Page 71 - South Korea & Japan: Temples, Shrines & Seaside Treasures

class system. Both of these measures remained in force for nearly 2,000 years. Also during this
_TXP .STYLɪ^ ʭ]^_ `YTaP]^T_d bL^ QZ`YOPO , YPb PX[SL^T^ ZY WPL]YTYR LYO PO`NL_TZY RLaP
]T^P _Z LY LRP ZQ R]PL_ ^NTPY_TʭN OT^NZaP]d LYO L]_T^_TN LNNZX[WT^SXPY_

Over the next several centuries, life in China continued much as it had during the age of
the Han. New dynasties rose to power, but the Imperial dynastic system, with its central
bureaucracy and administrative divisions, remained intact. More importantly, foreign
TYʮ`PYNP^ OTO YZ_ ^TRYTʭNLY_Wd LW_P] _SP `YOP]WdTYR N`W_`]P ?SP [PZ[WP ]PXLTYPO WL]RPWd
agricultural, and Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism remained the prevailing philosophical
LYO P_STNLW R`TOP^ 3ZbPaP] L ^TRYTʭNLY_ NSLYRP ZNN`]]PO TY _SP WL_P _S NPY_`]d O`]TYR
_SP ]PTRY ZQ _SP 8TYR^ ?]LOP bT_S _SP bP^_ bL^ TY_]ZO`NPO ,_ ʭ]^_ Z[PY _]LOP bT_S _SP bP^_
appeared to pose little threat to the Chinese way of life. But, over the next 300 years, a new
commodity was introduced that would prove disastrous to Chinese culture: opium. By the late
19th century, opium addiction had severely damaged Chinese society and drained vast amounts
of wealth overseas. This led to war with Britain, a chief source of the deadly drug. The Chinese,
who had failed to keep pace with western arms technology, were soundly defeated and forced
into a series of uneven treaties.

The Rise of the People’s Republic

By the dawn of the 20th century, China was wracked with internal rebellion and economic
^_LRYL_TZY , BP^_P]Y TYʮ`PYNPO [ZWT_TNLW WPLOP] YLXPO >`Y DP_ ^PY NZYaTYNPO _SP .STYP^P
_Z LOZ[_ L ]P[`MWTNLY QZ]X ZQ RZaP]YXPY_ TY $ _Z`NSTYR Zʬ L []ZWZYRPO [P]TZO ZQ NTaTW bL]
Then, in 1949, bolstered by the success of Russia following World War II, Communists rose
to power and took control of the government, establishing the People’s Republic of China.
?SP ʭ]^_ dPL]^ ZQ ]`WP Md _SP .ZXX`YT^_ ;L]_d bP]P XL]VPO Md NdNWP^ ZQ QLTWPO PNZYZXTN
policies, disunity, and political purges. In particular the 1960s and early 1970s saw a period of
economic, political, and social change known as the Cultural Revolution.

Begun in 1966, the Cultural Revolution was described by Mao Zedong (the Chairman of the
Communist Party) as a movement to counteract “liberal bourgeoisie” elements that wanted to
]P_`]Y _Z NL[T_LWT^X ?S]Z`RS ^[PPNSP^ LYO Z_SP] []Z[LRLYOL _SP ;L]_d WPLOP]^ST[ LʯWTL_PO
certain Chinese traditions with Western decadence; both were to be condemned and purged.

?bZ VPd PWPXPY_^ ZQ _SP .`W_`]LW =PaZW`_TZY _SL_ bZ`WO LʬPN_ .STYL QZ] dPL]^ bP]P _SP XL^^
relocation of urban population to rural labor camps and the creation of the Red Guards. Most
were students who were encouraged to actively challenge cultural institutions, their teachers,
and even their parents. The term “the Four Olds” (old customs, old culture, old habits, and old
ideas) was introduced to sum up everything that a good revolutionary should avoid. Religious
buildings were defaced, art smashed, intellectuals and teachers abused and imprisoned.
,W_SZ`RS _SP .`W_`]LW =PaZW`_TZY ZʯNTLWWd PYOPO TY $!$ XZ^_ ST^_Z]TLY^ LR]PP T_ NZY_TY`PO
until Mao’s death in 1976.

After Mao’s passing the backlash from the Cultural Revolution lead to the arrest of four
TYʮ`PY_TLW ;L]_d WPLOP]^ NLWWPO _SP 2LYR ZQ 1Z`] ZYP ZQ bSZX bL^ 8LZɪ^ bTOZb ?SP [`MWTN
began to turn away from the hard-line communism that had dominated China, and in the
mid-1980s, the government adopted far-reaching economic reforms with market-oriented

71