphatically declared the People's Republic of China, establishing a communist state, and proclaiming "the Chinese people have stood up."communist state Supporters of the Maoist Era claim that under Mao, China's unity and sovereignty was assured for the first time in a century, and there was development of infrastructure, industry, healthcare, and education, which raised standard of living for the average Chinese. They also believe that campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution were essential in jumpstarting China's development and purifying its culture. Supporters may also doubt statistics or accounts given for death tolls or other damages incurred by Mao's campaigns. Critics of Mao's regime assert that Mao's administration imposed strict controls over everyday life, and believe that campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution contributed to or caused millions of deaths, incurred severe economic costs, and damaged China's cultural heritage. The Great Leap Forward in particular preceded a massive famine in China which, according to numbers guessed by credible Western and Eastern [http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm sources], 20–30 million people died; most Western and many Chinese analysts attribute this to the Great Leap Forward, while others, including Mao at the time, attribute this to natural disasters; still others doubt this figure entirely, or claim that many more people died due to famine or other consequences of political chaos during the rule of Chiang Kai-Shek. Following the dramatic economic failures of the early 1960s, Mao stepped down from his position as chairman of the People's Republic. The National People's Congress elected Liu Shaoqi as Mao's successor. Mao remained head of the Party but was removed from day to day management of economic affairs which came under the control of a more moderate leadership under the dominant influence of Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and others who initiated economic reforms. In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, which is viewed by his opponents (including both Western analysts and many Chinese people who were youth at the time) as a strike back at his rivals by mobilizing the youth of the country in support of his thought and purging the moderate leadership, but is viewed by his supporters as an experiment in direct democracy and a genuine attempt at purging Chinese society of corruption and other negative influences. Disorder followed but gradually under the leadership of Zhou Enlai moderate forces regained influence. After Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping, seen as the leader of the economic reformists, succeeded in winning the power struggle, and Mao's widow, Jiang Qing and her associates, the Gang of Four, who had assumed control of the country, were arrested and put on trial. Since then, the government has gradually and greatly loosened governmental control over people's personal lives, and began transitioning China's planned economy into a mixed economy. Supporters of the economic reforms point to the rapid development of the consumer and export sectors of the economy, the creation of an urban middle class that now constitutes 15% of the population, higher living standards (which is shown via dramatic increases in GDP per capita, consumer spending, life expectancy, literacy rate, and total grain output) and a much wider range of personal rights and freedoms for average Chinese as evidence of the success of the reforms. Critics of the economic reforms claim that the reforms have caused wealth disparity, environmental pollution, rampant corruption, widespread unemployment associated with layoffs at inefficient state-owned enterprises, and has introduced often unwelcome cultural influences. Consequently they believe that China's culture has been corrupted, the poor have been reduced to a hopeless abject underclass, and that the social stability is threatened. They are also of the opinion that various political reforms, such as moves towards popular elections, have been unfairly nipped in the bud. Regardless of either view, today, the public perception of Mao has improved dramatically, and images of Mao and Mao related objects have become fashionable.state-owned enterprise Despite these concessions to capitalism, the Communist Party of China remains in control and has maintained repressive policies against groups which it feels are threats, such as Falun Gong and the separatist movement in Tibet. Supporters of these policies claim that these policies safeguard stability in a society that is torn apart by class differences and rivalries, has no tradition of civil participation, and limited rule of law. Opponents of these policies claim that these policies severely violate norms of human rights that the international community recognizes, and further claim that this results in a police state, which creates an atmosphere of fear and ignorance. In 1989, the death of pro-reform official Hu Yaobang led to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, during which students and others held protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and elsewhere to campaign for democratic reform and freedom. The protests ended on June 3 - June 4 when PLA troops entered the square, killing hundreds. The event brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the PRC government. The PRC government itself has since remained relatively silent on the issue, though it has also defended it by saying that it was necessary for the continued stability of the country. The People's Republic of China adopted its current constitution on December 4, 1982.

