Imperial China vs. Modern China

Imperial China
vs.
Modern China
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In the course of
65 years (1911-1976)
China has dramatically
changed…
• Politically
• Socially
• Culturally
Students in school uniforms link their arms to form the flag of the
Communist Party of China, in celebration of the party's upcoming 90th
anniversary during a photo call at a primary school in Dexing, Jiangxi
province, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/China Daily)
How much was China’s individualistic
identity redefined at the turn of the 20th
century?

After around
295 years of rule over
China, the Qing
dynasty was
overthrown. Thus
effectively putting an
end to over 2,000
years of imperial rule
in the country. It was
out with the old and in
with the new. A painting during the Qing Dynasty
The end and the
beginning…

• The emperors in imperial China were said to
be chosen by God. An emperor was often
referred to as the “Son of Heaven”.
• The Chinese believed that the emperor had the
power to control “everything under the sun”.
• There were three types of government in
imperial China; nepotistic, aristocracy and
meritocracy.
• The nepotistic system meant that every high
government role were given to the emperor’s
family.
• The aristocracy system meant that government
power was given to the wealthy class.
• The meritocracy system’s government officials
were picked the highest scorers of the Imperial
Exam.
Politics in Imperial China

• In 1949, the Chinese Communist
Party won against the nationalists in
the Chinese Civil War.
• In Communist China, the people were
free to vote their leaders. Although,
basically there was only one choice.
• Anyone who were against, or even
accused to be were quickly gotten rid
of through execution.
• Since 1949, the Chinese Communist
Party has tolerated no opposition by
other parties. Any opposition was
violently dealt with.
China under a Communist Government

Before:
• Similar to the British feudal
system, China’s social
classes during the imperial
era was from the emperor
(highest) to the slaves
(lowest).
After:
• After the fall of the Qing
Dynasty, warlords have
divided China into mini
kingdoms.
• For a period of time, during
the ‘Warlord Era’, warlords
were in control.
• However, when the
communists took control of
the government, their social
class was lowered. The
peasants also had the right
to have them executed if
they found that a land
owner was unfair or corrupt.

• The most practiced religion in imperial China was
Buddhism, followed by Confucianism and Daoism.
• Buddhism is China’s oldest foreign religion. As with a lot
of other things apart from religion, Buddhism spread to
China from India in the 1st and 2nd centuries in the way of
the Silk Road.
• Christianity was the second foreign religion that came
into China. It was said to have arrived in the country just
shortly after Jesus’ death in the early AD.
• Islam was introduced to the country through trade routes
around 618-907 AD. It is also the third foreign religion to
arrive in the country.
Religions in Imperial China

• The new People’s Republic of China that
was established in 1949 guaranteed
freedom of religion and freedom to
propagate atheism.
The Newly Established People’s Republic
of China and Freedom of Religion

• Between 1966 to 1976, Chinese youth rose up to purge the nation
of the “Four Olds”; old customs, old habits, old culture and old
ideas.
• The call for cultural revolution by Mao created the “Red
Guards”, which was mostly consisted of youths, some even as
young as elementary students.
• The Red Guards destroyed Buddhist temples, churches, mosques
and many other places of worship.
• They also burnt down religious scriptures, sacred texts, religious
statues and even artworks.
• In my opinion, the Communist Party, in a way, subliminally lead
the people to turn against organized religion so that they would
be more obedient to the government.
The Cultural Revolution and Religion

• Chinese culture and government
systems relied heavily on
Confucianism’s morals and
values.
• A lot of Confucius’ teachings
focuses on humanness and the
importance of family.
• Humanness focuses on each
individual’s duty to help others.
• While importance of family
teaches children to honor and
respect their parents and elders.
• Since majority of the Chinese
used to be Buddhists as well,
they used to practice the way of
the Eightfold Path.
Confucianist and Buddhist Values

• The Cultural Revolution has left
China almost completely devoid
of organized religion.
• The people then became more
focused on obeying whatever the
communist government and
especially what the “Little Red
Book” says. The book contains
quotations from Mao, reinforcing
his communist philosophies on
the people especially the youth.
• Everyone in China were
‘encouraged’ to have it.
Life-Religion= ???

