Unrestricted Warfare (Chao Xian Zhan) 1.2.1 The PRC and the CCP
Chapter 1: China and the Communist Party of China
Before delving into the “Unrestricted Warfare” it is important to first understand the nature of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There are moments when we overlook the fact that modern China operates under a one-party authoritarian system led by the CCP.
2.1. The PRC
At times, we mistakenly view China as a historical entity that has continuously existed for thousands of years, without acknowledging the profound changes of the past century. For example, many perceive China as the birthplace of Confucius, the nation that produced one of the world’s greatest cultural legacies, such as the Great Wall, or a historically powerful state in terms of politics and economics. However, the question arises: Does this “China” truly exist in the form we believe? How should we understand China today?
China?
What do we really mean when we talk about “China” today? Do we envision an entity with 5,000 years of unbroken history and cultural heritage? Perhaps we imagine a nation that endured the so-called “Century of Humiliation” under imperialist aggression in the 19th and early 20th centuries, only to rise again and reclaim its former glory.
(This so-called “Century of Humiliation” perspective is, frankly, quite amusing. From the viewpoint of the Han people (who now make up over 90% of China’s population) at the time, they were under the rule of the Manchus. To them, the Western imperial powers were like angels who liberated them from Manchu domination. In other words, modern Chinese people should not view the Western empires of that era as villains, but rather as their liberators.
Moreover, the territory originally occupied by the Han was not very extensive. However, after being ruled by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, the Han inherited the lands that the Qing had conquered. (In fact, the Qing dynasty never truly controlled Tibet or Xinjiang.) It’s akin to the British Empire’s territories suddenly becoming part of India, including the British Isles, and then Indians claiming British history as their own while arguing that America and Australia are also part of India. lol)
In any event, are we, perhaps, conflating Chinese history with the history of the Han people? Have we fallen into the trap of oversimplifying “China” as an equation: China = Chinese history = Han history = the history of the modern People’s Republic of China? If that’s how we understand it, the conclusion is straightforward: such a China does not exist.
When examined closely, the concept of “China” is far more elusive. The China we refer to today only took shape after the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. It was then, with the fall of the Qing dynasty—established by the Jurchens—that the Republic of China (ROC) was proclaimed on January 1, 1912, marking the emergence of what we now recognize as modern “China.”
To understand what “China” means in a historical context, we need to delve into the term “Zhonghua” (中華) as used in the late Qing period by thinkers such as Liang Qichao, who revived a concept originally proposed by Zhu Xi during the Song Dynasty. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China, also embraced this term in the course of his political compromise. His ideology of the “Three Principles of the People” – nationalism, democracy, and people’s livelihood – was initially aimed at restoring Han Chinese sovereignty, overthrowing the Manchu Qing dynasty, and establishing a state that would represent the Han majority.
When the term “Zhonghua” was revived, and the concepts of “Zhonghua Minzu” (the Chinese nation), “Zhonghua Republic” (Republic of China), and “People’s Republic of China” emerged. These concepts are now collectively referred to as “China” in the context of the regime established on the mainland today. It is important to note that the concept of “China” here is not a proper noun referring to a specific entity, but rather a general term meaning “the center of the world.”
Let’s examine what is generally referred to as “Chinese history” (中國史) on the Chinese mainland. The issue of whether we accept the “facts” recorded in the “official histories” considered as such in China as “facts” is a separate matter. The real issue is that, even when examining the “official histories,” historically, the entity of China did not exist.
(For reference, when foreign countries use terms like “China,” “History of China,” or “Chinese History,” they are fundamentally referring to the “mainland.” The term “China” (China) originated from the word “Qin” (秦) or “Zhina” (支那), which was derived from the term “Xirong” (西戎), meaning “Western Barbarians,” used by the nomadic ethnic groups in the west. Historically, this term does not represent a unified history of a single ethnic group, such as the Han people, but rather refers to the various historical states and dynasties that governed different regions.)
Chinese(?) History
Throughout history, the Chinese mainland has seen numerous dynasties rise and fall. These dynasties were founded by different ethnic groups, and their languages and cultures were also different. While each dynasty occupied the area now known as the North China Plain (Huabei) and used the common writing system of Chinese characters, their ethnic languages were distinct. In summary, the so-called “Chinese history” (中國史) refers to the histories of the various dynasties that rose and fell on the mainland.
