asia and the pacificimages.pcmac.org/sisfiles/schools/al/chiltoncounty/...720 asia and the pacific...

720

Asia and the Pacific

1945–Present

Key EventsAs you read, look for the key events in the history of postwar Asia.

• Communists in China introduced socialist measures and drastic reforms under the leadership of Mao Zedong.

• After World War II, India gained its independence from Britain and divided into two separate countries—India and Pakistan.

• Japan modernized its economy and society after 1945 and became one of the world’s economic giants.

The Impact TodayThe events that occurred during this time period still impact our lives today.

• Today China and Japan play significant roles in world affairs: China for political and military reasons, Japan for economic reasons.

• India and Pakistan remain rivals. In 1998, India carried out nuclear tests and Pakistan responded by testing its own nuclear weapons.

• Although the people of Taiwan favor independence, China remains committed to eventual unification.

World History—Modern Times Video The Chapter 24 video,“Vietnam,” chronicles the history and impact of the Vietnam War.

1949CommunistParty takesover China

1966Indira Gandhielected prime ministerof India

1935 1945 1955 1965

1953Korean War ends

1965Lyndon Johnsonsends U.S. troops to South Vietnam

Mao Zedong

Indira Gandhi

1947India andPakistan becomeindependentnations

721

Singapore’s architecture is a mixture of modern and colonial buildings.

HISTORY

Chapter OverviewVisit the Glencoe WorldHistory—Modern Times Web site at

and click on Chapter 24–Chapter Overview topreview chapter information.

wh.mt.glencoe.com

1997Return of HongKong to China

1975 1985 1995 2005

1989Tiananmen Squaremassacre

2002China joins World TradeOrganization

1979Mother Teresareceives the NobelPeace Prize

1972U.S. PresidentRichard Nixonvisits China

Fireworks celebrate the handoverof Hong Kong to China.

Nixon in China

0720-0729 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 7:21 PM Page 721

http://wh.mt.glencoe.com

722

A Movement for Democracy

n the spring of 1989, China began to experience a remark-able series of events. Crowds of students, joined by work-

ers and journalists, filled Tiananmen Square in Beijing dayafter day to demonstrate in favor of a democratic govern-ment for China. Some students waged a hunger strike, andothers carried posters calling for democracy.

To China’s elderly rulers, calls for democracy were a threatto the dominant role that the Communist Party had played inChina since 1949. Some leaders interested in reform advisedrestraint in handling the protesters. Most of the Communistleaders, however, wanted to repress the movement. Whenstudents erected a 30-foot (9-m)-high statue called “The God-dess of Democracy” that looked similar to the AmericanStatue of Liberty, party leaders became especially incensed.

On June 3, 1989, the Chinese army moved into the square.Soldiers carrying automatic rifles fired into the unarmedcrowds. Tanks and troops moved in and surrounded theremaining students. At 5:30 in the morning on June 4, themayor of Beijing announced that Tiananmen Square had been“handed back to the people.” Even then, the killing ofunarmed citizens continued. At least 500 civilians werekilled—perhaps as many as 2,000. The movement for democracy in China had ended.

I

The events in Tiananmen Square ended tragically for pro-democracy protesters.

Why It MattersThe movement for democracy inChina in the 1980s was only one ofmany tumultuous events in Asiaafter World War II. In China, a civilwar gave way to a new China underCommunist control. Japan recov-ered from the devastation of WorldWar II and went on to build an eco-nomic powerhouse. In South Asiaand Southeast Asia, nations that hadbeen dominated by Western colo-nial powers struggled to gain theirfreedom. Throughout Asia, nationsworked to develop modern industri-alized states.

History and You Find online orin the library a commentary on theTiananmen Square incident writtenfrom the perspective of the Chinesegovernment. Analyze the work todetermine whether or not it displaysbias. Support your opinion.

1950A marriage law guarantees womenequal rights with men in China

1958 Mao Zedong institutes the Great Leap Forward

1972 President Nixonvisits China

1979 China establishes diplomaticties with the United States

Guide to Reading

Communist China

Preview of Events✦1950 ✦1960 ✦1970 ✦1980

Nien Cheng, the widow of an official of Chiang Kai-shek’s regime, described a visitby Red Guards to her home:

“Mounting the stairs, I was astonished to see several Red Guards taking pieces ofmy porcelain collection out of their padded boxes. One young man . . . was steppingon them. . . . Impulsively I leapt forward and caught his leg just as he raised his foot tocrush the next cup. He toppled. We fell in a heap together. . . . The young man whoserevolutionary work of destruction I had interrupted said angrily, ‘You shut up! Thesethings belong to the old culture. . . . Our Great Leader Chairman Mao taught us, “If wedo not destroy, we cannot establish.” The old culture must be destroyed to make wayfor the new socialist culture.’”

—Life and Death in Shanghai, Nien Cheng, 1986

The Red Guards were established to create a new order in China.

Civil War and the Great Leap ForwardBy 1945, there were two Chinese governments. The Nationalist government of

Chiang Kai-shek, based in southern and central China, was supported by theUnited States. The Communist government, under the leadership of Mao Zedong,had its base in North China.

In 1945, full-scale war between the Nationalists and the Communists broke out.In the countryside, millions of peasants were attracted to the Communists bypromises of land. Many joined Mao’s People’s Liberation Army.

By the spring of 1949, the People’s Liberation Army had defeated the Nation-alists. Chiang and two million followers fled to the island of Taiwan.

Voices from the Past

Main Ideas• Mao Zedong established a socialist soci-

ety in China.• After Mao’s death, modified capitalist

techniques were used to encouragegrowth in industry and farming.

Key Termscommune, permanent revolution, per capita

People to Identify Deng Xiaoping, Richard Nixon

Places to Locate Taiwan, South Korea, North Korea

Preview Questions1. How did the Great Leap Forward and

the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolu-tion affect China?

2. What were the major economic,social, and political developments inChina after the death of Mao Zedong?

Reading StrategyCause and Effect Use a chart like theone below to list communism’s effects on China’s international affairs.

CHAPTER 24 Asia and the Pacific 723

Communism

Effects

Students in support of Mao Zedong

The Communist Party, under the leadership of itschairman, Mao Zedong, now ruled China. In 1955,the Chinese government launched a program tobuild a socialist society. To win the support of thepeasants, lands were taken from wealthy landlordsand given to poor peasants. About two-thirds of thepeasant households in China received land under thenew program. Most private farmland was collec-tivized, and most industry and commerce wasnationalized.

Chinese leaders hoped that collective farms wouldincrease food production, allowing more people towork in industry. Food production, however, did notgrow.

To speed up economic growth, Mao began a moreradical program, known as the Great Leap Forward,

724 CHAPTER 24 Asia and the Pacific

On October 1, 1949, CommunistMao Zedong proclaims China asthe People’s Republic of China.

On June 4, 1989, the Chinesearmy massacres pro-democracydemonstrators in Tiananmen Square.

In late 1949, Nationalist Chiang Kai-shekand his followers flee to Taiwan andre-establish the Republic of China.

400 kilometers0Two-Point Equidistant projection

400 miles0

S

N

EW

TROPIC OF CANCER

90°E 100°E 110°E80°E

30°N

20°N

40°N

East ChinaSea

YellowSea

Seaof

Japan

Pacific

Ocean

Hu ang He

ChangJian

g

SOVIET UNION

MONGOLIA

C H I N A

Taiwan

XINJIANG

TIBET

INNERMONGOLIA

MANCHURIA

VIETNAMLAOS

THAILAND

BURMABANGLADESH

I N D I A

BHUTANNEPALSIKKIM

NORTHKOREA

SOUTHKOREA

JAPAN

Hainan

PAKIS

TAN

Beijing

Chongqing

Guangzhou

ShanghaiNanjing

Hong KongU.K.

Taipei

Hefei

Wuhan

ShenzhenKunming

Xian

China, 1949–1989

The People’s Republic of China originated in 1949.

1. Interpreting Maps Identify the places where pro-democracy student demonstrations took place in 1986.Which of these cities had also been sites of fightinginvolving the Red Guards 20 years earlier?

2. Applying Geography Skills Use the map’s scale todetermine the approximate distance from Taiwan tomainland China. Use an atlas to help you name two U.S. cities that are about this same distance apart.

in 1958. Existing collective farms, normally the size ofa village, were combined into vast communes. Eachcommune contained more than thirty thousand peo-ple who lived and worked together. Mao hoped thisprogram would enable China to reach the final stageof communism—the classless society—before theend of the twentieth century. The government officialslogan promised the following: “Hard work for a fewyears, happiness for a thousand.”

The Great Leap Forward was a disaster. Badweather and the peasants’ hatred of the new systemdrove food production down. As a result, almost fifteen million people died of starvation. In 1960, thegovernment began to break up the communes andreturn to collective farms and some private plots.

Explaining Why was the Great LeapForward an economic disaster for China?

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

Mao now faced opposition within the CommunistParty. Despite this opposition and the commune fail-ure, he still dreamed of a classless society. In Mao’seyes, only permanent revolution, an atmosphere of constant revolutionary fervor, could enable the

Reading Check

� Chinese workers ina state-owned factory

People‘s Republic of China (Communist)Republic of China (Nationalist)Site of fighting involving the Red Guards,1966–1969Pro-democracy student demonstrations, 1986

Chinese to overcome thepast and achieve the finalstage of communism.

