The tomb of Shi Huangdi China’s first emperor is guarded by thousands of warriors made from terracotta or baked clay THE GREAT WALL Nearly three thousand years ago Chinese kings began building earthen walls to protect their kingdoms Later these walls were connected and built of brick and stone The system came to be called the Great Wall of China This huge structure stretches some 4,500 miles 7,250 km across northern China Today tourists can stroll along the wall and marvel at this great feat 6
Troubled Times By the 1700s China’s power had weakened European countries began to take over parts of China In the 1800s the power of the Emperor was weakened further by two wars with Britain which British ships bombarding the Chinese city of Canton during a war fought in the 1850s The British victory led to a decline in the power of the emperor of China 7
Mao Zedong ruled the country from 1949 until his death in 1976 Here he is pictured on a piece of Chinese money China lost There were revolts civil war and fighting The unrest and bloodshed caused some Chinese to want to leave the country These people were some of the first immigrants to make their way to the United States 8
Civil War and New Rulers By the early 1900s China’s emperor had fallen but the unrest continued In the 1930s a young leader named Mao Zedong a communist began fighting a civil war against the new government Finally in 1949 his forces won and Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China People in the old government and their supporters fled the country for the island of Taiwan just off the coast of China They set up a new government and called themselves the Republic of China On the mainland Mao and his followers remade Chinese society The government controlled all jobs housing and the education system Free speech was not allowed After Mao died in 1976 new leaders took over They wanted to build a stronger economy and spread prosperity By the 1990s China’s economy was growing fast and more goods were available to China’s people However China’s leaders didn’t want to give people more political freedom The lack of freedom has led many Chinese to leave the country YIN AND YANG In ancient times the Chinese developed a belief in two basic forces called yin and yang Yin is linked to the earth women darkness and receiving Yang is connected to heaven men light and action The Chinese believe that people need to keep these two forces in balance These ideas have shaped Chinese art medicine and government 9