Art in Imperial China
• Many Chinese artworks, not only
visual but also poetry and
literature, were based on religious
and supernatural beliefs, as well
as natural landscapes.
• Calligraphy, the art of painting
Chinese characters with a brush,
was also extremely popular.
• Chinese art in the imperial period
has always been calm and serene,
pictures of mountains and other
natural landscape were famous
art subjects.
Art under Communism
• During the cultural revolution,
many artists were ‘encouraged’ to
change their art styles to
“revolutionary realism” to honor
the great revolutions in that
century.
• Apart from revolutionary realism,
they were also ‘encouraged’ to
draw or paint political
propagandas.
• The Great Proletarian Cultural
Revolution caused many well-known
artists to be purged, thus
creating a big impact on the
country’s creative society.

Intellectuals during the
Imperial Period
• During the Imperial period,
government officials were chosen
through the Imperial Examination.
• Anyone was permitted to take the
exam in order to prove themselves. If
he passes the exam, a peasant’s son
can become a government official just
as a wealthy man’s son can.
• Examinees were tested according to
their knowledge of “The Six
Classics” which were books mainly
focused on Confucianism ideals.
• People who tested good on these tests
and showed great talent and
knowledge were the ones who formed
Imperial China’s intellectual circles.
Intellectuals under the
Communist Regime
• Sun Yat-sen then developed a new
way of picking out government
officials based on the old imperial
examination system and some strong
points of western examination
systems. It was called the Examination
Yuan.
• In 1965 during the Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution, many
intellectuals were purged for being
accused of counterrevolutionary
ideals. The purging caused
socioeconomic chaos.
• If the communist government found
that an intellectual may not be a
supporter of communism, they were
executed.

Destroy the Old World;
Establish the New World
• Origin:
- It is a propaganda produced in Beijing on
1967, and was made by an unknown Chinese
artist. The Chinese texts in the propaganda says
“Destroy the Old World; Establish the New
World”.
• Purpose:
- Judging from the looks of the young man
in the picture and some background
information of when this propaganda was
published, I would say that the target audience
of this propaganda were the Chinese youth
since it was published during the Cultural
Revolution. In my opinion, the purpose of this
propaganda was to reinforce the idea of cultural
change to the youth. It was made to encourage
youth to turn against organized religion as it is
‘a thing of the past’. And, since the Communist
Party encouraged atheist ideas, I guess it was
made for that reason as well.

• Value:
- I think that this source is valuable
to historians, as it was valuable to me.
The young man with the hammer, and
as well as the other people present in
the background represents the ‘Red
Guards’. As you read about the Cultural
Revolution, you’d read about the Red
Guards destroying almost anything that
reminded them of their past, from 1911
and previous. From what I can make
out among the pile of things under the
young man’s feet, there’s the crucifix, a
Buddha statue, an old record and an old
painting. The hammer carried by the
young man also represents the trail of
destruction the Red Guards left al-throughout
the country while they
purged the country of the ‘Four Olds’.

• Limitations:
- As of course this was a Communist
propaganda, it features what the
Communists wanted the people to do. It
also just features the Red Guards,
which may lead you to ask the
questions, “Wasn’t there anyone who
was against this?” or “What about the
people who practiced those religions,
like Buddhism and Christianity, how
did they react to this?”Well those were
the questions I asked, and the
information I wanted wasn’t shown in
this source. It was a motivational
propaganda made to make people act
according to the government’s will but
it did not show what some locals
might’ve thought about the purge of the
‘Four Olds’.

BACK TO THE RESEARCH
QUESTION…

• At the beginning of this presentation, this question was
posed and now that the presentation is almost done, I believe
providing an answer to this question is only appropriate.
• If I were to describe China’s transformation, I would say that
it was like the process of metamorphosis. Imperial China was the
caterpillar who hid in it cocoon after the its dynastic days were
over. Only when it came out of its cocoon in 1949, instead of
becoming a beautiful butterfly, it turned out to be a moth. What I’m
trying to say is that, the change brought hope and rejuvenation at
first but then just resulted in turmoil, confusion and a thorough
destruction of moral and ethical values. At least that’s my opinion.
How much was China’s individualistic identity redefined at
the turn of the 20th century?

• In my opinion, if China was a person, he wasn’t the same
person he used to be after 1949. He tried to delete his past, as if it
was a spiteful memory. He destroyed remnants of what reminded
him of his past.
How much was China’s individualistic identity redefined at
the turn of the 20th century?

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Imperial China vs. Modern China

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