Politics

1982 (NPC), highest legistlative body, of China convenes.]] In the technical terminology of political science the PRC was a communist state for much of the 20th century, and is still considered a communist state by many, though not all political scientists. Attempts to characterize the nature of the China's political structure into a single, simple category are typically seen as lacking sufficient depth to be satisfactory. A major reason for this is China's political history: for over two thousand years, prior to 1949, the state had been ruled by some form of centralized imperial monarchy with strong Confucian influences, which have left significant traces on subsequent political and social structures. This was followed by a chaotic succession of largely authoritarian Chinese Nationlist governments as well as warlord-held administration since the first Chinese Revolution of 1912. The PRC regime has variously been described as authoritarian, communist, socialist and various combinations of those terms. It has also been described as a communist government. This may be called state capitalist by more left-leaning communists. It appears China is slowly becoming capitalist in its economic system. China recently released an official statement on its political structure, upholding the notion that the state should be ruled by democratic means. The government of the PRC is controlled by the Communist Party of China. There are some other parties in PRC, though they are often closely associated or subparties within the CPC. The effect of the other parties on the government remains minimal. While there have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that contested elections are now held at the village level and legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time, the party retains effective control over governmental appointments. While the state uses authoritarian methods to deal with challenges to its rule, it simultaneously attempts to reduce dissent by improving the economy, allowing expression of personal grievances, and giving lenient treatment to persons expressing dissent whom the regime does not believe are organizers. Censorship of political speech is routine. The Communist Party has a policy of suppressing any protests and organizations that it considers a threat to its power, as was the case after the Tianamen Square protests. However, there are limits to the repression that the Party is willing or able to achieve. The media have become increasingly active in publicizing social problems and exposing corruption and inefficiency at lower levels of government, although recently the PRC has tended to increase crackdowns on reporters. The Party has also been rather unsuccessful at controlling information, and in some cases has had to change policies in response to public outrage. Although organized opposition against the Party is not tolerated, demonstrations over local issues are frequent and increasingly tolerated. The support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population is unclear, as there are no national elections, and private conversations and anecdotal information often reveals conflicting views. Many in China appear appreciative of the role that the government plays in maintaining social stability, which has allowed the economy to grow without interruption. Political concerns in China include the growing gap between rich and poor in the PRC, and the growing discontent with widespread corruption within the leadership and officials.

Ongoing debates

The PRC government argues that the notion of human rights should include economic standards of living and measures of health and economic prosperity. In other words, when critiquing its internal situation, it sees the rise in the standard of living of the Chinese people as an indicator of improvement of the human rights situation, and when looking at the situation abroad, often notes the high rate of crime and/or poverty in places reputedly having a high standard of human rights. However, Western governments and NGOs have argued that arbitrary and lengthy incommunicado detention, forced confessions, torture, and mistreatment of prisoners as well as severe restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, privacy, and worker rights are violations of their definition of human rights. They argue the issues stem from the PRC government's intolerance of dissent and the inadequacy of legal safeguards for individual political rights. The issue is covered in article Human rights in the People's Republic of China The PRC describes itself as a multiethnic state providing ethnic autonomy in the form of autonomous administrative entities. PRC policy gives advantages to ethnic minorities in areas such as high school or college admission and government employment. It also officially condemns Han chauvinism. However, it currently faces independence movements in Tibet, and Xinjiang. Independence groups and many foreign observers are critical of the PRC's ethnic policies. They consider practices such as the organization and generous financial encouragement of Han Chinese movement into non-Han Chinese areas, to be chauvinistic and colonial, bent on demographically swamping non-Han Chinese areas and reducing the possibility that any independence movement could succeed. Within China, many people are also critical of the above policies. For example, Han Chinese in Xinjiang tend to be resentful and perceive of themselves as being treated as "second-class citizens" as a result of policies that favour minorities. Many people also consider these policies to have encouraged the formation of separatist movements and to have threatened the territorial integrity of China.

Political divisions

The People's Republic of China has administrative control over 22 provinces (省); the government of the People's Republic of China considers Táiwān (台湾), which is actually controlled by the Republic of China, to be its 23rd province. (See Political status of Taiwan for more information.) Apart from provinces there are 5 autonomous regions (自治区) containing concentrations of several minorities; 4 municipalities (直辖市) for China's largest cities and 2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR) (特别行政区) governed by the PRC. The 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities can be collectively referred to as "mainland China", a term which usually excludes Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. mainland China The following are a list of administrative divisions of areas under the control of the People's Republic of China. Provinces（省）
- Ānhuī (安徽)
- Fújiàn (福建)
- Gānsù (甘肃)
- Guǎngdōng (广东)
- Guìzhōu (贵州)
- Hǎinán (海南)
- Héběi (河北)
- Hēilóngjiāng (黑龙江)
- Hénán (河南)
- Húběi (湖北)
- Húnán (湖南)
- Jiāngsū (江苏)
- Jiāngxī (江西)
- Jílín (吉林)
- Liáoníng (辽宁)
- Qīnghǎi (青海)
- Shaanxi (Shǎnxī) (陕西)
- Shāndōng (山东)
- Shānxī (山西)
- Sìchuān (四川)
- Yúnnán (云南)
- Zhèjiāng (浙江) Autonomous regions（自治区）
- Guǎngxī (广西壮族自治区)
- Inner Mongolia (Nèi Měnggǔ) (内蒙古自治区)
- Níngxià (宁夏回族自治区)
- Xīnjiāng (新疆维吾尔自治区)
- Tibet (Xīzàng) (西藏自治区)
Municipalities（直辖市）
- Běijīng (北京市)
- Chóngqìng (重庆市)
- Shànghǎi (上海市)
- Tiānjīn (天津市)
Special Administrative Regions（特别行政区）
- Hong Kong (Xiānggǎng) (香港特别行政区)
- Macau (Àomén) (澳门特别行政区)
Claimed by the PRC, but governed by Republic of China
- Táiwān (台湾) (disputed)
Claimed by the Republic of China, but given up by PRC
- Outer Mongolia

