Vietnam

Constitution
The current Constitution was adopted by the 13th National Assembly in 2013. The 2013 Constitution is the fundamental legal document of highest legal
jurisdiction that institutionalizes basic viewpoints of the Communist Party of Viet Nam on economic and political reforms, socialist goals, socialist
democracy and citizens’ freedom rights. The Constitution clearly indicates that the state power is in the hand of the people. The State is of the people,
by the people and for the people. The State ensures and constantly promotes the people’s right to mastery in all fields and implements the policy of
equality, unity and mutual assistance among ethnic groups. The people use the state power through the National Assembly and people’s councils.
These agencies are elected by the people, representing their will and aspiration.
The Constitution endows all citizens (men or women alike) with equal rights in all political, economic, cultural and social areas as well as in family
affairs, the right to freedom of belief and religion, the right to follow or not to follow any religion, the right to freedom of movement and residence within
Viet Nam, the right to go abroad and return home as stipulated by laws, etc.
Political System
The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is a law-governed state. The political system was established upon the birth of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam
and comprises the following:
The Communist Party of Viet Nam is the vanguard of the Vietnamese working class, the working people, and the whole nation; a loyal representative of
the interests of the working class, the working people, and the whole nation. 
People in the political system: As the maker of history, the people constitute the decisive force in the process of social evolution and make up the
current political system in Viet Nam. All powers belong to the people and their powers are exercised through the State. The State regulates the society
by laws under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam.
The State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is the central organization and the pillar of the political system that realizes the will and power of the
people, acts on behalf of the people and is accountable to the people for the management of all activities of the social life and in domestic and external
affairs.
The National Assembly is the highest-level representative body of the people; the highest organ of state power of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam; the
National Assembly exercises three main functions: to legislate, to decide on important national issues, to exercise supreme supervision over all
activities of the State.
The State President is the Head of State, elected by the National Assembly from among its deputies to represent the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in
domestic and foreign affairs. The President has twelve powers as provided by the Constitution, of which the most important are to declare the
promulgation of the  Constitution, laws and ordinances, to head the all people’s armed forces and assume the Chairmanship of the National Defence
and Security Council, to recommend to the National Assembly the election, removal or dismissal of the Vice President, the Prime Minister, Chief Justice
of the Supreme People's Court, and Head of the People's Procuracy.
The Government is the highest body of State administration of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The Government has the same term of office as the
National Assembly. The Government administers the implementation of the State’s affairs in the fields of politics, economics, culture, society, national
defense and security and foreign relations; ensures the efficiency of the State apparatus from central to grassroots levels; assures that the Constitution
and laws are respected and executed; and guarantees the sustainability and improvement of the people’s material and spiritual life. The Government
consists of Prime Minister, who is a National Assembly deputy as provided by the Constitution, Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers and other members.
People's Courts: The Supreme People's Court, local People's Courts, Military Tribunals and the other tribunals established by law are the judicial organs
of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Under special circumstances, the National Assembly may decide to set up a Special Tribunal. During trials, the
Jury is equal to and independent from judges and shall only obey the law. Trials are held publicly except in cases stipulated by laws. Judgments of the
People's Courts are made collectively and decided by majority. The Supreme People's Court is the highest judicial organ of the Socialist Republic of
Viet Nam. It supervises and directs the judicial work of local People's Courts, Military Tribunals, Special Tribunals and other tribunals, unless otherwise
prescribed by the National Assembly at the establishment of such Tribunals
People's Procuracies: The Supreme People's Procuracy oversees the enforcement of the law by Ministries, Ministerial–level organs, other Government
agencies, local administration, economic entities, mass organizations, people's military organs and citizens. It exercises the right to prosecution,
ensures serious and uniform implementation of the law. Local People's Procuracy and Military Procuracy oversee the execution of the law and exercise
the right to prosecution as stipulated by the law.
Social-Political Organizations and People’s Associations: These are organizations representing the interests of different social communities participating
into the political system with their own principles, purposes, and features. There are currently major social-political organizations in Viet Nam such as
the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, Vietnamese Trade Union, Vietnamese Women’s Union, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and Veterans
Association and other professional organizations.
North Korea
The politics of North Korea takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Juche, a concept created by Hwang Jang-yop and later
attributed to Kim Il-sung. The Juche theory is the belief that through self-reliance and a strong independent state, true socialism can be achieved.
North Korea's political system is built upon the principle of centralization. While the North Korean constitution formally guarantees protection of human
rights, in practice there are severe limits on freedom of expression, and the government closely supervises the lives of North Korean citizens. The
constitution defines North Korea as "a dictatorship of people's democracy” under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), which is
given legal supremacy over other political parties.
Kim Il-sung ruled the country from 1948 until his death in July 1994, holding the offices of General Secretary of the WPK from 1949 to 1994 (titled as
Chairman from 1949 to 1972), Prime Minister of North Korea from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994. He was succeeded by his son, Kim
Jong-il. While the younger Kim had been his father's designated successor since the 1980s, it took him three years to consolidate his power. He was
named to his father's old post of General Secretary in 1997, and in 1998 became chairman of the National Defence Commission (NDC), which gave him
command of the armed forces. The constitution was amended to make the NDC chairmanship "the highest post in the state."[this quote needs a
citation] At the same time, the presidential post was written out of the constitution, and Kim Il-sung was designated "Eternal President of the Republic" in
order to honor his memory forever. Most analysts believe the title to be a product of the cult of personality he cultivated during his life.
The Western world generally views North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship; the government has formally replaced all references to Marxism–
Leninism in its constitution with the locally developed concept of Juche, or self-reliance. In recent years, there has been great emphasis on
the Songun or "military-first" philosophy. All references to communism were removed from the North Korean constitution in 2009.
The status of the military has been enhanced, and it appears to occupy the center of the North Korean political system; all the social sectors are forced
