A Brief History of China• China is the world’s

oldest continuous civilization.

•Chinese history is a series of cycles: bloodshed & famine, then order & prosperity.

Chinese History Relevant to HRM207 BCE-220 CE: The Han Dynasty

establishes a bureaucratic hierarchy that runs China for the next 2000 years.

1899-1901: Boxer Rebellion: uprising against Western commercial and political influence

1911: Chinese Revolution overthrows the Qing Dynasty, replacing it with the Republic of China

Terra-Cotta soldier, Han Dynasty

Boxer Rebellion

Chinese History Relevant to HRM

1949: Mao Zedong founds the People’s Republic of China; China is communist-ruled

1953-1963: The Great Leap Forward; gov’t takes control of industries and redistributes land; 30 mil. die of hunger

1966-1976: The Cultural Revolution: the Red Guards “root out the evils of the elite”; intellectuals, professionals and students forced to move to farms & universities shut down

Chairman Mao

“The Little Red Book”

Chinese History Relevant to HRM

1976-1997: Deng Xiaoping takes power; economic reforms encourage private enterprise and opens up China to foreign investment

1989: Tian’an Men Square: protest demanding political reforms crushed by the government

1995: Economy reaches double-digit growth1997: The UK returns Hong King to China

Chinese History Relevant to HRM

2001: China accepts membership to the World Trade Organization

2004: Constitution changed to recognize the private ownership of property

2006: Hu Jintao’s “Harmonious Society”: a bid to solve growing gap b/ween rich and poor and b/ween cities and countryside