In 1966, Mao launchedthe Great Proletarian Cul-tural Revolution. The Chi-nese name literally meant“great revolution to create aproletarian (working class)culture.” A collection ofMao’s thoughts, called theLittle Red Book, was hailedas the most importantsource of knowledge in all areas.

To further the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guardswere formed. These were revolutionary groups com-posed largely of young people. Red Guards set outacross the nation to eliminate the “Four Olds”—oldideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. TheRed Guard destroyed temples, books written by for-eigners, and foreign music. They tore down streetsigns and replaced them with ones carrying revolu-tionary names. The city of Shanghai even ordered thatred (the revolutionary color) traffic lights would indi-cate that traffic could move, not stop.

Vicious attacks were made on individuals whohad supposedly deviated from Mao’s plan. Intellec-tuals and artists accused of being pro-Western wereespecially open to attack. Key groups, however,including Communist Party members, urban pro-fessionals, and many military officers, did not shareMao’s desire for permanent revolution. People, dis-gusted by the actions of the Red Guards, began toturn against the movement.

Identifying What were the “FourOlds” and how did the Red Guards try to eliminate them?

China After MaoIn September 1976, Mao Zedong died at the age

of 82. A group of practical-minded reformers, led byDeng Xiaoping (DUNG SHOW•PIHNG), seizedpower and brought the Cultural Revolution to an end.

Policies of Deng Xiaoping Under Deng Xiaoping,the government followed a policy called the FourModernizations, which focused on four areas—industry, agriculture, technology, and nationaldefense. For over 20 years, China had been isolatedfrom the technological advances taking place else-where in the world. To make up for lost time, thegovernment invited foreign investors to China.

Reading Check

Thousands of students were sent abroad to study sci-ence, technology, and modern business techniques.

A new agricultural policy was begun. Collectivefarms could now lease land to peasant families whopaid rent to the collective. Anything produced on theland above the amount of that payment could be soldon the private market. Peasants were also allowed tomake goods they could sell to others.

Overall, modernization worked. Industrial outputskyrocketed. Per capita (per person) income, includ-ing farm income, doubled during the 1980s. The stan-dard of living rose for most people. The averageChinese citizen in the early 1980s had barely earnedenough to buy a bicycle, radio, or watch. By the1990s, many were buying refrigerators and color television sets.

Movement for Democracy Despite these achieve-ments, many people complained that Deng Xiao-ping’s program had failed to achieve a fifthmodernization—democracy. The new leaders didnot allow direct criticism of the Communist Party.Those who called for democracy were often sen-tenced to long terms in prison.

The problem began to intensify in the late 1980s.More Chinese began to study abroad. More informa-tion about Western society reached educated people

725CHAPTER 24 Asia and the Pacific

Deng Xiaoping 1904–1997—Chinese leader

Deng Xiaoping was one of China’smajor leaders after the death of MaoZedong. Deng studied in France,where he joined the Chinese Commu-nist Party. Back in China, he helpedorganize the Communist army. At the endof World War II, Deng became a member of theCentral Committee of the Communist Party. An opponentof Mao’s Cultural Revolution, he was labeled a “renegade,scab, and traitor” and sent to work in a tractor factory.

In 1978, after the failure of the Cultural Revolution,Deng became the leader of China’s modernization andeconomic reform. Deng took a practical approach tochange. He said, “I do not care whether a cat is black orwhite, the important thing is whether it catches mice.”Between 1982 and 1989, Deng was the chief leader ofChina.

HISTORY

Web Activity Visitthe Glencoe WorldHistory—Modern Times Web site at

and click on Chapter 24–Student Web Activity to learn more about theCultural Revolution.

wh.mt.glencoe.com


Chinese Society Under Communism

From the start, the Chinese Communist Partywanted to create a new kind of citizen. These new cit-izens would be expected to contribute their utmostfor the good of all. In the words of Mao Zedong, thepeople “should be resolute, fear no sacrifice, and sur-mount every difficulty to win victory.”

During the 1950s, the Communist government inChina took steps to end the old system. One changeinvolved the role of women. Women were nowallowed to take part in politics. At the local level, anincreasing number of women became active in theCommunist Party. In 1950, a new marriage law guar-anteed women equal rights with men.

The new regime also tried to destroy the influenceof the traditional family system. To the Communists,loyalty to the family, an important element in theConfucian social order, undercut loyalty to the state.For Communist leaders, family loyalty was againstthe basic principle of Marxism—dedication to societyat large.

During the Great Leap Forward, children wereencouraged for the first time to report to the authori-ties any comments by their parents that criticized thesystem. These practices continued during the Cul-tural Revolution. Red Guards expected children toreport on their parents, students on their teachers,and employees on their superiors.

At the time, many foreign observers feared thatthe Cultural Revolution would transform the Chi-nese people into robots spouting the slogans fed tothem by their leaders. This did not happen, however.After the death of Mao Zedong there was a notice-able shift away from revolutionary fervor and areturn to family traditions.

For most people, this shift meant better living con-ditions. Married couples who had been given patri-otic names such as “Protect Mao Zedong” and “Buildthe Country” by their parents chose more elegantnames for their own children.

The new attitudes were also reflected in people’sclothing choices. For a generation after the civil war,clothing had been restricted to a baggy “Mao suit” inolive drab or dark blue. Today, young Chinese peo-ple wear jeans, sneakers, and sweat suits. ; (See page781 to read excerpts from Xiao-huang Yin’s China’s Gilded Age inthe Primary Sources Library.)

Evaluating What was the impact ofCommunist rule on women, marriage, and family in China?

Reading Check

Mao Zedong had died on the Long March?

Chairman Mao was the dominant figure of Chi-nese communism. During his regime, he was closeto a cult figure; schoolchildren would trade Maocards, pins, and photographs like they were base-ball cards or marbles. He rose to power during theLong March of 1934 to 1935 and quickly becamethe People’s Republic of China’s greatest leader.

Consider the Consequences The Commu-nists lost over half of their forces during the6,000-mile (9,660-km) trek of the Long March.Consider the consequences for Chinese com-munism if Mao had been one of the casualties.How might recent Chinese history have beenaltered if Mao had not survived this ordeal?

inside the country. The economic improvements ofthe early 1980s led to pressure from students andother city residents for better living conditions andmore freedom to choose jobs after graduation.

In the late 1980s, rising inflation led to growingdiscontent among salaried workers, especially in thecities. Corruption and special treatment for officialsand party members led to increasing criticism aswell. In May 1989, student protesters called for anend to the corruption and demanded the resignationof China’s aging Communist Party leaders. Thesedemands received widespread support from peoplein the cities and led to massive demonstrations inTiananmen Square in Beijing.

Some Communist leaders were divided over howto respond. However, Deng Xiaoping saw the stu-dent desire for democracy as a demand for an end tothe Communist Party. He ordered tanks and troopsinto Tiananmen Square to crush the demonstrators.Democracy remained a dream.

Throughout the 1990s, China’s human rights vio-lations and its determination to unify with Taiwanstrained its relationship with the West. China’sincreasing military power has also created interna-tional concern. However, China still maintains diplo-matic relations with the West.

Explaining What was the fifth modernization, and why was it not achieved?

Reading Check


China and the World: The Cold War in Asia

When Chinese Communists came to power, Amer-ican fears about the spread of communism intensi-fied. In 1950, China signed a pact of friendship andcooperation with the Soviet Union, and some Ameri-cans began to worry about a Communist desire forworld domination. With the outbreak of war inKorea, the Cold War had clearly arrived in Asia.

The Korean War Korea was a part of the JapaneseEmpire from 1905 until 1945. In August 1945, theSoviet Union and the United States agreed to divideKorea into two zones at the 38th parallel. The plan


100 kilometers0Lambert AzimuthalEqual-Area projection

100 miles0

N

S

EW

34°N

38°N

42°N

126°E 130°E

38th

Parallel

YaluR.

Sea ofJapan

Yellow Sea

SOUTHKOREA

NORTHKOREA

CHINA

Pusan

SeoulInchon

Pyongyang

100 kilometers0Lambert AzimuthalEqual-Area projection

100 miles0

N

S

EW

34°N

38°N

42°N

126°E 130°E

38th

Parallel

YaluR.

Sea ofJapan

Yellow Sea

NORTHKOREA

SOUTHKOREA

CHINA

Pusan

SeoulInchon

Panmunjom

Hungnam

Pyongyang

was to hold elections after the war (World War II) toreunify Korea. As American-Soviet relations grewworse, however, two separate governments emergedin Korea—a Communist one in the north and an anti-Communist one in the south.

There was great tension between the two govern-ments. With the approval of Joseph Stalin, NorthKorean troops invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950.President Harry Truman, with the support of theUnited Nations, sent U.S. troops to repel theinvaders.

In October 1950, UNforces—mostly Ameri-cans—marched north-ward across the 38thparallel with the aim ofunifying Korea. The Chi-nese, greatly alarmed,sent hundreds of thou-sands of Chinese troopsinto North Korea andpushed UN forces backacross the 38th parallel.