to follow the military spirit and adopt military methods. Kim Jong-il's public activity focused heavily on " on-the-spot guidance" of places and events
related to the military. The enhanced status of the military and military-centered political system was confirmed at the first session of the 10th  Supreme
People's Assembly (SPA) by the promotion of NDC members into the official power hierarchy. All ten NDC members were ranked within the top twenty
on 5 September, and all but one occupied the top twenty at the fiftieth anniversary of the Day of the Foundation of the Republic on 9 September.
Political Ideology
Originally a close ally of Stalin's USSR, North Korea has increasingly emphasized Juche, an ideology of socialist self-reliance, rather than Marxism–
Leninism. Juche was enshrined as the official ideology when the country adopted a new constitution in 1972.[13][14] In 2009, the constitution was
amended again, quietly removing the brief references to communism(Chosŏn'gŭl: 공산주의).[15] However, North Korea continues to see itself as part of
a worldwide leftist movement. The Workers' Party maintains a relationship with other leftist parties, sending a delegation to the  International Meeting of
Communist and Workers' Parties.[16] North Korea has a strong relationship with Cuba;[17] in 2016, the North Korean governmentdeclared three days
of mourning period for Fidel Castro's death.
Political Developments
For much of its history, North Korean politics have been dominated by its adversarial  relationship with South Korea. During the Cold War, North Korea
aligned with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The North Korean government invested heavily in its military, hoping to develop the
capability to reunify Korea by force if possible and also preparing to repel any attack by South Korea or the United States. Following the doctrine
of Juche, North Korea aimed for a high degree of economic independence and the mobilization of all the resources of the nation to defend Korean
sovereignty against foreign powers.
In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the loss of Soviet aid, North Korea faced a long period of economic crisis,
including severe agricultural and industrial shortages. North Korea's main political issue has been to find a way to sustain its economy without
compromising the internal stability of its government or its ability to respond to perceived external threats. To date, North Korean efforts to improve
relations with South Korea to increase trade and to receive development assistance have been mildly successful, but North Korea's determination to
develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles has prevented stable relations with both South Korea and the United States. North Korea has also
experimented with market economics in some sectors of its economy, but these have had limited impact. Some outside observers have suggested that
Kim Jong-il himself favored such reforms but that some parts of the party and the military resisted any changes that might threaten stability for North
Korea.
Kmher Rouge
The Khmer Rouge was a brutal regime that ruled Cambodia, under the leadership of Marxist dictator Pol Pot, from 1975 to 1979. Pol Pot’s attempts to
create a Cambodian “master race” through social engineering ultimately led to the deaths of more than 2 million people in the Southeast Asian
country. Those killed were either executed as enemies of the regime, or died from starvation, disease or overwork. Historically, this period—as shown
in the film The Killing Fields—has come to be known as the Cambodian Genocide.
Pol Pot
Although Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge didn’t come to power until the mid-1970s, the roots of their takeover can be traced to the 1960s, when a
communist insurgency first became active in Cambodia, which was then ruled by a monarch.
Throughout the 1960s, the Khmer Rouge operated as the armed wing of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, the name the party used for Cambodia.
Operating primarily in remote jungle and mountain areas in the northeast of the country, near its border with Vietnam, which at the time was embroiled
in its own civil war, the Khmer Rouge did not have popular support across Cambodia, particularly in the cities, including the capital Phnom Penh.
However, after a 1970 military coup led to the ouster of Cambodia’s ruling monarch, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge decided to join
forces with the deposed leader and form a political coalition. As the monarch had been popular among city-dwelling Cambodians, the Khmer Rouge
began to glean more and more support.
For the next five years, a civil war between the right-leaning military, which had led the coup, and those supporting the alliance of Prince Norodom
and the Khmer Rouge raged in Cambodia. Eventually, the Khmer Rouge side seized the advantage in the conflict, after gaining control of increasing
amounts of territory in the Cambodian countryside.
In 1975, Khmer Rouge fighters invaded Phnom Penh and took over the city. With the capital in its grasp, the Khmer Rouge had won the civil war and,
thus, ruled the country.
Notably, the Khmer Rouge opted not to restore power to Prince Norodom, but instead handed power to the leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot.
Prince Norodom was forced to live in exile.
Kampuchea
As a leader of the Khmer Rouge during its days as an insurgent movement, Pol Pot came to admire the tribes in Cambodia’s rural northeast. These
tribes were self-sufficient and lived on the goods they produced through subsistence farming.
The tribes, he felt, were like communes in that they worked together, shared in the spoils of their labor and were untainted by the evils of money,
wealth and religion, the latter being the Buddhism common in Cambodia’s cities.
Once installed as the country’s leader by the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot and the forces loyal to him quickly set about remaking Cambodia, which they had
renamed Kampuchea, in the model of these rural tribes, with the hopes of creating a communist-style, agricultural utopia.
Declaring 1975 “Year Zero” in the country, Pol Pot isolated Kampuchea from the global community. He resettled hundreds of thousands of the
country’s city-dwellers in rural farming communes and abolished the country’s currency. He also outlawed the ownership of private property and the
practice of religion in the new nation.
Cambodian Genocide
Workers on the farm collectives established by Pol Pot soon began suffering from the effects of overwork and lack of food. Hundreds of thousands
died from disease, starvation or damage to their bodies sustained during back-breaking work or abuse from the ruthless Khmer Rouge guards
overseeing the camps.
Pol Pot’s regime also executed thousands of people it had deemed as enemies of the state. Those seen as intellectuals, or potential leaders of a
revolutionary movement, were also executed. Legend has it, some were executed for merely appearing to be intellectuals, by wearing glasses or
being able to speak a foreign language.
As part of this effort, hundreds of thousands of the educated, middle-class Cambodians were tortured and executed in special centers established in
the cities, the most infamous of which was Tuol Sleng jail in Phnom Penh, where nearly 17,000 men, women and children were imprisoned during the
regime’s four years in power.
During what became known as the Cambodian Genocide, an estimated 1.7 to 2.2 million Cambodians died during Pol Pot’s time in charge of the
country.
The End Of Pol Pot
The Vietnamese Army invaded Cambodia in 1979 and removed Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge from power, after a series of violent battles on the
border between the two countries. Pol Pot had sought to extend his influence into the newly unified Vietnam, but his forces were quickly rebuffed.
After the invasion, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge fighters quickly retreated to remote areas of the country. However, they remained active as an
insurgency, albeit with declining influence. Vietnam retained control in the country, with a military presence, for much of the 1980s, over the objections
of the United States.
Over the decades since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia has gradually reestablished ties with the world community, although the country still