Foreign relations

The People's Republic of China maintains diplomatic relations with most countries in the world, but makes acknowledging its claim to Taiwan and severing any official ties with the Republic of China (ROC) government a prerequisite for diplomatic exchanges. It actively opposes foreign travels by current and former political officials of Taiwan, such as Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, and other persons it sees politically dangerous, such as Tenzin Gyatso (considering Tibet) and and Li Hongzhi (considering Falun Gong). Falun Gong]] In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole representative for "China" in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; it is also considered a founding member although the PRC was not in control at the founding of the UN. (See China and the United Nations) It was for a time a member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, but now is an observer. Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China's peaceful rise. Sino-Japanese relations have been strained several times in the past few decades by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its past war crimes and violations to Chinese satisfaction, most notable among which is the Nanjing Massacre. Recent incidents with the United States include the United States bombing of Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo conflict in May 1999, alleged in nuclear secrets espionage reported in Cox report, US spy plane on mission colliding with Chinese jet flighter near Hainan Island in April 2001. Some NGOs and Western governments have criticized China for alleged human rights abuses and its foreign relations with many Western Nations suffered following the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989. In addition to Taiwan, China is involved in several other territorial disputes. The PRC makes all of these claims on irredentist grounds, while the opposing claimants tend towards viewing irredentism as a baseless ideology or view the PRC as being motivated by resources, military considerations, or nationalism considerations:
- With India:
  - Aksai Chin, administered by China, claimed by India
  - Arunachal Pradesh / South Tibet, administered by India, claimed by China
- Over islands on the East China Sea or South China Sea:
  - Paracel Islands, administered by China, claimed by Vietnam and the ROC
  - Spratly Islands: the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam each claim sovereignty over the entire group, while Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei claim parts of the group.
  - Senkaku Islands / Diaoyu Islands, administered by Japan, claimed by the PRC and the ROC In 2004, Russia agreed to transfer Yinlong Island as well as one half of Heixiazi Island to China, ending a long-standing border dispute between Russia and China. Both islands are found at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, and were until then administered by Russia and claimed by China. The event was meant to foster feelings of reconciliation and cooperation between the two countries by their leaders, but it has also sparked different degrees of discontents on both sides. The transfer has been ratified by both the Chinese National People's Congress and the Russian State Duma but has yet to be carried out to date. Outside official opinion, it is popular for nationalists to make irredentist claims to Mongolia, Tuva and Outer Manchuria, as well as (less commonly) the Ryukyu Islands, Bhutan, the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar, and Central Asia southeast of Lake Balkhash.

Military

Lake Balkhash The PRC maintains military forces consisting of army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear forces. Its 2.25 million strong force makes it the largest army, in terms of sheer number of troops, in the world. The People's Liberation Army's official budget for 2005 is $30 billion, possibly excluding foreign weapons purchases, military-related R&D. the paramilitary PAP and possible hidden budget. However, even the highest estimates set the military spending considerably less in relative than e.g. the United States. The PRC, despite possession of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, is widely seen both within and outside of China as having only limited ability to project military power beyond its borders and is not generally considered to be a true superpower, although it is widely seen as a major regional power. This is due to the limited effectiveness of its navy, such as lacking aircraft carriers, and air-force, which is large but generally considered obsolete by western standards. The PRC has embarked on a massive modernization program for its military. The PRC has been actively purchasing state-of-the-art fighters such as Su-27, Su-30 and has also been producing its own relatively modern fighters. A comprehensive effort has been undertaken to modernise the air-defense after observing the effects of air-superiority in Iraq. The air-defence revolves around the ultra-modern S-300 Surface-to-Air missile, which is objectively considered the best aircraft-intercepting system in the world. The PRC is also rapidly upgrading its armoured and rapid-reaction forces by enhancing their electronics and targeting capabilities. In recent years, much attention has been focused on building a navy with blue-water capability.

Largest cities

Su-30]] Su-30] Su-30] The PRC has dozens of major cities, including 3 of the 55 global cities.

