本書作者艾天望係一名德籍人士，卻說的一口流利的國語、並在（台灣今日）德文雙月刊外籍編輯。
　　由於兩岸三地未能有一本可向外國介紹大中華包括亞洲華人的專書，於是五年前開始編寫，其間從蒐集資料並請美籍專家校對，下了很長的功夫，本來此種書應是由政府單位來籌劃出版的。可是如今卻由一名外籍人士獨立花了五年時間將此大中華百科全書編著完成。
　　內容資料包括人、事、史、時、地、物、等等。每一筆資料均是經過一查再查並諮詢過相關專家的確認。
　　這是一本英中對照的百科全書共685頁，在２1世紀是大中華圈的世紀，本書正可向世人推廣大中華圈的形成種種，2008年中國的奧運前，本百科全書正是推廣的好時機。
　　China has a magnificent civilization that dates back at least 4000 years. Although the infra-structure in many parts of the Chinese mainland today remains underdeveloped, the country is now emerging and looks to become an ambitious superpower in the 21st century and as a new economic powerhouse in Asia. Since undergoing economic reform in the 1980s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has transformed itself into a vibrant export economy that supplies the world with textiles, toys, household electronics and many other products.
　　Today, the PRC is a country of great contrasts. It is a developing country where many people in rural areas subsist on an income of less than US＄ 1 a day, but is also as a nuclear power and a member of the exclusive club of nations with a manned space program. China is seen by some as a huge market and land of opportunity but regarded by others as a threat to the Asia-Pacific region and world peace—the PRC’s new economic and military might also creates concerns about a shift in the balance of power in East Asia, with worries particularly prevalent in Japan and the US.
　　The rise of the PRC has resulted in an enormous demand for information about the country, its people, rulers, history and culture. This book presents basic information and the most relevant data about the greater China area in a single volume. It focuses on the China mainland (under administration of the PRC) and the Taiwan area (under administration of the Republic of China, abbrev. ROC), since the mainstream culture in both the PRC and the ROC is unquestionably Chinese. To make this comprehensive reference book more useful, I have added traditional Chinese characters for all important terms as well as personal and geographical names.
　　Many important aspects of China and its culture, like history, arts or religion, certainly deserve a much more detailed description than the cursory glance this book provides, but since I am trying to offer a general, brief introduction to all aspects, I had to focus on the most basic content.
Why “Greater China”?
　　The political conflict that has existed across in the Taiwan Strait for decades proves that interpreting the term “China” is not easy—China is not only a geographical term, but also has political and cultural connotations. Over many years it has become common practice to use the word “China” as a substitute for the PRC and vice versa. Although this is convenient, it remains a fact that the PRC is not completely identical with China. Tibet and Xinjiang are controlled by the PRC government, but a majority of the population in those places is not ethnic Chinese, and the mainstream culture in these two regions is not Chinese either. Tibet and Xinjiang were in-corporated into the Qing empire through an imperialist policy that was continued by the Chinese communists. On the other hand, Taiwan is culturally part of China, but not a province of the PRC.
　　Despite the fact that there are two states governing the greater China area, most available reference books about China deal with the PRC only. The political rift between the PRC and the ROC, combined with Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation in the international arena, seems sufficient reason to many authors to exclude Taiwan from books about China. The title of my book “The Greater China Factbook” indicates that its content is not exclusively about the PRC, but also in-cludes Taiwan. I chose the term “greater China” instead of “China” deliberately to avoid mis-understandings, because the rulers of the PRC and the ROC disagree about the meaning of terms like “China” or “nation”. For the PRC, China includes Taiwan—“there is only one China in the
　　world, Taiwan Province is an integral part of the territory of the PRC”, as Beijing puts it. Supporters of Taiwan independence, on the other hand, object to the claim that Taiwan belongs to China, and they promote the establishment of a Taiwanese nation.
　　Taiwan’s relations with China have been difficult since 1945. After the end of Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945) when Taiwan became a part of the ROC, the people who had lived on the island for generations initially welcomed the Chinese government but before long grew deeply dissatisfied with the rule of the KMT, as it was corrupt and oppressive. Since the 2-28 uprising in 1947 and the decade of bloody repression (sometimes referred to as “white terror”) that followed, a deep rift had grown between Taiwanese and the mainlanders living on the island.