faces problems, including widespread poverty and illiteracy. Prince Norodom returned to govern Cambodia in 1993, although he now rules under a
constitutional monarchy.
Pol Pot himself lived in the rural northeast of the country until 1997, when he was tried by the Khmer Rouge for his crimes against the state. The trial
was seen as being mostly for show, however, and the former dictator died while under house arrest in jungle home.
The stories of the suffering of the Cambodian people at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge have garnered worldwide attention in the years
since their rise and fall, including through a fictional account of the atrocities in the 1984 movie The Killing Fields.
East Asia Empires
China
The oldest historical dynasty of China is the Shang dynasty, which began ca. 1600 BC. It is "historical" in that written records of the dynasty have
been confirmed by archaeological evidence; thus, the history of the state of China definitely extends back to at least 1600 BC. Written records also
claim that the Shang were preceded by the Xia dynasty, which spanned ca. 2000-1600 BC. This period roughly matches the lifespan of the Erlitou
civilization.
Consequently, it has been proposed that the "Erlitou civilization" was simply the first phase of the Chinese state, ruled by the Xia dynasty. Physical
evidence for this claim is scarce, however; Erlitou may have been a  distinct state that preceded China. Regardless, Erlitou civilization should be
included in a summary of Chinese history, as it exerted strong cultural influence on the Shang dynasty.
The resilience of the Chinese state is truly remarkable. Time and again, the nation was  torn apart by civil war, peasant revolt, and/or foreign invasion,
and each time it recovered and prospered once more. Invaders came from only one place: the Eurasian Steppe.
Chinese history can be divided into ancient, medieval, and modern periods. The ancient period was the formative age of Chinese civilization; in other
words, it was during this period that China grew into a strong, centralized state, and the core elements of Chinese culture developed. These elements
include the Chinese writing system, Confucianism, and a professional civil service.
Since ancient times, Confucianism has remained the most influential school of philosophy in China. Though not a religion (see Religion), it has served
an equivalent role, given that it provides detailed guidance on how people should live. Confucianism is primarily concerned with  social order; it
assigns everyone a rank within a social hierarchy (including within the family) and prescribes duties for each rank, as well as rules for interaction
between and within ranks.
Confucianism encourages preservation of traditional ways and obedience to one's "betters" in the social hierarchy. It could therefore be argued that,
while effective for maintaining political and social order, Confucianism inhibits progress. Innovation is discouraged, foreign ideas are rejected, and
questioning of authority is unthinkable.
Another key feature of Chinese civilization was a professional, merit-based, and extremely powerful  civil service. Civil servants enjoyed generous
salaries and staff, and were considered to occupy the second tier of Chinese society (beneath the royal family). Thanks to competitive evaluations (for
admissions and promotions) and anti-nepotism laws, corruption was a minor problem, at least in times of peace and stability.A196
These competitive evaluations were based primarily on written exams that tested knowledge of  Confucian texts, which ensured that a strong
Confucianist focus was maintained throughout the entire civil service. Perhaps this is the secret to China's  longevity: though often torn apart by
invasion or civil war, the civil service (unified by the ideals of Confucianism) was always there to put the nation back together and restore traditional
society, regardless of which dynasty was in charge.A75,A194-96
The ancient period began with three long dynasties: Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou. Throughout these dynasties, Chinese union was only loosely
achieved. The Western Zhou dynasty was succeeded by a long period of civil war.
Civil strife was finally ended by the Qin dynasty, which lasted less than two decades. It was succeeded by the much longer Han dynasty, under which
China finally became a strongly unified state, and Chinese civilization emerged in its fully mature form.A69,19,48  (Given the brevity of the Qin
dynasty, it is omitted from the timeline at the beginning of this section.)
Starting with the Han dynasty, and continuing throughout the medieval period, Chinese technological progress was unmatched anywhere in the world.
Gunpowder, paper, the compass, the mechanical clock, and the blast furnace were all invented in China, centuries before they came into use by
Europeans.A193 Indeed, gunpowder and paper (to take two key examples) were invented exclusively by China.
The Han dynasty was followed by another long, politically fractured age, which spanned the remainder of antiquity and stretched into the medieval
period. China was finally reunited by the Sui dynasty (which lasted only decades), followed by the much longer Tang dynasty. (Due to its brevity, the
Sui dynasty is omitted from the above timeline.)
The Tang dynasty and its successor, the Song dynasty, are often together considered the golden age of China. Chinese science, art, and literature all
flourished brilliantly during this period. Moreover, the golden age witnessed the diffusion of Chinese culture to Korea and Japan, thus adding those
regions to the sphere of East Asian civilization.
China fell completely under foreign rule for the first time when it was conquered by the  Mongol Empire (ca. 1200-1300). When this happened, the
capital of the Mongol Empire was moved to China, and the Mongol emperor took on the additional role of Chinese emperor. Thus began
the Yuan dynasty (aka Mongol dynasty). By the time China had been conquered, however, the Mongol Empire was on the verge of falling apart; when
this occurred (ca. 1300), the Yuan dynasty's power became limited to China and Mongolia.
Native Chinese rule resumed with the Ming dynasty, which carried China into the modern period. Together, the Ming and Qing dynasties
comprise early modern China, which featured unprecedented prosperity, stability, and expansion of population and territory.49,50  The Ming moved
the Chinese capital to Beijing (where it has remained), at the heart of which they built the Forbidden City, a palace complex that served as the centre
of Chinese government throughout the Ming/Qing period.
By this time, China had developed a strong commercial naval presence in the waters of Southeast Asia. Chinese voyages seeking trade (or
demanding tribute) plied this region, and even ventured westward as far as Arabia and East Africa. Unlike Europe, however, China showed no interest
in overseas conquest or colonization.
Another mysterious feature of early modern China is the seizing-up of technological progress. As noted earlier, China was the clear technological
leader of the medieval world. Yet in the Early Modern period, Chinese invention stagnated, while Europe entered a permanent state of rapid scientific
progress.
This dramatic historic reversal may be explained by the exceptional  conservatism that emerged in the late Ming dynasty and persisted throughout the
Qing dynasty. It included a policy of extreme isolationism, which prohibited most international trade and travel; consequently, the aforementioned
merchant navy was dismantled. Although China was already resistant to foreign ideas, this heightened isolationism virtually guaranteed that European
advances would remain unknown. (Meanwhile, Europe adopted foreign advances at every opportunity, including those of China.)
Perhaps the sheer prosperity and stability of the Ming/Qing period was detrimental to technological progress. In a Confucianist society,  stable
conditions are ideal for the strict maintenance of tradition. Arguably, only an environment of conflict and uncertainty can interrupt this tradition
sufficiently to generate innovation.
The Qing dynasty (aka Manchu dynasty) was China's second period of foreign rule. The Manchu are the native people of  Manchuria; today, they
constitute an ethnic minority within China.27 Although the Qing brought China to new heights of peace and prosperity, this dynasty eventually