Economy

global cities Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been reforming the economy from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control. To this end the authorities have switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. Prices controls were also relaxed. This has resulted in mainland China's shift from a command economy to a mixed economy with both communist and capitalist tendencies. The government has tended to not emphasize equality as when it first began and instead emphasized raising personal income and consumption and introducing new management systems to help increase productivity. The government also has focused on foreign trade as a major vehicle for economic growth, for which purpose it set up over 2000 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) where investment laws are relaxed in order to attract foreign capital. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 1999, with its 1.25 billion people and a GDP of just $3,800 per capita, the PRC became the sixth largest economy in the world by exchange rate and third largest in the world after the European Union and the U.S. by purchasing power. The average annual income of a Chinese worker is $1,300. Chinese economic development is believed to be among the fastest in the world, about 7-8% per year according to Chinese government statistics. China is now a member of the World Trade Organization. Mainland China has a reputation as being a low-cost manufacturer, particularly due to its abundant flexible non-unionised inexpensive labor. An unskilled worker at a Chinese factory in the rural area costs a company under $1/hour, however, the prices of goods and services in China are lower than in more developed countries. Furthermore, the Chinese worker preference not to join a trade union. This is a substantive benefit to employers as it adds a level of flexibility to labor relations not enjoyed in most other parts of the world. A possible reason for this could be work ethics, or it is also conceivable it is driven by a fear that unions will be abused by the Communist Party of China to identify dissidents. (See list of Chinese dissidents.) Another aspect of the Chinese economy that is often overlooked is the low cost of non labor inputs. This is due in part to an overly competitive environment with many producers and a general tendency towards an oversupply and low prices. There is also the continued existence of price controls and supply guarantees left over from the former Soviet style command economy. As State owned enterprises continue to be dismantled and workers shift to higher productivity sectors, this deflationary effect will continue to put pressure on prices in the economy. Preferential tax incentives are also given as a direct fiscal incentive to manufacture in China, whether for export or for the local market of 1.3 billion. China is attempting to harmonize the system of taxes and duties it imposes on enterprises, domestic and foreign alike. As a result, preferential tax and duty policies that benefit exporters in special economic zones and coastal cities have been targeted for revision. China's high growth in the global markets has caused notable disputes, especially the trade inbalance with the United States. The discrepancy is largely attributable to the fact that Chinese corporations can produce many products desired in the US far more cheaply than American factories can, and expensive products produced in America are in large part too expensive for Chinese consumers. Another factor cited by some people was the unfavorable exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and the United States dollar to which it used to be pegged. On July 21, 2005 the People's Bank of China announced that it would move to a floating peg, allowing its currency to move by 0.3% a day. With the elimination of clothing quotas, China stands to take over a large chunk of the worldwide textile industry. [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/26/business/worldbusiness/26CHIN.html?th], [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/02/business/02CHIN.html?th] In 2003, China's GDP in terms of purchasing power parity reached $6.4 trillion, becoming the [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html second-largest in the world]. Using conventional measurements it is ranked 6th. With its large population this still gives an average GNP per person of only an estimated $5,000, about 1/7th that of the United States. The officially reported growth rate for 2003 was 9.1%. Due to its size and ancient culture, China has a tradition of being a leading economy in the world. Trying to regain some of that glory is certainly a strong motivation for many Chinese." The economic regions of Mainland China covered under the strategies promulgated by the central government. The disparity in wealth between the coastal strip and the remainder of the country remains wide. To counter this potentially destabilizing problem, the government has initiated the China Western Development strategy (2000), the Revitalize Northeast China initiative (2003), and the Rise of Central China policy (2004), which are all aimed at helping the interior of China to catch up.

Transportation

Transportation in the mainland of the People's Republic of China has improved remarkably starting in the late 1990s as part of a government effort to link the entire nation through a series of expressways known as the National Trunk Highway System. Private car ownership is increasing but remains uncommon, in large part due to government policies designed to make car ownership expensive through the use of taxes and toll roads. Air travel has increased considerably, although remains out of reach for most ordinary mainland Chinese. Long distance transportation for most mainland Chinese is still dominated by the railways and bus systems. Cities are increasingly building underground or light rail systems, such as in Shanghai. Hong Kong has one of the most modern transport systems in the world.

Society

Demographics

Ethnicity and race

Officially the PRC views itself as a multi-ethnic nation with 56 recognized ethnicities. The majority Han Chinese ethnicity makes up about 93% of the population and is the majority over about half of the area of the PRC. The Han Chinese itself is relatively racially heterogeneous, and can also be conceived as a large category bringing together many diverse ethnic subgroups sharing common cultural and linguistic characteristics.

Language

The majority Han Chinese speak varieties of spoken Chinese, which can be regarded as either one language or a family of languages. The largest subdivision of spoken Chinese is Mandarin Chinese, with more speakers than any other language on Earth. A standardized version of Mandarin based on the Beijing dialect, known as Putonghua, is taught in schools and used as the official language of the entire country.