　　Since the 1970s the PRC has been continually pressuring Taiwan and maneuvering to isolate the ROC internationally, an approach that has failed to generate a desire among the people of Taiwan to unite with the mainland. In fact, the biggest factor contributing to the growth of the Taiwan independence movement is probably Beijing’s policy towards Taiwan, and surveys have shown a growing number of people in Taiwan regard themselves not as Chinese, but as both Chinese and Taiwanese or as Taiwanese only, a sign that they are developing their own identity to differentiate themselves from people on the mainland. As the communist regime continues to ignore the progressing democratization of the ROC and the feelings of the people in Taiwan, the future task of actually integrating Taiwan and China will prove to be extremely complicated, should Beijing ever gain control over the island without first changing its attitude and authoritarian system.
　　Some readers, especially those favoring Taiwan independence, may resent the inclusion of Taiwan in a book about China and the listing of Taiwan among the Chinese provinces. They should understand that this book is definitely not a statement about the “Taiwan question”, because it’s not I, but the people of Taiwan, who should have the last word in decisions about political unification between Taiwan and China or the declaration of an independent state. Yet regardless of the political factors, it is undeniable that the majority of people living in Taiwan today have ethnic, cultural and linguistic roots in Mainland China (although it can be argued that people who have a shared culture and shared ethnic origin do not necessarily have to belong politically to one nation-state). Since the culture and the language of China and Taiwan are so closely connected, a work about China like this one must not omit Taiwan. However, this book does not advocate the PRC’s “one China” principle either: Although Taiwan is culturally a part of China, it is not a part of the PRC, and according to surveys the majority of the people living in Taiwan—which is becoming a vibrant and contentious democracy—do not want Taiwan to be annexed by the non-democratic PRC.
　　Other readers might believe that this book focuses too much on Taiwan or that Taiwan is getting much more attention here than other provinces like, say, Anhui or Zhejiang. They should consider that in the world’s media and in most publications Taiwan is often neglected or ignored. The inclusion of facts and details about Taiwan in this book is an attempt to address that common imbalance. Ignoring Taiwan also risks a description of the cross-strait tensions that will represent the PRC’s version of the issues instead of providing a multi-faceted analysis.
　　This book is intended to be non-partisan, so inevitably supporters of the CCP, the KMT/“blue camp” or the DPP/“green camp” will find content they might not like or agree with; I am aware that I cannot please everybody. For me, facts matter more than considerations of political correctness in the PRC, the ROC, or elsewhere.
　　As this book went to press, relations between China and Taiwan were still tense. It is impossible to predict the future development of cross-strait relations and whether that path will eventually lead to unification or to Taiwan’s independence, but I sincerely hope a peaceful solution will be found that will ultimately benefit the people living in the Taiwan area. I also hope that the reader, irrespective of his or her political opinion, regards this book as what it is supposed to be—a useful tool, a comprehensive database and a rich source of information about the greater China area.
　　． provides comprehensive information about China’s population, geography, politics, economy, history, the Chinese zodiac and lunar calendar, weights and measures, and many other topics
　　． is subdivided into four parts—China today, the Chinese provinces, China’s history, and the Appendix
　　．contains all important terms as well as personal and geographical names with their Chinese names in both traditional characters and Hanyu Pinyin
　　． comprises 685 pages and 54 maps
‧ includes data and information about mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau
　　． is an indispensable, well-organized, and user-friendly reference for sinologists, businesspeople, tourists, and any-body interested in the greater China area

Preface......................................................................................................................................................
Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................................
Nomenclature..........................................................................................................................................
Pronunciation guide to modern Chinese...............................................................................................
The sounds of Mandarin Chinese................................................................................................
The syllables in Mandarin Chinese.................................................................................................
The Chinese tones..........................................................................................................................
Other popular romanization and transliteration systems............................................................
Comparative tables........................................................................................................................
