Essay on China

There were numerous things that I learned in the previous nine weeks in Area Studies. The events or time periods we studied were not in chronological order, but it was essential to current events or how it affected China today. We studied from architecture to the technology of China a. Also, China makes up a big part of the world’s population and most of the population lives on the coast. Not to mention China is also the main area were most of the world’s trading ports are.

In the first nine China’s ethnicities, religion, provinces, etc were introduced to the class. There are many different ethnicities in china. There are over a hundred different ethnicities in China. Some ethnicities does not even seem like they were from China because of how the rest of the world sees a typical Chinese person. The ethnicities range from the borders of Mongolia to the borders of Laos and Vietnam. The main ethnicity that most foreigners of China are familiar with is the Hans. The cuisine also varies depending on with ethnicity the person is categorized in or by which province or part of china they live in. If one ethnic group lives on the coast, their food will be mostly seafood and other ingredients that are easily found in the region they live in.

The religion of China varies in which province and ethnicity the person lives. The main three religions of China are Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. There are some Islamic groups that are located in the northern region of China near Mongolia. There are numerous temples in China that are specifically dedicated to one of the three main religions. In Daoism Ta Chi is regularly part of the peoples’ everyday life to cleanse their soul or spirit.

Another major event that was discussed in the previous nine weeks were the 1940s though the 1970s, which was around the time of WWI to the Vietnam War. The development of communism appeared in the following time period. Mao Zedong introduced communism to the people of China. Zedong studied the original book of Marx and the ideas of Lenin and Stalin, then adjusted some of the ideas, practices, and philosophies to make it work in China. Mao’s fixed communism is known today as Maoism. Nationalists were not pleased with the new philosophy that was introduces to China, so Mao had to impress the people that he knew would easily vote him to become a chairman. He promised the peasants of China that they would gain more benefits from their land lords and other necessary needs that needed to be improved. The promises included better working and living conditions. This event was known as The Great Leap Forward to gain the peasants support. The Great Leap Forward was not positive success because most of the peasants began to starve because of the sacrifices they made to Mao to eventually hope that the promises Mao made will become a reality. Mao had other movements, such as the industrial revolution that also failed because countless people died.