Page 65 - Mongolia & the Gobi Desert

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
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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.
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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.
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Communist Party) as a movement to counteract “liberal bourgeoisie” elements that wanted to
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certain Chinese traditions with Western decadence; both were to be condemned and purged.

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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.
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until Mao’s death in 1976.

After Mao’s passing the backlash from the Cultural Revolution lead to the arrest of four
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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
incentives. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s reforms were slowly introduced, and in 2003,
the Party even changed its membership rules to include a new type of member, known as
“red capitalists”. Nonetheless, modern China is still far from being an openly democratic
or capitalist society; today they name their new political system “socialism with Chinese
characteristics.”

Russia

Facts & Figures
• Area: 6,601,670 square miles, the largest country on Earth

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