Comparison Hanyu Pinyin—Tongyong Pinyin............................................................................
Conversion table Wade Giles—Hanyu Pinyin—MPS.................................................................
Part I：China today.........................................................
Facts and statistics about China..............................................................................................................
China’s population................................................................................................................................China’s demographic development.................................................................................................
Nationalities in China.......................................................................................................................
Languages in China..........................................................................................................................
Religions in China...........................................................................................................................
China’s geography................................................................................................................................
General features..............................................................................................................................
China’s topography.........................................................................................................................
Rivers and lakes...............................................................................................................................
Vegetation and cultivation / Land usage......................................................................................
Natural disasters..............................................................................................................................
China’s climate......................................................................................................................................
Climatic data for select Chinese cities............................................................................................
Government and politics.......................................................................................................................
PRC (People’s Republic of China)..................................................................................................
—Political system of the PRC........................................................................................................
—The Chinese Communist Party (CCP).......................................................................................
—Presidents and Premiers of the PRC.........................................................................................
—The Parliament and the Judiciary of the PRC..........................................................................
—Ministries and agencies under the PRC State Council.............................................................
—Governors/Chief Executives of Hong Kong since 1843 and of Macau since 1623.........
ROC (Republic of China)................................................................................................................
—Political system of the ROC...................................................................................................... 4
—Major political parties of the ROC.........................................................................................
—Presidents of the ROC 1912-1948.............................................................................................
—Presidents / Vice Presidents of the ROC since 1948.............................................................
—Premiers / Heads of the ROC’s Executive Yuan....................................................................
—Heads of the ROC’s four other Yuans since 1928...................................................................
—Ministries and agencies under the ROC Executive Yuan........................................................
—Complete ROC election results since 1989...............................................................................
—Rulers and Governors of Taiwan since 1624...........................................................................
Human rights in China.....................................................................................................................
Cross-strait relations.......................................................................................................................
Territorial issues..............................................................................................................................
—Disputed land borders of the PRC...........................................................................................
—Islands with sovereignty claimed by both the PRC and ROC................................................
—Islands under the effective control of the ROC.....................................................................
China’s economy..................................................................................................................................China (PRC).....................................................................................................................................
Taiwan (ROC).................................................................................................................................
Quantification of the economies in Greater China and Singapore...........................................
Banking and finance......................................................................................................................
Part II：The Chinese provinces..................................
The provinces of China today..............................................................................................................
China’s administrative organization..............................................................................................
Ranking of China’s cities and provinces by population, area, and pop. density (2005)........
Administrative subdivisions in the PRC......................................................................................
Abbreviations of geographical names.........................................................................................
Changes in China’s provincial composition since 1949.............................................................
Provinces of the old ROC (1912-1949)...............................................................................................
Obsolete geographical names.......................................................................................................
Gazetteer—the Chinese provinces in detail........................................................................................
　　1.Anhui安徽 (119); 2. Beijing北京 (121); 3. Chongqing重慶 (122); 4. Fujian福建 (124); 5. Gansu甘肅 (126); 6. Guangdong廣東 (128); 7. Guangxi廣西 (131); 8. Guizhou貴州(134); 9. Hainan海南 (136); 10. Hebei河北 (137); 11. Heilongjiang黑龍江 (140); 12. He-nan河南 (143); 13. Hong Kong香港 (146); 14. Hubei湖北 (147); 15. Hunan湖南 (150); 16. Inner Mongolia內蒙古 (153); 17. Jiangsu江蘇 (156); 18. Jiangxi江西 (158); 19. Jilin吉林 (160); 20. Liaoning遼寧 (162); 21. Macau澳門 (165); 22. Ningxia寧夏 (166); 23. Qing-hai青海 (168); 24. Shaanxi陜西 (170); 25. Shandong山東 (173); 26. Shanghai上海 (176); 27. Shanxi山西 (177); 28. Sichuan四川 (179); 29. Taiwan台灣 (183); 30. Tianjin天津 (187); 31. Tibet西藏 (188); 32. Xinjiang新疆 (190); 33. Yunnan雲南 (193); 34. Zhejiang浙江 (196). A few words about Singapore (199)
Part III：China’s history...............................................