declined to overpopulation, famine, and government corruption, leaving the nation vulnerable to European imperialism. The culmination of this decline
was the Taiping Rebellion, the bloodiest civil conflict in history.
Japan and Korea
The history of Korea will be given only the briefest of treatments here. From ancient times, various native kingdoms emerged in this region. Starting
with the Han dynasty, China intermittently fought with these kingdoms, sometimes gaining partial control of the Korean peninsula. Multiple kingdoms
ruled Korea until the late medieval period, when the peninsula was united as a single state (Choson). This state endured until the Second World War,
after which the peninsula was divided into North and South Korea.
A Japanese state did not emerge until the early medieval period, when the Yamato clan achieved loose control over much of Japan (ca. 500).
As Chinese influenceradiated from the west, the Yamato chief adopted the title of emperor, and a Chinese-style bureaucratic government was
established (though the actual governing power of the Japanese emperor would never rival that of his Chinese counterpart).31 The "age of Yamato
rule" (ca. 500-800) was the formative period of Japanese civilization.
In terms of protection from hostile foreigners, geography was kind to Japan. Whereas China and Korea endured frequent invasions by  Steppe
nomads, Japan experienced only two. Both were attempted by the Mongols during the Mongol Empire period, and both were repelled.A209,A275
Ca. 800, the emperor became a figurehead as power was usurped by royal officials, especially members of the  Fujiwara clan, who fractured the
nation into semi-independent regions; thus did Japan become a decentralized oligarchy. (All emperors from this point forward in Japanese history are
figureheads.) The era of Fujiwara rule, known as the Heian period (ca. 800-1200), witnessed the maturation of Japanese civilization, in which adopted
Chinese cultural material developed into uniquely Japanese forms.
The Heian period ended in civil war.30 It was succeeded by the shogunate (ca. 1200-1870), a military dictatorship ruled by the "shogun", whose
actual ruling power was initially limited.43 During the first half of the shogunate period, Japan was torn apart by civil war between independent
regions, each ruled by local captains and their soldiers.
The shogunate, like Ming/Qing China, banned virtually all contact (including trade) with the outside world. This plunged Japan into centuries
of isolation. As in China, the ruling elite was determined to maintain stability and order, to which the outside world was perceived as a serious
threat.A275,B211
The second half of the shogunate period, known as the Edo period (aka Tokugawa period), witnessed the firm union of Japan under
the Tokugawa dynasty. The stability of this period has earned it the nickname Great Peace. Moreover, despite Japan's severe isolation, the Edo
period featured vibrant economic growth.
In the mid-19th century, Japan's destiny was changed forever when it was forced (by the United States) to open  trade relations with the West,
conducted under severely lopsided agreements. Soon after this traumatic event, the shogun was deposed by an  oligarchy of nobles (i.e. clan leaders)
who set Japan on a path of rapid modernization, military build-up, and expansionism. (This reaction to Western imperialism contrasts sharply with that
of China, where modernization would not be embraced for some decades.)
The ensuing period may be termed the imperial age of Japan (ca. 1870-WWII). An early victory was the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), in which
Japan battled Russia for control of Manchuria and Korea. Japanese victory came as a surprise to the world, and announced the nation's rise as a
great power.A392-3,3,30
Japan fought with the Allies in World War I. During the interwar period, the nation prepared to assemble a massive  Pacific empire; allying with
Germany and Italy, these plans were executed during World War II (see World War II).3 After the war, Japan was subject to American occupation,
which was withdrawn only gradually.30
Postwar Japan served as a key American ally during the Cold War. The nation also embraced  democracy and achieved a tremendous economic
recovery.42 As of 2012, Japan was the world's third-largest economy.
Modern China
Unlike South Asia, China was never added to a European empire. In the nineteenth century, however, China faced the same inescapable fate as
Japan, as European powers (especially Britain) forced the nation to open trade relations under skewed terms; early Chinese exports (of which tea
was the largest) flowed mainly to Britain. With the fall of the shogunate, China also had to contend with Japanese expansionism.K240-41,15
When the Qing dynasty was finally overthrown, a nominal republic (actually a dictatorship) was established, though its governing power was limited by
internal dissent and a rival party (the communist party). This Republic of China spanned roughly the interwar period. The country became sharply
divided, as the government maintained popularity in the cities but faced a surging tide of  rural unrest, due to neglect and mistreatment of the
agricultural population.
For several years after World War II, war raged within China between the Republic government and the aforementioned communist party; this
struggle is known as the Chinese Civil War. The communists ultimately won, largely by garnering rural support via promises of land redistribution.
They subsequently established the current Chinese government: the People's Republic of China (also a dictatorship). The ousted republic
government took refuge on Taiwan (along with some two million supporters), which it continues to govern to this day. (The name "Republic of China"
now denotes Taiwan.)
The leader of the communist party was Mao Zedong, who ruled China until the 1970s. Though his reign was incredibly brutal, Mao remained in power
until his death from natural causes.
China thus became a Cold War enemy of the United States (see Cold War). While Chinese relations with the USSR were initially strong, they quickly
deteriorated, leaving China in the unusual position of being a communist Cold War nation outside the Soviet sphere. Two main factors in this
deterioration may be identified: imperial rivalry and disagreement over Marxist policy. The first factor is evident enough, as Russia had been eroding
Chinese territory for centuries.
The disagreement over Marxist policy requires a more detailed explanation. Marxism is a political theory that capitalist governments will eventually be
overthrown by the working class, who will establish a "dictatorship of the proletariat" (see Marxism). This dictatorship will proceed to transform the
nation into a communist state (in which there is no government: everything is owned in common, and all production and distribution is conducted
according to ability and need).
The USSR was the first country to put this theory into practice; this nation's approach to Marxism is often referred to as  orthodox Marxism (or
"Leninism", or "Marxism-Leninism"). According to this approach, city workers (as opposed to rural workers) will be the driving force behind the
creation of a communist state; therefore, one prerequisite to communism is a large urban working class, which means that a Marxist nation must
pursue rapid industrialization. Orthodox Marxism also calls for a large bureaucracy, for although the "dictatorship of the proletariat" will be overseen
by the working class, the administration of this dictatorship will be conducted by a bureaucracy of highly-educated intellectuals.
At first, Mao's government embraced orthodox Marxism, and consequently enjoyed a rich flow of Soviet funding and technological expertise. Before
long, however, Mao alienated Russia by shifting to a starkly different vision of the path to communism, which came to be known as  Maoism. This
unorthodox version of Marxism was limited mainly to Mao-era China.
Mao had watched as Soviet Marxism, despite its lofty stated intentions, gave rise to widespread government corruption and economic stagnation. This
contributed to his view that intellectuals and bureaucrats cannot be trusted, as they are only interested in seizing power for themselves. Indeed, he
came to argue that any political or economic centralization would generally result in corruption and poor economic growth.