Issues

The People's Republic of China, in an attempt to limit its population growth, has adopted a policy which limits urban families (ethnic minorities such as Tibetans are an exception) to one child and rural families to two children when the first is female. Because males are considered to be more economically valuable in rural areas, there appears to be a high incidence of sex selective abortion and child abandonment in rural areas to ensure that the second child is male. (See National Geographic's China's Lost Children). This policy only applies to the Han majority. There are numerous orphanages for the children that are abandoned, but approximately 98% of these children are not adopted, and stay in the orphanage until they are an adult. China has instituted a regulated program to permit international adoption, although this only affects a small percentage of the children. By 2000 this has resulted in a sex ratio at birth of 117 boys being born for every 100 girls which is substantially higher than the natural rate (106 to 100) (but comparable to the ratios in places such as the Caucasus, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea). Although some of this problematic ratio is attributable to sexism, recently, it has been found that it correlates with hepatitis as well. The PRC government is attempting to mitigate this problem by emphasizing the worth of women and has gone so far as to criminalize medical providers from disclosing to parents the sex of an expected baby. The result of the sex ratio bias is that there are now 30–40 million Chinese males who cannot marry Chinese women. Apart from emigration, this may cause an increase in prostitution. In some cases, this has led to kidnappings, where women are abducted from their families, and forcibly sold as wives in distant villages.

Health

The PRC has several emerging public health problems: health problems related to air and water pollution, a progressing HIV-AIDS epidemic and hundreds of millions of cigarette smokers. The HIV epidemic, in addition to the usual routes of infection, was exacerbated in the past by unsanitary practices used in the collection of blood in rural areas. The problem with tobacco is complicated by the concentration of most cigarette sales in a government controlled monopoly. The government, dependent on tobacco revenue, seems hesitant in its response to the tobacco compared with other public health problems. Hepatitis B is endemic in mainland China, with a large percentage of the population contracting the disease; about 10% of these are seriously affected. A program initiated in 2002 will attempt over the next 5 years to vaccinate all newborns in mainland China. In November 2002, the pneumonia-like SARS surfaced in Guangdong province. The epidemic spread into neighboring Hong Kong, Vietnam, and other countries via international travelers. The strains of avian flu outbreaks in recent years among local poultry and birds, along with a number of its citizens. While the virus is currently mainly animal-human transmissible, experts expect an avian flu pandemic that would affect the region, should the virus morph to be human-human transmissible. The recent pig-to-human transmission of Streptococcus suis bacteria, which has led to an unsually high number of deaths in and around Sichuan province.

Education

To provide for its population in mainland China, the PRC has a vast and varied school system. There are preschools, kindergartens, schools for the deaf and blind, key schools (similar to college preparatory schools), primary schools, secondary schools (comprising junior and senior middle schools, secondary agricultural and vocational schools, regular secondary schools, secondary teachers' schools, secondary technical schools, and secondary professional schools), and various institutions of higher learning (consisting of regular colleges and universities, professional colleges, and short-term vocational universities).

Culture

Streptococcus suis, in Peking opera]] Peking opera China's traditional values were derived from the orthodox version of Confucianism/conservatism, which was taught in schools and was even part of imperial civil service examinations. However, the term Confucianism is somewhat problematic in that the system of thought which reached it high-water mark in Qing Dynasty imperial China was in fact composed of several strains of thought, including Legalism, which in many ways departed from the original spirit of Confucianism; indeed by the height of imperial China, the right of the individual ethical conscience and the right to criticise tyrannical governments and demand change had largely been prohibited by "orthodox" thinkers. Currently, there are neo-Confucians who believe that contrary to that line of thought, democratic ideals and human rights are quite compatible with traditional Confucian "Asian values". See [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ccba/cear/issues/fall97/graphics/special/debary/debary.htm] The leaders who directed the efforts to change Chinese society after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 were raised in the old society and had been marked with its values. PRC leaders sought to change some traditional aspects, such as rural land tenure, sexism, and Confucian education, while preserving others, such as the family structure. Some observers believe that the Communist period following 1949 is very much in continuity with traditional Chinese history, rather than revolutionary. On the other hand, some observers believe that the Communist period following 1949 has fundamentally altered or damaged the foundations of Chinese culture. At various times in the history of the PRC, many aspects of traditional Chinese culture were labeled 'regressive and harmful' or 'vestiges of feudalism' by the regime or by prominent movements (e.g. by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution), such as Confucianism, traditional art, literature, and performing arts; for example, Beijing opera was "reformed" to conform to communist propaganda. The brutality of the Cultural Revolution itself has also been described as destructive to China's traditional moral values. The institution of the Simplified Chinese orthography reform is controversial as well, with some considering it harmless, and others viewing it as an assault on Chinese culture. However, China has since moved away from attempting to reform all of its traditional art forms. As time has progressed, the PRC government has accepted much of traditional Chinese culture as an integral part of Chinese society; current Chinese national policy often lauds these as important achievements of the Chinese civilization and emphasizes them as being integral to the formation of Chinese national identity. The PRC has also promoted feelings of nationalism in recent years, regarded by some observers as an effort to provide legitimacy for its rule.

