China

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==The one on the continent==
 
==The one on the continent==
[[File:Great Wall.jpg|thumb|left]]Mainland China, formally the People's Republic of China, is a big frickin' country with ''lots'' of people.  It has a well documented and long history, has produced many [[philosophy|philosophical]] traditions, and has recently been one of the big dogs in international politics, overcoming the results of Guns, Germs, and Steel, by which the European nations overpowered it militarily in the late 1800s.  An extremist "Communist" named [[Mao Zedong]] ran the country for quite some time, and sponsored a number of government fiascos that devastated China, such as the "Great Leap Forward" (into their graves) and the "Cultural Revolution" (which was more like a Cultural Execution).
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[[File:Great Wall.jpg|thumb|left|China: Keeping the Mongols at bay since the 5th Century BC]]Mainland China, formally the People's Republic of China, is a big frickin' country with ''lots'' of people.  It has a well documented and long history, has produced many [[philosophy|philosophical]] traditions, and has recently been one of the big dogs in international politics, overcoming the results of Guns, Germs, and Steel, by which the European nations overpowered it militarily in the late 1800s.  An extremist "Communist" named [[Mao Zedong]] ran the country for quite some time, and sponsored a number of government fiascos that devastated China, such as the "Great Leap Forward" (into their graves) and the "Cultural Revolution" (which was more like a Cultural Execution).
  
 
The current government is nominally [[Communism|Communist]], but [[Karl Marx]] would turn over in his grave if he saw the way they run it. So would [[Joseph Stalin]]. This is not because China is performing too few executions, but because China is privatizing its agricultural sector. Basically, China is maintaining its authoritarian government while having a fairly laissez faire economic system.
 
The current government is nominally [[Communism|Communist]], but [[Karl Marx]] would turn over in his grave if he saw the way they run it. So would [[Joseph Stalin]]. This is not because China is performing too few executions, but because China is privatizing its agricultural sector. Basically, China is maintaining its authoritarian government while having a fairly laissez faire economic system.

Revision as of 21:09, 6 April 2010

China is two countries, one comprising most of eastern Asia, the other an island off Asia's Pacific coast.

Contents

The one on the continent

China: Keeping the Mongols at bay since the 5th Century BC
Mainland China, formally the People's Republic of China, is a big frickin' country with lots of people. It has a well documented and long history, has produced many philosophical traditions, and has recently been one of the big dogs in international politics, overcoming the results of Guns, Germs, and Steel, by which the European nations overpowered it militarily in the late 1800s. An extremist "Communist" named Mao Zedong ran the country for quite some time, and sponsored a number of government fiascos that devastated China, such as the "Great Leap Forward" (into their graves) and the "Cultural Revolution" (which was more like a Cultural Execution).

The current government is nominally Communist, but Karl Marx would turn over in his grave if he saw the way they run it. So would Joseph Stalin. This is not because China is performing too few executions, but because China is privatizing its agricultural sector. Basically, China is maintaining its authoritarian government while having a fairly laissez faire economic system.

There is lingering hostility between China and Japan over World War II and war crimes. Also, China is interested in eventually liberating Taiwan (see below) from fascists. Since the fascists gave up power almost 20 years ago, one can only conclude that fascist is a code word for "anti-communist" with them.

China currently plays manufacturer and banker to the United States' consumer and borrower. This is probably not a good thing for the US.

The one on the island

In the aftermath of the Communist revolution's success on the mainland in 1949, a small group of loyal counterrevolutionaries known as the Kuomintang (KMT) escaped to the island of Formosa (Taiwan), where they have since continued to rule the Republic of China, which has claimed authority over all of China, as well as Manchuria, Tibet, and Mongolia, since the Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1912. Initially an oligarchy under Chiang Kai-shek, the ROC became a democracy after his death. Today, the ROC administers Taiwan and smaller outlying islands. In the West, it is commonly referred to as Taiwan.

The international relations of the Chinas can get a bit sticky. Both the PRC and the ROC claim authority over all of China under the One-China policy. What this means is that other nations can only diplomatically recognize one or the other, and the vast majority of nations recognize the PRC, however, most people in the West sympathize with the ROC. The PRC considers the territories controlled by the ROC to be a rogue province and gets very pissed off when foreign diplomats assert, or even imply, Taiwanese independence. Most people on both the mainland and Taiwan support reunification, but disagree as to which government shall rule over the unified China. Some on Taiwan support abandoning the One-China policy and renouncing all claims on the mainland.

Another thing complicating unification is the fact that unlike their cousins on the mainland Taiwanese people still write with the traditional (and more complicated) Chinese characters whereas the mainland use the more modern simplified ones. However, that did not slow down reunification with Hong Kong or Macau, both of whom still use the traditional characters.

The one in some American cities

Many Western cities have neighbourhoods known as "Chinatown" where people from the Chinese diaspora live and do business, often including selling specialty/imported foods and other goods from back home and running restaurants.

Other kinds of China

The one in your cupboard

"China" also refers to ceramic tableware, especially those of a finer quality.

The ones on the video shelf

  • China o'Brien - Ugh!
  • China Syndrome
  • One Night in China
  • Chinatown
  • Big Trouble in Little China

The eighties band from Liverpool

  • China Crisis

The girl group from Kazakhstan

  • Chinatown (Frankly, none of them sings in Chinese)

The awful power ballad

  • "China in Your Hand"

The ones on your local classic rock station

  • "China Grove" - The Doobie Brothers
  • "China Girl" - David Bowie
  • "Chinese Democracy" - Guns N' Roses

The ones more likely to be in your vinyl collection

  • "White China" - Ultravox!

See also

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