Mao claimed that the true force for communist reform lay in the  country rather than the city; a natural opinion for Mao to hold, given the  political
division of China (which, as noted earlier, consisted of rural support for the communists and urban support for the Republic). Instead of urban workers
and intellectual-bureaucrats, Mao argued that the communist transition would be led by rural workers (i.e. the Chinese peasantry) guided by their own
simple wisdom (and, of course, Mao's enlightened rule).
Mao first put his views into action with the Great Leap Forward, a several-year program implemented ca. 1960. It was intended to boost economic
growth via rapid decentralization, including small-scale communal farms and factories. One infamous example of the latter is Mao's plan for national
steel production, which was to be achieved in thousands of tiny backyard furnaces. Apart from being massively unrealistic, the Great Leap Forward
was poorly and hastily implemented, ultimately begetting a terrible famine that killed tens of millions.
The other principal event of Mao's reign was the Cultural Revolution, which spanned his final ten years in office.46 It was essentially a massive
campaign of violenceagainst intellectuals, bureaucrats, and political rivals, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions imprisoned or
driven from the country. Universities were shut down, traditional and foreign art and literature were widely destroyed, and Mao's personal writings
became compulsory study material.
Although China has remained a dictatorship since the age of Mao, state control of the economy has been relaxed, allowing for foreign investment and
privatization of much industry. China's economy has since taken a dramatic upturn, currently reigning as the world's second-largest.
World War II Facts
Dates
September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945
Location
Europe, Pacific, Atlantic, South-East Asia, China, Middle East, Mediterranean and Northern Africa.
Commanders
Allies:
Joseph Stalin
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Winston Churchill
Chiang Kai-shek
Charles de Gaulle
Axis:
Adolf Hitler
Hirohito
Benito Mussolini
Outcome
Allied Victory
Results
End of German Third Reich
United States and Russia become global superpowers
Founding of the United Nations
World War II 
World War II summary: The carnage of World War II was unprecedented and brought the world closest to the term “total warfare.” On average 27,000
people were killed each day between September 1, 1939, until the formal surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. Western technological advances
had turned upon itself, bringing about the most destructive war in human history. The primary combatants were the Axis nations of Nazi Germany,
Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan, and the Allied nations, Great Britain (and its Commonwealth nations), the Soviet Union, and the United States. Seven
days after the suicide of Adolf Hitler, Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 7, 1945. The Japanese would go on to fight for nearly four more
months until their surrender on September 2, which was brought on by the U.S. dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese towns of Nagasaki and
Hiroshima. Despite winning the war, Britain largely lost much of its empire, which was outlined in the basis of the Atlantic Charter.   The war
precipitated the revival of the U.S. economy, and by the war’s end, the nation would have a gross national product that was nearly greater than all the
Allied and Axis powers combined. The USA and USSR emerged from World War II as global superpowers. The fundamentally disparate, one-time
allies became engaged in what was to be called the Cold War, which dominated world politics for the latter half of the 20th century.
Casualties in World War II
The most destructive war in all of history, its exact cost in human lives is unknown, but casualties in World War II may have totaled over 60 million
service personnel and civilians killed. Nations suffering the highest losses, military and civilian, in descending order, are:
USSR: 42,000,000
Germany: 9,000,000
China: 4,000,000
Japan: 3,000,000
When did World War II begin?
Some say it was simply a continuation of the First World War that had theoretically ended in 1918. Others point to 1931, when Japan seized
Manchuria from China. Others to Italy’s invasion and defeat of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, Adolf Hitler’s re-militarization of Germany’s Rhineland in
1936, the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and Germany’s occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938 are sometimes cited. The two dates most often
mentioned as “the beginning of World War II” are July 7, 1937, when the “Marco Polo Bridge Incident” led to a prolonged war between Japan and
China, and September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, which led Britain and France to declare war on Hitler’s Nazi state in retaliation. From
the invasion of Poland until the war ended with Japan’s surrender in September 1945, most nations around the world were engaged in armed combat.
Origins of World War II
No one historic event can be said to have been the origin of World War II. Japan’s unexpected victory over czarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese War
(1904-05) left open the door for Japanese expansion in Asia and the Pacific. The United States U.S. Navy first developed plans in preparation for a
naval war with Japan in 1890. War Plan Orange, as it was called, would be updated continually as technology advanced and greatly aided the U.S.
during World War II.
The years between the first and second world wars were a time of instability. The Great Depression that began on Black Tuesday, 1929 plunged the
worldwide recession. Coming to power in 1933, Hitler capitalized on this economic decline and the deep German resentment due to the emasculating
Treaty of Versailles, signed following the armistice of 1918. Declaring that Germany needed  Lebensraum or “living space,” Hitler began to test the
Western powers and their willingness to monitor the treaty’s provision. By 1935 Hitler had established the Luftwaffe, a direct violation of the 1919
treaty. Remilitarizing the Rhineland in 1936 violated Versailles and the Locarno Treaties (which defined the borders of Europe) once again. The
Anschluss of Austria and the annexation of the rump of Czechoslovakia was a further extension of Hitler’s desire for  Lebensraum. Italy’s desire to
create the Third Rome pushed the nation to closer ties with Nazi Germany. Likewise, Japan, angered by their exclusion in Paris in 1919, sought to
create a Pan-Asian sphere with Japan in order to create a self-sufficient state. 
Competing ideologies further fanned the flames of international tension. The Bolshevik Revolution in czarist Russia during the First World War,
followed by the Russian Civil War, had established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), a sprawling communist state. Western republics
and capitalists feared the spread of Bolshevism. In some nations, such as Italy, Germany and Romania, ultra-conservative groups rose to power, in
part in reaction to communism.
Germany, Italy and Japan signed agreements of mutual support but, unlike the Allied nations they would face, they never developed a comprehensive
or coordinated plan of action.
Confucianism
Confucianism, the way of life propagated by Confucius in the 6th–5th century BCE and followed by the Chinese people for more than two millennia.
Although transformed over time, it is still the substance of learning, the source of values, and the social code of the Chinese. Its influence has also
extended to other countries, particularly Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Confucianism, a Western term that has no counterpart in Chinese, is a worldview, a social ethic, a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a way of
life. Sometimes viewed as a philosophy and sometimes as a religion, Confucianism may be understood as an all-encompassing way of thinking and
living that entails ancestor reverence and a profound human-centred religiousness. East Asians may profess themselves to
be Shintōists, Daoists, Buddhists, Muslims, or Christians, but, by announcing their religious affiliations, seldom do they cease to be Confucians.