Chronology of Chinese dynasties.......................................................................................................
Historical capitals.................................................................................................................................
The History of China: A Summary......................................................................................................
The emergence of humans in the China region.........................................................................
Neolithic China: the Yangshao and Longshan Cultures............................................................
The legendary Xia Dynasty and the mythical emperors............................................................
The Shang/Yin Dynasty (ca. 1500-1000 BC)..............................................................................
The Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1000-221 BC).........................................................................................
Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC): Birth of a unified China................................................................
The Han Dynasty (207 BC – 220 AD)........................................................................................
Time of division between Han and Sui (220-589).....................................................................
The Sui Dynasty (589-618)............................................................................................................
The Tang Dynasty (618-907).........................................................................................................
Time of division between Tang and Song (902-979).................................................................
The Song Dynasty (960-1279).......................................................................................................
The Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).....................................................................
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644): Chinese rule restored.....................................................................
The Manchus and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).....................................................................
Chronology of Greater China 1911-2006...........................................................................................
List of noteworthy persons in Greater China.....................................................................................
Part IV：Appendix........................................................
Japan, Korea and Vietnam: History and Geography..........................................................................
History of Japan...........................................................................................................................
Prime Ministers of Japan since 1885............................................................................................
Geographical names in Japan........................................................................................................
History of Korea..........................................................................................................................
Leaders of Korea since 1948.........................................................................................................
Geographical names in Korea.......................................................................................................
Leaders of Vietnam since 1954....................................................................................................
Geographical names in Vietnam...................................................................................................
International geographical names and terms......................................................................................
The 194 countries of the world and their capitals.....................................................................
Alternative country names in Chinese.........................................................................................
Obsolete country names................................................................................................................
Important geographic terms.........................................................................................................
Continents and intercontinental regions......................................................................................
Seas and oceans, gulfs and straits..................................................................................................
Major lakes.....................................................................................................................................
Major rivers....................................................................................................................................
Major mountain ranges..................................................................................................................
Islands, islets, and archipelagos.....................................................................................................
Other places, territories, and regions............................................................................................
Transnational or disputed territories and regions.......................................................................
U. S. states......................................................................................................................................
Canada’s provinces and territories................................................................................................
Australia’s states and territories.....................................................................................................
Administrative division of the United Kingdom........................................................................
The French r?gions..........................................................................................................................
The 16 German states...................................................................................................................
The Russian republics....................................................................................................................
Space terms....................................................................................................................................
Selected time zones...............................................................................................................................
Chinese holidays....................................................................................................................................
The Chinese calendar...........................................................................................................................
Yin and Yang, the Five Primary Elements, the Ten Heavenly Stems......................................
The Chinese Zodiac: Twelve Animal Signs and Twelve Earthly Branches.............................
The Ganzhi system.........................................................................................................................
The Eight Trigrams and 64 Hexagrams.......................................................................................
The 24 Solar Terms and the Eight Festivals................................................................................
Data about the Chinese lunar calendar, length of Chinese lunar years 1900-2050................
Chinese family names...........................................................................................................................
Single-character family names.......................................................................................................
Two-character family names..........................................................................................................
Degrees of kinship...............................................................................................................................
Military rank...........................................................................................................................................
Ranks in the PRC Armed Forces..................................................................................................
Ranks in the ROC Armed Forces.................................................................................................
Weights and measures..........................................................................................................................
Chinese system..............................................................................................................................
Metric system.................................................................................................................................
US/British system.........................................................................................................................
Other important measures.............................................................................................................
Useful conversion tables................................................................................................................
List of chemical elements......................................................................................................................
Excerpts from important documents...................................................................................................
Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895).......................................................................................................
~ in Chinese: 馬關條約（下關條約）....................................................................................
Japan’s “21 Demands” to China [full text] (1915).......................................................................
~ in Chinese：日本的《二十一條要求》【全文】................................................................
Cairo Declaration [full text] (1943)................................................................................................
Agreements reached at the Yalta (Crimea) Conference (1945).................................................