Science & Technology

Simplified Chinese] After the Sino-Soviet split, China started to develop its own indigenous nuclear deterrent and delivery systems. A natural outgrowth of this was a satellite launching program. This culminated in 1970 with the launching of Dong Fang Hong I, the first Chinese satellite. This made the PRC the fifth nation to independently launch a satellite. In 1992 the current "Project 921" manned spaceflight program was authorised. On 19 November 1999, the unmanned Shenzhou 1 was launched, the first test flight of the program. After three more tests, Shenzhou 5 was launched on October 15, 2003, using a Long March 2F rocket and carrying Yang Liwei, making the PRC the third country to put a human being into space through its own endeavors. The second mission, Shenzhou 6 launched 12 October 2005. Some see China's space program as a respond to the United States Air Force's efforts to militarize space. China is actively developing in fields such as biotechnology, biomedicine, information technology, urban infrastructure and electronics.

Miscellaneous topics


- China article on China's civilizations
- Chinese law and law of the People's Republic of China
- Communications in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau
- Education in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau
- National College Entrance Examination
- Environment of China
- Ethnic groups of China
- Police in the People's Republic of China
- Railways in China
- Science and technology in China
- Transportation in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau
- Military history of China
- China and weapons of mass destruction
- List of Chinese battles

References


- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html CIA World Factbook 2002/2004]
- [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm Background Note: China U.S. Department of State website]

Further reading


- Ross Terrill, The New Chinese Empire: And What It Means for the United States, Basic Books, hardcover, 400 pages, ISBN 0465084125
- Roads Murphey, East Asia: A New History, U. of Michigan Press: 1996.

External links

Government


- [http://www.china.org.cn/english/index.htm China.org.cn] China's Official Gateway
- [http://www.gov.cn www.gov.cn] China's Government Portal

News


- [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/home/index.html China Daily]
- [http://www.chinaonline.com/ China Online]
- [http://english.eastday.com/ Eastday] Shanghai-based
- [http://www.HavenWorks.com/world/china HavenWorks - China News] news headline links
- [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ People's Daily Online]
- [http://www.scmp.com/ South China Morning Post] Hong Kong-based
- [http://202.84.17.11/en/index.htm Xinhua] government news agency
- [http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/China Yahoo! News- Full Coverage: China] news headline links

Overviews


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1287798.stm BBC News - Country Profile: China]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/asia_pacific/2004/china/default.stm BBC News - In Depth: Changing China] ongoing coverage
- [http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/eyeonchina/ CNN.com Specials - Eye on China] ongoing coverage
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html CIA World Factbook - China]
- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/0,7368,467721,00.html Guardian Unlimited - Special Report: China] ongoing coverage
- [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cntoc.html Library of Congress - Country Study: China] data as of July 1987
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/red/ PBS Frontline - China in the Red] documentary covering 1998-2001
- [http://web.amnesty.org/report2004/chn-summary-eng Amnesty International Report 2004]

Directories


- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/China/ Open Directory Project - China] directory category
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/China/ Yahoo! - China] directory category
- [http://www.findouter.com/China/ China Findouter] directory category

Tourism


-
- [http://www.mondophoto.net/asia/china/china.html Mondophoto.net] - 4200 Public Domain photos of China
- [http://www.ianandwendy.com/OtherTrips/ChinaVietnamCambodia/China/?nosplash=true China Pictures] - Photos from a backpacker's trip through China

Other


- [http://www.seoultrain.com "Seoul Train" documentary] A critically acclaimed PBS documentary on North Korean refugees (Incite Productions)
- [http://chinadigitaltimes.net/ China Digital Times]
- [http://china.notspecial.org/ The Opposite End of China (Xinjiang, China Blog)]
- [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/147/ Censorship in China]
- [http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=225 Chinese Threat to American Leadership in Space]
- [http://www.arachina.com/ China International Travel Service OF Guilin - JP ]
- [http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/ China History Forum]
- [http://www.chinaorbit.com ChinaOrbit.com] general information
- [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/international/asia/12CHIN.html?tntemail1 Chinese politics]: New York Times June 12, 2003 (login is required)
- [http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1921/ Go Taikonauts!] Chinese citizen's page devoted to China's space program
- [http://www.cinaoggi.com/china-map/ Interactive Map of China]
- [http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/shenzhou_china_archive.html Space.com] articles on China's space activities
- [http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=341 The Dragon's Dawn: China as a Rising Imperial Power] February 11, 2005
- [http://www.freedo

1897

1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar).