Although often grouped with the major historical religions, Confucianism differs from them by not being an organized religion. Nonetheless, it spread to
other East Asian countries under the influence of Chinese literate culture and has exerted a profound influence on spiritual and political life. Both the
theory and practice of Confucianism have indelibly marked the patterns of government, society, education, and family of East Asia. Although it is an
exaggeration to characterize traditional Chinese life and culture as Confucian, Confucian ethicalvalues have for well over 2,000 years served as the
source of inspiration as well as the court of appeal for human interaction between individuals, communities, and nations in the Sinitic world.
The Thought of Confucius
The story of Confucianism does not begin with Confucius. Nor was Confucius the founder of Confucianism in the sense that the  Buddha was the
founder of Buddhism and Jesus Christ the founder of Christianity. Rather, Confucius considered himself a transmitter who consciously tried to
reanimate the old in order to attain the new. He proposed revitalizing the meaning of the past by advocating a ritualized life. Confucius’s love of antiquity
was motivated by his strong desire to understand why certain life forms and institutions, such as reverence for ancestors, human-centred religious
practices, and mourning ceremonies, had survived for centuries. His journey into the past was a search for roots, which he perceived as grounded in
humanity’s deepest needs for belonging and communicating. He had faith in the cumulative power of culture. The fact that traditional ways had lost
vitality did not, for him, diminish their potential for regeneration in the future. In fact, Confucius’s sense of history was so strong that he saw himself as a
conservationist responsible for the continuity of the cultural values and the social norms that had worked so well for the idealized civilization of the
Western Zhou dynasty.