Typically, when an ethnic group took control of the Central Plain (Zhongyuan) and established a dynasty, that dynasty would undertake the task of organizing the history of the previous dynasty. Based on this, they would claim that their dynasty was the legitimate successor of the previous hegemonic dynasty. The compilation of historical texts was part of the process to establish the legitimacy of a new dynasty. The 25 official histories, known as the “Twenty-Five Histories” (二十五史), are considered the canonical texts. Today, what we refer to as Chinese history is, to be precise, the history of various dynasties established by different ethnic groups that ruled the mainland. It is not the history of a single ethnic group, especially not just the Han people. To clarify, historically, the entity of a unified China centered around the Han people did not exist. It is also important to note that throughout history, no dynasty referred to itself as “China.”
For example, the Tang Dynasty (唐), which is regarded as one of the most glorious periods in Chinese history, was founded by the Xianbei people, one of the northern ethnic groups. The Sui Dynasty, the hegemonic dynasty immediately preceding the Tang, was also established by the Xianbei. The Qin Dynasty, which ended the Warring States period (春秋戰國) and unified the Central Plain, was not a Han dynasty either. The most recent hegemonic dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, was established by the Jurchen people (Manchus). Throughout history, various dynasties, whether they lasted for decades or centuries, were established by what are referred to as “foreign” or “non-Han” ethnic groups, such as the Xianbei (Sui and Tang), Khitans (Liao), Mongols (Yuan), and Jurchens (Jin and Qing).
- Learning Chinese history =
De Facto Learning which ethnic group ruled over the Han people
The only Han-established dynasties in the mainland’s history are the Han, Song, and Ming dynasties. Among these, the Song Dynasty, during the Northern Song period (960–1127), did not even control the Huabei (North China) region, and during the Southern Song period (1127–1279), it only controlled the area south of the Yangtze River. In the approximately 5,000 years of recorded history on the mainland, the period during which the Han people ruled lasted, at most, about 1,000 years (roughly 400 years during the Han Dynasty, 300 years during the Song, and 280 years during the Ming).
As stated above, the reality is far more complex. The so-called “China” that we study in Chinese history textbooks is, therefore, a collection of the histories of various dynasties that governed the vast Chinese mainland. Moreover, in modern terms, the “China” we are familiar with today, the People’s Republic of China, is not a direct continuation of the Han Chinese imperial legacy.
Chinese(?) Boundary
Next, let’s examine the territorial boundaries of China. The territory officially recognized by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in official documents and historical texts has also undergone changes. In other words, it does not refer to the territory currently controlled by the PRC. The territorial boundaries of the People’s Republic of China are based on the boundaries established during the height of the Qing Dynasty, particularly during the reigns of Emperors Kangxi (康熙帝) and Qianlong (乾隆帝), when the empire was at its most powerful. These boundaries were set during the so-called “Kang-Qian Prosperity Period” (康乾盛世). Thus, it is important to recognise that the current territorial boundaries of the PRC do not represent the historically consistent borders of the various empires that ruled over China. Instead, they reflect the largest territorial extent achieved during the Qing Dynasty.
When examining Chinese history, we find that the territorial boundaries of each dynasty are described on maps. However, these territorial borders are often only the maximum extent achieved during the most prosperous years of each dynasty. These maximum boundaries represent temporary territorial expansions, and it is clear that the territorial borders of most periods were smaller, contracting repeatedly over time.
Chinese(?) Ethnicity
The issue of ethnicity is similar. Today, the People’s Republic of China is officially a multi-ethnic nation, composed of 56 recognized ethnic groups. When we refer to “Chinese people,” we generally mean those who hold PRC citizenship. Ethnically, China is made up of numerous ethnic groups (or tribes), each with their own unique historical memories, territories, languages, and bloodlines. In the 1953 population census, the number of registered ethnic groups was over 400. For convenience, this was reduced to 56 ethnic groups.
However, today, China is essentially a “Han Chinese country.” About 92% of the total population is Han Chinese. Of course, the term “Han Chinese” is a convenience, and when examining the internal divisions of the Han people, they can be further subdivided. To summarize, the “Chinese history” that we are learning today is not the history of the Han people at the center of the People’s Republic of China. In other words, the equation “Chinese Han = Han Chinese history” does not strictly exist.
Modern China is a multi-ethnic nation, home to 56 officially recognised ethnic groups, though approximately 92% of the population is Han Chinese. The PRC’s claim to represent all of “China,” including its minority groups, is not a simple or uncontested matter. In fact, for much of Chinese history, the term “China” has been used to describe a collection of various ethnic states and territories, not a unified Han state.
The reason for briefly outlining some facts about the history of the Chinese mainland is to correct possible misunderstandings about the “nature of modern China.” What kind of country is modern China, as we know it today? To be precise, it is the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which was established in 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expelled the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Republic of China (ROC) to Taiwan. The political system of this China is a one-party dictatorship led by the Communist Party of China, not a free democracy like our own.