Korean War, 1950–1953

Three years of fighting resulted in no change to the bound-ary between North and South Korea.

1. Interpreting Maps Identify the offensive shown in themap on the left that caused the Chinese to enter the war.

2. Applying Geography Skills How would you comparethe UN offensives in the two maps? What reasons canyou suggest for the differences?

Harry Truman

North Korean offensive,June–Sept. 1950Farthest North Koreanadvance, Sept. 1950

UN offensive, Sept.–Nov. 1950

Farthest UN advance,Nov. 1950

Chinese and North Koreanoffensive, Nov. 1950–Jan. 1951Line of Chinese and NorthKorean advance, Jan. 1951Final UN counteroffensive, Jan. 1951–July 1953Armistice line, July 1953

June–November 1950 November 1950–July 1953


Checking for Understanding1. Define commune, permanent revolu-

tion, per capita.

2. Identify Great Proletarian CulturalRevolution, Little Red Book, DengXiaoping,Tiananmen Square, RichardNixon.

3. Locate Taiwan, South Korea, NorthKorea.

4. Explain the original plan developed bythe United States and the Soviet Unionfor the future of Korea.

5. List the actions the Chinese govern-ment took to promote technologicaldevelopment.

Critical Thinking6. Compare and Contrast Identify the

changes the Communist takeoverbrought to China during the 1950s.Then, compare and contrast howpolicies have changed in China sincethe 1970s.

7. Contrasting Information Use a tablelike the one below to contrast the poli-cies of the two Chinese leaders MaoZedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Analyzing Visuals8. Compare the photographs on pages

722 and 723. Imagine you are in eachphoto. What are you expressing? Ismore than one point of view beingexpressed in each photo? What aresome of the things that might happento you after the event shown in eachphoto? How will you be rememberedby historians?

9. Descriptive Writing Pretend thatyou are a visitor to China during theCultural Revolution. Write a letter to a friend at home describing thepurpose of the Red Guards.

Mao Zedong Deng Xiaoping

the United States. In 1972, President Richard Nixonbecame the first U.S. president to visit the People’sRepublic of China since its inception in 1949. Diplo-matic relations were established in 1979.

In the 1980s, Chinese relations with the SovietUnion improved, and in the 1990s, China began toplay a more active role in Asian affairs. As the newcentury began, China was strengthening trade rela-tions around the world. In 2002, trade relations withthe United States were normalized and China joinedthe World Trade Organization.

Examining Why did China decide toimprove relations with the United States?

Reading Check

Three more years of fighting produced no finalvictory. An armistice was finally signed in 1953. The38th parallel remained, and remains today, theboundary line between North and South Korea.

The Shifting Power Balance in Asia Western fearsled to China’s isolation and to reliance on the SovietUnion for technological and economic aid. In the late1950s, however, relations between China and theSoviet Union began to deteriorate. In the 1960s, theirmilitary units often clashed along the frontier divid-ing the two countries.

Faced with this threat and with internal problems,Chinese leaders decided to improve relations with

History

The Korean War was the first war toutilize a United Nations coalition, thefirst to see integrated U.S. forces, andthe first time that African Americanwomen enlisted in the Marines.Research other first time events of the Korean War.

0720-0729 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 7:27 PM Page 728

Reading a CartogramWhy Learn This Skill?

Most maps show countries in proportion totheir amount of land area. For example, Japanis much smaller than China and is usuallydepicted that way on a map. Japan, however,has a greater gross national product thanChina. If we wanted to depict that on a map,how would it look?

Cartograms are maps that show countriesaccording to a value other than land area. Theymight portray features such as populations oreconomies. To visually compare these features,cartograms distort countries’ sizes and shapes.This makes it possible to see at a glance howeach country or region compares with anotherin a particular value. Therefore, on a cartogramshowing gross national products, Japan looks larger than China.

Learning the SkillTo use a cartogram:

• Read the title and key to identify what value thecartogram illustrates.

• Examine the cartogram to see which countries or regions appear.

• Find the largest and smallest countries.

• Compare the cartogram with a conventionalland-area map to determine the degree of distortion of particular countries.

• Draw conclusions about the countries and thefeature you are comparing.

Practicing the SkillStudy the cartogram on this page and answer

these questions.

1 What is the subject of the cartogram?

2 What countries are represented?

3 Which country appears largest on the car-togram? Which appears smallest?

4 Compare the cartogram to the map of Asiafound in the Atlas. Which countries are mostdistorted in size compared to a land-area map?

5 What accounts for these distortions?

729

Applying the Skill

At the library, find statistics that compare somevalue for different countries. For example, you mightcompare the amount of oil consumption of countries inNorth America.

Convert these statistics into a simple cartogram.Determine the relative size of each country accordingto the chosen value. If the United States consumes fivetimes more oil than Mexico, then the United Statesshould appear five times larger than Mexico on thecartogram.

Glencoe’s Skillbuilder Interactive Workbook,Level 2, provides instruction and practice in keysocial studies skills.

JapanSouthKoreaChina

HongKong

Taiwan

Singapore

MalaysiaThailand

Indonesia

Philippines

India

Vietnam

Pakistan

Russia

Source: World Trade Organization. = 1 billion dollars

Relative Exports of Asian Nations, 1999


Geographically, Beijing’s locationin Asia is roughly similar to NewYork’s in North America. Both lienear the 40th parallel, and in bothplaces the most comfortable seasonsare autumn and spring. But the simi-larities end there. The city nowknown as Beijing began as a frontieroutpost nearly 3,000 years ago. It wasbuilt to guard the North China Plainagainst marauding groups whoattacked through mountain passes inthe north.

Without access to the sea or a sig-nificant river to link it to the outsideworld, Beijing might have remained adusty outpost. But in the seventh cen-tury A.D., a 1,000-mile (1,609-km)canal was dug to link the city with the

IIn 1979, after decades of watching China’s

economy stagnate, Communist Party leader

Deng Xiaoping took a gamble. He began

relaxing the state’s tight economic controls

while trying to keep a firm grip on political

power. In the Chinese capital of Beijing,

the result of Deng’s “second revolution”

has been a big construction boom, new

foreign investment—and the kind of West-

ern cultural influence that China has

resisted for centuries.

fertile Chang Jiang Valley in thesouth. Three centuries later the citybecame the capital of the Liaodynasty. Then came the Mongolsunder Genghis Khan, who sacked andburned the capital in 1215.

About 50 years later, however,Genghis’s grandson, Kublai Khan,rebuilt the city so gloriously that theVenetian traveler Marco Polo mar-veled at its streets “so straight andwide that you can see right alongfrom end to end and from one gate toanother.” Kublai Khan’s Dadu (mean-ing “Great Capital”), Marco Polowrote, “is arranged like a chessboard.”

Indeed, Beijing is laid out on a pre-cise north-south axis, in harmonywith the ancient practice of feng shui

(“wind and water”). According to thistradition, buildings (and the furnish-ings inside them) must be properlyaligned to take advantage of the natu-ral energy (qi) that flows through allthings. The proper placement of ahouse or temple will thus attract posi-tive qi and good luck; the wrongplacement invites disaster.

The north-south axis passesdirectly through Qian Men (FrontGate), proceeds through the red wallsof Tian An Men (Gate of HeavenlyPeace), and then on to Wu Men(Meridian Gate), beyond which liesthe Forbidden City.

An area once barred to everyoneexcept the emperor, his family, and hismost favored concubines, guards, and

Beijingtransforming

1


S P E C I A L R E P O RT

officials, the Forbidden City lay at thevery center of a series of cities-within-cities, concentric rectangles defined bytheir high walls. Today the walls arelargely gone and the Forbidden City isa museum overflowing with tourists.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace, onthe north side of nearby TiananmenSquare, is the spiritual heart of allChina. Centuries ago, orders from theemperor were sent down from the topof the gate to officials waiting below.

1 A migrant worker balances on his cart as he stacks bricks at the construction site of a large apartment complex.

2 The Forbidden City (above map) wasonce considered the stable core of the empire. In spite of its growth,urban Beijing accounts for only a frac-tion of the territory the city includes.By an administrative decision of 1959,Beijing’s boundaries now cover a 6,600square-mile (17,094 square-km) munici-pality that includes satellite towns andagricultural communes as well as suchtourist attractions as the Ming Tombsand the Great Wall.

3 Mao Zedong’s mausoleum and theMonument to the People's Heroes dom-inate Tiananmen Square.

0 mi0 mi0 mi 22

0 km0 km0 km 22NG MAPSNG MAPS

N

S

EW

KunmingKunmingLakeLake

194919491975197519991999ParkPark

Beijingurban area:

To C

apital

Inte

rnat

ional

Airport

To Ming Tombsand Great Wall

To TanzheTemple

SECOND RING ROADSECOND RING ROAD

THIRD RING ROADTHIRD RING ROAD

XISI ST.XISI ST.

WANGFUJING ST.WANGFUJING ST.

FINE ARTSFINE ARTSMUSEUMMUSEUMREAR ROADREAR ROAD

PEACE BLVD.PEACE BLVD.