THE ANALECTS AS THE EMBODIMENT OF CONFUCIAN IDEAS

The Lunyu (Analects), the most-revered sacred scripture in the Confucian tradition, was probably compiled by the succeeding generations of
Confucius’s disciples. Based primarily on the Master’s sayings, preserved in both oral and written transmissions, it captures the Confucian spirit in form
and content in the same way that the Platonic dialogues embody Socratic pedagogy.

The Analects has often been viewed by the critical modern reader as a collection of unrelated reflections randomly put together. That impression may
have resulted from the unfortunate perception of Confucius as a mere commonsense moralizer who gave practical advice to students in everyday
situations. If readers approach the Analects as a communal memory, a literary device on the part of those who considered themselves beneficiaries of
the Confucian Way to continue the Master’s memory and to transmit his form of life as a living tradition, they come close to why it has been so revered
in China for centuries. Interchanges with various historical figures and his disciples are used to show Confucius in thought and action, not as an isolated
individual but as the centre of relationships. Actually the sayings of the Analects reveal Confucius’s personality—his ambitions, his fears, his joys, his
commitments, and above all his self-knowledge.

The purpose, then, in compiling the distilled statements centring on Confucius seems not to have been to present an argument or to record an event but
to offer an invitation to readers to take part in an ongoing conversation. Through the Analects Confucians for centuries learned to reenact the awe-
inspiring ritual of participating in a conversation with Confucius.

The community that Confucius created was a scholarly fellowship of like-minded men of different ages and different backgrounds from different states.
They were attracted to Confucius because they shared his vision and to varying degrees took part in his mission to bring moral order to an increasingly
fragmented world. That mission was difficult and even dangerous. Confucius himself suffered from joblessness, homelessness, starvation, and
occasionally life-threatening violence. Yet his faith in the survivability of the culture that he cherished and the workability of the approach to teaching that
he propounded was so steadfast that he convinced his followers as well as himself that heaven was on their side. 

The Confucianization of politics

The short-lived dictatorship of the Qin marked a brief triumph of Legalism. In the early years of the Western Han (206 BCE–25 CE), however, the
Legalist practice of absolute power of the emperor, complete subjugation of the peripheral states to the central government, total uniformity of thought,
and ruthless enforcement of law were replaced by the Daoist practice of reconciliation and noninterference. That practice is commonly known in history
as the Huang-Lao method, referring to the art of rulership attributed to the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and the mysterious founder of Daoism, Laozi.
Although a few Confucian thinkers, such as Lu Jia and Jia Yi, made important policy recommendations, Confucianism before the emergence of  Dong
Zhongshu (c. 179–c. 104 BCE) was not particularly influential. Nonetheless, the gradual Confucianization of Han politics began soon after the founding
of the dynasty.