Potsdam Declaration (1945)..........................................................................................................
Japan’s First Instrument of Surrender (1945).............................................................................
~ in Chinese：日本投降書...........................................................................................................
Surrender Order of the Imperial General Headquarters of Japan (1945)..............................
Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of the Communist Rebellion
[full text] (1948).......................................................................................................................
~ in Chinese: 動員戡亂時期臨時條款【全文】..................................................................
Treaty of San Francisco (1951)....................................................................................................
Treaty of Peace between the ROC and Japan (1952)................................................................
~ in Chinese: 中華民國與日本國間和平條約.......................................................................
UN Resolution 2758 [full text] (1971)...........................................................................................
Shanghai Communiqu? (1972)......................................................................................................
~ in Chinese: 中華人民共和國和美利堅合眾國聯合公報（《上海公報》）.................
Joint Communiqu? of the Gov. of Japan and the Gov. of the PRC (1972)...........................
~ in Chinese: 中日聯合聲明.....................................................................................................
Taiwan Relations Act (1979)..........................................................................................................
Joint Communiqu? of the PRC and the USA (1982)................................................................
~ in Chinese: 中華人民共和國和美利堅合?國聯合公報（八一七公報）.................
PRC Constitution, Article 36: Religion (1982)............................................................................
~ in Chinese: 中華人民共和國憲法（第三十六條）.........................................................
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)..........................................................................
The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong (1984)..........................
~ in Chinese: 中華人民共和國政府和大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國政府
關於香港問題的聯合聲明.................................................................................................
Guidelines for National Unification [full text] (1991).................................................................
~ in Chinese：國家統一綱領【全文】....................................................................................
ROC President Lee Teng-hui’s remarks about the “state-to-state relationship” extant
between the ROC and the PRC (1999)................................................................................
ROC President Chen Shui-bian’s “Five Noes” (2000, 2004)....................................................
The “Anti-Secession Law” of the PRC [full text] (2005)............................................................
~ in Chinese：反分裂國家法【全文】....................................................................................
List of abbreviations and acronyms.....................................................................................................
Sources / Further reading.....................................................................................................................
The Yellow River and the Yangtze River..........................................................................................
The Taiwan Area...............................................................................................................................
Provinces (inset maps)
Anhui安徽..................................................
Beijing北京................................................
Chongqing重慶..........................................
Fujian福建..................................................
Gansu甘肅.................................................
Guangdong廣東........................................
Guangxi廣西.............................................
Guizhou貴州.............................................
Hainan海南...............................................
Hebei河北.................................................
Heilongjiang黑龍江..................................
Henan河南.................................................
Hong Kong香港........................................
Hubei湖北..................................................
Hunan湖南.................................................
Inner Mongolia內蒙古.............................
Jiangsu江蘇................................................
Jiangxi江西................................................
Jilin吉林......................................................
Liaoning遼寧.............................................
Macau澳門.................................................
Ningxia寧夏...............................................
Qinghai青海...............................................
Shaanxi陜西..............................................
Shandong山東...........................................
Shanghai上海.............................................
Shanxi山西.................................................
Sichuan四川...............................................
Taiwan台灣................................................
Tianjin天津...............................................
Tibet西藏...................................................
Xinjiang新疆..............................................
Yunnan雲南...............................................
Zhejiang浙江............................................
History
Yangshao and Longshan Cultures............
Shang/Yin....................................................
Western Zhou..............................................
The Seven Warring States.........................
Qin................................................................
Western Han................................................
Eastern Han.................................................
The Three Kingdoms................................
China in 400 AD.........................................
Sui.................................................................
Early Tang....................................................
Late Tang.....................................................
Northern Song...........................................
Southern Song.............................................
Yuan..............................................................
Ming..............................................................
Qing..............................................................
Republic of China (ROC)..........................
　　Note：The maps are sketches created by the author for information and orientation purposes only. Minor inaccuracies cannot be completely ruled out. Unless otherwise indicated, all maps are oriented with North at the top. Copyright for all maps ? Tilman Aretz. Table of contents 6