AVENUE OFAVENUE OFETERNALETERNAL

PEACEPEACE

FFOOUURRTTHH RRIINNGG RROOAADD

TTHHIIRRDD RRIINNGG RROOAADD

TEMPLE OFHEAVEN

PARK

OrientalPlaza

BeijingUniversity

People’s Universityof China

Zhongnanhai

BeitangCathedral

BeijingNormal

University

BeijingRailwayStation

Gate ofHeavenly

Peace

BeijingZoo

QinghuaUniversity

EastLakeClub

FORBIDDENCITY

TIANANMENSQUARETHE GREAT

HALL OFTHE PEOPLE

SUMMERPALACE

TAIWANTAIWAN

C H I N AC H I N A

BeijingBeijing

ShanghaiShanghai

HongHongKongKong

NorthNorthChinaChinaPlainPlain

2

3


From that same high place, on theafternoon of October 1, 1949, MaoZedong formally proclaimed theestablishment of the People’s Republicof China. His portrait now hangs onthe wall of the gate, staring out at thesquare and providing a backdrop fortourist photographs.

In the late 1950s, during the GreatLeap Forward, homes around Tianan-

men Square were torn down toexpand the square from 27 acres (10.9ha) to 98 acres (39.7 ha)—largeenough to hold a million people. Inthe center stands the 124-foot (37.8-m) high Monument to the People’sHeroes. On the west side is the many-columned Great Hall of the People,where the government meets and vis-iting dignitaries are entertained.Across the square on the east side isthe Historical Museum. To the south,opposite his portrait on Tian An Men,is the huge mausoleum where MaoZedong’s body is on display.

In the 20-some years since DengXiaoping’s experiment in free enter-prise began, the blocky Soviet-stylemonuments built by Mao have beenovertaken by the bright lights ofMcDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken,

and thousands of private restaurantsand nightclubs catering to foreign vis-itors and investors.

The building boom has swept awaymuch of what was once a major char-acteristic of the old city: the low,walled alleyways called hutong. Someof the family compounds were hun-dreds of years old and housed threegenerations. The government is mov-ing more than 2 million of the city's11 million residents out to the sub-urbs to make room for new tourismcenters, department stores, andexpensive apartment compounds.

As one long-time Beijing residentput it, “The old city is gone. Oldthings like the Forbidden City or atemple are scattered between sky-scrapers like toys thrown here andthere. Old Beijing is dismembered.”

Along with all the tearing down

4

5


S P E C I A L R E P O RT

4 Demolition of the old makes way forthe new as downtown Beijing under-goes a massive face-lift.

5 Residents of old family compoundshaul out their belongings as they loada truck to move to housing projects inthe suburbs.

6 Students protest in TiananmenSquare in 1989. The peaceful proteststurned violent when the army attacked.

and building up that has occurred inthe last two decades, China’s produc-tion has climbed steadily. Per capitaannual income for city dwellers hasalmost doubled since 1990 to morethan $600. Foreign businesses hopingfor a share of the vast Chinese markethave rushed in.

Not all of these entrepreneurs havebeen welcomed by Beijing’s residents,however. A mammoth complex calledthe Oriental Plaza, for example, hasbeen the focus of controversy. Built by a Hong Kong business partner-ship, the complex contains eight officetowers, two apartment towers, and afive-star international hotel. It alsoincludes more than a million squarefeet (93,000 square m) of retail malland a parking structure for 2,000 carsand 10,000 bicycles.

Even for a city of large monu-ments, the Oriental Plaza is beyondbig. Residents complain that the proj-ect destroys the character of the oldcity, dwarfing as it does The Gate ofHeavenly Peace.

As the site of countless demonstra-tions over the years, TiananmenSquare has become familiar to televi-sion viewers around the world. Themost vivid scenes in recent memoryare from early June 1989, when theChinese Army attacked unarmeddemonstrators who had been protest-ing government corruption. Perhapsas many as 2,000 people were killed.Although the government would pre-fer the event be forgotten, theanniversary of the June 4th attack hasbeen marked repeatedly with someform of protest.

Yet even as the government clampsdown on highly visible politicaldemonstrations, activists have found amore subtle way to make theirpoints—the Internet. More and moreyoung Chinese are making their wayonline. Their access to an open mar-ket of ideas and uncensored informa-tion brings with it a new sense ofindividualism. Undoubtedly this willhave a lasting impact on the future oftheir city and their nation.

INTERPRETING THE PAST

1. Why was Beijing established?

2. How is the capital city laid out ?

3. How has Beijing changed during thelast twenty years?

4. Do you think the lives of the residentsof Beijing have improved or deterioratedduring the last two decades?

6

1971East Pakistan becomesindependent Bangladesh

Guide to Reading

Independent States inSouth and Southeast Asia

Preview of Events

1992Hindu militants destroyMuslim shrine at Ayodhya

2002India-Pakistan fightingover Kashmir escalates

2002East Timor wins inde-pendence from Indonesia

1949The Republic of Indonesiais established

✦1945 ✦1965 ✦1985 ✦2005

In 1989, Maneka Gandhi, former minister of the environment for India, wrote anarticle entitled “Why India Doesn’t Need Fast Food” in the Hindustan Times:

“India’s decision to allow Pepsi Foods Ltd. to open 60 restaurants in India—30 eachof Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken—marks the first entry of multinational,meat-based junk-food chains into India. . . . The implications of allowing junk-foodchains into India are quite stark. As the name denotes, the foods served at KentuckyFried Chicken are chicken-based and fried. This is the worst combination possible forthe body and can create a host of health problems, including obesity, high cholesterol,heart ailments, and many kinds of cancer. . . . Can our health systems take care of thefallout from these chicken restaurants?”

—World Press Review, September 1995

Many Indians continue to reject Western influence.

India DividedAt the end of World War II, British India’s Muslims and Hindus were bitterly

divided. The leaders in India realized that British India would have to be dividedinto two countries, one Hindu (India) and one Muslim (Pakistan). Pakistan con-sisted of two regions separated by India. One part, West Pakistan, was to thenorthwest of India. The other, East Pakistan, was to the northeast.


Main Ideas• British India was divided into two states:

India, mostly Hindu, and Pakistan,mostly Muslim.

• Many of the newly independent statesof Southeast Asia attempted to formdemocratic governments but often fellsubject to military regimes.

Key Termsstalemate, discrimination

People to IdentifyPol Pot, Ferdinand Marcos

Places to LocatePunjab, Bangladesh

Preview Questions1. What policies did Jawaharlal Nehru

put into effect in India?2. What internal and external problems

did the Southeast Asian nations faceafter 1945?

Reading StrategyCategorizing Information Use a web diagram like the one below toidentify challenges India faced afterindependence.


Challenges in India

An example of Western influence in India

0734-0747 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 7:49 PM Page 734

On August 15, 1947, India and Pakistan becameindependent. Millions of Hindus and Muslims fledacross the new borders, Hindus toward India andMuslims toward Pakistan. As a result of these massmigrations, over a million people were killed includ-ing Mohandas Gandhi, who was assassinated by aHindu militant on January 30, 1948.

In the same year, Ceylon, an island off the coast ofIndia, also received its independence from Britain.Known as Sri Lanka since 1972, the new nation hasbeen torn by ethnic conflict between the majority Sin-halese and the minority Tamils.

Summarizing Why was British India divided into two new nations after World War II? Whatwas the immediate result?

The New IndiaWith independence, the Indian National Congress

began to govern. Now called the Congress Party, itwas led by Jawaharlal Nehru (jah•wah•HAR•lahlNAY•roo). Nehru had worked closely with Gandhiin the fight for Indian independence. The popularprime minister had strong ideas about India’s future.

Reading Check

He admired British political institutions and thesocialist ideals of the British Labour Party. His goalwas parliamentary government and a moderatesocialist economy.

Under Nehru, the state took ownership of majorindustries, utilities, and transportation. Private enter-prise was permitted at the local level, and farmingwas left in private hands. Industrial productionalmost tripled between 1950 and 1965.

After Nehru’s death, the Congress Party selectedhis daughter, Indira Gandhi (not related to Mohan-das Gandhi), as prime minister. She remained inoffice for almost all of the period between 1966 and1984. One of the most difficult problems India facedwas huge population growth, which had grown dur-ing the 1950s and 1960s at the rate of 2 percent a year.One result was worsening poverty. Millions lived invast city slums. It was in the slums of Calcutta thatMother Teresa helped poor, sick and dying people.

Growing ethnic and religious strife presentedanother major problem. One example involved theSikhs, followers of a religion based on both Hinduand Muslim ideas. Many Sikhs lived in the Punjab, anorthern province, and wanted the Punjab to be


In 1971, East Pakistandeclared its independenceas the new nation ofBangladesh.

Lambert AzimuthalEqual-Area projection

500 kilometers

500 miles0

0

N

S

EW

20°N

30°N

10°N

70°E 80°E 90°E

Bay ofBengal

ArabianSea

INDIaN OCEaN

INDIA

WESTPAKISTAN

NEPAL

CHINATIBET

AFGHANISTAN JAMMUAND

KASHMIR

EASTPUNJAB

IRAN

BURMA(MYANMAR)

BHUTANSIKKIM

EASTPAKISTAN

CEYLON(SRI LANKA)

U.K.