By the reign of Wudi (the “Martial Emperor”; 141–87 BCE), who inherited the task of consolidating power in the central Han court, Confucianism was
deeply entrenched in the central bureaucracy. It was manifest in such practices as the clear separation of the court and the government, often under the
leadership of a scholarly prime minister, the process of recruiting officials through the dual mechanism of recommendation and selection, the family-
centred social structure, the agriculture-based economy, and the educational network. Confucian ideas were also firmly established in the legal system
as ritual became increasingly important in governing behaviour, defining social relationships, and adjudicating civil disputes. Yet it was not until the
prime minister Gongsun Hong(died 121 BCE) had persuaded Wudi to announce formally that the ru school alone would receive state sponsorship that
Confucianism became an officially recognized imperial ideology and state cult.

As a result, Confucian Classics became the core curriculum for all levels of education. In 136  BCE Wudi set up at court five Erudites of the Five
Classics (see below The Five Classics) and in 124 BCE assigned 50 official students to study with them, thus creating a de facto imperial university. By
50 BCE enrollment at the university had grown to an impressive 3,000, and by 1 CE a hundred students a year were entering government service
through the examinations administered by the state. In short, those with a Confucian education began to staff the bureaucracy. In the year 58 all
government schools were required to make sacrifices to Confucius, and in 175 the court had the approved version of the Classics, which had been
determined by scholarly conferences and research groups under imperial auspices for several decades, carved on large stone tablets. (Those stelae,
which were erected at the capital, are today well preserved in the museum of Xi’an.) That act of committing to permanence and to public display the
content of the sacred scriptures symbolized the completion of the formation of the classical Confucian tradition.

The Five Classics

The compilation of the Wujing (Five Classics) was a concrete manifestation of the coming of age of the Confucian tradition. The inclusion of both pre-
Confucian texts, the Shujing (“Classic of History”) and the Shijing (“Classic of Poetry”), and contemporary Qin-Han material, such as certain portions of
the Liji (“Record of Rites”), suggests that the spirit behind the establishment of the core curriculum for Confucian education was ecumenical. The Five
Classics can be described in terms of five visions: metaphysical, political, poetic, social, and historical.

The metaphysical vision, expressed in the Yijing (“Classic of Changes”), combines divinatory art with numerological technique and ethical insight.
According to the philosophy of change, the cosmos is a great transformation occasioned by the constant interaction of yin and yang, the two
complementary as well as conflicting life forces (qi). The world, which emerges out of that ongoing transformation, exhibits both organismic unity and
dynamism. The exemplary person, inspired by the harmony and creativity of the cosmos, must emulate that pattern by aiming to realize the highest
ideal of “unity of man and heaven” (tianrenheyi) through ceaseless self-exertion.

The political vision, contained in the Shujing, presents kingship in terms of the ethical foundation for a humane government. The legendary Three
Emperors (Yao, Shun, and Yu) all ruled by virtue. Their sagacity, xiao (filial piety), and dedication to work enabled them to create a political culture
based on responsibility and trust. Their exemplary lives taught and encouraged the people to enter into a covenant with them so that social harmony
could be achieved without punishment or coercion. Even in the Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang, and Zhou) moral authority, as expressed through ritual,
was sufficient to maintain political order. The human continuum, from the undifferentiated masses to the enlightened people, the nobility, and the sage-
king, formed an organic unity as an integral part of the great cosmic transformation. Politics means moral persuasion, and the purpose of the
government is not only to provide food and maintain order but also to educate.

The poetic vision, contained in the Shijing, underscores the Confucian valuation of common human feelings. The majority of verses give voice to
emotions and sentiments of communities and persons from all levels of society expressed on a variety of occasions. The basic theme of that poetic
world is mutual responsiveness. The tone as a whole is honest rather than earnest and evocative rather than expressive.

The social vision, contained in the Liji, shows society not as an adversarial system based on contractual relationships but as a community of trust with
emphasis on communication. Society organized by the four functional occupations—the scholar, the farmer, the artisan, and the merchant—is, in the
true sense of the word, a cooperation. As a contributing member of the cooperation, each person is obligated to recognize the existence of others and
to serve the public good. It is the king’s duty to act kingly and the father’s duty to act fatherly. If kings or fathers fail to behave properly, they cannot
expect their ministers or children to act in accordance with ritual. It is in that sense that a chapter in the  Liji entitled the “Great Learning” (Daxue)
specifies, “From the son of heaven to the commoner, all must regard self-cultivation as the root.” That pervasive consciousness of duty features
prominently in all Confucian literature on ritual.

The historical vision, presented in the Chunqiu (“Spring and Autumn [Annals]”), emphasizes the significance of collective memory for communal self-
identification. Historical consciousness is a defining characteristic of Confucian thought. By defining himself as a lover of antiquity and a transmitter of its
values, Confucius made it explicit that a sense of history is not only desirable but necessary for self-knowledge. Confucius’s emphasis on the
importance of history was in a way his reappropriation of the ancient Sinitic wisdom that reanimating the old is the best way to attain the new. Confucius
may not have been the author of the Chunqiu, but it seems likely that he applied moral judgment to political events in China proper from the 8th to the
5th century BCE. In that unprecedented procedure he assumed a godlike role in evaluating politics by assigning ultimate historical praise and blame to
the most powerful and influential political actors of the period. Not only did that practice inspire the innovative style of the grand historian  Sima
Qian (c. 145–c. 87 BCE), but it was also widely employed by others writing dynastic histories in imperial China.