Events

common year starting on Friday
- January 1 - Brooklyn, New York merges with New York City.
- January 4 - A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the Oba of Benin. This leads to a Punitive Expedition against Benin.
- February 2 - Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania state capitol, is destroyed by fire.
- February 18- Benin is put to the torch by the Punitive Expedition.
- March 4 - William McKinley succeeds Grover Cleveland as President of the United States.
- March 13 - San Diego State University founded.
- April 5 - "Ordinance of April 5," equalizing German and Czech in Bohemia, signed in Austria-Hungary (see Kasimir Felix Graf Badeni).
- April 27 - Grant's Tomb is dedicated.
- May 19 - Oscar Wilde is released from prison.
- June 2 - Mark Twain, responding to rumors that he was dead, is quoted by the New York Journal as saying, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
- July 17 - Klondike Gold Rush begins when first successful prospectors arrive in Seattle.
- July 25 - Writer Jack London sails to join the Klondike Gold Rush where he will write his first successful stories.
- July 31 - First ascent of Mount Saint Elias, second highest peak in the United States and Canada.
- August 29 - First Zionist Congress convenes in Basel, Switzerland.
- September 1 - The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground metro in North America.
- September 10 - In the Lattimer Massacre, a sheriff's posse killes more than nineteen unarmed immigrant miners in Pennsylvania.
- September 11 - After months of searching, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom.
- December 9 - First issue of the feminist newspaper La Fronde is published by Marguerite Durand.
- December 28 - The play Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, premieres in Paris.
- December 30 - Natal annexes Zululand.
- Queen Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee.
- France allows women to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
- First use of the word computer meaning an electronic calculation device.
- Coseley Urban District Council formed
- Dos Equis first brewed in anticipation of new century

Births

January-March


- January 3 - Marion Davies, American actress (d. 1961)
- January 23 - Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect and anti-Nazi activist (d. 2000)
- February 4 - Ludwig Erhard, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1977)
- February 7 - Quincy Porter, American composer (d. 1966)
- February 10 - John F. Enders, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1985)
- February 10 - Dame Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
- February 27 - Marian Anderson, American contralto (d. 1993)
- March 1 - Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith (d.1957)
- March 2 - Violet Baudelaire, heiress to the Baudelaire inheritance (d.1980)
- March 4 - Lefty O'Doul, baseball player and restaurateur (d. 1969)
- March 15 - Jackson Scholz, American sprinter (d. 1986)
- March 24 - Wilhelm Reich, Austrian psychotherapist (d. 1957)
- March 28 - Sepp Herberger, German football coach (d. 1977)

April-June


- April 1 - Nita Naldi, American film actress (d. 1961)
- April 7 - Walter Winchell, American broadcast journalist (d. 1972)
- April 9 - John B. Gambling, American radio talk-show host (d. 1974)
- April 19 - Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman
- April 23 - Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1972)
- April 25 - Mary, Princess Royal of England (d. 1965)
- April 26 - Douglas Sirk, German-born director (d. 1987)
- April 26 - Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)
- May 14 - Sidney Bechet, American musician (d. 1959)
- May 17 - Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- May 18 - Frank Capra, American producer, director, and writer (d. 1991)
- May 19 - Frank Luke, American World War I pilot (d. 1918)
- May 21 - Nikola Avramov, Bulgarian painter (d. 1945)
- May 27 - John Cockcroft, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- May 29 - Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Austrian composer (d. 1957)
- June 7 - George Szell, Hungarian conductor (d. 1970)
- June 10 - Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia (d. 1918)
- June 13 - Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (d. 1973)
- June 16 - Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- June 19 - Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- June 19 - Moe Howard, American comedian and actor, Three Stooges member (d.1975)

July-September


- July 20 - Tadeus Reichstein, Polish-born chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1996)
- July 24 - Amelia Earhart, American aviator
- July 29 - Sir Neil Ritchie, British general (d. 1983)
- August 2 - Max Weber, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1974)
- August 28 - Charles Boyer, French actor (d. 1978)
- September 8 - Jimmie Rodgers, American singer (d. 1933)
- September 12 - Irene Joliot-Curie, French physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 1956)
- September 17 - Earl Webb, baseball player (d. 1965)
- September 23 - Walter Pidgeon, Canadian actor (d. 1984)
- September 25 - William Faulkner, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
- September 26 - Pope Paul VI (d. 1978)
- September 26 - Arthur Rhys Davids, English pilot (d.1917)

October-December


- October 3 - Louis Aragon, French author (d. 1982)
- October 15 - Johannes Sikkar, Estonian statesman (d. 1960)
- October 20 - Yi, Eun, Korean Crown Prince (d. 1970)
- October 29 - Joseph Goebbels, German Nazi propagnadist (d. 1945)
- November 9 - Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
- November 15 - Sacheverell Sitwell, English author (d. 1988)
- November 18 - Patrick Blackett, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- November 23 - Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Bengali author (d. 1999)
- December 18 - Fletcher Henderson, American musician (d. 1952)
- December 30 - Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (d. 1976)

Deaths


- February 4 - Major Charles Bendire, U.S. Army captain and ornithologist (b. 1836)
- February 19 - Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician (b. 1815
- March 19 - Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, Irish-born traveler (b. 1810)
- April 3 - Johannes Brahms, German composer (b. 1833)
- September 9 - Richard Holt Hutton, English writer and theologian (b. 1826)
- September 21 - Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (b. 1819)
- October 29 - Henry George, American economist (b. 1839)
- November 19 - William Seymour Tyler, American educator and historian (b. 1810)
- November 20 - Ernest Giles, Australian explorer (b. 1835)
- December 17 - Alphonse Daudet, French writer (b. 1840)
- Jang Seung-eop, Korean painter (b. 1843) Category:1897 ko:1897년 ms:1897 simple:1897 th:พ.ศ. 2440

Warlord

Warlord is a term that refers to one who has de facto (complete) military control of a subnational area, due to a military force which is personally obedient to that warlord. The term must be clearly differed from European Feudalism during the Middle Age. In historic literature warlordism before the Chinese Republic 1911-1949 where the term first formally appeared is usually refered to in context of Japan during the Sengoku period or China during the Three Kingdoms, not really in other examples. Today, warlords refers to military leaders which control subnational territories in so-called failed states, meaning states where political authority has collapsed and been replaced by Anarchy.