New Delhi

Karachi

Kathmandu Thimpu

Dhaka

Madras(Chennai)Bangalore

Hyderabad

Bombay(Mumbai)

Calcutta(Kolkata)

Hyderabad

Delhi

JaipurBanaras

Allahabad

Agra

RawalpindiAmritsarLahore

Colombo

Partition of India, 1947

Religion played a major rolein reshaping the politicalboundaries of South Asia.

1. Applying GeographySkills Using the informa-tion in the map, create adatabase that shows therelationship betweencountries and religions in South Asia.

� The Golden Temple at Amritsar, revered by Sikhs

Mostly BuddhistMostly HinduMostly MuslimHeavily ChristianHeavily SikhFlight of Muslimsto PakistanFlight of Hindusto India

Religious composition:

0734-0747 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 7:50 PM Page 735

independent. Gandhi refused and in 1984 used mili-tary force against Sikh rebels who had taken refuge inthe Golden Temple, one of the Sikhs’ importantshrines. More than 450 Sikhs were killed. Seekingrevenge, two Sikh members of Gandhi’s personalbodyguard assassinated her later that year.

Gandhi’s son Rajiv replaced his mother as primeminister and began new economic policies. Hestarted to encourage private enterprise and to trans-fer state-run industries into private hands. Thesepolicies have led to a growth in the middle class.Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister from 1984 to 1989.While campaigning for reelection in 1991, he wasassassinated. In the following years, the CongressParty lost its leadership position and had to competewith new parties.

Conflict between Hindus and Muslims has contin-ued to be a problem in India. In 1992, some Muslimsand Hindus fought to control a historic holy place inthe northern town of Adodhya. Hindu militantsdestroyed a Muslim shrine there that dated back tothe 16th century. Hindu-Muslim riots then followedall over India.

Religious differences also fueled a long-term dis-pute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, a ter-ritory between the two nations. Today, Pakistancontrols one-third of Kashmir and the rest is held byIndia. Troops from both countries patrol the borderbetween the two areas. The danger from this conflictescalated in 1998 when both India and Pakistantested nuclear warheads. In 2002, border conflicts ledto threats of war between these two nuclear powers.

Examining What are the underlyingcauses of political strife in India?

PakistanUnlike its neighbor India, Pakistan was a com-

pletely new nation when it attained independence in1947. Its early years were marked by intense internalconflicts. Most dangerous was the growing divisionbetween East and West Pakistan. These two separateregions are very different in nature. West Pakistan,for example, is a dry and mountainous area, whileEast Pakistan has marshy land densely populatedwith rice farmers.

Many people in East Pakistan felt that the gov-ernment, based in West Pakistan, ignored theirneeds. In 1971, East Pakistan declared its independ-ence. After a brief civil war, it became the new nationof Bangladesh.

Both Bangladesh and Pakistan (as West Pakistan isnow known) have had difficulty in establishing sta-ble governments. In both nations, military officialshave often seized control of the civilian government.Both nations also remain very poor.

Describing What problems did Pak-istan face after it achieved independence?

Southeast AsiaAfter World War II, most of the

states of Southeast Asia received independence fromtheir colonial rulers. France’s refusal to let go ofIndochina led to a long war in Vietnam that ultimatelyinvolved other Southeast Asian nations and the UnitedStates in a widening conflict.Colonies in Southeast Asia, like colonies elsewhere,

gained their independence at the end of World War II.The process varied considerably across the region,however.

Independence In July 1946, the United Statesgranted total independence to the Philippines. Great

Reading Check

Reading Check


Mother Teresa of Calcutta1910–1997Roman Catholic nun

Mother Teresa was born AgnesGonxha Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents.At age 18, she went to Ireland tobecome a missionary nun. After training in both Irelandand Darjeeling, India, she took her religious vows in 1937and adopted the name Teresa from Saint Theresa ofLisieux, the patron saint of foreign missionaries.

When she was sent to Calcutta, Teresa was amazed atthe large numbers of suffering people she saw on thestreets. She believed it was her destiny to help thesepeople and, in 1948, the Vatican gave her permission tofollow her calling. In 1950, she and her followers estab-lished the Missionaries of Charity to help the poor andthe sick.

Over the years, Mother Teresa and her followersestablished numerous centers throughout the world toaid the hungry, the sick, and the poor. When she won theNobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian efforts,Mother Teresa asked that the money for the celebrationbanquet be donated to the poor. When Mother Teresadied in 1997, she left behind a legacy that continues toinspire people around the world.

0734-0747 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 7:52 PM Page 736

Britain was also willing to end its colonial rule inSoutheast Asia. In 1948, Burma became independent.Malaya’s turn came in 1957.

The Netherlands and France were less willing to abandon their colonial empires in Southeast Asia. The Dutch tried to suppress a new Indonesianrepublic that had been set up by Achmed Sukarno.When the Indonesian Communist Party attempted toseize power, however, the United States pressuredthe Netherlands to grant independence to Sukarnoand his non-Communist Nationalist Party. In 1949,the Netherlands recognized the new Republic ofIndonesia.

The situation was very different in Vietnam. Theleading force in the movement against colonialFrench rule there was the local Communist Party, ledby Ho Chi Minh. In August 1945, the Vietminh, an

alliance of forces under Communist leadership,seized power throughout most of Vietnam. Ho ChiMinh was elected president of a new provisionalrepublic in Hanoi. France, however, refused to acceptthe new government and seized the southern part ofthe country.

The Vietnam War Over the following years, Francefought Ho Chi Minh’s Vietminh for control of Viet-nam without success. In 1954, France finally agreedto a peace settlement. Vietnam was divided into twoparts. In the north, the Communists were based inHanoi, and in the south, the non-Communists werebased in Saigon.

Both sides agreed to hold elections in two years tocreate a single government. Instead, however, theconflict continued. The United States, opposed to any

U.S. conducts extensivebombing of Hanoi, Dec. 1972.

U.S. mines HaiphongHarbor, 1972.

S. Vietnamese invasion of Laos,Feb.–Mar. 1971

U.S. invasion of Cambodia,April–June 1970

Surrender of South Vietnam, April 1975200 kilometers0

Mercator projection

200 miles0

N

S

EW

20°N

15°N

10°N

110°E105°E

17th Parallel

MekongDelta

Red RiverDelta

Gulf ofThailand

TonleSap

SouthChina

Sea

Gulf ofTonkinMekong R

.

RedR

.

THAILAND

LAOS NORTHVIETNAM

SOUTHVIETNAMCAMBODIA

MYANMAR(BURMA)

CHINA

Hue

Da Nang

Quang Ngai

PleikuQui Nhon

Nha Trang

Can Tho

Quang TriDMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

Bien Hoa

Ben Tri

My Tho

Da Lat

Ban Me Thuot

KontumDak To

Kham DucDuy Xuyen

Khe Sanh

Saigon

Lao Cai

Pingxiang

Dien BienPhu

HanoiHaiphong

Vientiane

Bangkok

Phnom PenhTayNinh

Vietnam War, 1968–1975

Concern over the spread ofcommunism led the UnitedStates to become involvedin the Vietnam War.

1. Interpreting MapsCreate a time line show-ing the key events in theVietnam War as pre-sented on this map.

2. Applying GeographySkills Do furtherresearch and write anessay explaining howgeography impacted thewar in Vietnam.

American soldiers in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh TrailU.S. and SouthVietnamese offensivesMajor U.S. baseAreas in neutral countries bombed by U.S.

Major Viet Cong assaultduring the Tet Offensive,1968

further spread of communism, began to provide aidto South Vietnam. In spite of this aid, South Viet-namese Communist guerrillas known as Viet Cong,supported by military units from North Vietnam,were on the verge of seizing control of the entirecountry by early 1965.

In March 1965, President Lyndon Johnson decidedto send U.S. troops to South Vietnam to prevent atotal victory for the Communists. The Communistgovernment in North Vietnam responded by sendingmore of its forces into the south.

By the end of the 1960s, the war had reached astalemate—neither side was able to make significantgains. With American public opinion sharply divided,President Richard Nixon reached an agreement withNorth Vietnam in 1973 that allowed the United Statesto withdraw its forces. Within two years, Communistarmies had forcibly reunited Vietnam.

The reunification of Vietnam under Communistrule had an immediate impact on the region. By theend of 1975, both Laos and Cambodia had Commu-nist governments. In Cambodia, a brutal revolution-ary regime under the dictator Pol Pot, leader of theKhmer Rouge (kuh•MEHR ROOZH), massacredmore than a million Cambodians. However, theCommunist triumph in Indochina did not lead to the“falling dominoes” that many U.S. policy makershad feared (see Chapter 20).

Government in the Independent States In thebeginning, many new leaders in Southeast Asiahoped to form democratic states like those in theWest. By the end of the 1950s, however, hopes forrapid economic growth had failed. Internal disputes

weakened democracy and led to military or one-party regimes.

In more recent years, some Southeast Asian soci-eties have moved again toward democratic govern-ment. In the Philippines, for example, PresidentFerdinand Marcos was overthrown in the 1980s.Marcos was accused of involvement in the killing ofa popular opposition leader, Benigno Aquino. A mas-sive public uprising forced Marcos to flee the coun-try, and Corazon Aquino, wife of the murderedleader, became president in 1986.

