ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Chinese unification

Chinese unification is the idea that all the different regions and people of China should come together to form one big country.

Think of it like a puzzle that's made up of many small pieces that don't fit together perfectly. Unification is when all those pieces are put together to make one whole puzzle.

China has a very long history with many different tribes and kingdoms fighting against each other. It wasn't until the Qin dynasty in 221 BC that we saw the first true unification of China. The emperor Qin Shi Huangdi united all the different kingdoms and tribes under his rule. This was a big achievement because China had never before been united before.

However, after the Qin dynasty, China struggled to stay unified. There were periods of civil war, foreign invasions, and many different ruling dynasties that each had their own ideas about how to govern the country.

In the 20th century, China became divided again. After the Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1912, China was ruled by various warlords and factions. It wasn't until 1949, when the Communist Party of China came to power, that China was once again unified under a single government.

Today, China is governed by the Communist Party, and while it's not entirely unified (there are still different minorities and regions with different cultures and beliefs), the idea of unification remains an important part of Chinese history and identity.