Historical Warlordism in Europe

Warlordism in Europe is usually connected to various mercenary companies and their chieftains, which often were de facto powerholders in the areas in which they resided. Such free companies would arise in a situation when the recognized central power had collapsed, such as in the Great Interregnum in Germany (1254-1278) or in France during the Hundred Years War after the battle of Poitiers 1356. Free company mercenary captains, such as Sir John Hawkwood, Roger de Flor of Catalan Company or Hugh Calveley could be considered as warlords. Several condottieri in Italy can also be classified as warlords. The Imperial commanders-in-chief during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I did hold the title Kriegsherr (direct translation "warlord"), but they were not warlords in the definitive sense of the word.

Historical Warlordism in Japan

During most of the 16th century, before the Tokugawa era, Japan was tormented by repeated wars among rival warlords (see Sengoku Era). Each warlord had several castles, neighbouring land with peasants, and a private army of samurai.

Powerful Japanese Warlords


- Oda Nobunaga
- Uesugi Kenshin
- Takeda Shingen
- Hojo Soun
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Historical warlordism in China

Warlords exercised widespread rule in China several times in Chinese history, notably in the period from the overthrow of the empire in 1911 until the Northern Expedition in 1927. This is also the time when the term "Warlord" first appeared. Despite the superficial unification of China in 1927 under the rule of the Guomindang, warlordism remained a problem unsolved until the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. Another Era in Chinese History well-known for the dominance of warlords is the era of the Three Kingdoms

Famous Warlords during the Three Kingdoms (220-280)


- Gongsun Kang
- Gongsun Yuan
- Yuan Shao
- Sun Jian
- Cao Cao

Powerful Warlords during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)


- Puxian Wannu

Powerful Chinese Warlords during the Republic of China


- Zhang Zuolin (Chang Tso-lin) -- "Old Marshall" or "Mukden Tiger".
- Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsüeh-liang) -- "Young Marshall".
- Zhang Zongchang (Chang Tsung-ch'ang) -- "The Dogmeat General".
- Feng Yuxiang (Feng Yü-hsiang) -- "The Christian General".
- Bai Chongxi (Pai Ch'ung-hsi) -- "The Muslim General".
- Yan Xishan (Yen Hsi-shan) -- "The Model Governor".
- Wu Peifu

Warlordism in the World Today

Warlordism appears in so-called failed states - states in which central government and nationwide authorities have collapsed or exist merely formally without actual controll over the state territory. Examples: Somali: With the collapse of the central government, groups of rival warlords constitute the only form of authority in some parts of the country. Other regions and countries with warlords include Chechnya, Moldova, Burma, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

See also


- Warlord (comics)
- Warlords
- alt.fan.warlord ko:군벌 ja:軍閥

1933

1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January


- January 3 - Japanese troops occupy Shanghai
- January 5 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
- January 15 - Political violence has caused almost 100 deaths in Spain
- January 17 - US Congress votes favorable for Philippines independence, against the view of president Hoover
- January 30 - Edouard Daladier forms a government in France
- January 30 - Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany by Reich President Paul von Hindenburg.
- January 30 - The first airing of episode 1 of 2,956 episodes of the radio program The Lone Ranger.

February


- February 4 - Mutiny starts on the Dutch pantserschip Zeven Provincien.
- February 6 - The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution goes into effect.
- February 6-7 - Officers on the USS Ramapo record 34 meters high sea-wave in the Pacific
- February 10 - The New York City-based Postal Telegraph Company introduces the first singing telegram.
- February 15 - In Miami, Florida Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead kills Chicago, Illinois Mayor Anton J. Cermak.
- February 17 - The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.
- February 17 - The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
- February 27 - Germany's parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire (see: Reichstag fire).

March


- March 1 - Kyriakos Varvaressos becomes Deputy Governor to the Bank of Greece
- March 3 - Mount Rushmore is dedicated.
- March 4 - American President Herbert Clark Hoover is succeeded by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who in reference to the Great Depression, gives his "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself" inauguration speech.
- March 4 Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, first female member of the United States Cabinet.
- March 4 - The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure - Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates authoritarian rule by decree (see Austrofascism)
- March 5 - Great Depression: <