Charges of corruption led to the ousting of anotherFilipino leader in 2001, and the new leader, GloriaArroyo, promised greater integrity in government.She also faced a problem common to many SoutheastAsian nations—an economy weakened by a globaleconomic crisis. Terrorism was also a continuingchallenge for the Philippine government. Muslimrebels on the island of Mindanao, for example,demanded independence and used terror to promotetheir demands.

Women in South and Southeast Asia AcrossSouth and Southeast Asia, women’s roles have dra-matically changed. For example, the Indian constitu-tion of 1950 forbade discrimination (prejudicialtreatment) based on gender and called for equal payfor equal work. Virtually all women in SoutheastAsian nations were granted full legal and politicalrights. Women have become politically active andoccasionally hold high offices.

Identifying Give the reasons for theUnited States’s entry into and withdrawal from the Vietnam War.

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Define stalemate, discrimination.

2. Identify Sikhs, Vietminh, Pol Pot,Khmer Rouge, Ferdinand Marcos.

3. Locate Punjab, Bangladesh.

4. Explain how the reunification of Viet-nam under Communist rule affectedthe region.

5. Summarize Nehru’s vision of the newIndia.

Critical Thinking6. Evaluate Has the division of British

India into two countries been benefi-cial? Explain your answer.

7. Organizing Information Use a tablelike the one below to list the politicalstatus or type of government of theSoutheast Asian countries discussed inthis section.

Analyzing Visuals8. Examine the photograph on page 735,

then locate Amritsar on the map. Howdoes Amritsar’s location support thestatement that Sikhism has been influ-enced by both Hinduism and Islam?

9. Expository Writing Write an essaycomparing political, economic, andcultural developments in India andPakistan from World War II to thepresent.

Country

Government

0734-0747 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 7:55 PM Page 738

Japan and the PacificGuide to Reading

Main Ideas• Japan and the “Asian tigers” have cre-

ated successful industrial societies.• Although Australia and New Zealand

have identified themselves culturallyand politically with Europe, in recentyears they have been drawing closer to their Asian neighbors.

Key Termsoccupied, state capitalism

People to IdentifyDouglas MacArthur, Kim Il Sung,Syngman Rhee

Places to LocateSingapore, Hong Kong

Preview Questions1. What important political, economic,

and social changes have occurred inJapan since 1945?

2. What did the “Asian tigers” accom-plish in Asia?

Reading StrategyCategorizing Information Use a tablelike the one below to list the key areas ofindustrial development in South Korea,Taiwan, and Singapore.

South Korea Taiwan Singapore

✦1940 ✦1950 ✦1960 ✦1970 ✦1980 ✦1990 ✦2000

1951A peace treaty restoresJapanese independence

1963General Chung Hee Park is electedpresident of South Korea

1947Japan adopts newconstitution

1997Great Britain returns control ofHong Kong to mainland China

Preview of Events


In an introduction to the book Japanese Women, published in 1995, KumikoFujimura-Fanselow wrote:

“A quick glance at educational statistics reveals a higher percentage of female ascompared to male high school graduates entering colleges and universities. The over-whelming majority of female college and university graduates, over 80 percent, aretaking up employment and doing so in a wider range of fields than in the past. Bettereducation and the availability of more job opportunites have increasingly made itpossible for women to look upon marriage as an option rather than a prescribedlifestyle. . . . A dramatic development has been the advancement by married women,including those with children, into the labor force.”

—Japanese Women: New Feminist Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future,Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow et al., eds., 1995

After World War II, many Japanese women began to abandon their old roles to pur-sue new opportunities.

The Allied OccupationFrom 1945 to 1952, Japan was an occupied country—its lands held and con-

trolled by Allied military forces. An Allied administration under the command ofUnited States general Douglas MacArthur governed Japan. As commander of theoccupation administration, MacArthur was responsible for destroying the Japa-nese war machine, trying Japanese civilian and military officials charged with warcrimes, and laying the foundations of postwar Japanese society.


Japanese woman at work in a Toyota factory

Under MacArthur’s firmdirection, Japanese societywas remodeled along West-ern lines. A new constitutionrenounced war as a nationalpolicy. Japan agreed to main-tain armed forces at levelsthat were only sufficient forself-defense. The constitutionalso established a parliamentary system, reduced thepower of the emperor (who was forced to announcethat he was not a god), guaranteed basic civil andpolitical rights, and gave women the right to vote.

On September 8, 1951, the United States and otherformer World War II allies (but not the Soviet Union)signed a peace treaty restoring Japanese independ-ence. On the same day, Japan and the United Statessigned a defensive alliance in which the Japaneseagreed that the United States could maintain militarybases in Japan.

Identifying What reforms were insti-tuted in Japan under the command of U.S. general DouglasMacArthur?

The Japanese MiracleIn August 1945, Japan was in ruins and its land

occupied by a foreign army. Half a century later, Japanwas the second greatest industrial power in the world.

Japan’s rapid emergence as an economic giant hasoften been described as the “Japanese miracle.” Japanhas made a dramatic recovery from the war. To

Reading Check

understand this phenomenon fully, we must examinenot just the economy but also the changes that haveoccurred in Japanese society.

Politics and Government Japan’s new constitutionembodied the principles of universal suffrage and abalance of power among the executive, legislative,and judicial branches of government. These princi-ples have held firm. Japan today is a stable demo-cratic society.

At the same time, the current Japanese political sys-tem retains some of Japan’s nineteenth-century politi-cal system under the Meiji. An example involves thedistribution of political power. Japan has a multipartysystem with two major parties—the Liberal Democ-rats and the Socialists. In practice, however, the Lib-eral Democrats have dominated the government. Atone point, they remained in office for 30 years. Duringthis period decisions on key issues, such as whoshould become prime minister, were decided by asmall group within the party. A dramatic change,however, did occur in 1993, when the Liberal Demo-crats were defeated on charges of government corrup-tion. Mirohiro Hosokawa was elected prime ministerand promised to clean up the political system.

Today, the central government plays an active rolein the economy. It establishes price and wage policiesand subsidizes vital industries. This government rolein the economy is widely accepted in Japan. Indeed,it is often cited as a key reason for the efficiency ofJapanese industry and the emergence of the countryas an industrial giant. Japan’s economic system hasbeen described as “state capitalism.”

N

S

EW

Lambert Conformal Conic projection400 kilometers

400 miles0

0

140°E 150°E

40°N

130°E

Sea of Japan

Pacific

Ocean

NORTHKOREA

CHINA

RUSSIA

SOUTHKOREA

J A P A N

Hokkaido

Honshu

Kyushu

Shikoku

� �

�

�

TokyoKawasakiYokohama

Nagoya

OsakaKyotoKobeHiroshima

Kitakyushu

MiyazakiNagasaki

Fukuoka

Kagoshima

Sapporo

Modern Japan

Although small geographically,Japan is one of the world’smajor economic powers.

1. Interpreting MapsWhat area of Japan is theleast industrialized?

2. Applying GeographySkills Using this mapand information fromyour text, explain howJapan’s geography influ-ences its economy.

Major industrial city

ChemicalsConsumer goodsElectronicsHeavy engineeringShipbuildingVehicle manufacturing

Major industries:

�

General Douglas MacArthur

Some problems remain, however. Two recentprime ministers have been forced to resign overimproper financial dealings with business associates.Critics at home and abroad have charged that, owingto government policies, the textbooks used in Japa-nese schools do not adequately discuss the crimescommitted by the Japanese government and armedforces during World War II.

The Economy During their occupation of Japan,Allied officials had planned to dismantle the largebusiness conglomerations known as the zaibatsu.With the rise of the Cold War, however, the policywas scaled back. Only the 19 largest companies wereaffected. In addition, the new policy did not keepJapanese companies from forming loose ties witheach other, which basically gave rise to another zai-batsu system.

The occupation administration had more successwith its land-reform program. Half of the populationlived on farms, and half of all farmers were tenants oflarge landowners. Under the reform program, landswere sold on easy credit terms to the tenants. Thereform program created a strong class of independ-ent farmers.

At the end of the Allied occupation in 1952, theJapanese gross national product was one-third that ofGreat Britain or France. In 2000, it was larger thanboth put together and roughly half that of the UnitedStates. Japan is the greatest exporting nation in the


Foundations of Postwar Japan

Political Economic SocialNew constitution, 1947

Democratic system with parliament

Three branches of government

Multiparty system

Universal suffrage

Military limited to defense

Reduction in emperor’s power

Removal of references to patriotism from education system

Guaranteed human rights

Increased women’s rights

Maintenance of traditional values and a strong work ethic

“State capitalism”

Subsidized industries

Zaibatsu system: large business conglomerations

Sale of land to tenant farmers

World’s greatest exporter

world. Its per capita income equals or surpasses thatof most Western states.

What explains the Japanese success? Some ana-lysts point to cultural factors. The Japanese are grouporiented and find it easy to cooperate with oneanother. Hardworking and frugal, they are moreinclined to save than to buy. This boosts the savingsrate and labor productivity. The labor force is highlyskilled. In addition, Japanese people share commonvalues and respond in similar ways to the challengesof the modern world.

