Understanding ChinaLook Beyond the Surface
Residents on electric bicycles beside Beijing's red walls

01 / APPEARANCE

Are You Seeing the Whole of China?

China ≠ the Chinese Communist PartyUnderstand today's China through history, power, and ordinary lives — using evidence that can be checked.Start the Story ↓

02-03 / ORIGINS AND THE ROAD TO POWER

Where Did the Communist Party Come From?
How Did It Take Power?

From revolutionary theory in Europe, to the Bolshevik model in Russia, to the founding and rise of the Chinese Communist Party, the path to power involved ideology, organisation, propaganda, armed struggle and war.How this happened, and what it cost, should be tested against manifestos, party histories, archives, personal records and independent research.
Ideas→Class struggle→Organisation→Violent revolution→War→State power
1848Revolutionary IdeasHistorical or social archive image
1917Revolution Becomes GovernmentHistorical or social archive image
1921Party Organisation in ChinaHistorical or social archive image
1949Victory in War and State PowerHistorical or social archive image
1919 年五四运动学生示威Archival image of institutions entering society
VIDEO 01 · POSTER READY

How Did It Take Power?

Propaganda → organisation → state power → one-party rule

Follow the historical trail →

04 / REMAKING SOCIETY

How Does Power Enter Society?

It does not live only in slogans. It enters organisations, resources, education and daily life.
LandHow resources are arranged
WorkHow labour is organised
Household registrationHow movement is managed
EducationOpportunity and ideas
InformationWhat may be known
OrganisationWho can oversee whom

05 / HUMAN COST

Why Do Disasters Happen?

Do not assume the answer. Each case should examine policy, information, professional judgement, responsibility and human cost.
The more serious the consequence, the higher the standard of evidence.
DOCUMENTEDLand reform and suppression campaignsBuild an independent chain of evidence; do not assume a single cause.
DOCUMENTEDAnti-Rightist Campaign, Great Leap Forward and famineBuild an independent chain of evidence; do not assume a single cause.
DOCUMENTEDCultural Revolution and June FourthBuild an independent chain of evidence; do not assume a single cause.
UNVERIFIEDPublic health and public safetyBuild an independent chain of evidence; do not assume a single cause.

06 / AN ORDINARY LIFE

How Far Is Power from an Ordinary Person?

Perhaps it runs through an entire life.
  1. 01BirthFamily and household registration
  2. 02SchoolEducation and ideas
  3. 03WorkWork unit, records and organisations
  4. 04HousingLand and property rights
  5. 05Marriage and familyFamily policy
  6. 06HealthcarePublic institutions
  7. 07SpeechMedia, internet and expression
  8. 08BeliefState, religion and conscience
  9. 09Later lifeSocial security

Institutions do not exist only in political events.
They may run through an entire life.

07-08 / REFORM, MODERNISATION AND COST

China Changed.
Who Bore the Cost?

Recognise growth, urbanisation, technology and changing lives; also examine engineering, oversight, disclosure and responsibility.
Historical China in transitionBeforeHistorical China in transition
Modern China — growth and new risksTodayModern China — growth and new risks
Infrastructure and development
What happenedDesign and engineeringConstruction and oversightCasualties and disclosureResponsibility and recurrence“Shoddy construction” is not a preset conclusion. Evidence determines the conclusion.

09 / DIGITAL POWER

From Files
to Databases

Technology changed. How did its capacity to monitor and control people change?
Files→Registration→Phone→Platform→Database→Algorithm
Digital governance and surveillance
VIDEO 02 · POSTER READY

From Paper Files to Databases

Files, cameras, facial recognition, real-name systems, internet controls and digital governance.

10-11 / CONTEMPORARY GOVERNANCE AND GLOBAL IMPACT

How Does It Operate Today?
How Is It Reaching Beyond China?

From organisation, information, space and daily life to trade, technology, infrastructure and international institutions.
ORGANISATIONSHow power enters institutions
INFORMATIONWhat can be expressed and known
SPACEHow movement and assembly are governed
EVERYDAY LIFEFamilies, businesses and communities
THE WORLDTrade, technology and infrastructure
ERA & GOVERNANCEPeople, policies and consequences
Investigation topic poster
Public Claim

3F

This claim appears in public discussion and material; its sources, evidence and disputes are examined in the topic page.

Investigation topics

See the topic method →See the era and governance timeline →

12 / PRIMARY EVIDENCE

What Supports This?

Do not believe this site simply because it says so.
Look at the evidence first.
DocumentedMaterial that can be checkedFact · Analysis · JudgmentPublic ClaimA claim made publiclyFact · Analysis · JudgmentDisputedA material disagreementFact · Analysis · JudgmentUnverifiedStill awaiting independent verificationFact · Analysis · Judgment
Image Credits
  • H-01 · Sandykkzk · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Hutong 2021
  • A-01 · Sidney David Gamble · U.S. public domain · Duke University Libraries / Wikimedia Commons
  • T-04 · Paul Burns · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • T-04A · H. Grobe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • H-01C · Thiago Hirai · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • C-01A · Jordiferrer · Public Domain Mark · Wikimedia Commons
  • C-01B · David Zhang · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • C-02A · Adolf Nikolay Boyarsky · Public Domain Mark · National Library of Brazil / Wikimedia Commons
  • C-02B · Christophe95 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • W-01 · Pete Souza / The White House · U.S. public domain · Wikimedia Commons
  • W-04 · domdomegg · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • W-06 · Naufal Farras · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • W-07 · M. Asokan / Prime Minister's Office, Government of India · Government Open Data License - India · Wikimedia Commons