Other analysts have cited more practical reasonsfor the Japanese economic success. For example,because its industries were destroyed in World WarII, Japan was forced to build entirely new, modernfactories. Japanese workers spend a substantiallylonger period of time at their jobs than do workers inother advanced societies. Corporations reward inno-vation and maintain good management-labor rela-tions. Finally, some experts contend that Japan usesunfair trade practices—that it dumps goods at pricesbelow cost to break into a foreign market andrestricts imports from other countries.

After 1945, Japan’s society, government, and economywere modernized.

1. Compare and Contrast Pick another country discussed in this chapter and compare its economiccharacteristics to those of postwar Japan. What arethe similarities and differences?

0734-0747 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 7:58 PM Page 741

Social Changes During the occupation, Allied plan-ners thought they could eliminate the aggressivenessthat had characterized Japanese behavior before andduring the war. A new educational system removedall references to patriotism and loyalty to theemperor. At the same time, it stressed individualism.Women were given the right to vote and wereencouraged to enter politics.

Efforts to remake Japanese behavior through lawswere only partly successful. Many of the distinctivecharacteristics of traditional Japanese society havepersisted into the present day, although in alteredform. Emphasis on the work ethic, for example,remains strong. The tradition of hard work is stressedin the educational system.

The subordinate role of women in Japanese soci-ety has not been entirely eliminated. Women arenow legally protected against discrimination inemployment, yet very few have reached senior lev-els in business, education, or politics. Japan has hadno female prime ministers and few female cabinetministers.

Women now make up more than 40 percent of theworkforce, but most are in retail or service occupa-tions. Their average salary is only about 60 percentthat of males.

Culture After the Japanese defeat in World War II,many of the writers who had been active before thewar resurfaced. However, their writing was nowmore sober. This “lost generation” described itsanguish and piercing despair. Several writers com-mitted suicide. For them, defeat was made worse byfear of the Americanization of postwar Japan.

Since the 1970s, increasing wealth and a high liter-acy rate have led to a massive outpouring of books.In 1975, Japan already produced twice as much fic-tion as the United States. This trend continued intothe 1990s. Much of this new literature deals with thecommon concerns of all the wealthy industrializednations. Current Japanese authors were raised in thecrowded cities of postwar Japan, where they soakedup movies, television, and rock music. These writersspeak the universal language of today’s world.

Haruki Murakami is one of Japan’s most popularauthors today. He was one of the first to discard thesomber style of the earlier postwar period and tospeak the contemporary language. A Wild SheepChase, published in 1982, is an excellent example ofhis gripping, yet humorous, writing.

Explaining How is the Japanese government involved in Japan’s economy?

Reading Check

CHAPTER 24 Asia and the PacificCHAPTER 5 Rome and the Rise of ChristianityCHAPTER 5 Rome and the Rise of Christianity

Cities and CarsSince the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in

the nineteenth century, the growth of industrializationhas been accompanied by the growth of cities. In bothindustrialized and developing countries, congested andpolluted cities have become a way of life. In recentyears, as more people have been able to buy cars, traf-fic jams have also become a regular feature.

In São Paulo, Brazil, forexample, traffic jams inwhich nobody moves last forhours. There are 4.5 millioncars in São Paulo, twice thenumber in New York City,although the cities haveabout the same population(16 million people). Workersin auto factories in Brazilwork around the clock tomeet the demand for cars.

The same situation is evident in other cities aroundthe world. In Cairo, a city of 10.6 million people, pollu-tion from stalled traffic erodes the surface of the Sphinxoutside the city. In Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand,it can take six hours to reach the airport.

A major cause of traffic congestion is lack of roads.As more and more poor people have fled the country-side for the city, many cities have tripled in populationin just 20 years. At the same time, few new roads havebeen built.

� Traffic in Thailand

Using outside sources, research traffic problems inthree cities in different parts of the world (forexample, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Paris). Howare the traffic problems in these cities similar, andhow are they different? What solutions are peopledeveloping to solve traffic problems in these partic-ular cities?

The “Asian Tigers”A number of Asian nations

have imitated Japan in creatingsuccessful industrial societies.Sometimes called the “Asiantigers,” they are South Korea,Taiwan, Singapore, and HongKong. Along with Japan, theyhave become economic power-houses.

South Korea In 1953, the Korean Peninsula wasexhausted from three years of bitter war. Two heavilyarmed countries now faced each other across the 38thparallel. North of this line was the People’s Republicof Korea (North Korea), under the dictatorial rule ofthe Communist leader Kim Il Sung. To the south wasthe Republic of Korea (South Korea), under the dicta-torial president Syngman Rhee.

After several years of harsh rule and governmentcorruption in South Korea, demonstrations broke outin the capital city of Seoul in the spring of 1960. Rheewas forced to retire. A coup d’etat in 1961 put Gen-eral Chung Hee Park in power. Two years later, Parkwas elected president and began to strengthen theSouth Korean economy with land reform and thepromotion of free market policies.

South Korea gradually emerged as a major indus-trial power in East Asia. The key areas for industrialdevelopment were chemicals, textiles, and shipbuild-ing. By the 1980s, South Korea was moving into auto-mobile production. The largest Korean corporationsare Samsung, Daewoo, and Hyundai.

Like many other countries in the region, SouthKorea was slow to develop democratic principles.Park ruled by autocratic means and suppressedprotest. However, opposition to military rule began todevelop with the growth of a middle class. Studentsand city dwellers demonstrated against governmentpolicies. Democracy finally came in the 1990s. Elec-tions held during an economic crisis in 1997 broughtthe reformer Kim Tae-jung to the presidency.

Taiwan: The Other China After they weredefeated by the Communists and forced to retreat toTaiwan, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers estab-lished a capital at Taipei. The government continuedto call itself the Republic of China.

Chiang Kai-shek’s government maintained that it was the legitimate government of all the Chinesepeople and would eventually return in triumph tothe mainland. At the same time, however, the


Electronic Road PricingOne of the greatest problems faced byexpanding cities worldwide is traffic. Carpoollanes, toll roads, and public transportation sys-tems have been some of the ways cities havedealt with congestion. In 1998, Singaporebecame the first country in the world to insti-tute electronic road pricing. All cars are elec-tronically tracked and automatically chargedfor traffic use as well as parking. Road pricingvaries so that it is more expensive to drive dur-ing times of greatest traffic. Other countriesare watching Singapore’s practice and maysoon follow its example.

PACIFICOCEAN

TAIWAN

SOUTHKOREA

HONGKONG

SINGAPORE

Communist government on the mainland claimed torule all of China, including Taiwan.

Protection by American military forces enabledthe new regime to concentrate on economic growthwithout worrying about a Communist invasion.Making good use of foreign aid and the efforts of itsown energetic people, the Republic of China built amodern industrialized society.

A land-reform program, which put farmland inthe hands of peasants, doubled food production inTaiwan. With government help, local manufacturingand commerce expanded. During the 1960s and1970s, industrial growth averaged well over 10 per-cent a year. By 2000, over three-quarters of the popu-lation lived in urban areas.

Prosperity, however, did not at first lead to democ-racy. Under Chiang Kai-shek, the government ruledby emergency decree and refused to allow the forma-tion of new political parties. After the death of Chiangin 1975, the Republic of China slowly began to evolvetoward a more representative form of government.By 2000, free elections had enabled opposition partiesto win control of the presidency and the legislature.

A major issue for Taiwan is whether it willbecome an independent state or will be united withmainland China. The United States supports self-determination for the people of Taiwan and believesthat any final decision on Taiwan’s future must bemade by peaceful means. Meanwhile, the People’s

Republic of China on the mainland remains commit-ted to eventual unification.

Singapore and Hong Kong Singapore, once aBritish colony and briefly a part of the state of Malay-sia, is now an independent state. Under the leader-ship of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (kwahn yoo),Singapore developed an industrial economy based onshipbuilding, oil refineries, and electronics. Singaporehas also become the banking center of the region.

In Singapore, an authoritarian political system hascreated a stable environment for economic growth.The prime minister once stated that the Westernmodel of democracy was not appropriate for Singa-pore. Its citizens, however, are beginning to demandmore political freedoms.

Like Singapore, Hong Kong became an industrialpowerhouse with standards of living well above thelevels of its neighbors. For over 150 years, HongKong was under British rule. In 1997, however, GreatBritain returned control of Hong Kong to mainlandChina. China, in turn, promised that, for the next 50years, the people of Hong Kong would live under acapitalist system and be self-governing. The shape ofHong Kong’s future remains uncertain.

Evaluating What is the relationshipbetween Taiwan and China?

Australia and New ZealandBoth Australia and the country of New Zealand

located to the south and east of Australia, have iden-

Reading Check

tified themselves cul-turally and politicallywith Europe ratherthan with their Asianneighbors. Their politi-cal institutions and val-ues are derived fromEuropean models, andtheir economies resemble those of the industrializedcountries of the world. Both are members of theBritish Commonwealth. Both are also part of theUnited States-led ANZUS defensive alliance (Aus-tralia, New Zealand, the United States).

In recent years, however, trends have been draw-ing both states closer to Asia. First, immigration fromEast and Southeast Asia has increased rapidly. Morethan one-half of current immigrants into Australiacome from East Asia.

Second, trade relations with Asia are increasingrapidly. About 60 percent of Australia’s export mar-kets today are in East Asia. Asian trade with NewZealand is also on the increase.

Whether Australia and New Zealand will everbecome an integral part of the Asia-Pacific region isuncertain. Since the majority of the population inboth Australia and New Zealand has European ori-gins, cultural differences often hinder mutual under-standing between the two countries and their Asianneighbors.

Examining How have Australia andNew Zealand been drawn closer to their Asian neighbors? Howare they linked to Europe?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Define occupied, state capitalism.

2. Identify Douglas MacArthur, Kim IlSung, Syngman Rhee.

3. Locate Singapore, Hong Kong.

4. Explain the impact of Japan’s land-reform program. What other programsor policies did the occupation adminis-tration implement in Japan?

5. List the ways in which Australia andNew Zealand are similar to Europeannations.

Critical Thinking6. Predict Consequences What further

impact do you think the return of HongKong to China will have on eithercountry?

7. Organizing Information Use a dia-gram like the one below to show fac-tors contributing to Japan’s economicsuccess.

Analyzing Visuals8. Locate the photo of Douglas MacArthur

on page 740. What military rank did hehold? Why did the Allies choose a mili-tary leader instead of a politician ordiplomat to command postwar Japan?What were some of MacArthur’sresponsibilities in Japan?

9. Informative Writing Do additionalresearch on Japan and the “Asiantigers” and analyze their sources ofgrowth. Explain in an essay whythese states have been so successful.

Japan’s Economic Success

PACIFICOCEAN

INDIANOCEAN

CoralSea

AUSTRALIA NEWZEALAND

A

SI A

745

School Regulations, Japanese StyleJAPANESE CHILDREN ARE

exposed to a school envi-ronment much more regi-mented than that of U.S.public school children.The following regulationsare examples of rulesadopted by middle schoolsystems in various parts of Japan.

“1. Boys’ hair should nottouch the eyebrows,the ears, or the topof the collar.

2. No one should havea permanent wave,or dye his or her hair.Girls should not wearribbons or acces-sories in their hair.Hair dryers should not be used. . . .

3. Keep your uniform clean and pressed at alltimes. Girls’ middy blouses should have twobuttons on the back collar. Boys’ pant cuffsshould be of the prescribed width. No morethan 12 eyelets should be on shoes.

4. Wear your school badge at all times. It shouldbe positioned exactly.

5. Going to school in the morning, wear yourbook bag strap on the right shoulder; in theafternoon on the way home, wear it on theleft shoulder.

6. When you raise your hand to be called on,your arm should extend forward and up atthe angle prescribed in your handbook.

7. Your own route to and from school is markedin your student rule handbook; carefullyobserve which side of each street you are touse on the way to and from school.

8. After school you are to go directly home,unless your parent has written a note

permitting you to go to another location. Per-mission will not be granted by the school unlessthis other location is a suitable one. You mustnot go to coffee shops.

9. Before and after school, no matter where youare, you represent our school, so you shouldbehave in ways we can all be proud of.”

—Japanese School Regulations

Japanese school children in their uniforms

Analyzing Primary Sources

1. In your own words, describe the Japanesesystem of education for young people.

2. Compare the Japanese system of edu-cation to the American system withwhich you are familiar. How are theysimilar? How are they different?


Using Key Terms1. is an economic system in which the central govern-

ment plays an active role in the country’s economy.

2. An idea supported by Mao, that a constant state of revolu-tion could create perfect communism, was called .

3. A country is when its lands are held and controlledby a foreign military force.

4. The amount of income earned by each person in a countryis called income.

5. A is reached when neither side in a conflict is able toachieve significant gains.

6. Massive collective farms created in China’s Great Leap For-ward were called .

7. Many governments now have laws that forbid acts of preju-dice or from being committed against people in theircountries.

Reviewing Key Facts8. Geography What nations are called the “Asian tigers”

and why?

9. Economics How did promises of military protection fromthe United States help Taiwan develop its economy?

10. History What were the consequences of Great Britain’swithdrawal from India?

11. History What nation fought for control of Vietnam beforethe United States became involved?

12. Government What policy did the Khmer Rouge followtoward the people they regarded as enemies after theygained control of Cambodia?

13. Economics What help did China require to improve itseconomy after the Cultural Revolution?

14. History What happened to Hong Kong in 1997?

15. History What events took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989?

16. Government Who was Indira Gandhi?

Critical Thinking17. Making Predictions Analyze what conditions in India con-

tributed to the assassinations of political leaders. Do youbelieve it is possible for India to maintain a stable demo-cratic government?

18. Drawing Conclusions Evaluate the impact Japan’s recoveryhas had on global affairs since World War II.

Since 1945, Asia and the Pacific region have seen manychanges, as shown below.

Out of defeat comes a new political and economic system.• After gaining independence, Japan becomes an economic

powerhouse.• Imitating Japan, other Asian nations also develop strong

economies.

Decades of rivalry and suspicion cause divisions.• Tensions between Communist North Korea and non-

Communist South Korea lead to war.• China resists Taiwanese independence.

Nationalism and Cold War competition lead to war.• The United States enters the war in Vietnam.• The Khmer Rouge devastates Cambodia.

Religious and ethnic rivalries hinder unity and lead toviolence.• Religious and ethnic differences produce conflict between

Hindus and Muslims in India and Pakistan.

Political and economic changes link Asian countries to theworld.• Democracy develops in the Philippines.• Chinese students demand democratic reforms.• Increased immigration and trade draw Australia and New

Zealand closer to their Asian neighbors.

Communists assume power and introduce socialist methods.• In China, Mao Zedong initiates programs like the Great Leap

Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. AfterMao, Deng Xiaoping institutes the Four Modernizations.

Revolution

Regionalism

Conflict

Diversity

Cultural Diffusion

Change

Analyzing Maps and Charts24. Approximately how much of Vietnam was controlled by the

Communists between 1946 and 1954?

25. Which countries separate North and South Vietnam fromThailand?

26. What river runs from China to the Gulf of Tonkin?

Self-Check QuizVisit the Glencoe World History—Modern Times Website at and click on Chapter 24–Self-Check Quiz to prepare for the Chapter Test.

wh.mt.glencoe.com

HISTORY

Directions: Choose the best answer to thequestion below.

Between 1966 and 1976, the destruction of many temples,the seizure of many books, and the imprisonment of someartists and intellectuals were closely related to whichmovement?

A China’s Cultural Revolution

B Conservatism

C Women’s rights movement

D Humanism

Test-Taking Tip: Even if you know the correct answerimmediately, read all of the answer choices and eliminatethose you know are wrong. Doing so will help you confirmthat the answer choice you think is correct is indeedcorrect.

StandardizedTest Practice


Writing About History19. Expository Writing Compare North and South Korea. In

what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?Do supplementary research online or at the library to learnabout their cultures and histories.

Analyzing SourcesRead the following excerpt from the book Japanese Women,published in 1955:

“A quick glance at educational statistics reveals ahigher percentage of female as compared to male highschool graduates entering colleges and universities. Theoverwhelming majority of female college and universitygraduates, over 80 percent, are taking up employmentand doing so in a wider range of fields than in the past.Better education and the availability of more job oppor-tunities have increasingly made it possible for womento look upon marriage as an option rather than a pre-scribed lifestyle. . . .”

20. What does this passage reveal about the role of women inJapan after World War II?

21. Do you think it was difficult for Japanese women to breakfrom their old roles in society?

Applying Technology Skills22. Developing Multimedia Presentations Locate sources

about present-day Cambodia and Vietnam. Organize yourfindings by creating a fact sheet comparing the two coun-tries. Use a word processor to create a chart. Headings toinclude are population, type of economy, type of govern-ment, currency, infant mortality rate, literacy rate, and offi-cial religion. Provide a map of each country that showspolitical boundaries, major cities, and natural resources.

Making Decisions23. What is the conflict regarding Taiwan’s independence?

Research the reasons for the tension between China and Tai-wan. How do you think this conflict would be best resolved?Create a compromise solution that would satisfy thedemands of those who want a self-determined Taiwan, as well as those who want Taiwan reunified with China.

20°N

10°N

110°E

100°E

17th Parallel

Red River Delta

Gulf ofThailand

Gulf ofTonkin

SouthChina

Sea

TonleSap

MekongR

.

Red R.

MYANMAR(BURMA)

THAILAND

LAOS

CAMBODIA

SOUTHVIETNAM

NORTHVIETNAM

CHINA

Bangkok

PhnomPenh Saigon

Cam Ranh

Qui Nhon

Da Nang

Hue

HaiphongHanoi

PingxiangLao Cai

Dien BienPhu

Vientiane

200 kilometers

200 miles0

0Miller Cylindrical projection

N

S

EW

Indochina, 1946–1954

Extent of Communist control, 1946–1954Boundary of Indochina, 1954

0734-0747 C24SE-860705 11/25/03 8:02 PM Page 747


asia and the pacificimages.pcmac.org/sisfiles/schools/al/chiltoncounty/...720 asia and the pacific...

Documents